Urza's Blueprints

Artifact

Echo {6} *(At the beginning of your upkeep, if this came under your control since the beginning of your last upkeep, sacrifice it unless you pay its echo cost.) *

{T}: Draw a card.

Legality

Format	Legality
1v1 Commander	Legal
Archenemy	Legal
Canadian Highlander	Legal
Casual	Legal
Commander / EDH	Legal
Commander: Rule 0	Legal
Custom	Legal
Duel Commander	Legal
Highlander	Legal
Legacy	Legal
Leviathan	Legal
Limited	Legal
Oathbreaker	Legal
Planar Constructed	Legal
Planechase	Legal
Premodern	Legal
Quest Magic	Legal
Vanguard	Legal
Vintage	Legal

Discussion (20)

DemonDragonJ on Phyrexianized Versions of Existing Cards

4 years ago

Now that Phyrexian mana exists, I feel that WotC has not truly used that mechanic to its fullest potential, so I shall make some Phyrexianized versions of existing cards, and I hope that everyone likes them.

Praetor's Disdain Show

Praetor's Disdain

Casting Cost:

Instant

Counter target spell.

This card is obviously modeled after Cancel or the original Counterspell; I had originally planned to have it cost only , but that would have made it far too powerful, so I increased it.

Praetor's Scorn Show

Praetor's Scorn

Casting Cost:

Instant

Destroy target nonland permanent.

Thus far, there has never been a card that uses multiple colors of Phyrexian mana, so I have made such a card, which is modeled after Utter End, but it only destroys a permanent, rather than exiling it, to prevent it from being strictly better than the other card. Alternatively, I could increase the cost to and keep it as an exile effect.

Praetor's Spite Show

Praetor's Spite

Casting Cost:

Sorcery

Target player reveals their hand; you choose a nonland card from it and that player discards that card.

This card is modeled after Thoughtseize, Distress and Duress; I originally planned to have it cost , but I then thought that it would be too powerful, in that case.

Praetor's Shield Show

Praetor's Shield

Casting Cost:

Artifact

, the next time that a source of your choice would deal damage to you this turn, prevent that damage.

This card is modeled after Righteous Aura, and I was originally planning to have the casting cost be only , but I increased it to prevent it from being too powerful. I am not worried about the activated ability being capable of being used for no mana, because a player will not pay 4 life unless the source of damage that they wish to prevent will deal at least 4 damage.

Phyrexian Replicator Show

Phyrexian Replicator

Casting Cost:

Artifact

If an effect would create one or more tokens under your control, it creates twice that many of those tokens instead.

If an effect would put one or more counters on a permanent you control, it puts twice that many of those counters on that permanent instead.

This card is obviously modeled after Doubling Season, but I increased the cost to prevent it from being strictly better than that card.

Phyrexian Purge Show

Phyrexian Purge

Casting Cost:

Sorcery

Destroy all nonland permanents.

This card is modeled after Planar Cleansing, and I am not worried about its casting cost, because I made it very mana-intensive; a player will pay 8 life to cast it only if they are very desperate.

Phyrexian Grimoire Show

Phyrexian Grimoire

Casting Cost:

Artifact

: draw a card.

This card is modeled after both Greed and Book of Rass (which, as a side note, really needs to be reprinted), so its casting cost is between the costs of those two cards. Its controller can draw cards for no mana, but 4 life is a high price for a single card.

Temporal Flux Show

Temporal Flux

Casting Cost:

Sorcery

Target player takes an extra turn after this one.

I could not conceive of an impressive name for this card that contained the word "Phyrexian," so I used a name that had not yet been used for a card. I modeled it after Time Warp and Temporal Manipulation, but I increased its cost to prevent it from being strictly better than them.

Gitaxian Tome Show

Gitaxian Tome

Casting Cost:

Artifact

,: draw a card.

This card references Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur and is modeled after both Jayemdae Tome and Arcane Encyclopedia.

Phrexian Blueprints Show

Phyrexian Blueprints

Casting Cost:

Echo

: draw a card.

This card references Urza's Blueprints, and its overall cost is lower, because I feel that, if that card had been printed today, it would be less expensive due to power creep.

Phrexian Amulet Show

Phyrexian Amulet

Casting Cost:

Artifact

,: you may put a creature card from your hand onto the battlefield.

This card is modeled after Quicksilver Amulet.

Those are all the designs that I have conceived at this moment, so I shall post more as I conceive them, but what does everyone think of the cards that I have designed, thus far?

dingusdingo on Is Urza's Blueprints a Good …

5 years ago

One thing to consider with Urza's Blueprints is that you can use it in response to the echo, plus the turn you play it. So you can choose to draw 2 cards for mana, or you can pay to get a card every turn.

If you're more interested in repeatable artifact draw, Mind's Eye or Staff of Nin will serve you better.

enpc on Is Urza's Blueprints a Good …

5 years ago

DemonDragonJ: Tower of Fortunes is pretty bad. Personally I would stick with stuff like Arcane Encyclopedia . Also, Mind's Eye is pretty good (and the high initial cost is still less than that of Urza's Blueprints ).

DemonDragonJ on Commander Legends Reprints

5 years ago

I would like to see Tower of Fortunes in this set, since it has not been reprinted in some time, as well as Urza's Blueprints , since that card has never been reprinted, at all, and I am certain that it would look great in the new card frame.

Drakorya on Is Urza's Blueprints a Good …

5 years ago

I feel like there's probably two types of deck that Urza's Blueprints could be good in: big mana decks that lack alot of good card draw (like mono-green Azusa, Lost but Seeking ), or decks that look to use/abuse activated abilities of artifacts with cards like Rings of Brighthearth and Voltaic Key .

I think the card could really shine if you can take advantage of not having to pay mana into it's activation cost, by either untapping it repeatedly or copying the ability. But it would lead to alot of feel-bad moments when you devote 12 mana into it just for it to eat a removal spell. You could try to cheat on the costs with cards like Mairsil, the Pretender or Myr Welder .

DemonDragonJ on Is Urza's Blueprints a Good …

5 years ago

Caerwyn, you do have a good point, there, and I am very displeased that it is so difficult to find a source of card advantage that is colorless, repeatable, and inexpensive, since the majority of such effects require large amounts of mana to be paid. However, since Arcane Encyclopedia is strictly better than Jayemdae Tome , I am hopeful that there shall eventually be a better version of Urza's Blueprints , as well.

DemonDragonJ on Is Urza's Blueprints a Good …

5 years ago

I recently became aware of the existence of Urza's Blueprints , and I am wondering how good of a card it is in EDH format.

Many of my EDH decks contain Arcane Encyclopedia , because it is a colorless and repeatable source of card advantage, but the blueprints are potentially better. They do have a higher initial cost, as well as an echo cost, but their ability costs no mana to use, so, after the initial cost and echo cost have been paid, they provide free and repeatable card advantage.

What does everyone else say about this? How good of a card is Urza's Blueprints in EDH?

ClockworkSwordfish on Sachi, Extreme Sub $14 Budget EDH

5 years ago

Do you find you actually have enough uses for all that mana you will be generating? You could dump it all into something like Domesticated Hydra , Feral Hydra or Kazandu Tuskcaller as a win condition. Urza's Blueprints and/or Arcane Encyclopedia are likewise affordable card draw pieces that don't interfere with your land drops the way Mercadian Atlas does.

I also doubt Blanchwood Armor is much more expensive than Aspect of Wolf, or Whirlwind more than Crosswinds - just some ideas for upgrades!