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Illusionist's Bracers

Artifact — Equipment

Whenever an ability of equipped creature is activated, if it isn't a mana ability, copy that ability. You may choose new targets for the copy.
Equip {3}

CMC
2
Mana cost
{2}
Color identity
C
Rarity
rare
Set
Gatecrash
Price
$4.39
EDHREC rank
#1560
Buy on TCGplayer
Illusionist's Bracers card art
Illusionist's Bracers copies any activated ability of the equipped creature that isn't a mana ability — equip it to the right commander and you're doubling game-breaking effects for two generic mana to equip. Aphetto Alchemist can untap it for free, and Merieke Ri Berit turns into a two-creatures-stolen-per-tap engine the moment Bracers hit the battlefield.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Merieke Ri Berit

Merieke Ri Berit

46.8% of decks · synergy 0.46

Merieke Ri Berit's tap ability steals a creature and destroys it if she untaps — Illusionist's Bracers doubles that trigger, so one tap yanks two creatures at once and threatening an untap destroys both.

02
Feldon of the Third Path

Feldon of the Third Path

49.2% of decks · synergy 0.46

Feldon of the Third Path taps to reanimate a creature token from your graveyard; Illusionist's Bracers means one tap produces two tokens, doubling your board presence every turn cycle.

03
Svella, Ice Shaper

Svella, Ice Shaper

46.0% of decks · synergy 0.45

Svella, Ice Shaper taps to exile a card and cast something free off the top — Illusionist's Bracers converts that into two free spells per activation, which is enough to generate a runaway advantage engine.

04
Queen Kayla bin-Kroog

Queen Kayla bin-Kroog

47.9% of decks · synergy 0.44

Queen Kayla bin-Kroog's tap ability deploys artifacts and creatures from hand at reduced cost; Illusionist's Bracers lets her fire that ability twice per untap, accelerating the board flood she was already trying to execute.

05
Alaundo the Seer

Alaundo the Seer

44.7% of decks · synergy 0.43

Alaundo the Seer taps to remove a time counter and cast the exiled card for free; Illusionist's Bracers copies that activation, letting him cast two free spells per tap and collapsing his clock by half.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

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

Illusionist's Bracers is legal in Commander, Legacy, Modern, Pioneer, Vintage, and Oathbreaker, but Commander is the only format where it sees meaningful play. Constructed formats move too fast for a two-mana artifact that requires an equipped creature with a powerful tap ability — the payoff is too slow and too dependent on board state. In Commander, none of those conditions apply: games go longer, commanders are guaranteed to be available, and a two-mana equip cost is trivially affordable by mid-game. The card is essentially Commander-exclusive in practice, and its synergy scores reflect that — it shows up in nearly half of all Merieke Ri Berit and Feldon of the Third Path lists precisely because those commanders have activated abilities worth doubling.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

6,665 decks
Illusionist's BracersAphetto Alchemist

Illusionist's BracersAphetto Alchemist

Infinite mana artifacts you control can produce; Infinite mana creatures you control can produce; Infinite untap of artifacts you control; Infinite untap of creatures you control

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Price Context

Current price

$4.39 cheap tier

At $4.39, Illusionist's Bracers sits in the cheap tier — affordable enough to slot into any budget build without deliberation. It's a narrow card with a devoted audience, so the price is stable rather than speculative; demand comes from specific commander archetypes rather than broad format play.

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Sources

Mentioned

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