Magic the Gathering - Top 10 Commons from Antiquities

by ElspethFTW, Old School Duelist

Antiquities is a set from very early in Magic the Gathering's history. It's chock full of some very expensive rares and uncommons such as Transmute Artifact, Mishra's Factory, and Tawnos' Coffin. But there are some interesting commons in the set that shouldn't be overlooked. Here are the Top 10 commons from Antiquities that you should be happy to own in your collection. 

#10: Argivian Blacksmith 

This common Blacksmith may not appear exciting, but his ability is actually fairly good. Preventing 2 damage to an artifact creature is not a bad ability, and is usable in Commander. No one really plays it, though. Still, you can often get a few cents for copies on buylists, so as jank commons go, this is definitely one to watch out for.

---

#9: Reverse Polarity   

Here's an instant no one really plays anymore, as it's only good against artifacts. However, for only 2 mana, the amount of life it can potentially gain you is meaningful. Some buylists pay a nickel for these, so there is still some value here. It's extremely situational, but very good at what it does. 
 

---

#8: Artifact Possession 
 
This is a pretty mean enchantment if you're playing against an artifact-heavy deck. Every time the enchanted artifact is tapped or uses an activated ability, Artifact Possession deals 2 damage to that artifact's controller. Unfortunately, there isn't much call for it these days. Still, it's a card that Old School players apparently use, since there is buylist demand for it. It's pretty fun to throw this on a mana rock like Sol Ring and slowly kill your opponent with it.

---

#7: Crumble 
 
This card is very similar to a Modern-playable card called Nature's Claim. The main difference is that instead of the 4 life that Nature's Claim always grants the destroyed card's controller, Crumble gains them life equal to that card's converted mana cost instead.

In some cases, Crumble is actually better, but it only can target artifacts and not enchantments. This instant is actually played on occasion in Commander and is worth a few pennies on buylists. It's one not to overlook, especially with how many artifacts are played in Commander.

---

#6: Priest of Yawgmoth 

This Priest gives Black decks the ability to sacrifice an artifact in return for Black mana equal to the sacrificed artifact's converted mana cost. It's pretty useful, although there aren't a ton of decks in Commander that use it. Glissa, the Traitor is probably the best one, as her ability to add an artifact from your graveyard to your hand whenever an opponent's creature dies provides good synergy with this. Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker and Sharuum the Hegemon are two other Commander decks that can use Priest of Yawgmoth. There are a lot of other ways to produce lots of Black mana quickly in Commander, but this is one a lot of people won't see coming, especially if you can bring back artifacts easily.                

---

#5: Reconstruction 

This is a pretty straight-forward card that brings back an artifact from your graveyard to your hand. That's pretty good for only a single Blue mana. It's actually a bit surprising that this card isn't played more often in Commander. As it is, Reconstruction is played in a number of artifact-heavy decks, but it's probably just unknown to a lot of players. This is a good one to keep around.

---

#4: Artifact Blast 

This is a great counterspell specifically made for artifacts. Yeah, there aren't many Red counterspells, but this card is from a time where what each color of mana did weren't quite as well-defined. It's literally the Red version of Annul, although it doesn't affect Enchantment as Annul does. It does see some Commander play, as artifacts are all over the place in that format and Red having a way to counter them is unusual.

---

#3: Atog 

This little guy has been reprinted a bunch of times for good reason. Atog can win the game all by himself if you have enough artifacts to feed him. This is still one of the most popular printings of the artifact-hungry Atog, simply because it's the original one.

---

#2: Ornithopter 

Another guy that's been reprinted a bunch of times, this is the most expensive printing of Ornithopter because it's the original. The original Thopter still sees play in Modern, too. Being a zero-cost artifact to cast means it can enable certain combos, as well. This is one of the best artifact creatures ever printed. 

---

#1: Urza's Mine, Urza's Power Plant, and Urza's Tower 

Of course, the Urza Tron lands would be number one on this list. They've been good since the day they were released due to their ability to produce tons of colorless mana when all three (Mine, Power Plant, and Tower) are on the board. They power one of the better Modern archetypes in Affinity and have been a fixture in Standard and Extended decks of the past. There were even some Legacy Urza Tron decks that had some success. If you ever come across old copies of these, even beat up ones, they're still worth money.

---