Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Emperor Mihail II
Emperor Mihail II
Legendary Creature — Merfolk Noble · {1}{U}{U} · Blue commander
What Emperor Mihail II 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 Merfolk spell, you may pay {1}. If you do, create a 1/1 blue Merfolk creature token.
- Static ability · restrictionYou may cast Merfolk spells from the top of your library.
What an Emperor Mihail II deck needs
Plays as merfolk typal. What the commander asks of the other 99 — read from the card and checked by hand.
- a dense deck of what it plays from the top, and top-deck manipulation (scry, Sensei's Top) to line it up
- merfolk creatures (its text counts them)
The Emperor Mihail II deck plan
The roles the Forge fills for this commander, and how many cards of each.
- 27× A body of the exact type the commander's trigger requires — the wrong type is worthless here regardless of quality
- 7× A card that is CAST to trigger the commander — reanimating or blinking it does not count
- 5× A team pump that actually pumps tokens
- 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 Emperor Mihail II
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 body of the exact type the commander's trigger requires — the wrong type is worthless here regardless of quality
- Mist-Cloaked Herald1 mana
- Triton Shorestalker1 mana
- Thassa's Oracle2 mana
- Thieving Skydiver2 mana
- Benthic Biomancer1 mana
- Emry, Lurker of the Loch3 mana
- Cosi's Trickster1 mana
- Cursecatcher1 mana
A card that is CAST to trigger the commander — reanimating or blinking it does not count
- Mist-Cloaked Herald1 mana
- Triton Shorestalker1 mana
- Thassa's Oracle2 mana
- Aquitect's Will1 mana
- Benthic Biomancer1 mana
- Thieving Skydiver2 mana
- Emry, Lurker of the Loch3 mana
- Cosi's Trickster1 mana
A team pump that actually pumps tokens
- Patchwork Banner3 mana
- Heraldic Banner3 mana
- Adaptive Automaton3 mana
- Chief of the Foundry3 mana
- Icon of Ancestry3 mana
- Master of Etherium3 mana
- Banner of Kinship5 mana
- Vanquisher's Banner5 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
- Raise the Palisade5 mana
Refill your hand
- Mystic Remora1 mana
- Skullclamp1 mana
- Curiosity1 mana
- Wizard Class1 mana
- Herald's Horn3 mana
- Rhystic Study3 mana
- Faerie Mastermind2 mana
- The One Ring4 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
- Svyelun of Sea and Sky3 mana
- Mithril Coat3 mana
- Akroma's Memorial7 mana
Build this deck in the Arcane Forge →
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