With spoiler season still a week out, we’ve seen the first new Magic: The Gathering card from Aetherdrift. Lifecraft Engine was revealed in the set’s first story article. And while this vehicle may look like a fun but unassuming card that can slot into any typal strategy, from specters to slivers, it also has the potential to power up one of Magic: The Gathering’s strongest Commander decks.
Lifecraft Engine is the Buy-A-Box Promo card for the upcoming MTG set Aetherdrift. This four-mana vehicle can boost any creature type you choose after casting it, giving a flat +1/+1 buff. But the other part of the ability is pretty weird: all your vehicles, when they’re crewed to become creatures, will also be the creature type you chose. The ‘in-lore’ explanation for this isn’t exactly clear to me, but it certainly sounds very disturbing.
More important than an easy-include in a vehicles deck, Lifecraft Engine has an obvious place alongside one of the strongest MTG commanders, Magda, Brazen Outlaw. This mono-red deck taps dwarves to create treasures, and can then sacrifice those treasures to bring out any dragon or (more importantly) any artifact in your deck. Though this deck is limited by its color identity, it has nonetheless proven extremely powerful in competitive Commander, making it into our cEDH tier list last year.
Why does Lifecraft Engine fit so well into this shell? Well firstly, it’s a vehicle, which means it can tap all your dwarves without you sending them off to die on the frontlines. And while it’s more expensive than your other options like Clown Car (literally a free vehicle), it also has a highly relevant ability.
The buff is relevant, not because you’re likely to win through combat damage, but because it gives your often flimsy dwarves a little bit of protection. Magda herself is a 2/1, and easily picked off by everyone’s least favorite bowmaster unless given some help.
Magda decks already play Adaptive Automaton for the buffing effect (and because it’s a fake dwarf), and Lifecraft Engine can provide that while helpfully tapping your board. It also makes all your other vehicles into dwarves, and you can then tap them with the crew ability for even more treasure!
In case you’re unfamiliar with Magda decks, the end goal is to tutor up powerful artifacts like Portal to Phyrexia and God-Pharoah’s Statue to help you win the game, followed by a combo. Lifecraft Engine just helps you get there that little bit more easily.
We’re glad Lifecraft Engine is a promo card, so probably won’t become too expensive, no matter how much it’s in demand. That said, there are three different versions of the artifact, so some versions could become more pricey than others. I want that colorful goat-horned dragonfly thing!
While we don’t expect this multi-typal card to reach anything like the heights of, say, Roaming Throne, it is undeniably neat. As well as its position in Magda decks, it can really help out weaker tribes that need cards like this to ‘glue’ the deck together.
For more Magic: The Gathering news, you should check out our guide to the MTG release schedule, to see new details on every upcoming set. Did you know Basri Ket is back in Aetherdrift? Or check out our list of the most expensive MTG cards ever sold.
Source: Wargamer
