I think I might try to follow this thread a little. I don't generally like most 5 color generals because they are either boring, don't require any deckbuilding restrictions. or are tribal (being too restrictive in a sense). Niv-Mizzet looks different. He offers a different take on a 5 color build that wants players to build in a certain way (trying to get as many 2 color cards as possible) while still leaving the ultimate plan of the deck up to the player.
I think Aminatou is a good call due to wanting an easy way to get an additional ETB trigger from Niv. I will reserve judgment for the rest of the list for now but it seems there has been a lot of thought that went into the card choices so far. I would be interested to know if you get a chance to playtest with your group prior to the actual release so we can hear how some cards do over others.
So the honest answer is that technically I'm not sure
I actually found some more copy creature effects since I first posted the list in, Dack's Duplicate, Hostage Taker, Evil Twin. Hostage Taker can target Niv-Mizzet, Reborn either hoping to get it killed (Hostage Taker), or if desperate just cast out again for 5.
So my need for exile or copy is probably saturated now. The additional use of Aminatou, the Fateshifter is probably not needed, so I could clean up the list by removing it. Just a pet card of mine in general, as it is nice with the Oath of Teferi and I also took out some additional planeswalkers for those copy creatures, so Aminatou again become a little worse.
I've wanted to get another Rakdos card into the deck so will play Bedevil instead of Aminatou.
As far as getting lots of value off Niv-Mizzet, Reborn from non duel colored effects, Astral Slide could be pretty cool with playing lots of the cycle lands. The list I've posted has a million dollar mana base, but you could play some of the cycle lands instead for a more budget build.
Skybind could be interesting also, with a more enchantment focused build. Plenty of nice duel colored enchantments.
I guess finally if I was keeping in Aminatou, the Fateshifter, then Felidar Guardian along with the already Saheeli Rai in the deck, could be a win con.
But I'd prefer to keep the flavor of the deck to the pure Guilds.
Would it be a flavor-fail to include the ten original Signets or some other such cycle? Otherwise your mana is going to be super rough, even with the million-dollar manabase.
EDIT: Maybe the Borderposts would fit better since they hit off a Niv trigger?
I think I might try to follow this thread a little. I don't generally like most 5 color generals because they are either boring, don't require any deckbuilding restrictions. or are tribal (being too restrictive in a sense). Niv-Mizzet looks different. He offers a different take on a 5 color build that wants players to build in a certain way (trying to get as many 2 color cards as possible) while still leaving the ultimate plan of the deck up to the player.
I think Aminatou is a good call due to wanting an easy way to get an additional ETB trigger from Niv. I will reserve judgment for the rest of the list for now but it seems there has been a lot of thought that went into the card choices so far. I would be interested to know if you get a chance to playtest with your group prior to the actual release so we can hear how some cards do over others.
Unfortunately I'm going to have to wait for the release, so remains pure theory-crafting. I tried using Cockatrice a few times to get a jump start on testing decks in the past, but I found the whole interface and process too much of a headache.
I did put a lot of thought into the configuration, part of it is trying to balance up the quantities for each color-pairing. It's easy to have 30 Simic cards and zero Boros, so finding a balance where cards can work with each other as well is a challenge.
And although initially his ability looks completely broken, it's actually much much harder to build a deck where you can truly abuse him.
For example Prime Speaker Zegana comes at a similar casting cost, but you are more or less guaranteed to fill up your hand with cards, while also allowing to play anything within blue or green or colorless, no restrictions.
So for me that's why the copy or exile effects are so important, because they give you something Simic can't do by itself that much.
Would it be a flavor-fail to include the ten original Signets or some other such cycle? Otherwise your mana is going to be super rough, even with the million-dollar manabase.
EDIT: Maybe the Borderposts would fit better since they hit off a Niv trigger?
Oh snap, the Borderposts are not something that I considered.
Yeah for sure nice call! Honestly it's not so much about color-fixing but casting multiple cards per turn. So these are welcome over further removal for example. I'll even add a basic land, as I often get Path to Exile and regret not having that one basic in some of my decks. I have plenty of fetchlands to search it up if needed.
I also decided to play Kaya's Wrath over Supreme Verdict, even though it is probably worse, it allows me to balance up the color pairings better with adding another Azorius card with Fieldmist Borderpost.
On paper, it looks like your commander will be able to supply all the draw power you could possibly need, so all you have to do is get enough mana to cast him (and the cards he draws) and make sure he resolves. So, I'd look to run as much ramp and fixing as possible to ensure that happens early and often. You might try Mina and Denn, Wildborn to get extra land drops. More will assuredly be revealed through a few Gatherer searches...
I would say Aura shards is better than Knight of Autumn.
Also olivia voldaren is a powerful choice if you want to play another Rakdos card.
I had Aura Shards in my initial list, but 20 creatures isn't an amazing amount, but I've probably undersold myself on it, because I have exile effects, that should trigger it also, so actually this "creature count" can be considered higher. Will replace it, makes sense for more powerful long game.
On paper, it looks like your commander will be able to supply all the draw power you could possibly need, so all you have to do is get enough mana to cast him (and the cards he draws) and make sure he resolves. So, I'd look to run as much ramp and fixing as possible to ensure that happens early and often. You might try Mina and Denn, Wildborn to get extra land drops. More will assuredly be revealed through a few Gatherer searches...
5 mana to cast is not a lot, and it might be that you're not in a hurry to get the value until you have emptied your hand a bit first anyway.
I mean I agree, 90% of bottle-necking in commander is available mana to cast spells, not cards in hand. But I believe I've taken it reasonable as far as possible with actual color-pairing cards for mana acceleration that I can think of? I'm sure there will be more
Again I had Mina and Denn, Wildborn in my short list, but there is no actual draw in the deck, other than Niv-Mizzet and he specifically does non-land cards, so I felt like probably wouldn't get much use out of them.
Ultimately I might find that I do the boring thing of cutting a card off each color-paring to play cards like Skyshroud Claim, Bloom Tender, Nature's Lore, Mana Reflection, that sort of thing. But honestly at the moment I want it to be more of a showcase of taking it to the extreme with Guild flavor. It's a theme.
Funny, i've been tinkering about the same thing since the spoiling of Niv and I absolutely love the idea of a 5c goodstuff guild tribal deck! Really like your breakdown and maths on it. Good job!
It would be janky for me though, purely fun and I would go as far as putting in the mega janky but flavorfull Maze's End gates wincon and Into the North with the snow basic + taplands and Dark Depths/Thespian's Stage combo while i'm at it
Alright I couldn't help myself, I get obsessed by new commanders who demand a lot of thought and theory-crafting.
I've appended and posted a new deck called "Astral-Living-Genesis" and really the only thing to do is read the full description in the original post, by clicking here.
It's a very spicy brew, and honestly I surprise myself sometimes by the depths I go.
Wow the astral slide build looks insane. Would love to hear how it plays outside of theory crafting.
Ha ha, me too. I have built a cascade into Hypergenesis deck before, so it's not like I'm completely going blind on how these types of interactions in a deck play out.
The obvious weaknesses are if some of your key cards get counterspelled like, Living End, Hypergenesis, Living Death, Eureka, Niv-Mizzet Reborn. It can leave you pretty high and dry. The cool thing is that if your first cascade into suspend card gets countered, you might have a good chance of having the second cascade to try the other mode. Admittedly it means that you have to go from trying your graveyard rather than your hand and vice versus. In my Hypergenesis only deck, I was left without a second card to cascade into.
And then part of the name sake of the deck is Astral Slide, and there is only one tutor in the deck in Bring to Light.
Another thing that can happen is that you get your big play, and then somebody just does a wrath effect, and it feels terrible. That's why I've got Samut, Voice of Dissent as a way of alpha striking the control player at the table.
So even as I type this reply, it get's me thinking I should play a little more insurance in the deck.
The only card that is bi-colored that I found that could search for Astral Slide or a cascade card specifically is Perplex with the transmute ability.
Of these the most appealing are; Razaketh's Rite for the cycling theme as well. Insidious Dreams as a way of discarding some cards as well, and you can setup specifically Hypergenesis or Living End a number of cards down, so that you know what you're going to hit. Plus it's an instant. Beseech the Queen could be cast for BBB so that is appealing and chances are your are going to get a 3 mana spell anyway. Three black might be awkward, but then it might be that you're spending 2BB instead, or even 4B which isn't the worst considering most of the others cost 5 mana anyway, even if they do have slight upsides. Perplex - Weirdly you can go to counter your own Living End and then discard your hand (to make sure it still resolves) to get all the creatures in your hand into your graveyard. But 9/10 times this will be used for the transmute.
The cycling theme is pretty nifty! Whilst browsing trough my collection for cards to add to my "budget" brew, i've found Migratory Route which would fit your build perfectly!
I'm really digging all the brainstorming being done with 5C Niv-Mizzet - especially the cycling. I do have a couple of pennies to chime in to tickle your fancy.
With the high-costed spells, would it be worth it to include cards like Omniscience? Or at least multi-colored spells with its ability like Tamiyo, Field Researcher or Jodah, Archmage Eternal? Ramos, Dragon Engine is colorless so it won't be useful from a 5C Niv-Mizzet trigger but it can get ridiculously large with multicolored spells you cast as well as being able to provide mana each turn for cycling things.
5C Niv-Mizzet is also a great clock since it has flying. All of the Lorwyn/Shadowmoor spirit avatar auras are multicolored and give some epic boons that could potentially make 5C Niv-Mizzet a crazy creature that can win right off the bat in a single turn. So a voltron strategy is definitely incredibly viable with the deck.
On a side note, how epic would it be if Niv-Mizzet's rebirth was bursting through the Dragon Maze thus justifying the title of its namesake expansion set?
My YouTube Channel: The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
The cycling theme is pretty nifty! Whilst browsing trough my collection for cards to add to my "budget" brew, i've found Migratory Route which would fit your build perfectly!
Oh missed that one, well spotted. Post your deck list when you've finally finished your brew if you want
I'm really digging all the brainstorming being done with 5C Niv-Mizzet - especially the cycling. I do have a couple of pennies to chime in to tickle your fancy.
With the high-costed spells, would it be worth it to include cards like Omniscience? Or at least multi-colored spells with its ability like Tamiyo, Field Researcher or Jodah, Archmage Eternal? Ramos, Dragon Engine is colorless so it won't be useful from a 5C Niv-Mizzet trigger but it can get ridiculously large with multicolored spells you cast as well as being able to provide mana each turn for cycling things.
I'm going to try Ramos, Dragon Engine in the cycling deck, as it's another 6 mana creature. Omniscience would be the solution to the mana bottlenecks for sure. I think I really need to play the decks a number of times to get a feel for card draw to mana bottleneck ratios. It is hard to fully cage where things are at. But if I'm just behind the 8 ball every game, then I can look to play Omniscience and maybe Academy Rector as mono-colored cards for the builds.
5C Niv-Mizzet is also a great clock since it has flying. All of the Lorwyn/Shadowmoor spirit avatar auras are multicolored and give some epic boons that could potentially make 5C Niv-Mizzet a crazy creature that can win right off the bat in a single turn. So a voltron strategy is definitely incredibly viable with the deck.
There is definitely a Voltron style build to be made. The thing with a lot of Voltron decks is the lack of draw, so suiting up a buff and then revealing 10 cards for another seems like you'll just be able to continuous string them together.
On a side note, how epic would it be if Niv-Mizzet's rebirth was bursting through the Dragon Maze thus justifying the title of its namesake expansion set?
That would be epic. I think a guy posted a list in the "let's brew" thread where he is running the Guild Gates along with Maze's End and if you could squeeze in the Guild leaders in as well, that would be a full Vorthos build and I will point out that nice on a budget build as well.
First of all, great deck! Also I love your graphic design skills, your signature always gets me checking out what you're currently up to.
As it happens, I made a "monogold" deck 4 years ago. It was pretty battle cruiser, and I didn't even bother casting my Commander because none of the 5-color legends really fit the deck. With the release of Niv, I've been brainstorming monogold again! We have pretty similar card selection (great minds think alike!) but I thought I'd mention a few differences, somewhat for my own benefit, but hopefully to spark some more brainstorming from the community! (for your main list, not Astral Slide)
Your noticeable includes
your Baleful Strix -> my Coiling Oracle, higher Simic count but has the potential to ramp
your Rakdos Charm, Kolaghan's Command, Golgari Charm, Boros Charm -> my Assassin's Trophy. Too often the charms underwhelm me :c Maybe difference in meta. Decimate frustrates me lol. Too often no one has an enchantment so you can't even cast this card, or you have to destroy your own enchantment
your Counterflux, Kaya's Wrath -> my Psychic Strike, Supreme Verdict: less color intensive Mistmeadow Witch, how do you like this one? The ability seems expensive so you can't use it when you cast Niv and then have to use your whole next turn to recur him when you could be casting whatever Niv drew you. I'm curious though, I could be wrong! Brago, King Eternal, drop this the turn before Niv, then attack right after he drops. Seems sweet, how do you like him? Vanish into Memory, Saffi Eriksdotter, Protean Raider, Evil Twin, Altered Ego, Progenitor Mimic: you run lots of flicker, some of it is expensive. My thought is that cards should ramp us so we can cast Niv for card advantage, then try to keep Walkers alive until they can ultimate. So too many flicker cards means less ramp that we could be drawing into and a less consistent t4 Niv. What's your main win-con?
Please don't feel the need to address everything I've written! Mainly just curious about the deck's main objective, and explaining my card choices helps me brainstorm
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
I think Aminatou is a good call due to wanting an easy way to get an additional ETB trigger from Niv. I will reserve judgment for the rest of the list for now but it seems there has been a lot of thought that went into the card choices so far. I would be interested to know if you get a chance to playtest with your group prior to the actual release so we can hear how some cards do over others.
Angel of Condemnation, Astral Slide, Cloudshift, Conjurer's Closet, Displace, Eerie Interlude, Eldrazi Displacer, Endless Sands, Essence Flux, Felidar Guardian, Flicker, Flickerform, Flickerwisp, Galepowder Mage, Ghostly Flicker, Ghostway, Glimmerpoint Stag, Identity Thief, Illusionist's Stratagem, Justiciar's Portal, Liberate, Long Road Home, Momentary Blink, Nephalia Smuggler, Otherworldly Journey, Parallax Wave, Restoration Angel, Roon of the Hidden Realm, Siren's Ruse, Skybind, Sudden Disappearance, Wispweaver Angel.
So the honest answer is that technically I'm not sure
I actually found some more copy creature effects since I first posted the list in, Dack's Duplicate, Hostage Taker, Evil Twin. Hostage Taker can target Niv-Mizzet, Reborn either hoping to get it killed (Hostage Taker), or if desperate just cast out again for 5.
So my need for exile or copy is probably saturated now. The additional use of Aminatou, the Fateshifter is probably not needed, so I could clean up the list by removing it. Just a pet card of mine in general, as it is nice with the Oath of Teferi and I also took out some additional planeswalkers for those copy creatures, so Aminatou again become a little worse.
I've wanted to get another Rakdos card into the deck so will play Bedevil instead of Aminatou.
As far as getting lots of value off Niv-Mizzet, Reborn from non duel colored effects, Astral Slide could be pretty cool with playing lots of the cycle lands. The list I've posted has a million dollar mana base, but you could play some of the cycle lands instead for a more budget build.
Skybind could be interesting also, with a more enchantment focused build. Plenty of nice duel colored enchantments.
Other wise Ghostly Flicker and Eerie Interlude tend to be the best for getting value from your board, say getting a number of creatures, like Baleful Strix, Knight of Autumn, Duergar Hedge-Mage, as well as Niv-Mizzet. The instant speed means that you can also save your creatures from wraths, etc.
I guess finally if I was keeping in Aminatou, the Fateshifter, then Felidar Guardian along with the already Saheeli Rai in the deck, could be a win con.
But I'd prefer to keep the flavor of the deck to the pure Guilds.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
EDIT: Maybe the Borderposts would fit better since they hit off a Niv trigger?
I did put a lot of thought into the configuration, part of it is trying to balance up the quantities for each color-pairing. It's easy to have 30 Simic cards and zero Boros, so finding a balance where cards can work with each other as well is a challenge.
And although initially his ability looks completely broken, it's actually much much harder to build a deck where you can truly abuse him.
For example Prime Speaker Zegana comes at a similar casting cost, but you are more or less guaranteed to fill up your hand with cards, while also allowing to play anything within blue or green or colorless, no restrictions.
So for me that's why the copy or exile effects are so important, because they give you something Simic can't do by itself that much.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Yeah for sure nice call! Honestly it's not so much about color-fixing but casting multiple cards per turn. So these are welcome over further removal for example. I'll even add a basic land, as I often get Path to Exile and regret not having that one basic in some of my decks. I have plenty of fetchlands to search it up if needed.
Added
+ Fieldmist Borderpost
+ Firewild Borderpost
+ Mistvein Borderpost
+ Veinfire Borderpost
+ Wildfield Borderpost
+ Island
+ Kaya's Wrath
Removed
- Bedevil
- Qasali Pridemage
- Psychic Strike
- Pernicious Deed
- Blood Crypt
- Supreme Verdict
- Coiling Oracle
I also decided to play Kaya's Wrath over Supreme Verdict, even though it is probably worse, it allows me to balance up the color pairings better with adding another Azorius card with Fieldmist Borderpost.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
JundBGR
RW Blood MoonRW
Pauper
Delver U
Elves G
Control B
Commander
Edgar Markov BRW
Captain Sisay GW
Niv-Mizzet, Parun UR
Tymna and Ravos WB
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Also olivia voldaren is a powerful choice if you want to play another Rakdos card.
JundBGR
RW Blood MoonRW
Pauper
Delver U
Elves G
Control B
Commander
Edgar Markov BRW
Captain Sisay GW
Niv-Mizzet, Parun UR
Tymna and Ravos WB
One more good one for you would be Rhythm of the Wild.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
5 mana to cast is not a lot, and it might be that you're not in a hurry to get the value until you have emptied your hand a bit first anyway.
I mean I agree, 90% of bottle-necking in commander is available mana to cast spells, not cards in hand. But I believe I've taken it reasonable as far as possible with actual color-pairing cards for mana acceleration that I can think of? I'm sure there will be more
Again I had Mina and Denn, Wildborn in my short list, but there is no actual draw in the deck, other than Niv-Mizzet and he specifically does non-land cards, so I felt like probably wouldn't get much use out of them.
Ultimately I might find that I do the boring thing of cutting a card off each color-paring to play cards like Skyshroud Claim, Bloom Tender, Nature's Lore, Mana Reflection, that sort of thing. But honestly at the moment I want it to be more of a showcase of taking it to the extreme with Guild flavor. It's a theme.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
It would be janky for me though, purely fun and I would go as far as putting in the mega janky but flavorfull Maze's End gates wincon and Into the North with the snow basic + taplands and Dark Depths/Thespian's Stage combo while i'm at it
Following this topic!
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
JundBGR
RW Blood MoonRW
Pauper
Delver U
Elves G
Control B
Commander
Edgar Markov BRW
Captain Sisay GW
Niv-Mizzet, Parun UR
Tymna and Ravos WB
I've appended and posted a new deck called "Astral-Living-Genesis" and really the only thing to do is read the full description in the original post, by clicking here.
It's a very spicy brew, and honestly I surprise myself sometimes by the depths I go.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
The obvious weaknesses are if some of your key cards get counterspelled like, Living End, Hypergenesis, Living Death, Eureka, Niv-Mizzet Reborn. It can leave you pretty high and dry. The cool thing is that if your first cascade into suspend card gets countered, you might have a good chance of having the second cascade to try the other mode. Admittedly it means that you have to go from trying your graveyard rather than your hand and vice versus. In my Hypergenesis only deck, I was left without a second card to cascade into.
The other major weakness is if Niv-Mizzet Reborn is dealt with before you get any flicker value. The example is casting him out of 5 mana and just being dealt to straight away, before you can do a clone effect (Evil Twin, Protean Raider, Dack's Duplicate, Simic Altered Ego) or the Astral Slide.
And then part of the name sake of the deck is Astral Slide, and there is only one tutor in the deck in Bring to Light.
Another thing that can happen is that you get your big play, and then somebody just does a wrath effect, and it feels terrible. That's why I've got Samut, Voice of Dissent as a way of alpha striking the control player at the table.
So even as I type this reply, it get's me thinking I should play a little more insurance in the deck.
In the past I've used Goblin Dark-Dwellers as a way of casting Hypergenesis from my graveyard. Mizzix's Mastery does that same thing.
I think I should play a few three or more mana tutors, so that I can search for Astral Slide, or cascade, or whatever.
Unfortunately they are mostly mono-colored cards meaning that you need to draw them naturally.
There are a number of options; Beseech the Queen, Increasing Ambition, Mastermind's Acquisition, Razaketh's Rite, Sidisi, Undead Vizier, Demonic Collusion, Diabolic Tutor, Final Parting, Insidious Dreams.
Multi-colored (but but still not bi-colored); Wargate, Wild Research, Zur the Enchanter.
The only card that is bi-colored that I found that could search for Astral Slide or a cascade card specifically is Perplex with the transmute ability.
Of these the most appealing are;
Razaketh's Rite for the cycling theme as well.
Insidious Dreams as a way of discarding some cards as well, and you can setup specifically Hypergenesis or Living End a number of cards down, so that you know what you're going to hit. Plus it's an instant.
Beseech the Queen could be cast for BBB so that is appealing and chances are your are going to get a 3 mana spell anyway. Three black might be awkward, but then it might be that you're spending 2BB instead, or even 4B which isn't the worst considering most of the others cost 5 mana anyway, even if they do have slight upsides.
Perplex - Weirdly you can go to counter your own Living End and then discard your hand (to make sure it still resolves) to get all the creatures in your hand into your graveyard. But 9/10 times this will be used for the transmute.
So I'll put these in and take out Congregation at Dawn, Ionize, Notion Thief, Venser, the Sojourner, Last One Standing.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
Modern: WUBRG Humans - GBW Traverse - GWU Knightfall - GRW
With the high-costed spells, would it be worth it to include cards like Omniscience? Or at least multi-colored spells with its ability like Tamiyo, Field Researcher or Jodah, Archmage Eternal? Ramos, Dragon Engine is colorless so it won't be useful from a 5C Niv-Mizzet trigger but it can get ridiculously large with multicolored spells you cast as well as being able to provide mana each turn for cycling things.
5C Niv-Mizzet is also a great clock since it has flying. All of the Lorwyn/Shadowmoor spirit avatar auras are multicolored and give some epic boons that could potentially make 5C Niv-Mizzet a crazy creature that can win right off the bat in a single turn. So a voltron strategy is definitely incredibly viable with the deck.
On a side note, how epic would it be if Niv-Mizzet's rebirth was bursting through the Dragon Maze thus justifying the title of its namesake expansion set?
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
There is definitely a Voltron style build to be made. The thing with a lot of Voltron decks is the lack of draw, so suiting up a buff and then revealing 10 cards for another seems like you'll just be able to continuous string them together.
That would be epic. I think a guy posted a list in the "let's brew" thread where he is running the Guild Gates along with Maze's End and if you could squeeze in the Guild leaders in as well, that would be a full Vorthos build and I will point out that nice on a budget build as well.
Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Feather, the Redeemed
Estrid, the Masked
Teshar
Tymna/Ravos
Najeela, Blade-Blossom
Firesong & Sunspeaker
Zur the Enchanter
Lazav, the Multifarious
Ishai+Reyhan
Click images for decks->
-Prime Speaker Vannifar
---------------------Will & Rowan Kenrith
As it happens, I made a "monogold" deck 4 years ago. It was pretty battle cruiser, and I didn't even bother casting my Commander because none of the 5-color legends really fit the deck. With the release of Niv, I've been brainstorming monogold again! We have pretty similar card selection (great minds think alike!) but I thought I'd mention a few differences, somewhat for my own benefit, but hopefully to spark some more brainstorming from the community! (for your main list, not Astral Slide)
My noticeable includes
Edric, Spymaster of Trest, I'm not sure how I like him so far. We're not attacking early that much, so it may benefit my opponents more than myself. Maybe I'll trade it for Tymna the Weaver to balance my Orzhov and keep one-sided advantage
Selvala, Explorer Returned gets us t4 Niv, and (rarely) a Sol Ring or something on the same turn. Again, maybe this helps opponents too much?
Captain Sisay can tutor for planeswalkers and more!
GAAIV removes 1 Commander tax and we both run lots of Azorius spells. Usually just eats a removal spell because he's annoying, but that's one less removal for our other stuff!
Notion Thief, Havengul Lich: value
Reborn Hope, Treasured Find: recursion
Jhessian Zombies, Sanctum Plowbeast: land tutor at instant speed so we can keep counterspell mana up
your Cadaverous Bloom -> my Squandered Resources, Bloom gives us the opportunity to chain (B/G) spells after Niv, while the latter gets us Niv faster
your Mana Crypt -> my Fellwar Stone, Simic Signet, Chromatic Lantern. Crypt underperformed a bit with the high color cost. 4 colorless cards (including Sol Ring) is a lot, but I think the color fixing is worth.
Derevi, Empyrial Tactician, Trace of Abundance: 3 colored cards that don't work with Niv, but good ramp. I'm keeping my no monocolor deck restriction so I can't replace these with Birds of Paradise for example.
your Nahiri, the Harbinger, Saheeli Rai -> my Kiora, Behemoth Beckoner, Kiora, the Crashing Wave, Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God: the Kioras give us some ramp and then die. They're basically sorceries so I feel comfortable running both. Nicol Bolas is 3-color but he's a fun win-con. I like running this high planeswalker count because of synergy with Sisay, Oath of Teferi, and maybe Primevals' Glorious Rebirth which I'm probably going to add!
Your noticeable includes
your Baleful Strix -> my Coiling Oracle, higher Simic count but has the potential to ramp
your Rakdos Charm, Kolaghan's Command, Golgari Charm, Boros Charm -> my Assassin's Trophy. Too often the charms underwhelm me :c Maybe difference in meta.
Decimate frustrates me lol. Too often no one has an enchantment so you can't even cast this card, or you have to destroy your own enchantment
your Counterflux, Kaya's Wrath -> my Psychic Strike, Supreme Verdict: less color intensive
Mistmeadow Witch, how do you like this one? The ability seems expensive so you can't use it when you cast Niv and then have to use your whole next turn to recur him when you could be casting whatever Niv drew you. I'm curious though, I could be wrong!
Brago, King Eternal, drop this the turn before Niv, then attack right after he drops. Seems sweet, how do you like him?
Vanish into Memory, Saffi Eriksdotter, Protean Raider, Evil Twin, Altered Ego, Progenitor Mimic: you run lots of flicker, some of it is expensive. My thought is that cards should ramp us so we can cast Niv for card advantage, then try to keep Walkers alive until they can ultimate. So too many flicker cards means less ramp that we could be drawing into and a less consistent t4 Niv. What's your main win-con?
Please don't feel the need to address everything I've written! Mainly just curious about the deck's main objective, and explaining my card choices helps me brainstorm
cEDH: [G(U/R) Animar] - [(U/B)(G/W) Redless Wheels] - [(G/U)(W/B) Redless Pod] - [(B/G)W Ghave Metapod]