All 20 Equipment Tutors in Magic Ranked

Last updated on November 6, 2025

Stoneforge Mystic | Illustration by Mike Bierek

When I started playing the game before Caw Blade was popularized by Bryan Kibler, I remember that equipping an Argentum Armor onto a Squadron Hawk was the coolest thing you could do with Quest for the Holy Relic.

A long time has passed since that, and while card quality has overall increased, equipment remains part of every set. Let’s go over the best ways to search for them and how you can pair these cards with others to get a game-winning advantage over your opponents.

Intrigued? Let's jump into it!

What Are Equipment Tutors in MTG?

Anchor to Reality | Illustration by Alix Branwyn

Just like their name suggests, equipment tutors are spells that specialize in searching for equipment cards, typically from the library, and put them onto the battlefield or in the controller's hand or graveyard.

These are very often combined with enchantment or aura tutors, since those are card types that often strategically bleed over into equipment strategies.

While some cards search more generically for artifacts, like Enlightened Tutor, I’ll narrow this list to those that only grab equipment.

Honorable Mention

Call it Backwards Day, the equipment that searches for a wielder is Raven Clan War-Axe. This smart Boros card calls Eivor, Battle-Ready from your library or graveyard which is a flavorful and fun way to tutor for with equipment.

#20. Forging the Tyrite Sword

Forging the Tyrite Sword has to be one of the worst tutors given how slow it is. This saga signals your plan to your opponents, and the value gained over a few turns is probably only worth it if you’re running on a budget.

#19. Honored Knight-Captain

Honored Knight-Captain has some administrative red tape to cut through to get to your equipment. At least for the total cost of you put the equipment directly into play. Maybe I only play equipment that costs less than , or am nostalgic, but I prefer Mirrodin‘s Taj-Nar Swordsmith.

#18. Anchor to Reality

I have mixed feelings about Anchor to Reality. It allows you to tutor for other card types outside of equipment, like Esika's Chariot, but you have to sacrifice another permanent to make it possible. The plus side is that putting it onto the battlefield seems very good for only 4 mana.

#17. Fighter Class

Adventures in the Forgotten Realms brought some interesting mechanics, and along came Fighter Class. There weren't many strong pieces of equipment in the set, but it did the job when needed, and this class enchantment is a great asset in Commander strategies that rely on cheap tutors to search for their more powerful equipment.

#16. Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith

For 6 mana, you get to play a 7/4 indestructible commander in Nazahn, Revered Bladesmith that attaches equipment for free whenever they enter the battlefield. If you already have the Hammer of Nazahn in play or in your hand, you can still tutor for any other equipment.

#15. Relic Seeker

This hard-to-trigger Stoneforge Mystic isn’t as good as it looks. If you play Relic Seeker early on an empty board, you may get the chance to hit with it and trigger renown. But in most cases, that's easier said than done.

#14. Deadeye Quartermaster

This is pricier than Stoneforge Mystic, but Deadeye Quartermaster can also search for vehicles, which is pretty neat.

#13. Steelshaper Apprentice

Steelshaper Apprentice may be a bit slow, but it can be used multiple times during a single game if unanswered. When I was trying to build a Kemba, Kha Regent Commander deck, this was a critical part of it.

#12. Sun-Spider, Nimble Webber

The ETB effect on Sun-Spider, Nimble Webber and hybrid mana bring it into exactly the colors you want for flicker effects. The ability to grab auras as well as equipment is great helps make up for the initial cost on the high end of 4.

#11. Taj-Nar Swordsmith

Suppose you have a lot of mana to spare, which is usually the case in Commander games. Taj-Nar Swordsmith can be helpful in many ways because it not only searches for equipment but it also cheats it onto the battlefield, an ability that not many other cards have.

#10. Axgard Armory

I remember playing with this card back when Boros Aggro was a popular archetype in Kaldheim. Axgard Armory provided those aggro decks with the powerful equipment they needed to get through and deal more damage to close out games.

In recent times, I can see this in dedicated Commander decks alongside some of the most powerful equipment like Batterskull or Skullclamp. It also has the plus side of searching up auras as well.

#9. Quest for the Holy Relic

Quest for the Holy Relic may require some setup, but this card can be backbreaking if you get to cast it early in the game. In Standard, it was known for tutoring Argentum Armor and attaching it to a Squadron Hawk that would take over the game in just a few turns. In Commander, imagine the wonders it can do with more powerful equipment like Kaldra Compleat.

#8. Kassandra, Eagle Bearer

Kassandra, Eagle Bearer is just good, clean card advantage for an equipment deck, provided you specifically lean on legendary equipment. You obviously get The Spear of Leonidas for free, but did you know Shadowspear, Excalibur, Sword of Eden, and Embercleave are all legendary, too?

#7. Open the Armory

If you’re looking for other options outside of Steelshaper's Gift, Open the Armory is a perfect replacement for your deck for just 1 additional mana.

#6. Stonehewer Giant

Speaking of great tutors in Commander, Stonehewer Giant has to be one of the best around. While it's pricey to cast and slow to use, once it gets going it becomes a seemingly unstoppable train of value. For a mere 2 mana, it can search for any equipment, put it onto the battlefield, and attach it to any creature you control.

#5. Kellan, the Fae-Blooded

Well, this is just Open the Armory as an adventure with an entire extra card attached to it. And a good one, too. Kellan, the Fae-Blooded spots you a body for the equipment you just searched up, and sticking anything on Kellan buffs your board. It's a Voltron commander that serves as a tutor for an essential piece of your strategy, and also randomly rewards you for going wide, too.

#4. Godo, Bandit Warlord

Godo, Bandit Warlord’s combo with Helm of the Host is a very well-known win condition among Commander players because it doesn’t require much other than mana to finish the game the same turn it enters the battlefield.

#3. Cloud, Midgar Mercenary

The biggest reason Cloud, Midgar Mercenary makes a case for the number one slot today is the ability doubling effect. It is limited to Cloud, but what an upside it is. This soldier is basically tied with Stoneforge for the ETB equipment searching, especially since it can live in the command zone as your mono white commander and thus super powerful.

#2. Stoneforge Mystic

For a while, Stoneforge Mystic was a critical part of decks that relied on Batterskull and any of the dual swords like Sword of Feast and Famine as part of their primary plan to win games. This Kor artificer saw play from Standard to Legacy, and to this day it’s a critical part of equipment decks that need a solid and cheap tutor.

#1. Steelshaper's Gift

Steelshaper's Gift is the cheapest way you have to search your library for an equipment card and put it into your hand. The Fifth Dawn card has been a staple of “Hammer Time” decks in Modern where the aim is to equip a Colossus Hammer onto a creature for free thanks to Sigarda's Aid.

Best Equipment Tutor Payoffs

After ranking the best equipment tutors in MTG, you may be thinking about the payoffs from running them. Most of them are the ones that rely on artifact synergies or mechanics like affinity and metalcraft, but some others directly synergize with equipments themselves.

Take Puresteel Paladin and Sram, Senior Edificer. They both draw you cards when you play equipment, which effectively helps you find more equipment cards and other combo pieces you may need.

Hammer of Nazahn and Sigarda's Aid are powerful auto equip engines. Auriok Steelshaper is the original equipment support creature. Tetsuo, Imperial Champion and Nahiri, Forged in Fury want the most and your biggest equipment and will really capitalize on the equipment you tutored for.

Other creatures like Bruenor Battlehammer or Goblin Gaveleer get a bonus based on the number of equipment they've got attached to them, while cards like Kemba, Kha Regent can help you assemble a board presence.

Wrap Up

Stoneforge Mystic | Illustration by Dan Dos Santos

As you see, equipment tutors are less widespread compared to tutors for other card types. This isn’t a problem; you can use other cards that tutor for artifacts to complement your strategies.

What was your favorite one? Would you have liked to see one of them ranked higher? Let me know in the comments or over on Draftsim's Discord!

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