Mishra’s Factory (Winter) – Antiquities MTG Review

David
Fanany
Player
since
1995

It’s still a little surprising when I look at Legacy or Vintage decks and don’t see much of Mishra’s Factory – it’s present in Legacy, but not omnipresent. If you want to see what it’s capable of in the right circumstances, you can look at 93/94 Old School, where its ban-worthiness or lack thereof is often a topic of discussion. This does have something to do with the relatively low power level of 93/94 creatures compared to recent ones, but it also has to do with the fact that the Factory comes online as early as the second turn. It’s not even really obsoleted by Mutavault and its nine hundred creature types, because duplicates can boost each other. If you’ve ever done the thought experiment where you imagine decks with only one card (as in sixty Mishra’s Factories) playing against each other, it’s a top-tier deck because of that; although you don’t have to get that extreme to kill people out of nowhere!

Constructed: 4/5
Casual: 4/5
Limited: 4/5
Multiplayer: 4/5
Commander: 4/5

The original creature land, Mishra’s Factory actually still sees some play to this day in Legacy. One mana for a 2/2 body is a great deal and a good way to tighten the screws early in the game, particularly a creature that’s not vulnerable to countermagic or most sorcery-speed removal, and it even scales well with multiples (due to the ability to tap the Factory to give an Assembly-Worker +1/+1 for the turn; there are also five printed creatures with the typeline, which is pretty nifty).

It’s not likely to win games on its own, but the rate of return is rather high, and it’s a powerful piece in Legacy decks that need some time to get their motors running and could use a bit of pressure in the early game. It also was the progenitor for all of the beloved animating lands to come, and that it continues to see play to this day speaks to its quality.

It does raise comparisons to Mutavault, and I’ll say which one you should play is a matter of if Mishra’s Factory being an artifact creature is more relevant than being every creature type. In Legacy, it matters enough in some decks, and it’s not legal elsewhere to find out.

Constructed: 3.75 (not an ace in Legacy, but it still sees a lot of play and is a good, reliable clock for most decks)
Casual: 4
Limited: 3.5 (again, not amazing, but it’s a reliable clock at a low rarity, having been uncommon in all of its reprintings)
Multiplayer: 3
Commander: 3

Phat
Pack
Magic
YouTube

Hello everyone and welcome back to Pojo’s Card of the Day, today we’re looking at another old card and one that might have been better reviewed in the Winter but the spring is upon us and I’m already longing for those cold frosty days of December! (And a reprieve on my electric bill from all the AC!) So let’s take a look at one of the most beloved artworks of the Old Magic Days.

Mishra’s Factory was one of the first cards to depict alternate art versions that we have come to love today and while art is subjective and beauty happens to be in the eye of the beholder there is one Mishra’s Factory price tag that looms above all others.

Little fun fact about me, I grew up in the Midwest and in my childhood I loved the snow falling, I would often walk outside in the middle of the night around 2-3am when it was piling on with snow and look up to the sky and see the trickle of flakes that would eventually land. …And also that meant a snow day. So when I see this card with the full moon and the layers of snow I get a little bit of nostalgia.

So! Where does this card fit in? Well given that it adds colorless and is almost always useful it can fit in about any format! In constructed older formats like Legacy Mishra’s Factory is an MVP for decks like Standstill and Death and Taxes. It also shows up in a bunch of Vintage Lists and is incredibly popular for 93/94 format decks, especially with this astounding artwork.

While it’s not going to turn a lot of heads in EDH I could still see it in a themed style deck with Karn or Urza at the commander helm.

In Cube it’s practically a staple for a lot of the aggressive decks as it is an easy pick, it’s a land, and can survive wrath effects. Also you can use it to pump an animated mutavault! …For value I suppose?

Right now this card is sitting at a buy price you can find between 140 to 225 depending on condition of the card, and I am so not ashamed to say that a chunk of my stimulus check went to procuring a few of these beauties for my 93/94 deck!

Also: If you’re swinging into this thing, remember it can tap to give itself +1/+1 and become a 3/3, so… be careful if you’re running into this thing with a Goblin Guide.

Ratings:

Constructed 5/5 – The original manland to which all others are compared, the versatility on this card is what makes it still a powerhouse today.

EDH 2/5 – Unfortunately in this world where Thassa’s Sushi Oracle can win the game outright this is more for gimmicky purposes.

Limited 4/5 – There’s not a lot of Antiquities Packs to draft it but I think it’d be an awesome pick regardless. Just watch out for Triskelions!

Cube 3.5/5 – It’s a decent late pickup for aggro and even some control decks as it can be a workable wincon.

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