The Golden Bough (Niv-Mizzet, Reborn)

Historic Brawl*

raskolnikov93

Lands (45)

• 1x Arid Mesa
• 1x Bloodstained Mire
• 1x Botanical Sanctum
• 1x Branchloft Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Breeding Pool
• 1x Clearwater Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Command Tower
• 1x Darkbore Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Deathcap Glade
• 1x Deserted Beach
• 1x Dreamroot Cascade
• 1x Fabled Passage
• 1x Flooded Strand
• 1x Godless Shrine
• 1x Hallowed Fountain
• 1x Hengegate Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Indatha Triome
• 1x Ketria Triome
• 1x Marsh Flats
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Overgrown Farmland
• 1x Overgrown Tomb
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Raugrin Triome
• 1x Riverglide Pathway  ^Flip
• 1x Rockfall Vale
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 1x Shipwreck Marsh
• 1x Snow-Covered Forest
• 1x Snow-Covered Island
• 1x Snow-Covered Mountain
• 1x Snow-Covered Plains
• 1x Snow-Covered Swamp
• 1x Spara's Headquarters
• 1x Steam Vents
• 1x Stomping Ground
• 1x Stormcarved Coast
• 1x Temple Garden
• 1x The World Tree
• 1x Verdant Catacombs
• 1x Watery Grave
• 1x Windswept Heath
• 1x Wooded Foothills
• 1x Zagoth Triome
• 1x Ziatora's Proving Ground

Removal (17)

• 1x Swords to Plowshares
• 1x Angrath's Rampage
• 1x Cindervines
• 1x Deadly Brew
• 1x Dire Tactics
• 1x Rip Apart
• 1x Anguished Unmaking
• 1x Knight of Autumn
• 1x Kolaghan's Command
• 1x Legions to Ashes
• 1x Maelstrom Pulse
• 1x Prismari Command
• 1x Void Rend
• 1x Binding the Old Gods
• 1x Ashiok, Nightmare Muse
• 1x Kaya the Inexorable
• 1x Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

Ramp (10)

• 1x Arcane Signet
• 1x Coldsteel Heart
• 1x Explore
• 1x Growth Spiral
• 1x Into the North
• 1x Paradise Druid
• 1x Chromatic Lantern
• 1x Cultivate
• 1x Replicating Ring
• 1x Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath

Win (3)

• 1x Klothys, God of Destiny
• 1x Tajic, Legion's Valor
• 1x Koma, Cosmos Serpent

Recursion (2)

• 1x Priest of Fell Rites
• 1x Syndicate Recruiter

Commander (1)

Counterspells (14)

• 1x Curse of Silence
• 1x Veil of Summer
• 1x Wash Away
• 1x Bind to Secrecy
• 1x Disdainful Stroke
• 1x Dovin's Veto
• 1x Essence Scatter
• 1x Malevolent Hermit  ^Flip
• 1x Memory Lapse
• 1x Negate
• 1x Tale's End
• 1x Absorb
• 1x Ionize
• 1x Saw it Coming

Cards (8)

• 1x Castle Locthwain
• 1x Quandrix Apprentice
• 1x Search for Azcanta  ^Flip
• 1x Territorial Kavu
• 1x Radha, Heart of Keld
• 1x Rhystic Study
• 1x Gitrog, Horror of Zhava
• 1x Tome of the Guildpact

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The Golden Bough is a classic of anthropological research by Sir James George Frazier. It details ancient rituals surrounding the notion of the death and rebirth of gods and kings, allegories of the cycle of seasons and the cycles of human life.

Like the legends of old, Niv-Mizzet has been reborn with all the golden knowledge of the Guilds of Ravnica at his disposal.

Commander

Each ETB is a roll of the dice, with hits ranging from zero to seven. Although a zero or one is disappointing, remember that you're clearing a bunch of chaff off the top of your library and setting up future ETBs. Check each new set for new gold cards that can replace mono-colored staples and increase the hit rate.

The deck is designed to get as many triggers as possible out of the commander. Don't be afraid to let him go to the graveyard as he can always be recurred or exiled to reset him.

Lands

• Past the first few turns, it's usually beneficial to hold Triomes in hand for cycling.
• Basics are Snow lands for Into the North.
• Fetch lands support the deck's graveyard-themed cards, including Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath, Syndicate Recruiter, and Klothys, God of Destiny.
• The World Tree only gets one God, but it's Klothys, God of Destiny, which is usually good enough to justify the cost.

Ramp

• Uro, Titan of Nature's Wrath - Escape is a good reason to let your commander go to the graveyard. If you can, when you Escape, try to keep one of each mana value in the 'yard for Syndicate Recruiter.
• Replicating Ring - Almost a secret planeswalker; if you keep this alive long enough it will win you the game.

Cards

• Search for Azcanta  , Territorial Kavu, and Gitrog, Horror of Zhava help enable graveyard themes.
• Search for Azcanta   should be prioritized over ramp in most cases to guarantee natural land drops and hasten its flipping.
• Territorial Kavu also disrupts Flasback, Disturb, etc.
• Gitrog, Horror of Zhava can confuse opponents with its wording. They seem to think they will ramp if they sacrifice a creature, but it's you who gets to ramp. Once they realize this (after losing a creature for no reason), it's very demoralizing.
• Castle Locthwain is a failsafe with a heavy downside that helps if your commander is either priced out of recasting or worse, stuck on the battlefield!

Removal

• Knight of Autumn - Play this as a 4/3 if you just need a beater.
• Legions to Ashes and Maelstrom Pulse can be one-sided board wipes.
• Kolaghan's Command and Deadly Brew double as recursion. Deadly Brew can recur any permanent, for example Binding the Old Gods.
• Dire Tactics - There are four Humans in the deck.

Planeswalkers

Each of these 5-mana 'walkers can remove a threat and also offer additional win conditions.

• Ashiok, Nightmare Muse - Target an opponent's token with the -3 if you can. Target your own ETB creature if you need another trigger. Make sure there's something worth casting from exile before activating the ultimate.
• Kaya the Inexorable - Putting a ghostform counter on Niv-Mizzet is one of the strongest plays in the deck, just remember not to send him back to the command zone. Activate the ultimate ASAP as you can then recast Kaya the next turn.
• Teferi, Hero of Dominaria - Excellent support for the counterspell suite.

Counterspells

• Tale's End targeting a fetch land activation is sometimes game over.
• Malevolent Hermit   - A true all star! A two-drop creature and a counterspell, followed by a three-drop flyer that makes your noncreature spells uncounterable, all on one card.
• Curse of Silence preemptively counters the opponent's next (many times their first) casting of their commander.
• Veil of Summer - Cycle this with Prismari Command or Territorial Kavu if it's a dead card in the matchup.
• Bind to Secrecy - The non-counterspell mode is an excellent follow-up to countering or removing something like Golos, Tireless Pilgrim.

Recursion

• Priest of Fell Rites - Run this out first if you expect your commander to meet a counterspell. Don't forget the haste on Unearth means it can swing for damage too. Watch your life total.
• Syndicate Recruiter is a recursion engine. If you sacrifice it to Dig Up the Body to enable Casualty, you can return both it and another creature from your graveyard to hand, ready to begin the loop again. It also mills to support graveyard themes including itself.

Win

• Klothys, God of Destiny can help ramp by targeting your own or your opponent's fetch lands. Again, keep Syndicate Recruiter in mind. Check your Devotion when determining your sequencing for a turn - don't miss a chance to attack with an indestructible 4/5.
• Tajic, Legion's Valor is an incredibly hard-to-remove army-in-a-can. Koma, Cosmos Serpent is all that plus the demise of both your opponent's defenses and their hopes of cracking back.
• Every creature in the deck, including the commander, is chosen specifically for average to above-average stats, including a 5/5 for two, a 6/6 for four, and Radha, Heart of Keld, which can threaten a one-hit kill.

Piloting the Deck

• In general, if you have counter magic, hold it up. Ramping and deploying threats are less important than stopping your opponent from doing the same. The exception is if you are unafraid of what they might cast, but don't get cocky.
• If you have room to ramp, go hard. Mana rocks and cards like Explore let you spend the new mana right away, effectively lowering the cost and allowing you to cast multiple spells if timed correctly.
• Respond to your opponent's threats as they present themselves, either on the stack or by removing them. Matching the right interaction to the spells they cast is critical. Try to use the narrowest option in each case.
• Establish a draw engine, planeswalker, or threat at the first opportunity, then protect it. You want to play out your hand before attempting to cast your commander.
• Be patient and protect your commander's cast with counter magic or wait until you have recursion available.
• If you whiff on the ETB, console yourself with a 6/6 flyer for five mana.

Date added	7 months
Last updated	7 months
Legality	This deck is Historic Brawl legal.
Rarity (main - side)	10 - 0 Mythic Rares 64 - 0 Rares 15 - 0 Uncommons 6 - 0 Commons
Cards	100
Avg. CMC	2.76
Tokens	Emblem Kaya the Inexorable, Emblem Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, Foretell, Koma's Coil 3/3 U, Nightmare 2/3 UB, Replicated Ring, Spirit 1/1 W, Treasure