Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Niko, Light of Hope
Niko, Light of Hope
Legendary Creature — Human Wizard · {2}{W}{U} · Blue/White commander
When Niko enters, create two Shard tokens. (They're enchantments with "{2}, Sacrifice this token: Scry 1, then draw a card.")
{2}, {T}: Exile target nonlegendary creature you control. Shards you control become copies of it until the next end step. Return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the next end step.
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What Niko, Light of Hope 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 · etbWhen Niko enters, create two Shard tokens.
- Activated ability{2}, {T}: Exile target nonlegendary creature you control. Shards you control become copies of it until the next end step. Return it to the battlefield under its owner's control at the beginning of the
What a Niko, Light of Hope deck needs
Plays as copy engine. What the commander asks of the other 99 — read from the card and checked by hand.
- blink and recursion aimed at the commander itself (its value is its own enter trigger)
- high-value creatures and activated-ability creatures worth copying or borrowing
- haste and untap effects that reach the commander (a tap ability is unusable the turn it lands)
The Niko, Light of Hope deck plan
The roles the Forge fills for this commander, and how many cards of each.
- 11× Put haste on the commander the turn it resolves — a tap ability is unusable otherwise
- 9× Exile a permanent you control and return it — the button a value-ETB deck presses
- 8× Untap the commander so the tap ability is an engine, not a one-shot
- 11× 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
Best cards for Niko, Light of Hope
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.
Put haste on the commander the turn it resolves — a tap ability is unusable otherwise
- Thousand-Year Elixir3 mana
- Lightning Greaves2 mana
- Swiftfoot Boots2 mana
- Akroma's Memorial7 mana
- Lavaspur Boots1 mana
- Sting, the Glinting Dagger2 mana
- Haunted Cloak3 mana
- Sword of Vengeance3 mana
Exile a permanent you control and return it — the button a value-ETB deck presses
- Airbender Ascension2 mana
- Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd2 mana
- Displacer Kitten4 mana
- Eldrazi Displacer3 mana
- Flickerwisp3 mana
- Soulherder3 mana
- Touch the Spirit Realm3 mana
- Conjurer's Closet5 mana
Untap the commander so the tap ability is an engine, not a one-shot
- Freed from the Real3 mana
- Pemmin's Aura3 mana
- Sting, the Glinting Dagger2 mana
- Umbral Mantle3 mana
- Unstoppable Plan3 mana
- Genji Glove5 mana
- Honor-Worn Shaku3 mana
- White Plume Adventurer3 mana
A permanent whose value is in its enter-the-battlefield trigger — the payload a blink deck reuses
- Knight of the White Orchid2 mana
- Spirited Companion2 mana
- Solemn Simulacrum4 mana
- Thousand-Faced Shadow1 mana
- Loran of the Third Path3 mana
- Ranger-Captain of Eos3 mana
- Helpful Hunter2 mana
- Loyal Warhound2 mana
Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- Path to Exile1 mana
- Swords to Plowshares1 mana
- Reality Shift2 mana
- Pongify1 mana
- Rapid Hybridization1 mana
- Resculpt2 mana
- March of Otherworldly Light1 mana
- Generous Gift3 mana
Find the exact card the plan needs
- Reshape2 mana
- Mask of the Mimic1 mana
- Long-Term Plans3 mana
- Open the Armory2 mana
- Whir of Invention3 mana
- Merchant Scroll2 mana
- Enlightened Tutor1 mana
- Mystical 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
- Vanquish the Horde8 mana
- Supreme Verdict4 mana
- Wrath of God4 mana
- Day of Judgment4 mana
- Shatter the Sky4 mana
- Split Up3 mana
- Winds of Abandon2 mana
- Depopulate4 mana
Refill your hand
- Esper Sentinel1 mana
- Mystic Remora1 mana
- Skullclamp1 mana
- Curiosity1 mana
- Wizard Class1 mana
- Rhystic Study3 mana
- Archivist of Oghma2 mana
- Faerie Mastermind2 mana
Combos with Niko, Light of Hope
Known combos from Commander Spellbook that Niko, Light of Hope is a piece of, and how many decks list them.
- Niko, Light of Hope + Timestream Navigator + Soulherder142 decks
- Niko, Light of Hope + Timestream Navigator + Teleportation Circle108 decks
- Niko, Light of Hope + Timestream Navigator + Thassa, Deep-Dwelling74 decks
- Niko, Light of Hope + Timestream Navigator + Conjurer's Closet72 decks
- Niko, Light of Hope + Timestream Navigator + Brago, King Eternal41 decks
- Niko, Light of Hope + Timestream Navigator + Deadeye Navigator36 decks
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