Underplayed Vehicles in Commander
Welcome to The Jankyard, a place filled with cheap alternatives for expensive staples. Everything here is under $5, and can be just as good, if not better, than their popular expensive counterparts.
In preparation for
Prodigy's Prototype
The main benefit to most Vehicles is their ability to utilize small creatures to swing for higher damage instead of those creatures attacking on their own. Since you're going to be needing creatures to crew, and Vehicles to attack, why not keep the strategy alive with Prodigy’s Prototype.
With this card out you can build your base of creatures each time your Vehicles attack. It doesn’t just make regular 1/1s, it makes Pilots that are able to crew for two greater than their power. This keeps your game plan alive with the ability to cast more and more Vehicles with creatures already in play to crew them.
| Prodigy's Prototype |
The Prydwen, Steel Flagship
Just like Prodigy’s Prototype, a Vehicle deck requires creatures to tap and crew its Vehicles. However, The Prydwen, Steel Flagship is perfect for more than just Vehicle decks, and is a great inclusion in any artifact deck.
Every time a nontoken artifact enters, you create a 2/2 creature. But these aren’t just regular 2/2s that will sit and accumulate, they’ll also get a buff once each turn of +2/+2 when an artifact enters. In a deck that plans on playing a lot of Vehicles, you now have 4/4s that can crew larger crew costs or attack alongside the Vehicles. The Prydwen, Steel Flagship can make an army just by sitting on the board, giving
| The Prydwen, Steel Flagship | ||
| The Prydwen, Steel Flagship (Extended Art) |
The Indomitable
Imagine
| The Indomitable | ||
| The Indomitable (Extended Art) |
Peacewalker Colossus
Apart from being a 6/6 for three mana and a crew cost of four, Peacewalker Colossus makes it so you can choose to pay only two mana instead of the crew cost of other Vehicles you control. This repeatable effect gives you the versatility to pick which you would rather have, creatures open and untapped, or open and untapped mana. To me, paying two mana and attacking with
| Peacewalker Colossus | ||
| Peacewalker Colossus |
Jackdaw
While Jackdaw is perfect for any deck filled with other Vehicles, it works great in any deck that plans on playing a lot of artifacts. The downside to Jackdaw is its lack of evasion on an effect that benefits more towards the late game, meaning that dealing combat damage may be difficult. However, if you're able to get in for damage, you’ll be rewarded with a self-wheel that can possibly draw your entire deck if you hypothetically have an ungodly amount of Treasures or other artifacts.
| Jackdaw | ||
| Jackdaw (Foil Etched) | ||
| Jackdaw (Extended Art) |
Surgehacker Mech
While Surgehacker Mech isn’t going to break any list of “The top targeted removal in EDH,” it’s a great addition to any deck that plans on having multiple Vehicles on the board. The value of Surgehacker Mech grows as the number of Vehicles you control grows, and since it’s a colorless permanent it can get around some types of protection like
Once Surgehacker Mech is played and on the battlefield, you now have a 5/5 with menace, adding as another good attacker in your growing fleet of Vehicles.
| Surgehacker Mech | ||
| Surgehacker Mech (Showcase) | ||
| Surgehacker Mech (Extended Art) |
Luxurious Locomotive
One of the most overlooked cards from
This card is perfect for any Vehicle deck that utilizes a lot of creatures for crew and may need a bump in mana, or any deck that has a go-wide strategy.
| Luxurious Locomotive |
Mizzium Tank
If you’re playing a spellslinger deck or any deck that’s looking to utilize Prowess triggers, Mizzium Tank is a great include. For three mana you get a 3/2 with trample, and Mizzium Tank’s ability is essentially Prowess with the addition of making it into an artifact creature. This additional line makes it so you don’t have to crew Mizzium Tank as long as you play at least one noncreature spell in a turn.
Prowess is an extremely powerful ability, but the only evasion found on most creatures with Prowess is flying. Apart from
| Mizzium Tank |
If you're reading this article, you're probably looking to build on a budget like I am. If you want to track the best prices on cards like these and more, you can do so with Price Alerts, a premium feature for supporters of MTGStocks. Once you buy those cards at the right price, you can keep track of their prices through Inventory Based Interests at the same time. Consider joining today!
Further Reading:
Kaspar Renken is a graduate of Western Connecticut State University, and has been playing Magic since War of the Spark. He began playing Standard for a short time before finding EDH and the friendships that come from multiplayer formats. When he’s not playing or building decks, he can probably be found working on his Mustang.
