Need help building a wizard tribal deck
Commander Deck Help forum
Posted on April 4, 2016, 9:04 a.m. by SamSepiol
Hi all, what I'd like to ask is pretty simple.I want to build a mono-U wizard tribal deck featuring Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir as the commander.
I'm aware of Azami, Lady of Scrolls, I just like Teferi more than her, as a card and as a character.
I' d like to build a classic mono-U control deck, but with at least some useful creatures and maybe some combos too (I know of the Knowledge Pool+Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir one, but I'd rather avoid it if I can).
I'm pretty new to Magic and I never built a tribal deck before, so I'm asking for some advices, maybe even some links for a good wizard themed decklist that could give me an idea, I don't know haha!
A last thing: I'm on a quite tight budget, so if you could not exceed the 5 euros (maybe I should write $ here(?)) for one card it would be nice. But of course I accept every advice, I'm obviously aware of Snapcaster Mage and Vendilion Clique, so you're free to tell me what you want, everything is appreciated!
Thanks in advance to who will help me, obviously
Raging_Squiggle says... #3
Blue Player May I?
Commander / EDH
SCORE: 6 | 433 VIEWS | IN 2 FOLDERS
if you want an idea on building a wizard tribal. It's a little outdated and will be updated soon with cards from SOI and BFZ.
Trail of Evidence is a great addition right off the bat. Especially since you're not playing Azami, you need an alternate way to draw lots of cards.
April 4, 2016 9:54 a.m.
Thanks to both of you (Riptide Laboratory was pretty obviously though haha)!
Raging_Squiggle, what do you think of cards like Raven Guild Master, Mindslaver and/or some Sphinx creatures in a deck like that? Should I stick with wizards exclusively?
What will you change with your BFZ/SOI update? Happy to hear that I am not the only one that like wizards decks!
April 4, 2016 11:55 a.m.
nobu_the_bard says... #5
Milling is not a good Commander strategy unless you go all-in. The deck needs to be milling at a large scale very fast to actually succeed. Raven Guild Master has no evasion; to use him effectively, you will need to help get through, and also he will need to hit a player at least 8 times to actually mill them by himself. I wouldn't include him unless he is somehow otherwise perfect for your deck- otherwise he is likely to just provide fuel for something like Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord or The Mimeoplasm.
Mindslaver is a good finisher but you'll probably want something like Academy Ruins and Buried Ruin and such tricks to take full advantage of it. It doesn't finish them off by itself though, so it is a good but complicated (albeit very blue) finisher.
Even though wizards have a couple of support options, they don't have a lot of finisher options built into the tribe. They typically, from what I have seen, use a lot of control type cards and deck everyone with things like Jace's Archivist and mass forced draw spells like Windfall. These operate at a much larger scale than Raven Guild Master. You can include something like Laboratory Maniac to try to mitigate the threat of milling yourself.
April 4, 2016 2:26 p.m.
@nobu_the_Bard
I forgot to mention that I'd like to put some equipment cards in the deck to add the chance of winning through commander damage (something like Swiftfoot Boots, Whispersilk Cloak, the Mirrodin swords etc.), so maybe the Raven Guild Master could become an alternate wincon if paired with evasion-double strike (Fireshrieker?).What do you think about this?
If the Raven Guild Master is not viable, could at least be good to put some equipment in the deck for the commander?
And what about the counterspells count? In my actual deck I run like 10 (I also forgot to mention that I play Duel Commander), and while I can counter pratically everything that could harm me, and win in the end, I don't really enjoy that play style.
P.S.: please notice that the Raven Guild Master actually exile cards, so it won't help any graveyard based deck
April 4, 2016 3:28 p.m. Edited.
Raging_Squiggle says... #7
I run about 20~ hard counterspells, plus maybe an additional 6 control cards like Capsize, Time Stop, or Washout.
My deck works a bit differently than Teferi decks, since I can very quickly draw cards on a whim. Sphinx's Tutelage works in my deck because I draw so many cards. While it is not a full-front mill deck, it does provide a large enough disruption to opponents by milling combo pieces or power cards at instant speed.
I recently put in Raven Guild Master to try him out. So far he's not very overwhelming. But that's just until I can get a Sower of Temptation or Vendilion Clique.
My main win con is Blue Sun's Zenith my library,to ensure I draw only the Blue Sun, then force everyone else to draw out. An alternate win condition I have is infinite turns with Beacon of Tomorrows and Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre.
Mindslaver is ok. In my deck I'd much prefer casting a Mind Over Matter. It's the same cmc, but with my commander Azami, Lady of Scrolls, it's an infinite combo. Or Invoke Prejudice. It's 2 less to play, and the ability is much more severe than controlling a player for a turn.
April 4, 2016 7:19 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #8
Oops, tagged a person by accident. Wash Out is the correct link.
April 4, 2016 7:20 p.m.
So..could I try a voltron-ish approach with Teferi, or is it not viable? I want the wizard theme to be like a support, and I don't want to fill the deck with dozens of counterspell (I guess i could run 7-8, just to be sure).
I do like bounce spells and removals like Pongify, and I love artifacts too, that's why I wanted to put equipments Into the deck
Sorry if I am too vague...
April 4, 2016 7:42 p.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #10
If you want mono-blue voltron, Teferi isn't the commander for you. Tromokratis is the right guy for that job. I also have a deck for him but it's not on here yet.
April 4, 2016 7:48 p.m.
Ow, no, no, I just want the commander damage as an alternate wincon, that's why I talk about "voltron-ish approach" and equipments.
I surely want this to be a mono-blue control deck, just with more than the obvious "you finished the fuel, now I drop my fatties" win condition.
Is this an unusual idea, too difficult to be built around?
April 4, 2016 7:56 p.m. Edited.
nobu_the_bard says... #12
Woops I didn't notice Raven Guild Master was mill-exile. Haha! Well that's less bad but it's still kind of small scale. He might be better in duel commander (he only has one opponent to worry about) if you can provide him some evasion. The problem will be you'd need more wizards that want to attack go with him and stick to theme. Not sure there's a lot of those? Most wizards are durdly guys that operate defensively.
Voltron is like mill in that it is tough to dabble in unless you already have a predilection for it with your other card choices. Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir isn't great for it (he's got low power, has no built-in evasion or protection). He'd need equipment to provide for all the things he lacks. Teferi is a very defensive guy; he lends himself to a control deck well. If you're serious about it though the Sword of Body and Mind is a good place to start; hooks into what you're doing already.
Anyway! Duel Commander is very different from Commander. Very important to note that. I don't have much direct experience with it (it is a much faster format and has a different banlist) so I'm going to leave further suggestions to the others.
April 4, 2016 10:35 p.m. Edited.
@nobu_the_Bard
Thanks a lot, you helped me just commenting!
I think both of you are right, I guess I'll just stick to the classic wizard-themed deck archetype, with a lot of draw power and answers. Maybe a Sphinx's Tutelage will even fit in, or maybe I will really switch to Azami hahaha!
April 5, 2016 12:52 a.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #14
Azami is, in my personal opinion, the most powerful 
commander you can have. The instant draw mechanic that bypasses summoning sickness is just too strong.
I'll update my deck list for you tonight and link it here for you again.
April 5, 2016 1 a.m.
@Raging_Squiggle
Thank you, it will surely help me a lot, at least as a starting point!
April 5, 2016 1:08 a.m.
Raging_Squiggle says... #16
April 5, 2016 2:54 a.m.
ForgeCityGames says... #17
i run a 
wizard tribal with Derevi, Empyrial Tactician as the general, its also a pillow fort deck since the colours give me access to Magus of the Moat and no wizard ever seems to have more then power 2
good mono-blue wizards on budget i find are Voidmage Husher because its amazing with Urza's Incubator. Patron Wizard and Voidmage Prodigy are staple, but less so when you dont have derevi to fuel it. Vedalken AEthermage is cheap as chips and is an uncounterable 3 colourless mana wizard tutor.
April 7, 2016 9:27 a.m.
Thanks a lot @ForgeCityGames, I definitely have to include Urza's Incubator in my list (the other two are already there)!
BloodoftheBloodMoon says... #2
Riptide Laboratory is a cool card
April 4, 2016 9:36 a.m.