Bonus Round Storm

Commander / EDH* UBRG

vessel

Land (27)

• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Badlands
• 1x Bayou
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Cascade Bluffs
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Graven Cairns
• 1x Island
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Morphic Pool
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Taiga
• 1x Tropical Island
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Volcanic Island
• 1x Watery Grave

Sorcery (16)

• 1x Bonus Round
• 1x By Force
• 1x Dark Petition
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Discovery / Dispersal
• 1x Gitaxian Probe
• 1x Mind's Desire
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Preordain
• 1x Regrowth
• 1x Show and Tell
• 1x Time Spiral
• 1x Toxic Deluge
• 1x Wheel of Fortune
• 1x Windfall
• 1x Yawgmoth's Will

Instant (26)

• 1x Abrade
• 1x Abrupt Decay
• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Cabal Ritual
• 1x Counterspell
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Dark Ritual
• 1x Dramatic Reversal
• 1x Fire Covenant
• 1x Flusterstorm
• 1x Force of Will
• 1x Frantic Search
• 1x Lightning Bolt
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Manamorphose
• 1x Mission Briefing
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Narset's Reversal
• 1x Nature's Claim
• 1x Negate
• 1x Nexus of Fate *list*
• 1x Swan Song
• 1x Tainted Pact
• 1x Unsubstantiate
• 1x Vampiric Tutor

Enchantment (8)

• 1x Carpet of Flowers
• 1x Cindervines
• 1x Future Sight
• 1x Mystic Remora
• 1x Omniscience
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Stranglehold
• 1x Thousand-Year Storm

Creature (1)

• 1x Notion Thief

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Narset, Parter of Veils

Commanders (2)

Artifact (17)

• 1x Aetherflux Reservoir
• 1x Bolas's Citadel
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Grim Monolith
• 1x Isochron Scepter
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Lion's Eye Diamond
• 1x Mana Crypt
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Mox Diamond
• 1x Mox Opal
• 1x Paradox Engine
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Talisman of Dominance
• 1x Talisman of Indulgence

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Bonus Round Storm

Bonus Round is an incredible storm enabler. It allows for compact victories and empowers competitively costed spells to a very high ceiling. In the pursuit of consistency, the deck also includes Thousand-Year Storm (henceforth TYS), which enables many of the same (and more) lines and combos. I have layered Show and Tell, which can put in TYS, Omniscience, and Bolas’s Citadel. TYS sees all spells you have played before it enters play, so using Show and Tell is a good way to “waste” your first uncopied spell for the turn.

Due to the high power level of our enablers, we have a lot of room for flex and control slots. Cards like Abrade, Cinder Vines, and By Force may not be suitable for your meta. I have an exceptionally light metashare of Hulk decks, and you can see a lack of preferred graveyard interaction in my list. That being said, the shell is very flexible, and can be modified on the fly once you know and understand the moving parts.

The most notable exclusions here are Ad Nauseam and Timetwister. Timetwister will assuredly be an all-star in this deck, however I only play paper tournaments anymore and do not have access. Replace Time Spiral if you do have access. Ad Nauseam is excluded here due mostly to the presence of TYS and Bolas’s Citadel – Omniscience is included in light of the fact that Ad Nauseam is already suspect with multiple 5 and 6 cmc spells making the cut. Play it over Omniscience if you prefer, but give the list a chance as is. Abrupt Decay is included over Assassin’s Trophy as a measure against Food Chain decks around me. The mana base is also missing Underground Sea (woe is me) but I trust you all can make an appropriate substitution. 27 lands have been good to me.

I’d like to give honorable mention to Discovery/Dispersal. It usually is viewed as a 2-cmc “bad preordain.” However in this shell, the ability to cast it without blue mana is key. Oftentimes once a Dark or Cabal Ritual is copied multiple times, following up with several copies of Discovery is game winning – it digs deep and fuels the ‘yard.

Let’s talk about lines!

The compact Bonus Round line requires 2BBRR and Bonus Round and Demonic Tutor in hand. Double tutor for Dark Ritual/Dark Petition, then double tutor for Yawgmoth’s Will and Lion’s Eye Diamond. Crack Diamond for Black and Red, recast Bonus Round (which will be copied, and which I affectionately call entering the double Bonus Round) and then you have access to 8 tutors and your ‘yard. Win as you see fit from here.

With TYS on the field or while in the “double” Bonus Round, we can perform loops with mana generating spells and spell-bouncing spells (Manamorphose, Dramatic Reversal, Unsubstantiate, and Narset’s Reversal [Remand can also be layered in as a third functional spell-bouncer]). You need at least two copies of your spell-bouncer to execute the following loops, so a single cast of Bonus round won’t work here. Start by casting Manamorphose, resolve all of the copies. Then, with the original Manamorphose still on the stack, cast Unsubstantiate targeting Manamorphose, and have some of the copies target Manamorphose and some target Unsubstantiate. Repeat to make mana and draw your deck. This loop can be copied with Lightning Bolt to kill the table. “Counter” as many copies of manamorphose as necessary to not deck yourself.

Many of the other synergies are layered together, so many spells have multiple purposes and functions. I will list some of them below.

Paradox Engine, Sensei’s Divining Top, Future Sight

Paradox Engine, Sensei’s Divining Top, 5+ mana in rocks, Thrasios

Bolas’s Citadel, Sensei’s Divining Top, Aetherflux Reservoir

Nexus of Fate, Vial Smasher

Notion Thief/Narset, Wheels

Isochron Scepter, Dramatic Reversal

Isochron Scepter, Paradox Engine, Thrasios

Stranglehold, opponent playing good spells

Note: Twister loops can be executed with spell-bouncers as an alternative to the other TYS combos noted above – they will not be necessary.

Play Style

The deck is not as blazing fast as many of the decks you may sit across from. It has a draw-go style and plays the first many turns at instant speed, responding to threats. When it is time to go off, it can pivot very quickly. Thrasios is a perfect fit for draw-go, weave in his activations at end steps when possible but be careful of putting shields down. Try to keep a hand with some card selection (cantrip or tutor) and some interaction. Do not be afraid to convert rituals into Thrasios activations in the mid game if you need to dig further. Dramatic Reversal doubles here as a great ritual as well, and due to its synergy with TYS loops it does not need to only function with Isochron Scepter. Try to end the game with Bonus Round, Paradox Engine, TYS, or Bolas’s Citadel, or a Notion Thief wheel.

In Conclusion

This is a great deck choice in a field of linear decks. It has many controlling and responsive options, and can act like control until it pivots to win. It has the joy of complexity, and while it is consistent, it is not looking to execute the same plan every game. I have been playing for a long time and would love to hear your feedback. Many common cEDH cards that you do not see here have been tested, or are eschewed from my list for a particular reason, however I am open to suggestions! I hope some of you might look to sleeve this up and give it a try!

Date added	5 years
Last updated	3 years
Exclude colors	W
Legality	This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	15 - 0 Mythic Rares 54 - 0 Rares 15 - 0 Uncommons 13 - 0 Commons
Cards	98
Avg. CMC	2.58
Tokens	Bird 2/2 U