Casting this card by paying its alternative cost doesn't change when you can cast it. You can cast it only at the normal time you could cast an artifact spell. It also doesn't change the spell's mana cost or mana value. The only difference is the cost you actually pay.
To satisfy the alternative cost, you may return any basic land you control to its owner's hand, regardless of that land's subtype or whether it's tapped.
Effects that increase or reduce the cost to cast this card will apply to whichever cost you chose to pay.
Last observed on Scryfall 2 months ago at $0.28. Over the trailing 90 days the price moved between $0.28 and $0.38 across 45 observations. Cross-checked across TCGplayer, eBay sold, Cardmarket EU, and Star City.
This printing is one of 2 catalogued treatments from ARC — the lineup includes Nonfoil alongside the standard finish. Across our catalog the Rarix library tracks every variant in the same family so collectors can compare price, scarcity and demand inside a single lineage.
Card #85 of *Archenemy*, the set that shipped alongside the June 2010 Archenemy release.
Card type: Artifact, color identity blue/white, printed at common. Commons fill the bulk of a booster pack's volume. Mana cost: {1}{W}{U} (3 converted).
Legal in Modern, Legacy, Vintage, Commander, and Pauper.
EDHrec ranks this card #16,068 in Commander, putting it in the fringe-play tier of the format's playable pool.
Illustrated by Michael Bruinsma. Rarix catalogs 37 other cards credited to this artist.
Magic: The Gathering · ™ & © Wizards of the Coast · Illus. Michael Bruinsma
Card data via Scryfall. Rarix is fan-made; not endorsed by the rights holders.
As you cast a spell, you get a chance to activate mana abilities before you pay that spell's costs. Therefore, you may tap a basic land for mana, then both spend that mana and return that land to your hand to pay this card's alternative cost. (Of course, you can return a different basic land instead.)
