Forgive the lazy formatting everyone, baby #2 is exhausting, but I still wanted to get this content out here before too much time had gone by! For all future set reviews, I am going to try to at least cover all the rares in Grixis colors, as well as hit some other highlights I see. Cards I am excited for in bold.
Colorless God-Pharaoh's Statue - I don't like the 6 mana cost, but this has a place in budget stax decks I suppose. I will not slot this in my build though. Karn, The Great Creator - Combo, retrieves exiled key cards, colorless, style points. 10/10 love this card. Going straight into Mishra. Ugin, The The Ineffable - Screams storm combo. Seems very strong in an artifact combo build, and also has the ability to spot remove most commanders, as well as generate card advantage and blockers. Another great colorless card.
Blue Commence the Endgame - SPOILERS!! Oh wait...this has nothing to do with Avengers. Its also bad imo. Too much mana for too little card draw and a single creature. Fblthp, the Lost - I love this little fella, and I am brewing a deck around him. Hint - He is the commander of the deck, but hes gonna be in the 99, cuz hes lost!! That said, not for Mishra. Finale of Revelation - This seems like its gonna be a CEDH staple. I will probably grab one just to have it. The only flaw is that its a sorcery. God-Eternal Kefnet - Spell slinger decks, not really a Mishra toy. Jace, Wielder of Mysteries - A second copy of lab man imo. Not much value beyond that. If you use a combo to generate infinite mana with artifacts and Mishra, he could be a win con after drawing your deck. Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor - I mean...she kinda protects your stuff? Kinda makes wizards? Filtering is good. I wish she had a little more going for her though. Overall, meh. Narset, Parter of Veils - LEOVOLD! I MISSED YOU! I mean..ahem...nothing to see her Rules Committee. Not sure she has much a place in Mishra. Silent Submersible - This one seems good out of the vehicle cycle. Arguably useful. Spark Double - ehhhh...too bad its only you control, kills this card for me. Otherwise it'd be a strict upgrade over Clone Jace, Arcane Strategist - Soooo little value, this kinda bums me out. They basically split his +1 and his static ability, which might as well be the same ability. I get that his passive makes him slightly better, but i mean...ehhhh...maybe good in an Azami deck as a win con i guess, make all your wizards fat by drawing cards every turn? +4/+4 by your next untap? Jace's Ruse - I really wish this fetched any Jace. The fact that its only a specific one is rubbish.
Black Bolas's Citadel - hoooo boy. This is gonna be my 'lets see how long it takes to get banned' pick of the set. Jesus christ this thing is OP as hell. I am only at the black cards, and I am gonna say this is the best artifact of the set. Command the Dreadhorde - 6 mana and likely 15+ life. I am not sure how I feel about this one. Clearly useful in a super friends deck i guess. Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage - Why put black wisps on black font? Bad card is hard to read. Deliver onto Evil - Really don't like all these incredibly specific cards. Even though it can be any bolas planeswalker, this still pretty much only enters play in grixis decks. I won't be slotting it, despite the amazing art. Dreadhorde Invasion - 2 drop token generator on upkeep that makes the creature gain value over time seems really good. Then you realize, unless you are running a seriously amass central theme with your deck, it will take 6 turns to be worth it. The Elderspell - I look forward to this 2 drop ***** whipping super friends decks. I would slot this if my meta shifted to Super friends. Finale of Eternity - So thats a lot of mana for that effect...I guess at x=2 or 3 thats not bad, but if you are playing it for the mass revival, i just feel there are better cards for that job, like Living Death God-Eternal Bontu - I really like this one. In the right build with tokens or even regular cards, hes a massive card draw engine. Could be great for decks that don't have the draw they need. I bet he'd fit right in with Prossh decks more than Mishra, but if you are building tokens in your deck, this card could be a draw-a-lot spell. Liliana, Dreadhorde General - Hate the cmc, very pricey. Her passive is so good though. Really abuseable as a value engine piece, even without having decent loyalty abilities. If you run a sacrifice for value variant of Mishra, I'd consider her. Massacre Girl - Is she like, a super hero? Cool boardwipe on a body I suppose. I bet she'd be really good with things that give opponents 1/1 tokens as a drawback, like Forbidden Orchard, which you can tap in response to her ability on the stack to give more -1/-1s. Ob-Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted - Nekusar friend. Destroys key targets, deals damage on draw. Not a friend for Mishra though, does nothing for us that a 5 mana removal spell wouldn't.
Red Chandra, Fire Artisan - Lame. Burn is lame, she is lame. Lame. Her +1 is ok i guess as false card draw, but if its something you want to save or a combo piece, she is just bad. I won't run her. With my luck, she'd exile my win cons when I didnt have the mana. Dreadhorde Arcanist - This could have potential in the right build. Flashback without paying mana on attack is kinda neat, just needs the right set up around him. The problem for him in Mishra is that I would pump his power through equipment, meaning I won't have a lot of sorceries or instants in my deck. Finale of Promise - Lets you flash back a spell at RR+CMC, and with enough mana do it 2 extra times?? thats baller. This is a game winner. I am not sure I will slot into my main Mishra build, but man its strong. Illharg, the Raze-Boar - Could be quite abuseable if you set up properly. Not sure how I feel yet. Jaya, Venerated Firemage - Her spellshaper version is better, imo. Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin - oh man, there are tricks with this dude. Imagine him, and like, shared animosity on the board? Pump him up with your army, and then generate a massive addition to your army, makes him like the original, but with the added bonus of attacking, of course, at the risk of being killed. That said, thats a goblins deck strat, definitely not a Mishra card. Mizzium Tank - I recently built a deck around Grimlock, Dinobot Leader, and this vehicle disappointed me. Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion - Card filtering and mana for the turn? He seems really strong as a red goodstuff card. That said, I have too many good blue draw spells to include him in Mishra. Sarkhan the Masterless - Doth my eyes deceive me? is this a red fort potential card? Theres something to that...if you are running a lot of dragons, stuff like Steel Hellkite and Hellkite Tyrant, maybe in your Mishra build? I feel you need a critical mass of dragons though. Tibalt, Rakish instigator - Eh...I like no life gain enchants better than Tibbers.
Multi Angrath, Captain of Chaos - Menace is neat. Kind of like a Rakdos alpha strike set up. If you are running a LOT of artifact creatures and you want to alpha, he might fit. Ashiok, Dream Render - I like this one. Kinda reminds me of Shadow of Doubt, too bad his -1 isnt great. Still, wrecks tutoring decks, and that alone justifies this card. Obliterates fetch land value. If your meta has a lot of fetching / tutors, its a must have hate card for any self respecting grixis stax. Dreadhorde Butcher - Not a terrible beater, but I am unsure of its value outside zombie tribal.
Living Twister - Something about this cards 2nd ability feels very abuse able to me. Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God - Seems pretty legit in this new era of walkers all over the goddamn table. Nice low mana cost, thought BBB is going to be prohibitive. Another must have if your meta goes Superfriends. Role Reversal - This looks mean to me. Not sure I will run it, but its very deceptively versatile and political. Saheeli, Sublime Artificer - I like her the more I read her. Generates free blockers that she can later transform for value. Shes getting a playtest in Mishra for sure. Soul Diviner - This guy will be amazing in the right deck, calling it now. Outside of Smokestacks tricks, I am not sure where i'd use him though. Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge - Affinity is very strong. Dealing X damage where its the number of artifacts you control and then gain x life is strong, on a + ability no less. -3 recurring an artifact is ok. His ultimate is kinda bleh, but his passive and plus are both super good. I will play test him in Mishra.
Land Blast Zone - Is that...is that a boardwipe on a land? Holy **** holy my beer im buying a playset. The only kick in the pants is that it starts with 1 counter instead of 0. Karn's Bastion - Proliferate on a land is ok. Definitely a new superfriends staple. Mobilized District - Man land that can be a cheap man land seems goodish. Its no Mishra's Factory though.
My bad on keeping up with things guys! I have a set review mostly written, I just need to tidy it up for the thread before I add it. My wife and I welcomed our second daughter at the end of April, and my family is consuming all my spare time
I really like your list, and it looks like a great budget alternative to the list I run (in fact, its incredibly similar while having great replacements for a lot of my irrationally purchased high dollar cards).
Is there anything in the main primer that your list doesn't aim for, or does differently? If you are cool with it, I'd like to include this list in the alternate builds section as a budget build. So many people are turned off because I run The Abyss and Nether Void and think, I cannot play Mishra. I think giving a list that doesnt use those tricks might be beneficial for people looking to get a taste of everyone's favorite Dominarian bad boy.
Has anyone experienced any struggles with Lavinia, Azorius Renegade? I genuinely expected her to be a serious issue when she was printed, but she seems to get no love in my circles.
That logically makes sense. Thanks for the info man. For the record, verity circle does insane work if anyone rocks mana dorks. Its basically a love child of Pithing Needle and Rhystic Study. They SHOULDNT ever use abilities again, so it should function like a global needle, but you know someone eventually will start giving you cards.
What ever became of your playtesting for forge of heroes? This seems to go infinite on the turn you play teferi, if it is in play when he enters play - am i mistaken about that? seems incredibly strong if so; but its a dead draw otherwise. You mentioned it wasnt that good, and cut it. Care to explain why?
gotta say, shifted away from the old tendin tribal list and am currently running the tapped out main primer list. Its pretty ridiculously fast, though there have been a few times where i have mourned the lack of static and winter orb in my main deck. What is your thoughts on the removal of these two stax effects?
Its funny, I picked her up the other day on the cheap (I cannot believe how little she costs!), but I don't know where to use her. She might be worthy of a slot, perhaps as the recent girlfriend of Thor, Rosalind Solomon. Shes a rogue ex-shield agent who fits Lavinia pretty perfectly.
That said, you are right, she doesnt do much other than serve as a hate bear. I will have to chew on it.
There was a period I considered scroll rack for this deck. The value it can generate is fantastic, but ultimately I took it out for bigger and flashier effects. That said, the fact that it is missing from the card discussion section is a travesty and should be corrected.
Brainstorm on the other hand, while I love from legacy, just doesn't do enough in EDH for me to justify the slot. Draw 3 is powerful in cedh, but for this deck, it offers too little, even at the competitive cost.
As fun as it is to say Thor sacrifices himself for the greater good, having a more consistent way of getting his Mjolnir into play is simply more important thematically.
Forgive the lazy formatting everyone, baby #2 is exhausting, but I still wanted to get this content out here before too much time had gone by! For all future set reviews, I am going to try to at least cover all the rares in Grixis colors, as well as hit some other highlights I see. Cards I am excited for in bold.
Colorless
God-Pharaoh's Statue - I don't like the 6 mana cost, but this has a place in budget stax decks I suppose. I will not slot this in my build though.
Karn, The Great Creator - Combo, retrieves exiled key cards, colorless, style points. 10/10 love this card. Going straight into Mishra.
Ugin, The The Ineffable - Screams storm combo. Seems very strong in an artifact combo build, and also has the ability to spot remove most commanders, as well as generate card advantage and blockers. Another great colorless card.
Blue
Commence the Endgame - SPOILERS!! Oh wait...this has nothing to do with Avengers. Its also bad imo. Too much mana for too little card draw and a single creature.
Fblthp, the Lost - I love this little fella, and I am brewing a deck around him. Hint - He is the commander of the deck, but hes gonna be in the 99, cuz hes lost!! That said, not for Mishra.
Finale of Revelation - This seems like its gonna be a CEDH staple. I will probably grab one just to have it. The only flaw is that its a sorcery.
God-Eternal Kefnet - Spell slinger decks, not really a Mishra toy.
Jace, Wielder of Mysteries - A second copy of lab man imo. Not much value beyond that. If you use a combo to generate infinite mana with artifacts and Mishra, he could be a win con after drawing your deck.
Kasmina, Enigmatic Mentor - I mean...she kinda protects your stuff? Kinda makes wizards? Filtering is good. I wish she had a little more going for her though. Overall, meh.
Narset, Parter of Veils - LEOVOLD! I MISSED YOU! I mean..ahem...nothing to see her Rules Committee. Not sure she has much a place in Mishra.
Silent Submersible - This one seems good out of the vehicle cycle. Arguably useful.
Spark Double - ehhhh...too bad its only you control, kills this card for me. Otherwise it'd be a strict upgrade over Clone
Jace, Arcane Strategist - Soooo little value, this kinda bums me out. They basically split his +1 and his static ability, which might as well be the same ability. I get that his passive makes him slightly better, but i mean...ehhhh...maybe good in an Azami deck as a win con i guess, make all your wizards fat by drawing cards every turn? +4/+4 by your next untap?
Jace's Ruse - I really wish this fetched any Jace. The fact that its only a specific one is rubbish.
Black
Bolas's Citadel - hoooo boy. This is gonna be my 'lets see how long it takes to get banned' pick of the set. Jesus christ this thing is OP as hell. I am only at the black cards, and I am gonna say this is the best artifact of the set.
Command the Dreadhorde - 6 mana and likely 15+ life. I am not sure how I feel about this one. Clearly useful in a super friends deck i guess.
Davriel, Rogue Shadowmage - Why put black wisps on black font? Bad card is hard to read.
Deliver onto Evil - Really don't like all these incredibly specific cards. Even though it can be any bolas planeswalker, this still pretty much only enters play in grixis decks. I won't be slotting it, despite the amazing art.
Dreadhorde Invasion - 2 drop token generator on upkeep that makes the creature gain value over time seems really good. Then you realize, unless you are running a seriously amass central theme with your deck, it will take 6 turns to be worth it.
The Elderspell - I look forward to this 2 drop ***** whipping super friends decks. I would slot this if my meta shifted to Super friends.
Finale of Eternity - So thats a lot of mana for that effect...I guess at x=2 or 3 thats not bad, but if you are playing it for the mass revival, i just feel there are better cards for that job, like Living Death
God-Eternal Bontu - I really like this one. In the right build with tokens or even regular cards, hes a massive card draw engine. Could be great for decks that don't have the draw they need. I bet he'd fit right in with Prossh decks more than Mishra, but if you are building tokens in your deck, this card could be a draw-a-lot spell.
Liliana, Dreadhorde General - Hate the cmc, very pricey. Her passive is so good though. Really abuseable as a value engine piece, even without having decent loyalty abilities. If you run a sacrifice for value variant of Mishra, I'd consider her.
Massacre Girl - Is she like, a super hero? Cool boardwipe on a body I suppose. I bet she'd be really good with things that give opponents 1/1 tokens as a drawback, like Forbidden Orchard, which you can tap in response to her ability on the stack to give more -1/-1s.
Ob-Nixilis, the Hate-Twisted - Nekusar friend. Destroys key targets, deals damage on draw. Not a friend for Mishra though, does nothing for us that a 5 mana removal spell wouldn't.
Red
Chandra, Fire Artisan - Lame. Burn is lame, she is lame. Lame. Her +1 is ok i guess as false card draw, but if its something you want to save or a combo piece, she is just bad. I won't run her. With my luck, she'd exile my win cons when I didnt have the mana.
Dreadhorde Arcanist - This could have potential in the right build. Flashback without paying mana on attack is kinda neat, just needs the right set up around him. The problem for him in Mishra is that I would pump his power through equipment, meaning I won't have a lot of sorceries or instants in my deck.
Finale of Promise - Lets you flash back a spell at RR+CMC, and with enough mana do it 2 extra times?? thats baller. This is a game winner. I am not sure I will slot into my main Mishra build, but man its strong.
Illharg, the Raze-Boar - Could be quite abuseable if you set up properly. Not sure how I feel yet.
Jaya, Venerated Firemage - Her spellshaper version is better, imo.
Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin - oh man, there are tricks with this dude. Imagine him, and like, shared animosity on the board? Pump him up with your army, and then generate a massive addition to your army, makes him like the original, but with the added bonus of attacking, of course, at the risk of being killed. That said, thats a goblins deck strat, definitely not a Mishra card.
Mizzium Tank - I recently built a deck around Grimlock, Dinobot Leader, and this vehicle disappointed me.
Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion - Card filtering and mana for the turn? He seems really strong as a red goodstuff card. That said, I have too many good blue draw spells to include him in Mishra.
Sarkhan the Masterless - Doth my eyes deceive me? is this a red fort potential card? Theres something to that...if you are running a lot of dragons, stuff like Steel Hellkite and Hellkite Tyrant, maybe in your Mishra build? I feel you need a critical mass of dragons though.
Tibalt, Rakish instigator - Eh...I like no life gain enchants better than Tibbers.
Multi
Angrath, Captain of Chaos - Menace is neat. Kind of like a Rakdos alpha strike set up. If you are running a LOT of artifact creatures and you want to alpha, he might fit.
Ashiok, Dream Render - I like this one. Kinda reminds me of Shadow of Doubt, too bad his -1 isnt great. Still, wrecks tutoring decks, and that alone justifies this card. Obliterates fetch land value. If your meta has a lot of fetching / tutors, its a must have hate card for any self respecting grixis stax.
Dreadhorde Butcher - Not a terrible beater, but I am unsure of its value outside zombie tribal.
Living Twister - Something about this cards 2nd ability feels very abuse able to me.
Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God - Seems pretty legit in this new era of walkers all over the goddamn table. Nice low mana cost, thought BBB is going to be prohibitive. Another must have if your meta goes Superfriends.
Role Reversal - This looks mean to me. Not sure I will run it, but its very deceptively versatile and political.
Saheeli, Sublime Artificer - I like her the more I read her. Generates free blockers that she can later transform for value. Shes getting a playtest in Mishra for sure.
Soul Diviner - This guy will be amazing in the right deck, calling it now. Outside of Smokestacks tricks, I am not sure where i'd use him though.
Tezzeret, Master of the Bridge - Affinity is very strong. Dealing X damage where its the number of artifacts you control and then gain x life is strong, on a + ability no less. -3 recurring an artifact is ok. His ultimate is kinda bleh, but his passive and plus are both super good. I will play test him in Mishra.
Land
Blast Zone - Is that...is that a boardwipe on a land? Holy **** holy my beer im buying a playset. The only kick in the pants is that it starts with 1 counter instead of 0.
Karn's Bastion - Proliferate on a land is ok. Definitely a new superfriends staple.
Mobilized District - Man land that can be a cheap man land seems goodish. Its no Mishra's Factory though.
Is there anything in the main primer that your list doesn't aim for, or does differently? If you are cool with it, I'd like to include this list in the alternate builds section as a budget build. So many people are turned off because I run The Abyss and Nether Void and think, I cannot play Mishra. I think giving a list that doesnt use those tricks might be beneficial for people looking to get a taste of everyone's favorite Dominarian bad boy.
Brings back our win conditions if exiled, combos with lattice, hoooooo boy I am excited!
What ever became of your playtesting for forge of heroes? This seems to go infinite on the turn you play teferi, if it is in play when he enters play - am i mistaken about that? seems incredibly strong if so; but its a dead draw otherwise. You mentioned it wasnt that good, and cut it. Care to explain why?
Deck runs a LOT smoother now, just having 3 cards that can oppress the field all by themselves. Do you still play this list at all Ulka?
That said, you are right, she doesnt do much other than serve as a hate bear. I will have to chew on it.
-1 Island
-1 Forest
-1 Vesuva
+1 Windswept Heath
+1 Savannah
+1 Tundra
Brainstorm on the other hand, while I love from legacy, just doesn't do enough in EDH for me to justify the slot. Draw 3 is powerful in cedh, but for this deck, it offers too little, even at the competitive cost.
As fun as it is to say Thor sacrifices himself for the greater good, having a more consistent way of getting his Mjolnir into play is simply more important thematically.