Fiend Artisan MTG Card


Card setsReleased in 5 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityMythic
TypeCreature — Nightmare
Power 1
Toughness 1

Key Takeaways

  1. Increases hand value by tutoring creatures directly, maintaining a full hand while progressing your board state.
  2. Fuels board presence acceleration by converting graveyard creatures into active, impactful game pieces.
  3. Instant-speed activation of Fiend Artisan ensures adaptability and strategic in-game responses.

Text of card

Fiend Artisan gets +1/+1 for each creature card in your graveyard. {B/G}, , Sacrifice another creature: Search your library for a creature card with mana value X or less, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle. Activate only as a sorcery.


Card Pros

Card Advantage: Fiend Artisan’s ability to tutor creatures directly onto the battlefield bypasses the need to draw them, ensuring your hand remains full while you deploy key pieces straight to the action.

Resource Acceleration: By leveraging the creatures you already have in your graveyard, Fiend Artisan turns otherwise spent resources into powerful game pieces, accelerating your board presence without depleting other resources.

Instant Speed: Fiend Artisan’s activation at instant speed means you maintain full flexibility, able to adapt your strategy dynamically in response to opponents’ moves by summoning the perfect creature in a pinch.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: For Fiend Artisan to truly shine, it requires a steady stream of creatures to fuel its ability. The need to constantly discard creature cards can become a burden if your hand or battlefield presence is already limited.

Specific Mana Cost: While hybrid mana offers flexibility, Fiend Artisan’s need for either black or green mana can restrict its insertion into more varied multicolor decks. This makes it less universal when deck building outside of Golgari themes.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: Deploying Fiend Artisan’s ability has a starting activation cost, scaling with each creature search. As the power level of the creature you wish to search increases, so does the mana you’ll need to invest. In fast-paced games, this can leave you trailing when your mana could be spent on direct threats or more immediate answers.


Reasons to Include in Your Collection

Versatility: Fiend Artisan’s ability to scale its power and toughness based on the creatures in your graveyard allows it to thrive in a variety of deck types, particularly those focused on graveyard strategies or creature-heavy builds.

Combo Potential: Its capability to tutor creatures directly onto the battlefield lends itself to numerous combo setups, enabling crafty players to fetch key pieces for winning the game or generating value with enter-the-battlefield effects.

Meta-Relevance: With constantly shifting metas, Fiend Artisan remains a potent tool against creature-light control decks and can also hold its own in creature-dense match-ups, making it a resilient choice in various competitive environments.


How to beat

Fiend Artisan, a powerhouse creature in Magic the Gathering, merges growing threat with toolbox versatility. This unique hybrid of Tarmogoyf and Birthing Pod often leaves opponents scrambling to find an effective countermeasure. Understanding how to neutralize its growing power and utility is crucial for any strategic player.

Addressing Fiend Artisan’s strengths requires a multi-pronged approach. First, consider the value of graveyard hate. With cards like Rest in Peace or Leyline of the Void, you systematically strip away the fuel that powers Fiend Artisan’s size. Efficient removal spells, especially those that exile, are critical—Swords to Plowshares, for instance, deals with the Artisan before it can affect the board state significantly.

Similarly, utilizing versatile counterspells or proactive creature elimination strategies can prevent Fiend Artisan from ever taking hold of the game. In a pinch, edict effects that force a player to sacrifice a creature circumvent Fiend Artisan’s often troublesome size and abilities. By ensuring you have these tools in your MTG arsenal, Fiend Artisan’s threat is significantly minimized, maintaining the pace and control of the match in your favor.


BurnMana Recommendations

MTG players seeking to optimize their gameplay should take note of the captivating capabilities of Fiend Artisan. This card dominates by transforming graveyard resources into on-the-battlefield advantages, propelling your strategy forward with its creature-tutoring dexterity. Embrace the challenge of mastering its resourceful prowess and incorporate it into graveyard-centric decks for a substantial power boost. If the articulate dance of strategy, resource management, and tactical advancements in Magic the Gathering intrigues you, don’t let the opportunity to harness Fiend Artisan’s potential slip by. Peruse our detailed insights and strategic guidance to refine your deck’s performance and navigate the metagame with confidence.


Cards like Fiend Artisan

Fiend Artisan, a unique powerhouse in the world of Magic: The Gathering, draws parallels to several other notable creatures. One such comparison is with Birthing Pod, a card renowned for its creature tutoring ability. Although Birthing Pod has a recurring activation cost that doesn’t involve sacrificing a creature, Fiend Artisan gains strength and toughness with every creature in your graveyard, becoming a considerable threat itself.

Another card that shares similarities with Fiend Artisan is Varolz, the Scar-Striped. Both cards flourish in the graveyard-centric strategy, though Varolz focuses on scavenging and thus provides a different approach to leveraging the creatures in the yard. While Fiend Artisan’s ability allows you to search for any creature in your deck, Varolz’s mechanics hinge on the creatures already in your graveyard.

It’s important to acknowledge the blend of tutor and power that Fiend Artisan offers, establishing it as a versatile and strategic creature in MTG decks emphasizing graveyard synergies. As such, Fiend Artisan is not just a component of your deck but can evolve into a game-ending force based on the deck’s built mechanics and graveyard utilizations.

Birthing Pod - MTG Card versions
Varolz, the Scar-Striped - MTG Card versions
Birthing Pod - New Phyrexia (NPH)
Varolz, the Scar-Striped - Dragon's Maze (DGM)

Cards similar to Fiend Artisan by color, type and mana cost

Llanowar Dead - MTG Card versions
Chevill, Bane of Monsters - MTG Card versions
Belbe, Corrupted Observer - MTG Card versions
Grim Flayer - MTG Card versions
Golgari Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Thelon of Havenwood - MTG Card versions
Darkheart Sliver - MTG Card versions
Blightsoil Druid - MTG Card versions
Woodlurker Mimic - MTG Card versions
Putrid Leech - MTG Card versions
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave - MTG Card versions
Korozda Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Lotleth Troll - MTG Card versions
Rakshasa Deathdealer - MTG Card versions
Archers' Parapet - MTG Card versions
Deathcap Cultivator - MTG Card versions
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons - MTG Card versions
Swarm Guildmage - MTG Card versions
Glowspore Shaman - MTG Card versions
Winding Constrictor - MTG Card versions
Llanowar Dead - Apocalypse (APC)
Chevill, Bane of Monsters - Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths (IKO)
Belbe, Corrupted Observer - Commander Legends (CMR)
Grim Flayer - Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)
Golgari Guildmage - Ravnica: Clue Edition (CLU)
Thelon of Havenwood - Time Spiral Remastered (TSR)
Darkheart Sliver - Time Spiral Remastered (TSR)
Blightsoil Druid - The List (PLST)
Woodlurker Mimic - Eventide (EVE)
Putrid Leech - Duel Decks: Jace vs. Vraska (DDM)
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)
Korozda Guildmage - GRN Guild Kit (GK1)
Lotleth Troll - Double Masters 2022 (2X2)
Rakshasa Deathdealer - Khans of Tarkir (KTK)
Archers' Parapet - Khans of Tarkir (KTK)
Deathcap Cultivator - Shadows over Innistrad Remastered (SIR)
Hapatra, Vizier of Poisons - Amonkhet Remastered (AKR)
Swarm Guildmage - Guilds of Ravnica (GRN)
Glowspore Shaman - Ravnica Remastered (RVR)
Winding Constrictor - Fallout (PIP)

Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Fiend Artisan MTG card by a specific set like Magic Online Promos and Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths Promos, 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 Fiend Artisan and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Fiend Artisan Magic the Gathering card was released in 3 different sets between 2020-04-24 and 2020-04-24. Illustrated by Yigit Koroglu.

#ReleaseNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12002-06-24Magic Online PromosPRM 808552015normalblackYigit Koroglu
22020-04-24Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths PromosPIKO 220p2015normalblackYigit Koroglu
32020-04-24Ikoria: Lair of BehemothsIKO 3502015normalblackYigit Koroglu
42020-04-24Ikoria: Lair of Behemoths PromosPIKO 220s2015normalblackYigit Koroglu
52020-04-24Ikoria: Lair of BehemothsIKO 2202015normalblackYigit Koroglu

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Fiend Artisan has restrictions

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

Rules and information

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

DateText
2020-04-17 Because damage remains marked on a creature until the damage is removed as the turn ends, nonlethal damage dealt to Fiend Artisan may become lethal if creature cards leave your graveyard during that turn.
2020-04-17 Fiend Artisan’s first ability applies only while it’s on the battlefield.
2020-04-17 If a card in a player’s library has in its mana cost, X is considered to be 0.

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