Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
Unpacking the Easter Eggs and Hidden Design Jokes
Anyone who enjoys digging into MTG’s decades of design trivia will tell you that some cards feel like tiny treasure hunts in card form. Planar Bridge, a rare Legendary Artifact from Double Masters 2022, is one of those curiosities. Its clean, colorless silhouette conceals a handful of sly nods to the game’s history, art direction, and the way Wizards loves to wink at devoted players. With its chunky mana cost of six and a powerhouse activation of eight colorless mana plus a tap, the card announces itself as a late-game, “get out of jail free” engine—the kind of clause that invites you to dream big, then pay handsomely for the dream. 🧙♂️🔥💎
First, the very name is a layered joke. Planar Bridge speaks to the most classic MTG fantasy of moving things across planes—the literal planeswalkers’ bread and butter—and then stands as a bridge to a world where “a permanent card” can be summoned directly onto the battlefield. The idea isn’t just about value; it’s about the vibe of crossing thresholds, a tiny meta-joke about how players want to leap from plan to plan in one bold play. The flavorful promise sits nicely next to Tezzeret’s signature line and the art’s industrial, interplanar architecture. The flavor text—"It is finished. Now the real work can begin." —Tezzeret—reads like a prologue to a grand forge-finishing scene: a hint that there’s always more machinery behind every gleaming piece of progress. ⚔️🎨
What the card’s design hides in plain sight
Let’s talk specifics that double as easter eggs. The card’s color identity is empty—colorless artifacts are the hallmark of big, game-breaking plans, and Planar Bridge leans into that identity. The mana cost is a deliberate wall: six to cast, then eight to activate. That “pay to reveal a gateway” mechanism feels like a wink to classic artifact themes—you’ve spent time and resources to unlock a portal to your own future board state. It’s a nod to the old-school think-you-can-win-it-all-with-one-fantastic play, but the cost scale keeps it honest, reminding players that grand design often requires patient investment. 🧙♂️💎
Artistically, Chase Stone’s work on this piece channels a Kaladesh-inspired sense of brass and geometry, but with the timeless weight of a great bridge spanning a star-scarred chasm. The “bridge” motif isn’t just decorative; it’s a design joke about connecting what you have in hand, what’s in your library, and what you’ll eventually control on the battlefield. The card’s frame, border treatment, and the 2015-era style reinforce the Masters impulse: reprint magic that nods to the past while delivering a new, high-impact moment in the present. 🎨🧭
Flavor, lore, and the Tezzeret connection
The flavor text anchors the card firmly in Tezzeret’s wheelhouse—an artificer obsessed with forging connections, both literal and metaphorical. The idea of building a bridge between planes mirrors Tezzeret’s own journey: he’s always stitching pieces of the multiverse into a more formidable whole. The line “It is finished. Now the real work can begin.” isn’t just a brag; it’s a tease that the plan’s visible results are just the opening act. For players who love lore, Planar Bridge offers a tactile way to imagine Tezzeret orchestrating a master plan from behind the scenes, one heavy artifact at a time. 🧙♂️🔥
From a design-joke perspective, the card quietly mocks the idea that “one spell can solve everything.” Planar Bridge is a publishable headline: cast, search your library for a permanent, put it onto the battlefield, then shuffle. It’s big, it’s thematic, and it’s the kind of effect that invites debate—what permanent will you fetch? Will you grab a game-ending artifact, a threat-loaded beater, or a mana-producing lock piece? The humor is in the sheer drama of a single trigger that can reshape a board late in the game, a smile you can almost hear from Tezzeret himself as the gears grind into place. ⚔️🎲
For players who adore Easter eggs in card design, Planar Bridge offers multiple layers to appreciate. The set—Double Masters 2022—was all about dual reprint value and “masters”-level fantasy in a single package. The card’s rarity (rare), its foil and nonfoil finishes, and its EDHREC presence (a respectable rank) all signal that this piece isn’t just a broken-stone power card; it’s a conversation piece. It’s the kind of card that collectors circle for its $2-ish price range, while command-zone strategists consider it a “go big or go home” moment when a game swings on one well-timed fetch. The little jokes—couched in a grand design—are the seasoning that makes this card fun to talk about after the match ends. 🧙♂️💎
Practical strategy: how to value Planar Bridge in your decks
In Commander, Planar Bridge can feel like a license to go “big.” Build around it with a strategy that can reliably reach the 8-mana activation threshold, then fetch a game-changing permanent that turns the tides. Lands that generate extra mana, artifact mana rocks, and big splashy creatures or utility permanents all become your targets. The trick is to protect the plan—don’t let the engine collapse under graveyard hate or artifact removal. A well-constructed 99 or a casual Commander table will respect that you’ve built a plan rather than simply cast a single spell with a loud burst. In legacy and modern contexts, Planar Bridge still shines as a high-cost, high-reward option, a reminder that sometimes the best value isn’t a one-turn win, but a carefully staged plan that unfolds over several turns. 🧙♂️🔥
As with any cross-promotional piece of MTG content, the card’s aura translates beautifully to table talk about collecting and strategy. The Double Masters 2022 set’s “twofold” concept mirrors the way we approach deckbuilding: mix power and resilience with a dash of nostalgia, and you’ll find joy in both the game and the art that accompanies it. If you’ve ever found yourself grinning at a tiny nod to a favorite era, Planar Bridge delivers that warmth while still delivering a genuine strategic punch. 🎨🎲
For fans who want to keep exploring both the lore and the lab-work behind their favorite artifacts, the card’s Collector, Card Market, and TCGPlayer references point to a vibrant community conversation about how this piece plays in real games. The flavor, finish, and collectability all come together to remind us why we love the multi-layered tapestry of MTG: it’s equal parts strategy, story, and sly humor. 🧙♂️💎