In terms of Magic flavor and lore, The Brothers War is a masterpiece. The novel containing the nitty gritty didn't come out until 4 whole years after the set was released (just imagine that today), and it didn't even matter.
If you read a fraction of the cards in Antiquities, you get the gist: brothers Urza and Mishra had a falling out that resulted in them becoming mortal enemies, with each building an army and consolidating their forces such that the entire land was ruined, and their mutually assured destruction at the end ensured that only ancient relics remained. Simple, easy, surprisingly deep, and doesn't require any of the hoops that today's story stuff has to jump through.
I was a big fan, especially because of the Weatherlight stuff that came later. And since Karn, Scion of Urza was created by one of the Brothers, and I'm trying to make the deck colorless because of the project's EDH-esque deckbuilding requirements, a flavorful tie-in to the Antiquities epic seemed like a pretty easy connection.
Like Artifacts? Then boy, do I have a deck for you:
Magic: The Gathering TCG Deck - Karn, Scion of Urza by Andy Hurst
'Karn, Scion of Urza' - constructed deck list and prices for the Magic: The Gathering Trading Card Game from TCGplayer Infinite!
Created By: Andy Hurst
Event:
Rank:
Freeform (Casual)
Market Price: $47.61
Mishra's Bauble
Market Price: $2.55
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/218598_200w.jpg
{T}, Sacrifice Mishra's Bauble: Look at the top card of target player's library. Draw a card at the beginning of the next turn's upkeep.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/double-masters/mishras-bauble
Karn, Scion of Urza
Market Price: $6.09
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/162259_200w.jpg
+1: Reveal the top two cards of your library. An opponent chooses one of them. Put that card into your hand and exile the other with a silver counter on it. −1: Put a card you own with a silver counter on it from exile into your hand. −2: Create a 0/0 colorless Construct artifact creature token with "This creature gets +1/+1 for each artifact you control."
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/dominaria/karn-scion-of-urza
Mishra's Self-Replicator
Market Price: $0.21
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/162124_200w.jpg
Whenever you cast a historic spell, you may pay {1}. If you do, create a token that's a copy of Mishra's Self-Replicator. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic.)Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/dominaria/mishras-self-replicator
Universal Solvent
Market Price: $0.01
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/227057_200w.jpg
{7}, {T}, Sacrifice Universal Solvent: Destroy target permanent.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/commander-legends/universal-solvent
Archaeological Dig
Market Price: $0.32
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/7419_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{T}, Sacrifice Archaeological Dig: Add one mana of any color.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/invasion/archaeological-dig
Juju Bubble
Market Price: $0.17
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/5866_200w.jpg
Cumulative upkeep {1} (At the beginning of your upkeep, put an age counter on this permanent, then sacrifice it unless you pay its upkeep cost for each age counter on it.)
When you play a card, sacrifice Juju Bubble.
{2}: You gain 1 life.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/visions/juju-bubble
Serum Tank
Market Price: $0.19
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/37431_200w.jpg
Whenever Serum Tank or another artifact enters the battlefield, put a charge counter on Serum Tank.
{3}, {T}, Remove a charge counter from Serum Tank: Draw a card.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/planechase/serum-tank
Aysen Abbey
Color Identity:G,U,W
Market Price: $0.18
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/4455_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{1}, {T}: Add {W}.
{2}, {T}: Add {G} or {U}.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/homelands/aysen-abbey
Wall of Junk
Market Price: $1.75
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/7102_200w.jpg
Defender (This creature can't attack.) When Wall of Junk blocks, return it to its owner's hand at end of combat. (Return it only if it's on the battlefield.)
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/urzas-saga/wall-of-junk
Scour from Existence
Market Price: $0.19
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/105379_200w.jpg
Exile target permanent.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/battle-for-zendikar/scour-from-existence
An-Havva Township
Color Identity:G,R,W
Market Price: $0.18
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/4445_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{1}, {T}: Add {G}.
{2}, {T}: Add {R} or {W}.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/homelands/an-havva-township
Crystal Vein
Market Price: $1.61
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/132005_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{T}, Sacrifice Crystal Vein: Add {C}{C}.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/commander-anthology/crystal-vein
Self-Assembler
Market Price: $0.03
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/161914_200w.jpg
When Self-Assembler enters the battlefield, you may search your library for an Assembly-Worker creature card, reveal it, put it into your hand, then shuffle your library.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/masters-25/self-assembler
Buried Ruin
Market Price: $0.49
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/219501_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{2}, {T}, Sacrifice Buried Ruin: Return target artifact card from your graveyard to your hand.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/double-masters/buried-ruin
Teeka's Dragon
Market Price: $8.29
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/5257_200w.jpg
Flying; trample; rampage 4 (Whenever this creature becomes blocked, it gets +4/+4 until end of turn for each creature blocking it beyond the first.)
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/mirage/teekas-dragon
Puppet Strings
Market Price: $1.70
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/36891_200w.jpg
{2}, {T}: You may tap or untap target creature.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/duel-decks-phyrexia-vs-the-coalition/puppet-strings
Alchemist's Vial
Market Price: $0.25
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/100410_200w.jpg
When Alchemist's Vial enters the battlefield, draw a card.
{1}, {T}, Sacrifice Alchemist's Vial: Target creature can't attack or block this turn.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/magic-origins/alchemists-vial
Urza's Armor
Market Price: $0.24
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/11278_200w.jpg
If a source would deal damage to you, prevent 1 of that damage.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/8th-edition/urzas-armor
Jhoira's Toolbox
Market Price: $0.23
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/6331_200w.jpg
{2}: Regenerate target artifact creature.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/urzas-legacy/jhoiras-toolbox
Juggernaut
Market Price: $0.11
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/216114_200w.jpg
Juggernaut attacks each combat if able. Juggernaut can't be blocked by Walls.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/jumpstart/juggernaut
Koskun Keep
Color Identity:B,G,R
Market Price: $0.14
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/4518_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{1}, {T}: Add {R}.
{2}, {T}: Add {B} or {G}.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/homelands/koskun-keep
Urza's Mine
Market Price: $0.94
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/218281_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}. If you control an Urza's Power-Plant and an Urza's Tower, add {C}{C} instead.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/double-masters/urzas-mine
Urza's Tower
Market Price: $0.74
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/218285_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}. If you control an Urza's Mine and an Urza's Power-Plant, add {C}{C}{C} instead.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/double-masters/urzas-tower
Castle Sengir
Color Identity:B,R,U
Market Price: $0.25
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/4467_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{1}, {T}: Add {B}.
{2}, {T}: Add {U} or {R}.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/homelands/castle-sengir
Soul-Guide Lantern
Market Price: $2.66
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/206867_200w.jpg
When Soul-Guide Lantern enters the battlefield, exile target card from a graveyard.
{T}, Sacrifice Soul-Guide Lantern: Exile each opponent's graveyard.
{1}, {T}, Sacrifice Soul-Guide Lantern: Draw a card.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/theros-beyond-death/soul-guide-lantern
Assembly-Worker
Market Price: $0.04
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/161907_200w.jpg
{T}: Target Assembly-Worker creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/masters-25/assembly-worker
Emergence Zone
Market Price: $0.33
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/187125_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{1}, {T}, Sacrifice Emergence Zone: You may cast spells this turn as though they had flash.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/war-of-the-spark/emergence-zone
Serrated Arrows
Market Price: $0.93
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/93734_200w.jpg
Serrated Arrows enters the battlefield with three arrowhead counters on it.
At the beginning of your upkeep, if there are no arrowhead counters on Serrated Arrows, sacrifice it.
{T}, Remove an arrowhead counter from Serrated Arrows: Put a -1/-1 counter on target creature.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/duel-decks-anthology/serrated-arrows
Stalking Stones
Market Price: $0.16
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/11588_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{6}: Stalking Stones becomes a 3/3 Elemental artifact creature that's still a land. (This effect lasts indefinitely.)Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/mirrodin/stalking-stones
School of the Unseen
Market Price: $0.21
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/4229_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{2}, {T}: Add one mana of any color.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/alliances/school-of-the-unseen
Leonin Bladetrap
Market Price: $0.08
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/132079_200w.jpg
Flash (You may cast this spell any time you could cast an instant.)
{2}, Sacrifice Leonin Bladetrap: It deals 2 damage to each attacking creature without flying.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/commander-anthology/leonin-bladetrap
Tomb of the Spirit Dragon
Market Price: $0.72
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/93300_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{2}, {T}: You gain 1 life for each colorless creature you control.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/khans-of-tarkir/tomb-of-the-spirit-dragon
Guardians of Koilos
Market Price: $0.02
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/162789_200w.jpg
When Guardians of Koilos enters the battlefield, you may return another target historic permanent you control to its owner's hand. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic.)
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/dominaria/guardians-of-koilos
Cogwork Assembler
Market Price: $0.06
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/219624_200w.jpg
{7}: Create a token that's a copy of target artifact. That token gains haste. Exile it at the beginning of the next end step.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/double-masters/cogwork-assembler
Mishra's Factory
Market Price: $0.20
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/219502_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{1}: Mishra's Factory becomes a 2/2 Assembly-Worker artifact creature until end of turn. It's still a land.
{T}: Target Assembly-Worker creature gets +1/+1 until end of turn.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/double-masters/mishras-factory
Warping Wail
Market Price: $0.51
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/110995_200w.jpg
({C} represents colorless mana.)
Choose one —
• Exile target creature with power or toughness 1 or less.
• Counter target sorcery spell.
• Create a 1/1 colorless Eldrazi Scion creature token. It has "Sacrifice this creature: Add {C}."Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/oath-of-the-gatewatch/warping-wail
Manifold Key
Market Price: $0.58
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/192637_200w.jpg
{1}, {T}: Untap another target artifact.
{3}, {T}: Target creature can't be blocked this turn.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/core-set-2020/manifold-key
Jhoira's Familiar
Market Price: $0.34
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/219616_200w.jpg
Flying
Historic spells you cast cost {1} less to cast. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic.)Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/double-masters/jhoiras-familiar
Wizards' School
Color Identity:B,U,W
Market Price: $0.20
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/4573_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{1}, {T}: Add {U}.
{2}, {T}: Add {W} or {B}.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/homelands/wizards-school
Battering Ram
Market Price: $0.10
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/2041_200w.jpg
At the beginning of combat on your turn, Battering Ram gains banding until end of combat. (Any creatures with banding, and up to one without, can attack in a band. Bands are blocked as a group. If any creatures with banding you control are being blocked by a creature, you divide that creature's combat damage, not its controller, among any of the creatures it's blocking.) Whenever Battering Ram becomes blocked by a Wall, destroy that Wall at end of combat.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/fifth-edition/battering-ram
Desert
Market Price: $1.90
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/14578_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{T}: Desert deals 1 damage to target attacking creature. Activate this ability only during the end of combat step.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/timeshifted/desert
Spatial Contortion
Market Price: $0.26
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/110699_200w.jpg
({C} represents colorless mana.)
Target creature gets +3/-3 until end of turn.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/oath-of-the-gatewatch/spatial-contortion
Urza's Factory
Market Price: $0.25
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/72317_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}.
{7}, {T}: Create a 2/2 colorless Assembly-Worker artifact creature token.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/commander-2013/urzas-factory
Yotian Soldier
Market Price: $0.02
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/167972_200w.jpg
Vigilance
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/battlebond/yotian-soldier
Urza's Tome
Market Price: $0.07
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/162144_200w.jpg
{3}, {T}: Draw a card. Then discard a card unless you exile a historic card from your graveyard. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic.)Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/dominaria/urzas-tome
Urza's Power Plant
Market Price: $0.66
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/218284_200w.jpg
{T}: Add {C}. If you control an Urza's Mine and an Urza's Tower, add {C}{C} instead.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/double-masters/urzas-power-plant
Talon of Pain
Market Price: $0.12
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/11656_200w.jpg
Whenever a source you control other than Talon of Pain deals damage to an opponent, put a charge counter on Talon of Pain.
{X}, {T}, Remove X charge counters from Talon of Pain: It deals X damage to any target.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/darksteel/talon-of-pain
Onulet
Market Price: $0.36
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/1864_200w.jpg
When Onulet dies, you gain 2 life.
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/fourth-edition/onulet
Steel Overseer
Market Price: $1.82
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/192636_200w.jpg
{T}: Put a +1/+1 counter on each artifact creature you control.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/core-set-2020/steel-overseer
Traxos, Scourge of Kroog
Market Price: $0.45
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/164727_200w.jpg
Trample Traxos, Scourge of Kroog enters the battlefield tapped and doesn't untap during your untap step. Whenever you cast a historic spell, untap Traxos. (Artifacts, legendaries, and Sagas are historic.)
Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/dominaria/traxos-scourge-of-kroog
Urza's Bauble
Market Price: $2.66
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/2424_200w.jpg
{T}, Sacrifice Urza's Bauble: Look at a card at random in target player's hand. You draw a card at the beginning of the next turn's upkeep.Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/fifth-edition/urzas-bauble
Mishra's Groundbreaker
Market Price: $0.13
ImageURL: https://tcgplayer-cdn.tcgplayer.com/product/4196_200w.jpg
{T}, Sacrifice Mishra's Groundbreaker: Target land becomes a 3/3 artifact creature that's still a land. (This effect lasts indefinitely.)Buy This Card! https://shop.tcgplayer.com/magic/alliances/mishras-groundbreaker
Get ready to construct artificial monstrosities and lay siege to the opponent with the metal behemoths. Because of a minor rule I was using with these decks, I was a little short on suitable basics, so I tried to construct the manabase without them. The Urza Tron package gets a chance for some degeneracy here. Tomb of the Spirit Dragon also shines as a land that can swing a game. All your creatures are colorless, so you could stand to gain quite the pile of life.
The creature base is filled with artifacts, and due to the Brothers War flavor, I tried to lean as heavily as I could on various Assembly-Workers. Juggernaut was another icon that deserved some love, as well as ancient throwbacks Onulet and Yotian Soldier.
The spell base has a couple heavy hitters...and some steaming piles. Juju Bubble is a nod to my buddy Jay, who even today criticizes me for taking it out of my Weatherlight-flavored casual deck. In my defense, the card is really bad. However, the art is fantastic, it's got some flavor implications, and it does provide an additional means to pad the life total. Both Urza's and Mishra's Baubles get some play here, Puppet Strings allows us to have some say over the attack step, and Urza's Armor keeps off the riff-raff. We are cheating on the flavor juuuuust a bit with Eldrazi-themed removal spells Spatial Distortion, Warping Wail, and Scour from Existence...but c'mon. It's a colorless deck and they're colorless spells. I'm a (deck) doctor, not a miracle worker!
Pop Quiz Hotshot: who would have built the Overseer? Urza or Mishra? Holler at me and let me know! Winning guesses will earn a valuable prize*. We're playing a ton of artifacts here, so it only makes sense that we play an artifact creature lord. Give this an activation or two, and our forces will be out of control.
Magic Design has come a long way! If this monstrosity was printed in Antiquities I'm sure we would have had to Armageddon ourselves or some such. As it is, we get an undercosted smasher. If you get a chance to think about historic triggers for a second, you'll realize that artifacts are included! And boy are we playing an awful lot of those. So we will not have to worry about Sir Traxos staying tapped. We just get to the smashing.
Ah, finally something for our Urza Tron to do! Although Urza would never sanction helping out Mishra's contraptions for realzies, in this deck the two will work together harmoniously. It only takes a couple spells for us to have an enormous pile of 2/2s, Traxos might be the hammer that the opponent struggles to deal with, but the Self-Replicator here can run away with a game just as easily.
Nostalgia alert! For a long time, this was my white whale. Back in the mid/late 90's, I wanted this card more than anything. I'm sure that the money I spent on Mirage packs trying to crack one of these dopes probably could have gotten me a couple Dual Lands back then (remember, dual lands were only equivalent to like 1.75 starter packs back then) but that didn't stop me. It just looked so cool, and I decided I had to have one. My local store didn't have one, and there was no way my parents were going to let me give their credit card information to some random company that advertised selling singles in Scrye Magazine. Eventually, my buddy got hold of one and traded it to me for the meager sum of a Mox Diamond, then just gave me back the Mox Diamond because he felt guilty about ripping me off. Teeka's Dragon might win us some games here, it's a 5/5 flyer and god help the opponent if they're silly enough to double block it. But it's really here because, like the Brothers War itself, it's a fun reminder of how Magic used to be.
There are a lot of incredible nonbasic lands today, and creature lands have come a long way as well. But back in the day, there was only Mishra's Factory. And it was a format-defining house. Ever want to see how powerful it is? Check out the Old School format for just a short time and see how warping the land is. It can easily stop most of the other powerful efficient threats of the day. White Knight, Black Knight, Good Night—who cares? It ain't stopping the Factory. Whirling Dervish? Don't be silly. Factory is an amazing defensive creature, a fine offensive creature in the right circumstances, and since we're actually playing a ton of Assembly-Workers (guess what Mishra's Self-Replicator and all of its copies are?), it doesn't even have to animate. It can just sit there and threaten to ruin combats.