EDH Optimizer
Volo, Guide to Monsters
Legendary Creature — Human Wizard · 2GU
Color identity: Green · Blue · Simic
Volo, Guide to Monsters is Simic (green and blue): its deck can only run cards of those colors plus colorless ones.
Rules text:
Whenever you cast a creature spell that doesn't share a creature type with a creature you control or a creature card in your graveyard, copy that spell. (A copy of a creature spell becomes a token.)
Reference price of the card: €0.33
Average lands in decks for Volo, Guide to Monsters: 35
ClonesTokensZooRampSpell CopyMidrange+1/+1 CountersGood Stuff
Build your Volo, Guide to Monsters deck step by step, with in-depth analysis and AI optimization of your list.
🛠️ Build a deck for Volo, Guide to Monsters 📥 Analyze my deck🎲 How the average Volo, Guide to Monsters deck starts over 4,000 games
The list people actually play per EDHREC (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
- Speed59
- Interaction58
- Resilience80
- Closing94
See the cards of the average deck · 99 cards, 35 lands (19 nonbasic, 6 Island, 10 Forest)
Sol Ring · Arcane Signet · End-Raze Forerunners · Ornithopter of Paradise · Maraleaf Pixie · Solemn Simulacrum · Counterspell · Twinning Staff · Cultivate · Murkfiend Liege · Birds of Paradise · Acidic Slime · Garruk's Uprising · Spark Double · Beast Within · Junk Winder · Rampant Growth · Prosperous Innkeeper · Ilysian Caryatid · Mulldrifter · Beast Whisperer · Second Harvest · Peregrine Drake · Heroic Intervention · Man-o'-War · Terastodon · Amphin Mutineer · Hornet Queen · Nature's Lore · Silverback Elder · Swiftfoot Boots · Craterhoof Behemoth · Kodama's Reach · Lightning Greaves · Reef Worm · Kiora's Follower · Farseek · Growth Spiral · Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath · Negate · Double Major · Managorger Hydra · Avenger of Zendikar · Perplexing Test · Simic Signet · Three Visits · Volo, Itinerant Scholar · Loyal Drake · Panharmonicon · Poison Dart Frog · Pongify · Sakura-Tribe Elder · Scute Swarm · Temur Sabertooth · Dutiful Replicator · Elemental Bond · Loyal Guardian · Octomancer · Clever Impersonator · Radagast the Brown · Combine Chrysalis · Myr Battlesphere · Return of the Wildspeaker · Consecrated Sphinx · Command Tower · Hinterland Harbor · Yavimaya Coast · Dreamroot Cascade · Reliquary Tower · Flooded Grove · Breeding Pool · Rejuvenating Springs · Simic Growth Chamber · Vineglimmer Snarl · Temple of Mystery · Exotic Orchard · Barkchannel Pathway // Tidechannel Pathway · Evolving Wilds · Mosswort Bridge · Misty Rainforest · Alchemist's Refuge · Overflowing Basin · Thornwood Falls
🃏 Recommended cards for Volo, Guide to Monsters
The highest-synergy cards in decks for Volo, Guide to Monsters, with their inclusion rate.
| Card | Inclusion | Synergy |
|---|---|---|
| End-Raze Forerunners | 64% | +60% |
| Ornithopter of Paradise | 64% | +59% |
| Maraleaf Pixie | 61% | +56% |
| Solemn Simulacrum | 60% | +54% |
| Twinning Staff | 57% | +53% |
| Acidic Slime | 54% | +49% |
| Prosperous Innkeeper | 50% | +47% |
| Junk Winder | 51% | +45% |
| Ilysian Caryatid | 49% | +45% |
| Spark Double | 53% | +44% |
| Mulldrifter | 49% | +43% |
| Murkfiend Liege | 56% | +43% |
| Man-o'-War | 44% | +43% |
| Peregrine Drake | 47% | +43% |
| Second Harvest | 48% | +42% |
| Amphin Mutineer | 43% | +41% |
| Beast Whisperer | 48% | +40% |
| Silverback Elder | 41% | +39% |
| Hornet Queen | 43% | +38% |
| Terastodon | 44% | +37% |
| Reef Worm | 39% | +36% |
| Garruk's Uprising | 53% | +35% |
| Volo, Itinerant Scholar | 33% | +32% |
| Loyal Drake | 32% | +31% |
💰 The best cards for your Volo, Guide to Monsters 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.
- End-Raze Forerunners
- Ornithopter of Paradise
- Maraleaf Pixie
- Solemn Simulacrum
- Acidic Slime
- Prosperous Innkeeper
Tier 2 · Balanced up to €10/card
The real step up: pieces that are no longer cheap but still sensible.
- Spark Double
- Beast Whisperer
- Silverback Elder
- Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath
- Panharmonicon
- Birds of Paradise
Tier 3 · No cap no cap
The cards your price cap was hiding from you.
- Twinning Staff
- Craterhoof Behemoth
- Pathbreaker Ibex
- Consecrated Sphinx
- Life Finds a Way
- Parallel Lives
Reference prices (cheapest English printing). They change daily.
♾️ Known combos with Volo, Guide to Monsters
- Hullbreaker Horror + Sol Ring → Infinite colorless mana, Infinite storm count
- Springheart Nantuko + Lotus Cobra → Infinite landfall triggers, Infinite tapped land tokens
- Springheart Nantuko + Lotus Cobra → Infinite landfall triggers, Infinite tapped land tokens
- 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
- Peregrine Drake + Deadeye Navigator → Infinite blinking, Infinite creature ETB, Infinite creature LTB, Infinite mana lands you control can produce
👥 Community decks with Volo, Guide to Monsters
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 Volo, Guide to Monsters's color identity?
Volo, Guide to Monsters is Simic (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 Volo, Guide to Monsters come down, and how often does the deck get stuck?
In the average Volo, Guide to Monsters deck (the 99 most-included cards per EDHREC, with 35 lands), simulated 4,000 times, the commander comes down on turn 3.5 on average and is on the battlefield before turn 7 in 99 % of games. It misses at least one land drop in the first six turns 26 % of the time and floods 4 %. Deck health: B+ (75/100).
How many lands should a Volo, Guide to Monsters deck run?
Real Volo, Guide to Monsters 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 Volo, Guide to Monsters?
The three highest-synergy cards are End-Raze Forerunners, Ornithopter of Paradise, Maraleaf Pixie. This page lists the top 24 with their real inclusion rate in Volo, Guide to Monsters decks.
What combos does Volo, Guide to Monsters have?
Volo, Guide to Monsters 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 Volo, Guide to Monsters deck cost?
You can start cheap: End-Raze Forerunners, Ornithopter of Paradise, Maraleaf Pixie 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.