BlueLegendary Creature — IllusionToothy, Imaginary Friend
Mana value4Rank#5,127PartnerYes
The Commander
Partner with Pir, Imaginative Rascal (When this creature enters, target player may put Pir into their hand from their library, then shuffle.)
Whenever you draw a card, put a +1/+1 counter on Toothy.
When Toothy leaves the battlefield, draw a card for each +1/+1 counter on it.
Guide
Gameplan
Toothy is a mono-blue card-draw payoff that grows with every card you draw and refunds a massive hand when it dies. You build a draw engine, pile counters on Toothy, then either swing for lethal or sacrifice/bounce Toothy to refill and pressure the table. Pir, Imaginative Rascal as a partner adds counter doubling and Doubling Season synergy if you go Sultai, but mono-U Toothy is the core engine.
Strengths
- Self-sustaining card advantage that snowballs out of control once draw engines come online
- Built-in insurance: removal triggers a huge draw, and you can sacrifice Toothy on your own terms
- Mono-blue gives access to the best counterspells, card draw, and protection in the format
- Cheap commander (4 mana) that immediately threatens both card advantage and combat damage
Weaknesses
- Mono-blue lacks efficient removal and struggles to interact with the board outside of counters and bounce
- Fragile body that dies to most spot removal, though the draw payoff softens this
- No native ramp or recursion; relies heavily on the draw engine to function
- Can be slow to close games without a dedicated wincon since Toothy itself is just one creature
Key Cards
- Pir, Imaginative Rascal — Partner that doubles every +1/+1 counter, supercharging Toothy's size and eventual draw payoff.
- The Locust God — Turns Toothy's draw triggers into a swarm of flyers and gives a backup card-draw payoff.
- Reliquary Tower — Removes your maximum hand size so Toothy's death draw and constant card flow never gets wasted.
- Rhystic Study — Premier mono-blue draw engine that feeds Toothy counters every single turn cycle.
- Mystic Remora — Cheap early draw engine that snowballs counters onto Toothy fast.
- Cyclonic Rift — Mono-blue blowout that protects Toothy and clears blockers for a lethal swing.
Upgrade Path
Add more cantrips and draw engines (Esper Sentinel-style stax aside, lean on Sylvan Library-equivalents, Brainstorm, Ponder, Preordain) to maximize counter accrual, then include cheap protection like Heroic Intervention's blue analog (Swiftfoot Boots, Lightning Greaves, Mother of Runes is white—use Spellskite/Veil of Summer if splashing). Splash into Pir's Sultai identity for Doubling Season, Hardened Scales, and counter-doubling to make Toothy lethal and draws explosive. Tighten the mana with fast rocks (Sol Ring, Mana Crystals) and add a clean combo like Toothy + sacrifice outlet + Laboratory Maniac/Thassa's Oracle to win off the death-draw.
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
- ▸Suit up Toothy with evasion or a sword and connect for commander damage
- ▸Generate a massive hand off Toothy's death trigger, then deploy threats or a finisher like Stroke of Genius / Blue Sun's Zenith
- ▸Token swarm via The Locust God off repeated draw triggers
- ▸Mill or deck-out opponents with overwhelming card-draw engines and a wheel-style finisher
Archetypes
- Spellslinger / Draw-Matters — Toothy converts every card drawn into board presence and a future explosive refill.
- Control — Mono-blue counters and bounce let you stall while Toothy accrues an overwhelming card advantage lead.
- Counters / +1/+1 Synergy — With Pir and counter doublers, Toothy becomes an enormous threat and draw bomb.
- Tempo Beatdown — A growing Toothy plus evasion enablers can simply attack for lethal commander damage.
Combos
- O'aka, Traveling Merchant + Mind Over Matter + Toothy, Imaginary Friend
→ Infinite self-discard triggers, Infinite draw triggers, Infinite looting
- Falco Spara, Pactweaver + Sensei's Divining Top + Toothy, Imaginary Friend + Cloud Key
→ Infinite card draw, Infinite draw triggers, Near-infinite storm count
- Falco Spara, Pactweaver + Sensei's Divining Top + Toothy, Imaginary Friend + Jhoira's Familiar
→ Infinite card draw, Infinite draw triggers, Near-infinite storm count
- Falco Spara, Pactweaver + Sensei's Divining Top + Toothy, Imaginary Friend + Etherium Sculptor
→ Infinite card draw, Infinite draw triggers, Near-infinite storm count
- Falco Spara, Pactweaver + Sensei's Divining Top + Toothy, Imaginary Friend + Helm of Awakening
→ Infinite card draw, Infinite draw triggers, Near-infinite storm count
Combos via Commander Spellbook.
Related Commanders
Same color identity (U), by popularity.
