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Cackling Counterpart

Instant

Create a token that's a copy of target creature you control.
Flashback {5}{U}{U} (You may cast this card from your graveyard for its flashback cost. Then exile it.)

CMC
3
Mana cost
{1}{U}{U}
Color identity
U
Rarity
rare
Set
Duskmourn: House of Horror Commander
Price
$0.32
EDHREC rank
#2912
Buy on TCGplayer
Cackling Counterpart card art
Cackling Counterpart puts a token copy of your best creature on the board at instant speed for three mana — that's the whole story. It earns its slot hardest in decks built around commanders like Hidetsugu and Kairi, where the enters-the-battlefield trigger is the engine, and it goes infinite with Dualcaster Mage the moment you cast it with the Mage in hand.

Best Commanders

Commanders with the highest synergy

01
Hidetsugu and Kairi

Hidetsugu and Kairi

68.9% of decks · synergy 0.67

Hidetsugu and Kairi triggers on dealing combat damage and on dying, so copying it with Cackling Counterpart gives you a second trigger machine at instant speed — cast it end of turn before your next attack and the value compounds immediately.

02
Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer

Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer

54.8% of decks · synergy 0.53

Brudiclad, Telchor Engineer turns every token into a copy of your best token, so Cackling Counterpart's creature token isn't just a one-off — it becomes a template that Brudiclad can replicate across your entire board on your next combat.

03
Sakashima of a Thousand FacesVial Smasher the Fierce

Sakashima of a Thousand Faces // Vial Smasher the Fierce

45.4% of decks · synergy 0.44

Sakashima of a Thousand Faces // Vial Smasher the Fierce lifts the legendary rule for your copies, which means Cackling Counterpart can duplicate your commander or any other legendary creature without forcing a sacrifice.

04
Cynette, Jelly Drover

Cynette, Jelly Drover

40.6% of decks · synergy 0.38

Cynette, Jelly Drover cares about tokens entering the battlefield, so every time Cackling Counterpart produces a creature token it directly feeds Cynette's ability — efficient payoff at three mana.

05
Adrix and Nev, Twincasters

Adrix and Nev, Twincasters

36.6% of decks · synergy 0.33

Adrix and Nev, Twincasters doubles every token you create, so Cackling Counterpart targeting a high-value creature immediately yields two tokens instead of one, making an already efficient spell twice as productive.

Format Analysis

Where it lives, where it can’t

FormatVerdict
commander legal
legacy legal
modern legal
pioneer not legal
standard not legal
vintage legal
pauper not legal
oathbreaker legal

Commander is where Cackling Counterpart does its real work — three mana at instant speed to copy an ETB creature or close out a game with the Dualcaster Mage loop is a genuine rate for 100-card singleton. In Legacy and Vintage it's legal but rarely played; the formats move too fast for a three-mana sorcery-speed-equivalent effect without an immediate game-winning payoff attached. Modern sees occasional fringe play in creature-value shells, but dedicated clone effects have better competition there. Cackling Counterpart is fundamentally a Commander card, and the numbers bear that out.

Key Combos

Combo lines featuring this card

237 decks
Kairi, the Swirling SkyHigh TideTurnaboutCackling Counterpart

Kairi, the Swirling SkyHigh TideTurnaboutCackling Counterpart

Infinite LTB; Infinite ETB; Infinite death triggers; Infinite self-mill; Infinite storm count; Infinite magecraft triggers; Infinite mana permanents you control can produce

View on Commander Spellbook ↗

Price Context

Current price

$0.32 bulk tier

At $0.32, Cackling Counterpart is bulk — you're picking it up as throw-in or out of a common box. Given its role in a popular infinite combo and its presence in thousands of Commander decks, that price is unlikely to climb significantly, but it's also a zero-hesitation include: the opportunity cost is nothing.

Explore

Sources

Mentioned

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Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.