EDH Optimizer
Nine-Fingers Keene
Legendary Creature — Human Rogue · 1BGU
Color identity: Black · Green · Blue · Sultai
Nine-Fingers Keene is Sultai (black, green and blue): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Menace
Ward—Pay 9 life.
Whenever Nine-Fingers Keene deals combat damage to a player, look at the top nine cards of your library. You may put a Gate card from among them onto the battlefield. Then if you control nine or more Gates, put the rest into your hand. Otherwise, put the rest on the bottom of your library in a random order.
Reference price of the card: €0.19
Average lands in decks for Nine-Fingers Keene: 37
Lands MatterGuildgatesRampLandfallVoltronComboMidrangeControl
Build your Nine-Fingers Keene deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Nine-Fingers Keene 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Nine-Fingers Keene 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+ (74/100)
- Consistency96
- Speed68
- Interaction32
- Resilience86
- Closing77
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 37 lands (27 nonbasic, 2 Island, 1 Swamp, 7 Forest)
Circuitous Route · Open the Gates · Guild Summit · Gatecreeper Vine · Navigation Orb · Explore the Underdark · Tatyova, Benthic Druid · District Guide · Growth Spiral · Sol Ring · Sylvan Scrying · Sage of the Maze · Spelunking · Arcane Signet · Gate Colossus · Gatebreaker Ram · Expedition Map · Crop Rotation · Explore · Counterspell · Omo, Queen of Vesuva · Archelos, Lagoon Mystic · Tempt with Discovery · Azusa, Lost but Seeking · Tireless Provisioner · Assassin's Trophy · Glaive of the Guildpact · Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait · Scute Swarm · Aqueous Form · Beast Within · Rampaging Baloths · Reshape the Earth · Eureka Moment · Ramunap Excavator · Oracle of Mul Daya · Way of the Thief · Blackblade Reforged · Dryad of the Ilysian Grove · Gateway Sneak · Swiftfoot Boots · Ulvenwald Hydra · Avenger of Zendikar · Planar Genesis · Amulet of Vigor · Broken Bond · Exploration · Lotus Cobra · Tiller Engine · Greenside Watcher · Negate · Bonny Pall, Clearcutter · Open the Way · Urban Evolution · Putrefy · Scapeshift · Through the Forest Gate · Zimone, Quandrix Prodigy · Joint Exploration · Conduit of Worlds · Clifftop Lookout · Eternal Witness · Black Dragon Gate · Dimir Guildgate · Golgari Guildgate · Gond Gate · Manor Gate · Simic Guildgate · Baldur's Gate · Basilisk Gate · Heap Gate · Sea Gate · Maze's End · Gateway Plaza · Thran Portal · Command Tower · The Black Gate · Talon Gates of Madara · Plaza of Harmony · Thespian's Stage · Planar Nexus · Rogue's Passage · Reliquary Tower · Vesuva · Opulent Palace · Urza's Cave · Exotic Orchard · Zagoth Triome · Breeding Pool
🃏 Recommended cards for Nine-Fingers Keene
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Nine-Fingers Keene, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Gond Gate | 99% | +96% |
| Manor Gate | 99% | +96% |
| Black Dragon Gate | 99% | +96% |
| Baldur's Gate | 98% | +96% |
| Sea Gate | 98% | +96% |
| Basilisk Gate | 98% | +96% |
| Heap Gate | 98% | +96% |
| Dimir Guildgate | 99% | +95% |
| Simic Guildgate | 99% | +94% |
| Golgari Guildgate | 99% | +94% |
| Maze's End | 95% | +93% |
| Gateway Plaza | 94% | +92% |
| Circuitous Route | 91% | +88% |
| Thran Portal | 89% | +87% |
| Open the Gates | 84% | +82% |
| Guild Summit | 82% | +80% |
| Gatecreeper Vine | 79% | +78% |
| Navigation Orb | 77% | +75% |
| Explore the Underdark | 76% | +74% |
| The Black Gate | 77% | +74% |
| District Guide | 71% | +70% |
| Sylvan Scrying | 69% | +67% |
| Plaza of Harmony | 64% | +63% |
| Talon Gates of Madara | 67% | +63% |
💰 The best cards for your Nine-Fingers Keene 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.
- Gond Gate
- Black Dragon Gate
- Sea Gate
- Basilisk Gate
- Heap Gate
- Dimir Guildgate
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Manor Gate
- Baldur's Gate
- Spelunking
- Planar Nexus
- Vesuva
- Crop Rotation
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- The Black Gate
- Talon Gates of Madara
- Reshape the Earth
- Aesi, Tyrant of Gyre Strait
- Tiller Engine
- Amulet of Vigor
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Nine-Fingers Keene
- Springheart Nantuko + Tireless Provisioner → Infinite landfall triggers, Infinite tapped land tokens
- Springheart Nantuko + Tireless Provisioner → Infinite landfall triggers, Infinite tapped land tokens
- Springheart Nantuko + Lotus Cobra → Infinite landfall triggers, Infinite tapped land tokens
- Springheart Nantuko + Lotus Cobra → Infinite landfall triggers, Infinite tapped land tokens
- Glacial Chasm + Icetill Explorer → Prevent all damage that would be dealt to you, Lock
- Glacial Chasm + Azusa, Lost but Seeking + Ramunap Excavator → Prevent all damage that would be dealt to you, Lock
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is Nine-Fingers Keene's color identity?
Nine-Fingers Keene is Sultai (black, green and blue): its deck can only run cards of those colors 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 Nine-Fingers Keene come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Nine-Fingers Keene deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 37 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 4.4 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 97 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 13 % of the time and floods 4 %. Deck health: B+ (74/100).
How many lands should a Nine-Fingers Keene deck run?
Real Nine-Fingers Keene decks run 37 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 Nine-Fingers Keene?
The three highest-synergy cards are Gond Gate, Manor Gate, Black Dragon Gate. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Nine-Fingers Keene decks.
What combos does Nine-Fingers Keene have?
Nine-Fingers Keene has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Springheart Nantuko + Tireless Provisioner. 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 Nine-Fingers Keene deck cost?
You can start cheap: Gond Gate, Black Dragon Gate, Sea Gate 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.