Wrexial the Risen Deep EDH

[Thranduil]

So I don't know whether you guys play Elder Dragon Highlander, but it's the most fun ever (actually not strictly true: Planechase EDH is the most fun ever, if you've got several hours to kill). You can read about it here.

I'm a little bit obsessed and addicted at the moment. I have normal decks like Sedris that involves filling your graveyard with sheer ridiculousness like Nicol Bolas, Garza Zol, loads of ETB triggers, then playing Pandemonium and Living End to play all of them at once shooting my opponent for at least 40. Or Uril the Mistalker which essentially involves playing Uril, loading him up with as many ridiculous Auras you can, and swinging for the win.

But I wanted to try something a bit different, and so I tried to build around Wrexial, the Risen Deep. The deck is a mill deck: the goal is to mill 100 cards. Or more if you're playing multiplayer. And you know the scary thing? I don't think it's that difficult!

Lands
Assortment of about 40, including:
Duskmantle, House of Shadow
Ancient Reliquary
Shelldock Isle
+10 nonland mana sources (this is standard proportions for EDH)

Creatures
Wrexial, the Risen Deep
Sage of Fables
Merrow Harbinger
Sigil Tracer
Lullmage Mentor
Drowner of Secrets
Drowner Initiate
Surgespanner
Cursecatcher
Vedalken Aethermage
Dreamborn Muse
Nemesis of Reason
Dralnu, Lich Lord
Oona, Queen of the Fae
Szadek, Lord of Secrets

Instants & Sorceries
Brain Freeze
Archive Trap
Traumatize
Glimpse the Unthinkable
Mind Funeral

Broken Ambitions
Induce Paranoia
Counterspell
Soul Manipulation
Mindbreak Trap
Perplex
Cryptic Command
Muddle the Mixture
Logic Knot

Spin into Myth
Evacuation

Fabricate
Mystical Teachings
Beseech the Queen
Diabolic Tutor

Beacon of Unrest
Memory Plunder
Relearn
Sins of the Past
Oona's Grace
Peer Through Depths
Twincast
Aquitect's Will

Enchantments
Merrow Commerce
Eye of the Storm

Artifacts
Mirari
Mirror of Fate
Citanul Flute
Rings of Brighthearth



So this is a combo deck in the extreme.

First there's the Merfolk contingent. Thanks to Drowner of Secrets and Merrow Commerce (which can be tapped to the Drowner and untaps itself!) they can do a fairly good job of getting stuff in the opponent's graveyard. Then enter Sigil Tracer who can copy your key instants and sorceries with another Wizard on the table (pretty much every creature in the deck - all found through the Wizardcycler Vedalken Aethermage). Citanul Flute (which you can Fabricate for, or Fabricate twice with Sigil Tracer to get Rings of Brigthearth to copy the flute's activation) helps you put these pieces together. Then Wrexial allows you to cast their best spells you've put there.

Secondly, there's Eye of the Storm. How many ridiculous combos and rules headaches go with Eye of the Storm? Countless. Here I'm using it to just mill my opponent(S) to death. Imagine this scenario: there's a bunch of instants and sorceries in my graveyard, maybe including some mill spells, and I have an empty Eye of the Storm in play. Now I cast Sins of the Past, a forgotten penny rare from Ravnica. This immediately gets exiled with Eye of the Storm and allows me to cast an instant or sorcery from my graveyard without paying its mana cost. I would normally then exile both the spell I cast and Sins of the Past, but Eye of the Storm exiles them before the spells even resolve. So now I do not only copy my mill spell that I just cast from my graveyard, but also Sins of the Past. Therefore allowing me to cast every instant or sorcery in my graveyard! Say I have 5 spells, one of which is Glimpse the Unthinkable ( Sorcery, mill 10). On the casting of Sins of the Past, I mill 40 cards. And that's not including any other spells in graveyard, or any other mill spells I might be able to cast. Now imagine Brain Freeze ( Instant, Mill 3 with Storm) and the totals become completely obscene. Or what about Traumatize? You can make a similar combo with Memory Plunder allowing you to cast every instant or sorcery in opponents' graveyards.

Another part of the combo is Mirror of Fate. Now say I have some spells on Eye of the Storm, but some pesky opponent destroys the enchantment before I can mill them to death. Mirror of Fate allows me to get back those key cards and I can draw straight into them. Or what happens when I have Mirror of Fate and the Rings of Brighthearth on the table at once? I first exile my library, and there may or not be any cards previously exiled, with the first trigger, but the second trigger allows me to go through my library and pick whatever 7 cards I want to draw! Now imagine you have 7 mana and this draw:

1) Draw and cast Eye of the Storm
2) Draw and cast Oona's Grace, draw Brain Freeze. Cast Brain Freeze (Storm count 3), draw Glimpse the Unthinkable. Cast GtU (Storm count 6). Total mill = 43. Draw Archive Trap or Evacuation or any other cards you think you might need, maybe Mindbreak Trap to stop your opponent milling you to death with your own mill spells. Include Sins of the Past or Memory Plunder.
3) The last card you put there is Beacon of Unrest (you have to choose your opponent to draw the card with Oona's Grace so that you don't die). Put Mirror of Fate back into play, sacrifice it and get another 7 cards. Note that now every spell you cast puts your Mirror of Fate back into play (or an assorted set of creatures from your opponents' graveyards!

[Elf_Lvr]

Awesome. Mill decks in EDH are really cool. I could suggest using Liliana Vess for more tutor (since your deck is pretty combo-tastic). Plus, she's a big win-con if your opponent doesn't kill her, so she can save you some damage.

I would also consider using Muddle the Mixture. Maybe it's not always a relevant counterspell but it can tutor for Rings of Brighthearth, Brain Freeze, or Merrow Commerce, respectively. I think in EDH, more tutor is better.

This is just my personal preference, but I'd consider making Dralnu your General instead of Wrexial. Recurring some combo parts could be useful, and recurring counterspells is also pretty good. He also has synergy with tutor spells and Merfolk Looter, if you choose to use that. He can also come out a turn earlier, which is big in EDH, although you could probably be casting a Traumatize with the same mana, which is respectable. But it's just my opinion.

I'm not sure if Cast Through Time would benefit the combo, either, but maybe?

Anyways, I love this format. So much. Standard is so broke right now, anyhow.

[Thranduil]

Cool stuff! Thanks EL! I changed the deck a little since I posted that, taking out some of the Merfolk and the Mirror of Fate (it was always a bit too dangerous). Can't remember what I put in instead...

Using Dralnu instead is a really interesting idea. I'm always a bit wary (perhaps too wary) about playing him, unfortunately, and so I try to avoid doing so unti Eye of the Storm is about to go off. Liliana is a must, actually, now you point it out.

Thranduil