Ensoul Artifact MTG Card


Ensoul Artifact provides card advantage and can pivot the board state in your favor quickly. It has deck-building constraints and comes with an opportunity cost due to specific mana requirements. The card’s ability for abrupt game shifts ensures its viability in varied meta environments.
Card setsReleased in 4 setsSee all
Mana cost
Converted mana cost2
RarityUncommon
TypeEnchantment — Aura
Abilities Enchant

Text of card

Enchant artifact Enchanted artifact is a creature with base power and toughness 5/5 in addition to its other types.

Too often, some self-described genius comes up with a "labor-saving device" that ends up creating far more work.


Cards like Ensoul Artifact

Ensoul Artifact is a unique card that infuses life into inanimate objects on the battlefield. It’s similar to other animating spells like Tezzeret’s Touch. Both enchantments turn noncreature artifacts into formidable creatures. However, Ensoul Artifact comes in at a lower cost and gives a 5/5 boost, whereas Tezzeret’s Touch provides a 5/5 as well but with an added ability to return the artifact to its owner’s hand if it goes to the graveyard.

Skilled Animator is another card that echoes the effect of Ensoul Artifact. The Animator, unlike Ensoul Artifact which is an aura, is a creature that also turns an artifact into a 5/5 creature as long as the Animator remains on the field, offering a recurring advantage but presenting a vulnerability in the Animator itself.

Comparatively, Ensoul Artifact gives players the flexibility of a low-cost, significant power upgrade to an artifact without the dependency on another creature. The choice between these options often depends on the synergy with the rest of the player’s deck and strategy. In a meta that values speed and efficiency, Ensoul Artifact stands out for its ability to quickly turn the tide of a game.

Tezzeret's Touch - MTG Card versions
Skilled Animator - MTG Card versions
Tezzeret's Touch - MTG Card versions
Skilled Animator - MTG Card versions

Cards similar to Ensoul Artifact by color, type and mana cost

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Copy Artifact - MTG Card versions
Invisibility - MTG Card versions
Power Leak - MTG Card versions
Phantasmal Terrain - MTG Card versions
Creature Bond - MTG Card versions
Stasis - MTG Card versions
Lifetap - MTG Card versions
Power Artifact - MTG Card versions
Psychic Venom - MTG Card versions
Venarian Gold - MTG Card versions
Homarid Spawning Bed - MTG Card versions
Soar - MTG Card versions
Flooded Shoreline - MTG Card versions
Dance of Many - MTG Card versions
Teferi's Veil - MTG Card versions
Legacy's Allure - MTG Card versions
Chill - MTG Card versions
Buoyancy - MTG Card versions
Mana Maze - MTG Card versions
Psionic Gift - MTG Card versions

Decks using this card

MTG decks using Ensoul Artifact. Dig deeper into the strategy of decks, sideboard cards, list ideas and export to play in ARENA or MOL.

#NameFormatArchetypeEvent
Izzet Ensoul ArtifactIzzet Ensoul Artifact PioneerIzzet Ensoul ArtifactPioneer League 2024-04-30
Ensoul ArtifactEnsoul Artifact PioneerEnsoul ArtifactPioneer Challenge 32 2024-05-05

Card Pros

Card Advantage: Ensoul Artifact transforms any cheap or incidental artifact into a formidable 5/5 creature, effectively using one card to exert considerable pressure on your opponent. This move can swing the board state in your favor without sacrificing card resources.

Resource Acceleration: When used on a mana-producing artifact, Ensoul Artifact can turn it into a dual-purpose asset. Not only do you gain a potent attacker or blocker, but if the artifact produced mana before, it still can, though it may not be able to tap the same turn it’s been ensouled.

Instant Speed: While Ensoul Artifact is not an instant itself, it can instantly change the dynamics of the game. Casting it early can catch an opponent off guard, turning an unassuming artifact into an aggressive threat that needs an immediate answer.


Card Cons

Discard Requirement: While Ensoul Artifact can turn even the most innocuous of objects into a mighty threat, it does ask a significant price in deck building. Binding your deck’s success to artifacts means when you’re without one to ensoul, the card can become a dead draw.

Specific Mana Cost: With its specific mana cost allocation (one blue and one generic mana), Ensoul Artifact dictates that your deck leans into blue. This may squeeze deck diversity and potentially restrict the card to artifact-heavy or blue-focused strategies.

Comparatively High Mana Cost: While not excessive, the two-mana cost of Ensoul Artifact does leave something to be desired when compared to the pool of one-mana enchantments or creatures it must compete against. At this price point, the speed of your gameplay may take a hit, especially considering you’re often aiming to cast it early to press an advantage.


Reasons to Include Ensoul Artifact in Your Collection

Versatility: Ensoul Artifact offers a dynamic option for any deck that leverages artifacts. It turns even the most unassuming artifact into a significant threat, granting flexibility in how you utilize your resources on the battlefield.

Combo Potential: This card can be the linchpin in powerful synergies, especially in a deck full of artifacts. Upgrading a simple artifact to a 5/5 creature can be a surprise turning point in many games, unlocking new lines of play.

Meta-Relevance: With decks centered around artifacts always ebbing and flowing in popularity, Ensoul Artifact remains a relevant choice. It can catch opponents off guard and transforms artifacts already on the field into formidable creatures, adapting well to various meta shifts.


How to Beat Ensoul Artifact

Ensoul Artifact transforms an inanimate object into a formidable threat, instantly turning any artifact on the battlefield into a 5/5 creature. To effectively overcome this strategy, one must be prepared for abrupt shifts in the power dynamics on the board. The use of removal spells that can specifically target artifacts like Abrade or Nature’s Claim can dismantle an Ensoul Artifact-enhanced object before it becomes a significant problem. Single-target removal that doesn’t discriminate based on card type, such as Path to Exile or Fatal Push, is equally effective.

Bouncing the artifact back to its owner’s hand with spells like Cyclonic Rift or Brazen Borrower ensures that the enchantment fizzles without a target, wasting your opponent’s resources. Counter-magic, preventive measures, and even enchantment removal like Disenchant are excellent tools to keep the threat at bay. Maximizing your resilience and ensuring you have answers in your deck to unexpected enhanced artifacts can secure you the edge you need to beat Ensoul Artifact and keep your opponent’s artifacts just that—at rest.


Where to buy

If you're looking to purchase Ensoul Artifact MTG card by a specific set like Magic 2015 and Mystery Booster, there are several reliable options to consider. One of the primary sources is your local game store, where you can often find booster packs, individual cards, and preconstructed decks from current and some past sets. They often offer the added benefit of a community where you can trade with other players.

For a broader inventory, particularly of older sets, online marketplaces like TCGPlayer, Card Kingdom and Card Market offer extensive selections and allow you to search for cards from specific sets. Larger e-commerce platforms like eBay and Amazon also have listings from various sellers, which can be a good place to look for sealed product and rare finds.

Additionally, Magic’s official site often has a store locator and retailer lists for finding Wizards of the Coast licensed products. Remember to check for authenticity and the condition of the cards when purchasing, especially from individual sellers on larger marketplaces.

Below is a list of some store websites where you can buy the Ensoul Artifact and other MTG cards:

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Printings

The Ensoul Artifact Magic the Gathering card was released in 4 different sets between 2014-07-18 and 2022-07-28. Illustrated by Jasper Sandner.

#ReleasedNameCodeSymbolNumberFrameLayoutBorderArtist
12014-07-18Magic 2015M15 542015NormalBlackJasper Sandner
22019-11-07Mystery BoosterMB1 3652015NormalBlackJasper Sandner
32020-09-26The ListPLST M15-542015NormalBlackJasper Sandner
42022-07-28Explorer Anthology 1EA1 32015NormalBlackJasper Sandner

Legalities

Magic the Gathering formats where Ensoul Artifact has restrictions

FormatLegality
HistoricbrawlLegal
CommanderLegal
HistoricLegal
LegacyLegal
ModernLegal
OathbreakerLegal
VintageLegal
DuelLegal
ExplorerLegal
GladiatorLegal
PioneerLegal
TimelessLegal

Rules and information

The reference guide for Magic: The Gathering Ensoul Artifact card rulings provides official rulings, any errata issued, as well as a record of all the functional modifications that have occurred.

Date Text
2014-07-18 Effects that modify a creature’s power and/or toughness, such as the ones created by Titanic Growth or a +1/+1 counter, will apply to the creature no matter when they started to take effect. The same is true for any counters that change its power and/or toughness and effects that switch power and toughness.
2014-07-18 If the artifact was already a creature, its base power and toughness will each become 5. This overwrites any previous effects that set the creature’s base power and toughness to specific values. Any power- or toughness-setting effects that start to apply after Ensoul Artifact becomes attached to the artifact will overwrite this effect.
2014-07-18 The artifact retains any types, subtypes, or supertypes it has. Notably, if an Equipment becomes an artifact creature, it can’t be attached to another creature. If it was attached to a creature, it becomes unattached.
2014-07-18 The resulting artifact creature will be able to attack on your turn if it’s been under your control continuously since the turn began. That is, it doesn’t matter how long it’s been a creature, just how long it’s been on the battlefield.