Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Urza, Lord High Artificer
Urza, Lord High Artificer
Legendary Creature — Human Artificer · {2}{U}{U} · Blue commander
When Urza enters, create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with "This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control."
Tap an untapped artifact you control: Add {U}.
{5}: Shuffle your library, then exile the top card. Until end of turn, you may play that card without paying its mana cost.
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What Urza, Lord High Artificer actually does
Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.
- Triggered ability · etbWhen Urza enters, create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with "This token gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control."
- Activated abilityTap an untapped artifact you control: Add {U}.
- Activated ability{5}: Shuffle your library, then exile the top card. Until end of turn, you may play that card without paying its mana cost.
What an Urza, Lord High Artificer deck wants
The plan the Forge derives for this commander: the roles it fills and how many of each.
- 32× Mana value at or above the floor — for a cascade commander a cheap card is a DEFECT, not a bargain
- 6× Exile a permanent you control and return it — the button a value-ETB deck presses
- 22× A permanent of the exact NON-creature type the commander counts — artifacts for an artifact commander, enchantments for an enchantress
- 8× A permanent whose value is in its enter-the-battlefield trigger — the payload a blink deck reuses
- 4× A team pump that actually pumps tokens
- 12× Make creature tokens — a static anthem or a go-wide commander needs a board to be wide
- 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 1× Answer a whole board at once
- 2× Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
Best cards for Urza, Lord High Artificer
Ranked by an engine that reads what each card does — its real cost, its delay and how reliably it works — rather than counting how often other people play it.
Mana value at or above the floor — for a cascade commander a cheap card is a DEFECT, not a bargain
- Excalibur, Sword of Eden12 mana
- Ancient Stone Idol10 mana
- Blightsteel Colossus12 mana
- Darksteel Colossus11 mana
- Emrakul, the Promised End13 mana
- Emrakul, the World Anew12 mana
- Flayer of Loyalties10 mana
- It That Betrays12 mana
Exile a permanent you control and return it — the button a value-ETB deck presses
- Displacer Kitten4 mana
- Eternal Acrobat Toast0 mana
- Conjurer's Closet5 mana
- Nephalia Smuggler1 mana
- Y'shtola Rhul6 mana
- Escape Protocol2 mana
- Gandalf, Shadow's Foe7 mana
- Essence Flux1 mana
A permanent of the exact NON-creature type the commander counts — artifacts for an artifact commander, enchantments for an enchantress
- Chrome Mox0 mana
- Everflowing Chalice0 mana
- Lotus Petal0 mana
- Mox Amber0 mana
- Mox Diamond0 mana
- Mox Opal0 mana
- Lion's Eye Diamond0 mana
- Ornithopter0 mana
A permanent whose value is in its enter-the-battlefield trigger — the payload a blink deck reuses
- Chrome Mox0 mana
- Mystic Sanctuary0 mana
- Cabaretti Courtyard0 mana
- Lotus Field0 mana
- Riveteers Overlook0 mana
- Talon Gates of Madara0 mana
- Mithril Coat3 mana
- Adventurer's Inn0 mana
A team pump that actually pumps tokens
- Nesting Grounds0 mana
- Patchwork Banner3 mana
- Crashing Drawbridge2 mana
- Eldritch Immunity1 mana
- Shore Up1 mana
- Heraldic Banner3 mana
- Cyberman Patrol2 mana
- It That Heralds the End2 mana
Make creature tokens — a static anthem or a go-wide commander needs a board to be wide
- Chasm Skulker3 mana
- Kozilek's Unsealing3 mana
- Trendy Circus Pirate0 mana
- Myr Battlesphere7 mana
- Andúril, Flame of the West3 mana
- Invasion of Segovia // Caetus, Sea Tyrant of Segovia3 mana
- Field of the Dead0 mana
- Spawnbed Protector7 mana
Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- Reality Shift2 mana
- Pongify1 mana
- Rapid Hybridization1 mana
- Resculpt2 mana
- Suspend1 mana
- Snap2 mana
- Into the Flood Maw1 mana
- Planar Incision2 mana
Answer a whole board at once
- Displacement Wave2 mana
- Filter Out3 mana
- Aligned Hedron Network4 mana
- Coercive Portal4 mana
- Whelming Wave4 mana
- Consuming Tide4 mana
- Llawan, Cephalid Empress4 mana
- Part the Veil4 mana
Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
- Pact of Negation0 mana
- Counterspell2 mana
- Three Steps Ahead1 mana
- Long River's Pull2 mana
- Force of Will5 mana
- Abjure1 mana
- Archmage's Charm3 mana
- Cancel3 mana
Build this deck in the Arcane Forge →
Arcane Foundry is free to join and every tool is included: the Arcane Forge deck builder, the ARCANE Analyzer that scores a deck by simulating games rather than counting staples, a card scanner, a collection vault, and live webcam Commander tables.
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