Shiko wants a deck that plays sturdy creatures that also deal with opponents' cards. It also suits a deck that casts extra spells for free off the top of its deck.
Mana cost
White, Blue, Red ()
Power / toughness4 / 5
RarityMythic
Flying, vigilance
When Shiko enters, exile target nonland card with mana value 3 or less from your graveyard. Copy it, then you may cast the copy without paying its mana cost. (A copy of a permanent spell becomes a token.)
Picked for what they do in Shiko's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Shiko's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Open the full glossary
explain how Shiko works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary
Wizards of the Coast4 Apr 2025
A resolving copy of a permanent spell becomes a token. That token isn’t “created” and won’t interact with abilities that care about tokens being created.
Wizards of the Coast4 Apr 2025
If a spell has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
Wizards of the Coast4 Apr 2025
If the spell you cast has {X} in its mana cost, you must choose 0 as the value of X when casting it without paying its mana cost.
Wizards of the Coast4 Apr 2025
If you cast a spell “without paying its mana cost,” you can’t choose to cast it for any alternative costs. You can, however, pay additional costs, such as kicker costs. If the spell has any mandatory additional costs, those must be paid to cast the spell.
Wizards of the Coast4 Apr 2025
If you don’t want to cast the copy, you can choose not to; the copy ceases to exist the next time state-based actions are checked.
Wizards of the Coast4 Apr 2025
You cast the copy while Shiko’s last ability is resolving and still on the stack. You can’t wait to cast it later in the turn.
Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryWURPlayers write colors as letters: W for white, U for blue, R for red. Blue is U because B was already taken by black.MidrangeMidrange decks play solid creatures that also deal with opponents' cards, attacking when it is safe and defending when it is not. They sit in the middle: slower than an all-out attacking deck, sturdier than a deck built to answer everything.Open the Midrange pageValue CreatureA creature that does two jobs: it deals with an opponent's card when it arrives, then stays as a real attacker. Its enter the battlefield ability destroys, damages, counters or bounces something, and it has 3 or more power or an ability like flying that makes it hard to block. Answering your opponent and pressuring them with the same card is what a Midrange deck is built on. Shriekmaw, Meteor GolemOpen the Value Creature pageTarget RemovalRemoves a single chosen permanent by destroying it, exiling it or returning it to its owner's hand, however big it is. It is the precise answer to one problem, as opposed to a board wipe that hits everything. Damage and -X/-X can miss a big creature, so they are Damage Removal and -X/-X Removal instead. Swords to Plowshares, Beast WithinOpen the Target Removal pageCascade/Free CastCascade decks cast extra spells for free, straight from the top of their deck, every time they cast the right card. Cascade turns over cards from the top of your library until it hits a cheaper spell, which you may cast without paying for it.Open the Cascade/Free Cast pageFree CastCan be cast without paying its mana cost when a condition is met, often "if you control your commander". Because it costs nothing, you can still answer something after your mana is already spent. Fierce Guardianship, Deflecting SwatOpen the Free Cast pageETB ValueDoes something useful the moment it arrives: an enter the battlefield ability, which players shorten to ETB. You keep that effect even if the card is removed straight afterwards, which is why these pair so well with flicker cards that make them enter again. Solemn Simulacrum, The One RingOpen the ETB Value pageEvasionAn ability that makes a creature hard to block, so its attacks reach the player. Flying, menace, landwalk and plain 'can't be blocked' are the common kinds.Open the Evasion page
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