EDH Optimizer
Captain Jonathan Archer
Legendary Creature — Human Officer · 2G
Color identity: Green
Captain Jonathan Archer is green: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
When Captain Archer enters, create Porthos, a legendary 1/1 green Dog creature token.
Federation — {G}, {T}: Target creature you control gets +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of creature types among non-Borg creatures you control. Activate only as a sorcery.
Reference price of the card: €2.02
Average lands in decks for Captain Jonathan Archer: 36
Build your Captain Jonathan Archer deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Captain Jonathan Archer 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Captain Jonathan Archer deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play (the 99 most-included cards, with its average land count), simulated with the EDH Optimizer engine: hands, mulligans, lands, curve and commander. It does not model opponents; it measures whether the plan gets going.
Deck health of the average list: C (54/100)
- Consistency95
- Speed57
- Interaction35
- Resilience82
- Closing24
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 36 lands (14 nonbasic, 22 Forest)
Animal Attendant · Pet Avengers · Beast Whisperer · Diligent Zookeeper · Garruk's Uprising · Kodama's Reach · Pathbreaker Ibex · Rampant Growth · Sol Ring · Spider-Ham, Peter Porker · The Earth King · A Killer Among Us · Beast Within · Brightcap Badger // Fungus Frolic · Cultivate · Definitely Not a Turtle · Dominion Supervisor · Emerald Medallion · Eternal Witness · Fanatic of Rhonas · Ghalta the Unstoppable · Groundchuck & Dirtbag · Guardian Project · Herd Heirloom · Hunter's Insight · Llanowar Elves · Nature's Lore · Paragon of Eternal Wilds · Prehistoric Turtlesaurus · Rampart Architect · Raven Wings · Return of the Wildspeaker · Sandman, Shifting Scoundrel · Sapling Nursery · Summoner's Grimoire · Survivors' Bond · Syndicate Liquidators · Tato Farmer · The Foretold Soldier · Verdant Kraken · Wildborn Preserver · Windswift Slice · Amok Time · Appetite for the Unnatural · Arachnogenesis · Archdruid's Charm · Avenger of Zendikar · Bala Ged Recovery // Bala Ged Sanctuary · Bard's Bow · Boxing Ring · Bramble Familiar // Fetch Quest · Champion of Rhonas · Clifftop Lookout · Collective Resistance · Conjurer's Closet · Contest of Claws · Cryptic Trilobite · Defiler of Vigor · Doomskar Warrior · Dripping-Tongue Zubera · Elemental Bond · Elvish Mystic · Entish Restoration · Starfleet Academy · Boseiju, Who Endures · Castle Garenbrig · Drannith Ruins · Bonders' Enclave · Command Beacon · Command Tower · Mosswort Bridge · Myriad Landscape · Oran-Rief, the Vastwood · Reliquary Tower · Rogue's Passage · The Shire · Tranquil Thicket
🃏 Recommended cards for Captain Jonathan Archer
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Captain Jonathan Archer, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Pet Avengers | 100% | +100% |
| Animal Attendant | 100% | +99% |
| Starfleet Academy | 75% | +75% |
| Diligent Zookeeper | 75% | +75% |
| Spider-Ham, Peter Porker | 75% | +73% |
| Pathbreaker Ibex | 75% | +71% |
| The Earth King | 75% | +66% |
| Definitely Not a Turtle | 50% | +50% |
| Dominion Supervisor | 50% | +50% |
| A Killer Among Us | 50% | +50% |
| Rampart Architect | 50% | +50% |
| Syndicate Liquidators | 50% | +50% |
| Raven Wings | 50% | +50% |
| The Foretold Soldier | 50% | +50% |
| Prehistoric Turtlesaurus | 50% | +50% |
| Survivors' Bond | 50% | +50% |
| Summoner's Grimoire | 50% | +50% |
| Paragon of Eternal Wilds | 50% | +50% |
| Tato Farmer | 50% | +49% |
| Wildborn Preserver | 50% | +49% |
| Drannith Ruins | 50% | +49% |
| Sandman, Shifting Scoundrel | 50% | +48% |
| Windswift Slice | 50% | +47% |
| Groundchuck & Dirtbag | 50% | +47% |
💰 The best cards for your Captain Jonathan Archer deck, by budget
Three tiers based on the maximum price PER CARD you are willing to pay. Paste your list and hit Optimize: you pick that cap and the AI only suggests swaps that fit under it.
Tier 1 · Budget up to €2/card
The most value for almost nothing. Coming from a precon? Start here.
- Pet Avengers
- Diligent Zookeeper
- Spider-Ham, Peter Porker
- The Earth King
- Definitely Not a Turtle
- A Killer Among Us
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Animal Attendant
- Starfleet Academy
- Beast Whisperer
- Herd Heirloom
- Nature's Chosen
- Illusionist's Bracers
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Pathbreaker Ibex
- Guardian Project
- Fanatic of Rhonas
- Boseiju, Who Endures
- Portal to Phyrexia
- Thousand-Year Elixir
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Captain Jonathan Archer
- Seeker of Skybreak + Illusionist's Bracers → Infinite mana creatures you control can produce, Infinite untap of creatures you control
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Captain Jonathan Archer's color identity?
Captain Jonathan Archer is green: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones. Color identity comes from every mana symbol on the card, including those in the rules text, not just the casting cost.
What turn does Captain Jonathan Archer come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Captain Jonathan Archer deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 36 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 2.8 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 100 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 15 % of the time and floods 4 %. Deck health: C (54/100).
How many lands should a Captain Jonathan Archer deck run?
Real Captain Jonathan Archer decks run 36 lands on average. That is a starting point, not a rule: a lower curve can shave one or two, big-mana builds want more. The EDH Optimizer simulator tells you, over 10,000 games, how often you get mana screwed or flooded with your exact count.
What are the best cards for Captain Jonathan Archer?
The three highest-synergy cards are Pet Avengers, Animal Attendant, Starfleet Academy. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Captain Jonathan Archer decks.
What combos does Captain Jonathan Archer have?
Captain Jonathan Archer has 1 known combo. The most popular one is Seeker of Skybreak + Illusionist's Bracers. Note that two-card combos raise your deck's bracket, so it is worth knowing which ones you are running before you sit down.
How much does a Captain Jonathan Archer deck cost?
You can start cheap: Pet Avengers, Diligent Zookeeper, Spider-Ham, Peter Porker are under €2 each. The "Level up" section on this page splits the best cards into three price caps PER CARD (up to €2, up to €10 and no cap), and the optimizer only suggests swaps that fit the cap you pick.