Urza PolyTyrant

Commander / EDH Competitive Control Infinite Combo Mono-Blue Primer

Shmekles

Instant (26)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Chain of Vapor
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Delay
• 1x Dig Through Time
• 1x Dispel
• 1x Dramatic Reversal
• 1x Fierce Guardianship
• 1x Flusterstorm
• 1x Force of Negation
• 1x Force of Will
• 1x Impulse
• 1x Intuition
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Mana Leak
• 1x Mental Misstep
• 1x Misdirection
• 1x Muddle the Mixture
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Narset's Reversal
• 1x Pact of Negation
• 1x Pongify
• 1x Rapid Hybridization
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Whir of Invention

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Narset, Parter of Veils
• 1x Tezzeret the Seeker

Creature (1)

• 1x Tidespout Tyrant

Artifact (22)

• 1x Aether Spellbomb
• 1x Arcum's Astrolabe
• 1x Chrome Mox
• 1x Grim Monolith
• 1x Isochron Scepter
• 1x Jeweled Amulet
• 1x Jeweled Lotus
• 1x Lotus Petal
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Mox Opal
• 1x Proteus Staff
• 1x Sapphire Medallion
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Static Orb
• 1x Tormod's Crypt
• 1x Vedalken Shackles
• 1x Welding Jar
• 1x Winter Orb
• 1x Witching Well

Sorcery (12)

• 1x Fabricate
• 1x Gitaxian Probe
• 1x Merchant Scroll
• 1x Of One Mind
• 1x Personal Tutor
• 1x Polymorph
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Recurring Insight
• 1x Time Spiral
• 1x Timetwister
• 1x Transmute Artifact

Commander (1)

Land (29)

• 1x Academy Ruins
• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x Emergence Zone
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Homeward Path
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 17x Snow-Covered Island
• 1x The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Back to Basics
• 1x Future Sight
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Power Artifact
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Steal Enchantment
• 1x Trail of Evidence

---

Sideboard

Instant (1)

• 1x Blue Sun's Zenith

---

Introduction

This is my main build/deck i play in cEDH. Its a deck with Urza, Lord High Artificer as its commander. What can Urza do for you? Well Urza is great at controlling and adapting to new threats. He plays decently through some hate pieces, and he can generate a ton of mana as well as features a great mana dump that gets utilized for winning games. Hes basically a creature that makes another creature with planeswalkers abilities. Hes super fun to play and provides a different dynamic than the other cEDH decks currently in the format. Piloting the deck can be difficult for beginners and those not familiar with playing mono blue decks.

Combos/Unbounded Mana

Tidespout Tyrant + any mana positive rock + any mana neutral rock creates unbounded mana (NOTE: Needs one spell in hand to start this loop).

Isochron Scepter + Dramatic Reversal + 3 mana in nonland permanents creates unbounded mana

Isochron Scepter + Sensei's Divining Top draws entire library

Timetwister + Narset's Reversal + any spell - this gives you the ability to cast any spell any number of times

Grim Monolith + Power Artifact - unbounded colorless mana

Tidespout Tyrant + Arcum's Astrolabe + Sol Ring or Mana Crypt - draws entire library (NOTE: Requires one spell in hand to be cast to start this loop).

How To Win

This build likes to win by getting Tidespout Tyrant on the field, usually by cheating him out of your library, then utilizing his bounce ability to generate an unbounded amount of mana to dump into card:Urza,lord high artificer ability and bouncing every permanent on your opponents field. From here you can utilize twister loops to Pongify or bounce Urza any number of times to recast and create an unbounded amount of Urzastructs and 3/3 frog lizards to then swing at your opponents for lethal damage on the following turn. Twister loops are done with Narset, Parter of Veils out to empty your opponents of their hands.

Lines To Tyrant

NOTE:intuition piles are heavily influenced by current board state.

Intuition gets any 3 artifact tutors --> artifact tutor --> Proteus Staff --> activate Proteus Staff targeting Urzastruct --> puts Tidespout Tyrant onto field from library.

Personal Tutor gets Polymorph --> cast Polymorph targeting Karnstruct --> puts Tidespout Tyrant onto field from library.

Why PolyTyrant Over UPS

The biggest difference between the UPS list and the Poly list is the obvious lack of tech creatures in the poly list. Many players do not like this idea and believe it greatly weakens the deck. I believe the opposite to be true. The tech creatures are great in a deck that wants to assemble Dramatic Scepter. Yes Dramatic Scepter is included in the poly list as a back up wincon if it becomes easier to assemble over poly. The creatures that this list misses the most is a Gilded Drake and Spellskite. As an avid player of this deck i can make the argument that as much you think you would miss the gilded drake, you wont miss it at all. Iv'e included a number of ways to steal creatures and/or regain control of Urza should he be taken from you. At this point most people that have played against me now understand that they are more than welcomed to taking Urza, however it will most likely be short lived and generally dont bother with doing it anymore. Here is a list of cards in the list to help with this situation; Aether Spellbomb, Chain of Vapor, Cyclonic Rift; oh no you took Urza!! After etb resolves and priority shifts again, just bounce it. Now you can recast him and make a second Urzastruct to beat face with. Legacy's Allure, Vedalken Shackles; I've come to love both of these cards for a number of reasons, this would be one of them. Also there is a Homeward Path included in the list.

So far I've only discussed what the difference between the physical lists are. The biggest reasons why I play Poly over UPS is i feel that the UPS list is too heavily reliant on Dramatic Scepter, it has only 1 easily tutorable 2 card combo (Isochron Scepter and Dramatic Reversal), it has one other 2 card combo that is difficult to tutor for. In fact every combo that the UPS list offers, the PolyTyrant list offers just the same with the exception of a 3 card combo package.

The PolyTyrant list provides an easily tutorable compact combo package that is super resilient to hate pieces. It also includes another easily tutorable 2 card combo as well as a not so easy to tutor for 2 card combo. It can make great intuition piles. Did i mention it plays well through hate pieces that are extremely common such as, Cursed Totem, Collector Ouphe, Linvala, Keeper of Silence, Null Rod. When cards such as these are present, you still just Polymorph into Tidespout Tyrant and utilize his bounce effect to get rid of the hate piece that is preventing you form winning the game.

Card Selection

Aether Spellbomb - This is a phenomenal tech piece. With the meta having a high concentration of creatures, this can bounce a linvala when your rdy to win the game or bounce a lab man to prevent another player from winning the game. Since I've added this piece in my main deck i"ve not ever been disappointed with it. It forces people to have to play around it.

Counterbalance - I will call this a flex spot in the deck, a lot of people don't like running this card in a deck that cannot easily manipulate the top of the deck. I personally love this card. I'ts almost never failed me, and with the mana curve this card is bound to counter almost any relevant spell. At 2 mana if it counters just a single relevant spell like a tutor or wincon its already paid for itself and anything it counters after is just a profit. I also like using this as bait, as much as people dont like to play this card, they hate playing with it on the board, so ill play it just to get some interaction out of the tables hand. I'm happy whether it sticks or not.

Why no Laboratory Maniac or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries - Simply put the deck just doesn't need it to win games. When making unbounded mana they become win more cards, and also drawing a lab man/jace when you are not set up to actually win does nothing to actually advance your board state.

Misdirection - A highly undervalued card that acts as a force of will when going for a win, it stops the uncounterable interactions that get played, such as; Abrupt Decay, Dovin's Veto.

Welding Jar - This card is a gem in this list. When attempting to Polymorph your Urzastruct token, the token becomes vulnerable to things like Abrupt Decay or any similar destroy effect, the welding jar prevents that from happening and it also becomes a 0 drop artifact that taps for mana and helps to combo off with Tyrant. Awesome card!

Castle Vantress - This is a card im still testing out, it seems to be doing fine. Im using this land tech over Mystic Sanctuary. Simply put i do not like mystic sanctuary. With having one card already that forces me to auto mull if its in my hand (Tidespout Tyrant), I dont want to add another.

Paradoxical Outcome - There are enough 0 drops in the list that this card can give you the advantage you're looking for.

Vedalken Shackles - Gets Urza back should you lose control of him. Forces people to play around this card because it stops a wide variety of combos. Insane value card!

Tormod's Crypt over Grafdigger's Cage - Cage stops our own combo from happening, crypt has its uses in a meta that loves to use the graveyard and its also another 0 drop that taps for mana and combos with the Tyrant.

Piloting Tips

Piloting a mono blue deck can be difficult at times despite some peoples view on it. Many think whats the big deal; all you do is play an island pass turn and counter and stop others. While this may be a simplistic way of thinking about piloting a blue deck it is not that simple at all. We must take into consideration how versatile other decks in the meta are. TNT having the ability to get card advantage in the command zone as well as have an outlet, not to mention threatening a win once theres 2 mana on board. Najeela being able to put an extreme amount of pressure on the entire board in a way that can be difficult to deal with once Najeela has had a few turns to build up some tokens. What makes mono blue difficult is the lack of black tutors, card advantage, and knowing when to go for a win. It is not ideal to be aggressive with Urza, generally this will cost you the game. More often than not taking the safe route, even when it appears that it will set u back so many turns, is often the play that will keep yourself in the game as a relevant threat. It is always advised to be showing the ability that there is interaction in the game. Another issue that makes it difficult to play mono blue is other players bullying you into using your interaction versus they themselves dealing with a threat. Essentially the table makes you become the tables police. It can be difficult to get people to accept the idea that you will not succumb to this tactic. The best way to do this is to just not use your interaction even if it means losing the game. Yes, you will lose some games doing this, however once the people you play with on a regular basis understand that you will not be bullied into using your own interaction to save others from losing the game when they themselves have interaction, they will begin to play with that understanding. Urza is a slow midrange deck. It is not trying to win on turn 2, rather it builds enough of a boardstate and advantage over other players by playing stax pieces that it is able to break parity on and locking others out of the game to make it near impossible to stop you from winning the game. So just sit back, play an island and pass the turn!

Mulligans

One of the hardest yet most important things to learn when playing a new deck is knowing what hands to keep. There are a few different scenarios you could be in which will determine what kind of hand your actually gonna want to have when starting a game. I will do my best to generalize these scenarios and give tips on what to keep and what not to keep. Keep in mind that everyone's play group is different and games can lead in so many directions. Urza is a deck that likes to take it's time with winning games by gaining an advantage through a boardstate and adapting to threats being presented. Being a mono blue deck it can be extremely difficult to pilot especially for beginners because a player must have an extremely acute sense of threat assessment in order to draw games out long enough for Urza to achieve a victory. The decks strength is limited by card advantage and the ability to tutor in comparison to most other cedh decks so it is extremely important to use your interaction carefully, and know when you can successfully assemble a win.

I recommend 100% having interaction in opening hand and always threatening to be able to cast your interaction at all times throughout the game. If you are the only control deck in a pod against fast decks, then you will have your work cut out for u. Having mana ramp is always a good thing but is not something u want to prioritize over interaction against these decks. You can take your time in advancing your boardstate in a mannner that allows u to always be able to interact with the board. Any sort of card draw engine or card advantage against these decks are awesome, this will help u to continue to draw into more interaction to halt those fast decks from winning or gaining too much ground against you. Typically with no ramp in hand having 3 lands is kind of what you would like to see in your hand, with some form of ramp then 2 lands would be acceptable. Here are some examples of hands i would keep or throw away :

Hand 1 - Island, counterspell, dispel, trail of evidence, preordain, island, sol ring - I would say this is an excellent hand to keep, it comes with everything we would ever want in an opening hand; it has ramp, lands, interaction, card draw/more ramp, and even has a cantrip.

Hand 2 - Island, sol ring, idland, chrome mox, pongify, counterspell, dig thorugh time - At first glance this hand would appear to be just as good as the first hand, and while it is still a great opening hand, it can be a bit deceiving. It has lots of ramp, some decent interaction, but it lacks any way to gain card advantage. With this said i would probably still keep but I would be very cautious about how i use my interaction.

Hand 3 - Island, sol ring, dig through time, preordain, island, welding jar, vedalken shackles - I would throw this hand away for the simple fact that there is zero interaction.

Some exceptions and things to think about when facing an opponent with a fast deck. Ask yourself "Is there another control player at the table and how many fast decks are at the table. If your opening hand lacks interaction but includes some card draw and ramp, and there is a second control player at the table, then it may be acceptable to keep that hand; for example:

Island, sol ring, chrome mox, rhystic study, dig through time, sensei's top, preordain

If you draw Tidespout Tyrant in the opening hand its an automatic throw away unless you can cast him on turn 2 and win which i have not taken the time out to see if its possible to do because im pretty sure its not possible.

Budget List

http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/budget-urza-polytyrant/

Top Ranked	Achieved #24 position overall 4 years ago Achieved #17 position in Commander / EDH 4 years ago Achieved #4 position in Commander / EDH Primer 4 years ago
Date added	4 years
Last updated	3 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	13 - 0 Mythic Rares 37 - 1 Rares 18 - 0 Uncommons 14 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.14
Tokens	Ape 3/3 G, Bird 2/2 U, Clue, Construct 0/0 C, Frog Lizard 3/3 G
Folders	cEDH, Inspo, urza, to watch, Commander, Decks for Reference, Interesting Decks, Take Note, Saved Commander Decks, cEDH