Top 10 Artifacts EDH

It's an essential piece of combos that let decks go infinite, it lets one get extra value out of (non-artifact) permanents with EtB triggers, allows extra taps of of lands like Gaea's Cradle MTG Card: Gaea's Cradle and Cabal Coffers MTG Card: Cabal Coffers , etc... Not every build can abuse the card to its max potential, but I could say the same about other great cards, such as Mimic Vat MTG Card: Mimic Vat and Rings of Brighthearth MTG Card: Rings of Brighthearth . A definite honorable mention.

February 14, 2012 9:27 a.m.

The_Murderauder says... #10

Who actually has a Mana Crypt MTG Card: Mana Crypt ? Pfft. That being said, I think these are pretty good lists.

February 16, 2012 10:48 p.m.

moz.the.blessed says... #11

never forget Darksteel Ingot MTG Card: Darksteel Ingot

February 23, 2012 11:59 a.m.

The_Murderauder says... #12

Yeah, Darksteel Ingot MTG Card: Darksteel Ingot and Mind Stone MTG Card: Mind Stone seem to show up in a lot of EDH decks.

February 23, 2012 5:27 p.m.

ryukeifa says... #13

Darksteel Ingot??

It is better to increase Land-Card.

February 23, 2012 10:23 p.m.

hunter9000 says... #14

A lot of EDH decks have 3 or more colors, so something that can create any color can be much better than a land that only produces 1 or 2 colors.

February 23, 2012 11:34 p.m.

StlwllAngl says... #15

I agree with hunter9000. Having enough land is super-crucial, but accelerators/color fixers like Darksteel Ingot MTG Card: Darksteel Ingot and/or Coalition Relic MTG Card: Coalition Relic is a huge boon to most builds. Lands generally come in to play at the rate of 1 per turn, per player (of course, there are ways around this rule.) Mana rocks speed up this mana development, getting you into the mid-late game sooner, while fixing colors at the same time.

February 25, 2012 9:02 a.m.

Flameingo_Fancypants says... #16

Not a single person said Black Lotus ....I'm disappointed.

May 28, 2013 6:38 a.m.

hunter9000 says... #17

Because it's banned in the format we're talking about.

May 28, 2013 8:02 a.m.

gufymike says... #18

What gets me is if Lightning Greaves is in this list, why isn't Swiftfoot Boots also? sure it's 1 to equip vs 0 for the greaves, but I'll take hexproof over shroud anyday, in short I think they are evenly matched.

May 28, 2013 8:18 a.m.

hunter9000 says... #19

That 1 mana can make a huge difference in a lot of decks. Being able to give creatures haste for free vs. having to pay 1 mana means you have 1 extra mana open to play the cards you draw with Arcanis the Omnipotent on the turn you play him. It means swinging with Zur the Enchanter on turn 4 instead of turn 5.

May 28, 2013 8:56 a.m.

gufymike says... #20

hunter9000 if you're playing that slow (without the mana rocks mentioned in this article), I can see it, but for the most part, the majority of decks I do see have the rocks and mana acceleration to make that turn 3/4 instead of 4/5. eg, turn swamp, sol ring, play boots, turn 2 plains, turn 3 island, cast zur equip using sol ring, swamp, plains and island, swing. if you're stuck without a rock, turn 1 or 2 tutor for the sol ring (if in hand), and if you're stuck without these, dark ritual is there to make the difference. Way too much ramp available to not make 1 that much of a big deal. Granted there are times when you can't get this to happen, but that's magic.

May 28, 2013 9:35 a.m.

hunter9000 says... #21

That's not my point, Swiftfoot Boots costs one more than Lightning Greaves no matter how much ramp you have. Zur god hands don't change that. I have a Omnath ramp deck that has lots of mana elves, and being able to tap them all for mana the turn they come out without having to pay an extra mana is a big benefit. I'm not saying Swiftfoot is bad, I have them both in that deck, but that extra edge is important in enough situations that people generally prefer Greaves.

May 28, 2013 7:42 p.m.

gufymike says... #22

My point is the one is negligeable and shroud vs hexproof makes that 1 difference worth it. with shroud, I can't buff anything with my spells and hexproof I could (provided I control the creature in question). I think that makes them equal value.

May 28, 2013 7:56 p.m.

guessling says... #23

I think the best cards are things like Howling Mine that give everyone more cards to play with and make the game fun. I played a game once where 3 or 4 people got their howling mine out. It was awesome!

I think the protection cards like Lightning Greaves are only really critically important if you are building a lot around your commander.

Because of the popularity of board-wipes, I would add Darksteel Plate to the list.

The fancy swords only matter if you have enough evasion to hit your opponent in the first place (i.e. flying, unblockable, landwalk, trample, fear, etc.).

Ramping artifacts like Mana Vault and Doubling Cube matter more in specific situations such as how many colors you have, can you get a large mana-base to start with so that paying to double it pays off, are you playing green (i.e. could the slots be better used for something else like just getting more basic lands out there), do you have anything that is worth the one-time boost from mana vault (i.e. does your commander have at least 3 uncolored mana in its cmc), etc.

In addition to Mimic Vat , I would like to give a shout out to Prototype Portal and Soul Foundry which make it possible to have multiple copies of any card for any color - a thing that usually isn't supposed to happen in EDH but can be fun when it does.

May 28, 2013 8:01 p.m.

djd2488 says... #24

Surprised no one mentioned Quicksilver Amulet . That thing is broken for EDH.

May 30, 2013 5:03 p.m.

The_Murderauder says... #25

I've recently started putting Planar Portal s in most of my non-black EDH decks, and I'm loving it. Especially in control, where you can tutor up a counter if you don't have one, or wait 'til their end step and tutor the card you actually need.

June 2, 2013 2:18 a.m.

The_Murderauder says... #26

A few more thoughts:

Staff of Domination was just unbanned. That card is the bomb.

Staff of Nin is becoming popular, and Mind's Eye always was.

Helm of Obedience deserves a mention as a key piece in one of the bitchiest combos around.

Forcefield is expensive for a reason.

June 2, 2013 2:22 a.m.

Bobgalarneau says... #27

Nobody mentioned the Chromatic Lantern . Sure it's not indestructible and cost 3.... But as far as mana fixing can go, it's the best. Any multicolored deck should use it.

June 2, 2013 1:09 p.m.

DukeNicky says... #28

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Extraplanar Lens . That card shows up in a lot of competitive deck lists and is just amazing. Coupled with the fact that this card is pretty much a sole reason so many people run Snow-Covered lands over plain ole regular basics. Then there is Isochron Scepter which really needs no explanation as to why it is a staple/power card in the format. If you trully wish to see the best Artifacts to use in EDH take a look at Epochalyptik's

List of EDH Staples and Power Cards

SCORE: 193 | 105 COMMENTS | 94623 VIEWS

Commander / EDH* Epochalyptik Playtest

June 2, 2013 8:44 p.m.

commodorecanary says... #29

I like Sculpting Steel . Not nearly as good as any of the staples, but it can be any staple!

June 10, 2013 11:23 p.m.

lendrick says... #30

the best color fixer imo is Chromatic Lantern (Darksteel Ingot is good too, but I personally don't like it)

all rocks and mana acceleration are valid except perhaps for some that are unplayable (eg Ur-Golem's Eye and Manalith )

to control all the creatures, you can play with Cursed Totem , Null Rod and Torpor Orb

you can also use some "wannabe a tutor" like Citanul Flute and Planar Portal (Temporal Aperture in some cases)

so, this is my list of top 10:

1 Sol Ring - (duh!)

2 Sensei's Divining Top - (another duh)

3 Signets (eg Dimir Signet )

4 Lightning Greaves (turn one: land, tap to Sol Ring tap to Lightning Greaves and prepare your anus aka your turn (or at least this is what normally happens when I start this way))

5 mirrodin swords (eg Sword of Feast and Famine )

6 Expedition Map , Armillary Sphere , Wayfarer's Bauble

7 Solemn Simulacrum (almost all decks would take advantage of it)

8 Darksteel Plate (to prevent board wipes being a pain in the ass except to Merciless Eviction )

9 Rings of Brighthearth (but please use it with respect, use it to draw 6 cards with Arcanis the Omnipotent and not to deals 2 damage with a Prodigal Pyromancer )

10 Phyrexian Metamorph (Clone + Sculpting Steel , giving him some flexibility which is always well received)

June 17, 2013 11:07 a.m.

Barandis says... #31

I actually think that an Omnath deck (one I like to run a ton as well) is exactly the sort of deck that you definitely want Swiftfoot Boots over Lightning Greaves . Yes, it's one more mana, but you're playing an Omnath deck.

Besides, much more important to me is to be able to get Omnath (or whatever other good creature...Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary comes to mind...since Omnath is often protected by a Vedalken Orrery or something like that) through sweepers by regeneration from Yavimaya Hollow or Asceticism . I can't do that with the Greaves. In Magic everything is a trade-off, but in this case I'll happily trade that one mana for being able to target my own things.

So in the end, I'd put Lightning Greaves in my top 10, but there are the occasional decks like Omnath where Swiftfoot Boots are better.

June 19, 2013 2:13 p.m.

The_Murderauder says... #32

Hey, don't hate the Ur-Golem's Eye . Works wonders in my Kozilek deck.

June 19, 2013 7:11 p.m.

The_Murderauder says... #33

Sure, it's crap everywhere else, but hey, you can't win 'em all.

June 19, 2013 7:12 p.m.

ShimmerVoid says... #34

I'm surprised no one mentioned Clock of Omens . In an artifact based deck it's the bomb.

August 27, 2013 10:41 a.m.

SharuumNyan says... #35

No love for Nihil Spellbomb and Tormod's Crypt ? With all the graveyard shenanigans in EDH, these guys are cheap little gems.

August 27, 2013 3:37 p.m.

commodorecanary says... #36

I'm going to toss Lifeline in the ring.... then drag its shenanigany ass away, kicking and screaming

August 29, 2013 11:31 a.m.

DonEscalope says... #37

Top Cards for pure artifact-decks:

1) Black Lotus

2) Mox Sapphire - Mox Jet - Mox Ruby - Mox Pearl - Mox Emerald

3) Metalworker

4) Mox Opal

10) Darksteel Forge

September 25, 2013 4:14 a.m.

erabel says... #38

Except, you know, this is for Commander, and all 7 of the cards in your top three are banned. And this isn't necessarily all-artifact decks; this is a discussion of good artifacts for many or all decks.

September 25, 2013 7:56 a.m.

LiquidKid says... #39

In no particular order Nevinyrral's Disk Oblivion Stone Solemn Simulacrum Sol Ring Lightning Greaves Mana Vault Staff of Domination it was unbanned a few months agoExpedition Map Mox Opal and Relic of Progenitus ...I did this from memory so I might have forgotten some.

September 25, 2013 2:06 p.m.

Foxhound438 says... #40

top three are without a doubt, in no secific order, Sol Ring , Sensei's Divining Top , and Scroll Rack ,
in that no specific deck archetype is needed to get the full benefit of them... not to say that i wouldn't ever part out the latter two from anything else to Maelstrom, but they're always good.Otherwise, Solemn Simulacrum , which is best played in blinking or reanimating, Druidic Satchel which is best played in token spam, Vedalken Orrery which is fairly reasonable in anything, but some get more benefit than others, Skullclamp which is best used in sac decks, but can find a home anywhere, Mimic Vat , best with blinking or sacing archetypes, Surveyor's Scope if you're not a fan of green, Staff of Nin , which goes well anywhere, but just isn't stellar like the top three are, and just as an aside, it's pretty hard to go wrong with good ol' Darksteel Ingot . Granted, it won't make every decklist ever, but it's not entirely bad to have an indestructable mana rock

June 12, 2014 4:12 p.m.

erabel says... #41

Foxhound438: I agree with your statements, except maybe the Ingot and the Scope. But, friend, this thread has been dead for eight and a half months. Let sleeping threads die.

June 12, 2014 11:14 p.m.

Blakkhand says... #42

My list is terms of both playability and frequency of play.

Sol Ring , Mana Crypt , Mana Vault , Grim Monolith The fast mana, which it turns out is both brokenly good and almost universally played.
Sensei's Divining Top - The second most played card in EDH. Also kind of overplayed.
Lightning Greaves , Swiftfoot Boots - So, it turns out that every EDH deck has at least one creature, and that creature is generally at least somewhat important.
Oblivion Stone - Now every color has access to a way to destroy every permanent type, and have sweet interactions with Triad of Fates ! (maybe not so much that last reason)
All the other mana rocks - Not as good as Sol Ring , but still pretty sweet.
Mind's Eye - Without this, red and white would barely be able to exist on their own.
Solemn Simulacrum - Not the most powerful card, but almost every deck wants at least one of his effects and doesn't mind the others.
Magister Sphinx - This is definitely not the most played card in the format, if only due to its plethora of colors, but it is one of the most powerful in the format.
Swords of X and Y - Many don't realize it, but these are extremely heavily played cards in the format. Almost any creature-based deck (read: 75% of decks) can run them and profit a lot from it.
Phyrexian Processor - I rarely see this played, but don't get me wrong, this is one of the most underplayed cards out there. It is a fairly inexpensive one-card win con that can help you pull out of life and death situations. And every color can play it.

Honorable Mention: Tsabo's Web BEST CARD EVER. Also my favorite artifact out of pure coincidence. >.>