Esper Artifice

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For the next few posts, I will give you the skinny on each Shards of Alara 41-card Intro Packs (previously theme decks). These packs come with a foil card, a learn-to-play insert, a strategy insert, and an additional booster pack (w00t!). These are a great way to get into the game. As these decks are all similarly built (mana cost and strength), several players I know enjoy picking these up for casual play . . . so get thee hence to a gaming store !

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Esper Artifice

The plane of Esper is dominated by brilliant wizards, artificers, and sphinxes who seek to control the very forces of nature through a magical alloy called etherium. Construct an army of unstoppable artifacts using the power of etherium, and dominate all who would stand in your way.

Main Deck 41 cards

2 Arcane Sanctum
Land, Uncommon
Arcane Sanctum comes into play tapped.
{T}: Add {W}, {U}, or {B} mana to your mana pool.
2 Esper Panorama
Land, Common
{T}: Add 1 to your mana pool.
1, {T}, Sacrifice Esper Panorama: Search your library for a basic Plains, Island, or Swamp card and put it into play tapped. Then shuffle your library.
7 Island 3 Plains 3 Swamp

17 lands

2 Cloudheath Drake, 4u
Artifact Creature - Drake. Common
Flying
1{W}: Cloudheath Drake gains vigilance until end of turn.
3/3
1 Esper Battlemage, 2u
Artifact Creature - Human Wizard, Uncommon
{W}, {T}: Prevent the next 2 damage that would be dealt to you this turn.
{B}, {T}: Target creature gets -1/-1 until end of turn.
2/2
2 Etherium Sculptor, 1u
Artifact Creature - Vedalken Artificer Common
Artifact spells you play cost 1 less to play.
1/2
1 Filigree Sages, 3u
Artifact Creature - Vedalken Wizard Uncommon
2{U}: Untap target artifact.
2/3
1 Master of Etherium, 2u
Artifact Creature - Vedalken Wizard, Rare
Master of Etherium's power and toughness are each equal to the number of artifacts you control.
Other artifact creatures you control get +1/+1.
*/*
1 Sanctum Gargoyle, 3w
Artifact Creature - Gargoyle, Common
Flying
When Sanctum Gargoyle comes into play, return target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand.
2/3
1 Sharding Sphinx, 4uu
Artifact Creature - Sphinx, Rare
Flying
Whenever an artifact creature you control deals combat damage to a player, you may put a 1/1 blue Thopter artifact creature token with flying into play.
4/4
2 Tidehollow Strix, ub
Artifact Creature - Bird, Common
Flying, deathtouch
2/1
2 Tower Gargoyle, 1wub
Artifact Creature - Gargoyle, Uncommon
Flying
4/4
2 Windwright Mage, wub
Artifact Creature - Human Wizard, Common
Lifelink
Windwright Mage has flying as long as an artifact card is in your graveyard.
2/2

15 creatures

1 Courier's Capsule, 1u
Artifact, Common
1{U}, {T}, Sacrifice Courier's Capsule: Draw two cards.
2 Executioner's Capsule, b
Artifact, Common
1{B}, {T}, Sacrifice Executioner's Capsule: Destroy target nonblack creature.
1 Marble Chalice, 2w
Artifact, Common
{T}: You gain 1 life.
1 Obelisk of Esper, 3
Artifact, Common
{T}: Add {W},{U}, or {B} to your mana pool.
2 Oblivion Ring, 2w
Enchantment, Common
Oblivion Ring
When Oblivion Ring comes into play, remove another target nonland permanent from the game.
When Oblivion Ring leaves play, return the removed card to play under its owner's control.
1 Onyx Goblet, 2b
Artifact, Common
{T}: Target player loses 1 life.
1 Tidings

9 other spells

Stay tuned for more Alara goodness