Modern Horizons spoiler season is going strong for it’s 3rd day in a row! We’ve seen a crazy land cycle, some cool homages, and some epic reprints. Now there’s even more to be excited about! The Command Zone released a video showing off their Modern Horizon’s Spoiler Preview Card, and it’s a whopper: Urza, Lord High Artificer.
The Lore
Urza is known as the original Planeswalker in MTG lore. This is very important because many players expected the first black-bordered Urza card to be a Planeswalker. He is known to be the creator of Karn and the designer of The Weatherlight. The most prominent and well-known story is his long war against Yawgmoth and Phyrexia.
Urza’s spoiler reveal here has many people believing that Modern Horizons may be setting the stage for a return to Phyrexia soon by familiarizing new players with these old characters. Others predict that we may even see Yawgmoth in the set!
Mark Rosewater stated on his blog that there will only be two Planeswalkers in Modern Horizons. This caused many to speculate that Urza would be the second Planeswalker joining the previously spoiled Serra, The Benevolent. With Urza only appearing as a creature in the set, the options for the second Planeswalker are still in the air.
The Breakdown
Urza, Lord High Artificer is a 1/4 Legendary Creature that holds the subtypes of Human and Artificer. While this may seem inconsequential, it actually means a lot. Urza’s time as Lord High Artificer was a huge point in both the story and in the game. Cards like Urza’s Mine, Tower, and Power Plant along with his Factory and Glasses are extremely iconic cards that show off his affinity for artifacts. Furthermore, the Urza lands are so powerful that they fuel their own archetype in Modern called Tron that is built around powering out large artifacts and colorless spells way before they should be played.
Urza is not just a vanilla creature with a rich history, though. He boasts three powerful effects that can turn the tide of battle the instant he joins the fray. Starting with his entrance, Urza creates a 0/0 colorless Construct creature that grows in size as more artifacts are on the field. This ability mimics that of Karn, Scion of Urza. Next, while he remains on the battlefield, you are able to tap any artifact for one blue mana.
The last flavorful ability Urza rocks is very reminiscent of Mind’s Desire. By paying five mana, you shuffle your library then exile the top card of your library. You can then play that card for free. With enough artifacts on the field, you may be able to use this ability multiple times in a single turn.
How to Use the Card
Urza can be used in quite a number of unique ways. The first of many uses is to abuse his enter the battlefield effect. Bounce effects like Cloudshift, Conjurer’s Closet and Mistmeadow Witch can all bounce Urza to create multiple Constructs. Bolstering the etb effect with Anointed Procession and Parallel Lives will also boost the overall number of Construct tokens created, giving you a much larger army.
Another way of using this new spoiler card would be to play roulette with your deck. Using his last ability, Urza will spin the wheel of fate to give you a random spell from your deck. Playing large spells like Progenitus, Emrakul (Aeon’s Torn or Promised End), or Beacon of Tomorrows in your deck could be beneficial if you were to hit them with Urza’s last ability.
The Verdict
AMAZING! While the lack of an Urza Planeswalker in black border is a little disappointing, the power and style of this spoiler are undeniable. With his variety of use cases and extremely flavorful abilities, players should expect to see a lot of unique builds around Urza. Along with the introduction of the London Mulligan, Urza could see at least some competitive play in Modern as well as a metric ton of play in Commander.
