Caveat 1
This is a fairly casual deck. Obviously hard control and combo would be a more competitive approach. This deck plays some big, durdly cards (e.g. Sphinx Ambassador and Might Makes Right) that would be the first to be cut if you're looking to tighten up the list.
Caveat 2
This is the first iteration of the list (taking it apart for new wizard commanders), so its recorded here for posterity's sake. I had a blast playing this build, and will improve on this list in the future when I come back to it.
Caveat 3
The land base is stripped bare because everyone has a different mana base. I play my Steam Vents et al in this deck, but you don't have to go out and buy them just to play ball. I play Ancient Tomb and Minamo, School at Water's Edge, but I'm not going to suggest you drop $50 on them. The non-basics I do list are the ones I consider to be most important because they serve a specific function.
Nin's Playstyle
Nine the Pain Artist is a versatile little wizard that can helm a few different shells. In this one we focus on a deck that turns opponents' resources against them.
Priority one is to steal the resource for yourself. Obviously this is the most powerful way to swing a board state, because it both denies something to your opponent and enhances your board state.
Priority two is to clone it for yourself. If you can't deny your enemy, keep pace with them.
Priority three is to remove it. If you can't take it, and you can't clone it, then just get rid of it. Using removal after a clone is basically the same as stealing the card with worse efficiency.
Theft effects are at the top of the list because they're the most powerful, but they're also the most fleeting. Thus Nin is used to nuke things you'd normally give back, gaining you card advantage in the process. Mana can be a problem, so the ideal targets for steal-burn-draw are high priority mana dorks. Timmy-style fatties are best handled with a clone + removal, but I play some rituals (Mana Geyser, Inner Fire) for huge spikes with Nin. Even if you can't destroy a creature, keep in mind Nin is still efficient draw (i.e. 1 less base cost than Blue Sun's Zenith and Stroke of Genius).
Naturally as a blue deck, Nin packs a fairly standard suite of control spells. Theft, Clone, and Burn can deal with a majority of creatures, so optimally you want to save your permission package for high threat non-creatures that can disrupt your shenanigans.
Also, as with any deck but especially so here, knowing your opponents' decks is important. Whether you're searching for creatures with Sphinx Ambassador, saving counterspells for combo pieces, or holding a theft spell for the inevitable Avacyn, Angel of Hope.
Card Choices
Reliquary Tower - An easy way to keep your gains from Nin. Wasteland - Critical for breaking Homeward Path Strip Mine See Wasteland. Arcane Lighthouse - Gets around Lightning Greaves and other hexproof. A majority of theft effects target. Temple of the False God Nin has an X cost ability, so two mana lands are valuable. Ancient Tomb is an include as well, if you can afford it. High Market - The worst, but also most convenient, sacrifice outlet in the deck. On a land its incredible. Make sure they don't get their stuff back!
Lightning Greaves - Nin is a 1/1. If this isn't an auto-include in every deck you build, it is one here. Ashnod's Altar - Sacrifice spare creatures to fuel Nin. Replaceable with Goblin Bombardment or Altar of Dementia. Mimic Vat - If it dies, it can go in the vat. There are some nasty synergies in the deck like Zealous Conscripts, Duplicant, and Dualcaster Mage, but always be on the lookout for enemy bombs. Don't forget it doubles as temporary grave hate! Put the reanimator deck's bomb in exile. Proteus Staff - Tucks your theft targets in the secondary main phase and brings your own creatures out. Its great. Sword of Feast and Famine - Lets you spend all of your mana stealing/cloning in 1st, so Nin can spend it all burning/drawing in 2nd.
Dualcaster Mage - Solid card, but easily cut. People expect you to copy their creatures, so sometimes this guy can come out of left field. Don't forget he's also a counterspell's counterspell. Thada Adel, Acquisitor - Kind of janky and slow, but if you get her out early she's incredibly valuable to your late game. Basically you steal their mana rocks to fuel Nin. If somehow she sticks around (she won't, she always baits removal), start taking artifact creatures like [Solemn Simulacrum to nuke with Nin. Clever Impersonator - One strategy with clones is to target one player in particular, and basically rip off their deck's synergy. Usually a problem arises when they start playing artifacts/enchantments that buff their board, while your versions remain weak. This changes that. Dack's Duplicate - Pick the nastiest creature on board and give it haste. Jalira, Master Polymorphist - Trade that stolen creature for one of your own. Straight forward, powerful, and repeatable. She'll die to a board wipe eventually. Phyrexian Metamorph - Cheapest clone in the deck if you pay life (you should), and targets artifacts. Its good. Sakashima the Impostor - A solid clone that lets you abuse the legend you stole instead of losing it to the legend rule. Never forget the reset ability, its important. Beguiler of Wills - The more creatures you take with other effects, the better creatures you can permanently take with a tap ability. Kind of expensive and durdly, but its free. Usually you'll be snagging utility dorks. Body Double - Clone something after you burn it. Punish the graveyard deck for milling themselves. Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker - Clones every turn. Do I need to explain the insanity of kiki-jiki? Perplexing Chimera - I dislike how the chimera can be used against you (the reason I don't run Conjured Currency). However it makes people hold their bombs or pitch bait spells to it. Its more of a psychological card than anything else. Willbreaker - Play Nin. Play Willbreaker. 3 mana and a tap steals a critter of your choice. Not to mention that Willbreaker's trigger goes on the stack after Nin's ability, so when they both resolve the creature will be under your control so you draw the card instead of your opponent. Zealous Conscripts - Its a classic theft card, and it combos with Kiki. Good stuff. Deadeye Navigator - Keeps any stolen creatures permanently. Dodges removal. Powerful (obviously). Duplicant - Exile that works in blue/red. We do run other options but Duplicant is never a bad include. Keiga, the Tide Star - Great blocker vs those pesky fliers. Great target for sac outlets, especially Jalira. Even better target for clones, as long as you sac the clone. Molten Primordial - Take the cream of the crop and smash. Its taxing on the old mana base, but the swing in combat power can be devastating (without getting into any other Nin shenanigans) Sphinx Ambassador - This is my pet card, there are many like it, but this one is mine. Its an incredibly slow card, but just ripping a critter from someone's deck is so powerful. I've lost the minigame once ever. Sphinx of Uthuun - Fact or Fiction on a body. Kind of filler. FoF would be better in this slot.
Chamber of Manipulation - This card is a sleeper bomb. Nobody in my meta knew about this card until I broke it out. Pitching a card to take a creature for 0 mana is absurd, because it frees up your mana to nuke something with Nin. So you'll end up netting way more cards than you lost. Control Magic - 4 mana, semi-permanent. Usually baits removal. Leyline of Anticipation - Flash. Might Makes Right - This is kind of a "win more" inclusion. The idea is to nab the biggest creature on board, so Might can take the second biggest creature on board. It works, but its kind of durdly and doesn't always work by itself. Easily cut.
Pact of Negation - One flaw in this deck is how much it encourages you to tap out in blue. Often you'll need to burn something on your turn so you don't lose it. Pact fixes that. Arcane Denial - My favorite counterspell ever. A slow roll draw is a great drawback for a 2 mana hard counter. Its telling them "No you can't play that, but here's two cards to play something I might be able to take." Only one Blue makes it even better. Counterspell - Solid, but watch your mana. Spend red first so you have two blue. Cyclonic Rift - Its cyclonic rift. Memory Lapse - veryone loses to memory lapse, eventually. Reality Shift - Exile in blue. Learn it. Run it. Love it. Cackling Counterpart - 3 mana to clone something you just stole. Sacrifices legends. Flashbacks. Great card. Chaos Warp - Your only answer to artifacts/enchantments, besides bouncing them. Counterflux - Solid counter. In my eyes the extra red is worth the clauses you get. Aetherize - Worse vs certain metas. Run vs creature heavy decks. Aetherspouts - On the fence about this card. The ideal scenario for aetherspouts is devastating. In my opinion this card can single handedly turn the game with the amount of tempo you gain. Putting an entire board of creatures on top of their library basically negates their next X turns worth of draw. Every turn you get stronger while they're still drawing things that were on their board 3 turns ago. But I so rarely get those huge blowouts that I'm second guessing its greatness. Evacuation - Instant speed emergency button for 2 less than Cyclonic rift. Strong but replaceable. Mystic Confluence - Incredibly versatile, if expensive. Cut in more competitive versions. Word of Seizing - Steal anything with split second, at the cost of scripts. Its an insane card. Save it to steal that clutch artifact/enchantment buffing their board for a huge swing in power. Synthetic Destiny - A mass polymorph. Its a solid card for gaining value, especially out of creatures you'll lose at end of turn. Usually its best saved as a response to board wipes, but in this deck you'll often pull clones (who can't clone anything on an empty board).
Inner Fire - Kind of a win more inclusion, but it can get nuts. If you activate Nin during the end step of the player before you, draw as much as you can, then Inner Fire during your main phase, you can draw enough gas to probably end the game. Past in Flames - Its a poor man's Yawgmoth's Will for your theft spells. Its solid, especially with flashback. Rite of Replication - Ends the game if unanswered with a counterspell or boardwipe. Just pick the strongest bomb on board and let fly. Chandra's Ignition - Sub-optimal board wipe included because it can be used as a finisher. It becomes a bit stronger in Nin, because you can steal whatever creature happens to have the most power and ensure the board is actually wiped. Mana Geyser - This card gets insane in mid-late game EDH, unless you play vs draw-go. Geyser up and draw 10-15 cards. Mass Mutiny - Molten Primordial for less mana. Pick and choose. Telemin Performance - A very fun card that polymorphs itself into an enemy's creature. Easily cut, but still fun to play. Mob Rule - Usually you just want to take all the big creatures, but a token army can be just as effective. Insurrection - Durdly as hell, but it ends the game so that's fine.
Teferi, Temporal Archmage - Insane card. It costs 6 mana but you'll untap 4 things as soon as he drops so there's minimal cost. 90% of the time you're just going to tick Teferi down until he dies, because untapping 4 lands gets you 4 cards from Nin as opposed to one from ticking him up. The other 10% of the time you're ticking him up to save his life so you can tick him down later.
Vedalken Shackles could make some waves. And a pet card of mine Quicksilver Fountain ups island counts on your side and potentially messes with opponents landbase.
Vedalken Shackles could make some waves. And a pet card of mine Quicksilver Fountain ups island counts on your side and potentially messes with opponents landbase.
I totally forgot about Vedalken Shackles when building this. Its one of those cards that has made my purchase list many times, but never made it through because it had no home.
I see potential for Quicksilver Fountain, though the list is pretty busy as is. However I see a lot of merit in throttling enemies with stax in general. Then when they finally do get a creature out, the theft of it becomes even more devastating to their game plan. Not to mention it buys time to set up your mana, and the synergy with Thada Adel, Acquisitor. I think I would throw a few more stax cards in to complement the fountain.
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16 Island
16 Mountain
0 Reliquary Tower
0 Wasteland
0 Strip Mine
0 Arcane Lighthouse
0 Temple of the False God
0 High Market
Artifacts [Rock] (8)
1 Mana Vault
2 Felwar Stone
2 Thought Vessel
3 Basalt Monolith
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Coalition Relic
4 Thran Dynamo
5 Gilded Lotus
Artifacts [Other] (5)
2 Lightning Greaves
3 Ashnod's Altar
3 Mimic Vat
3 Proteus Staff
3 Sword of Feast and Famine
Creatures (19)
3 Dualcaster Mage
3 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
4 Clever Impersonator
4 Dack's Duplicate
4 Jalira, Master Polymorphist
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Sakashima the Impostor
5 Beguiler of Wills
5 Body Double
5 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
5 Perplexing Chimera
5 Willbreaker
5 Zealous Conscripts
6 Deadeye Navigator
6 Duplicant
6 Keiga, the Tide Star
7 Molten Primordial
7 Sphinx Ambassador
7 Sphinx of Uthuun
4 Chamber of Manipulation
4 Control Magic
4 Leyline of Anticipation
6 Might Makes Right
Instants (15)
0 Pact of Negation
2 Arcane Denial
2 Counterspell
2 Cyclonic Rift
2 Memory Lapse
2 Reality Shift
3 Cackling Counterpart
3 Chaos Warp
3 Counterflux
4 Aetherize
5 Aetherspouts
5 Evacuation
5 Mystic Confluence
5 Word of Seizing
6 Synthetic Destiny
Sorceries (9)
4 Inner Fire
4 Past in Flames
4 Rite of Replication
5 Chandra's Ignition
5 Mana Geyser
5 Mass Mutiny
5 Telemin Performance
6 Mob Rule
8 Insurrection
6 Teferi, Temporal Archmage
Caveat 1
This is a fairly casual deck. Obviously hard control and combo would be a more competitive approach. This deck plays some big, durdly cards (e.g. Sphinx Ambassador and Might Makes Right) that would be the first to be cut if you're looking to tighten up the list.
Caveat 2
This is the first iteration of the list (taking it apart for new wizard commanders), so its recorded here for posterity's sake. I had a blast playing this build, and will improve on this list in the future when I come back to it.
Caveat 3
The land base is stripped bare because everyone has a different mana base. I play my Steam Vents et al in this deck, but you don't have to go out and buy them just to play ball. I play Ancient Tomb and Minamo, School at Water's Edge, but I'm not going to suggest you drop $50 on them. The non-basics I do list are the ones I consider to be most important because they serve a specific function.
Nin's Playstyle
Nine the Pain Artist is a versatile little wizard that can helm a few different shells. In this one we focus on a deck that turns opponents' resources against them.
Priority one is to steal the resource for yourself. Obviously this is the most powerful way to swing a board state, because it both denies something to your opponent and enhances your board state.
Priority two is to clone it for yourself. If you can't deny your enemy, keep pace with them.
Priority three is to remove it. If you can't take it, and you can't clone it, then just get rid of it. Using removal after a clone is basically the same as stealing the card with worse efficiency.
Theft effects are at the top of the list because they're the most powerful, but they're also the most fleeting. Thus Nin is used to nuke things you'd normally give back, gaining you card advantage in the process. Mana can be a problem, so the ideal targets for steal-burn-draw are high priority mana dorks. Timmy-style fatties are best handled with a clone + removal, but I play some rituals (Mana Geyser, Inner Fire) for huge spikes with Nin. Even if you can't destroy a creature, keep in mind Nin is still efficient draw (i.e. 1 less base cost than Blue Sun's Zenith and Stroke of Genius).
Naturally as a blue deck, Nin packs a fairly standard suite of control spells. Theft, Clone, and Burn can deal with a majority of creatures, so optimally you want to save your permission package for high threat non-creatures that can disrupt your shenanigans.
Also, as with any deck but especially so here, knowing your opponents' decks is important. Whether you're searching for creatures with Sphinx Ambassador, saving counterspells for combo pieces, or holding a theft spell for the inevitable Avacyn, Angel of Hope.
Card Choices
Reliquary Tower - An easy way to keep your gains from Nin.
Wasteland - Critical for breaking Homeward Path
Strip Mine See Wasteland.
Arcane Lighthouse - Gets around Lightning Greaves and other hexproof. A majority of theft effects target.
Temple of the False God Nin has an X cost ability, so two mana lands are valuable. Ancient Tomb is an include as well, if you can afford it.
High Market - The worst, but also most convenient, sacrifice outlet in the deck. On a land its incredible. Make sure they don't get their stuff back!
Lightning Greaves - Nin is a 1/1. If this isn't an auto-include in every deck you build, it is one here.
Ashnod's Altar - Sacrifice spare creatures to fuel Nin. Replaceable with Goblin Bombardment or Altar of Dementia.
Mimic Vat - If it dies, it can go in the vat. There are some nasty synergies in the deck like Zealous Conscripts, Duplicant, and Dualcaster Mage, but always be on the lookout for enemy bombs. Don't forget it doubles as temporary grave hate! Put the reanimator deck's bomb in exile.
Proteus Staff - Tucks your theft targets in the secondary main phase and brings your own creatures out. Its great.
Sword of Feast and Famine - Lets you spend all of your mana stealing/cloning in 1st, so Nin can spend it all burning/drawing in 2nd.
Dualcaster Mage - Solid card, but easily cut. People expect you to copy their creatures, so sometimes this guy can come out of left field. Don't forget he's also a counterspell's counterspell.
Thada Adel, Acquisitor - Kind of janky and slow, but if you get her out early she's incredibly valuable to your late game. Basically you steal their mana rocks to fuel Nin. If somehow she sticks around (she won't, she always baits removal), start taking artifact creatures like [Solemn Simulacrum to nuke with Nin.
Clever Impersonator - One strategy with clones is to target one player in particular, and basically rip off their deck's synergy. Usually a problem arises when they start playing artifacts/enchantments that buff their board, while your versions remain weak. This changes that.
Dack's Duplicate - Pick the nastiest creature on board and give it haste.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist - Trade that stolen creature for one of your own. Straight forward, powerful, and repeatable. She'll die to a board wipe eventually.
Phyrexian Metamorph - Cheapest clone in the deck if you pay life (you should), and targets artifacts. Its good.
Sakashima the Impostor - A solid clone that lets you abuse the legend you stole instead of losing it to the legend rule. Never forget the reset ability, its important.
Beguiler of Wills - The more creatures you take with other effects, the better creatures you can permanently take with a tap ability. Kind of expensive and durdly, but its free. Usually you'll be snagging utility dorks.
Body Double - Clone something after you burn it. Punish the graveyard deck for milling themselves.
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker - Clones every turn. Do I need to explain the insanity of kiki-jiki?
Perplexing Chimera - I dislike how the chimera can be used against you (the reason I don't run Conjured Currency). However it makes people hold their bombs or pitch bait spells to it. Its more of a psychological card than anything else.
Willbreaker - Play Nin. Play Willbreaker. 3 mana and a tap steals a critter of your choice. Not to mention that Willbreaker's trigger goes on the stack after Nin's ability, so when they both resolve the creature will be under your control so you draw the card instead of your opponent.
Zealous Conscripts - Its a classic theft card, and it combos with Kiki. Good stuff.
Deadeye Navigator - Keeps any stolen creatures permanently. Dodges removal. Powerful (obviously).
Duplicant - Exile that works in blue/red. We do run other options but Duplicant is never a bad include.
Keiga, the Tide Star - Great blocker vs those pesky fliers. Great target for sac outlets, especially Jalira. Even better target for clones, as long as you sac the clone.
Molten Primordial - Take the cream of the crop and smash. Its taxing on the old mana base, but the swing in combat power can be devastating (without getting into any other Nin shenanigans)
Sphinx Ambassador - This is my pet card, there are many like it, but this one is mine. Its an incredibly slow card, but just ripping a critter from someone's deck is so powerful. I've lost the minigame once ever.
Sphinx of Uthuun - Fact or Fiction on a body. Kind of filler. FoF would be better in this slot.
Chamber of Manipulation - This card is a sleeper bomb. Nobody in my meta knew about this card until I broke it out. Pitching a card to take a creature for 0 mana is absurd, because it frees up your mana to nuke something with Nin. So you'll end up netting way more cards than you lost.
Control Magic - 4 mana, semi-permanent. Usually baits removal.
Leyline of Anticipation - Flash.
Might Makes Right - This is kind of a "win more" inclusion. The idea is to nab the biggest creature on board, so Might can take the second biggest creature on board. It works, but its kind of durdly and doesn't always work by itself. Easily cut.
Pact of Negation - One flaw in this deck is how much it encourages you to tap out in blue. Often you'll need to burn something on your turn so you don't lose it. Pact fixes that.
Arcane Denial - My favorite counterspell ever. A slow roll draw is a great drawback for a 2 mana hard counter. Its telling them "No you can't play that, but here's two cards to play something I might be able to take." Only one Blue makes it even better.
Counterspell - Solid, but watch your mana. Spend red first so you have two blue.
Cyclonic Rift - Its cyclonic rift.
Memory Lapse - veryone loses to memory lapse, eventually.
Reality Shift - Exile in blue. Learn it. Run it. Love it.
Cackling Counterpart - 3 mana to clone something you just stole. Sacrifices legends. Flashbacks. Great card.
Chaos Warp - Your only answer to artifacts/enchantments, besides bouncing them.
Counterflux - Solid counter. In my eyes the extra red is worth the clauses you get.
Aetherize - Worse vs certain metas. Run vs creature heavy decks.
Aetherspouts - On the fence about this card. The ideal scenario for aetherspouts is devastating. In my opinion this card can single handedly turn the game with the amount of tempo you gain. Putting an entire board of creatures on top of their library basically negates their next X turns worth of draw. Every turn you get stronger while they're still drawing things that were on their board 3 turns ago. But I so rarely get those huge blowouts that I'm second guessing its greatness.
Evacuation - Instant speed emergency button for 2 less than Cyclonic rift. Strong but replaceable.
Mystic Confluence - Incredibly versatile, if expensive. Cut in more competitive versions.
Word of Seizing - Steal anything with split second, at the cost of scripts. Its an insane card. Save it to steal that clutch artifact/enchantment buffing their board for a huge swing in power.
Synthetic Destiny - A mass polymorph. Its a solid card for gaining value, especially out of creatures you'll lose at end of turn. Usually its best saved as a response to board wipes, but in this deck you'll often pull clones (who can't clone anything on an empty board).
Inner Fire - Kind of a win more inclusion, but it can get nuts. If you activate Nin during the end step of the player before you, draw as much as you can, then Inner Fire during your main phase, you can draw enough gas to probably end the game.
Past in Flames - Its a poor man's Yawgmoth's Will for your theft spells. Its solid, especially with flashback.
Rite of Replication - Ends the game if unanswered with a counterspell or boardwipe. Just pick the strongest bomb on board and let fly.
Chandra's Ignition - Sub-optimal board wipe included because it can be used as a finisher. It becomes a bit stronger in Nin, because you can steal whatever creature happens to have the most power and ensure the board is actually wiped.
Mana Geyser - This card gets insane in mid-late game EDH, unless you play vs draw-go. Geyser up and draw 10-15 cards.
Mass Mutiny - Molten Primordial for less mana. Pick and choose.
Telemin Performance - A very fun card that polymorphs itself into an enemy's creature. Easily cut, but still fun to play.
Mob Rule - Usually you just want to take all the big creatures, but a token army can be just as effective.
Insurrection - Durdly as hell, but it ends the game so that's fine.
Teferi, Temporal Archmage - Insane card. It costs 6 mana but you'll untap 4 things as soon as he drops so there's minimal cost. 90% of the time you're just going to tick Teferi down until he dies, because untapping 4 lands gets you 4 cards from Nin as opposed to one from ticking him up. The other 10% of the time you're ticking him up to save his life so you can tick him down later.
I totally forgot about Vedalken Shackles when building this. Its one of those cards that has made my purchase list many times, but never made it through because it had no home.
I see potential for Quicksilver Fountain, though the list is pretty busy as is. However I see a lot of merit in throttling enemies with stax in general. Then when they finally do get a creature out, the theft of it becomes even more devastating to their game plan. Not to mention it buys time to set up your mana, and the synergy with Thada Adel, Acquisitor. I think I would throw a few more stax cards in to complement the fountain.