Hi everyone. This is my Zur the Enchanter's deck, I've been playing it for a almost a year but I think it need's a change. The deck wins basically with Phyresis, Zur is so hated in my meta that I'm usually focused by everyone, so I give Zur: Steel of the Godhead(to get lifelink and survive), Battle Mastery, Ethereal Armor and Phyresis. It works fine for me, I win many games, but it's boring because it's the same strategy in every game. I think I could use Zur's tutoring for something better than voltron so I would like some advice. It's hard for me to get new cards and my budget is limited so this is the deck I've been able to pull together with my resources, I really like it so I want to make it better.
Zur tends to be a fairly linear general.
Step 1: Play Zur repeatedly until he sticks.
Step 2: Take control of the game.
Step 3: Kill each opponent in turn.
As such, he tends to lend himself more to competitive play than casual fun.
How you're going to modify that routine is a very good question.
Assuming that you're trying to make the deck more competitive without breaking the bank, I noticed a few things missing from your list:
Angelic Renewal - Passively protects Zur from his next brush with death.
Mistveil Plains - Another way to reload your enchantments into Zur's magazine.
Cavern of Souls - Thumb your nose to those counter-happy decks. Well worth it if anyone in your meta likes to say "No!". The price has dropped since it's rotation, but it's still no budget card.
Sun Titan - Good alternate win con. Recurs anything Zur can tutor, and a few things he can't.
Nevermore - This little piece of obnoxious shuts down general reliant decks like nobody's business. Just name the annoying general and laugh all the way to victory.
Darksteel Mutation - Another piece of anti-general tech. Shuts them down pretty effectively. Not recommended vs Voltron decks as they will just pump it up anyway and now it's indestructible.
I absolutely agree with adding Solitary Confinement, but I consider Land Tax to be less useful (mostly because in my build, I don't use so many basic lands). It may serve you better than I though.
Don't bother with Empyrial Armor. You shouldn't need that many buffs. Your current package should be more than sufficient.
"The distance between genius and insanity... Is measured only by success."
-Elliot Carver, Tomorrow Never Dies
"If violence isn't solving it, you're obviously not using enough!"
-Me
A kid at my local gameshop wanted to break a twenty.
"You got 2 tens?" he asked me.
"No, but I probably got 3 fives." I replied.
"Perfect!"
"You might want to check your math there."
Angelic Renewal - Passively protects Zur from his next brush with death.
Mistveil Plains - Another way to reload your enchantments into Zur's magazine.
Cavern of Souls - Thumb your nose to those counter-happy decks. Well worth it if anyone in your meta likes to say "No!". The price has dropped since it's rotation, but it's still no budget card.
Sun Titan - Good alternate win con. Recurs anything Zur can tutor, and a few things he can't.
Nevermore - This little piece of obnoxious shuts down general reliant decks like nobody's business. Just name the annoying general and laugh all the way to victory.
Darksteel Mutation - Another piece of anti-general tech. Shuts them down pretty effectively. Not recommended vs Voltron decks as they will just pump it up anyway and now it's indestructible.
Mistveil Plains - Wow! I actually have this card and never thought of it!
Cavern of Souls - I want it since the fist time I saw it... I think it's okay to get cards out of budget from time to time! So I'll try to get one asap.
Sun Titan - I have one, I'll make a space for him.
I absolutely agree with adding Solitary Confinement, but I consider Land Tax to be less useful (mostly because in my build, I don't use so many basic lands). It may serve you better than I though.
Don't bother with Empyrial Armor. You shouldn't need that many buffs. Your current package should be more than sufficient.
I forgot to mention this earlier because I mainly play Zur in French list: Vanishing - Banned in French EDH for being too all-encompasing, this protects Zur from anything up to and including Wrath effects. Far better than Flickerform as it's cheaper to play, activate, and he doesn't come back until you untap. The thing about this card is the probable difficulty in finding it. I doubt many of your fellow traders would have it on hand, and your LGS might not even have any depending on how far back their singles go. Highly recommended as one of Zur's first few tutor targets if you have UU available. Angelic Renewal is a good alternative for when you don't have mana up.
"The distance between genius and insanity... Is measured only by success."
-Elliot Carver, Tomorrow Never Dies
"If violence isn't solving it, you're obviously not using enough!"
-Me
A kid at my local gameshop wanted to break a twenty.
"You got 2 tens?" he asked me.
"No, but I probably got 3 fives." I replied.
"Perfect!"
"You might want to check your math there."
I forgot to mention this earlier because I mainly play Zur in French list: Vanishing - Banned in French EDH for being too all-encompasing, this protects Zur from anything up to and including Wrath effects. Far better than Flickerform as it's cheaper to play, activate, and he doesn't come back until you untap. The thing about this card is the probable difficulty in finding it. I doubt many of your fellow traders would have it on hand, and your LGS might not even have any depending on how far back their singles go. Highly recommended as one of Zur's first few tutor targets if you have UU available. Angelic Renewal is a good alternative for when you don't have mana up.
Vanishing preserves Auras and counters. It may not explicitly say so, but it's in the rules for Phasing.
702.23d - The phasing event doesn't actually cause a permanent to change zones or control, even though it's treated as though it's not on the battlefield and not under its controller's control while it's phased out. Zone-change triggers don't trigger when a permanent phases in or out. Counters remain on a permanent while it's phased out. Effects that check a phased-in permanent's history won't treat the phasing event as having caused the permanent to leave or enter the battlefield or its controller's control. [CompRules 2009/07/08]
...
702.23f - When a permanent phases out, any Auras, Equipment, or Fortifications attached to that permanent phase out at the same time. This alternate way of phasing out is known as phasing out "indirectly." An Aura, Equipment, or Fortification that phased out indirectly won't phase in by itself, but instead phases in along with the permanent it's attached to. [CompRules 2009/07/08]
As far as Thassa goes, seems kinda wins-more to me. How do you feel about getting a Scry 1 every upkeep? The activated ability is almost literally useless for sneaking Zur since he's going to have shroud most of the time and already be unblockable via Steel of the Godhead. For your other creatures, they are not your focus, so why bother? You're unlikely to get the required devotion count with Zur off the board without re-tooling your deck a bit and over-committing. I think Phyrexian Arena is better for a 3-color deck. Heavy Ux deck, or Mono-U... possiblely a different story. I think Sun Titan and Phyrexian Arena should serve the rolls Thassa might fill better and more consistently.
Maybe I should add Thassa to my Mono-U Aggro EDH. Which reminds me... but that is for another thread.
"The distance between genius and insanity... Is measured only by success."
-Elliot Carver, Tomorrow Never Dies
"If violence isn't solving it, you're obviously not using enough!"
-Me
A kid at my local gameshop wanted to break a twenty.
"You got 2 tens?" he asked me.
"No, but I probably got 3 fives." I replied.
"Perfect!"
"You might want to check your math there."
I'm working actually also on a veeery budget Zur EDH. I bumped into something helpful too.
How about: Umbra Mystic ?
I added it, to have additional some protection for Zur in care of mass removals or so.
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"If you search me, I am near insanity, more exactly on the thin line between insanity and panic, round the coner of agony, not far from absurdity and idiocy."
I'm working actually also on a veeery budget Zur EDH. I bumped into something helpful too.
How about: Umbra Mystic ?
I added it, to have additional some protection for Zur in care of mass removals or so.
I prefer Angelic Renewal, an aura with natural TotemArmor, or a good old-fashioned counterspell to serve that function. It's best not to put the anti-wrath functionality on something so easily removed as another creature since they are so, well, easily removed. I believe that Angelic Renewal is the best choice for it's flexibility to save any creature and because it's independent of that creature (as it's not an Aura) for cases where the creature is Exiled somehow (unlikely for Zur, but Sun Titan also loves this thing). You can also choose to save the creature or not depending on the circumstance.
The power boost from the auras is negligible, though the first strike from Hyena Umbra is kind of nice. In the end, it's up to the person building the deck, Angelic Renewal may not be available, but it's definitely served me well and quite budget friendly.
"The distance between genius and insanity... Is measured only by success."
-Elliot Carver, Tomorrow Never Dies
"If violence isn't solving it, you're obviously not using enough!"
-Me
A kid at my local gameshop wanted to break a twenty.
"You got 2 tens?" he asked me.
"No, but I probably got 3 fives." I replied.
"Perfect!"
"You might want to check your math there."
Cards in my Zur list that I don't see in yours that I think are pretty essential:
Necropotence: This card of course combo's with Solitary Confinement, which I feel is pretty essential for Zur.
Solitary Confinement: hit above, and mentioned by you and others, more or less always better than Island Sanctuary
Mana Vortex: This card is nuts. Since Zur is putting it into play you don't have to sac a land to it when it hits the board (you arent casting it). If you play this with Crucible of worlds on board its a hard lock. If not it still enables you to continue playing and fetching up enchantments while everyone else either searches for an answer or starts holding back their lands for when the enchantment leaves play. This card is AMAZING and can give you THE decisive tempo swing you need early game.
Stand Still: This card is a trap for the other players. Smart players will bust it instantly, in which case you and everyone else get to Ancestral Recall (you can be political with this, especially is another player is alrady ramping ahead of everyone else). Less Amazing players will hesitate...and you will continue to play enchantments with Zur unimpeded...
Counter Balance: It fetches with Zur and you are already running top. it is less amazing than it is in Legacy but it is still crazy powerful in EDH.
Aura of Silence:
necromancy: This card is bonkers, especially with Sun Titan in the deck. The best use of it is with Karmic Guide and Sun titan: Fetch Necro with Zur reanimate Karmic guide bringing in something else. Don't pay echo for the guide next turn. Bring back necromancy with Sun titan targeting Karmic Guide. Rinse, Repeat.
Vanishing: This has already been mentioned. use it. its amazing.
Diplomatic Immunity: Ditto
Stand Still: This card is a trap for the other players. Smart players will bust it instantly, in which case you and everyone else get to Ancestral Recall (you can be political with this, especially is another player is alrady ramping ahead of everyone else). Less Amazing players will hesitate...and you will continue to play enchantments with Zur unimpeded...
I'm on the fence for Standstill. Yes it's slightly political, and yes it does screw the next guy to play a spell, but will it do great things? I don't know. I suppose it depends on how tight you have the board locked down.
Counter Balance: It fetches with Zur and you are already running top. it is less amazing than it is in Legacy but it is still crazy powerful in EDH.
The reason Counterbalance is good in legacy is because of the massive polarization of mana costs in legacy (probably 80%+ of spells cast are 1 or 2 mana). EDH does not share that distinction.
Plus Zur gravitates toward CMCs 3 and less, where the average classic EDH gravitates towards 5-6+. You will catch the odd spell, but you can't keep tutoring AND keep a card or two on top for countering those big, swingy spells.
Seal of Cleansing is better in almost every case except when you're fighting an artifact/enchantment happy opponent like Arcum Dagsson. Most of the time you're going to be tutoring it up just to take out a target anyway right?
necromancy: This card is bonkers, especially with Sun Titan in the deck. The best use of it is with Karmic Guide and Sun titan: Fetch Necro with Zur reanimate Karmic guide bringing in something else. Don't pay echo for the guide next turn. Bring back necromancy with Sun titan targeting Karmic Guide. Rinse, Repeat.
This one does work, but not quite the way you think it does. Karmic Guide has Protection from Black, which means that Necromancy will bring it back, change into an aura, attach to the angel, and either promptly fall off in a state-based action or fail to attach to it. In either case, this will in turn will force you to sac the angel immediately.
Cute trick, but it's 3 cards plus another creature to pull it off. Better to just recur the Necromancy in on the creature you want to bring back, assuming Sun Titan can't do it himself. I suppose this does bring back a guy Sun Titan can't repeatedly though. Still, it's a lot of effort.
"The distance between genius and insanity... Is measured only by success."
-Elliot Carver, Tomorrow Never Dies
"If violence isn't solving it, you're obviously not using enough!"
-Me
A kid at my local gameshop wanted to break a twenty.
"You got 2 tens?" he asked me.
"No, but I probably got 3 fives." I replied.
"Perfect!"
"You might want to check your math there."
You are wrong about necromancy: auras only target when they are being cast. Once it's attached to the Karmic Guide (who isn't pro black in the yard), it no longer targets, thus necromancy doesn't fall off. That aside.
I get your logic on counterbalance. I do. I have been playing it in my Zur deck for almost 2 years. You will be surprised how much stuff you catch with it. Though zur's enchantments tend toward 3 mana most of the rest of the Deck doesn't.
Seal of cleansing is actually ONLY better if you are hard cAsting it as opposed to fetching with Zur. Aura is ONE MANA more for an effect that Is almost always strictly better.
Standstill is quite good.
Unless you have an ideological opposition to mass mana denial I simply can't recommend mana vortex highly enough.
You are wrong about necromancy: auras only target when they are being cast. Once it's attached to the Karmic Guide (who isn't pro black in the yard), it no longer targets, thus necromancy doesn't fall off. That aside.
No sir, you're quite mistaken. I believe the common mnemonic acronym for protection is "D.E.B.T." Something with protection cannot be Damaged, Enchanted/Equipped, Blocked, or Targeted by anything with the protected quality. Enchanted/Equipped is more accurately described as Attached, but that ruins the acronym.
I suppose it could be D.-T.A.B. or T.A.B.D., but those aren't as catchy.
702.14c - A permanent or player with protection can't be enchanted by Auras that have the stated quality. Such Auras attached to the permanent or player with protection will be put into their owners' graveyards as a state-based action. (See Rule 704, "State-Based Actions.") [CompRules 2009/07/08]
The fact that it doesn't target is irrelevant. The aura would still fall off because it's a black aura attached to Karmic Guide, an illegal host.
I get your logic on counterbalance. I do. I have been playing it in my Zur deck for almost 2 years. You will be surprised how much stuff you catch with it. Though zur's enchantments tend toward 3 mana most of the rest of the Deck doesn't.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. What's your hit ratio and how many opponents do you typically play against? Top is banned in French so I can't use it.
Seal of cleansing is actually ONLY better if you are hard cAsting it as opposed to fetching with Zur. Aura is ONE MANA more for an effect that Is almost always strictly better.
Fair enough. My list was aimed at a French Competitive Meta as opposed to multiplayer. In French, there is less room for that kind of latitude. I had the same thought at one point, but someone managed to convince me to change it. It does occur to me that it may be cast often enough to matter.
Unless you have an ideological opposition to mass mana denial I simply can't recommend mana vortex highly enough.
I think it doesn't go far enough. I run Armageddon and Cataclysm in my French Zur list. But that's built for a cutthroat tourney where that kind of BM will still fly and not casual tables.
One of the nastier options I've run across for Zur is his namesake enchantment, Zur's Weirding. Unfortunately it's not Zur-tutor-friendly, but I've won every game where I landed it. With a little lifelink, it denies every disruptive or dangerous draw. Once you stick Zur, you're done playing spells anyway, this makes sure they don't draw gas. I just deny every draw to be safe, but that's unnecessary.
"The distance between genius and insanity... Is measured only by success."
-Elliot Carver, Tomorrow Never Dies
"If violence isn't solving it, you're obviously not using enough!"
-Me
A kid at my local gameshop wanted to break a twenty.
"You got 2 tens?" he asked me.
"No, but I probably got 3 fives." I replied.
"Perfect!"
"You might want to check your math there."
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1x Zur the Enchanter
Artifacts: 9
1x Armillary Sphere
1x Darksteel Ingot
1x Elixir of Immortality
1x Expedition Map
1x Lightning Greaves
1x Obelisk of Esper
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sol Ring
1x Wayfarer's Bauble
Creatures: 6
1x Baleful Strix
1x Bruna, Light of Alabaster
1x Drift of Phantasms
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Vendilion Clique
1x Trinket Mage
Counters: 16
1x Cancel
1x Counterspell
1x Cryptic Command
1x Dissipate
1x Faerie Trickery
1x Foil
1x Hinder
1x Last Word
1x Pact of Negation
1x Mindbreak Trap
1x Muddle the Mixture
1x Render Silent
1x Rewind
1x Spell Crumple
1x Stoic Rebuttal
1x Undermine
1x Brainstorm
1x Brave the Elements
1x Crib Swap
1x Mortify
1x Path to Exile
1x Return to Dust
1x Swords to Plowshares
Enchantments: 11
1x Arrest
1x Blind Obedience
1x Greater Auramancy
1x Island Sanctuary
1x Journey to Nowhere
1x Oblivion Ring
1x Phyrexian Arena
1x Prison Term
1x Propaganda
1x Seal of Cleansing
1x Seal of Doom
Planeswalker: 1
1x Gideon Jura
Sorceries: 5
1x Supreme Verdict
1x Duress
1x Preordain
1x Winds of Wrath
1x Wrath of God
Zur's auras: 5
1x Battle Mastery
1x Diplomatic Immunity
1x Ethereal Armor
1x Phyresis
1x Steel of the Godhead
1x Arcane Sanctum
1x Azorius Chancery
1x Command Tower
1x Creeping Tar Pit
1x Dimir Aqueduct
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Glacial Fortress
1x Hall of the Bandit Lord
11x Island
1x Orzhov Basilica
12x Plains
1x Rupture Spire
4x Swamp
1x Terramorphic Expanse
1x Tolaria West
Cards that I own being considered:
Thassa, God of the Sea: the only problem is the devotion to blue...
Copy Enchantment: no need to explain.
Empyrial Armor: +X/+X.
Flickerform: protection for Zur.
Notion Thief: card advantage
Inquisition of Kozilek & Sin Collector: help me get rid of any possible threat for Zur.
I want many cards but right now I can think of:
Thoughtseize: help me get rid of any possible threat for Zur.
Solitary Confinement & Land Tax: no need to explain.
WUBR[EDH]Tynma-Ludevic PartnerWUBR
Biyasiz
Step 1: Play Zur repeatedly until he sticks.
Step 2: Take control of the game.
Step 3: Kill each opponent in turn.
As such, he tends to lend himself more to competitive play than casual fun.
How you're going to modify that routine is a very good question.
Assuming that you're trying to make the deck more competitive without breaking the bank, I noticed a few things missing from your list:
I absolutely agree with adding Solitary Confinement, but I consider Land Tax to be less useful (mostly because in my build, I don't use so many basic lands). It may serve you better than I though.
Don't bother with Empyrial Armor. You shouldn't need that many buffs. Your current package should be more than sufficient.
You could lower your curve slightly by changing up your mana-facts for cheaper options. Talismans of Dominance and Progress would be a good starting point. I also like Coldsteel Heart. Then there are the ubiquitous Azorius, Dimir, and Orzhov Signets. I've also heard that Jeweled Amulet is pretty cute, enabling a turn 3 Hasty Zur via Hall of the Bandit Lord.
Karona, Warden of AlcatrazWUBRG
The EPIC EDHWUBRG
Sun Quan Aggro1U
Animar GoodstuffRUG
Horobi MBCB
Medomai NerfWU
Saffi EriksdotterGW
Zur (CF)WUB
-Elliot Carver, Tomorrow Never Dies
"If violence isn't solving it, you're obviously not using enough!"
-Me
A kid at my local gameshop wanted to break a twenty.
"You got 2 tens?" he asked me.
"No, but I probably got 3 fives." I replied.
"Perfect!"
"You might want to check your math there."
Thx man, I'll look for them!
WUBR[EDH]Tynma-Ludevic PartnerWUBR
Biyasiz
Vanishing - Banned in French EDH for being too all-encompasing, this protects Zur from anything up to and including Wrath effects. Far better than Flickerform as it's cheaper to play, activate, and he doesn't come back until you untap. The thing about this card is the probable difficulty in finding it. I doubt many of your fellow traders would have it on hand, and your LGS might not even have any depending on how far back their singles go. Highly recommended as one of Zur's first few tutor targets if you have UU available. Angelic Renewal is a good alternative for when you don't have mana up.
Karona, Warden of AlcatrazWUBRG
The EPIC EDHWUBRG
Sun Quan Aggro1U
Animar GoodstuffRUG
Horobi MBCB
Medomai NerfWU
Saffi EriksdotterGW
Zur (CF)WUB
-Elliot Carver, Tomorrow Never Dies
"If violence isn't solving it, you're obviously not using enough!"
-Me
A kid at my local gameshop wanted to break a twenty.
"You got 2 tens?" he asked me.
"No, but I probably got 3 fives." I replied.
"Perfect!"
"You might want to check your math there."
I like Flickerform more because I keep the auras attached to Zur. However the only aura Zur can't live without is Diplomatic Immunity(at least in my playgroup) and I guess with Mistveil Plains and Sun Titan I can get it back if destroyed.
What about Thassa? I haven't made up my mind yet.
WUBR[EDH]Tynma-Ludevic PartnerWUBR
Biyasiz
Play Zur Stax!
Thanks to Heroes of the Plane for the awesome Sig.
Currently Playing- EDH
GGGOmnath, Locus of the LifestreamGGG
BBBShirei, Lord of PoniesBBB
UWRasputin Dreamweaver, Russia's Greatest Love MachineUW
UBWZur, Killer of FunUBW
UGWTreva, Princess of CanterlotUGW
RWTajic, Master of the Reverse BladeRW
RRRZirilan, How to Train Your DragonRRR
PDH Decks
Gelectrode
Ascended Lawmage
Blaze Commando
Vanishing preserves Auras and counters. It may not explicitly say so, but it's in the rules for Phasing.
As far as Thassa goes, seems kinda wins-more to me. How do you feel about getting a Scry 1 every upkeep? The activated ability is almost literally useless for sneaking Zur since he's going to have shroud most of the time and already be unblockable via Steel of the Godhead. For your other creatures, they are not your focus, so why bother? You're unlikely to get the required devotion count with Zur off the board without re-tooling your deck a bit and over-committing. I think Phyrexian Arena is better for a 3-color deck. Heavy Ux deck, or Mono-U... possiblely a different story. I think Sun Titan and Phyrexian Arena should serve the rolls Thassa might fill better and more consistently.
Maybe I should add Thassa to my Mono-U Aggro EDH. Which reminds me... but that is for another thread.
Karona, Warden of AlcatrazWUBRG
The EPIC EDHWUBRG
Sun Quan Aggro1U
Animar GoodstuffRUG
Horobi MBCB
Medomai NerfWU
Saffi EriksdotterGW
Zur (CF)WUB
-Elliot Carver, Tomorrow Never Dies
"If violence isn't solving it, you're obviously not using enough!"
-Me
A kid at my local gameshop wanted to break a twenty.
"You got 2 tens?" he asked me.
"No, but I probably got 3 fives." I replied.
"Perfect!"
"You might want to check your math there."
I'm working actually also on a veeery budget Zur EDH. I bumped into something helpful too.
How about: Umbra Mystic ?
I added it, to have additional some protection for Zur in care of mass removals or so.
I prefer Angelic Renewal, an aura with natural Totem Armor, or a good old-fashioned counterspell to serve that function. It's best not to put the anti-wrath functionality on something so easily removed as another creature since they are so, well, easily removed. I believe that Angelic Renewal is the best choice for it's flexibility to save any creature and because it's independent of that creature (as it's not an Aura) for cases where the creature is Exiled somehow (unlikely for Zur, but Sun Titan also loves this thing). You can also choose to save the creature or not depending on the circumstance.
The power boost from the auras is negligible, though the first strike from Hyena Umbra is kind of nice. In the end, it's up to the person building the deck, Angelic Renewal may not be available, but it's definitely served me well and quite budget friendly.
Karona, Warden of AlcatrazWUBRG
The EPIC EDHWUBRG
Sun Quan Aggro1U
Animar GoodstuffRUG
Horobi MBCB
Medomai NerfWU
Saffi EriksdotterGW
Zur (CF)WUB
-Elliot Carver, Tomorrow Never Dies
"If violence isn't solving it, you're obviously not using enough!"
-Me
A kid at my local gameshop wanted to break a twenty.
"You got 2 tens?" he asked me.
"No, but I probably got 3 fives." I replied.
"Perfect!"
"You might want to check your math there."
Necropotence: This card of course combo's with Solitary Confinement, which I feel is pretty essential for Zur.
Solitary Confinement: hit above, and mentioned by you and others, more or less always better than Island Sanctuary
Mana Vortex: This card is nuts. Since Zur is putting it into play you don't have to sac a land to it when it hits the board (you arent casting it). If you play this with Crucible of worlds on board its a hard lock. If not it still enables you to continue playing and fetching up enchantments while everyone else either searches for an answer or starts holding back their lands for when the enchantment leaves play. This card is AMAZING and can give you THE decisive tempo swing you need early game.
Stand Still: This card is a trap for the other players. Smart players will bust it instantly, in which case you and everyone else get to Ancestral Recall (you can be political with this, especially is another player is alrady ramping ahead of everyone else). Less Amazing players will hesitate...and you will continue to play enchantments with Zur unimpeded...
Counter Balance: It fetches with Zur and you are already running top. it is less amazing than it is in Legacy but it is still crazy powerful in EDH.
Aura of Silence:
necromancy: This card is bonkers, especially with Sun Titan in the deck. The best use of it is with Karmic Guide and Sun titan: Fetch Necro with Zur reanimate Karmic guide bringing in something else. Don't pay echo for the guide next turn. Bring back necromancy with Sun titan targeting Karmic Guide. Rinse, Repeat.
Vanishing: This has already been mentioned. use it. its amazing.
Diplomatic Immunity: Ditto
I'm on the fence for Standstill. Yes it's slightly political, and yes it does screw the next guy to play a spell, but will it do great things? I don't know. I suppose it depends on how tight you have the board locked down.
The reason Counterbalance is good in legacy is because of the massive polarization of mana costs in legacy (probably 80%+ of spells cast are 1 or 2 mana). EDH does not share that distinction.
Plus Zur gravitates toward CMCs 3 and less, where the average classic EDH gravitates towards 5-6+. You will catch the odd spell, but you can't keep tutoring AND keep a card or two on top for countering those big, swingy spells.
Seal of Cleansing is better in almost every case except when you're fighting an artifact/enchantment happy opponent like Arcum Dagsson. Most of the time you're going to be tutoring it up just to take out a target anyway right?
This one does work, but not quite the way you think it does. Karmic Guide has Protection from Black, which means that Necromancy will bring it back, change into an aura, attach to the angel, and either promptly fall off in a state-based action or fail to attach to it. In either case, this will in turn will force you to sac the angel immediately.
Cute trick, but it's 3 cards plus another creature to pull it off. Better to just recur the Necromancy in on the creature you want to bring back, assuming Sun Titan can't do it himself. I suppose this does bring back a guy Sun Titan can't repeatedly though. Still, it's a lot of effort.
Karona, Warden of AlcatrazWUBRG
The EPIC EDHWUBRG
Sun Quan Aggro1U
Animar GoodstuffRUG
Horobi MBCB
Medomai NerfWU
Saffi EriksdotterGW
Zur (CF)WUB
-Elliot Carver, Tomorrow Never Dies
"If violence isn't solving it, you're obviously not using enough!"
-Me
A kid at my local gameshop wanted to break a twenty.
"You got 2 tens?" he asked me.
"No, but I probably got 3 fives." I replied.
"Perfect!"
"You might want to check your math there."
I get your logic on counterbalance. I do. I have been playing it in my Zur deck for almost 2 years. You will be surprised how much stuff you catch with it. Though zur's enchantments tend toward 3 mana most of the rest of the Deck doesn't.
Seal of cleansing is actually ONLY better if you are hard cAsting it as opposed to fetching with Zur. Aura is ONE MANA more for an effect that Is almost always strictly better.
Standstill is quite good.
Unless you have an ideological opposition to mass mana denial I simply can't recommend mana vortex highly enough.
No sir, you're quite mistaken. I believe the common mnemonic acronym for protection is "D.E.B.T." Something with protection cannot be Damaged, Enchanted/Equipped, Blocked, or Targeted by anything with the protected quality. Enchanted/Equipped is more accurately described as Attached, but that ruins the acronym.
I suppose it could be D.-T.A.B. or T.A.B.D., but those aren't as catchy.
The fact that it doesn't target is irrelevant. The aura would still fall off because it's a black aura attached to Karmic Guide, an illegal host.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. What's your hit ratio and how many opponents do you typically play against?
Top is banned in French so I can't use it.
Fair enough. My list was aimed at a French Competitive Meta as opposed to multiplayer. In French, there is less room for that kind of latitude. I had the same thought at one point, but someone managed to convince me to change it. It does occur to me that it may be cast often enough to matter.
I think it doesn't go far enough. I run Armageddon and Cataclysm in my French Zur list. But that's built for a cutthroat tourney where that kind of BM will still fly and not casual tables.
One of the nastier options I've run across for Zur is his namesake enchantment, Zur's Weirding. Unfortunately it's not Zur-tutor-friendly, but I've won every game where I landed it. With a little lifelink, it denies every disruptive or dangerous draw. Once you stick Zur, you're done playing spells anyway, this makes sure they don't draw gas. I just deny every draw to be safe, but that's unnecessary.
Karona, Warden of AlcatrazWUBRG
The EPIC EDHWUBRG
Sun Quan Aggro1U
Animar GoodstuffRUG
Horobi MBCB
Medomai NerfWU
Saffi EriksdotterGW
Zur (CF)WUB
-Elliot Carver, Tomorrow Never Dies
"If violence isn't solving it, you're obviously not using enough!"
-Me
A kid at my local gameshop wanted to break a twenty.
"You got 2 tens?" he asked me.
"No, but I probably got 3 fives." I replied.
"Perfect!"
"You might want to check your math there."