⚔️ Noctis Reservoir Storm — cEDH Primer
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Overview
Commander: Noctis, Prince of Lucis
Colors: Esper (W/U/B)
Win Conditions:
• Primary: Aetherflux Reservoir Storm Loops
• Secondary: Thassa’s Oracle + Consultation/Pact
• Backup: Walking Ballista (infinite mana outlet)
This deck is a Reservoir-centric Esper storm deck built around artifact recursion and graveyard value. Unlike generic Esper Oracle shells, it uses Noctis’s unique ability to recast artifacts from the graveyard to generate storm, value, and deterministic wins.
Where most Esper Ad Nauseam decks lean on Ad Naus turbo lines as their identity, this list uses Ad Naus only as a card advantage engine. The actual focus is looping artifacts, building storm, and closing with Reservoir or Oracle.
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The Role of Noctis
Noctis, Prince of Lucis is more than a figurehead:
• Core Engine: Allows repeated casting of rocks, baubles, and sac artifacts from the graveyard by paying 3 life.
• Resilient to counters: If a recursion-cast artifact is countered, it doesn’t gain a finality counter → you can keep recasting it.
• Storm synergy: Even failed casts still count as casts → they trigger Aetherflux Reservoir.
• Finality counter bypass: With Hex Parasite, you can remove finality counters and loop artifacts infinitely.
Noctis isn’t just a support piece — he’s the engine that makes Aetherflux Reservoir deterministic instead of a “maybe” wincon.
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Core Strategy
1. Accelerate early with artifact ramp, tutors, and efficient draw engines.
2. Set up recursion value (graveyard rocks, Mesmeric Orb, Entomb, Intuition).
3. Stick Aetherflux Reservoir with protection.
4. Loop artifacts via Noctis to generate storm, life, and eventually infinite recursion.
5. Close the game with Reservoir blasts, Oracle/Consult, or infinite mana → Ballista.
The deck is a hybrid:
• Fast enough to threaten turn 2–3 wins in open pods.
• Resilient enough to grind to turn 5+ against stax or control.
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Card Type Breakdown
Lands (27)
• Fetches + Duals/Shocks: 9 fetches, Underground Sea, Tundra, Scrubland, Watery Grave, Hallowed Fountain, Godless Shrine.
• Utility: Urza’s Saga, Otawara, Inventors’ Fair, Reflecting Pool.
• Painlands → upgraded to Battlebond lands (Sea of Clouds, Vault of Champions, Morphic Pool).
• Mana Confluence, City of Brass, Gemstone Caverns for fixing.
Philosophy: Land count was raised from 26 → 27 for stability. Battlebond duals reduce life bleed, key for Ad Naus.
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⚙️ Mana Acceleration (27)
• 0 cmc: Lotus Petal, LED, Chrome Mox, Mox Diamond, Mox Amber, Mox Opal.
• Fast rocks: Sol Ring, Mana Crypt (banned → replaced), Mana Vault, Grim/Basalt Monolith.
• 2 cmc rocks: Arcane Signet, Fellwar Stone, Talismans, Thought Vessel, Moonsilver Key, Copy Artifact.
• Utility: Rings of Brighthearth, Shimmer Myr.
Philosophy: Acceleration density ensures explosive starts and enables storm loops with Noctis.
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Tutors (12–13)
• Premium black tutors: Demonic, Vampiric, Imperial Seal, Grim Tutor.
• Blue tutors: Mystical Tutor, Intuition, Gifts Ungiven.
• White tutors: Enlightened Tutor.
• Artifact tutors: Transmute Artifact, Reshape, Wishclaw Talisman.
• Special utility: Entomb (bins rocks/LED for Noctis), Praetor’s Grasp (disrupts/tutors).
• Flex upgrades: Solve/Fabricate cut for faster options.
Philosophy: Nearly every tutor fetches a win piece, a recursion enabler, or protection.
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️ Interaction (18–19)
• Free counters: Force of Will, Force of Negation, Fierce Guardianship, Pact of Negation.
• Efficient counters: Flusterstorm, Swan Song, Delay, An Offer You Can’t Refuse, Dovin’s Veto.
• Lockdown effects: Silence, Grand Abolisher, Voice of Victory.
• Removal: Swords, Cyclonic Rift, Stroke of Midnight, Otawara.
• Hatebears: Opposition Agent, Dauthi Voidwalker, Orcish Bowmasters, Esper Sentinel.
Philosophy: Interaction density is tuned for blue-heavy pods, while including outs to white stax pieces.
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Engines / Value (6–7)
• Mystic Remora, Rhystic Study (draw engines).
• Mesmeric Orb (combo with Monolith, mills artifacts for recursion).
• Hex Parasite (finality-counter removal, core synergy).
• Spellseeker, Snapcaster Mage (tutor recursion).
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Wincons (3)
• Aetherflux Reservoir (primary, infinite storm/life loop).
• Thassa’s Oracle + Consultation/Pact (compact secondary).
• Walking Ballista (infinite mana outlet).
Philosophy: Trimmed to 3 compact wincons. Reservoir is the centerpiece; Oracle and Ballista provide safety nets.
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Combo Playbook
Aetherflux Loops
• Noctis + Reservoir + LED/Petal/Mox Diamond + Hex Parasite → infinite storm, infinite life, table kill.
• Noctis + Reservoir + Artifact cast spam → storm count → >50 life → shoot table even without infinite.
• If artifact is countered: still triggers Reservoir. → “Counter-wars” often feed you storm.
Infinite Mana
• Rings + Basalt Monolith → infinite colorless → Ballista kill.
• Power Artifact + Monolith → infinite mana → Ballista.
• Isochron Scepter + Dramatic Reversal → infinite mana/storm with rocks.
Mill/Oracle
• Mesmeric Orb + Basalt/Grim Monolith → mill library → Oracle win.
Compact Oracle
• Oracle + Demonic Consultation/Tainted Pact.
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Mulligan Philosophy
• Keep: 1–2 lands + acceleration + tutor/protection.
• Ship: Slow hands (no rocks, no tutor).
• Greedy keeps: 1-land hands are fine if fetchable into duals and backed by rocks.
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Game Plan
Turn 1–2
• Deploy rocks and early draw engines (Sentinel, Remora, Rhystic).
• Tutor aggressively if you can Silence → win on turn 2.
Turn 3–4
• Set up Reservoir or Oracle lines.
• Use Silence/Abolisher/Voice to lock out blue interaction.
Turn 5+ (grindy pods)
• Use Intuition/Gifts piles to bin LED/Petal/Orb.
• Grind with Noctis recursion until Reservoir loop is online.
Closing Thoughts
This Noctis list is not just another Esper Ad Nauseam deck.
It’s an Esper Reservoir Storm deck that leverages graveyard recursion, storm mechanics, and protection redundancy to present deterministic infinite loops while also thriving in counter-heavy pods.
