Name's Girochen, thanks for checking out my thread for my favorite Dimir dude. This is my first thought out decklist, so any feedback is greatly appreciated!
I've been playing MTG since the Alara block. The first sanctioned event I ever attended was an M10 draft, in which I pulled my first Baneslayer Angel. With my newly obtained angel, I grew into a U/W Control player with a small card pool and an even smaller wallet (needless to say, I didn't do to well). Once Zendikar released, I started playing Mono B Vampires, happily going 4-0 on a single FNM occasion. However, with the release of Worldwake and the infamous JTMS I transitioned back into U/W Control, playing it with consistent success throughout the Zendikar block. Scars Of Mirrodin prompted a move into U/B control, which I played until Mirrodin Besieged was released and I fell out of the standard scene and explored EDH decks.
Going into EDH I had one primary deck that was constantly changing. Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir was my first commander, which was basically a deck full of every budget counterspell in history and lackluster creatures with no real wincon other than "prevent the opponent from doing things"... which isn't really much of a wincon. Kira, Great Glass-Spinner was the next commander for the deck, improving the creature base and adopting some beefy creatures as wincon while holding onto the extensive counter suite. My playgroup only being myself and 2 friends- I wasn't particularly fun to play against. Duel games were long and uneventful, while multiplayer games simply devolved to "Kill the Kira player so we can actually have some fun". My friend having played mtg for a while longer than I had, suggested a move into a more midrange style of play.
Moving into a more midrange style, I adopted Wrexial, the Risen Deep as a commander- the deck being a hash of black goodstuff, counters, and a sub-theme of playing my opponent's cards. Sadly this deck only lasted a short time, before a member of my playgroup moved and we stopped playing. With the lack of play, I stashed my EDH deck away in a random box, and left it- eventually losing it when I moved to a new apartment.
Around the release of Khans Of Tarkir, one of my old playgroup members called me telling me they found my old EDH deck in a box under his bed, resparking my interest in EDH & MTG. Looking through my old Wrexial deck and talking about new card options, I was pointed towards Lazav, Dimir Mastermind and I fell in love instantly. The deck started as simply changing from Wrexial to Lazav and has evolved into a 1v1 Non-French decklist. Now, I'm trying to perfect the decklist and optimize everything I possibly can in the deck as Lazav has become my baby.
Strategy
Primary Strategy
The primary strategy for the deck is to give swords to dudes and swing while controlling the opponents board with a suite of removal. Evasive creatures and Thassa, God Of The Sea making things unblockable improves consistency and typically forces opponents to board wipe to get rid of a single threat (depending on the creature and/or sword). Mill spells and abilities often turn Lazav into a solid utility creature or beefy beater (that feeling when I see Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre hit the graveyard).
Secondary Strategy
The backup strategy for the deck is to mill the opponent. Initially this was the primary strategy for the deck, but with reanimator decks running around my meta it can often cause trouble for myself unless I am holding Tormod's Crypt or Bojuka Bog. Traumatize and Mind Grind typically make Lazav big, and depending on the deck I'm playing against I'll either setup to play Rise Of The Dark Realms or exile the whole thing.
Addition Card/Combo Bans
My playgroup has our own set of bans and "guidelines" to try to keep games fun and interesting for everyone.
-Sol Ring: We got sick of the luck based around having this in the opening hand, shooting you ahead of your opponents on turn 1 (especially if you happen to have a signet/talisman in hand).
-Time Stop: I'm to blame for this, I made some enemies playing this on their upkeep before they get to draw (also often used to exile everything from Maelstrom Wanderer).
-All "Extra Turn" Cards: This was largely due to one of my playgroup members having the motto of "If you want to play by yourself then don't invite us to watch". We decided to just go with it to avoid further salt from anyone.
-Infinite Combos: We typically frown on them unless they're 3+ piece combos. I like playing close games where every turn matters. Having a seemingly close game instantly ended by an uninteractive combo deck was never fun for anybody but the combo player.
-Stax/Land Destruction: The only Land Destruction we are ok with is stuff specifically to get rid of strong lands such as Maze of Ith or Cabal Coffers. I don't know about you, but I never have fun in a game where I sit and do nothing against Stax or get locked out of playing anything via Iona, Shield of Emeria or Armageddon effects.
The Opposing Decks Maelstrom Wanderer: Built around ramping to cast the general, stacking the Cascade triggers with tutor effects, and pumping out threats (mainly creatures, planeswalkers, and extra combat steps) while ramping enough to cast the general virtually as many times as he wants.
It typically goes either way, mostly in his favor due to the sheer amount of value that Maelstrom provides purely from being cast {let alone hitting the board after cascading into Avenger of Zendikar. Countering early ramp is often vital and Mindbreak Trap helps remove a bit of value from the general- sometimes prompting an immediate scoop depending on what he has in hand. Maze Of Ith is a total powerhouse in this matchup.
I typically have to hold onto multiple board wipes to handle the explosive number of Allies the deck pumps out. The deck runs minimal recursion, but the raw creature count in the deck makes it quite resilient against wipes and removal. I haven't 1v1'd this deck many times, so my knowledge of the matchup is relatively limited.
This matchup is virtually always in my favor. Scary dragons hit the graveyard consistently so Lazav is always changing into something beefy. The main issue I ever run into against the deck is Lazav being a dragon and Karrthus hitting the board, I always try my best to prevent him from landing though.
Ezuri, Claw of Progress: The deck's built around the commander. Lots of little dudes that become huge if Ezuri is allowed to stay on the board for more than a turn or two.
The games are almost always very close unless he or I get the nut draw. Spot removal plays a huge role in the matchup, board wipes being "Oh (poo)!" buttons. Lazav doesn't typically turn into anything huge, often just a Trygon Predator or something else with evasion. Bitterblossom does a good job in this matchup providing much needed defence against the high number of flyers he runs.
The matchup here is neck and neck. Both decks have the tools needed to deal with each other. Heavy mill into a GY exile hits the deck pretty hard. Evasive dudes play a huge role in this matchup, as the deck consistently has a solid board state.
Experiment Kraj: Budget Simic goodstuff deck with a theme of +1/+1 counters and activated abilities to make dudes do silly things.
Unless I draw horribly this is almost always in my favor. I normally try to have Lazav become Shipbreaker Kraken or Consecrated Sphinx and lockdown/remove key creatures. The only answer the deck runs for Lazav is Cyclonic Rift so I tend to keep mana and a counter open once I get a solid board state.
Progenitus: My friend is constantly changing this deck between an enchantment/god theme and 5 color walkers. Both versions of the deck run a lot of wrath effects and lots of late game bombs, relatively slow early game.
I've never 1v1d this deck, but once the late game rolls around the deck drops threats at an alarming rate. Aggro is a little tough for the deck to deal with, so an early Invisible Stalker with a sword is great. Against the enchantment/god iteration of the deck, mill+Rise Of The Dark Realms is very strong.
I've been bugging the owner of this deck to 1v1 me for quite a while but she's never available to play. I'll update this if/when I ever get to play against the deck, I'm simply including it here because it's a possible matchup.
Individual Card Explanation
Creatures
Invisible Stalker: Cheap, hexproof, unblockable, and holds a sword like a champ. Baleful Strix: Cantrip, evasive, cheap, awesome board presence at any stage of the game. Snapcaster Mage: No explanation needed, simply good. Phyrexian Revoker: Turns off walkers, mana rocks, and a lot of utility creatures. Shadowmage infiltrator: Card draw, often times unblockable and holds swords well. Vendilion Clique: Evasive flash hand manipulaton? Yes please. Can be used to help myself if my hand's been removed (thanks Bala Ged Thief...). Trinket Mage: Gets needle, top, or crypt, all are extremely useful in different situations. True-Name Nemesis: No explanation needed. Thassa, God Of The Sea: Makes dudes unblockable when I need it and helps filter my draws. indestructible makes her a powerhouse and a solid blocker. Phyrexian Metamorph: Copies things and does stuff, extremely versatile. Solemn Simulacrum: Helps with the lack of ramp in U/B, does what he always does. Clever Impersonator: Just like Metamorph but slightly harder to cast with a bit more versatility. Glen Elendra Archmage: Protects my swords and dudes from removal, also does a great job disrupting combo. Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker: Evasive with a decent body and an extremely strong ability. Consecrated Sphinx: No explanation needed. Arcanis The Omnipotent: Strong card draw engine and can avoid removal with relative ease. Steel Hellkite: Evasive and provides the deck with a much needed answer to enchantments and artifacts. Silumgar, The Drifting Death: 2 forms of evasion, and an ability that does an amazing job of helping against token decks. Holds swords like a beast. Rune-Scarred Demon: Tutors are always good, I'm always happy to see this guy.
Sorceries/Instants
Traumatize: I'm always happy casting this card, it sets up a lot of options for the deck. Casting this turn 4/5 after casting Lazav makes for good times. Mind Grind: This card has ended too many games to count, simply good in the deck. Vampiric Tutor: No explanation needed. Demonic Tutor: ^ Mystical Tutor: ^ Rite of Replication: Kicking this on a strong creature is nuts, has ended many games singlehandedly. Preordain: Good: The Card. Fact or Fiction: I love everything about this card. It's almost always good, and I find it to be one of the funnest effects in MTG. Reanimate: Steal a strong creature or reanimate one of my own, solid all around. Rise Of The Dark Realms: I've only ever found this to be a dead card once, and that was because the deck I was playing against was near creatureless. Normally, this card ends games. Curse Of The Swine: Provides the deck with a much needed source of creature exile against toolbox decks. Cyclonic Rift: No explanation needed. Damnation: ^ Toxic Deluge: Helps against indestructible dudes, also very easy to cast and leave mana open in comparison to Black Sun's Zenith. All Is Dust: Much needed removal against strong enchantments, gods, and planeswalkers. Hero's Downfall: Solid spot removal, there are a lot of walkers in my meta that this helps with. Reality Shift: Instant speed exile, does wonders against reanimator and toolbox decks. Pongify: Extremely well costed spot removal. Rapid Hybridization: ^ Mindbreak Trap: Total meta call for me, mostly hits strong game enders, combos, and Maelstrom. Cryptic Command: No explanation needed. Muddle The Mixture: Control against a lot of strong spells, also tutors for Cyclonic Rift and other strong cards.
Shizo, Death's Storehouse: Comes in untapped and gives a legendary guy fear, solid. Tolaria West: Tutors for Tormod's Crypt if I need it. Barren Moor: Debating replacing this in the deck with a fetch, it has prevented me from casting a spell on turn 3/4 multiple times and is more often than not played rather than cycled. Reliquary Tower: I put this in almost every deck of mine, I wouldn't dream of playing without it. Minamo, School At Water's Edge: Comes in untapped early and can be used late to keep Lazav (and others) up as a blocker while swinging with him. Maze Of Ith: This has been an absolute powerhouse ever since I put it in the deck, can protect my own guys from surprise tactics or prevent their beefy guy from hitting me. Temple Of The False God: I'm heavily considering replacing this with Ancient Tomb. I've only had to drop this turn 3/4 a couple of times, but it feels terrible when I do. Nephalia Drownyard: Simple utility land to compliment the flavor of the deck, can be used to disrupt Cascade stacking. Academy Ruins: Gets my swords back. Bojuka Bog: Another source of GY removal against toolbox and reanimator decks. Inkmoth Nexus: Simple infect manland, can be used to get in that last bit of damage or block a vital attack. Creeping Tar Pit: Has always been solid, hits walkers through a wall of blockers and can get in the last bit of damage.
[CARD]Isla- just kidding.
Artifacts
Lightning Greaves: Simply good. Sword Of War And Peace: There's a lot of card drawing and Praetor's Counsel running around my meta, this is a total powerhouse against the lot. Sword Of Body And Mind: Compliments Lazav extremely well and provides chump blockers. Sword Of Fire And Ice: Shock+draw? Yes please. Sword Of Light And Shadow: Provides the deck with some small lifegain and creature recursion. Sword Of Feast And Famine: Probably my favorite sword, for obvious reasons. Sword Of The Animist: Provides the deck with some much needed ramp, only a recent addition to the deck, still kind of testing it. Pithing Needle: Trinket Mage target, turns off a lot of utility permanents. Sensei's Divining Top: Good. Tormod's Crypt: Another Trinket Mage target, provides GY exile against toolbox and reanimator decks as well as instant speed removal against E-wit and other recursion effects.
Enchantments
Sphinx's Tutelage: Expensive loot effect, but the mill trigger is quite strong against dual/mono colored decks. Necromancy: Only ever a dead card against creatureless decks, reanimates a beefy dude or a strong utility creature at instant speed. Rhystic Study: Always happy to see this early, typically doesn't do much mid/late game. Phyrexian Arena: Consistent card advantage at the cost of some life, I'd rather run this than Dark Confidant due to my curve. Bitterblossom: The deck can have some trouble handling a lot of flyers, this provides some much needed blockers and can swarm if left unchecked.
Notable Exclusions
Creatures
Dark Confidant: Without more lifegain this is too dangerous with my curve.
Sorceries/Instants
Counterspell: While good, I have trouble finding what to replace in the deck for it- though I haven't ever really found myself wanting this specifically. Black Sun's Zenith: I used to run this in the deck, I found Toxic Deluge to be a step up. Yawgmoth's Will: Ran this in an early version of the deck, solid card for sure but I don't like the sorcery speed.
Enchantments
Can't think of any worth noting (Necropotence is mentioned in a segment below).
Artifacts
Gilded Lotus: I like Thran Dynamo over this for 1v1 games, I would switch to this for multiplayer though. Fireshrieker: Solid card for the playstyle, but I ended up cutting this to up the creature count.
Planeswalkers
Can't think of any I'm completely excluding that would be good considerations.
Cards In Consideration
These are the cards I am considering testing in the deck. Sadly, the part I have the most trouble with is finding cards to switch out for them.
Creatures
Kozilek, the Great Distortion: This would be replacing Arcanis The Omnipotent in the deck. The draw mechanic is desireable in a topdeck situation and the counter ability seems like it could be of use. Wurmcoil Engine: Solid creature with great abilities and stats, would provide the deck with a nice source of lifelink. Wrexial, The Risen Deep: I ran him in the deck for a while but he was always underwhelming, have been considering putting him back in and testing. Jace, Vryn's Prodigy: Price is a limiting factor for this card, though I would like to test this and see what it brings to the deck.
Sorceries/Instants
Bribery: Considering testing this, though my playgroup gets salty whenever this is played. Mana Drain: I want to get my hands on a judge foil of this, once I do it will immediately be going in the deck. Force Of Will: Same as Mana Drain.
Enchantments
Necropotence: Haven't ever used it in any deck of mine, I'm curious what it could do for the deck.
Artifacts
Mindcrank: I ran this for a short period of time and took it out to up the creature count. I'd like to find room for the card again to continue testing. Umezawa's Jitte: I played this for a period of time and was on the fence about it, have been considering putting it back in for testing over Sword Of The Animist.
Planeswalkers
Jace, the Mind Sculptor: Everyone knows him, I took him out when the deck was tuned for multiplayer because he just draws hate immediately. Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas: Equipment specific draw makes me iffy, but I think he'd be worth trying in the deck. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: He would provide the deck with some good utility and removal for trouble colored permanents. Karn Liberated: This was always 7 mana-exile target permanent when I was playing it in the deck. If I start seeing a lot more artifact/enchantment issues going around then this will likely be going back in the deck.
Conclusion
Thanks for checking out my Lazav list! Please leave me any feedback and any ideas for the deck you may have!
Hi!
Name's Girochen, thanks for checking out my thread for my favorite Dimir dude. This is my first thought out decklist, so any feedback is greatly appreciated!
Going into EDH I had one primary deck that was constantly changing. Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir was my first commander, which was basically a deck full of every budget counterspell in history and lackluster creatures with no real wincon other than "prevent the opponent from doing things"... which isn't really much of a wincon. Kira, Great Glass-Spinner was the next commander for the deck, improving the creature base and adopting some beefy creatures as wincon while holding onto the extensive counter suite. My playgroup only being myself and 2 friends- I wasn't particularly fun to play against. Duel games were long and uneventful, while multiplayer games simply devolved to "Kill the Kira player so we can actually have some fun". My friend having played mtg for a while longer than I had, suggested a move into a more midrange style of play.
Moving into a more midrange style, I adopted Wrexial, the Risen Deep as a commander- the deck being a hash of black goodstuff, counters, and a sub-theme of playing my opponent's cards. Sadly this deck only lasted a short time, before a member of my playgroup moved and we stopped playing. With the lack of play, I stashed my EDH deck away in a random box, and left it- eventually losing it when I moved to a new apartment.
Around the release of Khans Of Tarkir, one of my old playgroup members called me telling me they found my old EDH deck in a box under his bed, resparking my interest in EDH & MTG. Looking through my old Wrexial deck and talking about new card options, I was pointed towards Lazav, Dimir Mastermind and I fell in love instantly. The deck started as simply changing from Wrexial to Lazav and has evolved into a 1v1 Non-French decklist. Now, I'm trying to perfect the decklist and optimize everything I possibly can in the deck as Lazav has become my baby.
Strategy
Primary Strategy
The primary strategy for the deck is to give swords to dudes and swing while controlling the opponents board with a suite of removal. Evasive creatures and Thassa, God Of The Sea making things unblockable improves consistency and typically forces opponents to board wipe to get rid of a single threat (depending on the creature and/or sword). Mill spells and abilities often turn Lazav into a solid utility creature or beefy beater (that feeling when I see Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre hit the graveyard).
Secondary Strategy
The backup strategy for the deck is to mill the opponent. Initially this was the primary strategy for the deck, but with reanimator decks running around my meta it can often cause trouble for myself unless I am holding Tormod's Crypt or Bojuka Bog. Traumatize and Mind Grind typically make Lazav big, and depending on the deck I'm playing against I'll either setup to play Rise Of The Dark Realms or exile the whole thing.
The Deck
1 Lazav, Dimir Mastermind
1 Invisible Stalker
1 Baleful Strix
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Shadowmage Infiltrator
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Trinket Mage
1 True-Name Nemesis
1 Thassa, God Of The Sea
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Clever Impersonator
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Arcanis The Omnipotent
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Silumgar, The Drifting Death
1 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Traumatize
1 Mind Grind
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Rite Of Replication
1 Preordain
1 Fact Or Fiction
1 Reanimate
1 Rise Of The Dark Realms
1 Curse Of The Swine
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Damnation
1 Toxic Deluge
1 All Is Dust
1 Hero's Downfall
1 Reality Shift
1 Pongify
1 Rapid Hybridization
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Cryptic Command
1 Muddle The Mixture
1 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Sword Of War And Peace
1 Sword Of Body And Mind
1 Sword Of Fire And Ice
1 Sword Of Light And Shadow
1 Sword Of Feast And Famine
1 Sword Of The Animist
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Talisman Of Dominance
1 Dimir Signet
1 Coalition Relic
1 Thran Dynamo
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Sphinx's Tutelage
1 Necromancy
1 Rhystic Study
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Bitterblossom
1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse
1 Polluted Delta
1 Tolaria West
1 Barren Moor
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Minamo, School At Water's Edge
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Maze Of Ith
1 Sunken Ruins
1 Sunken Hollow
1 Marsh Flats
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 Cabal Coffers
1 Temple Of The False God
1 Watery Grave
1 Nephalia Drownyard
1 Academy Ruins
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Underground Sea
1 Inkmoth Nexus
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Tainted Isle
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Command Tower
8 Island
4 Swamp
Meta Information
Addition Card/Combo Bans
My playgroup has our own set of bans and "guidelines" to try to keep games fun and interesting for everyone.
-Sol Ring: We got sick of the luck based around having this in the opening hand, shooting you ahead of your opponents on turn 1 (especially if you happen to have a signet/talisman in hand).
-Time Stop: I'm to blame for this, I made some enemies playing this on their upkeep before they get to draw (also often used to exile everything from Maelstrom Wanderer).
-All "Extra Turn" Cards: This was largely due to one of my playgroup members having the motto of "If you want to play by yourself then don't invite us to watch". We decided to just go with it to avoid further salt from anyone.
-Infinite Combos: We typically frown on them unless they're 3+ piece combos. I like playing close games where every turn matters. Having a seemingly close game instantly ended by an uninteractive combo deck was never fun for anybody but the combo player.
-Stax/Land Destruction: The only Land Destruction we are ok with is stuff specifically to get rid of strong lands such as Maze of Ith or Cabal Coffers. I don't know about you, but I never have fun in a game where I sit and do nothing against Stax or get locked out of playing anything via Iona, Shield of Emeria or Armageddon effects.
The Opposing Decks
Maelstrom Wanderer: Built around ramping to cast the general, stacking the Cascade triggers with tutor effects, and pumping out threats (mainly creatures, planeswalkers, and extra combat steps) while ramping enough to cast the general virtually as many times as he wants.
General Tazri: Simple 5 color Ally tribal deck. He runs almost no removal except for a single board wipe. The deck puts a lot of focus on a few specific Allies- namely Bala Ged Thief, Turntimber Ranger, Hagra Diabolist, and Kazuul Warlord.
Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund: Extremely explosive dragon tribal. The deck typically swings for 20+ on turn 4 or 5 utilizing Buried Alive and Reanimate.
Ezuri, Claw of Progress: The deck's built around the commander. Lots of little dudes that become huge if Ezuri is allowed to stay on the board for more than a turn or two.
Karador, Ghost Chieftain: If Lazav is my baby, then this is my friend's baby. The deck is a finely tuned 1v1 toolbox reanimator. Consistency is this deck's middle name, running Survival Of The Fittest and a huge slew (and beautiful mana curve) of utility creatures including the infamous Saffi Eriksdotter, Reveillark, and Karmic Guide.
Experiment Kraj: Budget Simic goodstuff deck with a theme of +1/+1 counters and activated abilities to make dudes do silly things.
Progenitus: My friend is constantly changing this deck between an enchantment/god theme and 5 color walkers. Both versions of the deck run a lot of wrath effects and lots of late game bombs, relatively slow early game.
Roon Of The Hidden Realm: Typical Roon deck, lots of ETB triggers and recursion.
Individual Card Explanation
Creatures
Invisible Stalker: Cheap, hexproof, unblockable, and holds a sword like a champ.
Baleful Strix: Cantrip, evasive, cheap, awesome board presence at any stage of the game.
Snapcaster Mage: No explanation needed, simply good.
Phyrexian Revoker: Turns off walkers, mana rocks, and a lot of utility creatures.
Shadowmage infiltrator: Card draw, often times unblockable and holds swords well.
Vendilion Clique: Evasive flash hand manipulaton? Yes please. Can be used to help myself if my hand's been removed (thanks Bala Ged Thief...).
Trinket Mage: Gets needle, top, or crypt, all are extremely useful in different situations.
True-Name Nemesis: No explanation needed.
Thassa, God Of The Sea: Makes dudes unblockable when I need it and helps filter my draws. indestructible makes her a powerhouse and a solid blocker.
Phyrexian Metamorph: Copies things and does stuff, extremely versatile.
Solemn Simulacrum: Helps with the lack of ramp in U/B, does what he always does.
Clever Impersonator: Just like Metamorph but slightly harder to cast with a bit more versatility.
Glen Elendra Archmage: Protects my swords and dudes from removal, also does a great job disrupting combo.
Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker: Evasive with a decent body and an extremely strong ability.
Consecrated Sphinx: No explanation needed.
Arcanis The Omnipotent: Strong card draw engine and can avoid removal with relative ease.
Steel Hellkite: Evasive and provides the deck with a much needed answer to enchantments and artifacts.
Silumgar, The Drifting Death: 2 forms of evasion, and an ability that does an amazing job of helping against token decks. Holds swords like a beast.
Rune-Scarred Demon: Tutors are always good, I'm always happy to see this guy.
Sorceries/Instants
Traumatize: I'm always happy casting this card, it sets up a lot of options for the deck. Casting this turn 4/5 after casting Lazav makes for good times.
Mind Grind: This card has ended too many games to count, simply good in the deck.
Vampiric Tutor: No explanation needed.
Demonic Tutor: ^
Mystical Tutor: ^
Rite of Replication: Kicking this on a strong creature is nuts, has ended many games singlehandedly.
Preordain: Good: The Card.
Fact or Fiction: I love everything about this card. It's almost always good, and I find it to be one of the funnest effects in MTG.
Reanimate: Steal a strong creature or reanimate one of my own, solid all around.
Rise Of The Dark Realms: I've only ever found this to be a dead card once, and that was because the deck I was playing against was near creatureless. Normally, this card ends games.
Curse Of The Swine: Provides the deck with a much needed source of creature exile against toolbox decks.
Cyclonic Rift: No explanation needed.
Damnation: ^
Toxic Deluge: Helps against indestructible dudes, also very easy to cast and leave mana open in comparison to Black Sun's Zenith.
All Is Dust: Much needed removal against strong enchantments, gods, and planeswalkers.
Hero's Downfall: Solid spot removal, there are a lot of walkers in my meta that this helps with.
Reality Shift: Instant speed exile, does wonders against reanimator and toolbox decks.
Pongify: Extremely well costed spot removal.
Rapid Hybridization: ^
Mindbreak Trap: Total meta call for me, mostly hits strong game enders, combos, and Maelstrom.
Cryptic Command: No explanation needed.
Muddle The Mixture: Control against a lot of strong spells, also tutors for Cyclonic Rift and other strong cards.
Planeswalkers
Tezzeret The Seeker: Gets the right sword at the right time.
Jace, Memory Adept: His 0 makes him a total powerhouse in the deck. Draws when I need him to. Ulting with Sphinx's Tutelage out is simply silly.
Lands
Shizo, Death's Storehouse: Comes in untapped and gives a legendary guy fear, solid.
Tolaria West: Tutors for Tormod's Crypt if I need it.
Barren Moor: Debating replacing this in the deck with a fetch, it has prevented me from casting a spell on turn 3/4 multiple times and is more often than not played rather than cycled.
Reliquary Tower: I put this in almost every deck of mine, I wouldn't dream of playing without it.
Minamo, School At Water's Edge: Comes in untapped early and can be used late to keep Lazav (and others) up as a blocker while swinging with him.
Maze Of Ith: This has been an absolute powerhouse ever since I put it in the deck, can protect my own guys from surprise tactics or prevent their beefy guy from hitting me.
Temple Of The False God: I'm heavily considering replacing this with Ancient Tomb. I've only had to drop this turn 3/4 a couple of times, but it feels terrible when I do.
Nephalia Drownyard: Simple utility land to compliment the flavor of the deck, can be used to disrupt Cascade stacking.
Academy Ruins: Gets my swords back.
Bojuka Bog: Another source of GY removal against toolbox and reanimator decks.
Inkmoth Nexus: Simple infect manland, can be used to get in that last bit of damage or block a vital attack.
Creeping Tar Pit: Has always been solid, hits walkers through a wall of blockers and can get in the last bit of damage.
[CARD]Isla- just kidding.
Artifacts
Lightning Greaves: Simply good.
Sword Of War And Peace: There's a lot of card drawing and Praetor's Counsel running around my meta, this is a total powerhouse against the lot.
Sword Of Body And Mind: Compliments Lazav extremely well and provides chump blockers.
Sword Of Fire And Ice: Shock+draw? Yes please.
Sword Of Light And Shadow: Provides the deck with some small lifegain and creature recursion.
Sword Of Feast And Famine: Probably my favorite sword, for obvious reasons.
Sword Of The Animist: Provides the deck with some much needed ramp, only a recent addition to the deck, still kind of testing it.
Pithing Needle: Trinket Mage target, turns off a lot of utility permanents.
Sensei's Divining Top: Good.
Tormod's Crypt: Another Trinket Mage target, provides GY exile against toolbox and reanimator decks as well as instant speed removal against E-wit and other recursion effects.
Enchantments
Sphinx's Tutelage: Expensive loot effect, but the mill trigger is quite strong against dual/mono colored decks.
Necromancy: Only ever a dead card against creatureless decks, reanimates a beefy dude or a strong utility creature at instant speed.
Rhystic Study: Always happy to see this early, typically doesn't do much mid/late game.
Phyrexian Arena: Consistent card advantage at the cost of some life, I'd rather run this than Dark Confidant due to my curve.
Bitterblossom: The deck can have some trouble handling a lot of flyers, this provides some much needed blockers and can swarm if left unchecked.
Notable Exclusions
Creatures
Dark Confidant: Without more lifegain this is too dangerous with my curve.
Sorceries/Instants
Counterspell: While good, I have trouble finding what to replace in the deck for it- though I haven't ever really found myself wanting this specifically.
Black Sun's Zenith: I used to run this in the deck, I found Toxic Deluge to be a step up.
Yawgmoth's Will: Ran this in an early version of the deck, solid card for sure but I don't like the sorcery speed.
Enchantments
Can't think of any worth noting (Necropotence is mentioned in a segment below).
Artifacts
Gilded Lotus: I like Thran Dynamo over this for 1v1 games, I would switch to this for multiplayer though.
Fireshrieker: Solid card for the playstyle, but I ended up cutting this to up the creature count.
Planeswalkers
Can't think of any I'm completely excluding that would be good considerations.
Cards In Consideration
These are the cards I am considering testing in the deck. Sadly, the part I have the most trouble with is finding cards to switch out for them.
Creatures
Kozilek, the Great Distortion: This would be replacing Arcanis The Omnipotent in the deck. The draw mechanic is desireable in a topdeck situation and the counter ability seems like it could be of use.
Wurmcoil Engine: Solid creature with great abilities and stats, would provide the deck with a nice source of lifelink.
Wrexial, The Risen Deep: I ran him in the deck for a while but he was always underwhelming, have been considering putting him back in and testing.
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy: Price is a limiting factor for this card, though I would like to test this and see what it brings to the deck.
Sorceries/Instants
Bribery: Considering testing this, though my playgroup gets salty whenever this is played.
Mana Drain: I want to get my hands on a judge foil of this, once I do it will immediately be going in the deck.
Force Of Will: Same as Mana Drain.
Enchantments
Necropotence: Haven't ever used it in any deck of mine, I'm curious what it could do for the deck.
Artifacts
Mindcrank: I ran this for a short period of time and took it out to up the creature count. I'd like to find room for the card again to continue testing.
Umezawa's Jitte: I played this for a period of time and was on the fence about it, have been considering putting it back in for testing over Sword Of The Animist.
Planeswalkers
Jace, the Mind Sculptor: Everyone knows him, I took him out when the deck was tuned for multiplayer because he just draws hate immediately.
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas: Equipment specific draw makes me iffy, but I think he'd be worth trying in the deck.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: He would provide the deck with some good utility and removal for trouble colored permanents.
Karn Liberated: This was always 7 mana-exile target permanent when I was playing it in the deck. If I start seeing a lot more artifact/enchantment issues going around then this will likely be going back in the deck.
Conclusion
Thanks for checking out my Lazav list! Please leave me any feedback and any ideas for the deck you may have!