UR"When the world is consumed by chaos, the skilled and the foolish are on equal footing."RU
We have all been in this situation at one point in time. You play an early Trinket Mage to get a Sol Ring or Sensei's Divining Top and everyone else's board has progressed slower than yours. Who do you attack with the Mage? You don't want to sit there twiddling your thumbs but you don't want to make an early enemy by constantly swinging at them, so what do you do? Roll a dice. Make it random, "1-2, 3-4, 5-6" /roll. A fair way of dealing early damage without appearing openly aggressive toward anyone.
Now what if every action were like that. Who takes the next turn? /Roll. Destroy Target Artifact? /Roll. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you my Political Chaos EDH Deck commanded by Nin, The Pain Artist.
The core theme of the deck has and always will be chaos. Grip of Chaos was the original card that I was attempting to fit into my Mayeel EDH deck but it did not have a place. So I decided to take my favorite two colors and cram every chaotic card I could in there.
The Big Cheese:
Originally I used Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind as my commander. This is why you will notice the "draw cards" subtheme that exists in the current version of the deck. However, after sitting down at an EDH pod one time, I was immediately targeted by one of the players after revealing our generals. His reasoning behind it was that since Niv-Mizzet was my commander, I would eventually enchant him with Curiosity and win the game and therefore had the biggest target on my head. It was then I decided to change Commanders to one who would allow me to sit quietly and not appear to be as aggressive as some of the other players at the table. Seeing as the Izzet Generals consist of a very finite selection, I opted for Tibor and Lumia. However, as unaggressive as they are, they really do nothing for my deck. It was then that the Commander decks released and introduced me to Nin, and she is a perfect fit for the deck.
The Chaos Effect:
So often are we trained in how to play good magic that we plan our turns often 3-4 turns ahead. This is what makes Timesifter, Teferi's Puzzle Box, Knowledge Pool, Omen Machine, and Confusion in the Ranks so great. Random turns, new hands every turn, not being able to play the spell you want, and creatures you play changing ownership immediately after entering the field are the very definitions of chaos in M:TG. It is so much fun to watch people fight over a Consecrated Sphinx with Confusion in the ranks]Confusion on the field or have a Lord of Extinction never be able to attack because it never loses summoning sickness. Braids, Conjurer Adept and Wild Evocation are cards that are politically subliminal. On the surface I am speeding up the game and giving everyone free spells every turn, but as always my deck is designed to take the greatest advantage of this interaction whereas my opponent's are not. There is nothing worse than having your win-cons destroyed by a vengeful Naturalize or Doom Blade. This is what makes Grip of Chaos so fun to have out. "Naturalize my Puzzle Box? Well let's see.../roll. Oops, you targeted your Sol Ring. Sad day." Warp World and Thieves Auction randomize the board state and are the reason why my deck only runs 6 non permanent spells.
"For if knowledge is power, than a GOD am I."
Every Blue Mage knows that knowledge is power and this deck has many ways to ensure that you see more spells than your opponents. Jace Beleren and Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded do a great job of digging deeper into your deck. The Four Sphinxes, Consecrated Sphinx, Sphinx of Lost Truths, Sphinx of Magosi, and Sphinx of Uthuun do their job of always ensure you have spells to cast while providing a powerful aerial assault. Howling Mine and Font of Mythos provide us with extra cards per turn to fuel the Archmage Ascension so that we may tutor some win-cons. Azami, Lady of Scrolls does not excel in this deck as there is no wizard tribal theme, however she does allow us to gain additional usage out of cards like Braids, Conjuror Adept and Sower of Temptation and that is enough to justify her investment. Aside from the two cycle lands, Desolate Lighthouse provides with draw when we can't find the more powerful cards and Reliquary Tower (which is the art on my playmat btw) ensures that we can don't have to discard any of the juicy spells we've drawn.
"Just when you thought you'd survived the first wave"
Draw a lot of cards, check. Cause rampant amounts of chaos, check. The only thing left to do is win the game. The most common way to win is to either draw into or tutor the Pestermite/Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker/Deceiver Exarch/Splinter Twin combo. If you get the pieces early it easy to secure a quick win while everyone else is still setting up their board. Late game you just have to ensure that the coast is clear to prevent from getting shut out. Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Psychosis Crawler allow you to turn all the deck's card draw into lethal damage. The last and least flashy way to win is to get a Stormtide Leviathan into play and simply turn dudes sideways with your powerful air force.
I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading my take on the Izzet EDH deck.
Any cards that you think should go in the deck or do not belong in the deck? Tell me! I welcome the discussion that hopefully will make this the most feared deck in my EDH group.
We have all been in this situation at one point in time. You play an early Trinket Mage to get a Sol Ring or Sensei's Divining Top and everyone else's board has progressed slower than yours. Who do you attack with the Mage? You don't want to sit there twiddling your thumbs but you don't want to make an early enemy by constantly swinging at them, so what do you do? Roll a dice. Make it random, "1-2, 3-4, 5-6" /roll. A fair way of dealing early damage without appearing openly aggressive toward anyone.
Now what if every action were like that. Who takes the next turn? /Roll. Destroy Target Artifact? /Roll. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present you my Political Chaos EDH Deck commanded by Nin, The Pain Artist.
100 Nin, the Pain Artist
Creatures
001 Arcanis the Omnipotent
002 Azami, Lady of Scrolls
003 Balefire Dragon
004 Bogardan Hellkite
005 Braids, Conjurer Adept
006 Capricious Efreet
007 Consecrated Sphinx
008 Deceiver Exarch
009 Djinn of Wishes
010 Dominus of Fealty
011 Duplicant
012 Empress Galina
013 Frost Titan
014 Inferno Titan
015 Keiga, the Tide Star
016 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
017 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
018 Mindwrack Liege
019 Mulldrifter
020 Niv-Mizzet, The Firemind
021 Pestermite
022 Phyrexian Metamorph
023 Psychosis Crawler
024 Sower of Temptation
025 Spellbound Dragon
026 Sphinx of Lost Truths
027 Sphinx of Magosi
028 Sphinx of Uthuun
029 Stormtide Leviathan
030 Basalt Monolith
031 Eternity Vessel
032 Font of Mythos
033 Howling Mine
034 Izzet Signet
035 Knowledge Pool
036 Nevinyrral's Disk
037 Oblivion Stone
038 Omen Machine
039 Sensei's Divining Top
040 Sol Ring
041 Teferi's Puzzle Box
042 Timesifter
Enchantments
043 Archmage Ascension
044 Confusion in the Ranks
045 Grip of Chaos
046 Leyline of Singularity
047 Mind Unbound
048 Omniscience
049 Propaganda
050 Rhystic Study
051 Splinter Twin
052 Treachery
053 Wild Evocation
Spells
054 Bribery
055 Evacuation
056 Fact or Fiction
057 Thieves' Auction
058 Time Warp
059 Warp World
060 Jace Beleren
061 Karn Liberated
062 Tibalt, the Fiend Blooded
Land
063 Academy Ruins
064 Desolate Lighthouse
065 Evolving Wilds
066 Faerie Conclave
067 Forgotten Cave
068 Izzet Boilerworks
069 Lonely Sandbar
070 Maze of Ith
071 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
072 Reliquary Tower
073 Sulfur Falls
074 Terramorphic Expanse
075 Tolaria West
076 Vivid Crag
077 Vivid Creek
11 Island
11 Mountain
The core theme of the deck has and always will be chaos. Grip of Chaos was the original card that I was attempting to fit into my Mayeel EDH deck but it did not have a place. So I decided to take my favorite two colors and cram every chaotic card I could in there.
The Big Cheese:
Originally I used Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind as my commander. This is why you will notice the "draw cards" subtheme that exists in the current version of the deck. However, after sitting down at an EDH pod one time, I was immediately targeted by one of the players after revealing our generals. His reasoning behind it was that since Niv-Mizzet was my commander, I would eventually enchant him with Curiosity and win the game and therefore had the biggest target on my head. It was then I decided to change Commanders to one who would allow me to sit quietly and not appear to be as aggressive as some of the other players at the table. Seeing as the Izzet Generals consist of a very finite selection, I opted for Tibor and Lumia. However, as unaggressive as they are, they really do nothing for my deck. It was then that the Commander decks released and introduced me to Nin, and she is a perfect fit for the deck.
The Chaos Effect:
So often are we trained in how to play good magic that we plan our turns often 3-4 turns ahead. This is what makes Timesifter, Teferi's Puzzle Box, Knowledge Pool, Omen Machine, and Confusion in the Ranks so great. Random turns, new hands every turn, not being able to play the spell you want, and creatures you play changing ownership immediately after entering the field are the very definitions of chaos in M:TG. It is so much fun to watch people fight over a Consecrated Sphinx with Confusion in the ranks]Confusion on the field or have a Lord of Extinction never be able to attack because it never loses summoning sickness. Braids, Conjurer Adept and Wild Evocation are cards that are politically subliminal. On the surface I am speeding up the game and giving everyone free spells every turn, but as always my deck is designed to take the greatest advantage of this interaction whereas my opponent's are not. There is nothing worse than having your win-cons destroyed by a vengeful Naturalize or Doom Blade. This is what makes Grip of Chaos so fun to have out. "Naturalize my Puzzle Box? Well let's see.../roll. Oops, you targeted your Sol Ring. Sad day." Warp World and Thieves Auction randomize the board state and are the reason why my deck only runs 6 non permanent spells.
All Your Permanents Are Belong To Me:
There is no greater feeling than using your opponent's resources against them to ensure your victory. Leyline of Singularity + Empress Galina = I control all the things. Sower of Temptation, Dominus of Fealty, Keiga, the Tide Star, and Treachery outright steal all of their creatures while Pyrexian Metamorph copies their scary dudes or really cool artifacts.
"For if knowledge is power, than a GOD am I."
Every Blue Mage knows that knowledge is power and this deck has many ways to ensure that you see more spells than your opponents. Jace Beleren and Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded do a great job of digging deeper into your deck. The Four Sphinxes, Consecrated Sphinx, Sphinx of Lost Truths, Sphinx of Magosi, and Sphinx of Uthuun do their job of always ensure you have spells to cast while providing a powerful aerial assault. Howling Mine and Font of Mythos provide us with extra cards per turn to fuel the Archmage Ascension so that we may tutor some win-cons. Azami, Lady of Scrolls does not excel in this deck as there is no wizard tribal theme, however she does allow us to gain additional usage out of cards like Braids, Conjuror Adept and Sower of Temptation and that is enough to justify her investment. Aside from the two cycle lands, Desolate Lighthouse provides with draw when we can't find the more powerful cards and Reliquary Tower (which is the art on my playmat btw) ensures that we can don't have to discard any of the juicy spells we've drawn.
"Just when you thought you'd survived the first wave"
Draw a lot of cards, check. Cause rampant amounts of chaos, check. The only thing left to do is win the game. The most common way to win is to either draw into or tutor the Pestermite/Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker/Deceiver Exarch/Splinter Twin combo. If you get the pieces early it easy to secure a quick win while everyone else is still setting up their board. Late game you just have to ensure that the coast is clear to prevent from getting shut out. Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Psychosis Crawler allow you to turn all the deck's card draw into lethal damage. The last and least flashy way to win is to get a Stormtide Leviathan into play and simply turn dudes sideways with your powerful air force.
I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading my take on the Izzet EDH deck.
Any cards that you think should go in the deck or do not belong in the deck? Tell me! I welcome the discussion that hopefully will make this the most feared deck in my EDH group.