Do you consistently have an island to pitch to Foil? It seems like with only 9 islands you wouldn't always have one.

I can't believe you're not running Mana Confluence in your lands. It's essentially a strictly better City of Brass. If you want speed and mana consistency, you should be running both.

Also, Council's Judgment is three mana for a spell that punches through shroud, color protection, and indestructibility. In my Zur deck, I find that it's one of the cards I tutor for the most, especially when playing against tier one generals with protection like Animar, Narset, or Zur himself while he's wearing his sexy Diplomatic Immunity. I highly recommend it.

NarejED - City of Brass is almost always better than Mana Confluence in a Zur deck because Solitary Confinement makes the City a second Command Tower, while you would be forced to continue paying life for the Confluence.

Even so, there's no reason not to run both. The extra 2-3 life Mana Confluence will leach per game rarely makes the slightest difference.

The card draw from Unquestioned Authority, is that why you're running it it over the +1/+1 from Spirit Mantle? Also, I like the inclusion of Scroll Rack.

@ PlattBonnay: Haven't honestly playtested too much with the Foil. I assume that no I wouldn't often but for the chance of potentially casting it at zero the 4 mana might be better than a cheaper one. Not super sure though so i'll keep an eye on it.

@ NarejED: My reasons for not running both are that City of Brass is pretty much all around better and it barely made it in itself. My land base is consistent every game so another isn't needed.

@ enpc: Yes I always prefer the card draw to the +1/+1 in this deck; it's good by itself but great when combined with a top of library tutor in response. And thanks Scroll Rack has already done wonders since it's addition!

Finally finished my Zur deck, or at least worked on it to the point where I'm not running to make a change every day or two! Originally it was very Superfriend-ish, with tons of planeswalkers and only minimal focus on control elements and Zur's normal tron strategy. However, after seeing this deck so much, I decided to switch to the more traditional Zur tron lockdown strategy. I credited you in the description. Hope you can take a look!Zur Hur Hur

Has Dig Through Time ever been a consideration to you as an upgraded Impulse effect of a sort? Not always the most reliable spell early on, but it is one of the better card draw spells out there if only for the selection it offers.

Finally finished mine. Only 1 game in 5x 5-players games that I haven't won and it was due to land screwed & no haste/hexproof/shroud when I finally did get to cast Zur-daddy. I'm all ready for my LGS's monthly EDH FNM!

What are your thoughts on Misdirection?

First, i want to say sorry if my questions sounds wrong or out of the topic. I want to make this deck, but maybe a little bit more enchanment-based ( around 28 ++ or so ), like adding some enchanment creature ( maybe like Arthreos or Tasha ). And also i can't afford cards that are over $50 on its basic version, like cards such as JTMS or Force of Will.

Do you have some suggestions ? Or maybe someone have a budget decklist for Zur?

Thank you very much, and i would love to see the reply ...

Woops, I meant to suggest Web of Inertia for a combo with Rest in Peace

Hey man, awesome deck. I will be building your deck in the near future for my competitive commander deck. While i was searching through cards last night i came across something i thought i would ask you about.

Have you ever considered Hesitation or Standstill? Hesitation is a 2 drop blue Enchantment that's says when a spell is played sac it and counter target spell. Figured it would be useful for securing board position in the end game once you are established. It's from Stronghold.

Also for other removal options how about Seal of Doom, Removal, Cleansing from Nemesis. All are searchable via Zur

Wow! It's been awhile since I've had time to get back to you all haha.

@ NarejED: Thanks for the credit! I took a look and your list looks pretty solid; not too much I can think of at the moment aside from maybe considering a Riptide Laboratory as you have several wizards and it could save Zur as a last resort. I'll pop a link up for your deck in the description as well btw.

@ KillDatBUG: Honestly no I haven't considered Dig Through Time before... Looking at it though it just looks like one time use Scroll Rack type of effect which the rack can do just fine (and repeatedly) so I'll think i'll pass on it for now. As for Misdirection I've thought about it before but am still unsure whether it'll make the cut. I'm just worried it'll either be a dead draw in my hand or that I won't have a blue card when I do need to cast it for the alternate cost. I'll keep an eye on it regardless. Thank you for the suggestions.

@ Monji: It's kind of hard to make suggestions without a decklist or specific cards you want a budget alternative for so the best I can do without making you an entire deck (which I really don't have time for) would be to suggest you do an advanced deck search for commander deck's with Zur as the commander and sort it by descending score and enter budget as a hub. Here's a link to that search: Budget Zur Search (If it works right...)

@ Podkomorka: I feel like the Web / RIP combo while both hilarious and deadly isn't quite worth it. While Rest in Peace function as an anytime graveyard reset it has use by itself while Web of Inertia's anti-attack mechanic is nigh on useless by itself; this being said I like to only include combos that have dual purpose. It's the exact same reason I haven't put in that Helm of Obedience yet. Thanks for the suggestion!

@ sonalexander: In a previous version of the deck Standstill was tested and I found that it wasn't seen as a deterrent to play cards and I've got other enchantments that give me better card draw. Hesitation on the other hand I've never seen before... First thought was that It'll probably end up slowing me down and hindering me as much as it will do likewise to my opponent(s), seems like a wasted slot to me if the pro doesn't outweigh the con. My late game strategy usually involves land lock either by keeping them perma-tapped or destroying them so a counterspell enchantment won't do too much good if no one can play anything! :D Cleansing doesn't really seem relevant in EDH as 1-10 life usually isn't a problem. I generally don't care about the creatures on the board as I get health back with life link and can hide behind Solitary Confinement almost indefinitely if things turn south. Problematic creatures are usually dealt with by means of counter spells, instants/sorceries or tutored up with zur (Oblivion Ring / Detention Sphere) so Seal of Doom isn't really necessary. Thank you for the suggestions.

All of that makes a lot of sense. I almost have this whole deck constructed. So i will post findings and suggestions as they arise.

Also i think you miss understood part of my comment above. I wasn't suggesting Cleansing. I was suggesting Seal of Cleansing and Seal of Removal.

Also, now that they changed the tuck rule for commanders. What are your thoughts on things like Oblation? I feel like it's good to replace it with something like Utter End or just solid removal at this point because you can't really get rid of a commander now.

As for your counter spell line up Have you considered using Remand,Spell Pierce or Disrupt? I feel Remand is better than memory lapse and Spell Pierce is really solid. Covers a wider range of targets. Also Disrupt is a cantrip. I would also highly recommend Misdirection. Ive been a fan of it since its debut back in MM. Its extremely potent as a counter spell. Im still working through the deck list and play testing it so im not sure where to make cuts as your deck is extremely solid. But i kind of want a few more counters and another removal like utter end in here.

I don't know why people think Memory Lapse is so bad. I think it is a great counter spell. With Remand, yes you draw a card, but they can cast it again (if they have mana). You also know what the next card that they are going to draw is. Memory Lapse with some sort shuffle to a commander is legal tucking :)

The-Xellos - memory lapse isn't "legal tucking", the rule is that if your commander would be sent to your library/hand/graveyard/exile from anywhere, you can put it back in the command zone.

Person can chose if they want it in the command zone or top of deck, if they chose top of deck and they shuffle before they draw they cannot change there mind and get it out before the shuffle.

Thats true, although that is no different than any other tuck effect ever printed.

@ PlattBonnay: I think The-Xellos was implying that people are more liable at certain times to allow their commander to go to top of library instead of the alternative of incurring recasting penalties from the command zone. If they do choose to put their commander on top it'll give you free reign to shuffle their library for them. ;)

Hey again,

So in my play testing and matches im starting to see a few cards that could be cut without effecting the deck too much. Mainly because in my experience they turn out to be redundant to better cards in the deck. I am considering cutting the following from my deck to add the following

cuts:Phyresis, steel of the godhead, umbra Mystic, oblation, copy Enchantment

Adds:Cryptic Command, Misdirection, Utter End,Forbid,Hero's downfall

My reasons for this are as follows

Phyresis: Acts as a "win more" card. With you only needing 21 dmg to kill with Zur. Using infect to get to 15 late game seems like a back step.

Steel of the Godhead: Both abilities on the card are granted by Daybreak Coronet. And you can use Unquestioned Authority to make Zur unblockable anyways. And seemly redundant card.

Umbra Mystic: Vanishing pretty much covers this ability without question. I get the second level of defense. But i would rather just use counter magic as my back up.

Oblation: Since the tuck rule is gone i don't like this card giving my opponent cards. I prefer permanent solutions. Replaced with utter end.

Copy Enchantment: Maybe i just haven't come across a great use for this card yet. But i feel another control card is better in this slot. Using it for greater Auramancy is awesome. But it can be better served as more control.

The additions should be obvious on why. Again fantastic deck man. I'm loving it so far. Just wanted to pass along my observations. Tell me what you think on the changes.

Hey again,

Wanted to relay my latest observation. I just got a hold of a snapcaster mage. Omg this guy belongs in this deck. Only played a few games with him in it. But each time he has been a life saver. He is really broken when combined with either Jace or Sun Titan. I highly recommend you find a spot for him if nothing else. Maybe cut Copy Enchantment or Phyresis for him.