Progenitor Mimic
Creature — Shapeshifter
You may have this creature enter as a copy of any creature on the battlefield, except it has "At the beginning of your upkeep, if this creature isn't a token, create a token that's a copy of this creature."
- CMC
- 6
- Mana cost
- Color identity
- GU
- Rarity
- mythic
- Set
- Pioneer Masters
- Price
- —
- EDHREC rank
- #5087
Progenitor Mimic copies your best creature and then makes a free additional copy of it every upkeep — the longer it stays in play, the more it snowballs. Six mana is real, but in token-doubling shells like Adrix and Nev, Twincasters, each trigger becomes two, and a Biovisionary on the field turns the whole engine into a four-copy win condition.
Best Commanders
Commanders with the highest synergy
Adrix and Nev, Twincasters
Adrix and Nev, Twincasters doubles every token Progenitor Mimic produces, so each upkeep trigger becomes two copies instead of one — the exponential curve gets out of hand within two or three turns.
Riku of Two Reflections
Riku of Two Reflections can copy Progenitor Mimic on cast, putting two independent clone-engines on the battlefield and multiplying the upkeep triggers across two different target creatures.
Volrath, the Shapestealer
Volrath, the Shapestealer and Progenitor Mimic occupy the same design space — both want the best creature on any battlefield — and running both means redundancy on the copy effect plus Volrath's -1/-1 counter synergies riding on every resulting token.
Círdan the Shipwright
Círdan the Shipwright's consistent card draw helps find Progenitor Mimic early, and the Elf Shipwright tokens it can generate become replication targets once Progenitor Mimic enters play.
Volo, Guide to Monsters
Volo, Guide to Monsters rewards creature-type diversity, and Progenitor Mimic's shapeshifting means it enters as a new creature type almost every game, reliably triggering Volo's copy effect on cast.
Format Analysis
Where it lives, where it can’t
| Format | Verdict |
|---|---|
| commander | legal |
| legacy | legal |
| modern | legal |
| pioneer | legal |
| standard | not legal |
| vintage | legal |
| pauper | not legal |
| oathbreaker | legal |
Commander is unambiguously where Progenitor Mimic belongs — games go long enough for the upkeep trigger to compound, and multiplayer boards are full of high-value targets worth copying repeatedly. In Modern and Pioneer it's legal but essentially unplayed; six mana for a do-nothing-until-your-next-upkeep creature doesn't survive the tempo demands of those formats. Legacy and Vintage have the same problem compounded by faster clocks and free interaction. Progenitor Mimic is a Commander card through and through: treat every other format listing as a technicality.
Key Combos
Combo lines featuring this card
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror BreakerProgenitor Mimic
Infinite ETB; Infinite LTB; Infinite death triggers
View on Commander Spellbook ↗Price Context
Current price
unknown tier
Pricing data for Progenitor Mimic isn't currently available here — check Scryfall or TCGPlayer for live market prices before buying. It has seen multiple printings, so copies are generally accessible; condition and edition will be the main price variables.
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Sources
Updated . Data from Scryfall, EDHREC, and Commander Spellbook.