In our recent Review in TREE [1], we defined magic traits based on pleiotropy between divergent ecological adaptations and non-random mating. Haller et al. [2] imply doubt in the utility of this definition, concentrating their arguments on effect size (the contribution of a trait to the evolution of reproductive isolation, see [3]). They specifically make two points: (i) effect size is absent from the current definition of a magic trait; and (ii) magic traits of weak effect may be unimportant in speciation.