Hello everyone! I'm Levi from The Thought Vessel, and this is Commander Kryptonite, the series that looks at some of the strongest commanders in the format, how they function, their strengths, weaknesses, and ultimately, how to beat them. Today we're continuing our Halloween series by looking at the commanders of Duskmourn, with a protagonist this time in Niko, Light of Hope. This commander has some splash, but it also has a special place in my heart, as it's the first commander I ever wrote a deck tech for here on CoolStuffInc. What makes this card so special? Let's take a look!

The Commander

Niko is an Azorius blink commander with a copy subtheme. For two mana, Niko can exile a creature until the end of the turn, and every Shard token in play becomes a copy of that creature. It doesn't work on legendary creatures, but being able to make Shard tokens and then turn those tokens into solid attackers is fantastic. For example, Aerial Extortionist effectively becomes a more complicated Cyclonic Rift and one heck of a draw engine as players try to rebuild.

The Deck

The deck itself is a blink deck that actually wants to spend most of its blink spells on the commander to make more Shard tokens. The plan is to create as many Shard tokens as possible, play a Titan creature, which is a creature with both an attack and enter-the-battlefield trigger, use Niko's ability on that creature to turn all the Shards into Titans, and rain down on the rest of the table with attack triggers and pure damage. Here is an example of a Niko, Light of Hope deck you might come across at your local game store.

EDHREC Average Niko, Light of Hope | Commander

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

• Creatures (30)
• 1 Aerial Extortionist
• 1 Archon of Sun's Grace
• 1 Battle Angels of Tyr
• 1 Brago, King Eternal
• 1 Charming Prince
• 1 Curiosity Crafter
• 1 Displacer Kitten
• 1 Dour Port-Mage
• 1 Dream Trawler
• 1 Enduring Curiosity
• 1 Entity Tracker
• 1 Fear of Sleep Paralysis
• 1 Flickerwisp
• 1 Ghostly Dancers
• 1 Hero of Bladehold
• 1 Mulldrifter
• 1 Nesting Dovehawk
• 1 Overlord of the Floodpits
• 1 Overlord of the Mistmoors
• 1 Restoration Angel
• 1 Silent Hallcreeper
• 1 Silverwing Squadron
• 1 Sludge Monster
• 1 Solemn Simulacrum
• 1 Soulherder
• 1 Spirited Companion
• 1 Starfield Vocalist
• 1 Sun Titan
• 1 Thassa, Deep-Dwelling
• 1 Witch Enchanter // Witch-Blessed Meadow

• Planeswalkers (1)
• 1 Niko Aris

• Instants (15)
• 1 An Offer You Can't Refuse
• 1 Arcane Denial
• 1 Cloudshift
• 1 Counterspell
• 1 Dovin's Veto
• 1 Eerie Interlude
• 1 Ephemerate
• 1 Essence Flux
• 1 Flicker of Fate
• 1 Generous Gift
• 1 Ghostly Flicker
• 1 Momentary Blink
• 1 Parting Gust
• 1 Path to Exile
• 1 Swords to Plowshares

• Sorceries (3)
• 1 Starfall Invocation
• 1 Supreme Verdict
• 1 Time Wipe

• Enchantments (6)
• 1 Candlekeep Sage
• 1 Far Traveler
• 1 Skybind
• 1 Sphere of Safety
• 1 Teleportation Circle
• 1 Virtue of Knowledge

• Artifacts (9)
• 1 Arcane Signet
• 1 Azorius Signet
• 1 Conjurer's Closet
• 1 Fellwar Stone
• 1 Mind Stone
• 1 Panharmonicon
• 1 Sol Ring
• 1 Talisman of Progress
• 1 Thought Vessel

• Lands (35)
• 10 Plains
• 11 Island
• 1 Adarkar Wastes
• 1 Azorius Chancery
• 1 Command Tower
• 1 Deserted Beach
• 1 Flooded Strand
• 1 Floodfarm Verge
• 1 Glacial Fortress
• 1 Hallowed Fountain
• 1 Port Town
• 1 Prairie Stream
• 1 Reliquary Tower
• 1 Sea of Clouds
• 1 Skycloud Expanse
• 1 Temple of Enlightenment

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Strengths

Because this is a blink deck, it can be extremely difficult to land a successful removal spell on Niko. A lot of removal will simply fizzle, because as soon as Niko is targeted, the Niko player can spend one mana on a spell like Ephemerate to blink Niko away and make even more Shard tokens. With this pile of Shard tokens, it's easy to turn them all into a bigger creature like Sun Titan and send a massive wave of damage at Niko's opponents for a lethal attack. Since they aren't creatures until Niko is activated, cards like Wrath of God are a lot worse than they would normally be.

Weaknesses

The typical cadence of this deck is to blink a creature on Niko's turn so the Shard tokens can become copies of that creature, allowing them to be used for value or as attackers. Because of this, they're usually susceptible to removal on other players' turns. This is especially true if the Niko deck leans into blinking Niko for extra Shard tokens, since Niko will constantly have summoning sickness. Additionally, since many of the blink targets are smaller creatures and the Shard tokens are only enchantments, this deck is vulnerable to aggro strategies and Voltron damage.

Cards to Look Out For

1. Nesting Dovehawk - This is one of the best cards in the entire deck. When Shards become Nesting Dovehawk tokens, you can populate them, and they won't revert back to Shards afterward. Over a few turns, this can generate an overwhelming, lethal flying army by simply doubling over and over.
2. Sun Titan - Titan cards, or any that have both an enter-the-battlefield effect and an attack trigger, are especially good since they work on both sides of the blink and copy effects.
3. Sphere of Safety - Since the Shard tokens are enchantments, this can easily result in a payment requirement of seven mana or more to attack with a single creature.
4. Niko Aris - This particular card doesn't see much play, with its highest representation being in Niko, Light of Hope decks, at an impressive 58 percent according to EDHREC. Having an X spell that creates a bunch of Shard tokens can really accelerate Niko's plan of dominance.
5. Skybind - This is an incredibly scary card in a Niko deck. Every time an enchantment enters the battlefield, which includes the Shard tokens, Skybind will blink out a non-enchantment permanent until end of turn. This means that if Niko is blinked and reenters, every single turn, not just Niko's, Niko is going to be blinked out along with another desirable target such as Agent of Treachery, or even a land for an "untap" to free up mana.

Shattering the Shards

Since this deck revolves around its commander, we really want to do everything we can to keep it off the field. In a perfect world, we can counter the commander while it's on the stack once or twice to disrupt the deck's rhythm. Once the commander is out, try to remove it whenever the Niko player is tapped out to reduce the chances of the spell being countered. Ultimately, baiting the Niko player into activating Niko on their turn is critical, since it means the Shard tokens won't be blockers on anyone else's turn and Niko will be vulnerable to combat damage.

Commander Kryptonite

1. Containment Priest - As Niko or Niko's target reenters, it'll simply be exiled. This card is a huge problem for blink decks.
2. Bane of Progress - Since all the Shard tokens are enchantments, Bane of Progress can take them all out in one fell swoop while also becoming a massive creature in the process. It's quite the win-win.
3. Torpor Orb - If Torpor Orb is in play early in the game, it completely blanks Niko's ability to make Shard tokens until it's removed.

Wrapping Up

That's how you can beat Niko, Light of Hope. If you have a commander you'd like to see on Commander Kryptonite, send us an email at thoughtvesselshow@gmail.com. Until next time, happy gaming.