Arcane Foundry › Commanders › Saruman of Many Colors
Saruman of Many Colors
Legendary Creature — Avatar Wizard · {3}{W}{U}{B} · Black/Blue/White commander
Ward—Discard an enchantment, instant, or sorcery card.
Whenever you cast your second spell each turn, each opponent mills two cards. When one or more cards are milled this way, exile target enchantment, instant, or sorcery card with equal or lesser mana value than that spell from an opponent's graveyard. Copy the exiled card. You may cast the copy without paying its mana cost.
Build a Saruman of Many Colors deck →
What Saruman of Many Colors 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 your second spell each turn, each opponent mills two cards. When one or more cards are milled this way, exile target enchantment, instant, or sorcery card with equal or lesser mana value th
- Keyword · wardward
- Keyword · millmill
What a Saruman of Many Colors deck wants
The plan the Forge derives for this commander: the roles it fills and how many of each.
- 32× Mana value at or above the floor — for a cascade commander a cheap card is a DEFECT, not a bargain
- 4× Evasion that does NOT target or attach — for a commander your own auras and equipment cannot legally touch
- 16× A creature that HAS the keyword the commander's trigger counts — a card that merely says the word is not one
- 18× A cheap spell of any kind — casts per turn are the engine for an unrestricted cast trigger
- 6× Put your own cards into your graveyard as a resource
- 5× Actually remove one problem permanent — preventing its damage is not removing it
- 1× Answer a whole board at once
- 2× Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
- 9× Find the exact card the plan needs
Best cards for Saruman of Many Colors
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.
Mana value at or above the floor — for a cascade commander a cheap card is a DEFECT, not a bargain
- Excalibur, Sword of Eden12 mana
- Ancient Stone Idol10 mana
- Blightsteel Colossus12 mana
- Darksteel Colossus11 mana
- Emrakul, the Promised End13 mana
- Emrakul, the World Anew12 mana
- Flayer of Loyalties10 mana
- Funeral Room // Awakening Hall11 mana
Evasion that does NOT target or attach — for a commander your own auras and equipment cannot legally touch
- Secret Tunnel0 mana
- Akroma's Will4 mana
- Delney, Streetwise Lookout3 mana
- Tetsuko Umezawa, Fugitive2 mana
- Irenicus's Vile Duplication4 mana
- Rhonas's Monument3 mana
- Thassa, God of the Sea3 mana
- Enter the Avatar State1 mana
A creature that HAS the keyword the commander's trigger counts — a card that merely says the word is not one
- Stitcher's Supplier1 mana
- Hedron Crab1 mana
- Ruin Crab1 mana
- Millikin2 mana
- Emry, Lurker of the Loch3 mana
- Excavated Wall1 mana
- Exhibition Tidecaller1 mana
- Eye Collector1 mana
A cheap spell of any kind — casts per turn are the engine for an unrestricted cast trigger
- Everflowing Chalice0 mana
- Walking Ballista0 mana
- Hangarback Walker0 mana
- Mishra's Bauble0 mana
- Profane Tutor0 mana
- Sol Talisman0 mana
- Tormod's Crypt0 mana
- Urza's Bauble0 mana
Put your own cards into your graveyard as a resource
- Takenuma, Abandoned Mire0 mana
- Stitcher's Supplier1 mana
- Altar of Dementia2 mana
- Brain Freeze2 mana
- Mindcrank2 mana
- Ripples of Undeath2 mana
- Codex Shredder1 mana
- Hedron Crab1 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
- Defile1 mana
- Tragic Slip1 mana
Answer a whole board at once
- Final Showdown1 mana
- Vanquish the Horde8 mana
- Amalia Benavides Aguirre2 mana
- Do or Die2 mana
- Martyr's Cry2 mana
- Pest Control2 mana
- Force of Despair3 mana
- Split Up3 mana
Answer a spell or ability before it resolves
- Pact of Negation0 mana
- Counterspell2 mana
- Three Steps Ahead1 mana
- Long River's Pull2 mana
- Force of Will5 mana
- Abjure1 mana
- Archmage's Charm3 mana
- Cancel3 mana
Find the exact card the plan needs
- Entomb1 mana
- Demonic Tutor2 mana
- Diabolic Intent2 mana
- Vampiric Tutor1 mana
- Lively Dirge2 mana
- Imperial Seal1 mana
- Insatiable Avarice1 mana
- Diabolic Intent2 mana