Crossword Genius

Even without Al, it would still be wonderful (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

magical

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'wonderful' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'even without al it would still' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'al' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'magic' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'be' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for magical that I've seen before include "Fascinating - occult" , "Mysterious, enchanting" , "Bewitching" , "Enchanting or spell-binding" , "miraculous!" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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