Spells and upgrades in The Magus Circle

The Magus Circle's build system runs on two official numbers — 20 unique spells and 600 possible upgrades (Steam store page) — plus a mana ceiling that decides how much of that toolbox you can actually fire in one wave. The studio's earlier description used "over 250 unique upgrades"; that is a different claim from 600 possible upgrades.

The official numbers, straight

How a build actually forms

1. Draw sigils → cast spells. Each spell is a shape you draw; a build is which shapes you can draw fast under pressure.
2. Level-ups feed upgrades. Between waves the game deals upgrade choices; official framing is "combine powerful upgrades to dominate the endless Tide."
3. Mana gates your best spells. Demo players report a mana limit that stops you from spamming the strongest sigils — "good prevention against learning only one sigil" (0.8h demo review). Mana management is a real axis of the run, not decoration.
4. Adapt every run. The developers' stated design: "every run, you must adapt your spells and upgrades around the hand fate deals you" (bywitchlight.com).

Upgrade behaviors demo players documented

These examples describe demo-era player reports:

• Kill-scaling stacks: upgrades of the form "+1% X per 100 enemies killed" appear; one player capped out around 15% in a full run (2.1h).
• Late-run power spike: upgrades make you "pretty OP at the end while the mobs still put up a good challenge" (3.0h).
• Tarot cards have upright/reverse variants; a demo player argued the reverse versions of Priestess and Empress currently outclass their upright forms (0.7h — a balance opinion, not a fact).
• Difficulty scaling is player-chosen: the official site lists 10+ optional challenges you toggle to make runs harder — the answer to "it gets too easy" requests seen in reviews.

What the 20 spells look like (demo-era examples)

The store still lists 20 without naming them all. Named by players in demo reviews and discussions: Fireball (two-stroke draw, easy to whiff), Chain Lightning (hardest shape per multiple players), Thunderstorm (so forgiving one line counts). Patch 1.0.3 added earnable spell scrolls explored from the hub — a new source of spells post-launch.

Balance changes from the launch patches

Patch 1.0.3 (September 26, 2026) is the first official rebalance — numbers here are from the announcement, not player reports:

• Exsanguinate area of effect reduced by 25%.
• Prismatic Gale no longer costs mana.
• Ink: base area increased slightly, scaling on Inky Area decreased.
• No more star-shaped shielded enemies.
• New spell scrolls are acquirable by exploring the hub.

Patch 1.0.2 (September 25) fixed the final sigil cost display and optimized the mana motes behind the biggest launch lag hitches. Announcements: Steam news.

Build planning checklist

• Favor spells whose sigils you can draw upright and fast — recognizer reliability beats raw numbers.
• Watch mana cost curves: cheap sigils clear trash, mana spells answer surges.
• If a run flops, check whether the kill-scaling upgrades were stacked early — they pay off only with volume.
• Endgame difficulty: enable official challenge modifiers instead of rerolling for a harder game.

Patch 1.1.1-1.1.2: the Spellbook, restored gems and rebuilt pylons

Two hotfixes after the 1.1.0 physics overhaul, and both touch upgrade planning:

• The Hub's Spellbook now lists every spell you have unlocked along with all of their upgrades (1.1.2). Use it as the checklist for what you still have to find instead of tracking sigils from memory.
• Missing Tier 2 and Tier 3 level-up gems are available again (1.1.1) — if a run felt short on upgrades before October 8, that was the gap.
• Mana Pylon and Explosive Pylon were reimplemented (1.1.2), so both are live to build around again.
• Extra crit damage is now tracked in damage results (1.1.1), and delay-based crits no longer apply after death (1.1.2) — crit stacking is readable in the post-run numbers now.
• Aura of Pain can no longer produce negative damage amp (1.1.1), and Piercing Solo was removed (1.1.1): if a build guide still lists it, treat that guide as pre-October.
• Omega Beam no longer applies crits twice (1.1.2), and its upgrades were made proper; Nihility Beam now matches Omega Beam's behaviour (1.1.1).
• Also 1.1.2: boss encounters are recorded properly in map select, room names were updated, and remaining text-overflow issues were fixed.

Patch 1.1.3-1.1.4: synergies buffed, chest rules and Mana Burn

Two more hotfixes landed after the Spellbook work — 1.1.3 (October 11) and 1.1.4 (October 15) — and for build planning the headline is a blanket buff:

• Every spell synergy was buffed in 1.1.4. The official line is "Buffed all spell synergies" — if a synergy felt flat the last time you tried it, that read is now out of date.
• Earthward Synergies got a dedicated fix (1.1.4), so an Earthward build that underperformed before mid-October may have been bugged rather than weak.
• Mana Burn now prevents mana regen (1.1.4), and its values were fixed in the same patch — if a build leans on Mana Burn, re-check it with regen out of the picture.
• Chest economy changed twice in 1.1.4: chests despawn after 5 minutes, and when no upgrades are available they now give mana and XP instead. Open chests on sight; leftover loot is on a timer.
• Emergency Extract can now be used before the boss (1.1.4) — no boss loot if you bail, but a bad run no longer has to be played out into the fight.
• 1.1.3 tightened casting: you can no longer use an ability while it is already active, revive grants i-frames, the first Leviathan has a new move, and Chicha's Reversed Aeon now shows its damage range.
• Fixes that touch spell output in 1.1.3: Purification Beam, the Disintegration ray, Cross Gale and Swift Gale amounts, Lightning Blast initialization, Milk's Universe tarot damage and bone spikes 2 and 3 — plus wrong damage-over-time effects, and a cap on the executioner beam that could cause crashes or lag spikes.

Patch 1.1.5: damage, targeting and performance

• Curse receives damage buffs correctly, and Rebuke's damage is fixed.
• Chicha's Overgrowth spawns properly. Check the current game before discarding that option because an earlier run produced no effect.
• Exsanguinate + Ink interaction is fixed, and Prismatic orbs reach their targets correctly.
• Spellblades and Ink were optimized. Wisp behavior no longer depends on FPS.

Official 1.1.5 changes. These fixes accompany the earlier 1.1.3 spell-synergy buffs above.

Keep browsing

All guides4

First run

The Magus Circle beginner guide

Core mechanic

How to draw spells in The Magus Circle

Hub & crew

Magus Mansion and the six mages

Settings

The Magus Circle accessibility and controls