EDH Optimizer
Desmond Miles
Legendary Creature — Human Assassin · 1B
Color identity: Black
Desmond Miles is black: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Menace
Desmond Miles gets +1/+0 for each other Assassin you control and each Assassin card in your graveyard.
Whenever Desmond Miles deals combat damage to a player, surveil X, where X is the amount of damage it dealt to that player.
Reference price of the card: €0.43
Average lands in decks for Desmond Miles: 35
AssassinsVoltronReanimator+1/+1 CountersAggroDredgeMillSelf-Mill
Build your Desmond Miles deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Desmond Miles 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Desmond Miles 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 (53/100)
- Consistency25
- Speed55
- Interaction57
- Resilience78
- Closing49
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 35 lands (12 nonbasic, 23 Swamp)
Assassin Initiate · Royal Assassin · Merciless Harlequin · Sol Ring · Poison-Blade Mentor · Mari, the Killing Quill · Restart Sequence · Guildsworn Prowler · Hired Poisoner · Blood Operative · Big Game Hunter · Hidden Blade · Brotherhood Regalia · Chain Assassination · The Revelations of Ezio · Gixian Skullflayer · Massacre Girl, Known Killer · Midnight Assassin · Arcane Signet · Dark Impostor · Massacre Girl · Hullcarver · Jacob Frye · Roshan, Hidden Magister · Nekrataal · Shadow, Mysterious Assassin · Swiftfoot Boots · Cover of Darkness · Thorn of the Black Rose · Agate-Blade Assassin · Defile · Go for the Throat · Jet Medallion · Termination Facilitator · Unstoppable Slasher · Dark Ritual · Black Market Connections · Unscrupulous Contractor · Feed the Swarm · Brotherhood Ambushers · Brotherhood Patriarch · Smoke Bomb · Guul Draz Assassin · Changeling Outcast · Night's Whisper · Silumgar Assassin · Reno and Rude · Ruthless Ripper · Murder · Phyrexian Arena · Reanimate · Vein Ripper · Tragic Slip · Interceptor, Shadow's Hound · Lightning Greaves · Sign in Blood · Virtus the Veiled · Withering Torment · Cruel Sadist · Hired Blade · Toxic Deluge · Buried Alive · Thrill-Kill Assassin · Iridescent Vinelasher · Rogue's Passage · Bojuka Bog · Cabal Coffers · War Room · Shizo, Death's Storehouse · Crypt of Agadeem · Myriad Landscape · Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth · Cabal Stronghold · Brotherhood Headquarters · Reliquary Tower · Witch's Cottage
🃏 Recommended cards for Desmond Miles
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Desmond Miles, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Assassin Initiate | 90% | +89% |
| Royal Assassin | 89% | +87% |
| Merciless Harlequin | 78% | +78% |
| Poison-Blade Mentor | 73% | +73% |
| Mari, the Killing Quill | 71% | +70% |
| Restart Sequence | 70% | +69% |
| Guildsworn Prowler | 69% | +69% |
| Hired Poisoner | 69% | +68% |
| Blood Operative | 68% | +67% |
| Hidden Blade | 64% | +64% |
| Big Game Hunter | 64% | +62% |
| Chain Assassination | 62% | +62% |
| The Revelations of Ezio | 61% | +61% |
| Brotherhood Regalia | 63% | +61% |
| Gixian Skullflayer | 58% | +58% |
| Midnight Assassin | 57% | +56% |
| Dark Impostor | 56% | +56% |
| Jacob Frye | 55% | +55% |
| Hullcarver | 55% | +54% |
| Massacre Girl, Known Killer | 58% | +54% |
| Roshan, Hidden Magister | 54% | +54% |
| Nekrataal | 53% | +53% |
| Shadow, Mysterious Assassin | 53% | +52% |
| Thorn of the Black Rose | 51% | +50% |
💰 The best cards for your Desmond Miles 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.
- Assassin Initiate
- Royal Assassin
- Merciless Harlequin
- Poison-Blade Mentor
- Restart Sequence
- Guildsworn Prowler
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Mari, the Killing Quill
- Brotherhood Regalia
- Cover of Darkness
- Unstoppable Slasher
- Virtus the Veiled
- Vein Ripper
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Black Market Connections
- Shizo, Death's Storehouse
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Desmond Miles's color identity?
Desmond Miles is black: 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 Desmond Miles come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Desmond Miles deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 35 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 2.1 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 38 % of the time and floods 25 %. Deck health: C (53/100).
How many lands should a Desmond Miles deck run?
Real Desmond Miles decks run 35 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 Desmond Miles?
The three highest-synergy cards are Assassin Initiate, Royal Assassin, Merciless Harlequin. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Desmond Miles decks.
What combos does Desmond Miles have?
We have no known combos catalogued for Desmond Miles. That does not mean there are none — just that they do not show up in the public combo databases.
How much does a Desmond Miles deck cost?
You can start cheap: Assassin Initiate, Royal Assassin, Merciless Harlequin 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.