“And you thought it was just a harmless breeze!”
Art:Zur the Enchanter
by Josu Hernaiz
Link to the Moxfield Deck if you don’t need the primer: Zur the Enchanter Naus Consultation Brewed CEDH
Table of Contents
Today’s Featured Commander Is:
Zur the Enchanter is another pseudo ghost of the past from the CEDH format. While this deck is absolutely still played and hasn’t suffered from a hurtful banning, it is certainly not as prevalent as it once was. Either way, this deck can be built many ways and offers a strong and fun game plan I want with what is a classic build for Zur, which is pretty much just a consultation / naus deck that focuses on two of the strongest combos within the format. While this deck certainly does not take a ton of advantage out of Zur’s ability which is most often to grab Rhystic Study
and Necropotence
quickly and easily.
The Deck:
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Zur the Enchanter Naus Consultation!
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Why Zur the Enchanter?
Zur the Enchanter is not a key part of our deck but allows us to grab key enchantments for various situations, with the most common being Rhystic Study and Necropotence, which both can be game-changing cards that offer huge card advantage. Zur is undoubtedly important for the deck, but if we have a line with protection to combo off and win sometimes, we will never have Zur hit the field in an entire game and in testing, I had a few games that were like that.
Deck Overview:
This section contains information about cards in the deck and how they function within the deck! I also highlighted some of my favorite cards in the deck! The infinite combos and loops in the deck are listed below in the “Main Win Conditions” Section.
Creatures:
Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
is another card we use to stop the storm decks and any faster deck than us. We are by no means a Stax deck but have some staxy cards like Drannith Magistrate
and Opposition Agent
, which are great against most decks. Gilded Drake
is a card that has been getting slowly phased out of a lot of CEDH decks but I still think it is very strong within the format, at least within my meta. A card that has been only going up is Orcish Bowmasters
which does so much for just two mana and is one of the best creatures within our deck.
Planeswalkers:
Narset, Parter of Veils
is one of our best counters against the various storm and pretty much any strategy that tries to gain a ton of card advantage. We rarely use Narset’s minus ability, but it is a nice option. Jace, Wielder of Mysteries
is a combo piece for the deck, and I seldom play it until it is time to win. There hasn’t been a game in testing that I have cast Jace early before a win.
Instants:
Like most CEDH decks, our instant package is filled to the absolute brim with counterspells. One of my favorites is Mindbreak Trap
, which, as we mentioned a few times before, is a great tech piece against storm. We have some creature removal as well mostly for commanders in Path to Exile
and Swords to Plowshares
which are cheap pieces of removal and can hurt decks that rely on their commander. We also have some super cheap counterspells that are perfect for combo protection in Swan Song
, Mental Misstep
, and An Offer You Can't Refuse
, which are all cheap and can protect our combos. Beyond that, we have a ton of redundant counterspell effects that can be used to protect us when we go off or stop our opponents from going off.
Sorceries:
I have loved Beseech the Mirror
in this deck as a great way to grab almost anything. We have many artifacts to bargain the card we grab out easily. We also have some strong tutors like Demonic Tutor
, Grim Tutor
, and Imperial Seal
, which are great ways to grab well, really anything we need situation depending. I run into a fair few creature-based decks at my LGS, so I have started playing Toxic Deluge
, which is quite strong against almost any deck but shines against decks like Najeela, the Blade-Blossom
.
Artifacts:
We have an absolute ton of artifact ramp which helps to offset the low land count and help us establish all of our colors. I have tested lists without them but found I like all on-color signets and talismans within the deck since they are cheap, can let us get ahead very early, and can be strong draws even later in the game. We, of course, have staples like Mox Diamond
, Mox Opal
and Mana Crypt
, which are very strong pieces of fast mana for the deck. Wishclaw Talisman
is an awesome tutor for the deck and a great way to get the last combo piece we need. The One Ring
is the one ring and is pretty much an auto-include in many of my decks as it can come down as early as the first turn and have a huge card advantage for us.
Enchantments:
We only have four enchantments, but they are all very impactful; we are a combo-focused Zur deck, so we have a very trimmed-down enchantment package. We, of course, have two staples in Mystic Remora
and Rhystic Study, which generate an absolute ton of card advantage for our deck. We also have Aura of Silence
, which is a tech card that I have been running due to the high density of Urza, Lord High Artificer
within my meta. Last but certainly not least, we have Necropotence, which is one of the best in the deck and often our first choice after a Zur attack which allows us to get a ton of card advantage, and easily find our combos.
Land Base:
We have a typical CEDH landbase with almost no surprises within the deck. We do have the OG duals, Shocks, and fetches for a bunch of fast lands within the deck. We can also easily access our colors through all the fetches in the deck. We have a couple of basics in our highest colors because of cards like Assassin's Trophy
and Path to Exile. 28 lands is the perfect number for CEDH, in my opinion, and I have been having no issues with this landbase!
Strengths of the Deck:
- Many ways to combo off with protection
- A ton of artifact ramp
- A ton of countermagic
Weaknesses of the Deck:
- General weaknesses of not having red in the deck
- Weak to artifact hate
- Four can be a lot for a commander even with fast mana
Deck Stats:
Sample Hands:
Main Win Conditions:
As the title suggests, we are both an Ad Nauseam
and Demonic Consultation
/ Thassa's Oracle
deck. Below are all the combos in the deck explained:
Demonic Consultation + Laboratory Maniac
Requires:
Laboratory Maniac on the battlefield. Demonic Consultation in hand. You have a way to draw a card. B available.
Steps:
- Cast Demonic Consultation by paying B, naming Laboratory Maniac and thus exiling your library due to you not having a card named Laboratory Maniac in your library.
- Draw a card, causing you to win the game due to Laboratory Maniac.
Results:
Win the game. Exile your library.
Tainted Pact
+ Laboratory Maniac
Requires:
Tainted Pact in hand. Laboratory Maniac on the battlefield. No two cards in library share a name. You have a way to draw a card. 1B available.
Steps:
- Cast Tainted Pact by paying 1B, exiling your library.
- Draw a card, causing you to win the game due to drawing from an empty library.
Results:
Win the game.
Ad Nauseam + Laboratory Maniac + Angel's Grace
Requires:
Laboratory Maniac on the battlefield. All other cards in hand. 3WBB available.
Steps:
- At the beginning of your upkeep, cast Angel’s Grace by paying W, preventing you from losing the game this turn.
- Cast Ad Nauseam by paying 3BB.
- Resolve Ad Nauseam, revealing the top card of your library, putting that card into your hand and losing life equal to that card’s mana value.
- Repeat the process in step 3 until you have an empty library.
- On your draw step, Laboratory Maniac triggers, winning you the game.
Results:
Win the game.
Ad Nauseam + Jace, Wielder of Mysteries + Angel's Grace
Requires:
Jace on the battlefield, in hand or in library. All other cards in hand. 3WBB available plus an additional 1UUU available if Jace is not on the battlefield.
Steps:
- Cast Angel’s Grace by paying W, preventing you from losing the game this turn.
- Cast Ad Nauseam by paying 3BB.
- Resolve Ad Nauseam, revealing the top card of your library, putting that card into your hand and losing life equal to that card’s mana value.
- Repeat the process in step 3 until you have an empty library.
- If Jace is in your hand, cast it by paying 1UUU.
- Activate Jace’s first loyalty ability by putting a loyalty counter on it, causing target player to mill two cards and you to win the game due to drawing from an empty library.
Results:
Win the game. Infinite card draw.
Demonic Consultation + Thassa's Oracle
Requires:
All cards in hand. UUB available.
Steps:
- Cast Demonic Consultation by paying B, naming Thassa’s Oracle and thus exiling your library due to you not having a card named Thassa’s Oracle in your library.
- Cast Thassa’s Oracle by paying UU.
- Thassa’s Oracle enters the battlefield, causing you to win the game.
Results:
Win the game. Exile your library.
Tainted Pact + Thassa's Oracle
Requires:
All cards in hand. No two cards in library share a name. 1UUB available.
Steps:
- Cast Tainted Pact by paying 1B, exiling your library.
- Cast Thassa’s Oracle by paying UU.
- Thassa’s Oracle enters the battlefield, causing you to win the game.
Results:
Win the game.
Conclusion:
Zur is certainly not the CEDH powerhouse they were when the format was first “figured out,” but it is still a great option to have access to strong and key cards like Necropotence and Rhystic Study from the command zone which can be a huge source of card advantage and an easy way to find our combos. I have had a ton of fun and success with this deck at my LGS and within my playgroup. While we are not playing red, and there are a ton of drawbacks that come with that, there are a ton of strengths within this deck. Thanks for reading to the end and for all your support.