What Is The Rarity Of Professor Onyx Mtg In Sets?

Okay, this is one of those little community mysteries I love digging into. After poking around, what I keep finding is that there isn't a single canonical creator credited with a character named 'Professor Onyx' in official 'Magic: The Gathering' lore. Instead, the name tends to pop up in fan-made cards, custom art pieces, and as handles for streamers and forum personalities. That means the origin usually traces back to an individual artist or player who invented the persona for a deck, a piece of fanfiction, or a Twitch/YouTube identity. Whenever I've tracked these kinds of things down, the creator is often visible in the image metadata, a watermark, or an upload profile on sites like Reddit, Twitter/X, or DeviantArt. For custom cards you’ll frequently see them made on tools like MTG Cardsmith or Untap.in, and the author will put their handle in the card description. So if you want the true creator, start with the image or the URL where you first saw 'Professor Onyx' and follow the credits there. If you’re asking about backstory, the most common version floating around is delightfully gothic: a retired scholar who turned to forbidden ink and obsidian bones, teaching at a hidden academy that studies planar shadows. But remember, that’s fanon and varies wildly. If you can point me to the exact image or link you saw, I’d happily help sleuth the original creator of that specific 'Professor Onyx'.

I get really excited talking about 'Professor Onyx' because that card feels like a personality—mischievous, clever, and built for getting value off unusual lines. If you want to pair them, first thing I always tell friends at FNM: check the color identity and what you want to do. If you’re leaning into spells and tempo, a commander that lets you replay or cheat spells from graveyards or exile is gold. For a spellslinger vibe, something that recurs your instants and sorceries or copies them will make the sneaky bits of 'Professor Onyx' pop. On the flip side, if you want a grindier, value-oriented game, pairing with a commander that turns every small advantage into inevitability—like a general that recurs permanents or squeezes extra draws from the graveyard—feels really satisfying. I’ve pilot-tested builds where 'Professor Onyx' acts as a tempo engine while the partner wheels back resources, and the games feel like a clever heist rather than a brawl. Whatever you pick, tune the rest of the deck for synergy: tutors, cheap discard outlets, and ways to protect your combo pieces. If you tell me your meta or whether you want chaos, combo, or control, I can suggest a narrow list that’ll actually win you games rather than just look cool.

I've been digging through my collection and the online databases for this exact question, and here's what I can tell you about 'Professor Onyx'. It really depends on the printing: if 'Professor Onyx' was printed in a modern set (or reprinted later) then there very likely is at least one foil variant. Most sets from the last decade include foil cards in booster runs, and special printings — like showcase, borderless, or promo versions — often come in foil treatments too. If you want to be sure, run a printing check on sites like Scryfall or the official Gatherer, where every printing and its foil status is listed. Search for 'Professor Onyx' and look at the printings panel — if you see entries labeled as foil, etched foil, or promo, those are legitimate. When I buy foils I always cross-reference TCGplayer and Cardmarket to compare images and seller notes, because names can be shared by multiple alternate-art or promo releases. Also be careful with condition and counterfeits; inspect photos closely and prefer sellers with return policies. Happy hunting — foils always gleam nicer in person and it's satisfying to track down a specific variant I want.

I get curious about card prices the way some people check stock tickers, and 'Professor Onyx' is no exception — its price history tends to follow the classic collector/player-cycle more than anything mysterious. When a card like 'Professor Onyx' first hits the market (new set, prerelease hype), you usually see a launch spike driven by bulk speculation, blind buys, and hype videos. After the first month the price often settles as the real supply hits TCGplayer/Cardmarket and people test the card in decks. If it proves playable in a popular format or becomes a Commander staple, expect slow, steady growth; if it gets reprinted or loses relevance, you'll see a sharp drop. I always cross-check several sites when tracing a card’s history: MTGStocks for long-term charts and percent changes, TCGplayer for current market listings, Cardmarket for EU trends, and eBay completed listings if I want real sale prices. Don’t forget to separate foil vs nonfoil and promo prints — foils often chart a different path. Also consider condition and language: Near Mint Japanese foil promos from events can behave like completely different products. Those nuances explain why a single name can have multiple price curves, and why relying on one source can mislead you. For my buying decisions I watch the 30- and 90-day moving averages and set alerts rather than trying to time the absolute bottom.

Okay, diving in with a curious brain first: I couldn’t find a clear, authoritative list that says ‘Professor Onyx’ was a headline player at big sanctioned events like the Pro Tour/Players Tour, Mythic Championships, or paper Grand Prix. That’s not unusual — a lot of creators and community figures float between streamed invitational events, MTG Arena community tournaments, and local MagicFests without a single centralized index. From what I’ve seen, people with a handle like Professor Onyx tend to show up most often in streamed community tournaments, creator invitational brackets, and Arena Challenges or Arena Open-style events rather than being permanent fixtures in top-level, sanctioned pro circuits. If you want specifics, I’d start by checking their Twitch and YouTube channels for VODs titled ‘tournament’, ‘challenge’, or ‘invitational’, and then cross-reference those video titles with the event names shown in the stream overlay. That usually reveals whether it was an official ‘Arena Open’ or a fan-run cup.

Okay, here’s the long-winded competitive take I’ve been chewing on: 'Professor Onyx' is the kind of card that wants to do more than one job, and that versatility is both its blessing and its curse. In midrange shells it usually operates as a steady value engine — you play it on a turn where you’ve stabilized and it either digs you out of awkward hands or turns the tables by generating incremental advantage. In my testing it felt best when backed by a suite of interaction and ways to protect it; in a removal-heavy meta it can get shrugged off, so you either need cheap backup threats or ways to recur it. Tempo decks that rely on hitting a critical turn tend to be less thrilled unless you can cheat it in earlier. Practical tweaks I liked: lightening up the top end so you’re not flooded when you hit it, and running 2–3 copies rather than the full playset — it’s powerful, but it’s also a target. Sideboard plans should include artifact/enchantment hate if your build uses those synergies, and graveyard answers if opponents can exile its value. All in all, it’s a meta-sensitive inclusion: great when it fits, mediocre when it doesn’t.

Okay, quick confession: I dug through my usual card galleries for this, and I can’t find a standalone, official art blurb that says “Professor Onyx” as a widely released card title in 'Magic: The Gathering'. That doesn’t mean the card doesn’t exist somewhere obscure or in a promo print, but in the places I check first—Gatherer, Scryfall, and the official set galleries—there isn’t a canonical short art description filed under that name that I can quote. If you want to chase the literal official art description, here’s how I’d go about it: open the card page on Gatherer (the WotC database), then cross-reference Scryfall (it often shows artist credit and art-crop). The official product page for the set or the artist’s own post can hold the exact phrase used to describe the illustration. If it’s a promo or fan-made card, the creator’s post or the printing company will be the only place with an authoritative blurb. If you want, paste a link or an image and I’ll help parse any text on the card or craft a precise alt description for accessibility.

If you're hunting for 'Professor Onyx' cards online, I've got a little map from my own treasure hunts that usually works. I check TCGplayer first because it aggregates lots of sellers and you can filter by language, foil, and condition. Card Kingdom and Star City Games are my backup if I want fast shipping and reliable grading photos. For Europe-specific hunts I swing by Cardmarket. eBay is great for rare finds and weird listings, but I always read seller feedback and ask for close-up photos to avoid surprises. I've also scored alters and artist prints by messaging sellers on Instagram or Etsy—sometimes 'Professor Onyx' is an alter artist or a nickname for a special promo, so using variations in your search helps. Scryfall and MTGGoldfish are my reference points to confirm card images and official set names before buying. When I buy, I check condition, track shipping, and prefer PayPal or platform protections. It saves me headaches to wait for a seller with good feedback, even if the card is slightly pricier; patience pays off, honestly.