Artisan of Kozilek MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: When summoning Artisan of Kozilek, you harness a powerful ability to retrieve a creature card from your graveyard to the battlefield. This not only strengthens your board presence but also potentially swings the game by reanimating high-value targets without paying their mana cost.

Resource Acceleration: With its formidable might, Artisan of Kozilek can be a game-ender in its own right. Though its casting cost is steep, the presence of this behemoth provides an innate deterrent, pressuring opponents to deal with it swiftly or face overwhelming defeat. Additionally, include this card in decks that ease the mana burden through resource acceleration tactics, such as Urza’s Incubator or Eldrazi Temple, to deploy it ahead of the curve.

Instant Speed: While Artisan of Kozilek does not operate at instant speed, its Annihilator ability triggers upon attacking, forcing your opponent to sacrifice a number of permanents, which can be devastating during their upkeep or before their draw phase. This can create immediate ripple effects in your favor, disrupting opponents’ strategies and tipping the scales with a profound impact on the board state.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Being an Eldrazi, Artisan of Kozilek demands a significant number of resources to play, which might entail sacrificing precious cards or other resources to make room on the board or in your mana pool.

Specific Mana Cost: This card requires a substantial colorless mana investment, which can be restrictive for decks not heavily invested in producing large amounts of generic mana.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a cost of nine mana to cast, Artisan of Kozilek can be a challenging card to play early or even mid-game, often requiring an entire turn’s resources or specific ramp strategies.

Reasons to Include Artisan of Kozilek in Your Collection

Versatility: Artisan of Kozilek’s presence in a deck may not only act as a solid late-game threat but also brings the utility of recurring any creature from the graveyard when it’s cast. This added dimension can significantly change the board state, regardless of the deck archetype you’re running.

Combo Potential: This Eldrazi giant leans heavily into the combo potential, pairing seamlessly with cards that facilitate cheating creatures onto the battlefield or generate extensive mana to cast it outright. The Annihilator mechanic—forcing opponents to sacrifice permanents—works wonders with numerous strategies emphasizing board control and attrition.

Meta-Relevance: In Commander and other eternal formats where games may extend into longer battles, Artisan of Kozilek shines. Its relevance ticks up as the meta-game shifts to include bulky creatures and more control-based strategies where an impactful late-game card makes a definitive difference.

How to beat

The Artisan of Kozilek is a daunting presence on the battlefield in Magic: The Gathering. With its massive body and the ability to bring back a creature from your graveyard when cast, this powerhouse can certainly turn the tables. However, there are effective strategies to keep this behemoth in check. One traditional approach is countering it upon casting. Since it’s a creature with a high mana cost, spells like Essence Scatter can work wonders without putting a dent in your mana pool.

Another tactic is to employ exile removal cards, such as Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares, which can bypass the Artisan’s graveyard reanimation ability. Additionally, board wipes like Wrath of God or Damnation ensure that even if the Artisan has entered the battlefield, it can be swiftly removed along with other threats. Always keeping mana open for these responses when your opponent reaches the late game mana needed for Artisan could be the difference between victory and defeat.

Ultimately, planning ahead and reserving the necessary answers for when the Artisan makes its move is key to overcoming this colossal force. Resilience and thoughtful play will guide you to success against the might of the Artisan of Kozilek.

BurnMana Recommendations

Revving up your MTG arsenal with a card like Artisan of Kozilek can swing the momentum of any match. With its reanimation ability and the disruptive power of Annihilator, this Eldrazi titan presents more than just a colossal force on the battlefield—it offers strategic depth to your late-game. Adapting your deck to welcome such a behemoth could signal the birth of a new tactical dynasty. Keen to unearth more insights on integrating this powerhouse into your deck, or finding cunning ways to maneuver around it? Delve deeper into our cache of game-changing content that empowers players like you to conquer the tables with flair.