Alright so let us take a moment and note that even though none of these cards actually have the Miracle ability this feels like its going to play in a similar matter.
What I mean by this is, the combination of near infinite Scry and with the ability to cast creatures from the top of your deck or tutor 4 creatures when you need them is going to feel like a miracle. So I'll just dive right into the card interactions and provide my take on things.
Getting the Engine Running:
There are some very key interactions to take note of as individually they make this deck run like a well oiled machine.
Most importantly there are 4 inclusions here that build the foundations of this deck.
The whole goal here is to exploit the greatness in the loyalty abilities on Nissa with help of some friends. With these its possible to on turn 1 Scry 3 and begin the fixing the top of the library. In addition to this its possible to on turn 3 start things with a bang by dropping Nissa (still vulnerable to burn so this is highly dependant on the feel you get from your opponent). Now things start getting fun.
Even though the Scry 2 is a crazy advantage what really makes Nissa powerful in this shell is her 0 ability which I will now quote for those of you who may be unfamiliar
"0: Look at the top card of your library. If it's a land card or a creature card with converted mana cost less than or equal to the number of loyalty counters on Nissa, Steward of Elements, you may put that card onto the battlefield."
This gives us the option to add a second land drop for any given turn or to cheat a creature into the battlefield with relative ease. Now if you have combed through the above list in full you'll notice that the vast majority of creature spells have a CMC of 3 so scrying and next turn free spell feels great! This however is only the beginning.
When we add the effects of our Vizier of the Menagerie to this we have some unbelievable power building up. Now we can choose to cast the creature we move to the top of our library by our Scry on a stick planeswalker or to 0 Nissa and follow that by casting the next card (provided that it is indeed a creature). *Billy Mays voice* But wait there's more!!
So now we have the potential for a 2-for-1 special going each turn, but what if we can make it 3-for-1. Well as a matter of fact we can! This is where Rashmi, Eternities Crafter makes an outstanding performance. For those unfamiliar with Rasmi I will quote the entirety of the card text here
"Whenever you cast your first spell each turn, reveal the top card of your library. If it's a nonland card with converted mana cost less than that spell's, you may cast it without paying its mana cost. If you don't cast the revealed card, put it into your hand."
With her in play now we can either draw or cast a spell for each ping off of our Vizier. Ideally this means that we can 0 Nissa to bring Rashmi into play and follow that by immediately casting the next card with our vizier only to then in turn activate Rashmi and either cast the next card or take it as a free draw. (Free As Foretold?)
Now there is one thing that I should note before I wrap things up. After turn 5 if your opponent casts a board wipe spell like Fumigate it is really in your advantage because following that turn with an Uncage the Menagerie let's you rebuild your battlefield state and your engine with a single spell! Again, something akin to a miracle.
This series of interactions is the foundation to the strategy that this deck has at its core. However there is always room for improvement such as the recently previewed card Hour of Eternity to give this deck some serious graveyard recursion. But time will tell.
Well, before I begin to ramble on too much I'll leave things here and ask anyone who took the time to read through all this to leave some feedback about what you like or hate about this potential for playing with a crystal ball as well as any sideboard options that might be viable here.
4 Vizier of the Menagerie
3 Rashmi, Eternities Crafter
2 Rhonas the Indomitable
2 Weaver of Currents
4 Prowling Serpopard
3 Uncage the Menagerie
2 As Foretold
4 Reason//Believe
4 Nimble Obstructionist
4 Haze of Pollen
4 Censor
2 Cascading Cataracts
4 Botanical Sanctum
8 Island
8 Forest
Alright so let us take a moment and note that even though none of these cards actually have the Miracle ability this feels like its going to play in a similar matter.
What I mean by this is, the combination of near infinite Scry and with the ability to cast creatures from the top of your deck or tutor 4 creatures when you need them is going to feel like a miracle. So I'll just dive right into the card interactions and provide my take on things.
Getting the Engine Running:
There are some very key interactions to take note of as individually they make this deck run like a well oiled machine.
Most importantly there are 4 inclusions here that build the foundations of this deck.
The whole goal here is to exploit the greatness in the loyalty abilities on Nissa with help of some friends. With these its possible to on turn 1 Scry 3 and begin the fixing the top of the library. In addition to this its possible to on turn 3 start things with a bang by dropping Nissa (still vulnerable to burn so this is highly dependant on the feel you get from your opponent). Now things start getting fun.
Even though the Scry 2 is a crazy advantage what really makes Nissa powerful in this shell is her 0 ability which I will now quote for those of you who may be unfamiliar
"0: Look at the top card of your library. If it's a land card or a creature card with converted mana cost less than or equal to the number of loyalty counters on Nissa, Steward of Elements, you may put that card onto the battlefield."
This gives us the option to add a second land drop for any given turn or to cheat a creature into the battlefield with relative ease. Now if you have combed through the above list in full you'll notice that the vast majority of creature spells have a CMC of 3 so scrying and next turn free spell feels great! This however is only the beginning.
When we add the effects of our Vizier of the Menagerie to this we have some unbelievable power building up. Now we can choose to cast the creature we move to the top of our library by our Scry on a stick planeswalker or to 0 Nissa and follow that by casting the next card (provided that it is indeed a creature). *Billy Mays voice* But wait there's more!!
So now we have the potential for a 2-for-1 special going each turn, but what if we can make it 3-for-1. Well as a matter of fact we can! This is where Rashmi, Eternities Crafter makes an outstanding performance. For those unfamiliar with Rasmi I will quote the entirety of the card text here
"Whenever you cast your first spell each turn, reveal the top card of your library. If it's a nonland card with converted mana cost less than that spell's, you may cast it without paying its mana cost. If you don't cast the revealed card, put it into your hand."
With her in play now we can either draw or cast a spell for each ping off of our Vizier. Ideally this means that we can 0 Nissa to bring Rashmi into play and follow that by immediately casting the next card with our vizier only to then in turn activate Rashmi and either cast the next card or take it as a free draw. (Free As Foretold?)
Now there is one thing that I should note before I wrap things up. After turn 5 if your opponent casts a board wipe spell like Fumigate it is really in your advantage because following that turn with an Uncage the Menagerie let's you rebuild your battlefield state and your engine with a single spell! Again, something akin to a miracle.
This series of interactions is the foundation to the strategy that this deck has at its core. However there is always room for improvement such as the recently previewed card Hour of Eternity to give this deck some serious graveyard recursion. But time will tell.
Well, before I begin to ramble on too much I'll leave things here and ask anyone who took the time to read through all this to leave some feedback about what you like or hate about this potential for playing with a crystal ball as well as any sideboard options that might be viable here.