Nekusar, a deck for Chaotic Neutrals

Commander / EDH Combo Competitive Control Discard UBR (Grixis)

bipidyboo

Land (32)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Cephalid Coliseum
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Darkslick Shores
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Island
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Morphic Pool
• 1x Mountain
• 1x Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Shivan Reef
• 1x Snow-Covered Island
• 1x Snow-Covered Swamp
• 1x Spirebluff Canal
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Sulfur Falls
• 1x Swamp
• 1x Tolaria West
• 1x Underground River
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Watery Grave

Creature (3)

• 1x Laboratory Maniac
• 1x Notion Thief
• 1x Snapcaster Mage

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Narset, Parter of Veils
• 1x Tezzeret the Seeker

Artifact (21)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Alhammarret's Archive
• 1x Bolas's Citadel
• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Cursed Totem
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Isochron Scepter
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Library of Leng
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Memory Jar
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Mox Tantalite
• 1x Scroll Rack
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Creativity
• 1x Talisman of Dominance
• 1x Talisman of Indulgence
• 1x Temple Bell

Sorcery (16)

• 1x Dark Deal
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Echo of Eons
• 1x Fabricate
• 1x Gamble
• 1x Ill-Gotten Gains
• 1x Mizzix's Mastery
• 1x Past in Flames
• 1x Recoup
• 1x Reforge the Soul
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Wheel of Fortune
• 1x Whispering Madness
• 1x Windfall
• 1x Winds of Change
• 1x Yawgmoth's Will

Commander (1)

Instant (19)

• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Dispel
• 1x Dramatic Reversal
• 1x Flusterstorm
• 1x Force of Will
• 1x Lim-Dul's Vault
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Misdirection
• 1x Mission Briefing
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Pact of Negation
• 1x Pongify
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Tainted Pact
• 1x Turn Aside
• 1x Vampiric Tutor
• 1x Wheel and Deal

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Liliana's Caress
• 1x Megrim
• 1x Phyresis
• 1x Sigil of Sleep
• 1x Stranglehold
• 1x Waste Not

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My philosophy on Nekusar, the Mindrazer

• He's a wheel commander that is a good plan B in an EDH format where his raw damage won't win as reliably as other/better decks that rely on a damage+win strategy.
• The pieces to go for the "damage per draw theme" are costly and often inefficient. They require too much setup and attract too much hate too early. This gets you shut down in the game before you even get to do anything. (Casting blind Nekusar with no protection just gets him killed too (In this list, it's not all that worth protecting regardless))
• You're better off just ramping up and playing the "stop others from winning plan" instead of just going for it. This is often the plan for Isochron Scepter + Dramatic Reversal/Dox decks that don't just win immediately.
• He's weak on his own and technically involves a strategy that donates card advantage to your opponents.

LUCKILY THIS LIST ACCOUNTS FOR THAT...kinda

Gameplan

The goal here is to have an on-theme deck that's perfectly fine without using its commander... While still relating to the theme of the commander.

1. Ramp and delay other players
2. Make infinite mana via Dramatic Reversal + Isochron Scepter .
3. Win. Either with storm count on Aetherflux Reservoir or just drawing your deck until you get Mizzix's Mastery , casting your grave full of wheels to draw yourself out with Laboratory Maniac . Note that Waste Not and Alhammarret's Archive are close to essential here.
4. Can't win like that anymore? Liliana's Caress , Megrim and Nekusar, the Mindrazer is actually a considerable plan b if you've failed to win before.

Card Choices

Interaction/Control

Most of the choices I made are just dependant on my personal meta. I don't think that card choice here needs to be a carbon copy, but the following are what I believe to be essential:

• Swan Song , Dispel , Flusterstorm : U for a counterspell to protect yourself when you're popping off, or when you've invested in some ramp and have little mana to respond with.
• Force of Will , Pact of Negation , Mana Drain : I don't think you need to think about why.

These are my personal favorites.

• Slap Sigil of Sleep : on Nekusar and prepare to be banned from your playgroup!
• Stranglehold : You're playing a deck that punishes people for drawing, why let them tutor an answer? Decks that take turns can also go to hell.
• Narset, Parter of Veils : 8^)

radical win-enhancers

• Notion Thief : a wheel with this in play and consider it a win with Laboratory Maniac . with Alhammarret's Archive in play, this is just lol.
• Memory Jar : is a great pair with Narset, Parter of Veils . For 5 colorless, it's still incredible on its own.
• Temple Bell : If you've made infinite mana with Dramatic Reversal + Isochron Scepter , you've already won with this in play...
• Yawgmoth's Will : Sorry but this is obvious.
• Phyresis : Slap this on Nekusar, your opponents lose as soon as their draw at least 10 cards.
• Liliana's Caress , Megrim , Waste Not : This is your discard package.
• Tezzeret the Seeker : 5CMC but can be almost free if you untap the right rocks. If you untap with it on your next turn, you can tutor an uncounterable... If your opponents want to blow it up, they need to realize that priority is a thing!
• Tainted Pact : If you need something in a pinch, exile your deck till you get it. This can also exile your entire deck if you plan on winning with Laboratory Maniac .

Conclusion

Well... at least

• I don't like considering this deck to be cEDH viable, but it can certainly win pretty reliably or at least shake up your meta.
• 80% of this deck are staples for other Dramatic Reversal / Isochron Scepter decks.
• This deck is perfect for casuals who want to survive against cEDH decks and put up a good fight.

Date added	4 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	16 - 0 Mythic Rares 52 - 0 Rares 17 - 0 Uncommons 10 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.49
Tokens	Ape 3/3 G, Bird 2/2 U, Zombie 2/2 B