EDH Optimizer
The Mindskinner
Legendary Enchantment Creature — Nightmare · UUU
Color identity: Blue
The Mindskinner is blue: its deck can only run cards of that color plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
The Mindskinner can't be blocked.
If a source you control would deal damage to an opponent, prevent that damage and each opponent mills that many cards.
Reference price of the card: €0.71
Average lands in decks for The Mindskinner: 34
MillEquipmentVoltronClonesControlToughness MattersAggroPersistent Petitioners
Build your The Mindskinner deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for The Mindskinner 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average The Mindskinner 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+ (81/100)
- Consistency24
- Speed76
- Interaction100
- Resilience90
- Closing100
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 34 lands (8 nonbasic, 26 Island)
Sol Ring · Counterspell · Ruin Crab · Fractured Sanity · Swiftfoot Boots · Maddening Cacophony · The Water Crystal · Arcane Signet · Fireshrieker · Propaganda · Bruvac the Grandiloquent · Sapphire Medallion · Bonehoard · Fraying Sanity · Tasha's Hideous Laughter · Lightning Greaves · Terisian Mindbreaker · Jace's Phantasm · Psychic Corrosion · Memory Erosion · Negate · Undead Alchemist · Aetherize · Blackblade Reforged · Fleet Swallower · Hedron Crab · Visions of Beyond · Riverchurn Monument · Soulless Jailer · Arcane Denial · Didn't Say Please · Zellix, Sanity Flayer · High Tide · Spark Double · Cut Your Losses · Pongify · Traumatize · Windfall · An Offer You Can't Refuse · Thought Vessel · Vantress Gargoyle · Mesmeric Orb · Thought Collapse · Mindcrank · Drown in Dreams · Auton Soldier · Rhystic Study · Silent Hallcreeper · Archive Trap · Rapid Hybridization · Esior, Wardwing Familiar · Court of Cunning · Cyclonic Rift · Irenicus's Vile Duplication · Leyline Axe · Slip Out the Back · Sphinx's Tutelage · Sword of the Animist · Brainstorm · Sky Diamond · Thought Scour · Commander's Plate · Giggling Skitterspike · Kitsune's Technique · Drowned Secrets · Mystic Sanctuary · Reliquary Tower · Jidoor, Aristocratic Capital // Overture · Scavenger Grounds · Myriad Landscape · Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx · Otawara, Soaring City · Rogue's Passage
🃏 Recommended cards for The Mindskinner
The highest-synergy cards in decks for The Mindskinner, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| Ruin Crab | 73% | +65% |
| Fractured Sanity | 71% | +65% |
| Maddening Cacophony | 69% | +62% |
| Fireshrieker | 67% | +62% |
| Bruvac the Grandiloquent | 65% | +61% |
| The Water Crystal | 68% | +58% |
| Bonehoard | 56% | +53% |
| Tasha's Hideous Laughter | 56% | +52% |
| Fraying Sanity | 56% | +51% |
| Jace's Phantasm | 53% | +50% |
| Terisian Mindbreaker | 54% | +50% |
| Undead Alchemist | 49% | +46% |
| Memory Erosion | 50% | +46% |
| Psychic Corrosion | 52% | +44% |
| Blackblade Reforged | 47% | +42% |
| Fleet Swallower | 46% | +42% |
| Swiftfoot Boots | 70% | +42% |
| Soulless Jailer | 44% | +41% |
| Riverchurn Monument | 45% | +41% |
| Visions of Beyond | 46% | +41% |
| Hedron Crab | 46% | +41% |
| Zellix, Sanity Flayer | 43% | +40% |
| Didn't Say Please | 43% | +39% |
| Cut Your Losses | 41% | +37% |
💰 The best cards for your The Mindskinner 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.
- Ruin Crab
- Fractured Sanity
- Fireshrieker
- Bonehoard
- Fraying Sanity
- Jace's Phantasm
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Maddening Cacophony
- The Water Crystal
- Tasha's Hideous Laughter
- Memory Erosion
- Psychic Corrosion
- Visions of Beyond
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Bruvac the Grandiloquent
- Zellix, Sanity Flayer
- Mesmeric Orb
- Giggling Skitterspike
- Commander's Plate
- Mithril Coat
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with The Mindskinner
- Hullbreaker Horror + Sol Ring → Infinite colorless mana, Infinite storm count
- Dramatic Reversal + Isochron Scepter → Infinite magecraft triggers, Infinite mana nonland permanents you control can produce, Infinite storm count, Infinite untap of nonland permanents you control
- Hullbreaker Horror + Mana Vault → Infinite colorless mana, Infinite storm count
- Hullbreaker Horror + Mox Amber → Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite colored mana, Infinite storm count
- Bruvac the Grandiloquent + Maddening Cacophony → Infinite mill
- Tidespout Tyrant + Sol Ring → Infinite colorless mana, Infinite storm count
👥 Community decks with The Mindskinner
Full decklists published by players on EDH Optimizer, with their analysis, bracket and health. Clone them to your account and optimize them for free.
Other commanders
Frequently asked questions
What is The Mindskinner's color identity?
The Mindskinner is blue: 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 The Mindskinner come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average The Mindskinner deck (the 99 cards most played with it, with 34 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 3.5 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 98 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 41 % of the time and floods 22 %. Deck health: B+ (81/100).
How many lands should a The Mindskinner deck run?
Real The Mindskinner decks run 34 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 The Mindskinner?
The three highest-synergy cards are Ruin Crab, Fractured Sanity, Maddening Cacophony. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in The Mindskinner decks.
What combos does The Mindskinner have?
The Mindskinner has 6 known combos. The most popular one is Hullbreaker Horror + Sol Ring. 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 The Mindskinner deck cost?
You can start cheap: Ruin Crab, Fractured Sanity, Fireshrieker 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.