Prodigy's Prototype
Artifact — Vehicle
Whenever one or more Vehicles you control attack, create a 1/1 colorless Pilot creature token with "This token crews Vehicles as though its power were 2 greater."
Crew 2 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 2 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- UW
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty
- Price
- $0.33
- EDHREC rank
- #6748
Prodigy's Prototype drops a Vehicle onto the battlefield and immediately crews it for free — the on-board value is immediate and real. The catch is a four-mana price tag that competes with heavier hitters, so it earns its slot primarily in dedicated Vehicle strategies, with Kotori, Pilot Prodigy decks being the obvious home.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Kotori, Pilot Prodigy
Kotori, Pilot Prodigy untaps Vehicles and gives them lifelink and vigilance, so having Prodigy's Prototype land a Vehicle already crewed on entry means Kotori's buff is live the same turn — no waiting, no hoops.
Miles "Tails" Prower
Miles "Tails" Prower cares about artifacts entering and being crewed, making Prodigy's Prototype a two-for-one trigger that can snowball the draw and token engines Miles runs.
Shorikai, Genesis Engine
Shorikai, Genesis Engine is itself a Vehicle that wants the board stocked with crew fodder and redundant Vehicle payoffs, and Prodigy's Prototype fills both roles — it adds a Vehicle and provides an immediate pilot.
Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Sydri, Galvanic Genius animates artifacts into creatures, and Prodigy's Prototype seeds the board with a crewed Vehicle that Sydri can then pump or protect, adding a low-friction threat to an already artifact-dense gameplan.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Prodigy's Prototype is a Commander card through and through — the effect is built for multiplayer boards where the tempo of landing a pre-crewed Vehicle snowballs over a long game. In competitive 60-card formats like Modern and Pioneer, four mana for a creature-plus-Vehicle is too slow and too fair to see meaningful play, and the narrow tribal angle doesn't fit any established archetype. Legacy and Vintage are legal but irrelevant; nothing about Prodigy's Prototype approaches the power ceiling those formats demand. Stick to Commander, specifically Vehicle-tribal builds, where the free-crew clause translates into real card advantage.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.33 bulk tier
At $0.33, Prodigy's Prototype is pure bulk — easy to acquire and cheap to test. Bulk rares with narrow tribal homes rarely climb in price, so don't expect appreciation; just grab a copy if you're building Vehicles and move on.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Kotori, Pilot Prodigy
- Miles "Tails" Prower
- Shorikai, Genesis Engine
- Sydri, Galvanic Genius
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.