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by Jaybie Cantey Card Spotlight Copy Artifact Boy, there sure are a lot of good artifacts out there. Who doesn't play with Icy Manipulators or Zuran Orbs? Who doesn't love the look on an opponent's face when a Jester's Cap hits the table? Who can't pass up the resistance to play with Sunglasses of Urza? Well, okay, scratch that last one. But the truth remains: there are a lot of great artifacts that can make any deck stronger. Whether they are staple Icies or Orbs, or pillars of decks such as Prison and Discard, artifacts are the most commonly played "color" in Magic. Everyone uses them! So, time for a math quiz. Which is better: seven cards in hand and an Ivory Tower on the table, or seven cards in hand and three Ivory Towers on the table? Yeah, that's what I thought, too. Therefore, this month's card spotlight focuses on: Copy Artifact. COPY ARTIFACT -- 1U: Enchantment: When Copy Artifact comes into play, choose target artifact. Copy Artifact becomes that artifact, with all abilities and whatnot. Whether it is your opponent's Disrupting Scepter or your Copper Tablet, Copy Artifact can swing a game in your favor. It's cheap, and it breaks the fundamental purpose of the Type I restricted list: what fun it is to play more than one Ivory Tower, Sol Ring, or Mox. Where one Nevinyrral's Disk is fodder for Disenchants and Pillages, two can usually ensure that your opponent will fear your next Untap Phase. Multiple Ivory Towers can gain you a hefty chunk of life in just a few turns. Imagine playing five...count 'em, five...Juggernauts against your defenseless opponent. Ouch. The only real drawback of Copy Artifact is its vulnerability (Editor's note: and the fact that it's restricted...) ; it can be wiped out by Tranquility or Shatterstorm. However, in an environment where the fundamental artifact / enchantment defense of choice is Disenchant, which affects either, the penalty is minimal. Sweet. Top 5 Combos with Copy Artifact 5). Double Creature Feature. There are a lot of good Type I Artifact Creatures, such as Jade Statue, Juggernaut, and Phyrexian War Beast. Two's company, and all that...   4). Ivory Tower. Okay, you're at 13, and I'm at 2930.   3). 3. Artifact Mana. With so much land destruction (did somebody say Sinkhole?) floating around in Type 1, it's nice to have some backup artifact mana. One Felwar stone becomes two!   2). 2. Opponent's Artifacts. Boy, that's a nice Millstone. I need one of those. Oh, wait...now I've got one, too.   1). 1. A brand-new Type I Deck presents itself.... White 3 Disenchants 4 Swords to Plowshares 3 Wraths of God 4 Peace Talks 3 Armageddons 4 Enlightened Tutors Blue 1 Copy Artifacts 3 Mystic Tutors Artifact 4 Jester's Caps 3 Howling Mines 2 Skulls of Orms 2 Soldelvi Diggers 2 Helm of Obedience Lands 4 Tundras 10 Plains 8 Islands The key to this deck is simple. Use the tutors to get some Copy Artifacts and Jester's Caps into your hand. Use Peace Talks to give yourself plenty of time and Wraths of Gods to deal with threats. When you have the mana set up, play a Jester's Cap and copy it with the Copy Artifacts. Using the copied Caps, remove three basic lands from your opponent's deck. Use Skull of Orm or Soldelvi Digger to put the Copy Artifact back in your hand or deck, then copy the Cap again. When you remove all land from his deck, cast Armageddon and let the Howling Mines to the rest. Cool, huh? Well, try not to be too abusive with your new knowledge. Until next month, keep it clean and come out tapping!        Jaybie Cantey [ Back to April 1997 Table of Contents ] [ Back to Beyond Dominia ] Magic: the Gathering is a Registered Trademark of Wizards of the Coast