Haunting Imitation
Sorcery
Each player reveals the top card of their library. For each creature card revealed this way, create a token that's a copy of that card, except it's 1/1, it's a Spirit in addition to its other types, and it has flying. If no creature cards were revealed this way, return Haunting Imitation to its owner's hand.
- CMC
- 3
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- U
- Rarity
- rare
- Set
- Crimson Vow Commander
- Price
- $0.31
- EDHREC rank
- #14394
Haunting Imitation creates a 1/1 Spirit token copy of the top creature card in each opponent's library — generating three bodies in a four-player pod for a single enchantment. Three mana to cast and it keeps triggering whenever a Spirit you control dies, making it a continuous token engine rather than a one-shot effect. Millicent, Restless Revenant decks run it because every token feeds her attack trigger, and every death feeds Haunting Imitation right back.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Millicent, Restless Revenant
Millicent, Restless Revenant gets a token whenever a non-Spirit creature dies while you control a Spirit, and Haunting Imitation supplies a stream of Spirit tokens while simultaneously checking opponents' libraries — each token that trades in combat primes both engines at once, creating a self-reinforcing loop that fills the board faster than almost any other single enchantment in the archetype.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | not legal |
| pioneer | not legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Haunting Imitation is a Commander card through and through — the multi-opponent design is baked into the text, and three or four players means three or four free tokens on a single casting. In Legacy and Vintage it's technically legal but has no competitive presence; those formats aren't interested in a three-mana enchantment that makes 1/1s. Oathbreaker is where it could see fringe play alongside a Spirit-tribal signature spell package. Outside Commander, shelve it.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Price Context
Current price
$0.31 bulk tier
At $0.31, Haunting Imitation sits firmly in bulk territory — you're picking it up as an afterthought in a trade binder or a $5 bundle. Bulk enchantments with narrow tribal homes rarely climb unless the archetype gets a pushed new commander, so treat it as a cheap slot-filler rather than a spec target.
Explore
Sources
Mentioned
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.