Mirrormade: Exclusive Throne of Eldraine Preview
In recent spoiler seasons, Wizards has done a really good job of assigning previews that have some additional meaning, rather than just handing out cards randomly, and Throne of Eldraine is no different. As you probably know already, I love Blood Moon #25122 and Panharmonicon #237. While Blood Moon #25122 is too unfun (and probably too good) for Standard and we just got a Panharmonicon #237 replacement in Yarok, the Desecrated #136, in theory, the preview I have for you today (thanks to Wizards being awesome) can be a Blood Moon #25122 or a Panharmonicon #237! Take a minute to reflect on Mirrormade #120!
At its most basic level, Mirrormade #120 is a Clone #14 effect. While it has the drawback of only hitting artifacts (like Panharmonicon #237) or enchantments (like Blood Moon #25122), it makes up for this by being just three mana, offering a meaningful discount over most copying effects, which are often four mana. Maybe the easiest way to think about Mirrormade #120 is in the context of a couple of past cards, in Copy Artifact and Copy Enchantment #312 Retro. Mirrormade #120 is basically a more flexible version of the effect—hitting either artifacts of enchantments—for just one more mana than Copy Artifact and for the same cost as Copy Enchantment #312 Retro.
While neither Copy Artifact nor Copy Enchantment #312 Retro sees heavy play in tournament formats, they do show up on occasion, with Copy Artifact being in some old Vintage decks and Copy Enchantment #312 Retro showing up in some Modern Zur, the Enchanter builds. Mirrormade #120 is close to a strict upgrade over Copy Enchantment #312 Retro, even if you're not playing any artifacts yourself, just because you might occasionally copy a Wurmcoil Engine #231 Foil, an Ensnaring Bridge #294, or some other artifact your opponent might be playing. While not quite as efficient as Copy Artifact, Mirrormade #120 will be much more accessible than the Reserved List rare, and especially in formats like Commander, paying one extra mana isn't really a deal breaker.
Standard
As far as Standard is concerned, I'm not really sure where Mirrormade #120 fits into the format. Artifacts and enchantments seem to be a sub-theme of Throne of Eldraine, so it's possible the perfect Mirrormade #120 target is on the horizon and we just haven't seen it yet. But focusing on the sets already in Standard (and surviving rotation), there aren't a ton of exciting targets for Mirrormade #120.
Artifact-wise, many of the best of the bunch are legendary. While copying your opponent's Bolas's Citadel #7 Kefka's Tower or Golos, Tireless Pilgrim #226 could be sweet, it will likely be hard to build a deck around copying your own artifacts. A three-mana Meteor Golem #323 could be be powerful, and if we get enough support, maybe there could be some sort of artifact aggro deck featuring Steel Overseer #144, but the options are limited.
Enchantments might offer more potential, with cards like Captive Audience #160, Thousand-Year Storm #248, and Ethereal Absolution #170, although I'm not sure how often you really need two copies of any of them since one is often enough to swing the game.
Copying Smothering Tithe #22 or Leyline of Abundance #179 could offer a lot of mana in the right deck, and Mirrormade #120 is, at the very least, cute with enchantments like Disinformation Campaign #167 and Dovin's Acuity #168, which you can return to your hand to potentially recast Mirrormade #120 and copy something else.
Wilderness Reclamation #205 will still be floating around after rotation, and as we've learned over the past year, having two copies of Wilderness Reclamation #205 is better than just having one, although it will be harder to abuse now that Nexus of Fate #19306 has finally rotated. Maybe some combination of flash from Leyline of Anticipation #64 and Teferi, Time Raveler #221 Planeswalker Stamp along with Finale of Glory #67 or Finale of Revelation #589 could work, although finding additional Mirrormade #120 targets might be a challenge.
The other issue with Mirrormade #120 in Standard is that to really make the card work, we need more than just one good copying target in our deck. Playing Mirrormade #120 with Wilderness Reclamation #205 as our only good artifact or enchantment to copy isn't a very good plan due to the inherent inconsistency. To really make Mirrormade #120 work, we need a deck with a critical mass of artifacts and / or enchantments worth copying. Right now, such a deck doesn't exist in Standard. While it's possible one will develop over the course of Throne of Eldraine Standard, it isn't clear if all of the necessary pieces exist.
All in all, this makes me skeptical of Mirrormade #120's immediate Standard potential. It might be one of those cards that takes a couple additional sets to really find a home, even though it is a powerful effect. The good news is that there are reasons to be optimistic about Mirrormade #120's future, especially with the return of Theros in a few months. If our second visit is anything like our first, odds are that the set will be overflowing with enchantments (the return of enchantment creatures would be especially good for Mirrormade #120). So even if there isn't an Mirrormade #120 deck immediately after rotation when Throne of Eldraine is released, it will certainly be a card to keep an eye on moving forward through the next two years of Standard.
Modern
As far as Modern is concerned, the most likely home for Mirrormade #120 is as a one-of tutor target in decks that care about enchantments (and to a lesser extent, artifacts). An easy example of this is Zur the Enchanter #374 Retro decks.
Mirrormade #120 is perfect for Zur, offering a ton of flexibility in a package that is cheap enough to find with Zur the Enchanter #374 Retro's tutoring ability. Having a tutor target that can be another copy of Runed Halo #32, Detention Sphere #43 Showcase, or Journey to Nowhere #3 Showcase, depending on the situation, is quite powerful. Meanwhile, Greater Auramancy #4 is one of the best ways to protect enchantments, and getting two copies on the battlefield makes a hard lock of protection from targeted removal thanks to the Greater Auramancies giving each other shroud, but it's hard to actually find room for two copies of Greater Auramancy #4 in the main deck. Mirrormade #120 gives us a second copy of Greater Auramancy #4 when we need it that can also be more removal, card filtering, or lock pieces if we don't need the extra protection of two copies of Greater Auramancy #4.
Another possibility is a build of Enduring Ideal that splashes into blue, where Mirrormade #120 offers the same flexibility and tutorability it does in Zur. Having one card that can be another Oblivion Ring #34 to kill a planeswalker, another Sphere of Safety #77 against creature decks, or another Rest in Peace #156 Extended against dredge seems perfect for the deck. Again, this would be more of a one-of than the foundation of the deck, and it is fair to question whether it's worth rebuilding the mana just to take advantage of Mirrormade #120, but Mirrormade #120 does seem perfect for the strategy.
Other than replacing Copy Enchantment #312 Retro in decks that currently run it, it's hard to figure out exactly what to do with Mirrormade #120 in Modern. Obviously, being able to copy Panharmonicon #237 and Blood Moon #25122 is sweet, although a second Blood Moon #25122 isn't always that important, and I'm the only person who plays Panharmonicon #237 in Modern. On paper, a deck like Hardened Scales has plenty of targets, with Mirrormade #120 being an extra Hardened Scales #307 or an extra Arcbound Ravager #14 Borderless or Steel Overseer #144. But in practice, it seems unlikely that many Modern decks will warp their mana bases and builds to take advantage of the card, especially when both Clever Impersonator #8 (basically Mirrormade #120 with upside for one more mana) and Copy Enchantment #312 Retro have already been floating around in the format for years without seeing significant play.
Commander / Brawl
While the Standard future of Mirrormade #120 is murky and Modern is probably a long shot, one format where Mirrormade #120 is almost assured to shine is Commander (and also Brawl). While a random clone effect isn't going to create any new archetypes or significantly change the power level of a Commander deck, it will likely be an easy inclusion in both artifact and enchantress-style decks in the format.
It's in Commander that the flexibility and power of the "copy artifact or enchantment" text will really shine. Take an enchantress-style commander like Estrid, the Masked #40 Foil. Copy Enchantment #312 Retro is already a solid card in Estrid, the Masked #40 Foil, allowing you to copy your best enchantment, most likely for a significant discount. But what Mirrormade #120 does that Copy Enchantment #312 Retro can't is randomly copy a Signet, Sol Ring #149, Skullclamp #355, or Gilded Lotus #725 Foil an opponent plops onto the battlefield. While this might not sound like a huge deal, there will likely be times where Mirrormade #120 saves the day by copying something of the opponents that offers mana while you are missing land drops or card draw while your are empty-handed.
Using Copy Artifact and Copy Enchantment #312 Retro as our guide, here are some of the commanders where Mirrormade #120 should be an auto-include (or at least under heavy consideration).
- Sakashima the Impostor #477 (for flavor with the "clone tribal" theme)
- Zur the Enchanter #374 Retro (much like in Modern, having a tutorable clone is very powerful)
- Rayne, Academy Chancellor #43 and Hakim, Loreweaver (where Mirrorweave #162 can be a copy of the best aura enchanting your commander)
- Estrid, the Masked #40 Foil (enchantress)
- Angus Mackenzie (where two Ghostly Prison #116s or Propaganda #85s are better than one)
- Zedruu the Greathearted #231 (where Mirrormade #120 can copy something Donate #31able to give to your opponent for card advantage)
- Teferi, Temporal Archmage #125 (where Mirrormade #120 can replace Copy Artifact as part of the Isochron Scepter #9 Encyclopedia + Dramatic Reversal #158 combo, where the main plan is to get Dramatic Reversal #158 under Isochron Scepter #9 Encyclopedia to get infinite untaps of non-land permanents and then use Mirrormade #120 to copy Isochron Scepter #9 Encyclopedia and imprint something that actually ends the game, with Swan Song #46 being a popular meme-ish choice).
- Arcum Dagsson #27 (where you can copy expensive artifacts you tutor out with your commander).
- Urza, Lord High Artificer #71 (similar to Arcum Dagsson #27, where you have tons of strong artifacts to copy)
Apart from copying Isochron Scepter #9 Encyclopedia as a weird sort of build-your-own combo (and even here, Isochron Scepter #9 Encyclopedia is the true combo piece), the challenge of writing about Mirrormade #120 in Commander is that it's basically a value card. Its floor is a three-mana Sol Ring #149 or Signet, which isn't an exciting card, but when you consider the upside of randomly copying a Mirari's Wake #291 or Wurmcoil Engine #231 Foil, it is the type of card that you want in your deck a lot of the time. Its power is dependent on the power of artifacts and enchantments already on the battlefield, which means it will usually be pretty powerful in Commander since powerful artifacts and enchantments are sort of the core of the format, but this still means there isn't much more to say.
Conclusion
Anyway, that's all for today. Thanks again to Wizards for hooking us up with a sweet preview card! What do you want to copy with Mirrormade #120? Let us know in the comments! As always, leave your thoughts, ideas, opinions, and suggestions, and you can reach me on Twitter @SaffronOlive or at SaffronOlive@MTGGoldfish.com.
