EDH Optimizer
Artifacts Commander decks
Artifact decks exploit pieces that are cheap, colorless and recursive: they ramp on artificial mana, draw off every artifact entering and close with payoffs that count how many you control. Mass artifact removal hurts them badly.
Cards that define the archetype
Ranked by how much MORE they are played inside the archetype than in the rest of Commander. Generic staples (Sol Ring, Arcane Signet…) fall out for exactly that reason: they are played everywhere equally.
| Card | Commanders | Avg. inclusion | Excess |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foundry Inspector | 221 | 58% | +41 pts |
| Buried Ruin | 186 | 50% | +32 pts |
| Solemn Simulacrum | 217 | 52% | +30 pts |
| Darksteel Citadel | 163 | 53% | +29 pts |
| Seat of the Synod | 128 | 58% | +27 pts |
| Etherium Sculptor | 113 | 59% | +23 pts |
| Inventors' Fair | 117 | 46% | +22 pts |
| Emry, Lurker of the Loch | 89 | 49% | +18 pts |
| Great Furnace | 86 | 57% | +18 pts |
| Thought Monitor | 78 | 49% | +16 pts |
| Mystic Forge | 120 | 56% | +16 pts |
| Dispatch | 79 | 51% | +16 pts |
| Sai, Master Thopterist | 76 | 50% | +16 pts |
| Scrap Trawler | 81 | 51% | +15 pts |
| Academy Ruins | 75 | 44% | +15 pts |
| Unwinding Clock | 66 | 50% | +14 pts |
| Academy Manufactor | 73 | 58% | +14 pts |
| Ancient Den | 66 | 55% | +14 pts |
| Jhoira's Familiar | 76 | 49% | +13 pts |
| Thoughtcast | 61 | 43% | +13 pts |
| Myr Retriever | 69 | 52% | +13 pts |
| Sculpting Steel | 60 | 50% | +11 pts |
| Steel Overseer | 64 | 55% | +11 pts |
| Kappa Cannoneer | 51 | 50% | +11 pts |
| Padeem, Consul of Innovation | 48 | 48% | +10 pts |
| Reckless Fireweaver | 51 | 50% | +10 pts |
| Everflowing Chalice | 80 | 52% | +10 pts |
| Fabricate | 53 | 43% | +10 pts |
| Ichor Wellspring | 47 | 60% | +10 pts |
| Ornithopter of Paradise | 59 | 48% | +10 pts |
Commanders for Artifacts
Ranked by how central this archetype is to their decks and by how played each commander is, according to EDHREC data.
By color identity
Red Best cards by color →
Blue Best cards by color →
White Best cards by color →
White · Red Best cards by color →
White · Blue Best cards by color →
Colorless Best cards by color →
Paste your list and we tell you whether the deck actually does what it wants to do: curve, ramp, interaction and a 10,000-game simulation.
🛠️ Build a deck like this 📥 Analyze my deckFrequently asked questions
What is the best commander for a Artifacts deck?
The most-built commanders for this archetype are Breya, Etherium Shaper, Infinite Guideline Station, Urtet, Remnant of Memnarch. EDH Optimizer has the full list of 992 commanders with their recommended cards, ranked by how central Artifacts is to their decks.
Which cards are must-haves in a Artifacts deck?
The three most characteristic are Foundry Inspector, Buried Ruin, Solemn Simulacrum. They are not the most-played cards in the format, but the ones that appear far more inside this archetype than in the rest of Commander — which is what actually makes them essential here.
What colors is Artifacts played in?
The most common color identities are Red, Blue, White. The "By color identity" section groups the commanders and links to the best cards for each combination.
How much does a Artifacts deck cost?
It depends on the price cap PER CARD you set. Each commander page lists the best cards in three tiers (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.