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Heavy Arbalest

Artifact — Equipment

Equipped creature doesn't untap during its controller's untap step.
Equipped creature has "{T}: This creature deals 2 damage to any target."
Equip {4}

CMC
3
Mana cost
{3}
Color identity
C
Rarity
uncommon
Set
Scars of Mirrodin
Price
$0.05
EDHREC rank
#22084
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Heavy Arbalest card art
Heavy Arbalest turns any creature into a repeatable ping machine — tap it to deal 2 damage to any target, no combat required. The equip cost is steep at 5 mana, but in tap-abuse shells it pulls ahead of Thornbite Staff by not requiring a death trigger to reload.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Heavy Arbalest sees virtually no play in Legacy, Modern, or Vintage — the equip cost is prohibitive in formats that end the game before it matters. Commander is where Heavy Arbalest actually lives, specifically in Voltron or tap-synergy builds that can amortize the equip cost over many turns and exploit creatures that untap repeatedly. Outside of a dedicated tap engine, the 5-mana equip makes it a fringe inclusion even there.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

Price Context

Current price

$0.05 bulk tier

At $0.05, Heavy Arbalest is deep bulk — you'll find copies in any common bin or as a throw-in. Don't expect that price to move; niche Commander demand isn't enough to push a card this easily replaced off the floor.

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Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.