gillkohl I think a better option for Timetwister is Day's Undoing. Winds of Change is a good self wheel, but the power of the reshuffle effect can't be understated.

If you don't have a Mox Diamond, I think the closest thing that you will find is Jeweled Amulet. Not only is it MUCH more budget friendly (TCG market price is $2.13), but if you don't need the mana immediately, you can choose to keep putting counters on it and "ramp" that way. There are obvious downsides, since it doesn't tap for mana immediately and when you remove the charge counter(s), it only produces the last color of mana spent to put a charge counter on it, but it's still a decent and (in my opinion) underrated card if you can't afford/don't want to spend money on Mox Diamond.

I had this discussion on Opus Thief a lot, but there's no real substitute for Timetwister. The card itself is just really good, and it's not generally about having a wheel here. You might just go with the next best card there is. With stax coming back since flash ban you might opt for another bounce/spot removal or maybe Rolling Earthquake as an additional board whipe. For Mox Diamond it's a bit different. You should keep up the artifact count for Mox Opal. I haven't tried the Amulet yet, but you could also just add another Talisman/Signet to the list, probably Izzet Signet so you can get blue mana to get rid of a Blood Moon.

TheEternallySurprised I agree that there's no substitute for Timetwister. The closest thing to it would be Day's Undoing, which obviously has the drawback of ending your turn immediately. As you said, though, it's not just the wheel effect that you're looking for. The reshuffle effect is powerful in that it can both reset your combo and undo an opponent's work that they've done to set up their graveyard based combo/engine. The obvious power with Kess is that you have access to that effect twice.

I personally am not a fan of Izzet Signet in this list, mainly because it is heavy on black and blue (there are only 7 R pips in this list) and only requires xUR for one spell in the 100 (being Kess). Obviously, it can be used to pay for both xU and xR spells, so it isn't entirely "wasted," and the more modifications that people make that add R pips (especially xUR spells), the more valuable it becomes (especially for those that can't afford/refuse to pay for alternatives)

How do you feel about Rielle, the Everwise ? Do you think it will make the cut with all the wheels? Also, what about the combo with Wheel of Fortune, Lion's Eye Diamond, and Underworld Breach? I think it is a really good combo

I like Rielle at the helm but I'm not looking at putting it in the 98/99 anywhere. That is a very real combo but I don't like LED in this list. So far Underworld Breach seems pretty good at pulling wins out of thin air without the extra slot. I like it a LOT in Grixis Storm.

Hello! Which of the free Commander 2020 spells would be a MUST-INCLUDE for you?

Fierce Guardianship

Deflecting Swat

Deadly Rollick

also how do you feel about Stunning Reversal + Ad Nauseam + Jace, Wielder of Mysteries ?? also a win on the spot...just one card that you need to add to the deck.

My personal opinion is I will also remove Into the Roil and add Cyclonic Rift - just has more utility. Paying 4 just so you can draw a card is not really worth imo

@MrBodi88: Into the Roil has the big upside that you can bounce your own Dockside Extortionist back to your hand to make a ton of mana, which you can't do with Cyclonic Rift. You could play Winds of Rebuke instead of Into the Roil. Cyclonic rift is only more favorable in very grindy and stax heavy metas in my opinion.

So on Sunday I played my version of Kess consultation in a cEDH pod (Jhoira, Prosh, Krenko and me). My deck is only 80% complete, but we are getting there. (Mana base needs to be adjusted)

Jace, the Mind Sculptor came in extremely useful. Because of my opening hand I had a turn 2 JTMS on the board. It worked super well with Dockside Extortionist to generate mana. On my 4th turn I had 30 treasure and won the game through consultation/oracle.

Kess the Sexy Mage

GoPatmyhead I have not included any of them so none of them are MUST-INCLUDE. Cards that only get good if you can stick Kess don't make the cut for me.

MrBodi88 I don't think I will be adding Stunning Reversal to this deck any time soon. It's terrible on its own and needing to have the mana to cast that as well as Ad Nauseam is a steep hurdle, especially considering if I am trying to resolve a Naus I would ideally like to back it up with some countermagic. Cyclonic Rift was swapped to Into the Roil because it can't bounce your own stuff and Dockside Extortionist makes that a big deal. Jace, the Mind Sculptor is an objectively powerful magic card but the CMC for the effect and the benchmark Grixis sets for card quality generally leave him outside of my 100 in cEDH lists. In your context of working towards completion it sounds like a fine include.

So i get that Reanimate is part of the intuition pile (that also fetches Thassa's Oracle and Demonic Consultation) but is it taking up an unnecessary slot in the deck because either Underworld Breach or Yawgmoth's Will can be fetched instead of it and fulfil the same job as Reanimate does. Or do we still run reanimate because of the mana efficiency on our combo turn?

Reanimate is very cutable. I like the cheap Intuition pile and the incidental value it provides but if you're looking for a cut it's a good option.

I also added Imperial Recruiter and he has proven to be very useful. I can tutor my wincons or Gilded Drake to deal with annoying commanders/creatures.

I can also tutor up Dockside Extortionist to generate mana for the win. It is a nice tutor, incase you want to keep the other tutors for answers or wincons.

Have you considered the new counter from the 2020 Commander set, Fierce Guardianship?

Thoughts on see the truth from m21? I run a list without imperial seal and have found an extra cantrip seems the best replacement atm.

Berzerker777 here is the comment in response to not including fierce guardianship. Redshift_cEDH says...#49 GoPatmyhead I have not included any of them so none of them are MUST-INCLUDE. Cards that only get good if you can stick Kess don't make the cut for me.

Would it be more optimal to also include the Autoscepter combo + Aetherflux as another win con? I mean it only costs 2 slots and it's super easy to pull off by playing a single tutor twice off Kess. Is the Jace really necessary as an additional oracle effect - isn't the 4 mana a bit much? How has Underworld Breach been performing? I'm really curious about that one.

MrBodi88 I think Imperial Recruiter is a poor choice. Are you already running Grim Tutor and Praetor's Grasp? Even if you are you should probably still cut recruiter! I don't think we evaluate tutors the same way in game based on the way you've described liking the more narrow tutor to 'save' the other ones. Tutors are placeholders for other cards, don't get sucked into the mentality of feeling like you have half your combo because you've got a tutor. Use it, get value, get interaction, get a combo piece. It's not worth anything otherwise. I'm not suggesting you ignore the information exchange surrounding things like using a reveal vs non-reveal tutor, I hope you take my meaning.

gillkohl it definitely caught my attention. As you have been so kind as to point out to Berzerker777 I have already stated I am wary of cards that get good assuming Kess sticks around. I think your use of in in a list still impacted by some budgetary restrictions is totally appropriate, and I may end up taking it for a spin, but I am initially pessimistic.

Barbola only 2 slots? You brute! In all seriousness card quality is one of the best things we have going for us and our combo lines are already so tight scepter and aetherflux are not really good enough. I can appreciate finding a spot for Isochron Scepter if you just can't have a Dramatic Reversal without it but I wouldn't waste a slot on a hard outlet for it, just go get Sensei's Divining Top or something, there are a few options for an outlet with cards already in the list.

Is Jace necessary? I think it's odd your asking me that in the same comment where you're asking about taking up 2 more slots with dead combo pieces for a backup. If you've got the gumption to roll without a backup then you're braver than me, but then why are you looking at dramatic scepter + aetherflux? Jace is definitely better than the two of those. If I needed more I'd run Praetor's Grasp because someone else definitely has a Thassa's Oracle I could put to better use.

Underworld Breach is hot. Even without leaning harder into it the card is a joke on its own. Definitely makes you feel a bit more like you're piloting storm again, which is a positive if you're nostalgic.

I don't think it's only good with Kess. I'm also running underworld breach, flip Jace, and yawgmoth's will. It won't be a spectacular use of mana. I just haven't bought any card I can't find for less than $100 so things like the dual lands, diamond, and imperial seal are currently not available.

Thoughts on grim tutor? To me it wasn't worth increasing the average cmc of the deck for the same effect as imperial seal. Ad nuas is already hurt but not running the duals.

what do you think about Blasphemous Act? cards over 100$ are not in my playgroup yet so I am more casual competitive. I run into getting attacked a lot from everyone because I do not have much on my board most of the time.

Jsandoval, you should be able to pull a win before you life total is in serious threat from creature damage against most decks - exceptions being najeela, nath, edric, yuriko. Blasphemous act is a massive cmc spell that while is likely cheap to cast hurts our ad naus curve. It also will kill kess if in play slowing down the potential one card win con. A good chunk of my meta is very combat heavy. Cards like toxic deluge, pyrochalsm, and in the rare case into the roil are better. If you need the additional board wipe rolling earthquake or cyclonic rift are likely better alternatives.

what do you think about Phyrexian Metamorph ? I feel that for 1 more colorless mana and 2 life you could copy a creature too instead of maybe Copy Artifact.

I've used metamorph as a budget gilded drake. It's not nearly as good but for a while it worked decently. Copy artifact is so good, if can help you get an early game ad naus, or insane draw if you are playing again a scroll rack. At worst it's 2 Mana for the best artifact on board which is so good in cEDH

Should this deck (and blue decks in general) be running trickbind now? It seems like consult + oracle is an extremely common win con now.

sorry, didn't hyperlink Trickbind