Card Spotlight
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
A 5-mana goblin that copies a creature once a turn. If that creature untaps Kiki-Jiki when it enters, he can do it again, as many times as you like.
Commander Spotlight
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker ↗
A 5-mana goblin that copies a creature once a turn. If that creature untaps Kiki-Jiki when it enters, he can do it again, as many times as you like.
See Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker's full stats and printings →
Strategies it goes well with
- Untap-and-copy combo shells. Restoration Angel or Deceiver Exarch beside Kiki-Jiki makes an infinite number of hasty tokens with two cards. It is one of the most recognizable combos in the format.
- One-shot ETB value. Even with no combo partner in hand, copying a Solemn Simulacrum, Eternal Witness or similar value creature once is a real card advantage swing.
- Goblin and legendary-matters tribal. He's a legendary Goblin himself, so decks caring about either type get a body that also does something.
How it does in Commander
As the commander
Kiki-Jiki is rarely the commander. Red alone doesn't support the enchantment and creature package a combo deck usually wants, so he's almost always found as a combo piece in someone else's 99 rather than leading his own deck.
In the 99
This is where he lives: a two-card combo finisher slotted into an Izzet, Naya or five-color list that already wants Restoration Angel or Deceiver Exarch for their own sakes, so the combo is a bonus on top of cards that are good anyway.
Formats it's strong in
- Midrange and value-creature decks. The combo pieces are individually strong cards, so running them isn't a dead draw even when the loop doesn't come together.
- cEDH and high-power pods. A two-card infinite combo that ends the game on the spot is exactly the kind of line those tables are built around answering or executing.
Formats it's weak in
- Decks with no flicker or untap effects. Without a partner, Kiki-Jiki is a 2/2 haste for five mana that copies a creature once a turn, which is unremarkable on its own.
- Low-power or precon-level pods. A hard two-card kill can be an unwelcome surprise at a table that hasn't agreed to see combos, so raise it in your Rule 0 conversation first.
Synergistic cards
Restoration Angel ↗
Flickers Kiki-Jiki when copied, which untaps him. This is the cleanest version of the infinite loop.
Deceiver Exarch ↗
Untaps target creature on ETB; targeting Kiki-Jiki with his own copy closes the loop the same way.
Zealous Conscripts ↗
Each copy also steals a creature, so it answers a problem permanent as well as enabling the combo.
Felidar Guardian ↗
Another flicker-on-ETB body that reads the same way Restoration Angel does with Kiki-Jiki.
Is it worth the price?
Kiki-Jiki has had enough reprints to stay affordable for what it does, and a real infinite-combo piece rarely stays this cheap. Worth owning if you're building anything that already wants Restoration Angel or Deceiver Exarch; not worth chasing for a deck with no way to untap him.
Frequently asked questions
What does Kiki-Jiki combo with?
Anything that untaps Kiki-Jiki or that wants to be copied repeatedly. Restoration Angel and Deceiver Exarch are the two most played partners. Both untap him when the copy enters, which turns a once-a-turn ability into an infinite loop of hasty copies.
Is the Kiki-Jiki combo actually infinite?
With Restoration Angel or Deceiver Exarch, yes: each copy untaps Kiki-Jiki, letting him copy the flicker/untap creature again, forever, producing an arbitrary number of hasty tokens. Any one of those tokens attacking is a kill in most Commander pods.
Is Kiki-Jiki worth running if I'm not going for the combo?
It's a fine value engine without the combo, since copying a strong ETB creature once is often good enough on its own. Still, the card's reputation and most of its play rate come from the loop. If your deck has no creatures worth copying twice, it's a middling 5-mana body.