Reverse Engineer
Oracle Text
Improvise (Your artifacts can help cast this spell. Each artifact you tap after you're done activating mana abilities pays for
.)Draw three cards.
Card Rulings
2/9/2017 Improvise doesn’t change a spell’s mana cost or converted mana cost.
2/9/2017 When calculating a spell’s total cost, include any alternative costs, additional costs, or anything else that increases or reduces the cost to cast the spell. Improvise applies after the total cost is calculated.
2/9/2017 Because improvise isn’t an alternative cost, it can be used in conjunction with alternative costs.
2/9/2017 Improvise can’t pay for , , , , , or mana symbols in a spell’s total cost.
2/9/2017 Improvise can’t be used to pay for anything other than the cost of casting the spell. For example, it can’t be used during the resolution of an ability that says “Counter target spell unless its controller pays .”
2/9/2017 If an artifact you control has a mana ability with in the cost, activating that ability while casting a spell with improvise will result in the artifact being tapped when you pay the spell’s costs. You won’t be able to tap it again for improvise. Similarly, if you sacrifice an artifact to activate a mana ability while casting a spell with improvise, that artifact won’t be on the battlefield when you pay the spell’s costs, so you won’t be able to tap it for improvise.
2/9/2017 Tapping an artifact won’t cause its abilities to stop applying unless those abilities say so.
2/9/2017 Equipment attached to a creature doesn’t become tapped when that creature becomes tapped, and tapping that Equipment doesn’t cause the creature to become tapped.
Its strictly better than Tezzeret's Ambition in every category aside from rarity. Same cost, same benefit. Rewards you more if you have artifacts rather than penalize you if you have none.
With one artifact out, its about as good as Concentrate.
With two artifacts out, its better than a Thirst for Knowledge.
With three artifacts out, its about on par with a Treasure Cruise that delved for six.
No, not really. You can easily flood the board with artifacts. Sram, Senior Edificer even makes it possible to cycle through your deck faster if your artifacts cost 0. Have you ever seen: Eggs, Stax, Bazaar or Affinity?
Thirst for Knowledge is a net value of +1 or +2 cards. Reverse Engineer is a net value of +3 cards. It can also cost less than Thirst.
As for Treasure Cruise? Guess what decks that run that card require? Methods to fill the grave. Guess what Reverse Engineer requires to run that card? Methods to fill the board.
Treasure Cruise still beats this card on the clause that this is much more board state dependent. You're much more likely to have cards in the yard than artifacts on the field.