Stoneforge Mystic in Boss Naya's 3rd Place Showing at Magic: The Gathering's Pro Tour San Diego

At the recent Pro Tour San Diego on February 21, 2010, Luis Scott Vargas piloted a Naya deck to an amazing 10-0 performance, coming in 3^rd overall to two Jund decks, the reigning bullies of the standard environment. Along with the usual suspects such as Bloodbraid Elf, Ranger of Eos, Ajani Vengeant, Lightning Bolt, and others, the deck contained some new additions to the standard environment courtesy of the new Worldwake Expansion: namely, Basilisk Collar and Stoneforge Mystic.

Now, the former of these cards was expected (at least by some) to have an impact on the standard environment. Cheaply granting a creature both deathtouch and lifelink definitely seems good. More surprising is the inclusion of the latter, Stoneforge Mystic. Let's take a closer look at the card:

Stoneforge Mystic

1W

Creature-Kor Artificer 1/2

When stoneforge mystic enters the battlefield, you may search your library for an equipment card, reveal it, put it into your hand, and shuffle your library. 1W, tap: You may put an equipment card from your hand onto the battlefield.

At first glance this card may seem to be underwhelming, especially in an age where 3 mana 5/4s and 4/5s roam. However, upon closer inspection, its ability works very well in the currently aggro oriented format. Examing LSV's list, he has a mere singleton of both behemoth sledge and basilisk collar. Running two stoneforge mystics, however gives him the ability to tutor for these pieces of equipment.

Why is this so important? Well, you don't necessarily need equipment in multiples, even though it is nice to have at least one of them in play in a deck chock full of creatures. The less Basilisk Collars and Behemoth Sledges that you run in your deck, the more quality critters like Bloodbraid elf, Scute mob, Knight of the reliquary, et cetera you can include. Stoneforge Mystic is very similar to Ranger of Eos, only it lets you search for equipment and not creatures-and we all know how coveted the Ranger is at this point. And it appears that the Stoneforge Mystic is being used in the same way in this deck.

If the next expansion, Rise of the Eldrazi, has more significantly powerful equipment in the vein of Basilisk Collar, Stoneforge Mystic could become even more pricey and popular. And, since the next expansion code named "Lights" is heavily rumored to be an artifact-centric set like Mirrodin, this Kor is all but guaranteed to have a lasting place in the standard format until he rotates out. Don't be surprised to see this critter in Boss Naya and other decklists for a while.