Hey! Love the primer! I've been messing around with Mishra, trying to build him at various levels of play (Super casual - Competitive).
One card I keep looking back at in your list is Spreading Plague. Doesn't this take Mishra off the board most of the time? Is the idea to use Plague once Mishra has done his dirty work? Would love to hear your comments on the card. Thanks!
Welcome dopefish! Firstly, I want to apologize for the long wait time on my reply. My life has been way too busy lately, haha.
As for Spreading Plague, I only list the following in my card choice section:
Spreading Plague - Mono color deck's mortal enemy; pairs well with artifact creatures who frequently dont have other types
As for how I play this card, it heavily depends on when I get it (early draw) and what I have at my access to abuse with Mishra. Part of my strategy is to stall / stax the game until I can establish a Mishra lock, which further convolutes the game for my opponents while I build towards a combo finisher. You are 100% right that this card often leads to Mishra's death, but I actually like to use it to turn Mishra into a board wipe; flip your thinking. Mishra becomes a 4cc spell that destroys all blue, red, and black creatures.
For the most part, our long term strategy is leverage high value artifact synergy as we build towards an explosive finish. Spreading plague is just one of our many ways of slowing the game down to buy ourselves more time.
Have you considered scroll rack and brainstorm? Having a commander that has a built in shuffle function is super strong, even if you just fail to find after putting junk on top of your deck
There was a period I considered scroll rack for this deck. The value it can generate is fantastic, but ultimately I took it out for bigger and flashier effects. That said, the fact that it is missing from the card discussion section is a travesty and should be corrected.
Brainstorm on the other hand, while I love from legacy, just doesn't do enough in EDH for me to justify the slot. Draw 3 is powerful in cedh, but for this deck, it offers too little, even at the competitive cost.
Dude what about Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge? His +2 Seems like a pretty solid alternative win con for us. But I very much look forward to the next set.
Anyways Deck Update! Figure I should do this at least one time a year. I still swear by Vedalken Orrery and how many times I have set up a win at the end of my opponent's turn. This has become, by far, the deck my friends ask to borrow the most often.
I really like your list, and it looks like a great budget alternative to the list I run (in fact, its incredibly similar while having great replacements for a lot of my irrationally purchased high dollar cards).
Is there anything in the main primer that your list doesn't aim for, or does differently? If you are cool with it, I'd like to include this list in the alternate builds section as a budget build. So many people are turned off because I run The Abyss and Nether Void and think, I cannot play Mishra. I think giving a list that doesnt use those tricks might be beneficial for people looking to get a taste of everyone's favorite Dominarian bad boy.
Oh wow thank you! Seriously, I would feel very honored to have my list used as an example. Also I just had a birthday so I used the money I received to finally round out my two missing fetches and one missing shock land by adding copies of Steam Vents, Polluted Delta, and Scalding Tarn to my deck. I have updated my list above to reflect these changes.
As for my deck's strategy, it's more or less the same as what you propose on the front page. I hope to get out Possibility Storm posthaste for fun Mishra shenanigans. But I can give a few general thoughts on my build if you would like:
Saheeli, the Gifted
Her first +1 ability gives us a blocker, a pinger, or a target for Master Transmuter/Goblin Welder/etc. I find it relatively versatile. However, it's her second +1 ability that really motivated me to add her to my deck. As it lowers the casting cost of my next spell by X, with X being equal to the number of artifacts I control. And that's any next spell cast, not just our artifacts. This allows me to play some of my bigger spells considerably earlier than I normally would expect. I mean how about a Turn 5-6 Blightsteel Colossus? anyone?
Tezzeret the Seeker
I primarily kept him him in my build because his -X ability allows me to tutor for artifact pieces that I might need in a pinch. My usual targets are things like Sol Ring, Nevinyrral's Disk, or Crawlspace depending on if I'm playing offensively or defensively. He can also untap some pieces in the deck for either more mana, or doubling up on artifact effects like Skeleton Shard or Metalworker. .
Vedalken Orrery
My favorite (personal choice) addition in the deck. It allows me to play anything in the deck at instant speed. So with Mycosynth Lattice, Unwinding Clock, and a handful of lands and/or mana rocks on the field, I'm free to cast basically anything whenever I want, assuming it's in my hand at the time. I feel the card particularly shines in the regard that it allows me to cast a Blightsteel Colossus or a Nevinyrral's Disk at the end of my opponent's end step so that these cards are primed and ready to wreak destruction the moment my turn begins; rather than having to wait a full turn and give my opponent's ample time to come up with a response under normal casting conditions.
If you have any other question about the deck just let me know and I will do my best to explain.
Ok I opened up a Karn, the Great Creator in my War of the Spark box and got Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge as buy a box promo. Temporarily replacing Saheeli Rai and Tezzeret the Seeker in my deck and see how these new cards do. I once again updated my list above to reflect these changes. (also added foil tags since I just found out how to do it the other day -_-*)
My bad on keeping up with things guys! I have a set review mostly written, I just need to tidy it up for the thread before I add it. My wife and I welcomed our second daughter at the end of April, and my family is consuming all my spare time
Forgive the lazy formatting everyone, baby #2 is exhausting, but I still wanted to get this content out here before too much time had gone by! For all future set reviews, I am going to try to at least cover all the rares in Grixis colors, as well as hit some other highlights I see. Cards I am excited for in bold.
Colorless God-Pharaoh's Statue - I don't like the 6 mana cost, but this has a place in budget stax decks I suppose. I will not slot this in my build though. Karn, The Great Creator - Combo, retrieves exiled key cards, colorless, style points. 10/10 love this card. Going straight into Mishra. Ugin, The The Ineffable - Screams storm combo. Seems very strong in an artifact combo build, and also has the ability to spot remove most commanders, as well as generate card advantage and blockers. Another great colorless card.
Blue Commence the Endgame - SPOILERS!! Oh wait...this has nothing to do with Avengers. Its also bad imo. Too much mana for too little card draw and a single creature. Fblthp, the Lost - I love this little fella, and I am brewing a deck around him. Hint - He is the commander of the deck, but hes gonna be in the 99, cuz hes lost!! That said, not for Mishra. Finale of Revelation - This seems like its gonna be a CEDH staple. I will probably grab one just to have it. The only flaw is that its a sorcery. God-Eternal Kefnet - Spell slinger decks, not really a Mishra toy. Jace, Wielder of Mysteries - A second copy of lab man imo. Not much value beyond that. If you use a combo to generate infinite mana with artifacts and Mishra, he could be a win con after drawing your deck. Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor - I mean...she kinda protects your stuff? Kinda makes wizards? Filtering is good. I wish she had a little more going for her though. Overall, meh. Narset, Parter of Veils - LEOVOLD! I MISSED YOU! I mean..ahem...nothing to see her Rules Committee. Not sure she has much a place in Mishra. Silent Submersible - This one seems good out of the vehicle cycle. Arguably useful. Spark Double - ehhhh...too bad its only you control, kills this card for me. Otherwise it'd be a strict upgrade over Clone Jace, Arcane Strategist - Soooo little value, this kinda bums me out. They basically split his +1 and his static ability, which might as well be the same ability. I get that his passive makes him slightly better, but i mean...ehhhh...maybe good in an Azami deck as a win con i guess, make all your wizards fat by drawing cards every turn? +4/+4 by your next untap? Jace's Ruse - I really wish this fetched any Jace. The fact that its only a specific one is rubbish.
Black Bolas's Citadel - hoooo boy. This is gonna be my 'lets see how long it takes to get banned' pick of the set. Jesus christ this thing is OP as hell. I am only at the black cards, and I am gonna say this is the best artifact of the set. Command the Dreadhorde - 6 mana and likely 15+ life. I am not sure how I feel about this one. Clearly useful in a super friends deck i guess. Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage - Why put black wisps on black font? Bad card is hard to read. Deliver onto Evil - Really don't like all these incredibly specific cards. Even though it can be any bolas planeswalker, this still pretty much only enters play in grixis decks. I won't be slotting it, despite the amazing art. Dreadhorde Invasion - 2 drop token generator on upkeep that makes the creature gain value over time seems really good. Then you realize, unless you are running a seriously amass central theme with your deck, it will take 6 turns to be worth it. The Elderspell - I look forward to this 2 drop ***** whipping super friends decks. I would slot this if my meta shifted to Super friends. Finale of Eternity - So thats a lot of mana for that effect...I guess at x=2 or 3 thats not bad, but if you are playing it for the mass revival, i just feel there are better cards for that job, like Living Death God-Eternal Bontu - I really like this one. In the right build with tokens or even regular cards, hes a massive card draw engine. Could be great for decks that don't have the draw they need. I bet he'd fit right in with Prossh decks more than Mishra, but if you are building tokens in your deck, this card could be a draw-a-lot spell. Liliana, Dreadhorde General - Hate the cmc, very pricey. Her passive is so good though. Really abuseable as a value engine piece, even without having decent loyalty abilities. If you run a sacrifice for value variant of Mishra, I'd consider her. Massacre Girl - Is she like, a super hero? Cool boardwipe on a body I suppose. I bet she'd be really good with things that give opponents 1/1 tokens as a drawback, like Forbidden Orchard, which you can tap in response to her ability on the stack to give more -1/-1s. Ob-Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted - Nekusar friend. Destroys key targets, deals damage on draw. Not a friend for Mishra though, does nothing for us that a 5 mana removal spell wouldn't.
Red Chandra, Fire Artisan - Lame. Burn is lame, she is lame. Lame. Her +1 is ok i guess as false card draw, but if its something you want to save or a combo piece, she is just bad. I won't run her. With my luck, she'd exile my win cons when I didnt have the mana. Dreadhorde Arcanist - This could have potential in the right build. Flashback without paying mana on attack is kinda neat, just needs the right set up around him. The problem for him in Mishra is that I would pump his power through equipment, meaning I won't have a lot of sorceries or instants in my deck. Finale of Promise - Lets you flash back a spell at RR+CMC, and with enough mana do it 2 extra times?? thats baller. This is a game winner. I am not sure I will slot into my main Mishra build, but man its strong. Illharg, the Raze-Boar - Could be quite abuseable if you set up properly. Not sure how I feel yet. Jaya, Venerated Firemage - Her spellshaper version is better, imo. Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin - oh man, there are tricks with this dude. Imagine him, and like, shared animosity on the board? Pump him up with your army, and then generate a massive addition to your army, makes him like the original, but with the added bonus of attacking, of course, at the risk of being killed. That said, thats a goblins deck strat, definitely not a Mishra card. Mizzium Tank - I recently built a deck around Grimlock, Dinobot Leader, and this vehicle disappointed me. Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion - Card filtering and mana for the turn? He seems really strong as a red goodstuff card. That said, I have too many good blue draw spells to include him in Mishra. Sarkhan the Masterless - Doth my eyes deceive me? is this a red fort potential card? Theres something to that...if you are running a lot of dragons, stuff like Steel Hellkite and Hellkite Tyrant, maybe in your Mishra build? I feel you need a critical mass of dragons though. Tibalt, Rakish instigator - Eh...I like no life gain enchants better than Tibbers.
Multi Angrath, Captain of Chaos - Menace is neat. Kind of like a Rakdos alpha strike set up. If you are running a LOT of artifact creatures and you want to alpha, he might fit. Ashiok, Dream Render - I like this one. Kinda reminds me of Shadow of Doubt, too bad his -1 isnt great. Still, wrecks tutoring decks, and that alone justifies this card. Obliterates fetch land value. If your meta has a lot of fetching / tutors, its a must have hate card for any self respecting grixis stax. Dreadhorde Butcher - Not a terrible beater, but I am unsure of its value outside zombie tribal.
Living Twister - Something about this cards 2nd ability feels very abuse able to me. Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God - Seems pretty legit in this new era of walkers all over the goddamn table. Nice low mana cost, thought BBB is going to be prohibitive. Another must have if your meta goes Superfriends. Role Reversal - This looks mean to me. Not sure I will run it, but its very deceptively versatile and political. Saheeli, Sublime Artificer - I like her the more I read her. Generates free blockers that she can later transform for value. Shes getting a playtest in Mishra for sure. Soul Diviner - This guy will be amazing in the right deck, calling it now. Outside of Smokestacks tricks, I am not sure where i'd use him though. Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge - Affinity is very strong. Dealing X damage where its the number of artifacts you control and then gain x life is strong, on a + ability no less. -3 recurring an artifact is ok. His ultimate is kinda bleh, but his passive and plus are both super good. I will play test him in Mishra.
Land Blast Zone - Is that...is that a boardwipe on a land? Holy **** holy my beer im buying a playset. The only kick in the pants is that it starts with 1 counter instead of 0. Karn's Bastion - Proliferate on a land is ok. Definitely a new superfriends staple. Mobilized District - Man land that can be a cheap man land seems goodish. Its no Mishra's Factory though.
Well, its been a helluva ride here on MTGSalv, but it seems like things are coming to a close. I have been in communications with a lot of the staff here, and there will be an exodus to a new home. I intend to recreate the primer there, and will continue to share my opinions and experience.
Daretti, Scrap Savant - At 4 mana, he is kind of expensive for all the more use I get out of him, and hes a kill on sight card for most opponents. Due to the fact he does not protect me or himself, and does not forward our goals, hes getting the temporary cut. Skeleton Shard - While this card is decent at reviving artifact creatures, my build is less and less focused on durdling with recurring artifact creatures, which makes this card less valuable over time.
In - Karn, the Great Creator - A combo piece for us with Mycosynth Lattice in our deck, he can also turn our artifacts into chump blockers when necessary. His ability to bring back exiled cards is just icing on the cake. Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge - A kill condition in his own right with our deck, also provides affinity to our creatures while providing a little incidental life gain.
FYI Everyone, I have dropped from the primer committee on this site, and will likely be transfering all my deck lists, threads, and conversations over to the new MTGNexus site. More to follow as I solidify that decision, but please stay tuned and I will keep you posted on where to get all your Mishra goodness!
Emry, Lurker of the Loch - HELLO! This one has some serious merit. Firstly, probably a 1 drop for us, which is nice to begin with. ETB self mill is meh, doesn't hurt or help our overall strategy, but hooooo boy that activated ability can be downright delicious. This card deserves playtesting.
Mirrormade - Not terrible, 3 mana copy artifact or enchant is versatile and not bad. If you can get a cheap copy, the effect is very powerful and worthy of inclusion.
Corridor Monitor - Not-so-secret gem of the set. Goes infinite in lots of abuse-able ways, and if you like one of its combos, slot it in and use it as a versatile win condition piece.
Red
Fires of Invention - Explicitly calling out this nonbo card. This card clashes heavily with our best card, Possibility Storm. Do not run this.
Black
Revenge of Ravens - Neato little black pillowfort effect against token strategies. Worthy of inclusion if your meta is riddled with token decks.
Colorless
Sorcerous Spyglass - Not a bad card to shutdown opponents commanders or a card from their hand. That said, Pithing Needle is a superior card imo.
The Royal Scions - Honestly, a tad on the dry side for me. Nothing for Mishra really. Too many better options for all their loyalty abilites.
Lands
Castle Locthwain - A solid land. Risky if you have it in your opener, but a great utility land that can net you a card here or there as the game progresses.
Fabled Passage - if for some reason you are still running T.Expanse or E.Wilds, then cut them for this. That said, not worth the 10 buck prices I have been seeing.
Let me know if you think I missed a noteworthy card and why and i'll add it to this list!
Currently playtesting Emry and Castle Lochthwain, dropping a Vault of Whispers and Rakdos Signet. More updates to follow, including when the primer moves over to MTGNexus; but I wanted to post an updated none-the-less!
Currently playtesting Emry and Castle Lochthwain, dropping a Vault of Whispers and Rakdos Signet. More updates to follow, including when the primer moves over to MTGNexus; but I wanted to post an updated none-the-less!
Is the list from OP up to date? Editing date on it suggest it is from February while your latest post with changes is from June.
Currently playtesting Emry and Castle Lochthwain, dropping a Vault of Whispers and Rakdos Signet. More updates to follow, including when the primer moves over to MTGNexus; but I wanted to post an updated none-the-less!
Is the list from OP up to date? Editing date on it suggest it is from February while your latest post with changes is from June.
Yes, to a degree, I still havent finalized this test:
Currently playtesting Emry and Castle Lochthwain, dropping a Vault of Whispers and Rakdos Signet. More updates to follow, including when the primer moves over to MTGNexus; but I wanted to post an updated none-the-less!
Unfortunately my life has been dominated by work and my daughters since mid summer, so I haven't been able to devote time to play edh and properly test this list. I am likely going to finalize that change, I really like Emry, and Castle Lockthwaine is great in a pinch.
One card I keep looking back at in your list is Spreading Plague. Doesn't this take Mishra off the board most of the time? Is the idea to use Plague once Mishra has done his dirty work? Would love to hear your comments on the card. Thanks!
As for Spreading Plague, I only list the following in my card choice section:
As for how I play this card, it heavily depends on when I get it (early draw) and what I have at my access to abuse with Mishra. Part of my strategy is to stall / stax the game until I can establish a Mishra lock, which further convolutes the game for my opponents while I build towards a combo finisher. You are 100% right that this card often leads to Mishra's death, but I actually like to use it to turn Mishra into a board wipe; flip your thinking. Mishra becomes a 4cc spell that destroys all blue, red, and black creatures.
For the most part, our long term strategy is leverage high value artifact synergy as we build towards an explosive finish. Spreading plague is just one of our many ways of slowing the game down to buy ourselves more time.
G Azusa, Wherever I May Roam
UG Rashmi Simic Power
WB Kambal Life Gain Kills
URG Maelstrom Wanderer Howdy
Brainstorm on the other hand, while I love from legacy, just doesn't do enough in EDH for me to justify the slot. Draw 3 is powerful in cedh, but for this deck, it offers too little, even at the competitive cost.
Brings back our win conditions if exiled, combos with lattice, hoooooo boy I am excited!
Anyways Deck Update! Figure I should do this at least one time a year. I still swear by Vedalken Orrery and how many times I have set up a win at the end of my opponent's turn. This has become, by far, the deck my friends ask to borrow the most often.
1x Mishra, Artificer ProdigyFoil
Artifact (18)
1x Chromatic Lantern
1x Cloud Key
1x Coalition Relic
1x Crawlspace
1x Darksteel Forge
1x Gilded LotusFoil
1x Lightning GreavesFoil
1x Mirrorworks
1x Mycosynth Lattice
1x Nevinyrral's Disk
1x Sculpting Steel
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Skeleton ShardFoil
1x Sol Ring
1x Torpor Orb
1x Trading PostFoil
1x Unwinding Clock
1x Vedalken Orrery
Creature (23)
1x Arcum Dagsson
1x Blightsteel Colossus
1x Burnished Hart
1x Clever Impersonator
1x DuplicantFoil
1x Etched Champion
1x Etherium Sculptor
1x Goblin WelderFoil
1x Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
1x Junk Diver
1x Kuldotha Forgemaster
1x Master TransmuterFoil
1x Metalworker
1x Padeem, Consul of InnovationFoil
1x Phyrexian Metamorph
1x Sai, Master Thopterist
1x Scarecrone
1x Scrap TrawlerFoil
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Steel HellkiteFoil
1x Thada Adel, Acquisitor
1x Vedalken Archmage
1x Wurmcoil Engine
1x Mechanized Production
1x Planar Chaos
1x Possibility StormFoil
1x Rhystic StudyFoil
1x Spreading Plague
1x Storm the Vault
Instant (4)
1x Chaos WarpFoil
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Hurkyl's Recall
1x Whir of InventionFoil
Land (37)
1x Academy Ruins
1x Ancient Tomb
1x Blood Crypt
1x Bloodstained Mire
1x Command TowerFoil
1x Dragonskull Summit
1x Drowned Catacomb
1x Glimmervoid
1x Great Furnace
1x Inventors' Fair
4x Island
1x Mana Confluence
4x Mountain
1x Polluted Delta
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Seat of the Synod
1x Shivan Reef
1x Spire of Industry
1x Steam Vents
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Sulfurous Springs
4x Swamp
1x Underground River
1x Urborg, Tomb of YawgmothFoil
1x Vault of Whispers
1x Watery Grave
1x Daretti, Scrap Savant
1x Karn, the Great Creator
1x Saheeli, the GiftedFoil
1x Tezzeret, Artifice Master
1x Tezzeret, Master of the BridgeFoil
Sorcery (6)
1x All Is Dust
1x Chain Reaction
1x One With the MachineFoil
1x Praetor's Grasp
1x Recurring Insight
1x Vandalblast
Modern: B 8RACK B
EDH: BRU Mishra, Artificer Prodigy BRU, W Kemba, Kha Regent W, B Ghoulcaller Gisa B, BU Oona, Queen of the Fae BU, G Seton, Krosan Protector G, BW Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim BW, R Purphoros, God of the Forge R, UGW Arcades, the Strategist UGW, GW Karametra, God of Harvests GW, GU Edric, Spymaster of Trest GU, UW Grand Arbiter Augustin IV UW, BRW Kaalia of the Vast BRW, BRU Nekusar, the Mindrazer BRU, BGWU Thrasios, Triton Hero/Tymna the Weaver BGWU
Is there anything in the main primer that your list doesn't aim for, or does differently? If you are cool with it, I'd like to include this list in the alternate builds section as a budget build. So many people are turned off because I run The Abyss and Nether Void and think, I cannot play Mishra. I think giving a list that doesnt use those tricks might be beneficial for people looking to get a taste of everyone's favorite Dominarian bad boy.
As for my deck's strategy, it's more or less the same as what you propose on the front page. I hope to get out Possibility Storm posthaste for fun Mishra shenanigans. But I can give a few general thoughts on my build if you would like:
Saheeli, the Gifted
Her first +1 ability gives us a blocker, a pinger, or a target for Master Transmuter/Goblin Welder/etc. I find it relatively versatile. However, it's her second +1 ability that really motivated me to add her to my deck. As it lowers the casting cost of my next spell by X, with X being equal to the number of artifacts I control. And that's any next spell cast, not just our artifacts. This allows me to play some of my bigger spells considerably earlier than I normally would expect. I mean how about a Turn 5-6 Blightsteel Colossus? anyone?
Tezzeret the Seeker
I primarily kept him him in my build because his -X ability allows me to tutor for artifact pieces that I might need in a pinch. My usual targets are things like Sol Ring, Nevinyrral's Disk, or Crawlspace depending on if I'm playing offensively or defensively. He can also untap some pieces in the deck for either more mana, or doubling up on artifact effects like Skeleton Shard or Metalworker. .
Vedalken Orrery
My favorite (personal choice) addition in the deck. It allows me to play anything in the deck at instant speed. So with Mycosynth Lattice, Unwinding Clock, and a handful of lands and/or mana rocks on the field, I'm free to cast basically anything whenever I want, assuming it's in my hand at the time. I feel the card particularly shines in the regard that it allows me to cast a Blightsteel Colossus or a Nevinyrral's Disk at the end of my opponent's end step so that these cards are primed and ready to wreak destruction the moment my turn begins; rather than having to wait a full turn and give my opponent's ample time to come up with a response under normal casting conditions.
If you have any other question about the deck just let me know and I will do my best to explain.
Modern: B 8RACK B
EDH: BRU Mishra, Artificer Prodigy BRU, W Kemba, Kha Regent W, B Ghoulcaller Gisa B, BU Oona, Queen of the Fae BU, G Seton, Krosan Protector G, BW Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim BW, R Purphoros, God of the Forge R, UGW Arcades, the Strategist UGW, GW Karametra, God of Harvests GW, GU Edric, Spymaster of Trest GU, UW Grand Arbiter Augustin IV UW, BRW Kaalia of the Vast BRW, BRU Nekusar, the Mindrazer BRU, BGWU Thrasios, Triton Hero/Tymna the Weaver BGWU
Modern: B 8RACK B
EDH: BRU Mishra, Artificer Prodigy BRU, W Kemba, Kha Regent W, B Ghoulcaller Gisa B, BU Oona, Queen of the Fae BU, G Seton, Krosan Protector G, BW Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim BW, R Purphoros, God of the Forge R, UGW Arcades, the Strategist UGW, GW Karametra, God of Harvests GW, GU Edric, Spymaster of Trest GU, UW Grand Arbiter Augustin IV UW, BRW Kaalia of the Vast BRW, BRU Nekusar, the Mindrazer BRU, BGWU Thrasios, Triton Hero/Tymna the Weaver BGWU
Modern: B 8RACK B
EDH: BRU Mishra, Artificer Prodigy BRU, W Kemba, Kha Regent W, B Ghoulcaller Gisa B, BU Oona, Queen of the Fae BU, G Seton, Krosan Protector G, BW Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim BW, R Purphoros, God of the Forge R, UGW Arcades, the Strategist UGW, GW Karametra, God of Harvests GW, GU Edric, Spymaster of Trest GU, UW Grand Arbiter Augustin IV UW, BRW Kaalia of the Vast BRW, BRU Nekusar, the Mindrazer BRU, BGWU Thrasios, Triton Hero/Tymna the Weaver BGWU
Forgive the lazy formatting everyone, baby #2 is exhausting, but I still wanted to get this content out here before too much time had gone by! For all future set reviews, I am going to try to at least cover all the rares in Grixis colors, as well as hit some other highlights I see. Cards I am excited for in bold.
Colorless
God-Pharaoh's Statue - I don't like the 6 mana cost, but this has a place in budget stax decks I suppose. I will not slot this in my build though.
Karn, The Great Creator - Combo, retrieves exiled key cards, colorless, style points. 10/10 love this card. Going straight into Mishra.
Ugin, The The Ineffable - Screams storm combo. Seems very strong in an artifact combo build, and also has the ability to spot remove most commanders, as well as generate card advantage and blockers. Another great colorless card.
Blue
Commence the Endgame - SPOILERS!! Oh wait...this has nothing to do with Avengers. Its also bad imo. Too much mana for too little card draw and a single creature.
Fblthp, the Lost - I love this little fella, and I am brewing a deck around him. Hint - He is the commander of the deck, but hes gonna be in the 99, cuz hes lost!! That said, not for Mishra.
Finale of Revelation - This seems like its gonna be a CEDH staple. I will probably grab one just to have it. The only flaw is that its a sorcery.
God-Eternal Kefnet - Spell slinger decks, not really a Mishra toy.
Jace, Wielder of Mysteries - A second copy of lab man imo. Not much value beyond that. If you use a combo to generate infinite mana with artifacts and Mishra, he could be a win con after drawing your deck.
Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor - I mean...she kinda protects your stuff? Kinda makes wizards? Filtering is good. I wish she had a little more going for her though. Overall, meh.
Narset, Parter of Veils - LEOVOLD! I MISSED YOU! I mean..ahem...nothing to see her Rules Committee. Not sure she has much a place in Mishra.
Silent Submersible - This one seems good out of the vehicle cycle. Arguably useful.
Spark Double - ehhhh...too bad its only you control, kills this card for me. Otherwise it'd be a strict upgrade over Clone
Jace, Arcane Strategist - Soooo little value, this kinda bums me out. They basically split his +1 and his static ability, which might as well be the same ability. I get that his passive makes him slightly better, but i mean...ehhhh...maybe good in an Azami deck as a win con i guess, make all your wizards fat by drawing cards every turn? +4/+4 by your next untap?
Jace's Ruse - I really wish this fetched any Jace. The fact that its only a specific one is rubbish.
Black
Bolas's Citadel - hoooo boy. This is gonna be my 'lets see how long it takes to get banned' pick of the set. Jesus christ this thing is OP as hell. I am only at the black cards, and I am gonna say this is the best artifact of the set.
Command the Dreadhorde - 6 mana and likely 15+ life. I am not sure how I feel about this one. Clearly useful in a super friends deck i guess.
Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage - Why put black wisps on black font? Bad card is hard to read.
Deliver onto Evil - Really don't like all these incredibly specific cards. Even though it can be any bolas planeswalker, this still pretty much only enters play in grixis decks. I won't be slotting it, despite the amazing art.
Dreadhorde Invasion - 2 drop token generator on upkeep that makes the creature gain value over time seems really good. Then you realize, unless you are running a seriously amass central theme with your deck, it will take 6 turns to be worth it.
The Elderspell - I look forward to this 2 drop ***** whipping super friends decks. I would slot this if my meta shifted to Super friends.
Finale of Eternity - So thats a lot of mana for that effect...I guess at x=2 or 3 thats not bad, but if you are playing it for the mass revival, i just feel there are better cards for that job, like Living Death
God-Eternal Bontu - I really like this one. In the right build with tokens or even regular cards, hes a massive card draw engine. Could be great for decks that don't have the draw they need. I bet he'd fit right in with Prossh decks more than Mishra, but if you are building tokens in your deck, this card could be a draw-a-lot spell.
Liliana, Dreadhorde General - Hate the cmc, very pricey. Her passive is so good though. Really abuseable as a value engine piece, even without having decent loyalty abilities. If you run a sacrifice for value variant of Mishra, I'd consider her.
Massacre Girl - Is she like, a super hero? Cool boardwipe on a body I suppose. I bet she'd be really good with things that give opponents 1/1 tokens as a drawback, like Forbidden Orchard, which you can tap in response to her ability on the stack to give more -1/-1s.
Ob-Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted - Nekusar friend. Destroys key targets, deals damage on draw. Not a friend for Mishra though, does nothing for us that a 5 mana removal spell wouldn't.
Red
Chandra, Fire Artisan - Lame. Burn is lame, she is lame. Lame. Her +1 is ok i guess as false card draw, but if its something you want to save or a combo piece, she is just bad. I won't run her. With my luck, she'd exile my win cons when I didnt have the mana.
Dreadhorde Arcanist - This could have potential in the right build. Flashback without paying mana on attack is kinda neat, just needs the right set up around him. The problem for him in Mishra is that I would pump his power through equipment, meaning I won't have a lot of sorceries or instants in my deck.
Finale of Promise - Lets you flash back a spell at RR+CMC, and with enough mana do it 2 extra times?? thats baller. This is a game winner. I am not sure I will slot into my main Mishra build, but man its strong.
Illharg, the Raze-Boar - Could be quite abuseable if you set up properly. Not sure how I feel yet.
Jaya, Venerated Firemage - Her spellshaper version is better, imo.
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin - oh man, there are tricks with this dude. Imagine him, and like, shared animosity on the board? Pump him up with your army, and then generate a massive addition to your army, makes him like the original, but with the added bonus of attacking, of course, at the risk of being killed. That said, thats a goblins deck strat, definitely not a Mishra card.
Mizzium Tank - I recently built a deck around Grimlock, Dinobot Leader, and this vehicle disappointed me.
Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion - Card filtering and mana for the turn? He seems really strong as a red goodstuff card. That said, I have too many good blue draw spells to include him in Mishra.
Sarkhan the Masterless - Doth my eyes deceive me? is this a red fort potential card? Theres something to that...if you are running a lot of dragons, stuff like Steel Hellkite and Hellkite Tyrant, maybe in your Mishra build? I feel you need a critical mass of dragons though.
Tibalt, Rakish instigator - Eh...I like no life gain enchants better than Tibbers.
Multi
Angrath, Captain of Chaos - Menace is neat. Kind of like a Rakdos alpha strike set up. If you are running a LOT of artifact creatures and you want to alpha, he might fit.
Ashiok, Dream Render - I like this one. Kinda reminds me of Shadow of Doubt, too bad his -1 isnt great. Still, wrecks tutoring decks, and that alone justifies this card. Obliterates fetch land value. If your meta has a lot of fetching / tutors, its a must have hate card for any self respecting grixis stax.
Dreadhorde Butcher - Not a terrible beater, but I am unsure of its value outside zombie tribal.
Living Twister - Something about this cards 2nd ability feels very abuse able to me.
Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God - Seems pretty legit in this new era of walkers all over the goddamn table. Nice low mana cost, thought BBB is going to be prohibitive. Another must have if your meta goes Superfriends.
Role Reversal - This looks mean to me. Not sure I will run it, but its very deceptively versatile and political.
Saheeli, Sublime Artificer - I like her the more I read her. Generates free blockers that she can later transform for value. Shes getting a playtest in Mishra for sure.
Soul Diviner - This guy will be amazing in the right deck, calling it now. Outside of Smokestacks tricks, I am not sure where i'd use him though.
Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge - Affinity is very strong. Dealing X damage where its the number of artifacts you control and then gain x life is strong, on a + ability no less. -3 recurring an artifact is ok. His ultimate is kinda bleh, but his passive and plus are both super good. I will play test him in Mishra.
Land
Blast Zone - Is that...is that a boardwipe on a land? Holy **** holy my beer im buying a playset. The only kick in the pants is that it starts with 1 counter instead of 0.
Karn's Bastion - Proliferate on a land is ok. Definitely a new superfriends staple.
Mobilized District - Man land that can be a cheap man land seems goodish. Its no Mishra's Factory though.
Modern: B 8RACK B
EDH: BRU Mishra, Artificer Prodigy BRU, W Kemba, Kha Regent W, B Ghoulcaller Gisa B, BU Oona, Queen of the Fae BU, G Seton, Krosan Protector G, BW Ayli, Eternal Pilgrim BW, R Purphoros, God of the Forge R, UGW Arcades, the Strategist UGW, GW Karametra, God of Harvests GW, GU Edric, Spymaster of Trest GU, UW Grand Arbiter Augustin IV UW, BRW Kaalia of the Vast BRW, BRU Nekusar, the Mindrazer BRU, BGWU Thrasios, Triton Hero/Tymna the Weaver BGWU
I hope you all join me in the new space someday!
Out -
Daretti, Scrap Savant - At 4 mana, he is kind of expensive for all the more use I get out of him, and hes a kill on sight card for most opponents. Due to the fact he does not protect me or himself, and does not forward our goals, hes getting the temporary cut.
Skeleton Shard - While this card is decent at reviving artifact creatures, my build is less and less focused on durdling with recurring artifact creatures, which makes this card less valuable over time.
In -
Karn, the Great Creator - A combo piece for us with Mycosynth Lattice in our deck, he can also turn our artifacts into chump blockers when necessary. His ability to bring back exiled cards is just icing on the cake.
Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge - A kill condition in his own right with our deck, also provides affinity to our creatures while providing a little incidental life gain.
Blue
Red
Black
Colorless
Multicolor
Lands
Let me know if you think I missed a noteworthy card and why and i'll add it to this list!
Just my personal spin on the deck! Please let me know your thoughts, what you think works/what doesn't!
Yes, to a degree, I still havent finalized this test:
Unfortunately my life has been dominated by work and my daughters since mid summer, so I haven't been able to devote time to play edh and properly test this list. I am likely going to finalize that change, I really like Emry, and Castle Lockthwaine is great in a pinch.