When I first saw Niv-Mizzet Reborn, I was fairly underwhelmed. While the legend could potentially “draw” a decent number of cards, it is a mythic WUBRG legend that acts as a generic 6/6 flyer after it ETBs. When I realized that the card filtering is an ETB effect, however, I got thinking. While blinking is normally the job of Azorius, what if a 5-color deck was built to spam that ETB as frequently as possible? A deck with equal guild representation to maximize this card advantage engine? A deck that can reasonably dig 10 cards deep to grab the next engine pieces with each trigger…
Out of that thought process came Niv-Mizzet: Five-Color Excavator, the deck that never stops digging.
To be completely fair, this is NOT a competitive deck. This derpy “toolbox” list run every possible tool to spam Niv’s etb as many times as possible. From flickering to clones to self-bounce and reanimation, we are taking every road. The fact that we are running cards like Horned Kavu, Lava Zombie, and Cauldron Haze shows the lengths that we are willing to go to keep the gravy train going.
Thankfully, we aren’t exactly a one-trick pony. All of those tricks that we are using on Niv-Mizzet happen to work with quite a few other ETB creatures in our library… and we have a random infinite combo in the form of Aurelia + Brago that you might stumble across… and running 5-color goodstuff allows us to use a number of 1-card engines like The Scarab God and Assemble the Legion. While this deck is far more “cute” than competitive, it is still possible to randomly go off.
The problem with multicolored ramp is that it's... kind of lacking.
I take a quick look at low-cost (CMC 3 or less) ramp cards that are exactly two colors and that always ramp (unlike coiling oracle) and don't rely on basic lands (unlike the borderposts) and that gets me... not a lot.
Atzocan Seer, Draconic Disciple , and Leyline Prowler are the ones that pop out to me. I think that I'll use the disciple in place of manamorphose but I'm not seeing a lot that I would really want to use in place of colorless ramp. Are there cards that I'm missing?
As far as testing, I typically do most of my playtesting on Forge and I am waiting for the newest update to let me pilot this thing.
You draw so many spells off of your general, I think you need to drop the expensive spells. For example, run Anguished Unmaking over Ashen Rider. Better to play 2-3 spells per turn than just one.
The cards I'm thinking about for ramp, Cmc 3 or less, are the Borderposts, Kiora's Follower, and Growth Spiral.
I understand that these are not the most amazing cards but I feel like one of the most powerful things you can do after drawing a lot of cards is ramping.
There's a cycle of allied color creatures, Valley Rannet and friends, who can landcycle for each of their colors. It's not *strictly* ramping, but they are cards Niv can catch that you can turn into duals or shocks in hand.
I also agree with lowering your average cmc. I just put my own version of this together, and I tried to keep things cmc 4 or less for the most part (powerhouses like Aurelia we're not excluded for cmc). It works fairly well for a first draft, but if I weren't playing two or more cards a turn I'd be discarding too much stuff.
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When I first saw Niv-Mizzet Reborn, I was fairly underwhelmed. While the legend could potentially “draw” a decent number of cards, it is a mythic WUBRG legend that acts as a generic 6/6 flyer after it ETBs. When I realized that the card filtering is an ETB effect, however, I got thinking. While blinking is normally the job of Azorius, what if a 5-color deck was built to spam that ETB as frequently as possible? A deck with equal guild representation to maximize this card advantage engine? A deck that can reasonably dig 10 cards deep to grab the next engine pieces with each trigger…
Out of that thought process came Niv-Mizzet: Five-Color Excavator, the deck that never stops digging.
To be completely fair, this is NOT a competitive deck. This derpy “toolbox” list run every possible tool to spam Niv’s etb as many times as possible. From flickering to clones to self-bounce and reanimation, we are taking every road. The fact that we are running cards like Horned Kavu, Lava Zombie, and Cauldron Haze shows the lengths that we are willing to go to keep the gravy train going.
Thankfully, we aren’t exactly a one-trick pony. All of those tricks that we are using on Niv-Mizzet happen to work with quite a few other ETB creatures in our library… and we have a random infinite combo in the form of Aurelia + Brago that you might stumble across… and running 5-color goodstuff allows us to use a number of 1-card engines like The Scarab God and Assemble the Legion. While this deck is far more “cute” than competitive, it is still possible to randomly go off.
I hope someone out there enjoys.
5 Niv-Mizzet Reborn
Azorius
2 Turn to Mist
2 Mistmeadow Witch
4 Brago, King Eternal
5 Venser, the Sojourner
7 Emergency Powers
Orzhov
2 Cauldron Haze
4 Purgatory
5 Obzedat’s Aid
7 Debtors’ Knell
8 Ashen Rider
Boros
2 Boros Charm
2 Legion’s Initiative
5 Assemble the Legion
6 Leave//Chance
6 Aurelia, the Warleader
Selesnya
2 Saffi Eriksdotter
3 Fleetfoot Panther
3 Knight of Autumn
3 Aura Shards
5 Mirari’s Wake
Dimir
2 Cavern Harpy
4 Hostage Taker
5 Consuming Aberration
5 The Scarab God
6 Dragonlord Silumgar
Izzet
3 Protean Raider
3 Dack Fayden
3 Saheeli Rai
4 Dack’s Duplicate
6 The Locust God
Simic
4 Altered Ego
5 Repudiate//Replicate
6 Progenitor Mimic
6 Prime Speaker Zegana
7 Tishana, Voice of Thunder
3 Lava Zombie
3 Anathemancer
3 Kolaghan’s Command
6 Grave Upheaval
7 Bladewing the Risen
Golgari
1 Deathrite Shaman
3 Gaze of Granite
3 Pernicious Deed
3 Journey to Eternity
5 Underrealm Lich
Gruul
2 Manamorphose
2 Horned Kavu
3 Rhythm of the Wild
4 Decimate
6 Vengeful Rebirth
Guildless
1 Sol Ring
2 Farseek
2 Nature’s Lore
2 Joiner Adept
2 Prismatic Omen
2 Fellwar Stone
3 Chromatic Lantern
3 Coalition Relic
3 Commander Sphere
4 Urza’s Filter
5 Dragon Arch
5 Tome of the Guildpact
11 Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Lands
1 Arid Mesa
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Breeding Pool
1 City of Brass
1 Command Tower
1 Flooded Strange
1 Forbidden Orchard
1 Forest
1 Godless Shirne
1 Hallowed Fountain
1 Island
1 Mana Confluence
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
1 Path of Ancestry
1 Pillar of the Paruns
1 Plains
1 Polluted Delta
1 Sacred Foundry
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Steam Vents
1 Stomping Ground
1 Swamp
1 Temple Garden
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Vivid Crag
1 Vivid Creek
1 Vivid Grove
1 Vivid Marsh
1 Vivid Meadow
1 Watery Grave
1 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
I take a quick look at low-cost (CMC 3 or less) ramp cards that are exactly two colors and that always ramp (unlike coiling oracle) and don't rely on basic lands (unlike the borderposts) and that gets me... not a lot.
Atzocan Seer, Draconic Disciple , and Leyline Prowler are the ones that pop out to me. I think that I'll use the disciple in place of manamorphose but I'm not seeing a lot that I would really want to use in place of colorless ramp. Are there cards that I'm missing?
As far as testing, I typically do most of my playtesting on Forge and I am waiting for the newest update to let me pilot this thing.
8.RG Green Devotion Ramp/Combo 9.UR Draw Triggers 10.WUR Group stalling 11.WUR Voltron Spellslinger 12.WB Sacrificial Shenanigans
13.BR Creatureless Panharmonicon 14.BR Pingers and Eldrazi 15.URG Untapped Cascading
16.Reyhan, last of the Abzan's WUBG +1/+1 Counter Craziness 17.WUBRG Dragons aka Why did I make this?
Building: The Gitrog Monster lands, Glissa the Traitor stax, Muldrotha, the Gravetide Planeswalker Combo, Kydele, Chosen of Kruphix + Sidar Kondo of Jamuraa Clues, and Tribal Scarecrow Planeswalkers
I understand that these are not the most amazing cards but I feel like one of the most powerful things you can do after drawing a lot of cards is ramping.
I also agree with lowering your average cmc. I just put my own version of this together, and I tried to keep things cmc 4 or less for the most part (powerhouses like Aurelia we're not excluded for cmc). It works fairly well for a first draft, but if I weren't playing two or more cards a turn I'd be discarding too much stuff.