Riddlesmith
Creature — Human Artificer
Whenever you cast an artifact spell, you may draw a card. If you do, discard a card.
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- uncommon
- Set
- Double Masters
- Price
- $0.15
- EDHREC rank
- #5474
Riddlesmith turns every artifact you cast into a loot — draw a card, discard a card — which in the right shell translates to raw velocity and graveyard setup on the same trigger. The cost is that it does nothing without a steady stream of artifacts feeding it, making it a role-player rather than a standalone engine; Emry, Lurker of the Loch decks are the canonical home because they generate exactly that stream and want exactly that graveyard.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Emry, Lurker of the Loch
Emry, Lurker of the Loch casts artifacts from the graveyard, and Riddlesmith turns each of those casts into a loot, creating a self-sustaining loop of graveyard fuel and card selection that accelerates the entire engine.
Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain already draws a card whenever you cast a historic spell, so Riddlesmith stacks a loot on top of that trigger — every artifact nets two cards of selection, flooding your hand and powering through the deck at alarming speed.
Golbez, Crystal Collector
Golbez, Crystal Collector cares about casting and replaying artifacts with cost-reduction scaffolding, and Riddlesmith converts that constant artifact traffic into a looting engine that keeps the hand full and the graveyard stocked for recursion lines.
Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor
Lady Octopus, Inspired Inventor rewards artifact density with clue and treasure production, and Riddlesmith adds a loot trigger on top of every artifact cast so that the deck cycles through itself quickly enough to assemble its combination pieces.
Fblthp, Lost on the Range
Fblthp, Lost on the Range thrives on card selection and topdeck manipulation, and Riddlesmith's looting on each artifact cast lets you sculpt what sits on top of the library, turning surplus artifacts into exactly the card you need next.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is Riddlesmith's natural habitat — artifact-heavy commanders turn it into a continuous loot engine, and the 100-card singleton format rewards exactly this kind of card-selection glue that keeps the deck consistent. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but irrelevant; both formats have access to far more explosive artifact synergies, and a two-mana creature that loots isn't competing for those slots. Modern sees it occasionally in fringe artifact storm builds, but the format has enough efficient draw that Riddlesmith rarely earns a slot outside of dedicated graveyard-artifact strategies. Oathbreaker mirrors Commander in structure, so any artifact-centric oathbreaker shell that generates artifact casts reliably can slot Riddlesmith in for the same velocity it provides in Commander.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.15 bulk tier
At $0.15, Riddlesmith is deep bulk — pick it up without a second thought if you're building any artifact commander deck. Bulk rares don't tend to spike unless a new commander dramatically raises demand, and Riddlesmith's effect, while useful, is common enough in artifact shells that it's unlikely to leave the bulk bin.
Explore
Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.