by Dan Kramer
Done with the colored cards of the set, Dan Kramer now turns his attention to the main color or non-color of Scars: Artifacts!
Hear ye hear ye! Extra extra, read all about it… Dan Kramer finally finishes his Scars of Mirrodin Set Review!
Since the coloured editions nearly knocked our site offline with the traffic caused by the enormous amount of comments on them (I know you guys are reading, say something!), I’ve decided to switch up the format on you for this last piece.
So instead of giving you a rating for every card in the set, I’ve compiled a few Top 5 lists for looking at the artifacts for limited play. Simple things to keep in mind – some more obvious than others – with the Scars Limited PTQ and GP season coming up!
TOP 5 RARES / MYTHICS
1) Contagion Engine
Remove your Myrs, slowly (or not so slowly) but surely kill the rest of your team… and oh yeah, finish you if you’ve been infected. Certainly better in poison, but a nutty engine indeed whatever you may be drafting.
2) Molten-Tail Masticore
This guy would be good but *somewhat* fair if he couldn’t dome your opponent. With the ability to end games that quickly, however, he’s completely nutty. Plus about half of the removal for him fails due to his regeneration.
3) Wurmcoil Engine
For some reason, this card reminds me of Spiritmonger. I don’t really know what it is… I guess an undercosted 6/6 that is difficult to deal with… But in any case, a huge bomb, of course. 12 point lifeswinging body is huge.
4) Steel Hellkite
See: Flameblast Dragon. Sort of. One hit and a Vindicate should be enough of a game swing to end it in your favour most of the time. Big flyer who must be dealt with immediately sounds good to me.
5) Darksteel Juggernaut
I may have this guy a little too high, but I just really like the flavour here. And when he hits play, he’s coming to get you. And there is little you can do about it!
HONOURABLE MENTIONS (because there are more than 5 bombs…): Myr Battlesphere, Mindslaver, Sword of Body and Mind, Platinum Emperion, Argentum Armor, Lux Cannon
TOP 5 UNCOMMONS
1) Darksteel Axe
Bonesplitter was awesome, and adding a mana per equip to make it Shatter proof keeps it awesome. Plus this is Trinket Mageable, and gets your Bloodshot Trainee online. Oh and metalcraft likes indestructible artifacts. Nice card.
2) Golem Artisan
When I first started playing Magic, Flowstone Sculpture was one of my favourite cards. This guy pays nice homage to him in either being a formidable threat himself, or making any and all your other guys really tough to block.
3) Trigon of Thought
Mmmm card draw. Comparable to Blue Honden, which is saying a lot.
4) Trigon of Corruption
Really nice synergy with Proliferate by both doubling the counters and mitigating the counter removal. There are lots of X/1s running around, so this thing can also be major card advantage.
5) Contagion Clasp
Simple but effective, again thanks to the prevalence of X/1s. Nothing wrong with dropping this on turn 2 to take out a Myr.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS: Darksteel Sentinel, Rusted Relic
TOP 5 COMMONS
1) Sylvok Replica
Red and White got the common Shatter effects, so green’s comes in the form of this guy. Enough of a body to have some presence, and really cheap activation cost make him a high pick.
2) Glint Hawk Idol
I don’t recommend playing this guy in non-White decks unless you have a really high artifact count metalcraft-based deck. But if you are playing White, this is a cheap and super efficient flyer. I also really like its constructed potential, but I’ll leave that to someone else to talk about and stick with the area I know best!
3) Origin Spellbomb
I have this as the top Spellbomb narrowly ahead of the green one because it’s a metalcraft enabler. It may look like just an Elvish Visionary, but the cantripping 1/1 being an artifact makes all the difference.
4) Horizon Spellbomb
Love me some decent manafixing. This card is not unlike Cultivate, even though it doesn’t accel you. There are some awkward mana costs in the format, even in 2 colour decks, so between that and being a cheap to cast artifact, this is a card you want.
5) Moriok Replica
This would be #1 or 2 if damage still stacked, but you can’t scoff at reasonable card draw either way. There are times where it’s a tough call whether to keep him in play or dig for something better, so use your best judgment based on his board impact vs. your potential best and worst cases.
HONOURABLE MENTION: Tumble Magnet
TOP 5 UNDERRATED
1) Mimic Vat
These cards are not rated best to worst, but rather what I feel are most underrated to least. Honestly, I could have almost put this in the Honourable Mentions for best artifact rares in the set. Absurd with the Replicas and really most comes into play effect guys, don’t forget you can use Vat at the end of your opponent’s turn, and then attack with the token on yours. Try this card. You won’t be disappointed. Pick early.
2) Rust Tick
I see players leaving this in sideboards, but I don’t really get it. Sure, you may not always have the juiciest target, but it will lock something down, and otherwise be a 1/3 dude for 3 mana. He’s annoying as, well… a tick! Should always be maindecked in sealed, and much of the time in draft, depending on the direction of your deck.
3) Saberclaw Golem
Four power and first strike is quite good, especially with a toughness greater than 1. There are very few non-rare guys who survive a tangle with him sans tricks. And silly rabbit, tricks are for kids.
4) Necropede
This card is low on the list, cause I think people realize it’s decent, but it’s actually very good. 2 -1/-1 counters for 2 mana make it maindeck material even in non-poison decks (so long as they’re not super aggro in nature). Keep in mind he doesn’t have Festering Goblin’s weakness: his leaves play ability is a *may*, so you’re safe to play out another X/1 even if your opponent’s board is empty.
5) Infiltration Lens
I haven’t played this card enough to confirm it’s great, but I have been pleasantly surprised. It is a nice addition to poison decks, as it is very cheap to play and move around, and nearly makes a guy unblockable. Better than it seems at first.
TOP 5 OVERRATED
1) Darksteel Myr
Indestructible is a great ability, and had they given this guy 1 power, he’d be alright. But a 0/1 for 3 in a set full of -1/-1 counters that kill him just won’t cut it.
2) Golem Foundry
This card requires too much work to be effective, as it will rarely make more than 1 guy. Might be playable in certain decks, but don’t be misled by the allure of a 3/3 for 3. It’s too slow for the most part.
3) Memnite
1/1s for 1 are not good, and being a 1/1 for 0 doesn’t really make him any better. So unless you’re very aggressive with Glint Hawks, Trinket Mages, and metalcraft up the wazoo, Memnite is not worth it in limited.
4) Necrogen Censer
I’ve always liked Lava Axe, and this card has some similarities to it, but that doesn’t mean it goes in every deck. There are a few builds that should run this card (the aforementioned very aggressive metalcraft-based ones), but if that’s not what you’ve got, leave this one out.
5) Etched Champion
A bit of a controversial pick here, as I’m not saying this card is bad. But it’s no bomb either with average stats as a 2/2 for 3. Difficult to remove, sure, but everyone has artifact guys that negates in part his combat benefits. A decent card that will make the cut, but no snap first pick.
Those would be my takes in my thus far limited (no pun intended) experience with the set. How do you guys feel about it?
I hope to start drafting a whole lot more in the next week or so to get ready for Grand Prix Toronto! Only a couple of weeks away, and hope to see you all there!
D.K.
Kar Yung Tom (KYT) is the Digital Content Manager for Face to Face Games. He oversees the F2FTour.com and Magic F2F websites. He is also the lead host of the First Strike podcast.