Because even mystic warriors need bling.
A spikeard is a rather powerful artifact that converts regular matter into magickal energy. Although eschewed by many mages, this type of artifact is not hard to create by those who have a high enough ability in Prime and Matter magick. However, the artifact is hard to find, thanks to the simple fact that most spikeard are destroyed along with their users.
The problem with the spikeard lies in using it. Even converting a small amount of matter into energy can cause a massive vacuum in the immediate vicinity. One mage suggested using the effect through a correspondance portal and then sealing the portal once you get the energy you need. However, it requires an amazing amount of control to hold one massive spell while powering another. So many mages argue that if you have that level of control... why do you need the spikeard?
Behind the Scenes[]
In his original Season 4.1 character rules, Bax wrote about magical items: "Powerful: A spikeard. Scary when fully developed. 8 points." However, a spikeard never actually appeared in TI story. It actually was the artifact used by Merlin in Roger Zelasny's Amber series, which funnelled elemental power into magical spells.