Commander Showcase : Niv-Mizzet, Parun
Written by Adam the Gathering - Aug 26 2022
Welcome to the first instalment of the Commander Showcase, where we’ll be taking a look at the almighty founder of the Izzet guild; Niv-Mizzet, Parun! This spell slinging Commander, built around drawing cards to deal damage, is one of my all time favourite decks to play and is incredibly powerful for a £135 build (price correct at time of publication.
Niv’s abilities make for a very simple game plan; cast spells, draw cards, kill everything and everyone! The red and blue colour pair can facilitate a huge amount of card draw, so cards like Windfall and Wheel of Fate can dish out a great deal of damage. Especially with the inclusion of Teferi’s Ageless Insight to double your card draw. Just make sure you’re running a Laboratory Maniac or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries for those longer games where you might draw your whole deck.
Now, your commander isn’t the only one looking to throw some damage around. Guttersnipe and Electrostatic Field are excellent creatures for this type of deck, dealing damage to each opponent whenever you play one of your 30+ Instants or Sorceries. And to really double down on throwing damage, the inclusion of Torbran, Thane of Red Fell can be absolutely devastating for your opponents!
With so many spells to sling, this deck benefits greatly from a few cost reducers like Goblin Electromancer and Jace’s Sanctum. Making spells cheaper and restocking your hand whenever you play one can allow for some very explosive turns, so the inclusion of Thousand-Year Storm and Grapeshot will straight up end games.
If you’re looking to focus on storming off with plenty of spells then the absolute must have card in your Niv deck is going to be Mizzix’s Mastery. Fill the graveyard with plenty of Instants and Sorceries and then overloading this spell will quite often equate to 50+ damage, and with a grapeshot in the pile, can easily be doubled! But if you’re looking for a more competitive play style, then Niv can graciously combo off with the addition of a Curiosity, Ophidian Eye or Tandem Lookout.
One important thing to get right with this deck is your mana base. Niv needing 3 blue mana and 3 red mana exactly can shut games down without the right lands in play. Plenty of 2 colour lands and mana generating artifacts are vital for getting your commander onto the board early game. Not to say colourless mana is bad here, a sol ring will always pay that commander tax and get you right back into the game and a Reliquary Tower is going to help you keep hold of all that card draw.
In summary, this deck is one of the most fun to pull out at FNM and I enjoy it as much now as I did when I first started playing commander. It’s resourceful, resilient and rock & roll! If you want to check out the full deck list then follow the link below.
See you next time!
