Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Donal, Herald of Wings
Donal, Herald of Wings
Legendary Creature — Human Wizard · {2}{U}{U} · Blue commander
What Donal, Herald of Wings actually does
Read off the card by the same engine the Forge and Analyzer use — this is the mechanical classification, not a summary.
- Triggered ability · cast_spellWhenever you cast a nonlegendary creature spell with flying, you may copy it, except the copy is a 1/1 Spirit in addition to its other types. Do this only once each turn.
What a Donal, Herald of Wings deck needs
Plays as copy engine. What the commander asks of the other 99 — read from the card and checked by hand.
- creature spells (its trigger fires on each one you cast)
- high-impact nonlegendary permanent spells — enter triggers and big threats (it copies permanent spells)
- cards with flying (its trigger only counts them)
The Donal, Herald of Wings deck plan
The roles the Forge fills for this commander, and how many cards of each.
- 16× A creature that HAS the keyword the commander's trigger counts — a card that merely says the word is not one
- 20× A card that is CAST to trigger the commander — reanimating or blinking it does not count
- 14× A permanent whose value is in its enter-the-battlefield trigger — the payload a blink deck reuses
- 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 9× Find the exact card the plan needs
- 2× Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
- 1× Answer a whole board at once
- 7× Refill your hand
- 2× Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
Best cards for Donal, Herald of Wings
Ranked by an engine that reads what each card does — its real cost, its delay and how reliably it works — rather than counting how often other people play it.
A creature that HAS the keyword the commander's trigger counts — a card that merely says the word is not one
- Ornithopter0 mana
- Mockingbird1 mana
- Ornithopter of Paradise2 mana
- Faerie Seer1 mana
- Siren Stormtamer1 mana
- Spectral Sailor1 mana
- Thousand-Faced Shadow1 mana
- Faerie Mastermind2 mana
A card that is CAST to trigger the commander — reanimating or blinking it does not count
- Ornithopter0 mana
- Walking Ballista0 mana
- Hangarback Walker0 mana
- Memnite0 mana
- Phyrexian Walker0 mana
- Stonecoil Serpent0 mana
- Mockingbird1 mana
- Ornithopter of Paradise2 mana
A permanent whose value is in its enter-the-battlefield trigger — the payload a blink deck reuses
- Solemn Simulacrum4 mana
- Thousand-Faced Shadow1 mana
- Snapcaster Mage2 mana
- Wan Shi Tong, Librarian2 mana
- Archaeomancer4 mana
- Urza, Lord High Artificer4 mana
- Aether Channeler3 mana
- Spellseeker3 mana
Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- Reality Shift2 mana
- Pongify1 mana
- Rapid Hybridization1 mana
- Resculpt2 mana
- Umezawa's Jitte2 mana
- Titan's Presence3 mana
- Icy Prison2 mana
- Kozilek's Command2 mana
Find the exact card the plan needs
- Reshape2 mana
- Mask of the Mimic1 mana
- Long-Term Plans3 mana
- Whir of Invention3 mana
- Merchant Scroll2 mana
- Mystical Tutor1 mana
- Muddle the Mixture2 mana
- Personal Tutor1 mana
Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
- Mindbreak Trap4 mana
- Fierce Guardianship3 mana
- Force of Negation3 mana
- Force of Will5 mana
- Flare of Denial3 mana
- Pact of Negation0 mana
- An Offer You Can't Refuse1 mana
- Arcane Denial2 mana
Answer a whole board at once
- Desynchronization4 mana
- Wave Goodbye4 mana
- Whelming Wave4 mana
- Consuming Tide4 mana
- Selective Obliteration5 mana
- Evacuation5 mana
- Perplexing Test5 mana
- Cyclonic Rift2 mana
Refill your hand
- Mystic Remora1 mana
- Skullclamp1 mana
- Curiosity1 mana
- Wizard Class1 mana
- Rhystic Study3 mana
- Faerie Mastermind2 mana
- The One Ring4 mana
- Combat Research1 mana
Keep a permanent you control alive through removal
- Lost in the Maze2 mana
- Lightning Greaves2 mana
- Swiftfoot Boots2 mana
- Eldrazi Monument5 mana
- Commander's Plate1 mana
- Mithril Coat3 mana
- Akroma's Memorial7 mana
- The Walls of Ba Sing Se8 mana
Combos with Donal, Herald of Wings
Known combos from Commander Spellbook that Donal, Herald of Wings is a piece of, and how many decks list them.
- Donal, Herald of Wings + Cloudstone Curio + Peregrine Drake91 decks
- Donal, Herald of Wings + Cloudstone Curio + Palinchron21 decks
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