A new Magic: The Gathering creature type called Toy was introduced through Duskmourn: House of Horrors, with a majority of them having a low mana cost and power.
The design of MTG Toy creatures within Duskmourn: House of Horrors plays off the flavor of “previously inanimate objects that have gained a keen, deadly sentience and an appetite for death,” according to WotC. Toy creatures on the plane of Duskmourn avoid confrontation, often laying dormant while waiting for a sucker to pick them up and let their guard down. The Duskmourn Artifact Toy creature cards have stats like a toy would, with only one having a power level over three at time of writing.
Here are the best Toy Artifact creatures from the House of Horrors set.
Giggling Skitterspike (Commander)
Costing four Colorless mana, Giggling Skitterspike is a Duskmourn Commander card. The Toy is a 1/1 that’s Indestructible. Giggling Skitterspike uses Indestructible to deal its power to an opponent when it either attacks, blocks, or is the target of a spell.
As a bonus, Giggling Skitterspike has an activated ability of Monstrosity Five. The Monstrosity mechanic grants five +1/+1 counters on Giggling Skitterspike at the cost of five Colorless mana. It’s a fun Artifact creature that can slot into a variety of Commander decks.
Arabella, Abandoned Doll
Arabella, Abandoned Doll isn’t an Aggro card you want to hit on curve but she’s a powerful finisher who can take over the board state. The downside of the Artifact Toy is that she doesn’t have Haste. But when she attacks with a board full of creatures at least once, the lifegain and damage alone can swing a match without having to attack with your other creatures.
Marvin, Murderous Mimic
Duplicating Marvin, Murderous Mimic without other creatures on the board won’t do you any good. But as a two-drop Artifact with all activated abilities of creatures you control, the Toy will have a major impact on Commander. I’m anxious to test it out in Standard, for fun.
Twitching Doll
Twitching Doll is the buy-a-box promo for Duskmourn, and it’s worth having a copy or two. The two-drop mana dork taps for mana of any color, which isn’t anything to write home about. But it also gains a Nest counter when it taps for mana. The Nest counters turn into 2/2 Spider tokens in Green with Reach when Twitching Doll is tapped to sacrifice it. The Spider Toy is pure value in a Green deck with two or more colors, providing mana and then board presence later in the game when mana isn’t needed anymore.
Piggy Bank
Creating Treasure tokens is always good for a low-cost creature like Piggy Bank. The Toy isn’t Charming Scoundrel but it does have 3/2 stats for a two-drop and leave behind a Treasure token when it dies. Piggy Bank is a Boar that will get what it wants and then leave behind an Artifact you can use for a variety of purposes. I expect Piggy Bank to be good in MTG Duskmourn Limited, especially in the RB Sacrifice Draft archetype. The Toy won’t see much Standard play, though, and maybe some Commander.
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