Hello everyone! I'm Levi from The Thought Vessel Show, and today we're diving into one of my favorite commanders from Magic's newest set, Duskmourn: House of Horror: Niko, Light of Hope. Niko introduces a fresh take on the classic blink strategy for Commander. We'll explore the commander, break down the deck, discuss general strategy, and highlight some impactful cards in the 99. But before we get into the details, let's first understand our commander. Let's take a look.

Upon entering the battlefield, Niko creates two shard tokens, which form the backbone of this deck. The fun begins with Niko's activated ability. For 2 colorless mana, you can exile a non-legendary creature and return it to the battlefield at the beginning of your end step. While that creature is exiled, the shard tokens become copies of it. There are several ways to leverage this. For example, you could exile Solitude, turning the shards into lifelinking attackers and reusing its enter-the-battlefield (ETB) effect when Solitude returns. Alternatively, you can exile a powerful attacker like Silverwing Squadron or Firemane Commando, effectively doubling their impact. The real magic happens when you exile a card like Overlord of the Footprints, which benefits both from leaving and returning to the battlefield. But before we dive into the specifics, let's review some deck stats.

This build of Niko boasts solid fundamentals, with 13 sources of ramp, 14 sources of card draw, and a whopping 17 pieces of removal (4 of which are board wipes). The deck also includes 19 cards with enter-the-battlefield effects--somewhat low for a strict blink deck in my opinion. However, there are 20 cards that allow you to exile, blink, or bounce creatures, enabling repeated use of these ETB effects. Additionally, the deck features three cards that enhance ETB abilities and one infinite combo involving Felidar Guardian and Preston the Vanisher, though this isn't a primary focus. At the time of writing, the deck's total cost is $424.32.

Game Plan

The strategy is more nuanced than that of a typical Commander deck, as the game plan can shift depending on what you draw. This deck isn't designed to explode out of the gates; rather, it methodically marches toward inevitability by collecting value and controlling the board. Blink effects should primarily target Niko to stockpile shard tokens. Since Niko's ability creates shard copies at the end step, you'll want to activate it before combat. This can lead to huge swings if you create multiple copies of a high-impact creature, like Dream Trawler.

If a powerful ETB effect hits the field, such as Agent of Treachery stealing permanents each time it triggers, the strategy may shift to maximizing its effect. Below are some of the most impactful cards in the deck:

• Agent of Treachery: Repeatedly stealing permanents is game-ending as you build up your board.
• Overlord of the Mistmoors: A 2/1 flying army that quickly becomes lethal, especially if you have a token doubler in play.
• Stonehorn Dignitary: This pacifist rhino is well-known among blink players. Repeatedly denying combat steps shuts down aggressive and attack-trigger-based decks.
• Aerial Extortionist: Provides card advantage by exiling your opponents' key pieces. If you can blink it often enough, your opponents may struggle to recover.

Attacking Support Plan

The deck features numerous strong targets for Niko's ability, and many can serve as win conditions. For instance, if you have Silverwing Squadron in play alongside five shard tokens, exiling Niko would give you 10 vigilant 2/2 creatures and 5 16/16 flying attackers. On your next turn, those creatures grow even larger.

Here are a few of the best cards to copy in the deck:

• Nesting Dovehawk: One of the best cards in this strategy. When shards become Nesting Dovehawk tokens, you can populate them, creating tokens that won't revert. Over a few turns, this can generate an overwhelming, lethal flying army.
• Battle Angels of Tyr: These myriad angels can spread about 12 damage across your opponents while also providing lifegain, card draw, and ramp.
• Firemane Commando: This card incentivizes opponents to attack each other on their turns, while also offering a tremendous card draw on yours.

I intentionally left out Azorius staples like Smothering Tithe, Rhystic Study, and Elesh Norn, Mother of Machines to keep the deck under $500. However, if your playgroup can handle them and you own these cards, they would make excellent additions. Here are a few key cards already in the deck worth highlighting:

• Skybind: This creates a loop of blinking Niko and one other creature each turn since Niko generates shard tokens, which are enchantments.
• Sphere of Safety: This deck is rich in enchantments, making it costly for your opponents to attack you. With enough enchantments, you can essentially wall off aggression.
• The Eternal Wanderer: This planeswalker offers a one-sided board wipe while leaving Niko untouched, giving you time to draw into more enablers.

Weaknesses

Like many Commander decks, Niko's strategy is highly flexible, but it's dependent on keeping Niko on the field. If Niko gets removed, things can become rigid quickly, so hold up blink effects or other protection to keep them safe. Timing is key--wait for an opening to deploy a big threat when you can fully exploit the shard tokens. Stay adaptable and pay attention to your opponents' plans, and this deck will lead you to success. Below is the complete decklist.

Niko, Light of Hope EDH | Commander | Levi Perry

• Commander (1)
• 1 Niko, Light of Hope

• Creatures (30)
• 1 Aerial Extortionist
• 1 Aether Channeler
• 1 Agent of Treachery
• 1 Battle Angels of Tyr
• 1 Brago, King Eternal
• 1 Charming Prince
• 1 Dour Port-Mage
• 1 Dream Trawler
• 1 Felidar Guardian
• 1 Firemane Commando
• 1 Gilraen, Dunedain Protector
• 1 Kor Cartographer
• 1 Nesting Dovehawk
• 1 Overlord of the Floodpits
• 1 Overlord of the Mistmoors
• 1 Palladium Myr
• 1 Phelia, Exuberant Shepherd
• 1 Preston, the Vanisher
• 1 Reflector Mage
• 1 Sea Gate Oracle
• 1 Silent Hallcreeper
• 1 Silverwing Squadron
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Solitude
• 1 Soulherder
• 1 Stonehorn Dignitary
• 1 Thassa, Deep-Dwelling
• 1 Volatile Stormdrake
• 1 Wall of Omens
• 1 Witch Enchanter

• Spells (16)
• 1 Arcane Denial
• 1 Cloudshift
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Cyclonic Rift
• 1 Eerie Interlude
• 1 Ephemerate
• 1 Essence Flux
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Sink into Stupor
• 1 Stroke of Midnight
• 1 Swords to Plowshares
• 1 Time Wipe
• 1 Caretaker's Talent
• 1 Farewell
• 1 Skybind
• 1 Teleportation Circle

• Artifacts (8)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Azorius Signet
• 1 Heraldic Banner
• 1 Liquimetal Torque
• 1 Panharmonicon
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Talisman of Progress
• 1 Thought Vessel

• Enchantments (3)
• 1 Anointed Procession
• 1 Sphere of Safety
• 1 Virtue of Knowledge

• Planeswalkers (2)
• 1 The Eternal Wanderer
• 1 Venser, the Sojourner

• Lands (31)
• 1 Adarkar Wastes
• 1 Deserted Beach
• 1 Flooded Strand
• 1 Floodfarm Verge
• 1 Glacial Fortress
• 1 Hallowed Fountain
• 1 Homeward Path
• 8 Island
• 11 Plains
• 1 Port Town
• 1 Prairie Stream
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Nimbus Maze
• 1 Myriad Landscape

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I hope you enjoyed my first Commander build for CoolStuffInc! Duskmourn releases on September 27th, so if you're interested in picking up any of these cards, check out CoolStuffInc's selection. Until next time, happy gaming!