Ensoul Artifact MTG Card

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ensoul Artifact transforms any cheap or incidental artifact into a formidable 5/5 creature, effectively using one card to exert considerable pressure on your opponent. This move can swing the board state in your favor without sacrificing card resources.

Resource Acceleration: When used on a mana-producing artifact, Ensoul Artifact can turn it into a dual-purpose asset. Not only do you gain a potent attacker or blocker, but if the artifact produced mana before, it still can, though it may not be able to tap the same turn it’s been ensouled.

Instant Speed: While Ensoul Artifact is not an instant itself, it can instantly change the dynamics of the game. Casting it early can catch an opponent off guard, turning an unassuming artifact into an aggressive threat that needs an immediate answer.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Ensoul Artifact can turn even the most innocuous of objects into a mighty threat, it does ask a significant price in deck building. Binding your deck’s success to artifacts means when you’re without one to ensoul, the card can become a dead draw.

Specific Mana Cost: With its specific mana cost allocation (one blue and one generic mana), Ensoul Artifact dictates that your deck leans into blue. This may squeeze deck diversity and potentially restrict the card to artifact-heavy or blue-focused strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While not excessive, the two-mana cost of Ensoul Artifact does leave something to be desired when compared to the pool of one-mana enchantments or creatures it must compete against. At this price point, the speed of your gameplay may take a hit, especially considering you’re often aiming to cast it early to press an advantage.

Reasons to Include Ensoul Artifact in Your Collection

Versatility: Ensoul Artifact offers a dynamic option for any deck that leverages artifacts. It turns even the most unassuming artifact into a significant threat, granting flexibility in how you utilize your resources on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: This card can be the linchpin in powerful synergies, especially in a deck full of artifacts. Upgrading a simple artifact to a 5/5 creature can be a surprise turning point in many games, unlocking new lines of play.

Meta-Relevance: With decks centered around artifacts always ebbing and flowing in popularity, Ensoul Artifact remains a relevant choice. It can catch opponents off guard and transforms artifacts already on the field into formidable creatures, adapting well to various meta shifts.

How to Beat Ensoul Artifact

Ensoul Artifact transforms an inanimate object into a formidable threat, instantly turning any artifact on the battlefield into a 5/5 creature. To effectively overcome this strategy, one must be prepared for abrupt shifts in the power dynamics on the board. The use of removal spells that can specifically target artifacts like Abrade or Nature’s Claim can dismantle an Ensoul Artifact-enhanced object before it becomes a significant problem. Single-target removal that doesn’t discriminate based on card type, such as Path to Exile or Fatal Push, is equally effective.

Bouncing the artifact back to its owner’s hand with spells like Cyclonic Rift or Brazen Borrower ensures that the enchantment fizzles without a target, wasting your opponent’s resources. Counter-magic, preventive measures, and even enchantment removal like Disenchant are excellent tools to keep the threat at bay. Maximizing your resilience and ensuring you have answers in your deck to unexpected enhanced artifacts can secure you the edge you need to beat Ensoul Artifact and keep your opponent’s artifacts just that—at rest.