SimicLegendary Creature — Human Scientist VillainJackal, Genius Geneticist
Mana value2Rank#15,643
The Commander
Trample
Whenever you cast a creature spell with mana value equal to Jackal's power, copy that spell, except the copy isn't legendary. Then put a +1/+1 counter on Jackal. (The copy becomes a token.)
Guide
Gameplan
Jackal is a curve-climbing copy engine: cast a creature spell whose mana value matches Jackal's current power, copy it as a non-legendary token, and grow Jackal with a +1/+1 counter so the next required mana value is one higher. You ramp into a tight, ascending creature curve to double up your best bodies, then close with a swarm of doubled value creatures and a trampling commander. Early turns build mana and protection, mid-game you chain copies up the ladder.
Strengths
- Free creature copies generate huge card and board advantage in a value-oriented color pair
- Grows itself into an evasive trample threat that also enables commander damage
- GU gives access to the best ramp, card draw, and counter synergies in the format
- Copying enters-the-battlefield creatures doubles your engine triggers for explosive turns
Weaknesses
- Requires careful curve construction so you actually have a creature at each needed mana value
- Falls off if Jackal keeps dying and resetting power back to base
- No native protection, removal-light, and vulnerable to board wipes that erase your token copies
- Slow to start compared to dedicated combo decks; relies on Jackal sticking around
Key Cards
- Cloudstone Curio — Bounce a copied creature back to hand so you can recast it and trigger Jackal again, chaining copies up the curve.
- Heroic Intervention — Cheap protection for Jackal and your token army against removal and wraths.
- Doubling Season — Doubles the +1/+1 counters and any token-makers, accelerating Jackal's power up the ladder.
- Cultivate — Smooths your ramp so you can reliably hit the exact mana value Jackal needs each turn.
- Cackling Counterpart — Demonstrates the copy plan, and flicker/clone effects multiply your best ETB bodies alongside Jackal.
- Panharmonicon — Stacks with copied ETB creatures to quadruple value triggers in a single turn.
Upgrade Path
Tighten the creature curve so you have impactful bodies at consecutive mana values matching Jackal's growth, and add flicker/bounce engines like Cloudstone Curio and Equilibrium to re-trigger copies. Layer in token doublers (Doubling Season, Parallel Lives) and ETB doublers (Panharmonicon) for exponential value, plus tutors and protection (Heroic Intervention, Lightning Greaves) to keep Jackal online. Push toward a payoff like Craterhoof Behemoth or a deterministic ETB loop to convert your wide board into a one-shot kill.
Core Cards
The most-played cards for this commander, built from aggregated deck data (the Mythic Graph). Build public decks to seed it.
Win Conditions
- ▸Overwhelm the board with doubled creature tokens and alpha strike
- ▸Connect with a large trampling Jackal for commander damage
- ▸Abuse copied ETB value engines (card draw/drain) to grind opponents out
- ▸Combo finishers via doubled token-makers or copied creatures with infinite loops (e.g. Cloudstone Curio loops)
Archetypes
- Value Creatures / Midrange — Jackal turns every well-timed creature into two, snowballing board presence and card advantage.
- Blink / ETB — Copying creatures with enter-the-battlefield effects doubles their triggers for compounding value.
- +1/+1 Counters — Jackal naturally accrues counters, supporting proliferate and counter-payoff synergies.
- Voltron — With trample and steady counters, Jackal can pressure life totals and deal commander damage.
Combos
No combos found for this commander on Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (GU), by popularity.
