Magic is full of a lot of wacky and unusual sets, and the group of Un-sets are definitely at the top of the list. These collections of cards are designed to be humorous more than anything. As such, most cards from Un-sets don’t actually show up in any major format.
However, many cards from sets like Unfinity are legal in Legacy. And every now and again, one of these “joke” cards will pop up and make a splash. We saw this happen with the infamous Name-Sticker Goblin on Magic Online, before it eventually ate a ban along with a bunch of other sticker-related cards.
In a recent Magic Online Legacy Preliminary event, another Unfinity card that doesn’t revolve around the sticker mechanic boasted an undefeated record in mono-blue affinity. The card actually has a lot of appeal in the archetype, so if you’re a fan of competitive clowns, look no further.
Maximizing Clown Car in Legacy
- Mana Value: X
- Rarity: Rare
- Stats: 1/1
- Card Type: Artifact- Vehicle
- MTG Sets: Unfinity
- Card Text: When Clown Car enters the battlefield, roll X six-sided dice. For each odd result, create a 1/1 white Clown Robot artifact creature token. For each even result, put a +1/+1 counter on Clown Car. Crew 2.
As you might have guessed, the Unfinity card we’re talking about is none other than Clown Car. Clown Car is certainly a silly design, but it’s actually a very powerful card in a dedicated artifacts shell.
In this deck, Clown Car fills a few different roles, depending on what you’re looking for. In a pinch, it’s totally fine to play Clown Car for X=0. Obviously, a 1/1 vehicle with crew 2 is not very exciting.
Nonetheless, zero-mana artifacts become a lot more appealing when you have powerful affinity payoffs and Mox Opal in your deck. If paying zero mana for Clown Car enables you to cast Kappa Cannoneer ahead of schedule, you’ll take the opportunity.
What puts Clown Car over the top, though, is the upside of rolling odd numbers off your dice rolls when you sink mana into it. Clown Car has the potential to add a significant number of artifacts to the board at once.
Mox Opal and Ancient Tomb make it easy to cast Clown Car for X=2 or more on the first turn of the game. For each odd dice roll, you add another artifact to the board. With a little luck, Clown Car will boost your artifact count significantly.
These artifact tokens help guarantee that metalcraft is online, your affinity cards receive heavy discounts, and your Constructs generated by Urza’s Saga can tussle with even the biggest threats. Clown Car scales as the game progresses, too, making it a solid topdeck in a grindy game. If your opponent has hate cards like Meltdown at the ready, Clown Car can potentially allow you to rebuild.
Obviously, you do run the risk of rolling even a bunch of times and getting nothing but a burly vehicle out of the deal. Still, you have all the control about how much mana you want to invest. The opportunity cost of putting a zero-mana artifact in your deck that gets better over time simply isn’t that high, so Clown Car can be a worthy inclusion despite the associated variance.
Supporting Cast
- Mana Value: 4U
- Rarity: Uncommon
- Stats: 3/4
- Card Type: Artifact Creature- Robot Artificer
- MTG Sets: Aetherdrift
- Card Text: Affinity for artifacts (This spell costs 1 less to cast for each artifact you control.) Flying.
The rest of the deck is split up into cheap artifacts and payoffs for having a bunch of artifacts in play. In the enablers section, Lotus Petal, Mishra’s Bauble, and even Seat of the Synod act as ways to add artifacts to the board without investing any mana.
These cards are perfect follow-ups to Patchwork Automaton, which is one of your strongest turn one plays if you have Ancient Tomb in your opening hand. Patchwork Automaton’s Ward 2 ability makes it tough for most decks to kill in the first few turns. With enough artifacts to follow up, the opponent will start taking boatloads of damage before they can answer it.
Besides Patchwork Automaton, Memory Guardian is a solid threat in its own right. This card is going to cost one mana most of the time. It dodges Lightning Bolt and Fatal Push. Simultaneously, it does a great job keeping Delver of Secrets and Dragon’s Rage Channeler in check. You can’t really ask for much more out of your new Aetherdrift creature.
In attrition battles, Thoughtcast and Emry, Lurker of the Loch provide a consistent stream of card advantage. The combination of Emry and Mishra’s Bauble can effectively run away with the game if the opponent isn’t prepared.
Lastly, the presence of Force of Will, Metallic Rebuke, and Sink into Stupor allows you to hold your own against combo decks. Countering or bouncing huge threats like Psychic Frog is essential if you want to cross the finish line as well.
Polarizing Gameplay
- Mana Value: XX
- Rarity: Mythic Rare
- Card Type: Artifact
- MTG Sets: Masters 25, Mirrodin, Modern Masters, Time Spiral Remastered, The Lost Caverns of Ixalan Commander
- Card Text: Chalice of the Void enters the battlefield with X charge counters on it. Whenever a player casts a spell with converted mana cost equal to the number of charge counters on Chalice of the Void, counter that spell.
Mono-blue Affinity is nothing new as an archetype in Legacy, but the inclusion of Memory Guardian and Clown Car is a big deal. Memory Guardian is a great midrange threat that’s easier to cast than Thought Monitor. It isn’t quite as impervious to removal as Kappa Cannoneer, but being able to block fliers is a big deal given how popular Delver decks are currently.
Clown Car is an important piece of the puzzle versus problematic cards like Chalice of the Void. Chalice of the Void out of mono-red Stompy can lock you out of casting your zero-mana artifacts, so getting to invest extra mana into Clown Car and get some Clown Robots for your trouble can be the difference between winning and having all of your affinity payoffs rot in your hand.
Even with these additions, though, games can still be quite swingy with mono-blue affinity. Between Chalice, Pyroblast, and Fiery Confluence, some games against mono-red Stompy will feel completely unwinnable. On the flip side, if you can land and stick your zero-mana artifacts, this deck can create an overwhelming battlefield presence that’s too much for blue tempo decks to handle.
At the end of the day, it’s nice to see this deck having success, and Clown Car being front and center is certainly amusing. Unfinity fans rejoice!