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Lazav's Master Plans

Commander / EDH Control Discard Infinite Combo Mill UB (Dimir) Voltron

AceDallenbach

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Commander: foil Lazav, Dimir Mastermind

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Of all the Commander Decks I own Lazav, Dimir Mastermind has always been my favorite. I first assembled this deck back in 2013 and over the years it's been play-tested and tweaked hundreds of times with several cards rotating in and out as it's slowly been improved into it's current form. His ability to constantly copy creatures in graveyards means that he can adapt and constantly change making games fresh and exciting. If you like the craziness that can ensue in commander games or you want to play a commander deck that keeps on giving fresh and different experiences every time you sit down to play then look no further. Alternatively if you are looking for a little help or inspiration on your own deck I hope my experiences with this great commander help you in your goals. I built this deck to be semi-competitive and to be extremely fun for everyone. It is really easy to play this deck casually or more competitively depending on the power of your playgroup. Just in case you don't understand how his ability works, if Lazav is on the battlefield every time a creature card is put into a graveyard from anywhere (Library, battlefield, or hand) then lazav can become a copy of that said creature at that time.I hope you all enjoy and that I don't bore you with my explanations.
There are many ways to build around Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, and the most obvious is to build him with a mill strategy in mind, but going all in on this strategy has it's drawbacks. cards like Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre exist in commander decks a lot, as well as Elixir of Immortality and many other effects that don't make this a reliable win strategy in commander. Let's not forget EDH is a multiplayer 100 card format which means milling out every player is much more difficult to do than in other formats. Decks that use graveyard shenanigans such as recursion and the super scary The Mimeoplasm are going only benefit from early milling. That doesn't mean there won't be opportunities to win with milling, but you're going to have to use your mind and some deception to make it happen.

Another very common way to build around Lazav, Dimir Mastermind is to build him with a voltron strategy in mind and load the deck up with a ton of powerful equipment or enchantments such as the ever popular swords (Sword of Body and Mind, Sword of Feast and Famine, Sword of Light and Shadow, Sword of War and Peace, Sword of Fire and Ice), then turn lazav sideways in the hopes of killing through commander damage. While this has it's advantages of being a more reliable way to kill players it also can paint a big target on you. Voltron Strategy's revolve around putting all your eggs into one super-powered basket which can be risky when dealing with multiple opponents. In multiplayer the rest of the board is going to have to unite to deal with you which can make winning against 3 opponents difficult at to say the least.

The final common strategy is to use a control/cruel control strategy by filling the deck with counters and kill spells. Someone plays a Blightsteel Colossus counter it and let lazav copy it for the ultimate heartbreak. Serra Avatar managed to stick on the board kill it with a Doom Blade and let lazav copy it. Of all the strategy's I listed this probably is one of the best but like the others it also has its limits. In order for it to be effective you need massive amounts of spells and card draw which sometimes just doesn't happen.

So what to do? Which strategy should you go for with your Lazav, Dimir Mastermind? Why not all of the above!? I liked all of the common strategies used with Lazav but everyone had some sort of drawback in some way shape or form, or it just seemed to get away a little from the flexibility of Lazav, Dimir Mastermind by committing to just one. Yes by focusing on one or two the result would probably be a much stronger deck that is easier to pilot, but I like having the flexibility of incorporating a little of everything. Okay so finally let's jump into the deck itself.

The deck runs a ton of staples in the format. The Land base is pretty straightforward for most commander decks using many of the duel land staples but the cards that really are the most important to mention are Cabal Coffers and Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth when they are used in combination to net you crazy amounts of black mana. This also helps Crypt Ghast get even more nuts.Maze of Ith is very important in this deck since I am only running 20 creatures I am always going to be shy on bringing my own blockers into the fray. Strip Mine is simply here to deal with cards like the ones above. Cards like Gaea's Cradle are nasty when you run into them and having an answer for these type of lands will always be in your benefit.
The land base is where I recommend you always start making improvements. Money can be tight and if you are on a budget it was always tempting for me to buy the fancy instants, creatures, etc. before I took the time to improve my mana base. Lazav may only be four mana to cast which isn't crazy expensive for format but the cost can be just as deceptive as Lazav himself. There has been several instances where I haven't been able to cast him until turn 5+ because I couldn't meet the requirement costs when I first assembled the deck but the final additions have really rounded out the base nicely giving the deck a good balance of both colors in order to cast him more consistently. If you can afford Underground Sea then by all means include this amazing land.
For the deck's mill package I am running only the most powerful spells that have the most impact on the board such as Mind Grind for multiple targets; Glimpse the Unthinkable and Traumatize for single targets. Traumatize combo's really nicely with Keening Stone if you want to get really crazy with your single target milling. Creatures that help with this include the early game MVP Hedron Crab to get those early mills started as you build your land base. Mirko Vosk, Mind Drinker,Nemesis of Reason,and Phenax, God of Deception are all powerhouses in the mid game and will really make an impact as soon as they stick. If the game drag's into the later turns you have Szadek, Lord of Secrets (See 12/15/16 update.) to focus down some of the weaker libraries if need be. Consuming Aberration can easily become stupid big, especially if you have managed to mill your opponents with one of the multiple target mill spells, not to mention every time you cast another spell guess what? he mills everyone.
In addition to milling I have several cards that benefit from your opponents fatty graveyards and the great part of these cards are they can help you get that win even if you don't see yourself being able to mill out all of your opponents libraries. Duskmantle Guildmage is a probably one of the best utility creatures in the deck with his first activated ability that makes players lose life for every card they have to pitch into their graveyards. Memory Plunder will let you cast any powerful spell hiding in their graveyard for only 4 mana which is amazing value. It's perfect for finding a board wipe. Wrexial, the Risen Deep does the same thing but also exiles the card after it's cast. Jace's Phantasm, Wight of Precinct Six, and Nighthowler are just value powerhouses if you have milled in any capacity. Getting big creatures for very little cost is really rewarding. If these guys can't get the job done you can always cast Rise of the Dark Realms and flood your board with every creature from every graveyard. If that doesn't work Mindcrank and Bloodchief Ascension make an infinite loop making your opponents mill and loose life forever (Check update notes for 12/14/16).

A big reason why Lazav, Dimir Mastermind is such a good commander for a Voltron Strategy is not just because he can copy big powerful creatures but because he is Hexproof even after he copies into another creature he will retain that very powerful ability. It makes lazav almost completely immune to spot removal. He can only be removed from the board by an opponent if they wipe the board or force you to sacrifice it. When you combine Hexproof with protection from colors it's almost impossible to prevent him from getting in for damage. Sword of Light and Shadow, Sword of Body and Mind, Sword of Feast and Famine, Sword of Fire and Ice, and Sword of War and Peace all make an appearance in the deck and it's really easy to run with this strategy using the many tutor cards in the deck to fetch quite a few of these powerful equipment cards. The most noteworthy of these are definitely Sword of Feast and Famine and Sword of Body and Mind. The Feast and Famine accelerates the deck by untapping all of our lands in order to play more goodies and let's not forget fact that it forces an opponent to discard a card from their hand which can be another potential trigger for Lazav, and The Body and Mind makes an opponent mill and gives us a token! While I personally made the decision to run all of the Swords in my deck you could replace the others with extra counter spells or spot removal. In addition to the swords I also included the Lightning Greaves which should require no explanation. I ran a Neurok Stealthsuit for some time in this deck for the extra the flexibility of being able to attach it at instant speed in response to spells and if you are on a budget I can still recommend it as a fine choice for your 99.
Next up is Answers, at some point in a game of commander you are going to have to respond something your opponent's stuck on the board that is not making you a happy person and these cards will help you get rid of any of their bad juju. To say the blue is notorious for its counter spells would be an understatement but I opted out off filling my deck with too many of these powerful cards. Most of my spell slots were filled with things like the Voltron equipment cards and mill cards and this was one area where I made some cuts. That being said Cryptic Command is a very tempting card to include for its flexibility. Not to mention most players hate being counter locked and I want people to have fun when I play Lazav, Dimir Mastermind. This deck isn't a control deck but it does have the means to deal with the big nasty threats if you are smart and know when and where to use the removal included in the deck. Don't forget about your sweepers. With the exception of the very $$$$ Damnation both blue and lack the cheap mana board wipes. If you're on a budget I recommend you consider Crux of Fate. With a converted mana cost of 5 it's easy to see it's value. In Garruk's Wake, and Plague Wind have the added bonus of not effecting your board state but boy are they expensive to cast. Decree of Pain is my favorite budget sweeper in black because of it's versatility, the cycle effect is almost impossible to counter and it can net you cards in the process. Capsize makes an appearance as a personal preference simply because of buyback. If things are going well I.E. I have a few swords equipped to lazav, and I have successfully casted a few mill spells and lazav has copied a noteworthy creature I like being able to bounce potential combo pieces or treats off the board to disrupt my opponents game plans and for these reasons it's here. That being said it can be hard to use Capsize if things are not going as planned. If you are looking for more all around strength this card can be easily replaced with a kill or counterspell such as Hero's Downfall or Dissolve. Speaking of spot removal Grisly Spectacle is a little pricy to cast but it's worth every bit of mana you spend on it for its great synergy with Lazav in play.

The single biggest threat to Lazav are recursion strategy's. Any milling is simply helping them become more powerful and gain massive benefits from all your hard work so I have included a few cards to help combat this. Depending on your playgroups meta you may want to consider including Grafdigger's Cage the card does so much work for only one mana. It really hoses things like zombies and flashback cards preventing them from being cast. Bojuka Bog is also another all star but use it wisely as you can only choose one target and you better make sure it's the right one. Relic of Progenitus will exile every graveyard but I use this only if I absolutely have to. Many cards in the deck benefit from your opponents having a graveyard and using the Relic can weaken you as well depending on which cards are in play. That being said I find it to be all the protection I need against recursion strategy's in my playgroup.
Other Powerful answer cards in the deck include Spinal Embrace (check update: 8/24/16) which can be used both offensively and defensively, Grisly Spectacle for spot removal and more mill, Psychic Strike for countering and even more mill, Cyclonic Rift and Life's Finale as your board resets, and Capsize to keep bouncing creatures back into your opponents hands or to prevent a creature of yours from being destroyed by a board wipe. While there are much cheaper costed board wipes than Life's Finale the reason why I choose this is because of the ability to search through an opponent's graveyard and pitch their three most powerful creatures out of their deck. It just has more synergy with many cards in the deck. For example Life's Finale gives powerful choices for Dimir Doppelganger and if Sword of Light and Shadow is equipped to Lazav, Dimir Mastermind well I don't know how else to explain how amazing that can be.
Another element or common thing done in Dimir is copy and theft. In addition to Lazav, Dimir Mastermind being able to copy there are several cards in the deck that also do similar things. Clever Impersonator lets you copy any permanent on the board. If you have a friend with Burgeoning copy it and watch as the other two players roll their eyes in disgust while you both dump all of your lands into play. Use Bribery to steal the best creature from someone's library. Both Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver and Dimir Doppelganger allow you steal cards while simultaneously exiling preventing them from being used against you. Evil Twin copies the scariest thing on the board, then destroys it so only you have the copied creature. The last card in this category is probably the weirdest and it confused the crap out of me the first time I saw it, Soul Ransom. This enchantment is however value no matter how it is used. Basically Soul Ransom lets you steal something from your opponent. After it is stolen one of your opponents can discard two cards to force you to sacrifice the enchantment. When you are forced to sacrifice, you get to draw two cards. Simply put this card is theft, and card advantage all mixed into one fun little enchantment. Sepulchral Primordial is effectively a mini Rise of the Dark Realms on a creature that steals a creature from every opponent's graveyard and puts it on the battlefield under our control. This effect can be used in a million different ways to make your opponents miserable. Just pick the best of the best and watch the groans ensue as you use their favorite creatures against them.

The last category of cards I'm going to mention is the tutors and draw cards which blue and black have access to the some of best of in all of the five colors. Read the Bones, Brainstorm and Ponder all are pretty straight forward they are cheap and efficient card draw. I would also consider Sign in Blood as a viable alternative since you can theoretically use it for mill against your opponent if you needed to in the late game. Pilfered Plans is a Divination with a mill effect giving it great synergy in the deck. And then their is Lim-Dul's Vault. This crazy instant can let you sift through your deck repeatedly at the cost of a little life until you find the best five cards in combination and set up your next 5 draws. Finally I am running Jace, the Mind Sculptor yes I know I am a terrible person but he's just too good to not include.

As for the Tutors there is a ton of them in this deck. Trinket Mage lets me fetch Relic of Progenitus, Sol Ring, and Sensei's Divining Top. Demonic Tutor and Vampiric Tutorboth let me search for anything I want, while Mystical Tutor and Fabricate let me search for instant, sorcery, and artifact cards. Finally I also included Shadow of Doubt which is the perfect anti-tutor card use it in response to your opponents tutor cards and net yourself a card in the process.

Finally meet Necropotence. Simply put this card is one of the most powerful draw effects in all of magic, exchanging our bountiful 40 starting life total for cards on our end step instead of on our draw phase. banned in many formats but thankfully not in Commander. Be careful tapping into it's power too aggressively, or make the fatal mistake of bleeding too much of your life away. Greed can be very dangerous even though it's fun.

Don't be daunted by the price tag on this deck if you do decide you are going to build around Lazav. As I mentioned in the opening statement this deck has been slowly improved over several years of trading and buying singles slowly over time. If money is tight there are a lot of cheap alternatives for the equipment if you can't afford the Expensive Swords. Argentum Armor may be expensive to cast and equip but it's a very powerful choice around the 2 dollar range. Darksteel Plate, Chariot of Victory, Loxodon Warhammer, and Whispersilk Cloak all at one point have made appearances in this deck and also make great budget substitutes. Mind Sculpt can easily replace Glimpse the Unthinkable with only major differences being Glimpse mills for an extra 3 cards and a much higher price tag. Darksteel Ingot is a great alternative to Coalition Relic, and if I didn't have a Sensei's Divining Top I would probably run Mystic Speculation. While Mystic Speculation is no top it does fill the role of top deck manipulation and buyback for only 2 colorless means cheap continued use. Thought Scour is a great substitute for Shadow of Doubt as it can be used to counter tutors that put the card on top of their library such as Worldly Tutor and Vampiric Tutor. Speaking of tutors don't forget about Diabolic Tutor. Blatant Thievery is no Bribery but it definitely fits into the theme of the deck nicely. Invisible Stalker is a great cheap creature to use in a voltron strategy and if you plan on building around that mechanic I would recommend this guy. Jace, Memory Adept and Jace Beleren both make great alternatives if you cannot afford his mind sculpt greatness or simply cannot compromise with your morals as I did to allow it into your 99. Overall There are so many options in these colors if you are on a budget if anything just don't be discouraged and don't be afraid to experiment a little. If you are interested in a budget build of Lazav I have included a Decklist to you if you are in need of more details.
If you managed to read everything here I just wanted to say good luck assembling your Lazav deck. You have made a great choice in commanders and I hope that your deck in whatever capacity brings you as much joy as mine has. Please feel free to ask me any questions if you have them and i'll be sure to answer as soon as I can. May you deceive your friends and dash their hopes and dreams with your superior mind!

Update 8/24/16: Just discovered EDHREC.COM found some interesting cards that I added to the maybe board going to try playtesting a few and see if I am going to include them. The ones that I am most interested in are Trepanation Blade and Life's Finale both seem to have some really good synergy with the deck so we'll see if they make the cut. Spinal Embrace & Grafdigger's Cage both were removed to make room. Grafdigger's Cage is fantastic but I have other cards that fill this role so it is a little redundant despite how powerful it is. Spinal Embrace falls victim to simply being too expensive even though it's very powerful. This is probably my 50th change to the deck and if you have taken anything away from my story, Commander decks are always in a state of evolution and change.

Update 8/30/2016: Rotated out Perplex and Shadowmage Infiltrator for Dimir Charm and Notion Thief. Perplex can be too easily countered in my opinion to make it a viable counter spell while the transmute is a nice touch I already have plenty of tutors that do the same thing better. Dimir Charm can be used to mill it can counter sorcery's which isn't as broad as Perplex but their isn't an exception. Overall it provides I believe better utility in the areas I need. Shadowmage Infiltrator would be great if artifact and black creatures weren't so prevalent in the format. I simply am not getting the card draw from it and it ends up just turning into a chump blocker in my playgroup. Notion Thief is the logical replacement I have used this card before with some success however I never liked that in order for me to draw cards I had to wait to flash him into play at the exact moment your opponent plays a massive draw spell, otherwise they simply won't cast or use draw outlets and wait until he's been removed from play.

Update 9/1/16: Pulled one Swamp for a Sunken Ruins as well as an Island for Strip Mine. The Filter Lands are great for cards with tricky devotion like Lazav. As mentioned before in the description getting a few more noteworthy duels has been a priority and is very important in this deck. Strip Mine is just amazing and is another utility element that this deck greatly needed. A means to deal with nasty lands that can ruin the game plan, for example Maze of Ith.

Update 12/14/16: Pulled Bloodchief Ascension for Chromatic Lantern. I know this may seem like a random change but while I really like the idea of an infinite combo being a possible win condition in the deck unfortunately this combo is just too hard to achieve with this deck. Obtaining the 3 quest counters needed in order for it to activate is at times surprisingly difficult most players can see the combo coming and respond accordingly. Duskmantle Guildmage is still in the deck and can trigger this effect just the same. Chromatic Lantern will help the deck cast more spells with Nightveil Specter, and it also helps with mana fixing and ramp.

Update 12/15/16: Pulled Szadek, Lord of Secrets for Sepulchral Primordial. Yes Szadek has a fun, and strong effect that does synergize well with the deck assuming Lazav is in play, however he does take a few swings/turns before his ability really starts to make any difference, not too mention you aren't getting any combat damage. I am sad to see him go, but my playgroup is experiencing a bit of a power creep as of late which means he simply doesn't make the grade anymore. Sepulchral Primordial costs around the same mana but it's enter the battlefield trigger is very powerful and effects the board immediately upon it coming into play. In addition to these changes mentioned I have been slowly filling out the deck in small doses. I will be finally adding in a Damnation but it has not arrived in the mail just yet. I can't wait!

Update 12/18/16: Pulled Ponder for Whispering Madness. This one still is going to need a little more play testing but I am pretty sure that the deck really doesn't need Ponder as much as it did before I added in Sensei's Divining Top. Also I made some changes in regards to the description for the card Soul Ransom.

Update 12/20/16: Damnation! I finally own a copy! Thrilled to finally have the card in the deck, pulled Mimic Vat in order to make room for it. Mimic Vat is a great card, but the exile sometimes can be counter intuitive. I am considering loosing Soul Ransom for Phyrexian Arena but I'm not positive what I want to swap in order to add the card into the deck. I do think a little extra card draw wouldn't be a bad thing to include in the deck I just don't know what to pull.

Update 2/24/17: After a few more games at the my local card shop, I am definitely going to be making a couple of changes. Soul Ransom is going to be pulled for Necropotence as soon as I obtain another copy of for it, and I am considering trying Crypt Incursion and/or Extract from Darkness. Crypt Incursion was a random card I came across while sifting through a friends deck and it seems like a very powerful effect giving the deck a little life-gain while also disrupting recursion strategies. As for Extract from Darkness, there is no denying it's a powerful effect, however I just don't know if there is anything I am willing to pull for it.

Update 2/27/17: Necropotence replaced Soul Ransom and I pulled Altar of Dementia for the always useful Talisman of Dominance. Altar has always been more of a backup plan for my deck and not really central to the deck's win conditions despite it being a great sack outlet. Talisman simply a great ramp card that helps speed things up. I may consider rotating the Altar back into the deck but more play-testing and time will only tell.

Update 3/09/17: Another noteworthy change is on the horizon after trading in a ton of bulk cards to Channel Fireball I have a good chuck of credit to really invest in the deck. Two Noteworthy cards that I will be rotating into the deck are Mana Drain and Underground Sea. In Addition I am considering pulling Fabricate for Trophy Mage, and finding homes for Thought Scour, Cryptic Command, Cemetery Puca and Avatar of Woe.

Update 3/11/17: Rise of the Dark Realms, Dimir Charm, Fabricate, and Hedron Crab have been rotated out for Thought Scour, Avatar of Woe, Counterspell, and Trophy Mage. Currently this is simply at a test level but the reasoning is sound, as of right now it seems like the best decisions to make.

Update 3/29/17: Mana Drain, Codex Shredder, and Disallow have replaced Shadow of Doubt, Trinket Mage, Sphinx's Tutelage. Currently my playgroup is experiencing a "powercreep." As a result more and more nasty things have found ways to easily stick to the board with the lack of counterspells that are currently being played. This last change has been to help the deck better answer some of those nasty threats. While I loved Shadow of Doublt it simply was too situational only being used to target tutor spells or the activiation of fetches which while awesome, simply isn't as verstile as a hard counter such as Mana Drain. Sphinx's Tutelage has never really proven itself to be too gamebreaking when it's in play at best getting maybe 4 to 6 cards from a single opponent when I draw, so instead I swapped it for another hard counter Disallow. Finally and a hard one to do Trinket Mage for Codex Shredder. While I love Trinket Mage greatly for it's ability to fetch a few of my one costed spells, Codex Shredder will better allow me to combat tutor effects and hit everyone with mill.

Update 4/4/17: Replaced Trepanation Blade for Snapcaster Mage. Pretty Strait forward exchange, the mage is amazing letting the deck reuse counter spells or other useful instant or sorcery cards in the graveyard. Trepanation Blade is a great card with a ton of synergy with Lazav, however it's triggered ability isn't consistent and as we know consistency is power. Update 4/25/17: Replaced Dimir Guildgate & Dimir Aqueduct for Cavern of Souls & Vesuva. This change is pretty simple to understand, the cavern makes Lazav uncounterable, and vesuva just is a very in theme utilty land that offers the mana base a little flexibilty when needed.

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