I'll hold on to that for you!

Commander / EDH Casual Control Multiplayer UR (Izzet)

NV_1980

Land (36)

• 1x Academy Ruins
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Halimar Depths
• 1x Highland Lake
• 10x Island
• 1x Izzet Guildgate
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 9x Mountain
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Swiftwater Cliffs
• 1x Temple of Epiphany
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Wandering Fumarole
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Artifact (12)

• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Cloudstone Curio
• 1x Elixir of Immortality
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Library of Leng
• 1x Liquimetal Coating
• 1x Mycosynth Lattice
• 1x Sapphire Medallion
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Thought Vessel

Creature (17)

• 1x Aladdin
• 1x Aura Thief
• 1x Bazaar Trader
• 1x Captivating Crew
• 1x Consecrated Sphinx
• 1x Djinn of Infinite Deceits
• 1x Dominus of Fealty
• 1x Gilded Drake
• 1x Goblin Electromancer
• 1x Guttersnipe
• 1x Hellkite Tyrant
• 1x Jace's Archivist
• 1x Memnarch
• 1x Psychosis Crawler
• 1x Roil Elemental
• 1x Viashino Heretic
• 1x Willbreaker

Sorcery (12)

• 1x Bribery
• 1x Fabricate
• 1x Mob Rule
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Reforge the Soul
• 1x Rite of Replication
• 1x Time Spiral
• 1x Traitorous Blood
• 1x Vandalblast
• 1x Windfall
• 1x Winds of Change

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Dack Fayden

Commander (1)

Instant (12)

• 1x Act of Aggression
• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Blue Sun's Zenith
• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Dissipate
• 1x Dissolve
• 1x Grab the Reins
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Reins of Power
• 1x Word of Seizing

Enchantment (9)

• 1x Charisma
• 1x Control Magic
• 1x Curiosity
• 1x Goblin Bombardment
• 1x Mind Over Matter
• 1x Ophidian Eye
• 1x Propaganda
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Treachery

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Welcome to I'll Hold On To That For You {U}{R}!

You are looking at an Izzet draw-damage and steal deck. Its commander, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, is a 4/4 legendary Dragon Wizard with ' Flying. Whenever you draw a card, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind deals 1 damage to target creature or player. Tap: Draw a card’.

This is the second EDH deck we ever built. Back in the day, we were looking for an Izzet commander who could accommodate our aikido/stealing strategies. We were unlucky (to this day) that this color-combination could not grant us an optimal one. Hence this is not the typical Niv deck one would expect. It’s more of a fun deck, filled to the brim with different ways in which we could claim victory; only a third of which would depend on Niv’s presence on the battlefield. We greatly appreciate feedback to any of our decks, including this one. Before you give any however, please take note of the following:

1. Having fun at MTG, is more important to us than winning games. We want our opponents to have a fun time playing against us too. That makes it more likely people will want to play against us again. This attitude is reflected in the way in which we build decks. They do not need to be invincible; not even competitive. We are ok with decks containing infinite combos though, as they can produce some hilarious results. So well done if you can pull one off; especially if it is original.
2. We no longer buy cards, but in cases that we feel a card really adds to our collection, we still trade them. This means that whenever you are suggesting a card we do not own, chances are slim it is going to end up in our deck. Please do not take this personally. Also, please do not let this stop you from making suggestions. Suggestions that do not make it into this deck, will still be mentioned on this page and might be used by others.
3. Please do not forget to include the card(s) you would remove to make room for your recommended card(s).
4. Please do not recommend any cards with infect or cards whose sole purpose is to destroy basic lands (non-basic lands are fair game). Our playgroup has banned them.

With that being said, thank you for all your support and if you should decide to use our ideas, have lots of fun with them.

How to use this deck

This deck's main power, is its ability to steal our opponents' stuff. However these cards tend to have a CMC of three or more. So during the first few turns of the game, we focus on our mana base and cheap draw spells to gain an advantage. We use our counter spells to keep our opponents on edge in this phase. Once we've gotten past turn 3-4, the first opportunities to steal our opponents' stuff should become available. We gain control and we attack! Once we're done with that, we either keep them or sac them for damage dealing or mana. If at all possible, we get Niv-Mizzet onto the battlefield early. His ability allows us to draw cards and damage our opponents while doing that should not be underestimated.

Card choices

Mana/Ramp

Chromatic Lantern, Gilded Lotus, Izzet Signet, Sapphire Medallion, Sol Ring and Thought Vessel.

Counter/Disrupt

Counterspell, Cyclonic Rift, Dissipate, Dissolve and Vandalblast.

Draw/Tutors

Blue Sun's Zenith, Brainstorm, Consecrated Sphinx, Curiosity, Fabricate, Jace's Archivist, Mystical Tutor, Ophidian Eye, Ponder, Preordain, Reforge the Soul, Rhystic Study, Sensei's Divining Top and Winds of Change.

Cloning/Stealing

Act of Aggression, Aladdin, Aura Thief, Bazaar Trader, Bribery, Captivating Crew, Charisma, Control Magic, Dack Fayden, Djinn of Infinite Deceits, Dominus of Fealty, Gilded Drake, Hellkite Tyrant, Memnarch, Mob Rule, Reins of Power, Rite of Replication, Roil Elemental, Stolen Identity, Traitorous Blood, Treachery, Willbreaker and Word of Seizing.

Pings/Sac Outlets

Goblin Bombardment, Guttersnipe, Mind Over Matter, Psychosis Crawler and Viashino Heretic.

Recursion/Bounce/Utility

Cloudstone Curio, Elixir of Immortality, Goblin Electromancer, Library of Leng, Mycosynth Lattice, Time Spiral.

Notable exclusions

• Arcanis the Omnipotent; excellent draw enabler but a bit expensive to cast, we have chosen to use Jace's Archivist as his draw potential is even better and he is cheaper to use. Furthermore he is a great disruptor of opponents’ hands as well.
• Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur; amazing card, but got countered or destroyed before we ever got to profit from it; exchanged it for a less high-profile card (Consecrated Sphinx).

Combos and synergies

• Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind + Curiosity/Ophidian Eye; draw, deal damage and repeat.
• Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind + Charisma; draw, deal damage and steal.
• Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind + Mind Over Matter; tap to draw and deal damage, discard to untap Niv. Repeat. Can go infinite if you add Library of Leng.
• Willbreaker + any targeted spell/ability; gain control of a creature (until Willbreaker leaves). Especially funny when targeting two creatures with Djinn of Infinite Deceits.
• Bazaar Trader + all temporary stealing instants/sorceries: stealing is now permanent.
• Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind/Goblin Bombardment + Aura Thief: steal everyone's enchantments.
• Aladdin/Memnarch/Hellkite Tyrant + Liquimetal Coating/Mycosynth Lattice; all your artifacts (everything) belong to us!
• Liquimetal Coating/Memnarch/Mycosynth Lattice + Viashino Heretic; destroy any permanent and deal damage equal to CMC to boot!
• Roil Elemental + Cloudstone Curio + any land; guaranteed control of an extra opposing creature each turn. If you manage to copy Roil Elemental with Rite of Replication, things can get really crazy.

Date added	7 years
Last updated	8 months
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 36 - 0 Rares 18 - 0 Uncommons 17 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.36
Tokens	Copy Clone, Emblem Dack Fayden
Folders	DragonMaus' Favourites, Decks to Watch