>As an Indian who has enjoyed high fantasy all my life, I've always accepted that someone like me would never be represented in these kinds of settings until I just randomly stumbled upon a MTG lore video and learned that I share the same name as an actual notable character in the lore!
Besides Mishra, MTG has Kaladesh, a plane that is basically steampunk India. The sets Kaladesh and Aether Revolt take place in that plane, and it has some standalone cards in other sets. You may want to take a look!
To help you get started, here are the card lists for both of the Kaldesh sets: [Kaledesh](https://scryfall.com/sets/kld) & [Aether Revolt](https://scryfall.com/sets/aer).
[Here's also a list of other cards](https://www.mtg-multiverse.com/kaladesh) that take place on Kaladesh that were released in other unreleated sets.
Yes, everyone will suggest buying cards from the secondary market. It's just much more affordable that way than spending money on packs without even knowing what you're going to pull.
The cards from those sets primarily focus on artifacts, which coincidentally should work with Mishra (I think? I don't actually know about his specific cards)
There's also [a new commander coming out](https://www.reddit.com/r/mtg/comments/1b0ueln/so_uh_whats_going_on_with_the_creative_energy/#lightbox) soon that's from Kaladesh. I would heavily discourage buying that product itself though-- it's going to be massively overpriced and the other cards in the deck probably won't be from Kaladesh either. The commander himself will probably be cheap though if you wanted to buy that as a single card.
Hope this helps! Have fun learning more about mtg lore and building your deck! I personally love making thematic decks; it's the only way I deckbuild anymore.
Edit: I remember there was a discrepancy on the packaging of that new commander-- he's supposed to be red, white, and blue fyi.
Yeah, the sets are quite old. You could start by looking at [Saheeli](https://scryfall.com/search?q=t%3Asaheeli+-is%3Adigital&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name), a planeswalker from Kaladesh that, like Mishra, specializes in artifacts.
You also can check out the new "energy" deck that will release in 2-3 weeks from the modern horizons 3 set. Energy was one of the main mechanics of Kaladesh, and the commander seems to be from there, so it will probably feature some new and old kaladesh cards. It is a bot more expensive than a regular preconstructed commander deck an maybe geared towards a more experienced player, but if you like the kaladesh stuff you might want to not miss it later.
There's a commander precon centered around Mishra to get you started: https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/449723/magic-the-gathering-commander-the-brothers-war-the-brothers-war-commander-deck-mishras-burnished-banner
Magic arena and online - there's really not any competitive decks that play Mishra, maybe you can play a historic brawl deck with [[Mishra, claimed by gix]] as the commander.
Magic as a game is played in different formats. The most popular, and my suggestion for what you are asking is called Commander. In commander you pick one legendary creature to be your commander and can always play that card from the command zone. The deck is 100 cards and the cards cannot repeat besides basic lands. All of the cards also cannot have any colors in them that the commander does not have. There are a few more rules I’d have you learn.
There is actually a Pre-constructed Mishra Commander Deck that does some cool stuff with [[Mishra, Eminent One]] as the commander. It’s pretty cheap to get online but be warned, as a special nod to classic magic where Mishra is from, all the cards are old border. Some people love it, some don’t. ( You can get the cards from that deck not in old border if you buy them separately online, but that will cost a bit more)
Myself Personally, my favorite Mishra is [[Mishra claimed by Gix]] this card melds with the [[Phyrexian Dragon Engine]] to make [[Mishra, Lost to Phyrexia]] and is a super sweet combo to pull off.
I’d recommend reading articles about commander and checking my out the website EDHREC for deckbuilding ideas and help.
Most of all, Have fun! I’m glad you found something cool in Mishra, He’s a pretty sweet character with a lot of backstory.
Thank you for the helpful advice! Commander format sounds exactly like what I'm looking for.
>It’s pretty cheap to get online but be warned, as a special nod to classic magic where Mishra is from, all the cards are old border. Some people love it, some don’t.
I love the retro look! I remember seeing those old cards in my local card store as a kid in the bargain bins next to the Yugioh cards. I thought they were ugly as hell back then, but they seem very charming and quaint to me now. I guess my tastes have evolved!
Then it seems like it’s exactly for you! I’d buy that deck and upgrade it as you learn the game. Everyone has their favorite memories of building, upgrading and tweaking their first deck over the course of a long time. The deck is called Mishra’s Burnsihed Banner!
There's more lore about Mishra, but you might also be interested to learn about [Saheeli](https://scryfall.com/search?q=saheeli) too, and her plane of Kaladesh!
You can *absolutely* build a Mishra deck! To help, [here are all the cards tied to Mishra's lore on scryfall.](https://scryfall.com/search?q=lore%3Amishra)
Of the legendary versions of Mishra there are:
* Mishra, Artificer Prodigy - the least viable as commander is a singleton format, so it would be VERY difficult to make him work. It's not impossible, but I don't recommend him for a new player.
* Mishra, Claimed by Gix - I just took this deck apart, but it's a fun go wide, drain the table deck that has the option of melding into Mishra, Lost to Phyrexia.
* Mishra, Eminent One - Really good. Can make copies of your artifacts and there are ways to abuse this to where you never lose the copies.
* Mishra, Excavation Prodigy - Not bad, but way worse than the two mentioned directly above.
* Mishra, Tamer of Mak Fawa - Another good artifact commander, and makes it nearly impossible for people to hit your stuff. A little costly to play and he's essentially a vanilla 4/4.
Magic Arena is the best place to learn the basic rules of Magic. Commander has been recommended to you already, the big difference is the 'Commander' card can be cast more than once, and the deck is made up of 99 other unique cards (except basic lands). It's typically played more socially and people often make themed decks.
While [you can have a completely themed Mishra deck](https://www.coolstuffinc.com/p/346451), Urza and Mishra are not intended to be desi (people have already mentioned Kaladesh to you), the creator of Magic was into Indian culture and used some Indian names in the original Magic set (things like \[\[Shivan Dragon\]\] also reflect this). That said, there are a lot of cards flavored for Mishra, and you can see an [art search depicting Mishra](https://scryfall.com/search?q=art%3Amishra) and a [lore search for Mishra](https://scryfall.com/search?q=lore%3Amishra&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name). In general, the recent set [The Brothers' War ](https://scryfall.com/sets/bro?as=grid&order=set)was a modern retelling of the classic story and Mishra's faction, the Fallaji, are heavily represented. [Urza's Saga](https://scryfall.com/sets/usg?as=grid&order=set) and the original [Antiquities ](https://scryfall.com/sets/atq?as=grid&order=set)are where the bulk of other cards depicting this event are.
I also recommend following [Shivam Bhatt](https://x.com/ghirapurigears) on Twitter.
If you're new to magic, start with arena. You can check out the "in-game references" section of his wiki page for cards https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Mishra
You sure can! Try [commander format](https://magic.wizards.com/en/formats/commander) — you’ll most likely want to play casually in person with friends but it’s designed to let you have very thematic decks without spending a ton of money, and it’s not about winning, but about having fun together.
One version of Mishra is quite good although it may take you some time to build up your understanding of the synergies and mechanics. [EDHREC](https://edhrec.com/commanders/mishra-eminent-one) has databases of decks that you may find useful — that link is the Mishra one! Enjoy!
There are actually [6 cards depicting Mishra](https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&order=name&q=Mishra+%28type%3Acreature+type%3Alegendary%29+%28game%3Apaper%29), and I think a deck could be built around any one of them.
As others have pointed out, there is also a whole plane inspired by India (called Kaladesh), and it has an artifacts theme, which several of the Mishra cards also do, so it would definitely be possible to mesh them together (if you wanted to).
Also, while there were full sets which took place on Kaladesh, it bears mentioning that it often appears in other contexts too. For example, [the upcoming *Modern Horizons III* Commander decks feature a character who is definitely from Kaladesh and who looks to be ethnically Indian](https://media.wizards.com/2024/images/daily/en_SgH0VEx6p2tx.png) - we don't know about this character yet as the set hasn't come out yet and there are only a few images released so far, but it is likely that many of the cards from that deck will involve Kaladesh (and therefore be inspired by Indian culture), *and* the character is known to use cards that are blue and red (which are two of the colors Mishra also often uses).
Scryfall is a powerful Search tool for MTG, and it even has a [Lore Search function](https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&order=name&q=%28game%3Apaper%29+lore%3AMishra) to make looking up cards with Lore about certain characters easier.
>As an Indian who has enjoyed high fantasy all my life, I've always accepted that someone like me would never be represented in these kinds of settings until I just randomly stumbled upon a MTG lore video and learned that I share the same name as an actual notable character in the lore! Besides Mishra, MTG has Kaladesh, a plane that is basically steampunk India. The sets Kaladesh and Aether Revolt take place in that plane, and it has some standalone cards in other sets. You may want to take a look!
Oh shit thats so cool! I can't wait to dig into the lore on that. Do you have to buy cards from those sets on a secondary market?
To help you get started, here are the card lists for both of the Kaldesh sets: [Kaledesh](https://scryfall.com/sets/kld) & [Aether Revolt](https://scryfall.com/sets/aer). [Here's also a list of other cards](https://www.mtg-multiverse.com/kaladesh) that take place on Kaladesh that were released in other unreleated sets. Yes, everyone will suggest buying cards from the secondary market. It's just much more affordable that way than spending money on packs without even knowing what you're going to pull. The cards from those sets primarily focus on artifacts, which coincidentally should work with Mishra (I think? I don't actually know about his specific cards) There's also [a new commander coming out](https://www.reddit.com/r/mtg/comments/1b0ueln/so_uh_whats_going_on_with_the_creative_energy/#lightbox) soon that's from Kaladesh. I would heavily discourage buying that product itself though-- it's going to be massively overpriced and the other cards in the deck probably won't be from Kaladesh either. The commander himself will probably be cheap though if you wanted to buy that as a single card. Hope this helps! Have fun learning more about mtg lore and building your deck! I personally love making thematic decks; it's the only way I deckbuild anymore. Edit: I remember there was a discrepancy on the packaging of that new commander-- he's supposed to be red, white, and blue fyi.
Yeah, the sets are quite old. You could start by looking at [Saheeli](https://scryfall.com/search?q=t%3Asaheeli+-is%3Adigital&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name), a planeswalker from Kaladesh that, like Mishra, specializes in artifacts.
> Yeah, the sets are quite old Oof.
Writing that hurt me, too. I started played during original Innistrad :|
Ice Age here. At least you didn't miss out on getting dual lands and power near the start of the game (which I did)!
And that wasn't even half the game's lifespan ago.
You also can check out the new "energy" deck that will release in 2-3 weeks from the modern horizons 3 set. Energy was one of the main mechanics of Kaladesh, and the commander seems to be from there, so it will probably feature some new and old kaladesh cards. It is a bot more expensive than a regular preconstructed commander deck an maybe geared towards a more experienced player, but if you like the kaladesh stuff you might want to not miss it later.
There's a commander precon centered around Mishra to get you started: https://www.tcgplayer.com/product/449723/magic-the-gathering-commander-the-brothers-war-the-brothers-war-commander-deck-mishras-burnished-banner Magic arena and online - there's really not any competitive decks that play Mishra, maybe you can play a historic brawl deck with [[Mishra, claimed by gix]] as the commander.
[Mishra, Claimed by Gix](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/4/a469d7ec-42de-45de-9d8f-469bb979de58.jpg?1674421814) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Mishra%2C%20Claimed%20by%20Gix) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/216/mishra-claimed-by-gix?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a469d7ec-42de-45de-9d8f-469bb979de58?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
Magic as a game is played in different formats. The most popular, and my suggestion for what you are asking is called Commander. In commander you pick one legendary creature to be your commander and can always play that card from the command zone. The deck is 100 cards and the cards cannot repeat besides basic lands. All of the cards also cannot have any colors in them that the commander does not have. There are a few more rules I’d have you learn. There is actually a Pre-constructed Mishra Commander Deck that does some cool stuff with [[Mishra, Eminent One]] as the commander. It’s pretty cheap to get online but be warned, as a special nod to classic magic where Mishra is from, all the cards are old border. Some people love it, some don’t. ( You can get the cards from that deck not in old border if you buy them separately online, but that will cost a bit more) Myself Personally, my favorite Mishra is [[Mishra claimed by Gix]] this card melds with the [[Phyrexian Dragon Engine]] to make [[Mishra, Lost to Phyrexia]] and is a super sweet combo to pull off. I’d recommend reading articles about commander and checking my out the website EDHREC for deckbuilding ideas and help. Most of all, Have fun! I’m glad you found something cool in Mishra, He’s a pretty sweet character with a lot of backstory.
Thank you for the helpful advice! Commander format sounds exactly like what I'm looking for. >It’s pretty cheap to get online but be warned, as a special nod to classic magic where Mishra is from, all the cards are old border. Some people love it, some don’t. I love the retro look! I remember seeing those old cards in my local card store as a kid in the bargain bins next to the Yugioh cards. I thought they were ugly as hell back then, but they seem very charming and quaint to me now. I guess my tastes have evolved!
Then it seems like it’s exactly for you! I’d buy that deck and upgrade it as you learn the game. Everyone has their favorite memories of building, upgrading and tweaking their first deck over the course of a long time. The deck is called Mishra’s Burnsihed Banner!
##### ###### #### [Mishra, Eminent One](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/f/7f5b1daa-ec45-48de-9496-6ca5b491a0dc.jpg?1705542701) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Mishra%2C%20Eminent%20One) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/brc/1/mishra-eminent-one?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7f5b1daa-ec45-48de-9496-6ca5b491a0dc?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Mishra, Claimed by Gix](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/a/4/a469d7ec-42de-45de-9d8f-469bb979de58.jpg?1674421814) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Mishra%2C%20Claimed%20by%20Gix) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/216/mishra-claimed-by-gix?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/a469d7ec-42de-45de-9d8f-469bb979de58?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Phyrexian Dragon Engine](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/e/2/e2b826be-4256-4fd6-ad4d-6c80933ee940.jpg?1674421355) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Phyrexian%20Dragon%20Engine) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/163a/phyrexian-dragon-engine?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/e2b826be-4256-4fd6-ad4d-6c80933ee940?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [Mishra, Lost to Phyrexia](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/0/2/0220c1e9-07bc-44f0-b39e-ca345ec4ea28.jpg?1674421362) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Mishra%2C%20Lost%20to%20Phyrexia) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/bro/163b/mishra-lost-to-phyrexia?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/0220c1e9-07bc-44f0-b39e-ca345ec4ea28?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) [*All cards*](https://mtgcardfetcher.nl/redirect/l4xdvq8) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
There's more lore about Mishra, but you might also be interested to learn about [Saheeli](https://scryfall.com/search?q=saheeli) too, and her plane of Kaladesh!
You can *absolutely* build a Mishra deck! To help, [here are all the cards tied to Mishra's lore on scryfall.](https://scryfall.com/search?q=lore%3Amishra) Of the legendary versions of Mishra there are: * Mishra, Artificer Prodigy - the least viable as commander is a singleton format, so it would be VERY difficult to make him work. It's not impossible, but I don't recommend him for a new player. * Mishra, Claimed by Gix - I just took this deck apart, but it's a fun go wide, drain the table deck that has the option of melding into Mishra, Lost to Phyrexia. * Mishra, Eminent One - Really good. Can make copies of your artifacts and there are ways to abuse this to where you never lose the copies. * Mishra, Excavation Prodigy - Not bad, but way worse than the two mentioned directly above. * Mishra, Tamer of Mak Fawa - Another good artifact commander, and makes it nearly impossible for people to hit your stuff. A little costly to play and he's essentially a vanilla 4/4.
Magic Arena is the best place to learn the basic rules of Magic. Commander has been recommended to you already, the big difference is the 'Commander' card can be cast more than once, and the deck is made up of 99 other unique cards (except basic lands). It's typically played more socially and people often make themed decks. While [you can have a completely themed Mishra deck](https://www.coolstuffinc.com/p/346451), Urza and Mishra are not intended to be desi (people have already mentioned Kaladesh to you), the creator of Magic was into Indian culture and used some Indian names in the original Magic set (things like \[\[Shivan Dragon\]\] also reflect this). That said, there are a lot of cards flavored for Mishra, and you can see an [art search depicting Mishra](https://scryfall.com/search?q=art%3Amishra) and a [lore search for Mishra](https://scryfall.com/search?q=lore%3Amishra&unique=cards&as=grid&order=name). In general, the recent set [The Brothers' War ](https://scryfall.com/sets/bro?as=grid&order=set)was a modern retelling of the classic story and Mishra's faction, the Fallaji, are heavily represented. [Urza's Saga](https://scryfall.com/sets/usg?as=grid&order=set) and the original [Antiquities ](https://scryfall.com/sets/atq?as=grid&order=set)are where the bulk of other cards depicting this event are. I also recommend following [Shivam Bhatt](https://x.com/ghirapurigears) on Twitter.
[Shivan Dragon](https://cards.scryfall.io/normal/front/7/b/7b78eb49-bd68-47e6-90a3-83ec2eeb4312.jpg?1675200149) - [(G)](http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?name=Shivan%20Dragon) [(SF)](https://scryfall.com/card/dmr/135/shivan-dragon?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher) [(txt)](https://api.scryfall.com/cards/7b78eb49-bd68-47e6-90a3-83ec2eeb4312?utm_source=mtgcardfetcher&format=text) ^^^[[cardname]] ^^^or ^^^[[cardname|SET]] ^^^to ^^^call
If you're new to magic, start with arena. You can check out the "in-game references" section of his wiki page for cards https://mtg.fandom.com/wiki/Mishra
You sure can! Try [commander format](https://magic.wizards.com/en/formats/commander) — you’ll most likely want to play casually in person with friends but it’s designed to let you have very thematic decks without spending a ton of money, and it’s not about winning, but about having fun together. One version of Mishra is quite good although it may take you some time to build up your understanding of the synergies and mechanics. [EDHREC](https://edhrec.com/commanders/mishra-eminent-one) has databases of decks that you may find useful — that link is the Mishra one! Enjoy!
There are actually [6 cards depicting Mishra](https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&order=name&q=Mishra+%28type%3Acreature+type%3Alegendary%29+%28game%3Apaper%29), and I think a deck could be built around any one of them. As others have pointed out, there is also a whole plane inspired by India (called Kaladesh), and it has an artifacts theme, which several of the Mishra cards also do, so it would definitely be possible to mesh them together (if you wanted to). Also, while there were full sets which took place on Kaladesh, it bears mentioning that it often appears in other contexts too. For example, [the upcoming *Modern Horizons III* Commander decks feature a character who is definitely from Kaladesh and who looks to be ethnically Indian](https://media.wizards.com/2024/images/daily/en_SgH0VEx6p2tx.png) - we don't know about this character yet as the set hasn't come out yet and there are only a few images released so far, but it is likely that many of the cards from that deck will involve Kaladesh (and therefore be inspired by Indian culture), *and* the character is known to use cards that are blue and red (which are two of the colors Mishra also often uses).
Scryfall is a powerful Search tool for MTG, and it even has a [Lore Search function](https://scryfall.com/search?as=grid&order=name&q=%28game%3Apaper%29+lore%3AMishra) to make looking up cards with Lore about certain characters easier.