Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Data Visualization in the Multicolor Trenches: Sedraxis Specter’s Card Attribute Breakdown
MTG data nerds, assemble! Sedraxis Specter isn’t just a card you flip off a booster pack; it’s a compact case study in multicolored design, battle-ready stats, and the way a single creature can carry a lot of narrative and strategy on its slender wings. When we visualize its attributes—color identity, mana cost, power/toughness, and a duo of unusual abilities—we see a microcosm of what makes Modern-legal, three-color threats feel fresh in a sea of mono-black discard or blue tempo. Let’s dive into a data-driven stroll through a creature that struts with Flying, Tricolor identity, and a pocketful of late-game recurrences. 🧙🔥💎⚔️
Attribute snapshot: what you see at a glance
- Name: Sedraxis Specter
- Mana cost: {U}{B}{R} (three colored mana, one of each blue, black, red)
- Converted mana cost (CMC): 3.0
- Type: Creature — Specter
- Power/Toughness: 3/2
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Set: Double Masters 2022 (2x2 Masters)
- Artist: Cole Eastburn
- Finishes: Foil and nonfoil
- Text: Flying; Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card. Unearth {1}{B} (return from graveyard with haste; exile at end step or if it would leave the battlefield)
Visually, the three-color identity (blue, black, and red) is already a signal flare for multicolor synergy. In a visualization, you can plot color identity on a tri-axes radar or stacked bar to show nonland mana requirements and how this card sits relative to other URB tools. The 3/2 body for a 3-mana investment is a respectable baseline in Modern-legal play, offering a sturdy flying threat that scales with the game’s pace. And that ability—an always-popular mechanic—forces opponents to trade cards for life: a data point that spikes in value when you map damage dealt vs. cards discarded on cumulative attacks. 🧙🔥
Mechanics mapped: Flying, Discard, and Unearth
Two core abilities anchor this card’s dynamic presence on the battlefield. Flying is the universal shorthand for “this is rarely blocked by ground forces,” which you can visualize as a vertical advantage axis in your deck-stats dashboard. The discard trigger—“Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, that player discards a card”—turns every successful strike into card-advantage pressure, a pattern you can chart as a damage-to-discard curve across games. And Unearth adds a second life for Sedraxis Specter, transforming it into a reusable beatstick that swings in, hits hard, then retreats to the grave with a window of opportunity to re-enter via {1}{B}. The combined effect shape is a layered approach to threat assessment: immediate air dominance, card-advantage potential, and recurring value through graveyard recursion. The data tells a story of tempo, value, and a real multiplayer-presser in formats where discard strategies tilt the game. 🎲🎨
Visualizing the recursions: a few practical charts
A tri-color heatmap with intensity for blue, black, and red mana presence. Sedraxis sits at the intersection, indicating its role as a cross-color piece that can slot into three-color engines or function as a flexible slot in midrange decks. - Power/Toughness vs. Cost: A scatter plot where x-axis is CMC (3) and y-axis is P/T (3/2). Sedraxis lands in a sweet-spot quadrant for aggressive decks that want a viable flying body with discard upside without overpaying for stats.
- Ability leverage vs. Game Phase: A timeline showing how the discard trigger scales with the number of successful hits, paired with Unearth’s recurrency window. This helps players estimate the potential card-advantage swing across turns.
- Foil vs. Nonfoil Price Delta: A tiny bar chart reveals that while Sedraxis Specter hovers around $0.06 in nonfoil and $0.13 foil in typical markets, its foil premium is a nice data point for collectors who chase the shimmer of a rare reprint.
For fans of EDH/Commander, the color trio adds even more layers: Sedraxis can slot into decks craving both disruption and evasion, while its Unearth ability becomes a late-game recursion engine in build-around-me strategies. The card’s rank in EDHREC at 18,590 places it as a niche pick—strong for players who enjoy spicy, under-the-radar recovery plays rather than being a staple staple. The data helps you see why certain builds gravitate toward Sedraxis and others pass, letting you choose your side with eyes-wide open. ⚔️
Lore, art, and the collector’s eye
The art by Cole Eastburn presents a spectral figure cut from the velvet night, a creature who rides the edge of magic’s multiverse—blue for intellect, black for the grave, red for fury. The flavor in Three-Color Specters often leans toward predation and inevitability, a vibe that mirrors how the card plays: a swift, unforgiving harbinger that demands a decision from your opponent each time it lands a hit. In terms of collectible value, Sedraxis Specter is a noteworthy reprint in a Masters-set era that loves to push the boundaries of foil presentation and border aesthetics. For players and collectors, the combination of rarity (uncommon), foil availability, and prominent play in certain decks makes it an appealing pivot in both budget and foil-centric collections. 🧙♂️🎨
“Sometimes the best data card is the one that makes your opponent draw fewer cards than you do.” — Commander-to-be, in a moment of quiet triumph after a well-timed discard swing.
As a data-visual lens, Sedraxis Specter invites us to map not just numbers but strategic tempo. The tri-color identity paired with a meaningful text block makes it a perfect candidate for a teaching chart in any MTG analytics blog, stream, or deckbuilding session. If you’re curious to see more, the card’s presence across modern and legacy formats, combined with its foil and nonfoil variants, gives you a ready-made dataset to explore price fluctuations, rarity trends, and reprint impact. And if you’re plotting a deeper, site-specific visualization series, this card sits comfortably as a case study in how a single creature can shape a multi-format narrative. 🧙🔥💎
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