Commander Deck Tech: Mica, Reader of Ruins

Secrets of Strixhaven is already a great success. The Strixhaven prerelease season is the most popular since War of the Spark, and the way the community sees Strixhaven has definitely changed. Some players thought it was a very mediocre "Harry Potter" plane, but now it has gained a new identity.

In today's article, we'll go over a commander in my favorite colors for eDH: red and nothing else. He will also be the center of a very fun spellslinger archetype: Mica, Reader of Ruins!

Mica, Reader of Ruins is pretty straightforward and open. He has Ward (Pay 3 Life), which already makes spot removals a bit less efficient, and his main ability triggers whenever you cast an instant or sorcery. If so, you may then sacrifice an artifact, and, if you do, you may copy that spell and pick new targets for it.

So, each Treasure, Blood, Clue, Food, or artifact you have is now a way to multiply value. A Big Score will give you even more cards and resources. Furthermore, you can sacrifice artifacts like Ichor Wellspring and Mycosynth Wellspring (which are already great targets for sacrifices) to get even more value. They'll be great in any list with Mica.

His ability is pretty straightforward but also quite devastating as well, particularly because you can incorporate it in your main engine and copy abilities or interact with artifacts. Both of these ideas are very popular and strong in the format right now, so you should have no trouble making them work.

The list we'll see today is a Monored that centers around spells, artifacts, and Treasures. It will do more than just win with big creatures and doesn't rely on a single card or specific combo to work. The idea behind Mica is to get mana, hoard artifacts that you can sacrifice later, draw cards with Impulse and Looting effects, and use him to copy the strongest spells you have.

As this is a red list, most of your advantage will come from temporary resources. Impulse draws and rituals will not always see play in Commander decks that don't focus on combos because of how long some matches can last, but they're more reliable with Mica.

Here's our list:

Ramp and Discounts

Repeat with me, kids: This is a red list, so we can't play the incredible ramp green lists can play! We need to start with artifact acceleration. Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Ruby Medallion, and Cloud Key will speed up your game plan and give you mana for the turns you'll play two or three spells, particularly the Medallion, which is quite helpful when you want to lean more towards spellslinger.

Rituals are the way red can ramp temporarily. Desperate Ritual, Pyretic Ritual, and Seething Song allow you to set up turns to copy a spell with Mica and immediately turn this into more mana. You'll use this type of card when you want to play spell after spell to turn its temporary ramp into something more useful. This "something more useful" will usually be a big spell, a finisher, or just card draw after card draw.

Strike It Rich is more modest, but it interacts really well with the commander because it creates a Treasure and has Flashback. It will be helpful at first, come back in the middle of the match, and also give you an artifact you can sacrifice with Mica.

Treasures!

Considering Mica sacrifices artifacts, Treasures are the best fuel there is. They create mana when you need it, and when one of them remains in play, you can also use it to copy spells with Mica. Storm-Kiln Artist is one of the most important cards in this deck because it creates Treasures whenever we cast or copy an instant or sorcery. This will feed Mica's ability, as it will create more artifacts for you to sacrifice for the next spells you copy.

Goldspan Dragon is similar because it makes Treasures a lot more efficient, mana-wise. With it in play, each Treasure you control will create two mana, which will be quite relevant for cards like Comet Storm and Crackle with Power.

Professional Face-Breaker turns combat damage into Treasures and also lets you use these artifacts later on to play other cards. Xorn is simple but efficient. This list creates Treasures very easily, and every time it does, you'll get an extra token because of Xorn. This, in turn, will result in more ramp and artifacts for Mica.

Artifacts You Can Sacrifice

These artifacts are in this list to be sacrificed and activate effects, and, as such, they're essential. Ichor Wellspring draws cards when it goes to the graveyard, so sacrificing it with Mica is always great. Mycosynth Wellspring does something similar with basic lands. With it, this deck won't have to rely solely on Treasures to keep going either.

Nimblewright Schematic and Prized Statue are also permanents that leave something behind when you sacrifice them. They're not the flashiest cards in this deck, but they're obvious targets for Mica's ability. Because of them, you won't have to resort to sacrificing a Sol Ring, for instance.

Idol of Oblivion interacts with tokens and will keep you ahead in cards throughout the game. Meanwhile, Spell Satchel grows naturally in any deck that plays lots of spells and will eventually turn into a source of mana and card draw. Throne of Eldraine creates lots of colored mana, which red welcomes.

Card Advantage and Card Selection

Modern red lists learned to draw cards by discarding others and creating Treasures, and this list takes advantage of that. Big Score, Unexpected Windfall, Pirate's Pillage, and Seize the Spoils do exactly what Mica wants: they filter your hand, put new cards in play, and also leave artifacts behind for the next turns.

When you copy them with Mica, they'll create a lot of cards and Treasures for you. So, a turn that seemed simple at first will soon become incredible, particularly when you already have Storm-Kiln Artist, Xorn, or Goldspan Dragon in play.

Cathartic Reunion and Demand Answers fix bad hands and put cards in the graveyard, which is relevant because of Underworld Breach and Mizzix's Mastery. Glimpse the Impossible and Inspired Tinkering let you Impulse draw, so they don't let you forget this is a red list after all and also give you more cards when you're already creating a lot of mana.

Spells to Copy

Removals like Lightning Bolt are simple, but copying it will allow you to deal with two small creatures or one planeswalker, or just deal more damage to a player directly. Bottle-Cap Blast is more situational, but it fits this list well because it sacrifices artifacts and creates value from that. And this is all possible because of Mica's ability.

Blasphemous Act is the most efficient global removal in this list. You don't need to copy it with Mica always, but with it in your deck, you'll always have a cheap reset button to deal with aggressive boards, which is great. Smashing Success removes problematic artifacts and can also create Treasures, so it's helpful in multiple ways.

Comet Storm is an instant spell that scales really well when you have leftover mana. With it, you'll be able to win with your commander in a very clean way. Crackle with Power is one of the best cards to end games when you already have everything you need, particularly because if you copy it with Mica a single time, you'll already increase your odds of winning considerably.

Hit the Mother Lode doesn't end the game like the other two cards above, but when you copy it, it could put you quite ahead in mana.

Support Pieces

Birgi, God of Storytelling is one of the best creatures for this type of strategy because it turns spells into red mana. Runaway Steam-Kin is similar, as it gets more counters as you cast red spells and then turns them into mana so that you can carry on playing more spells.

Artist's Talent makes this game plan more consistent, and, while Mica copies spells, Twinning Staff will give you even more in return. With Storm-Kiln Artist, you'll be able to get a lot of mana quite easily for your combo-centric turns.

Underworld Breach turns your graveyard into an extension of your hand. As this list discards lots of cards and casts many of them as well, your relevant sorceries will naturally end up in your graveyard as you play, either after you use them or after you put them there. Breach lets you reuse these cards in your last turn quite easily, while Mizzix's Mastery can turn great graveyards into a very easy victory.

Grinding Station is more situational. It works well with the many artifacts that will enter and leave your board. It also feeds your graveyard and helps you sacrifice artifacts whenever you need and set up long sequences with Breach.

The most straightforward way to win is by hoarding mana and copying a big damage spell, like Crackle with Power and Comet Storm, particularly when you already have extra Treasures, rituals, and discounts. With Mica in play, one single artifact will already double your chances of winning.

Your second way to win is by dealing lots of damage and playing lots of burn, like Reckless Fireweaver, which deals damage when artifacts enter play, and Ashling, Flame Dancer, which turns spells into more damage. This way is a bit slower and deals damage bit by bit instead of all at once. You'll eventually win quite easily, and this way you won't have to deal with unexpected emergencies.

Finally, you can also win with a really well-setup Breach/Mizzix turn, reusing rituals, card draw, and damage spells. This part of the list really reminds me of Storm decks, but you will still rely on the "fair" artifact/Treasure game plan throughout the match.

Mica, Reader of Ruins is a pretty decent Monored list that can explode really easily because it is also a spellslinger strategy and quite fun as well. It easily locks down games through really long turns that need a really long sequence of spells in a row to work. You'll need to plan them out really well and be really careful.

This deck will most likely become one of my main go-to's. It also improved by Monored pool because I got some cards to play it. Mica is a pretty powerful uncommon creature, and this deck reflects this really well.

What do you think? Tell us your thoughts in our comment section below.

Thank you for reading, and see you next time!