Oildeep Gearhulk – Aetherdrift
Date Reviewed: February 12, 2025
Ratings:
Constructed: 3.88
Casual: 4.00
Limited: 4.13
Multiplayer: 3.50
Commander [EDH]: 3.50
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
There’s an obvious comparison to Thought-Knot Seer in Oildeep Gearhulk’s stats and abilities, and perhaps a less obvious warning. The decks it goes in will be just as specialized, because its mana cost is also unusual or difficult in a practical sense. We might have a longer history with colored mana and multicolored cards than with nonartifact colorless cards that ask for colorless mana specifically, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need to be cautious of it when deckbuilding. Having said that, you get what you pay for and then some – the Gearhulk’s combat stats and keywords might feel transgressive to some players with particular experience of Dimir cards, much less having a disruptive ability on top of that.
Constructed: 4 (possibly limited to two-color decks, but those decks will be strong)
Casual: 4
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
A new cycle of Gearhulks joins the fray, and the quintet are ally-colored behemoths with some flashy abilities. Oildeep Gearhulk is not the flashiest in terms of its impact; while it’s merely replacing a card with another, there’s still value in surgically removing something from a hand and forcing a replacement…in particular, four- and five-mana spells tend to be pretty game-warping, and so pushing the threat out can be valuable…or, alternatively, you can use this in a pinch to cycle a card from your hand.
The value here is mostly in that it can disrupt tempo while still presenting a threat; a 4/4 with soft protections and lifelink, as well as being an artifact for such synergies, can definitely create a bit of chaos if you can get this out early. It’s nothing earth-shattering, but it’s a good value and tempo play really only held back by an awkward, color-heavy casting cost.
Constructed: 3.75
Casual: 4
Limited: 4.25
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 3.5
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