“Always save one shot for myself… just in case.”
Art:Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph
by Aaron J Riley
Pricing courtesy of Moxfield.com
Table of Contents
Todays Featured Commander Is:
Ghyrson Starn is a really sweet Izzet commander who turns all of our Gut Shot
to Lightning Bolt
combine this with a bunch of days to deal 1 damage and we can bolt our opponents multiple times a turn every turn. Ghyrson Starn is just a great creature with built in protection and a way to do a ton of damage. If you get deathtouch or infect on Ghyrson he is a force to be reckoned with! Without further adieu lets get it!
The Deck:
$150 Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph Pings!
Why Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph?
Ghyrson Starn is just a great commander, having ward 2 and the ability to do 3 damage is just devastating. Whether we target our opponents creatures or their face we can easily do a ton of damage and constantly pressure our opponents and have them always being in fear of dying in a just a few turns. Combine that with all of the combos we have in the deck and we have a real winning recipe. For extra “fun” we can also give Ghyrson Starn infect of deathtouch which just becomes a killstick!
Deck Overview:
This section contains information about cards in the deck and how they function within the deck! For explanations of the combos please refer to the “Main Win Conditions” section below!
Creatures:
We have a bunch of small creatures that deal one damage to our opponents like Spear Spewer
and Sawblade Scamp
, once we get Ghyrson on the field we can turn that into a lightning bolt for each of our opponents every turn! We also have a few cards that ping on instant or sorcery cast like Erebor Flamesmith
, Firebrand Archer
, Kessig Flamebreather
. Once we get Ghyrson on the field we can do a ton of damage and wipe boards and destroy our opponents faces!
One of the coolest cards in the deck is Goblin Sharpshooter
which when combined with one of our equipment to give us deathtouch is just a board wipe. Even on its own we can deal up to 3 damage which can be a great way to deal with a lot of creatures. When we combine this with Gimli, Counter of Kills
we can get some more damage with Ghyrson! At the top of our curve we have Niv-Mizzet, Parun
and Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind
which are mostly used as combo pieces but can also be a great way to trigger Ghyrson!
Planeswalkers:
We only have two planeswalkers but they both have great impacts, Ral, Storm Conduit
not only allows us to scry and copy a spell we get to trigger Ghyrson when we do copy a spell. Chandra, Dressed to Kill
is a great way to get some red mana and trigger Ghyrson we don’t have a ton of other uses for Chandras other ability but depending on the situation it may be viable!
Instants:
We have a lot of sweet instants and al ot of them are focused on triggering Ghyrson like Dual Shot
and Electrickery
both of which are great ways to deal some damage or get some crowd control of our opponents creatures. We also have a decent counterspell package including cards like Counterspell
and Negate
and Miscast
. There are a couple others while we dont have a ton of counterspells we do have enough to protect our important pieces!
Sorceries:
We have some cards that can act as pseudo board wipes in this deck like Blazing Volley
, End the Festivities
and Scouring Sands
which with Ghyrson out we can do a ton of damage! We also have Ponder
and Preordain
which are both great ways to draw some cards and find our combo pieces.
Artifacts:
We of course have some mana rocks like Arcane Signet
, Sol Ring
and Fellwar Stone
just to name a few. But we do have some cool equipment like Gorgon's Head
and Grafted Exoskeleton
and Basilisk Collar
which are all great ways to crowd control the board or just kill our opponents!
Enchantments:
With Ghyrson out Circle of Flame
can bolt a creature who is attacking us! Curiosity
and Ophidian Eye
are both just combo pieces that we typically save for when we get either Niv-Mizzet. Impact Tremors
is another great way to deal some damage and basically bolt our opponents!
Land Base:
Our land base is pretty simple and since we can operate with not a ton of lands we are playing every single cycling land that we can play. We are also playing a lot of Izzet duals. Mystic Sanctuary
is a great way to get a good instant and sorcery back! Shivan Gorge
and Desert
are both great ways to deal some damage and with Ghyrson hit them with a bolt.
Strengths of the Deck:
- Ghyrson is a crazy damage dealer, especially if we can give him deathtouch or lifelink
- Counterspell suite allows us to stop opponents problematic stuff
- Easy to draw a ton of cards
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- Deck is weaker with Ghyrson
- Weak to control strategies we have counterspells not just enough to win a stack war
- Weak to combo / spellslinger strategies
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
While Ghyrson allows us to easily kill our opponents through the extra damage he gives to our pings we also have a ton of combos to end the games as well!
Requires:
All permanents on the battlefield. Curiosity attached to Niv-Mizzet. You have a way to draw a card. Your library is greater than opponent life total.
Steps:
- Draw a card.
- Niv-Mizzet trigger, dealing 1 damage to any target opponent.
- Curiosity triggers, allowing you to draw a card.
- Repeat from step 2.
Results:
Near-infinite damage. Infinite card draw.
Niv-Mizzet, Parun + Ophidian Eye
Requires:
All permanents on the battlefield. Ophidian Eye attached to Niv-Mizzet. You have a way to draw a card.
Steps:
- Draw a card.
- Niv-Mizzet triggers, dealing 1 damage to an opponent.
- Ophidian Eye triggers, allowing you to draw a card.
- Repeat from step 2.
Results:
Infinite card draw. Infinite draw triggers. Near-infinite damage.
Niv-Mizzet, Parun + Tandem Lookout
Requires:
All permanents on the battlefield. Tandem Lookout paired with Niv-Mizzet. You have a way to draw a card. Your library is greater than opponent life total.
Steps:
- Draw a card.
- Niv-Mizzet triggers, dealing 1 damage to any target.
- Niv-Mizzet’s soulbond ability triggers, drawing you a card.
- Repeat from step 2.
Results:
Infinite card draw. Infinite draw triggers. Near-infinite damage.
Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind + Curiosity
Requires:
All permanents on the battlefield. Curiosity attached to Niv-Mizzet. You have a way to draw a card. Your library is greater than opponent life total.
Steps:
- Draw a card.
- Niv-Mizzet triggers, dealing 1 damage to any target.
- Curiosity triggers, allowing you to draw a card.
- Repeat from step 2.
Results:
Infinite card draw. Infinite draw triggers. Near-infinite damage.
Goblin Sharpshooter + Basilisk Collar
Requires:
All permanents on the battlefield. Basilisk Collar attached to Goblin Sharpshooter. Goblin Sharpshooter does not have summoning sickness.
Steps:
- Activate Goblin Sharpshooter by tapping it, dealing 1 damage to target creature.
- That creature dies from lethal damage due to Goblin Sharpshooter’s deathtouch ability.
- Goblin Sharpshooter triggers, untapping itself.
- Repeat for each creature opponents control and whenever an opponent controls a creature.
Results:
Destroy all creatures opponents control. From now on, destroy any creatures opponents controls at instant speed.
Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind + Ophidian Eye
Requires:
All permanents on the battlefield. Ophidian Eye attached to Niv-Mizzet. You have a way to draw a card.
Steps:
- Draw a card.
- Niv-Mizzet triggers, dealing 1 damage to an opponent.
- Ophidian Eye triggers, allowing you to draw a card.
- Repeat from step 2.
Results:
Infinite card draw. Infinite draw triggers. Near-infinite damage.
Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind + Tandem Lookout
Requires:
Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Tandem Lookout on the battlefield. Tandem Lookout is paired with Niv-Mizzet. Niv-Mizzet does not have summoning sickness.
Steps:
- Activate Niv-Mizzet’s ability to draw a card.
- Niv-Mizzet triggers, dealing 1 damage to target opponent.
- When Niv-Mizzet deals damage, its ability from Tandem Lookout triggers, causing you to draw a card.
- Repeat from step 2.
- To end the loop and stop yourself drawing from an empty library, choose any target besides an opponent in step 2.
Results:
Infinite card draw. Infinite draw triggers. Near-infinite damage.
Goblin Sharpshooter + Basilisk Collar
Requires:
All permanents on the battlefield. Gorgon’s Head attached to Goblin Sharpshooter. Goblin Sharpshooter does not have summoning sickness.
Steps:
- Activate Goblin Sharpshooter by tapping it, dealing 1 damage to target creature.
- That creature dies from lethal damage due to Goblin Sharpshooter’s deathtouch ability.
- Goblin Sharpshooter triggers, untapping itself.
- Repeat for each creature opponents control and whenever an opponent controls a creature.
Results:
Destroy all creatures opponents control. From now on, destroy any creatures opponents controls at instant speed.
Fury Storm
+ Ral, Storm Conduit
Requires:
Ral on the battlefield. Fury Storm in hand. You have cast your commander from your command zone this game. 2RR available. An additional instant or sorcery in hand with the mana to cast it, or an opponent has cast an as of yet unresolved instant or sorcery spell.
Steps:
- Cast your additional instant or sorcery spell, or wait for an opponent to cast one.
- Ral triggers, dealing 1 damage to target opponent or planeswalker.
- Cast Fury Storm targeting the instant or sorcery spell.
- Ral triggers, dealing 1 damage to target opponent or planeswalker.
- Fury Storm triggers, copying itself for each time you have cast your commander from your command zone this game and choosing the original copy of Fury Storm as the target.
- Ral triggers for each copy, dealing 1 damage to target opponent or planeswalker each time.
- Resolve a Fury Storm copy, copying Fury Storm and choosing the original Fury Storm as the target.
- Ral triggers, dealing 1 damage to target opponent or planeswalker.
- Repeat from step 7.
Results:
Infinite damage. Infinite magecraft triggers.
Fury Storm + Archmage Emeritus
Requires:
Archmage Emeritus on the battlefield. Fury Storm in hand. You have cast your commander from your command zone this game. 2RR available. An additional instant or sorcery in hand with the mana to cast it, or an opponent has cast an as of yet unresolved instant or sorcery spell.
Steps:
- Cast your additional instant or sorcery spell, or wait for an opponent to cast one.
- Archmage Emeritus triggers, drawing you a card.
- Cast Fury Storm targeting the instant or sorcery spell.
- Archmage Emeritus triggers, drawing you a card.
- Fury Storm triggers, copying itself for each time you have cast your commander from your command zone this game and choosing the original copy of Fury Storm as the target.
- Archmage Emeritus triggers for each copy, drawing you a card each time.
- Resolve a Fury Storm copy, copying Fury Storm and choosing the original Fury Storm as the target.
- Archmage Emeritus triggers, drawing you a card.
- Repeat from step 7.
Results:
Infinite card draw. Near-infinite magecraft triggers.
Fury Storm + Storm-Kiln Artist
Requires:
Storm-Kiln Artist on the battlefield. Fury Storm in hand. You have cast your commander from your command zone this game. 2RR available. An additional instant or sorcery in hand with the mana to cast it, or an opponent has cast an as of yet unresolved instant or sorcery spell.
Steps:
- Cast your additional instant or sorcery spell, or wait for an opponent to cast one.
- Storm-Kiln Artist triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- Cast Fury Storm targeting the instant or sorcery spell.
- Storm-Kiln Artist triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- Fury Storm triggers, copying itself for each time you have cast your commander from your command zone this game and choosing the original copy of Fury Storm as the target.
- Storm-Kiln Artist triggers for each copy, creating a Treasure token each time.
- Resolve a Fury Storm copy, copying Fury Storm and choosing the original Fury Storm as the target.
- Storm-Kiln Artist triggers, creating a Treasure token.
- Repeat from step 7.
Results:
Infinite Treasure tokens. Infinite colored mana. Infinitely powerful Storm-Kiln Artist. Infinite magecraft triggers.
Conclusion:
In Conclusion Ghyrson Starn is a super sweet commander that allows you to deal a ton of damage and control the board while we build to our combos. We very much play like you would expect an Izzet deck to play, full of quick spells and combos! This deck is really awesome and one of the decks I love the most! Hope you enjoyed this article, stay tuned for some bonus articles this weekend and if you have any suggestions for Budget EDH, EDH, CEDH or PDH please let us know on twitter or discord! Thanks for reading to the end!