Hello, and welcome to my Primer for my Niv-Mizzet the Firemind EDH deck! First and foremost, I want to be clear, this is a casual multiplayer EDH combo deck. It is designed with many pet cards, and the goal of fun and interactive games in mind. Secondly, I want to give credit where credit is due, and for this deck, a large amount of inspiration came from FireStorm4056 and his Niv-Mizzet hand cycling deck which can be found here: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=300196
That list opened my eyes to a new world of how multiplayer EDH could, and should, be played. A world devoid of cutthroat combos and anticlimactic "oops, the game is over" moments. A world where politics matter, and every player has a chance to win until the last spell is slung. Thank you FireStorm4056, for starting me down my path to EDH enlightenment.
Alas, FireStorm4056 hasn't updated his list in a few months now, and I feel like my list is unique enough to warrant its own thread and guide. So, read on and feel free to leave your thoughts below!
Why would you want to play this deck?
Do you like your EDH decks to have a feeling a chance to them?
Do you like drawing cards? Like, Lots of cards? All at once? Want to share your love of massive card draw with the whole table?
Do you want to play a combo deck, but still be able to experience the ups and downs of a well played multiplayer game, that won't end with an anticlimactic "every one died all of a sudden" moment?
Just like playing with silly Izzet cards?
If you answered yes to one of more of those questions, then this just might be the deck for you.
You Probably Shouldn't Play this deck if...
You want a hyper fast combo deck.
You want a deck that plays the same way every time.
You enjoy sculpting the perfect hand for plays many turns down the line.
If so, you should probably steer clear of this deck.
The Strategy
The general plan of this deck is to spend its early turns developing its mana base and building up its hand, then resolve Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind or Psychosis Crawler, and then proceed to draw as many cards as possible, dealing as much damage as possible to your opponents before passing the turn. Seems straightforward enough, but after you see the decklist, I shall go more in detail below after I talk about my specific card choices.
So, now that you have seen the deck, I am going to go over the card choices I made for each category, and list some other card options you could consider for those roles, based on card availability, or your local meta.
The GeneralNiv-Mizzet, the Firemind - Why play Niv? Well, for one, he is the general that I believe best fits the hand cycling "archetype," due to his ability to turn every card you draw into a point of damage. While he is in play, he turns cards like Wheel of Fortune into big damage dealers. Other Big Card Draw legends like Azami, Lady of Scrolls and Nin, the Pain Artist are definitely viable for this strategy, but they tend to go for more of a mill victory. Those are other lists for other people to write. Moving on!
The "Combo"
Dream Halls - Ah Dream Halls, you wonderful beast you. Dream Halls is easily one of the most powerful cards in the deck, as it turns one resource this deck has in abundance (cards in hand) into pseudo-mana. Essentially, every blue spell you have in hand is exactly the right amount of mana to cast a different blue spell, and the same for your red spells. When all of your spells are pitch spells, and the spells you are casting constantly refuel your hand, your lands are only going to be used for colorless spells and activated abilities from then on out.
I put the word "combo" in quotes above for a reason, as Dreams Halls isn't exactly an unbounded combo in this deck, though, at times, it can feel like it is. When you have resolved a Dream Halls with a hand cycler in hand, it is possible to chain hand cycler into hand cycler until all of your opponents are dead. But, due to the finicky nature of drawing randomly shuffled cards off the top of your deck, it is entirely possible you draw only lands or artifacts, or a hand with no card drawing spells in it, and you "fizzle" out on the spot. While this is embarrassing, most of the other non-card draw spells in the deck are designed to stop this problem from occurring.
Notable Exclusions
Laboratory Maniac - Decking yourself is a very real possibility in this deck, so having a Maniac back up plan can be a very good idea. I used to run him, but took him out as I found myself actively trying to mill myself. This led to some repetitive gameplay, so he got the axe. However, I could easily see myself throwing him back in down the line if the mood ever strikes me, so feel free to play him if you have him.
A Brief Aside on Omniscience. (And my philosophy on multiplayer EDH)
So, you may have heard of a nifty blue mythic enchantment in M13 called Omniscience. You may have also noticed that this card is to some, a strictly better card than Dream Halls. And if you are really keen, you may have also noticed that I am not running Omniscience in my deck, even after I have sung the praises of Dream Halls. Allow me to explain why.
My EDH Playgroup enjoys nice 1 to 2 hour games, with build up, action packed plays, riveting combat steps, players fighting to stay in the game, and ending with a satisfying conclusion of a battle well fought. Decks that combo out the table on turn 5 do not allow for this sort of play.
Omniscience, when played in this deck, would almost always end the game the turn it resolves, with my opponents being able to do very little about it. As long as I have a reasonable hand when it hits the table, the game is all but over. Chaining Hand Cyclers would be incredibly easy since they no longer have any cost at all associated to them. Also, Omniscience is one sided.
Dream Halls, on the other hand, while being similar, is remarkably different. Firstly, it is symmetrical. Each player gets to take advantage of its gifts. This allows for them to react to my plays, while paying the same costs as me, if they so chose. Secondly, Dream Halls doesn't make anything "free," it merely changes the cost from mana, to a card in hand. Thus, the chances of you not drawing the required pieces to chain hand cyclers are above zero.
Essentially, the reason I don't play Omniscience is because it severely limits the amount interactivity your opponents can have with you, leading to boring games that will almost always end quickly and in your favor after it resolves. If that is what your looking for in your EDH decks, by all means, add it to your list. I prefer Dream Halls as it serves a similar purpose of allowing me to start dumping spells from my hand, but it also allows my opponents to interact, and keeps the game interesting.
Alright, enough of that, back to the cards.
The Hand Cyclers - These are the key pieces of the deck, and when used in conjuction with Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind can kill creatures and your opponents in short order. While you usually want to be using these to kill your opponents, keep in mind, you can use one early to try and disrupt their game plans, and possibly buy some time for yourself.
Flux - This is a nice one, as it allows you to actually keep some of the cards in your hand if you so chose, and it also cantrips.
Jace's Archivist - Windfall on legs. Pretty straightforward. Can be a little slow at times, but with a little help from Lightning Greaves, and the ability to reuse him for as long as he sticks around makes him a definite inclusion.
Magus of the Jar and Memory Jar - These are interesting cards. They are both powerful draw 7 effects, but the fact that they don't actually shuffle away or discard your original hand is something you should keep in mind. This makes it so that you can feel free to activate a Jar effect, even if your hand still has some spicy cards in it. Another thing to keep in mind is that they can be activated at instant speed, so if you know that someone has some type of game ending bomb in hand, you can pop a Jar in response to their draw to buy another turn. One last thing to keep in mind with these cards is that they do require a tap to be activated, so the Magus of the Jar is hindered by Summoning Sickness. So keep that in mind if you expect him to survive a turn rotation, or just have your trusty Greaves at the ready.
Mindmoil - This is one of my favorite cards in the deck, as well as one of the most powerful. Every spell you cast turns into a hand cycler! This is obviously powerful, just keep in mind, that the Mindmoil trigger will always resolve before the spell you actually cast leaves the stack. One other word of caution with this card is to be careful when both it and Thought Reflection are in play at the same time, as it become very easy to accidently deck yourself when your hand size is doubling off of each spell you cast.
Molten Psyche - This card is nuts, and has the ability to win the game even without Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind in play. If you have metalcraft, chaining a bunch of table-wide hand cyclers into this has the power to just kill your opponents on the spot.
Reforge the Soul - Pretty much just strictly worse than Wheel of Fortune, but sometimes you can Miracle it, which is nice, though it doesn't come up too often.
Teferi's Puzzle Box - A really nice table wide hand cycler, only problem is, since people can see it coming, and don't like having their hands messed with, many will try to destroy it. Enjoy it if if lasts, but don't get too heartbroken if someone blows it up. One thing to keep in mind, you can respond to the trigger after you draw your card, so feel free to cast any instants you may not want to see tucked away.
Time Reversal - A solid graveyard reset and hand cycler. The fact that it exiles itself is a little upsetting, but, we take what we can get.
Wheel of Fate - Another strictly worse than Wheel of Fortune, but it does have some upsides. Since people see it coming, many players will dump their hands, sometimes overextending into a nice wrath effect before it resolves. Also, keep in mind, you can cast it off of Dream Halls by discarding another red card!
Wheel of Fortune - WHEEL. OF. FORTUNE!!!!! WOOOOO!!!!. The classic, straight up draw 7 for the low cost of 3 measly mana.
Whirlpool Warrior - 2 hand cyclers in one, and one of them can even be used at instant speed! Seems like a good deal. Just keep in mind, his comes-into-play trigger is only for you, while his activated ability hits the whole table.
Windfall - Hoo boy, this one is a doozy. Since this amount of cards everyone draws is equal to the largest amount discarded, this will often make everyone draw a whole lot more than 7 cards. Keep an eye on those other card advantage decks, so you can spring this on 'em if your hand isn't quite up to snuff.
Timetwister - If you have access to this card, or if your play group runs fast and loose with proxies, RUN THIS CARD. Its Power 9 for a reason folks, and I'll never know why it isn't banned in EDH. Key note on this card, it doesn't self exile like the other Time-X cards. Also, 3 mana, so yeah. Run this card if you can.
Dragon Mage - Wheel of Fortune stapled to a Dragon Wizard. Pretty cool right? Problem is, he can get blocked, preventing you from hand cycling when you want to. Also, unless you can give him haste, the threat of his use often provokes people into attacking you.
Whirlpool Rider and Whirlpool Drake - The other whirlpool cards are also good considerations, as the Rider is essentially just a blue Winds of Change, and the Drake has the ability to be 2 hand cycles in one. To be honest, I only recently cut the Drake for some extra countermagic, as I believe I have hit the critical mass of Hand Cyclers necessary for this deck to function, and these 2 are just worse than what I am already running. If you feel like the deck needs more Cyclers, by all means, these are great options and you could easily cut some of the other good stuff cards to squeeze them in.
The Big Draw - These are the card advantage machines. The pieces designed to keep your hand nice and fat for when you start throwing down the Hand Cyclers for the big numbers.
Arcanis the Omnipotent - Tap, Draw 3. So simple, so elegant, so nuts. Slap some Greaves on this guy and go to town the turn he comes down. The fact that he can dodge wraths and spot removal due to his built in bounce is also a nice touch. Just add Minamo for extra fun.
Blue Sun's Zenith - Instant speed, targetable, draw X, that even reshuffles itself! Expnsive, but powerful. Keep in mind, if games go long, and your enemies decks start looking thin, you can use this to try and deck someone.
Consecrated Sphinx - Holy Card Advantage Batman! This Sphinx is terrifying, and most players will try to deal with it as soon as possible. In this deck, he is extra potent, as global hand cyclers like Windfall and Wheel of Fortune now have the ability to just put your whole deck in your hand. Incredible card, just be wary of the target that he puts on you when he comes down. Another fun tid bit, if you've got the mana, you can lob a Blue Sun's Zenith at an opponent while the Sphinx is in play for some seriously silly amounts card draw.
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth - I honestly wasn't sure what section to put 'ol Kozzy Wozzy in, as he fills multiple roles. On cast, he draws you 4 cards, which may not seem like alot, but the body that comes stapled to those cards is nothing to sneeze at, and when games get whittled down to just 2 or 3 players left, he can bring the beats better than most. His other big role in this deck is as a graveyard reset. This is usually his more important role. This deck can burn through its library very quickly, and its difficult to keep drawing cards if your library is empty. Pitching a Kozilek, Butcher of Truth can fix your woes, and put any used up handcyclers back in the deck for another go. Keep an eye out for Leyline of the Void though, as that stops Kozzy Wozzy from ever hitting the 'yard in the first place!
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius - Niv-Mizzet 2.0. As much as it hurts the Vorthos in me to have both Niv-Mizzets play with not a Mirror Gallery in sight, new Niv is such a mana sink, it would be silly to not run him. He makes every UR you have into an extra card in hand. He can also mow down opposing creatures, and even bash in for some damage and an extra card. A solid engine in a card if I've ever seen one.
Thought Reflection - This card is absolutely insane when used with any of the hand cyclers, generating massive amounts of card advantage. Games will usually end shortly after this resolves, so be wary of the target you may be putting on your head after you resolve this bad boy.
Notable Exclusions
Invoke the Firemind, Mind Spring, and Prosperity - I'm lumping these draw X's together as they all serve essentially the same purpose, but their biggest shortcoming in comparison with Blue Sun's Zenith is their lack of instant speed. Invoke the Firemind has some nice versatility, and Mind Spring is cheaper, and Prosperity is dirt cheap and plays nice with Molten Psyche, I've found myself usually casting Blue Sun's Zenith on someone else's end step to stock up my hand for a big turn of hand cycling, and the fact that the above cards are sorceries doesn't allow for that.
Recurring Insight - A little slow for my tastes, and usually recquires too much set up to be worth while. Some people like it, and if you are one of them, I could see it working in this list.
Little Draw and Tutors
Brainstorm - A solid early play, to help fix your hand, or send cards away if you have a shuffle effect at the ready. A very cheap and versatile card that has huge potential especially in this deck. With Thought Reflection in play, this card is Bah-Roken, or with just good 'ol Niv in play it functions as a split-able Lightning Bolt to boot!
Fabricate - This deck runs a solid tool box of artifacts, as well as a solid suite of mana rocks as well, so the ability to find what you need is very useful.
Jace Beleren - A nice card that can generate some good will with his +2, and as the game winds down, he can start -1-ing you to victory. His ultimate almost never comes up, but is something you can keep in mind.
Mystical Tutor - Being able to search up a hand cycler to the top of your deck at instant speed is a solid tool to have. And, if you have a way to instantly draw cards, it can also be used to fetch up countermagic at a moments notice as well. Versatile and powerful card.
Rhystic Study - Arguably the best early play this deck can make, as the study here is usually good for anywhere from 5 to 10 cards. A great way to start building up card advantage early on. Just be sure you don't miss your triggers, and try to be polite when asking your opponents if they are paying an extra 1 mana for their spells. Be careful you don't get too obnoxious with it though, as some players may start to be wary of that massive pile of cards you are suddenly holding onto.
Notable Exclusions
Jace, the Mind Sculptor - Brainstorm on a stick, and so much more! Why wouldn't you run this powerhouse? Well, for some, card availability is an issue, but I've found JtMS here can be more trouble than he is worth. For one, his power level is well known, and its very rare that he will survive a rotation, and he will have been naught but a 4 mana Brainstorm or Unsummon. But worse than that, he can sometimes paint quite a large target on your head, and cause some people to attack you out of fear of your 'walker that they may not be able to immediately deal with. In 1v1 enviornments, JtMS is a definite keeper, in multiplayer games however, I'd keep my distance.
Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded - A cheap, relativly non-threatening 'walker, who can filter through your deck quite nicely. However, I'm not a big fan of random discard, and his -4 isn't as impactful as I'd like. His -6 is nice, but tricky to pull off. If he's a pet card of yours, feel free to run him, otherwise, this ain't the home for Tibs.
Personal Tutor - A powerful spell that is capable of fetching up most of your hand cyclers. I don't run it due to card availabilty, but if you have one, by all means, toss it in.
Merchant Scroll - Another solid tutor, but a hair too narrow for my liking. If you want a little more consistency, go for it, but I personally don't find it necessary.
Ponder, Preordain, etc... - Brainstorm makes it into this deck on account of the fact that it actually triggers 3 card draws, and is an instant. The other U cantrips usually don't draw you more than one card, and are sorceries to boot. Just not good enough in my book.
Removal - You have to be able to interact with your opponent's boards, and booping their stuff is the best way I know how.
Blasphemous Act - A cheap and solid sweeper. Its a sorcery, which is a bit of a bummer, but not much gets around it, and the fact that it usually just costs R is pretty nice.
Capsize - Probably the best piece of spot removal in the deck, Instant speed, Buyback, hits anything, and can be brutal in conjunction with cards that shuffle players hands away. A solid card, well worth the mana you have to spend on it.
Comet Storm - My prefered choice for red X burn spells. Its an instant, which is always awesome, and the Multikicker can be absolutely nuts with enough mana. This baby can take out choice creatures, or even a couple players. A solid spell all around, for just the right price.
Cyclonic Rift - Ugh, this card is a beating. You almost always want to overload it, as the asymmetry is brutal. And the fact that its an instant is just nuts. This card is probably overpowered, but its really had to justify playing a blue EDH deck without this card.
Evacuation - Instant speed creature-getter-outta-the-way-er. For only 5 mana too! This card is a steal, with many applications, and since this deck is rather creature light, your creatures being bounced usually isn't that big of a deal. Remember, you can also use it to save your creatures from piracy, tuck, or other such removal.
Izzet Staticaster - I recently started adjusting this decks removal to be more pinger based since they work so nicely with Basilisk Collar and Neko-Te, also my particular meta is a little flooded with token strategies at the moment, so the staticaster is extra spicy. Also, she has flash AND haste, so that is awesome.
Mercurial Chemister - Another little Izzet number, this guy is pretty solid spot removal as long as you have a hand to work with. And if you don't, he can draw you up some brand to cards to work with.
Oblivion Stone - Boring, I know, but, you gotta do what you gotta do. Sometimes, you just need a no questions asked board clear, and the Stone is a good way to go. Its not flavorful, or fancy, but for 8 mana, you get a nice clean slate to work with. You usally don't have time to put fate counters on anything, as most people try to destroy the Stone if it just durdles around in play for too long.
Notable Exclusions
I've been told my removal suite is rather thin, but I personally like where it is at. If you think you need more, feel free to add in any number of the below cards.
Starstorm, Red Sun's Zenith, Banefire, etc... - Blasphemous Act and Comet Storm comprise the entirety of my burn suite, as they are my personal favorites, and the Niv's do a handy amount of burn themselves. The only one of the above cards I can really activate is Starstorm as it is easily the most powerful and versatile. I happen to like paying small amounts of mana for my sweepers though, so I prefer Blasphemous Act, but the fact that it can go bigger, and is an instant, AND can cycle, makes it a definite contender for that slot.
Wipe Away - Uncounterable Capsize is nice, but I like having the option to recur capsize if need be.
Prophetic Bolt - A solid burn spell, instant speed, even replaces itself with another card. However, 5 mana for 4 damage just isn't the greatest rate of return as far as burn goes. If you like the card, it is definitely good, I'm just not a fan myself.
Goblin Sharpshooter - As I mentioned above, I am trying to make the deck's removal more pinger based, and this guy is the mother of all pingers. I don't run him because I don't own him, but if you do, definitely slot him in. He is absolutely broken if you can give him deathtouch.
Artifact Removal - Red is the color of efficient artifact removal, so it may be surprising to some that my Blue Red deck runs absolutely no dedicated artifact destruction. I find the general bounce magic like Capsize and Cyclonic Rift to be sufficient, but if you want more, you have tons of options, and I'll list my favorites here:
Counter Magic - Ah, counterspells, the cornerstone of blue's versatility. Used in this deck to protect itself. In general, you don't want to use your counters on your opponents pro-active plays unless said play is going to win them the game. Instead, save your counters for when people are trying to react to your plays. Nobody likes the guy who just counters every spell he sees just because he has the counter in hand. Use these sparingly, you'll be glad you did.
Counterflux - The best "just say no" card ever printed. Pretty much a strictly better step up on Last Word. The Overload isn't usually relevant, but keep an eye out for those crazy stacks that can occur, or a nuts storm card to be cast, and be ready to windmill slam this bad boy when the case arises.
Counterspell - 'Ol faithful. Shouldn't have to say much here, so I won't.
Flusterstorm - So much more than a Force Spike. This will always make at least one copy of itself, due to the spell that you are countering contributing to the storm count. Against anyone who taps out, its a beating, and it is surprisingly difficult to counter itself, since it makes multiple copies of itself, so they either have to have a Mindbreak Trap at the ready, or alot of mana. Incredible value for just U.
Foil - Counters that can be cast even when tapped out are invaluble, due to the surprise factor, and the versatility. A soild card, just keep in mind, just because you aren't spending mana doesn't mean you aren't paying a cost. Pitching 2 cards can be a big deal. Use this one wisely.
Negate - Most of the time, the spells you should be trying to counter will be other counterspells, or spells aimed at taking out your permanents. Negate is a cheap and effective way to put a stop to just those cards.
Spell Crumple - Can be a pretty mean card when used on someone's general to send them to the bottom of their library, but sometimes, that is just what you have to do. Pricey, but it puts itself on the bottom of your deck if it resolves, so it has the ability to be used more than once a game.
Trickbind - This one is my favorite. EDH is a format filled with powerful activated and triggered abilities, and being able to interact with them is invaluble. On top of that, Trickbind is virtually uncounterable due to split second, and the ability to shut down activated abilites for a whole turn is very useful against many creatures.
Notable Exclusions
There just isn't enough room in the deck to play all the countermagic you want, so I went with what I felt were the cheapest and most effective counters. Here are some others you can include if you have them, or feel that the deck needs more protection.
Force of Will - Pretty much strictly better than Foil. Play it if you have it.
Cryptic Command - The epitomy of versatility. This card just has so many options, most blue decks feel required to play it. I don't simply because I don't own it, and 4 mana is a hair more that I usually like to pay for my counters. If you have one though, I highly reccommend playing it.
Counterbalance - This card always felt oppressive to me when used with Sensei's Divinig Top, and fairly useless without it. Not my kind of card.
Mindbreak Trap - Play it if you got it. The ability to counter un-counterable spells is amazing, and it is free more often than you think. I don't play it because I don't have it. But I've been trying to get one for a while.
Red Elemental Blast and Pyroblast - Useful cards in a blue heavy meta. But that is not my meta. If yours is, feel free to run these bad boys, you won't regret it.
Assorted Utility and Other Bombs - This is sort of the "season to taste" section of the list. Lots of pet cards and utility spells can fit in here. See something here you don't like? Its probably not necessary, and you can sub cards in and out to your hearts content. Easily the most flexible part of the list.
Basilisk Collar - One of my favorite cards in the deck. It's usually what I tutor for with Fabricate, as it makes both Niv's into machine guns of creature doom, as well as Izzet Staticaster. Also the only real source of lifegain in the deck. A true powerhouse I would not reccommend cutting.
Beacon of Tomorrows - The only extra turn card in the deck. I chose it over the others since the self shuffling effect is huge, and gives the deck a feeling of infinity if you start going off with Dream Halls and hand cyclers. Honestly though, this card is probably on the chopping block, as extra turns are rather un-fun to play against, and can lead to some fairly boring games.
Clone - Clones are especially good in EDH since they are no questions asked removal spells for opposing Generals. But outside of that, they also offer a whole host of extra utility that is limited only by what creatures are in play.
Elixir of Immortality - Another graveyard reset, as well as a smidgen of life gain, all for the low cost of 3 mana. A solid card that serves as a nice way to instantly protect your graveyard once it is in play and you leave the mana open.
Increasing Vengeance - My personal choice for spell replication. It may be limited to just your spells, but if you ever flash it back, boy is it a doozy. Getting 3 of a hand cycler will usually be enough to kill a person or two.
Insurrection - This card is insane in multiplayer games. Its a very powerful effect to just turn all the armies in play on their owners, and when cast at the right moment, it will usually just win the game. Sometimes anticlimactic, but a solid alternate win condition.
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs - My personal choice of aggro avoidance. Its not brutally oppressive, but keeps the creature swarms at bay, and occasionally can build you up a respectable pile of Hill Giants. Propaganda is another perfectly viable choice for this slot.
Leyline of Anticipation - FLASH! AAAhAAA! SAVIOUR OF THE - Ehem. Excuse me. This card is a house. The lines of play this opens up are insane. Being able to stack up piles of usually sorcery speed hand cyclers is amazing. Flashing out your general on an endstep to start cycling hands on your next turn is wonderful. Really, just being able to play your game on your opponent's turns is exactly what this deck wants to be able to do. It lets you react to plays far more effectivly. A definite keeper.
Lightning Greaves - I've mentioned this card a lot already, so you already know most of what it can do. Its an EDH staple for a reason. Being able to speed up your guys while also protecting them from spot removal for only 2 mana is one hell of a bargain.
Mizzium Transreliquat - A pet card of mine. It can do anything! It can be anything from a mana rock to a powerhouse equipment. Its even more hilarious with Phyrexian Metamorph. It is a little slow, but I always manage to have fun with it.
Neko-Te - This is usually reserved for the hands of our favorite Dragon Wizard, but it plays nice with any pinger. It effectly doubles Niv's damage against players, and can lock down whole boards of opposing creatures, since once damaged, they won't untap until Neko-Te leaves play. A solid card, and one of my favorites.
Phyrexian Metamorph - Good for pretty much the same reasons as Clone, except he sometimes only costs 3 mana, and can clone artifacts. Versatility!
Psychosis Crawler - This guy is like your second copy of Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, with a few key differences. Firstly, he causes life loss, not damage. That is relevant more often than you thing. Secondly, he hits all of your opponents. This is extremely powerful, but be aware of the hate that this horror brings. He is scary, thus people will be scared of you when they see him. He is not to be cast lightly.
Redirect - A surprisingly powerful spell. It can act like a counterspell, or turn spot removal on those who would use it against you. Just keep an eye on any spell that has a target for fun Redirection tricks.
Sakashima the Imposter - The master of all clones. He has the ability to safely clone any legendary creature, and keep both of them in play. Usually I just use him as an actual second copy of Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, but he has many other uses, and like any clone, is only limited by the creatures in play.
Notable Exclusions
Obviously I won't be able to list everything here, so anything you think would fit the decklist, feel free to add in. Here are some cards I have considered myself.
Reverberate, Twincast, Fork, and Wild Riccochet - Spell copying effects are very powerful, especially since they can function as counterspells to opposing counterspells. I personally couldn't find room in my deck for these, but if you can, they are great additions to this deck.
Phantasmal Image - Another good clone, I just like my clones to be a little more sturdy.
Time Stretch, Time Warp, etc... - Extra turns are powerful. Probably too powerful. They can also make games boring for people who aren't taking the extra turns. Use these cards with care.
Stranglehold - The asymmetry of this card usually just angers your opponents and puts a big target on your head. You have enough countermagic to stop unfair things from happening, so you don't really need this.
Swiftfoot Boots, Darksteel Plate, Champion's Helm, etc... - Other ways to protect your general can be very good, but I find them rather unnecessary if you just wait for the opportune moment to cast your general. If you feel like you need them, they can be useful, but learning when its safe to cast Niv is a more useful skill to have.
Tezzeret the Seeker - I experimented with a Tezz package, artifact lands and extra mana rocks, and while cool, it just wasn't what I wanted to be doing. If you have a soft spot for Tezz, feel free to add him in, as gives a nice boost in consistency and speed.
Bribery, Blatant Thievery, Treachery, ect... - I'm not a fan of taking people's things. I understand that these effects have their place in the game, but I find they generate hate for not a huge amount of benefit. If you like these types of cards, by all means, use 'em.
Mana Acceleration - You want to be casting a lot of spells in one turn with this deck. The easy way to do that is with Dream Halls, but sometimes, that option is not available to you, and you need to actually pay mana for spells. So to do that, we need a lot of mana. These help us get a lot of mana.
Coalition Relic - A solid mana rock and mana fixer. Used in many multicolor deck to boost you up by 2 mana every other turn.
Darksteel Ingot - Indestructible acceleration and fixing. 'Nuff Said.
Dreamscape Artist - He lets you cast Harrow in blue! What more could you want? With all the ways you can restock your hand, he is a solid way to spend your early turns.
Izzet Signet - Turn 2 acceleration and fixing. Ta-da.
Mind Stone - Turn 2 acceleration, and can be cycled later on if you want.
Solemn Simulacrum - Accelerates you, and turns into a card when he dies. A nice little value package.
Sol Ring - An EDH staple. Probably the best turn 1 play in the deck, especially if you can follow it up with an Izzet Signet or Mind Stone.
Notable Exclusions
I feel like I've hit the right number of mana fixing here, but you can feel free to add more if you don't want to be as reliant on Dream Halls. Just keep in mind, if you do add more mana rocks, try to only pick ones that can produce colored mana, as this deck is extremely color intensive. Here is a sample list of other things you could consider adding:
Lands - Lands are what make a deck tick. I run more basics than most due to card availability, but the non-basics I do have are very effective. Check the Notable Exclusions for some ideas on other non-basics you could run.
Boseiju, who Shelters All - One of the best non basics. Being able to make sure a key hand cycler or that Blue Sun's you just tapped out for resolve is a very good thing to be able to do. The life cost isn't too much when the spell you are casting wins you the game.
Cavern of Souls - I usually name Wizard with this, and that is the most common creature type in the deck. But, naming Sphinx or Eldrazi can be the correct play at times as well. Uncounterable creatures can be very nice.
Lonely Sandbar and Forgotten Cave - The two on color cycling lands. Lands when you need them, a card from the top of your deck when you don't. Simple and elegant.
Minamo, School at Water's Edge - This card is pretty awesome. Getting extra draws off of Niv is nice, but this land's real best friend is definitely Arcanis. Getting to draw 6 cards for UU, that looks an awful lot like 2 Ancestral Recall's to me.
Tectonic Edge - Targeted land destruction is a bit of a necessity in many EDH playgroups. Common targets are Gaea's Cradle, Academy Ruins, Cabal Coffers, Eye of Ugin, and many others. Lands are strong, and having a cheap and reliable answer to them is a good thing.
Temple of the False God - A nice bit of acceleration right in your land drop. It only makes colorless, but the extra mana is nice.
Notable Exclusions
Strip Mine and Wasteland - Pretty much both strictly better than Tectonic Edge. If you have them, use them, if not, don't worry about it.
Reliquary Tower - You may have noticed that I have no way of increasing my maximum hand size in this deck. This is because I often find myself in need of my discard step in order to pitch Kozilek, Butcher of Truth and reset my graveyard. If I still played Laboratory Maniac, I could see playing this land, but without him, discarding extra cards is not a big deal, and often beneficial.
Mikokoro, Center of the Sea - A solid hugs card, and an easy way to keep the cards flowing. I don't play it because I don't have one, and feel like Jace Beleren already fills this role, but if you have/like this card, feel free to play it.
Playing the Deck
You want to spend the early turns of the game developing your mana base, keeping 5-7 cards in your hand, and making sure you don't die to any nuts combos or crazy aggressive decks.
Try to remain as neutral as possible. Don't go out of your way to deal with what people are doing unless they are directly effecting you in a negative way. Once you have over 12-ish mana, and a hand cycler in hand, you can start considering casting your general.
Once in play, you shouldn't expect Niv to stick around for too long, so try to make the most of his time on this earth. Draw as many cards as you can, and do as much lasting damage as possible.
Ideally, at some point during your hand cycling shenanigans you will draw Dream Halls. Resolving that should lock up the game in your favor.
Your countermagic should be used very re-actively, mostly in defense of your hand, various important permanents you have in play, or to just stop someone from outright winning the game. There are a few other specific cards worth countering I will mention in the next section.
Your removal should also be used defensively. Only take things out that are specifically coming at you. This is why I try to keep most of my removal instant speed, so you can actually be sure that you are the intended target of any attacks before you respond.
Rest in Peace and other graveyard exilers - This deck can burn through it's library like no other, so it needs to restock itself often 2-3 times a game. These types of global graveyard destroyers can make it very difficult to operate. Counter on sight if you have a sizeable graveyard, otherwise, make sure you bounce them before your lose too many of your cards.
Maralen of the Mornsong and other things that don't let you draw cards - Your deck needs to draw cards to do anything productive. Kill these cards on sight.
Leyline of Sanctity and other cards that give your opponents Hexproof/Shroud - Outside of Psychosis Crawler and corner case mill scenarios, you need to eventually target your opponents to kill them. Make sure these cards aren't around when you start going off.
Melek, Izzet Paragon - A neat Future Sight effect that has some pretty powerful upside. Getting double hand cyclers or counters off the top is pretty sweet.
Turn / Burn - Now this is some versatile removal. For 5 mana, you can take out any non-shroud target at instant speed. You can screw up people's alpha strikes, or just take out a mana dork. The range of uses this has just begs to be tried out.
Ral Zarek - I'm not entirely sure how good Ral would be in this deck, but his ability to accelerate us a little, or bolt down targets seems like a nifty little tool box with out the huge target that most Planewalkers have. I'll have to give this guy a shot.
Blast of Genius - 6 mana is a lot to ask for when you are only drawing 3 cards, but the fact that this has the potential to be a powerful burn spell is definitely something. Its biggest drawback is it's sorcery speed, but I'm willing to try this one out before immediately dismissing it.
Also note that we have an existing Niv Primer already, but it's really more a competitive combo deck so I wouldn't sweat it. You may want to look there for ideas.
Niv-Mizzet Hand Cycling
Hello, and welcome to my Primer for my Niv-Mizzet the Firemind EDH deck! First and foremost, I want to be clear, this is a casual multiplayer EDH combo deck. It is designed with many pet cards, and the goal of fun and interactive games in mind. Secondly, I want to give credit where credit is due, and for this deck, a large amount of inspiration came from FireStorm4056 and his Niv-Mizzet hand cycling deck which can be found here:
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=300196
That list opened my eyes to a new world of how multiplayer EDH could, and should, be played. A world devoid of cutthroat combos and anticlimactic "oops, the game is over" moments. A world where politics matter, and every player has a chance to win until the last spell is slung. Thank you FireStorm4056, for starting me down my path to EDH enlightenment.
Alas, FireStorm4056 hasn't updated his list in a few months now, and I feel like my list is unique enough to warrant its own thread and guide. So, read on and feel free to leave your thoughts below!
Why would you want to play this deck?
Do you like your EDH decks to have a feeling a chance to them?
Do you like drawing cards? Like, Lots of cards? All at once? Want to share your love of massive card draw with the whole table?
Do you want to play a combo deck, but still be able to experience the ups and downs of a well played multiplayer game, that won't end with an anticlimactic "every one died all of a sudden" moment?
Just like playing with silly Izzet cards?
If you answered yes to one of more of those questions, then this just might be the deck for you.
You Probably Shouldn't Play this deck if...
You want a hyper fast combo deck.
You want a deck that plays the same way every time.
You enjoy sculpting the perfect hand for plays many turns down the line.
If so, you should probably steer clear of this deck.
The Strategy
The general plan of this deck is to spend its early turns developing its mana base and building up its hand, then resolve Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind or Psychosis Crawler, and then proceed to draw as many cards as possible, dealing as much damage as possible to your opponents before passing the turn. Seems straightforward enough, but after you see the decklist, I shall go more in detail below after I talk about my specific card choices.
The Deck:
1 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
The "Combo"
1 Dream Halls
The Hand Cyclers
1 Flux
1 Jace's Archivist
1 Magus of the Jar
1 Memory Jar
1 Mindmoil
1 Molten Psyche
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Teferi's Puzzle Box
1 Time Reversal
1 Time Spiral
1 Wheel of Fate
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Whirlpool Warrior
1 Windfall
1 Winds of Change
The Big Draw
1 Arcanis the Omnipotent
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
1 Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius
1 Thought Reflection
"Little" Draw and Tutors
1 Brainstorm
1 Fabricate
1 Jace Beleren
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Rhystic Study
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Capsize
1 Comet Storm
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Evacuation
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Mercurial Chemister
1 Oblivion Stone
Counterspells
1 Counterflux
1 Counterspell
1 Flusterstorm
1 Foil
1 Negate
1 Spell Crumple
1 Trickbind
Assorted Utility and Other Bombs
1 Basilisk Collar
1 Beacon of Tomorrows
1 Clone
1 Elixir of Immortality
1 Increasing Vengeance
1 Insurrection
1 Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs
1 Leyline of Anticipation
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Mizzium Transreliquat
1 Neko-Te
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Psychosis Crawler
1 Redirect
1 Sakashima the Imposter
1 Coalition Relic
1 Dreamscape Artist
1 Izzet Cluestone
1 Izzet Signet
1 Mind Stone
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Sol Ring
Mana Base
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Command Tower
1 Forgotten Cave
13 Island
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Izzet Guildgate
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
7 Mountain
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Shivan Reef
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Steam Vents
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Temple of the False God
So, now that you have seen the deck, I am going to go over the card choices I made for each category, and list some other card options you could consider for those roles, based on card availability, or your local meta.
The General Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind - Why play Niv? Well, for one, he is the general that I believe best fits the hand cycling "archetype," due to his ability to turn every card you draw into a point of damage. While he is in play, he turns cards like Wheel of Fortune into big damage dealers. Other Big Card Draw legends like Azami, Lady of Scrolls and Nin, the Pain Artist are definitely viable for this strategy, but they tend to go for more of a mill victory. Those are other lists for other people to write. Moving on!
The "Combo"
Dream Halls - Ah Dream Halls, you wonderful beast you. Dream Halls is easily one of the most powerful cards in the deck, as it turns one resource this deck has in abundance (cards in hand) into pseudo-mana. Essentially, every blue spell you have in hand is exactly the right amount of mana to cast a different blue spell, and the same for your red spells. When all of your spells are pitch spells, and the spells you are casting constantly refuel your hand, your lands are only going to be used for colorless spells and activated abilities from then on out.
I put the word "combo" in quotes above for a reason, as Dreams Halls isn't exactly an unbounded combo in this deck, though, at times, it can feel like it is. When you have resolved a Dream Halls with a hand cycler in hand, it is possible to chain hand cycler into hand cycler until all of your opponents are dead. But, due to the finicky nature of drawing randomly shuffled cards off the top of your deck, it is entirely possible you draw only lands or artifacts, or a hand with no card drawing spells in it, and you "fizzle" out on the spot. While this is embarrassing, most of the other non-card draw spells in the deck are designed to stop this problem from occurring.
Notable Exclusions
Laboratory Maniac - Decking yourself is a very real possibility in this deck, so having a Maniac back up plan can be a very good idea. I used to run him, but took him out as I found myself actively trying to mill myself. This led to some repetitive gameplay, so he got the axe. However, I could easily see myself throwing him back in down the line if the mood ever strikes me, so feel free to play him if you have him.
Omniscience - See below.
A Brief Aside on Omniscience. (And my philosophy on multiplayer EDH)
So, you may have heard of a nifty blue mythic enchantment in M13 called Omniscience. You may have also noticed that this card is to some, a strictly better card than Dream Halls. And if you are really keen, you may have also noticed that I am not running Omniscience in my deck, even after I have sung the praises of Dream Halls. Allow me to explain why.
My EDH Playgroup enjoys nice 1 to 2 hour games, with build up, action packed plays, riveting combat steps, players fighting to stay in the game, and ending with a satisfying conclusion of a battle well fought. Decks that combo out the table on turn 5 do not allow for this sort of play.
Omniscience, when played in this deck, would almost always end the game the turn it resolves, with my opponents being able to do very little about it. As long as I have a reasonable hand when it hits the table, the game is all but over. Chaining Hand Cyclers would be incredibly easy since they no longer have any cost at all associated to them. Also, Omniscience is one sided.
Dream Halls, on the other hand, while being similar, is remarkably different. Firstly, it is symmetrical. Each player gets to take advantage of its gifts. This allows for them to react to my plays, while paying the same costs as me, if they so chose. Secondly, Dream Halls doesn't make anything "free," it merely changes the cost from mana, to a card in hand. Thus, the chances of you not drawing the required pieces to chain hand cyclers are above zero.
Essentially, the reason I don't play Omniscience is because it severely limits the amount interactivity your opponents can have with you, leading to boring games that will almost always end quickly and in your favor after it resolves. If that is what your looking for in your EDH decks, by all means, add it to your list. I prefer Dream Halls as it serves a similar purpose of allowing me to start dumping spells from my hand, but it also allows my opponents to interact, and keeps the game interesting.
Alright, enough of that, back to the cards.
The Hand Cyclers - These are the key pieces of the deck, and when used in conjuction with Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind can kill creatures and your opponents in short order. While you usually want to be using these to kill your opponents, keep in mind, you can use one early to try and disrupt their game plans, and possibly buy some time for yourself.
Flux - This is a nice one, as it allows you to actually keep some of the cards in your hand if you so chose, and it also cantrips.
Jace's Archivist - Windfall on legs. Pretty straightforward. Can be a little slow at times, but with a little help from Lightning Greaves, and the ability to reuse him for as long as he sticks around makes him a definite inclusion.
Magus of the Jar and Memory Jar - These are interesting cards. They are both powerful draw 7 effects, but the fact that they don't actually shuffle away or discard your original hand is something you should keep in mind. This makes it so that you can feel free to activate a Jar effect, even if your hand still has some spicy cards in it. Another thing to keep in mind is that they can be activated at instant speed, so if you know that someone has some type of game ending bomb in hand, you can pop a Jar in response to their draw to buy another turn. One last thing to keep in mind with these cards is that they do require a tap to be activated, so the Magus of the Jar is hindered by Summoning Sickness. So keep that in mind if you expect him to survive a turn rotation, or just have your trusty Greaves at the ready.
Mindmoil - This is one of my favorite cards in the deck, as well as one of the most powerful. Every spell you cast turns into a hand cycler! This is obviously powerful, just keep in mind, that the Mindmoil trigger will always resolve before the spell you actually cast leaves the stack. One other word of caution with this card is to be careful when both it and Thought Reflection are in play at the same time, as it become very easy to accidently deck yourself when your hand size is doubling off of each spell you cast.
Molten Psyche - This card is nuts, and has the ability to win the game even without Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind in play. If you have metalcraft, chaining a bunch of table-wide hand cyclers into this has the power to just kill your opponents on the spot.
Reforge the Soul - Pretty much just strictly worse than Wheel of Fortune, but sometimes you can Miracle it, which is nice, though it doesn't come up too often.
Teferi's Puzzle Box - A really nice table wide hand cycler, only problem is, since people can see it coming, and don't like having their hands messed with, many will try to destroy it. Enjoy it if if lasts, but don't get too heartbroken if someone blows it up. One thing to keep in mind, you can respond to the trigger after you draw your card, so feel free to cast any instants you may not want to see tucked away.
Time Reversal - A solid graveyard reset and hand cycler. The fact that it exiles itself is a little upsetting, but, we take what we can get.
Time Spiral - Strictly better than Time Reversal, since it is essentially free.
Wheel of Fate - Another strictly worse than Wheel of Fortune, but it does have some upsides. Since people see it coming, many players will dump their hands, sometimes overextending into a nice wrath effect before it resolves. Also, keep in mind, you can cast it off of Dream Halls by discarding another red card!
Wheel of Fortune - WHEEL. OF. FORTUNE!!!!! WOOOOO!!!!. The classic, straight up draw 7 for the low cost of 3 measly mana.
Whirlpool Warrior - 2 hand cyclers in one, and one of them can even be used at instant speed! Seems like a good deal. Just keep in mind, his comes-into-play trigger is only for you, while his activated ability hits the whole table.
Windfall - Hoo boy, this one is a doozy. Since this amount of cards everyone draws is equal to the largest amount discarded, this will often make everyone draw a whole lot more than 7 cards. Keep an eye on those other card advantage decks, so you can spring this on 'em if your hand isn't quite up to snuff.
Winds of Change - Pretty much strictly worse than Molten Psyche, but hey, it costs 1 mana, so thats nice.
Notable Exclusions
Timetwister - If you have access to this card, or if your play group runs fast and loose with proxies, RUN THIS CARD. Its Power 9 for a reason folks, and I'll never know why it isn't banned in EDH. Key note on this card, it doesn't self exile like the other Time-X cards. Also, 3 mana, so yeah. Run this card if you can.
Dragon Mage - Wheel of Fortune stapled to a Dragon Wizard. Pretty cool right? Problem is, he can get blocked, preventing you from hand cycling when you want to. Also, unless you can give him haste, the threat of his use often provokes people into attacking you.
Whirlpool Rider and Whirlpool Drake - The other whirlpool cards are also good considerations, as the Rider is essentially just a blue Winds of Change, and the Drake has the ability to be 2 hand cycles in one. To be honest, I only recently cut the Drake for some extra countermagic, as I believe I have hit the critical mass of Hand Cyclers necessary for this deck to function, and these 2 are just worse than what I am already running. If you feel like the deck needs more Cyclers, by all means, these are great options and you could easily cut some of the other good stuff cards to squeeze them in.
The Big Draw - These are the card advantage machines. The pieces designed to keep your hand nice and fat for when you start throwing down the Hand Cyclers for the big numbers.
Arcanis the Omnipotent - Tap, Draw 3. So simple, so elegant, so nuts. Slap some Greaves on this guy and go to town the turn he comes down. The fact that he can dodge wraths and spot removal due to his built in bounce is also a nice touch. Just add Minamo for extra fun.
Blue Sun's Zenith - Instant speed, targetable, draw X, that even reshuffles itself! Expnsive, but powerful. Keep in mind, if games go long, and your enemies decks start looking thin, you can use this to try and deck someone.
Consecrated Sphinx - Holy Card Advantage Batman! This Sphinx is terrifying, and most players will try to deal with it as soon as possible. In this deck, he is extra potent, as global hand cyclers like Windfall and Wheel of Fortune now have the ability to just put your whole deck in your hand. Incredible card, just be wary of the target that he puts on you when he comes down. Another fun tid bit, if you've got the mana, you can lob a Blue Sun's Zenith at an opponent while the Sphinx is in play for some seriously silly amounts card draw.
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth - I honestly wasn't sure what section to put 'ol Kozzy Wozzy in, as he fills multiple roles. On cast, he draws you 4 cards, which may not seem like alot, but the body that comes stapled to those cards is nothing to sneeze at, and when games get whittled down to just 2 or 3 players left, he can bring the beats better than most. His other big role in this deck is as a graveyard reset. This is usually his more important role. This deck can burn through its library very quickly, and its difficult to keep drawing cards if your library is empty. Pitching a Kozilek, Butcher of Truth can fix your woes, and put any used up handcyclers back in the deck for another go. Keep an eye out for Leyline of the Void though, as that stops Kozzy Wozzy from ever hitting the 'yard in the first place!
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius - Niv-Mizzet 2.0. As much as it hurts the Vorthos in me to have both Niv-Mizzets play with not a Mirror Gallery in sight, new Niv is such a mana sink, it would be silly to not run him. He makes every UR you have into an extra card in hand. He can also mow down opposing creatures, and even bash in for some damage and an extra card. A solid engine in a card if I've ever seen one.
Thought Reflection - This card is absolutely insane when used with any of the hand cyclers, generating massive amounts of card advantage. Games will usually end shortly after this resolves, so be wary of the target you may be putting on your head after you resolve this bad boy.
Notable Exclusions
Invoke the Firemind, Mind Spring, and Prosperity - I'm lumping these draw X's together as they all serve essentially the same purpose, but their biggest shortcoming in comparison with Blue Sun's Zenith is their lack of instant speed. Invoke the Firemind has some nice versatility, and Mind Spring is cheaper, and Prosperity is dirt cheap and plays nice with Molten Psyche, I've found myself usually casting Blue Sun's Zenith on someone else's end step to stock up my hand for a big turn of hand cycling, and the fact that the above cards are sorceries doesn't allow for that.
Recurring Insight - A little slow for my tastes, and usually recquires too much set up to be worth while. Some people like it, and if you are one of them, I could see it working in this list.
Little Draw and Tutors
Brainstorm - A solid early play, to help fix your hand, or send cards away if you have a shuffle effect at the ready. A very cheap and versatile card that has huge potential especially in this deck. With Thought Reflection in play, this card is Bah-Roken, or with just good 'ol Niv in play it functions as a split-able Lightning Bolt to boot!
Fabricate - This deck runs a solid tool box of artifacts, as well as a solid suite of mana rocks as well, so the ability to find what you need is very useful.
Jace Beleren - A nice card that can generate some good will with his +2, and as the game winds down, he can start -1-ing you to victory. His ultimate almost never comes up, but is something you can keep in mind.
Mystical Tutor - Being able to search up a hand cycler to the top of your deck at instant speed is a solid tool to have. And, if you have a way to instantly draw cards, it can also be used to fetch up countermagic at a moments notice as well. Versatile and powerful card.
Rhystic Study - Arguably the best early play this deck can make, as the study here is usually good for anywhere from 5 to 10 cards. A great way to start building up card advantage early on. Just be sure you don't miss your triggers, and try to be polite when asking your opponents if they are paying an extra 1 mana for their spells. Be careful you don't get too obnoxious with it though, as some players may start to be wary of that massive pile of cards you are suddenly holding onto.
Notable Exclusions
Jace, the Mind Sculptor - Brainstorm on a stick, and so much more! Why wouldn't you run this powerhouse? Well, for some, card availability is an issue, but I've found JtMS here can be more trouble than he is worth. For one, his power level is well known, and its very rare that he will survive a rotation, and he will have been naught but a 4 mana Brainstorm or Unsummon. But worse than that, he can sometimes paint quite a large target on your head, and cause some people to attack you out of fear of your 'walker that they may not be able to immediately deal with. In 1v1 enviornments, JtMS is a definite keeper, in multiplayer games however, I'd keep my distance.
Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded - A cheap, relativly non-threatening 'walker, who can filter through your deck quite nicely. However, I'm not a big fan of random discard, and his -4 isn't as impactful as I'd like. His -6 is nice, but tricky to pull off. If he's a pet card of yours, feel free to run him, otherwise, this ain't the home for Tibs.
Personal Tutor - A powerful spell that is capable of fetching up most of your hand cyclers. I don't run it due to card availabilty, but if you have one, by all means, toss it in.
Merchant Scroll - Another solid tutor, but a hair too narrow for my liking. If you want a little more consistency, go for it, but I personally don't find it necessary.
Ponder, Preordain, etc... - Brainstorm makes it into this deck on account of the fact that it actually triggers 3 card draws, and is an instant. The other U cantrips usually don't draw you more than one card, and are sorceries to boot. Just not good enough in my book.
Removal - You have to be able to interact with your opponent's boards, and booping their stuff is the best way I know how.
Blasphemous Act - A cheap and solid sweeper. Its a sorcery, which is a bit of a bummer, but not much gets around it, and the fact that it usually just costs R is pretty nice.
Capsize - Probably the best piece of spot removal in the deck, Instant speed, Buyback, hits anything, and can be brutal in conjunction with cards that shuffle players hands away. A solid card, well worth the mana you have to spend on it.
Comet Storm - My prefered choice for red X burn spells. Its an instant, which is always awesome, and the Multikicker can be absolutely nuts with enough mana. This baby can take out choice creatures, or even a couple players. A solid spell all around, for just the right price.
Cyclonic Rift - Ugh, this card is a beating. You almost always want to overload it, as the asymmetry is brutal. And the fact that its an instant is just nuts. This card is probably overpowered, but its really had to justify playing a blue EDH deck without this card.
Evacuation - Instant speed creature-getter-outta-the-way-er. For only 5 mana too! This card is a steal, with many applications, and since this deck is rather creature light, your creatures being bounced usually isn't that big of a deal. Remember, you can also use it to save your creatures from piracy, tuck, or other such removal.
Izzet Staticaster - I recently started adjusting this decks removal to be more pinger based since they work so nicely with Basilisk Collar and Neko-Te, also my particular meta is a little flooded with token strategies at the moment, so the staticaster is extra spicy. Also, she has flash AND haste, so that is awesome.
Mercurial Chemister - Another little Izzet number, this guy is pretty solid spot removal as long as you have a hand to work with. And if you don't, he can draw you up some brand to cards to work with.
Oblivion Stone - Boring, I know, but, you gotta do what you gotta do. Sometimes, you just need a no questions asked board clear, and the Stone is a good way to go. Its not flavorful, or fancy, but for 8 mana, you get a nice clean slate to work with. You usally don't have time to put fate counters on anything, as most people try to destroy the Stone if it just durdles around in play for too long.
Notable Exclusions
I've been told my removal suite is rather thin, but I personally like where it is at. If you think you need more, feel free to add in any number of the below cards.
Starstorm, Red Sun's Zenith, Banefire, etc... - Blasphemous Act and Comet Storm comprise the entirety of my burn suite, as they are my personal favorites, and the Niv's do a handy amount of burn themselves. The only one of the above cards I can really activate is Starstorm as it is easily the most powerful and versatile. I happen to like paying small amounts of mana for my sweepers though, so I prefer Blasphemous Act, but the fact that it can go bigger, and is an instant, AND can cycle, makes it a definite contender for that slot.
Wipe Away - Uncounterable Capsize is nice, but I like having the option to recur capsize if need be.
Prophetic Bolt - A solid burn spell, instant speed, even replaces itself with another card. However, 5 mana for 4 damage just isn't the greatest rate of return as far as burn goes. If you like the card, it is definitely good, I'm just not a fan myself.
Goblin Sharpshooter - As I mentioned above, I am trying to make the deck's removal more pinger based, and this guy is the mother of all pingers. I don't run him because I don't own him, but if you do, definitely slot him in. He is absolutely broken if you can give him deathtouch.
Artifact Removal - Red is the color of efficient artifact removal, so it may be surprising to some that my Blue Red deck runs absolutely no dedicated artifact destruction. I find the general bounce magic like Capsize and Cyclonic Rift to be sufficient, but if you want more, you have tons of options, and I'll list my favorites here:
Counter Magic - Ah, counterspells, the cornerstone of blue's versatility. Used in this deck to protect itself. In general, you don't want to use your counters on your opponents pro-active plays unless said play is going to win them the game. Instead, save your counters for when people are trying to react to your plays. Nobody likes the guy who just counters every spell he sees just because he has the counter in hand. Use these sparingly, you'll be glad you did.
Counterflux - The best "just say no" card ever printed. Pretty much a strictly better step up on Last Word. The Overload isn't usually relevant, but keep an eye out for those crazy stacks that can occur, or a nuts storm card to be cast, and be ready to windmill slam this bad boy when the case arises.
Counterspell - 'Ol faithful. Shouldn't have to say much here, so I won't.
Flusterstorm - So much more than a Force Spike. This will always make at least one copy of itself, due to the spell that you are countering contributing to the storm count. Against anyone who taps out, its a beating, and it is surprisingly difficult to counter itself, since it makes multiple copies of itself, so they either have to have a Mindbreak Trap at the ready, or alot of mana. Incredible value for just U.
Foil - Counters that can be cast even when tapped out are invaluble, due to the surprise factor, and the versatility. A soild card, just keep in mind, just because you aren't spending mana doesn't mean you aren't paying a cost. Pitching 2 cards can be a big deal. Use this one wisely.
Negate - Most of the time, the spells you should be trying to counter will be other counterspells, or spells aimed at taking out your permanents. Negate is a cheap and effective way to put a stop to just those cards.
Spell Crumple - Can be a pretty mean card when used on someone's general to send them to the bottom of their library, but sometimes, that is just what you have to do. Pricey, but it puts itself on the bottom of your deck if it resolves, so it has the ability to be used more than once a game.
Trickbind - This one is my favorite. EDH is a format filled with powerful activated and triggered abilities, and being able to interact with them is invaluble. On top of that, Trickbind is virtually uncounterable due to split second, and the ability to shut down activated abilites for a whole turn is very useful against many creatures.
Notable Exclusions
There just isn't enough room in the deck to play all the countermagic you want, so I went with what I felt were the cheapest and most effective counters. Here are some others you can include if you have them, or feel that the deck needs more protection.
Force of Will - Pretty much strictly better than Foil. Play it if you have it.
Cryptic Command - The epitomy of versatility. This card just has so many options, most blue decks feel required to play it. I don't simply because I don't own it, and 4 mana is a hair more that I usually like to pay for my counters. If you have one though, I highly reccommend playing it.
Counterbalance - This card always felt oppressive to me when used with Sensei's Divinig Top, and fairly useless without it. Not my kind of card.
Double Negative - I used to run this card, but it is pretty handily outclassed by Counterflux.
Mindbreak Trap - Play it if you got it. The ability to counter un-counterable spells is amazing, and it is free more often than you think. I don't play it because I don't have it. But I've been trying to get one for a while.
Red Elemental Blast and Pyroblast - Useful cards in a blue heavy meta. But that is not my meta. If yours is, feel free to run these bad boys, you won't regret it.
Assorted Utility and Other Bombs - This is sort of the "season to taste" section of the list. Lots of pet cards and utility spells can fit in here. See something here you don't like? Its probably not necessary, and you can sub cards in and out to your hearts content. Easily the most flexible part of the list.
Basilisk Collar - One of my favorite cards in the deck. It's usually what I tutor for with Fabricate, as it makes both Niv's into machine guns of creature doom, as well as Izzet Staticaster. Also the only real source of lifegain in the deck. A true powerhouse I would not reccommend cutting.
Beacon of Tomorrows - The only extra turn card in the deck. I chose it over the others since the self shuffling effect is huge, and gives the deck a feeling of infinity if you start going off with Dream Halls and hand cyclers. Honestly though, this card is probably on the chopping block, as extra turns are rather un-fun to play against, and can lead to some fairly boring games.
Clone - Clones are especially good in EDH since they are no questions asked removal spells for opposing Generals. But outside of that, they also offer a whole host of extra utility that is limited only by what creatures are in play.
Elixir of Immortality - Another graveyard reset, as well as a smidgen of life gain, all for the low cost of 3 mana. A solid card that serves as a nice way to instantly protect your graveyard once it is in play and you leave the mana open.
Increasing Vengeance - My personal choice for spell replication. It may be limited to just your spells, but if you ever flash it back, boy is it a doozy. Getting 3 of a hand cycler will usually be enough to kill a person or two.
Insurrection - This card is insane in multiplayer games. Its a very powerful effect to just turn all the armies in play on their owners, and when cast at the right moment, it will usually just win the game. Sometimes anticlimactic, but a solid alternate win condition.
Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs - My personal choice of aggro avoidance. Its not brutally oppressive, but keeps the creature swarms at bay, and occasionally can build you up a respectable pile of Hill Giants. Propaganda is another perfectly viable choice for this slot.
Leyline of Anticipation - FLASH! AAAhAAA! SAVIOUR OF THE - Ehem. Excuse me. This card is a house. The lines of play this opens up are insane. Being able to stack up piles of usually sorcery speed hand cyclers is amazing. Flashing out your general on an endstep to start cycling hands on your next turn is wonderful. Really, just being able to play your game on your opponent's turns is exactly what this deck wants to be able to do. It lets you react to plays far more effectivly. A definite keeper.
Lightning Greaves - I've mentioned this card a lot already, so you already know most of what it can do. Its an EDH staple for a reason. Being able to speed up your guys while also protecting them from spot removal for only 2 mana is one hell of a bargain.
Mizzium Transreliquat - A pet card of mine. It can do anything! It can be anything from a mana rock to a powerhouse equipment. Its even more hilarious with Phyrexian Metamorph. It is a little slow, but I always manage to have fun with it.
Neko-Te - This is usually reserved for the hands of our favorite Dragon Wizard, but it plays nice with any pinger. It effectly doubles Niv's damage against players, and can lock down whole boards of opposing creatures, since once damaged, they won't untap until Neko-Te leaves play. A solid card, and one of my favorites.
Phyrexian Metamorph - Good for pretty much the same reasons as Clone, except he sometimes only costs 3 mana, and can clone artifacts. Versatility!
Psychosis Crawler - This guy is like your second copy of Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, with a few key differences. Firstly, he causes life loss, not damage. That is relevant more often than you thing. Secondly, he hits all of your opponents. This is extremely powerful, but be aware of the hate that this horror brings. He is scary, thus people will be scared of you when they see him. He is not to be cast lightly.
Redirect - A surprisingly powerful spell. It can act like a counterspell, or turn spot removal on those who would use it against you. Just keep an eye on any spell that has a target for fun Redirection tricks.
Sakashima the Imposter - The master of all clones. He has the ability to safely clone any legendary creature, and keep both of them in play. Usually I just use him as an actual second copy of Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, but he has many other uses, and like any clone, is only limited by the creatures in play.
Notable Exclusions
Obviously I won't be able to list everything here, so anything you think would fit the decklist, feel free to add in. Here are some cards I have considered myself.
Reverberate, Twincast, Fork, and Wild Riccochet - Spell copying effects are very powerful, especially since they can function as counterspells to opposing counterspells. I personally couldn't find room in my deck for these, but if you can, they are great additions to this deck.
Phantasmal Image - Another good clone, I just like my clones to be a little more sturdy.
Time Stretch, Time Warp, etc... - Extra turns are powerful. Probably too powerful. They can also make games boring for people who aren't taking the extra turns. Use these cards with care.
Stranglehold - The asymmetry of this card usually just angers your opponents and puts a big target on your head. You have enough countermagic to stop unfair things from happening, so you don't really need this.
Swiftfoot Boots, Darksteel Plate, Champion's Helm, etc... - Other ways to protect your general can be very good, but I find them rather unnecessary if you just wait for the opportune moment to cast your general. If you feel like you need them, they can be useful, but learning when its safe to cast Niv is a more useful skill to have.
Tezzeret the Seeker - I experimented with a Tezz package, artifact lands and extra mana rocks, and while cool, it just wasn't what I wanted to be doing. If you have a soft spot for Tezz, feel free to add him in, as gives a nice boost in consistency and speed.
Bribery, Blatant Thievery, Treachery, ect... - I'm not a fan of taking people's things. I understand that these effects have their place in the game, but I find they generate hate for not a huge amount of benefit. If you like these types of cards, by all means, use 'em.
Mana Acceleration - You want to be casting a lot of spells in one turn with this deck. The easy way to do that is with Dream Halls, but sometimes, that option is not available to you, and you need to actually pay mana for spells. So to do that, we need a lot of mana. These help us get a lot of mana.
Coalition Relic - A solid mana rock and mana fixer. Used in many multicolor deck to boost you up by 2 mana every other turn.
Darksteel Ingot - Indestructible acceleration and fixing. 'Nuff Said.
Dreamscape Artist - He lets you cast Harrow in blue! What more could you want? With all the ways you can restock your hand, he is a solid way to spend your early turns.
Izzet Signet - Turn 2 acceleration and fixing. Ta-da.
Mind Stone - Turn 2 acceleration, and can be cycled later on if you want.
Solemn Simulacrum - Accelerates you, and turns into a card when he dies. A nice little value package.
Sol Ring - An EDH staple. Probably the best turn 1 play in the deck, especially if you can follow it up with an Izzet Signet or Mind Stone.
Notable Exclusions
I feel like I've hit the right number of mana fixing here, but you can feel free to add more if you don't want to be as reliant on Dream Halls. Just keep in mind, if you do add more mana rocks, try to only pick ones that can produce colored mana, as this deck is extremely color intensive. Here is a sample list of other things you could consider adding:
Lands - Lands are what make a deck tick. I run more basics than most due to card availability, but the non-basics I do have are very effective. Check the Notable Exclusions for some ideas on other non-basics you could run.
Boseiju, who Shelters All - One of the best non basics. Being able to make sure a key hand cycler or that Blue Sun's you just tapped out for resolve is a very good thing to be able to do. The life cost isn't too much when the spell you are casting wins you the game.
Cascade Bluffs, Command Tower, Izzet Boilerworks, Izzet Guildgate, Scalding Tarn, Steam Vents, Sulfur Falls, Shivan Reef - These are just a basic suite of Red and Blue dual lands to help keep the mana smooth.
Cavern of Souls - I usually name Wizard with this, and that is the most common creature type in the deck. But, naming Sphinx or Eldrazi can be the correct play at times as well. Uncounterable creatures can be very nice.
Lonely Sandbar and Forgotten Cave - The two on color cycling lands. Lands when you need them, a card from the top of your deck when you don't. Simple and elegant.
Minamo, School at Water's Edge - This card is pretty awesome. Getting extra draws off of Niv is nice, but this land's real best friend is definitely Arcanis. Getting to draw 6 cards for UU, that looks an awful lot like 2 Ancestral Recall's to me.
Tectonic Edge - Targeted land destruction is a bit of a necessity in many EDH playgroups. Common targets are Gaea's Cradle, Academy Ruins, Cabal Coffers, Eye of Ugin, and many others. Lands are strong, and having a cheap and reliable answer to them is a good thing.
Temple of the False God - A nice bit of acceleration right in your land drop. It only makes colorless, but the extra mana is nice.
Notable Exclusions
Strip Mine and Wasteland - Pretty much both strictly better than Tectonic Edge. If you have them, use them, if not, don't worry about it.
Reliquary Tower - You may have noticed that I have no way of increasing my maximum hand size in this deck. This is because I often find myself in need of my discard step in order to pitch Kozilek, Butcher of Truth and reset my graveyard. If I still played Laboratory Maniac, I could see playing this land, but without him, discarding extra cards is not a big deal, and often beneficial.
Mikokoro, Center of the Sea - A solid hugs card, and an easy way to keep the cards flowing. I don't play it because I don't have one, and feel like Jace Beleren already fills this role, but if you have/like this card, feel free to play it.
Playing the Deck
You want to spend the early turns of the game developing your mana base, keeping 5-7 cards in your hand, and making sure you don't die to any nuts combos or crazy aggressive decks.
Try to remain as neutral as possible. Don't go out of your way to deal with what people are doing unless they are directly effecting you in a negative way. Once you have over 12-ish mana, and a hand cycler in hand, you can start considering casting your general.
Once in play, you shouldn't expect Niv to stick around for too long, so try to make the most of his time on this earth. Draw as many cards as you can, and do as much lasting damage as possible.
Ideally, at some point during your hand cycling shenanigans you will draw Dream Halls. Resolving that should lock up the game in your favor.
Your countermagic should be used very re-actively, mostly in defense of your hand, various important permanents you have in play, or to just stop someone from outright winning the game. There are a few other specific cards worth countering I will mention in the next section.
Your removal should also be used defensively. Only take things out that are specifically coming at you. This is why I try to keep most of my removal instant speed, so you can actually be sure that you are the intended target of any attacks before you respond.
Problem Cards and Things to Watch out for
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight and other damage reducers -Try not to let cards that halve damage stick around, as it makes it very difficult for Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind to do much. Counter them if you see them, other wise, Capsize, Cyclonic Rift or Psychosis Crawler are probably your only outs.
Rest in Peace and other graveyard exilers - This deck can burn through it's library like no other, so it needs to restock itself often 2-3 times a game. These types of global graveyard destroyers can make it very difficult to operate. Counter on sight if you have a sizeable graveyard, otherwise, make sure you bounce them before your lose too many of your cards.
Maralen of the Mornsong and other things that don't let you draw cards - Your deck needs to draw cards to do anything productive. Kill these cards on sight.
Leyline of Sanctity and other cards that give your opponents Hexproof/Shroud - Outside of Psychosis Crawler and corner case mill scenarios, you need to eventually target your opponents to kill them. Make sure these cards aren't around when you start going off.
Changelog:
-1 Darksteel Ingot, +1 Izzet Cluestone
New cards being considered for testing:
Melek, Izzet Paragon - A neat Future Sight effect that has some pretty powerful upside. Getting double hand cyclers or counters off the top is pretty sweet.
Turn / Burn - Now this is some versatile removal. For 5 mana, you can take out any non-shroud target at instant speed. You can screw up people's alpha strikes, or just take out a mana dork. The range of uses this has just begs to be tried out.
Ral Zarek - I'm not entirely sure how good Ral would be in this deck, but his ability to accelerate us a little, or bolt down targets seems like a nifty little tool box with out the huge target that most Planewalkers have. I'll have to give this guy a shot.
Blast of Genius - 6 mana is a lot to ask for when you are only drawing 3 cards, but the fact that this has the potential to be a powerful burn spell is definitely something. Its biggest drawback is it's sorcery speed, but I'm willing to try this one out before immediately dismissing it.
Nin's theft
Mill all decks
bruna blink
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:symu::symr: Melek WheelStorm
:symw::symg: Trostani Enchantress (updated 6/5)
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Thada Adel Stax WIP
Nin's theft
Mill all decks
bruna blink