MTG Crew Explained: What it is & how to crew vehicles

What does it mean when an MTG card says “Crew 2”? Well, wonder no longer as we explain it in its entirety.

MTG has been stepping more and more away from the constraints of High Fantasy of late, but even the earliest days of Magic featured tech that broke the fantasy mold. Urza’s inventions lead the charge in The Brothers’ War before the force of magic spread across Dominaria.

Now, sets like Kaladesh and Kamigawa have brought vehicles and mechs into the foreground, and we’ll show you how to activate them with the Crew ability.

How Crew Works in MTG

WOTC

Each card with the ability Crew in MTG is a Vehicle. When played, these vehicles are artifacts. But by paying the Crew cost, these artifacts temporarily become powerful creatures.

Each Crew ability has an associated cost, which is paid by tapping creatures with total power equal to or greater than the cost. Crew 4 requires a total power of 4 or greater, Crew 8 requires 8 power, and so on. This power can come from any number of creatures, eg: Crew four could be achieved with one 4-power creature or two 2-power creatures.

It should also be pointed out that Vehicles suffer from summoning sickness. You can’t crew and attack the same turn. However, during defending, you could crew and block with the vehicle and leave your creatures intact. This also means you can’t crew with recently summoned creatures either.

Many vehicle-supporting creatures come with an associated mechanic: (this creature) crews Vehicles as if its power were X greater. This allows even weaker creatures to Crew above their weight, getting your Vehicles up and running.

Best Uses of Crew

As Crew is a tap effect, it can be activated at instant speed, meaning that you can crew your vehicles on your opponents’ turn to soak up their attacks. But remember that crewing taps the creatures that are used to crew, meaning that they cannot be used as additional blockers during the same battle step.

Creatures that would simply run up against an opponent’s blockers and be destroyed can now meaningfully contribute to your attacks by crewing. Creatures that have been enchanted or are otherwise incapable of attacking also serve as excellent crew fodder.

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