EDH Optimizer
Captain Michael Burnham
Legendary Creature — Human Officer · 2R
Color identity: Red
Captain Michael Burnham is red: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Trample
Landfall — Whenever a land you control enters, Captain Burnham deals 1 damage to each opponent. If this is the second time this ability has resolved this turn, put a +1/+1 counter on Captain Burnham.
Average lands in decks for Captain Michael Burnham: 38
Build your Captain Michael Burnham deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Captain Michael Burnham 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Captain Michael Burnham 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: B+ (75/100)
- Consistency88
- Speed76
- Interaction46
- Resilience75
- Closing78
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 38 lands (24 nonbasic, 14 Mountain)
Arcane Signet · Blasphemous Act · Deflecting Swat · Ruby Medallion · Agatha's Soul Cauldron · Archetype of Aggression · Beckett Mariner, Impetuous Ensign · Blazing Firesinger // Seething Song · Breath of Fury · Casey Jones, Back Alley Brute · Chandra's Ignition · Chaos Warp · Chrome Mox · City on Fire · Cosi's Ravager · Count on Luck · Crush · Curse-Marred Demon · Cursed Mirror · Dauntless Scrapbot · Desert Were-Worm · Devastating Onslaught · Direct Hit · Dualcaster Mage · Electroduplicate · Endless Atlas · Explorer's Scope · Fated Firepower · Fellwar Stone · Fiery Confluence · Fire Diamond · Fling · Fork · Gamble · Gimli's Reckless Might · Goldspan Dragon · Granite Grip · Harmonic Prodigy · Harried Dronesmith · Hawkeye, Young Avenger · Heat Shimmer · Hew the Entwood · Horn of Greed · Inner Fire · Jaya's Immolating Inferno · Jeska's Will · Kamahl's Desire · Koth, the Geomancer · Last Light of Durin's Day · Lightning Greaves · Lotus Petal · Mana Geyser · Mechanized Warfare · Mind Stone · Mirage Mirror · Molten Duplication · Monument to Endurance · Moonsilver Key · Moraug, Fury of Akoum · Mox Amber · Mox Opal · Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle · Vesuva · Ancient Tomb · Castle Embereth · City of Traitors · Command Beacon · Eye of Ugin · Fabled Passage · Gemstone Caverns · Ghost Town · Horizon of Progress · Pit of Offerings · Quark's Bar · Reliquary Tower · Talon Gates of Madara · Terrain Generator · Terramorphic Expanse · Thawing Glaciers · The Gold Saucer · The Mycosynth Gardens · Thespian's Stage · Treasure Vault · Tyrite Sanctum · Urza's Saga
🃏 Recommended cards for Captain Michael Burnham
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Captain Michael Burnham, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Vesuva | 100% | +99% |
| Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle | 100% | +75% |
| Deflecting Swat | 100% | +71% |
| Beckett Mariner, Impetuous Ensign | 50% | +50% |
| Direct Hit | 50% | +50% |
| Planetary Patrol | 50% | +50% |
| Perils of the Past | 50% | +50% |
| Kamahl's Desire | 50% | +50% |
| Rampaging Raptor | 50% | +50% |
| Tiller Engine | 50% | +50% |
| The Masamune | 50% | +50% |
| Ghost Town | 50% | +50% |
| Harried Dronesmith | 50% | +50% |
| Thawing Glaciers | 50% | +50% |
| Cosi's Ravager | 50% | +50% |
| Crush | 50% | +50% |
| Spire Barrage | 50% | +50% |
| Eye of Ugin | 50% | +50% |
| Hew the Entwood | 50% | +50% |
| Pit of Offerings | 50% | +50% |
| Retreat to Valakut | 50% | +50% |
| Horn of Greed | 50% | +50% |
| Scaretiller | 50% | +50% |
| Stingcaster Mage | 50% | +50% |
💰 The best cards for your Captain Michael Burnham 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.
- Kamahl's Desire
- Rampaging Raptor
- The Masamune
- Ghost Town
- Harried Dronesmith
- Cosi's Ravager
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Vesuva
- Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle
- Beckett Mariner, Impetuous Ensign
- Horn of Greed
- Stingcaster Mage
- Gimli's Reckless Might
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Deflecting Swat
- Tiller Engine
- Thawing Glaciers
- Eye of Ugin
- Agatha's Soul Cauldron
- Fork
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Captain Michael Burnham
- Dualcaster Mage + Twinflame → Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature tokens with haste, Infinite magecraft triggers
- Dualcaster Mage + Molten Duplication → Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature tokens with haste, Infinite magecraft triggers
- Reiterate + Jeska's Will → Infinite magecraft triggers, Infinite red mana, Infinite storm count, Exile your library with the ability to play the exiled cards until end of turn
- Reiterate + Mana Geyser → Infinite magecraft triggers, Infinite red mana, Infinite storm count
- Storm-Kiln Artist + Seething Song + Reiterate → Infinite artifact ETB, Infinite artifact LTB, Infinite artifact sacrifice triggers, Infinite artifact tokens, Infinite colored mana, Infinite copies of instant and sorcery spells on the stack, Infinite power for any creature, Infinite magecraft triggers, Infinite storm count, Infinite Treasure tokens
- Dualcaster Mage + Electroduplicate → Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature tokens with haste, Infinite magecraft triggers
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Captain Michael Burnham's color identity?
Captain Michael Burnham is red: 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 Michael Burnham come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Captain Michael Burnham deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 38 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 24 % of the time and floods 28 %. Deck health: B+ (75/100).
How many lands should a Captain Michael Burnham deck run?
Real Captain Michael Burnham decks run 38 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 Michael Burnham?
The three highest-synergy cards are Vesuva, Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle, Deflecting Swat. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Captain Michael Burnham decks.
What combos does Captain Michael Burnham have?
Captain Michael Burnham has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Dualcaster Mage + Twinflame. 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 Michael Burnham deck cost?
You can start cheap: Kamahl's Desire, Rampaging Raptor, The Masamune 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.