Infect was the first mechanic spoiled for the Scars of Mirrodin set, the one that Mark Rosewater was so excited about that he staged a question and answer on twitter. He had worked for years to bring Poison counters back to Magic, and Infect was the vehicle on which he did it.

The reveal and the discussions it stirred had a number of common themes and hopes, but one which I am glad to finally confirm is that of an equipment which gives a creature infect. And gives it in a big way. A way that must be dealt with immediately.

Grafted Exoskeleton Uncommon Artifact - Equipment Equipped creature gets +2/+2 and has infect. Whenever Grafted Exoskeleton becomes unattached from a permanent, sacrifice that permanent. Equip Allen Williams #162/249 ManaNation.com 9/20

The first thing I thought when I saw this equipment was that this piece is expensive, more expensive than any of the "great" equipments. Jitte was broke in half three ways to Sunday at 2 (to cast) and 2 (to equip.) Skullclamp provided explosive card advantage at 1 and 1. Sword of Fire and Ice provided card advantage among other things at 3 and 2. So, what is this Exoskeleton?

This Exoskeleton isn't one of those. It won't go down in history as the greatest equipment ever. It can't stand alone.

But that doesn't mean I want to see it hit the table across from me.

Ever.

It's +2/+2 and Infect on a creature. On most any creature it means that instead of the 6+ attacks that little loner creature has to successfully hit me with, it only has to hit me 3 or maybe 4 times, and if it lands on a 3/3 then it's just 2 hits needed for 'gg.' But in a set of artifacts, in a format where artifact hate will be prevalent, it is much more likely that it only hits once. That hit though, is a serious one that is akin to being hit for 6 or 7 points of normal damage in a single swing. It's something that requires an immediate answer and cannot be allowed to simply go on.

Now obviously the power of the Exoskeleton comes with negatives to balance it out. First is its cost. Six mana to get it on a creature in one turn. Second is that the cost likely means that the game has progressed to where it is likely that your opponent will have creatures of his or her own and thus blockers that hinder your progress. And lastly is the inability to move it back and forth between creatures freely.

But how big are each of these drawbacks really?

The six mana cost. I can pay six mana in my sleep these days. The myr mana suppliers, the new Mox, the countless other mana acceleration in M11 and Zendikar. But the ease of payment also has to go against what else can be bought for six mana. Is Exoskeleton worth the cost of a Titan? Perhaps, perhaps not.

Things being in the way. Proliferating -1/-1 counters in the format will provide some board control. Trample and evasion on the creatures will get you by some. And sometimes you just have to drop the Exoskeleton at the right time to hit once so that you can Proliferate the poison counters to victory.

The inability to move the equipment is problematic if you're trying to play both offense and defense. To pump a creature for attack and then pump for the defense is a strong move and one of the benefits of Equipment, so this negates that unless the removal of the creature merits the defense it can provide.

So where does this leave Grafted Exoskeleton?

It's going to be a strong pick in limited, definitely going in the early picks of draft. It'll be a strong addition to the Infect draft decks. Steve O'Mahoney-Schwartz said on Twitter, that players will have to be careful when drafting Infect, to not overdraft suboptimal Infect creatures and instead pick a handful of the better Infect creatures and turn to Proliferate tools to further the plan. Grafted Exoskeleton supplements this plan by utilizing the better non-infect creatures as part of the Infect strategy.

To address a quick question some of you may have; Infect as an ability does not stack, so equipping the Exoskeleton to a creature with Infect only succeeds in pumping it not in having it deal double poison counters.

Having been previewing cards since Shadowmoor, I've had a gauntlet of cards from tourney playable to purely casual, Vampire Nighthawk and Kor Firewalker to Isleback Spawn and more recently, Realms Uncharted. Grafted Exoskeleton rides the fence, too expensive to be the ultra powerful card, but too powerful and relevant to the set's mechanic to be ignored in limited.

Here's to seeing it on the table, preferably under my control.

-- Trick