Current Maelstrom Wanderer build after 3+ years of tweaking.
Currently testing Teferi, Temporal Archmage, Faerie Artisans, Greater Good, and Nezahal, Primal Tide.
*Gameplan*
Ramp into Maelstrom and cast her/him/it, whatever, as many times as possible. Usually does not need too many times to stumble onto one of the infinite win-cons in the deck.
Infinite Win-Cons
Infinite mana stuff
Palinchron + Deadeye Navigator not only produce infinite mana but also as a way to infinitely blink Maelstrom Wanderer an infinite number of times, cascading into your entire deck and one of your other win-cons. Sometimes, seeing these two on the battlefield is enough to get concessions.
Great Whale + Deadeye Navigator also does this trick.
If you happen to have Temur Sabertooth on the field along with either Great Whale / Palinchron along with lands that produce multiple mana like Gaea's Cradle, then you can go infinite.
Palinchron + Zendikar Resurgent produces infinite mana if you have 7+ lands.
Squee, the Immortal / Eternal Scourge along with Food Chain produces infinite creature mana and a way to cast MW over and over. Cast, exile, produce enough to recast, cast exile, repeat until people concede or you stumble onto the Kiki combo and/or any of your extra turn spells.
The Kiki /Splinter Twin Combo.
You have probably seen / played against / played this yourself but for newbies, he's the deal:
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Deceiver Exarch or Pestermite produces infinite hasty tokens.
Splinter Twin + Pestermite / Deceiver Exarch produces infinite tokens. This ability cannot be activated if Pestermite or Exarch are summoning sick. So, best way to deal with this is to flash in either of the creatures on opponent 3's end step (the turn before yours) so you have a non-summoning sick creature to attach Splinter Twin to the following turn.
In a pinch - Splinter Twin, if you cascade into it without either of the two - is great attached to Palinchron / Great Whale / Eternal Witness / Sakura-Tribe Elder / Oracle of Mul Daya or even Venser, Shaper Savant. In the case where you have to attach it to a legendary creature, as long as you keep the original version, you still get the ETB trigger. And if you happen to have something like Acidic Slime in your list...well, that's a fine target too. And hilarious.
If it goes to your graveyard, no biggie! You have Eternal Witness and Seasons Past.
Kiki by itself is also a really fun card. Copying any of our non-legendary permanents is much like attaching a Splinter Twin to it. Do it again if Teferi is on the field too!
Specific Card choices and Interesting Interactions
Interactions:
Some of these assume you have infinite mana (or at least, enough to cast the loop):
Eternal Witness + Temur Sabertooth / Deadeye Navigator + An extra turn spell that doesn't exile itself makes infinite turns.
Venser, Shaper's Savant + Temur Sabertooth / Deadeye Navigator makes for a way to bounce all of your opponents permanents.
Selvala, Heart of the Wilds + Teferi, Temporal Archmage. Wait until you have something like Maelstrom Wanderer (or other high-power creature) on the field, tap for 7 mana, use Teferi to untap that plus 3 other permanents - preferably cards like Gaea's Cradle / Crystal Shard so you can recast Wanderer!
Cloudstone Curio + MW + any creature + infinite mana = a way to infinitely cast MW. Personal favorite is Eternal Witness.
Cloustone Curio + Palinchron & Great Whale with one on the battlefield / one in hand along with at least 7 lands and one of them produces 2+ mana = infinite mana.
-Specific card choices in no particular order-
The Creatures
Azusa, Lost but Seeking - playing 3 lands a turn is good for the Wanderer.
Balefire Dragon - Clears a board in a pinch and is a big flying threat.
Etali, Primal Storm - I like casting other people's stuff
Faerie Artisans - every time I play against this card, I wish I had it. So it's in here for the moment.
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth - I friggin' hate discard and mill decks. HATE them. Shuffling the graveyard back in is occasionally relevant. Also, draws cards if cast and is a giant threat late game. Annihilator is no joke kids.
Kruphix, God of Horizons - this card is an absolute all-star. Not losing mana between turns is fantastic. Casting Wanderer a turn early is a big swing in your favor. This card + Seedborn Muse should be banned. Storing up mana over 3 turns will probably just win you the game when it gets back to your turn.
Seedborn Muse ^^ this.
Oracle of Mul Daya - extra land drop + getting a land off the top of your library. Occasionally, a sacrificial lamb for targeted removal for some reason.
Scourge of the Throne - Extra combat steps. We don't typically win via combat damage but if someone is keeping you down - this card + MW + another couple creatures is enough to knock a player out in one go.
Sun Quan, Lord of Wu - Makes all your stuff unblockable! No one plays anything with Horsemanship anymore....aside from....well...this card. What are the odds you run into it though? Like...basically zero. Yeah.
The 3 Instants - Necessary. Beast to remove pesky permanents. Frantic to dig for cards and untap lands / Mystical to find whatever.
The artifacts - Ramp / Top for library manipulation / Curio and Shard for bouncing.
The Sorceries - Ramp / Extra turns
Selvala's Stampede - Better if you have at least 2 creatures in hand. This card is dumb.
Rude Awakening - untaps all your lands. Don't be afraid to fire it off at 7 lands to get MW out a turn earlier.
Tooth and Nail - Finds Kiki and Exarch / Pestermite. Can be entwined off a cascade THIS IS IMPORTANT. After the first time you cast Wanderer, try to leave 2 mana open, just in case.
Seasons Past - Usually very very good. Occasionally really really bad (like, if it's the very first thing you cascade into). Generally no middle ground. Get back ramp / creatures / extra turn spells / combo pieces / whatever. Shuffles back in. Cascade into. Rinse and repeat.
Enchantments
Food Chain / Splinter Twin / Zendikar explained above.
Greater Good - currently testing. Sacrifice Wanderer to get it back
into the command zone and draw a fresh 7. Really useful in my Zacama list, thinking it'll work out here too.
Impact Tremors - this used to be Purphoros, God of the Forge because there are games when you cannot win via combat damage because of whatever reason. You need a way around that. Good to have a plan A for when things are going good and a plan B, C, and D when it all goes to hell. This is plan C (ish). Honestly, Purphoros is probably better, but Tremors is cheaper. This card has straight-up won me games. Once giving me a very satisfying win against an Oloro Stax player. This is good stuff.
Mystic Remora - Good enough for cedh, good enough for us. Occasionally pays off, sometimes not. It's fine either way. Might be better as Rhystic Study. I don't know. We have a lot of early game plays we'd rather make that involve ramping. But if you're in a non-creature heavy meta this card is likely an early game all-star.
Soothsaying - library manipulation. And a way to shuffle your library if you don't like what's on top. It's a staple for any Wanderer list.
Sunbird's Invocation - bounce Wanderer to hand - recast - cast something 8 mana or less for free (which 99 of our cards are) repeat ad infinitum.
Sunken Hope - probably going to be cut for something more impactful, but can bounce Wanderer back to your hand and can help control opponents boards.
Sylvan Library - Dig 3 cards into your library every turn. Top deck manipulation.
Temur Ascendancy - if Wanderer isn't around, gives everyone haste. Most of your creatures are 4 power or more. Drawing cards is never a bad thing. Bounce our 7 drop, draw some cards, bounce our 7 drops, draw some cards...
Laaaannnds
Just a few worth mentioning:
Command Beacon - Sacrifice Wanderer to recast as a one time shot.
Homeward Path - Alright - this one is worth talking about. This card is a catch as a way to defend against the one viable way to deal with the Wanderer - steal it. Wanderer is never going to end up in your graveyard or in your deck and we care about 0 percent if it gets killed / exiled as long as we have a way to recast it. Stealing it or locking it down is about the only way to actually deal with Wanderer. And theft decks are common. Crop Rotation is probably worth including for this very reason. If you're in a meta where Gilded Drake is a thing - run these two cards: always.
Kessig Wolf Run - smash through those last points of damage.
Strip Mine - have a way to deal with problem lands.
Gaea's Cradle - if you play online like I do, this card is a must. If you play IRL and can't afford it but your group is okay with Proxies (not fake cards) - play it. It's worth it. 100%.
Notable mention - Alchemist's Refuge - in one of my other MW lists but not this one. If you're in a counter-heavy meta, this card is useful.
High Market - also in my other list. Probably will find its way into this one at some point.
WHY NOT (BLANK)
I've probably tried running it before. I have 4 different versions of this deck. It might be in one of those. Or I've cut it because my game plan isn't 'win with creature beats' or ' value them out' - it is most decidedly 'combo and go infinite.'
Lack of interaction
Yep. I'm aware. I really don't care if Wanderer gets destroyed / exiled / bounced over and over. I can just recast, and chances are, if I recast, I win. I lean REAL heavily on the table to deal with problems. Some times that doesn't happen. And that's fine. There's always the next game.
Working my way there / At some point
-Fetch Lands
-Ancient Tomb
-Wasteland
-Nexus of Fate
-Jace, the Mind Sculptor
-Probably a few others I'm forgetting. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
Made it all this way? DUDE and/or DUDETTE - if you play Wanderer - put your list in the comments. I want to see it.
Also, you're great <3
LONG LIVE THE WANDERER.
