Jank Primers: Mishra

Commander / EDH Artifact Combo UBR (Grixis)

brokendwarf

Artifact (29)

• 1x Batterskull
• 1x Chalice of the Void
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Cranial Plating
• 1x Darksteel Forge
• 1x Darksteel Ingot
• 1x Darksteel Plate
• 1x Dimir Signet
• 1x Erratic Portal
• 1x Expedition Map
• 1x Gilded Lotus
• 1x Grinning Totem
• 1x Izzet Signet
• 1x Lightning Greaves
• 1x Mana Vault
• 1x Mimic Vat
• 1x Mind's Eye
• 1x Mirrorworks
• 1x Muse Vessel
• 1x Mycosynth Lattice
• 1x Ornate Kanzashi
• 1x Rakdos Signet
• 1x Sensei's Divining Top
• 1x Sol Ring
• 1x Staff of Domination
• 1x Temporal Aperture
• 1x Thran Dynamo
• 1x Trading Post
• 1x Vedalken Orrery

Instant (4)

• 1x Capsize
• 1x Crosis's Charm
• 1x Cyclonic Rift
• 1x Spelljack

Planeswalker (1)

• 1x Tezzeret the Seeker

Land (34)

• 1x Academy Ruins
• 1x Ancient Tomb
• 1x Badlands
• 1x Blood Crypt
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Cavern of Souls
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Dragonskull Summit
• 1x Drowned Catacomb
• 1x Forbidden Orchard
• 1x Mishra's Workshop
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Reflecting Pool
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 7x Snow-Covered Island
• 2x Snow-Covered Mountain
• 3x Snow-Covered Swamp
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Sulfur Falls
• 1x Thespian's Stage
• 1x Underground Sea
• 1x Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
• 1x Volcanic Island
• 1x Volrath's Stronghold
• 1x Watery Grave

Enchantment (8)

• 1x Blood Funnel
• 1x Future Sight
• 1x Ice Cave
• 1x Leyline of Anticipation
• 1x Nether Void
• 1x Omniscience
• 1x Planar Chaos
• 1x Possibility Storm

Commander (1)

Creature (19)

• 1x Baleful Strix
• 1x Blightsteel Colossus
• 1x Goblin Artisans
• 1x Goblin Welder
• 1x Guile
• 1x Havengul Lich
• 1x Hellkite Tyrant
• 1x Lodestone Golem
• 1x Master Transmuter
• 1x Metalworker
• 1x Mindleech Mass
• 1x Mundungu
• 1x Nullstone Gargoyle
• 1x Phyrexian Metamorph
• 1x Silent-Blade Oni
• 1x Solemn Simulacrum
• 1x Thada Adel, Acquisitor
• 1x Tidespout Tyrant
• 1x Wurmcoil Engine

Sorcery (4)

• 1x Damnation
• 1x Demonic Tutor
• 1x Praetor's Grasp
• 1x Psychic Intrusion

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Maybeboard

Artifact (7)

• 1x Smokestack
• 1x Sphere of Resistance
• 1x Static Orb
• 1x Tangle Wire
• 1x Torpor Orb
• 1x Trinisphere
• 1x Winter Orb

Land (6)

• 1x Dust Bowl
• 1x Rishadan Port
• 1x Strip Mine
• 1x Tectonic Edge
• 1x The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
• 1x Wasteland

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Mishra, Artificer Prodigy - A Primer

At first glance, you're probably thinking "why would you play this as a commander? EDH is a singleton format so his ability is useless." And that's the question I see the most whenever I look at Mishra decks: people can't look past his "useless" ability; they are thinking too simple. Mishra is a combo general, but the combo doesn't come quickly. No, it takes some time to set up, and those who aren't familiar with the deck won't know what's coming...

Now then, let us take a look at Mishra's ability:

“Whenever you play (cast) an artifact spell, you may search your graveyard, hand, and/or library for a card with the same name as that spell and put it into play. If you search your library this way, shuffle it.”

Again, looks bad in a singleton format, but here's the catch: Mishra doesn't care if that artifact resolves, only that you cast it. So say for instance I cast a Batterskull , causing Mishra's ability to trigger. My opponent knows he doesn't want that Batterskull happening so he decides to counter it, thus putting in the graveyard. My opponent, however, fails to realize that Mishra's ability hasn't resolved yet. His ability will allow me to search my graveyard, hand, and/or library for a card with the same name as the one cast, ( Batterskull in this case, which is sitting in my graveyard), and put it into play, which I do. So my opponent has essentially wasted a counterspell on an artifact I put into play anyway. Therein is the the deck's most basic combo.

This the general gist of how the first combo works:

1. Play an artifact
2. Have it get countered
3. Play it anyway due to Mishra's ability

Now I don't want to have to sit here and manual counter my own spells or wait for my opponent to do it. I need a way for my artifacts to get countered anyway, and to do that, I have to bring in...control * gasp *.

It turns out Grixis has actually has access to some good control cards that involve countering things (turns out black has the best stuff). On top of that, these cards affect everyone, but only I get the advantage. I won't go into detail for each card as I assume you can read.

• Nether Void - Everything costs more or it's countered. Fortunately for me, I can stack the triggers so the Nether Void will counter the artifact and place it in my graveyard, then Mishra will trigger allowing me to search my graveyard for that same artifact and get it anyway.
• Blood Funnel - not as brutal as Nether Void , but has the added bonus of reducing the costs of my noncreatures spells by making some free, thus opening up more combos, which will be discussed later
• Ice Cave - this gives counterspells to everyone
• Chalice of the Void - it's a hard choice for choosing what to set it to
• Nullstone Gargoyle - it's kinda high cost for what it does, but it works
• Planar Chaos / Goblin Artisans - coin flips

Not really a combo, and it's actually the more obvious way to get Mishra to work. I can cast an artifact out of my opponent's deck (at the same time seeing what other artifacts they have), then get my copy from Mishra's ability.

I need to be able to jack my opponent's artifacts to be able to get my copies for free. Some are generic, others involve some set-up.

• Praetor's Grasp - the most basic of the thievery cards. I can literally search for anything I want, or use it aggressively to exile someone else's combo piece
• Thada Adel, Acquisitor - same concept as Praetor's Grasp , more restrictive
• Spelljack - it's also a counterspell
• Muse Vessel / Silent-Blade Oni / Mindleech Mass / Psychic Intrusion - these all require my opponent to have artifacts in hand (or other useful things)
• Grinning Totem / Ornate Kanzashi - pull out of the deck
• Guile - this works heavily in my favor with the countering cards. It's ability applies to any spell, so I'll get free casts of my opponent's spells
• Havengul Lich - from the graveyard, works better under Mycosynth Lattice
• Hellkite Tyrant - also works better under Mycosynth Lattice

Most good infinite combos involve 2 cards at minimum. This deck isn't as graceful as that, requiring 4+ cards for the combo. I'd also write these using the combo/synergies syntax, but the site doesn't let me have a 3+ card combo.

1. Mishra, Artificer Prodigy + Future Sight + Blood Funnel + Sensei's Divining Top - infinite draws
2. Future Sight + Blood Funnel + Sensei's Divining Top + Guile + Tidespout Tyrant - infinite Capsize
3. Possibility Storm

Combo 1:

• Draw a card using Sensei's Divining Top , thus putting it on top of my library (where I can see it because of Future Sight ). Cast it off the top of my library for thanks to Blood Funnel 's cost reduction. Blood Funnel and Mishra, Artificer Prodigy will both trigger. I choose to stack the triggers so it'll get countered, then return using Mishra. Draw a card using Sensei's Divining Top . Repeat

Combo 2:

• Draw a card using Sensei's Divining Top , thus putting it on top of my library (where I can see it because of Future Sight ). Cast it off the top of my library for thanks to Blood Funnel 's cost reduction. Blood Funnel and Guile will both trigger. I choose to let Blood Funnel counter the card, and Guile exiles it instead. I play it for free, triggering Tidespout Tyrant and Blood Funnel again. Bounce a card and Guile exiles the Sensei's Divining Top again. Repeat

Possibility Storm :

• I gave this card it's own section because I feel it provides the best advantage when it comes to artifacts. Also, it's hilarious. I cast an artifact when Mishra, Artificer Prodigy and Possibility Storm are in play. Both will activate, and I do some trigger stacking. Possibility Storm will exile the artifact, then pseudo-cascade until you hit another artifact (or creature if I cast an artifact creature, hopefully artifact). Mishra will then resolve, fetching the original artifact you tried casting and putting it into play. I net 2 artifacts for casting one.

And that's what makes a Mishra, Artifcier Prodigy deck tinker. If anyone sees any other gimmick combos feel free to point them out. Thanks for reading.

Top Ranked	Achieved #92 position overall 10 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH Artifact 3 years ago Achieved #1 position in Commander / EDH UBR (Grixis) 3 years ago
Date added	10 years
Last updated	4 years
Legality	This deck is Commander / EDH legal.
Rarity (main - side)	11 - 0 Mythic Rares 60 - 0 Rares 10 - 0 Uncommons 7 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	4.03
Tokens	Copy Clone, Goat 0/1 W, Phyrexian Germ 0/0 B, Spirit 1/1 C, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Deathtouch, Wurm 3/3 C w/ Lifelink
Folders	3-Color EDH, Favorites, commander decks of interest, not mine, Edh, EDH Ideas, aa, EDH, EDH, Reference decks