Two weeks ago, I started going through the design handoff file for Mirrodin. I began by looking at all the white and blue cards. Last week, I looked at the black, red, and green cards. This week, I'll start talking about the colorless cards. Today, I will show off all the common and uncommon artifacts.

CA01_BCN
Squire Gnome
2
Artifact Creature — Gnome
1/1
CARDNAME gets +1/+1 for each artifact equipping it.

I knew we wanted a cute, small artifact creature for the set, so I turned to our go-to small artifact creature at the time: Gnome. Brady Dommermuth, the head of the Creative team, saw the file and said it should not be Gnome. He promised to make something more appropriate. That's how we got Myr.

CA02_BCN
Clay Soldier
4
Artifact Creature — Soldier
2/2
Whenever CARDNAME is blocked, regenerate it.
@: CARDNAME gets +1/+0 until end of turn.

This became Duskworker. The activated ability's cost changed from energy to mana.

CA03_BCN
Artifact Lover
7
Artifact Creature
4/4
Affinity for artifacts (For each artifact you have in play, CARDNAME costs 1 less.)

"Brain to print" cards are rare, but ones that go on to be format staples are even rarer. This became Myr Enforcer.

CA04_BCN
Ornithopter
0
Artifact Creature
0/2
Flying

Here is yet another Antiquities-related card, this time a reprint. How could we do an artifact set without one of the most famous artifact creatures?

CA05_BCN
Powerstone Golem
5
Artifact Creature — Golem
3/3
Energize — @ (When this comes into play, you get @. This energy does not go away until spent.)
@: CARDNAME gains flying until end of turn.

When we get to the artifacts in the file, we start seeing energy shapes that are a little closer to what was printed in Kaladesh. They enter and give you energy, then have a way to use energy. This creature has a function that doesn't require other cards, but it plays nicely with them.

CA06_BCN
Trinkette
1
Artifact Creature
0/3
All other artifact creatures get +0/+1.

Whenever I look back at old designs, I see things that make me go, "We really hadn't learned that lesson yet?" You won't see many effects that just pump toughness anymore as it tends to gum up the battlefield.

CA07_BCN
Budding Gnome
3
Artifact Creature — Gnome
1/1
Energize — @@ (When this comes into play, you get @@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
@@: CARDNAME gets +3/+3 until end of turn.

CA08_BCN
Foam Golem
4
Artifact Creature — Golem
4/1
@: Return CARDNAME to owner's hand.

Here's our first energy-related artifact that doesn't produce energy. As it's a creature, it at least has a function in a vacuum.

CA09_BCN
Yotian Soldier
3
Artifact Creature
1/4
CARDNAME does not tap to attack.

The Antiquities love continues. This is another reprint.

CA10_BCN
Booster Bot
4
Artifact Creature
2/3
Energize — @@ (When this comes into play, you get @@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
T: Target artifact creature gets +1/+1 until the end of the turn.
@@: Untap CARDNAME.

Another reason I removed energy was that doing so gave us more space to put monocolor activated abilities onto artifacts. That was an important part of helping different players prioritize different cards in the draft.

CA11_BCN
Rocketeer
4
Artifact Creature
2/2
Flying
Energize — @@ (When this comes into play, you get @@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
@: Regenerate CARDNAME.

CA12_BCN
Crossbow
1
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 2 (2: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature gains "T: Equipped creature deals 1 damage to target creature or player."
3: Move CARDNAME to target creature.

This became Viridian Longbow. We removed the last ability. Originally, you could move the Equipment around mid-combat. We revisited that ability in Fifth Dawn.

CA13_BCN
Staff of Ashnod
1
Artifact
Energize — @@ (When this comes into play, you get @@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
T: Target creature becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.
@@: Regenerate target artifact creature.

The original file had a lot more cards that turned into artifacts and a lot more regeneration.

CA14_BCN
Boots of Speed
1
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 0 (0: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature has haste and does not tap when attacking.

This became Lightning Greaves. When we handed it over, it granted vigilance to the equipped creature rather than shroud.

CA15_BCN
Iron Forge
2
Artifact
2, T: Return target artifact Equipment card in your graveyard to your hand.

CA16_BCN
Ring of Invisibility
2
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature is unblockable and can't be the target of spells or abilities.

I believe this card was combined with the "Boots of Speed" to make Lightning Greaves. When first making Equipment, we thought of famous magical items from other stories and games and designed top-down versions of them.

CA17_BCN
Heal-o-matic Armor
1
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
1: Regenerate equipped creature.

CA18_BCN
Chromatic Sphere
1
Artifact
1, T, Sacrifice Chromatic Sphere: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool. Draw a card.

This was a reprint from Invasion.

CA19_BCN
Urza's Fuse
0
Artifact
Sacrifice CARDNAME: Regenerate target artifact.

This is Welding Jar. We put it into the file before the first playtest, and it made it all the way to print. I even wrote an article where it talks all about its time in the design file.

CA20_BCN
Wand of Command
2
Artifact
Energize — @@@ (When this comes into play, you get @@@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
@, T: Target creature cannot attack or block this turn.

CA21_BCN
Blessed Armor
1
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature gets +0/+5.

This became Slagwurm Armor.

CA22_BCN
Luna Ring
5
Artifact
Affinity for artifacts (For each artifact you have in play, CARDNAME costs 1 less.)
T: Add 2 to your mana pool.

We decided in development that affinity was already saving the player a lot of mana, so this wasn't the output we wanted.

CA23_BCN
Safety Net
2
Artifact
Sacrifice CARDNAME: Return target permanent you control to its owner's hand.

CA24_BCN
Rust Chime
3
Artifact
3, Sacrifice CARDNAME: Destroy target artifact.

This went away because Goblin Replica existed elsewhere in the file.

CA25_BCN
Bracers of Ferocity
1
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature you control gets +0/+2 and gains protection from artifacts. CARDNAME is not destroyed by this effect.

CA26_BCN
Pearl Gnome
2
Artifact Creature — Gnome
1/1
T: Add W to your mana pool.

Other than becoming a Myr, this cycle didn't change at all in development. This became Gold Myr. In vision design, we were excited by the idea of the set's mana acceleration coming partly from artifact creatures.

CA27_BCN
Metallic Soldier
3
Creature — Soldier
2/2
W, Sacrifice CARDNAME: CARDNAME deals 2 damage to target attacking or blocking creature.

The handoff file did have some activated abilities with monocolor costs, but it would go up in development. This card became Soldier Replica. We also gave the artifact creatures subtypes that weren't normally given to artifact creatures. We were leaning into the idea that Mirrodin was a world where all creatures slowly became artifact creatures over time.

CA28_BCN
Attuned One
4
Artifact Creature
2/2
W: CARDNAME gains first strike until end of turn.
CARDNAME gets +1/+0 for each artifact you control.

This became Titanium Golem. It kept the activated ability that granted first strike but lost the artifact-related pumping ability.

CA29_BCN
Scepter of Sunlight
2
Artifact
3, T or W, T: Prevent the next 2 damage that would be dealt to target creature or player this turn.

The "Scepters," which became the Shards in the final set, are a cycle of common artifacts with activated abilities that lean toward a particular color. You can activate them for generic mana or for a cheaper cost if you use mana of a certain color. The idea was that any deck could use them, but they were better in a deck that had access to that color. This is an early version of twobrid mana. Development kept the cycle but fiddled with the numbers and effects and moved the cards to uncommon.

CA30_BCN
Sword of Serra
1
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and does not tap to attack.
WW: Move CARDNAME to target creature.

This cycle of Equipment you could move for a monocolor cost was pulled from the set. They would resurface in Fifth Dawn.

CA31_BCN
Sapphire Gnome
2
Artifact Creature — Gnome
1/1
T: Add U to your mana pool.

CA32_BCN
Metallic Bird
3
Artifact Creature — Bird
1/2
Flying
U, Sacrifice CARDNAME: Counter target spell unless its controller pays an additional 2.

This became Wizard Replica.

CA33_BCN
Robo-Wizard
1
Artifact Creature — Wizard
0/2
CARDNAME gets +0/+1 for each Island in play.

This card is experimenting with whether we needed to have a blue mana symbol on a card to make it a reward for playing blue. In hindsight, a scaling effect is not ideal, as it encourages you to play nothing but blue.

CA34_BCN
Scepter of Mist
3
Artifact
3, T or U, T: Target player draws a card and discards a card.

While this cycle remained, the effects changed. We had enough card drawing (most design files come in too high on card-drawing effects), so we came up with the novel idea of a bounce effect with a tax built in. In retrospect, this design was a little too annoying.

CA35_BCN
Sword of Teferi
1
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and gains flying.
UU: Move CARDNAME to target creature.

CA36_BCN
Jet Gnome
2
Artifact Creature — Gnome
1/1
T: Add B to your mana pool.

CA37_BCN
Metallic Zombie
4
Artifact Creature — Zombie
3/3
1B, Sacrifice CARDNAME: Target creature gets -2/-2 until end of turn.

This became Nim Replica.

CA38_BCN
Robo-Minion
2
Artifact Creature — Minion
1/1
CARDNAME gets +1/+0 for each Swamp in play.

This was a mirror of the Island-focused card.

CA39_BCN
Scepter of Muck
3
Artifact
3, T or B, T: You gain @. (This energy does not go away until spent.)

I think this is the only artifact that gains you energy without a way to spend it.

CA40_BCN
Sword of Yawgmoth
1
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature gets +2/+1.
BB: Move CARDNAME to target creature.

This card would evolve into Cranial Plating in Fifth Dawn, which is a very powerful card.

CA41_BCN
Ruby Gnome
2
Artifact Creature — Gnome
1/1
T: Add R to your mana pool.

CA42_BCN
Metallic Goblin
4
Artifact Creature — Goblin
3/2
1R, Sacrifice CARDNAME: Destroy target artifact.

This would become Goblin Replica.

CA43_BCN
Robo-Lizard
3
Artifact Creature — Lizard
2/2
3 or R: +1/+0 until end of turn.

This became Hematite Golem. We were messing around with the Shard design (alternate costs) on other cards. We do this in design files to show the next design team what things could be expanded on if needed.

CA44_BCN
Scepter of Fire
3
Artifact
4, T or R, T: CARDNAME deals 1 damage to target creature or player.

This became Granite Shard.

CA45_BCN
Sword of Shiva
1
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and first strike
RR: Move CARDNAME to target creature.

CA46_BCN
Emerald Gnome
2
Artifact Creature — Gnome
1/1
T: Add G to your mana pool.

CA47_BCN
Metallic Bear
4
Artifact Creature — Bear
3/3
G, Sacrifice CARDNAME: Add four mana of any color to your mana pool.

This became Elf Replica, which is a way to destroy an enchantment at common.

CA48_BCN
Robo-Elf
1
Artifact Creature — Elf
1/1
2 or G: Add one mana of any color to your mana pool.

Development decided this was too close to the Myr and wanted a bigger creature. This became Malachite Golem, a 5/3 with activated trample.

CA49_BCN
Scepter of Ivy
3
Artifact
4, T or G, T: Target creature gets +2/+2 until end of turn.

We changed this effect to grant trample. This card became Heartwood Shard.

CA50_BCN
Sword of Gaia
2
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature gets +1/+1 and gains trample.
GG: Move CARDNAME to target creature.

UA01_BCN
Clockwork Rhino
5
Artifact Creature — Beast
0/0
Trample
CARDNAME comes into play with four +1/+1 counters on it.
At the end of combat, remove a +1/+1 counter from CARDNAME if it attacked or blocked.

Clockwork creatures go all the way back to Limited Edition (Alpha)'s Clockwork Beast. The flavor is that they are artifacts that you wind up and slowly wind down as you use them. This became Clockwork Vorrac, with an added ability that lets you wind it up.

UA02_BCN
Clockwork Falcon
5
Artifact Creature — Bird
0/0
Flying
CARDNAME comes into play with three +1/+1 counters on it.
At the end of combat, remove a +1/+1 counter from CARDNAME if it attacked or blocked.

This became Clockwork Condor.

UA03_BCN
Indestructo
4
Artifact Creature — Gnome
3/1
At the beginning of your upkeep, if CARDNAME is in your graveyard and you have five or more artifacts in play, return CARDNAME to your hand. This ability works in the graveyard.

We had a little too much graveyard recursion, so this card didn't make the cut.

UA04_BCN
Junk Diver
3
Artifact Creature
1/1
Flying
When CARDNAME is put into a graveyard from play, return another target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand.

This was a card I had made in Urza's Destiny that felt like a good reprint for the set. As I said above, we had too much graveyard recursion.

UA05_BCN
Patchwork Condor
6
Artifact Creature — Bird
2/4
Flying
Affinity for artifacts (For each artifact you have in play, CARDNAME costs 1 less.)

In the final set, there are only two colorless creatures with affinity for artifacts, Frogmite and Myr Enforcer.

UA06_BCN
Magnetron
4
Artifact Creature
2/2
Tap an artifact creature: CARDNAME gets +1/+1 until end of turn.
@: CARDNAME gains trample until end of turn.

This became Lodestone Myr. Instead of requiring you to pay energy to gain trample, Lodestone Myr just has trample.

UA07_BCN
Reflector
4
Artifact Creature
2/3
Energize — @@ (When this comes into play, you get @@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
@@: Redirect combat damage to CARDNAME to target player.

UA08_BCN
Collector
3
Artifact Creature
1/3
Whenever CARDNAME or another artifact creature is put into the graveyard from play, gain @. (This energy does not go away until spent.)

UA09_BCN
Iron Monkey
3
Artifact Creature — Ape
1/1
Whenever CARDNAME deals combat damage to another player, you gain @@. (This energy does not go away until spent.)
@: Choose one — CARDNAME gets +1/+0; CARDNAME gains flying until end of turn.

I enjoy the options built into the activated ability on "Iron Monkey."

UA10_BCN
Fixer Upper
6
Artifact Creature
3/2
Affinity for artifacts (For each artifact you have in play, CARDNAME costs 1 less.)
2, T, Sacrifice an artifact: Put an artifact card in your hand into play.

We already had affinity for artifacts, so we had to be careful with how many mana-cheating effects we did.

UA11_BCN
Knowledge Armor
4
Artifact
Whenever you are damaged by an opponent's creature or spell, draw a card.

This became Farsight Mask, one of a handful of cards that we put the "if untapped" rider on, allowing you to turn the effect off by tapping the card.

UA12_BCN
Spear and Magic Helmet
2
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature gets +1/+4.
3: Move CARDNAME to target creature.

UA13_BCN
Dervish Suit
1
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 2 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Whenever equipped creature deals damage to another player, put a +1/+1 counter on equipped creature.

This became Banshee's Blade. Interestingly, because the template moved away from +1/+1 counters, we chose a card concept that had nothing to do with the Sliths.

UA14_BCN
Guide Map
3
Artifact
All players may play an additional land each turn.

All of the additional land effects went away.

UA15_BCN
Web Shooter
2
Artifact
Energize — @@ (When this comes into play, you get @@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
2, @@, T: Tap target creature. That creature does not untap during its controllers next untap phase.

UA16_BCN
Armor of Doom
1
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature cannot activate any abilities.
If CARDNAME is not equipped, you cannot be the target of spells or abilities.

This is us playing around with the idea of Equipment that still have effects when not equipped. Because you can't choose to unequip a creature, this became a bit awkward in play.

UA17_BCN
Vorpal Sword
2
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature gains +3/+3 and "can't attack or block unless its controller pays 3."
3: Move CARDNAME to another creature.

UA18_BCN
Shuffle Hoser
2
Artifact
Whenever an effect tells a player to shuffle their library, CARDNAME deals 2 damage to that player.

This card became Psychogenic Probe. I made it because I got annoyed playing with people who were constantly shuffling their deck. I figured Magic has answers to everything, so why not excess shuffling?

UA19_BCN
Rack Tower
3
Artifact
At the beginning of your upkeep, if you have any cards in hand, CARDNAME deals 1 damage to you. If you have no cards in your hand, draw a card.

This was us tweaking a card called The Rack, another card from Antiquities. We were trying to make it a little less unfun. I think we succeeded, but it still wasn't fun enough.

UA20_BCN
Mirrored Shield
3
Artifact
Energize — @@ (When this comes into play, you get @@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
@@: Target spell or ability, which must have a single target, targets a new legal target of your choice.

Having this effect as an activated ability on a permanent was miserable.

UA21_BCN
Portable Hole
3
Artifact
2, T: Remove target artifact you control from the game.
2, Sacrifice CARDNAME: Return to play all artifacts removed in this way by CARDNAME.

This became Synod Sanctum. Apparently, it only needed to cost . This name would eventually get used years later.

UA22_BCN
Urza's Special Pipe
2
Artifact
Players cannot play spells of the same type as the last spell played.

UA23_BCN
Cursed Stone
2
Artifact
If CARDNAME is untapped, non-mana activated abilities of permanents cannot be played.

This became Damping Matrix.

UA24_BCN
I'm Not Decked Yet
1
Artifact
T: Put an artifact, creature, or land you control on the bottom of your library.

This became Tel-Jilad Stylus.

UA25_BCN
Millstone of the Ages
4
Artifact
@@@@, T: Target player puts the top ten cards of their library into their graveyard.

This became Tower of Murmurs with an activated ability cost of rather than four energy.

UA26_BCN
Recharger
3
Artifact
4, T: Gain @ for each @ you've acquired this turn. (This energy does not go away until spent.)

I do love doubling effects, so why not make an energy doubler?

UA27_BCN
Nullifier
4
Artifact
Affinity for artifacts (For each artifact you have in play, CARDNAME costs 1 less.)
2, Return CARDNAME to owner's hand: Counter target activated ability.

UA28_BCN
Mulligan Mox
3
Artifact
At the start of the game, you may remove CARDNAME and the other cards in your hand from the game to draw cards equal to the number of cards in your hand.
T: Add 1 to your mana pool.

"Mulligan Mox" is a dangerous area to play in as variance is an important part of the game.

Damping Stone
2
Artifact
If CARDNAME is untapped, players may not untap more than one artifact during their untap step.

UA30_BCN
Magnetic Resonator
6
Artifact
Affinity for artifacts (For each artifact you have in play, CARDNAME costs 1 less.)
Whenever another artifact comes into play, gain 2 life.
Whenever another artifact leaves play, lose 2 life.

UA31_BCN
Yowling Mine
4
Artifact
Players may choose to skip any card draw and instead gain @. (This energy does not go away until spent.)

UA32_BCN
Flowing Clay
2
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Whenever CARDNAME equips a creature, choose one — Equipped creature gets +2/+0; equipped creature gets +0/+4; equipped creature gains flying.

This card was inspired by Primal Clay from, you guessed it, Antiquities.

Base image Overlay image

Like Primal Clay, "Flowing Clay" lets you choose from one of three choices when you use it. It turns out that Equipment that changes the stats of another creature is much harder to track than a creature by itself, so the three options proved problematic.

UA33_BCN
Jeweled Altar
3
Artifact
Whenever a creature you control is put into the graveyard from play, gain @ for each +1/+1 counter on that creature. (This energy does not go away until spent.)
@@, T: Put a +1/+1 counter on target creature.

UA34_BCN
Frenzy Staff
3
Artifact
If a creature attacks, all other creatures that player controls attack if able.

UA35_BCN
Diamond Choker
3
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 5 (5: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Gain control of equipped creature.
@@@: Move CARDNAME to target creature.

In development, we decided to only make Equipment you wanted to put onto your own creature.

UA36_BCN
Soren's Schematics
4
Artifact
Players draw a card whenever they play an artifact.

This ended up being just too much card draw.

UA37_BCN
Jagged Sword
2
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 2 (2: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Equipped creature you control gets +2/-2.
If CARDNAME is not equipped, CARDNAME deals 1 damage to each attacking creature.

We would later revisit Equipment that lowers the equipped creature's toughness, but it didn't end up in the set that premiered Equipment.

UA38_BCN
Ophidian Skin
3
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 2 (2: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Whenever equipped creature deals combat damage to defending player, draw two cards and discard one.

This would become Mask of Memory.

UA39_BCN
Disrupter Beam
3
Artifact
2: An opponent chooses a creature in play you do not control. CARDNAME deals 1 damage to the chosen creature.

This card was more interesting in theory than actual gameplay. Once the controller of this card got ahead, it was very hard for their opponent to come back.

UA40_BCN
Sidekick Granter
2
Artifact
Whenever any player plays a creature, put a 1/1 artifact NAME counter into play under that player's control.

UA41_BCN
Amulet of Protection
1
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 2 (2: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
Sacrifice CARDNAME: Remove equipped creature from the game until end of turn.

There is a huge number of Equipment in this file. They premiered here, so we were trying to explore them as in depth as possible. It became clear the more we played with them that a set needed a lot less than we had handed over.

UA42_BCN
Urza's Machine Shop
2
Artifact
1, Sacrifice a creature: Gain @. (This energy does not go away until spent.)
@@, T: Put a 1/1 NAME artifact token into play.

UA43_BCN
Lightning Field
5
Artifact
Energize — @@@ (When this comes into play, you get @@@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
2, @: Put a 3/1 red token Lightning creature with haste into play. Sacrifice Lightning tokens at end of turn.

Not all energy cards went away. Some morphed into other cards. This one, for example, became Lightning Coils.

UA44_BCN
Stunning Bracelet
1
Artifact — Equipment
Equip 1 (1: If this isn't on a creature, move it onto target creature. If that creature leaves play, this stays in play.)
A player dealt combat damage by equipped creature cannot play spells for the remainder of the turn.

UA45_BCN
Rust Shield
4
Artifact
Whenever an artifact is played, gain @. (This energy does not go away until spent.)
1, @: Counter target artifact activation.

UA46_BCN
Grass Golem
6
Artifact Creature — Golem
2/5
Affinity for Plains (For each Plains you have in play, CARDNAME costs 1 less.)

This cycle of cards with affinity for land types was pushed back to Darksteel.

UA47_BCN
Lead Leper
3
Artifact Creature — Gnome
1/3
Energize — @@ (When this comes into play, you get @@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
CARDNAME can block an additional creature.
W, @: Destroy target creature blocked by CARDNAME.

UA48_BCN
Breastplate of Power
1
Artifact
Energize — @@@ (When this comes into play, you get @@@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
1W, @, T: Target creature deals no damage this turn.

Here's us starting to mix mana and energy in costs.

UA49_BCN
Buffing Shield
2
Artifact
Whenever an opponent declares an attack, gain @. (This energy does not go away until spent.)
@: All your creatures get +0/+1 until end of turn.

UA50_BCN
Vapor Golem
6
Artifact Creature — Golem
1/4
Flying
Affinity for Islands (For each Islands you have in play, CARDNAME costs 1 less.)

UA51_BCN
Barney Miller
4
Artifact Creature — Gnome
2/2
Flying
Energize — @@ (When this comes into play, you get @@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
U, @: Target player puts the top four cards of their library into their graveyard.

I'm a huge mill fan, so of course I had to make an energy-powered mill card.

UA52_BCN
Helmet of Power
1
Artifact
Energize — @@@ (When this comes into play, you get @@@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
2U, @, T: Draw a card.

UA53_BCN
Rod of Ice
4
Artifact
Whenever an artifact is played, gain @. (This energy does not go away until spent.)
U, @: Tap target permanent.

If energy remained in the set, I doubt this Icy Manipulator at rare would have stayed.

UA54_BCN
Tar Golem
6
Artifact Creature — Golem
2/3
Fear (This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.)
Affinity for Swamps (For each Swamp you have in play, CARDNAME costs 1 less.)

UA55_BCN
Draino
5
Artifact Creature — Gnome
3/2
Fear (This creature can't be blocked except by artifact creatures and/or black creatures.)
Energize — @@ (When this comes into play, you get @@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
B, @: Target player loses 1 life and you gain 1 life.

UA56_BCN
Gauntlet of Power
1
Artifact
Energize — @@@ (When this comes into play, you get @@@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
1B, @, T: Target player discards a card.

We were much more willing to do repeatable discard effects back in the day.

UA57_BCN
Electric Fence
4
Artifact
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a defending player, you gain @. (This energy does not go away until spent.)
1B, @: Destroy target nonblack creature which has damaged you this turn.

UA58_BCN
Slate Golem
6
Artifact Creature — Golem
4/1
First strike
Affinity for Mountains (For each Mountain you have in play, CARDNAME costs 1 less.)

UA59_BCN
Pyro
4
Artifact Creature — Gnome
3/3
Energize — @@ (When this comes into play, you get @@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
CARDNAME must attack each turn if able.
2R, @: CARDNAME deals 1 damage to all players and non-flying creatures.

This is probably where we got the non-flying clause on Krark-Clan Shaman.

UA60_BCN
Boots of Power
1
Artifact
Energize — @@@ (When this comes into play, you get @@@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
1R, @, T: All your creatures get +1/+0 until end of turn.

UA61_BCN
Static Wand
5
Artifact
Whenever an artifact is put into the graveyard from play, gain @. (This energy does not go away until spent.)
1R, @: CARDNAME deals 1 damage to target creature or player.

I think we borrowed from this when making Granite Shard.

UA62_BCN
Moss Golem
6
Artifact Creature — Golem
3/4
Affinity for Forests (For each Forest you have in play, CARDNAME costs 1 less.)

UA63_BCN
Happy Helper
4
Artifact Creature — Gnome
2/4
Energize — @ (When this comes into play, you get @. This energy does not go away until spent.)
G, @: Target creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.

UA64_BCN
Bracer of Power
1
Artifact
Energize — @@@ (When this comes into play, you get @@@. This energy does not go away until spent.)
1G, @, T: Target creature you control gains protection from artifacts until end of turn.

UA65_BCN
Magic Stick
4
Artifact
Whenever you play a land, gain @. (This energy does not go away until spent.)
@@: Search your deck for a basic land and put it into your hand. Afterwards, shuffle your library.

I had forgotten how much energy was in the file.

Looking at the Mirrodin

I hope you enjoyed looking through all the common and uncommon artifact cards from the Mirrodin design handoff file. As always, I'm eager for any feedback, be it on today's article, any of the cards I talked about, or Mirrodin itself. You can email me with feedback or contact me through social media (Bluesky, Tumblr, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter).

Join me next week for the rare artifacts and land cards.

Until then, have fun looking back at Mirrodin.