The 17 Best Artifact Tokens in Magic Ranked

Last updated on February 18, 2026

Treasure | Illustration by Alayna Danner

Care to guess what the first artifact token ever created for Magic was? Technically it’s the Wasp token created by The Hive, though it took some time before we got proper physical tokens to represent those artifact creatures.

But what about noncreatures? We got the Land Mine token created by Goblin Kaboomist, which was a cheeky flavor win, and Gold tokens in the Theros block, again created by great Vorthos cards.

But everything changed with Clue tokens. Not only were Clues a big hit, but it proved that Magic could handle an “evergreen” artifact token, and from then on we started seeing more and more of these trinkets in Magic.

Let’s look at the best, most prevalent artifact tokens in the game!

What Are Artifact Tokens in MTG?

Currency Converter | Illustration by Sean Murray

Artifact tokens are tokens with the artifact card type that are created by other Magic cards. They’re not cards themselves, so they don’t appear in your starting library, but there are tons of cards in modern Magic that create artifact tokens.

Artifact tokens are a huge part of Magic and will likely continue to be moving forward. The proliferation of these trinket permanents is a huge contributor to power creep (cards make more objects now) and complexity creep (there are more objects and effects to track in a game).

For this list, I focus on two types of artifact tokens. The first are what’s considered “evergreen” tokens, ones that we expect to see again and again, like Treasure tokens and Food tokens. The second category includes narrow tokens that could be used again, but so far they’re limited by the sets they’ve been tied to. Think Fallout‘s Junk tokens, the Landers or Edge of Eternities, or Map tokens.

I skip one-off tokens that are tied to a single card (Cragflame, Tamiyo's Notebook), or artifact creature tokens that have no real utility outside the one or two cards that make them (Alien Angels, the Wurm tokens from Wurmcoil Engine). I keep it mostly evergreen here; in other words, these are the must-know artifact tokens in Magic.

Honorable Mention: Gold and Etherium Cells

Gold is actually just a strictly better version of a Treasure token, since you don’t have to tap it to sacrifice this artifact for mana. However, Treasure is so much more prevalent that Gold might as well not even exist anymore. There are only four cards that create Gold, almost all for flavor reasons, whereas Treasure is the de facto mana token of choice now. Etherium Cells are exactly the same as Treasure, but they’re only created by Tezzeret the Schemer, so don’t get too excited.

#17. Scrap

Adding Scrap to this list is somewhat wishful thinking. I’m just enamored by the idea of a token that does literally nothing, since in theory you could make cards that create a ton of Scrap, which you can’t do with other artifact tokens. Sometimes simply creating a game object is good enough, and it doesn’t feel like you’re missing out on anything by sacrificing a blank piece of cardboard. After all, do you really like sacrificing your Clues and Treasures to other effects?

The only card that makes Scrap right now is Farid, Enterprising Salvager, which was a great first showing for the scrappy potential of this artifact token.

#16. Rocks

Rock is an equipment artifact token that’s currently linked directly to Toggo, Goblin Weaponsmith. While I love the idea of a goblin inventing weaponry by just picking up rocks and slinging them at people, there’s potential in this token. We’ve seen effects like Armed with Proof and Arterial Alchemy that turn other types of artifacts into equipment… why not cut out the middleman and make Rocks? There’s something here, though it probably needs a good flavor consideration before we see Rocks make a return.

#15. Munitions

Munitions piggy-back onto the many effects that make sacrifices free and easy, and is the main reason I nudge this over a Rock. Plus it maintains its use if players target it with flicker effects, or a bounce spell.

#14. Mutagen

Mutagen is a piece of cake to pump your creature, and +1/+1 counter strategies are solidly evergreen, meaning they'll consistently get power crept. As long as you benefit from the artifact itself, you come out very much ahead with these power and toughness adjusting tokens.

#13. Phyrexian Mites

These little buggers from Phyrexia: All Will Be One are huge boons to poison strategies. Toxic was a more tolerable improvement over infect, though players still freak out at the mention of poi—you know what, let me not say it again. Phyrexian Mites also have micro-synergies with artifact decks or even the rare Phyrexian typal deck, so cards like White Sun's Twilight and Skrelv's Hive have more bandwidth than you’d expect.

I don’t really envision the world where we see these tokens again, though. Toxic’s already unpopular, and then there’s the whole Phyrexian Invasion storyline ending.

#12. Golems

Similar to thopters, golems have much of their identity tied to artifact creature tokens, typically 3/3s, though there are golems of all shapes and sizes in Magic. There are over 30 cards that create Golem tokens, including the splicer creatures that grant abilities to all your golems, as well as explicit payoffs like Precursor Golem and Brenard, Ginger Sculptor.

#11. Thopters

Thop-thop-thop-thop.

Thopters are (usually) generic 1/1 flying artifact tokens, kind of like metallic Spirit tokens. They’re mostly designed as evasive bonus creatures tacked onto a bunch of artificers and artifacts-matter cards, and they prove much more useful than something like a stray Servo token. Who knew having flying was better than not having flying?

Thopters even have a reasonable amount of support across cards like Retrofitter Foundry, Leonardo da Vinci, Pia Nalaar, Consul of Revival, Master Trinketeer, and the horrifically broken Alchemy card Emporium Thopterist.

#10. Powerstones

Powerstones came about in The Brothers’ War and gave us a first taste of a true token mana rock. They’re more restricted than Treasure, but they stick around. One common misconception is that these only work with artifacts. That’s not true; they just don’t cast non-artifacts. That means activated abilities and Rhystic Study payments are fair game.

My one qualm with Powerstone tokens, much like Blood, is that the name links to it a particular setting/flavor that isn’t easy to replicate in most Magic sets, so it’s unclear when/if we’ll see Powerstones again. At the very least I’d expect a one-off card in a supplementary product someday. The Mightstone and Weakstone demonstrated that the “powerstone” artifact type can be used on non-tokens, too.

#9. Maps

Maps aren’t exactly new-player friendly since they also require players to understand how exploring works. But for anyone who’s internalized the explore mechanic, Maps are a neat trinket that can help find land drops, fill graveyards, and grow creatures. That’s a lot of coverage on top of artifact synergies, though the token’s created by less than 20 cards right now, a lot of which are Limited fodder.

#8. Incubators

Incubator tokens from March of the Machine are super cool and introduced us to the first double-faced tokens, which in turn warranted a rules change on the way transforming permanents worked. Incubators are essentially blank artifacts with +1/+1 counters on them, but for 2 mana they transform into 0/0 Phyrexian creatures that retain those counters. Think of it like a Clue token that puts a creature into play instead of drawing a card.

There’s a major issue with Incubators though: They’re mechanically linked to Phyrexians, and given how the last encounter with the Phyrexians ended (spoiler alert)… let’s just say I’m not expecting to see them again any time soon. No Phyrexians means no Incubators, so the fate of this token is up in the air.

It’d be super rad if they gave Incubators the “amass” treatment and specified a creature type on the mechanic. The same way amass split off into “amass zombies”, “amass orcs”, etc., “Incubate N” could receive errata and become “incubate Phyrexian N,” which would leave the door open to using this mechanic in other settings. How cool does “incubate dinosaur” or “incubate insect” sound?

#7. Blood

Queue up Maria Brink singing “Blood” for In This Moment.

Blood is an awesome hand-smoothing tool from Crimson Vow and has resurfaced sparingly since then. A Blood token is a one-shot rummage effect, which helps you find the cards you need and ditches excess lands, but it also enables graveyard synergies and provides a discard outlet for madness and other discard payoffs like Containment Construct.

Blood also has the flavor issue of being thematically tied to the Innistrad set it originated in, but that’s not as much of an issue as Powerstones or Incubators. I mean, regardless of where you are in the multiverse, something’s gotta bleed, right?

#6. Karnstructs

We were introduced to the “Karnstruct” with Karn, Scion of Urza, and that same 0/0 Construct token has appeared multiple times since, most notably on multi-format all-stars Urza's Saga and Urza, Lord High Artificer. That Urza fellow definitely has a type. This is just the strongest creature token an artifact deck can make, scaling with the number of artifacts you control. I personally use these as my main wincon in Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer, and they absolutely crush games with Urza, Chief Artificer.

Technically there’s a strictly better Gnome Soldier token that also counts creatures you control, but Thousand Moons Smithy is the only card that creates it, so it’s not ubiquitous enough to earn a full spot on this list.

#5. Food

Food felt a little jokey when it debuted in Throne of Eldraine, but it fit the context of the fairy tale setting and played well enough there that it’s been experimented with a lot since then. Food was notably a core mechanic of Lord of the Rings and Bloomburrow, where the forage mechanic incorporated food artifacts into its rules.

Pun fully intended, Food tokens are also just wildly flavorful. Look at cards like Ygra, Eater of All, Gyome, Master Chef, and Asmoranomardicadaistinaculdacar and tell me they haven’t hit some flavor homeruns using Food tokens.

I expect to see a lot more Food in my future, both in Magic and IRL. It effortlessly ties together lifegain, token generation, sacrifice, and artifact synergies all at once.

#4. Lander

Lander tokens are Rampant Growth but without the green requirement. Four of the colors in Magic value these highly and it's not hard to see why. Mana fixing, ramp, and landfall all wrapped up into one artifact are solid.

#3. Clues

Clues are responsible for the burst in evergreen artifact tokens we’ve seen over the last 10 or so years. Cards like Thraben Inspector and Tireless Tracker were such hits that people couldn’t help but fall in love with Clues, and now we’ve expanded to the point where Draftsim even has an entire article of almost 40 Clue commanders!

The success of Clues wasn’t just that it gave players slow card draw, but that it could give any color card draw. It’s a huge contributor in the downfall of blue as the best card draw color. And of course, the idea of investigating and creating Clues leaves so many opportunities for flavor wins. A personal favorite is Cold Case Cracker, which tells the story of a spirit detective investigating their own death.

#2. Junk

Junk is almost strictly better than a Clue token, but impulse drawing obviously has its downsides compared to actual card draw, even if it’s free. There are so many ways to benefit from casting cards from exile now that Junk has way more use than what’s written on the token. It’s essentially a temporary card draw, but all the better if you’re triggering Prosper, Tome-Bound when you crack it (and create Treasure!).

What interests me most is when and how Wizards will find a way to incorporate Junk outside of the Fallout Commander precons. It made perfect sense there, but on which Magic plane would we most likely see hunks of junk everywhere? Perhaps a world full of vehicles being scrapped and repurposed for some sort of, I dunno, death race? Let me know in 2025 if Junk makes a return in Aetherdrift. Now if only I could find a trunk for all this junk….

#1. Treasure

Hold on, let me get this long forlorn sigh out of my system first.

Okay, I’m good.

Treasure changed Magic. Commander, at least. What started off as a good, pirate-flavored idea in Ixalan got blown wildly out of proportion in later sets, Streets of New Capenna being another culprit in the Treasure extravaganza. A single Treasure is a Lotus Petal you didn’t have to use a deck slot on, and even a lowly Lotus Petal can initiate very strong turns in Magic. Now create a bunch of cards like Smothering Tithe and Deadly Dispute and watch players go off the rails with mana generation. You know why Fable of the Mirror-Breaker is such a powerful card? It’s because the damn Goblin Shaman token makes Treasure, forcing you to deal with it on top of all the other powerful stuff that saga does.

Here's my problem. Treasure is very good, but it’s created too freely in modern Magic, and it breaks a bunch of established paradigms. I praised Clues for giving all colors equal access to card draw, but I don’t think that’s healthy with mana ramp. Every color should not have ramp as good as green’s, or else games accelerate much too quickly. And Treasure has caused that to happen. I personally believe Treasure is at least partially responsible for the increased speed of formats like Commander, and in turn the need to optimize and be efficient in deckbuilding, which has an overall negative impact on the format.

That all said, Treasure is the most important artifact token in Magic as of right now, and we do get some sweet designs involving Treasure tokens and treasure commanders. We get things like Piggy Bank being cracked open for a Treasure when it dies, or Reckoner Bankbuster granting a Treasure when you’ve successfully robbed the bank. We also get stuff like Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer, Hullbreacher, and Smothering Tithe, which make me want to play a different game altogether.

Best Artifact Token Payoffs

The typical payoffs for artifact tokens are cards that benefit from artifacts in general. Cards like Reckless Fireweaver, Marionette Master, or Nadier's Nightblade. The easy stuff.

But there are some key cards that specifically interact with tokens. Gimbal, Gremlin Prodigy wants you to amass at least one of every token on this list. Sandsteppe War Riders has similar templating. Academy Manufactor gets away with murder, creating absurd amounts of Treasure, Food, and Clues whenever you’d create just one of those.

One way to exploit easy artifact token generation is through mass artifact animation via cards like Cyberdrive Awakener, Rise and Shine, and Vihaan, Goldwaker. I’ve already complained about Treasure tokens enough, but it’s insult on injury when the Treasure’s the actual thing killing you!

Token doublers always have their place, with cards like Second Harvest and Anointed Procession doubling your artifact token output. This is more effective with certain types of artifacts, making Karnstructs super lethal, or refunding the mana spent on the doubler with enough Treasure in play. Elspeth, Storm Slayer, Adrix and Nev, Twincasters, Donatello, the Brains, and Exalted Sunborn each give you massive benefits for creating tokens, so build them in if you can.

Improvise, metalcraft, and affinity for artifacts all benefit from stray trinkets you can toss out, and they make for some of the best sacrifice fodder in the game. Mayhem Devil and Marionette Apprentice love a good artifact sac outlet combined with some stray Food or Treasure. Junk Winder is a neat card that has affinity for tokens and has a great freezing effect to go along with your token making.

Wrap Up

Ornithopter | Illustration by Mathias Kollros

My dislike of Treasure aside, I’m a huge fan of artifact tokens in Magic. While they do add to the complexity of the game in a meaningful way, they also open up so many opportunities for interactions and strategic synergies. They also tend to be on the flavorful side, which is something myself and all the Vorthos players out there can appreciate.

Now on to you, reader! Did I miss any “evergreen” artifact tokens, or do you have any favorites that weren’t listed here? Did Servos get snubbed? Itching to talk about legendary artifact tokens?Let me know in the comments or over in the Draftsim Discord.

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