This decklist will be geared towards copying nontoken creatures, via making copies of them with cards like Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, then copying those tokens with Ghired and the band. The benefit of going this route (versus copying myriad tokens and other more "generic" creature tokens, which is my other main Ghired decklist). The benefit of going this route is that your board state can go from 2nd gear into 5th gear on one turn, for an unexpected wincon. Like, do the math on casting Chancellor of the Forge
with four other nontoken creatures in play, copying it once with Kiki-Jiki, then copying that token copy three more times with your remaining nontoken creatures. It doesn't seem too crazy at first, but once you do the math, you realize that you now have 179 hasty 1/1 Goblins to swing with. Try imitating those numbers using cards that only create "generic" tokens. Sure, you might be able to make a 20/20 token, but only copy it three times... It's a lot, but not a game-ender.
The drawback of this deck concept is that the baddies typically aren't cheap to cast, so it can be slower to build up to that big turn. Plus, you're usually relying on one card to make the first token copy, and that means you're subject to instant speed removal thwarting the big turn. By contrast, building the deck by focusing on copying generic tokens, you can get going much earlier and faster, since there are so many cheap creatures that can make tokens, then tap to copy them. It's just that you're starting fast, and hoping to finish strong, versus starting slow, with a dynamite punch just around the corner.
Another fun part about abusing copying nontoken creatures is you get access to a bunch of mana dorks that benefit from having multiple of them in play, and most of them only cost 2cc, making them quite usable in the early game. Normally, Harabaz Druid wouldn't see a decklist devoid of lots of Allies, yet it can be a beast in our deck, where we can copy it, say, five times. Sanctum Weaver
, Overgrown Battlement
, Heronblade Elite
, Elvish Archdruid
... there are plenty of intriguing options to include, alongside the obvious 1-drop Birds of Paradise
, Llanowar Elves
, etc.
Being able to copy nontoken creatures also means gaining access to Legendary creatures with death triggers. Copy them, and one of the copies will die. Easy. But, since Ghired only lets you copy tokens that entered this turn, we'll typically be saving the token copy, and letting the card die to the legendary rule, so that we can continue to make (dying) copies of the token copy. So when you see a legendary creature with a nice death trigger, that's why it's on the list.
There are many different times a creature token could be created, and some methods and timings are more ideal than others. Being able to make one at instant speed, as an activated ability, is the most preferred method, so Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker is arguably the best at doing this. After that, if it's a copy ability that can be used on multiple turns via untapping, that's also a big plus (Kiki, Jaxis, Orthion, Felhide), as we like to do that kind of thing with Ghired. Next, if it is going to happen on our turn, the earlier in the turn the better, as that might mean access to more mana for casting spells before combat. Next is at the beginning of combat (which is great and fine), then the last options, which I would try to avoid, which are creating tokens at the end of your turn, or as an attack trigger, albeit it's better than nothing if your options are thin, as this typically means the token comes in tapped and attacking, where we would much prefer to be able to perform shenanigans before the attack phase hits, so we can benefit from abusing other attack triggers with our copied creatures, etc. Timing is everything, so ranking these kinds of cards for inclusion in your deck is honestly the key to having optimal flexibility when it might matter the most.
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First off, while Delina, Wild Mage looks like a must-add to a deck like this, creating nonlegendary token copies and all, she's actually a no-go. The problem is that she creates tokens that not only are exiled at the end of combat, but it's also a copiable trait... womp womp. She could make for some interesting interactions for one turn with Ghired, but that's something you almost kinda need to build around her with, and best done in her own deck, versus one with Ghired at the helm. Electroduplicate
, Heat Shimmer
, Chandra, Flameshaper
, and Minion Reflector
have the same drawback.
And on that note, it's also worth noting that the token created by Jaxis, the Troublemaker gains the ability of you drawing a card when it dies, which is not a copiable trait. So while you can totally go bananas copying the token for other shenanigans, those extra copies won't be drawing you any cards when they die.
One nice thing about Felhide Spiritbinder is that if he's able to untap on an opponent's upkeep, he triggers and lets you put a token copy of a creature into play to copy on that turn. And typically, if/when it's being untapped on an opponent's upkeep, it's because all your creatures are being untapped with something like Drumbellower
, giving you untapped nontoken creatures to block with, then tap them at the end of the turn to copy the token that Spiritbinder created.
You'll notice a bunch of 'manlands' on the list, as they can be made into a nontoken creature that can then tap to copy a token. With the exceptions of Den of the Bugbear (makes a token creature) and Cactus Preserve
(taps for any color), I only went with the lands that cost 2 mana or less to activate, as that effectively means dedicating 2 or 3 mana to making a token. There are some that only cost 3 mana to activate, but they don't do anything special beyond being dual color, making it 4 mana to create a token, which just feels like too much. Even Den of the Bugbear is a borderline card, because 4 mana isn't cheap to pay to activate it for the 1/1 Goblin, which ain't nothin special to copy, or you're paying (effectively) 5 mana to copy a token. But... it adds enough flexibility overall that it's still worth putting in.
Gaining control of an opponent's commander is always fun, but it's even better when you can tap Kiki-Jiki in response to their attempts to get it back, making it die to the legendary rule, and leaving you with a copy of it to then make a permanent token copy of.
Coercive Recruiter, Swooping Pteranodon
, Firbolg Flutist
, Conquering Manticore
, and Molten Primordial
go infinite with Ghired once you make a copy of one of them. When the copy enters, you gain control of a creature. If that creature is a nontoken creature, you tap it to make another copy of the Recruiter/Flutist/etc, then rinse and repeat. Buuuuuuut.... Coercive Recruiter is even cooler than you might think, because it triggers for each other copy of it you control, which means when you make your third copy of it, all three of them trigger, letting you grab three creatures. Fourth copy, four triggers, four creatures. That can definitely matter if an opponent is heavy on token creatures, letting you grab lots of them among the nontoken creatures you snag to keep the chain going. Firbolg Flutist is obviously the main champ of this group, not only helping us steal each nontoken creature our opponents control, but giving each of them myriad too!! Yeah, that's GG! Ha! Also, Zidane, Tantalus Thief
can also be used this way, but you have to sacrifice the original to the legendary rule, keeping the token to make copies of it. The drawback is that with Zidane, you don't get to keep the copies of it, so you aren't amassing a huge army of copies like you will with the Recruiter or Pteranodon, which matters if your opponents don't have many creatures to steal and smash face with.
Sunstrike Legionnaire, Midnight Guard
also go infinite. Make a copy of one of them, tap the original to make a copy of the token, and when it enters you untap the original nontoken and rinse and repeat. If you can give the copies haste (Kiki-Jiki is kind enough to give the token it creates haste, as a copiable trait, so ), they can smash face coming out of seemingly nowhere with an infinite army.
On that note, Zealous Conscripts goes infinite in a similar manner, except you're "gaining control" of your own original copy of the Conscipts to untap it, letting it tap to make another copy, rinse and repeat. Of course, you're only doing this after stealing each of your opponents nontoken creatures first, duh. Handy card, no...? Plus, steal anything that's a problem for you, then go infinite... it's the ultimate Swiss Army knife for Ghired.
Mirror March is a no-go simply because we need a reliable means of copying a card, without relying on a coin flip to determine if it happens or not. There are better cards that are cheaper to cast.
Thundering Raiju is a sneaky one to copy, as it can be a game-ender if you can copy it enough times. Make one token copy, then copy that token five more times, then attack with all seven Raijus, with each getting a +1/+1 counter from one of the other seven, then each will deal 6 damage to each opponent, which comes out to 42 damage to each of their faces. Not bad for a hasty four-drop.
Righteous Valkyrie is a sweet little thing to start copying... make five token copies of it and you'll be gaining 60 life and giving all your creatures +12/+12... so um, yeah, not a bad toy to play with...
$0.58€0.650.87 |
Creature (91) | |||
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$40.28€34.558.01 | |||
$7.45€3.300.02 | |||
$0.99€0.640.40 | |||
$0.73€0.39 | |||
$1.96 | |||
$0.44€0.480.02 | |||
$6.440.02 | |||
$0.50€0.431.06 | |||
$1.03 | |||
$2.49€1.710.02 | |||
$0.99€0.960.03 | |||
$10.51€6.370.14 | |||
$0.27 | |||
$5.17 | |||
$0.20€0.120.02 | |||
$0.49€0.500.03 | |||
$0.35€0.190.02 | |||
$0.25€0.17 | |||
$0.25€0.250.03 | |||
$0.48€0.220.03 | |||
$12.490.25 | |||
$6.14 | |||
$0.75€0.300.03 | |||
$0.43€0.50 | |||
$0.20€0.12 | |||
$39.96€30.800.69 | |||
$0.34€0.310.03 | |||
$0.350.02 | |||
$7.96€7.09 | |||
$2.14€2.32 | |||
$1.57 | |||
$0.41€0.230.02 | |||
$0.15€0.050.03 | |||
$74.76€64.00 | |||
$1.98 | |||
$5.49 | |||
$0.46€0.260.02 | |||
$0.50 | |||
$0.96€1.430.02 | |||
$14.79 | |||
$0.45€0.220.02 | |||
$0.25€0.11 | |||
$4.95€2.520.03 | |||
$17.29€6.070.02 | |||
$0.25€0.170.03 | |||
$0.75€0.890.02 | |||
$0.28€0.100.02 | |||
$0.49€0.230.03 | |||
$0.39€0.350.04 | |||
$0.58€0.380.02 | |||
$1.40€0.700.02 | |||
$0.27€0.110.02 | |||
$0.25 | |||
0.02 | |||
$0.25€0.250.04 | |||
$0.40€0.320.01 | |||
$0.25€0.180.03 | |||
$1.80€0.690.02 | |||
$9.10 | |||
$0.27€0.130.03 | |||
$0.45€0.320.02 | |||
$1.77€1.36 | |||
$0.25€0.190.03 | |||
$1.07€1.300.02 | |||
$1.99€1.390.02 | |||
$1.22€1.42 | |||
$1.49 | |||
$1.49€1.060.03 | |||
$0.35€0.340.03 | |||
$0.49€0.990.04 | |||
$7.21€6.251.79 | |||
$1.97€2.670.30 | |||
$0.27€0.52 | |||
$1.78€1.07 | |||
$0.40€0.300.01 | |||
$4.51€4.97 | |||
$2.88€1.180.02 | |||
$0.56 | |||
1
Pyrogoyf
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$2.47€3.58 | ||
$0.20€0.10 | |||
$0.25€0.200.04 | |||
0.04 | |||
$10.00€12.8810.63 | |||
$0.20€0.06 | |||
$1.02€0.65 | |||
$0.45 | |||
Instant, Sorcery, Enchantment, Artifact (42) | |||
$0.310.33 | |||
$17.900.11 | |||
$5.29€3.830.02 | |||
$8.26€11.6412.04 | |||
$3.51€2.060.02 | |||
$14.49 | |||
1
Séance
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|||
$0.79€0.480.02 | |||
$20.64€7.700.63 | |||
$0.30€0.190.02 | |||
$5.01€2.240.08 | |||
$1.490.02 | |||
0.88 | |||
$8.00 | |||
$1.16€0.95 | |||
$6.45 | |||
$0.95€0.70 | |||
$8.72€5.580.02 | |||
$2.33€2.200.02 | |||
$0.75€0.540.02 | |||
$8.17 | |||
$0.25€0.170.05 | |||
$0.25€0.170.03 | |||
$5.110.02 | |||
$19.51 | |||
$0.50€0.330.02 | |||
$0.80€0.490.02 | |||
$0.48 | |||
$12.75€12.92 | |||
$0.250.03 | |||
$5.47€4.460.02 | |||
$3.78€1.960.02 | |||
$0.60€0.40 | |||
$0.29€0.19 | |||
$0.20€0.09 | |||
$0.25€0.160.02 | |||
$0.30€0.130.02 | |||
Land (15) | |||
$6.26€5.180.37 | |||
$1.40€2.24 | |||
$2.16 | |||
$0.50€0.610.03 | |||
$0.24€0.25 | |||
$13.52€9.850.34 | |||
$1.72 | |||
$0.25€0.26 | |||
$5.60€6.241.08 | |||
$0.71€0.610.03 | |||
$2.02€1.47 | |||
$0.400.08 | |||
$0.20€0.090.03 | |||
$0.25€0.070.05 | |||
Planeswalker (3) | |||
$5.08 | |||
$0.800.02 | |||
$8.52 |
$5.91 | |||
$0.23€0.060.03 | |||
$0.25€0.110.03 | |||
1
Dino DNA
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$9.33 | ||
$0.25€0.120.03 | |||
$0.75€0.370.66 | |||
$0.25€0.160.03 | |||
$1.67€1.69 | |||
$0.580.02 | |||
$0.99 | |||
$0.25€0.170.05 | |||
$4.30€6.264.05 | |||
$0.36€0.200.02 | |||
$2.15€0.850.29 | |||
$5.77 | |||
$7.09€9.13 | |||
$0.24€0.130.03 | |||
$4.50 | |||
$0.30€0.100.03 | |||
$0.40€0.33 |
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