At a glance
- Format: Brawl (100-card)
- Commander: Mikey & Leo, Chaos & Order
- Colors: White / Green (WG)
- Archetype: Selesnya tokens/+1+1 counters midrange
- Power tier: mid-high
- Competitive Brawl: ✅ Legal
Strategy
Mikey & Leo turns Selesnya go-wide into a card-advantage engine: the first time each turn you put a counter on a creature you control, you draw a card. The build now leans hard on Avatar earthbend, which the engine loves — every earthbend animates a land into a 0/0 creature AND drops +1/+1 counters on it, so each one is simultaneously RAMP, an evasive body, and a guaranteed draw trigger. Badgermole Cub is the keystone two-drop (earthbend 1 for the draw, then doubles every creature-tapped-for-mana into extra green), with Toph, The Boulder, Earthbender Ascension, Earthbending Lesson, Ba Sing Se, and Sandbenders’ Storm all feeding the same loop. Llanowar Elves and Druid of the Cowl get the engine online a turn early. “Counter everyone” payoffs — United Front, The Crystal’s Chosen, Germination Practicum, Southern Air Temple, Synchronized Charge, Case of the Trampled Garden, Mighty Mutanimals, Good-Fortune Unicorn — blanket the squad while triggering the draw, and Trade Route Envoy, Inspiring Commander, Inspiring Overseer, Colossal Majesty, and Garruk’s Uprising keep cards flowing. Interaction is deep for budget Brawl: Swords to Plowshares (off Emeritus of Truce), Stroke of Midnight, Detention Chariot, White Auracite, Zuko’s Exile, and the counter-fight spells Felling Blow / Knockout Maneuver / Sandbenders’ Storm double as removal AND engine triggers. Cheap counter-instants Snakeskin Veil, Stony Strength, Saved by the Shell, and Origin of Metalbending protect a key creature, fight through a sweeper, and bank a card off the commander all at once. Curve out, ramp on lands-that-are-creatures, go wide, counter up, and let the commander draw you out of any grind.
Upgrade path
LAND REVAMP 2026-07-11: manabase rebuilt to kill taplands (cut guildgates/temples/gainlands); now runs shock + verge (+painland in Brawl) untapped duals + basics. ZERO rare/mythic SPELL crafts. Every rare/mythic in the 99 is already OWNED: United Front (mythic own1), Germination Practicum, Agent Bishop, Leonin Warleader, Regal Caracal, Inspiring Commander, Emeritus of Truce // Swords to Plowshares, Earthbender Ascension (rare own3), Badgermole Cub (mythic own3), Anafenza (rare own1), plus the rare lands. Commander Mikey & Leo is a rare but owned (own1). The ONLY crafted card remains the approved shock Temple Garden (1 rare wildcard) — no other unowned rares added; validated against data/mtga.db: all 99 own>=1 except Temple Garden, all color identity subset of WG, all brawl-legal, singleton clean, exactly 99 + commander. This refinement swapped 12 weak/redundant cards for the undervalued earthbend ramp/payoff suite plus cheap protective counter-instants (and added Anafenza to round to 99): OUT Tend the Sprigs, Shared Roots, Cloudbound Moogle, Apothecary Stomper, Action News Crew, Dalkovan Packbeasts, Battle Menu, Unforgiving Aim, Hop to It, Earth Rumble, Triplicate Spirits, Spiritcall Enthusiast // Scrollboost; IN Badgermole Cub, Toph the Blind Bandit, The Boulder Ready to Rumble, Earthbender Ascension, Earthbending Lesson, Llanowar Elves, Druid of the Cowl, Snakeskin Veil, Stony Strength, Saved by the Shell, Origin of Metalbending, Prishe’s Wanderings, Anafenza Unyielding Lineage. Manabase unchanged (8 taplands; Ba Sing Se doubles as an earthbend engine). Future lane: craft fast untapped duals to trim taplands.
Cards
Decklist
Paste straight into MTG Arena (or Moxfield/Archidekt):
Commander
1 Mikey & Leo, Chaos & Order
Deck
1 Arcane Signet
1 Mind Stone
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Druid of the Cowl
1 Good-Fortune Unicorn
1 Badgermole Cub
1 United Front
1 The Crystal's Chosen
1 Germination Practicum
1 Southern Air Temple
1 Synchronized Charge
1 Case of the Trampled Garden
1 Earth Kingdom Soldier
1 Agent Bishop, Man in Black
1 Loxodon Battle Priest
1 Jeong Jeong's Deserters
1 Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage
1 Felidar Savior
1 Toph, the Blind Bandit
1 Trade Route Envoy
1 The Boulder, Ready to Rumble
1 Earth Kingdom General
1 Suki, Kyoshi Warrior
1 Leonin Warleader
1 Regal Caracal
1 Prideful Parent
1 Release the Dogs
1 Join the Dance
1 Clachan Festival
1 Evangel of Heliod
1 Mighty Mutanimals
1 Helpful Hunter
1 Inspiring Overseer
1 Inspiring Commander
1 Colossal Majesty
1 Garruk's Uprising
1 Earthbender Ascension
1 Emeritus of Truce
1 Stroke of Midnight
1 Zuko's Exile
1 Sandbenders' Storm
1 Snakeskin Veil
1 Stony Strength
1 Saved by the Shell
1 Origin of Metalbending
1 Pawpatch Formation
1 Prishe's Wanderings
1 Earthbending Lesson
1 Felling Blow
1 Knockout Maneuver
1 Detention Chariot
1 White Auracite
1 Ouroboroid
1 Delney, Streetwise Lookout
1 Elemental Bond
1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
1 The Earth King
1 Skyknight Squire
1 Command Tower
1 Hushwood Verge
1 Three Tree City
1 Abandoned Air Temple
1 Ba Sing Se
1 Temple Garden
1 Capital City
1 Starting Town
11 Forest
17 Plains
1 Elspeth, Storm Slayer
1 Innkeeper's Talent
1 Vizier of the Menagerie
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Banishing Light
Ideal build (upgrade target)
Ideal weaponizes Mikey & Leo’s draw-on-counter trigger with a real Selesnya counters+go-wide engine: Cathars’ Crusade and the counter doublers (Hardened Scales, Branching Evolution, Innkeeper’s Talent, Conclave Mentor, both Ozoliths, Bristly Bill) mean nearly every turn puts a counter down for a free card, while Adeline, Elspeth Sun’s Champion, Anointed Procession and Craterhoof convert the wide board into kills. Upgrades add premium mana dorks, real planeswalkers (Wandering Emperor, Elspeth Resplendent), a full removal suite (Swords, Get Lost, Skyclave Apparition), and an untapped GW manabase. Top craft priorities: Cathars’ Crusade (rare), Bristly Bill, Spine Sower (mythic), Elspeth, Sun’s Champion (mythic), Branching Evolution/Innkeeper’s Talent (rares), Craterhoof Behemoth (mythic).
Crafts to reach the ideal: 41 (7 mythic, 23 rare, 9 uncommon, 2 common)
- Mythic: Bristly Bill, Spine Sower, Craterhoof Behemoth, Elspeth Resplendent, Elspeth, Sun’s Champion, Season of Gathering, Sword of Forge and Frontier, The Wandering Emperor
- Rare: Adeline, Resplendent Cathar, Anointed Procession, Basri, Tomorrow’s Champion, Branching Evolution, Branchloft Pathway // Boulderloft Pathway, Brushland, Cathars’ Crusade, Fateful Absence, Felidar Retreat, Get Lost, Hardened Scales, Overgrown Farmland, Ozolith, the Shattered Spire, Prismatic Ending, Razorverge Thicket, Rishkar, Peema Renegade, Scattered Groves, Scute Swarm, Skyclave Apparition, Sunpetal Grove, The Ozolith, Unbreakable Formation, Welcoming Vampire
- Uncommon: Cankerbloom, Intangible Virtue, Kami of Whispered Hopes, Overrun, Paradise Druid, Renata, Called to the Hunt, Season of Growth, Trelasarra, Moon Dancer, Wildwood Scourge
- Common: Avacyn’s Pilgrim, Elvish Mystic
Full ideal list (paste into Arena):
Commander
1 Mikey & Leo, Chaos & Order
Deck
1 Llanowar Elves
1 Elvish Mystic
1 Birds of Paradise
1 Avacyn's Pilgrim
1 Paradise Druid
1 Arcane Signet
1 Mind Stone
1 Hardened Scales
1 Branching Evolution
1 Innkeeper's Talent
1 Conclave Mentor
1 Good-Fortune Unicorn
1 Bristly Bill, Spine Sower
1 Kami of Whispered Hopes
1 Ozolith, the Shattered Spire
1 The Ozolith
1 Cathars' Crusade
1 Adeline, Resplendent Cathar
1 Leonin Warleader
1 Regal Caracal
1 Evangel of Heliod
1 Mighty Mutanimals
1 Intangible Virtue
1 Anointed Procession
1 Felidar Retreat
1 Unbreakable Formation
1 Resolute Reinforcements
1 Invasion Reinforcements
1 Trelasarra, Moon Dancer
1 Anafenza, Unyielding Lineage
1 Rishkar, Peema Renegade
1 Renata, Called to the Hunt
1 The Earth King
1 Toph, the Blind Bandit
1 Felidar Savior
1 Delney, Streetwise Lookout
1 Scute Swarm
1 Wildwood Scourge
1 Colossal Majesty
1 Garruk's Uprising
1 Welcoming Vampire
1 Elemental Bond
1 Season of Growth
1 Elspeth, Sun's Champion
1 The Wandering Emperor
1 Elspeth Resplendent
1 Ajani, Caller of the Pride
1 Basri, Tomorrow's Champion
1 Season of Gathering
1 Craterhoof Behemoth
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Get Lost
1 Skyclave Apparition
1 Fateful Absence
1 Banishing Light
1 Prismatic Ending
1 Stroke of Midnight
1 Emeritus of Truce
1 Cankerbloom
1 Sword of Forge and Frontier
1 Case of the Trampled Garden
1 White Auracite
1 Overrun
1 Command Tower
1 Temple Garden
1 Razorverge Thicket
1 Brushland
1 Sunpetal Grove
1 Hushwood Verge
1 Branchloft Pathway
1 Three Tree City
1 Gathering Place
1 Scattered Groves
1 Overgrown Farmland
13 Forest
12 Plains
Card images & data via Scryfall.