Meloku's Big Pile of Garbage | Primer

Commander / EDH Combo Infinite Combo Landfall Lands Mono-Blue Primer Tokens

ellisgriffin13

Land (46)

• 1x Academy Ruins
• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Bazaar of Baghdad
• 1x Blast Zone
• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Castle Vantress
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Crumbling Vestige
• 1x Drownyard Temple
• 1x Field of the Dead
• 1x Geier Reach Sanitarium
• 1x Gemstone Caverns
• 1x Inventors' Fair
• 2x Island
• 2x Island
• 2x Island
• 2x Island
• 1x Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
• 1x Mishra's Factory
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Mystic Sanctuary
• 1x Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
• 1x Radiant Fountain
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Riptide Laboratory
• 1x Seat of the Synod
• 6x Snow-Covered Island
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Sunscorched Desert
• 1x Terrain Generator
• 1x Thawing Glaciers
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Tolaria
• 1x Tolaria West
• 1x Urza's Saga
• 1x War Room
• 1x Zhalfirin Void

Ramp (12)

• 1x Explorer's Scope
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Dreamscape Artist
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Prismatic Lens
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Thran Dynamo

Card draw (10)

• 1x Read the Runes
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Idol of Oblivion
• 1x Search for Azcanta  ^Flip
• 1x Tolarian Winds
• 1x Trade Routes
• 1x Cosima, God of the Voyage  ^Flip
• 1x Fact or Fiction
• 1x Kindred Discovery
• 1x Dig Through Time

Wincon (10)

• 1x Dark Depths
• 1x Amulet of Vigor
• 1x Triskaidekaphile
• 1x Walking Atlas
• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Blasting Station
• 1x Retreat to Coralhelm
• 1x Coat of Arms
• 1x Time Warp
• 1x Patron of the Moon

Commander (1)

Interaction (11)

• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Eel Umbra
• 1x Into the Roil
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Metamorphic Alteration
• 1x Mystic Reflection
• 1x Reality Shift
• 1x Imprisoned in the Moon
• 1x Whirlwind Denial
• 1x Foil
• 1x Mystic Confluence

Utility (6)

• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Hidden Strings
• 1x Illusionist's Bracers
• 1x Thaumatic Compass  ^Flip
• 1x Emry, Lurker of the Loch
• 1x Scaretiller

Tutor (4)

• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Fabricate
• 1x Tribute Mage
• 1x Whir of Invention

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Maybeboard

Misc Value (22)

• 1x Jeweled Amulet
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x March of Swirling Mist
• 1x Carnage Altar
• 1x Culling Dais
• 1x Ideas Unbound
• 1x Monument to Perfection
• 1x Sindbad
• 1x Surveyor's Scope
• 1x The Reality Chip
• 1x Crucible of Worlds
• 1x Horn of Greed
• 1x Mana Breach
• 1x Mirran Safehouse
• 1x Oppressive Will
• 1x Quicksilver Fountain
• 1x Trinket Mage
• 1x Acid Rain
• 1x Forgotten Creation
• 1x Grafted Identity
• 1x Meishin, the Mind Cage
• 1x Ugin, the Spirit Dragon

Value Lands (12)

• 1x Cephalid Coliseum
• 1x Dust Bowl
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Isolated Watchtower
• 1x Minamo, School at Water's Edge
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Otawara, Soaring City
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Scavenger Grounds
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Zoetic Cavern

(Possible) Win Cons (9)

• 1x Artificial Evolution
• 1x High Tide
• 1x Prophet of Distortion
• 1x Aura of Dominion
• 1x Stitcher's Apprentice
• 1x Thornbite Staff
• 1x Hand of Vecna
• 1x Intruder Alarm
• 1x Tezzeret, Cruel Machinist

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Who needs lands, anyway?

Welcome to my primer for Meloku the Clouded Mirror, the best blue landfall commander there is. While the deck is rather funky to build, and playing it can be finnicky, it does have a generally simple game plan; ramp till kingdom come, play Meloku, then combo off using one of the many combos available to him. This deck is by far my most interesting and most fun, as it has really come into its own as a sort of freeform combo deck where you can pick and choose how you go about winning.

I chose Meloku because I wanted a cool Kamigawa commander, something weird like Toshiro Umezawa or Eight-and-a-Half-Tails, and ultimately decided on him when I read his ability. Something about the strangeness of it drew me in, like it was a puzzle I had to solve- hell, I'm still figuring him out to this day.

Cards in foil are the ones I'm considering cutting

Piloting the deck

Part One: The opening hand and the Early Game

One of the most important parts of the game for Meloku is probably the opening hand, as getting a good lead early can allow you to have more leeway when it comes to the tempo loss associated with Meloku's ability. General early game strategy is pretty simple; ramp as hard and as fast as you can. The more lands you can get out before turns 5-7, the better off you'll be

General rules about the opening hands for this deck-

1. The more lands, the better
2. Winning comes later; don't be tempted by a hand just because it has one of the wincons in it (besides Walking Atlas).
3. Interaction can wait

However, the most important rule about opening hands in Magic is that as long as you have a plan with the hand, and you think the plan is a good one, then keep it. The following are meant to be either examples of standout hands that are snap keeps, or just general examples of things that a good Meloku opener has

Great Hands: These hands are the absolute best of the best (for winning, at least), bangers one after another is what they are

• Amulet of Vigor + Thawing Glaciers and at least one other land- this is probably one of the best (and easiest) opening hands possible, as you just need to use Thawing Glaciers over and over again every turn until you start hitting some gas

• Any hand with Sol Ring/Ancient Tomb and 3+ lands- Having 2 or more mana on turn 1 is just ridiculous, so having it can often buy you enough of a head start in order to get some Meloku value pretty early on

• 3 lands + Thaumatic Compass + Walking Atlas - being able to guarantee land drops every turn from 3 onward by using Thaumatic Compass  's ability is huge, especially when you can also make a second land drop if you're drawing too many lands by playing Walking Atlas

• 3 lands + Burnished Hart + Emry, Lurker of the Loch - Recurrable ramp is a hell of a drug and doing it every turn gets really good really fast. You may run out of basics sooner than you might think; I only have 16 of them in the deck

• any 5 lands and Search for Azcanta  - Not only do you guarantee land drops, but you also smooth out future draws

Good Hands: The more realistic versions of the Great Hands, but still solid options that will allow you to play the deck with relative ease and without much risk

• Any hand with 3 lands and Thaumatic Compass  - thinning the deck and guaranteeing land drops are pretty huge for Meloku

• 3+ land and any 2 cards from the "Ramp" section of the deck- The more lands you got in this hand, the better- stick the lands and ramp to the moon

• 3 land and Dreamscape Artist- slightly faster than the Thaumatic Compass   hand, but it comes at the cost of card advantage. You may also run out of basics faster than you may think you do

• 4+ lands and Cosima, God of the Voyage  - hitting land drops and having some guaranteed card draw later in the game is really strong, and this hand is one of the most reliable ones you can get

• 5 or more lands- Just making land drops is very very good, especially when the majority of them provide you with some added benefit

Bad Hands

• Any hand with fewer than 3 lands- Unless it's an absolute banger, these kinds of hands should be avoided because they offer you very little in guaranteed land drops, and while relying on the deck giving you lands is quite bold and brash, it is neither practical nor effective. HOWEVER, if there is a plan you feel good playing out and the hand only has 3 lands, feel free to ignore this advice, as the most important part of any opening hand in Magic is a good plan
  

Part Two: Combos/How to win

In this section, we will go over some common lines of play that can easily result in your victory, with most of them being infinite combos. Before we get to that, however, we need to go over how to find these combos in the deck.

Fishing for Combos

In order to have an infinite combo, we must first find the requisite cards. So, in any given turn (past about turn 5 or so), you are presented with two options; set up, or fish for a combo. Turns where you set up would be things like casting a Walking Atlas or casting mana-intensive cards like Read the Runes or Patron of the Moon. What set up turns essentially boil down to is efficient mana usage.

Now we get to the main meat and potatoes; the fishing turns. A fishing turn is where you use most (if not all) of your available resources to dig through the deck in order to find a wincon card that will allow you to win either on your next turn or on the spot. Before you decide to fish for a combo, there are 2 things you must do first; one, have at least one card from the following list on the field: Ashnod's Altar, Walking Atlas, Patron of the Moon, or Retreat to Coralhelm, and two, you must have access to a powerful (or repeatable) source of card draw, such as Skullclamp, Tolarian Winds, or Trade Routes (in a pinch, something like Read the Runes could also work). Once you have fulfilled these requirements, you are ready to begin fishing. The fishing process almost always includes using Meloku's ability as much as you can and profiting off the result. This process can range from either being complex, or exceptionally simple; it all depends on what cards you currently have. For example, if your on-board wincon card is Ashnod's Altar and your card draw card is Skullclamp, then you are presented with a bit of a mathematical puzzle; every illusion you create you have to make a decision as to whether you sacrifice it to fuel future clampings, or do you clamp the illusion now. If, however, your on-board wincon is Walking Atlas and your card draw is Tolarian Winds, then the process is much easier; you activate Meloku until you have about 6 or so mana open, then you use 2 mana to cast Tolarian Winds, turning all those bounced lands into new cards, not to mention all the other cards you had in hand. Another big tip for fishing turns: hold off on land drops until you've gone through most of your card draw, as you could draw into an Inventors' Fair, for tutoring up final combo pieces, or a Sunscorched Desert for added instant-win potential to all of your infinites. In addition to all of this, you need to know what card/cards you are digging for on a turn like this, which is where we finally get to the combo part of this section.

Combo Time

Note that in any of the following combos, Meloku the Clouded Mirror can be replaced with a combination of either Field of the Dead + Oboro, Palace in the Clouds or Field of the Dead + Trade Routes , provided you have at least 7 lands with unique names. Using one of these 2 alternatives changes the order of the combo slightly, as the tokens are made when lands ETB, not when they are bounced

Because of how powerful Meloku's ability is, there are many other combos in the deck just waiting to be found, but these were the ones that I found myself turning to in most games:

Meloku +1 other card- Let's say you only have Meloku in play, and a combo is nowhere in sight, but you need to close the game within a few turns. Well, a very easy way to win is with Coat of Arms. The turn before you play coat, keep bouncing lands with meloku until you have 4 mana left, then on your next turn, play your land for the turn and windmill slam that coat of arms onto that table, and swing out. If your opponents are on 40 life each, you'll need to have a minimum of 12 illusions if you want to one shot all of them at once. Here's to hoping they have no flyers.

Meloku +2 other cards- Meloku the Clouded Mirror + Retreat to Coralhelm + Walking Atlas is another combo that can happen at instant speed, but this one only generates infinite illusions and infinite landfall; however, if you throw Sunscorched Desert or Blasting Station into the mix you can deal infinite damage to your opponents, or a Radiant Fountain to gain infinite life. The steps of the combo are:
1. activate Walking Atlas, putting a land into play, triggering Retreat to Coralhelm, untapping walking atlas
2. tap the land to activate Meloku the Clouded Mirror, returning the land to hand and making a 1/1 illusion
3. repeat

Meloku +2 other cards (Another one!)- Ashnod's Altar + Meloku the Clouded Mirror + Patron of the Moon is a bit of a more complicated one, so I'll do my best to explain it. This combo can produce infinite illusion tokens and mana. Note: this combo can be performed to generate more mana per loop, but that requires more lands. The steps below show the form of this combo that requires the fewest lands, needing only 2. The steps are:
1. Activate Meloku the Clouded Mirror once, bouncing a land to hand and making an illusion
2. Sacrifice the illusion to Ashnod's Altar, making 2 colorless mana
3. Use 1 of the 2 mana to activate Meloku again, creating another illusion
4. Sacrifice the illusion to Ashnod's Altar, going up to 3 mana
5. Activate Patron of the Moon, putting the 2 bounced lands back into play and going down to 2 mana
6. Repeat steps 1-5 to gain mana equal to x+1, where x is the number of times you perform this loop. You can then use this mana to make infinite tokens

Meloku +2 other cards (yet another one!) - Meloku the Clouded Mirror + Mystic Sanctuary + Time Warp is probably the most prolific of all Meloku combos, and for good reason. All you have to do is play Time Warp, bounce and re-play Mystic Sanctuary and put Time Warp back on top of your library. A simple 3-card, six mana combo. The steps (in exact order) are:
1. Play Time Warp
2. Play Mystic Sanctuary while you have 3 other islands out (if it was already on the battlefield, bounce it and re-play it with Meloku's ability)
3. Target Time Warp with Mystic Sanctuary's ability
4. Go to your next turn and draw Time Warp
Repeat for infinite turns. With some form of repeatable card draw, you can see your whole deck and combo for the kill from there. Alternatively, Meloku is a flyer with 2 power, so just go on the beatdown plan, assuming your opponents have no fliers

Meloku +3 other cards- Amulet of Vigor + Crumbling Vestige + Patron of the Moon + Meloku the Clouded Mirror. The steps of the combo are:
1. play Crumbling Vestige (untapped through Amulet of Vigor) and tap it for mana
2. return Crumbling Vestige to hand with Meloku's ability
3. use the mana you got from Crumbling Vestige's ETB trigger to activate Patron of the Moon, putting it back into play untapped thanks to Amulet of Vigor
4. repeat steps 2-4 to get infinite tokens

Card Draw

Cosima, God of the Voyage  - This 'ol gal gives this deck some much-needed recovery, as this very often overextends trying to get an infinite combo online, only to run out of gas at the very end. With Cosima, God of the Voyage   in play, we get some much needed breathing-room when it comes to combo-ing, as we can either cash her voyage counters in during the combo turn as an all-in gambit, or we can hold back in case something goes wrong and we fail. Worst comes to worst, you draw a few cards and have a big, threatening creature. On top of ALL of this, she's also a great card for an opener, as she can give a much-needed boost to Meloku's early game. All in all, a solid 10/10.

Dig Through Time- When you need to go turbo-combo-mode, this card pays all the dividends, especially considering all of the non-permanent spells I'm running, the graveyard will tend to be chock-a-block full of delve fodder. Seeing seven cards for 2 mana? Don't mind if I do

Fact or Fiction- Anyone who's played a Fact or Fiction knows that the piles are usually split 3-2 with the 3 pile being the one with lands in it, and lands is exactly what this deck needs, so a 4 mana spell that draws me 2-3 lands is a pretty good deal. I am considering cutting this card, however.

Idol of Oblivion- Probably one of the best sources of efficient and consistent card draw in Meloku; all you need to do is pay one mana and make an illusion to get a one-sided Howling Mine, and worst comes to worst, you can just make a big fat eldrazi and beat some ass

Kindred Discovery- Stapling the words 'draw a card' onto Meloku's ability is insanely good and it can allow you to dig super deep into your deck, often times it can even win you games on the spot due to the sheer number of cards you can draw

Read the Runes- Super efficient version of Stroke of Genius with a downside easily mitigated by Meloku; each Meloku activation gives you not only a permanent to sacrifice, but also a card to discard. Downsides of this card is that it requires a lot of mana and a lot of set up. Possibly going to cut this one in the future.

Search for Azcanta  - Can legitimately turn an opening hand from dogshit to a snap keep, its that good. In the early game, it acts as a way to smooth out card draw, and in the late game, it can dig you through the deck to cards like Skullclamp or Ashnod's Altar. Hell, it's one of the few ways the deck can consistently dig for non-artifact wincons like Retreat to Coralhelm.

Skullclamp- You know how earlier I was saying that drawing a card for each illusion is insane? Yeah, now you draw TWO CARDS per Meloku activation (but you do have to pay one mana per clamped illusion) if played early, this card can single-handedly keep you the king of the table for an entire game.

Tolarian Winds- With a commander who can fill your hand with lands on command, this card can very easily turn a bunch of useless lands into gas for the deck. There have been games where this has drawn me upwards of fifteen cards. Fifteen cards for just 2 mana? If that's not a good deal I dont know what is

Trade Routes- Sometimes you just have a few too many lands and not enough gas to really interact with the game. Trade routes allows you to turn those stinky old lands into fresh new interesting cards. Also can act as an emergency Meloku if he keeps dying, as that command tax adds up FAST.

Interaction

Arcane Denial- While arguably a downgrade of Counterspell, due to the fact that it gives your opponents card advantage, I would argue that denial is probably the most fair counterspell there is. Also, draws you a card. Also has added utility in that, in the absolute worst case scenario, you can counter a spell of your own and draw 3 cards.

Eel Umbra- Meloku is already 5 mana to cast the first time, and if he dies even once he goes up to 7 mana. SEVEN. MANA. I'd rather just spend 2 mana on this card and save his ass, wouldn't you agree? Can also save Walking Atlas or Patron of the Moon, or really any key creature if need be. Notably can't do shit if its an exile effect or a -X/-X effect

Foil- While it is a 3-for-1, it is also undeniably similar to Force of Will, one of the most powerful counterspells ever printed. Meloku can easily fill your hand with Islands and unneeded lands to feed this card's alternate cost.

Imprisoned in the Moon- Being able to not only meaningfully interact with your opponent's commander by outright disabling it, but it can also (in a pinch) turn an illusion into a land, making this into a really bad
Cultivate, but hey, ramp is ramp

Into the Roil- This is my general-purpose-deal-with-a-thing card, as it can temporarily stop an opponent from combo-ing off or it can just get a problem permanent off the board and clear the way for the win.

Mana Drain- Answers anything on the stack you want and gives you mana back on your turn, and sometimes just having an extra two or three mana can make all the difference, especially in what is essentially a combo deck. Can very much be replaced with Counterspell, but I happened to have one laying around.

Metamorphic Alteration/Mystic Reflection- A nice way to either deal with an opponent's commander or to turn an illusion of yours into a bomb. In the case of Mystic Reflection it can be especially hard for an opponent to get their commander back, as even when turned into an illusion, it's still technically on the battlefield, just a copy of an illusion

Mystic Confluence- My favorite modal counterspell ever printed; I like it more than Cryptic Command, as it tends to do too little in commander and Sublime Epiphany just for some reason feels like a very slow instant, but Mystic Confluence is just right between the two. It can bounce threats, counter a spell, and draw you cards all for 5 mana, so what's not to like?

Reality Shift- Exiling a creature at instant speed for 2 mana will never not be a good deal. Can also target illusions to potentially get 'card draw', but this is a very bad idea

Whirlwind Denial- Your opponents got a full stack of spells/abilities? Just clear that bitch; zero it out. Block your opponents' things and keep yours on the stack

Lands

Academy Ruins- having a repeatable way to get back artifacts is essential for this deck, as many of the artifacts I run are integral to my game plan, and I'm more than willing to forego my card draw for this kind of effect. Also, its incidental mill protection, as I will always be able to have a library (a one card library, but still)

Ancient Tomb- Finally got my hands on one of these for a good price, so in the deck it goes. Also, the deck tends to be pretty slow on the earlier turns of the game, limited mostly by mana, and this definitely helps a lot with that issue, but there are some relevant play sequences that are still difficult to do on turn one, such as playing and activating a Wayfarer's Bauble. This land does, however, allow us to play one of our many 2-mana rocks on turn 1 without a Sol Ring, which is something that this deck has been needing for a while; it makes it to where the deck is less reliant on a turn 1 Sol Ring, which is very nice

Bazaar of Baghdad- The most fair Bazaar ever put into a deck. Meloku loves to fill up a hand with garbage, be it lands, spells you don't need, or unnecessary ramp pieces. Bazaar lets you not only get rid of some of the garbage, but it lets you see further into your deck every turn. Do keep in mind, while it is a land, it does NOT add mana.

Blast Zone- Having a Ratchet Bomb attached to a land is very scary, and can help blue deal with permanents that it would normally struggle with getting off the table for good

Buried Ruin- Recursion for artifacts on a land is very good, especially in a deck as reliant on them as this one.

Castle Vantress- Island with upside; can be a good mana sink for when the deck runs out of gas

Command Tower- Island with upside; acts as another name for Field of the Dead, and it gets around Boil!

Crumbling Vestige- With Amulet of Vigor added to the mix, this card has a few combos that involve it. Part of a possible combo with Thornbite Staff if I include it

Drownyard Temple- My budget, single-use Crucible of Worlds. Great discard fodder if you have too many cards in hand or for Read the Runes and Tolarian Winds. This card is best friends with Geier Reach Sanitarium as well.

Field of the Dead- With Trade Routes or Oboro, Palace in the Clouds, this becomes a Build-A-Meloku, and without it's still one of the best lands ever printed. With this deck having 35 distinct names among lands in this deck, you're bound to get a few zombies

Geier Reach Sanitarium- Not only does this card allow for politics to be made around the table, but it can also act as an enabler for Drownyard Temple, or it can slowly churn through the deck. There's probably a combo with this card in the deck, as there is no 'may' clause on it; it forces everyone to draw.

Gemstone Caverns- A 2-for-1 that I'm more than willing to take, especially considering how desperately this deck needs to make land drops

Inventors' Fair- Fabricate on a land. Notably you do have to have 3 or more artifacts, but with 20 or so artifacts in the deck, you should be fine

Island- Have to have 'em.

Mikokoro, Center of the Sea- Great for politics and making alliances, but also your opponents have no choice; they have to draw the card, so there may be a combo with that

Mishra's Factory- It's a land when you need a land, and a creature when you need a creature; holds a Sword of the Animist real good and can be sacrificed to Ashnod's Altar in a pinch, especially because it can animate itself

Myriad Landscape- Burnished Hart but on a land. Arguably better than the Hart if you have Amulet of Vigor.

Mystic Sanctuary- Island with upside. Can allow for repeated tutors with things like Fabricate or Whir of Invention, or can just lock some poor schmuck out of the game if you use this to recur a counterspell of some kind. Infinite combo if you add an extra turn spell.

Oboro, Palace in the Clouds- Island with upside. Can act as an emergency Meloku if you combine it with Field of the Dead, can even go infinite with Retreat to Coralhelm + Walking Atlas

Radiant Fountain- Can be used to gain infinite life if you have pretty much any of the infinite combos of the deck up and running. Otherwise, good at padding your life total

Reliquary Tower- With a commander who bounces things to hand, you tend to have a lot of cards in hand. This lil ditty lets you keep all those cards

Riptide Laboratory- extra, repeatable protection for Meloku

Seat of the Synod- Island with upside. Fetchable off of Whir of Invention and counts towards the requisite artifacts for Inventors' Fair. Watch out for Vandalblast, though

Snow-Covered Island- Island with upside. Basically just an island with a different name for Field of the Dead

Strip Mine- Can deal with problem lands such as Glacial Chasm or Emeria, The Sky Ruin.

Sunscorched Desert- Adds instant kill potential to any combo that involves Meloku

Terrain Generator- A basics-only Walking Atlas that costs 2 mana to activate is still an amazing deal

Thawing Glaciers- With Amulet of Vigor, it goes from being one of the worst cards in the whole deck to being one of the best, as it basically becomes a repeatable fetchland that doesn't even need Crucible of Worlds. An ideal opening hand is Amulet of Vigor + Thawing Glaciers and one other land

Thespian's Stage- Combos with Dark Depths. This card allows mw to double dip on whatever land I need the most at the moment, whether that be a second Field of the Dead for an army of zombies, or a second War Room for an absolute grindfest

Tolaria- Island with upside. This legendary land is just a funny one that adds to the different name count for Field of the Dead

Tolaria West- Yet another Island with upside. This is a second copy of Expedition Map that's also just stapled onto a land, making it much more difficult for your opponents to interact with. On top of this, the usual downside of this card, that being you don't wanna play it because you might need to transmute it later, is completely undone my Meloku, as he can just bounce it back to hand for all of your transmuting needs. Be careful, however, you can only transmute as a sorcery, so no end step shenanigans unfortunately

Urza's Saga- This card fucks (that's a good thing). It makes bodies for killing, it tutors up cards, and it goes to the graveyard to be re-used by things like Scaretiller. Unfortunately, the saga sacrificing itself is a state-based action, so no Meloku bouncing tricks to stop it from going away :(. On the bright side, when this card sacrifices itself, you can find some of this deck's best artifacts, like Expedition Map to find whatever other land you need, or Amulet of Vigor to help you get some extra value or finish a combo. Hell, it can even get Sol Ring

War Room- This card is actually pretty nuts, as it allows a combo deck (like this one) to be able to hold its ground against control decks, giving it incredible resilience that it otherwise doesn't have. 9/10.

Zhalfirin Void- Not only can it smooth out some draws, especially with Retreat to Coralhelm, but if you are missing a Sunscorched Desert and have one of the many infinite landfall combos online, you can stack your deck to get your finisher on top

Ramp

Burnished Hart- Because this deck NEEDS lands, having a consistent way of getting them out of the deck is a must. Sac this guy for some lands, maybe cast it again with an Emry, Lurker of the Loch. Also tutorable off of Whir of Invention and Fabricate

Dreamscape Artist- Having a repeatable Harrow in a landfall deck is always nice, and this card can also thin the deck very well and very fast

Explorer's Scope- This deck tends to have a bunch of illusions laying around to attach this to, and by having 41 lands the chances of hitting one off of the ability is pretty high. Can also be attached to Meloku

Arcane Signet, Mind Stone, Prismatic Lens, Thought Vessel- Just your basic 2 CMC mana rocks, with thought vessel probably being the best one, as this deck tends to have either no cards in hand or a billion cards in hand

Sol Ring- Commander staple, have to have it in pretty much every deck because its just that good

Solemn Simulacrum- a Rampant Growth that I can cast multiple times with things like Emry, Lurker of the Loch and Buried Ruin? AND it draws cards? Sign me up.

Sword of the Animist- For one mana more than Explorer's Scope, this thing allows you to always get a land on attack, and Meloku NEEDS lands in order to function, so this card is a must

Thran Dynamo- Helps pay for Meloku's steep casting cost, especially once that command tax stars adding in

Wayfarer's Bauble- a 3 mana Rampant Growth that I can cast over and over again with things like Emry, Lurker of the Loch

Test cards

Cards that I'm bringing from the maybeboard for testing, unfortunately this section is currently empty. Hopefully I'll find some spicy includes to throw in here

Tutor

Expedition Map- Super flexible, as it allows you to get whatever corner-case land ability you need. If you have the Retreat to Coralhelm + Walking Atlas combo online, you can grab a Sunscorched Desert to immediately close the game, or if you are missing a combo piece, you can fetch up Inventors' Fair and use that to tutor up a wincon. Can also find whatever land you are missing for the Dark Depths + Thespian's Stage combo.

Fabricate- The world is your oyster on this one. Got too few lands? Fetch up a Burnished Hart or Wayfarer's Bauble. Missing a combo piece? Just go get the piece you need. Got a bunch of illusions laying around doing nothing? Go grab a Coat of Arms to beat some ass. This card does whatever you need it to

Tribute Mage- extremely flexible in this list. It can find pretty much any ramp piece, or it can find Walking Atlas to help close the game. If needed, it can even grab things like Idol of Oblivion if you need some card draw, or it can grab Illusionist's Bracers if you need some extra value from Meloku

Whir of Invention- probably the best card in the deck. It will almost never be a dead draw, as no matter what mana you put into the X, you can fetch something. Here's the list of the best things to get for each X value:

X=0- Seat of the Synod
X=1- Sol Ring, Wayfarer's Bauble, Expedition Map, Skullclamp, Amulet of Vigor, Sensei's Divining Top
X=2- Mind Stone (or any other mana rock), Walking Atlas, Idol of Oblivion, Illusionist's Bracers, Sword of the Animist, Thaumatic Compass  
X=3- Ashnod's Altar, Blasting Station, Burnished Hart
X=4- Solemn Simulacrum, Scaretiller
X=5- Coat of Arms
Remember; whir puts them INTO PLAY, not into your hand

Utility

Emry, Lurker of the Loch- Many favorable interactions with things like Burnished Hart and Wayfarer's Bauble, making Emry probably one of the better draws for repeatable ramp. Also allows for repeatable tutor through Expedition Map. Just generally good at repeating card effects over and over

Hidden Strings- Not only does this card (basically) cost zero mana because it can untap the 2 lands used to cast it, it also staples itself onto an illusion, allowing you to ramp yourself, mess with your opponents' things, or even just untap Walking Atlas. Two Twiddles on a single card that casts itself over and over? Yes, please

Illusionist's Bracers- Makes combo-ing off a hell of a lot easier, as it acts as a colorless token doubler for Meloku. And, even without a full combo, it provides a lot of favorable interactions, like making a shitload of mana with Ashnod's Altar, and making it leagues easier to kill your opponents with Coat of Arms.

Scaretiller- A budget version of Crucible of Worlds, possibility of an infinite combo if I include Thornbite Staff in the list. Can also just straight-up undo the downside of Meloku's ability once per turn. This little guy just keeps coming up when it comes to synergies. Thinking on maybe just putting Crucible of Worlds back in, though

Sensei's Divining Top- can come down early to ensure that you get some nice draws in the future, especially considering how often this deck just has one mana laying around. On top of this, the amount of times that the deck shuffles itself all but insures that I'm going to see a large chunk of my deck

Thaumatic Compass  - a better Journeyer's Kite that turns into a Maze of Ith for added ramp and protection. Worse comes to worst, its a 2 mana land

Wincon

Amulet of Vigor- The number of situations where this card shines may be few, but those few allow for some wild times to be had by Meloku. Combine it with Thawing Glaciers for some of the best deck thinning and ramp you could ask for, especially in the early game. Combine it with Patron of the Moon to just go hog wild with Meloku and make a billion tokens every turn. Combine Patron of the Moon with Meloku and a land that makes multiple mana, such as Crumbling Vestige (and to a lesser extent, Ancient Tomb) and you've got yourself an infinite combo, baby

Ashnod's Altar- By using this card in conjunction with Meloku, you can make his ability read 'return a land you control to its owner's hand: add {C}' which is far and away the best way of producing mana that this deck has, making this card probably the best single combo piece in this entire deck. Combos with Patron of the Moon and Meloku

Blasting Station- On it's own, it's probably the weakest of the individual wincon cards, but it replaces the token generation on Meloku's ability with the line of text 'deal 1 damage to any target', which is a worthwhile investment in many scenarios. Also adds instant game-winning potential to any of this deck's infinite token combos (which there are many of). As a combo piece it is very comparable to Sunscorched Desert; Blasting Station is arguably worse than Sunscorched Desert.

Coat of Arms- while not the deck's main strategy, making big dumb fliers for 1 mana each is never a bad idea. Can be a very bad draw if either you have no illusions/zombies, or if one of your opponents has a tribal deck of some kind.

Dark Depths- Combos with Thespian's Stage to make a 20/20 flying indestructible creature at instant speed, and having a way to just put pressure on your opponents out of nowhere is very nice, especially because this is a wincon that relies solely on lands to work, so its much more difficult to interact with. Also, it can be recurred through Scaretiller for added resilience and repeatable ways of making Marit Lage over and over

Patron of the Moon- kicks the deck into eleventh gear, as it's basically a turbo mode Walking Atlas. The amount of tokens you can make with just Meloku and Patron is insane, and once you add Field of the Dead and Amulet of Vigor into the mix, you can easily produce 20+ tokens every turn. Notable interactions usually include Ashnod's Altar and Amulet of Vigor.

Retreat to Coralhelm- Early game it gives you a way to smooth out your draws and can even give extra value through Emry, Lurker of the Loch. Also it's part of one of the two 2-card combos this deck has, even though it is arguably the second weakest of the wincon cards.

Time Warp- Yet another inifite combo here. Combine it with Meloku and Mystic Sanctuary for infinite turns, all you need is 3 other islands and you've got yourself a game win. Just bounce Mystic Sanctuary to hand and play it out every turn, putting Time Warp back on top every time.

Triskaidekaphile- Not only can this card give the deck some much-needed longevity, but as soon as you stick this on the table, the game becomes a race to get to a number of lands equal to 13 - X, where X is your hand size. On its own, this card is probably one of the strongest single cards for closing games or skyrocketing your lead, even being up there with cards like Cosima, God of the Voyage   and Skullclamp. A very important note though, you have to start your turn with 13 cards in hand; Triskaidekaphile's ability won't trigger if you do not have 13 cards in hand at the start of your upkeep.

Walking Atlas- If I had to pick one card (other than Meloku) to be the MVP of this deck, it would be this little guy. For only 2 mana he can take away the downside of Meloku's ability (albeit once per turn) by giving you an additional land drop per turn, which is an ability that this deck desperately needs. Has tons of ways of being tutored up, and is part of one of the 2-card combos. All in all, the best card in this deck; if you draw this bad boy, slam him on the table and go buck wild.

Please feel free to let me know of any suggestions you may have

Date added	4 years
Last updated	1 year
Key combos	Dark Depths + Thespian's Stage Amulet of Vigor + Thawing Glaciers Meloku the Clouded Mirror + Retreat to Coralhelm + Walking Atlas Retreat to Coralhelm + Walking Atlas Meloku the Clouded Mirror + Mystic Sanctuary + Time Warp Thaumatic Compass + Walking Atlas Burnished Hart + Emry, Lurker of the Loch Ashnod's Altar + Meloku the Clouded Mirror + Patron of the Moon Amulet of Vigor + Crumbling Vestige + Patron of the Moon Field of the Dead + Oboro, Palace in the Clouds Field of the Dead + Trade Routes
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	2 - 0 Mythic Rares 39 - 0 Rares 26 - 0 Uncommons 19 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.74
Tokens	Construct 0/0 C, Copy Clone, Eldrazi 10/10 C, Illusion 1/1 U w/ Flying, Manifest 2/2 C, Marit Lage, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	Decks, Kamigawa Commanders