Welcome back!

Today we're going to be tackling a big one: the best equipment!

According to Scryfall, if my searching is correct, there are an incredible 567 equipment cards in the game. Thankfully, many of these are similar to auras in that they're mostly underpowered commons. But even so, out of 567, there are some truly powerful icons among those equipment. Cards that have defined formats, and been the bane of many players' existence. Today we're going to try and narrow down some of the best of those.

Let's begin!

Basilisk Collar

There's a reason Basilisk Collar has been printed 17 times. That's a lot. The card is cheap and effective, and it even has a lot of combo potential. Back in the day, people would pair it with cards like Cunning Sparkmage to kill any creature on the spot. With both cards first being printed in Worldwake, the combo feels almost deliberate. You can also grab the Collar with cards like Urza's Saga, which is something that's worth keeping in mind in 2025.

I have to give bonus points for the Fallout version that has Dogmeat in the art.

Batterskull & Kaldra Compleat

Stoneforge Mystic may have helped put equipment in general on the competitive map, but she really put equipment with the living mechanic ability on the map. Unless you were a control deck looking for a fairly expensive finisher, you likely weren't going to be playing Batterskull. But once you were able to search it up and put it into play at instant speed, all for two mana, Batterskull became a staple for any Stoneforge Mystic package.

Kaldra Compleat managed to push things a bit farther in both directions, in that it was a stronger equipment to put into play, but it was also even harder to cast on its own.

Embercleave

Embercleave is the only colored equipment on this list and it definitely deserves a slot. This card was massacring people back in Throne of Eldraine Standard, and it still sees play in Pioneer today, along with some sparse Legacy and Modern play. The only problem with Embercleave is that it's an equipment that requires very specific decks and conditions to really make it effective, but in the decks that fulfill those criteria, you're very likely going to get snookered.

Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, & Lavaspur Boots

Ah, the protection boots! Lightning Greaves is so popular in Commander that there have been a massive 41 printings of the card, and I remember a time where there was a copy in every precon, much like Sol Ring. I'm not sure if that's still the case, but there sure are a lot of versions.

Greaves is such a popular card that two, more "balanced" versions have been printed since, in the form of Swiftfoot Boots and Lavaspur Boots, which added an equip cost and slowly eased up on the protection a bit. Even with those debuffs, all three of these equipment see a ton of play in various formats.

Loxodon Warhammer

Loxodon Warhammer was a staple back in the deck, mostly because it was doing a fantastic Armadillo Cloak impression. Armadillo Cloak was an all-star in the decks that could best utilize it, but it had the natural downside of all enchantments, which is that you just get two-for-one'd if the opponent was able to kill your creature. Well, Loxodon Warhammer changed all that! No longer did you have to worry about hemorrhaging value if the opponent was able to kill your creature. The only thing you lost here was the three mana you spent on the equip cost. And that's not too bad.

Loxodon Warhammer has also has 20 different printings, and an impressive 18 of those have all had the same artwork. Talk about iconic art!

Shadowspear

Shadowspear always surprises me with how popular it became. It feels a lot like Basilisk Collar in that it gives lifelink and costs one mana, but the ability to remove hexproof and indestructible from your opponents' creatures is where it really shines. I have to assume this is why Basilisk Collar is about $1 and the Shadowspear is typically over $30. I definitely don't understand that price tag, but I have to assume it's related to Commander, because that's how things always work. And just like Basilisk Collar, this is another equipment you can search out with an Urza's Saga, which is always worth noting.

In fact, the better comparison might be to Loxodon Warhammer. Instead of +3/+0, the creature is getting +1/+1, but both equipment offer the same lifelink and trample. The spear is just providing it at a much cheaper cost.

Swords of X & Y

I have always loved these Swords, mostly because of my appreciation for symmetrical cycles. The original cycle of ten swords took an incredible 19 years to finish, starting in 2004 with Darksteel's Sword of Fire and Ice and Sword of Light and Shadow. Swords slowly trickled out over the years, with the cycle finally culminating with the last Sword of Once and Future in 2023's March of the Machine.

Sword of Fire and Ice, Sword of Feast and Famine, Sword of Light and Shadow, and Sword of Body and Mind have shown to be the best sword offerings over the years.

In addition to the original ten swords, I would also include Sword of Wealth and Power here, as it has all the same criteria as the existing swords: cost of three, equip cost of two, +2/+2, protection from two specific things, and an effect when combat damage is dealt.

Umezawa's Jitte & Manriki-Gusari

In my estimation, Umezawa's Jitte might be the most infamous equipment of all time. Unlike other equipment on this list, this was a card that absolutely dominated entire metagames.

Jitte was played during the time where the legend rule was such that if one player had a legendary permanent in play, and another player played that same legendary permanent, both would go to the graveyard. This was a flavor-based rule, but it didn't end up feeling very fun and was eventually changed. That being said, Umezawa's Jitte was a card that creatureless decks were playing four copies of, just as a way to kill opposing Jittes. It was madness. Jitte is still banned in Modern and one of the prime targets of cards like Stoneforge Mystic.

Manriki-Gusari is a real honorable mention here, since this was an equipment from Saviors of Kamigawa that was exclusively played to be able to destroy opposing Jittes. What a claim to fame.

Anyway, thanks for reading and I'll catch ya next time!

Frank Lepore

Twitch | Bluesky | YouTube