Do Artifacts Count as Devotion in Magic: The Gathering?
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Yes, colored artifacts absolutely count towards your devotion in Magic: The Gathering! This is a crucial point often misunderstood by newer players. As long as an artifact has colored mana symbols in its mana cost (the cost in the upper right corner of the card), those symbols contribute to your devotion of that color. Let’s dive deeper into how this mechanic works and address some common questions.
Understanding Devotion: The Basics
Devotion is a mechanic in Magic: The Gathering that counts the number of colored mana symbols among the mana costs of permanents you control. It’s most notably associated with the Theros block, where it empowers Gods that only become creatures if you have enough devotion to their respective color(s). It is a way to add a thematic element to card gameplay.
What Makes Up Devotion?
- Only mana symbols in the mana costs of your permanents count. Permanents include creatures, artifacts, enchantments, planeswalkers, and lands (though lands rarely have colored mana symbols in their costs).
- Mana symbols in the text box of a card don’t contribute to your devotion. This includes activation costs and abilities.
- Colored Artifacts very much count toward devotion, as the initial article said.
Example Scenario
Imagine you control:
- A Boros Reckoner (Red/White Creature: {R/W}{R/W}{3})
- A Shrine of Burning Rage (Colorless Artifact: {1})
- A Prophetic Prism (Colored Artifact: {1})
Your devotion to red is 2 (from the Boros Reckoner). Shrine of Burning Rage does not count as devotion because colorless artifacts do not count as devotion. Prophetic Prism does not add devotion because there is no mana symbol on the card.
15 FAQs About Artifacts and Devotion
Here are 15 frequently asked questions, designed to clarify some specific scenarios and potential points of confusion regarding artifacts and devotion.
1. Do colorless artifacts contribute to devotion?
No. Colorless artifacts, those with only generic mana costs (represented by numbers) in their mana cost, do not contribute to devotion. Devotion specifically counts colored mana symbols.
2. If an artifact creature has a colored mana cost, does it count toward devotion?
Yes! If an artifact creature has a colored mana symbol in its mana cost, it absolutely counts. For example, a Glass Casket has a colored mana symbol of two white pips. This contributes 2 to your devotion to white.
3. What about hybrid mana symbols on artifacts?
Hybrid mana symbols (e.g., {R/W}) count as both colors for the purposes of devotion. A card with {R/W} contributes one to your devotion to red and one to your devotion to white.
4. Do artifacts with phyrexian mana symbols count?
Phyrexian mana symbols (e.g., {W/P}) contribute to devotion as well. A card with {W/P} contributes one to your devotion to white. It only represents a life loss in the cost you pay.
5. If an artifact has a colored activated ability, does that affect my devotion?
No. As mentioned earlier, only the mana cost in the upper right corner affects devotion. Activated abilities, even if they require colored mana, do not contribute.
6. What happens if an artifact changes colors?
The color of the artifact itself doesn’t matter; it’s the colors in the mana cost that determine its contribution to devotion. So, if an artifact initially has a red mana symbol in its cost and then becomes blue through an effect, it still contributes to your devotion to red.
7. Do double-faced cards with artifact sides count towards devotion?
Yes. The mana cost of the front face of a double-faced card contributes to devotion, even if the back face is an artifact. If the card has a transformed or flipped state, the mana cost of the original front face determines devotion.
8. How do split cards interact with devotion?
Only the mana cost of the split card you cast contributes to devotion. You don’t get to add the mana symbols of both halves.
9. Do legendary artifacts have any special interaction with devotion?
No. Being legendary doesn’t change how an artifact contributes to devotion. If it has colored mana symbols in its mana cost, those symbols are counted towards your devotion, regardless of its legendary status.
10. What about artifacts that copy other permanents?
If an artifact becomes a copy of another permanent, it will add to your devotion. If it copies a card with one red pips, then it will give you one devotion to red.
11. Do tokens count toward devotion?
Token permanents count toward devotion in the same way that regular cards do. This means that colored token permanents do add devotion towards any color they are.
12. What happens if my artifact is countered?
If the spell is countered as you are trying to cast it, the card will go into your graveyard and will never enter the battlefield. This means that the card never became a permanent, so it won’t count toward your devotion.
13. If I have multiple of the same artifact out, do they all count toward devotion?
Yes. If you control multiple copies of the same artifact, each with colored mana symbols in its mana cost, they all contribute to your devotion.
14. If an artifact is in my graveyard, does it count toward devotion?
No, devotion is only determined by what is on the field. If an artifact is in any zone other than the battlefield, it does not add to your devotion.
15. Does the March of the Machine cards add devotion?
The March of the Machine cards do not add to Standard devotion, since they were reprinted cards. While the cards can be used in Limited formats and other game modes, it does not affect the Standard environment, as the Games Learning Society has researched.
Key Takeaways
- Colored artifacts do count towards devotion.
- Only mana symbols in the mana cost of a permanent affect devotion.
- Abilities and other text box elements don’t contribute.
- Hybrid and Phyrexian mana symbols contribute to devotion.
Understanding how artifacts interact with devotion is crucial for building and playing certain archetypes in Magic: The Gathering, especially those centered around mechanics like devotion.