and things that grant persist in response to a board wipe, like Cauldron Haze or Cauldron of Souls
This is likely why the three most popular Mono Blue commanders are ones that provide mana advantage: Urza, Lord High Artificer turns all your artifacts into mana rocks, Orvar, the All-Form lets you easily make copies of your lands and/or mana rocks, and Minn, Wily Illusionist ramps out permanents (including lands) whenever your illusions die
In the current market, these free staples remain significant financial barriers to entry for many players
7 Afterlife Insurance Still In Debt, Even In Death "Draw a card" on a cheap spell is enough of an insurance plan (pun intended) to make just about anything playable, since it can replace itself when the effect isn't useful
When Mirrodin was introduced to the world, the combination of Affinity and cards that care about the artifact supertype quickly broke Standard
Its a great way to make a sick mass of Zombies instantly, which a whole lot of decks and cards can take advantage of, even if the tokens are decayed