I play in a playgroup where we kind of set our deck's level not way too high, but still highly focused. I'd say it's casual-competitive.
Would love suggestions on what kind of cards should I add or remove, as in adding maybe more removal, or more counterspells?
The playgroup is 5 people in total, if important, the other Commanders as of now are Marath, Will of the Wild (based on mostly burning with the likes of Impact Tremors and Purphoros), Meren of Clan Nel Toth (based on building up the graveyard and getting value off ETB effects, to then kill with high power creatures), Muldrotha, the Gravetide (based on controlling the boardstate until their graveyard gets enough resources to take out a wincon) and Animar, Soul of Elements (Morph version, with some Eldrazi Titans and etc).
So first thing you'll notice is they all run Green, so Submerge is there. The games are quite slow and creature spammy so that's why you'll see Rampaging Ferocidon
I know I can take a full Spellslinger approach and run less creatures but I really don't want to get into a "Just summon Niv and win" strategy, but have it as the main wincon. Not sure if I'm making myself clear.
So keeping Spellslinging as something that the Deck is focused around, but moreso abusing abilities that take advantage of me using spells would be how I want the Deck to run.
Also there's really no budget limit as we are a closed playgroup so we proxy some cards and buy them later on.
As house rules we just avoid cards that enable way too much with too much ease. Example is, the Animar Deck is not running Purphoros, and Meren/Muldrotha aren't running Mikaeus, etc. In my case, Paradox engine would be one.
You have a lot of mana rocks (I might go as far as to say too many) but a low amount of lands. I think you should cut two rocks (at least) for lands. But, if your current numbers work, I suppose you can leave them as they are.
The biggest omission I see is Basilisk Collar. Bounce spells are fine (and Submerge being "free" is decent) but you really might as well just kill things straight up. Draw a card, kill a creature seems pretty good.
High Tide doesn't seem the greatest in a deck with only 12 Islands. You probably have a good way to get to a fair amount of Islands as the game goes on, but it does seem that it isn't really going to get you going when you need it to.
While this is likely a meta call or just a personal preference, I never liked the permanents that created tokens when an Instant or Sorcery is cast. Murmuring Mystic, Talrand, Young Pyromancer, etc. The Locust God is really the one I kept around and that is because it makes a lot more tokens more quickly and they have haste. They others were ones I found to be too slow to really be worth having.
Otherwise, I don't see anything else that you definitely should cut. I see a number of cards I wouldn't run, but most are serviceable in what they do and so I can see the reason for wanting them.
You have a lot of mana rocks (I might go as far as to say too many) but a low amount of lands. I think you should cut two rocks (at least) for lands. But, if your current numbers work, I suppose you can leave them as they are.
Funnily enough, I used to have 35 lands (4 of which were cycle lands) and I took out 2 of those cycle lands. After that, it is rare for me to actually get mana screwed. It's weird. I guess I always hit the land drops because I draw a lot of cards. There are a few instances where I get screwed but I honestly can't remember this happening too often.
The biggest omission I see is Basilisk Collar. Bounce spells are fine (and Submerge being "free" is decent) but you really might as well just kill things straight up. Draw a card, kill a creature seems pretty good.
I used to run other Deathtouch equipments (Gorgon's Head, for instance), but since Niv is such a threat, he is rightfully killed almost immediately. There is a lot of removal in my playgroup. In around 10 or so games I only got to use it once, and I did so by purposefully not using Curiosity because that games was for the memes.
High Tide doesn't seem the greatest in a deck with only 12 Islands. You probably have a good way to get to a fair amount of Islands as the game goes on, but it does seem that it isn't really going to get you going when you need it to.
I will try out taking it out, because honestly it had only done some things very few times, and said times it only enabled maybe getting out Niv-Mizzet earlier once, which I guess other cards can also help me do so.
While this is likely a meta call or just a personal preference, I never liked the permanents that created tokens when an Instant or Sorcery is cast. Murmuring Mystic, Talrand, Young Pyromancer, etc. The Locust God is really the one I kept around and that is because it makes a lot more tokens more quickly and they have haste. They others were ones I found to be too slow to really be worth having.
You are correct. It is a meta call more than anything. More often than not, against 3 creature-heavy decks like Animar, Marath and Meren, and being a Deck that can go infinite out of nowhere, I find myself taking a lot of damage from attacks "because no blockers". I would like to see if I can take out maybe Murmuring Mystic for something cheaper in terms of cmc for the early game.
Otherwise, I don't see anything else that you definitely should cut. I see a number of cards I wouldn't run, but most are serviceable in what they do and so I can see the reason for wanting them.
Do feel free to tell me about those. I would like to try replacing some things and test them out. Whether I like them or not, I believe I could try them out if I haven't before.
For the most part, I still don't think bounce is really where you want to be. I know Submerge is, more often than not, free, but I think targeted bounce isn't as good as either mass bounce or straight up destruction.
I personally don't like bounce lands, especially in a list like this. I think you want to have mana at your disposal whenever you can and bouncing a land to get a tap land can sometimes be slow.
Library of Leng is decent for no max hand size but I question how often the discard clause makes a difference (you should always have a good 7 cards to keep anyway). Thought Vessel might be better since it does ramp you as well.
Speaking of which, I don't think Curious Homunculus is that great. I actually don't think most of the "Instants and Sorceries cost less" are super good. Again, I am taking my own experience into account here so yours may be different, but I don't typically find that making my spells cheaper is necessary and I would rather these be actual spells.
League Guildmage I would be on the fence about. 4 mana to draw a card or X + 1 mana to copy a spell with CMC X isn't that great. That is a lot of mana to get relatively little. And since the copy doesn't trigger Niv, it becomes less useful anyway.
Clear the Mind should really just be a Time Reversal, Timetwister, Commit // Memory, Day's Undoing or other similar spells. Those all get your graveyard back and let you refill your hand. And all but Undoing work wonders with Niv and The Locust God to get even more value out of them. On that note, Wheels are really good with Niv and The Locust God too and I don't see many in here.
The rest are just ones I don't think do as much as they should.
I am not saying to completely change everything but these are just the ones I see that I personally might shy away from or, at the very least, ones that I think could be easily cut as you find other cards to include.
For the most part, I still don't think bounce is really where you want to be. I know Submerge is, more often than not, free, but I think targeted bounce isn't as good as either mass bounce or straight up destruction.
I get it. I'm thinking of getting Evacuation as a means of getting mass bouncing which is directly better, as well as Devastation Tide. I do want to keep the mana curve low.
I personally don't like bounce lands, especially in a list like this. I think you want to have mana at your disposal whenever you can and bouncing a land to get a tap land can sometimes be slow.
In terms of lands, I really know I am lacking well in that area. I'm thinking of replacing that one in particular with something like Shivan Reef which is more functional.
Library of Leng is decent for no max hand size but I question how often the discard clause makes a difference (you should always have a good 7 cards to keep anyway). Thought Vessel might be better since it does ramp you as well.
I find myself abusing the fact that I can handpick what I discard or not more than I thought I would. Not that it makes the deck better particularly, so I will test it out. Thought Vessel is one I want to test out.
Speaking of which, I don't think Curious Homunculus is that great. I actually don't think most of the "Instants and Sorceries cost less" are super good. Again, I am taking my own experience into account here so yours may be different, but I don't typically find that making my spells cheaper is necessary and I would rather these be actual spells.
I agree. My issue is that the playgroup I'm in has kind of made it necessary to at least place creatures on the board early game. Curious Homunculus has proven to be the most underwhelming, even below the likes of League Guildmage.
League Guildmage I would be on the fence about. 4 mana to draw a card or X + 1 mana to copy a spell with CMC X isn't that great. That is a lot of mana to get relatively little. And since the copy doesn't trigger Niv, it becomes less useful anyway.
League Guidmage was added as a means to add another cheap creature to the Deck. It does have an interesting interaction with Isochron Scepter, and still, even if not great, it still does a better job at digging through my Deck than something like Desolate Lighthouse. I'm thinking of replacing it with something like Nivix Guildmage later on.
Clear the Mind should really just be a Time Reversal, Timetwister, Commit // Memory, Day's Undoing or other similar spells. Those all get your graveyard back and let you refill your hand. And all but Undoing work wonders with Niv and The Locust God to get even more value out of them. On that note, Wheels are really good with Niv and The Locust God too and I don't see many in here.
Admitedly, I only have Clear the Mind because of the Muldrotha and Meren decks in the playgroup, which can build up their grave extremely fast and required me to get an early answer that didn't draw every player 7 cards. I'd be running Day's Undoing instead if I had it, though. I'll go for it.
I am not saying to completely change everything but these are just the ones I see that I personally might shy away from or, at the very least, ones that I think could be easily cut as you find other cards to include.
It's understandable. Our builds after all are different too so we might have different approaches. I will consider your suggestions. Thank you.
Consecrated Sphinx in five player multi would be very good, especially if Niv is out.
I thought about adding it in, and might test it out given the amount of players, however I'm at a table where a turn 3 Rhystic Study doesn't survive, and even less a creature with a 6 cmc. It is subject to be tested as well.
1 Niv-Mizzet, Parun
Creature
1 Electrostatic Field
1 Curious Homunculus
1 Murmuring Mystic
1 Tandem Lookout
1 Talrand, Sky Summoner
1 Goblin Electromancer
1 League Guildmage
1 Young Pyromancer
1 Rampaging Ferocidon
1 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
1 The Locust God
Enchantment
1 Curiosity
1 Ophidian Eye
1 Rhystic Study
1 Jace's Sanctum
1 Thousand-Year Storm
Land
5 Mountain
10 Island
1 Island
1 Izzet Boilerworks
1 Terramorphic Expanse
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Command Tower
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Desolate Lighthouse
1 Forgotten Cave
1 Steam Vents
1 Academy Ruins
1 Lonely Sandbar
1 Temple of Epiphany
1 Swiftwater Cliffs
1 Myriad Landscape
1 Spirebluff Canal
1 Grixis Panorama
1 Library of Leng
1 Fellwar Stone
1 Sky Diamond
1 Fire Diamond
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Izzet Signet
1 Coldsteel Heart
1 Psychosis Crawler
1 Sol Ring
1 Izzet Cluestone
1 Darksteel Ingot
1 Wayfarer's Bauble
1 Commander's Sphere
1 Primal Amulet
1 Star Compass
Instant
1 High Tide
1 Brainstorm
1 Force of Will
1 Counterspell
1 Frantic Search
1 Submerge
1 Dizzy Spell
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Blue Sun's Zenith
1 Chaos Warp
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Rapid Hybridization
1 Fateful Showdown
1 Dramatic Reversal
1 Disallow
1 Pull from Tomorrow
1 Swan Song
1 Into the Roil
1 Opt
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Impulse
1 Radical Idea
1 Chemister's Insight
1 Expansion // Explosion
1 Electrodominance
1 Deep Analysis
1 Blatant Thievery
1 Mana Geyser
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Blasphemous Act
1 Faithless Looting
1 Game Plan
1 Clear the Mind
I play in a playgroup where we kind of set our deck's level not way too high, but still highly focused. I'd say it's casual-competitive.
Would love suggestions on what kind of cards should I add or remove, as in adding maybe more removal, or more counterspells?
The playgroup is 5 people in total, if important, the other Commanders as of now are Marath, Will of the Wild (based on mostly burning with the likes of Impact Tremors and Purphoros), Meren of Clan Nel Toth (based on building up the graveyard and getting value off ETB effects, to then kill with high power creatures), Muldrotha, the Gravetide (based on controlling the boardstate until their graveyard gets enough resources to take out a wincon) and Animar, Soul of Elements (Morph version, with some Eldrazi Titans and etc).
So first thing you'll notice is they all run Green, so Submerge is there. The games are quite slow and creature spammy so that's why you'll see Rampaging Ferocidon
I know I can take a full Spellslinger approach and run less creatures but I really don't want to get into a "Just summon Niv and win" strategy, but have it as the main wincon. Not sure if I'm making myself clear.
So keeping Spellslinging as something that the Deck is focused around, but moreso abusing abilities that take advantage of me using spells would be how I want the Deck to run.
Also there's really no budget limit as we are a closed playgroup so we proxy some cards and buy them later on.
As house rules we just avoid cards that enable way too much with too much ease. Example is, the Animar Deck is not running Purphoros, and Meren/Muldrotha aren't running Mikaeus, etc. In my case, Paradox engine would be one.
Here's a list of cards I already have on me, which if I can find space for them I'd consider:
Guttersnipe
Read the Runes
Mind Stone
Sentinel Tower
Anticipate
Izzet Charm
Mizzium Mortars
Docent of Perfection
Vedalken Orrery
Thanks in advance.
The biggest omission I see is Basilisk Collar. Bounce spells are fine (and Submerge being "free" is decent) but you really might as well just kill things straight up. Draw a card, kill a creature seems pretty good.
High Tide doesn't seem the greatest in a deck with only 12 Islands. You probably have a good way to get to a fair amount of Islands as the game goes on, but it does seem that it isn't really going to get you going when you need it to.
While this is likely a meta call or just a personal preference, I never liked the permanents that created tokens when an Instant or Sorcery is cast. Murmuring Mystic, Talrand, Young Pyromancer, etc. The Locust God is really the one I kept around and that is because it makes a lot more tokens more quickly and they have haste. They others were ones I found to be too slow to really be worth having.
Otherwise, I don't see anything else that you definitely should cut. I see a number of cards I wouldn't run, but most are serviceable in what they do and so I can see the reason for wanting them.
Funnily enough, I used to have 35 lands (4 of which were cycle lands) and I took out 2 of those cycle lands. After that, it is rare for me to actually get mana screwed. It's weird. I guess I always hit the land drops because I draw a lot of cards. There are a few instances where I get screwed but I honestly can't remember this happening too often.
I used to run other Deathtouch equipments (Gorgon's Head, for instance), but since Niv is such a threat, he is rightfully killed almost immediately. There is a lot of removal in my playgroup. In around 10 or so games I only got to use it once, and I did so by purposefully not using Curiosity because that games was for the memes.
I will try out taking it out, because honestly it had only done some things very few times, and said times it only enabled maybe getting out Niv-Mizzet earlier once, which I guess other cards can also help me do so.
You are correct. It is a meta call more than anything. More often than not, against 3 creature-heavy decks like Animar, Marath and Meren, and being a Deck that can go infinite out of nowhere, I find myself taking a lot of damage from attacks "because no blockers". I would like to see if I can take out maybe Murmuring Mystic for something cheaper in terms of cmc for the early game.
Do feel free to tell me about those. I would like to try replacing some things and test them out. Whether I like them or not, I believe I could try them out if I haven't before.
Thank you!
For the most part, I still don't think bounce is really where you want to be. I know Submerge is, more often than not, free, but I think targeted bounce isn't as good as either mass bounce or straight up destruction.
I personally don't like bounce lands, especially in a list like this. I think you want to have mana at your disposal whenever you can and bouncing a land to get a tap land can sometimes be slow.
Library of Leng is decent for no max hand size but I question how often the discard clause makes a difference (you should always have a good 7 cards to keep anyway). Thought Vessel might be better since it does ramp you as well.
Speaking of which, I don't think Curious Homunculus is that great. I actually don't think most of the "Instants and Sorceries cost less" are super good. Again, I am taking my own experience into account here so yours may be different, but I don't typically find that making my spells cheaper is necessary and I would rather these be actual spells.
League Guildmage I would be on the fence about. 4 mana to draw a card or X + 1 mana to copy a spell with CMC X isn't that great. That is a lot of mana to get relatively little. And since the copy doesn't trigger Niv, it becomes less useful anyway.
Clear the Mind should really just be a Time Reversal, Timetwister, Commit // Memory, Day's Undoing or other similar spells. Those all get your graveyard back and let you refill your hand. And all but Undoing work wonders with Niv and The Locust God to get even more value out of them. On that note, Wheels are really good with Niv and The Locust God too and I don't see many in here.
The rest are just ones I don't think do as much as they should.
I am not saying to completely change everything but these are just the ones I see that I personally might shy away from or, at the very least, ones that I think could be easily cut as you find other cards to include.
I get it. I'm thinking of getting Evacuation as a means of getting mass bouncing which is directly better, as well as Devastation Tide. I do want to keep the mana curve low.
In terms of lands, I really know I am lacking well in that area. I'm thinking of replacing that one in particular with something like Shivan Reef which is more functional.
I find myself abusing the fact that I can handpick what I discard or not more than I thought I would. Not that it makes the deck better particularly, so I will test it out. Thought Vessel is one I want to test out.
I agree. My issue is that the playgroup I'm in has kind of made it necessary to at least place creatures on the board early game. Curious Homunculus has proven to be the most underwhelming, even below the likes of League Guildmage.
League Guidmage was added as a means to add another cheap creature to the Deck. It does have an interesting interaction with Isochron Scepter, and still, even if not great, it still does a better job at digging through my Deck than something like Desolate Lighthouse. I'm thinking of replacing it with something like Nivix Guildmage later on.
Admitedly, I only have Clear the Mind because of the Muldrotha and Meren decks in the playgroup, which can build up their grave extremely fast and required me to get an early answer that didn't draw every player 7 cards. I'd be running Day's Undoing instead if I had it, though. I'll go for it.
It's understandable. Our builds after all are different too so we might have different approaches. I will consider your suggestions. Thank you.
I thought about adding it in, and might test it out given the amount of players, however I'm at a table where a turn 3 Rhystic Study doesn't survive, and even less a creature with a 6 cmc. It is subject to be tested as well.