No matter what format you’re playing, card types are hugely important in MTG. These determine which other cards and effects a given card works with, and therefore its ceiling of synergy. Cards that can alter types, then, have a ton of potential, which is why we only see them sparingly.
One particularly strong example of this kind of effect is Toymaker, a largely forgotten MTG card from way back in Mercadian Masques. With this surprisingly lovable Robot by your side, the line between creatures and artifacts blurs away into nonexistence. Whether you’re playing with a bunch of artifacts or against them, this is a fantastic tool to have on your belt.
Toymaker MTG
At just two mana to cast and one mana to activate, Toymaker is the cheapest version of the “turn an artifact into a creature” effect we have access to in MTG. At this rate, you can really enjoy the surprisingly wide range of benefits this ability offers.
For starters, it’s a great way to turn your own utility artifacts into threats on the board. This works particularly well with Indestructible artifacts, like The One Ring or Darksteel Ingot. Turning key artifacts into creatures also greatly expands the range of ways you can copy them, which can come in clutch with Clone effects or token makers like Cackling Counterpart.
Getting more specific, Toymaker slots very nicely into certain Commander decks. In Vehicle lists, like Greasefang, Okiba Boss, it provides a cheap alternative way of getting your big Vehicles online. You can also use it in Vraska, the Silencer and Shelob, Child of Ungoliant to turn the creatures you steal back into their original forms.
In addition to its proactive uses, Toymaker can also be used reactively on your opponents’ artifacts. Turning opposing engines like Skullclamp and combo pieces like Phyrexian Altar into creatures makes them much easier to get rid of, be it through board wipes or removal. You can also just flat-out remove artifact tokens like Clues and Treasure with it, which can come in clutch.
Of course, the big downside here is that you need to discard a card to use Toymaker’s ability. Fortunately, there are easy ways to mitigate this, like running Containment Construct or Library of Leng to salvage your pitched cards. Depending on your deck, you can also use discard support like Monument to Endurance to balance things out.
Crafting Curious Combos
With its ability to turn artifacts into creatures, Toymaker enables a surprisingly wide range of combos in MTG Commander. A lot of these lines, as you might expect, will net you infinite mana. With Voltaic Construct and any artifact that taps for three or more mana, like Thran Dynamo, you can animate the mana source and untap it with Construct for infinite mana. You can also animate Basalt Monolith and use an ability discounter, like Heartstone, for the same effect.
If you prefer something that ends the game on its own, one of the wackier Toymaker combos involves animating Aetherflux Reservoir while you have 51 or more life. If you can give Reservoir Lifelink, with something like Shadowspear, you can then use its 50 damage ability infinite times to kill all your opponents instantly.
In a deck with a ton of mana dorks, Isochron Scepter can unlock some sweet Toymaker combos as well. Simply Imprint a spell that untaps your creatures, like Vitalize, and an animated Scepter can untap itself infinite times, provided you have some untappable mana. This can easily create infinite mana, or just win on the spot with a damage-dealing tap ability, like the one on Lobber Crew.
A Long-Neglected Vintage
What’s interesting about Toymaker is that, despite all of its utility and power, it barely sees any play in MTG Commander at all. EDHREC puts it in a paltry 1.88k decks, which is tiny for a colorless card that could theoretically go in any artifact deck.
Toymaker does this for an incredibly budget-friendly price, too. Near-mint copies of the card’s original Mercadian Masques printing can be had for just $0.19 right now. If you don’t mind a little planeswalker symbol, you can nearly cut that price in half by going for The List printing instead, at just $0.10. Either way, you’re getting a great card at a great price, and one that can slot into all manner of Commander strategies.
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