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Many of the cards in Magic: The Gathering's latest release, Marvel Super Heroes, offer new and exciting abilities for deck crafters to build around. Okoye, Dora Milaje Leader is one of those cards.
When Okoye enters the battlefield, she brings along two 1/1 White Soldier tokens. This is a pretty standard effect found on other Creatures, allowing you to get five points of power and four points of toughness spread across three bodies for 
.
Okoye's second ability provides First Strike to attacking tokens you control and that is what sets her apart from other cards. First Strike is a powerful ability, allowing Creature to deal combat damage first
With the proper supporting cards, this can make blocking these tokens with First Strike very tough for your opponent.
Best Cards for Okoye, Dora Milaje Leader
In order to fully take advantage of the First Strike that tokens get from Okoye, Dora Milaje Leader, you'll want to include cards that create as many of them as possible, or beef them up once they're on the board.
Here are the top ten cards in Standard that offer the highest synergy with Okoye, Dora Milaje Leader.
- Cosmogrand Zenith
- Pollen-Shield Hare
- Dollmaker's Shop
- Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation
- Starry-Eyed Skyrider
- Felidar Retreat
- Caretaker's Talent
- Warleader's Call
- Virtue of Loyalty
- Elspeth, Storm Slayer
Each of these cards are going to get a huge boost from Okoye. Let's take a closer look.
10. Cosmogrand Zenith
Cosmogrand Zenith rewards you for casting your second spell each turn. If you're able to accomplish this, you'll be able to create two 1/1 White Human Soldiers or put a +1/+1 counter on each Creature you control.
A card like this offers you a lot of flexibility, as you are able to choose whether to 'go wide' and attack with more Creatures than your opponent has blockers, or 'go big' and grow the size of your current Creatures so you are bigger than any defenders they have.
Cosmogrand Zenith also has a lot of defensive capabilities. With its four toughness, you'll be able to successfully block a lot of early threats. By choosing to put a +1/+1 counter on each of your Creatures, Cosmogrand Zenith can continue to grow throughout the game, because it'll get them too.
9. Pollen-Shield Hare
For 
, Pollen-Shield Hare provides what is known as a lord effect for your Creature tokens, giving them a +1/+1 bonus.
Since a lot of tokens enter the game with low stats, this bonus will not only allow your Creature tokens to absorb additional damage before dying, but it also boosts their power, allowing them to attack more efficiently and eventually making you hard to block.
Hare Raising, the Adventure portion of Pollen-Shield Hare, has the potential to provide a huge boost, too. The Creature you choose will gain Vigilance and +X/+X until the end of the turn, where X is the number of Creatures you control. If your deck has access to Green, you should consider casting Hare Raising before casting Pollen-Shield Hare.
8. Dollmaker's Shop
For , you can unlock Dollmaker's Shop, an Enchantment that will create a 1/1 White Toy token whenever you attack with one or more non-Toy Creatures.
Having a repeatable way of creating tokens enables you to keep the pressure on your opponent.
Later in the game, you can cast Porcelain Gallery for 
. When you do, your whole board will have Power/Toughness equal to the number of Creatures you control; any of those that are tokens are going to get First Strike from Okoye.
7. Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation
For , Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation is an amazing card for any deck focused on creating Creature tokens.
This 6/6 Legendary God has Vigilance, making equally adept at attacking and defending. If it dies, it is returned to the battlefield transformed as a land, Temple of Civilization, which has a way to transform back into Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation.
Most importantly, Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation has an ability that allows you to create three times the number of tokens you typically would. This allows you to block chump attacks with your tokens in the early game. By allowing a few Creature tokens to absorb the damage your opponent deals out, you can set up some explosive turns where your forces multiply greatly.
6. Starry-Eyed Skyrider
As a 1/3 Flying Creature for 
, Starry-Eyed Skyrider wouldn't be impressive if it didn't have its other abilities. The first of these abilities is best used on non-token Creatures you have in play, such as Okoye herself.
This ability allows you to give Flying to one of your Creatures until the end of the turn whenever Starry-Eyed Skyrider attacks. That can make it much harder to block if you swing.
The second ability that Starry-Eyed Skyrider has provides Flying to all attacking tokens you control. Since your deck will be packed with token-generating cards, giving them Flying can end the game quickly if your opponent isn't prepared for a sky full of attackers.
Even if they are prepared for a bunch of Flying Creatures, the First Strike provided by Okoye can help you power through their airborne blockers.
5. Felidar Retreat
Felidar Retreat is a four-drop in White that offers a choice of two effects when you achieve landfall. You can...
- Create a 2/2 White Cat Beast token or
- Put a +1/+1 counter on each Creature you control, they have Vigilance until the end of turn
Those Creatures also gain Vigilance until the end of the turn. Since every deck typically plays Lands, getting this Enchantment into play as quickly as possible will be beneficial in helping you grow your forces (either in number or size).
While you have both Felidar Retreat and Okoye, Dora Milaje Leader on the battlefield, every Land drop becomes a tactical choice. Choosing to create a 2/2 Cat Beast Creature token provides another attacker that can soon benefit from the First Strike that Okoye provides.
If you already have a board presence, choosing to put a +1/+1 counter on each of your Creatures permanently strengthens your team and makes each of them tougher to destroy.
Making these difficult decisions each turn will ultimately help make you a better player.
4. Caretaker's Talent
Caretaker's Talent is another White card, for three mana, and it offers you both a way to draw cards and sink away excess mana. By playing this Enchantment, you'll be able to draw a card the first time you create tokens on your turn.
By leveling Caretaker's Talent up, you gain the ability to create a copy of a token you control. Doing this only requires , so it's an inexpensive way of bolstering your board. Once you get to Level 3, you'll be in business.
Your Creature tokens will then get +2/+2, turning even the smallest Creature token into a capable attacker, especially with the First Strike provided to them by Okoye, Dora Milaje Leader.
3. Warleader's Call
While Warleader's Call won't be an auto-include for some decks due to it costing 
, those decks that can play it will reap the benefits.
While it is in play, all Creatures you control gate a +1/+1 bonus. While that effect is good, it's just a small part of the reason that Warleader's Call is great in any deck that wants to make tokens.
Whenever a Creature enters the battlefield while you have Warleader's Call in play, it will deal one damage to each opponent. This means that you have a way of defeating your opponent without even needing to attack them.
By pairing Warleader's Call with Okoye, Dora Milaje Leader, you can get in some initial damage from creating Creature tokens. Then, finish your opponent off by attacking with all your tokens having First Strike.
2. Virtue of Loyalty
Both Virtue of Loyalty and its Adventure, Ardenvale Fealty, work great in conjunction with Okoye, Dora Milaje Leader.
If you cast the Adventure first, you'll get a 2/2 White Knight Creature token that has Vigilance. Because of this Vigilance, you'll be able to attack with it and still maintain a defensive board presence. The First Strike from Okoye makes it likely to survive combat or at least take down a blocker or two.
The combat math looks different if you have Virtue of Loyalty in play. At the beginning of your end step, you'll put a +1/+1 counter on each Creature you control and then untap them all.
Unless your opponent has a way of dealing with Virtue of Loyalty, those +1/+1 counters will keep coming, turn after turn, making your attacks super impressive while also keeping your Creatures available to defend your life total.
1. Elspeth, Storm Slayer
For the ultimate team-up, you'll want to have Okoye, Dora Milaje Leader standing alongside Elspeth, Storm Slayer. Elspeth has a static ability that doubles the number of tokens you create while she is on the battlefield. She also has a trio of impressive loyalty abilities that make her worth the she costs.
By adding a loyalty counter, Elspeth will create a 1/1 White Soldier token (which is immediately doubled due to her static ability). If your board is sufficient, you can use Elspeth's zero loyalty ability which puts a +1/+1 counter on each Creature you control. Those Creatures also gain Flying for the turn.
These +1/+1 counters add up quickly, allowing you to defend against most threats. For those larger threats, you could always use Elspeth's -3 loyalty ability to destroy an opponent's Creature with a mana value of three or more.
As you can see, Elspeth, Storm Slayer has aspects of other cards on this list but is still doing her own thing, making her the best card to pair with Okoye. Elspeth's static ability is reminiscent of Ojer Taq, Deepest Foundation, though slightly less powerful. She creates Creature tokens like many of the cards in this list.
Her zero-loyalty ability is akin to the abilities of Cosmogrand Zenith or Felidar Retreat, while also providing the Flying that Starry-Eyed Skyrider grants. She really is the total package.
Conclusion
Okoye, Dora Milaje Leader offers a unique benefit, giving your tokens First Strike any time they swing. Since she brings some of her own tokens, she could be played in almost any deck that has access to White to pay her cost.
However, she really shines when paired up with any of the cards here. By creating additional Creature tokens and increasing their stats with bonuses and +1/+1 counters, you create a team of attackers that will be difficult to successfully defend against.
