How do vehicles work in MTG?

Vehicle cards first came to be in Magic: The Gathering’s Kaladesh set in 2016. It is a deciduous keyword, meaning while it won’t appear in every set, if a set calls for them they can be included.

If you are interested in how these cards work, you should also check out how poison counters work in MTG. You should also check out how to get rid of enchantments in Magic: The Gathering.

There are many strong Vehicles that see play across multiple formats, and have quickly grown in popularity with sets frequently having them more often than not. 

How do vehicles work in Magic: The Gathering

Vehicles are all artifacts that can be turned into a creature by paying its crew cost. This effect will only last until the turn ends, where it will turn back into an artifact. To crew a Vehicle, you have to tap creatures with power greater than or equal to its crew cost. For example, Parhelion II has a crew cost of four so you would need to tap creatures with a combined total of four or more power. 

Crewing is an activated ability, so if there is a card such as Karn, The Great Creator on the battlefield that prevents the activated abilities of artifacts from being used, you will not be able to crew a Vehicle. 

Even if a creature has summoning sickness, it can still be tapped to pay for a Vehicle’s crew cost. If a Vehicle is tapped, you can still crew it to turn it into a creature. While this isn’t something you would generally want to do, in cases where creatures benefit from being tapped this can be useful.

A Vehicle that has just entered the battlefield, unless it has haste, it is still subject to summoning sickness despite artifacts usually being able to be tapped when they enter the battlefield. Since it turns into a creature when you crew a Vehicle, it will then follow the rulings for creatures, meaning it is subject to summoning sickness. 

Vehicles can be crewed at instant speed, allowing you to do it during any player’s turn at any given time. This can be great for blocking, as the cost to crew a creature is generally lower than the power of the Vehicle to trade a weak creature for a much stronger one.

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Save from Board Wipes

Since Vehicles are only considered artifacts when they are not crewed, they can dodge board wipes such as Supreme Verdict that destroy all creatures. This lets you still have an attacker available after a board wipe since you can use a creature you play afterward as a method of crewing it.

You can enchant Vehicles turned into a creature with Auras and put Equipment onto them. However, these will fall off of them when they return to being an artifact at the end of the turn. The exception to this rule is if the Aura can enchant an artifact in the first place, in which case it will remain on the Vehicle despite no longer being a creature. 

Unique Vehicle Rules in Magic: The Gathering

There are some Vehicles that do not have a crew cost. There is no way to turn them into creatures except by following what they say to turn them into a creature. For example, Weatherlight Compleated can’t be crewed, but if it gains four or more phyresis counters it will turn itself into a creature permanently. 

If a creature has the living metal ability (something currently only seen on the Transformers cards), then the Vehicle will be a creature only during your turn, otherwise, it will simply be an artifact. 

Many spells exist that can turn artifacts into creatures such as Ensoul Artifact, which enchants an artifact and turns it into a 5/5 creature in addition to its other types. If one of these is used on a Vehicle, it will remain a creature for as long as that spell is valid for. If that spell gives a specific power and toughness, that will overwrite the stats that are printed on the Vehicle and take priority. If the spell does not alter power and toughness, the Vehicle can be used as if you had crewed it even though you did not. The abilities of a Vehicle turned into a creature this way will remain, so if they get a benefit from attacking this will remain the same despite not being crewed.

What are the best vehicles in MTG?

The best Vehicles are the ones that do not need to be creatures to take advantage of their effects. Many of the strongest ones are the ones they can immediately start making an impact on the game state. Esika’s Chariot also comes with two 2/2 tokens that can be used to crew it, Reckoner Bankbuster can be used as a draw engine, and Unlicensed Hearse can be used as graveyard hate. 

Vehicles with utility outside of just being damaged are the Vehicles that are the strongest. It lets you use them as a creature when the time comes, but you can still use them outside of that without needing to animate it.

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The best vehicle decks

Decks dedicated to Vehicles are not too common, but they shine the most in Pioneer. Greasefang decks have been at the top of the metagame since its release in Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty and Gruul Vehicles has been a powerful aggro deck that pops into the metagame from time to time. Although it doesn’t see play in many main decks, Unlicensed Hearse is a common Vehicle many decks use in the sideboard.

That is everything you need to know about how Vehicles work. They are still relatively new, and as of late, Magic has continued to push the abilities of what a Vehicle can do. Thanks to support in decks with a heavy Vehicle theme like Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty, they also have plenty of support cards to make the mechanic even stronger with more options.

Be sure to check out how regeneration works in Magic: The Gathering. You should also know how to mulligan in Magic The Gathering and what the rules are.

Artifacts are among the strongest permanent types in the game, and since all Vehicles are artifacts, they can take advantage of all that support as well. If you ever want to go out and build a Vehicle deck, now you can since you know how they work and there are plenty of cards to make that dream a reality. 

Magic: The Gathering Vehicles – FAQ

How do vehicles work in Magic: The Gathering?

Vehicles are all artifacts that can be turned into a creature by paying its crew cost. This effect will only last until the turn ends, where it will turn back into an artifact.

What are the best vehicles in Magic: The Gathering?

The best Vehicles are the ones that do not need to be creatures to take advantage of their effects. Many of the strongest ones are the ones they can immediately start making an impact on the game state. Esika’s Chariot also comes with two 2/2 tokens that can be used to crew it, Reckoner Bankbuster can be used as a draw engine, and Unlicensed Hearse can be used as graveyard hate.