This is surely a neat and polished list. Lots of thought went into it, which I really enjoy!

A whole other setup. that makes alot of sense.

Some of my 'Most Valuable Cards' that could be interesting for you as well:

• The Locust God : Hard to get rid of and offers fodder that can also be donated away. Good mana sink in case there are no other options for your mana.
• Clever Impersonator : Based on the board situation, it can take nearly any desired shape. Can potentialy also be donated away afterwards, even when it acts as a second Paradox Haze . Yummi!
• Thought Vessel : It always served me well, knowing that Zedruu can be really mana intensive.

Great to find this build. +1 from a fellow Goat Herder.

@ PartyJ , I'm glad you like it, i spent a lot of time building this deck and it has changed a lot since its first appereance :) About your suggestions:

The Locust God surely is a powerfull card, and as i am drawing a lot of cards in this deck it would probably fit in perfectly. The thing is that i don't want to put in to many High-CMC cards and with 6 mana the sweet, little flyguy would belong to the cards with the highest casting cost... :/ Also i am not going after a token strategy and the locusts probably wouldn't be enough to count as a wincon, so our god would just be a utilitycard, offering some neat blockers. With the highcost of 6 i fear that he just don't makes the cut for that matter...

The Clever Impersonator whatsoever really does look sweet as there are plenty of things in the deck that might be worth being copied... Not only Paradox Haze , i'm thinking about a copy of Alhammarret's Archive , drawing you 4 cards when you only would draw one... Greater Auramancy for the absolute shrouding of your board and a second Venser, the Sojourner ... The possibilities are nearly limitless <3 thank you for mentioning this card :) Now i just need to think about what to put out...

Thought Vessel has been in the deck for a very long time and has been put out just recently... Still i'm thinking i might put it back in as i was allready thinking about putting in another manarock as ramping appeared to be pretty difficult in Jeskai ... I first thought about Fellwar Stone , but i think the vessel is just better , i'll see about that :)

anyway, thank you for your feedback, it's highly appreciated :)

Redit: Seemingly i've been a little overconfident here... of course i can't copy the Alhammarret's Archive , aswell as the Venser, the Sojourner ... Little bit of a misthinking on my behalf :'D Still the Clever Impersonator is a very good card, that's still going to go into the decklist!

Once you have donated a few things and are drawing all of those lovely cards, use Words of War as a finisher. casting cost as requested and low CMC plus low $$ if you don't already own. Words of Wind could help clear the board, maybe even forcing end of turn discards by opponents.

So, I promised to take a look at your build. Looks like tons of fun.

So, I really like redundancy. Makes your deck feel more consistent. One of these cards that achieve that is Puca's Mischief , it's a better Zedruu despite not looking like a goat lady. Exchanging a howling mine for their sylvan library AND getting zedruu triggers from that play feels very good.

I'd also strongly advise you to test Smothering Tithe as soon as possible, it really is all that and a bag of chips. It really helps decks looking to play at instant speed one way or another (like zedruu's ability).

I really like Kumena's Awakening it's a howling mine that gives the cards at a better time (your upkeep, instead of their draw) and eventually turns into your personal howling mine. Removal that you can later give away is also stellar, stuff like Grasp of Fate .

The card Reins of Power seems like a fun political tool, steal their blockers, fog (swapping control of creatures mid combat takes them out of combat) or borrow someone's army to kill another. If I had the money for it and my deck didn't like Torpor Orb effects so much, then I'd really like Gilded Drake . Thaumatic Compass  ^Flip becomes another maze

Also more toys for solemnity to play with: Delaying Shield , Phyrexian Unlife

I hope these tips are somewhat useful, keep on enforcing the will of zedruu :).

@ ObviousError

First let me thank you for having a look at my decklist. I spent a long time building it and it means a lot to me... maybe to much when I think about it :D About your suggestions: You're right, redundancy is good, and I had Puca's Mischief in the deck for a very long time, but had to cut it as I was in need for cards with lower CMC ( arround 1-2). It still is a very nice and also quite funny card and as I'm changing some things anyway, I might be giving it a shot :) Smothering Tithe is also quite strong, but as everyone in my playgroup is hating me as soon as I play Rhystic Study I really don't know what will happen as soon as I cast the Tithe... Reins of Power also is a fun card I looked upon many times, I just didn't manage to find the spot to put it in yet. For Phyrexian Unlife I had it in the deck for a long time, but everytime I felt the need to close the lock on me I just had better options like Glacial Chasm + Solemnity or Solitary Confinement on it's own. Your suggestions helped a lot and it's always nice to look at some ideas from other fellow Zedruu-players :)

@ xaarvaxus , thank you for your suggestions :) Words of War looks pretty funny, a little bit janky but still playable and is definetely worth a consideration! I'll put it on the maybeboard and we'll see if it makes the cut in the end.

Nice decklist here, I love the idea of using Zedruu for a more serious build!!! Here's a +1:)

Library of Leng seems like an easy cut. And Sphere of Safety is the next easiest cut

@ griffstick , thank you for your suggestions! I think you might be right about the Library of Leng ... The only reason it is in the deck was because of Wild Research , to counteract its discard-effect. In combination with Temple Bell you had a 100% guarantee to get the card you tutored for. This was exspecially nescessary as I had Nexus of Fate as a wincondition in the deck and needed to tutor it up on every turn using the research/temple bell/library combination... As the Nexus isn't in the deck anymore, I think I can cut it from the list. It's sad though, as I kinda like this card :'(

Looking at the Sphere of Safety I kinda disagree with you. This might depend on my meta though, as nearly everyone is playing tokenbased strategies... Being the only person in blue I'm often being targeted by the more aggressive players. Even if the Sphere taxes my opponents only about 3-4 mana for every attacking creature, they are usually looking another way, where they can use their token-army at full advantage. The Sphere also seems to be the only way to protect my Venser, the Sojourner , who becomes very important in the lategame. Last but not least the Sphere goes very well with Enchanted Evening , making it nearly impossible to attack me at all if my opponent doesn't have infinite mana at hand. In short: I really do like the Sphere in the deck! :)

Still you helped me out a lot! Thank you for your time and your angagement :) I am one step further, now there's only one more to take!

If token and go wade strategies are most prevalent in your meta then drop Maze of Ith it's not a land. So think of it as a colorless artifact for that cost a land drop . I think is your opponents are always going wide this card has minimal impact

@ griffstick , Cutting the maze of course wouldn't mean to cut a land, but to cut a powerfull political tool. Same is true for the Kor Haven . While there are many tokenbased strategies, there also is the evil Karlov-player, the Ruhan-guy and of course Prosh... whos being one of the token-guys at the sime time. It's guite the diverse meta, what is a good thing of course, at it allows a very diverse gameplayexperience. At the same time it means you need to have multiple options to deal with your opponents. While the Sphere will protect me from token-harm, it will not keep Prosh from attacking me. The maze on the other hand will, aswell as anyone else as long as I'm willing to use it to protect them. The main goal of the deck is to forge alliances, getting rid of the other opponents as a team until only the two of you are left. Then the time has come to play our winconditions, which are weak against many players, but devastating against a single opponent...

Aaaahhh... This really is problematic, as I am working on this deck for much too long now and every single card has It's own important, irreplacable effect...

Kor heaven at least makes mana.

Does the Sunforger Package do enough for you? With how few creatures you're running I could see opponents easily preventing it even in colors that can't deal with artifacts well.

I've often gone back and forth on Clever Impersonator . Do you have typical targets for it or is it typically used on opponent permanents? I've recently included Copy Artifact because I found a good price for one- Personally I treat it as an additional 2 cmc rock to be the floor of it.

Crown of Doom seems to be an odd choice to me. 2 cmc to give away is the same price to you as it is an opponent- Doesn't this mean you're not breaking parity and thus play the card fairly? Or is there a different axis of use that I'm missing? Similar questions exist regarding Howling Mine

Mindslaver catches me off guard. Is it meant to be a win condition/lock with Academy Ruins ? I feel like it'd be a lot faster to just use Approach of the Second Sun .

I'd consider swapping one of your board wipes to be instead Tragic Arrogance for how entirely one sided it can be to a Zedruu player (It also is Theros so it looks dope foiled).

A few cards I've always been curious about but never tested were the following. Can you confirm how well they've performed for you? Bitter Feud , Open the Vaults , Greater Auramancy + Enchanted Evening . Bitter I question its cmc, open the vaults I question the frequency of relevance, and the last combo I suppose I'm fearful that it'd hinder too much of my own interaction... Do you donate first the auramancy followed by casting enchanted evening?

I can talk all day about Zedruu lists, she's my first EDH deck. I like the direction you've taken her, it's far more responsive than my own.

@ MCJennings ,

The Sunforger -package still is a work in progress. I had in in the deck for a long time (half a year now) but always came upon the same problem: I didn't draw the Sunforger... If I finally did it anyway, it worked absolutely fine as a tutor-for-needed-answers-tool. If i'm being attacked I always can use Path to Exile or Swords to Plowshares . If there is an enchantment I really want to be gone I tutor up Return to Dust , Oblation or the like. If something really bad is happening I can cast Teferi's Protection to phase out and if I should be missing a landdrop I can cast Tithe to search for a couple of lands. Thanks to Mistveil Plains I am able to use a single spell as much as I want to, putting it back on the bottom of my library. The only problem: Sunforger was always hiding somewhere in my deck... That's why I added some new cards to the deck, that shall help me by searching the infamous hammer: Enlightened Tutor (can be used to tutor for everything you should be needing repeatedly via Sunforger + Plains) , Open the Armory and Steelshaper's Gift . These cards however have just been ordered and the deck needs to be playtested yet. As for the sunforgers wielder it will most of the time be Zedruu herself. I try to keep my Zedruu-triggers low till the endgame, only drawing a couple cards/ gaining a couple life through her ability. She usually isn't being targeted at all by my opponents and only dies due to a boardwipe from time to time. The main goal of the deck is to stay hidden and fly under the radar most of the time. This usually works and people don't seem to care to much about what the goat is doing with her hammer.

The Clever Impersonator really is a very versatile and amazing card I just came upon a few weeks ago. While I really like your idea of the Copy Artifact being a 2mana manarock, the Impersonator usually serves a different purpose, targeting cards like: Venser's Journal , Maze of Ith , maybe Propaganda or Rhystic Study . Using it to copy Bitter Feud also is quite funny, as thing are getting out of hand quite quickly when everyone is dealing double to four times the damage to each other... The most valuable target just might be Paradox Haze though... just imagine all the cards you will draw, all the life you will gain by having three upkeeps <3

The Crown of Doom however simply is a very political card you can gift to your opponents to spread some bad blood. You usually want them to kill each other until only one opponent is left as it might be difficult to deal with a larger number of opponents when it comes to the winning-part. The important part about this card is that your opponents aren't allowed to give it back to you --> you are safe from the crown and draw cards from it while everyone else is trying to kill eachother... The Howling Mine is part of the grouphug-theme of the deck. While it of course allows everyone to draw an additional card, you are drawing one more card --> getting some extra value as soon as it is gifted away. Additionally the mine is a card your opponents don't want to get rid of --> it stays on the board longer --> you are getting more value from it over the time.

You are right about the Mindslaver being a lockdown with Academy Ruins aswell as with Trading Post + Forbidden Orchard . While I could be going for the easy win with Approach of the Second Sun or the like I really do love to have me some jank-wincons to make it more of a challenge to win for me. All of my wincons are hard work to pull of, but that is implied in the decks idea :)

I have had Tragic Arrogance in the deck for a long time and I know what it can do >:) problem is that I do need the Supreme Verdict for its ability of not being able to counter it, I need the Austere Command to pull of a "combo-win" with Enchanted Evening + Boros Charm and need Cyclonic Rift to deal with an indestructible board... or simply because it is awesome... :D I haven't got a free slot for another boardwipe though, so the Tragic Arrogance sadly needed to go :(

About the cards you mentioned: Bitter Feud simply is a fun political card that can be used to get rid of a very unpleasant opponent. Simply choose him and another player who will untap before him and he will usually finish him of. You can gift the enchantment away for Zedruu-value and rechoose its targets by bouncing it back to your hand/ blinking it with Venser, the Sojourner . Open the Vaults is very often a game winning card in this deck, as I'm usually getting back every single card in my graveyard. Cast this after a boardwipe or after you've been milled for some time and your board will be full of value all of a sudden. As this deck is focused around artifacts and enchantments you are usually getting more value out of this card than your enemies... Enchanted Evening + Greater Auramancy is a combo I have in the deck for board-protection during the lategame. As my deck doesn't heavily evolve around gifting permanents and uses Zedruu's ability only for some extra value or political offerings I usually can pull this of without having to much trouble. At the time I cast these cards I ususally have 3-4 of my permanents allready be sitting on my opponents boards so I don't need to gift away cards anymore. The only thing that doesn't work is winning to Illusions of Grandeur unless you gift the auramancy away to an opponent first.

I hope this helps understanding how the deck is meant to work, thank you for your time and may the goats blessing always be with you! :)

Dude

NetholonTheArchmage, thank you for the thoughtful reply! I think I've been convinced to try Sunforger in one of my decks now. I'd misread the "other than the owner" clause on Crown of Doom it makes a lot more sense now.

Donating huggy cards I totally agree with! It most certainly benefits you most when they're kept around the longest. Personally I prefer huggy ramp > draw because it's something Jeskai typically lacks and is already strong in draw so I'd like to keep that axis of advantage over my opponents. Also, Zedruu drawing you more while the hugs ramps you will let you cast more of those cards just drawn... You're now playing odd Simic! But they wouldn't see that! They just see they get ramp! :D

I can totally understand wanting somewhat janky win conditions as opposed to the most stream lined. Have you considered Transcendence ? It may seem easy to pull off but it leads to some really really janky lines of play. I've found myself change mannerisms and verbally provoke an opponent into attacking me just to get me lower on life so that I could then play & donate to them. Sometimes they're at like 18 life so then they're still technically alive but close to death... It's silly.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't consider it a victory when opponents scoop to Grip of Chaos Perplexing Chimera Divine Intervention or Thieves' Auction . Maybe my playgroup is more spikey than yours to scoop so easily but I see this often and it warms my heart to force scoops.

@MCJennings I'm glad that I could arouse your interest in this formidable weapon :) I have just teted it yesterday at my local FNM and it did great work. I managed to copy an opponents Boundless Realms by using Sunforger to cast Fork ... This was probably one of the greatest plays I've ever done :D

I like your way of thinking about the "huggy ramp" There's one card that came to my mind immediatly: Oath of Lieges seems to fit in this category perfectly... gods be merciful... Now I need to overthink the decklist again...

Transcendence truly is a great and absolutely insane card! I had it in the deck for a long time but I am switching my wincons, trying new things from time to time. I'm sure it will make its way back into the deck at some point though, as it is one of my personal favourites... I remember one particular situation: One of my opponents was casting an Exsanguinate for 35, killing all players but me and himself. I had a Render Silent at hand... but also had an Enlightened Tutor ... I decided to use the tutor, fetching me the enchantment in question. The Exsanguinate-guy at first didn't get what I was up to, telling me that this wouldn't help me to survive his next turn. This was until I gifted him the enchantment gracefully... :D

I know what your talking about... it's the evil goat speaking out of you there... I do love my Perplexing Chimera ... so much chaos... just perfect. I just recently stumbled upon the Divine Intervention ... I. Need. This. Card. It's just everything my deck want's to do: Spreading a lot of chaos doing some unintelligible nonsense, prolonging the game for about 15-20 turns just to cast a card like this...

I wanted to brainstorm with you an old card I just discovered because of MTG Goldfish. What are your feelings about Anvil of Bogardan in place of Howling Mine ? Obviously it's not card advantage, but it is one more means of having no maximum handsize and still digs deeper. Same cost card type and general function does make them comparable.

I think I am going to work it into my list but I'm still mulling it over.

@ MCJennings The Anvil of Bogardan looks very sweet to me and I think that it might just be better than Howling Mine indeed. Very often I'm hording valuable enchantments and artifacts in my graveyard to cast an Open the Vaults , most of the time resulting in a powerfull bordstate unexpected by my opponents. The Anvil should be able helping me by filling my graveyard over the time with valuable goods... I'm making some changes to my Zedruudeck at the moment, trying out some new things to spice it up. So I did just cut the Howling Mine for Torpor Orb (SCREW YOU, Bane of Progress !!) . I'm going through some testing right now and I will update the deck sometime next week here on tappedout :)

I'm looking forward to seeing it! I love Torpor Orb for the fact that what's often the removal for it is Acidic Slime , Reclamation Sage , Bane of Progress , Knight of Autumn , etc. You see your opponents face light up for a moment after drawing as they've found their answer... Only to realize it wont work.