Warlord's Axe MTG Card

Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Uncommon
Type	Artifact — Equipment
Abilities	Equip
Released	2010-07-16
Set symbol
Set name	Magic 2011
Set code	M11
Number	220
Frame	2003
Layout	Normal
Border	Black
Illustred by	Franz Vohwinkel

Key Takeaways

Gives creatures significant power, enhancing their battlefield impact and supporting Voltron strategies.
Investment in specific mana cost and equip fee may limit inclusion in diverse deck archetypes.
Effective in creature-centric metas, it’s comparable to other equipment like Trusty Machete and Ancestral Blade.

Text of card

Equipped creature gets +3/+1. Equip (: Attach to target creature you control. Equip only as a sorcery.)

To split wood with it would be sacrilege. This tool has but one purpose, and that is war.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: While Warlord’s Axe itself does not directly allow you to draw cards, it does equip your creatures to become more formidable, potentially dissuading opponents from blocking or attacking, which could indirectly lead to drawing out the game longer and thus drawing more cards over time.

Resource Acceleration: This artifact doesn’t provide direct mana acceleration; however, it enables smaller creatures to have a larger impact without additional mana investment each turn, effectively accelerating your board presence.

Instant Speed: While Warlord’s Axe is not an instant, its equip ability can be activated at instant speed, giving you the flexibility to adjust your strategy during your opponent’s turn or in response to their actions, keeping them guessing and potentially misallocating their resources.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Warlord’s Axe doesn’t directly ask you to discard cards, having equipment in your deck means you might have to forego other valuable cards that could be essential in tight situations. Deck building often requires difficult decisions on what to include, and the inclusion of Warlord’s Axe may risk leaving out cards that better support your overall strategy.

Specific Mana Cost: Warlord’s Axe demands a particular mana investment to cast and equip. This specific mana cost can be cumbersome for decks that aren’t heavily skewed towards the colorless mana required, potentially limiting the card’s versatility and ease of incorporation into a diverse range of deck archetypes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: The cost associated with Warlord’s Axe is quite steep when you consider both casting and equipping expenditures. This can slow your game down, especially when there are alternative equipment cards available that might attach for less mana or provide a stronger impact on the game for a similar or even lower cost.

Reasons to Include Warlord’s Axe in Your Collection

Versatility: Warlord’s Axe is a flexible equipment card that can give any creature a significant boost in power and toughness. It’s a solid addition to decks that need to enhance their creatures’ battlefield presence.

Combo Potential: Coupled with creatures that have tap or power-based abilities, Warlord’s Axe can amplify those effects, making for potentially game-changing combos. It supports strategies centered around Voltron (enhancing a single creature) or artifact synergy.

Meta-Relevance: In a meta where creature-based tactics prevail, boosting your creatures’ size can be critical. Warlord’s Axe can help your creatures outclass your opponents’, making it a worthy tool in creature-heavy decks that aim to dominate the board.

How to Beat Warlord’s Axe

Warlord’s Axe provides a significant power boost in Magic: The Gathering, equipping creatures with a +3/+1 advantage. To tackle opponents wielding this artifact, consider strategies that bypass combat. Enchantment-based removal such as Pacifism restricts the enhanced creature’s ability to attack or block, effectively nullifying the advantage granted by Warlord’s Axe. Additionally, focus on a deck with efficient creature destruction or exile spells, which can deal with the equipped creature regardless of its size.

Playing evasive creatures that can soar above ground forces is another effective method to outmaneuver an opponent relying on Warlord’s Axe. For instance, creatures with flying remain unreachable by most axe-bearing ground soldiers, creating an opportunity for continuous damage that the opponent can’t easily retaliate against. Lastly, prioritize cards that can destroy or take control of artifacts directly, such as Naturalize or Shatter, to remove Warlord’s Axe from the equation, crippling the artifact-centric strategy your opponent may be employing.

By adapting your tactics and incorporating answers to artifact threats, you can overcome the raw strength of Warlord’s Axe and maintain control of the battlefield.

Cards like Warlord's Axe

Warlord’s Axe is a notable equipment in Magic: The Gathering that grants a significant power and toughness boost to creatures it equips. Comparatively, there’s Trusty Machete, which also provides a smaller bump to both power and toughness. Trusty Machete stands out due to its lower cost to cast and equip, offering a quicker impact on the battlefield. However, it lacks the higher stats boost that Warlord’s Axe delivers.

Another parallel can be drawn with the card Ancestral Blade. When Ancestral Blade enters the battlefield, it creates a 1/1 Soldier token and then equips to it. This makes it a two-in-one solution for providing a creature and boosting stats, albeit with a more modest increase than Warlord’s Axe offers. Additionally, Vulshok Battlegear offers no additional effects but carries a weightier stat boost than Warlord’s Axe, which could make it a superior choice in decks that prioritize higher power.

Assessing these options alongside Warlord’s Axe, players can gauge the trade-offs between casting costs, equipment costs, and the overall added benefits to their creatures on the field. Warlord’s Axe proves to be a reliable contender when utility and significant power increase are top priorities for a player’s strategy.

Cards similar to Warlord's Axe by color, type and mana cost

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Sword of Feast and Famine - MTG Card versions

Guardians of Meletis - MTG Card versions

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Warlord's Axe MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2011, 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 Warlord's Axe and other MTG cards: