I'm having trouble with winning with this Commander. I very much like your build and run a version where I try to take lots of extra turns and win with either Laboratory Maniac or Brainstorm/Ophidian Eye as a backup plan. I find myself playing barely any spells at all and simply not getting enough cards in my hand. I really like the idea of Inner Fire and Comet Storm but I can't figure out how to get that many cards in hand. Help!
I'm having trouble with winning with this Commander. I very much like your build and run a version where I try to take lots of extra turns and win with either Laboratory Maniac or Brainstorm/Ophidian Eye as a backup plan. I find myself playing barely any spells at all and simply not getting enough cards in my hand. I really like the idea of Inner Fire and Comet Storm but I can't figure out how to get that many cards in hand. Help!
How do you guys feel about Mental Misstep? I feel like I'm always holding it waiting for the clutch dispel or something similar but all I every end up casting it on is a rogue Ponder, to which I usually get glares from around the table.
How about we have a quick discussion on a cheap replacement for Timetwister. I think the big two contestants are Day's Undoing and Time Reversal, the pros and cons are pretty obvious, Day's Undoing costs three but ends the turn and Time Reversal costs five instead of three but doesn't end the turn.
Which one do you guys think is more flexible and more useful?
How about we have a quick discussion on a cheap replacement for Timetwister. I think the big two contestants are Day's Undoing and Time Reversal, the pros and cons are pretty obvious, Day's Undoing costs three but ends the turn and Time Reversal costs five instead of three but doesn't end the turn.
Which one do you guys think is more flexible and more useful?
Depends on whether you want to disrupt possible combos/game enders or just focus on your own card draw. While both can do that, if you have a flashenabler of some kind, Undoing can literally screw someone right out of their win if they don't have a good poker face(i.e., "Okay guys, kiss your butts goodbye," or somesuch). It can also bypass triggers if properly used(i.e., a sac trigger).
Long story short, Day's is just a TAD bit more flexible than Reversal.
What are some good targets for Intuition? I'll usually go for 2 artifacts and Academy Ruins. I am usually forced to discard the Ruins even though it's the one I really want lol.
Private Mod Note
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Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When A Man Lies
He Murders Some Part Of His World
These Are The Pale Deaths
Which Men Miscall Their Lives
All This I Cannot Bear
To Witness Any Longer
Cannot The Kingdom Of Salvation
Take Me Home
It depends on what do you want to achieve.
If You really want Academy Ruins that badly then consider adding Crucible of Worlds and Petrified Field/Buried Ruin to the deck.
If You want good targets from spells then I would start by Recoup-like cards and then it doesn't matter because You will get what You want sooner or later.
Any thoughts on The Immortal Sun replacing Helm of Awakening? It seems like only upsides for us. Shuts off walkers which we don't use, makes only our spells less, draws more, and makes The Locust God tokens bigger for those that run him.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
When A Man Lies
He Murders Some Part Of His World
These Are The Pale Deaths
Which Men Miscall Their Lives
All This I Cannot Bear
To Witness Any Longer
Cannot The Kingdom Of Salvation
Take Me Home
Well, I was afraid it would come to this.
I love the OG Niv-Mizzet, in many aspects. Art, flavor, mechanics.
I still have to be realistic and acknowledge that new Niv-Mizzet outclasses OG by far.
I believe the new discussion is: Is there any good reason to continue using the Firemind over Parun?
I can only think of the Mind over Matter combo at this point.
OG Mizzet will always be the best one to combo off with. I think the format as a whole has moved past him being one of the best combo commanders, but I dont think that has anything to do with the new Mizzets.
I was excited to see Niv 3.0. The ONLY downside I can see with him vs the OG is that Niv 3 can't combo off himself. You need to keep some mana up for at least a cantrip when you go for the win.
I'm still seriously considering whether I want to run him as my commander, or as one of the 99, because I absolutely want both in the deck.
This is pretty much exactly what I would have redesigned Niv-Mizzet, The Firemind to be, except that I would have been called CRAZY because it would have been BROKEN!
I mean, just... look... at... him... It doesn't even say "you MAY draw a card" it says "you (must) draw a card." And his ping can hit pesky planeswalkers directly now!
The 5/5 body is great. It means Niv becomes a better blocker and survives more removal. "Cannot be countered??" Seriously wizards... I'm fearing the banhammer even before the card is released. But there are worse things that remain unbanned *cough**cough* Consecrated Sphinx *cough**cough*
Hi, it's me, Rowan. After seeing the spoiler for Niv 3.0 I felt compelled to come back to my old Primer. I first posted that primer about 6 years ago, wow! I was surprised and happy to see that people were still posting here, so thanks for your continued interest. I am grateful to have a place to discuss any future deck changes!
For a couple years now, I've been gradually arriving at the conclusion that the game has been "moving on" shall we say, and leaving this old deck behind. There are better options for several cards listed in the OP, but I just haven't had much time to update it. Niv-Mizzet 3.0 as we shall call him, is absolutely the epitome of power creep in my opinion. He is better than Firemind in just about every way. But instead of getting frustrated, my reaction has been to embrace him, and here's why:
Recognizing that Firemind now feels very under-powered the current meta, I have been searching for a replacement commander for a while now, considering The Locus God, Arjun, the Shifting Flame or even something like Kess, Dissident Mage that allows me to throw Black into the mix. Black covers a lot of this deck's weaknesses such as removal and tutors, while further strengthening our card draw options. BUT, that just never felt right to me. Certainly, while adding Black would no doubt up the power level of the deck, we would be losing sight of the origins of the deck. Using a different commander that wasn't named Niv-Mizzet just didn't sit well with me!
The original reason I decided to build this deck those 6 years ago was because I loved the character and flavor of Niv-Mizzet, and the deck that I built around him turned out to be pretty powerful. In fact, the reason I first ever became interested in the game at all was the artwork, the characters, and the world the cards depicted.
So, that said, Niv 3.0 meets my needs perfectly. Thank you Wizards! I believe the proper course of action is to officially retire this primer and start a new one, but I don't mind a bit of Brainstorming before I do that seeing as my new commander hasn't even been released to the general public yet! I imagine I will play quite a few games with him before I feel qualified to actually contribute a new primer.
Any thoughts on The Immortal Sun replacing Helm of Awakening? It seems like only upsides for us. Shuts off walkers which we don't use, makes only our spells less, draws more, and makes The Locust God tokens bigger for those that run him.
You know, despite the cost, I really like this card. I will have to try it out to really give you an answer. I definitely appreciate what it brings to the table, and we've got ways to tutor for it and even cheat it directly into play. Certainly worth a run.
At this point, I'm VERY curious about any cards you may have been using to good effect in your own versions of the deck, especially newly released cards. Knowledge is POWER!!
I'm interested in addressing some of the deck's current weak points in the new commander meta, as well as further increasing synergy, efficiency, and consistency. Generally, I think I will be moving away from the explosive win strategy, going more control, and building more around our new commander. To me that is more fun, and more appropriate for this multiplayer format. I've moved away from the glass-cannon deckbuilding approach I used to employ.
I also want to talk about the deck's win conditions. I feel that as much as I like Inner Fire//Comet Storm these 2 cards are often dead draws. I'm hoping that maybe with built in card-draw, our commander will be more central to our strategy and in fact more often BECOME our win condition. In recent games, I barely cast Firemind anymore, and have even taken out the infinite combos as they are too situational.
Some cards that I like are
Mizzix's Mastery - I've already been using this one to GREAT effect. This is the card I always wished Past in Flames was
Forbid - Old but still good. I've been using this to good effect. As long as we have a decent hand size, it can be a powerhouse.
Leyline of Anticipation or Vedalken Orrery - I feel that competitively it's hard to play without this effect, especially if we are going more the control route. I generally like Orrey better because I can tutor for it.
Chromatic Lantern - I think that this will now become mandatory given the color heavy cost of Niv 3.0 I like having many utility lands, which are often colorless.
Trade Routes - I've come to absolutely love this card. It's a great answer to land destruction while giving us a superb looting effect.
Ivory Tower - In the real world, I often wish I had just a little bit of lifegain. Sometimes 5 life makes the difference between a win and a lose. I find this doesn't draw a ton of hate, it's cheap, and can really stack up to massive gains.
Whir of Invention This is a fantastic tutor in my opinion and works well to enable our stratagems!
Khorvath's Fury - This is a fairly decent hand-cycler. The "plus one" effect definitely matters! Needs testing.
Baral, Chief of Compliance - really solid card. Gives us a cost reducing effect and card draw at a very low investment.
Rebuild - An old card, but a good answer to artifacts getting out of control as well as saving our own in a pinch. Cycling on a removal spell is fantastic, especially with our recursion toolbox.
Mana Vault, Grim Monolith - These cards are glass cannon effects that don't quite do it for me anymore. I feel there are now other options that will give me more mileage throughout the course of the game.
Inner Fire//Comet Storm - While being an iconic win-con for the deck, they are often dead draws. I think it makes sense to really set up our commander up for success. But I could be wrong. Again, needs testing.
Chaos Warp - DEFINITELY coming out. Only hits one target, can pull out something worse, and doesn't tuck commanders anymore.
Welcome back, comrade. It's certainly been a while since you've posted here and I'm glad that the new Niv has sparked your interest in Commander again. The Primers that I've created have been heavily influenced by yours, so credit and props to you!
I think the new Niv is extremely powerful. While the mana cost requirements are STRINGENT (seriously, I don't fully understand why every mana symbol is a colored mana symbol on him!) the sheer amount of card draw that he can generate is absurd. It makes every single can-trip a Divination and makes all of your Counterspells look like a better Remand. And that's not even factoring in any opponents who are casting Instants and Sorceries.
What really sucks about the Parun is that all of the fast mana cards that break any deck DO NOT help cast the Parun. Because his mana cost is so restrictive, he's probably not going to see a ton of early game play, which is a shame. Mana Crypt and Mana Vault don't positively help you get to Niv.
I definitely think that it's worth modifying your Primer to incorporate the new Parun as the head of your Niv deck. If I were to create a list, I would start with something like this:
The Firebrand Archer and the Guttersnipe may look out of place, but they are there so that Curiosity and Ophidian Eye aren't such dead draws in the case that Niv-Mizzet is unavailable to us. Because they synergize so well with Curiosity type effects, I think that they might be cards that I'd consistently want to see. They also provide incidental damage so that we can sometimes kill opponents just by casting enough spells in a turn to trigger each of them enough times. I want to find room to squeeze in Tandem Lookout just to have that third piece of redundancy, but it may not even be necessary.
Otherwise, this is a Storm Combo list with heavy control elements. There's a ton of Removal effects in the deck that are all chosen to maximize synergy with the Parun while also being effective. There's a healthy dose of interaction in Counterspells, with the counters being chosen for an optimized meta (Mental Misstep does some SERIOUS work against similarly optimized decks). The Card draw suite is pretty standard, I'd say, with a full complement of Hand-Cycling effects to dig deep into the deck, continually see fresh cards, and keep the Parun's trigger going off consistently to kill mana dorks, other creatures, and players.
The main combo line is Isochron Scepter + Dramatic Reversal + mana rock that taps for 2 or some combination of mana more than 2. This combo, with the Parun in play, will cause us to draw our deck and most likely kill 2 of our opponents. From there, you can either recycle your hand and graveyard with one of the Timetwister effects and draw enough cards again to kill the last player or you can cast Laboratory Maniac and win. This combo, with enough mana rocks in play, also creates infinite mana, which you can then use to cast Blue Sun's Zenith enough times to deck your opponents. Finally, this combo also creates an infinite Storm count so that you can kill people with Aetherflux Reservoir, Guttersnipe, or Firebrand Archer. The Reservoir is great because it also helps to replenish your life total from any early Aggro that you might have experienced in the game.
The second combo line is simple: Paradox Engine. I'm not sure if you've experienced the delight of playing with the Engine and mana rocks, but it's simply wonderful. It's unbelievably easy to win with the Engine in play and some mana rocks to keep chaining spells together. Especially with all of the Hand Cycling that is available in these colors, you should be able to win on the turn that you cast the Engine or the turn soon following the Engine. I think that it's strictly better than Ommiscience since it does basically the same thing as Omniscience but is more easily tutorable and costs a hell of a lot less in CMC. The sheer amount of mana output that you can gain from the Engine and some mana rocks (which you can easily dig into via the Hand Cycling available to the deck) is staggering.
The third combo line is to enchant the Parun with a Curiosity effect and then play a spell to draw your deck. From there, there should be enough mana rocks to get fast mana into play, cast some spells to get Paradox Engine in play, and start chaining more spells until your opponents are dead.
I've included Pyretic Ritual and Seething SOng so that you can more easily cast the Parun at any given point in the game. That RRR is a real slow down to casting the Parun on time, so hopefully these Rituals will help get the Parun into play faster while being relevant to the Storm turn later in the game and can-tripping with Niv in play.
I hope the list is useful, and again, Welcome back!
Generally, I see the deck shifting more towards casting Niv and protecting him, more like a typical commander would work. This naturally pushes the deck towards being more control oriented. I think we will get a lot of mileage out of cards like Gilded Lotus and Chromatic Lantern which give us colored mana. In fact I definitely foresee adding more mana rocks since they combo so well with Paradox Engine and are so crucial to getting Niv out as early as possible. However, I am a bit suspicious of the red rituals in this format because of their use-once nature.
Another way this deck can get ahead of the rest of the table is extra turns. I particularly like Temporal Trespass and Temporal Mastery because we can set them up to be very cheap. These are followed by Temporal Manipulation and Time Warp in efficiency, but often more reliable. Plea for Power might have some potential, but generally not early game although 3 cards for 4 isn't too bad. It can save the table late game though, which is kind of cool. Savor the Moment is good early game but not great later on. Walk the Aeons really isn't too bad either, especially good late game.
I personally will be steering away from the infinite draw combos. They are no doubt powerful, but I really dislike how they can become dead draws. I've found that in more competitive play, I much prefer to be holding a counter or removal spell than these. Therefore, I will be trying to make the most of Niv 3.0's innate card drawing strength. When paired with Alhammarret's Archive things can get out of hand very quickly! The most I would consider doing is including Enter the Infinite since it works so well with Mizzix's Mastery and can be fairly easily tutored for.
My strategy more and more is to control the game until I can comfortably win, rather than going for those explosive early wins. I just find that it isn't that fun and generally draws hate in future games. I like to spend my first six turns or so building up my handsize and resources, while protecting myself and others at the table from other people's early wins.
And I like Paradox Engine a lot. I'm definitely going to give it a spin. I could see it potentially replacing Dream Halls even. The universal effect of Dream Halls, although sometimes fun, can also get you killed. Like you said, the engine is more easily tutorable. It also combos nicely with Reiterate which I will most likely be including. You can get infinite draw with Niv or infinite copies of any spell, just as long as you have enough mana rocks to untap each time.
Mission Briefing - I'm really liking this one! It essentially allows us a 2-of Snapcaster Mage We now have a really solid pool of recursion options in UR to draw from which makes me very happy. I've found this strategy to be really powerful with our handcycling suite.
Invert//Invent is interesting... Maybe someday we will get another solid tutor, but I don't think this is it. I loathe that 6cmc, even though we are getting 2 cards. It's just a poor early draw. When compared to Mystical Tutor it's sadly pretty unplayable If it had 3cmc and only got one card I would definitely consider it.
Spellseeker definitely has potential. I really wish she had flash. She fits nicely with the Riptide Laboratory combo cards.
The sheer amount of flexibility that Izzet colors offer, especially under the Parun, definitely sets up a myriad of choices on how you can build him. I personally think that Extra turns draws more ire than efficient combo does, but that might just be preference for me. Having Time Walks can-trip with Niv in play is definitely a powerful play.
With all due respect, I think I'd like to caution you on the switch of strategies for Niv. I do not know what you rplaygroup is like and nor do I know the politics of said playgroup, but Niv's casting cost is STEEP. Being able to cast him AND protect him is going to take a lot of colored mana symbols on a consistent basis. And I personally wonder if you will be able to have enough time to have enough mana (from lands and mana rocks) to cast the Parun AND protect him, as you've described, within the first 6 turns of the game (I wish I had that much time to set up!). Because the Parun is so difficult to cast consistently I would tend to view him as an infinite combo outlet, and treat him as such, instead of a lynch-pin of my strategy. I know the infinite draw combos may feel like dead pieces (and they are, in certain gamestates), but I think that they offer an angle of attack that would be a mistake not to include with Niv.
First, everyone is already going to assume that you're playing the infinite draw combos with Niv; it's Niv, after all! They'll be playing around you and your strategy until they see otherwise. By not including the infinite draw combos in your deck, I think you are losing an axis of attack that is valuable for both political reasons and for actual gameplay reasons. Keeping your opponents wary, all the time, for when you could win out of nowhere with a Curiosity is valuable by itself and does offer a legitimate way to win. If you don't actually have this type of combo in your deck, and your opponents know it, they will cease to play as conservatively around you and instead focus more strongly on executing their own combo lines (assuming they're playing some sort of combo deck). The kind of wariness and conservative playing that I describe allows you to buy time to reliably cast the Parun. On a sidenote, I think that playing Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir is a definite must for your deck if you're trying to make the Parun the centerpiece of your deck.
The second reason I would include the infinite draw combos is because they are relatively mana efficient ways to win the game in one turn. There's enough fast mana available to you to be able to get a way to recycle your hand and kill every player at the table when you draw your deck. And if you do decide to incorporate Paradox Engine, it IS a guaranteed win (find Dramatic Scepter combo and kill the table via the Fish-Bowl Laser of Doom).
Third, Niv-Mizzet is the Parun of the Guild that embraces constructive and intelligent Curiosity. I think it would be a loss to play a card that so perfectly embodies what the Izzet guild rewards and attracts. If anyone were to be able to kill an opponent with their insatiable curiosity and desire to know, Niv-Mizzet, Parun is the perfect example of it, haha.
I don't mean to discredit your thinking in any form. I simply wish to share my opinion in a constructive manner and hopefully stimulate your own thinking about the new decklist you'll be tweaking in the coming days.
Spellseeker is the real deal. Having flash would be too good for her, I can assure you. She has made a nearly permanent place in all of my U based decks and absolutely SHINES in my Tasigur Flash Hulk list and my Dralnu Storm list (lists are in sig). I highly recommend running her in your list simply because she is so versatile.
Regardless of anything else I've previously posted, the strongest recommendation I can give to you is to play Paradox Engine. That card sees Modern play right now! It's incredibly powerful in Commander as a format and makes winning, with a deck built around it, a very consistent and predictable process. If I can play Engine on my turn with any sort of mana available to me, mana rocks in play, and a card in my hand that I can cast, I'm probably going to win that turn. Perhaps it's too broken, as some Commander players feel; I can see why.
But it allows you to NET mana when you cast a spell, if not recoup the casting cost, as long as you have non-land sources of mana available to you.
That observation is unbelievably powerful, especially in conjunction with U's natural draw power. Because the Engine allows you to net mana, it can be even MORE powerful than Omniscience! Play it, and play around 10-12 mana rocks, and you will have an incredibly consistent mana engine that consistently allows you to win games.
EDIT: Additionally, look at the combos that the Engine opens up with Isochron Scepter (all of the below combos assume the Engine is in play):
Every single one of those pieces in conjunction with the Scepter are good by themselves and better with the Engine and Scepter. Having this kind of flexibility and power is worth having a Dramatic Reversal be dead from time to time. And if you include Niv-Mizzet to be on the Battlefield at the same time as any of these combos, you just incidentally drew your deck as well. Oh darn...
EDIT: Made some grammar edits so my thinking is a little more clear.
Cast a copy of Swan Song, targeting the random spell that you cast on step 1. Hold priority.
Because you're casting the copy of the Swan Song via the Scepter, you trigger Paradox Engine. This trigger is the at the top of the stack and thus resolves first, untapping the Scepter and your associated mana rock(s). At this point, there are now two spells on the stack, in the following order: bottom spell is the random spell, 2nd spell is the Isochron copy of Swan Song. Hold priority again.
The copy of Swan Song, cast via the Scepter, still has not resolved and you now have an untapped Scepter courtesy of the Engine's trigger, which Engine trigger resolves before the Swan Song spell copy resolves.
Activate the Scepter again, casting another copy of Swan Song that is targeting the copy of Swan Song you cast in step 3.
Engine trigger occurs, entering the stack right at the top again. Let it resolve, untapping your Scepter and the mana rock(s) that generate 2 again, holding priority.
Your spell stack now looks like this: bottom of the stack is random spell (still has not resolved), 2nd spell is your first copy of Swan Song cast in step 3 (still has not resolved), 3rd spell is your second copy of Swan Song that you cast on step 6.
Let your 3rd spell (copy #2 of Swan Song) resolve, since it's next in line on the stack, countering your 2nd Spell on the stack (which is your first copy of Swan Song), creating a 2/2 Swan token for you since you controlled the 2nd spell that is being countered by the 3rd spell.
The first random spell you cast on step 1 is STILL on the stack and has not resolved, making it available for interaction.
Hold priority for the first random spell, and repeat steps 2-9 as many times as you desire.
This will then create an army of flying Swan tokens, as noted in Step 8 I believe, so that you can do your best re-enactment of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds and kill every opponent. Depending on how much mana you can generate via your mana rock(s), you can also incidentally create infinite mana this way.
This will then create an army of flying Swan tokens, as noted in Step 8 I believe, so that you can do your best re-enactment of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds and kill every opponent. Depending on how much mana you can generate via your mana rock(s), you can also incidentally create infinite mana this way.
That is hilarious!
Well, I certainly love the Isochron Scepter /Paradox Engine combo. You've got me sold there, and I will definitely be picking up these cards soon. Both cards are powerful on their own, they are easily tutorable, they are cost effective, and the combos with them already fit well into the deck. Icing on the cake: artifacts are recurable with Academy Ruins so I don't mind horribly if I discard them as I can still get them back later. I don't see any immediate downsides to these cards at all at.
I think that running more artifacts definitely makes Reshape a pretty viable tutor.
With all due respect, I think I'd like to caution you on the switch of strategies for Niv. I do not know what you rplaygroup is like and nor do I know the politics of said playgroup, but Niv's casting cost is STEEP. Being able to cast him AND protect him is going to take a lot of colored mana symbols on a consistent basis. And I personally wonder if you will be able to have enough time to have enough mana (from lands and mana rocks) to cast the Parun AND protect him, as you've described, within the first 6 turns of the game (I wish I had that much time to set up!). Because the Parun is so difficult to cast consistently I would tend to view him as an infinite combo outlet, and treat him as such, instead of a lynch-pin of my strategy. I know the infinite draw combos may feel like dead pieces (and they are, in certain gamestates), but I think that they offer an angle of attack that would be a mistake not to include with Niv.
You've likely been playing Magic a lot more than I have lately. I am pretty behind with the current meta, but I'm trying to get myself up to speed. I think that our playstyles do diverge a bit, which is totally fine. Over time, I've shifted more from combo to control with this particular deck because I feel like we don't have access to some of the bomb tutors other colors have, nor do we have the kind of mana acceleration that a color like green offers. I think my paper version of the deck currently runs around 12 counterspells and maybe 5 wipes/removals. I am also strongly considering cards like Propaganda.
Over the 7 years or so that I've been playing this deck, I have gone back and forth on the infinite draw combos with Niv more times than I can count. For a long time I was ONLY running Curiosity because it was the MOST efficient combo card available to us, and largely the most iconic like you explained. When it worked, it usually wins me the game, and when it doesn't, well, not much is lost because it's only one card in the deck. I am running the Sensei's Divining Top / Future Sight / Helm of Awakening infinite draw combo because all of the pieces are powerful on their own (except possibly the Helm, which I will likely be finding a replacement for).
I will mostly likely be including at least Curiosity in the new iteration of this deck. I guess I agree that not including it or any infinite draw combos with Niv would be handicapping the deck since it is a 2 piece combo with Niv, and people generally expect those cards to be present. However, I don't want to focus too much on that. One of my goals is to streamline the deck, which means cutting out some of the combos that don't work quite as well, are fragile, or just difficult to set up.
I don't view Niv 3.0 as being a lynch pin of the deck at all. Perhaps I didn't express that concept very well earlier, or I came off as being overly excited about the card. The deck as it currently exists, stands very well on it's own without the commander, but I was finding that having Firemind as the commander was starting to become a handicap since I rarely cast him and wasn't really focusing on the infinite combos. I guess I tend to view Niv-Mizzet, Parun as yet another draw engine that happens to reside in our command zone. This is great because it gives the deck more consistency. Being a creature, Consecrated Sphinx isn't the easiest thing to tutor for in these colors. The goal of my deck is currently "draw as many cards as quickly as possible while keeping the rest of the table under control." The Parun helps helps fulfill that goal quite well I think but doesn't become a glass cannon, since the rest of the deck also gets us there.
As a win condition, Niv 3.0 certainly works, but the kind of multiplayer games I typically find myself in, I feel a lot more confident with a win con LIKE Reiterate / Inner Fire / Comet Storm or Omniscience / Mindmoil where it can kill players regardless of life totals and says "I win" very loudly and clearly without having to play it through tediously. I hesitate to lean too much toward Niv as being my win con or focusing on the infinite draw combos for the very reasons you stated. His color heavy cost is restrictive, and he's a creature (vulnerable to creature removal). BUT, I do view him as being a valuable tool to getting us where we need to go by drawing us a ton of cards.
I acknowledge I'm probably contradicting myself here a bit based on my previous posts. I think without actually playtesting Niv 3.0 my perspective on him will be limited, but I do see him as a clear upgrade to Firemind and a card that I am much more motivated to cast and protect. But I don't think I will be relying on him as a win condition or even as the primary method of drawing my deck.
Anyway, I'm happy to agree to disagree on these points with you for now. We should both build the deck as we see fit. Later modifications will arise out of the fires of competitive playtesting in the real world! You very well could be right on a few points.
One thing I'm looking at now is increasing synergy with Isochron Scepter without lessening the power of the deck. There are plenty of cards that are good scepter targets but not necessarily that powerful on their own. I don't really like single target removal spells for this reason... (such as Lightning Bolt) I will have to think on this.
@Rowan
I think that your original post was lacking some clarification on your enthusiasm for the new Niv and how you planned to build it. I 100% agree that the Parun is a fantastic card advantage engine, almost identical in execution as Nezahal, Primal Tide (which is super strong in a competitive meta). Because the Parun's casting cost is so absurdly stringent it becomes nearly impossible to windmill slam it before T3 with any degree of consistency at all. So, I think I agree with your strategy there. His card advantage is a real thing and I'm looking forward to seeing how my own list plays out (testing some other decks currently).
There are a host of new cEDH decks that are available now. I have a few of them in my signature (Edric, Dralnu, Tasigur, Kaalia, Memnarch, and Teferi are all linked) and they've almost all gotten universally leaner in CMC and more efficient in their win conditions.
One thing I'll point out to you is that, because optimized decks play such small boards of creatures, they've actually shied away from Mass Removal effects. It's more efficient to spend just a few mana sources and remove the true problem permanent, instead of wiping the board, so that they can reliably combo off and win. Just a stylistic difference from the direction it sounds like you're going (heavy board wipes, minimal spot removal). If that works for your meta, keep optimizing and playing to your meta's weaknesses!
In regards to making Scepter better, I think that you're at the point where all the good Scepter targets are spot removal spells of some sort. Of the long list of instants in UR that could be put under the Scepter, I think the two best ones that you aren't already playing are Reality Shift and Blink of an Eye. The Shift is useful because, more often than not, it puts a non-creature card into play as a Morph, therefore keeping it stuck as a measly 2/2 creature without the benefit of being flipped over for effect. For this reason, the Shift can often act as a 2-1, depending on what they Manifest. And then I like Blink because you can kick it to replace itself, giving you some tempo and preserving your card advantage.
Both of those cards become actual win conditions under the Scepeter with Paradox Engine, which is my primary reason for playing them in the Niv list I posted a few posts ago.
In regards to Daretti or Argivian Restoration, I think the nod should go to the Restoration because it has synergy with your Commander, can be recurred via the Recursion toolbox you're currently playing, and gets the Artifact to play NOW without having to sac an additional artifact, unlike Daretti. Also, I've observed that Daretti, and planeswalkers generally, often draw attention to your board that you'd rather not have. Just my .02 cents. An exception can be made for Tezz the Seeker because his tutor ability is so crucial in blue based decks that aren't playing hard tutors.
I think I will give Argivian Restoration a run. I agree with your points on that.
Reality Shift could very well be worth a slot with Scepter in the deck. But, I will say that my instincts are telling me that removal in commander should either be en masse or at least be flexible (Vindicate). The only thing Reality Shift has going for it as far as I can tell is that it can be put on the stick. Without the stick, I would personally run Chaos Warp over it because of the greater flexibility. Reality Shift can't deal with a horde of infinite saprolings (unless it of course also goes infinite), nor can it deal with enchantments, artifacts, or lands. I'd almost be inclined to run something like Boomerang over Reality Shift. It can be sticked and is totally flexible. But yes, removal is largely playgroup specific... so maybe this is a moot point.
I think Aetherflux Reservoir deserves a chat. I'm curious what your experience with it has been. For a while, I've really wanted some life gain in the deck, hence Ivory Tower. I know it's not in my above list, but I'm running it in my paper deck. I don't really see myself using both Reservoir and the Tower. Both certainly have their merits. I really like that the Reservoir can be a win con but I also find it a bit win-more, given the combos that enable it. I think Tower has the potential to gain us more life with a smaller investment, and it really gets crazy with Alhammarret's Archive. With this combo in play with 10 cards in hand, you will be gaining 12 life, passively, on your upkeep, with no mana investment. For the goal of life gain, I think Tower serves better. I feel that by the time we have the setup to really enable Reservoir, we should be winning anyway. Additionally, Reservoir has more of bullseye on it, and I foresee it getting blown up before we have a chance to really make use of it. Those are just my feelings on it, but I've never played with it.
Do you feel like Memory Jar has a place in this list? I'm thinking that with all the artifact tutors and recursion, it might be. I will admit that I've actually never played with it before. I hope it gets a reprint at some point.
That's about all I've got in me for tonight. Thanks for discussing this with me! I'm hoping other will chime in soon
It seems that there's a dearth of activity on the forums for MTGSalvation lately. Expecting any consistent, additional interaction beyond a select few users seems to be the exception. Or maybe they just don't like our more competitive/optimized lists *shrugs*.
Boomerang is a fine card to put under the Scepter. My only concern with it is that it doesn't actually WIN you the game when it's under the Scepter with Engine in play. Reality Shift does. Perhaps it might be appropriate to run both. The versatility of Boomerang cannot be denied in comparison to the Shift. Boomerang is additionally useful in your list because of the heavy presence of Hand Cycling that you play. It's easy to EOT Boomerang the permanent that is most bothersome to you and then Wheel on your time to get rid of said permanent definitively. I personally like to favor a mix of spot removal with mass removal, usually about 80/20 in favor of spot removal. I think the decision is really just specific to your meta. My group is heavily focused on creature based Commanders, Kaalia, Arcum, and Animar being the most prevalent. The Shift is better against these Commanders than the Boomerang.
Memory Jar is a card I have mixed feelings about. I readily admit that it's super useful in digging deeper into your deck, has great synergy with Artifact recursion a la Academy Ruins and Argivian Restoration, and is easily tutorable in U, making it a consistent card advantage piece in your deck. I've just personally never been too fond of Wheel effects in the first place unless I have Notion Thief in my deck or I'm playing Dralnu, Lich Lord as my Commander. Giving my opponents fresh cards always makes me uncomfortable, even while I'm winning with the Wheel effect that is giving my opponents fresh cards. What's nice about the Memory Jar is that the fresh cards you Jar'ed are discarded at EOT, making it more of a mill effect for your opponents instead of a true Wheel effect. My Teferi list, which is probably the strongest deck in my roster currently, plays the Jar and there have been several times where I needed the Jar specifically to dig into my deck and find a mana rock to execute The Chain Veil combo and win.
So, my short answer is that YES, the Jar deserves a slot. It's power is readily apparent, particularly with the Parun as your Commander. It, and other Wheel effects, simply make me uncomfortable as a player regardless of how effective, efficient, and powerful they are, hence my mixed feelings. I played Cruel Control during the Lorwyn/Shards era, and Crueling away people's hands and board states became the expectation and preferred playstyle for me. It's really easy to win when your opponents can do literally nothing to interact with you...
For the Ivory Tower vs. Aetherflux Reservoir discussion, it just depends on what strategy you're employing. People generally aren't going to care too much about the Tower passively gaining you life, making it perhaps a little more consistent in the overall lifegain it will provide. The Tower therefore rewards a more conservative playstyle, where the game is extended over many turns and controlling the board and stack is the priority for your deck. It's also [CARD}Trinket Mage[/CARD]-able, which is a nice way to make sure you have the chance to see it every game if you really want it. In summary, the Tower is probably going to be more consistent in gaining life for you over the course of a game.
I personally prefer the Fish Bowl Laser of Death because the lifegain is compounded on your Combo turn, allowing you to gain life in one gigantic spurt. It's absurdly easy to gain upwards of 15+ life in one turn with Fish Bowl in play simply by playing out your strategy. More common is the ability to just gain an arbitrary amount of life via Scepter combos and simply Laser people to death. What's nice about this life gain spurt is that, even if you don't win, you've still probably gained a pretty substantial life buffer to pad your life total for a couple of turn cycles. Additionally, it triggers ANY time you cast a spell, ensuring that you have many more triggers (albeit smaller lifegain triggers in comparison to the Tower) over the course of a game. Finally, the Reservoir acts as a supplemental Win Condition for the combo turn when you're ready to chain spells together and win. The synergy the Fish Bowl has with Paradox Engine is fantastic, and the Fish Bowl has almost universally replaced Tendrils of Agony in any Storm based combo list (for cEDH).
But, you're right. Nobody wants to die to the Fish Bowl, so by casting it you are going to inevitably draw attention to your board state. Casting the Reservoir is typically a signal to the table that you plan to win, or try winning, RIGHT NOW. So if you don't win, or can't, expect that the Fish Bowl will die and your board state to be attacked and all the negative attention of the table is directed towards you. At least, that's what happens to me, heh.
I personally tend to lean in on the reputation of certain cards/Commanders that are notorious for being Combo pieces. If people are expecting you to play certain cards and are playing around them, and are aggressively targeting you because of them, why not play them? My Kaalia list is a good example of that. Kaalia has a reputation for being a devastating deck, with MLD and powerful Angels/Demons/Dragons that kill all the things, that everyone is (rightly) wary of her all times. I decided to lean into their expectations and exceed them, making the list even more cutthroat by adding in one of the most oppressive Stax packages Kaalia can run. People are already going to be targeting me and playing around me, so why handicap my potential to win by not playing the best cards available to me? Kaalia is one of the most difficult lists that I consistently play against (my wife primarily plays the Kaalia list in my sig) because she attacks the game from 2 very powerful angles: resource denial (via the Stax and A/D/D cards) and short-cutting mana costs (via her ability). Trying to deal with both of those angles, as an opponent, is extremely difficult to play against because they are so different and require different cards to handle.
As a seven-year Niv player, I'll jump in here, too.
Imma hafta echo the positive recommendations for Reality Shift, Paradox Engine, and Blink of an Eye / Into the Roil, and Spellseeker. Those cards are legitimately great. The only problem I have with the engine is that winning with it is time consuming. Rather than the quick Mind over Matter/Curiosity/Ophidian Eye win ("All right, I draw my deck, drop 0-mana rocks, cast Inner Fire, Comet Storm table. Responses?") you have to go through a bunch of mana accounting. And, if you're also running Aetherflux Reservoir or Mind's Desire, you have to keep an eye on your storm and pseudo-storm counts. It's a PITA, but it wins games, so ...
Speaking of Comet Storm, I cut it about a year ago. In four years of playing it, I'd cast it twice without already having my deck in my hands. In that situation, I can win without it, so it went buh-bye.
I'm still testing for New-Mizzet's release, and I've tried a bunch of ways to get the mana right. So far, I've used these successfully: Prismatic Lens, Snap, Frantic Search, Coalition Relic, and Cascade Bluffs. Obviously, Candelabra of Tawnos is grrreat, but not everyone's going to have that card. Why the Lens? Well, my reasoning and experience is that Niv is really the only spell it doesn't help ramp into, and it filters for him when called upon, whether off of lands, rocks, or infinite mana from Dramatic Scepter or Engine.
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UR Niv-Mizzet, The Firemind
WUR Narset's Coinflip Casino
Modern
UB Mill
Is your deck list on tapped out? If so I would love to see it and try to help you out.
Cast Enter The Infinite to draw your deck is generally how I do it.
How do you guys feel about Mental Misstep? I feel like I'm always holding it waiting for the clutch dispel or something similar but all I every end up casting it on is a rogue Ponder, to which I usually get glares from around the table.
How about we have a quick discussion on a cheap replacement for Timetwister. I think the big two contestants are Day's Undoing and Time Reversal, the pros and cons are pretty obvious, Day's Undoing costs three but ends the turn and Time Reversal costs five instead of three but doesn't end the turn.
Which one do you guys think is more flexible and more useful?
Depends on whether you want to disrupt possible combos/game enders or just focus on your own card draw. While both can do that, if you have a flash enabler of some kind, Undoing can literally screw someone right out of their win if they don't have a good poker face(i.e., "Okay guys, kiss your butts goodbye," or somesuch). It can also bypass triggers if properly used(i.e., a sac trigger).
Long story short, Day's is just a TAD bit more flexible than Reversal.
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
If you are trying to make your deck as competitive as possible this card seems is very expensive for the effects you are getting.
If you are running a more casual or budget version this seems fine, it is pretty good value and fits the theme of the deck.
He Murders Some Part Of His World
These Are The Pale Deaths
Which Men Miscall Their Lives
All This I Cannot Bear
To Witness Any Longer
Cannot The Kingdom Of Salvation
Take Me Home
Cliff Burton---To Live Is To Die
My MOTL Refs
My H/W List
If You really want Academy Ruins that badly then consider adding Crucible of Worlds and Petrified Field/Buried Ruin to the deck.
If You want good targets from spells then I would start by Recoup-like cards and then it doesn't matter because You will get what You want sooner or later.
He Murders Some Part Of His World
These Are The Pale Deaths
Which Men Miscall Their Lives
All This I Cannot Bear
To Witness Any Longer
Cannot The Kingdom Of Salvation
Take Me Home
Cliff Burton---To Live Is To Die
My MOTL Refs
My H/W List
I love the OG Niv-Mizzet, in many aspects. Art, flavor, mechanics.
I still have to be realistic and acknowledge that new Niv-Mizzet outclasses OG by far.
I believe the new discussion is: Is there any good reason to continue using the Firemind over Parun?
I can only think of the Mind over Matter combo at this point.
GWUBAtraxa, Praetor's Voice PrimerGWUB
GWURoon Bant Blink WhateverGWU
BRGLord Windgrace LandsBRG
I'm still seriously considering whether I want to run him as my commander, or as one of the 99, because I absolutely want both in the deck.
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
So.... much... POWER!
This is pretty much exactly what I would have redesigned Niv-Mizzet, The Firemind to be, except that I would have been called CRAZY because it would have been BROKEN!
I mean, just... look... at... him... It doesn't even say "you MAY draw a card" it says "you (must) draw a card." And his ping can hit pesky planeswalkers directly now!
The 5/5 body is great. It means Niv becomes a better blocker and survives more removal. "Cannot be countered??" Seriously wizards... I'm fearing the banhammer even before the card is released. But there are worse things that remain unbanned *cough**cough* Consecrated Sphinx *cough**cough*
Hi, it's me, Rowan. After seeing the spoiler for Niv 3.0 I felt compelled to come back to my old Primer. I first posted that primer about 6 years ago, wow! I was surprised and happy to see that people were still posting here, so thanks for your continued interest. I am grateful to have a place to discuss any future deck changes!
For a couple years now, I've been gradually arriving at the conclusion that the game has been "moving on" shall we say, and leaving this old deck behind. There are better options for several cards listed in the OP, but I just haven't had much time to update it. Niv-Mizzet 3.0 as we shall call him, is absolutely the epitome of power creep in my opinion. He is better than Firemind in just about every way. But instead of getting frustrated, my reaction has been to embrace him, and here's why:
Recognizing that Firemind now feels very under-powered the current meta, I have been searching for a replacement commander for a while now, considering The Locus God, Arjun, the Shifting Flame or even something like Kess, Dissident Mage that allows me to throw Black into the mix. Black covers a lot of this deck's weaknesses such as removal and tutors, while further strengthening our card draw options. BUT, that just never felt right to me. Certainly, while adding Black would no doubt up the power level of the deck, we would be losing sight of the origins of the deck. Using a different commander that wasn't named Niv-Mizzet just didn't sit well with me!
The original reason I decided to build this deck those 6 years ago was because I loved the character and flavor of Niv-Mizzet, and the deck that I built around him turned out to be pretty powerful. In fact, the reason I first ever became interested in the game at all was the artwork, the characters, and the world the cards depicted.
So, that said, Niv 3.0 meets my needs perfectly. Thank you Wizards! I believe the proper course of action is to officially retire this primer and start a new one, but I don't mind a bit of Brainstorming before I do that seeing as my new commander hasn't even been released to the general public yet! I imagine I will play quite a few games with him before I feel qualified to actually contribute a new primer.
You know, despite the cost, I really like this card. I will have to try it out to really give you an answer. I definitely appreciate what it brings to the table, and we've got ways to tutor for it and even cheat it directly into play. Certainly worth a run.
At this point, I'm VERY curious about any cards you may have been using to good effect in your own versions of the deck, especially newly released cards. Knowledge is POWER!!
I'm interested in addressing some of the deck's current weak points in the new commander meta, as well as further increasing synergy, efficiency, and consistency. Generally, I think I will be moving away from the explosive win strategy, going more control, and building more around our new commander. To me that is more fun, and more appropriate for this multiplayer format. I've moved away from the glass-cannon deckbuilding approach I used to employ.
I also want to talk about the deck's win conditions. I feel that as much as I like Inner Fire//Comet Storm these 2 cards are often dead draws. I'm hoping that maybe with built in card-draw, our commander will be more central to our strategy and in fact more often BECOME our win condition. In recent games, I barely cast Firemind anymore, and have even taken out the infinite combos as they are too situational.
Some cards that I like are
Mizzix's Mastery - I've already been using this one to GREAT effect. This is the card I always wished Past in Flames was
Forbid - Old but still good. I've been using this to good effect. As long as we have a decent hand size, it can be a powerhouse.
Leyline of Anticipation or Vedalken Orrery - I feel that competitively it's hard to play without this effect, especially if we are going more the control route. I generally like Orrey better because I can tutor for it.
Shreds of Sanity - Gives us some great value.
Chromatic Lantern - I think that this will now become mandatory given the color heavy cost of Niv 3.0 I like having many utility lands, which are often colorless.
Trade Routes - I've come to absolutely love this card. It's a great answer to land destruction while giving us a superb looting effect.
Ivory Tower - In the real world, I often wish I had just a little bit of lifegain. Sometimes 5 life makes the difference between a win and a lose. I find this doesn't draw a ton of hate, it's cheap, and can really stack up to massive gains.
Whir of Invention This is a fantastic tutor in my opinion and works well to enable our stratagems!
Khorvath's Fury - This is a fairly decent hand-cycler. The "plus one" effect definitely matters! Needs testing.
Baral, Chief of Compliance - really solid card. Gives us a cost reducing effect and card draw at a very low investment.
Rebuild - An old card, but a good answer to artifacts getting out of control as well as saving our own in a pinch. Cycling on a removal spell is fantastic, especially with our recursion toolbox.
Commit // Memory - Certainly worth a look!
Keep Watch - Probably not going to make it in, but I'm going to try it. Situational.
Game Plan - Situationally good.
Primal Amulet
Cards I will most likely retire to the binder:
Mana Vault, Grim Monolith - These cards are glass cannon effects that don't quite do it for me anymore. I feel there are now other options that will give me more mileage throughout the course of the game.
Helm of Awakening - Better effects available now. Perhaps The Immortal Sun.
Inner Fire//Comet Storm - While being an iconic win-con for the deck, they are often dead draws. I think it makes sense to really set up our commander up for success. But I could be wrong. Again, needs testing.
Chaos Warp - DEFINITELY coming out. Only hits one target, can pull out something worse, and doesn't tuck commanders anymore.
Curiosity, Enter the Infinite, Show and Tell, Dream Halls, Omniscience - while certainly powerful, I think these types of cards warrant reconsideration as they deviate from my current play-style.
Izzet Charm - I think we've got stronger options at this point.
Merchant Scroll - Could be better options now. I've always disliked this one. It's a sorcery and it's very narrow.
Tolarian Winds - While cheap, I think we have better choices.
Thanks for reading! I look forward to your input!
I think the new Niv is extremely powerful. While the mana cost requirements are STRINGENT (seriously, I don't fully understand why every mana symbol is a colored mana symbol on him!) the sheer amount of card draw that he can generate is absurd. It makes every single can-trip a Divination and makes all of your Counterspells look like a better Remand. And that's not even factoring in any opponents who are casting Instants and Sorceries.
Plus, it draws your deck with Isochron Scepter + Dramatic Reversal + Sol Ring and probably kill two players while doing so. Add in Laboratory Maniac and you can win the game right then and there.
What really sucks about the Parun is that all of the fast mana cards that break any deck DO NOT help cast the Parun. Because his mana cost is so restrictive, he's probably not going to see a ton of early game play, which is a shame. Mana Crypt and Mana Vault don't positively help you get to Niv.
I definitely think that it's worth modifying your Primer to incorporate the new Parun as the head of your Niv deck. If I were to create a list, I would start with something like this:
6x Niv-Mizzet, Parun
Mana Sources (15)
0x Mana Crypt
0x Mox Opal
0x Mox Diamond
0x Chrome Mox
1x Sol Ring
2x Izzet Signet
2x Grim Monolith
2x Coldsteel Heart
2x Fire Diamond
2x Pyretic Ritual
3x Chromatic Lantern
3x Izzet Locket
3x Seething Song
5x Gilded Lotus
6x Coveted Jewel
Combo Pieces/Utility (11)
1x Curiosity
2x Dramatic Reversal
2x Isochron Scepter
2x Snapcaster Mage
2x Firebrand Archer
3x Ophidian Eye
3x Laboratory Maniac
3x Guttersnipe
4x Mizzix's Mastery
4x Aetherflux Reservoir
5x Paradox Engine
Tutors (9)
1x Mystical Tutor
2x Reshape
2x Transmute Artifact
2x Merchant Scroll
2x Invert // Invent
3x Fabricate
3x Whir of Invention
3x Spellseeker
3x Intuition
1x Chain of Vapor
1x Rapid Hybridization
1x Lightning Bolt
1x Rolling Earthquake
1x Vandalblast
2x Reality Shift
2x Cyclonic Rift
2x Blink of an Eye
2x Mizzium Mortars
3x Capsize
Card Draw (13)
1x Preordain
1x Brainstorm
1x Winds of Change
2x Tolarian Winds
2x Impulse
3x Wheel of Fortune
3x Timetwister
3x Windfall
3x Blue Sun's Zenith
4x Fact or Fiction
5x Reforge the Soul
5x Time Reversal
6x Time Spiral
Counterspells (10)
0x Pact of Negation
1x Swan Song
1x Mental Misstep
2x Counterspell
2x Mana Drain
2x Arcane Denial
2x Muddle the Mixture
2x Trickbind
3x Disallow
5x Force of Will
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Academy Ruins
1x Cephalid Coliseum
1x Command Tower
1x Mana Confluence
1x City of Brass
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Volcanic Island
1x Steam Vents
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Cascade Bluffs
1x Spirebluff Canal
1x Izzet Boilerworks
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Misty Rainforest
1x Polluted Delta
1x Flooded Strand
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Wooded Foothills
11x Island
2x Mountain
The Firebrand Archer and the Guttersnipe may look out of place, but they are there so that Curiosity and Ophidian Eye aren't such dead draws in the case that Niv-Mizzet is unavailable to us. Because they synergize so well with Curiosity type effects, I think that they might be cards that I'd consistently want to see. They also provide incidental damage so that we can sometimes kill opponents just by casting enough spells in a turn to trigger each of them enough times. I want to find room to squeeze in Tandem Lookout just to have that third piece of redundancy, but it may not even be necessary.
Otherwise, this is a Storm Combo list with heavy control elements. There's a ton of Removal effects in the deck that are all chosen to maximize synergy with the Parun while also being effective. There's a healthy dose of interaction in Counterspells, with the counters being chosen for an optimized meta (Mental Misstep does some SERIOUS work against similarly optimized decks). The Card draw suite is pretty standard, I'd say, with a full complement of Hand-Cycling effects to dig deep into the deck, continually see fresh cards, and keep the Parun's trigger going off consistently to kill mana dorks, other creatures, and players.
The main combo line is Isochron Scepter + Dramatic Reversal + mana rock that taps for 2 or some combination of mana more than 2. This combo, with the Parun in play, will cause us to draw our deck and most likely kill 2 of our opponents. From there, you can either recycle your hand and graveyard with one of the Timetwister effects and draw enough cards again to kill the last player or you can cast Laboratory Maniac and win. This combo, with enough mana rocks in play, also creates infinite mana, which you can then use to cast Blue Sun's Zenith enough times to deck your opponents. Finally, this combo also creates an infinite Storm count so that you can kill people with Aetherflux Reservoir, Guttersnipe, or Firebrand Archer. The Reservoir is great because it also helps to replenish your life total from any early Aggro that you might have experienced in the game.
The second combo line is simple: Paradox Engine. I'm not sure if you've experienced the delight of playing with the Engine and mana rocks, but it's simply wonderful. It's unbelievably easy to win with the Engine in play and some mana rocks to keep chaining spells together. Especially with all of the Hand Cycling that is available in these colors, you should be able to win on the turn that you cast the Engine or the turn soon following the Engine. I think that it's strictly better than Ommiscience since it does basically the same thing as Omniscience but is more easily tutorable and costs a hell of a lot less in CMC. The sheer amount of mana output that you can gain from the Engine and some mana rocks (which you can easily dig into via the Hand Cycling available to the deck) is staggering.
The third combo line is to enchant the Parun with a Curiosity effect and then play a spell to draw your deck. From there, there should be enough mana rocks to get fast mana into play, cast some spells to get Paradox Engine in play, and start chaining more spells until your opponents are dead.
I've included Pyretic Ritual and Seething SOng so that you can more easily cast the Parun at any given point in the game. That RRR is a real slow down to casting the Parun on time, so hopefully these Rituals will help get the Parun into play faster while being relevant to the Storm turn later in the game and can-tripping with Niv in play.
I hope the list is useful, and again, Welcome back!
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Generally, I see the deck shifting more towards casting Niv and protecting him, more like a typical commander would work. This naturally pushes the deck towards being more control oriented. I think we will get a lot of mileage out of cards like Gilded Lotus and Chromatic Lantern which give us colored mana. In fact I definitely foresee adding more mana rocks since they combo so well with Paradox Engine and are so crucial to getting Niv out as early as possible. However, I am a bit suspicious of the red rituals in this format because of their use-once nature.
Another way this deck can get ahead of the rest of the table is extra turns. I particularly like Temporal Trespass and Temporal Mastery because we can set them up to be very cheap. These are followed by Temporal Manipulation and Time Warp in efficiency, but often more reliable. Plea for Power might have some potential, but generally not early game although 3 cards for 4 isn't too bad. It can save the table late game though, which is kind of cool. Savor the Moment is good early game but not great later on. Walk the Aeons really isn't too bad either, especially good late game.
I personally will be steering away from the infinite draw combos. They are no doubt powerful, but I really dislike how they can become dead draws. I've found that in more competitive play, I much prefer to be holding a counter or removal spell than these. Therefore, I will be trying to make the most of Niv 3.0's innate card drawing strength. When paired with Alhammarret's Archive things can get out of hand very quickly! The most I would consider doing is including Enter the Infinite since it works so well with Mizzix's Mastery and can be fairly easily tutored for.
My strategy more and more is to control the game until I can comfortably win, rather than going for those explosive early wins. I just find that it isn't that fun and generally draws hate in future games. I like to spend my first six turns or so building up my handsize and resources, while protecting myself and others at the table from other people's early wins.
And I like Paradox Engine a lot. I'm definitely going to give it a spin. I could see it potentially replacing Dream Halls even. The universal effect of Dream Halls, although sometimes fun, can also get you killed. Like you said, the engine is more easily tutorable. It also combos nicely with Reiterate which I will most likely be including. You can get infinite draw with Niv or infinite copies of any spell, just as long as you have enough mana rocks to untap each time.
Mission Briefing - I'm really liking this one! It essentially allows us a 2-of Snapcaster Mage We now have a really solid pool of recursion options in UR to draw from which makes me very happy. I've found this strategy to be really powerful with our handcycling suite.
Invert//Invent is interesting... Maybe someday we will get another solid tutor, but I don't think this is it. I loathe that 6cmc, even though we are getting 2 cards. It's just a poor early draw. When compared to Mystical Tutor it's sadly pretty unplayable If it had 3cmc and only got one card I would definitely consider it.
Spellseeker definitely has potential. I really wish she had flash. She fits nicely with the Riptide Laboratory combo cards.
With all due respect, I think I'd like to caution you on the switch of strategies for Niv. I do not know what you rplaygroup is like and nor do I know the politics of said playgroup, but Niv's casting cost is STEEP. Being able to cast him AND protect him is going to take a lot of colored mana symbols on a consistent basis. And I personally wonder if you will be able to have enough time to have enough mana (from lands and mana rocks) to cast the Parun AND protect him, as you've described, within the first 6 turns of the game (I wish I had that much time to set up!). Because the Parun is so difficult to cast consistently I would tend to view him as an infinite combo outlet, and treat him as such, instead of a lynch-pin of my strategy. I know the infinite draw combos may feel like dead pieces (and they are, in certain gamestates), but I think that they offer an angle of attack that would be a mistake not to include with Niv.
I don't mean to discredit your thinking in any form. I simply wish to share my opinion in a constructive manner and hopefully stimulate your own thinking about the new decklist you'll be tweaking in the coming days.
Spellseeker is the real deal. Having flash would be too good for her, I can assure you. She has made a nearly permanent place in all of my U based decks and absolutely SHINES in my Tasigur Flash Hulk list and my Dralnu Storm list (lists are in sig). I highly recommend running her in your list simply because she is so versatile.
Regardless of anything else I've previously posted, the strongest recommendation I can give to you is to play Paradox Engine. That card sees Modern play right now! It's incredibly powerful in Commander as a format and makes winning, with a deck built around it, a very consistent and predictable process. If I can play Engine on my turn with any sort of mana available to me, mana rocks in play, and a card in my hand that I can cast, I'm probably going to win that turn. Perhaps it's too broken, as some Commander players feel; I can see why.
But it allows you to NET mana when you cast a spell, if not recoup the casting cost, as long as you have non-land sources of mana available to you.
That observation is unbelievably powerful, especially in conjunction with U's natural draw power. Because the Engine allows you to net mana, it can be even MORE powerful than Omniscience! Play it, and play around 10-12 mana rocks, and you will have an incredibly consistent mana engine that consistently allows you to win games.
EDIT: Additionally, look at the combos that the Engine opens up with Isochron Scepter (all of the below combos assume the Engine is in play):
Every single one of those pieces in conjunction with the Scepter are good by themselves and better with the Engine and Scepter. Having this kind of flexibility and power is worth having a Dramatic Reversal be dead from time to time. And if you include Niv-Mizzet to be on the Battlefield at the same time as any of these combos, you just incidentally drew your deck as well. Oh darn...
EDIT: Made some grammar edits so my thinking is a little more clear.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
That combo don't work. When one Swan Song resolves all the others will fizzle.
Modern: Grixis DS ; UR Phoenix ; Storm ; Burn
Standard: MonoRed ; Ral Spells ; UR Phoenix ; Izzet Drakes
Commander: Locust God
Sure it does. It's a very technical combo, but it goes as follows:
This will then create an army of flying Swan tokens, as noted in Step 8 I believe, so that you can do your best re-enactment of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds and kill every opponent. Depending on how much mana you can generate via your mana rock(s), you can also incidentally create infinite mana this way.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
That is hilarious!
Well, I certainly love the Isochron Scepter /Paradox Engine combo. You've got me sold there, and I will definitely be picking up these cards soon. Both cards are powerful on their own, they are easily tutorable, they are cost effective, and the combos with them already fit well into the deck. Icing on the cake: artifacts are recurable with Academy Ruins so I don't mind horribly if I discard them as I can still get them back later. I don't see any immediate downsides to these cards at all at.
I think that running more artifacts definitely makes Reshape a pretty viable tutor.
You've likely been playing Magic a lot more than I have lately. I am pretty behind with the current meta, but I'm trying to get myself up to speed. I think that our playstyles do diverge a bit, which is totally fine. Over time, I've shifted more from combo to control with this particular deck because I feel like we don't have access to some of the bomb tutors other colors have, nor do we have the kind of mana acceleration that a color like green offers. I think my paper version of the deck currently runs around 12 counterspells and maybe 5 wipes/removals. I am also strongly considering cards like Propaganda.
Over the 7 years or so that I've been playing this deck, I have gone back and forth on the infinite draw combos with Niv more times than I can count. For a long time I was ONLY running Curiosity because it was the MOST efficient combo card available to us, and largely the most iconic like you explained. When it worked, it usually wins me the game, and when it doesn't, well, not much is lost because it's only one card in the deck. I am running the Sensei's Divining Top / Future Sight / Helm of Awakening infinite draw combo because all of the pieces are powerful on their own (except possibly the Helm, which I will likely be finding a replacement for).
I will mostly likely be including at least Curiosity in the new iteration of this deck. I guess I agree that not including it or any infinite draw combos with Niv would be handicapping the deck since it is a 2 piece combo with Niv, and people generally expect those cards to be present. However, I don't want to focus too much on that. One of my goals is to streamline the deck, which means cutting out some of the combos that don't work quite as well, are fragile, or just difficult to set up.
I don't view Niv 3.0 as being a lynch pin of the deck at all. Perhaps I didn't express that concept very well earlier, or I came off as being overly excited about the card. The deck as it currently exists, stands very well on it's own without the commander, but I was finding that having Firemind as the commander was starting to become a handicap since I rarely cast him and wasn't really focusing on the infinite combos. I guess I tend to view Niv-Mizzet, Parun as yet another draw engine that happens to reside in our command zone. This is great because it gives the deck more consistency. Being a creature, Consecrated Sphinx isn't the easiest thing to tutor for in these colors. The goal of my deck is currently "draw as many cards as quickly as possible while keeping the rest of the table under control." The Parun helps helps fulfill that goal quite well I think but doesn't become a glass cannon, since the rest of the deck also gets us there.
As a win condition, Niv 3.0 certainly works, but the kind of multiplayer games I typically find myself in, I feel a lot more confident with a win con LIKE Reiterate / Inner Fire / Comet Storm or Omniscience / Mindmoil where it can kill players regardless of life totals and says "I win" very loudly and clearly without having to play it through tediously. I hesitate to lean too much toward Niv as being my win con or focusing on the infinite draw combos for the very reasons you stated. His color heavy cost is restrictive, and he's a creature (vulnerable to creature removal). BUT, I do view him as being a valuable tool to getting us where we need to go by drawing us a ton of cards.
I acknowledge I'm probably contradicting myself here a bit based on my previous posts. I think without actually playtesting Niv 3.0 my perspective on him will be limited, but I do see him as a clear upgrade to Firemind and a card that I am much more motivated to cast and protect. But I don't think I will be relying on him as a win condition or even as the primary method of drawing my deck.
Anyway, I'm happy to agree to disagree on these points with you for now. We should both build the deck as we see fit. Later modifications will arise out of the fires of competitive playtesting in the real world! You very well could be right on a few points.
Here is a tentative decklist:
1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
MANA PRODUCTION
1 Mana Crypt
1 Chrome Mox
1 Mox Diamond
1 Mox Opal
1 Sol Ring
1 Coalition Relic
1 Chromatic Lantern
1 Gilded Lotus
1 Thran Dynamo
DUAL LANDS
1 Volcanic Island
1 Steam Vents
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Command Tower
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Shivan Reef
1 City of Brass
1 Mana Confluence
UTILITY LANDS
1 Cephalid Coliseum
1 Tolaria West
1 Academy Ruins
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Strip Mine
1 Riptide Laboratory
FETCH LANDS
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Arid Mesa
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Island (6)
1 Mountain (4)
REMOVAL
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Evacuation
1 All is Dust
1 Rebuild
CONTROL
1 Pact of Negation
1 Remand
1 Counterspell
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Mana Drain
1 Counterbalance
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Cryptic Command
1 Force of Will
1 Forbid
1 Swan Song
1 Flusterstorm
RECURSION
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Mission Briefing
1 Shreds of Sanity
1 Mystic Retrieval
1 Mizzix's Mastery
1 Crucible of Worlds
TUTORS
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Gamble
1 Spellseeker
1 Fabricate
1 Intuition
1 Long-Term Plans
1 Whir of Invention
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Winds of Change
1 Tolarian Winds
1 Scroll Rack
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Windfall
1 Reforge the Soul
1 Time Spiral
TOP DECK CONTROL/HAND IMPROVEMENT
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Brainstorm
1 Faithless Looting
1 Impulse
1 Trade Routes
1 Frantic Search
1 Future Sight
HAND FATTENING
1 Curiosity
1 Rhystic Study
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Alhammarret's Archive
MISC/COMBO
1 Paradox Engine
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Vedalken Orrery
1 Inner Fire
1 Comet Storm
1 Increasing Vengeance
EXTRA TURNS
1 Temporal Manipulation
1 Time Warp
1 Temporal Mastery
One thing I'm looking at now is increasing synergy with Isochron Scepter without lessening the power of the deck. There are plenty of cards that are good scepter targets but not necessarily that powerful on their own. I don't really like single target removal spells for this reason... (such as Lightning Bolt) I will have to think on this.
What are your feelings on Daretti, Scrap Savant or Argivian Restoration?
I think that your original post was lacking some clarification on your enthusiasm for the new Niv and how you planned to build it. I 100% agree that the Parun is a fantastic card advantage engine, almost identical in execution as Nezahal, Primal Tide (which is super strong in a competitive meta). Because the Parun's casting cost is so absurdly stringent it becomes nearly impossible to windmill slam it before T3 with any degree of consistency at all. So, I think I agree with your strategy there. His card advantage is a real thing and I'm looking forward to seeing how my own list plays out (testing some other decks currently).
There are a host of new cEDH decks that are available now. I have a few of them in my signature (Edric, Dralnu, Tasigur, Kaalia, Memnarch, and Teferi are all linked) and they've almost all gotten universally leaner in CMC and more efficient in their win conditions.
One thing I'll point out to you is that, because optimized decks play such small boards of creatures, they've actually shied away from Mass Removal effects. It's more efficient to spend just a few mana sources and remove the true problem permanent, instead of wiping the board, so that they can reliably combo off and win. Just a stylistic difference from the direction it sounds like you're going (heavy board wipes, minimal spot removal). If that works for your meta, keep optimizing and playing to your meta's weaknesses!
In regards to making Scepter better, I think that you're at the point where all the good Scepter targets are spot removal spells of some sort. Of the long list of instants in UR that could be put under the Scepter, I think the two best ones that you aren't already playing are Reality Shift and Blink of an Eye. The Shift is useful because, more often than not, it puts a non-creature card into play as a Morph, therefore keeping it stuck as a measly 2/2 creature without the benefit of being flipped over for effect. For this reason, the Shift can often act as a 2-1, depending on what they Manifest. And then I like Blink because you can kick it to replace itself, giving you some tempo and preserving your card advantage.
Both of those cards become actual win conditions under the Scepeter with Paradox Engine, which is my primary reason for playing them in the Niv list I posted a few posts ago.
In regards to Daretti or Argivian Restoration, I think the nod should go to the Restoration because it has synergy with your Commander, can be recurred via the Recursion toolbox you're currently playing, and gets the Artifact to play NOW without having to sac an additional artifact, unlike Daretti. Also, I've observed that Daretti, and planeswalkers generally, often draw attention to your board that you'd rather not have. Just my .02 cents. An exception can be made for Tezz the Seeker because his tutor ability is so crucial in blue based decks that aren't playing hard tutors.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Reality Shift could very well be worth a slot with Scepter in the deck. But, I will say that my instincts are telling me that removal in commander should either be en masse or at least be flexible (Vindicate). The only thing Reality Shift has going for it as far as I can tell is that it can be put on the stick. Without the stick, I would personally run Chaos Warp over it because of the greater flexibility. Reality Shift can't deal with a horde of infinite saprolings (unless it of course also goes infinite), nor can it deal with enchantments, artifacts, or lands. I'd almost be inclined to run something like Boomerang over Reality Shift. It can be sticked and is totally flexible. But yes, removal is largely playgroup specific... so maybe this is a moot point.
I think Aetherflux Reservoir deserves a chat. I'm curious what your experience with it has been. For a while, I've really wanted some life gain in the deck, hence Ivory Tower. I know it's not in my above list, but I'm running it in my paper deck. I don't really see myself using both Reservoir and the Tower. Both certainly have their merits. I really like that the Reservoir can be a win con but I also find it a bit win-more, given the combos that enable it. I think Tower has the potential to gain us more life with a smaller investment, and it really gets crazy with Alhammarret's Archive. With this combo in play with 10 cards in hand, you will be gaining 12 life, passively, on your upkeep, with no mana investment. For the goal of life gain, I think Tower serves better. I feel that by the time we have the setup to really enable Reservoir, we should be winning anyway. Additionally, Reservoir has more of bullseye on it, and I foresee it getting blown up before we have a chance to really make use of it. Those are just my feelings on it, but I've never played with it.
Do you feel like Memory Jar has a place in this list? I'm thinking that with all the artifact tutors and recursion, it might be. I will admit that I've actually never played with it before. I hope it gets a reprint at some point.
That's about all I've got in me for tonight. Thanks for discussing this with me! I'm hoping other will chime in soon
Boomerang is a fine card to put under the Scepter. My only concern with it is that it doesn't actually WIN you the game when it's under the Scepter with Engine in play. Reality Shift does. Perhaps it might be appropriate to run both. The versatility of Boomerang cannot be denied in comparison to the Shift. Boomerang is additionally useful in your list because of the heavy presence of Hand Cycling that you play. It's easy to EOT Boomerang the permanent that is most bothersome to you and then Wheel on your time to get rid of said permanent definitively. I personally like to favor a mix of spot removal with mass removal, usually about 80/20 in favor of spot removal. I think the decision is really just specific to your meta. My group is heavily focused on creature based Commanders, Kaalia, Arcum, and Animar being the most prevalent. The Shift is better against these Commanders than the Boomerang.
Memory Jar is a card I have mixed feelings about. I readily admit that it's super useful in digging deeper into your deck, has great synergy with Artifact recursion a la Academy Ruins and Argivian Restoration, and is easily tutorable in U, making it a consistent card advantage piece in your deck. I've just personally never been too fond of Wheel effects in the first place unless I have Notion Thief in my deck or I'm playing Dralnu, Lich Lord as my Commander. Giving my opponents fresh cards always makes me uncomfortable, even while I'm winning with the Wheel effect that is giving my opponents fresh cards. What's nice about the Memory Jar is that the fresh cards you Jar'ed are discarded at EOT, making it more of a mill effect for your opponents instead of a true Wheel effect. My Teferi list, which is probably the strongest deck in my roster currently, plays the Jar and there have been several times where I needed the Jar specifically to dig into my deck and find a mana rock to execute The Chain Veil combo and win.
So, my short answer is that YES, the Jar deserves a slot. It's power is readily apparent, particularly with the Parun as your Commander. It, and other Wheel effects, simply make me uncomfortable as a player regardless of how effective, efficient, and powerful they are, hence my mixed feelings. I played Cruel Control during the Lorwyn/Shards era, and Crueling away people's hands and board states became the expectation and preferred playstyle for me. It's really easy to win when your opponents can do literally nothing to interact with you...
For the Ivory Tower vs. Aetherflux Reservoir discussion, it just depends on what strategy you're employing. People generally aren't going to care too much about the Tower passively gaining you life, making it perhaps a little more consistent in the overall lifegain it will provide. The Tower therefore rewards a more conservative playstyle, where the game is extended over many turns and controlling the board and stack is the priority for your deck. It's also [CARD}Trinket Mage[/CARD]-able, which is a nice way to make sure you have the chance to see it every game if you really want it. In summary, the Tower is probably going to be more consistent in gaining life for you over the course of a game.
I personally prefer the Fish Bowl Laser of Death because the lifegain is compounded on your Combo turn, allowing you to gain life in one gigantic spurt. It's absurdly easy to gain upwards of 15+ life in one turn with Fish Bowl in play simply by playing out your strategy. More common is the ability to just gain an arbitrary amount of life via Scepter combos and simply Laser people to death. What's nice about this life gain spurt is that, even if you don't win, you've still probably gained a pretty substantial life buffer to pad your life total for a couple of turn cycles. Additionally, it triggers ANY time you cast a spell, ensuring that you have many more triggers (albeit smaller lifegain triggers in comparison to the Tower) over the course of a game. Finally, the Reservoir acts as a supplemental Win Condition for the combo turn when you're ready to chain spells together and win. The synergy the Fish Bowl has with Paradox Engine is fantastic, and the Fish Bowl has almost universally replaced Tendrils of Agony in any Storm based combo list (for cEDH).
But, you're right. Nobody wants to die to the Fish Bowl, so by casting it you are going to inevitably draw attention to your board state. Casting the Reservoir is typically a signal to the table that you plan to win, or try winning, RIGHT NOW. So if you don't win, or can't, expect that the Fish Bowl will die and your board state to be attacked and all the negative attention of the table is directed towards you. At least, that's what happens to me, heh.
I personally tend to lean in on the reputation of certain cards/Commanders that are notorious for being Combo pieces. If people are expecting you to play certain cards and are playing around them, and are aggressively targeting you because of them, why not play them? My Kaalia list is a good example of that. Kaalia has a reputation for being a devastating deck, with MLD and powerful Angels/Demons/Dragons that kill all the things, that everyone is (rightly) wary of her all times. I decided to lean into their expectations and exceed them, making the list even more cutthroat by adding in one of the most oppressive Stax packages Kaalia can run. People are already going to be targeting me and playing around me, so why handicap my potential to win by not playing the best cards available to me? Kaalia is one of the most difficult lists that I consistently play against (my wife primarily plays the Kaalia list in my sig) because she attacks the game from 2 very powerful angles: resource denial (via the Stax and A/D/D cards) and short-cutting mana costs (via her ability). Trying to deal with both of those angles, as an opponent, is extremely difficult to play against because they are so different and require different cards to handle.
UB Dralnu, Lich Lord
RBW [Primer]-Kaalia of the Vast
BUG [Primer]-Tasigur, the Golden Fang
GWU [Primer]-Arcades, the Strategist
WUB Primer-Aminatou, the Fateshifter
UBR Nicol Bolas, the Ravager
Imma hafta echo the positive recommendations for Reality Shift, Paradox Engine, and Blink of an Eye / Into the Roil, and Spellseeker. Those cards are legitimately great. The only problem I have with the engine is that winning with it is time consuming. Rather than the quick Mind over Matter/Curiosity/Ophidian Eye win ("All right, I draw my deck, drop 0-mana rocks, cast Inner Fire, Comet Storm table. Responses?") you have to go through a bunch of mana accounting. And, if you're also running Aetherflux Reservoir or Mind's Desire, you have to keep an eye on your storm and pseudo-storm counts. It's a PITA, but it wins games, so ...
Speaking of Comet Storm, I cut it about a year ago. In four years of playing it, I'd cast it twice without already having my deck in my hands. In that situation, I can win without it, so it went buh-bye.
With how quickly they accelerate you to Archive/Engine/Lotus/Omniscience/Sphinx, Mana Vault and Grim Monolith are still bonkers. They also make great Transmute Artifact fodder for fetching one of the 5-drop artifacts, especially Grim.
Commit // Memory has replaced Venser in my Niv 1.0 list, since I don't run Riptide Laboratory.
Whir of Invention and Merchant Scroll are both all stars.
I'm still testing for New-Mizzet's release, and I've tried a bunch of ways to get the mana right. So far, I've used these successfully: Prismatic Lens, Snap, Frantic Search, Coalition Relic, and Cascade Bluffs. Obviously, Candelabra of Tawnos is grrreat, but not everyone's going to have that card. Why the Lens? Well, my reasoning and experience is that Niv is really the only spell it doesn't help ramp into, and it filters for him when called upon, whether off of lands, rocks, or infinite mana from Dramatic Scepter or Engine.