MTG Salvation

I'm keeping both in the deck. I'm testing some recent changes (minimal because the decklist is already so tight like a tiger) but so for Tyrant Guard is definitely staying in (as well as Slippery Bogbonder). Keep in mind that the latter can end games because it can put all counters onto Mazirek for a commander damage finisher.

Quote from AnarchyStarfish »

The newly-spoiled Tear Asunder seems really good, I think I'll swap it in for Maelstrom Pulse.

It's definitely a great card. For 2BG you can hit any nonland permanent at instant speed with no upside for the opponent. Or, if you just need that artifact or enchantment gone, 1G will do the trick. It's essentially a 100% upgraded Naturalize.

Yo! That was an epic play! Nice!

The reason I don't run Altar of Dementia in my Mazirek deck is because I already use that as a wincon in my Sidisi, Brood Tyrant deck and I like my decks to do different things. That's honestly the only reason I don't run it. It's an amazing card because it's a free sacrifice outlet that can disrupt opponents.

Uchuulon seems like a really fun card. While Necrogenesis has the advantage of being activated whenever you want for just 2, Uchuulon triggering only at the beginning of the end step would be the only drawback. Because once you start multiplying them, the effect is going to be exponential. You're definitely going to pretty quickly be running out of creatures to exile from graveyards

Quote from AnarchyStarfish »

Up until now I was running Dreadhorde Invasion as a budget version of Bitterblossom but I think the new Black Market Connections is better than both of them in a Mazirek deck. Ironically it might end up even more expensive than Bitterblossom though.

For sure, that card is amazing here. Problem is it's going to cost a pretty penny for sure.

Here's my review for Neon Dynasty Commander:

• Ascendant Acolyte - It's a bit costly at 5 mana but it will enter the battlefield with a huge amount of +1/+1 counters on it, that then get doubled each upkeep. Unfortunately, it doesn't have any kind of evasion so it might not be worth including.
• One with the Kami - This is a great thing to flash in in response to someone wiping your board. If a creature had enough +1/+1 counters on it, then you can at least recover part of your board presence in the form of 1/1 spirit tokens, whereas everyone else might end up with nothing.
• Rampant Rejuvenator - If the deck were running way more basic lands than it does, this would definitely be worth a slot.
• Ruthless Technomancer - 100% going into the deck. This card is ridiculous here. Not only does it trigger Mazirek when it enters the battlefield, but it creates a ton of treasures when you do. Treasures that can then be sacrificed to further trigger Mazirek. Not only that, but it can also be used to reanimate creatures. What a busted card.
• Tanuki Transplanter - This has the potential of generating us a ton of G plus it survives creature-based boardwipes if it were equipped to a creature, similarly to bestow. I don't think it's an auto-include but it can definitely be worth considering.

Here's my review for Kamigawa Neon Dynasty:

• Boseiju, Who Endures - The deck has a lot of nonbasic lands so this one, while definitely being worthy of inclusion, shouldn't take up a land slot. The deck can play lands from the graveyard but Blood Moon effects are a thing, so keep that in mind.
• Dockside Chef - Incredibly easy to cast but the activation cost is too high, as synergistic as it is.
• Gloomshrieker - Another Eternal Witness type creature that costs the same but has menace. Unfortunately, it gets exiled if it would die. But it's still another Eternal Witness for the deck, which is worth considering.
• Gravelighter - Another Fleshbag Marauder type creature but with another option for if a creature has already died that turn. If that were true, then you draw a card instead. The modality might make it more useful, but it's not in the deck (yet, at least).
• Invoke Despair - Difficult to cast but not impossible. That being said, it only hits a single opponent. If they do have one each of those card types then it triggers Mazirek thrice. However, I'd rather find slots for effects that hit all opponents. But that's just my preference.
• Jugan Defends the Temple - It creates a mana dork when entering and then puts a +1/+1 counter on creatures. So it's still on flavor. When it transforms into Remnant of the Rising Star it will more than likely be a 7/7 flyer with trample, which is nothing to scoff at. It's also another way of putting +1/+1 counters on creatures as a mana sink. Definitley worth considering.
• Junji, the Midnight Sky - Not only is it a 5/5 with flying and menace for 5 mana but when it dies (which is easy for us to control), we can have each opponent discard 2 cards or we can reanimate a non-Dragon creature from a graveyard. Both options are amazing here.
• Kodama of the West Tree - If the deck ran way more basic lands then this Kodama would definitely be worth a slot. We could essentially ramp all of our basic lands in one single alpha strike.
• Kura, the Boundless Sky - Similarly to Junji, we can make the most of this dragon's death trigger by sacrificing it to any of our effects. Definitely worth considering.
• Reckoner's Bargain - The deck already doesn't run cards with similar effects than this. However, they're still great if you want to include them in your build. I just prefer these effects on permanents.
• Spring-Leaf Avenger - If it had evasion, or if the deck had more creatures with evasion, this is an amazing repeatable effect to get back permanents from the graveyard. Even so, it's definitely worth considering.
• The Long Reach of Night - While we'd rather have opponents sacrifice creatures than discard cards, it's still disruptive. That being said, Animus of Night's Reach has the potential of being a huge beater. But I still don't think it's worth a slot in the deck.
• Tribute to Horobi - It's not that good until it transforms into Echo of Death's Wail. Unfortunately, it's too slow for me since it needs to attack and we can only sacrifice one creature to draw one card.
• Undercity Scrounger - What a great mana dork for the deck. I could even overlook the casting cost. This will almost always be able to tap down for a treasure that can then be sacrificed to trigger Mazirek.

Quote from mustafa_2812 »

I'm curious if you have put much thought into the Kamigawa cards yet?

These are the cards that stand out to me

Boseiju, who endures - just an insane card that probably goes in every deck that can afford to cut a forest, and even some that can't.
Takenuma, Abandoned Mire - same but slightly less so. does have synergy with some of the graveyard strategies in the deck like Meren, liliana, gitrog, etc.
Invoke Despair - the ceiling is decent but the floor is actually pretty high here. Either way you are getting good value. BBBB might be a bit of a strugle though, even for this deck.
Ruthless technomancer - this card seems like an absolute bomb for this deck. You get to sac a big creature and then generate a ton of treasures to sac to make everything else bigger? a repeatable reanimate effect? really cool card.
Rampant Rejuvenator - would require a big shift in the land base for the deck. Probably not worth doing. But really high value, maybe for the budget build

Sorry for the late reply! Been super busy with real life.

Yeah, I have considered most of those cards. I have to start working on evaluating the set for potential includes for all 3 of my primers. I loved the set and there were so many cards for it that ended up in all of my decks. So hopefully I'm able to get it done before Streets of New Capenna releases.

Survival of the Fittest is definitely a good card to find combos. Unfortunately, I don't think there're "weak" cards in the deck. Unless you want to cut out a mana dork or something, which I recommend against because Mazirek costs 5 mana to cast the first time.

Woodfall Primus goes infinite with Mazirek and any free sacrifice outlet. Yes, it costs 8 mana, but once you have the mana it's GG. Eradicator Valkyrie is a repeatable mass edict effect on a body so it shouldn't be cut lightly. Garruk Relentless might be the only good slot you suggested since that's what I use Garruk for. However, Garruk does it via a sacrifice effect which triggers Mazirek and anything else that cares about sacrifice effects. He also creates tokens which can be used as sacrifice fodder. So you can sacrifice anything on the board for it. Survival of the Fittest requires the creature card to be in your hand. So you have to be willing to discard an important creature (since all creatures in the deck are important) for a potential combo piece. So it'd be one your judgment to determine whether a synergistic piece like Garruk should be cut for the enchantment.

Here's my review for Innistrad Crimson Vow:

• Bloodvial Purveyor - Definitely puts opponents in an interesting conundrum. It's providing them with clues that can be sacrificed to loot for 1, triggering Mazirek. Or, they can refrain from using them and then this flying trampler gets that big whenever it attacks the defending player. It's all win/win with it when we have Mazirek on the battlefield. So it's definitely worth testing.
• Dreadfeast Demon - This could pootentially get a bit dicey if you're creating too many copies of it, since it does escalate exponentially. The main problem being eventually sacrificing Mazirek, since it's not a demon. That being said, this card is insane. You get an army of flying 6/6's that grow twice as large each end step if you have the sacrifice fodder for it (which you eventually should). Definitely worth testing.
• Glorious Sunrise - Giving our creatures a slight pump is okay but the trample can end the game. However, I feel like it might be winmore since we're wiping the board of creatures anyways with all of the edict effects.

Quote from Average Joey »

Hey, what's your opinion on Jadar, Ghoulcaller of Nephalia? I personally like him even if he is just viewed as a worse Ophiomancer.

Unfortunately this deck is already so tight for swaps and Jadar is nowhere good enough to warrant taking out a card for it.

I still have to update the OP but I do always update my decklist on Moxfield since I do have this deck in real life. Hopefully this link helps: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/S2ajRAHNTE-7n5IxKTO6Uw

Here's my review for Midnight Hunt Commander:

• Crowded Crypt - Although we're not always sacrificing or having creatures die, this could be a good way to recover a board after a board wipe. It also functions as a mana rock since it can tap for B.
• Curse of Clinging Webs - Another way to prevent graveyard shenanigans by exiling the dying creature. However, we get some sacrifice fodder each time it happens. Shame that it's not a global effect.
• Kurbis, Harvest Celebrant - Could potentially be used to protect against damage-type wraths and combat damage as well. It also enters with +1/+1 counters for the total mana used to cast it, not just X, which is pretty good. It remains to see if its any good in the deck though, but it's worth testing.
• Visions of Dominance - Given that the deck can win by commander damage, being able to double the amount of +1/+1 counters on Mazirek for just 3 mana is very enticing. On top of that, it can be flashbacked for just 5 mana since Mazirek has a mana value of 5. Definitely worth testing.

Here's my review for Innistrad Midnight Hunt:

• Gisa, Glorious Resurrector - Such an amazing effect! The deck is already running Tergrid so this one's a no-brainer! Steal those sacrificed creatures!
• Unnatural Growth - With how large our creatures get, this is just overkill here and potentially just winmore.

Quote from FetalTadpole »

Re: Ochre Jelly:
You can't go infinite with it like you're saying. You get the token at the beginning of the next end step.

Very true! Thanks for pointing that out for me!