Artist’s Talent is suddenly all over multiple MTG formats. Seeing play in various top Pioneer archetypes, as well as experimentation in top Modern archetypes, this enchantment that was rarely even touched in Limited is now seeing play absolutely everywhere. The card is an easy one to overlook, but the amount of value that Artist’s Talent can provide is ludicrous. This card is likely going to see a massive price spike soon.
Artist’s Talent
- Mana Value: 1R
- Rarity: Rare
- Card Type: Enchantment – Class
- MTG Sets: Bloomburrow
- Card Text: Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, you may discard a card. If you do, draw a card. (2R): Level 2: Noncreature spells you cast cost (1) less to cast. (2R): Level 3: If a source you control would deal noncombat damage to an opponent or a permanent an opponent controls, it deals that much damage plus 2 instead.
Artist’s Talent looks mildly useful to a spellslinger deck at first glance. Being able to rummage whenever you cast a noncreature spell can really add up after casting a lot of cantrips. That’s the main purpose why Artist’s Talent is suddenly seeing a lot of play.
The American Regional Championship took place this past weekend. Pioneer was the format of choice, and Artist’s Talent put up a powerful performance. Considering that this card was not seen at all before this event, this is a big deal.
Artist’s Talent was being played in an innovative Izzet Phoenix list piloted by a few individuals. Thanks to rummaging off of all your cantrip spells, Artist’s Talent makes it really easy to dump your Arclight Phoenix into your grave. This can also speed up your Treasure Cruises by fueling Delve.
Past this, Artist’s Talent and Proft’s Enigmatic Memory have some really nasty synergy. Between the two cards, it’s not uncommon to put 10 +1/+1 counters on a creature before combat. That’s an easy way to one-hit-kill slower decks out of nowhere.
A New Brew
Looking past Izzet Phoenix in Pioneer, a new Hidden Strings combo brew has been topping multiple online challenge events with Artist’s Talent. This deck is quite different from the traditional Lotus Field lists. Instead of trying to resolve massive haymakers like Emergent Ultimatum to win the game, you instead use Aetherflux Reservoir coupled with a bunch of cantrip spells to naturally draw your deck. The rummage effect of Artist’s Talent makes this plan consistent enough to work.
There are some unique elements to Artist’s Talent in this list. Notably, all three levels of Artist’s Talent play important roles in the deck. The second level is incredibly important, as you are now capable of winning the game with only one Lotus Field. Generally, Hidden Strings combo decks need two Lotus Fields, in the form of Thespian Stage, or an untapper in play to win (outside of really weird lines), but Level 2 Artist’s Talent can win the game with just Lotus Field and an untapped land.
This small cost reduction changes the mana in the deck considerably. Suddenly, Hidden Strings, which usually only adds two mana when untapping a Lotus Field and a land, now adds three. Pore Over the Pages is a neutral spell in terms of mana, costing zero overall as long as you have four mana to cast it. Your break point to resolve Lier, Disciple of the Drowned and unlock your graveyard also goes down to six mana from seven.
Finally, level three of Artist’s Talent makes your Pyroblasts powerful. Instead of dealing two damage, this board wipe now deals four damage to the board for just one mana! Even sweeter, your creatures will only take two damage, allowing Baral, Chief of Compliance, Lier, Disciple of the Drowned, and Vizier of Tumbling Sands to survive.
Since the deck does not rely on casting gigantic spells or searching anymore, many traditional countermeasures to the Lotus Field combo deck no longer work. Counterspells are much less effective, and Ashiok, Dream Render does much less than it used to.
This variant of Hidden Strings has a much better aggressive matchup thanks to being much lower to the ground. Sadly, it is also much more difficult to pilot, and Hidden Strings was already a difficult deck to play. One wrong rummage with Artist’s Talent can cost a game.
Artist’s Talent in Modern
Artist’s Talent is seeing much less play in the Modern format, but players are starting to test it out in Ruby Storm decks thanks to the card’s success in Pioneer. Artist’s Talent does theoretically do everything that this deck wants. You get to throw away redundant cards in your combo sequence, and you can Level Up Artist’s Talent to serve as the cost reduction effect that you direly need.
The Level Three of Artist’s Talent can even play a role. This significantly reduces the amount of Storm needed to kill an opponent with Grapeshot. Instead of each iteration of the spell dealing one damage, it will deal three instead. That means you only need six Storm to deal 21 damage. In longer games where killing on turn two or three is not an option, Artist’s Talent is incredibly versatile and can grant multiple chances at your combo even after you’ve been interacted with.
Any Financial Movement?
After a strong performance over the weekend, Artist’s Talent is already starting to creep up. The card is up to $2 from 30 cents since August, and our bet is that the card will continue to climb as it starts to come into its own. This is one financial gamble I would be comfortable taking, but the card’s overall success likely somewhat hinges on whether the new Hidden Strings archetype is the real deal. I say it is, but only time will tell.
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