- Stapler
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Feb 4, 2014Stapler posted a message on Launch Giveaway!There are a bunch of cards I could name as my favourite, but for nostalgia reasons I have to go with Kiln Fiend for being in my favourite colour and combining two of my favourite things - casting lots of spells and doing a bunch of direct damage - into one card, as well as being from the set I started with.Posted in: Announcements
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I would appreciate any feedback on my deck! I've already played the deck a few times and it's done extremely well thus far, but any criticism, critiques, or (not yet mentioned) card suggestions are welcome. I play in a fairly low-powered, semi-competitive meta without MLD and relatively few combos (they do exist, but most of them are incidental combos like Kiki+Conscripts rather than a dedicated combo deck) and I built this deck with that in mind, so please keep that in mind as well.
When I first saw Niv-Mizzet Reborn spoiled, I fell in love. There are very few things I like more than drawing cards, playing big dragons, and the design and power of multicolour cards. As an avid deckbuilder, Niv-Mizzet offers a fun deckbuilding challenge: how do you construct a deck using exclusively or almost exclusively two-colour cards, while maintaining an even distribution between all the guilds? This deck is one of a couple attempts I made at this challenge, and is the one I found to be the most unique and malleable in terms of gameplan and strategy.
The premise of the deck works on a couple fronts:
The deck is constantly changing and will continue to change so long as powerful guild cards are printed, but this is how the deck currently looks now:
1 Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Land (38)
1 Command Tower
1 Pillar of the Paruns
1 Gemstone Caverns
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Reflecting Pool
1 City of Brass
1 Mana Confleunce
1 Forest
1 Arid Mesa
1 Badlands
1 Bayou
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Breeding Pool
1 Flooded Strand
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Plateau
1 Polluted Delta
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Savannah
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Scrubland
1 Stomping Ground
1 Taiga
1 Temple Garden
1 Tropical Island
1 Tundra
1 Underground Sea
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Volcanic Island
1 Watery Grave
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Baleful Strix
1 Lazav, the Multifarious
1 Sygg, River Cutthroat
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Saffi Eriksdotter
1 Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
1 Kiora's Follower
1 Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
1 Meddling Mage
1 Mistmeadow Witch
1 Radha, Heir to Keld
1 Zhur-Taa Druid
1 Llanowar Dead
1 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Aven Mimeomancer
1 Duergar Hedge-Mage
1 Trygon Predator
1 Gyre Engineer
1 Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist
1 Olivia, Mobilized for War
1 Protean Raider
1 Thief of Sanity
1 Leyline Prowler
1 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
1 Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle
1 Master Biomancer
1 Altered Ego
1 Prime Speaker Vannifar
1 Brago, King Eternal
1 Captain Sisay
1 Knight of New Alara
1 Dack's Duplicate
1 Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
1 Evil Twin
1 Hostage Taker
1 Falkenrath Aristocrat
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Iroas, God of Victory
1 Nikya of the Old Ways
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
1 Vona, Butcher of Magan
1 Aurelia, the Warleader
1 Medomai the Ageless
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
Instant (6)
1 Assassin's Trophy
1 Boros Charm
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Counterflux
1 Ionize
1 Fire Covenant
Sorcery (2)
1 Last One Standing
1 Primevals' Glorious Rebirth
Enchantment (5)
1 Legion's Initiative
1 Journey to Eternity
1 Rhythm of the Wild
1 Aura Shards
1 Mirari's Wake
Planeswalker (2)
1 Saheeli Rai
1 Kaya, Ghost Assassin
1 Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Lands (38)
1 Command Tower
1 Pillar of the Paruns
1 Gemstone Caverns
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Reflecting Pool
1 City of Brass
1 Mana Confluence
1 Forest
1 Arid Mesa
1 Badlands
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bayou
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Breeding Pool
1 Godless Shrine
1 Flooded Strand
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Plateau
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Polluted Delta
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Scrubland
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Savannah
1 Temple Garden
1 Taiga
1 Stomping Ground
1 Underground Sea
1 Tundra
1 Tropical Island
1 Volcanic Island
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Watery Grave
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Llanowar Dead
1 Radha, Heir to Keld
1 Zhur-Taa Druid
1 Kiora's Follower
1 Leyline Prowler
1 Gyre Engineer
1 Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle
1 Karametra, God of Harvests
1 Mirari's Wake
1 Nikya of the Old Ways
Card Advantage (9)
1 Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
1 Sygg, River Cutthroat
1 Baleful Strix
1 Thief of Sanity
1 Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
1 Captain Sisay
1 Prime Speaker Vannifar
1 Primevals' Glorious Rebirth
1 Journey to Eternity
Disruption (7)
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
1 Meddling Mage
1 Counterflux
1 Ionize
1 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
Removal (9)
1 Aura Shards
1 Trygon Predator
1 Duergar Hedge-Mage
1 Hostage Taker
1 Assassin's Trophy
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Vona, Butcher of Magan
1 Last One Standing
1 Fire Covenant
1 Aven Mimeomancer
1 Olivia, Mobilized for War
1 Rhythm of the Wild
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
1 Knight of New Alara
1 Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist
1 Iroas, God of Victory
1 Boros Charm
Copy/Flicker (9)
1 Legion's Initiative
1 Mistmeadow Witch
1 Kaya, Ghost Assassin
1 Saheeli Rai
1 Protean Raider
1 Dack's Duplicate
1 Evil Twin
1 Altered Ego
1 Saffi Eriksdotter
Combo (8)
1 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
1 Falkenrath Aristocrat
1 Murderous Redcap
1 Master Biomancer
1 Lazav, the Multifarious
1 Medomai the Ageless
1 Brago, King Eternal
1 Aurelia, the Warleader
1 Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Azorius (6)
1 Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
1 Mistmeadow Witch
1 Meddling Mage
1 Aven Mimeomancer
1 Brago, King Eternal
1 Medomai the Ageless
Dimir (6)
1 Lazav, the Multifarious
1 Sygg, River Cutthroat
1 Baleful Strix
1 Thief of Sanity
1 Evil Twin
1 Hostage Taker
Rakdos (6)
1 Grenzo, Dungeon Warden
1 Olivia, Mobilized for War
1 Fire Covenant
1 Last One Standing
1 Falkenrath Aristocrat
1 Murderous Redcap
Gruul (6)
1 Radha, Heir to Keld
1 Zhur-Taa Druid
1 Rhythm of the Wild
1 Nikya of the Old Ways
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
Selesnya (8)
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Saffi Eriksdotter
1 Mirri, Weatherlight Duelist
1 Aura Shards
1 Knight of New Alara
1 Captain Sisay
1 Karametra, God of Harvests
1 Mirari's Wake
1 Counterflux
1 Ionize
1 Protean Raider
1 Saheeli Rai
1 Dack's Duplicate
1 Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
Boros (5)
1 Boros Charm
1 Legion's Initiative
1 Duergar Hedge-Mage
1 Iroas, God of Victory
1 Aurelia, the Warleader
Orzhov (5)
1 Tidehollow Sculler
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Kaya, Ghost Assassin
1 Vona, Butcher of Magan
1 Primevals' Glorious Rebirth
Golgari (6)
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Llanowar Dead
1 Assassin's Trophy
1 Journey to Eternity
1 Leyline Prowler
1 Varolz, the Scar-Striped
Simic (7)
1 Kiora's Follower
1 Gyre Engineer
1 Trygon Predator
1 Master Biomancer
1 Altered Ego
1 Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle
1 Prime Speaker Vannifar
Lands (38)
1 Command Tower
1 Pillar of the Paruns
1 Gemstone Caverns
1 Exotic Orchard
1 Reflecting Pool
1 City of Brass
1 Mana Confluence
1 Forest
1 Badlands
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bayou
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Breeding Pool
1 Godless Shrine
1 Flooded Strand
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Plateau
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Polluted Delta
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Scrubland
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Savannah
1 Temple Garden
1 Taiga
1 Stomping Ground
1 Underground Sea
1 Tundra
1 Tropical Island
1 Volcanic Island
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Watery Grave
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Hallowed Fountain
Most of them don't manafix which is fine for a 2-colour deck, but they do double duty for your commander, both giving you lots of mana to be casting her (especially since, as kraus911 says, you'll only be able to play her a couple times a game because she's mana hungry, so more mana helps get her out more often) as well as tons of mana to sink into her ability to mill people and raise your odds of getting faeries.
With all that extra mana, you then might consider going for a "big Dimir" route with some splashy expensive spells like Clone Legion or Rise of the Dark Realms (Rise in particular is great if you go for a mill-oriented deck - unfortunately it doesn't work with Oona's milling though), some X spells to sink your big mana into like Mass Manipulation and Torment of Hailfire as well as the new Finales (Finale of Eternity and Finale of Revelation), and maybe some fatties like Rune-Scarred Demon or Nezahal, Primal Tide.
On the subject of power level, I think it might be a good idea to visit your LGS during Thursday night commander just to see what sort of decks people are playing, or maybe just ask the store owner or someone you know that plays on Thursdays what sort of power level to expect. If you show up on Thursday with your casually-oriented deck and everyone is playing highly competitive and tuned lists, you aren't gonna have a great time (same goes for if you end up building too competitive and everyone is playing super casually). At the very least I would go in with the expectation that you might have to end up scaling your deck up or down in power level in order to match the level of what other people are packing.
One was a game with my Nin, the Pain Artist Erratic Explosion deck playing a casual pickup 1v1 game against a stranger's Angus Mackenzie Superfriends deck. I was able to burn most of his walkers out, but he's managed to stick a Jace of one sort and an Ajani of another while I've just got a Psychosis Crawler and a lot of mana. I'm mostly untouched and he's at 19. We've both been holding up our mana representing counterspells for a turn or two, but on his next turn he decides to go for it. He casts Time Warp and tries to Twincast it with both his walkers nearing ultimate, still with plenty of mana untapped. I decide to go for it as well. I cast Brainstorm, which he lets resolve, pinging him down to 16 with Psychosis Crawler. I then cast Riddle of Lightning targeting him, and I'm ready for the counter war, but instead he responds with these words: "I mean, it's not like that'll kill me."
No need to scry: I just flip over Draco. We're both laughing like madmen.
A second story was another 1v1 game, this time against a friend (my decks are all built for multiplayer, but the unique, memorable moments only seem to happen in 1v1). He asks if I've got a deck that's more midrange in competitiveness to play against his newly built Vaevictis Asmadi, the Dire tokens deck, so I pull out my own newly built Reyhan, Last of the Abzan+Ikra Shidiqi, the Usurper deck. I tell him it's mostly just a goodstuffish big value dudes + removal deck with some +1/+1 counter and lifegain synergies, but it's a slow deck with no infinite combos or super mean cards and it shouldn't kill you out of nowhere.
Of course, I kill him on turn 4. We're back to standard of a year ago with turn 2 Winding Constrictor into turn 3 Walking Ballista (killing his Llanowar Elves) and then turn 4 I play Unspeakable Symbol. I'm at 38 from fetchlands and don't believe in half measures, so I pay 36 life into the Symbol to put 24 counters on my 1/1 Ballista making it a 25/25, then remove 2 counters to kill his only blocker, Falkenrath Noble (which drains me down to 1). I attack with both for 25, then remove 23 counters to ping him for an unnecessary amount of overkill. Pretty incredible first game for the deck, pretty bad look for me when I follow up "shouldn't kill you out of nowhere" with that godhand.
My last memorable story is a story (or rather, an entire game) I've already posted years ago in the "Crazy Plays" thread, but the fact that it's the only "crazy play" I've deemed "crazy" enough to post in that thread should indicate just how memorable it is to me. It's a bit long as it's condensing an intense 9-10 turn 2HG game, but it's a pretty wild ride if I may say so. Spoiler'd to avoid making this post into a giant wall of text:
"Each target permanent is destroyed in the order specified. Abilities that trigger when one is destroyed won't be put onto the stack until Casualties of War has finished resolving."
That first sentence reminded me of a question I've had that's popped up IRL multiple times that I never had properly answered: how do cards that destroy permanents in a (supposedly) sequential order interact with permanents that care about cards being destroyed? Specifically, if a permanent of one type is granting another permanent of another type indestructible, and both permanents are being destroyed by a single spell or effect that destroys multiple different permanent types, does the order of permanent types listed on the card matter in terms of successfully destroying both permanents?
For example, if I cast Casualties of War targeting an Eldrazi Monument and a Runeclaw Bear, would the Bear end up getting destroyed because the ruling for Casualties of War states that they are destroyed in the order specified? Thus (since artifacts are listed first) Eldrazi Monument will get destroyed first and stop granting indestructibility to Runeclaw Bear in time for Casualties to destroy it?
Does the same hold true for Decimate? One of the things I've heard (though I am uncertain as to it's veracity) and which seems to contradict this new ruling is that the order of card types on a card that destroys multiple permanent types only matters if there is a "then" separating the two destruction clauses. So assuming that claim is true, using the previous example, a card like Akroma's Vengeance would kill the Eldrazi Monument but not the Runeclaw Bear (and by extension, I think that would mean that Decimate wouldn't kill the bear either).
If that's all true, and to follow what seems to be the logical conclusion leading from the ruling on Casualties of War, am I then correct in assuming that Casualties of War, and by extension all modal spells that can have more than one mode chosen at once (i.e Cryptic Command, Fiery Confluence etc.) effectively have the text "Do x; then do y; then do z etc." when the modes are chosen and the card is cast? Or am I completely misinterpreting what "Each target permanent is destroyed in the order specified" means?
Sorry if I'm making too many assumptions and examples, I'm just trying to work my understanding of the game's mechanics into these examples so that I can be corrected if they are wrong and thus have a better understanding of how this all works.
Brainstorm and Dream Cache both let you repeatedly cast any instant/sorcery once every turn cycle, as long as you have a way to draw a card at instant speed. This "combo" is what the 75% Kefnet deck I'm building will use as a potential win condition rather than infinite turns or something like Paradox Engine + Isochron Scepter/Chaos Wand, which I considered but decided would be too repetitive and wasn't really playing to the commander or theme (well the infinite turns do, but they do it too well).
To explain, in case it isn't clear: use Kefnet to "Miracle" one of either Brainstorm or Cache off the top of your deck (which can be setup with Mystical Tutor, Long-Term Plans, Scroll Rack, various Scry effects, as well as Brainstorm putting Dream Cache on top or vice versa). Both cost one mana to cast a copy off a Miracle thanks to Kefnet. With that copy, put the Brainstorm/Cache you just drew on top, and then a powerful spell you want to cast (i.e. Bribery) on top of that. Then cast an Opt, a Quicken, use a Merfolk Looter activation, whatever way you can draw on someone else's turn and Miracle your powerful spell. When it comes back to your turn, Miracle the Brainstorm/Dream Cache again and repeat. You can also instead Miracle Brainstorm/Cache on someone else's turn and the powerful spell on your turn, it's all up to how you set it up and what makes sense for the situation.
You aren't actually casting either Brainstorm/Dream Cache or the powerful spell out of your hand ever, you are just copying them, so as long as Kefnet sticks in play and as long as you successfully continue to "Miracle" the Brainstorm/Dream Cache, your opponents can't stop you. Blatant Thievery everyone every turn, keep casting Cyclonic Rift overloaded, make a giant army with Rise from the Tides at instant speed. Eventually you'll either die, Kefnet will get answered, someone will Wheel and disrupt your hand, or your powerful spells will end the game.
There's a similar trick to the one I outlined above that can be done with Riverwise Augur and Ghostly Flicker (technically any flicker effect works, but Ghostly Flicker is the best). "Miracle" Ghostly Flicker, exiling the Augur and any other target (doing it to a land makes Flicker cost effectively 0 mana thanks to Kefnet's reduction), then with Augur's ETB trigger, put Ghostly Flicker + whatever on top, setting up a Miracle spell and also continuing the ability to flicker the Augur. The two-target flicker effects also work decently with multiple Archaeomancer effects (flicker two ETB spell recursion creatures, get back the flicker effect + a counter or w/e) and can protect Kefnet from some removal.
As a general note, slow cantrips like Clairvoyance, Portent, and Arcane Denial seem really powerful with God-Eternal Kefnet because they are card draw spells that you can "Miracle" into off Kefnet (Arcane Denial can be Miracle'd into via a cantrip in response to a spell), which then trigger another card draw effect on someone else's turn, letting you chain together "Miracles" without actually needing to cast another cantrip or use a loot effect everytime you want to Miracle.
Blink of an Eye and Into the Roil become UU: Bounce almost anything, draw a card when Miracle'd off Kefnet.
Miracling Submerge lets you cast the copy for 0 as long as someone has a Forest.
Impulse would normally get played in these sorts of decks, but Telling Time seems better with its ability to set up for Kefnet (plus Impulse doesn't draw).
If someone really wanted to play an extra turn card in this deck and wanted to play the least abusive but still usable version of that effect, Temporal Trespass is the card to use. You can potentially take two extra turns in a row off of Miracling it + casting it with a stocked graveyard to kill the table using a board of drakes from Talrand, Sky Summoner, a buffed up up Kefnet, or an army stolen by Clone Legion or what have you, so it's still quite powerful with the right setup, but going infinite requires 10 mana with Scroll Rack or 9 with Jace, the Mind Sculptor, making it a lot harder to pull off than most other Time Walks. It's the only extra turn effect I'm considering running just because getting to that much mana should end the game, and thus it won't happen with consistency + it makes it a lot harder to have mana up to protect the combo, so it's more fair for less competitive playgroups.
EDIT: Howl of the Horde would be another Doublecast effect to run for the sake of redundancy.
Worth mentioning that Aetherflux Reservoir seems pretty easily enabled here and provides a potential alternate win condition if the token thing isn't working out.
Voltron with lots of equipment and pump spells, forgoing most of the token cards, also seems like a possible way to build her, and would allow more room for interaction and such so that the deck can survive to the lategame where it shines (a lategame Boros deck?!?!).
Two pretty important things for any Feather deck is going to be protection and mana. Feather gives you all the cards you could need via buyback and cantrips, but if she dies too much, or if you don't have the mana to take advantage of your big hand, your deck won't be operating very efficiently.
For protection, Swiftfoot Boots and Champion's Helm are the two most efficient sources of hexproof (note that shroud a la Lightning Greaves is a bit of a nonbo since we can't target her - still might be worth running if we have enough other targetable creatures). Darksteel Plate and Hammer of Nazahn give her indestructibility. The flicker spells like Long Road Home and protection spells like Gods Willing are all great, and I think any successful build of Feather will play multiple of them to ensure she sticks on the field. Feat of Resistance is another one that hasn't been mentioned yet, that's also useful at pumping up your general every turn if you have spare mana, or using it with Zada/Mirrorwing as an anthem effect that also pushes through blockers.
For mana, the usual suspects of Smothering Tithe, Knight of the White Orchid, Burnished Hart, Kor Cartographer, and Solemn Simulacrum seem like auto-includes here, along with Boreas Charger and Sword of the Animist (though running too much ramp might make the Knight of the White Orchid effects worse, so keep that in mind). With all the cards we're drawing, Walking Atlas should be able to work overtime, and with flicker effects you can do a neat trick: use Atlas' ability, Cloudshift/Otherworldly Journey it, then use Expedite/Crimson Wisps/Accelerate on it to give it haste so it can use its ability again, powering out multiple land drops on every player's turn. Note that colourless sources like Thran Dynamo as well as colourless utility lands have less value here, since we're mostly going to want to be casting cheap 1-2 mana coloured spells on every player's turn and having mana sources that can't cast those spells can be a liability.
Some other cards:
Precursor Golem lets us triple our Bandages and other spells.
Stand Firm is another cheap pump effect that also gives some great card selection.
Skullclamp works great with all the tokenmakers and is a good backup source of card advantage in case our general gets answered.
In addition to Young Pyromancer and Monastery Mentor, there's also Goblinslide, Akroan Crusader, and Vanguard of Brimaz as relatively cheap ways to spew out tokens to attack/block with and to combo up with Zada, Hedron Grinder and Mirrorwing Dragon. Phalanx Leader and Anax and Cymede pump all our tokens up using our hand full of cheap targeted spells.
Strength of Arms is another (admittedly conditional) token maker that can provide the army needed for Zada/Mirrorwing while simultaneously being the pump spell to help your army end the game.
This card is probably more cute than good, but Winnow lets you kill Sol Rings, swords, and other cards multiple people at the table are likely to have copies of, while also functioning as a cheap buyback-able cantrip. You're allowed to target any nonland permanent since the intervening if clause doesn't restrict what you can target, it just won't destroy anything if the condition isn't met but you'll still draw a card. Just don't target your general while there's a Mirage Mirror in play.
Guttersnipe and Primal Amulet seem ideal with all the spells we're casting. Scroll of the Masters can potentially let us Voltron a player in a couple turn-cycles of just casting cantrips.
For all the non-Zada/Mirrorwing creatures I just mentioned, Imperial Recruiter and Recruiter of the Guard can tutor them all up to increase consistency. Zada and Mirrorwing are a lot harder to tutor; Thalia's Lancers and Moggcatcher can get Zada and Sarkhan's Triumph and Imperial Hellkite can get Mirrorwing, but they're all really inefficient and we aren't likely to be playing many other cards of the types these tutors can find. EDIT: Actually, Goblin Matron is a tutor I missed, which seems like the best of all the options.
Ruby Medallion and Pearl Medallion to turn our 2-CMC spells into 1 CMC-spells, while also making our commander (after tax) and other creatures easier to cast. Cloud Key naming instants (since we mostly want instants) works for all colours but doesn't help with our creatures.
Cloudshift and the arcane Otherworldly Journey let us protect our general while also letting abuse any ETB abilities we play, ie Solemn Simulacrum/Kor Cartographer.
Speaking of arcane, I actually found a lot more playable cards/"combos" then I was expecting and there might be a real deck there (well it's still probably not optimal, but I think you can make it work). The key to the arcane cards is that we really want instants, we really want them to be cheap, and they preferably either need to be a non-targeted effect that is really powerful to recur or a targeted effect that is always usable, with splice being the enabler of it all.
Good Splice cards:
Spiritual Visit (good token maker)
Hundred-Talon Strike (pump for tokens, admittedly the Splice clause is hard to achieve but is also cheap)
Overblaze (expensive, but if you're going the Zada/Mirrorwing route it'll make for big numbers)
Into the Fray (super cheap splice card that enables non-targeted arcane cards)
Candles' Glow (kind of expensive but cheap enough to be part of the package)
Strange Inversion (same thing, a little worse because the effect is pretty useless but the more splice cards the better)
Desperate Ritual (more mana = good)
Glacial Ray (simultaneously a non-target enabler and cheap removal)
Blessed Breath (probably the best one, protects your commander, targets, cheap splice)
Good Non-Splice cards:
Otherworldly Journey (as mentioned, protects your stuff)
Blazing Shoal (potentially free pump for Zada/Mirrorwing spell that also targets)
Path of Anger's Flame (at this point we're borrowing tech from Zada's Arcane Storm. Splice a targeted effect on to radiate everywhere with Zada/Mirrorwing)
Blind with Anger (expensive, but Ray of Command with buyback seems decent)
Terashi's Grasp (it's bad removal, but it might be good enough)
Quiet Purity (efficient instant speed enchantment removal that's repeatable with a targeted splice card)
Ethereal Haze (I never expected Boros to be the first non-green deck to get actual-factual Constant Mists)
Arcane Payoffs:
Nikko-Onna/Yuki-Onna (repeatable artifact/enchantment hate on ok bodies. also works with the flicker effects)
Skyfire Kirin/Cunning Bandit (repeatable theft effects. note that both of them don't untap the creature or give it haste, so this is mostly useful as a Maze of Ith, using someone else's untapped creature to block, or to combo with sac outlets you might play in a token deck, ie Goblin Bombardment)
Celestial Kirin (most arcane cards are 1 or 2 mana, so we can keep mana dorks and mana rocks in check. might not be great if we're also playing those cards)
Oyobi, Who Split the Heavens (crazy expensive, but if you're going all in on arcane and tokens might as well go REALLY all in)
Long-Forgotten Gohei (basically another Cloud Key)
I know Lazav will still have flying (plus his original activated ability plus legendary tag etc.), but does Mimeomancer's P/T setting ability overwrite Lazav's copy ability, meaning he'll still be a 3/1 and not a 1/1?
And now that we have a flying 3/1(?) Lazav copying Figure of Destiny, there's another thing I'm unsure of. I know that if I were to activate Lazav-Figure's first activated ability, it would overwrite the Mimeomancer's P/T setting ability and become a 2/2 (Kithkin Spirit with flying and Lazav's ability). I could then continue using Lazav-Figure's abilities up the chain to make Lazav-Figure an 8/8 Kithkin Spirit Warrior Avatar with flying, first strike, and Lazav's copy ability.
If I then activate Lazav's copy ability to become a Typhoid Rats that's in my yard, is that the same scenario as before, i.e. even though the copy effect in layer 1 is newer, because the P/T setting effect happens in layer 7, it will overwrite and cause Lasav to stay an 8/8 and not become 1/1? Additionally, will Lasav keep all of his creature types and keywords gained from the Figure of Destiny abilities, and are those in addition to whatever creature types the creature Lazav copies has? So in this case, would Lazav be an 8/8 Kithkin Spirit Warrior Avatar Rat with flying, first strike, deathtouch and Lazav's copy ability?.
I know the scenario given is a little ridiculous, but I'm planning on playing all 3 cards in the same deck and want to make sure I understand the interactions.
- Niv's main purpose at the helm of a deck is to refill your hand, as that's pretty much all he can do; there aren't that many multicolour combos that Niv can dig toward, so using him as a limited tutor effect seems sketchy, so for the most part Niv is part card draw and part big beater, and the rest of the deck needs to support that functionality. There isn't a need to run too much card draw outside of Niv, which led to me cutting cards like Urban Evolution and Notion Rain from my list since they felt unnecessary.
- Niv's main limit is mana, and its a limit on two fronts. First, while Niv can draw you a ton of cards, you need to spend mana to cast them obviously, and having many expensive cards stuck in hand that you're limited to casting once per turn isn't that great - cheaper cards are more powerful with Niv, since you can play them out early and empty your hand, then play Niv who'll draw you into even more relatively cheap cards which you can play out quickly again.
- The second limit is that Niv can never directly draw you into lands, and since most Niv decks are going to play out like control decks that value hitting their land drops and having a good amount of mana, playing lots of ramp and other ways of developing your manabase is beneficial to ensure that Niv can keep up with other decks in the lategame. More mana enables the repeated castings of Niv, lessening the need to run multiple flicker effects/recursion effects for Niv since the natural mechanic of the Command Zone can act as their substitute. Land-based ramp has the bonus of removing lands from your deck, and while that's a fairly small impact on a card by card basis, multiple of those effects + fetchlands can significantly increase the likelihood of finding gas in the late game.
- I think Niv decks should generally run a healthy amount of lands (my build plays 37 lands + 2 nonlands that function as Lay of the Land effects). Running more lands does mean you'll be drawing less cards with Niv on average, but if you don't have the mana to cast those spells efficiently, what's the point?
- I don't think it's necessary to run 100% multicolour spells to make Niv effective. From a bit of goldfishing with a simulator using my deck that runs 48~ guild cards, as long as you have a relatively even distribution of guild cards, you can often draw 4-5 cards off of Niv which should be more than enough of a refill to continue your gameplan. Playing medium guild cards over stronger non-guild cards just so that Niv can draw them makes sense up to a certain point, but I think once you start playing cards that don't necessarily even mesh well with your strategy or are significantly weaker than non-guild options, you'd be better off running the more powerful, non-guild cards.
If you want some more ideas for potential avenues the deck can go, here's my first attempt at a goodstuff-ish/control Niv-Mizzet Reborn deck with a combo/voltron/Gate-based finish. I put a star next to each non-guild nonland card if you're curious what cards I decided were good enough to run over other potential guild-coloured options.
1 Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Ramp/Mana
1 Chrome Mox (*)
1 Bloom Tender (*)
1 Three Visits (*)
1 Nature's Lore (*)
1 Farseek (*)
1 Wargate (*) (also a tutor)
1 Circuitous Route (*)
1 Hour of Promise (*)
1 Oracle of Mul Daya (*)
1 Life from the Loam (*)
1 Mirari's Wake
1 Safewright Quest
1 Manamorphose
1 Mina and Denn, Wildborn
1 Deathrite Shaman
1 Coiling Oracle
1 Growth Spiral
1 Kiora's Follower
1 Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle
Removal
1 Pyroconvergence (*)
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Kolaghan's Command
1 Hostage Taker
1 Knight of Autumn
1 Duergar Hedge-Mage
1 Wear // Tear
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Utter End
1 Vona, Butcher of Magan
1 Assassin's Trophy
1 Windgrace's Judgement
1 Decimate
1 Fire Covenant
1 Last One Standing
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Time Wipe
1 Merciless Eviction
1 Gaze of Granite
1 Pernicious Deed
Card Advantage/Tutor
1 Eternal Witness (*)
1 Sunforger (*)
1 Tome of the Guildpact (*) (also ramp)
1 Bounty of the Luxa (also ramp)
1 Thrasios, Triton Hero (also ramp)
1 Eladamri's Call
1 Captain Sisay
1 Mnemonic Betrayal
Blink/Copy
1 Mistmeadow Witch
1 Turn to Mist
1 Brago, King Eternal
1 Dack's Duplicate
1 Evil Twin
1 The Scarab God
Protection
1 Izzet Charm
1 Ionize
1 Counterflux
1 Render Silent
1 Boros Charm
Combat
1 Rhythm of the Wild
1 Samut, Voice of Dissent
1 Xenagos, God of Revels
1 Aurelia, the Warleader
Gates
1 Maze's End
1 Gateway Plaza
1 Azorius Guildgate
1 Boros Guildgate
1 Dimir Guildgate
1 Golgari Guildgate
1 Gruul Guildgate
1 Izzet Guildgate
1 Orzhov Guildgate
1 Rakdos Guildgate
1 Selesnya Guildgate
1 Simic Guildgate
1 Gemstone Caverns (also ramp)
1 Command Tower
1 Arid Mesa
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Flooded Strand
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Delta
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Blood Crypt
1 Breeding Pool
1 Godless Shrine
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Temple Garden
1 Watery Grave
Utility Lands
1 Kessig Wolf Run
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Kor Haven
This version is running 37 lands, 14 non-guild cards, and then either 6, 5 or 4 cards of each of the ten guilds. A challenge for anyone building Niv is going to be finding enough cards of each guild that fit your strategy, with some guilds being worse for certain strategies than others (not a lot of Izzet cards fit my gameplan) or some guilds being worse in general (Rakdos and Boros...).
Brago, King Eternal and Aurelia, the Warleader are both cards that fit the strategy of the rest of the deck that also happen to combo together to kill the whole table. Just putting them both into play isn't enough, of course: Brago needs haste (of which the deck has 3 different sources) and (at least in general) Brago needs to connect in the air with each player that I want to kill (Kessig Wolf Run and the bevy of removal/wraths the deck runs are a big help there). Those same cards also help Niv beat down people, with Sunforger (and a naturally occurring Sunforger package) and Boros Charm as compact ways of dealing lots of damage with Niv. Finally, since the deck doesn't mind being a bit slow, and grinding everyone out of resources is its plan A, Maze's End is a thematically appropriate way of ending a prolonged game, with multiple ways to make additional land drops to turbo out the Gates (Mina and Denn, Wildborn, Oracle of Mul Daya, Growth Spiral).
Finally, here's some individual card notes/cards that missed the cut.
- Chrome Mox/Gemstone Caverns are great at accelerating and their downside is minimal thanks to Niv. Sol Ring isn't in here since the green ramp is superior and less vulnerable (my meta doesn't play MLD but does have the occassional Vandalblast), plus with the number of mana-intensive cards the deck runs, it seems like I'll have turns where I don't have a use for colourless mana.
- Pyroconvergence/Tome of the Guildpact are both gimmicky and slow and probably not worth running, but I want to give them a shot since I love Pyroconvergence and there aren't that many decks that can justifiably run these cards.
- In a similar vein, Mnemonic Betrayal would probably be better served as a card that more directly supports the main winconditions of the deck, but I like the card too much and it seems workable with some of the deck's mana production capabilties.
- I tried my best to avoid mana dorks like Zhur-Taa Druid and such since my deck plays so many wrath effects that they'd likely have a few turns of use before getting blown up, and that's ignoring possible wraths from opponents as well. However, a couple dorks were good enough to stay in: Deathrite Shaman is both extremely cheap (not many 1 drops you can run in this deck) and offers much needed graveyard hate, Kiora's Follower has a number of strong interactions with some of the tap effects the deck runs + untapping a big creature that attacked can help protect my life total, and Bloom Tender just provides an insane amount of mana.
- Captain Sisay is probably the best card in the deck; she can tutor up removal (Vona, Butcher of Magan, Kor Haven), ramp (Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle, Mina and Denn, Wildborn), card advantage (The Scarab God, Thrasios, Triton Hero) as well as both Brago and Aurelia and a haste enabler to do the combo in one turn (Xenagos, God of Revels, Samut, Voice of Dissent - Samut in particular can let her tutor up all the pieces within 2 turn cycles).
- Some cards that ultimately got cut (though it's possible they end up back in):
1 Double Negative
1 Absorb
1 Spitting Image
1 Kaya, Ghost Assassin
1 Venser, the Sojourner
1 Dack Fayden
1 Sire of Insanity
1 Lim-Dul's Vault
1 Baleful Strix
1 All Suns' Dawn
1 Saffi Eriksdotter