So I've been getting a lot of questions regarding my Arjun, the Shifting Flame build, so I've decided to make a primer for my deck.
I am an originalist, so this will be different from many of the other Arjun decklists that tend to be spellslinger focused. I am not a fan of infinite combos so you won't find them in this deck. This deck is skill intensive to pilot as you need to intuit which spells to play at the correct time in order to keep Arjun's wheeling ability going, but it is an extremely satisfying experience.
The general strategy can be boiled down to playing Arjun early, playing lots of mana rocks, playing a hand doubler (Alhammarret's Archive/Teferi's Ageless Insight), and playing one of the win cons and wheeling away to victory, typically the turn after playing Arjun.
While piloting the deck it will test you in making the determination to play a mana rock/card draw/or something to untap you mana sources (eg. Dramatic Reversal).
Playing cards like Alhamarret's Archive/Teferi's Ageless Insight will make it easier to maintain your hand size (when at a comfortable hand size remove your hand doubler so you don't deck yourself).
Playing Stone Calendar will increase the number of free spells you can play by 4 cards, if Stone Calendar is copied it will increase the number of free spells by another 8 cards which helps maintain the wheeling engine. This does not take into account the benefit of a number of cards that will net you positive mana (eg. Basalt Monolith) or equal net mana (eg. Chromatic Lantern reduced to 1 CMC, but can tap for 1 itself). If you succeed in having 2 copies of Stone Calendar in play, 40% of the deck is essentially free to play,
Niether hand doublers nor mana cost reducers are required to win the game, as piloting the deck skillfully and managing your hand/mana can win you the game without them; its just easier when they are in play.
Playing Leyline of Anticipation/Vedalken Orrery is extremely beneficial to the opreration of the deck.
This deck has a toolbox assortment of win cons allowing you to win in several different ways. How you win will be dependent on how your opponents defend themselves from you.
WIN CONS
Chasm Skulker - Can get absurdly big after a couple wheels and has a nice ability amassing you a large token army if destroyed by your opponents.
Psychosis Crawler - One of your main win cons as it affects all your opponents and gets around damage prevention effects.
Niv-mizzet, the Firemind - Like Psychosis Crawler, a win condition and offers some pinpoint removal.
Psychic Corrosion - Another main win con when your opponents play life based shenanigans.
Diviner's Wand - Because sometimes you want to go toe to toe with an opponents' face and one shot someone.
CREATURES:
Etched Champion - A fantastic early defender whose metalcraft ability is essentially always turned on with the number of artifacts in the deck.
Clever Impersonator - A versatile clone that doubles as a mana source when copying one of your numerous mana rocks (ideally Gilded Lotus, Dreamstone Hedron or Stone Calendar).
Phantasmal Image - A cheap versatile clone (sad robot is a great choice)
Solemn Simulacrum - Ramp/Defender/Fuel for your hand
INSTANTS:
Arcane Denial - When you run out of gas and need to stop that one spell that will ruin your board while waiting for your next turn to start the wheeling machine again and offers that extra card draw.
Chaos Warp - Versatile pinpoint spot removal
Cyclonic Rift - When you need to clear the board.
Dramatic reversal - A key spell to keep your wheel engine running when you're out of mana, obviously very beneficial to you with the number of rocks that you're running.
Ghostly Flicker - Versatile protection for your permanents and resets your mana rocks to keep your wheel engine in motion.
Gush - Shines in this deck when you have an abundant number of mana rocks on the board. Its a free spell that keeps your hand full adding 4 cards to your hand for wheeling to dig deeper.
Intellectual Offering - Untaps all your rocks and fills your hand for more wheeling fun.
Paradoxical Outcome - Refills your hand and allows you to net positive mana when returning permanents like Mana Crypt, Sol Ring, Grim Monolith etc.
Snap - Virtually free versatile bounce removal or protection for one of your creatures.
Turnabout - Untap all your mana rocks and keep the mana/wheel engine going.
SORCERIES:
Blasphemous Act - Typically will be a cheap board wipe
Deep Analysis - Refill your hand not once, but twice!
Wheel of Fortune - Refill your hand.
ARTIFACTS:
Alhammarret's Archive: Double your hand every time you wheel.
Basalt Monolith: Mana Rock
Chromatic Lantern: Mana rock and fixes your mana.
Coalition Relic: Mana rock and sometime the charge counter is needed for the extra push needed next turn to get the ball rolling.
Commander's Sphere: Mana rock and card draw.
Dreamstone Hedron: Mana rock and card draw.
Gilded Lotus: Mana rock.
Grim Monolith: Mana rock.
Hedron Archive: Mana rock.
Izzet Signet: Mana rock.
Jeweled Amulet: Mana rock.
Jeweled Lotus: Gets your Commander down early or acts as a free spell for wheeling later.
Journeyer's Kite: Fills your hand for wheeling.
Khalni Gem: Mana rock and fills your hand. SECRET TECH
Library of Leng: Sometimes you don't have enough gas and you don't want to discard your hand of the numerous number of cards you've accumulated when you end your turn. Also acts as a cheap spell for wheeling.
Lightning Greaves: Protects a key piece (typically your commander, sometimes it's Psychosis Crawler etc.).
Lotus Petal: Extra mana/free spell
Mana Crypt: Mana rock
Mana Vault: Mana rock
Mind Stone: Mana rock and card draw.
Mox Opal: Mana rock
Sculpting Steel: Typically copies a mana rock, ideally it copies Stone Calendar.
Swiftfoot Boots: Protects a key piece (typically your commander, sometimes it's Psychosis Crawler etc.).
Talisman of Creativity: Mana rock
Tel-Jilad Stylus: Protects your permanents and removes Alhammaret's Archive/Teferi's Ageless Insight from play so you don't deck yourself (it's generally good to get this down early). SECRET TECH
Thought Vessel: Mana rock and maintains your hand if you have to pass the turn.
Thran Dynamo: Mana rock
Vedalken Orrery: Ideally you play all your spells on your opponents' turn before yours. Allows you to play more than one card from your hand before Arjun's triggered ability wheels away other key cards from your hand.
Worn Powerstone: Mana rock
ENCHANTMENTS:
Copy Artifact: Versatile clone effect but typically copies your mana rocks.
Copy Enchantment: Versatile clone effect that typically copies whatever Copy Artifact is copying or Rhystic Study (because who really pays 2 to stop you from drawing cards?).
Leyline of Anticipation: Ideally you play all your spells on your opponents' turn before yours. Allows you to play more than one card from your hand before Arjun's triggered ability wheels away other key cards from your hand.
Mindmoil: Sometimes Arjun just gets hated on too much.
Mystic Remora: A great way to refill your hand.
Rhystic Study: A great way to refill your hand.
Teferi's Ageless Insight: Double your hand every time you wheel.
Words of Wind: Allows you to bounce net positive mana rocks to be replayed (very possible with Stone Calendar in play, more so when Stone Calendar is copied), if you're wheeling a big hand, potentially bounce your opponents' entire board (including lands) to their hands.
LANDS:
Academy Ruins: Artifact Recursion. Did they destroy something you wanted to keep? Wheel it back into your hand.
Ancient Tomb: Fast mana.
High Market: Sometimes Arjun needs to leave, or you want that Chasm Skulker token swarm.
Inventor's Fair: Helps get that Alhammarret's Archive into play.
Mikokoro, Center of the Sea: Card Draw
Mishra's Workshop: Really helps get those high CMC artifacts into play.
Phyrexia's Core: There is a point where Alhammareret's Archive needs to go so you don't deck yourself.
Riptide Laboratory: Protect your commander by bouncing him to your hand, sometimes the commander tax is too great when Arjun gets hated on.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
When wheeling your hand, bear in mind you choose how to order the cards you put on the bottom of the deck, it is NOT RANDOM.
