<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Breya, Etherium Shaper" href="#" target="_blank">Breya, Etherium Shaper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="https://www.artstation.com/clintcearley">Clint Clearley</a>)</h6>
<h1>Fallacious Filigree</h1>
<p>Sit in on a speech conducted by the Ethersworn, and you'll surely be enticed by all of the wonders of Etherium: a magical connection to the Aether, and most importantly, the raw power of <em>aesthetic. </em>But you'll never hear them talk about the downsides - and many artificers wish they had known about the downsides before meeting <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Breya, Etherium Shaper" href="#" target="_blank">Breya, Etherium Shaper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Breya, Etherium Shaper"></div></div>
<p>Do you ever think about how much time you spend sitting? You'll quickly realize when your metal rear makes every seat unbearably uncomfortable. Plus, so much stuff gets caught in it! If you have a single tangle in your hair, it'll find its way into your Etherium prosthetics somewhere. Planeswalkers such as Tezzeret run the risk of planeswalking right into a <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Null Rod" href="#" target="_blank">Null Rod</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, during which the enchantments in your etherium body cease to work and your body slowly shuts down.</p>
<p>Additionally, what even are these "benefits"? Connections to the Aether? Kaladesh has managed just fine without etherium, all they need is an <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Aetherflux Reservoir" href="#" target="_blank">Aetherflux Reservoir</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> - which is, notably, not attached to your body. Yes, the filigree of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Master Transmuter" href="#" target="_blank">Master Transmuter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is sublime, but what if you want a portrait from a different angle? I don't know if I even want to know what the back of Breya's head looks like.</p>
<p>This is why we would like to extend to you a formal invitation to Artificers Against Etherium, an exclusive union in which we can practice our magical craft without grafting them into our bodies. Our membership boasts some of the multiverse's most legendary artificers, which you'll be pleased to know <em>don't</em> participate in any unethical forced magical experiments or eugenics.</p>
<p>If you're looking for a break from Breya, here are some other artifact commanders, old and new, who can offer fun nuance to that metallic strategy!</p>
<hr />
<h2>Etherium Manufacturer</h2>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Marionette Master"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Urza, Lord High Artificer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Reckless Fireweaver"></div></div>
<p>Artifact-based archetypes are infamous in Commander. They're at the top of the list of EDHREC's established archetypes, and at the top of that, you can find <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Breya, Etherium Shaper" href="#" target="_blank">Breya, Etherium Shaper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, beating out <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Urza, Lord High Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Urza, Lord High Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> thanks to a combination of age, diversity, and flexibility.</p>
<p>Breya's suite of abilities allows you to go all-in on a sort of Artifacts/Aristocrats hybrid, synergizing beautifully with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Marionette Master" href="#" target="_blank">Marionette Master</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Reckless Fireweaver" href="#" target="_blank">Reckless Fireweaver</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and other artifact-based imitations of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blood Artist" href="#" target="_blank">Blood Artist</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Sacrificing, of course, isn't the only important part - once her ability resolves, it can be a potent control piece as well.</p>
<p>However, Breya is not without her faults: firstly, she's four colors, which can spell trouble for players building on a budget (or players who simply don't like having a ton of colors in their decks). From a mechanical perspective, she's also pretty all-in on building around her, which contributes to the general stigma around artifacts strategies being too linear, and it also turns away players looking to play with the more unique artifact synergies. With over 2,000 different artifacts, a new commander, and a little bit of innovation, we can avoid all of these problems, and make a fun and unique Artifacts build!</p>
<hr />
<h2>The Agents of Artifice 2.0</h2>
<p>One route with Breya is what is known as the "Eggs" route, similar to decks such as Modern Eggs, in which you sacrifice a bunch of artifacts and immediately bring them all back with something like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Second Sunrise" href="#" target="_blank">Second Sunrise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This strategy was in fact effective enough that it warranted the ban of <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Second Sunrise" href="#" target="_blank">Second Sunrise</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in Modern. FOr our purposes in Commander, it's important to note that such an archetype requires two parts: the sacrificing, and the recursion, and since so many artifacts have sacrificing built-in, it might be a good idea to take a look at all of the commanders which can recur artifacts!</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Emry, Lurker of the Loch"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Osgir, the Reconstructor"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Glissa, the Traitor"></div></div>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Emry, Lurker of the Loch" href="#" target="_blank">Emry, Lurker of the Loch</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> manages to recur artifacts quite elegantly: for a low cost, you get a Merfolk that will dump some cards into your graveyard and allow you to cast any artifacts that might find their way in there. Her cost reduction ability can make her especially resilient, negating her own Commander tax should you have enough artifacts out. And that's a good thing, too, because she can assemble a plethora of fantastic artifacts-based engines, and you'll need to get her out quickly again to re-assemble them.</p>
<p>One commander that excels at providing value with artifacts is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Osgir, the Reconstructor" href="#" target="_blank">Osgir, the Reconstructor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, one of the most hyped-up Commanders in recent memory. As it turns out, in a singleton format, getting up to three copies of a single artifact for the price of one is really powerful, even managing to combo with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pull from Eternity" href="#" target="_blank">Pull from Eternity</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Isochron Scepter" href="#" target="_blank">Isochron Scepter</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Ugin&#039;s Nexus" href="#" target="_blank">Ugin&#039;s Nexus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in a fantastic <a href="https://commanderspellbook.com/combo/9264/">Boros infinite turns combo</a>.</p>
<p>Another standout commander in this section is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Glissa, the Traitor" href="#" target="_blank">Glissa, the Traitor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, for two reasons. Namely, she is a Phyrexian, and thus is guilty of many of the same flaws as the folks of Esper in regards to wild experiments on biological flesh and machinery. However, she also holds the unique position of being one of the only green artifacts-based commanders, and likely is the best among those, so she's worth a mention. If you're looking for all the best Golgari graveyard goodies like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Skull Prophet" href="#" target="_blank">Skull Prophet</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to go into your Artifacts deck, she may be the choice for you.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Saheeli, Sublime Artificer"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Saheeli, the Gifted"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Saheeli&#039;s Directive"></div></div>
<p>Another archetype that Breya can be built around is a sort of artifact "go-wide" strategy: she needs as many artifacts as possible to fuel her ability, so it's not uncommon to find artifact-creating engines such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Smothering Tithe" href="#" target="_blank">Smothering Tithe</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> in her decks. However, for those who want to use the plethora of artifacts they create, rather than serve them up as sacrifice fodder, commanders such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Saheeli, the Gifted" href="#" target="_blank">Saheeli, the Gifted</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> work much better.</p>
<p>As with most planeswalkers, it's best to build around Saheeli's first two abilities, as they're the most reliable ones, creating Thopters to fuel additional synergies, and making expensive spells cost much less. The first ability is perfect for strategies that benefit from having a high number of artifacts, which use cards such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Saheeli&#039;s Directive" href="#" target="_blank">Saheeli&#039;s Directive</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> as payoffs. Also, since I would be remiss to neglect <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer" href="#" target="_blank">Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, both him and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Saheeli, Sublime Artificer" href="#" target="_blank">Saheeli, Sublime Artificer</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can be utilized to create dozens of token copies of whatever you choose, much like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Osgir, the Reconstructor" href="#" target="_blank">Osgir, the Reconstructor</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>The simplest payoff to having a large number of artifacts is Saheeli's second +1 ability, which can easily be used to quickly get out all of your favorite expensive artifacts. The go-to for many players is <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Blightsteel Colossus" href="#" target="_blank">Blightsteel Colossus</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, but over 25 years of <em>Magic</em> cards opens up a ton of possibilities, including the uniquely combo-tastic <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Chromatic Orrery" href="#" target="_blank">Chromatic Orrery</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Forge" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Forge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> to protect your Artifacts.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Platinum Emperion"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Muzzio, Visionary Architect"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thousand-Year Elixir"></div></div>
<p>If it's expensive artifacts that entice you, then <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Muzzio, Visionary Architect" href="#" target="_blank">Muzzio, Visionary Architect</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> excels at getting them out like no other. In order to get the ball rolling, it's probably best to get an expensive artifact out using topdeck manipulation, such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Scroll Rack" href="#" target="_blank">Scroll Rack</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brainstorm" href="#" target="_blank">Brainstorm</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and from there, you can continue flipping cards off the top like artifact-based <em>Cascade</em>.</p>
<p>Because Muzzio's ability is an activated ability, you can also find interesting lines of play by activating it on your opponents' turns. This can give you an edge against board wipes and lethal damage effects by flipping <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Darksteel Forge" href="#" target="_blank">Darksteel Forge</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Platinum Emperion" href="#" target="_blank">Platinum Emperion</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> off the top of your library at the opportune time.</p>
<p>And, of course, to ensure that you can continue to accrue value off of Muzzio's ability, it could also be prudent to find some ways to untap him, thus activating him multiple times in a turn using cards such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Thousand-Year Elixir" href="#" target="_blank">Thousand-Year Elixir</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Magewright&#039;s Stone" href="#" target="_blank">Magewright&#039;s Stone</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Onakke Secrets</h2>
<p><a href="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/028_1.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-65957 size-full" src="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/028_1.jpg" alt="" width="967" height="659" srcset="https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/028_1.jpg 967w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/028_1-300x204.jpg 300w, https://edhrecstatic.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/028_1-768x523.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 967px) 100vw, 967px" /></a></p>
<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<a href="https://gatherer.wizards.com/pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=226513">Onakke Catacomb</a> | Art by <a href="https://linktr.ee/Nic_Klein">Nic Klein</a>)</h6>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kuldotha Forgemaster"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Endless Atlas"></div></div>
<p>Of all the ways to mess around with artifacts in Commander, my personal favorite has always been <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient" href="#" target="_blank">Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. This inconspicuous legend from a core set allows you, for the low price of one red mana, to double up on almost any activation of an artifact you control. This means you get twice as much value from your <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Endless Atlas" href="#" target="_blank">Endless Atlas</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>es, and suddenly it becomes much easier to assemble a win with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kuldotha Forgemaster" href="#" target="_blank">Kuldotha Forgemaster</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>.</p>
<p>My favorite part of Kurkesh's ability is just how open-ended it is. You could build a Kurkesh deck around nearly any artifact-based synergy besides Equipment. After testing him out with my own build, I've been toying with a Kurkesh Charge Counters build, which utilizes <em>Proliferate</em> effects such as <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Throne of Geth" href="#" target="_blank">Throne of Geth</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, or Charge Counter synergies like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Coretapper" href="#" target="_blank">Coretapper</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, to gain extra value.</p>
<p>How would you build Kurkesh? Here's my first prototype, which was constructed not long after my first foray into the format.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Kurkesh, Onakke Visionary" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Kurkesh, Onakke Ancient
[/Commander]
[Artifacts]
*1 Aetherworks Marvel
*1 Basalt Monolith
*1 Blinkmoth Urn
*1 Brittle Effigy
*1 Chaos Wand
*1 Clock of Omens
*1 Coldsteel Heart
*1 Contagion Clasp
*1 Contagion Engine
*1 Darksteel Forge
*1 Darksteel Reactor
*1 Doubling Cube
*1 Empowered Autogenerator
*1 Endless Atlas
*1 Everflowing Chalice
*1 Gemstone Array
*1 Gilded Lotus
*1 Gonti&#039;s Aether Heart
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Liquimetal Coating
*1 Lux Cannon
*1 Manifold Key
*1 Mimic Vat
*1 Mind Stone
*1 Mirage Mirror
*1 Mirrorworks
*1 Mycosynth Lattice
*1 Mystic Forge
*1 Oracle&#039;s Vault
*1 Planar Bridge
*1 Pyramid of the Pantheon
*1 Sensei&#039;s Divining Top
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Star Compass
*1 Strionic Resonator
*1 Swiftfoot Boots
*1 Tamiyo&#039;s Journal
*1 Throne of Geth
*1 Unwinding Clock
*1 Vedalken Orrery
*1 Voltaic Key
*1 Wayfarer&#039;s Bauble
*1 Worn Powerstone
[/Artifacts]
[Creatures]
*1 Bosh, Iron Golem
*1 Cogwork Assembler
*1 Foundry Inspector
*1 Goblin Engineer
*1 Goblin Welder
*1 Hangarback Walker
*1 Jhoira&#039;s Familiar
*1 Kuldotha Forgemaster
*1 Pentavus
*1 Shimmer Myr
*1 Slobad, Goblin Tinkerer
*1 Voltaic Servant
[/Creatures]
[Planeswalkers]
*1 Daretti, Scrap Savant
*1 Ugin, the Ineffable
[/Planeswalkers]
[Instants]
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Comet Storm
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Blasphemous Act
[/Sorceries]
[Enchantments]
*1 Braid of Fire
[/Enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Aether Hub
*1 Ancient Tomb
*1 Darksteel Citadel
*1 Great Furnace
*1 Inventors&#039; Fair
*1 Karn&#039;s Bastion
*32 Mountain
[/Lands]"></span></div>

<hr />
<p>What's your favorite Artifacts commander? What's the general plan: go-wide, recursion, charge counters, or something else entirely? Feel free to let me know in the comments, and thanks for reading!</p>


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