Melo Who?

Commander / EDH Combo Mono-Blue Primer Value Engine

Jabberjaw46

Land (44)

• 1x Academy Ruins
• 1x Blast Zone
• 1x Buried Ruin
• 1x Castle Vantress
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Crumbling Vestige
• 1x Dark Depths
• 1x Drownyard Temple
• 1x Esper Panorama
• 1x Field of the Dead
• 1x Geier Reach Sanitarium
• 1x Grixis Panorama
• 1x Halimar Depths
• 1x Inventors' Fair
• 6x Island
• 1x Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
• 1x Mishra's Factory
• 1x Myriad Landscape
• 1x Mystic Sanctuary
• 1x Radiant Fountain
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Riptide Laboratory
• 1x Seat of the Synod
• 6x Snow-Covered Island
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Sunscorched Desert
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Terrain Generator
• 1x Thawing Glaciers
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Tolaria West
• 1x Tower of the Magistrate
• 1x War Room
• 1x Zhalfirin Void

Artifact (21)

• 1x Amulet of Vigor
• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Bident of Thassa
• 1x Coat of Arms
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Explorer's Scope
• 1x Ghirapur Orrery
• 1x Idol of Oblivion
• 1x Mind Stone
• 1x Prismatic Lens
• 1x Quicksilver Fountain
• 1x Seer's Sundial
• 1x Skullclamp
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Swiftfoot Boots
• 1x Sword of the Animist
• 1x Thaumatic Compass  ^Flip
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Thran Dynamo
• 1x Wayfarer's Bauble

Instant (10)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Fact or Fiction
• 1x Frantic Search
• 1x Impulse
• 1x Into the Roil
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Mystic Reflection
• 1x Opt
• 1x Tolarian Winds
• 1x Whir of Invention

Sorcery (3)

• 1x Fabricate
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Time Warp

Commander (1)

Creature (13)

• 1x Burnished Hart
• 1x Cosima, God of the Voyage  ^Flip
• 1x Curiosity Crafter
• 1x Dreamscape Artist
• 1x Emry, Lurker of the Loch
• 1x Minn, Wily Illusionist
• 1x Patron of the Moon
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Tideforce Elemental
• 1x Tribute Mage
• 1x Trinket Mage
• 1x Triskaidekaphile
• 1x Walking Atlas

Enchantment (8)

• 1x Coastal Piracy
• 1x Imprisoned in the Moon
• 1x Intruder Alarm
• 1x Kindred Discovery
• 1x Metamorphic Alteration
• 1x Reconnaissance Mission
• 1x Retreat to Coralhelm
• 1x Trade Routes

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Also check out my other deck with a primer! That Bird Hurts Me

A Little About The Deck

What the hell is this deck? Well, I wanted to play something that felt a little janky but still realistically viable in a power level 5-6 enviroment. Looking the other Meloku the Clouded Mirror decks, the main combo is Walking Atlas + Meloku the Clouded Mirror + Retreat to Coralhelm. While this combo is still present and very relevant in this deck, I found that Meloku the Clouded Mirror has so much more to offer. As I began delving further into this deck, I realized the potential for combo is much more massive. So, while I set out to make a battlecruiser type deck, I ended up crafting a powerful value churning engine with good combo outlets. All while still using a pretty horrible commander. The initial list I used as a reference can be found here. Although, as of writing this primer (10/12/21) it has not seen an update for a whole year. Which is why there are so many major differences.

I would estimate the deck's power to be around 7-8, more towards the 7. While the deck can win out of nowhere, its almost always an all or nothing play. A well timed counter spell by an opponent can knock us out of the game for awhile. Also, our commander costs 5 mana and trades future stability in the game for a 1/1 token. . .not always the best of trades.

Why should you try out this deck?

If you like

• Funny commanders that will have your opponents asking "Can I read it again?"

• Playing a proactive deck that does not utilize much interaction

• A deck WAYYYY out of its color identity

• Playing pretty uncommon combos that your opponents won't see coming

• Durdling around by yourself before going for the win in a few explosive turns

• Being the underrated deck at the table

Then you should try out Meloku the Clouded Mirror

This deck is not for you if you like

• Playing mainstream commanders

• being a reactive player

How to play the deck

Honestly, your exact play style will vary greatly depending on the cards you draw into. You will find some games where you dump your hand by turn 4 and some where you're simply playing a "land-go" game. Usually, in the early turns (1-4), you're doing your best to ramp (yeah its tough in mono blue). The more lands in play the better, as the sooner you will be able to get some Meloku the Clouded Mirror value. When you make it to the mid game, you're going to want to think about which combo you want to go for, based on who you're playing, what cards are in your hand, and your current board state. When you're ready to go for your combo, you're hoping your playgroup hasn't bought Pact of Negation yet.

With all of this said, it is also notable that you can win via combat damage. Usually this will only happen with Coat of Arms out. Its pretty fun to return 6 lands on your opponents endstep, then play Coat of Arms our of nowhere, swinging for big damage. But this is what I mean by going all out on a win, if your opponent counters or destroys coat, you will likely not come back from a personal Sunder.

Win Cons

Win cons are more fun than the rest of the deck so lets start with this.

The Infinites Show

- Walking Atlas + Meloku the Clouded Mirror + Retreat to Coralhelm= Infinite landfall, infinite tokens

• Walking Atlas + Meloku the Clouded Mirror + Intruder Alarm= Infinite landfall, infinite tokens

• Walking Atlas + Meloku the Clouded Mirror + Tideforce Elemental + Crumbling Vestige + Amulet of Vigor= good luck pulling this one off

• Minn, Wily Illusionist + Ashnod's Altar + Meloku the Clouded Mirror= Infinite landfall, infinite colorless mana

• Mystic Sanctuary + Time Warp + Meloku the Clouded Mirror= infinite landfall, infinite tokens, infinite turns

• Patron of the Moon + Meloku the Clouded Mirror + any land that taps for more than 1= Infinite landfall, infinite tokens

There are likely many more, but they're probably too obscure to mention. They can happen though, I have found myself accidentally going infinite a few times before. Also keep in mind that infinite landfalls will ideally be with Sunscorched Desert or Radiant Fountain

Other wins Show

- Coat of Arms= Huge damage,

• Thespian's Stage + Dark Depths= My favorite thing to do in the deck, getting Marit Lage is usally enough to take out 1-2 players or at least lower life totals enough to pressure with 1/1 flying illusions.

• Triskaidekaphile= If this card survives a lap around the table, you should be able to win. Let me explain if you don't understand. If you have Meloku the Clouded Mirror in play, you can untap, then before going to your upkeep, return your lands to your hand. This means that you need cards in hand + lands in play > 12 to win the game on the spot. By far the easiest way to win the game if your opponents don't see the connection. Also offers infinite mana sink and no maximum handsize which is pretty good.

• Amulet of Vigor + Thawing Glaciers= While not a direct win, this combo is such a massive amount of value that you'll have no problem pulling ahead.

• Minn, Wily Illusionist= The first ability is not always relevant, but with a Kindred Discovery in play with Meloku the Clouded Mirror, you can make a ton of powerful illusions.

Common Questions

• Why not Patron of the Moon as your commander?

This is a good point, Patron has a lot more combo potential straight from the command zone. He also acts as ramp instead of taking lands away. Personally, I believe that hes better found in the 99. It's less because I think hes bad, and more because I like the idea of the versatility of Meloku the Clouded Mirror. A 1/1 token with flying for one mana (and a land) can act as a chump blocker, skull clamp fodder, an engine for Kindred Discovery/ Coastal Piracy etc. and so much more. In short, while Patron offers a win condition, Meloku offers that and much more for less mana.

• Okay I get it, its a land deck, but isn't 44 lands excessive? Also why is the mana base so weird in general?

After a lot of play-testing, I have found this number to be about right. Missing a land drop in this deck can be brutal, seeing as we are purposefully bouncing our lands for some sort of leveraged value. As far as the oddity of the mana base, I optimized mine for Field of the Dead. However, this deck can also perform extremely well if you optimize it more for High Tide, which isn't a route I took, but it offers a lot more combo potential. Its also a great way to save money on lands if you'd like.

• Quicksilver Fountain?

This card is definitely meh in this deck. The idea is that you'll never have to remove the counters because you can return any flooded land to your hand and replay it with Meloku the Clouded Mirror. It's basically a slower but more tenacious Blood Moon. Removing Quicksilver Fountain does not remove flood counters, which is notable. I use this card because there's a ton of 3-5 color decks in my meta, and surprisingly not a ton of blue.

Cards to mention

- Metamorphic Alteration / Mystic Reflection

Extremely underrated card that should be played way more, turn any of your opponents creatures into a 1/1 illusion, or turn one of your 1/1 illusions into Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite.

• Tolarian Winds

Oh? A less good wheel? Well, not exactly. In a desperate situation, you can trade a land for a card draw and a 1/1. Late game, this can be what you need to pull ahead, return maybe 4 lands to hand then draw a bunch of cards.

• Emry, Lurker of the Loch

Definetely a card I'm not 100% on. Works as a kind of protection for the GOAT Walking Atlas but also goes nuts with Burnished Hart, Expedition Map, and Wayfarer's Bauble. Regardless, this is a card I will be watching closely when I play.

• Intruder Alarm

A dead draw alot of the time, as it really does nothing for you. I find however that having a replacement for Retreat to Coralhelm in the Walking Atlas combo is essential. We have a ton of artifact tutors and protection but nothing to find our enchantments.

Date added	2 years
Last updated	2 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	1 - 0 Mythic Rares 37 - 0 Rares 26 - 0 Uncommons 24 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.73
Tokens	Copy Clone, Eldrazi 10/10 C, Illusion 1/1 U w/ Flying, Illusion 1/1 U w/ Illusion Tribal, Marit Lage, Zombie 2/2 B