Yes, magnetars are considerably more rare than black holes and considerably more interesting to study in terms of raw horsepower. Imagine a type-2 civilization using them as engines or launchers for spacecraft to zip around the galaxy.

the radiation from a magnetar exceeds any other star, overcoming that would seem implausible

still trying to wrap my mind around kilonovas (colliding neutron stars)

ie. they can pop out earth-sized chunks of gold, in theory, and since they aren't black holes that would be VISIBLE, albeit also "in theory" lol

* https://www.nasa.gov/image-article/unfolding-story-of-kilono...

maybe Roman can spot one someday, that would be something

> they can pop out earth-sized chunks of gold

The can produce Earth masses of gold, but of course not in the form of "chunks". The gold starts as atoms in a highly ionized gas and only much later cools enough to form solids (dust).