Argivian Blacksmith MTG Card

Antiquities (ATQ)
1994-03-04 - Number 2

Argivian Blacksmith - Masters Edition IV (ME4)

Masters Edition IV (ME4)
2011-01-10 - Number 4

Card sets	Released in 2 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost	3
Rarity	Common
Type	Creature — Human Artificer
Power	2
Toughness	2

Key Takeaways

Argivian Blacksmith offers vital artifact resilience, crucial for long-term board stability and utility in MTG.
Repairing at instant speed offers strategic depth, ensuring key artifacts survive to maintain gameplay momentum.
Despite its mana cost and white mana requirement, this card’s unique repair ability can enhance artifact strategies.

Text of card

Tap to prevent up to 2 damage to target artifact creature.

Through years of study and training, the Blacksmiths of Argive became adept at reassembling the mangled remains of the strange, mechanical creatures abounding in their native land.

Card Pros

Card Advantage: The Argivian Blacksmith offers utility for maintaining equipment and artifact-based strategies. While it may not draw cards directly, keeping pivotal artifacts in play effectively sustains your resources on the board, which can be critical in long matches.

Resource Acceleration: By consistently repairing key artifacts, this card ensures they remain operational to accelerate your game plan. The ongoing effect optimizes resource use and mitigates the need for replacements, allowing you to allocate mana elsewhere to develop your board presence.

Instant Speed: The repair ability functions at instant speed, providing flexibility to respond to threats during your opponent’s turn. This allows for strategic depth as you can choose the most opportune moment to preserve your artifacts, thus outmaneuvering hostile plays targeting your equipment.

Card Cons

Discard Requirement: Unlike other utility creatures, Argivian Blacksmith doesn’t necessitate a discard, lifting potential card disadvantage issues for players in game scenarios where hand size is pivotal.

Specific Mana Cost: The Argivian Blacksmith requires a committed splash of white mana, making it less flexible for multicolored decks that may strain to maintain a consistent mana base.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: With a need for three mana including one white, Argivian Blacksmith’s summoning cost is considerable against its ability to repair artifacts—a service that may be less than critical in fast-paced games or against decks not reliant on artifact strategies.

Reasons to Include Argivian Blacksmith in Your Collection

Versatility: Argivian Blacksmith can be a valuable resource in decks that emphasize artifact durability. Its ability to repair your artifacts each turn ensures they remain functional and battle-ready, contributing to the resilience of your board state.

Combo Potential: This card can synergize with strategies that revolve around artifacts with tap abilities. By repairing them consistently, it allows you to maximize the use of those artifacts with minimal disruption, creating opportunities for powerful interactions.

Meta-Relevance: In game environments where artifact-based decks are prevalent, the presence of the Argivian Blacksmith increases in importance, offering sustained utility that can maintain the tempo and effectiveness of your artifact-centric plays.

How to beat

The Argivian Blacksmith card presents an interesting dynamic in MTG with its ability to potentially fortify the longevity of your artifacts. This function echoes the essence of a preventative measure, sustaining your equipment in the long haul. Yet, even the most steadfast protector has its Achilles’ heel. The passive ability of the Blacksmith to repair damage is limited to artifacts with a fragility inherent to their existence. This restrictiveness leaves the door ajar for strategic plays.

Countering the Blacksmith’s boon demands a shift in our tactical approach. By targeting the artifacts themselves, instead of attempting to outlast the reparative prowess, we can disrupt our opponent’s defensive rhythm. Cards equipped with shatter effects that dismantle artifact constructs become pivotal, offering an avenue to bypass the Blacksmith’s guardianship. Direct creature removal spells also serve as an effective strategy to undermine the stabilizing force the Blacksmith contributes. Ultimately, when playing against Argivian Blacksmith, a proactive and precise elimination of key elements defines the pathway to victory.

Understanding the intricacies and limitations of the Argivian Blacksmith enables players to craft a plan to dismantle an opponent’s artifact-based fortresses. With the right mix of disruption and timing, the resilience of the Blacksmith can be effectively challenged, illustrating the balance and depth of strategy inherent in MTG.

Cards like Argivian Blacksmith

The Argivian Blacksmith card from the world of Magic the Gathering holds some interesting company among other artifact-centric options available to players. Much like its counterpart, Auriok Steelshaper, it has mechanics that center around buffing the effectiveness of artifacts, though the Blacksmith specifically focuses on repairing them. This unique ability to mend artifacts sets it apart from cards like Phyrexian Furnace or even its more direct parallel, Atog, which both interact with artifacts but neither offer the same maintenance perks.

We can also look at cards like Goblin Welder, which performs an exchange of artifacts between the graveyard and the battlefield, offering more dynamic interplay options. While the Blacksmith offers consistent artifact utility without the cost of sacrificing them, the Welder thrives on the perpetual churn of artifacts in and out of play. Additionally, another card to consider is Leonin Abunas, which grants your artifacts protection from opponents, establishing a defensive edge over the Argivian Blacksmith’s more proactive repair strategy.

In essence, while the Argivian Blacksmith offers a niche yet valuable service in maintaining the longevity of your artifacts, fellow MTG players have a variety of paths to choose from, whether they prioritize defense, synergy, or recycle potential in their artifact-heavy decks.

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Argivian Blacksmith MTG card by a specific set like Antiquities and Masters Edition IV, 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 Argivian Blacksmith and other MTG cards: