Hi folks! The spoiling of The Locust God earlier today is very exciting news, as we're getting perhaps the most powerful Izzet commmander ever printed.... one which, in many ways, is a clear upgrade from the long-loved Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind. As the keeper for one of our Niv-Mizzet primers here at MTG Salvation I think it's only logical to test The Locust God to see how it compares.
Keep an eye out on this thread as I'll report back on my thoughts and whether I might want to retire our dear friend Niv-Mizzet in favor of some shiny new tech, or stick with our old friend! Mainly I plan to use this thread as a sandbox for thoughts and ideas in the coming weeks as I play and test various things, but advice and discussion is of course welcomed and appreciated!
My current Niv-Mizzet build is highly tuned and runs quite well without needing access to the commander. The below list is very close to that, but with a few key tweaks. The differences here hinge on the fact that The Locust God is more resilient to removal and can also act as a great source of mana generation. So, I've included some of the very best of that tech here - but not too much, since at 6 cmc, the majority of the game will be played without our commander on the battlefield.
Added:
+1 Anger of the Gods - A solid hoser to Edric, Yisan, and the like. I worry heavily about the RR cost, however...
+1 Chrome Mox - I've been wanting to test this one for a while and finally feel we have the card advantage to support it without the drawback being too detrimental
+1 Curse of the Swine - Direct swap of one answer for another - out with a counterspell, in with perhaps the best creature removal in blue. Although our clock is fast and counterspells are aplenty, key problematic permanents will simply get through.
+1 Dig Through Time - Adding some Delve to see how I like it.
+1 Dream Halls - It's simply too good to be without. The combo potential enabled here (specifically, circumventing colored costs) is the best you can get for the cost. People think Mana Echoes is cool, but in a list with such severe color requirements, Dream Halls is the real combo king.
+1 Evacuation - One additional trick for dealing with hasty / swarming board positions.
+1 Imprisoned in the Moon - See description for Curse of the Swine; this card is probably the best single-target removal blue has for Commander (and, deals with indestructible, etc)
+2 Island
+1 Isochron Scepter - Yes, it's time.
+1 Mox Diamond
+1 Omniscience - See "Dream Halls" entry above
+1 Treasure Cruise - See "Dig Through Time" above
+1 Vandalblast - In my playgroup, reliance on artifacts for stax, mana production, and/or combo has increased recently, and this is a welcome inclusion.
Removed:
-1 Fabricate - At instant speed this would be close to auto-include, but at sorcery speed it's just a little too slow and expensive.
-1 Flusterstorm - I've removed a few counterspells in favor of more On-The-Battlefield removal
-1 Mana Echoes - Yes, the combo potential with The Locust God is definitely there. But, what does this actually offer us? This deck is already playing a number of cost-reducers, so our greatest mana-cost challenges are colors, not CMC values. Early game, Mana Echoes offers nothing on its own; and when we are about to win, it has an even bigger flaw - even when paired with Locust God, you still need a third card to make it truly "go off"! It looks great from a distance, but IMO the upside is too narrow (no colors) and the fact it still requires additional setup means it doesn't provide a fast and consistent win.
-1 Mindbreak Trap
-1 Monastery Siege
-1 Overwhelming Denial
-1 Pact of Negation
-1 Star Compass
-1 Stifle
-1 Strip Mine - Together with Wasteland, these just weren't needed enough to justify the lack of color production. Yes, producing colors is that important for us. There are no major land-reliant combos in my playgroup currently; or at least, none that aren't solved in other, fairly straightforward ways.
-1 Supreme Will
-1 Trickbind
-1 Turnabout
-1 Wasteland
Creation of The Locust God (AKA swaps from original Niv-Mizzet list)
My YouTube Channel: The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
Death by dragons are ok but just not unique enough. Death by hasty hoppers is funny.
I am thinking the strategy is control, mana rocks, infinite mana, big burn or something.
MTGS Wikia Article about "New World Order"
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
PSA to everyone who keeps forgetting about the Reserved List:
You're on a website dedicated to talking about MtG. You're only a few keystrokes away from finding out what cards are on the Reserved List. You're also only a few keystrokes away from finding out why some cards on the Reserved List got foil printings in FtV, as Judge promos, or whatnot, as well as why that won't happen again. Stop doing this.
I like the god but I feel it's too all in on the god. Either you build around it or don't play at all. I wish there was a way to make this deck and not rely on The Locust God that much.
I don't see a way to break Faces of the Past that it would be an auto include in every version of the locus god deck but here's a nifty combo I thought of just now. Faces of the Past + Sac outlet of choice + Opposition + some amount of insect tokens. Tap down your opponent's lands, sac a token which prompts the Faces of the Past to untap your insects and repeat until you run out of insects to sac or you've tapped down every land your opponent's control. Then on your turn you land a Winter Orb and make your opponents cry. But it's kind of makes it a win more card at that point and you could just use Paradox Engine + random instant spell to kind of do the same thing without losing a token to a sac outlet to trigger the Faces.
I have a deck built around memnarch and it's the feared boogie man of north Dallas. His ability being a built in, that does note require tapping, is why we devote to the commander. You don't play him till you cane win. Same goes for the locust god.
I am surprised at how little I see Grand Architect in these lists. He goes infinite with a handful of cards already being run in the deck and at worst pumps all your locusts/general.
Hi folks, sorry for the slow updates - our playgroup has been largely out-of-town this summer (and I haven't gotten to play much in the last 1.5 months. At any rate, here are the current changes I've made:
Added:
+1 Anger of the Gods - A solid hoser to Edric, Yisan, and the like. I worry heavily about the RR cost, however...
+1 Chrome Mox - I've been wanting to test this one for a while and finally feel we have the card advantage to support it without the drawback being too detrimental
+1 Curse of the Swine - Direct swap of one answer for another - out with a counterspell, in with perhaps the best creature removal in blue. Although our clock is fast and counterspells are aplenty, key problematic permanents will simply get through.
+1 Dig Through Time - Adding some Delve to see how I like it.
+1 Dream Halls - It's simply too good to be without. The combo potential enabled here (specifically, circumventing colored costs) is the best you can get for the cost. People think Mana Echoes is cool, but in a list with such severe color requirements, Dream Halls is the real combo king.
+1 Evacuation - One additional trick for dealing with hasty / swarming board positions.
+1 Imprisoned in the Moon - See description for Curse of the Swine; this card is probably the best single-target removal blue has for Commander (and, deals with indestructible, etc)
+2 Island
+1 Isochron Scepter - Yes, it's time.
+1 Mox Diamond
+1 Omniscience - See "Dream Halls" entry above
+1 Treasure Cruise - See "Dig Through Time" above
+1 Vandalblast - In my playgroup, reliance on artifacts for stax, mana production, and/or combo has increased recently, and this is a welcome inclusion.
Removed:
-1 Fabricate - At instant speed this would be close to auto-include, but at sorcery speed it's just a little too slow and expensive.
-1 Flusterstorm - I've removed a few counterspells in favor of more On-The-Battlefield removal
-1 Mana Echoes - Yes, the combo potential with The Locust God is definitely there. But, what does this actually offer us? This deck is already playing a number of cost-reducers, so our greatest mana-cost challenges are colors, not CMC values. Early game, Mana Echoes offers nothing on its own; and when we are about to win, it has an even bigger flaw - even when paired with Locust God, you still need a third card to make it truly "go off"! It looks great from a distance, but IMO the upside is too narrow (no colors) and the fact it still requires additional setup means it doesn't provide a fast and consistent win.
-1 Mindbreak Trap
-1 Monastery Siege
-1 Overwhelming Denial
-1 Pact of Negation
-1 Star Compass
-1 Stifle
-1 Strip Mine - Together with Wasteland, these just weren't needed enough to justify the lack of color production. Yes, producing colors is that important for us. There are no major land-reliant combos in my playgroup currently; or at least, none that aren't solved in other, fairly straightforward ways.
-1 Supreme Will
-1 Trickbind
-1 Turnabout
-1 Wasteland
Keep an eye out on this thread as I'll report back on my thoughts and whether I might want to retire our dear friend Niv-Mizzet in favor of some shiny new tech, or stick with our old friend! Mainly I plan to use this thread as a sandbox for thoughts and ideas in the coming weeks as I play and test various things, but advice and discussion is of course welcomed and appreciated!
My current Niv-Mizzet build is highly tuned and runs quite well without needing access to the commander. The below list is very close to that, but with a few key tweaks. The differences here hinge on the fact that The Locust God is more resilient to removal and can also act as a great source of mana generation. So, I've included some of the very best of that tech here - but not too much, since at 6 cmc, the majority of the game will be played without our commander on the battlefield.
1 The Locust God
CREATURES
1 Baral, Chief of Compliance
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Curious Homunculus
1 Goblin Electromancer
1 Mizzix of the Izmagnus
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Whirlpool Warrior
INSTANTS
1 Arcane Denial
1 Brainstorm
1 Counterspell
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Delay
1 Dig Through Time
1 Disallow
1 Dream Fracture
1 Evacuation
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Force of Will
1 Frantic Search
1 High Tide
1 Impulse
1 Intuition
1 Mana Drain
1 Mystic Confluence
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Negate
1 Remand
1 Swan Song
1 Tolarian Winds
1 Whir of Invention
1 Anger of the Gods
1 Compulsive Research
1 Curse of the Swine
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Personal Tutor
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Serum Visions
1 Time Reversal
1 Time Spiral
1 Timetwister
1 Treasure Cruise
1 Vandalblast
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Winds of Change
ARTIFACTS
1 Alhammarret's Archive
1 Ashnod's Altar
1 Chrome Mox
1 Grim Monolith
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Izzet Signet
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Diamond
1 Phyrexian Altar
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sapphire Medallion
1 Skullclamp
1 Sol Ring
1 As Foretold
1 Dream Halls
1 Imprisoned in the Moon
1 Jace's Sanctum
1 Mystic Remora
1 Omniscience
1 Rhystic Study
1 Shared Animosity
NONNBASIC LANDS
1 Ancient Tomb
1 Arid Mesa
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Command Tower
1 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Polluted Delta
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Volcanic Island
1 Wooded Foothills
BASIC LANDS
18 Island
2 Mountain
Cards I'd like to break but haven't found a way to yet - post up your recommendations!
Changelog:
2017-Aug-27
Added:
+1 Anger of the Gods - A solid hoser to Edric, Yisan, and the like. I worry heavily about the RR cost, however...
+1 Chrome Mox - I've been wanting to test this one for a while and finally feel we have the card advantage to support it without the drawback being too detrimental
+1 Curse of the Swine - Direct swap of one answer for another - out with a counterspell, in with perhaps the best creature removal in blue. Although our clock is fast and counterspells are aplenty, key problematic permanents will simply get through.
+1 Dig Through Time - Adding some Delve to see how I like it.
+1 Dream Halls - It's simply too good to be without. The combo potential enabled here (specifically, circumventing colored costs) is the best you can get for the cost. People think Mana Echoes is cool, but in a list with such severe color requirements, Dream Halls is the real combo king.
+1 Evacuation - One additional trick for dealing with hasty / swarming board positions.
+1 Imprisoned in the Moon - See description for Curse of the Swine; this card is probably the best single-target removal blue has for Commander (and, deals with indestructible, etc)
+2 Island
+1 Isochron Scepter - Yes, it's time.
+1 Mox Diamond
+1 Omniscience - See "Dream Halls" entry above
+1 Treasure Cruise - See "Dig Through Time" above
+1 Vandalblast - In my playgroup, reliance on artifacts for stax, mana production, and/or combo has increased recently, and this is a welcome inclusion.
Removed:
-1 Fabricate - At instant speed this would be close to auto-include, but at sorcery speed it's just a little too slow and expensive.
-1 Flusterstorm - I've removed a few counterspells in favor of more On-The-Battlefield removal
-1 Mana Echoes - Yes, the combo potential with The Locust God is definitely there. But, what does this actually offer us? This deck is already playing a number of cost-reducers, so our greatest mana-cost challenges are colors, not CMC values. Early game, Mana Echoes offers nothing on its own; and when we are about to win, it has an even bigger flaw - even when paired with Locust God, you still need a third card to make it truly "go off"! It looks great from a distance, but IMO the upside is too narrow (no colors) and the fact it still requires additional setup means it doesn't provide a fast and consistent win.
-1 Mindbreak Trap
-1 Monastery Siege
-1 Overwhelming Denial
-1 Pact of Negation
-1 Star Compass
-1 Stifle
-1 Strip Mine - Together with Wasteland, these just weren't needed enough to justify the lack of color production. Yes, producing colors is that important for us. There are no major land-reliant combos in my playgroup currently; or at least, none that aren't solved in other, fairly straightforward ways.
-1 Supreme Will
-1 Trickbind
-1 Turnabout
-1 Wasteland
+1 The Locust God
+1 Ashnod's Altar
+1 Fabricate
+1 Grim Monolith
+1 Mana Echoes
+1 Phyrexian Altar
+1 Shared Animosity
+1 Skullclamp
+1 Whir of Invention
-1 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
-1 Dack Fayden
-1 Dissolve
-1 Dream Halls
-1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-1 Omniscience
-1 Overwhelming Denial
-1 Temporal Manipulation
-1 Time Warp
UR [PRIMER] Flash of the Firemind (Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind) RU
BG Death and Staxes: FireStorm4056's Competitive Meren Stax List GB
W Avacyn Angel of Hope W
R Akroma, Angel of (Your Opponent's) Fury R
R 99-Mountain Ashling R
Multiplayer Decks- Memnarch - Animar, Soul of Elements - Zur, the Enchanter - Atraxa, Praetors' Voice - Food Chain Tazri - Teysa Karlov
Modern BUMill and Bant Spirits.
Thank you Xenphire for the signature!
Yeah, but the dragons don't have haste
BGU [Primer] Sidisi, Brood Tyrant BGU | BG [Primer] Mazirek, Kraul Death Priest BG | G [Primer] Polukranos, World Eater G
My YouTube Channel:
The Commander Tavern - a channel I just started where I'll post deck techs and gameplays. Please support by checking it out. Maybe you'll like its content and subscribe! Thanks!
I am thinking the strategy is control, mana rocks, infinite mana, big burn or something.
Multiplayer Decks- Memnarch - Animar, Soul of Elements - Zur, the Enchanter - Atraxa, Praetors' Voice - Food Chain Tazri - Teysa Karlov
Modern BUMill and Bant Spirits.
Thank you Xenphire for the signature!
Every time I read a comment about "Well if this card had card draw/trample/haste/indestructible/hexproof/life gain...", I think "You're missing the point." They're armchair developer comments that fail to take into account the card's role in the greater Limited and Standard environment. No, it may not be as good as whatever card you're comparing it to. There's a reason for that. Not every burn spell is Lightning Bolt, nor does it need to be or should be.
I don't see a way to break Faces of the Past that it would be an auto include in every version of the locus god deck but here's a nifty combo I thought of just now. Faces of the Past + Sac outlet of choice + Opposition + some amount of insect tokens. Tap down your opponent's lands, sac a token which prompts the Faces of the Past to untap your insects and repeat until you run out of insects to sac or you've tapped down every land your opponent's control. Then on your turn you land a Winter Orb and make your opponents cry. But it's kind of makes it a win more card at that point and you could just use Paradox Engine + random instant spell to kind of do the same thing without losing a token to a sac outlet to trigger the Faces.
Multiplayer Decks- Memnarch - Animar, Soul of Elements - Zur, the Enchanter - Atraxa, Praetors' Voice - Food Chain Tazri - Teysa Karlov
Modern BUMill and Bant Spirits.
Thank you Xenphire for the signature!
Added:
+1 Anger of the Gods - A solid hoser to Edric, Yisan, and the like. I worry heavily about the RR cost, however...
+1 Chrome Mox - I've been wanting to test this one for a while and finally feel we have the card advantage to support it without the drawback being too detrimental
+1 Curse of the Swine - Direct swap of one answer for another - out with a counterspell, in with perhaps the best creature removal in blue. Although our clock is fast and counterspells are aplenty, key problematic permanents will simply get through.
+1 Dig Through Time - Adding some Delve to see how I like it.
+1 Dream Halls - It's simply too good to be without. The combo potential enabled here (specifically, circumventing colored costs) is the best you can get for the cost. People think Mana Echoes is cool, but in a list with such severe color requirements, Dream Halls is the real combo king.
+1 Evacuation - One additional trick for dealing with hasty / swarming board positions.
+1 Imprisoned in the Moon - See description for Curse of the Swine; this card is probably the best single-target removal blue has for Commander (and, deals with indestructible, etc)
+2 Island
+1 Isochron Scepter - Yes, it's time.
+1 Mox Diamond
+1 Omniscience - See "Dream Halls" entry above
+1 Treasure Cruise - See "Dig Through Time" above
+1 Vandalblast - In my playgroup, reliance on artifacts for stax, mana production, and/or combo has increased recently, and this is a welcome inclusion.
Removed:
-1 Fabricate - At instant speed this would be close to auto-include, but at sorcery speed it's just a little too slow and expensive.
-1 Flusterstorm - I've removed a few counterspells in favor of more On-The-Battlefield removal
-1 Mana Echoes - Yes, the combo potential with The Locust God is definitely there. But, what does this actually offer us? This deck is already playing a number of cost-reducers, so our greatest mana-cost challenges are colors, not CMC values. Early game, Mana Echoes offers nothing on its own; and when we are about to win, it has an even bigger flaw - even when paired with Locust God, you still need a third card to make it truly "go off"! It looks great from a distance, but IMO the upside is too narrow (no colors) and the fact it still requires additional setup means it doesn't provide a fast and consistent win.
-1 Mindbreak Trap
-1 Monastery Siege
-1 Overwhelming Denial
-1 Pact of Negation
-1 Star Compass
-1 Stifle
-1 Strip Mine - Together with Wasteland, these just weren't needed enough to justify the lack of color production. Yes, producing colors is that important for us. There are no major land-reliant combos in my playgroup currently; or at least, none that aren't solved in other, fairly straightforward ways.
-1 Supreme Will
-1 Trickbind
-1 Turnabout
-1 Wasteland
UR [PRIMER] Flash of the Firemind (Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind) RU
BG Death and Staxes: FireStorm4056's Competitive Meren Stax List GB
W Avacyn Angel of Hope W
R Akroma, Angel of (Your Opponent's) Fury R
R 99-Mountain Ashling R