EDH Optimizer
Gandalf, Spark Starter
Legendary Creature — Avatar Wizard · 4RR
Color identity: Red
Gandalf, Spark Starter is red: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Reach
When Gandalf enters, he deals 3 damage divided as you choose among one, two, or three targets.
Reference price of the card: €0.08
Average lands in decks for Gandalf, Spark Starter: 36
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Build your Gandalf, Spark Starter deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Gandalf, Spark Starter 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Gandalf, Spark Starter 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 (55/100)
- Consistency32
- Speed42
- Interaction60
- Resilience81
- Closing61
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 36 lands (1 nonbasic, 35 Mountain)
Lightning Bolt · Sol Ring · Abrade · Blasphemous Act · Arcane Signet · Faithless Looting · Mana Geyser · Ruby Medallion · Twinflame · The Fire Crystal · Unexpected Windfall · Smaug, the Great Calamity // Spew Flame · Big Score · Boltwave · City on Fire · Comet Storm · Crackle with Power · Deflecting Swat · Demand Answers · Devastating Onslaught · Electrodominance · Electroduplicate · Fiery Emancipation · Light Up the Stage · Mechanized Warfare · Molten Duplication · Play with Fire · Seething Song · Seize the Spoils · Shock · Solphim, Mayhem Dominus · Caged Sun · Chain Lightning · Chain Reaction · Chaos Warp · Choreographed Sparks · Cleansing Wildfire · Collective Inferno · Conjurer's Closet · Cursed Mirror · Desperate Ritual · Dualcaster Mage · Fanatic of Mogis · Fire Diamond · Flameshadow Conjuring · Galvanic Blast · Gilded Lotus · Harmonic Prodigy · Hazoret's Monument · Isengard Unleashed · Jaxis, the Troublemaker · Jeska's Will · Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker · Lava Spike · Mysidian Elder · Ojer Axonil, Deepest Might // Temple of Power · Panharmonicon · Price of Progress · Pyretic Ritual · Pyroblast · Rapacious Dragon · Reckless Barbarian · Reckless Impulse · Great Furnace
🃏 Recommended cards for Gandalf, Spark Starter
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Gandalf, Spark Starter, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Twinflame | 50% | +44% |
| Smaug, the Great Calamity | 36% | +36% |
| Play with Fire | 33% | +32% |
| Lightning Bolt | 67% | +31% |
| Devastating Onslaught | 33% | +30% |
| Electroduplicate | 33% | +29% |
| Comet Storm | 33% | +29% |
| Molten Duplication | 33% | +29% |
| Crackle with Power | 33% | +28% |
| Electrodominance | 33% | +28% |
| Mechanized Warfare | 33% | +27% |
| Boltwave | 33% | +27% |
| Shock | 33% | +27% |
| Mysidian Elder | 25% | +24% |
| Lava Spike | 25% | +24% |
| Repeated Reverberation | 25% | +24% |
| Cleansing Wildfire | 25% | +23% |
| Choreographed Sparks | 25% | +23% |
| Red Dragon | 25% | +23% |
| Chain Lightning | 25% | +23% |
| Isengard Unleashed | 25% | +22% |
| Light Up the Stage | 33% | +22% |
| Harmonic Prodigy | 25% | +22% |
| Reckless Barbarian | 25% | +22% |
💰 The best cards for your Gandalf, Spark Starter 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.
- Twinflame
- Play with Fire
- Lightning Bolt
- Devastating Onslaught
- Electroduplicate
- Comet Storm
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Molten Duplication
- Crackle with Power
- Boltwave
- Harmonic Prodigy
- Flameshadow Conjuring
- Galvanic Blast
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Solphim, Mayhem Dominus
- Wheel of Fortune
- Wasteland
- Grim Monolith
- Mox Diamond
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Gandalf, Spark Starter
- 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
- Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Zealous Conscripts → Infinite creature tokens with haste, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers
- Dualcaster Mage + Electroduplicate → Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature sacrifice triggers, Infinite death triggers, Infinite creature tokens with haste, Infinite magecraft triggers
- Storm-Kiln Artist + Haze of Rage → Infinite artifact ETB, Infinite artifact LTB, Infinite artifact sacrifice triggers, Infinite artifact tokens, Infinite colored mana, Infinitely powerful creatures you control until end of turn, Infinite magecraft triggers, Infinite storm count, Infinite Treasure tokens
- Dualcaster Mage + Heat Shimmer → Infinite creature LTB, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature tokens with haste, Infinite magecraft triggers
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Gandalf, Spark Starter's color identity?
Gandalf, Spark Starter 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 Gandalf, Spark Starter come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Gandalf, Spark Starter deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 36 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 5.6 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 92 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 23 % of the time and floods 21 %. Deck health: C (55/100).
How many lands should a Gandalf, Spark Starter deck run?
Real Gandalf, Spark Starter 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 Gandalf, Spark Starter?
The three highest-synergy cards are Twinflame, Smaug, the Great Calamity, Play with Fire. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Gandalf, Spark Starter decks.
What combos does Gandalf, Spark Starter have?
Gandalf, Spark Starter 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 Gandalf, Spark Starter deck cost?
You can start cheap: Twinflame, Play with Fire, Lightning Bolt 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.