Kess, Dissident Mage

Commander / EDH* UBR (Grixis)

MasterJebaiter

Land (29)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Cabal Coffers
• 1x Cascade Bluffs
• 1x Cephalid Coliseum
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Crumbling Necropolis
• 1x Darkwater Catacombs
• 1x Dimir Aqueduct
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Fabled Passage
• 1x Glacial Chasm
• 1x Graven Cairns
• 1x Izzet Boilerworks
• 1x Luxury Suite
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Mirrorpool
• 1x Morphic Pool
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Prismatic Vista
• 1x Rakdos Carnarium
• 1x Reliquary Tower
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Sunken Hollow
• 1x Temple of Deceit
• 1x Underground River
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Watery Grave

Enchantment (6)

• 1x Jace's Sanctum
• 1x Metallurgic Summonings
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Secrets of the Dead
• 1x Thousand-Year Storm
• 1x Waste Not

Sorcery (17)

• 1x Bonus Round
• 1x By Force
• 1x Damnation
• 1x Dark Petition
• 1x Decree of Pain
• 1x Enter the Infinite
• 1x Faithless Looting
• 1x Gitaxian Probe
• 1x Increasing Ambition
• 1x Mana Geyser
• 1x Mind's Desire
• 1x Painful Truths
• 1x Past in Flames
• 1x Scheming Symmetry
• 1x Spelltwine
• 1x Syphon Mind
• 1x Wheel of Fortune

Artifact (12)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Commander's Sphere
• 1x Darksteel Ingot
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Fellwar Stone
• 1x Isochron Scepter
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Primal Amulet  ^Flip
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Indulgence

Planeswalker (2)

• 1x Narset, Parter of Veils
• 1x Ral, Storm Conduit

Commander (1)

Instant (16)

• 1x Cabal Ritual
• 1x Chain of Vapor
• 1x Chaos Warp
• 1x Comet Storm
• 1x Counterlash
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Crosis's Charm
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Evacuation
• 1x Fire Covenant
• 1x Frantic Search
• 1x Increasing Vengeance
• 1x Memory Plunder
• 1x Silumgar's Command
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Thrill of Possibility

Creature (10)

• 1x Archaeomancer
• 1x Bone Miser
• 1x Docent of Perfection  ^Flip
• 1x Laboratory Maniac
• 1x Mercurial Chemister
• 1x Nightscape Familiar
• 1x Niv-Mizzet, Parun
• 1x River Kelpie
• 1x Spellseeker
• 1x Talrand, Sky Summoner

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Sideboard

Sorcery (14)

• 1x Dark Deal
• 1x Exsanguinate
• 1x Fiery Confluence
• 1x Mizzix's Mastery
• 1x Mnemonic Betrayal
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Praetor's Grasp
• 1x Reforge the Soul
• 1x Tendrils of Agony
• 1x Time Spiral
• 1x Torment of Hailfire
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Whispering Madness
• 1x Windfall

Planeswalker (5)

• 1x Dack Fayden
• 1x Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
• 1x Jaya Ballard
• 1x Narset, Parter of Veils
• 1x Ral, Storm Conduit

Land (10)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Boseiju, Who Shelters All
• 1x Castle Vantress
• 1x Cephalid Coliseum
• 1x Command Beacon
• 1x Desolate Lighthouse
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Halimar Depths
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Temple of Epiphany

Instant (6)

• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Expansion / Explosion
• 1x Flusterstorm
• 1x Insidious Will
• 1x Kolaghan's Command
• 1x Thought Scour

Artifact (5)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Bolas's Citadel
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Talisman of Creativity
• 1x Talisman of Dominance

Enchantment (8)

• 1x Aria of Flame
• 1x As Foretold
• 1x Bloodchief Ascension
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Necropotence
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Search for Azcanta  ^Flip
• 1x Underworld Breach

Creature (7)

• 1x Consecrated Sphinx
• 1x Diluvian Primordial
• 1x Goblin Electromancer
• 1x God-Eternal Kefnet
• 1x Guttersnipe
• 1x Notion Thief
• 1x Willbreaker

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Maybeboard

Sorcery (20)

• 1x Blatant Thievery
• 1x Bribery
• 1x Cathartic Reunion
• 1x Drawn from Dreams
• 1x Expropriate
• 1x Finale of Promise
• 1x Glimpse the Unthinkable
• 1x Ideas Unbound
• 1x Insurrection
• 1x Mastermind's Acquisition
• 1x Molten Psyche
• 1x Night's Whisper
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Read the Bones
• 1x Rise of the Dark Realms
• 1x Rite of Replication
• 1x Traumatize
• 1x Treasure Cruise
• 1x Vandalblast

Enchantment (4)

• 1x Eye of the Storm
• 1x Leyline of Anticipation
• 1x Null Profusion
• 1x Search for Azcanta  ^Flip

Instant (19)

• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Cryptic Command *list*
• 1x Expansion / Explosion
• 1x Hurkyl's Recall
• 1x Impulse
• 1x Lim-Dul's Vault
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Negate
• 1x Paradoxical Outcome
• 1x Peer Through Depths
• 1x Pongify
• 1x Price of Progress
• 1x Pyroblast
• 1x Quicken
• 1x Reality Shift
• 1x Red Elemental Blast
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Thrill of Possibility
• 1x Turnabout

Planeswalker (3)

• 1x Ashiok, Dream Render
• 1x Ral, Izzet Viceroy
• 1x Saheeli, Sublime Artificer

Land (8)

• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Fiery Islet
• 1x Shivan Reef
• 2x Sulfur Falls
• 1x Sulfurous Springs
• 1x Sunken Ruins

Creature (6)

• 1x Baral, Chief of Compliance
• 1x Consecrated Sphinx
• 1x God-Eternal Kefnet
• 1x Hedron Crab
• 1x Snapcaster Mage
• 1x Torrential Gearhulk

Artifact (6)

• 1x Bolas's Citadel
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Nevinyrral's Disk
• 1x Pyromancer's Goggles
• 1x The Magic Mirror
• 1x Thought Vessel

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Goals:

Sling spells & again from gy (sometimes copying them), wheel to refill and fill gy, manage the board, storm off and nuke some folks

Focus:

• Ish: Ramp=10, Draw=10, STR=5, Wipe=5, Land=38;
  
• Standalone (25): work alone or in concert w/ cmdr; never a dead card
  
• Enhancers (10-12): amplify or amplified by commander, standalones, and/or other enhancers; can be a dead card but frequently goes HAAM with another card {Redundancy, Resurrect, SacOutlet, Steal, Tokens}
  
• Enablers (7-8): cover weakness/gaps in strat
  
• Curve: 1/2 (14-15), 3 (12-16), 4 (8-10), 5/6 (6-9), 7+ (3-5); 6-8 flex slots
  

Refine/Questions/Cuts:

• Put all of your 100% cards into a list
  
• Can count cantrips as draw w/ Kess, Dissident Mage out?
  
• how to balance storm & wheel themes?

Synergies/Combos/Wincons:

Wheel Effects Show

+ Niv-Mizzet, Parun + replay/copy = big damage
+ bigger Rise of the Dark Realms
+ Waste Not or Bone Miser = big draw, ritual mana, and bodies
+ Narset, Parter of Veils, Notion Thief, or Cyclonic Rift = ratfuck opponents' hands
+ Bloodchief Ascension = big damage, especially if copied

Storm Count Show

- Eye of the Storm cast on win turn, typically; also builds storm count itself
- Chain of Vapor + mana-positive rocks to increase storm count on final turn
- Paradoxical Outcome can also help here + provide insurance
- Aetherflux Reservoir + storm count of ~17, or Tendrils of Agony to close out
- Future Sight + Helm of Awakening + Sensei's Divining Top provides storm count
- Underworld Breach + Goblin Electromancer + High Tide + Frantic Search = loot nearly whole deck for wincons + storm count

Dramatic Reversal + Isochron Scepter Show

+ mana rocks that produce 3+ = Infinite mana and infinite storm count
+ Mnemonic Betrayal = play opponents' GYs (fed by wheels)
+ Tendrils of Agony, Torment of Hailfire, Exsanguinate to close out

Enter the Infinite + Inner Fire + x-spells
Null Profusion followed by Reliquary Tower = drop lots of spells w/ no hand size

Maybe:

Mana Geyser/Turnabout + Reiterate + sufficient untapped lands = infinite mana
Repercussion + Blasphemous Act/Star of Extinction/earthquake effects

Mean options:

Ad Nauseam/Dark Confidant with a low-enough-curve deck
Force of Will, Pact of Negation, Force of Negation, Mana Drain
Mind Over Matter, Yawgmoth's Will
Chrome Mox, Grim Monolith, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault, Mox Diamond, Lion's Eye Diamond
Doomsday + Keranos, God of Storms + Beacon of Tomorrows

Old:

• Dualcaster Mage + Rite of Replication = infinite 2/2's, no haste
  
• not worth Polymorph package w/o reliable way to generate fodder
  

Date added	4 years
Last updated	2 years
Key combos	Future Sight + Helm of Awakening + Sensei's Divining Top Dramatic Reversal + Isochron Scepter
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 8 Mythic Rares 48 - 33 Rares 21 - 7 Uncommons 13 - 7 Commons
Cards	93
Avg. CMC	3.42
Tokens	Bird 2/2 U, Construct */* C, Copy Clone, Drake 2/2 U, Emblem Dack Fayden, Emblem Jaya Ballard, Human Wizard 1/1 U, Zombie 2/2 B