Smuggler's Copter
Artifact — Vehicle
Flying
Whenever this Vehicle attacks or blocks, you may draw a card. If you do, discard a card.
Crew 1 (Tap any number of creatures you control with total power 1 or more: This Vehicle becomes an artifact creature until end of turn.)
- CMC
- 2
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- C
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Kaladesh Promos
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #1857
Smuggler's Copter is a two-mana 3/3 flying looter that filters your hand every time it attacks or blocks — that's an absurd rate for the cost. Balthier and Fran commanders and Vehicle-tribal shells in particular treat it as a non-negotiable inclusion, and it's easy to see why.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Balthier and Fran
Balthier and Fran cares deeply about Vehicles attacking, and Smuggler's Copter is the cheapest, most efficient attacker in the archetype — it crews itself with almost any creature, loots on attack to dig for more Vehicles, and costs two mana to deploy ahead of the command zone.
Greasefang, Okiba Boss
Greasefang, Okiba Boss wants Vehicles in the graveyard to reanimate, and Smuggler's Copter is the premier way to loot them there — it self-filters on attack, stocks the yard, and can also be the reanimation target itself in a pinch.
Miles "Tails" Prower
Miles "Tails" Prower rewards piloting artifacts and generating value off Vehicle activations, making Smuggler's Copter a natural fit — cheap to cast, easy to crew, and it replaces itself with card selection every combat.
Kolodin, Triumph Caster
Kolodin, Triumph Caster triggers off creatures tapping to crew, which turns every Smuggler's Copter activation into additional value on top of the loot — a two-mana Vehicle that both enables the commander's ability and filters your hand is hard to argue against.
Magda, Brazen Outlaw
Magda, Brazen Outlaw generates Treasure whenever a Dwarf becomes tapped, and crewing Smuggler's Copter with a Dwarf triggers that ability — the Copter gives you a flying attacker, a loot, and free Treasure all from a single crew activation.
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 |
In competitive 60-card formats, Smuggler's Copter was so dominant it earned a ban in Standard and remains a format-defining threat in Pioneer, where aggressive and midrange decks use it to filter draws while presenting a two-mana evasive body that dodges sorcery-speed removal. Modern embraces it as redundant looting in decks that want specific cards in the graveyard or simply can't afford to flood. In Commander, the power level shifts — 40 life and three opponents mean a 3/3 flyer isn't a clock by itself — but Smuggler's Copter earns its slot wherever the deck has a reason to loot repeatedly, particularly in Vehicle-tribal and graveyard-recursion builds where card selection compounds over a long game.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Price data isn't available in the current context, so check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for the latest on Smuggler's Copter. Given its Pioneer-legal status and persistent demand across multiple archetypes, it has historically stayed in the $2–$5 range, making it an easy pickup if you're building any Vehicle or looting shell.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
- Balthier and Fran
- Greasefang, Okiba Boss
- Miles "Tails" Prower
- Kolodin, Triumph Caster
- Magda, Brazen Outlaw
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.