What is Myriad in MTG?

What is Myriad in MTG? That’s a good question, and it deserves a good answer. First introduced to MTG in Commander 2015, Myriad was last seen in Commander Masters. Here, and in Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate, the mechanic saw plenty of play in the somewhat bizarre Commander Draft events. Currently, only 18 cards have the Myriad keyword. Due to the mechanic’s strength in Commander, however, it’s nonetheless well worth knowing about.

With the ability to cause chaos and devastation on the battlefield, Myriad is sure to keep you on your toes. Subsequently, to keep your wits about you, it’s best to learn the ins and outs of this potentially powerful mechanic. So, without further ado, here’s everything you need to know about Myriad in MTG!

What is Myriad in Magic: The Gathering?

Myriad is a keyword ability that allows the creation of token copies of a creature when attacking an opponent. Token copies that Myriad may create must be used to attack an opponent other than the defending player. This allows for a single creature to attack multiple players at once during a Commander game. 

Thankfully, Myriad’s token-generating abilities are a “may” ability, allowing players to keep the peace and maintain any alliances they’ve made. Players looking to not attack their opponents directly also have the choice to attack Planeswalkers controlled by the corresponding player. 

Typically, Myriad is found on individual creatures, however, there are creatures and enchantments that give the ability to other creatures. Duke Ulder Ravengard Duke Ulder Ravengard At the beginning of combat on your turn, another target creature you control gains haste and myriad until end of turn. (Whenever it attacks, for each opponent other than defending player, you may create a token copy that's tapped and attacking that player or a planeswalker they control. Exile the tokens at end of combat.) and Legion Loyalty Legion Loyalty Creatures you control have myriad. (Whenever a creature with myriad attacks, for each opponent other than defending player, you may create a token copy that's tapped and attacking that player or a planeswalker they control. Exile the tokens at end of combat.) are both Commander Legends: Battle for Baldur’s Gate cards capable of giving the Myriad ability to other creatures.

The best Myriad cards in Magic: The Gathering

As a keyword that has only featured in a handful of Magic: The Gathering sets, there aren’t too many choices for the best Myriad cards in MTG. Despite this, Myriad still has the ability to dole out a huge amount of damage and change the tide of a Commander game.

Wizards of Thay

Loaded up with Security Bypass Security Bypass Enchant creature
As long as enchanted creature is attacking alone, it can't be blocked.
Enchanted creature has "Whenever this creature deals combat damage to a player, it connives." (Its controller draws a card, then discards a card. If they discarded a nonland card, they put a +1/+1 counter on this creature.) to keep itself protected while attacking, Wizards of Thay Wizards of Thay Myriad (Whenever this creature attacks, for each opponent other than defending player, you may create a token copy that's tapped and attacking that player or a planeswalker they control. Exile the tokens at end of combat.)
Instant and sorcery spells you cast cost {1} less to cast.
You may cast sorcery spells as though they had flash. can allow for all kinds of powerful shenanigans once its copies are in play. By reducing the cost of instants and sorceries by up to four, while also giving sorcery spells flash, Wizards of Thay can open the doors to a vast number of synergies capable of annihilating your opponents.

Blade of Selves

While its equip cost is not cheap, Blade of Selves is an incredibly versatile card for Commander play. Whether you want to combo it with powerful enter-the-battlefield effects, or just swing in with many Blightsteel Colossus Blightsteel Colossus Trample, infect, indestructible
If Blightsteel Colossus would be put into a graveyard from anywhere, reveal Blightsteel Colossus and shuffle it into its owner's library instead. -es, Blade of Selves does it all.

Compared to Legion Loyalty Legion Loyalty Creatures you control have myriad. (Whenever a creature with myriad attacks, for each opponent other than defending player, you may create a token copy that's tapped and attacking that player or a planeswalker they control. Exile the tokens at end of combat.) , admittedly, Blade of Selves is rather lacking somewhat. This, of course, is reciprocated in the card’s mana value. It’s important to note, however, that Blade of Selves is colorless, allowing it to go in any deck.

Battle Angles of Tyr

As a 4/4 for 4 with flying, at the very least, Battle Angles of Tyr has a compelling stat line. Given that they’re on this list, however, their power hardly ends there. Thanks to having a trio of triggered abilities, which activate when dealing combat damage, Battle Angles of Tyr is seriously powerful. Capable of drawing cards, generating treasure tokens, and gaining life, Battle Angles of Tyr does it all.

To make these three abilities even better, theoretically, these abilities can trigger three times when attacking! This is all thanks to Myriad.

Unfortunately, while there is a lot of potential, Battle Angles of Tyr’s trio of abilities won’t trigger every single time. After all, they require each opponent to have more cards in hand, land, and life than you. If you are severely on the back foot, however, Battle Angles of Try can be fantastic to level the playing field.

Legion Loyalty

While Legion Loyalty Legion Loyalty Creatures you control have myriad. (Whenever a creature with myriad attacks, for each opponent other than defending player, you may create a token copy that's tapped and attacking that player or a planeswalker they control. Exile the tokens at end of combat.) doesn’t come cheap, its effect is undoubtedly worth it if you have the mana. By giving all of your creatures Myriad, Legion Loyalty opens the doors for all manner of unfathomably oppressive combos. 

Want to steal all your opponent’s creatures? Use Agent of Treachery Agent of Treachery When this creature enters, gain control of target permanent.
At the beginning of your end step, if you control three or more permanents you don't own, draw three cards. ! Want to cause untold chaos? Try Myriad on Marisi, Breaker of the Coil Marisi, Breaker of the Coil Your opponents can't cast spells during combat.
Whenever a creature you control deals combat damage to a player, goad each creature that player controls. (Until your next turn, those creatures attack each combat if able and attack a player other than you if able.) with Mirror Gallery Mirror Gallery The "legend rule" doesn't apply. ! How about utterly steamrolling your opponents with Craterhoof Behemoth Craterhoof Behemoth Haste
When this creature enters, creatures you control gain trample and get +X/+X until end of turn, where X is the number of creatures you control. ? The possibilities are endless!

How to use Myriad in Magic: The Gathering?

Alongside a few powerhouse MTG cards that are sure to either win the game or be swiftly removed, you’ll also want cards in your Commander deck supporting your Myriad army. For this, we recommend lords to buff and deal even more damage and enchantments to keep your creatures safe.

Predominantly, the Myriad keyword is found in red and white, making Balfire Liege an ideal choice for a lord. Knight Exemplar Knight Exemplar First strike (This creature deals combat damage before creatures without first strike.)
Other Knight creatures you control get +1/+1 and have indestructible. (Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy them.) and Goblin Chieftain Goblin Chieftain Haste (This creature can attack and {T} as soon as it comes under your control.)
Other Goblin creatures you control get +1/+1 and have haste. are other powerful options that can help to decimate all your opponents at once.

Alongside dishing out damage, Ephemeral Shields Ephemeral Shields Convoke (Your creatures can help cast this spell. Each creature you tap while casting this spell pays for {1} or one mana of that creature's color.)
Target creature gains indestructible until end of turn. (Damage and effects that say "destroy" don't destroy it.) and Unbreakable Formation Unbreakable Formation Creatures you control gain indestructible until end of turn.
Addendum — If you cast this spell during your main phase, put a +1/+1 counter on each of those creatures and they gain vigilance until end of turn. can both be used to ensure your Myriad creatures get to last more than one turn. Elspeth, Knight-Errant Elspeth, Knight-Errant +1: Create a 1/1 white Soldier creature token.
+1: Target creature gets +3/+3 and gains flying until end of turn.
−8: You get an emblem with "Artifacts, creatures, enchantments, and lands you control have indestructible." and Avacyn, Angel of Hope Avacyn, Angel of Hope Flying, vigilance, indestructible
Other permanents you control have indestructible. are also incredibly powerful options that are somewhat harder to enable.

One of the most powerful ways to use Myriad is in a way where you can avoid the tokens you create disappearing at the end of the turn. Thanks to the rise in popularity of the Encore mechanic, which shares a lot of similarities with Myriad, players have been picking up a lot of ‘end the turn’ effects. Sundial of the Infinite, for example, is capable of ending the turn before your Myriad tokens disappear. Because of that, they never will. You simply get to keep them.

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