Nearly Identical – Delina or Jaxis?

<h6 style="text-align: right;">(<span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker" href="#" target="_blank">Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> | Art by <a href="http://www.peteventers.com/blog/">Pete Venters</a>)</h6>
<h1>Honor Among Thieves</h1>
<p>Greetings everyone, and welcome back to <em>Monomania</em>. In this article series we build mono-color decks as a way to explore ramp and draw packages that are synergistic with our particular deck’s strategy. In these articles I try to challenge staples of and misconceptions about the color pie. Today, we're making off like bandits and flirting with the infinite.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker"></div></div>
<p>Kiki-Jiki is an infamous card in the history of <em>Magic: the Gathering, </em>notorious as a linchpin in various two-card infinite combos. Chances are that if you bring up Kiki, the majority of <em>Magic</em> players will immediately recognize the name. It may even call to mind his most salient partners in crime: <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Pestermite" href="#" target="_blank">Pestermite</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Deceiver Exarch" href="#" target="_blank">Deceiver Exarch</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. In Commander, we can’t include either of these cards with him at the helm. Perhaps that is why Kiki’s reputation in competitive formats hasn’t translated into EDH popularity—his most familiar combos aren’t available to him. Shockingly, Kiki only leads 192 decks listed on EDHREC. For such a unique effect, this card sees very little play in the format. Let’s see if this is justified. Is Kiki a monotonous combo-in-a-can? Or is he sufficiently nuanced to lead a fun and interesting deck?</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Fanatic of Mogis"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Ashnod&#039;s Altar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Grab the Reins"></div></div>
<p>Outside of the combo potential, three types of effects seem like they will play well with our general: creatures with potent “enters the battlefield” triggers, sacrifice outlets, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Threaten" href="#" target="_blank">Threaten</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects. Creatures with powerful ETB triggers make great targets for Kiki’s ability. Sacrifice outlets allow us to gain advantage out of tokens that are going to the graveyard anyway. Finally, ways to steal our opponents' minions until end of turn become very powerful in combination with a high density of sacrifice outlets. If an opponent is playing a commander like <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Yarok, the Desecrated" href="#" target="_blank">Yarok, the Desecrated</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> or <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Brago, King Eternal" href="#" target="_blank">Brago, King Eternal</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, we can even steal their creatures, make a token, and then sacrifice the original to try to keep up.</p>
<p>With this direction in mind, let’s take a look at how we’ll abuse Kiki.</p>
<hr />
<h2>The Five Finger Discount</h2>
<p>I've included several staple mana rocks in this deck to ensure that we can get our general online quickly. We have the <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Extraplanar Lens" href="#" target="_blank">Extraplanar Lens</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> package alongside <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Coldsteel Heart" href="#" target="_blank">Coldsteel Heart</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Fire Diamond" href="#" target="_blank">Fire Diamond</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Star Compass" href="#" target="_blank">Star Compass</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Outside of the obvious, I've also found several creatures that produce some sort of ramp when they enter the battlefield.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Wily Goblin"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Rapacious Dragon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Emrakul’s Hatcher"></div></div>
<p>Treasure tokens aren't a permanent form of ramp, but they can supplement our ramp package and fill in gaps. The versatility of these sub-optimal cards comes from their interaction with Kiki. While we would much rather produce more value with our commander's ability, copying creatures that produce Treasure can help us build up to a more explosive turn later in the game. While <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Emrakul&#039;s Hatcher" href="#" target="_blank">Emrakul&#039;s Hatcher</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> provides more potential mana in theory, the fact that Eldrazi Spawn are more fragile makes them slightly less valuable because they are more liable to be swept up in an errant board wipe. The temporary nature of these mana-producing tokens presents important decision points to the player—how to prioritize plays, which cards are imperative to a particular moment, and how to play around removal such as board wipes.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Treasure Map"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Thaumatic Compass"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dowsing Dagger"></div></div>
<p>Finally, as always, I've included some of the <em>Ixalan </em>transform cards. If this is your first time reading <em>Monomania,</em> welcome, and these cards are my darlings. Each of them provides a decent effect on their face, and land ramp on the back end. They are fantastic tools for mono-color decks to overcome ramp shortages. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dowsing Dagger" href="#" target="_blank">Dowsing Dagger</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is a card that I haven't written about before, but seems like a good fit here. This deck includes 32 creatures and plenty of ways to steal creatures to clear the way for our attackers, a perfect way to flip this card. Giving an opponent two Plant tokens is also a fun political tool, perhaps making an ally in exchange for a minute amount of value. On top of all this, the Dagger's land variant is among the most powerful in the cycle, impersonating <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lotus Vale" href="#" target="_blank">Lotus Vale</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and the more recent <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Lotus Field" href="#" target="_blank">Lotus Field</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. Any card that can be compared to something with 'Lotus' in its name at least deserves consideration.</p>
<hr />
<h2>Cashing Out</h2>
<p>In terms of draw effects, we're looking for creatures that can be abused by Kiki. By searching through Scryfall and the EDHREC page for <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Feldon of the Third Path" href="#" target="_blank">Feldon of the Third Path</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, I've found a few creatures with card advantage attached to their ETB triggers.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dire Fleet Daredevil"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Abbot of Keral Keep"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Dark-Dweller Oracle"></div></div>
<p>First, we have the rent-before-you-buy effects that have become the classic style of card advantage for red. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dire Fleet Daredevil" href="#" target="_blank">Dire Fleet Daredevil</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Abbot of Keral Keep" href="#" target="_blank">Abbot of Keral Keep</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> can be continually abused as Kiki tokens. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Dark-Dweller Oracle" href="#" target="_blank">Dark-Dweller Oracle</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> provides card advantage attached to a sacrifice outlet, an effect we're hungry for. All of these cards cost two mana, a small investment for the potential to gain incremental card advantage over time.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Skyscanner"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Filigree Familiar"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Pilgrim&#039;s Eye"></div></div>
<p>Here we have a suite of artifact creatures that also provide piecemeal card advantage that can become significant if triggered more than once. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Filigree Familiar" href="#" target="_blank">Filigree Familiar</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> does not draw a card upon entering the battlefield, but because Kiki specifies that you sacrifice rather than exile the token at the end of turn, a token of the familiar will draw us a card.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Humble Defector"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Hoarding Dragon"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Mindclaw Shaman"></div></div>
<p>Finally, we have a few oddball card advantage inclusions. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Humble Defector" href="#" target="_blank">Humble Defector</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is very entertaining and if you haven't tested it out with your playgroup yet, I highly recommend it. Depending on how your friends play, you can sometimes make deals to pass the Defector back and forth. With Kiki, however, we can avoid the downside. With a sacrifice outlet and Kiki on board we can make a defector token, tap it to put its effect on the stack, sacrifice the token, and draw two cards without giving our opponents anything. If we feel like being more generous, we can fill our opponents' boards with Defector tokens.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Hoarding Dragon" href="#" target="_blank">Hoarding Dragon</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> tokens can also be an incredible form of card advantage,tutoring for some of our powerful artifacts. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mindclaw Shaman" href="#" target="_blank">Mindclaw Shaman</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> may not look like card advantage, but actually acts as a two for one, filching a spell from an opponent's hand and also casting it. It's a discard effect and an extra spell in our hand at once.</p>
<hr />
<h2>The Deck</h2>
<p>With all of these considerations taken into account, let's put it all together with a decklist.</p>
<div class="edhrecp__cards"><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Sundial of the Infinite"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Zealous Conscripts"></div><div class="edhrecp__card-container" name="Clone Shell"></div></div>
<p>Among the notable inclusions, we have a mix of combo pieces and fun tech. With a brief examination of Kiki’s EDHREC page, we find a significant combo piece. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zealous Conscripts" href="#" target="_blank">Zealous Conscripts</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> sees play in 82% of Kiki’s decks and is an instant inclusion here. Our commander couples with the Conscripts for an easy two-card combo that can end the game on the spot by creating infinite Conscript tokens. If we don't want to draw the ire of the table, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Zealous Conscripts" href="#" target="_blank">Zealous Conscripts</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> also plays into our strategy of stealing our opponents' creatures for sacrifice fodder.</p>
<p><span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Sundial of the Infinite" href="#" target="_blank">Sundial of the Infinite</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, if activated correctly, can allow us to keep our Kiki tokens. In the end step, when the tokens' sacrifice triggers go on the stack, we can activate the Sundial, end the turn, and cause the triggers to fizzle. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Clone Shell" href="#" target="_blank">Clone Shell</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> is also an extremely fun target for our commander, allowing us to dig for creatures with powerful ETBs turn after turn and put them directly into play. Finally, we have a set of mass <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Threaten" href="#" target="_blank">Threaten</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> effects with <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mass Mutiny" href="#" target="_blank">Mass Mutiny</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mob Rule" href="#" target="_blank">Mob Rule</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>, and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Insurrection" href="#" target="_blank">Insurrection</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span>. <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mass Mutiny" href="#" target="_blank">Mass Mutiny</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> has less potential to end games, but <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Mob Rule" href="#" target="_blank">Mob Rule</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> and <span class="edhrecp__link"><a class="edhrecp__link-a" content="Insurrection" href="#" target="_blank">Insurrection</a><span class="edhrecp__link-image"></span></span> absolutely can. And if they don't end the game, our sacrifice outlets can also turn these spells into mass removal.</p>
<p><div class="edhrecp__deck mtgh"><span class="edhrecp__deck-s" name="Smash and Grab" site="edhrec" archidekt_link="" cards="[Commander]
*1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
[/Commander]
[Creatures]
*1 Goblin Welder
*1 Abbot of Keral Keep
*1 Dark-Dweller Oracle
*1 Dire Fleet Daredevil
*1 Goblin Engineer
*1 Humble Defector
*1 Wily Goblin
*1 Burnished Hart
*1 Filigree Familiar
*1 Manic Vandal
*1 Pilgrim’s Eye
*1 Priest of Urabrask
*1 Skittering Surveyor
*1 Skyscanner
*1 Captivating Crew
*1 Fanatic of Mogis
*1 Flametongue Kavu
*1 Solemn Simulacrum
*1 Cavalier of Flame
*1 Clone Shell
*1 Emrakul’s Hatcher
*1 Hoarding Dragon
*1 Ingot Chewer
*1 Mindclaw Shaman
*1 Rapacious Dragon
*1 Zealous Conscripts
*1 Combustible Gearhulk
*1 Conquering Manticore
*1 Duplicant
*1 Meteor Golem
*1 Molten Primordial
*1 Sandstone Oracle
[/Creatures]
[Instants]
*1 Arcbond
*1 Chaos Warp
*1 Grab the Reins
[/Instants]
[Sorceries]
*1 Chain Reaction
*1 Mass Mutiny
*1 Mob Rule
*1 Insurrection
*1 Blasphemous Act
[/Sorceries]
[Artifacts]
*1 Sol Ring
*1 Wayfarer’s Bauble
*1 Coldsteel Heart
*1 Dowsing Dagger
*1 Fire Diamond
*1 Lightning Greaves
*1 Magewright’s Stone
*1 Spawning Pit
*1 Star Compass
*1 Sundial of the Infinite
*1 Thaumatic Compass
*1 Treasure Map
*1 Ashnod’s Altar
*1 Extraplanar Lens
*1 Mimic Vat
*1 Phyrexian Altar
*1 Helm of the Host
*1 Panharmonicon
*1 Caged Sun
[/Artifacts]
[Enchantments]
*1 Goblin Bombardment
*1 Shivan Harvest
*1 Vance’s Blasting Cannons
[/enchantments]
[Lands]
*1 Arcane Lighthouse
*1 Buried Ruin
*1 Desert of the Fervent
*1 Detection Tower
*1 Forgotten Cave
*1 Inventors’ Fair
*1 Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
*1 Scrying Sheets
*1 Smoldering Crater
*26 Snow-Covered Mountain
*1 Spinerock Knoll
*1 Zoetic Cavern
[/lands]"></span></div></p>

<hr />
<p>So what do you all think of Kiki-Jiki in the command zone? Is there fun to be had with this general or should he be left to other formats? How would you build this deck? Let me know in the comments below! Now that the deck building is finished, we can answer the most important question:</p>
<p><a href="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/kiki.gif"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-36922 aligncenter" src="https://articles.edhrec.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/kiki.gif" alt="" width="500" height="281" /></a></p>
<p>Remember to EDHREC responsibly: always dig a little beyond the statistics. Have a good one, and I’ll see you on down the road.</p>


fanatic of mogis

Nearly Identical – Delina or Jaxis?

Monomania — Smash and Grab