List of Magic slang/Card nicknames

List of Magic slang

 

Dated

 

R&D slang

 

Card nicknames

 

This non-comprehensive list documents concepts that are subjective and continuously evolving. Entries may be missing or out of date.

The Magic: The Gathering community has given many nicknames to cards, and a number of those nicknames have passed into the mainstream and become part of MTG terminology.

List

#

5ML

Five Moxes and a Black Lotus. Once considered by many players to be essential for a winning Vintage tournament deck.

A

Academy

Tolarian Academy, one of the key components of decks during Combo Winter.

AK

Accumulated Knowledge.

Ancestral

Ancestral Recall.

B

BBE

Bloodbraid Elf, a key component of Cascade decks.

BEB

Blue Elemental Blast.

BFEP

"Best Fatty Ever Printed", a nickname for Verdant Force coined by Jamie Wakefield.

Big Blue

Time Walk, Time Twister, and Ancestral Recall, part of the Power Nine.

Blinky

Blinking Spirit, once known as "the most annoying creature in Magic". The card's nickname would go on to become an early name for the category of effects now known as flickering.

Blob, The

The collection of cards in the Extended Affinity deck.

Bob

Dark Confidant, which is based on the card submitted for the 2004 Magic Invitational Tournament by the winner, Bob Maher. Other cards which have the same or a similar effect (i.e. to draw the top card of the library at the cost of its mana value in life) to Dark Confidant may also be referred to as "a Bob" (e.g. Ruin Raider), or a singular such effect "to Bob". Stronger cards that cause that life loss to opponents sometimes are considered to "Bob wrong" or is an "anti-Bob" (e.g. Twilight Prophet, Yuriko, the Tiger's Shadow).

Bolt

Lightning Bolt. The nickname is sometimes extended to Chain Lightning and other 3-damage burn spells, such as Incinerate.

Buffy

Rashka the Slayer, originally designed to block and kill the Sengir Vampire, provided it hadn't increased in power. The nickname is derived from the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer as the more famous television show first aired in 1997, two years after Homelands was released.

Butt Stallion

Diamond Mare. A reference to the Borderlands video game series, in which the main antagonist, Handsome Jack, has a pony made out of diamonds whose name is Butt Stallion.

C

Cap'n Tickles

Giant Solifuge. The origin of this nickname is unclear, but its usage was popularized by Evan Erwin of Star City Games in his web show "The Magic Show."

Cat Jesus

Leonin Arbiter. Named due to its incredible importance in modern Death and Taxes to turn Ghost Quarter into a Strip Mine and Path to Exile into the best removal spell ever made.

Chimney Pimp

Chimney Imp, an incredibly underpowered card from Mirrodin. Often written in a variant of leet speak (such as 7he p1mp, t3h p!mp, etc). In a similar manner as Throat Wolf, it became a common ironic joke in the official Magic forums that the Pimp was an extremely broken card because "it untaps for free", which in fact is a trait shared by almost all permanents.

CoB

City of Brass.

CoCo

Collected Company.

CoP

Circle of Protection (cards).

D

Darcy

Dragon's Rage Channeler, from the abbreviation "DRC".

David Bowie

Goblin King. A reference to English musician and actor David Bowie's role as Jareth the Goblin King in the 1986 film Labyrinth.

Deed

Pernicious Deed.

Deep Anal

Crude nickname for Deep Analysis.

Dexter

Dockside Extortionist.

Dog

Isamaru, Hound of Konda.

Drain

Mana Drain, or cards with effects similar to Drain Life.

DRS

Deathrite Shaman.

Dr. Teeth

Psychatog. Named for the toothy grin given by the creature in its Odyssey illustration. Sometimes this card is announced as "The doctor's in."

Dude Ranch

Kjeldoran Outpost, a land that produces 1/1 soldier tokens (dudes).

E

E-wit

Eternal Witness.

ECD

Elspeth Conquers Death.

Edict

Diabolic Edict, Chainer's Edict, Cruel Edict, and other cards that force a player to sacrifice a creature.

Ernie

Erhnam Djinn.

ESG

Elvish Spirit Guide.

F

Fat Moti

Mahamoti Djinn. So called because it is a fat creature.

Finkel

Shadowmage Infiltrator, which is based on the card submitted for the 2000 Magic Invitational Tournament by the winner, Jon Finkel. Occasionally called "Infilmage Finkletrator" as an affectionate play on the name.

Finkel's Cloak

Sleeper's Robe, because it grants Shadowmage Infiltrator's abilities to the creature it enchants, even though the Robe was printed earlier than the Infiltrator itself.

Finkel Suit

Mask of Riddles from Alara Reborn, because, as Equipment, creatures can slip in and out of the suit, becoming Finkel whenever the player has the mana and inclination.

Force, FoW

Force of Will.

Fishstick

Elvish Mystic.

G

Gary

Gray Merchant of Asphodel.

Goyf

Tarmogoyf.

H

Hippy

Hypnotic Specter. A powerful black creature in early Magic that could be played on turn one using Dark Ritual. Sometimes also alliterated as "Hippy Spook".

Hymn

Hymn to Tourach.

I

I am Superman

Pemmin's Aura. The designer who named the card decided to make a tribute to Morphling, which was known as "Superman". Since it was an enchantment that gave the enchanted creature Morphling's abilities, he named it Pemmin's Aura, an anagram for the phrase "I am Superman". When asked "Who's Pemmin?" he simply responded "The guy who made the aura", as there was no background for said character, although it did end up in the flavor text of Stifle (Scourge).

Ineffable, The

Yawgmoth. Used on some Magic: The Gathering forums. For example, 'Will of the Ineffable' refers to Yawgmoth's Will.

J

Jens

Solemn Simulacrum, which is based on the card submitted for the 2002 Magic Invitational Tournament by the winner, Jens Thoren. Also known as Robo-Jens or Sad Robot due to the pensive facial expression in the artist's portrait of Thoren.

Jewelry

The original five moxes — Mox Jet, Mox Ruby, Mox Sapphire, Mox Emerald, and Mox Pearl.

Jigsaw

Plaguecrafter. The sentiment of Plaguecrafter's flavor text is similar to the philosophy of Jigsaw, the recurring villain from the Saw horror movie franchise.

K

Karnstruct

A 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with “This creature gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control.” Named for Karn, Scion of Urza, the first card to make such tokens. This nickname persisted because all of the next five cards to make such a token were associated with Urza, Karn's creator.

Keg

Powder Keg.

L

Lab Man

Laboratory Maniac.

Larry Niven's Disk

Nevinyrral's Disk. "Nevinyrral" is Larry Niven spelled backward. The disk is evocative of a magical device in his short story series "The Magic Goes Away".

Looter Scooter

Smuggler's Copter. A vehicle (scooter) that "Loots" when it attacks and/or blocks.

Lucky charms

Cycles of artifacts that let you gain 1 life when you cast a spell of a certain color (e.g. Ivory Cup).

M

Mana Birds

Birds of Paradise — after the original creature type "Mana Bird".

Mis-D

Misdirection.

Miss Tickles

Falkenrath Aristocrat, due to the card's similarities to Giant Solifuge (both 4/1, both have haste, both are difficult to deal with via spells, both have an evasion ability).

Misty

Stoneforge Mystic.

Mom

Mother of Runes. (See also Steppe-Mom)

Monkey, The

Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer. Often called “That Stupid Monkey”, “That *******Monkey”, or simply “Monke”.

Mopal

Portmanteau of Mox Opal.

Moti

Mahamoti Djinn.

Moxes

Plural short form for Mox Pearl, Mox Sapphire, Mox Jet, Mox Ruby, and Mox Emerald. Can also refer to Mox Diamond or Chrome Mox.

Mox Monkey

Gorilla Shaman, with the ability to destroy low-mana value artifacts quite inexpensively, is called the "Mox Monkey" because he can destroy (or often "eat") the oft-used Moxes for a minimal cost, netting a great card advantage.

N

Necro

Necropotence. Also a verb, for example "I necro for three" means "I pay 3 life to take 3 cards".

O

Oath

Oath of Druids, or a deck featuring the card.

Ophie the One-Eyed Snake

Ophidian, a card that powered many blue control decks to victory with its card-drawing mechanic which could be used every turn. Its art depicts a one-eyed snake, giving him the nickname among control players and their opponents.

Order of Light Beer

Order of Leitbur. A pun on the pronunciation of "Leitbur".

OwN

One with Nothing, a card from Saviors of Kamigawa previously perceived to have no practical purpose, though the results of Pro Tour Honolulu has had some players suggesting it as an answer to the "Owling Mine" deck that had gained prominence during the tournament. It is sometimes, ironically, used as a pun for the term owned.

P

Panharmommycon

Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines. Derived from a combination of Panharmonicon and Mother of Machines.

Pat Sajak

Magus of the Wheel. The card shares an effect similar to Wheel of Fortune. Named after the host of the American version of the Wheel of Fortune game show.

Path

Path to Exile, a powerful removal spell similar to Swords to Plowshares and shortened in a similar way.

Powerpuff Girls

Three legendary angels from Avacyn Restored — Gisela, Blade of Goldnight, Bruna, Light of Alabaster and Sigarda, Host of Herons. Named after the cartoon characters Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup who are three superhero girls who can fly and are dressed in red, blue, and green.

Primetime

Primeval Titan.

Pump Knights

Four functionally equivalent white and black knights from Ice Age and Fallen Empires — Order of Leitbur, Order of the White Shield, Order of the Ebon Hand, and Knight of Stromgald. The name refers to their +1/+0 pumping ability.

PV

Elite Spellbinder, the Player Spotlight card for 2019 World Champion Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa (“PVDDR”).

R

REB

Red Elemental Blast.

Ritual

Dark Ritual. Alternatively shortened to "Dark Rit" or even further to just "Rit."

S

Sac Elder

Sakura-Tribe Elder, which is usually sacrificed (see "sac") for mana acceleration (see "accel"). Other nicknames include Saccy Tribe Elder, Tribe-Elder, Snake Jesus, Steve (S.T.E.-ve), Saccy Chan and sometimes just Elder.

Sammy

Samite Healer.

Scooze

Scavenging Ooze, Often accompanied by the phrase, “You lose to Scooze.”

Sex Monkey

Uktabi Orangutan. Its art depicts monkeys in a position that resembles the sexual act in its background, hence the appellation. The background was noticed during the reign of the "Artifact" block, where it became wildly popular because of its ability to destroy an opponent's artifacts. The flavor text of the card also reinforces this interpretation, as it refers to monkeys in gold coats marrying. In Unhinged, there was a parody of the card, called Uktabi Kong, with a larger version of the original Orangutan in the foreground, and an expectant pair of monkeys in the background, playing on the original art and its implications. The effects of that card are relevant to the act, too, allowing you to tap two Apes to generate another one. The story was continued in Jumpstart 2022, with the new art and flavor text of Uktabi Orangutan entertaining a young Kibo, Uktabi Prince who is implied to be the offspring of the original two monkeys

SFM

Stoneforge Mystic.

Single Pringle, The

The One Ring serialized 001/001 variant. Nicknamed by players for the popular potato snack after a video showing the card's creation seemed to indicate the card had signs of foil warping.

Snape

Thieving Amalgam, named 'Snape' due to its creature types of Ape and Snake.

Snappie

Snapcaster Mage

SoFI

Sword of Fire and Ice, pronounced like “Sophie”

SoLoMoxes

Sol Ring, Black Lotus, and the five Mox from Alpha.

Splice Girl

Blade Splicer

Steppe-Mom

Giver of Runes, derived from a combination of the earlier slang term for Mother of Runes (“Mom”) the Kor from the steppes of Zendikar. The phrase is a pun on Stepmother.

STEve

Sakura-Tribe Elder. See also Sac Elder.

Stick

Isochron Scepter, a powerful card in the Mirrodin set which allows a player to imprint an instant and activate the Scepter to cast a copy of that card. The name is derived from the card's art, which shows a humanoid woman holding the scepter (which obviously looks like a stick).

Card on a stick

An Isochron Scepter in play with a particular card imprinted on it.

"No" stick

1. Counterspell, when imprinted on the Stick, since it lets the player say "no" to an opponent's spell once per turn.

2. A popular deck which imprinted Orim's Chant on Stick, preventing the opponent from playing anything except instants and cards with Flash.

X on a stick

A creature with some useful ability. For example, Temporal Adept is a "boomerang on a stick", because his ability resembles the card Boomerang, while being a creature.

Stripwaste

A combination of Strip Mine and Wasteland.

Sunny-T

Sun Titan.

Superman

Nickname for Morphling, used because it could fly and was practically invulnerable. The nickname was acknowledged by Wizards of the Coast in Pemmin's Aura, which is an anagram of "I am Superman", and grants Morphling's abilities to the creature it enchants.

Swords

Swords to Plowshares, the best creature-removal spell ever printed. Creatures exiled by a Swords to Plowshares are said to be "Plowed". Sometimes abbreviated STP.

T

T3feri

Teferi, Time Raveler. So called because it's the first (and so far only) Teferi card with a mana value of 3. War of the Spark, where the card debuted, was the third set in which a Teferi planeswalker card appeared.

Tim

The classic nickname for the card Prodigal Sorcerer, named after the enchanter from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Rod of Ruin was sometimes referred to as "Tim on a stick", while Pirate Ship was, of course, "Tim on a ship".

Thoracle

Thassa's Oracle, contraction of the card's name.

'Tog

Psychatog, once the most powerful creature in Magic.

U

Urzatron

The combination of Urza's Power Plant, Urza's Mine, and Urza's Tower all in play, which provides (seven colorless mana) with three lands. Often shortened to just "Tron".

V

Vic

Enthralling Victor.

W

Walk

Time Walk.

Welder

Goblin Welder.

WoG

Wrath of God, long a staple card due to its ability to destroy many creatures using only one card.

Y

YawgWin, Yawgmoth's Win

Yawgmoth's Will, which allows all previously played cards to be played a second time, netting an enormous advantage, and usually wins the game for its caster immediately.

Yoshi

Yotian Soldier

Young Peezy

Young Pyromancer. Has given rise to other -eezy names like Seezy Peezy (Seasoned Pyromancer), DeathReezy (Deathrite Shaman), and Seezy Deezy (Seasoned Dungeoneer).