Filter artifact

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Filter artifacts, like filter lands, allow players to exchange incorrectly colored or colorless mana into a color of their choosing.

Description

Common artifact mana was often weak as fixing for many years before Ravnica: City of Guilds, which produced some of the strongest fixing in the Signet cycle, 2-mana artifacts which filtered {1} into a color pair. However, this meant that nongreen decks had a consistent colored ramp, which undercut green's ramping spells, as Rampant Growth was already quite strong. Five-color mana stones eventually got their average rate at three mana, giving space for weaker fixing at two and one, which is where filter artifacts reside.

These artifacts are often common in rarity and low in power and mana cost, as they are not meant to be premium mana fixing; this can be achieved by either costing two mana to filter into one colored, requiring a tap or can only fix once through sacrificing. Unlike mana stones, these artifacts rarely generate mana on their own. However, they can provide other utility, such as being creatures or drawing a card.

Some are termed as "eggs", where sacrificing (or "cracking") them gives both mana and a card. As this can let them be cycled through easily, at mass they can become the cornerstone of certain combos, such as in Second Sunrise or Krark-Clan Ironworks combo.

List of filtering artifacts

Mana only

Creatures

Draws a card

Requires sacrifice (eggs)

Other