MTG Astor, Bearer of Blades buffs vehicles and Equipment in Dominaria United

Wizards of the Coast does the unthinkable in Dominaria United, reducing the Equip and crew cost of Magic: The Gathering Equipment and vehicles to one through the legendary Astor, Bearer of Blades. 

Vehicles and Equipment often take a back seat to top-tier meta decks in MTG, relying upon combos and a gameplay pace that can get clunky at times. Equipment builds are often in the colors Red and White while vehicle decks can run in a variety of archetypes since they typically have a non-color mana cost. With the release of Dominaria United (DMU), the legendary Red and White Astor, Bearer of Blades will buff both archetypes and become a lord of Equipment and vehicles in MTG. 

Astor, Bearer of Blades

Astor is a legendary creature that has shown up in over a dozen sets throughout the history of Magic. Having gone by other names, Astor returns to Standard in DMU as an RW legendary that fetches either Equipment or vehicles from your library to hand while reducing the Equip and crew costs to one. 

• Mana cost: 2RW
• Type: Legendary Creature—Human Warrior
• Rarity: Rare
• Stats: 4/4
• Ability: When Astor, Bearer of Blades enters the battlefield, look at the top seven cards of your library. You may reveal an Equipment or vehicle card from among them and put it into your hand. Put the rest on the bottom of your library in any order.
• Equipment: Equipment you control as an Equip cost of one
• Vehicles: Vehicles you control have a crew cost of one

A four-mana 4/4 that can fetch something from your library that synergizes with your deck is solid in MTG. Astor, Bearer of Blades wants to get played in builds that rely upon either Equipment or vehicles. And maybe even both. And then Astor takes things to a new level by reducing the Equip or crew costs for those vehicles and/or Equipment to one.

Reducing the Equip or crew cost is a big deal in MTG, as most of the powerful Artifacts have a cost from two to three. And while that number might not seem like a lot, it is when a player is required to either hold or spend that mana during a turn where they could use it elsewhere for a greater board state advantage.  

The legendary human warrior may have some success in Standard or Limited, depending on Equipment support within DMU. Vehicles are already supported in Standard, though, following the release of NEO through cards like Reckoner Bankbuster. 

Outside of Standard, there’s little doubt of the power Astor, Bearer of Blades brings to Equiipment decks that were once considered memes or jank. Take the infamous Colossus Hammer, for example, a one-drop colorless Equipment that has an Equip cost of eight—pumping a creature’s stats by +10/+10. 

Players can test out Astor in Standard, Commander, or any other Magic format with the global release of Dominaria United on Sept. 9.