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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
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.
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
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!
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
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.
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
I hope you all join me in the new space someday!
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
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.
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
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.
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
Brings back our win conditions if exiled, combos with lattice, hoooooo boy I am excited!
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
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.
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
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.
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage
Primer - Mishra, Artificer Prodigy
Thor, Ragnar Röks!
Hela, and the Enemies of Asgard
Teferi, Temporal Archmage