Artificer's Assistant MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 3 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost1
RarityCommon
TypeCreature — Bird
Abilities Flying,Scry
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Scrying with every historic spell cast grants consistent deck filtration, offering a tactical advantage.
  2. Non-recurring advantages of similar cards contrast the recurring benefits of Artificer’s Assistant in game.
  3. Countering this card involves fast removal or disrupting historical spell synergy in your opponent’s deck.

Text of card

Flying Whenever you cast a historic spell, scry 1. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic. To scry 1, look at the top card of your library, then you may put that card on the bottom of your library.)


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Artificer’s Assistant offers a strategic edge by allowing you to scry whenever you cast a historic spell, helping you filter through your deck to find exactly what you need, when you need it. This kind of subtle yet impactful card selection contributes to a significant card quality advantage over the course of a game.

Resource Acceleration: While this friendly little flier might not directly produce additional mana or tokens, it does contribute to resource acceleration by ensuring smoother draws. By setting up your next draw, you ensure no mana is wasted on a less than stellar topdeck, effectively streamlining your plays and optimizing your resource usage turn by turn.

Instant Speed: Artificer’s Assistant adds value at instant speed indirectly by interacting favorably with historic spells including instants. Casting historic spells on an opponent’s turn not only nets the immediate advantage of the spell itself but also allows you to scry before your turn begins, giving you more control over your draw and subsequent play options. This utility makes the Assistant a versatile participant in any phase of the game.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Artificer’s Assistant may require you to keep a steady stream of historic spells flowing to fully utilize its scry ability, which can deplete your hand quickly if you’re not careful.

Specific Mana Cost: This card needs a single blue mana to cast, potentially limiting its presence to decks that can accommodate blue mana sources or that are focused on a blue strategy.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While costing only a single mana to cast, its initial impact on the game is low due to its minimal stats, and there are other one-drop creatures that can have an immediate effect on the board state.


Reasons to Include Artificer’s Assistant in Your Collection

Versatility: Artificer’s Assistant brings a fair amount of flexibility to any deck it’s part of. This card can easily find a home in numerous deck archetypes, particularly those revolving around artifacts or strategies that benefit from manipulating the top card of your deck.

Combo Potential: Thanks to its scry ability, this little flier can help set up the right draws to enable combos, and its low casting cost makes it a natural choice for decks looking to establish board presence early while setting up for larger plays.

Meta-Relevance: With a metagame that appreciates efficient one-drops and ways to filter draws, Artificer’s Assistant holds its own by allowing players to sift through their decks more effectively and ensure that their key pieces are drawn when needed.


How to beat

Artificer’s Assistant is a well-liked creature in Magic: The Gathering, known for its ability to scry, providing valuable deck filtration with each historic spell you play. When facing a deck utilizing this card, your strategy should focus on preventing the card’s scrying ability from overwhelming you with controlled draws. One approach could involve removing it quickly using cheap removal spells. Since Artificer’s Assistant is a one-toughness creature, spells like Shock or Fatal Push are highly efficient against it.

Another tactic is to limit the impact of historic spells, reducing the triggers that let your opponent scry. This could be achieved by using counter spells for key historic cards or employing graveyard disruption tools, which hinders their ability to recycle historic spells with effects from the graveyard. Suppressing the Assistant’s potential keeps the playing field even and reduces your opponent’s opportunities to set up their deck.

Ultimately, focusing on these strategic elements can shift the game to your favor. Mitigating the effectiveness of Artificer’s Assistant can dismantle an opponent’s planned sequence of plays, depriving them of the advantages this card usually offers in their MTG matches.


BurnMana Recommendations

Gleaning insight from each match is key for any avid MTG player. With Artificer’s Assistant’s scry ability, you gain a strategic edge, allowing for a fine-tuned approach to deck management that can be pivotal to victory. This blue creature’s synergy with historic spells helps create a smoother gameplay experience, providing card quality advantage and setting up crucial draws. Whether you’re honing a deck with artifacts or simply seeking a one-drop with potential for ongoing benefit, Artificer’s Assistant is worth consideration. Dive deeper with us into its utility, and optimize your play for your next MTG challenge.


Cards like Artificer's Assistant

Artificer’s Assistant offers a unique ability to survey the top card of your library any time you cast a historic spell—effects that often go underrated in the vast landscape of Magic the Gathering. When we look at cards like Sage Owl, the comparison begins to form; the Owl allows you to rearrange the top four cards of your library, but it’s a one-time effect on entry whereas the Assistant can potentially provide consistent advantage throughout the game.

Peering into other similar flyers, Faerie Seer stands out with its scry 2 ability when it enters the battlefield. This provides immediate but non-recurring value. In comparison, Artificer’s Assistant can repeatedly scry 1, fostering long-term strategic planning. Considering the mana cost, both cards occupy the same slot, but the potential for recurring value with Artificer’s Assistant is significant in decks brimming with artifacts, legendaries, and sagas.

While Sage Owl and Faerie Seer present singular benefits, the Assistant stretches its wings for ongoing deck manipulation. This subtle yet strategic influence can easily tip the scales in your favor across the duration of a match, particularly in artifact-centric builds where historical spells flourish.

Sage Owl - MTG Card versions
Faerie Seer - MTG Card versions
Sage Owl - Weatherlight (WTH)
Faerie Seer - Modern Horizons (MH1)

Cards similar to Artificer's Assistant by color, type and mana cost

Merfolk of the Pearl Trident - MTG Card versions
Flying Men - MTG Card versions
Shrieking Drake - MTG Card versions
Cloud Pirates - MTG Card versions
Rootwater Diver - MTG Card versions
Fledgling Osprey - MTG Card versions
Manta Riders - MTG Card versions
Faerie Squadron - MTG Card versions
Faerie Seer - MTG Card versions
Fugitive Wizard - MTG Card versions
Wandering Ones - MTG Card versions
Teardrop Kami - MTG Card versions
Dreamcatcher - MTG Card versions
Drifter il-Dal - MTG Card versions
Sage of Epityr - MTG Card versions
Screeching Sliver - MTG Card versions
Timebender - MTG Card versions
Cloud Sprite - MTG Card versions
Merrow Witsniper - MTG Card versions
Cursecatcher - MTG Card versions
Merfolk of the Pearl Trident - Seventh Edition (7ED)
Flying Men - Time Spiral Timeshifted (TSB)
Shrieking Drake - Media Inserts (PMEI)
Cloud Pirates - Portal (POR)
Rootwater Diver - Tempest (TMP)
Fledgling Osprey - Urza's Destiny (UDS)
Manta Riders - Battle Royale Box Set (BRB)
Faerie Squadron - Invasion (INV)
Faerie Seer - Jumpstart: Historic Horizons (J21)
Fugitive Wizard - Ninth Edition (9ED)
Wandering Ones - Champions of Kamigawa (CHK)
Teardrop Kami - Betrayers of Kamigawa (BOK)
Dreamcatcher - Saviors of Kamigawa (SOK)
Drifter il-Dal - Time Spiral (TSP)
Sage of Epityr - Time Spiral (TSP)
Screeching Sliver - Secret Lair Drop (SLD)
Timebender - Planar Chaos (PLC)
Cloud Sprite - Tenth Edition (10E)
Merrow Witsniper - Morningtide (MOR)
Cursecatcher - Shadowmoor (SHM)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Artificer's Assistant MTG card by a specific set like Dominaria and Mystery Booster, 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 Artificer's Assistant and other MTG cards:

Continue exploring other sealed products in Amazon
See Magic products

Printings

The Artificer's Assistant Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2018-04-27 and 2019-11-07. Illustrated by Chris Seaman.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12018-04-27DominariaDOM 442015normalblackChris Seaman
22019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 2912015normalblackChris Seaman
32020-09-26The ListPLST DOM-442015normalblackChris Seaman

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Artificer's Assistant has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
PaupercommanderLegal
OathbreakerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
CommanderLegal
ModernLegal
PauperLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
PennyLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Artificer's Assistant card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

DateText
2018-04-27 A card, spell, or permanent is historic if it has the legendary supertype, the artifact card type, or the Saga subtype. Having two of those qualities doesn’t make an object more historic than another or provide an additional bonus—an object either is historic or it isn’t.
2018-04-27 An ability that triggers “whenever you cast a historic spell” doesn’t trigger if a historic card is put onto the battlefield without being cast.
2018-04-27 Lands are never cast, so abilities that trigger “whenever you cast a historic spell” won’t trigger if you play a legendary land. They also won’t trigger if a card on the battlefield transforms into a legendary land, as the Ixalan and Rivals of Ixalan double-faced cards do.
2018-04-27 Some abilities trigger “whenever you cast a historic spell.” Such an ability resolves before the spell that caused it to trigger. It resolves even if that spell is countered.

Recent MTG decks

Continue exploring other format decks
More decks