-1 Monastery Siege - not a bad card, but Metallurgic Summonings is so much more impactful.
-1 Electrolyze - there just weren't enough relevant targets for this.
-1 Molten Disaster - cleared space for Nahiri's Wrath
-1 Desperate Ravings - cleared space for Cathartic Reunion plus the random discard never quite sat well.
1/31/2018:
+1 Chart a Course, -1 Cathartic Reunion - A bit of an upgrade
+1 Primal Amulet, -1 Izzet Boilerworks - I had added two lands last update and decided that was one too many. I wanted to shed my worst ETB tapped land and this ended up being it. It has some good interactions with the cycling lands, allowing me to bounce one of them back to my hand if I had to play it for whatever reason, but overall it was just worse than running the full 7 cycling lands.
+1 Riverwise Augur, -1 Aeon Chronicler - Augur is a tad cheaper to cast straight up, and its much better at generating draws for Niv-Mizzet triggers where Aeon Chronicler is just so much slower in comparison.
+1 Azor's Gateway, -1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - So Ugin is great, but loads more expensive. Gateway seems really neat, has value to the deck flipped or unflipped, and it can impact the game much sooner than Ugin.
5/17/2018:
-1 Mulldrifter: This was a tough cut, but this is often just worse than a Divination since it doesn't have the synergy with my Instant/Sorcery theme.
-1 Sower of Temptation: Another tough cut, but it just doesn't justify the slot.
-1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon: With all the Dragons and Ugin cut from the deck, it made little sense to ave this in the deck anymore. I also felt like I could shave a land with the extra mana artifacts I was putting in.
-1 Memory Jar: I don't get enough advantage out of this to be worth tapping low to cast it. I think I would rather run Wheel of Fortune or Windfall at this point, given that both are less expensive and synergize better with the spellslinger theme.
-1 Tidings, -1 Deep Analysis: In an effort to free up space, I cut my most expensive, Sorcery-speed draw spells.
-1 Fire//Ice: I also decided that this wasn't really cutting it as either a removal spell or a good way to synergize with the rest of the deck, so it needed to go.
+1 Mana Vault, +1 Grim Monolith, +1 Voltaic Key: This gives me some more early plays, gets me to the mid-game quicker, and allows me to have some massive turns.
+1 Paradox Engine: With all the changes, this seemed more and more likely to be something that this deck is willing to tap out/low to put into play. There is a more combo-ish feel to the deck when this is out, but its a type of combo I'm more than happy to actually play because you have to work to win once it hits play.
+1 Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain: By upping the artifact count from 17 to 20 and the number of cards that trigger this going up to 24, this will make a fine addition to the deck.
+1 Windfall: I decided that I wanted a bit of a combo finisher without going overboard, and Windfalling for 20+ cards and Niv-Mizzet out seems like my kind of combo.
+1 Commit // Memory: Even better than Wheel or Windfall in the right circumstances, I'm going to try this out for a spin.
One of the first decks I made when I decided to start playing EDH was Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind. I chose Niv-Mizzet not for his combo potential, but mostly because his colors complimented the BG deck I was making at the same time, I thought he would make a cool general for a Dragon-themed deck, and I wanted to choose something that had some 'build-around-me' potential.
So I picked 10-12 of the coolest Dragons, a bunch of X spells, as many Looters as I could find, some wacky fun stuff, and any spell that said "draw" on it. I thought it was pretty cool and would be fun to play with or against...
Of course I learned fairly quickly that a)Niv-Mizzet has a bad reputation as a 'dirty combo general', and that b) most of card choices were inherently weak (mostly the Dragon theme, the Looters that dies to mass removal, and cute but narrow cards like Goblin Flectomancer, Dracoplasm, Djinn Illuminatus, etc.). I found that trying to convince people I wasn't about to drop Mind Over Matter and kill everyone was not an optimal place to be, but neither was having a deck full of jank.
Anyway, I took the time to try and make every card in the deck really count while maintaining the deck's original intent of not just being an "oops, I win" combo deck. Below is the latest incarnation of that deck.
The deck plays out more along the lines of UR control, with lots of sweepers, card draw spells, and more removal than most Niv-Mizzet decks. The idea is to stall the game and to try and interact with all the other players as much as possible, all the while accumulating mana and cards until you can drop and protect Niv-Mizzet and start killing people.
This latest version still shuns most of the truly busted combos with Niv-Mizzet and a lot of the more annoying cards (like Puzzle Box), but it still runs a ton of cards that have a lot of synergy with the Dragon Wizard and can still dole out damage at an alarming rate.
Anyway, I'm posting this to see if there is anyone else out there who is running Non-Combo versions of Niv-Mizzet, what cards they like to run, and what cards from Return to Ravnica you think might go into the deck. Some of the RtR cards that look really interesting:
Cyclonic Rift1U
Instant
Return target non-land permanent you don't control it's owner's hand, Overload 6U
Might be a good candidate to replace one of the creature sweepers.
Epic ExperimentXUR
Sorcery
Exile the top X cards of your library. For each instant or sorcery with converted mana cost X or less among them, you may cast that card without paying its mana cost. Then put all cards exiled this way that weren't cast into your graveyard.)
Looks pretty nuts for Commander in general, but in any deck that plays sufficient instants/sorceries (which this deck plays a lot of) and can generate a lot of mana (which this deck can also do) this card should be awesome. I don't think its as good as Genesis Wave, but its definitely no slouch.
Goblin ElectromancerUR
Creature-Goblin Wizard
Instant and sorcery spells you cast cost less to cast
2/2
Helm of Awakening and Cloud Key both are considerations for the deck, and this is potentially better than either of them. I'm looking forward to seeing how good it is.
Guttersnipe2R
Creature-Goblin Shaman
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, Guttersnipe deals 2 damage to each opponent
2/2
The fact that he damages EACH opponent is huge. I think having a 3rd way to turn card drawing spells into damage (along with Psychosis Crawler and Niv-Mizzet) may be a good thing to consider.
Hypersonic Dragon3UR
Creature-Dragon
Flying, Haste
You may cast sorcery spells as though they had flash.
4/4
I am going to try this out in place of either Ryusei or Keiga, but I'm not sold that he is going to be worth it in the long run as I don't think I run enough Sorceries
Izzet CharmUR
Instant
Choose one -- Counter target noncreature spell unless its controller pays 2; or Izzet Charm deals 2 damage to target creature; or draw two cards, then discard two cards.
Would replace Fire//Ice I think, and given that its more flexible I'm fairly sure I'm making this swap.
Mercurial Chemister3UR
Creature-Human Wizard
:symu:, :symtap:: Draw two cards.
:symr:, :symtap:, Discard a card: Mercurial Chemister deals damage to target creature equal to the discarded card's converted mana cost.
2/3
This card is pretty slick whether Niv-Mizzet is in play or not. Great design and one of my favorite cards in the set. I'm definitely finding a place for this.
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius2UURR
Legendary Creature - Dragon Wizard
Flying
Whenever Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius deals damage to a player, you may draw a card. UR: Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
5/5
As awesome as this card is, there are lots of subtle things wrong with it in the context of this deck. The biggest one is that it has to damage a player to draw a card, while the ping ability can hit creatures or players. Anyway, he might just go in for the sake of completeness, but I'm not sure how long he's going to end up in my version of the deck.
Nivix Guildmage1UR
Creature - Human Wizard 1UR: Draw a card, and then discard a card. 2UR: Copy target instant or sorcery spell you control. You may choose new targets for the copy.
2/2
I ditched all my Looters a while back, and the fact that this costs mana to loot doesn't bode well for my tastes. But not needing to tap is a big bonus, and the second ability to copy spells seems like it pushes this into playability for me.
Thoughtflare3UR
Instant
Draw four cards, then discard two cards.
So the last update I did for this deck was after Khans of Tarkir where I added Treasure Cruise to the deck. I've had a few additions/subtractions to the deck since then:
Khans of Tarkir Treasure Cruise: One of the best Ancestral Recall impersonators we have. Howl of the Horde: This is one of the better copy cards available and the cheap cost makes it worthwhile. Tormenting Voice: Getting more cheap card draw/filtering in the deck has been a priority.
Fate Reforged Crucible of the Spirit Dragon: Getting a storage land that helps pay for Niv-Mizzet's complicated mana cost is a nice addition to the deck. I can also use the mana for Ryusei and Keiga. Monastary Siege: Both modes are useful, but the Khans mode is the default option. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: Firing off the ultimate would be ideal, but the Lightning Bolt and Pernicious Deed for colored cards modes are all well worth the 8 mana.
Magic Origins Alhammarret's Archive: This card is ridiculous once you get things going. Jace, Vryn's Prodigy: A solid looter that transforms into a Flashback machine. Magmatic Insight: Another cheap card draw effect that plays well with Crucible.
Even though this is a pretty tight decklist and the threshold to get considered is pretty high, there have been things that have been interesting to try and a few cards have snuck in on a full time basis:
Commander 2015 Mizzix of the Izmagnus - This card can be ridiculous when it sticks around, but unlike when it is your commander you don't usually have constant access to him once it gets removed. It becomes an overcosted and slow mana rock at that point and it eventually left the list. Mizzix's Mastery - A ridiculous card one you get to the point of having a full-ish graveyard and 8 mana to overload this, but unless there are still 4+ opponents in the game you usually don't need that many activations to win the game. Mystic Confluence - A very good card that should be played in almost all blue decks in my opinion.
Oath of the gatewatch Chandra, Flamecaller - The +0 ability (or is it a -0 ability?) is great for this deck although it does disrupt long-term planning. In the end, the cost-to-benefit ratio is just not quite there. Endbringer - If I was still running Staff of Nin, this would probably come in to replace it. As it is, it was hard to run this over one of the dragons, but it would really need to come in for a high CMC card to fit. Jori En, Ruin Diver - Neat little card that deserved a slot in the long run Wandering Fumarole - A little on the disappointing side. Because I'm running the cycling lands, I was already full on ETB tapped lands so I cut it.
Shadows Over Innistrad Jace, Unraveler of Secrets - Not much better than little Jace and it has an ultimate that I would never really want to activate. Trail of Evidence - Another neat little card. Its mana intensive, but it is good at generating extra draws when I need them.
Eldritch Moon Nahiri's Wrath - Having cards in hand to discard to this is usually not a problem and the mana savings to take care of multiple creatures makes this well worth it.
Conspiracy: Take the Crown
Nothing - I almost wanted to take Expropriate for a ride, but that would be more for the shock value than anything.
Kaladesh Cathartic Reunion - Another solid, cheap, card draw spell. Chandra, Torch of Defiance - I think that if I owned more copies, this would end up in this deck. Dynavolt Tower - The fact that its a single 3 mana investment after which you can get (on average) 1.33 damage per Instant/Sorcery out of it makes it somewhat interesting. It can hit creatures or players which is solid (as opposed to something like Thermo Alchemist). I haven't been running it mostly because I didn't want the distraction of having to keep track of energy counters. Insidious Will - A solid card with so many options Metallurgic Summonings - A possible win-con all on its own Paradoxical Outcome - This card is ridiculous in Vintage, but I think I'd have to rethink some of my other card choices to include this.
Commander 2016
Sadly, nothing...
Aether Revolt Baral, Chief of Compliance - I already don't run Goblin Electromancer and the loot when I counter something is not really worth it. Disallow - This at least deserves a mention. Mechanized Production - Slapping this onto a mana rock is really good, but copying Psychosis Crawler is the big draw to running this. Overall, I'm just not running enough targets for this.
Baral may lend himself to a more expensive, counter-passive deck than what you or I have, but I think with Niv 1.0 in play, his value really shines. And 1 less to a spell can make the difference between playing another burn or draw spell for the win. Just my two cents on him.
Thank you though, for pointing out Nahiri's Wrath...I am SO putting that in a few of my decks!
With Hour of Devastation comes the opportunity to run The Locust God in this deck. The card will be ridiculous and will make an amazing addition to the deck. I also wanted to run the cycling lands Desert of the Fervent and Desert of the Mindful and up the overall land count a bit.
Commander 2017 Izzet Chemister - This was in the deck for a while, but I cut it for being overall ineffective and slow compared to the other things that the deck was doing.
Ixalan Chart a Course - After trying this out, I decided I liked it better than Cathartic Reunion Overflowing Insight - Not a bad card, but overall the deck just didn't need a 7-drop especially at Sorcery Speed. Primal Amulet - Great card that ups the artifact count and provides some late game oomph for a very reasonable cost. Search for Azcanta - I think that this is a fine card, but it overall doesn't really contribute to what the deck is trying to do. If it actually let me draw the card to get Ni-Mizzet triggers then it would likely make the cut.
Rivals of Ixalan Azor's Gateway - It's a really cheap way to loot in a deck that likes to generate draws. Nezahal, Primal Tide - Nifty card that will see play in other decks, but it was quite good here. There are a bunch of ways to discard it, and plenty of extra cards in hand to pitch to reanimate it, so you can get away with never needing to actually cast it. Riverwise Augur - Fits right into what the deck wants and its a Wizard to boot. Storm the Vault - I felt that if this was going to make it into any of my decks, this would be the one. With 17 artifacts already in the deck, 2 more being added, and artifact tokens from Metallurgic Summons, I felt that this was at least possible. It's borderline, but I think that I would need a few more ways to trigger it unflipped (combat damage triggers) to really make it worth while, so I pulled it.
So the final adds/cuts ended up like this:
+1 Chart a Course, -1 Cathartic Reunion - A bit of an upgrade
+1 Primal Amulet, -1 Izzet Boilerworks - I had added two lands last update and decided that was one too many. I wanted to shed my worst ETB tapped land and this ended up being it. It has some good interactions with the cycling lands, allowing me to bounce one of them back to my hand if I had to play it for whatever reason, but overall it was just worse than running the full 7 cycling lands.
+1 Riverwise Augur, -1 Aeon Chronicler - Augur is a tad cheaper to cast straight up, and its much better at generating draws for Niv-Mizzet triggers where Aeon Chronicler is just so much slower in comparison.
+1 Azor's Gateway, -1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - So Ugin is great, but loads more expensive. Gateway seems really neat, has value to the deck flipped or unflipped, and it can impact the game much sooner than Ugin.
I’m also trying to build UR Control sans-combo. I find that I keep needing to gain life to mitigate chip-damage from decks that run things like Blood Artist, but have really few things that can do it in these colors. I see you’re not running any life-gain. Do you ever find you need it?
One more question, have you tried out a similar deck with Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius instead? I just mention it because he doesn’t raise the suspicion of combo nearly as much.
I’m also trying to build UR Control sans-combo. I find that I keep needing to gain life to mitigate chip-damage from decks that run things like Blood Artist, but have really few things that can do it in these colors. I see you’re not running any life-gain. Do you ever find you need it?
Want life gain? No (unless I'm staring at an Alhammaret's Archive on the board). Need life gain? Probably. It's always a struggle to keep alive long enough to get your engine running, but once it is up an running you can gun down any creature that would be problematic. The deck could probably use another removal spell and/or sweeper (like right now, I'm trying to figure out how Firestorm is not in the deck) to help with problematic creatures. I like the removal route rather than the lifegain route to try and survive to the late game.
If you do want to go the lifegain route, something that synergizes with Niv-Mizzet would be ideal but there really isn't anything (a reverse Drogskol Reaver that gained a life for each card drawn wold be perfect). Being old-school, my mind immediately goes to Ivory Tower (or it's younger cousin Venser's Journal). If you run enough creatures for SoWaP, them maybe Umezawa's Jitte would be an option. I actually like the idea of running something like Pristine Talisman in a deck like this that wants it's mana rocks, Angelheart Vial for a deck that wants to draw cards and gain life, or perhaps Aetherflux Reservoir for a deck that likes to cast a flurry of cheap spells. You can also go the full-on defensive route with something like Sun Droplet.
Any creature with zero effective card cost is playable, but I tried to cut everything that wasn't a mana rock, draw spell, or removal. I'd almost rather run Merchant of Secrets or Council of Advisors because they trigger your win-cons.
One more question, have you tried out a similar deck with Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius instead? I just mention it because he doesn’t raise the suspicion of combo nearly as much.
No, but I tried Niv 2.0 in this deck and hated it. It just doesn't fit well with what you are trying to accomplish with the rest of the deck. I actually prefer Ryusei or Keiga for a 5/5 flyer for 6 in this deck, and even those eventually got cut. Anyway, I usually just tell people that I'm running no infinite combos when I reveal Niv-Mizzet, and that is usually fine.
Adeliz, the Cinder Wind: For a deck that only runs 12 creatures plus a Commander, having 8 out of the 13 be Wizards seems like there is a possibility for some a Wizard tribal subtheme. I really like how they pushed Wizards recently, but I'm wondering if this is something that I should be looking for with Grixis or Temur instead. It's at least something to keep in mind.
Jaya Ballard: I like all 3 modes, but I worry about having to up the red mana source count, how I protect her, and whether it is worth tapping out/low to cast this.
Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain: With 17 Artifacts, 1 Planeswalker, 3 Legendary Creatures, and my Commander all triggering this, I think this is well worth a spot.
Memorial to Genius: Entering the battlefield tapped might be problematic, but getting card draw stapled to a land at a slightly better cost than Blighted Cataract seems like a possibility.
Precognition Field: This has a very Future Sight feel to it, which I cut a long time ago. Only costing 4 (and a much easier 4 mana at that) is nice,but the limitation to just Instants and Sorceries is kind of a bummer even though this deck runs 31 of them.
The Mirari Conjecture: I think that this could generate a lot of value, but the whole deck is already geared towards generating a ton of value and this doesn't seem to get me anywhere faster than my other options.
Wizard's Retort: Because I run a Wizard as my Commander and 7 other Wizards, this might be able to come in for something like Spell Crumple.
EDIT:
I decided to do he following:
-1 Mulldrifter: This was a tough cut, but this is often just worse than a Divination since it doesn't have the synergy with my Instant/Sorcery theme.
-1 Sower of Temptation: Another tough cut, but it just doesn't justify the slot.
-1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon: With all the Dragons and Ugin cut from the deck, it made little sense to ave this in the deck anymore. I also felt like I could shave a land with the extra mana artifacts I was putting in.
-1 Memory Jar: I don't get enough advantage out of this to be worth tapping low to cast it. I think I would rather run Wheel of Fortune or Windfall at this point, given that both are less expensive and synergize better with the spellslinger theme.
-1 Tidings, -1 Deep Analysis: In an effort to free up space, I cut my most expensive, Sorcery-speed draw spells.
-1 Fire//Ice: I also decided that this wasn't really cutting it as either a removal spell or a good way to synergize with the rest of the deck, so it needed to go.
+1 Mana Vault, +1 Grim Monolith, +1 Voltaic Key: This gives me some more early plays, gets me to the mid-game quicker, and allows me to have some massive turns.
+1 Paradox Engine: With all the changes, this seemed more and more likely to be something that this deck is willing to tap out/low to put into play. There is a more combo-ish feel to the deck when this is out, but its a type of combo I'm more than happy to actually play because you have to work to win once it hits play.
+1 Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain: By upping the artifact count from 17 to 20 and the number of cards that trigger this going up to 24, this will make a fine addition to the deck.
+1 Windfall: I decided that I wanted a bit of a combo finisher without going overboard, and Windfalling for 20+ cards and Niv-Mizzet out seems like my kind of combo.
+1 Commit // Memory: Even better than Wheel or Windfall in the right circumstances, I'm going to try this out for a spin.
Updated 5/17/2018 (Through Dominaria)
Current Decklist
1x Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
Creatures - 11
1x Snapcaster Mage
1x Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Archaeomancer
1x Glen Elendra Archmage
1x Riverwise Augur
1x Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain
1x Psychosis Crawler
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x The Locust God
Planeswalkers - 1
1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Instants/Soceries - 30
1x Brainstorm
1x Faithless Looting
1x Magmatic Insight
1x Counterspell
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Tormenting Voice
1x Chart a Course
1x Spell Crumple
1x Hinder
1x Dissipate
1x Capsize
1x Compulsive Research
1x Frantic Search
1x Thirst for Knowledge
1x Chaos Warp
1x Nahiri's Wrath
1x Windfall
1x Commit // Memory
1x Dismiss
1x Cryptic Command
1x Careful Consideration
1x Mystic Confluence
1x Dragonlord's Prerogative
1x Time Spiral
1x Treasure Cruise
1x Repeal
1x Comet Storm
1x Rolling Earthquake
1x Bonfire of the Damned
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Metallurgic Summonings
Artifacts - 20
1x Mana Crypt
1x Everflowing Chalice
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Azor's Gateway
1x Voltaic Key
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Vault
1x Grim Monolith
1x Mind Stone
1x Izzet Signet
1x Coalition Relic
1x Worn Powerstone
1x Crucible of Worlds
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Hedron Archive
1x Primal Amulet
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Paradox Egine
1x Alhammarret's Archive
1x Dreamstone Hedron
Lands - 36
1x Volcanic Island
1x Steam Vents
1x Command Tower
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Cascade Bluffs
1x Shivan Reef
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Arid Mesa
1x Polluted Delta
1x Desolate Lighthouse
1x Riptide Laboratory
1x Crucible of the Spirit Dragon
1x Blighted Cataract
1x Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Dust Bowl
1x Temple of the False God
1x Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1x Cephalid Coliseum
1x Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1x Blasted Landscape
1x Forgotten Cave
1x Smoldering Crater
1x Desert of the Fervent
1x Lonely Sandbar
1x Remote Isle
1x Desert of the Mindful
5x Island
3x Mountain
10/19/2015:
+1 Howl of the Horde, -1 Izzet Chronarch: Izzet Cronarch was always a tad too expensive to play and Howl is better CA.
+1 Treasure Cruise, -1 Jace Beleren: Little Jace was good, but always a bit underwhelming and Treasure Cruise was a no-brainer.
+1 Tormenting Voice, -1 Ponder: Ponder was good, but getting the extra draw on the cheap makes Tormenting Voice a better card for this deck.
+1 Crucible of the Spirit Dragon, -1 Thawing Glaciers: Glaciers was always a bit clunky in this deck and Crucible helps ramp and fix mana better for this deck.
+1 Monastery Siege, -1 Mind's Eye: A cheaper alternative to getting additional draws albeit without as much obvious upside.
+1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, -1 Starstorm: A better sweeper to be ramping into
+1 Dragonlord's Prerogative, -1 Opportunity: A nice (however little) upgrade
+1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon, -1 Maze of Ith: Maze has lost its luster a bit in a Post-Primetime world where Urborg is seen less often
+1 Alhammarret's Archive, -1 Staff of Nin: A casualty of deck space more than anything.
+1 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy, -1 Æther Adept: I never found myself really liking Æther Adept, and new Jace is pretty good for this deck.
+1 Magmatic Insight, -1 High Market: The deck was cheapened a bit and added more digging, so shaving a land was due; it made the most sense to cut a colorless land given some of the other adds.
+1 Hedron Archive, -1 Darksteel Ingot: Artifact mana acceleration plus card draw tacked on... 'nuff said.
+1 Blighted Cataract, -1 Spinerock Knoll: Knoll rarely ever triggered and getting a virtual freeroll on some card draw is nice.
3/21/2017:
+1 Mystic Confluence
+1 Nahiri's Wrath
+1 Metallurgic Summonings
+1 Cathartic Reunion
-1 Monastery Siege - not a bad card, but Metallurgic Summonings is so much more impactful.
-1 Electrolyze - there just weren't enough relevant targets for this.
-1 Molten Disaster - cleared space for Nahiri's Wrath
-1 Desperate Ravings - cleared space for Cathartic Reunion plus the random discard never quite sat well.
7/15/2017
+1 The Locust God
+1 Desert of the Fervent
+1 Desert of the Mindful
-1 Keiga, the Tide Star
-1 Ryusei, the Falling Star
-1 Howl of the Horde
1/31/2018:
+1 Chart a Course, -1 Cathartic Reunion - A bit of an upgrade
+1 Primal Amulet, -1 Izzet Boilerworks - I had added two lands last update and decided that was one too many. I wanted to shed my worst ETB tapped land and this ended up being it. It has some good interactions with the cycling lands, allowing me to bounce one of them back to my hand if I had to play it for whatever reason, but overall it was just worse than running the full 7 cycling lands.
+1 Riverwise Augur, -1 Aeon Chronicler - Augur is a tad cheaper to cast straight up, and its much better at generating draws for Niv-Mizzet triggers where Aeon Chronicler is just so much slower in comparison.
+1 Azor's Gateway, -1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - So Ugin is great, but loads more expensive. Gateway seems really neat, has value to the deck flipped or unflipped, and it can impact the game much sooner than Ugin.
5/17/2018:
-1 Mulldrifter: This was a tough cut, but this is often just worse than a Divination since it doesn't have the synergy with my Instant/Sorcery theme.
-1 Sower of Temptation: Another tough cut, but it just doesn't justify the slot.
-1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon: With all the Dragons and Ugin cut from the deck, it made little sense to ave this in the deck anymore. I also felt like I could shave a land with the extra mana artifacts I was putting in.
-1 Memory Jar: I don't get enough advantage out of this to be worth tapping low to cast it. I think I would rather run Wheel of Fortune or Windfall at this point, given that both are less expensive and synergize better with the spellslinger theme.
-1 Tidings, -1 Deep Analysis: In an effort to free up space, I cut my most expensive, Sorcery-speed draw spells.
-1 Fire//Ice: I also decided that this wasn't really cutting it as either a removal spell or a good way to synergize with the rest of the deck, so it needed to go.
+1 Mana Vault, +1 Grim Monolith, +1 Voltaic Key: This gives me some more early plays, gets me to the mid-game quicker, and allows me to have some massive turns.
+1 Paradox Engine: With all the changes, this seemed more and more likely to be something that this deck is willing to tap out/low to put into play. There is a more combo-ish feel to the deck when this is out, but its a type of combo I'm more than happy to actually play because you have to work to win once it hits play.
+1 Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain: By upping the artifact count from 17 to 20 and the number of cards that trigger this going up to 24, this will make a fine addition to the deck.
+1 Windfall: I decided that I wanted a bit of a combo finisher without going overboard, and Windfalling for 20+ cards and Niv-Mizzet out seems like my kind of combo.
+1 Commit // Memory: Even better than Wheel or Windfall in the right circumstances, I'm going to try this out for a spin.
One of the first decks I made when I decided to start playing EDH was Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind. I chose Niv-Mizzet not for his combo potential, but mostly because his colors complimented the BG deck I was making at the same time, I thought he would make a cool general for a Dragon-themed deck, and I wanted to choose something that had some 'build-around-me' potential.
So I picked 10-12 of the coolest Dragons, a bunch of X spells, as many Looters as I could find, some wacky fun stuff, and any spell that said "draw" on it. I thought it was pretty cool and would be fun to play with or against...
Of course I learned fairly quickly that a)Niv-Mizzet has a bad reputation as a 'dirty combo general', and that b) most of card choices were inherently weak (mostly the Dragon theme, the Looters that dies to mass removal, and cute but narrow cards like Goblin Flectomancer, Dracoplasm, Djinn Illuminatus, etc.). I found that trying to convince people I wasn't about to drop Mind Over Matter and kill everyone was not an optimal place to be, but neither was having a deck full of jank.
Anyway, I took the time to try and make every card in the deck really count while maintaining the deck's original intent of not just being an "oops, I win" combo deck. Below is the latest incarnation of that deck.
1x Ni-Mizzet, the Firemind
Creatures - 14
1x Snapcaster Mage
1x Aether Adept
1x Venser, Shaper Savant
1x Solemn Simulacrum
1x Sower of Temptation
1x Archaeomancer
1x Glen Endra Archmage
1x Izzet Cronarch
1x Mulldrifter
1x Pychosis Crawler
1x Aeon Chronicler
1x Consecrated Sphinx
1x Keiga, the Tide Star
1x Ryusei, the Fallen Star
Planeswalkers - 1
1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Instants/Soceries - 29
1x Brainstorm
1x Ponder
1x Faithless Looting
1x Counterspell
1x Spell Crumple
1x Hinder
1x Dissipate
1x Capsize
1x Electrolyze
1x Fire//Ice
1x Compulsive Research
1x Frantic Search
1x Thirst for Knowledge
1x Chaos Warp
1x Dismiss
1x Cryptic Command
1x Careful Consideration
1x Deep Analysis
1x Tidings
1x Opportunity
1x Time Spiral
1x Repeal
1x Comet Storm
1x Starstorm
1x Invoke the Firemind
1x Blue Sun's Zenith
1x Bonfire of the Damned
1x Blasphemous Act
1x Molten Disaster
1x Volition Reins
Artifacts - 16
1x Mana Crypt
1x Everflowing Chalice
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sol Ring
1x Mind Stone
1x Izzet Signet
1x Darksteel Ingot
1x Coalition Relic
1x Worn Powerstone
1x Crucible of Worlds
1x Thran Dynamo
1x Gilded Lotus
1x Memory Jar
1x Mind's Eye
1x Dreamstone Hedron
1x Staff of Nin
Lands - 38
1x Volcanic Island
1x Steam Vents
1x Izzet Boilerworks
1x Command Tower
1x Reflecting Pool
1x Cascade Bluffs
1x Shivan Reef
1x Sulfur Falls
1x Scalding Tarn
1x Arid Mesa
1x Polluted Delta
1x Desolate Lighthouse
1x Riptide Laboratory
1x High Market
1x Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
1x Reliquary Tower
1x Dust Bowl
1x Strip Mine
1x Temple of the False God
1x Thawing Glaciers
1x Minamo, School at Water's Edge
1x Cephalid Coliseum
1x Shinka, the Bloodsoaked Keep
1x Spinerock Knoll
1x Blasted Landscape
1x Forgotten Cave
1x Smoldering Crater
1x Lonely Sandbar
1x Remote Isle
1x Maze of Ith
5x Island
3x Mountain
1x Forbid
1x Remand
1x Train of Thought
1x Desperate Ravings
1x Overwhelming Intellect
1x Concentrate
1x Rolling Earthquake
1x Slice and Dice
1x Vessel of Endless Rest
1x Anvil of Bogardan
1x Fellwar Stone
1x Nivix, Aerie of the Firemind
1x Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
1x Vesuva
1x Academy Ruins
1x Miren, the Moaning Well
1x Arc Slogger
1x Kumano, Master Yamabushi
1x Galvanoth
1x Nucklavee
1x Draining Whelk
1x Control Magic
1x Thought Reflection
1x Word of Seizing
1x Arcanis, the Omnipotent
1x Azami, Lady of Scrolls
1x Tamiyo, the Moon Sage
1x Jace Beleren
Cards I want to Avoid
1x Curiosity
1x Ophidian Eye
1x Mind Over Matter
1x Whell of Fortune
1x Reforge the Soul
1x Winds of Change
1x Windfall
1x Teferi's Puzzle Box
1x Mindmoil
1x Whirlpool Warrior
1x Words of War
1x Words of Wind
1x Bribery
1x Acquire
The deck plays out more along the lines of UR control, with lots of sweepers, card draw spells, and more removal than most Niv-Mizzet decks. The idea is to stall the game and to try and interact with all the other players as much as possible, all the while accumulating mana and cards until you can drop and protect Niv-Mizzet and start killing people.
This latest version still shuns most of the truly busted combos with Niv-Mizzet and a lot of the more annoying cards (like Puzzle Box), but it still runs a ton of cards that have a lot of synergy with the Dragon Wizard and can still dole out damage at an alarming rate.
Anyway, I'm posting this to see if there is anyone else out there who is running Non-Combo versions of Niv-Mizzet, what cards they like to run, and what cards from Return to Ravnica you think might go into the deck. Some of the RtR cards that look really interesting:
Cyclonic Rift 1U
Instant
Return target non-land permanent you don't control it's owner's hand, Overload 6U
Might be a good candidate to replace one of the creature sweepers.
Epic Experiment XUR
Sorcery
Exile the top X cards of your library. For each instant or sorcery with converted mana cost X or less among them, you may cast that card without paying its mana cost. Then put all cards exiled this way that weren't cast into your graveyard.)
Looks pretty nuts for Commander in general, but in any deck that plays sufficient instants/sorceries (which this deck plays a lot of) and can generate a lot of mana (which this deck can also do) this card should be awesome. I don't think its as good as Genesis Wave, but its definitely no slouch.
Goblin Electromancer UR
Creature-Goblin Wizard
Instant and sorcery spells you cast cost less to cast
2/2
Helm of Awakening and Cloud Key both are considerations for the deck, and this is potentially better than either of them. I'm looking forward to seeing how good it is.
Guttersnipe 2R
Creature-Goblin Shaman
Whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, Guttersnipe deals 2 damage to each opponent
2/2
The fact that he damages EACH opponent is huge. I think having a 3rd way to turn card drawing spells into damage (along with Psychosis Crawler and Niv-Mizzet) may be a good thing to consider.
Hypersonic Dragon 3UR
Creature-Dragon
Flying, Haste
You may cast sorcery spells as though they had flash.
4/4
I am going to try this out in place of either Ryusei or Keiga, but I'm not sold that he is going to be worth it in the long run as I don't think I run enough Sorceries
Izzet Charm UR
Instant
Choose one -- Counter target noncreature spell unless its controller pays 2; or Izzet Charm deals 2 damage to target creature; or draw two cards, then discard two cards.
Would replace Fire//Ice I think, and given that its more flexible I'm fairly sure I'm making this swap.
Mercurial Chemister 3UR
Creature-Human Wizard
:symu:, :symtap:: Draw two cards.
:symr:, :symtap:, Discard a card: Mercurial Chemister deals damage to target creature equal to the discarded card's converted mana cost.
2/3
This card is pretty slick whether Niv-Mizzet is in play or not. Great design and one of my favorite cards in the set. I'm definitely finding a place for this.
Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius 2UURR
Legendary Creature - Dragon Wizard
Flying
Whenever Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius deals damage to a player, you may draw a card.
UR: Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius deals 1 damage to target creature or player.
5/5
As awesome as this card is, there are lots of subtle things wrong with it in the context of this deck. The biggest one is that it has to damage a player to draw a card, while the ping ability can hit creatures or players. Anyway, he might just go in for the sake of completeness, but I'm not sure how long he's going to end up in my version of the deck.
Nivix Guildmage 1UR
Creature - Human Wizard
1UR: Draw a card, and then discard a card.
2UR: Copy target instant or sorcery spell you control. You may choose new targets for the copy.
2/2
I ditched all my Looters a while back, and the fact that this costs mana to loot doesn't bode well for my tastes. But not needing to tap is a big bonus, and the second ability to copy spells seems like it pushes this into playability for me.
Thoughtflare 3UR
Instant
Draw four cards, then discard two cards.
I'll need to decide whether this is better than Careful Consideration or Tidings.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Khans of Tarkir
Treasure Cruise: One of the best Ancestral Recall impersonators we have.
Howl of the Horde: This is one of the better copy cards available and the cheap cost makes it worthwhile.
Tormenting Voice: Getting more cheap card draw/filtering in the deck has been a priority.
Cards that didn't make it: Dig Through Time (you don't actually draw the cards), Disdainful Stroke, Dragon-Style Twins, Goblinslide, Master the Way, Mindswipe, Monastery Swiftspear, Swiftwater Cliffs
Fate Reforged
Crucible of the Spirit Dragon: Getting a storage land that helps pay for Niv-Mizzet's complicated mana cost is a nice addition to the deck. I can also use the mana for Ryusei and Keiga.
Monastary Siege: Both modes are useful, but the Khans mode is the default option.
Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: Firing off the ultimate would be ideal, but the Lightning Bolt and Pernicious Deed for colored cards modes are all well worth the 8 mana.
Card that didn't make the cut: Cunning Strike, Enhanced Awareness, Humble Defector, Outpost Siege
Dragons of Tarkir
Dragonlord's Prerogative: Upgrade over Opportunity.
Haven of the Spirit Dragon: Ways to recur a few dragons or Ugin on the off chance it comes up, plus it's reusable with Crucible.
Cards that didn't make the cut: Living Lore, Mystic Meditation, Skywise Teachings, Volcanic Vision
Magic Origins
Alhammarret's Archive: This card is ridiculous once you get things going.
Jace, Vryn's Prodigy: A solid looter that transforms into a Flashback machine.
Magmatic Insight: Another cheap card draw effect that plays well with Crucible.
Cards that didn't make the cut: Abbot of Keral Keep (this one was close; this card is good), Displacement Wave, Embermaw Hellion, Jace's Sanctum, Soulblade Djinn
Battle for Zendikar
Hedron Archive: Double Mind Stone (or 2/3 Dreamstone Hedron, depending on how you look at it) is very welcome in this deck.
Blighted Cataract: Free value if the game goes long.
Cards that didn't make the cut: Ugin's Insight, Brutal Expulsion
I'll update the OP with the new adds (and what I cut to make it all work).
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Commander 2015
Mizzix of the Izmagnus - This card can be ridiculous when it sticks around, but unlike when it is your commander you don't usually have constant access to him once it gets removed. It becomes an overcosted and slow mana rock at that point and it eventually left the list.
Mizzix's Mastery - A ridiculous card one you get to the point of having a full-ish graveyard and 8 mana to overload this, but unless there are still 4+ opponents in the game you usually don't need that many activations to win the game.
Mystic Confluence - A very good card that should be played in almost all blue decks in my opinion.
Oath of the gatewatch
Chandra, Flamecaller - The +0 ability (or is it a -0 ability?) is great for this deck although it does disrupt long-term planning. In the end, the cost-to-benefit ratio is just not quite there.
Endbringer - If I was still running Staff of Nin, this would probably come in to replace it. As it is, it was hard to run this over one of the dragons, but it would really need to come in for a high CMC card to fit.
Jori En, Ruin Diver - Neat little card that deserved a slot in the long run
Wandering Fumarole - A little on the disappointing side. Because I'm running the cycling lands, I was already full on ETB tapped lands so I cut it.
Shadows Over Innistrad
Jace, Unraveler of Secrets - Not much better than little Jace and it has an ultimate that I would never really want to activate.
Trail of Evidence - Another neat little card. Its mana intensive, but it is good at generating extra draws when I need them.
Eldritch Moon
Nahiri's Wrath - Having cards in hand to discard to this is usually not a problem and the mana savings to take care of multiple creatures makes this well worth it.
Conspiracy: Take the Crown
Nothing - I almost wanted to take Expropriate for a ride, but that would be more for the shock value than anything.
Kaladesh
Cathartic Reunion - Another solid, cheap, card draw spell.
Chandra, Torch of Defiance - I think that if I owned more copies, this would end up in this deck.
Dynavolt Tower - The fact that its a single 3 mana investment after which you can get (on average) 1.33 damage per Instant/Sorcery out of it makes it somewhat interesting. It can hit creatures or players which is solid (as opposed to something like Thermo Alchemist). I haven't been running it mostly because I didn't want the distraction of having to keep track of energy counters.
Insidious Will - A solid card with so many options
Metallurgic Summonings - A possible win-con all on its own
Paradoxical Outcome - This card is ridiculous in Vintage, but I think I'd have to rethink some of my other card choices to include this.
Commander 2016
Sadly, nothing...
Aether Revolt
Baral, Chief of Compliance - I already don't run Goblin Electromancer and the loot when I counter something is not really worth it.
Disallow - This at least deserves a mention.
Mechanized Production - Slapping this onto a mana rock is really good, but copying Psychosis Crawler is the big draw to running this. Overall, I'm just not running enough targets for this.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Thank you though, for pointing out Nahiri's Wrath...I am SO putting that in a few of my decks!
EDH decks: 1. RGWMayael's Big BeatsRETIRED!
2. BUWMerieke Ri Berit and the 40 Thieves
3. URNiv's Wheeling and Dealing!
4. BURThe Walking Dead
5. GWSisay's Legends of Tomorrow
6. RWBRise of Markov
7. GElvez and stuffz(W)
8. RCrush your enemies(W)
9. BSign right here...(W)
In order to do this, I decided to take out Ryusei, the Falling Star, Keiga, the Tide Star, and Howl of the Horde. They were some of the least efficient cards in the deck and ones that I don't think I'll miss.
Champion of Wits was a consideration, but in the end it didn't seem much better than anything else I would take out for it.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Commander 2017
Izzet Chemister - This was in the deck for a while, but I cut it for being overall ineffective and slow compared to the other things that the deck was doing.
Ixalan
Chart a Course - After trying this out, I decided I liked it better than Cathartic Reunion
Overflowing Insight - Not a bad card, but overall the deck just didn't need a 7-drop especially at Sorcery Speed.
Primal Amulet - Great card that ups the artifact count and provides some late game oomph for a very reasonable cost.
Search for Azcanta - I think that this is a fine card, but it overall doesn't really contribute to what the deck is trying to do. If it actually let me draw the card to get Ni-Mizzet triggers then it would likely make the cut.
Rivals of Ixalan
Azor's Gateway - It's a really cheap way to loot in a deck that likes to generate draws.
Nezahal, Primal Tide - Nifty card that will see play in other decks, but it was quite good here. There are a bunch of ways to discard it, and plenty of extra cards in hand to pitch to reanimate it, so you can get away with never needing to actually cast it.
Riverwise Augur - Fits right into what the deck wants and its a Wizard to boot.
Storm the Vault - I felt that if this was going to make it into any of my decks, this would be the one. With 17 artifacts already in the deck, 2 more being added, and artifact tokens from Metallurgic Summons, I felt that this was at least possible. It's borderline, but I think that I would need a few more ways to trigger it unflipped (combat damage triggers) to really make it worth while, so I pulled it.
So the final adds/cuts ended up like this:
+1 Chart a Course, -1 Cathartic Reunion - A bit of an upgrade
+1 Primal Amulet, -1 Izzet Boilerworks - I had added two lands last update and decided that was one too many. I wanted to shed my worst ETB tapped land and this ended up being it. It has some good interactions with the cycling lands, allowing me to bounce one of them back to my hand if I had to play it for whatever reason, but overall it was just worse than running the full 7 cycling lands.
+1 Riverwise Augur, -1 Aeon Chronicler - Augur is a tad cheaper to cast straight up, and its much better at generating draws for Niv-Mizzet triggers where Aeon Chronicler is just so much slower in comparison.
+1 Azor's Gateway, -1 Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - So Ugin is great, but loads more expensive. Gateway seems really neat, has value to the deck flipped or unflipped, and it can impact the game much sooner than Ugin.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Along those lines, I have been running things like Riverwise Augur and then a few equips like Sword of War and Peace. I see that you have augur in your deck. Any thoughts on Sea Gate Oracle, or Pilgrim’s Eye? Also, a reason that Trinket Mage doesn’t show up too?
One more question, have you tried out a similar deck with Niv-Mizzet, Dracogenius instead? I just mention it because he doesn’t raise the suspicion of combo nearly as much.
Want life gain? No (unless I'm staring at an Alhammaret's Archive on the board). Need life gain? Probably. It's always a struggle to keep alive long enough to get your engine running, but once it is up an running you can gun down any creature that would be problematic. The deck could probably use another removal spell and/or sweeper (like right now, I'm trying to figure out how Firestorm is not in the deck) to help with problematic creatures. I like the removal route rather than the lifegain route to try and survive to the late game.
If you do want to go the lifegain route, something that synergizes with Niv-Mizzet would be ideal but there really isn't anything (a reverse Drogskol Reaver that gained a life for each card drawn wold be perfect). Being old-school, my mind immediately goes to Ivory Tower (or it's younger cousin Venser's Journal). If you run enough creatures for SoWaP, them maybe Umezawa's Jitte would be an option. I actually like the idea of running something like Pristine Talisman in a deck like this that wants it's mana rocks, Angelheart Vial for a deck that wants to draw cards and gain life, or perhaps Aetherflux Reservoir for a deck that likes to cast a flurry of cheap spells. You can also go the full-on defensive route with something like Sun Droplet.
Any creature with zero effective card cost is playable, but I tried to cut everything that wasn't a mana rock, draw spell, or removal. I'd almost rather run Merchant of Secrets or Council of Advisors because they trigger your win-cons.
No, but I tried Niv 2.0 in this deck and hated it. It just doesn't fit well with what you are trying to accomplish with the rest of the deck. I actually prefer Ryusei or Keiga for a 5/5 flyer for 6 in this deck, and even those eventually got cut. Anyway, I usually just tell people that I'm running no infinite combos when I reveal Niv-Mizzet, and that is usually fine.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections
Adeliz, the Cinder Wind: For a deck that only runs 12 creatures plus a Commander, having 8 out of the 13 be Wizards seems like there is a possibility for some a Wizard tribal subtheme. I really like how they pushed Wizards recently, but I'm wondering if this is something that I should be looking for with Grixis or Temur instead. It's at least something to keep in mind.
Blink of an Eye: I alrady don't run Into the Roil so this is unlikely to make the cut.
Jaya Ballard: I like all 3 modes, but I worry about having to up the red mana source count, how I protect her, and whether it is worth tapping out/low to cast this.
Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain: With 17 Artifacts, 1 Planeswalker, 3 Legendary Creatures, and my Commander all triggering this, I think this is well worth a spot.
Memorial to Genius: Entering the battlefield tapped might be problematic, but getting card draw stapled to a land at a slightly better cost than Blighted Cataract seems like a possibility.
Naru Meha, Master Wizard: This seems like a good deal at one more mana than Howl of the Horde for a similar effect plus leaving a 3/3 Wizard Lord behind.
Precognition Field: This has a very Future Sight feel to it, which I cut a long time ago. Only costing 4 (and a much easier 4 mana at that) is nice,but the limitation to just Instants and Sorceries is kind of a bummer even though this deck runs 31 of them.
The Mirari Conjecture: I think that this could generate a lot of value, but the whole deck is already geared towards generating a ton of value and this doesn't seem to get me anywhere faster than my other options.
Wizard's Retort: Because I run a Wizard as my Commander and 7 other Wizards, this might be able to come in for something like Spell Crumple.
EDIT:
I decided to do he following:
-1 Mulldrifter: This was a tough cut, but this is often just worse than a Divination since it doesn't have the synergy with my Instant/Sorcery theme.
-1 Sower of Temptation: Another tough cut, but it just doesn't justify the slot.
-1 Haven of the Spirit Dragon: With all the Dragons and Ugin cut from the deck, it made little sense to ave this in the deck anymore. I also felt like I could shave a land with the extra mana artifacts I was putting in.
-1 Memory Jar: I don't get enough advantage out of this to be worth tapping low to cast it. I think I would rather run Wheel of Fortune or Windfall at this point, given that both are less expensive and synergize better with the spellslinger theme.
-1 Tidings, -1 Deep Analysis: In an effort to free up space, I cut my most expensive, Sorcery-speed draw spells.
-1 Fire//Ice: I also decided that this wasn't really cutting it as either a removal spell or a good way to synergize with the rest of the deck, so it needed to go.
+1 Mana Vault, +1 Grim Monolith, +1 Voltaic Key: This gives me some more early plays, gets me to the mid-game quicker, and allows me to have some massive turns.
+1 Paradox Engine: With all the changes, this seemed more and more likely to be something that this deck is willing to tap out/low to put into play. There is a more combo-ish feel to the deck when this is out, but its a type of combo I'm more than happy to actually play because you have to work to win once it hits play.
+1 Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain: By upping the artifact count from 17 to 20 and the number of cards that trigger this going up to 24, this will make a fine addition to the deck.
+1 Windfall: I decided that I wanted a bit of a combo finisher without going overboard, and Windfalling for 20+ cards and Niv-Mizzet out seems like my kind of combo.
+1 Commit // Memory: Even better than Wheel or Windfall in the right circumstances, I'm going to try this out for a spin.
Jalira, Master Polymorphist | Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder | Bosh, Iron Golem | Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Brago, King Eternal | Oona, Queen of the Fae | Wort, Boggart Auntie | Wort, the Raidmother
Captain Sisay | Rhys, the Redeemed | Trostani, Selesnya's Voice | Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
Gisela, Blade of Goldnight | Obzedat, Ghost Council | Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind | Vorel of the Hull Clade
Uril, the Miststalker | Prossh, Skyraider of Kher | Nicol Bolas | Progenitus
Ghave, Guru of Spores | Zedruu the Greathearted | Damia, Sage of Stone | Riku of Two Reflections