Efficient, versatile interaction is crucial to succeeding in competitive MTG. To show this, few tools are better than Engineered Explosives, which is now getting a reprint in MTG Star Trek. Appearing in Standard for the first time in 22 years, this artifact is bound to have a big impact.
MTG Engineered Explosives
Engineered Explosives has long been a Modern staple with tons of applications. Thanks to its Sunburst ability, multi-color archetypes get access to a disruptive tool that scales over the course of the game. Of course, the more cards you can answer with this artifact, the further you’ll pull ahead on resources.
With this in mind, Explosives should be an incredible answer to go-wide decks in Standard. Obviously, this includes answering token armies generated by Sapling Nursery out of Landfall or Simulacrum Synthesizer out of Jeskai Artifacts. On top of that, though, decks that rely on a specific point in the curve get wrecked. Rakdos Lizards, for example, plays tons of two-drops to maximize Flamecache Gecko‘s mana production, and Explosives punishes them for overextending.
Notably, Explosives isn’t limited to just hitting creatures, which is a huge deal in the current Standard environment. Jund Sacrifice, one of the format’s best decks, leans on Obsessive Pursuit to generate artifact sacrifice fodder and Biotech Specialist to convert those Clues into damage, and Explosives kills both with one card. Similarly, Lifegain shells play a ton of one-drop Soul Sisters effects, including Case of the Uneaten Feast
Case of the Uneaten FeastWhenever a creature you control enters, you gain 1 life.
To solve — You've gained 5 or more life this turn. (If unsolved, solve at the beginning of your end step.)
Solved — Sacrifice this Case: Creature cards in your graveyard gain "You may cast this card from your graveyard" until end of turn., and Explosives cleans them all up.
These use cases make Explosives a very appealing sideboard card at minimum. Decks like Dimir Midrange and Dimir Reanimator that lack good answers to artifacts or enchantments should use this tool particularly well.
Interestingly, Explosives’ impact will likely be even higher in Pioneer, mainly because threats are more efficient. Both Izzet Prowess and Mono-Red Aggro play tons of one-drops like Monastery Swiftspear
Monastery SwiftspearHaste
Prowess (Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, this creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.) and Soul-Scar Mage
Soul-Scar MageProwess
If a source you control would deal noncombat damage to a creature an opponent controls, put that many -1/-1 counters on that creature instead. that Explosives can sweep. Sacrifice decks are on the rise thanks to the printing of The Sackville-Bagginses
The Sackville-BagginsesWhen The Sackville-Bagginses enter, you may sacrifice another creature or artifact. If you do, draw a card and create a Treasure token.
Whenever you sacrifice a token, target opponent loses 1 life., too, so having clean answers to Witch’s Oven is a priority.
Notably, this will also be the first time Explosives is legal in Arena-only formats, and boy does it looked poised to make a splash in Historic Affinity. This card joins Urza’s Bauble as an elite zero-drop artifact that triggers Pinnacle Emissary and reduces Kappa Cannoneer‘s cost. You can also rebuy Explosives with Emry, Lurker of the Loch for continuous disruption.
Affinity could also emerge as a new Standard deck thanks to this zero-drop. While you miss out on Cannoneer as a big finisher, Emissary and Ravenous Robots can create a wide board state in a heartbeat. Weapons Manufacturing also provides plenty of extra reach, and the fact that Explosives for X=0 can destroy and trigger all of your Munitions tokens on a whim is quite powerful. You also have Krang, Master Mind as an extremely powerful Affinity payoff to build towards.
Of course, the card also includes Pinnacle Emissary and answers Manufacturing, so it could easily be a decent anti-Affinity sideboard card.
With MTG Star Trek’s Engineered Explosives reprint introducing the card to Standard, Pioneer, and MTG Arena as a whole, we may be seeing a lot of this card soon.
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