Introduction
This deck is part of the Two-Headed Giant Commander decks, these are designed to be played 2v2 or 3v3 in the Commander format, but can also be played 1v1.
Certain decks have certain themes, and will pair better with other decks, which decks work best have been listed below. These decks are on a higher skill level than most of the other decks in the club, with a lot of interacting mechanics. This can be overwhelming to learn and master but it is a whole lot of fun when you do.
Above the clouds, a magnificent city of artifice and invention floats in the sky. The Freelancers, a powerful guild of artificers and mercenaries, make their home here, offering their services to the highest bidder. They care little for the moral alignments of their employers, focused only on the wealth and knowledge they can gain. As the world below descends into chaos, the Freelancers find themselves courted by both sides of the conflict. Their allegiance, however fleeting, could tip the scales of power in favor of either the Villains or the kingdom of Gloria. The main themes of the Freelancer decks are artifacts, flyers and +1/+1 counters.
Mishra was the brother of Urza. A cruel and ruthless Argivian artificer, he had the same humble origins as his brother, eventually coming to control the western half of Terisiare (i.e. Zegon). Mishra was able to confederate various Fallaji tribes of the Western Desert under his command. Eventually, he and Urza fought a long and bloody war that came to be known as the Brothers' War. Unlike his brother, he did not become a planeswalker. In the Battle at Argoth, Urza revealed Mishra to be a construct of flesh and Phyrexian metal.[5] When Mishra completely abandoned his humanity to attack his brother, Urza released an enormous burst of power that destroyed both Mishra and the sentient forest they were fighting over.
During the events of Apocalypse, Urza, mesmerized by the sights of Phyrexia, abandoned his fight and descended deep into the core of the world of glistening oil to bow before Yawgmoth. On his way, he met the body of Mishra deep in the Center of Phyrexia, wrecked with fresh pain and torments day in, and day out, asking his brother to help him out. However, as the entirety of Phyrexia is the direct product of Yawgmoth, and adding to that the somewhat unstable state of Urza's mind at the moment (or rather one could say it was never stable, especially about his brother's demise), we can not be sure if it was Mishra, who somehow survived the Sylex Blast; an apparition presented by Yawgmoth to further stress and confuse the great planeswalker; or merely Urza's hallucination.
Key Strategy
Mishra, Eminent One is a powerful artifact-focused commander who can create copies of your artifacts, making him an ideal choice for a value-oriented, artifact-centric deck. This deck revolves around creating artifact copies, sacrificing them for value, and recurring key pieces. In a two-headed giant setting, Mishra's ability to flood the board with artifact copies and pressure your opponents with artifact synergies offers great versatility, allowing you to adapt your strategy to different game states.
Mishra, Eminent One: The commander is the engine that powers this deck, creating noncreature artifact copies that transform into 4/4 creatures for a turn. Using this ability wisely on cards like Servo Schematic and Ichor Wellspring ensures you gain additional value through ETB and LTB effects.
Marionette Master: A powerful card that punishes your opponents whenever an artifact you control dies. Combined with Mishra's ability to make copies, Marionette Master can deal significant damage in a two-headed giant game.
Arcbound Ravager: This provides a sacrifice outlet for artifacts, making your board state more resilient and allowing for explosive plays when you need to pressure opponents.
Cyberdrive Awakener: This turns your noncreature artifacts into 4/4s with flying, creating a sudden air force that can overwhelm opponents.
Oni-Cult Anvil: A great synergy piece for generating tokens and draining opponents. It also pairs nicely with Mishra’s artifact duplication to churn out extra value.
Wondrous Crucible: Provides long-term value by reanimating random permanents from your graveyard while also making all your permanents indestructible.
Marionette Master + Mishra, Eminent One + Sacrifice Outlets: Creating and sacrificing artifact copies from Mishra’s ability with Marionette Master on the battlefield can lead to significant life loss for your opponents.
Oni-Cult Anvil + Mishra, Eminent One: The Anvil’s ability to generate tokens and drain opponents pairs well with Mishra’s duplication, creating a steady source of value and chip damage over the course of the game.
Early Game
Your early-game plan revolves around setting up mana acceleration and small-value engines through cards like Arcane Signet, Rakdos Signet, Fellwar Stone, and Wayfarer’s Bauble. Play Ichor Wellspring and Servo Schematic early to get Mishra’s engine going by creating artifact copies. These copies can be sacrificed for value with outlets like Goblin Welder and Oni-Cult Anvil. Be mindful of protecting your setup with cards like Feed the Swarm or Counterspell to deal with early threats.
Mid Game
By the mid-game, your goal is to start using Mishra’s ability to overwhelm the board with artifacts. Hangarback Walker and Nettlecyst are prime targets for Mishra’s duplication, as their tokens and increased stats can swing games in your favor. Cards like Saheeli, Sublime Artificer and Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer help you create additional artifact tokens, while Arcbound Ravager ensures you can sacrifice copies for quick bursts of damage or growth. Use Marionette Master to weaponize your artifact deaths, threatening opponents with life loss.
Play Daretti, Scrap Savant to further support your strategy by either generating more artifacts or recycling key pieces from your graveyard. Karn, Legacy Reforged becomes a significant source of mana and artifact creation, escalating your artifact advantage.
Late Game
In the late game, you should aim to close things out with mass artifact recursion and aggressive attacks. Cyberdrive Awakener is perfect for turning your field of artifacts into a powerful army. Blast-Furnace Hellkite can make your attackers doubly effective by giving them double strike. You can use Wondrous Crucible to continuously revive artifacts and other key permanents, generating overwhelming value. Lithoform Engine and Strionic Resonator can copy Mishra’s ability or other powerful effects to ensure your board state snowballs out of control.
If needed, you have access to removal in the form of Chaos Warp, Bedevil, and Abrade, ensuring that you can handle any problematic threats or disruptions. Blasphemous Act is a potent board wipe for cleaning up while preserving your own artifacts.
In your opening hand, prioritize lands and mana ramp like Arcane Signet, Rakdos Signet, and Wayfarer's Bauble to ensure a smooth start. Having early value engines like Servo Schematic, Ichor Wellspring, or Oni-Cult Anvil is ideal for getting Mishra's ability online as soon as possible. If you have access to a sacrifice outlet like Goblin Engineer or Arcbound Ravager, you can start setting up your value loop early on. Keep hands that allow you to establish a strong artifact base and ensure Mishra has targets to duplicate by the time he hits the field.
This deck is designed to leverage Mishra’s powerful artifact duplication ability to swarm the battlefield, generate value, and apply consistent pressure in a two-headed giant format.
Deck Theme and Pairings
Themes:
Artifacts
Artifact Cards
Artifact Support