Ingenious Smith MTG Card
| Mana cost | |
| Converted mana cost | 2 |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Type | Creature — Human Artificer |
| Released | 2021-07-23 |
| Set symbol | |
| Set name | Adventures in the Forgotten Realms |
| Set code | AFR |
| Power | 1 |
| Toughness | 1 |
| Number | 21 |
| Frame | 2015 |
| Layout | Normal |
| Border | Black |
| Illustred by | Nicholas Elias |
Key Takeaways
- Ingenious Smith enhances deck quality by revealing artifacts, which fuels its power growth.
- Not directly a mana accelerator, but synergizes with artifacts that can enhance resources.
- Works well with instant-speed artifacts to create surprise battlefield threats.
Text of card
When Ingenious Smith enters the battlefield, look at the top four cards of your library. You may reveal an artifact card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order. Whenever one or more artifacts enter the battlefield under your control, put a +1/+1 counter on Ingenious Smith. This ability triggers only once each turn.
Card Pros
Card Advantage: An essential aspect of Ingenious Smith is its ability to enhance card quality on the battlefield. Each artifact you play triggers its ability, often digging deeper into your deck for more artifacts. This not only gives you access to an impressive pool of artifact cards but also steadily grows your arsenal over the course of the game.
Resource Acceleration: While not directly a resource accelerator, Ingenious Smith aids in pulling out critical artifacts from your deck that may accelerate your mana or provide other resources. Its repeated scry ability ensures that you’re more likely to draw into cards that boost your resource development in subsequent turns.
Instant Speed: Although Ingenious Smith operates at sorcery speed, it synergizes incredibly well with instant-speed artifacts. This allows you to keep up the pressure and adaptability, springing artifacts when most advantageous and potentially strengthening the Smith out of sight, turning their next attack into an unexpected threat.
Card Cons
Discard Requirement: While Ingenious Smith offers a potentially powerful ability to grow stronger with artifact synergies, each use requires you to discard a card. This effect may force players to deplete valuable hand resources, making it a double-edged sword, especially in situations where maintaining card advantage is crucial.
Specific Mana Cost: Ingenious Smith demands a particularly colored mana investment to be part of your deck. This requirement could possibly restrict its inclusion only to those decks that run white mana and align with an artifacts strategy, therefore limiting its flexibility in deck building.
Comparatively High Mana Cost: For what it offers, the mana cost of Ingenious Smith can be seen as relatively expensive. When compared to other two-cost creatures within the format, the initial impact of Ingenious Smith might not align with the immediate board presence players often seek; thus, it can be less attractive for fast-paced or aggressive strategies.
Reasons to Include Ingenious Smith in Your Collection
Versatility: Ingenious Smith shines in any deck that capitalizes on artifacts. As a low-cost creature, it fits well into aggressive openings while also scaling its power as the game progresses and more artifacts enter the field.
Combo Potential: With each artifact you play, Ingenious Smith’s ability to rummage through your deck increases, enabling you to find key artifacts for your strategy. This not only improves consistency but also sets up powerful plays by assembling combo pieces more effectively.
Meta-Relevance: Given the ever-present role that artifacts play in MTG, Ingenious Smith proves to be a relevant choice across various formats. It can adjust to diverse metagames by either becoming a significant threat or by acting as an enabler for artifact-centric synergies, making it a valuable card in competitive circles.
How to beat
Ingenious Smith is a white Human Artificer creature that shines in artifact-centric decks in Magic: The Gathering. As the Smith enters the battlefield or whenever you cast an artifact spell, you peek at the top four cards of your library and may reveal an artifact card from among them, increasing its potential. The card fits snugly into any deck looking to churn out artifacts and grow its attackers.
Overcoming a card like Ingenious Smith involves disrupting artifact synergy, with options like artifact removal spells including Disenchant or Abrade. Targeted removal like Fatal Push can take out the Smith before its power grows too large. It’s also important to deny your opponent the chance to capitalize on its ability by preventing them from casting artifacts altogether using cards like Stony Silence. When playing against Ingenious Smith, ensuring you are prepared to dismantle the artifacts strategy with efficient removal is key to nullifying this crafty artificer’s advantage.
To sum up, Ingenious Smith could be a formidable opponent but by employing effective removal and disrupting artifact mechanics, you can substantially weaken or eliminate the Smith’s presence on the battlefield, tipping the game in your favor.
Cards like Ingenious Smith
Ingenious Smith is an intriguing piece in the collection of creature cards in Magic: The Gathering, exhibiting a noteworthy parallel with other artifact synergy creatures. Notably, it shares a kinship with cards like Toolcraft Exemplar which enhances its power based on artifact presence. Yet the Smith’s unique ability to search for artifacts upon casting or when an artifact enters the battlefield under your control lends it a distinct appeal in deck building.
The Smith is also akin to Emry, Lurker of the Loch in terms of utilizing artifacts for an advantage, but Emry emphasizes returning artifacts from the graveyard to the battlefield, while Ingenious Smith focuses on bolstering its own strength and replenishing your hand with artifacts. Another relative in this category is Stoneforge Mystic, a powerful card that fetches equipment cards directly into play, which can be considered more efficient in specific strategies compared to the gradual build-up offered by the Smith’s development during your upkeep.
Each of these cards serves a unique role within artifact-centric decks, but Ingenious Smith holds its own with its gradual value growth and potential for deck thinning, positioning it as an attractive option for players aiming to craft a synergistic artifact-based strategy.
Cards similar to Ingenious Smith by color, type and mana cost
Where to buy
If you're looking to purchase Ingenious Smith MTG card by a specific set like Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.
For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.
Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.
Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Ingenious Smith and other MTG cards:
- eBay
- TCG Player
- Card Kingdom
- Card Market
- Star City Games
- CoolStuffInc
- MTG Mint Card
- Hareruya
- Troll and Toad
- ABU Games
- Card Hoarder Magic Online
- MTGO Traders Magic Online
See MTG Products
Legalities
Magic the Gathering formats where Ingenious Smith has restrictions
| Format | Legality |
|---|---|
| Historicbrawl | Legal |
| Historic | Legal |
| Legacy | Legal |
| Paupercommander | Restricted |
| Oathbreaker | Legal |
| Gladiator | Legal |
| Pioneer | Legal |
| Commander | Legal |
| Modern | Legal |
| Vintage | Legal |
| Duel | Legal |
| Explorer | Legal |
| Timeless | Legal |
