Millicent, Restless RevenantMillicent, Restless Revenant | Art by Denman Rooke

Spirits have served a variety of roles throughout Magic’s narratives, ranging from ghosts to ancestors to living statues depending on the location. With some flying and some not, and some big and some little, there’s a lot of variation in the depictions of Spirits in Magic, but building a Millicent, Restless RevenantMillicent, Restless Revenant deck seems to be the best way to honor the varied depictions of the dearly departed.

Spirits in Magic

Early Spirits were few and far between, with Blinking SpiritBlinking Spirit even serving as a control finisher during Ice Age Block Constructed. Then came Kamigawa, where Spirits became associated with Shinto-esque deities that could reincarnate via the soulshift ability.

Innistrad made Spirits into ghosts, and added typal support and token synergies. More recently, Strixhaven on Arcavios featured larger non-flying Spirit tokens as a subtheme for the Lorehold college. 

Millicent most closely resembles and synergizes with the Spirits of Innistrad, which pop in and out of existence without warning, using flash and instant-speed activated abilities to interact on the stack. These unique timing elements enable Spirits to function as a tempo deck.

In a way, Spirits in Magic are the Azorius version of Dimir’s Faeries: cheap, evasive threats with distinct timing patterns and relevant abilities for enabling aggression and controlling the board. 

What Does Millicent, Restless RevenantMillicent, Restless Revenant Do?

Millicent is a 4/4 flying beatstick, whose cost is reduced for each Spirit we control, which also applies to commander tax, making her aggressive and affordable. She and other nontoken Spirits make a 1/1 flying Spirit token each time they connect or die, such that she’s never far from the battlefield.

She's placed solidly in Azorius colors, making powerful token producers like Spectral ProcessionSpectral Procession easy to cast and able to pull double-duty as ramp spells reducing the cost of our commander. We also get to run lord and hexproof-granter Drogskol CaptainDrogskol Captain.

Being cost-effective and rewarding aggression are two major check marks in Millicent’s favor, making her an ideal commander.

Millicent rides the narrow line between being a Spirit token commander and being a Spirit commander proper. The token creation ability and the cost reduction effect work with the go-wide strategy of Spirit tokens, while the trigger of the token creation ability works well with non-token Spirits that are cheap and evasive.

There are better options for either build-around, but Millicent does both. 

Other Commander Options

If we wanted to lean stronger into the token aspect of Spirits, we’d be better served going into Esper, so we can have access to Lingering SoulsLingering Souls, one of the best token producers of all time. Unfortunately, there isn’t a great Esper Spirits commander. We can build one, however, using partners.

Ghost of Ramirez DePietroGhost of Ramirez DePietro, the Spirit of the Pirate we built a few weeks back, is a card advantage engine that loads up the grave. Ravos, SoultenderRavos, Soultender is a lord that returns creature cards from the grave to the hand. At this point, we’re building around tokens and the grave more than around Spirits, however.

Kykar, Wind's FuryKykar, Wind's Fury is another token option, this time in Jeskai, but it cares more about non-creatures, throws off the balance of the deck, and loses Lingering SoulsLingering Souls.

Lorehold and Kamigawa Spirits provide interesting and relevant commanders, but they work better when they're the build-around, not the creature type. For example, Hofri GhostforgeHofri Ghostforge is a Spirit lord and turns nontoken creatures into token copies that are Spirits, but it’s better as a graveyard/reanimation commander.

The Kirin cycle from Saviors of Kamigawa trigger when a Spirit or Arcane spell is cast, but they're all monocolored, so it’s tough to find enough creatures to fill out a build.

Kodama of the Center TreeKodama of the Center Tree, from Betrayers of Kamigawa, is probably the best soulshift commander, as its power and toughness are equal to the number of Spirits and the soulshift is also equal to the number of Spirits. Being in green also gives the Kodama access to ramp, which could make it a fun and resilient take on the creature type.

Key Cards for Millicent, Restless RevenantMillicent, Restless Revenant

One of the best uses of Spirits’ abilities is to interact with spells on the stack. Spell QuellerSpell Queller and Mausoleum WandererMausoleum Wanderer do a decent impression of Faeries’ Spellstutter SpriteSpellstutter Sprite and Merfolk’s CursecatcherCursecatcher, albeit larger and with flying. We supplement these with true-blue CounterspellCounterspells like the titular card and Dovin's VetoDovin's Veto, both typical control cards. These allow us to use instant speed to threaten answers, as well as to protect our board.

Speaking of board protection, Selfless SpiritSelfless Spirit is a great rattlesnake card that beats down until it’s needed, and then it pops itself to make our board indestructible. Being able to do that without paying any mana is a huge boon, especially with as many playable wraths as there are.

With our commander as cheap as it is via the cost reduction, Flawless ManeuverFlawless Maneuver and Flare of FortitudeFlare of Fortitude pull plenty of weight and do an excellent job of setting up traps for our opponents.

Distant MelodyDistant Melody is a typical draw spell for blue typal decks, but Spirits get access to their own sneaky functional reprint. Ribbons of the ReikaiRibbons of the Reikai may cost one more mana, but it gives us a second copy of the potent effect, enabling us to jump out ahead of our opponents. After all, there are few things scarier at a Commander table than a blue player with a full hand and mana up!

Our nonbasic lands provide bursts of mana, adding to the deck’s surprise potential. Three Tree CityThree Tree City and Nykthos, Shrine to NyxNykthos, Shrine to Nyx both do a decent impression of Gaea's CradleGaea's Cradle, except, instead of enabling explosive starts, we use that mana to bust down the door on an opponent’s turn, using our creatures to add to the board, interact with the stack, or even draw a barrage of cards.

Then, we untap with our army of flying ghosts and steal the game!

How Does This Millicent, Restless RevenantMillicent, Restless Revenant Commander Deck Win?

We aim to flood the board with cheap, evasive creatures, protect that board, and draw a lot of cards. We can easily oscillate roles from aggressive to defensive and back again. And that’s precisely what makes this deck so exciting.

Millicent, Restless RevenantMillicent, Restless Revenant Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Spirits represent the past, present, and future. While our Millicent deck is centered mostly on Innistrad, there are distinct nods to those from other planes, all enabling a strong control plan with solid aggression and board presence.

But how would you build Spirits? And do you think we captured the spirit of the creature type?

More Typal Builds: