For a long time, I've run the original Kozilek as my commander. For the past few weeks, I've been proxying the newly spoiled Kozilek as my commander, and I love him oh-so-much more than the old one. My friends hated playing against the annihilator trigger, so I guess free counterspells are more fun. (;
This deck plays out as a control/voltron deck, usually winning via commander damage (it only takes 2!) while preventing opponents from removing your board with Kozilek's immensely powerful ability and innate card advantage.
I believe it's worth noting that this deck does not run as many mana rocks as it could; I've slowed the deck down to match my meta a little better. While refilling your hand completely after belching it onto the table to cast Kozilek is cool, many frowns appear when a turn 2 Kozilek hits the table. Instead, I run a lot of recursion and utility creatures to keep the games fresh and a little more bearable for my cohorts.
I've noticed some cards work quite well in this deck:
- Sword of Light and Shadow: Getting back those cards you discard is pretty sweet! Plus, relevant protections from removal.
- Silent Arbiter: Since this Kozilek has Menace, this makes him unblockable! Very powerful. Plus, slows down aggro decks that want to swarm you. Does double duty as a win condition and a great defensive card.
- Junk Diver and Myr Retriever: These guys can get back artifacts you've discarded to counter spells! They become even more insane when paired with sac outlets! For instance, if you need to counter a 5 mana spell, you can sacrifice your Gilded Lotus, then your Myr Retriever to get the Gilded Lotus in hand, and proceed to discard that Gilded Lotus to counter that spell!
- Scroll Rack: Already a powerhouse card, this lets you dig deeper to find a card in case you really need to counter something that's coming up. Also works well with the various tutor effects that appear throughout the deck, and lets you put something in your hand back into your library for Kuldotha Forgemaster to then cheat out.
- Sensei's Divining Top: This card turns Kozilek into a good impression of Counterbalance! You can search for things to counter with, or use it for all its other neat effects.
- Crucible of Worlds: Lots of lands that sacrifice themselves in this deck, and Crucible will let you re-use them. Very abusive with Glacial Chasm, but it's also great for Sanctum of Ugin or Buried Ruin. Also lets you play lands that you sac'd for Scorched Ruins, this card is just very handy. Also quite dandy when using Memory Jar! (Oh, and Strip Mine is in here too...)
- Alhammarret's Archive: I'm still toying around with this card, but it works with a large number of the cards in this deck. Drawing 14 off casting your commander is nothing to sneeze at, mind you. This card also boosts draws from Deal Broker, Skullclamp, Dreamstone Hedron, Sensei's Divining Top, and Trading Post to create impressive card advantage. There are more draw sources as well, but these are quite commonly played.
- Scarecrone: Already a useful card, this becomes scary when used to reanimate big dudes like Steel Hellkite or Myr Battlesphere. It has great synergy with the discard mechanic from Kozilek and the other ways of filling up the graveyard, and I'm rarely sad to see this card. The value of countering a spell with Kozilek only to then reanimate the fatty with Scarecrone is unreal!
- Soul of New Phyrexia: Besides being an on-demand Darksteel Forge that also protects my other permanents, this card can be activated from the graveyard after using it to previously counter something! People will often forget about this lurking in your 'yard and it will save your permanents, albeit for a cost.
- Arcbound Reclaimer: Return things you need, recycle dudes that were destroyed, etc. Pairs well with instant-speed draw like Mind Stone et al. in order to counter things!
Currently, I'm looking for cool ways to use Wastes in the deck, since there are a number of lands I find myself rarely using, and could easily replace them for some Wastes. However, I have to find enough synergy to make it worth running them. I'm hoping y'all could help me find some cool ways to ramp them out. Here's what I have so far:
- Solemn Simulacrum: Previously, only half as useful in colorless EDH. Now, however, I could use him to grab a Wastes for that sweet, sweet ramp and still use his death trigger for drawing.
- Wayfarer's Bauble: Bam, ramp! Not exactly exceptional... definitely not worth switching some land over to wastes for this.
Personally, I feel the existence of Path to Exile and Ghost Quarter are more than enough to justify running a few Wastes. Being able run Solemn Simulacrum and any other synergies you find is just gravy
Can you take a moment to discuss the CMC spread you are looking to reach to make Kozilek's counter as consistent as possible? I'm not sure what numbers are the most important to be able to hit, but I'm wanting to toss Kozilek into a deck just for the manaless counter potential.
My favorite wastes synergy is Extraplanar Lens since in a colorless deck with wastes, it completely gets around the downside of benefiting your opponents.
My favorite wastes synergy is Extraplanar Lens since in a colorless deck with wastes, it completely gets around the downside of benefiting your opponents.
The problem I see with this is that in order to maximize the potential, you will be minimizing (what i consider to be) Colorless commander's biggest selling point which is running ALL the utility lands you could ever want. You will be wanting to cut the great utility lands to jam in more wastes.
Now in my experience, Extraplanar Lens is super powerful, but twice as fragile. I run it in my Nahiri/Equipment deck (with Snow-covered Plains so the rest of the table doesn't get the benefit) and its usually just a lightning rod drawing artifact hate away from my equipment, but those games where it doesn't immediately get blown up are a real treat.
So its really just a pros and cons balance. Is filling your deck with Wastes and giving up all that sweet sweet utility worth the potentially (yet fragile) game winning mana advantage? Is Extraplanar Lens really that good? I personally say no in a colorless deck if you have the budget to run a ton of utility lands, yes in a colorless deck if you only have the budget for wastes, and yes in a monocolor deck if you can pick up Snow-covered lands.
The problem I see with this is that in order to maximize the potential, you will be minimizing (what i consider to be) Colorless commander's biggest selling point which is running ALL the utility lands you could ever want. You will be wanting to cut the great utility lands to jam in more wastes.
Now in my experience, Extraplanar Lens is super powerful, but twice as fragile. I run it in my Nahiri/Equipment deck (with Snow-covered Plains so the rest of the table doesn't get the benefit) and its usually just a lightning rod drawing artifact hate away from my equipment, but those games where it doesn't immediately get blown up are a real treat.
So its really just a pros and cons balance. Is filling your deck with Wastes and giving up all that sweet sweet utility worth the potentially (yet fragile) game winning mana advantage? Is Extraplanar Lens really that good? I personally say no in a colorless deck if you have the budget to run a ton of utility lands, yes in a colorless deck if you only have the budget for wastes, and yes in a monocolor deck if you can pick up Snow-covered lands.
All good points. I just wasn't sure what side of that spectrum you fall on.
Personally I enjoy the ascetic of playing with a bunch of wastes over utility lands both for budget concerns and because I think it makes the deck unique. Didn't think about how that works with snow lands though so that's kinda cool.
I'm one of those on the heavier Wastes side of the equation. For me though, it's not about the Extraplanar Lens (though I do run it, since if I'm going to be wasting anyways, might as well benefit from all angles) - it's about consistent tutoring for increasing ramp, and about thinning out the deck. I've found in goldfishing that I can end up with a lot of extra lands in hand in casting Kozilek, and have limited ways to empty them. Terrain Generator can only do so much (which also needs basics). On top of that, the recurring, consistent tutoring is way to further increase your ramp, without the need of utilizing extra in-hand resources, and without overextending mana-rocks into a wipe.
But then, I only have one full game in vs. disruption, and while I pulled all the wastes from the deck (16), I also had both of my consistent filtration engines out in the same game (Sword of the Animist and Thawing Glaciers + Deserted temple.
The balance against the utility lands is a very real cost though, but I found that there are a lot of utility lands that I'm simply not using, or have such corner-case niche applications as to not actually warrant a slot - not when opening that slot gives me access to another wastes to pull from the deck, giving me 1 extra mana that game instead of a fail-to-find.
I'm probably personally a bit high on my wastes count right now, especially since I'm missing a few of those recursion engines that I mentioned, in order to keep my eldrazi count higher - simply because that seems more fun, despite being a worse plan.
I usually recommend Bottled Cloister to colourless decks. It is a touch risky because if its destroyed when its not your turn you lose your hand forever.
Hey there! I've been playing Kozilek Commander for well over 2 years, based on the list Kozilek, The Butcher With Juice. A wonderful primer. I'm glad to see this updated version!
I was so excited when I saw New Kozilek spoiled, he's just so good and so much more satisfying than OG Kozilek. I agree with you on a ton of points, wastes are a convenience, but a lot of the power in this deck comes from having a stack of lands that can do all sorts of stuff. I do tend to design my decks with -some- way to go off infinitely though, because sometimes the game just needs to end, right? Nim Deathmantle is amazing. It, plus Wurmcoil engine or Myr Battlesphere and either Krark Clan Ironworks or Ashnods Altar forms a 3 card combo to make unlimited tokens to finally put a cap on a long game.
If you're interested at all here's my current (To be updated) List. http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/kozilek-the-great-distortion-of-the-boardstate/ It needs some updates as I've lost some cards due to financial problems, and I picked up some like Memory Jar and Oblivion Stone that I had never previously owned. Currently i'm using Hedron Matrix to make Kozilek a 22/22 for a one hit kill in commander damage but I'm not sure it's worth the slot...
This thread made me aware of Thawing Glaciers, though, and i'm so glad that card works with wastes now. If only i'd realized before!
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This deck plays out as a control/voltron deck, usually winning via commander damage (it only takes 2!) while preventing opponents from removing your board with Kozilek's immensely powerful ability and innate card advantage.
10 Kozilek, the Great Distortion
Artifacts:
0 Everflowing Chalice
0 Tormod's Crypt
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Expedition Map
1 Mana Vault
1 Voltaic Key
1 Skullclamp
2 Scroll Rack
2 Torpor Orb
2 Doubling Cube
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Lightning Greaves
2 Mind Stone
2 Helm of Awakening
3 Pristine Talisman
3 Unstable Obelisk
3 Sword of Light and Shadow
3 Basalt Monolith
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Kyren Toy
3 Rings of Brighthearth
3 Sculpting Steel
3 Semblance Anvil
3 Crucible of Worlds
3 Worn Powerstone
4 Thran Dynamo
4 Trading Post
4 Ur-Golem's Eye
4 Unwinding Clock
4 Vedalken Orrery
4 Clock of Omens
4 Hedron Archive
4 Helm of Possession
4 Krark-Clan Ironworks
5 Memory Jar
5 Gilded Lotus
5 Blinkmoth Urn
5 Alhammarret's Archive
5 Myr Turbine
6 Dreamstone Hedron
7 Akroma's Memorial
7 Spine of Ish Sah
9 Darksteel Forge
0 Ancient Tomb
0 Arcane Lighthouse
0 Blinkmoth Nexus
0 Buried Ruin
0 Cavern of Souls
0 Crystal Vein
0 Darksteel Citadel
0 Eldrazi Temple
0 Encroaching Wastes
0 Eye of Ugin
0 Ghost Quarter
0 Glacial Chasm
0 Hall of the Bandit Lord
0 Haunted Fengraf
0 High Market
0 Homeward Path
0 Mage-Ring Network
0 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
0 Mystifying Maze
0 Phyrexia's Core
0 Reliquary Tower
0 Rogue's Passage
0 Sanctum of Ugin
0 Scorched Ruins
0 Shrine of the Forsaken Gods
0 Spawning Bed
0 Springjack Pasture
0 Strip Mine
0 Tectonic Edge
0 Temple of the False God
0 Thespian's Stage
0 Tower of the Magistrate
0 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
7 All is Dust
Creatures:
2 Copper Gnomes
2 Myr Retriever
3 Palladium Myr
3 Scarecrone
3 Shimmer Myr
3 Deal Broker
3 Junk Diver
3 Metalworker
4 Silent Arbiter
4 Arcbound Reclaimer
5 Kuldotha Forgemaster
6 Soul of New Phyrexia
6 Steel Hellkite
6 Conduit of Ruin
6 Duplicant
7 Myr Battlesphere
9 Void Winnower
10 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
10 Ulamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
Planeswalkers:
7 Karn Liberated
8 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
I believe it's worth noting that this deck does not run as many mana rocks as it could; I've slowed the deck down to match my meta a little better. While refilling your hand completely after belching it onto the table to cast Kozilek is cool, many frowns appear when a turn 2 Kozilek hits the table. Instead, I run a lot of recursion and utility creatures to keep the games fresh and a little more bearable for my cohorts.
I've noticed some cards work quite well in this deck:
- Sword of Light and Shadow: Getting back those cards you discard is pretty sweet! Plus, relevant protections from removal.
- Silent Arbiter: Since this Kozilek has Menace, this makes him unblockable! Very powerful. Plus, slows down aggro decks that want to swarm you. Does double duty as a win condition and a great defensive card.
- Junk Diver and Myr Retriever: These guys can get back artifacts you've discarded to counter spells! They become even more insane when paired with sac outlets! For instance, if you need to counter a 5 mana spell, you can sacrifice your Gilded Lotus, then your Myr Retriever to get the Gilded Lotus in hand, and proceed to discard that Gilded Lotus to counter that spell!
- Scroll Rack: Already a powerhouse card, this lets you dig deeper to find a card in case you really need to counter something that's coming up. Also works well with the various tutor effects that appear throughout the deck, and lets you put something in your hand back into your library for Kuldotha Forgemaster to then cheat out.
- Sensei's Divining Top: This card turns Kozilek into a good impression of Counterbalance! You can search for things to counter with, or use it for all its other neat effects.
- Crucible of Worlds: Lots of lands that sacrifice themselves in this deck, and Crucible will let you re-use them. Very abusive with Glacial Chasm, but it's also great for Sanctum of Ugin or Buried Ruin. Also lets you play lands that you sac'd for Scorched Ruins, this card is just very handy. Also quite dandy when using Memory Jar! (Oh, and Strip Mine is in here too...)
- Alhammarret's Archive: I'm still toying around with this card, but it works with a large number of the cards in this deck. Drawing 14 off casting your commander is nothing to sneeze at, mind you. This card also boosts draws from Deal Broker, Skullclamp, Dreamstone Hedron, Sensei's Divining Top, and Trading Post to create impressive card advantage. There are more draw sources as well, but these are quite commonly played.
- Scarecrone: Already a useful card, this becomes scary when used to reanimate big dudes like Steel Hellkite or Myr Battlesphere. It has great synergy with the discard mechanic from Kozilek and the other ways of filling up the graveyard, and I'm rarely sad to see this card. The value of countering a spell with Kozilek only to then reanimate the fatty with Scarecrone is unreal!
- Soul of New Phyrexia: Besides being an on-demand Darksteel Forge that also protects my other permanents, this card can be activated from the graveyard after using it to previously counter something! People will often forget about this lurking in your 'yard and it will save your permanents, albeit for a cost.
- Arcbound Reclaimer: Return things you need, recycle dudes that were destroyed, etc. Pairs well with instant-speed draw like Mind Stone et al. in order to counter things!
Currently, I'm looking for cool ways to use Wastes in the deck, since there are a number of lands I find myself rarely using, and could easily replace them for some Wastes. However, I have to find enough synergy to make it worth running them. I'm hoping y'all could help me find some cool ways to ramp them out. Here's what I have so far:
- Solemn Simulacrum: Previously, only half as useful in colorless EDH. Now, however, I could use him to grab a Wastes for that sweet, sweet ramp and still use his death trigger for drawing.
- Wayfarer's Bauble: Bam, ramp! Not exactly exceptional... definitely not worth switching some land over to wastes for this.
R Feldon of the Third Path EDH R
X Kozilek, the Great Distortion EDH X
B Sidisi Ad Nauseam Combo EDH B
Older Magic as a Board Game: Panglacial Wurm , Mill
The problem I see with this is that in order to maximize the potential, you will be minimizing (what i consider to be) Colorless commander's biggest selling point which is running ALL the utility lands you could ever want. You will be wanting to cut the great utility lands to jam in more wastes.
Now in my experience, Extraplanar Lens is super powerful, but twice as fragile. I run it in my Nahiri/Equipment deck (with Snow-covered Plains so the rest of the table doesn't get the benefit) and its usually just a lightning rod drawing artifact hate away from my equipment, but those games where it doesn't immediately get blown up are a real treat.
So its really just a pros and cons balance. Is filling your deck with Wastes and giving up all that sweet sweet utility worth the potentially (yet fragile) game winning mana advantage? Is Extraplanar Lens really that good? I personally say no in a colorless deck if you have the budget to run a ton of utility lands, yes in a colorless deck if you only have the budget for wastes, and yes in a monocolor deck if you can pick up Snow-covered lands.
Personally I enjoy the ascetic of playing with a bunch of wastes over utility lands both for budget concerns and because I think it makes the deck unique. Didn't think about how that works with snow lands though so that's kinda cool.
But then, I only have one full game in vs. disruption, and while I pulled all the wastes from the deck (16), I also had both of my consistent filtration engines out in the same game (Sword of the Animist and Thawing Glaciers + Deserted temple.
There are engines that I'm not running though. Salvaging Station would probably be a good include for a more 'standard' kozi deck, and helps Wayfarer's Bauble and Expedition map (into thawing glaciers + Deserted temple), which helps consistency. Likewise Sword of Light and Shadow could be used to recur Burnished Hart and Solemn Simulacrum, and Trading Post could help not only thin out the hand, but likewise aid in the recursion.
The balance against the utility lands is a very real cost though, but I found that there are a lot of utility lands that I'm simply not using, or have such corner-case niche applications as to not actually warrant a slot - not when opening that slot gives me access to another wastes to pull from the deck, giving me 1 extra mana that game instead of a fail-to-find.
I'm probably personally a bit high on my wastes count right now, especially since I'm missing a few of those recursion engines that I mentioned, in order to keep my eldrazi count higher - simply because that seems more fun, despite being a worse plan.
Retired EDH - Tibor and Lumia | [PR]Nemata |Ramirez dePietro | [C]Edric | Riku | Jenara | Lazav | Heliod | Daxos | Roon | Kozilek
CommanderEDH Decks:CommanderEDH DecksWULavinia of the Blinking TenthUW RGURiku the Epic Experimenter’s StormUGR UBRThrax and his Super FriendsRBU RWUZedruu the Hard HeartedUWR
WBU Zur the UnstoppableUBW
I was so excited when I saw New Kozilek spoiled, he's just so good and so much more satisfying than OG Kozilek. I agree with you on a ton of points, wastes are a convenience, but a lot of the power in this deck comes from having a stack of lands that can do all sorts of stuff. I do tend to design my decks with -some- way to go off infinitely though, because sometimes the game just needs to end, right? Nim Deathmantle is amazing. It, plus Wurmcoil engine or Myr Battlesphere and either Krark Clan Ironworks or Ashnods Altar forms a 3 card combo to make unlimited tokens to finally put a cap on a long game.
If you're interested at all here's my current (To be updated) List. http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/kozilek-the-great-distortion-of-the-boardstate/ It needs some updates as I've lost some cards due to financial problems, and I picked up some like Memory Jar and Oblivion Stone that I had never previously owned. Currently i'm using Hedron Matrix to make Kozilek a 22/22 for a one hit kill in commander damage but I'm not sure it's worth the slot...
This thread made me aware of Thawing Glaciers, though, and i'm so glad that card works with wastes now. If only i'd realized before!