Pointed Discussion

Good ol' loxodon warhammer- any deck with a creature can use (win) with it. I used to believe they were quite broken, (Untill I saw that damn Jitte)

If there is a saving grace when faced with the hammer, it's not often you see it equipped the same turn it's played. Hopefully one has sufficient time to liquidate it.

+ +3/+0, trample and lifelink are a great combination

- costs 6 mana and needs a creature that can attack, before it does anything at all

We gave this thing all sorts of names.
noob hammer
ban hammer
rofl hammer

I think we settled with `the hammer of win`

this card is famous for comboing with troll ascetic

the fact that you can play this on turn two or three and let it sit until you have enough mana to play it on a creature is great. so it really only costs three as long as no one disenchants it. Also it will stay on the field when you creature dies and just wait for something else to attach to. Equiptments are unfair versions of enchant creatures and this is a perfect example. And lifelink stacks so you could, with two of these, deal six but gain twelve.

Probably the best equipment that's still fair (unlike say, Sword of Fire and Ice, or Umezawa's Jitte). Back when I played blue-white blink I needed some way to make those little Mulldrifters and whatnot actually do something. This card was the answer. Likewise, it's a great win-more card for a lot of decks since any color can play it. I love it.

This is an example of how you design a very powerful and balanced piece of equipment. Guess Wizards forgot later on how it's done properly (Skullclamp, Jitte)...

As powerful as this is, it feels 'fair' somehow... it's just making your own creature better, rather than screwing with the opponent, and despite the fact that an equipped hammer often signifies game over, people are much more willing to fight on against it than against a certain couple of other equipment cards...

This thing is best described as evil on a stick. That doesn't mean it isn't a great card though, far from it.

Like most people, I have a strong love/hate with this card. My biggest source of hate comes from what it does to multiplayer when it hits. Actually, that whole problem comes with lifelink in general. Games would be entirely different if not for that absurd ability. In multiplayer, when you need to kill all of your opponents and keep yourself alive at the same time, things can get tricky. Until you throw a hammer on your Korlash/Nightmare/Troll Ascetic/Primalcrux/ Hostility/ Stonehewer Giant/ Haakon/ Reaper King/ heavily enchanted guy. Then it's as easy as taking candy from a baby after threatening the parents with a huge hammer crafted by elephant hammersmiths on a distant plane. Stupid lifelink.

All of this goes for Baneslayer Angel, Steel of the Godhead, and all the other stuff that makes multiplayer too easy.

Loxodon Warhammer + Ageless Entity = auto-win

I used to collect this like crazt, they really help.

The thing that makes this card balanced is that it doesn't boost toughness. A creature that attacks with it will die just as easily, they will just be incredibly useful as they die.

When I started playing during Mirrodin, my friend and I each bought Intro Decks. His deck actually included this over-powered monstrosity. He would win most games because of this card. That is, of course, until I bought a playset. ;)

Try it with Kor Duelist.

Good god the reminder text. Get this in foil for happiness and relief.

Hammer and an elephant! Fluck yeah im in!

As far as equipment goes, this is one of the best you can get. As soon as you equip it and attack, it destroys your opponent. At least 3 damage is gonna go somewhere, usually more, and it's trample damage, and you're gonna gain at least 3 life, unless the damage is prevented. Still, the trample will get through more times than not, and your opponent is gonna take some damage. The net difference in life this thing makes is astounding. In 3 turns, sometimes you and your opponent can have a 30 life difference. Equip on something like Kazandu Blademaster or the new Elite Inquisitor and you have a 5/2 vigilant-first-striking-trampling-lifelink-annihilator causing devastation each turn, and then defending for even more life. Equip on a fatty and you can outright win the game. This also goes great with regenerating creatures since they can suicide attack or block and survive. Drudge Skeletons equipped with a Loxodon Warhammer might be the deadliest thing in the game ;) The lifelink means that opponents will be discouraged from attacking if you don't attack or the equipped creature has vigilance, making this defensive in some conditions. Attacking and then equipping this on another untapped creature for defense is another effective strategy, especially if you switch off the attacker and defender as to only use each turn. Even equipping this to a wall is not a bad idea in some circumstances.

This makes a removal magnet out of a 0/1 token, and suicide attacks with cheap tokens just wreaks havoc. Even if the creature dies, you will be gaining life regardless. The advantage is that since it's equipment, it can be reused if the creature dies. Giving the creature a toughness bonus or making it cheaper to cast or equip would make it broken.

The to cast and equip slows down your tempo a lot, often taking up your 3rd and 4th turn moves, but getting it on a 2 drop like the blademaster is well worth it. Drawing it later in the game when you have the for the cast and equip can flip the game.

This thing was a staple card back in my early days of magic. Pretty much every constructed deck my play group made had at least 2 of these bad boys in it and we were never unhappy to draw one, unless, of course, my opponent drew one, then i'd be pretty upset ;) We used to always run artifact removal JUST for this. Now we've moved on to more combo and synergy style play with too fast of a tempo for stuff like this. However, you can certainly build a very powerful deck centered around this.

I'm not a fan of equipment, but this one can flip the game in a single turn. This is an easy 5/5 for usefulness.

@Goatllama - Either that or pick up the original version. The reminder text is there for the players that picked up the game right around the time that the core sets came out (this happens on all core set cards with keyword abilities).

this card is why serra avatar remained protectionless

Well, I guess we can thank that print that the lifegain of this hammer doesn't stack anymore.

For anyone wondering, here's how it came to be this way:
- The original print from Mirrodin used a triggered ability to cause lifegain, which was usual during that time.
- Ninth Edition was the first time this card got reprinted, rightfully as a rare this time. The wording didn't change.
- Then Tenth Edition came, and it was decided to turn the trigger into the keyword "lifelink".
- Then M10 rule changes kicked in, turning lifelink into a static ability, meaning the old trigger wasn't lifelink anymore.
However, unlike most cards that got their Oracle reverted from lifelink to their original wording with the triggered ability, Loxodon Warhammer stayed this way since the latest printing already had the keyword written on it.

Having the static ability lifelink instead of the triggered ability has its advantages in some cases.
One being that you don't get life from delivering the finishing blow to an opponent, one of the main reason Wizards made the change in the first place.
However, Loxodon Warhammer was a card that greatly profited from stackable lifegain, due to giving +3/+0 per hammer as well. (Don't ask me how you hold two of these at once, though). Even small critters would end up netting you 14 life.

Now you just get the boost in power from the second hammer, so it's usually more advisable to give it to another creature. Pity that. But that lost synergy with itself aside, it's still a great card.