Top decking the right card at the right time. Some might call it the power of a Miracle Worker. Possibly a desparked Aminatou, Veil Piercer. Although hopefully after the upgrades, it will be less of a miracle and more of a planned prediction. The aim is to provide great value to power ratio upgrades. So it's 10 upgrades for £10 or less.
Aminatou in the lore has magic about fate and manipulating destiny. This is depicted in the +1 ability of Aminatou, the Fateshifter being able to manipulate the top card of your library. This makes it a great addition to this deck. And it would make sense lore wise as it could represent a different destiny of Aminatou.
Aminatou, Veil Piercer is a bit different however. This version of her is focused more on miracles and enchantments. It’s an exciting take on the theme, usually reserved for Green/White. So, an Esper (White/Blue/Black) enchantress deck will allow you to play different cards. Enchantress is an enchantment based deck. The name comes from Verduran Enchantress all the way back in Alpha. The miracle ability from Aminatou gives a massive discount if you can set it up correctly. If you are playing with miracles, just a technical note - when you draw your first card for a turn, it is best to look at it before it joins your hand. As if it is a card with miracle, or in this case, an enchantment, you really need to keep it separate from your hand until you declare casting it for the miracle ability. This also happens as you draw the card, ignoring normal timing restrictions. So you can cast sorceries and in this deck, enchantments during your draw phase. The reason it's important to keep the card separate is to make it clear that it is the card that was drawn this turn before revealing it to miracle it. An easy way to do this is to set your hand face down on the table or use your other hand to draw. At competitive rules enforcement if the card touches your other cards in hand, it's considered too late to reveal it for a miracle ability. While EDH isn't usually played at this level, it will probably save headaches if you are careful on your draws.
Miracles used to be a top tier legacy deck in days past, before the banning of Sensei's Divining Top (which one card I would add if I had the budget). It lets you selectively reorder the top 3 cards of your deck while also having a free way to draw a card on another turn. It's made for miracles, which is weird as it was printed 8 years before miracles existed. So, let's get into other ways to predict the future with these upgrades.
Table of Contents
Budget Upgrades
Upgrade 1/2
These first two cards are all about being able to reorder the top cards. Allowing you to set up the miracle cast when you want. Descendent of Soramaro has a cheap activation that allows you to look deep if you can keep a full hand. The downside is it's a 4 mana creature, so it is susceptible to removal or just being caught in a board wipe.
OUT: SwampIN: Descendant of Soramaro
Soothsaying will be harder to remove as it's just an enchantment, but will cost more to activate each time. However, it does have the additional effect of shuffling your library if you don't like the cards you see. This can be a problem with these kinds of decks. Without any way to shuffle, you can get locked into draws that aren't good for you. It's why Brainstorm is paired with fetch lands to have the option to shuffle away the cards just put back.
OUT: PlainsIN: Soothsaying
As always I'm cutting a land. In this case, I'm cutting 2, a Swamp and a Plains. I will say here that Wizards has made my job harder. They have really tightened up the synergy and are making it far more challenging to find the weaker cards. The first land is always free as they add in way too many. The reason why I'm cutting a second is because I need cuts and also, with the miracle ability the actual mana curve is lower than it looks. If you have a playgroup with far more interaction, I would probably add some more mana rocks instead. But as a precon usually, they don't pack enough to really make it worth going after Commanders. So you are likely to have Aminatou around, maybe having to cast her a second time.
Upgrade 3
The next card I am cutting is Portent. It’s a worse version of a Ponder, which I left in the deck. Portent is excellent for setting up for 1 mana and having the slow draw. I think that Ancestral Knowledge does this better.
OUT: PortentIN: Ancestral Knowledge
This will be one of the cheapest ways to dig deep into your deck and manipulate it. For 2 mana you get to look at the top 10 cards, remove any cards you don’t want, and then reorder the rest. You can use it as a 2 mana way to remove dead cards from your deck. As there is a downside to this. If Ancestral Knowledge leaves you play, you will shuffle your library. It also has cumulative upkeep (1), meaning at the beginning of your upkeep, you put an age counter on Ancestral Knowledge and then have to pay the cost for each age counter on it. So the first time you have to pay (1), next time (2) etc. This means you don’t want to be keeping it around after 2 turns. But even still being able to set up 2 or more draws for 5 mana over multiple turns isn't a bad rate. This isn’t even factoring in the miracles you can do with Aminatou, Veil Piercer. As the discount is (4) you are likely to be able to pay for Ancestral Knowledge and still pull off the miracle cost.
Upgrade 4/5
I have grouped the next two upgrades as they do similar things. Hidden Retreat is the first one. It has a reasonable “downside” of having to put a card from your hand on top of your library, being able to stop all damage from an instant or sorcery. This could stop a game winning spell. Just note this prevents damage, not loss of life. But back to the “downside”. This is an upside and the reason for including it in this deck. You can put an enchantment that you want to miracle instead of casting normally. The other sneaker thing is you can target any instant or sorcery, so it doesn’t need to deal damage. So you target a cultivate and put back a card. The ability from Hidden Retreat won’t do anything to the cultivate, but it can set you up.
OUT: Telling TimeIN: Hidden Retreat
Penance is the second upgrade. This is the stronger one. Do note the oracle text, though, as it only works until the end of the turn, not forever, so you can prevent the next damage dealt by a red or black source. This has the same “downside” as Hidden Retreat, having to put a card from your hand on top of your library. So you can do the same setup. The key difference between these 2 is the wording. Penance uses the word 'choice' instead of target. Magic wording is important and there is a significant difference. The first part, 'choice' can get around protection, hexproof, shroud and ward. The second and important difference is that you can activate the ability without anything to use it on. As you essentially choose nothing. Usually this is a waste of resources, but again, the cost to activate why we are playing these cards. So, you can activate Penance in your upkeep to set up the “surprising” miracle with Aminatou.
OUT: Phenomenon InvestigatorsIN: Penance
I cut Telling Time as this is a one time effect to set up the top card of your library. While it’s ability to replace self is a definite bonus, having the repeatability of Penance or Hidden Retreat just stood out as a better option. Phenomenon Investigators was a hard cut. I didn't want to cut this. The deck is already creature light, but this creature seemed weaker. Not directly synergising with the deck. The Believe side isn't great as I already said, the deck is creature light, especially non-token creatures. The Doubt side seems a little dubious in this deck. We want to cast big mana enchantments at a discount. So it seems a little counterintuitive to be returning permanents to hand. While we can get more enters triggers, I just don't think there are enough cheap permanents to make this worth it, even with the benefit of drawing a card.
Upgrade 6
The next card I am adding is a newish card, Brainsurge. This is a play on Brainstorm. It costs more but gives you an extra card draw. This is also an upgrade to an older card, Dream Cache. It isn’t a strict upgrade, as Dream Cache can put the cards on the bottom so as not to lock yourself into the draws, but as with my last upgrades, we really want to be putting cards back on top, allowing you to manipulate and draw enchantments back on top.
OUT: Read the BonesIN: Brainsurge
I am swapping out Read the Bones as this has a similar effect. While being 1 mana cheaper this comes as the cost of setting up. Normally it's better to have the scry 2 first but in this deck. Having the scry 2 after the draw would be a better way. Brainsurge feels like the better fit for the deck.
Upgrade 7
What's better than having one copy of a thing? Two copies of it! That's why I am adding Estrid’s Invocation. This is almost a strict upgrade to Mirrormade, which is already in the deck. The reason why it's not a strict upgrade is because Mirrormade can copy artifacts as well. But for this, Estrid’s Invocation is easier to cast. As well as being able to swap what it's copying on your upkeep, this is also a ‘may’ ability, so you don't have to. Even better, it does this by flickering itself, triggering all your constellation style effects like on Doomwake Giant, etc. I think this is one Wizards missed adding in. The only reason I can see that it is not to is the name. It would be kind of weird to reference Estrid with Aminatou as the commander.
OUT: Monologue TaxIN: Estrid's Invocation
Monologue Tax was another difficult cut. This is a solid card, nothing flashy, but can give you steady value. The reason why I have dropped it is because it's kind of easy to play around. Your opponents can always just play a single spell on their turn if they are constantly casting a big spell spending all their mana then not really affecting them anyway.
Upgrade 8
My next enchantment is a big one. Overwhelming Splendor. If you can get this down, it can seriously shut down a player. This one is another call back to another card, Humility. The difference is Overwhelming Splendor only affects the enchanted player. So Aminatou, Veil Piercer is free to keep giving you value. Overwhelming Splendor can be a bit of a salty card as you can essentially take a player out of the game with this. So play with caution. But I also have if a single card shuts down your deck, then you really need to play more interaction.
OUT: The Eldest RebornIN: Overwhelming Splendor
I have decided to cut The Eldest Reborn. While this is technically interaction, it puts all the control in the hands of your opponents as they get to choose what to sacrifice and discard - they will probably choose the options which are best for them. Where this really shines is with more removal to remove that choice, i.e. when they only have 1 creature because you have already removed the rest. While Overwhelming Splendor only deals with one player, it does it absolutely, hitting all current ones and future creatures. It also stops any enters triggers, so requires an on cast trigger to answer it with a creature. Otherwise, they will need something else.
Upgrade 9
Starfield of Nyx is a serious payoff for an enchantress deck. Especially in Miracle Worker, as it can cost a single (W). It’s able to recur any enchantment for free each turn. On top of that, it's also a win condition, being a conditional Opalescence. Which I think is better. It doesn't make your enchantments more vulnerable until you have a critical mass. This is one card that I did think would have been in the deck.
OUT: Life InsuranceIN: Starfield of Nyx
Unlike the card I am cutting, Life Insurance. As the name suggests, you get a pay out when a creature dies. In this case, you lose a life and gain a treasure. To help mitigate the life loss, it also has extort. This is an ability that lets you pay either a (W) or a (B) when you cast a spell. If you do, each opponent loses one life, and you gain that much. Extort is limited to Orzhov colours (White and Black) but the ability itself doesn’t actually add to the cards colour identity.
Some people get confused about this because a hybrid Orzhov mana pip is in the text box. It is critical that this is part of the reminder text, the text in the ( ), so it doesn’t count toward colour identity. Reminder text tells you how an ability works, a shortcut to the relevant rules. So, it isn’t counted as part of the card as you can get some printings without the reminder text. See the new Nightmare Bundle version of Crypt Ghast. Back to Life Insurance, while this does fit the deck, I think it's on the weaker side. If the game plan is going as you want, mana shouldn’t be the restriction, and this doesn’t do anything to get you back ahead when you are behind. Whereas Starfield of Nyx can start you on a plan to build back up a board presence. Animating all those waiting enchantments into creatures for a surprise attack. Or just incrementally returning them.
Upgrade 10
The final card I am adding is Mind's Dilation. Many players hyped this card up when it was first spoiled in Eldritch Moon. I thought it was a little expensive. And it turns out I was right. It's a 7 mana do nothing enchantment. While it can run away with a game if left alone, it's not going to be. My other problem with it is that decks are becoming more synergistic. Your opponent's, as much as I have been bashing Mind's Dilation, I have added it because the effect is nuts when it's a 3 mana card with Aminatou's Miracle trigger is doing the heavy lifting. For 7 mana I want game winning spells, and Mind's Dilation can be that but it's risky and not guaranteed. But if you manage to get this out earlier on turn 4 or 5, when everyone else is trying to set up. Then you will get all the triggers from their set up ramp cards etc. Even if you get it later on, if it only cost 3 mana you can hold up other interactions and not go shields down. I have it as a weaker but budget option to One with the Multiverse, which is in the deck. Or it's bigger brother Omniscience.
OUT: Archetype of ImaginationIN: Mind's Dilation
The final card I’m cutting is Archetype of Imagination. While useful, being able to ground all of your opponents creatures, I just don’t think it does enough. This deck doesn’t have enough creatures to go for an alpha strike without animating the enchantments. I didn’t want to cut this as it is a creature. This is because we are lacking in them. I am hoping the swap to Mind's Dilation can alleviate this by using the opponent's creatures to bulk out the board.
Final Thoughts
I really like Miracle Worker. It has some quality reprints with cards like Ondu Spiritdancer and Hall of Heliod's Generosity, while also being a different take on enchantress. It’s not just trying to be another Selesyna deck. It gives access to some different colours and allows players to utilise previously unplayed cards. Where I feel this deck lacks is finishers. That is the part that I would focus on. If I had a bigger budget and more cards to swap, I would be putting in some bigger haymaker enchantments to swing the game and close it out. I will give a quick shout out to Perplexing Chimera. This is one of my favourite cards. I didn't add it as a suggestion as it can really warp games around it, causing chaos. I know some players really hate that. I personally think it's a really fun card and mechanically unique. Just having the threat of being able to take control of a key spell.
I do hope that you found this blog useful and maybe you learned something along the way. I do like to try and put in a bit of rules explanation in each of my blogs if possible. While I know that isn't for everyone, it might help you become a better player, expanding your knowledge of Magic and its complex rules. As always, good luck, have fun and I hope to see you again.
Non-Budget Upgrades
Looking for even more upgrades? Try these 9 cards that didn't meet our budget requirement, but synergise with this deck:
Looking to pick up a Magic: The Gathering commander deck?
