wow I was just checking out mtgtop8 and there was only one major commander tournament in recent weeks, with 233 players, and Urza placed 6 times in the top 8! And only 2 of those decks had paradox engine in it.
Ambassador laquaitis is easier with infinite mana.
Are we really running mill now?
Well for me the kill card is Urza, once I get infinite mana. And I'll keep capsize in there after all. Can I pay the buyback cost on capsize if I play it using Urza's ability? If not I'll use narset's reversal to put it in my hand. But the painter/grindstone option is just too sexy not to include it. Plus I ordered inventions versions of them today, which required me checking out 30+ online stores to find those 2 cards. And they cost about triple what they did yesterday.
Losing paradox doesn't effect my Urza deck much at all. Sure it worked great with isochron, and capsize sometimes, but that's about it. You could pretty much slot in painter's servant and grindstone in their place and call it a day.
On a sidenote, I searched 30+ online mtg stores before I finally found an inventions grindstone and servant. Can't wait for those to get here. They both look pretty slick.
Personally I find blasting station too janky and mystic forge not good enough.
There are some oddball cards that have proven their worth to me though:
Arcum's astrolabe - seriously every Urza deck should run this. For one mana it thins your deck, draws a card, fixes mana, and ramps for urza. mycosynth wellspring and ichor wellspring - the deck really gets going after Urza hits the board but getting enough mana to cast him can be a problem. These help with that, they add ramp once you cast him, and they add more value when you transmute artifact or reshape them for something later on. Howling mine - You obviously won't cast this until you already have Urza in play. I love how you can turn off stax pieces but you have to leave them untapped to work. Howling mine is the opposite - it's the first thing you tap for mana on your turn and nobody benefits from it but you.
I haven't slotted him in yet and I'm not sure I'm going to. A one-sided null rod is decent but his top ability isn't very useful and in casual multiplayer his bottom ability may as well not exist. It costs 4 and Urza can't tap it for mana so it doesn't seem worth it to me.
Arcum is redundant and slow.
Shackles seems redundant and worse than Legacy's Allure
Having more than one counterspell is redundant too. And don't forget to cut sol ring, mox opal, etc....because they're redundant. As you can see, calling something redundant is not a valid argument.
Arcum has been a star in my urza deck. He'll cheat in paradox at instant speed unless he's dealt with, and any card that has to be dealt with is a good card.
Not sure which is better between legacy's allure and shackles. But if there's a creature shutting you down or threatening to combo off, there's plenty of cards that will tutor for shackles and maybe one or two that will fetch the allure. And even if I do find the allure I'll probably have to wait a while before I can use it.
Hey has anyone playtested howling mine in this deck? I find the interaction between it an Urza rather amusing.
I didn't know that Storage Matrix was a card, so that's why it hasn't been considered. I think it has some really cool applications though, so I think you could easily slot it in, particularly since it hits all the mana generating permanents most commonly played in a cEDH game.
Yeah, still trying to find room for Unwinding Clock. Not sure what I should cut, although Skyship Weatherlight is a likely candidate, even as sad of a flavor loss that is.
I'd rather play Spell Pierce or Flusterstorm over Essence Flux, if you're trying to protect Urza. They have a larger range of uses than simply protecting Urza from spot removal effects.
In playtesting I love storage matrix, I have mixed feelings about unwinding clock and might cut it, and I included essence flux and voyager staff because Urza creates another creature token as he re-enters the battlefield which adds mana and aggro creatures. I love having an aggro option in my combo decks. It's fun to smash face with big creatures because my opponents used up their removal on combo pieces.
I don't use your 2 win condition cards - blue sun's zenith isn't bad but the reservoir is useless imo. As soon as you have infinite mana and can play your entire deck, your opponents will shuffle up and get ready for the next game. If they didn't, I'd be happy to capsize all their stuff as well as Urza, recasting him over and over to create a million million/million creature tokens and then I'll see if my opponents would like to keep playing.
This deck looks like everything I'd ever want. Great flavor (playing Urza is super cool), and a great mix of stax, combo, and aggro all rolled into one.
What do you guys think of mycosynth wellspring as a ramp spell? Paying 2 colorless for 2 blue mana is a pretty sweet deal. Ichor wellspring isn't terrible in this deck either.
Lots of love in here for winter orb, static orb and trinisphere but why is there no love for storage matrix? Plus it gives more reason to put in unwinding clock, although I think it should be in there already.
Note: Urza + deadeye navigator essentially equals= U You can't target Urza, plus I'm putting a big artifact creature token into play. Essence flux is a nice cheap spell that protects urza and creates a token as well.
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Admittedly, its a different format with a different banlist and life total, but the decklists are still worth checking out.
On a sidenote, I searched 30+ online mtg stores before I finally found an inventions grindstone and servant. Can't wait for those to get here. They both look pretty slick.
There are some oddball cards that have proven their worth to me though:
Arcum's astrolabe - seriously every Urza deck should run this. For one mana it thins your deck, draws a card, fixes mana, and ramps for urza.
mycosynth wellspring and ichor wellspring - the deck really gets going after Urza hits the board but getting enough mana to cast him can be a problem. These help with that, they add ramp once you cast him, and they add more value when you transmute artifact or reshape them for something later on.
Howling mine - You obviously won't cast this until you already have Urza in play. I love how you can turn off stax pieces but you have to leave them untapped to work. Howling mine is the opposite - it's the first thing you tap for mana on your turn and nobody benefits from it but you.
I haven't slotted him in yet and I'm not sure I'm going to. A one-sided null rod is decent but his top ability isn't very useful and in casual multiplayer his bottom ability may as well not exist. It costs 4 and Urza can't tap it for mana so it doesn't seem worth it to me.
Arcum has been a star in my urza deck. He'll cheat in paradox at instant speed unless he's dealt with, and any card that has to be dealt with is a good card.
Not sure which is better between legacy's allure and shackles. But if there's a creature shutting you down or threatening to combo off, there's plenty of cards that will tutor for shackles and maybe one or two that will fetch the allure. And even if I do find the allure I'll probably have to wait a while before I can use it.
Hey has anyone playtested howling mine in this deck? I find the interaction between it an Urza rather amusing.
In playtesting I love storage matrix, I have mixed feelings about unwinding clock and might cut it, and I included essence flux and voyager staff because Urza creates another creature token as he re-enters the battlefield which adds mana and aggro creatures. I love having an aggro option in my combo decks. It's fun to smash face with big creatures because my opponents used up their removal on combo pieces.
I don't use your 2 win condition cards - blue sun's zenith isn't bad but the reservoir is useless imo. As soon as you have infinite mana and can play your entire deck, your opponents will shuffle up and get ready for the next game. If they didn't, I'd be happy to capsize all their stuff as well as Urza, recasting him over and over to create a million million/million creature tokens and then I'll see if my opponents would like to keep playing.
What do you guys think of mycosynth wellspring as a ramp spell? Paying 2 colorless for 2 blue mana is a pretty sweet deal. Ichor wellspring isn't terrible in this deck either.
Lots of love in here for winter orb, static orb and trinisphere but why is there no love for storage matrix? Plus it gives more reason to put in unwinding clock, although I think it should be in there already.
Note: Urza + deadeye navigator essentially equals= U You can't target Urza, plus I'm putting a big artifact creature token into play.
Essence flux is a nice cheap spell that protects urza and creates a token as well.