Kess, Archmage of Grixis

Commander / EDH Spellslinger UBR (Grixis)

Verstaka

Sorcery (24)

• 1x Crush of Tentacles
• 1x Dark Petition
• 1x Torment of Hailfire
• 1x Cathartic Reunion
• 1x Read the Bones
• 1x Fiery Confluence
• 1x Beacon of Unrest
• 1x Breaking / Entering
• 1x Grave Upheaval
• 1x Notion Rain
• 1x Devastation Tide
• 1x Increasing Ambition
• 1x Dreadbore
• 1x Whispering Madness
• 1x Past in Flames
• 1x Mana Geyser
• 1x Windfall
• 1x Mizzix's Mastery
• 1x Wheel of Fate
• 1x Vandalblast
• 1x Dark Deal
• 1x Reforge the Soul
• 1x Rise of the Dark Realms
• 1x Buried Alive

Creature (7)

• 1x Baral, Chief of Compliance
• 1x God-Eternal Kefnet
• 1x Nightscape Familiar
• 1x Nekusar, the Mindrazer
• 1x Niv-Mizzet, Parun
• 1x Archfiend of Depravity
• 1x The Locust God

Enchantment (5)

• 1x Thousand-Year Storm
• 1x Waste Not
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Liliana's Caress
• 1x Rhystic Study

Land (35)

• 1x Ash Barrens
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Dimir Aqueduct
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Crumbling Necropolis
• 1x Rakdos Carnarium
• 1x Sunken Hollow
• 1x Smoldering Marsh
• 1x Izzet Boilerworks
• 1x Grixis Panorama
• 7x Island
• 4x Mountain
• 3x Swamp
• 1x Sulfur Falls
• 1x Bojuka Bog
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Arcane Lighthouse
• 1x Watery Grave
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x City of Brass
• 1x Mana Confluence

Artifact (6)

• 1x Primal Amulet  ^Flip
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sol Ring

Commander (1)

Instant (22)

• 1x Disallow
• 1x Fact or Fiction
• 1x Frantic Search
• 1x Evacuation
• 1x Psychic Spiral
• 1x Steam Augury
• 1x Rakdos Charm
• 1x Reality Shift
• 1x Increasing Vengeance
• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Counterflux
• 1x Spell Swindle
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Reverberate
• 1x Seething Song
• 1x Reiterate
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Cabal Ritual
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Fork

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Maybeboard

Sorcery (14)

• 1x Command the Dreadhorde
• 1x Finale of Eternity
• 1x Finale of Promise
• 1x Ignite Memories
• 1x Finale of Revelation
• 1x Cruel Ultimatum
• 1x Exsanguinate
• 1x Molten Psyche
• 1x Wheel of Misfortune
• 1x Blatant Thievery
• 1x Gamble
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Wheel of Fortune

Instant (7)

• 1x Expansion / Explosion
• 1x Bedevil
• 1x Capsize
• 1x Volcanic Offering
• 1x Electrodominance
• 1x Twincast
• 1x Fury Storm

Enchantment (1)

• 1x Telepathy

Land (4)

• 1x Maze of Ith
• 1x Glacial Chasm
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All

Artifact (2)

• 1x Runechanter's Pike
• 1x Pyromancer's Goggles

Creature (1)

• 1x Laboratory Maniac

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Spell slinging is a deck archetype that has always appealed to me but was tricky for me to implement into EDH for some time. I initially made a Melek, Izzet Paragon deck but the CMC for him was far too prohibitive in colors that wouldn't ramp. In 2015 we got Mizzix of the Izmagnus who was fun enough to play, especially since her CMC was low enough that I could feasibly play her, but after a few months I found the deck became boring. After several game nights I finally realized the problem I was having with it. With only Red and Blue my options were limited to digging through my deck, keeping counters up, and assembling the combo to storm out or win with a ludicrously large Fireball effect. Running through deck ideas I found that I have a lot more fun by splashing a third color. I tried Riku of Two Reflections for some time but the deck that took shape was less spellslinger and more rampy tempo. I would have loved to try Jeskai but when the 2017 EDH decks were released there wasn't a commander in those colors suited to the archetype and that years precons brought us Kess, Dissident Mage, a Legendary that felt tailor made for me.

WIN CONS

Incremental value from locust god, Niv-Mizzet, Parun, Guttersnipe, or Thousand-Year Storm if they survive one or more table rotations.

Torment of Hailfire

Rise of the Dark Realms

Outlasting my opponents by wheeling and refilling my library with cards like Psychic Spiral and Elixir of Immortality

Date added	6 years
Last updated	2 years
Splash colors	B
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	9 - 0 Mythic Rares 40 - 0 Rares 13 - 0 Uncommons 24 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.39
Tokens	Bird 2/2 U, Insect 1/1 UR, Manifest 2/2 C, Octopus 8/8 U, Treasure, Zombie 2/2 B
Folders	Decks Owned