In August 2021 a secret lair came out with a number of Kamigawa cards. One of these cards was Michiko Konda, Truth Seeker. I really like the new art of it, enough to make me want to build a deck with Michiko at the helm. I am also eager to put together a list that is not as strong as Sythis, Harvest's Hand or Feather the Redeemed to fill in a power level void, and I have been playing mono white before (Atalya, Samite Master). That deck was playing the grindy long game with lifegain synergies and mana/lifegain doublers for powerful plays. It was generally well-liked by me and my opponents .
Michiko is a bit different. She does not promote lifegain in any way, so what route to take with her? Forcing a lifegain package in the deck does not seem right. The first thing that came to my mind when I looked at her was the Monarch mechanic. She deters attackers (especially early on) so I can be the monarch for a longer period of time. A bit later in the game, if an opponent steals the monarch token, it might not be the end of the world. As long as people are not focused on me slowly building up my board I should be sort of alright with it. I am playing a bunch of endgame fliers who can steal the monarchy back as well.
I feel like I should make her a little bit staxier and pillowfortier. Do other people have any recommendations, or a wildly different take on Michiko? I think the biggest problem that the deck (and mono white in general has) is a lack of solid win conditions. You can of course include things like Heliod, Sun-Crowned and Walking Ballista, but I would rather not go into that direction.
This is the current iteration of the deck. Been testing it a bit online. I put it together based on my own experience and this helpful mono white list by toctheyounger (viewtopic.php?t=379):
Michiko, Truth Seeker
Approximate Total Cost: