At long last, after over twenty long years, Urza himself has a card (and no, the head doesn't really count. Fight me). Best of all, it encompasses exactly what one would expect from the artificer himself: a sturdy body (sorry Lightning Bolt, you don't work here!), the ability to craft machines, create mana, AND cast cards from your library - for free, might I add! There are many ways to use him, from artifact-centric to a control shell, but the one he really beckons to be used in is, of course, combo.
So, how may we create his deck? We'll start with the manabase. Being a mono-colored deck means that there shouldn't be too much of an issue getting the mana we need, and with the cantrips resident to blue, you'll always have some in hand to play - unless it's just an unlucky game for you. Since we'll be running enough artifacts to capitalize off Urza, lands that synergize with artifacts to include are Academy Ruins and Buried Ruins. We can't forget Myriad Landscape, which is a bit slow, but very useful for mono-colored decks. Seat of the Synod also fits in well with the artifact theme. Many others can be basic lands, but feel free to spice it up with cards like Ancient Tomb and Inventors' Fair.
Now for one of the most important parts, the artifacts. If you were to run a complete mono blue artifact deck, you would run several things that would push that aspect; but as we're running combo, we'll focus more on artifacts that support our theme. Mana rocks of all kinds are a given - Sol Ring, Chrome Mox, Lotus Petal, Mox Opal, Thought Vessel, and Basalt Monolith are all noteworthy inclusions (I omitted Grim Monolith and Mana Crypt because of the large prices). Grim and Basalt Monoliths are parts of our combo board, so we'll come back to them. Other artifacts that support this theme include Phyrexian Metamorph, scultping steel, Mycosynth Lattice, and Sensei's Divining Top - utility, and for a few, combo fodder as well (RIP Paradox Engine).
And without further ado, onto our combo section! Many are already existing, but for the newer ones, I will explain:
Karn, the Great Creator + Mycosynth Lattice = lock out all opponents
Emry, Lurker of the Loch + Lotus Petal + Mirran Spy = infinite mana
Pili-Pala + Heartstone + urza, lord high artificer = infinite mana, tapping the pala to make a blue, using that blue to untap it, and gaining 1 mana from it. Repeat ad nauseam (which isn't in the deck :P).
Basalt Monolith + Rings of Brighthearth = infinite colorless mana
Deadeye Navigator + Peregrine Drake = infinite mana
infinite mana + Urza, Walking Ballista or Staff of Domination = near sure win. If you combine a cast of your whole deck with Aetherflux Reservoir, nuke everyone storm style. You can also exile everything and cast Jace, Wielder of Mysteries for a win.
And a whole slew more I'm sure are in the deck! But these are the ones that immediately stick out as wincons. All the infinite mana can be shoveled in to cast your deck, which would bring out Kozilek, Butcher of Truth, and at least one of the other game winning combos. It's actually a crazy amount of utility stemming from your commander alone.
Now for the way we can fetch and protect these combos. Cantrips are a given - from Serum Visions and Preordain, to Brainstorm and Sleight of Hand. Each function to grab us the cards we need (hopefully). In case they fail, though, we have an extra advantage in Spellseeker, mysitcal tutor, and even something as simple as Expedition Map. Whir of Invention is an amazing Chord of calling for artifacts, and at instant speed to boot. Fabricate is yet another great spell to accomplish artifact retrieval.
Now, protection goes a long way (as it always does), and blue is infamous for its counterspells. You don't want too many in a deck like this, otherwise you'll whiff of Urza's ability constantly. But a few are definitely important - Swan Song, Flusterstorm, Tale's End, Kira, Great Glass-Spinner, Counterspell, Force of Negation,Force of Will and Mana Drain are all cheap enough (with one being a creature) to include comfortably, without risking failure from Urza. Other removal is Cyclonic Rift, Wash Out, and Reality Shift. To take care of pesky graveyards, Grafdigger's Cage and Tormod's Crypt are both artifacts and that lovely removal we want to see.
The remaining deck centers around supporting Urza and our combos. Rhystic Study and Mystic Remora grant more card draw, Dramatic Reversal offers another infinite mana combo with isochron sceptor.
The deck should function very well, and if anybody has any feedback or anything to add or recommend - for fun deckbuilding and in the spirit of the color Blue - please reach out! Thank you for taking a look!
I initially had it geared towards a semicompetitive meta, but after every game I played, the deck would lose to cEDH decks or completely lock out casual decks, ending up in a very strange spot. With that, I chose to gear it towards cEDH metas overall, so it is NOT recommended for casual playgroups!
