Narset, Enlightened Master EDH

Commander / EDH* RUW (Jeskai, America)

NateW

Land (36)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Clifftop Retreat
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Glacial Fortress
• 1x Hall of the Bandit Lord
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 7x Island
• 1x Kor Haven
• 5x Mountain
• 1x Nimbus Maze
• 6x Plains
• 1x Sacred Foundry
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Slayers' Stronghold
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Sulfur Falls
• 1x Sunbaked Canyon
• 1x Temple of Enlightenment
• 1x Temple of Epiphany
• 1x Temple of Triumph

Enchantment (10)

• 1x Angelic Destiny
• 1x Eldrazi Conscription
• 1x Ghostly Prison
• 1x Gift of Immortality
• 1x Inexorable Tide
• 1x Omniscience
• 1x Propaganda
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Spectra Ward
• 1x Steel of the Godhead

Sorcery (15)

• 1x Aminatou's Augury
• 1x Austere Command
• 1x Beacon of Tomorrows
• 1x Blasphemous Act
• 1x Bribery
• 1x Knowledge Exploitation
• 1x Mind's Desire
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Seize the Day
• 1x Supreme Verdict
• 1x Treasure Cruise
• 1x Vandalblast
• 1x World at War
• 1x Wrath of God

Planeswalker (12)

• 1x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
• 1x Dack Fayden
• 1x Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• 1x Elspeth, Sun's Champion
• 1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• 1x Karn Liberated
• 1x Narset, Parter of Veils
• 1x Narset Transcendent
• 1x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria
• 1x Tezzeret the Seeker
• 1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon
• 1x Venser, the Sojourner

Creature (3)

• 1x Generator Servant
• 1x Narset, Enlightened Master
• 1x Stoneforge Mystic

Commander (1)

Artifact (15)

• 1x Boros Signet
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Scroll Rack
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Strionic Resonator
• 1x Sword of Feast and Famine
• 1x Talisman of Conviction
• 1x Talisman of Creativity
• 1x Talisman of Progress
• 1x Worn Powerstone

Instant (8)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Dig Through Time
• 1x Enlightened Tutor
• 1x Long-Term Plans
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Path to Exile
• 1x Savage Beating
• 1x Swords to Plowshares

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WELCOME to my deck: Narset, Enlightened Master . I've been playing her since i got my hands on one at pre-release. This deck has evolved with me through the years and remains one of my all-time favorites. It's by no means a cEDH deck, but it can be very explosive. I built this deck to have a clear weakness - interaction. I don't run counterspells, but be sure to check the power level of the table before you decide to play this (I'd say this is 8/10). You don't want to be that person pubstomping with Narset, you give us a bad name! I choose to omit mass land destruction and stax pieces, you may get far ahead but your opponents will get to play their decks and attempt to stop you. I find this makes play experiences more enjoyable for all parties. Trust me, you win most of your games without having to resort to cards that will lose you friends like Winter Orb , Armageddon and Cataclysm . To read more about the evolution of the deck please read my following edits.

EDIT - Feb 21st, 2015:So I've been playing this deck for about 6 months and I've learnt many things about this exceptional commander. My first build was on a budget of 50$, so I used a suite of creatures to make it work. I soon realized what works and what doesn't. Extra combat phases and extra turn effects are the best for triggering Narset, Enlightened Master multiple times. I also found that I had far too much top deck manipulation, so I cut some for flashy spells. Since I've had a bit more money/trading to improve this deck, I took suggestions and added more planeswalkers. I chose to leave out boatloads of counter spells as they are not really in our meta.

First off, I'll talk about the cards I took out because they were too clunky or underperforming. Cards I took out include:

1. Ardent Plea - It just didn't perform the way it does in Rafiq of the Many
2. Conch Horn I got the idea from David McDarby, the commander god, but it's just plain terrible.
3. Darksteel Pendant It doesn't provide enough value, indestructability is irrelevant.
4. Grand Arbiter Augustin IV Too slow, you cast spells for free anyways.
5. Prophetic Bolt Another McDarby special that I just didn't like.
6. Prognostic Sphinx Good in theory, bad in practice.
7. Seraph of the Sword It's not good, far too much mana for a wall.
8. Aurelia, the Warleader A recent cut, she is just a bit too much mana.
9. Serum Visions Low impact card in commander
10. Bruna, Light of Alabaster She doesn't consistently go off, feels like overkill.

So these were the weak points of the deck that I adjusted. Most of my wins come from Narset, Enlightened Master being strapped with numerous enchantments, so I wanted to improve the consistency with which I could accomplish this. My additions were:

1. Elspeth, Knight-Errant Pure value, helps get Narset into the red zone safely in the early game.
2. Path to Exile I needed more removal, it was either this or Condemn . I find path to be more consistent with Narset activations. The worst creature to deal with is Sheoldred, Whispering One so we need reliable ways to kill it.
3. Jace, the Mind Sculptor Managed to trade for one of these bad boys. Such a powerful card, has incredible synergy with the deck.
4. Vandalblast this card puts in so much work, do not underestimate it's value to any red commander deck.
5. Flying Crane Technique this card is fun and powerful, an alternative choice would be playing Time Stretch . The deck has enough power, I find keeping a target off my back the hardest thing to do. Taking extra turns doesn't help your political standings in a game.
6. Hammer of Purphoros More haste to get my girl in as soon as she hits the board. You want to generate value as early as possible, even if you only hit one spell off the top.
7. Mirari This card is genuinely overpowered in combination with your free spells.
8. Bribery Does it even need explanation?
9. Darksteel Plate Indestructibility makes Narset, Enlightened Master near impossible to deal with.
10. Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest I' experimenting with him, the double strike has proved to be powerful for only two mana.

This concludes my first wave of editing the deck. If you have found any cards that work well with Narset, Enlightened Master please let me know.

EDIT #2 - June 5th, 2015. The deck has taken a turn away from the original creature base to be more focused around planeswalkers. This means the addition of more board wipes to make sure we don't get overrun by creature swarm strategies.

First off, I'll talk about the cards I took out because they were too clunky or underperforming. Cards I took out include:

1. Blatant Thievery - As pointed out in the comments, we should focus on developing our board state.
2. Flying Crane Technique There are much better alternatives like Beacon of Tomorrows .
3. Medomai the Ageless Fun card, but it doesn't trigger off Narset so we might as well play another Time Walk .
4. Shu Yun, Silent Tempest I think he would make a better tempo commander. No need for the double strike really.
5. Norn's Annex 2 life has never stopped someone from killing me, there are better alternatives.
6. Phyrexian Metamorph Trying to cut back on creatures, sad to see this guy go.
7. Mirari It isn't worth the mana investment
8. Take Possession it is good if you're on a budget, if not there are better cards.
9. Hinder It is now really average with the new rule changes.

Narset, Enlightened Master wins by getting the the late game (post turn 6-7) where she can take over with her enormous card advantage. To succesfully complete this goal i needed to add more walkers and board wipes to keep my life total safe early. My additions were:

1. Austere Command A versatile piece of mass removal.
2. Narset Transcendent It is an obvious inclusion into the deck. Based on power and flavor.
3. Ugin, the Spirit Dragon Sometimes he saves the day and sometimes hes an 8 mana Lightning Bolt .
4. Venser, the Sojourner Venser has great synergy with other planeswalkers and provides Narset, Enlightened Master with another way to get in the red zone safely.
5. Blasphemous Act one red mana to wipe the board is hard to justify leaving on the sidelines.
6. Wrath of God Nothing wrong with board wipes. They help you survive the early game and make to the late game where you will take over.
7. Rhystic Study One of the best commander draw spells, should be an auto inclusion in any blue EDH deck.
8. Island I needed one more land to make the math work. Islands are the best lands.
9. Ajani Vengeant Strong card to get on turn 4 as the ultimate will win you the game. Can help take the pressure off your life total early.

Edit 3: May 7th 2016. I created a 50$ budget list for those of you who are looking for a more affordable way to play Narset. It is still a very competitive multiplayer EDH list. Make sure to check it out 50$ Narset, Enlightened Master EDH

Edit 4: August 1, 2019 Looking back on my old deck building gave me a chuckle. In the last three years I have detuned the deck a bit, taking out all the turns and combat spells in favor of haymakers and more early ramp. Unfortunately Narset has a pretty bad reputation for pubstomping these days. It's just about having a conversation with your table about power level. The weaknesses remain the same from the early days.

P.S. Storm count 5 I cast a Mind's Desire , only just realizing I could copy the storm trigger with Strionic Resonator for twice as many copies! Really neat interaction.

Date added	9 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	19 - 0 Mythic Rares 41 - 0 Rares 14 - 0 Uncommons 8 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.95
Tokens	Emblem Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Emblem Dack Fayden, Emblem Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Emblem Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Emblem Narset Transcendent, Emblem Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, Emblem Venser, the Sojourner, Soldier 1/1 W
Folders	Jeskai EDH, Edh, Decks to study, Dex.jpeg, Narset Commander, Commander edh, Decks I like, +1 Narset Decks, narset