Welcome to the MTG Kaladesh artifacts draft guide! Last time, I went over all the multicolor cards.
Before I get into my rating for each card, here’s a brief overview of my MTG Kaladesh artifacts draft guide rating system.
- 1 – Bad card or only useful in the sideboard
- 2 – Passable, but not something I would pick early or often
- 3 – A solid card I’m happy to pick most of the time
- 4 – Powerful cards that provide a lot of value on their own
- 5 – Cards that will almost always win the game if your opponents can’t deal with them
Now that we know how I’ll be rating each card, let’s get straight into the ratings.
MTG Kaladesh Artifacts Draft Guide
Aetherflux Reservoir – 0
You’re not going to storm off in limited.
Aethersphere Harvester – 3.5
A very powerful vehicle that requires very minimal setup. All you need is a single Servo and you have a 3/5 lifelinking flyer.
Aetherworks Marvel – 0.5
This card is almost always going to be unplayable. It requires you to heavily build around it and have a consistent way to sacrifice your permanents.
Animation Module – 2.5
Animation Module is cheap and builds you a wide board. Plus, the second ability allows you to slowly increase the size of your creatures with +1/+1 counters!
Ballista Charger – 3
There’s a heavy investment required for Ballista Charger, but pinging 1 damage every turn is great. Bye-bye Servos!
Barricade Breaker – 2.5
I wish this card to have vigilance or trample. Anyway, Barricade Breaker is a solid playable if you need a top-end for your artifact-matters deck.
Bastion Mastodon – 1.5
There are a bunch of strong 5-mana creatures in MTG Kaladesh Remastered. However, Bastion Mastodon isn’t one of them.
Bomat Bazaar Barge – 3
A solid vehicle for any deck. Also, I like that this card replaces itself.
Bomat Courier – 0
If you don’t have this card on turn 1, it’s horrible. I don’t like potentially drawing dead cards, which puts Bomat Courier on the avoid list.
Chief of the Foundry – 3
Servos and vehicles are legitimately strong in this set, making Chief of the Foundry a no-brainer pickup.
Cogworker’s Puzzleknot – 1.5
I can’t imagine ever feeling good paying 4-mana for two 1/1s.
Consulate Skygate – 1
A great sideboard card against flyers.
Consulate Turret – 0
It required 4 turns for Consulate Turret to enable itself. This artifact is too slow for any meaningful payoff.
Cultivator’s Caravan – 4
I love this card. It slots into any color pain, fixes your mana, and becomes a late-game beater! The options are here and they’re great.
Daredevil Dragster – 3.5
A solid vehicle that gives you card advantage. The only problem is that it can be awkward to be sacrifice this vehicle when your opponent’s behind on board.
Decoction Module – 2
Since you gain energy through ETB triggers, Decoction Module can net you a lot of energy counters throughout the game. The effect is a little slow, but there is good build around potential here.
Demolition Stomper – 1.5
I’d avoid playing this vehicle. You can only crew 5 when you’re already ahead on board. This means Demolition Stomper is a win-more card you don’t want.
Dukhara Peafowl – 2
A decent playable if you need to fill out your mana-curve.
Dynavolt Tower – 0 // 3
Combining this artifact with Whirler Virtuoso would be amazing. You cast spells, get energy counters, and make Thopters. That synergy can win you the game on its own.
That said, you need to be deep into a spells-matter deck to make Dynavault Tower work.
Eager Construct – 2
Not the worst 2-drop out there, but it’s never good to give your opponent’s options. Play only if you need to.
Electrostatic Pummeler – 0.5
In Standard, this card was an extremely reliable combo card. However, in limited, it requires too much build around.
Fabrication Module – 2 // 3
Energy decks will love this card and every other deck will avoid this card.
Filigree Familiar – 3
A solid value creature for every deck!
Fireforger’s Puzzleknot – 2
Fireforger’s Puzzleknow is an effective artifact against opponents that run a lot of Servos.
Foundry Inspector – 2.5 // 3
Getting a 5+ mana vehicle out a turn early will give you a lot of tempo over your opponent. Plus, at 3 power, Foundry Inspector can crew almost every relevant vehicle in the set.
Heart of Kiran – 3
Heart of Kiran has solid stats and comes down early. What’s not to like?
Hope of Ghirapur – 0.5
1-mana 1/1 flyer? Pass.
Implement of Examination – 2
4-mana draw 2 isn’t the worst rate you can get for a card draw spell.
Implement of Malice – 2
Any card that replaces itself will always hold some weight. Implement of Malice has very minimal benefits but isn’t the worst inclusion if you need to improvise out bigger spells.
Inventor’s Goggles – 2
In an aggressive artificer deck, Inventor’s Goggles is awesome!
Irontread Crusher – 2.5
Don’t overlook this vanilla vehicle. Sure, it’s just a 6/6 dummy, but combined with vehicle archetype enablers, Irontread Crusher can be a great beater.
Key to the City – 3
Key to the City is great for aggressive strategies. Making your strongest creature unblockable will straight up win you games. Furthermore, discarding a card is a minimal downside if you’re able to draw better cards for only 2 mana.
Lifecrafter’s Bestiary – 3
Lifecrafter’s Bestiary is card advantage at its finest. I’d honestly consider including this card even if I have no green sources whatsoever.
Merchant’s Dockhand – 0
Yeah, no.
Metallic Mimic – 3
I think most people will choose Servos due to the sheer amount of fabricate cards present. That said, any creature type you choose will be good as long as you get a few triggers off.
Metalwork Colossus – 3
It’s really hard to justify playing this card unless you’re really into the artifact-matters archetype. If you are in that deck archetype, then you got yourself a solid bomb.
Mobile Garrison – 2
In my opinion, the whole point of vehicles is to turn your current creature into powerful attackers. Mobile Garrison doesn’t hit very hard, which makes it a fairly weak pick.
Narnam Cobra – 2.5
A solid addition to green decks as it can trade with anything. Remember though, this card is only good if you’re in green. Every other color will never need Narnam Cobra.
Ornithopter – 0
Pass.
Ovalchase Dragster – 2
I really don’t like that a single Servo can trade with Ovalchase Dragster. However, this card does hit hard.
Pacification Array – 3
Pacification Array is extremely good since it taps down creatures and vehicles.
Panharmonicon – 0.5
If you have a lot of ETB cards, then you could include Panharmonicon. Otherwise, let’s just leave this card for other formats.
Paradox Engine – 0
Cool Commander card!
Peacewalker Colossus – 3
Even if you end up picking up a Peacewalker Colossus, don’t go filling up your deck with a bunch of vehicles.
Pendulum of Patterns – 1.5
7-mana to gain 3 life and draw 1 card… I’ll pass.
Planar Bridge – 0
Another cool Commander card!
Prakhata Pillar-Bug – 1
Lifelink just isn’t a good enough keyword on a 2/3 body.
Prophetic Prism – 2.5
I’m never sad to include Prophetic Prism as it will always be a solid card to fix my mana.
Renegade Map – 2.5
A great card to help you find the right colors and trigger revolt. For 1-mana, that’s a deal I’ll take.
Reservoir Walker – 1.5
There are way better 5-mana creatures.
Scrap Trawler – 3.5
Scrap Trawler gives me a reason to include implements and puzzleknots into my deck. Plus, the fact that it’s able to trigger itself means your always guaranteed value.
Scrapheap Scrounger – 3
A solid 2 mana 3/2 with upside.
Self-Assembler – 1 // 2.5
If you pick up 2-3 of these cards, it’s actually pretty decent. I wouldn’t go out of my way to make this card work, though.
Servo Schematic – 1.5
Improvise decks that can sacrifice Servo Schematic will make including it worthwhile. You’ll need a sacrifice outlet, though. Otherwise it will just be a 2-mana 1/1.
Sky Skiff – 3.5
I would argue that this is the best common vehicle in the set. It comes down extremely early, crews easy, and has flying. Add a few +1/+1 counters and your opponent will struggle.
Skysovereign, Consul Flagship – 5
An absurd bomb that has immediate and recurring value. Imagine casting free Lightning Bolts every turn (except you can’t hit your opponent’s face)!
Universal Solvent – 2
8-mana is an extremely hefty cost to pay. That said, it’s a passable inclusion because it still removes a creature.
Untethered Express – 4.5
Untethered Express hits like a truck and can win games like a mythic bomb. I swear, the MTG developers must have accidentally made this card uncommon instead of rare/mythic.
Weldfast Monitor – 2
This robotic lizard isn’t the worst 3-mana card you can ask for.
Whirlermaker – 1.5
This is an extremely clunky artifact. Investing 7 mana into a spell to just get a 1/1 Thopter is a horrible rate.
Workshop Assistant – 2
I’ve seen some cool combos with this card, but even then it’s underwhelming.
Woodweaver’s Puzzleknot – 1.5
Woodweaver’s Puzzleknot will get cut in every deck that’s not heavily energy-themed.
Conclusion
Several artifacts will be great early pickups in MTG Kaladesh Remastered. Vehicles are a great example. They’re strong by themselves and don’t require any color commitment. In an artifact-matters set, I’m never disappointed if a majority of my early picks are all artifacts.
Stay tuned to SQUAD for more Magic: The Gathering content.