Welcome all to the Daily Dose of Core 2019. Today I’m going to be talking about some good old artifacts. You know, those colourless permanents that can fit in any deck we want.
Core 2019 has quite a few artifacts to choose from when making a deck. In Dominaria, historic cards, which include artifacts, were a huge part of the set. Seeing how all these new artifacts work with cards from Dominaria will be an ongoing theme in the months to come.
Although artifacts are versatile in that they can be played in any deck, they do often lack the power level to be played in a competitive Standard deck. Let’s see if any of these cards might appear in a Standard deck near you.
First off, I want to talk about a card that you'll want for your next Dragon deck. With Core 2019 bringing a ton of new Dragons to play with, this is one card that's sure to come in handy. Let's take a look at Dragon's Hoard.
If you look at this purely for its mana ability, it stacks up well. There have only been four other three-mana artifacts that come into play untapped and which can tap for any colour. Specifically, Chromatic Lantern, Darksteel Ingot, Manalith, and Vessel of Endless Rest. Manalith excluded, all of these cards also have another ability or trigger. One allows all of your lands to tap for any colour mana, one takes a card from a graveyard and puts it on the bottom of a library, and the other is indestructible. What none of them do, is provide card advantage.
In Limited, when you might only have one or two Dragons in your deck, Dragon's Hoard is still a great way to be able to play three colours. Occasionally, you’ll get some card draw from it as well. But if you do decide to build a deck around this card, you could be drawing an extra card for each creature you cast.
Next up is a weird artifact, in that it's oh so random, but still great. Here is Transmogrifying Wand:
I never thought I'd see a 2/4 Ox token, but here it is.
There are multiple ways that Transmogrifying Wand can give you an advantage. For example, if your early one or two-drop creature isn’t cutting it later in the game, you can use this to upgrade it into a 2/4. I think one of the best uses for this artifact is when your opponent controls a creature that's just too powerful for you to handle. This way you can make it a more reasonable size so you can more effectively deal with it. This is also great if you ever happen to steal your opponent’s creatures until end of turn.
Finally, I want to talk about one of the coolest card designs I’ve seen in a while. This artifact lets gives you the chance to use your opponent's best spells against them. Here is Chaos Wand:
When I see this card, I wonder if I would be okay spending four mana a turn to draw a card. It's an average ability, but it still generates some card advantage.
With Chaos Wand, you get to cast an extra spell for free each turn (unless of course your opponent’s deck is null and void of any instants and sorceries). How about casting a Lightning Strike or Abrade against Mono-Red? You can even use their own counterspell against them when playing against a Control deck. Use your opponent's Fumigate to empty the battlefield. Or how about casting their own Approach of the Second Sun before they can cast it to win the game?
True, there is some randomness to what card you get, but against some decks you'll know more often than not what you'll get.
I think this is a great tool for control decks. The mana cost is high, but come on. Casting your opponents’ own spells against them is on my to do list for Core 2019.
Yesterday I talked about cards that want you to play artifacts, and today I looked at some great artifacts that you’ll want to play. Personally, I think Chaos Wand has the greatest chance to see play in Standard, but you never know what kind of crazy Dragon deck could show up
Thanks again for reading the Daily Dose of Core 2019. Join me again tomorrow as I investigate the power of four or more!
