The Aetherspark – Aetherdrift
Date Reviewed: February 19, 2025
Ratings:
Constructed: 4
Casual: 5
Limited: 4.25
Multiplayer: 3.75
Commander [EDH]: 4
Ratings are based on a 1 to 5 scale. 1 is bad. 3 is average. 5 is great.
Reviews Below:
Technically, we were warned about this – by my beloved Mystery Booster test cards. Last year we had Planeswalkerificate, and the first batch had somewhat different non-standard uses of planeswalker design space like Blood Poet and Personal Decoy. But whether or not you paid close attention to those cards, I would say that “Huh?!” is a valid reaction to The Aetherspark. If we’re measuring purely by combat impact, I don’t think it quite cracks the top tier of equipment, even accounting for the fact that its cast plus equip total cost is only four mana. But it threatens to run away with games in a way that – dare I say it? – rivals the infamous Umezawa’s Jitte. Starting from a creature with base power and toughness 1/1 and double strike and ending by burying an opponent in card drawing is a very tempting proposition, and the ultimate that adds ten mana sounds excessive but will be quite fun when you pull it off. That’s also another very welcome tool for more aggressive decks in formats like Commander. If any of that appeals to you, then it’ll be well worth learning the ins and outs of how this card actually works – because it works quite well indeed.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 5
Limited: 4
Multiplayer: 4
Commander [EDH]: 4
The Aetherspark is a pretty fascinating card: in effect, make any creature a planeswalker, though not exactly. It can attack to something like a tumor with its +1 ability (or with any auto-equip Equipment support), and then you can get off to the races. None of its abilities are game breaking alone, but this is a very powerful value engine that lets you either grind out card advantage or ready a massive concussive turn then and there. In particular, if you can auto-attack this and swing with something big enough, you can maybe fire the ultimate in one turn, and 10 mana is a lot of mana to work with.
That said, The Aetherspark feels like it’s not as formidable as it seems. It’s an artifact, which opens it up to removal from multiple colors, and it also is still technically able to be targeted by burn spells while attached. It also really needs a creature, since those abilities are fairly anemic without a bit of extra support. Still, this is a phenomenal weapon for any aggressive deck that wants a bit of extra gas, fittingly enough, and it’s not too hard to make this snowball viciously with just a little support.
Constructed: 4
Casual: 5
Limited: 4.5 (that +1 will grind things down pretty well, and the set is heavier on artifact support)
Multiplayer: 3.5
Commander [EDH]: 4
We would love more volunteers to help us with our Magic the Gathering Card of the Day reviews. If you want to share your ideas on cards with other fans, feel free to drop us an email. We would be happy to link back to your blog / YouTube Channel / etc. 😉
