The War Room. It's the place where strategies are formed, counter-attacks are planned, and supply lines are routed. And this one is frequented by a man called Norin. Contrary to what his enemies think, those that fight alongside him know the truth: He may be wary, but he's no coward (check his creature type if you're skeptical).
A far-cry from the chaos stratagems that made him famous, this deck highlights his truly meticulous nature. Every card has its purpose, and when the enemy is thrown off balance, you can trust that it was more than dumb luck that gave you the upper hand.
I'll say it again for the people in the back:
If you're playing Chaos Norin, you're playing Norin wrong.
He's a man who likes to make an entrance. Lots of entrances. Over and over and over again.
And so do all his friends.
The general premise of the deck is simple enough: Maximize the value of your ETB triggers to gain an advantage over your opponents.
Use cards like Panharmonicon and Blade of Selves to multiply the spawn of your token generators, deal more direct damage than should be legal, and even mill half your opponents' deck in one fell swoop (WHILE PLAYING MONO-RED!).
Your first move should almost always be to cast Norin the Wary. He's hard to remove, and when he blinks you can legally send him to the Command Zone instead of exile (the effect that brings him back follows him to whatever zone he's in). So if your table's blue player has been holding on to a Stifle since their opening hand, you don't have to worry about Norin being stuck in Limbo.
He. Will. Come. Back.
Early game you should focus on mana ramp and gaining card advantage via cards like Idol of Oblivion, Tome of Legends and Endless Atlas. Once you're established, it's time to turn your attention to maximizing your board state.
Play cards like Impact Tremors and Purphoros, God of the Forge, then blink things like Emrakul's Hatcher, and Myr Battlesphere, drop Chancellor of the Forge and watch your opponents squirm (assuming they survive).
Late game, you'll definitely have a target on your back and your opponents will be looking to dismantle your artifact assembly line. This is why you need to save your recursive cards until you're absolutely positive you need to use them. You should prioritize the following cards for retrieval, should they wind up in your graveyard somehow: Genesis Chamber, Panharmonicon, Blade of Selves, and Cloudstone Curio.
I highly recommend using TappedOut's playtesting feature to grasp Norin's many interactions for yourself.
Some examples off the top of my head are as follows, but I guarantee there are many, many more ways to exploit ETB's than what I list:
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Meteor Golem = Repeatable, targeted destruction of non-land permanents.
Blade of Selves + Solemn Simulacrum = Quick burst of mana ramp, plus card draw if any of the copies are blocked.
Chancellor of the Forge + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Cavalcade of Calamity = They have an army? You have 2 hulks AND an army. And the army has haste. And deals damage just by declaring attackers.
Norin the Wary + Honor-Worn Shaku + Mind's Eye = Card draw on your OPPONENTS' turns. Even if you don't have Reliquary Tower or Thought Vessel on the field, you won't have to discard down to 7 until the end of YOUR turn.
Categorical Breakdown:
Combos for when you're being a try-hard:
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker + Zealous Conscripts
: By targeting Kiki-Jiki with Conscript's ability, you untap it and can then tap it again to make another Conscript. Up the ante by having Panharmonicon on the field to take control of literally every other targetable permanent in play. This obviously triggers all of your OTHER ETB abilities infinite times as well, but I feel like this is a cheap way to win and will quickly lead to people not wanting to play against you anymore. If you don't care about having friends, then feel free to throw in Conscripts.
Helm of the Host + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
: Equip Helm to Kiki-Jiki, create a non-legendary copy of Mr. Mirror Breaker himself, then use that token to create a copy of itself ad infinitum. Combine this with Phyrexian Altar or Thermopod for infinite mana, or simply enjoy the look on your opponents' faces as you declare how many times you'll be triggering your other ETB abilities.
Godo, Bandit Warlord + Helm of the Host
: Infinite combat steps and tokens. Play Godo, tutor Helm, equip Helm, declare combat. Helm will trigger, creating another copy of Godo that has haste. Attack with the token, then trigger another combat phase with its second effect. Because Helm's wording doesn't specify the FIRST combat step of your turn, it's exploitable in this way. Again, I feel like this isn't in the spirit of having fun. But hey, at least you won, right?
Combat Celebrant + Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
: Use Kiki-Jiki to create a token of Celebrant. Attack and exert Celebrant to untap all creatures, including Kiki himself. Repeat as often as you like, always exerting the new token. Without ETB support, this essentially becomes a war of attrition that lasts until you've stacked lethal damage on your opponents' creatures and finally beaten down their life totals.
The Grinning Winning Slug
The other combo in the deck is one I feel less guilty about, since it requires three cards for the engine, plus a host of other cards to actually take advantage of it once assembled. Genesis Chamber + Grinning Ignus + Thermopod
can be used to create infinite ETB triggers.
When combined with Reckless Fireweaver, Purphoros, God of the Forge, or Impact Tremors it will result in infinite damage. Alternatively, Altar of the Brood will mill everyone else out of the game.
Panharmonicon will accomplish all this twice as fast, and the extra tokens can be sacrificed to Phyrexian Altar or Thermopod for infinite mana.
