Card Spotlight

Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker

A 5-mana goblin that copies a creature once a turn — and the moment that creature untaps things, or has an ETB worth repeating, that "once" stops being true.

Strategies it goes well with

  • Untap-and-copy combo shells. Restoration Angel or Deceiver Exarch beside Kiki-Jiki is the two-card version of an infinite army of hasty tokens — 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 just a 3/3 haste for five mana that copies a creature once — unremarkable on his 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, which is exactly the Rule 0 conversation worth having first.

Synergistic cards

  • Restoration Angel — Flickers Kiki-Jiki when copied, which untaps him — 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 — A copy that also steals a creature is a real answer to a problem permanent, not just a combo enabler.
  • 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 — 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.