Intro
Naru Meha, Master Wizard
Mbinguni yetu, yetu, amina!
Naru Meha, Master Wizard
Jina lako litukuzwe
Naru Combo is a turbo-xerox strategy which abuses Ghostly Flicker + Naru Meha, Master Wizard
, Illusionist's Stratagem + Naru Meha, Master Wizard
, or Dramatic Reversal + Isochron Scepter
. It features a very low curve, ample cantrips & counters, and a variety of win-conditions.
Pros/Cons
Pros
- Very low effective CMC.
- Ample disruption.
- Flexible combos.
- Instant speed wins.
Cons
- Naru combo requires 7 - 8 CMC of mana sources.
- Combos generally require an outlet after execution.
- Null Rod/Stony Silence can be problematic.
The Combo(s)
TL/DR
Cast a blink effect, copy it with Naru, make all the mana/draw your deck, and show the table your win condition. Alternatively, assemble Dramatic/Scepter and use similar outlets to win.
Detailed Naru Combo Description
- Cast Ghostly Flicker targeting any two legal permanents (generally, mana sources.)
- Holding priority, cast Naru.
- Target Flicker with Naru’s copy trigger.
- Target Naru and a mana source with the Flicker copy.
- After the copy resolves, your mana source will re-enter the battlefield untapped and Naru will put a copy trigger on the stack.
- Target the original Ghostly Flicker with Naru’s copy trigger.
- With the copy trigger on the stack, tap your mana source.
- After the copy trigger resolves, target Naru and a mana source with the new Flicker copy.
Your end-state should be:
- The original Flicker on the stack.
- Naru on the battlefield, targeting Flicker.
- Unbounded mana in your mana pool.
- Unconditional mana sources untapped. (Note: excludes sources like Chrome Mox, Mox Diamond, etc.)
Alternatively:
- Cast Illusionist’s Stratagem targeting one or two creatures.
- Holding priority, cast Naru.
- Target Stratagem with Naru’s copy trigger.
- Target Naru with the Stratagem copy.
- After the copy resolves, draw a card and Naru will put a copy trigger on the stack.
- Target the original Stratagem with Naru’s copy trigger.
- Draw your deck for all but one card and execute your win-condition on your next turn.
Outlets
There are two classes of win-conditions in this deck: conditional and unconditional. Unconditional outlets allow you to win on the spot or give you the tools to win immediately such as drawing your deck or killing opponents with damage. Conditional outlets require the ability to bounce Naru to your hand or have extra cantrips in hand to seal the game.
Unconditional outlets include:
Conditional outlets include:
- Castle Vantress – Sort your deck, but you need a cantrip to draw the final outlet.
- Winds of Rebuke – Bounce Naru to your hand with any other bounce spell. Then cast Rebuke on a legal target. With Rebuke on the stack, you cast Naru again, copying the Rebuke and return Naru to hand. You now can loop Rebukes to mill the table.
Riptide Laboratory – This one’s complicated, but the result is that you can cast any instant infinitely or draw your deck with either Sensei's Divining Top or Silent Gravestone:
- From the end-state Combo Description, return Naru to your hand with Riptide Lab.
- Cast an instant like Brainstorm (Note: Activating Top or Gravestone from this state also works though you will be copying Flicker and targeting the artifact instead in subsequent steps.)
- Cast Naru, targeting the Flicker on the stack.
- Blink Naru and the Riptide Lab.
- Cast Naru, targeting the Brainstorm.
- Allow the Brainstorm copy to resolve, then return Naru to your hand with Riptide Lab.
- Loop to draw your deck.
The Strategy
Turbo-Xerox: The main goal in the early game is to drop mana early and often. Remember that the goal is – generally – making 7 CMC worth of mana as quickly as reasonable. Opening hands want to have a good mix of cantrips and mana sources.
Mana Stable: Once we hit our requisite 7 CMC we can – weirdly – relax. This mid-game period is where we look for either Flicker, Stratagem, or Dramatic/Scepter to execute a combo. However, we’re not rushing if we don’t read pressure from the table. Instead, we’d – optimally – like a critical mass of disruption in hand which allows us to pick our spot when we finally find our combo.
Combo Time: In general, my hope is to combo – if optimal – in response to an opponent’s attempt to win the game. For some tables, that may even mean passing priority on an opponent’s game-winning combo if you read a response from another opponent. This is basically the Prisoner’s Dilemma of decks.
Notable Cards
Additions
-
Emry, Lurker of the Loch – This is so close to an outlet that I’ve keep it in the deck. It typically costs 1-2 mana while drawing a few cards during a game.
-
Astrolabe and Well – These cards are the key reasons I re-developed the deck. They have incredible synergy with each step of our game-plan while still acting as outlets.
-
Creatures – There are more creatures in the deck than ever before (most of which, conveniently, are Wizards for Riptide Lab.) These are mostly a concession to needing an initial target for Stratagem, but many are win-cons.
Omissions
-
Release to the Wind & Baral's Expertise & Displace & Essence Flux: These are other cards which loop with Naru. The problem is that they’re either too expensive or require inflexible outlets.
-
Altar of the Brood – The theme of the strategy is flexibility. Yes, we could add this, and it might speed us to our combo turn with other flicker effects (see above.) However – until that point – Altar is a stone blank.
-
Geier Reach Sanitarium & Mikokoro, Center of the Sea – These both allow you to effectively draw your deck. In testing – especially for Mikokoro – I was frustrated by the outs these provided opponents.
-
Shelldock Isle – Another flicker target which doesn’t pull enough weight. It used to pair with Laboratory Maniac since infinite Shelldock flickers are deterministic. But Lab Man was another frustrating dead draw and Shelldock entering tapped put me behind in development.
