Mairsil, the Pretender EDH: Ability Collector

Commander / EDH Artifact Combo Control Infinite Combo Multiplayer UBR (Grixis)

Shinwizzles

Creature (27)

• 1x AEtherling
• 1x Anthroplasm
• 1x Aphetto Alchemist
• 1x Arcanis the Omnipotent
• 1x Cavern Harpy
• 1x Chainer, Dementia Master
• 1x Deadeye Navigator
• 1x Galecaster Colossus
• 1x Hateflayer
• 1x Havengul Lich
• 1x Heartless Hidetsugu
• 1x Horseshoe Crab
• 1x Infernal Denizen
• 1x Knacksaw Clique
• 1x Kuro, Pitlord
• 1x Magus of the Mind
• 1x Minion of Leshrac
• 1x Patron of the Moon
• 1x Pili-Pala
• 1x Quicksilver Elemental
• 1x Razaketh, the Foulblooded
• 1x Sage of Hours
• 1x Shauku, Endbringer
• 1x Taigam, Sidisi's Hand
• 1x Torchling
• 1x Tree of Perdition
• 1x Trophy Mage

Sorcery (4)

• 1x Buried Alive
• 1x Decree of Pain
• 1x Diabolic Tutor
• 1x Vandalblast

Artifact (24)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Ashnod's Altar
• 1x Basalt Monolith
• 1x Basilisk Collar
• 1x Chimeric Staff
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Conjurer's Closet
• 1x Crystal Shard
• 1x Darksteel Plate
• 1x Dreamstone Hedron
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Illusionist's Bracers
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Magistrate's Scepter
• 1x Mirage Mirror
• 1x Nevinyrral's Disk
• 1x Panharmonicon
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Staff of Domination
• 1x Staff of Nin
• 1x Strionic Resonator
• 1x Thousand-Year Elixir
• 1x Thran Dynamo
• 1x Ventifact Bottle

Instant (9)

• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Comet Storm
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Hero's Downfall
• 1x Murder
• 1x Pongify
• 1x Rapid Hybridization
• 1x Terminate

Commander (1)

Land (33)

• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Crumbling Necropolis
• 1x Dimir Aqueduct
• 1x Dismal Backwater
• 1x Evolving Wilds
• 1x Grixis Panorama
• 10x Island
• 1x Izzet Boilerworks
• 1x Jwar Isle Refuge
• 3x Mountain
• 1x Mystifying Maze
• 1x Path of Ancestry
• 1x Rakdos Carnarium
• 6x Swamp
• 1x Swiftwater Cliffs
• 1x Temple of the False God
• 1x Terramorphic Expanse

Enchantment (2)

• 1x Fervor
• 1x Training Grounds

---

Mairsil, the Pretender caught my eye out of the C17 wizards because of his interaction with artifacts and creatures. I'm a sucker for broken combo decks, and this one seems ripe for the breaking. Mairsil, the Pretender 's once per turn clause can be easily gotten around by bouncing him with the Deadeye Navigator, or by caging the Quicksilver Elemental.

The deck has a pretty simple game strategy with a few fun combos to pull off if being showy becomes an option. Getting stuff in the graveyard is where the deck is lacking. There are a few things like Buried Alive and Taigam, Sidisi's Hand to assist in this endeavor, but more suggestions would always be appreciated. With Mairsil, the Pretender , the bigger the graveyard, the bigger the arsenal.The cards that really make Mairsil, the Pretender go off are Quicksilver Elemental/Deadeye Navigator and any creature that can untap itself or another creature. Cards like Aphetto Alchemist , Horseshoe Crab, and Thousand-Year Elixir are good for this purpose. Once Mairsil, the Pretender can get around his once-per-turn clause, he becomes that much closer to combo-ing off and winning the game. Panharmonicon can also help speed up the process of caging more stuff with Mairsil, the Pretender , so it's a good idea to cage it as early as possible.

As mentioned previously, there are several combos in the deck. Some of the combos are used for utility, and some of the combos are used to end the game. Nevinyrral's Disk and Darksteel Plate should set opponents back by quite a bit while keeping Mairsil, the Pretender protected. Caging Heartless Hidetsugu and Aetherflux Reservoir, followed up with giving Mairsil, the Pretender lifelink of some kind is good for one-shotting opponents. Infinite mana is possible and easy to achieve through the use of cards like Thran Dynamo, Gilded Lotus, and anything that untaps Mairsil, the Pretender , provided that his once-per-turn clause has been circumvented.

Infinite turns can be achieved through a couple of combos in the deck. Ventifact Bottle and Magistrate's Scepter can be used to take infinite turns for 4 colorless mana, after they've been caged by Mairsil, the Pretender . The other combo is Anthroplasm and Sage of Hours. This combo is a little spendy with mana, but if it can be pulled off then it shouldn't matter too much, because...well, infinite turns.

As mentioned, the game plan for the deck is pretty simple, its mostly just a Grixis goodstuff deck, I suppose. The only real theme is activated abilities. Fill up the graveyard, cast and bounce Mairsil, the Pretender , get a bunch of stuff caged, and then kill some opponents with a neato Swiss Army Commander.

Thanks for reading! If I'm missing anything good, or if something seems like it doesnt belong in the deck, please say so!

Date added	7 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	6 - 0 Mythic Rares 39 - 0 Rares 22 - 0 Uncommons 12 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.93
Tokens	Ape 3/3 G, Frog Lizard 3/3 G, Morph 2/2 C