Ironically enough, the most exciting new Magic: The Gathering cards during preview season are often those that call back to things we’ve already seen. Brand-new mechanics are hard to evaluate, after all, whereas established effects have more of a track record to refer to. Aetherdrift previews kicked off yesterday, and there was no shortage of spicy new designs. One of the very best among these was Repurposing Bay, however, a callback to a true MTG classic.
Even if you’ve never played it yourself, you’ve probably heard of Birthing Pod at some point in your Magic career. This is an iconic tutoring engine, so good it remains banned in Modern to this day. Repurposing Bay feels very much like an artifact equivalent of this fan-favorite. Given how many broken strategies typically lean on artifacts, this is scary news indeed.
Repurposing Bay MTG
- Mana Value: 2U
- Rarity: Rare
- Type: Artifact
- Card Text: 2, Tap, Sacrifice another artifact: Search your library for an artifact card with mana value equal to 1 plus the sacrificed artifact’s mana value, put that card onto the battlefield, then shuffle. Activate only as a sorcery.
Repurposing Bay really is strikingly similar to MTG classic Birthing Pod. It costs three mana to cast, which is how much Pod costs if you pay life for the Phyrexian Mana. Its ability also costs two mana to activate, just like Pod’s. Granted, you can’t use Phyrexian Mana for the ability here, so it will always cost two no matter what.
For those unfamiliar, Birthing Pod was used as a bit of a multi-tool in Modern before it was banned. Its ability to tutor up creatures of specific costs allowed for decks with a ton of situational one-of answer cards. Need to remove a creature? Grab a Shriekmaw. Need to shut down opposing abilities? Grab Linvala, Keeper of Silence.
This ‘answer to everything’ toolbox approach was powerful alone, but Birthing Pod decks typically backed it up with an explosive combo finish. Murderous Redcap, Melira, and a sacrifice outlet like Viscera Seer could end the game on the spot, for example. If you didn’t have a specific problem to address, you could spend your Pod activation for the turn simply fishing for one of those pieces.
I expect Repurposing Bay to work in a very similar manner. There are a ton of artifact-based answer cards out there, perhaps even more than there are creatures. You can shut down graveyard decks with Grafdigger’s Cage, for example, or combo decks with Trinisphere. There are also plenty of combo avenues to pursue here too. Underworld Breach decks in Modern that rely on Grinding Station to win are on the up right now, to give just one example.
We’ve seen plenty of Birthing Pod variants come and go over the years. Repurposing Bay really seems like the best one we’ve seen so far however, by a pretty wide margin.
A New Standard
Clearly Repurposing Bay has some serious MTG pedigree behind it, but where will it actually see play? I’m tempted to say ‘everywhere’, but I think this is a case where the older a format is, the more chance Bay has of making an impact there. The quality of artifacts increases massively the further back you go, so this is a logical assumption to make. That said, I do also think it has a shot in Standard.
There’s a ton of support for an artifact deck in the format right now, in blue especially. Simulacrum Synthesizer is still in Standard, and gets a lot better when you can tutor a new artifact into play every single turn. Despite all its hype and high price tag, this card hasn’t really had much Standard success so far. Repurposing Bay could very well change that, leading to the creation of a kind of artifact tempo/toolbox list.
There are also some more out-there strategies possible with the card. Encroaching Mycosynth is still Standard-legal, and provides a way to turn everything you own into an artifact. This lets you sacrifice nonartifact cards to Bay, and also tutor up nonartifact cards with it. Spending your entire turn four setting up is a big ask but afterwards you will essentially be playing regular Birthing Pod in Standard, which is quite exciting.
It’s also worth remembering that the Brothers’ War Prototype cards are still in the format. These can come down early to serve as sacrifice fodder for Bay, and you can tutor them up further down the chain to enjoy their full power. Sadly you can’t drop Arcane Proxy for three then trade it in for an eight drop, but the flexibility here is still very much welcome.
Eternal-Level Power
Where Repurposing Bay could really shine is in older MTG formats. The likes of Modern, Legacy, and possibly even Vintage are going to love having access to an effect like this. Modern in particular seems primed to make great use of the card. Mox Opal just got unbanned, which is a huge deal for artifact decks in general. For Bay specifically, it provides the extra mana needed to get its tutoring effect online sooner.
Traditional Affinity seems like a great home for Repurposing Bay. Affinity cards can be cast for cheap but then sacrificed using their original high mana costs, which lets you grab some heavy hitters. Chaining Kappa Cannoneer into Thought Monitor into Imskir Iron-Eater is going to feel amazing. You can also easily cycle through the deck’s low-cost utility artifacts if needed. If that doesn’t work out, I could see Breach/Grinding Station combo decks trying it out too. If they don’t eat the ban hammer first, that is.
Going further back, I really do think that Repurposing Bay could see play in Legacy and Vintage. It’s true that Birthing Pod hasn’t done anything in those formats for a while, but artifacts are much more powerful there. When you’re dealing with genuine Moxen and Metalworkers, powerful support cards like this get a lot better. Being blue also means you can pitch Bay to Force of Will, which is a pretty huge deal. I’d expect decks like Jewel Shops in Vintage to at least try this card out, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it became a staple. It’s not often you can say that about a new MTG card with confidence.
Unfortunately, there is one hole in this grand scheme: we already have something that does what Repurposing Bay does in Pioneer, Modern and Legacy: Oswald Fiddlebender. The parallels aren’t quite lined up since Oswald is a creature, but the card is more mana efficient in its mana value and its activated ability. From that angle, Oswald Fiddlebender could be even stronger than Repurposing Bay. That said, the card is easy to remove, and prone to summoning sickness, so its hard to know for sure.
Either way, Repurposing Bay certainly has a winning formula to, at worst, see some heavy experimentation and, at best, dominate multiple MTG formats.