Niv-Mizzet, Parun

Commander / EDH* UR (Izzet)

Mitchapaloser

Izzet (31)

• 1x Arclight Phoenix
• 1x Beacon Bolt
• 1x Blustersquall
• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Chemister's Insight
• 1x Counterflux
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Electrodominance
• 1x Electrostatic Field
• 1x Expansion / Explosion
• 1x Finale of Promise
• 1x Firemind's Research
• 1x Flux Channeler
• 1x Ionize
• 1x Izzet Boilerworks
• 1x Izzet Charm
• 1x Izzet Chemister
• 1x Izzet Cluestone
• 1x Izzet Guildgate
• 1x Izzet Locket
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Mindmoil
• 1x Mizzium Mortars
• 1x Mizzix's Mastery
• 1x Radical Idea
• 1x Ral, Izzet Viceroy
• 1x Risk Factor
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Talisman of Creativity
• 1x Thousand-Year Storm
• 1x Vandalblast

Support (9)

• 1x Aria of Flame
• 1x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
• 1x Expansion / Explosion
• 1x Firemind's Research
• 1x Isochron Scepter
• 1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• 1x Mindmoil
• 1x Ral, Izzet Viceroy
• 1x Thousand-Year Storm

Protection (3)

• 1x Blustersquall
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Turnabout

Ping (2)

• 1x Electrostatic Field
• 1x Guttersnipe

Proliferate (1)

• 1x Flux Channeler

Draw (13)

• 1x Archmage's Charm
• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Chemister's Insight
• 1x Faithless Looting
• 1x Frantic Search
• 1x Izzet Charm
• 1x Opt
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Radical Idea
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Risk Factor
• 1x Winds of Change

Ramp (12)

• 1x Astral Cornucopia
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Fire Diamond
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Izzet Cluestone
• 1x Izzet Locket
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Search for Azcanta  ^Flip
• 1x Sky Diamond
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Creativity
• 1x Thought Vessel

ProliferateTarget (9)

• 1x Aria of Flame
• 1x As Foretold
• 1x Astral Cornucopia
• 1x Chandra, Torch of Defiance
• 1x Firemind's Research
• 1x Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• 1x Primal Amulet  ^Flip
• 1x Ral, Izzet Viceroy
• 1x Saheeli, Sublime Artificer

Removal (5)

• 1x Beacon Bolt
• 1x Electrodominance
• 1x Lightning Bolt
• 1x Mizzium Mortars
• 1x Vandalblast

Flex (3)

• 1x Electrostatic Field
• 1x Guttersnipe
• 1x Mystic Retrieval

Tutor (2)

• 1x Gamble
• 1x Mystical Tutor

Swingers (1)

• 1x Arclight Phoenix

Commander (1)

Land (33)

• 1x Cascade Bluffs
• 1x Command Tower
• 14x Island
• 1x Izzet Boilerworks
• 1x Izzet Guildgate
• 9x Mountain
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Spirebluff Canal
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Sulfur Falls
• 1x Swiftwater Cliffs
• 1x Temple of Epiphany

Counter (9)

• 1x Archmage's Charm
• 1x Counterflux
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Disallow
• 1x Force of Will
• 1x Ionize
• 1x Izzet Charm
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Pact of Negation

Recurrence (5)

• 1x Finale of Promise
• 1x Izzet Chemister
• 1x Metallurgic Summonings
• 1x Mizzix's Mastery
• 1x Mystic Retrieval

Tokens (5)

• 1x Metallurgic Summonings
• 1x Murmuring Mystic
• 1x Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
• 1x The Locust God
• 1x Young Pyromancer

Discount (2)

• 1x As Foretold
• 1x Primal Amulet  ^Flip

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Sideboard

Other (3)

• 1x Anticipate
• 1x Chandra's Spitfire
• 1x Leyline of Anticipation

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Semi-Casual Niv-Mizzet, Parun

• Draw spells are removal/burn
• Instants/sorceries are cantrips
• Your hand overfloweth

Key Pieces

Draw Show

Niv's ping triggers each time you draw, so we've included a lot of draw.

• Archmage's Charm
• Brainstorm
• Chemister's Insight
• Faithless Looting
• Frantic Search
• Izzet Charm
• Opt
• Ponder
• Preordain
• Radical Idea
• Rhystic Study
• Risk Factor
• Winds of Change

Ramp Show

Getting Niv to stick on the board marks a new phase of the game. His hard casting cost makes him more difficult to ramp into than other commanders, but we've got several cards dedicated to it.

• Astral Cornucopia
• Chromatic Lantern
• Fire Diamond
• Gilded Lotus
• Izzet Cluestone
• Izzet Locket
• Izzet Signet
• Search for Azcanta  
• Sky Diamond
• Sol Ring
• Talisman of Creativity
• Thought Vessel

Tokens Show

Each of these cards generate tokens by doing things we're already doing -- drawing cards and casting instants/sorceries. They'll chump block for our Life/Planeswalkers and frequently go through for extra chip damage.

• Metallurgic Summonings
• Murmuring Mystic
• Saheeli, Sublime Artificer
• The Locust God
• Young Pyromancer

Counters Show

Once Niv is on the board, the highest priority is defending him, so we've included several counters.

• Archmage's Charm
• Counterflux
• Counterspell
• Disallow
• Force of Will
• Ionize
• Izzet Charm
• Mana Drain
• Pact of Negation

Support & WinCons Show

We've included several support cards to capitalize on the strengths of this deck. With the proper setup, a few of these cards could be alternate WinCons.

• Aria of Flame -- Snowball alt WinCon
• Chandra, Torch of Defiance -- Chandra's emblem is another WinCon, and she gives us more mana while we get there.
• Expansion / Explosion
-- Versatile support, thematic.
• Firemind's Research
-- Cheap, versatile, thematic.
• Isochron Scepter
-- Stick a counter or draw spell on it.
• Jace, the Mind Sculptor -- Brainstorm on a stick. His other loyalty abilities have great utility too. Unlikely to trigger ult.
• Mindmoil -- WinCon with Niv out. Biggest downside is drawing 6-10 cards repeatedly in one turn is a very fiddly way to end the game. Izzet flavor win, though.
• Mizzix's Mastery
-- Thematic win, possibly game-winning overload effect with Niv out.
• Ral, Izzet Viceroy -- Ral's emblem is a WinCon, but his -3 is reliable creature removal in a pinch.
• Thousand-Year Storm —- snowballs into tremendous value.

Proliferate Targets Show

Several of our cards use counters. Most of those cards perform adequately on their own, but I included a Flux Channeler for Izzet flavor, which occasionally pumps these cards. A few of these cards appeared in earlier sections.

• Aria of Flame
• As Foretold
• Astral Cornucopia
• Chandra, Torch of Defiance
• Firemind's Research
• Jace, the Mind Sculptor
• Primal Amulet  
• Ral, Izzet Viceroy
• Saheeli, Sublime Artificer

Notable Exclusions

Strong but Un-fun Show

• Easy infinite combos like Curiosity , Ophidian Eye , and Tandem Lookout (not fun)
• Wins from Omniscience or Enter the Infinite (sounds cool, but it was very anticlimactic)
• Excessive extra turns (not fun)
• Becoming archenemy with Aetherflux Reservoir .

Maybeboard Show

Too much $$$? Not enough space? Different strategy? Maybeboard.

• Docent of Perfection   and Talrand, Sky Summoner -- Space issue. Tokens are great, but too many non instants/sorceries detract from Niv's gameplan.
• Laboratory Maniac and Jace, Wielder of Mysteries -- Space issue. Have yet to deck out.
• Inexorable Tide and Tezzeret's Gambit -- Proliferation is a distraction from Niv's main gameplan.
• Arjun, the Shifting Flame -- Already have Mindmoil , which is strong but honestly too fiddly to want to fool with another one. Mindmoil is an Izzet flavor win, so it stays.

Ultimately shooting for a deck with a strong Izzet theme that is fun to play and is not oppressive to play against.

Date added	5 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 31 - 1 Rares 16 - 1 Uncommons 18 - 1 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.75
Tokens	Bird Illusion 1/1 U, Construct X/X C, Elemental 1/1 R, Emblem Chandra, Torch of Defiance, Emblem Ral, Izzet Viceroy, Insect 1/1 UR, Servo 1/1 C
Based on	Smug Bastard (Niv-Mizzet, Parun) Nevinyrral_Mayor_of_Urborg EDH