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.
Build a Niko, Light of Hope deck →
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 c
- Keyword · scryscry
What a Niko, Light of Hope deck wants
The plan the Forge derives for this commander: the roles it fills and how many of each.
- 8× Put haste on the commander the turn it resolves — a tap ability is unusable otherwise
- 5× Untap the commander so the tap ability is an engine, not a one-shot
- 6× Exile a permanent you control and return it — the button a value-ETB deck presses
- 16× A creature that HAS the keyword the commander's trigger counts — a card that merely says the word is not one
- 8× A permanent whose value is in its enter-the-battlefield trigger — the payload a blink deck reuses
- 4× A team pump that actually pumps tokens
- 12× Make creature tokens — a static anthem or a go-wide commander needs a board to be wide
- 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 1× Answer a whole board at once
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
- Super State7 mana
- Lavaspur Boots1 mana
- Sting, the Glinting Dagger2 mana
- Krang, Utrom Warlord9 mana
Untap the commander so the tap ability is an engine, not a one-shot
- Reconnaissance1 mana
- Sword of Feast and Famine3 mana
- Amulet of Vigor1 mana
- Freed from the Real3 mana
- Pemmin's Aura3 mana
- Retreat to Coralhelm3 mana
- Sting, the Glinting Dagger2 mana
- Umbral Mantle3 mana
Exile a permanent you control and return it — the button a value-ETB deck presses
- Airbender Ascension2 mana
- Displacer Kitten4 mana
- Eldrazi Displacer3 mana
- Soulherder3 mana
- Eternal Acrobat Toast0 mana
- Conjurer's Closet5 mana
- Distinguished Conjurer2 mana
- Brago, King Eternal4 mana
A creature that HAS the keyword the commander's trigger counts — a card that merely says the word is not one
- Faerie Seer1 mana
- Charming Prince2 mana
- Syr Ginger, the Meal Ender2 mana
- Artificer's Assistant1 mana
- Ruin-Lurker Bat1 mana
- Silver Raven1 mana
- Wall of Runes1 mana
- Momo, Playful Pet1 mana
A permanent whose value is in its enter-the-battlefield trigger — the payload a blink deck reuses
- Chrome Mox0 mana
- Mystic Sanctuary0 mana
- Azorius Chancery0 mana
- Cabaretti Courtyard0 mana
- Lotus Field0 mana
- Meticulous Archive0 mana
- Riveteers Overlook0 mana
- Talon Gates of Madara0 mana
A team pump that actually pumps tokens
- Intangible Virtue2 mana
- Caretaker's Talent3 mana
- Inspiring Leader3 mana
- Prava of the Steel Legion3 mana
- Mite Overseer4 mana
- Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun2 mana
- Phantom General4 mana
- Nesting Grounds0 mana
Make creature tokens — a static anthem or a go-wide commander needs a board to be wide
- Chasm Skulker3 mana
- Dalkovan Encampment0 mana
- Elenda's Hierophant3 mana
- Kozilek's Unsealing3 mana
- Hero of Bladehold4 mana
- Myrel, Shield of Argive4 mana
- Parhelion II // Parhelion II0 mana
- Trendy Circus Pirate0 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
- Suspend1 mana
Answer a whole board at once
- Final Showdown1 mana
- Vanquish the Horde8 mana
- Martyr's Cry2 mana
- Split Up3 mana
- Cathedral Membrane2 mana
- Citywide Bust3 mana
- Displacement Wave2 mana
- Harsh Mercy3 mana
Build this deck in the Arcane Forge →
Arcane Foundry is free to join and every tool is included: the Arcane Forge deck builder, the ARCANE Analyzer that scores a deck by simulating games rather than counting staples, a card scanner, a collection vault, and live webcam Commander tables.
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