This list was produced for Bleeding Cool, in review of the Commander 2019 deck Mystic Intellect.
The list of changes is as follows:
Ral Zarek
>
Ral, Izzet Viceroy
(Guilds of Ravnica)
Ral Zarek isn't that synergistic with the goals of Mystic Intellect, so we are looking to replace him with Ral, Izzet Viceroy to provide value out of our spells. Tapping and untapping things isn't that important in the grand scheme of things, despite what disgruntled ex-
Paradox Engine
players may tell you, but anyone cal tell you that getting value out of your spells is paramount to victory.
Purify the Grave
>
Narset Transcendent
(Dragons of Tarkir)
Grave hate isn't what we want for this deck, especially if somehow it gets hijacked and used against our graveyard-sitting flashback cards, et al. With this in mind, we don't necessarily care for Purify the Grave. In its place we add in Narset Transcendent, which can give us card advantage, more spell power through rebound, or even lock the opposition out entirely from casting noncreature spells.
Bloodthirsty Blade
>
Murmuring Mystic
(Guilds of Ravnica)
Bloodthirsty Blade can stop one attacker from hitting, but as you may notice, we are very short on creatures. While this can be mitigated by
Pramikon, Sky Rampart
or even
Ghostly Prison
to an extent, we need more ways to defend ourselves, so Murmuring Mystic comes in so we can have a bunch more value off of our spells.
Gerrard, Weatherlight Hero
>
Young Pyromancer
(Ultimate Masters)
This deck needed more creatures. You'll hear me stress this a lot. Gerrard, while great for his own style of deck, doesn't impact the board after a wipe in this list as much as it could. In his place we have Young Pyromancer, who can provide an army all on its own, considering the frequency of casting instants and sorceries that we have.
Izzet Guildgate
>
Talisman of Conviction
(Modern Horizons)
Boros Guildgate
>
Talisman of Creativity
(Modern Horizons)
Stone Quarry
>
Talisman of Progress
(Mirrodin)
This deck as preconstructed has far too many lands to be viable in a pod with three other decks that are focused or better. As I mentioned in my analysis of Faceless Menace, while Talismans come down a bit later and set you back by one point of mana for that round of mana production, the turns afterwards are instantly improved in a vacuum, and the turn you get a Talisman out, you can still make mana of the appropriate color you want. They're better than Guild Signets, too, because Signets require an initial mana investment and that means a turn 2 Signet won't make mana, usually, whereas a turn 2 Talisman absolutely will.
Magmaquake
>
Past in Flames
(Modern Masters 2017)
Magmaquake does not hit flying creatures, so it's just not remarkably helpful when you are staring down a board of nothing but evasion. Past in Flames needed a home in this deck, and I'm surprised it wasn't already included in it, to be frank.
Runic Repetition
>
Archaeomancer
(Ultimate Masters)
This deck needed more creatures like it was nobody's business. Plus, Runic Repetition was very narrow in its application. It was cut for Archaeomancer, who does its exact job but better, and provides a body on top of that.
Think Twice
>
Magus of the Wheel
(Commander 2019)
As you'll find, there is a lot more powerful draw in this deck than the likes of Think Twice. As such, we replace it with better draw. Magus of the Wheel is a fantastic example of this.
Fervent Denial
>
Narset's Reversal
(War of the Spark)
Nobody cares to play a 7-mana counterspell unless it does more than counter the spell it targets. A LOT more than that. So, Fervent Denial goes. Instead, we keep to the control spirit of the initial inclusion of such a card with Narset's Reversal, which not only acts as a quasi-
Remand
, but also copies the spell being cast. Go ahead and steal your opponent's
Expropriate
. It's totally commendable.
Prismatic Strands
>
Repeated Reverberation
(Magic 2020)
When this deck was spoiled it was clear that it was low on creatures as a whole, which ultimately renders Prismatic Strands less useful than it could be. As it leaves, Repeated Reverberation takes its place. This card can augment the copy-spell subtheme that I am so adamant about instilling in this deck.
Highland Lake
>
Ral, Storm Conduit
(War of the Spark)
Highland Lake is one of those lands you never want to draw after your 4th or 5th turn. Never. It does nothing but make mana, and even then it won't usually do so until the turn after you play it. The deck has too many lands even after we replace a few with Talismans, so we can afford to remove the Lake for a good spell like Ral, Storm Conduit, who is very able to capitalize on, and otherwise support, our theme of copying spells.
Ray of Distortion
>
Reality Scramble
(Commander 2018)
While artifact and enchantment removal is a key part of doing one's duty as a responsible Commander player, we are going to throw that caution to the wind because Ray of Distortion costs far too much mana to use effectively altogether. However, Reality Scramble is a good contender for "best spell with Retrace ever printed thus far", so we will add it since we can copy it with Sevinne when we retrace it.
Rolling Temblor
>
Thousand-Year Storm
(Guilds of Ravnica)
Rolling Temblor is decent (at best) mass removal, but it doesn't affect the many creatures with flying that often frequent the battlefields of Commander. At the same time, copying spells is a strong and prevalent subtheme of this deck, so we are probably in a good position to add Thousand-Year Storm, which basically gives all your casts storm (sans the keyword).
Izzet Locket
>
Commit / Memory
(Amonkhet)
Azorius Locket
>
Risk Factor
(Guilds of Ravnica)
Lockets are absolutely not the best things for a focused Commander deck. We instead have Talismans, and if we need them Signets as well. For this reason, both of Izzet Locket and Azorius Locket needed to move to make space for more meat. Commit and Memory are both fantastic cards which act as strong semi-permanent removal and a nifty
Timetwister
impression afterwards. Risk Factor is a good way to get some damage in while still potentially getting you cards. With Sevinne out, your aftermath and jump-start abilities are copied if they're your first spell you cast out of your graveyard in a turn, so these are the sort of abilities you want to look for to improve this preconstructed deck.
Chemister's Insight
>
Recoup
(Duel Decks: Sorin Vs. Tibalt)
There is a lot of card draw in this deck (okay, less than in Faceless Menace, but that's still saying a lot). Chemister's Insight isn't very much draw when compared with the likes of
Oona's Grace
, considering the latter's retrace ability.
Recoup
is a mini Past in Flames, and that alone is enough to absolutely warrant inclusion, especially when you consider how many copies of Recoup you could get.
Farm / Market
>
Mission Briefing
(Guilds of Ravnica)
Farm was an underwhelming removal spell, and Market didn't feel very strong either. Mission Briefing can basically act as a pseudo-
Snapcaster Mage
(which would be included in here if not for its enormous monetary price tag, honestly), allowing for a sort of flashback, while not exactly being flashback (but potentially being cheaper!)
Jace's Sanctum
>
Catalyst Stone
(Odyssey)
The Sanctum does far less in the grand scheme of things for this deck than Catalyst Stone. The deck is flashback-centric, and because so many flashback costs are priced way higher than their normal mana costs, the Stone is more vital for getting your copied spells from Sevinne to hit faster.
