Magnetic Snuffler in Focus: Framing and Perspective for MTG

Magnetic Snuffler in Focus: Framing and Perspective for MTG

In TCG ·

Magnetic Snuffler card art from Murders at Karlov Manor

Image courtesy of Scryfall.com

A Closer Look at Magnetic Snuffler: Framing and Perspective in MTG

In the sprawling gothic corridors of Murders at Karlov Manor, some artifacts quietly steal the spotlight with their quiet menace and meticulous framing. Magnetic Snuffler is a perfect example of how a colorless artifact creature can feel as thematic as any legendary spell, all while delivering clean, practical play patterns. It’s a 5-mana powerhouse—a 4/4 of Construct lineage—that demands you look beyond raw stats to appreciate its frame, flavor, and the way its abilities reshape how you approach Equipment and sacrifice within your strategy. 🧙‍♂️🔥💎

Design and Mechanics: what the card actually does

Magnetic Snuffler is an artifact creature — Construct from the Murders at Karlov Manor set. Its mana cost is exactly {5}, placing it in the mid-to-late game window where a board presence matters but doesn’t demand an immediate dash to the battlefield. The trigger text reads like a mini-revolver of options: “When this creature enters, return target Equipment card from your graveyard to the battlefield attached to this creature.” That means the Snuffler doubles as a reanimation engine for your Equipment suite, re-fusing graveyard resources back into play with a magnetic, purpose-built attachment. It’s a flavorful nod to the set’s macabre vibe and a practical engine for Commanders and more casual formats alike.

Its second ability cements a self-improvement loop: “Whenever you sacrifice an artifact, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.” This is where the card really sings in the right shell. Sacrifice outlets—whether you’re sacrificing an artifact token, an Equip, or a disposable 'bookkeeping' artifact—turn Snuffler into a growing threat. The combination of entering ability and artifact-sac outlets invites you to build around artifact-heavy synergies, creating a resilient midrange creature that can grow with your artifact-enthusiast strategy. It’s a clever, tactile design that rewards thoughtful resource management. 🧲⚔️

The flavor text—“It recovers precious jewelry, murder weapons, and discarded food tins with equal excitement.”—pulls the theme together: snatching valuable loot and grim mementos alike, the Snuffler treats every scrap as a potential upgrade. Daniel Ljunggren’s illustration, paired with the set’s gothic sensibility, frames the Snuffler as a magnetized scavenger who thrives where artifacts linger in graves and gear racks alike. The art and text work in concert to evoke a very specific framing—that this construct is not merely a combatant, but a collector of history and hardware. 🎨

Framing and Perspective: reading the art and text in concert

Magnetic Snuffler leans into a cinematic, up-close perspective that invites you to imagine a magnet humming just out of frame, lifting a gleaming eye of equipment from a spectral pile in a dim manor workshop. The choice to present a colorless Construct with a very tactile, almost workshop-centric set of abilities is a deliberate framing tactic: it tells you that the true magic lies in the interactions between Equipment and artifacts, not in flashy colored spells. The “enter-the-battlefield” trigger feels cinematic, as if the Snuffler is pulling a gear from the void and snapping it into place, while the +1/+1 counter mechanic rewards the player for playing into that tactile, hands-on flavor. This is design that respects the lore of ruinous grandeur while rewarding precise play. 🧙‍♂️🎲

From a perspective standpoint, the card’s absence of mana color symbolism makes its framing adaptable. It slots easily into decks that lean on artifacts, Equipment, and graveyard recursion across a spectrum of colors—though in practice, you’ll see it most at home in artifact-centric builds, or as a resilient threat in Commander tables where Equipment reanimation can swing the game. The artwork reinforces this by giving you a sharp, tangible sense of a device built to reclaim gear, not a spell meant to incinerate opponents from afar. The result is a card that feels both historically Gothic and distinctly practical—an excellent example of how MTG frame and flavor work together to shape your expectations and your play. 💎⚔️

Strategic angles: how Magnetic Snuffler fits into your deck

  • Equipment recurs: Use the enter-the-battlefield trigger to reattach an important Equipment from your graveyard—think of the upside of reusing a game-changing card without paying its cost again. This can buy you momentum as your board state stabilizes. 🧲
  • Sacrifice synergy: The +1/+1 counter on every artifact sacrifice means you can stack value quickly if you’ve got a reliable supply of artifacts or token generators. The more you sac, the bigger Snuffler becomes, creating a snowball effect that can threaten opponents across a single swing. 🧰
  • Artifact-centric shells: In decks teeming with artifacts, Snuffler acts as both a beater and a value engine, enabling you to squeeze extra utility from your graveyard and your equipment pool. This makes it a natural fit for colorless or artifact-heavy archetypes in a casual to mid-power setting. 🎲
  • Engage the graveyard without fatigue: Recurring Equipment via the graveyard can fuel grindy games where resource management and timing decide the outcome. Snuffler’s design encourages you to choreograph a sequence of plays that keep your board evolving rather than collapsing into a single big spell. 🔋

For collectors, the card’s uncommon rarity, foil options, and its evocative artwork add a nice shelf appeal. The Murders at Karlov Manor set itself is known for its moody, storytelling-forward flavor, and Magnetic Snuffler fits that narrative while delivering solid, modular gameplay. If you’re chasing a compact engine that doesn’t rely on colored mana to shine, this is a card worth revisiting as you refine your artifact suites. 🧙‍♂️💎

Phone Desk Stand Portable 2-Piece Smartphone Display

More from our network


Magnetic Snuffler

Magnetic Snuffler

{5}
Artifact Creature — Construct

When this creature enters, return target Equipment card from your graveyard to the battlefield attached to this creature.

Whenever you sacrifice an artifact, put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.

It recovers precious jewelry, murder weapons, and discarded food tins with equal excitement.

ID: 70476534-2fc7-4872-a009-3380dd5ce2ab

Oracle ID: 8f85088c-256d-4925-a4dd-aafcc2632282

Multiverse IDs: 646808

TCGPlayer ID: 533390

Cardmarket ID: 751208

Colors:

Color Identity:

Keywords:

Rarity: Uncommon

Released: 2024-02-09

Artist: Daniel Ljunggren

Frame: 2015

Border: black

EDHRec Rank: 17240

Set: Murders at Karlov Manor (mkm)

Collector #: 254

Legalities

  • Standard — legal
  • Future — legal
  • Historic — legal
  • Timeless — legal
  • Gladiator — legal
  • Pioneer — legal
  • Modern — legal
  • Legacy — legal
  • Pauper — not_legal
  • Vintage — legal
  • Penny — legal
  • Commander — legal
  • Oathbreaker — legal
  • Standardbrawl — legal
  • Brawl — legal
  • Alchemy — not_legal
  • Paupercommander — not_legal
  • Duel — legal
  • Oldschool — not_legal
  • Premodern — not_legal
  • Predh — not_legal

Prices

  • USD: 0.11
  • USD_FOIL: 0.14
  • EUR: 0.07
  • EUR_FOIL: 0.08
  • TIX: 0.03
Last updated: 2025-11-16