NOTE: This deck has been retired from use as-of July 2014. No further updates to the list will be forthcoming.
Right away, this deck is not going to include any infinite combos at all, rather going for the "hand-cycling" approach to Niv. I’m aware of the merits of Curiosity, Mind Over Matter, and their ilk. I also understand it’s easy to win if you’re taking 1000 consecutive turns, or Mindslavering your opponents’ next 1000. They just aren’t what I want to be doing in a game. This deck has a good sized artifact base with some acceleration in there, and tries to reuse ETB effects with Deadeye Navigator & Crystal Shard.
I didn’t want the deck to be a one-trick pony. Yes, I’d like to take advantage of card drawing with Niv-Mizzet, but there will be times when he is not in play. I am however running several cards that are meant primarily to interact with my Commander. Charisma, while usually seen in Tibor and Lumia gives you a theft engine with Niv (and a reasonable win condition). The Grafted Exoskeleton cuts his damage requirements down by a ton, and usually serves as the primary road to victory. If you can't ride Niv to a victory on his own, you have a few good sized beaters to try to get there, such as Inkwell Leviathan and Kozilek, Butcher of Truth.
There are a good number of wizards present in here, which makes Azami, Lady of Scrolls a great draw engine in my opinion. It also gives you something to do with your Trinket Mage-level utility men after their initial etb effect. Remember that if you blink a creature with your Deadeye Navigator, it will come back onto the battlefield untapped, giving you another chance to draw off of an Azami activation.
Time Spiral is effectively 7 damage, but will also help keep me from over-drawing the deck along with Elixir of Immortality. Whirlpool Drake (and Warrior) gives me 7 damage now, and 7 later, so can act as a bit of a rattlesnake in that regard.
I’m running a pretty sizable group of mana rocks, which help both with Niv’s higher cmc, but also synergize well with Wildfire if I should draw it (which double as dork sweepers and mana disruption).
There are a few cards I really want to find room for in the deck as it currently sits. I think that a Spellskite would be excellent to protect Niv when he needs it. Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur would also create huge amounts of damage, but I think he may be a little too mana intensive.
I don’t know where my cuts should come from though. I’ve really not been entirely satisfied with Chain Reaction as a sweeper, so that is a possibility. With all of the card drawing going on, it also feels like I should only need one of either my Sensei's Divining Top or Crystal Ball.
Any comments or suggestions are always appreciated. Thanks for looking.
I finally got a few more of the regular hand-cycling staples for Niv lists, and I need to find room in there for them. I'd like to find room in there for Mindmoil and Whirlpool Warrior to give more punch to the deck.
I also got a nice textless Hinder and I think its finally time to put this gem in there.
Where does the public think these cuts should come from?
Going through my list, I think I may put up Viashino Heretic due to only having one activation/turn and no CitP ability, Coldsteel Heart due to the large number of cmc2 rocks I have, and Decree of Silence because of its higher cmc and because it can't be bounced with my Crystal Shard/Erratic Portal.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"I have seen the true path. I will not warm myself by the fire—I will become the flame."
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
Updated the decklist to be much closer to what I've been playing recently. I've added a Trinket Mage package, as well as some cheaper cost etb creatures. I added hand cycling and smaller, low-mana card drawing to help smooth the early game.
I've been pretty happy with the flexibility that I get with the trinket mage, and even though I took out the Kiki Jiki, I've still had plenty of chances to bounce the mage repeatedly. I like the Molten Disaster's split second option, since that lets me sweep through nearly any countermagic. The Brainstorm and Preordain have helped me a few times in the early going to stay on track, and I see them in the late game as ether a Lightning Bolt/Lava Dart that I fix my hand with also. Propaganda has helped a ton on the defensive end, and I'm really a little upset that I didn't find mine to put in there any sooner than I did.
I dont know how competitive you are but I have had a decklist of mine up for a while now that uses absolutely no infinite combo.
Im a little tired now but tomorrow ill probably look at your list in the morning for some ideas.
My deck is in my sig if you want to check it out.
Good Luck!
I just picked up a Snapcaster, so figured I should make use of it. That makes me want to include a few more spells to take advantage of, and Cryptic Command is one of the more versatile options out there.
While the Erratic Portal is a good option to allow me to abuse my ETB effects, the Deadeye Navigator lets me do that a bit more efficiently, as well as giving me another decent sized body for attacking with. I ultimately may decide to put the Portal back in my list, since it was a better defensive card, and if I do that then my likely swap would be for Mimic Vat. It's sooo good though...
Adding in a Riptide Laboratory helps me in several ways. I get a bit more utility out of my Snapcaster. I can protect my commander a little better by bouncing it back to my hand in a pinch. I also get to bounce back my Venser, Shaper Savant and Voidmage Husher for added counter effects, or bounce my Trinket Mage for some extra tutoring. Since the R-Lab doesn't produce colored mana, I added in the two artifact lands as additional Trinket Mage targets if necessary. An added bonus from this, is that I can now use my Tezzeret to ramp me a few times (both from searching for these lands directly, and through untapping them).
I'm considering replacing my Lorthos with a Frost Titan to lower the mana curve a little bit, and synergize a bit more with the Deadeye Navigator. I also want to find room in here for a Swerve now that my Willbender has left. And I've always wanted to try running a Flametongue Kavu...
EDIT: I like the new card spoiled from RtR, Cyclonic Rift, better than the Evacuation I had in this spot before. Cheaper initial casting cost, so I can use it early if need be, then it's a huge game-state swing if I can hang-on to it until the overload becomes a possibility.
I think the tomb should help to accelerate a little bit more, whereas the 'Edge tends to suggest the opposite. I rarely find myself wanting to nuke a land, so I doubt I'll miss the 'Edge.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"I have seen the true path. I will not warm myself by the fire—I will become the flame."
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
I'm also tempted to find a place for Keranos, God of Storms, but I think he's too expensive for what I want to be doing. But what if I ran him along with Thassa, God of the Sea...
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"I have seen the true path. I will not warm myself by the fire—I will become the flame."
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
Right away, this deck is not going to include any infinite combos at all, rather going for the "hand-cycling" approach to Niv. I’m aware of the merits of Curiosity, Mind Over Matter, and their ilk. I also understand it’s easy to win if you’re taking 1000 consecutive turns, or Mindslavering your opponents’ next 1000. They just aren’t what I want to be doing in a game. This deck has a good sized artifact base with some acceleration in there, and tries to reuse ETB effects with Deadeye Navigator & Crystal Shard.
The current decklist:
00 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
--Artifacts--
01 Coalition Relic
02 Coldsteel Heart
03 Darksteel Ingot
04 Gilded Lotus
05 Grim Monolith
06 Izzet Signet
07 Mana Crypt
08 Mana Vault
09 Mind Stone
10 Sol Ring
11 Voltaic Key
12 Crystal Shard
13 Darksteel Plate
14 Grafted Exoskeleton
15 Lightning Greaves
16 Mimic Vat
17 Phyrexian Metamorph
18 Pithing Needle
19 Sensei's Divining Top
20 Tormod's Crypt
--Enchantments--
21 Charisma
22 Future Sight
23 Mindmoil
24 Mystic Remora
25 Pemmin's Aura
26 Propaganda
--Instants and Sorceries--
27 Brainstorm
28 Cryptic Command
29 Cyclonic Rift
30 Desertion
31 Hinder
32 Long-Term Plans
33 Mana Drain
34 Pact of Negation
35 Reiterate
36 Shattering Pulse
37 Starstorm
38 Wild Ricochet
40 Preordain
41 Rite of Replication
42 Shattering Spree
43 Time Spiral
44 Wheel of Fortune
--Creatures--
45 Archaeomancer
46 Azami, Lady of Scrolls
47 Consecrated Sphinx
48 Deadeye Navigator
49 Glen Elendra Archmage
50 Inkwell Leviathan
51 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
52 Manic Vandal
53 Mulldrifter
54 Psychosis Crawler
55 Snapcaster Mage
56 Solemn Simulacrum
57 Spellskite
58 Trinket Mage
59 Venser, Shaper Savant
60 Voidmage Husher
61 Whirlpool Warrior
--Planeswalkers--
62 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
63 Tezzeret the Seeker
--Lands--
64 Academy Ruins
65 Ancient Tomb
66 Cascade Bluffs
67 Cephalid Coliseum
68 Command Tower
69 Desolate Lighthouse
70 Evolving Wilds
71 Great Furnace
72 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
73 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
74 Reliquary Tower
75 Riptide Laboratory
76 Scalding Tarn
77 Seat of the Synod
78 Steam Vents
79 Strip Mine
80 Sulfur Falls
81 Temple of Epiphany
82 Terramorphic Expanse
84 Island
85 Island
86 Island
87 Island
88 Island
89 Island
90 Island
91 Island
92 Island
93 Mountain
94 Mountain
95 Mountain
96 Mountain
97 Mountain
98 Mountain
99 Mountain
I didn’t want the deck to be a one-trick pony. Yes, I’d like to take advantage of card drawing with Niv-Mizzet, but there will be times when he is not in play. I am however running several cards that are meant primarily to interact with my Commander. Charisma, while usually seen in Tibor and Lumia gives you a theft engine with Niv (and a reasonable win condition). The Grafted Exoskeleton cuts his damage requirements down by a ton, and usually serves as the primary road to victory. If you can't ride Niv to a victory on his own, you have a few good sized beaters to try to get there, such as Inkwell Leviathan and Kozilek, Butcher of Truth.
There are a good number of wizards present in here, which makes Azami, Lady of Scrolls a great draw engine in my opinion. It also gives you something to do with your Trinket Mage-level utility men after their initial etb effect. Remember that if you blink a creature with your Deadeye Navigator, it will come back onto the battlefield untapped, giving you another chance to draw off of an Azami activation.
I’m running a pretty sizable group of mana rocks, which help both with Niv’s higher cmc, but also synergize well with Wildfire if I should draw it (which double as dork sweepers and mana disruption).
I have a few sizable beaters in addition to Niv in the deck. Like I mentioned, I may not always have Niv on the battlefield (maybe due to a tuck), so I wanted a plan B win condition. Hoard-Smelter Dragon, Inkwell Leviathan, Lorthos, the Tidemaker, and Kozilek, Butcher of Truth all fit that billing.
There are a few cards I really want to find room for in the deck as it currently sits. I think that a Spellskite would be excellent to protect Niv when he needs it. Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur would also create huge amounts of damage, but I think he may be a little too mana intensive.
I don’t know where my cuts should come from though. I’ve really not been entirely satisfied with Chain Reaction as a sweeper, so that is a possibility. With all of the card drawing going on, it also feels like I should only need one of either my Sensei's Divining Top or Crystal Ball.
Any comments or suggestions are always appreciated. Thanks for looking.
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
EDH/Commander
WWMichiko Konda, Truth Seeker Mono-White Control
RWBasandra, Battle Seraph Sunforger Shenanigans
GRWZacama Loam & Lands
Cube
Draft my "Classic Border Cube"
WUBRGCheck out some of my older lists and my Type4 Cube!GRBUW
I finally got a few more of the regular hand-cycling staples for Niv lists, and I need to find room in there for them. I'd like to find room in there for Mindmoil and Whirlpool Warrior to give more punch to the deck.
I also got a nice textless Hinder and I think its finally time to put this gem in there.
Where does the public think these cuts should come from?
Going through my list, I think I may put up Viashino Heretic due to only having one activation/turn and no CitP ability, Coldsteel Heart due to the large number of cmc2 rocks I have, and Decree of Silence because of its higher cmc and because it can't be bounced with my Crystal Shard/Erratic Portal.
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
EDH/Commander
WWMichiko Konda, Truth Seeker Mono-White Control
RWBasandra, Battle Seraph Sunforger Shenanigans
GRWZacama Loam & Lands
Cube
Draft my "Classic Border Cube"
WUBRGCheck out some of my older lists and my Type4 Cube!GRBUW
-Dreamstone Hedron, Worn Powerstone, Elixir of Immortality, Fire Diamond, Mind's Eye, Whispersilk Cloak, Rhystic Study, Destructive Force, Ingot Chewer, Viashino Heretic, Kiki Jiki, Mirror Breaker, Halimar Depths
+Tormod's Crypt, Pithing Needle, Trinket Mage, Manic Vandal, Whirlpool Warrior, Hinder, Brainstorm, Preordain, Molten Disaster, Mindmoil, Propaganda, Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
I've been pretty happy with the flexibility that I get with the trinket mage, and even though I took out the Kiki Jiki, I've still had plenty of chances to bounce the mage repeatedly. I like the Molten Disaster's split second option, since that lets me sweep through nearly any countermagic. The Brainstorm and Preordain have helped me a few times in the early going to stay on track, and I see them in the late game as ether a Lightning Bolt/Lava Dart that I fix my hand with also. Propaganda has helped a ton on the defensive end, and I'm really a little upset that I didn't find mine to put in there any sooner than I did.
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
EDH/Commander
WWMichiko Konda, Truth Seeker Mono-White Control
RWBasandra, Battle Seraph Sunforger Shenanigans
GRWZacama Loam & Lands
Cube
Draft my "Classic Border Cube"
WUBRGCheck out some of my older lists and my Type4 Cube!GRBUW
Im a little tired now but tomorrow ill probably look at your list in the morning for some ideas.
My deck is in my sig if you want to check it out.
Good Luck!
RBUThraximundarUBRRUNiv-Mizzet, the FiremindUR
BWGhost Council of OrzhovaWBWUBRGChild of AlaraGRBUW
WBRKaalia of the VastRBWGBSapling of ColfenorGB
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
EDH/Commander
WWMichiko Konda, Truth Seeker Mono-White Control
RWBasandra, Battle Seraph Sunforger Shenanigans
GRWZacama Loam & Lands
Cube
Draft my "Classic Border Cube"
WUBRGCheck out some of my older lists and my Type4 Cube!GRBUW
-Wildfire / +Pemmin's Aura
-Draining Whelk / +Spellskite
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
EDH/Commander
WWMichiko Konda, Truth Seeker Mono-White Control
RWBasandra, Battle Seraph Sunforger Shenanigans
GRWZacama Loam & Lands
Cube
Draft my "Classic Border Cube"
WUBRGCheck out some of my older lists and my Type4 Cube!GRBUW
Update:
- Vivid Creek, Vivid Crag / + Desolate Lighthouse, Shivan Reef
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
EDH/Commander
WWMichiko Konda, Truth Seeker Mono-White Control
RWBasandra, Battle Seraph Sunforger Shenanigans
GRWZacama Loam & Lands
Cube
Draft my "Classic Border Cube"
WUBRGCheck out some of my older lists and my Type4 Cube!GRBUW
-Willbender / +Snapcaster Mage
-Sky Diamond / +Cryptic Command
-Erratic Portal / +Deadeye Navigator
-Shivan Reef / +Riptide Laboratory
-Island, Mountain / +Seat of the Synod, Great Furnace
I just picked up a Snapcaster, so figured I should make use of it. That makes me want to include a few more spells to take advantage of, and Cryptic Command is one of the more versatile options out there.
While the Erratic Portal is a good option to allow me to abuse my ETB effects, the Deadeye Navigator lets me do that a bit more efficiently, as well as giving me another decent sized body for attacking with. I ultimately may decide to put the Portal back in my list, since it was a better defensive card, and if I do that then my likely swap would be for Mimic Vat. It's sooo good though...
Adding in a Riptide Laboratory helps me in several ways. I get a bit more utility out of my Snapcaster. I can protect my commander a little better by bouncing it back to my hand in a pinch. I also get to bounce back my Venser, Shaper Savant and Voidmage Husher for added counter effects, or bounce my Trinket Mage for some extra tutoring. Since the R-Lab doesn't produce colored mana, I added in the two artifact lands as additional Trinket Mage targets if necessary. An added bonus from this, is that I can now use my Tezzeret to ramp me a few times (both from searching for these lands directly, and through untapping them).
I'm considering replacing my Lorthos with a Frost Titan to lower the mana curve a little bit, and synergize a bit more with the Deadeye Navigator. I also want to find room in here for a Swerve now that my Willbender has left. And I've always wanted to try running a Flametongue Kavu...
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
EDH/Commander
WWMichiko Konda, Truth Seeker Mono-White Control
RWBasandra, Battle Seraph Sunforger Shenanigans
GRWZacama Loam & Lands
Cube
Draft my "Classic Border Cube"
WUBRGCheck out some of my older lists and my Type4 Cube!GRBUW
-Arcanis the Omnipotent / +Azami, Lady of Scrolls
-Hoard-Smelter Dragon / +Shattering Spree
-Insurrection / +Wheel of Fortune
-Soldevi Excavations / +Command Tower
-Basilisk Collar / +Darksteel Plate
-Everflowing Chalice / +Mana Crypt
-Izzet Chronarch / +Archaeomancer
-Mizzium Transreliquat / +Phyrexian Metamorph
-Lorthos, the Tidemaker / +Long-Term Plans
-Chain Reaction / +Cyclonic Rift
-Decree of Silence / +Mana Drain
-Crystal Ball / +Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Still looking for cuts...
+Chaos Warp
+Swerve
+Pact of Negation
+Izzet Keyrune
EDIT: I like the new card spoiled from RtR, Cyclonic Rift, better than the Evacuation I had in this spot before. Cheaper initial casting cost, so I can use it early if need be, then it's a huge game-state swing if I can hang-on to it until the overload becomes a possibility.
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
EDH/Commander
WWMichiko Konda, Truth Seeker Mono-White Control
RWBasandra, Battle Seraph Sunforger Shenanigans
GRWZacama Loam & Lands
Cube
Draft my "Classic Border Cube"
WUBRGCheck out some of my older lists and my Type4 Cube!GRBUW
Update:
-Whirlpool Drake / +Pact of Negation
-Tectonic Edge / +Ancient Tomb
I think the tomb should help to accelerate a little bit more, whereas the 'Edge tends to suggest the opposite. I rarely find myself wanting to nuke a land, so I doubt I'll miss the 'Edge.
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
EDH/Commander
WWMichiko Konda, Truth Seeker Mono-White Control
RWBasandra, Battle Seraph Sunforger Shenanigans
GRWZacama Loam & Lands
Cube
Draft my "Classic Border Cube"
WUBRGCheck out some of my older lists and my Type4 Cube!GRBUW
-Izzet Boilerworks / +Temple of Epiphany
I'm also tempted to find a place for Keranos, God of Storms, but I think he's too expensive for what I want to be doing. But what if I ran him along with Thassa, God of the Sea...
—Lim-Dul, the Necromancer
EDH/Commander
WWMichiko Konda, Truth Seeker Mono-White Control
RWBasandra, Battle Seraph Sunforger Shenanigans
GRWZacama Loam & Lands
Cube
Draft my "Classic Border Cube"
WUBRGCheck out some of my older lists and my Type4 Cube!GRBUW