I'll hold on to that for you! *PRIMER*

Commander / EDH Casual Control Multiplayer UR (Izzet)

NV_1980

Land (36)

• 1x Arcane Lighthouse
• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Cascade Bluffs
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Exotic Orchard
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x High Market
• 1x Highland Lake
• 7x Island
• 1x Izzet Guildgate
• 1x Mana Confluence
• 1x Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 6x Mountain
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Rogue's Passage
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Sulfur Falls
• 1x Swiftwater Cliffs
• 1x Temple of Epiphany
• 1x Training Center
• 1x Wooded Foothills

Instant (12)

• 1x Arcane Denial
• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Deflecting Swat
• 1x Domineering Will
• 1x Fierce Guardianship
• 1x Ghostly Flicker
• 1x Mana Drain
• 1x Mystical Tutor
• 1x Narset's Reversal
• 1x Reins of Power
• 1x Valakut Awakening  ^Flip

Creature (17)

• 1x Agent of Treachery
• 1x Aladdin
• 1x Aura Thief
• 1x Bazaar Trader
• 1x Breeches, Brazen Plunderer
• 1x Captivating Crew
• 1x Djinn of Infinite Deceits
• 1x Dominus of Fealty
• 1x Gilded Drake
• 1x Goblin Electromancer
• 1x Hellkite Tyrant
• 1x Memnarch
• 1x Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer
• 1x Roil Elemental
• 1x Treasure Nabber
• 1x Wandering Archaic  ^Flip
• 1x Willbreaker

Sorcery (13)

• 1x Act of Treason
• 1x Blatant Thievery
• 1x Bribery
• 1x Fabricate
• 1x Gitaxian Probe
• 1x Inevitable Betrayal
• 1x Insurrection
• 1x Mass Mutiny
• 1x Mob Rule
• 1x Ponder
• 1x Seize the Spotlight
• 1x Traitorous Blood
• 1x Vandalblast

Commander (1)

Artifact (14)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Conjurer's Closet
• 1x Crawlspace
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Liquimetal Torque
• 1x Realmbreaker, the Invasion Tree
• 1x Ruby Medallion
• 1x Sapphire Medallion
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Sundial of the Infinite
• 1x Thought Vessel
• 1x Thran Dynamo
• 1x Trailblazer's Boots

Enchantment (7)

• 1x Aqueous Form
• 1x Control Magic
• 1x Goblin Bombardment
• 1x Propaganda
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Telepathy
• 1x Treachery

---

Welcome to I’ll hold On To That For You! {U}{R}!

Hi there! Welcome to the primer of this Izzet theft deck; commanded by Zara, Renegade Recruiter. A fleet of magic airships, rebelling against the Kaladesh Consulate, has a captain in its midst who inspires to an exceptional degree. Her rhetoric is seemingly the stuff of legends. So much so, that in some cases even council members themselves were persuaded to join her ranks to fight their former comrades. Now, this pirate legend and her ragtag crew of miscreants have set a new course, towards the shores that you’re trying to defend. You had best hope that your forces are indeed as trustworthy and dependable as you’ve been led to assume. This deck is meant to be played casually. It’s not meant to be used in a competitive fashion, but of course anyone is welcome to try! Feel free to comment on anything you (dis)like throughout this primer; hope you will enjoy it!

Why Zara?

Her ability is exceptionally strong; let her attack and then proceed to pillage someone’s hand for a dangerous creature that temporarily joins your ranks as well as the ongoing attack! It doesn’t cost any mana or sacrifices to use this ability. Even if the opposing player doesn’t have creatures in hand, you still get a look at what’s going on in there, so win-win! On top of that, as a flyer she’s not that easy to block and her strength and toughness scores are up to par. Her downside is that her powers can only be used during the deck’s turns and for a commander, she’s not particularly cheap to (re)cast at CMC5.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The following parameters have been used to determine the strength of the deck. For each, a score of 5 (very good), 4 (good), 3 (mediocre), 2 (bad) or 1 (very bad) has been allocated; when totalized this score represents the power rating of the deck.

• Mana: indicates the availability of mana sources within the deck.
• Ramp: indicates the speed at which mana sources within the deck can be made available.
• Card Advantage: indicates availability of filter- and draw resources represented within the deck.
• Overall speed: indicates the deck’s potential for pace, based on resource availability and mana curve.
• Combo: indicates the measure of combo-orientation of the deck.
• Army: indicates the deck’s creature-army strength.
• Commander: indicates how much the deck is commander-oriented/dependent (less dependency is better).
• Interaction: indicates how much this deck can mess with opponents’ board states and turn-phases.
• Resilience: indicates the measure in which the deck can prevent and take punches.
• Spellpower: indicates the availability and strength of high-impact spells.

---

Mana: 3

By itself, this deck is not very rich in additional mana sources. It does contain some mana-rocks (six cards) and a few cards that cheapen spell-casting (three options). It also contains a card specialized at temporarily stealing mana rocks.

Ramp: 1

One of the strangest ramping options ever has been included in this library; ramping by stealing opposing lands (from exile). Very on-theme for this deck and though if it’s not exactly mainstream, it’s still ramping.

Card Advantage: 5

Theft brings with it the fortunate circumstance that we are taking from others, thus making them weaker and ourselves stronger. Considering the deck’s theme and its commander, theft is by far the most common variant of creating CA for itself. No fewer than thirty such options lurk within its depths. Then there’s some more regular means to obtain CA, including direct draw (five options), filtering (one option) and tutoring (two options).

Overall speed: 3

Though the average CMC of this deck’s card is excellent (3.2), with forty cards at CMC3 or lower, this deck’s speed depends at least in part on what opponents summon (that this deck can capture). If nothing useful can be captured, this deck’s speed is average. Whereas if lots of useful stuff can be captured, this deck’s speed can be very high (the current score assumes the worst case).

Combo: 1

Nothing much of that nature going on in this deck. There’s definitely some synergy between theft cards and cards that can ensure stuff that’s stolen remains under the deck’s control, but that’s about it.

Army: 3

The deck’s creatures have all been added for utility purposes, whether it be theft or ensuring that what’s been stolen remains on our side. In terms of battlecruisers, this deck doesn’t really have any. For that it relies on, … let’s call it: outside ‘help’.

Commander: 5

Though Zara is absolutely awesome and is sure to provide the deck’s wielder with a plethora of useful boons, she is not indispensable in any sense of the word. Plenty of other theft cards in here that can pick up where she left off.

Interaction: 5

If the interaction-components of magic decks are meant to mess with other board-states in such a way that it leaves the opponents weaker or the wielder of said interaction stronger, then theft can be considered the ultimate interaction in that it does both simultaneously! Like mentioned in the CA-section, there’s a lot of theft-opportunities in this deck, and aside from that it’s also capable at bouncing/countering stuff (six cards) and dealing a little non-combat damage/destruction (two cards).

Resilience: 3

Careful application of a little countering can keep this deck’s wielder from harm. For the vast majority though, the deck’s staying power is determined by the permanents it manages to steal as well as what its controller chooses to steal. This can be things that grant life, provide protection from spells or abilities; whatever is available (which should be a lot, considering you can pick from the arsenals of multiple decks, while your opponents can usually just choose from one).

Spellpower: 5

Ow baby, this deck has some firecrackers when it comes to nasty spell-casting. No fewer than six spells that can mass-steal, which grants a huge advantage immediately. Some mass destruction, taxation and hand-reveal trickery complete the deck’s arsenal.

---

Total power score: 34

Well above average, in terms of power-score. It’s comprised of whatever that it faces, which is what makes it truly scary to face (albeit slightly predictable). During play it’s well balanced, can get off the ground in a hurry and can deal with almost anything that gets thrown at it; especially in multi-player scenarios. Most importantly though, it’s incredibly fun to play as games will never be quite the same because of what is stolen. The deck is also a great political tool because it can mess opposing board-states up so much.

General strategy

We are going to steal and we aren’t going to stop until everyone around us has been destroyed or someone has managed to destroy us! The things we’re going to steal depend on the decks we’re facing and the game phase we find ourselves in. While everyone is building up during the early game, we’ll be focusing on capturing the most valuable resources while during the mid- and end game phases, our attention will shift to key-strategic cards. If at all possible, we’ll steal stuff permanently (which is especially fun when we manage to get hold of opposing commanders). This requires some specific permanents or some instant/sorcery-related shenanigans, but it can be done and should firmly plant the seeds of victory in our favor.

Use Zara whenever you can and don’t worry too much about losing her; plenty more stealing resources where she came from! Try to obtain a (temporary) ally if possible. The deck is not phenomenal when it comes to stopping attacks, so having another player on your side (especially during the first few turns, before you have enough resources to deal with everything) works well.

Starting hand

At least three cards in the starting hand ought to be lands (or two lands and a cheap-to-cast rock like Arcane Signet, Izzet Signet, Ruby Medallion, Sapphire Medallion or Sol Ring. It is highly recommended not to start a game without this hand (even if one has to mulligan down to three cards). The ideal hand could also contain an additional cheapening card like Goblin Electromancer. An early Sensei's Divining Top can also prove very helpful.

Early game

Start the thievery spree as early as possible, once a few basic resources (mentioned in previous section) are on the table. Some additional ideas on early (CA-)resources include options like Brainstorm, Gitaxian Probe, Ponder and Thought Vessel. Now for our thieves. A real fun one to start off with, is Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer. He doesn’t just get to steal cards (when he damages a player), but he generates treasure as well! Gilded Drake is another excellent early thievery card, though be mindful on its thievery target being significantly stronger than itself (otherwise this can cause issues in a deck as light on creatures as this). Then there’s Treasure Nabber, who’s extremely strong in a commander setting since almost all EDH-decks use artifacts for their mana-base. Other cards of importance in this phase are the cheaper theft-sorceries like Act of Treason, Inevitable Betrayal, Seize the Spotlight and Traitorous Blood and the absolutely marvelous Realmbreaker, the Invasion Tree that steals lands in a way not easily countered. Let’s not forget Bazaar Trader either, which from very early on can make any early thefts permanent.

To stop/reduce early aggression, try to get Crawlspace or Propaganda out. It also helps to steal creatures with deathtouch (if possible, a flying one), as opponents are usually hesitant to attack when losses are guaranteed. Use your counterspells (like Arcane Denial, Fierce Guardianship, Mana Drain and Narset's Reversal) to respond to key plays that you can’t influence by theft. Last but not least, if you can’t have mechanisms in place to hold stolen goods, then get rid of them before you have to give the goods back. Both Goblin Bombardment and High Market are excellent for this.

Mid-game

Once we hit the stage in which 4+ mana becomes easily accessible, we can start to increase our stealing opportunities quite heavily. Some new rogues and pirates will become available now, like Aura Thief, Breeches, Brazen Plunderer, Captivating Crew and Dominus of Fealty. More powerful spells like Domineering Will, Mass Mutiny and Reins of Power. We can also focus on turning stuff into artifacts with cards like Liquimetal Torque and then proceed to steal them with creatures like Aladdin, Hellkite Tyrant or Memnarch.

In this phase, we should also have Zara, Renegade Recruiter make an appearance and start her ‘recruiting’-spree. Her powers on this end can be improved significantly by making her unblockable with Aqueous Form, Rogue's Passage or Trailblazer's Boots. With the use of Sundial of the Infinite, we can make her thefts permanent. For other theft (semi-)permanency, we can use Djinn of Infinite Deceits, Ghostly Flicker or Willbreaker.

End-game

Once we’re able to steal several permanents per turn, it’s time to kick things up yet another notch and complete our conquest. This can be done by bouncing all opposing creatures that I don’t control with Cyclonic Rift. Or we embark on some mass theft with Blatant Thievery, Mob Rule or the ever-popular Insurrection and send whatever we steal right onto whoever is left standing.

Card Choices

Lands

Reliable sources of mana, and some utility:

• Arcane Lighthouse: so some creatures ‘can’t be stolen’, you say … interesting!
• Arid Mesa/Bloodstained Mire/Flooded Strand/Misty Rainforest/Polluted Delta/Scalding Tarn/Wooded Bastion: the lands used to filter through the deck, which aids in finding cards that matter to the deck’s strategy quicker.
• Command Tower/Exotic Orchard/Mana Confluence/Reflecting Pool: great all-color mana lands that have very few disadvantages in their use.
• Cascade Bluffs/Highland Lake/Izzet Guildgate/Steam Vents/Sulfur Falls/Swiftwater Cliffs/Temple of Epiphany/Training Center: lands that provide Izzet mana, that depending in circumstances enter the battlefield tapped or untapped. The best MTG has to offer has been incorporated on this front, except for the original dual lands which are outside most players’ price-range.
• High Market: if we can’t let them stay, might as well make them pay!
• Mikokoro, Center of the Sea: sometimes you get stuck … and then we might as well have everyone draw; it could be worth the gamble.
• Rogue's Passage: can work in a pinch to make Zara unblockable.

Mana and Ramp

The cards used to accelerate mana-availability:

• Arcane Signet: has becomes as much a mana-staple in most EDH decks as Sol Ring tends to be and delivers whatever mana color is needed!
• Goblin Electromancer: with quite a few instants and sorceries in the deck, making them permanently cheaper seemed the right thing to do.
• Izzet Signet: can provide two Izzet-mana for a single colourless mana, sounds like a good deal.
• Liquimetal Torque: useful rock that can transform other cards into artifacts, which in some cases make them easier to steal.
• Ruby Medallion/Sapphire Medallion: more resources to cheapen all of the deck’s spells.
• Sol Ring: are there EDH decks without this card?
• Thought Vessel: not just a mana-rock, but allows for an unlimited hand-size!
• Thran Dynamo: such a superb mana-boost for the more expensive spells of the deck.

Card Advantage

The mechanisms that provide card advantage (mostly through theft):

• Act of Treason/Traitorous Blood: just some nice sorceries with which single creatures can be ‘borrowed’ (or taken over forever, with certain permanents and spells).
• Agent of Treachery: not one but two card-advantage types in one card: theft AND direct draw!
• Aladdin: he steals priceless artifacts like you wouldn’t believe, but wait … what if we turn other cards into artifacts too?!
• Aura Thief: untangles the weave from opponents, then ties it to his controller.
• Blatant Thievery: picking all your best stuff and grabbing it.
• Brainstorm/Gitaxian Probe/Ponder: excellent draw spells at next to nothing costs.
• Breeches, Brazen Plunderer: a number of pirates can cause this guy to go off, and that helps to initiate some good stealin’.
• Bribery/Control Magic/Treachery: your creatures are no longer yours; permanently!
• Domineering Will: messes up any planned attack, and becomes especially devastating when your board includes cards that solidifies your control over creatures.
• Dominus of Fealty: not just creatures, but ANY opposing permanent can be yours.
• Fabricate: the best tutor for artifacts!
• Gilded Drake: some targets are just worth the exchange!
• Hellkite Tyrant: the draft provided by his wings sweep all artifacts straight into your coffers.
• Inevitable Betrayal: you’ve got three turns … make them count!
• Insurrection: a potentially game-ending spell, for at least one or two unlucky opponents.
• Mass Mutiny: a slightly less powerful version of Blatant Thievery, but still plenty impactful enough to include in this list.
• Memnarch: it creates artifacts and it steals them!
• Mob Rule: it won’t steal everything, but still enough to make one heck of a difference.
• Mystical Tutor: finds that perfect spell for the situation we’re (going to be) in.
• Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer: an almost perfect starting card in a theft-themed deck.
• Reins of Power: so much fun if an opponent just gained a massive advantage in creatures over us.
• Rhystic Study: one of the most amazing card-draw enchantments ever created. No one likes to pay spell-tax, so this will often yield some more draw.
• Roil Elemental: gain control of any creature when a land ETB’s on your side; powerful!
• Seize the Spotlight: now here’s a super-fun spell that will always yield something interesting; whether it be riches from the depths of the deck itself, or from … elsewhere!
• Sensei's Divining Top: either an awesome filter or an outright draw-resource.
• Treasure Nabber: an excellent thief to get something bigger than usual on the table during the earlier game-phases.
• Valakut Awakening  : a one-sided Wheel of Fortune; perfect!
• Willbreaker: an almost perfect theft card, as lots of other theft spells/abilities in this deck are TARGETED, which means this guy provides an additional theft effect that lasts even if temporary theft spell-effects fade!

Counters, Destruction and Disruption

Opposing spells and permanents end here.

• Arcane Denial: your spell won’t have any effect! We may draw though.
• Crawlspace: this side of the battlefield can be reached, … through that really tight spot.
• Cyclonic Rift: one of the best bounce spells ever; from the mid-game onwards it becomes truly devastating as it inherently wipes out so many permanents for good; especially tokens.
• Deflecting Swat: a potentially free redirection spell.
• Fierce Guardianship: a potentially free counterspell against non-creature spells.
• Goblin Bombardment: what we can’t capture, we’ll rain back down on your heads.
• Mana Drain: the perfect counterspell that generates mana for the next spell!
• Narset's Reversal: sort of semi-steals your instant/sorcery (don’t complain, you get to cast it again next turn).
• Propaganda: if they want to attack us, they’ll have to pay.
• Vandalblast: vaporizing opposing artifacts is fun!

Utility

Mostly stuff to make thefts permanent.

• Aqueous Form: great enchantment that makes it very hard for opponents to stop Zara.
• Bazaar Trader: that which was borrowed, can now be considered stolen!
• Conjurer's Closet: it’s there, then … it’s not there … and then … it’s there again; solidly under this deck’s control.
• Djinn of Infinite Deceits: by targeting two creatures on this side of the battlefield, both end up in the deck’s control.
• Ghostly Flicker: very versatile spell that can make several types of stolen permanents permanently ours.
• Sundial of the Infinite: can react to Zara’s ‘at the beginning of the end step’ clause, which allows us to retain what she stole indefinitely.
• Telepathy: provides the best insight into which opponent Zara needs to strike next.
• Trailblazer's Boots: non-basic lands are the bread and butter of EDH, so granting Zara this kind of landwalk is almost guaranteed to get her to places unblocked.
• Wandering Archaic  : doesn’t exactly steal spells, but it either increases their costs or helps his controller benefit from them too.

Notable exclusions

• Act of Aggression: for an instant, it stands out in terms of theme (usually spells like these are sorceries), but it’s too expensive for what it can do.
• Etali, Primal Storm: great card but already in many other decks in our collection, so decided to not use it this time around.
• Lightning Greaves/Swiftfoot Boots: left out because protecting Zara isn’t really that important in this deck.
• Word of Seizing: the split-second thing is nice, but there’s so many cheaper permanents/spells in here that do almost the same, that this feels a bit redundant and overpriced.

Thank you for reading!

Appreciate the time you took to read this primer. Hopefully it was entertaining and useful to you. If so, feel free to leave a +1 and/or feedback of any kind in the comments below. Thanks again!

Date added	7 years
Last updated	2 weeks
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	7 - 0 Mythic Rares 52 - 0 Rares 15 - 0 Uncommons 13 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	3.27
Tokens	Treasure
Folders	DragonMaus' Favourites, Decks to Watch, i love