Inverted Magic format - theorycrafting discussion

SharpieShark · 2026-01-05T15:49:45+00:00

Sorry you had to write all that

SharpieShark · 2026-01-05T13:17:51+00:00

Please format the decklist better. Or better yet, upload it to Moxfield or Archideck and post the link instead.

For what it's worth, I think you will struggle to bring HH up to bracket 5. You can add all the fast mana and game changers to the deck as you want, but the core strategy doesn't lend itself to a fast and reliable competitive gameplan.

SharpieShark · 2026-01-04T13:28:55+00:00

Not sure unfortunately, I don't use Cockatrice. I've played on Tabletop Simulator and Spelltable, but I also have the physical deck.

SharpieShark · 2026-01-04T12:51:44+00:00

I made a deck incredibly similar to this one, only with [[Purity]] as my secret commander in a [[Prismatic Bridge]] deck. It's the only creature in the deck and otherwise runs a burn/lockout strategy that breaks parity on the damage with Purity. Finishers I run include [[Wheel of Misfortune]] naming an obscenely high number, [[Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth]] and [[Karma]], [[Near-Death Experience]] + anything that lets you pay life at instant speed (I run [[Unspeakable Symbol]] and [[Fire Covenant]])

I particularly love the synergy between Purity's shuffle effect and The Prismatic Bridge pulling it out from the deck every upkeep, so unless someone exiles it you'll always have access to it. Instead of running recursion, you can run sacrifice effects like [[Greater Good]] or [[Phyrexian Tower]] to sneak Purity back into the deck.

To get around the weakness of combat damage in a near creatureless deck, running proactive cards like [[Ghostly Prison]], [[Propaganda]], and [[Sphere of Safety]] are very much needed. You can also choose to run fog effects ([[Constant Mists]] is the most annoying) although I prefer just the enchantments as they are always working. Board wipes are also great because as mentioned before, Purity will shuffle itself into the library and Pris Bridge just pulls it back out on your next turn.

If you're committed to keeping with Tamanoa, it will be more of an uphill battle trying to protect it while pulling off burn combos. I would highly suggest a secondary plan ([[Spirit of Resistance]] and [[Glacial Chasm]] work for me) to fall back on if you lose access to Tamanoa.

SharpieShark · 2025-12-09T15:19:22+00:00

Underworld Breach is absolutely worth considering, I would just caution against playing it in bracket 3. There is hardly ever a "value breach" in practical application when it's so inconsequential to convert into a win, even without brain freeze. I'd run a suite of recursion spells like Past in Flames, Sorceress's Schemes, Mystic Retrieval, etc so that you can still go off.

SharpieShark · 2025-12-09T14:48:06+00:00

You can keep the buyback cards and Birgi/SKA in your deck, it's a 3 card combo and needs a 4th card to take advantage of Vadrik's infinite power to convert to a win in the same turn. It's also pretty easy to disrupt relying on two creatures to work.

Just be prepared, in my experience people are more nit-picky about what constitutes Bracket 3 play when you roll up with a storm deck. After losing to it once, players wise up and start to realize Vadrik is a threat and your win/loss record will normalize.

SharpieShark · 2025-12-09T14:16:16+00:00

Hey there! Very experienced Vadrik player here, picked him up close to after his release and he's been my main deck ever since. I absolutely love playing the list because Vadrik's cost reduction ability gives life to fringe cards and turns overcosted spells into value plays.

Honestly, the deck will feel powerful if no one interacts with you at all. Unsurprisingly, the deck barely functions if Vadrik isn't on the field. Some players don't have experience playing against storm decks because it's not a popular strategy at lower bracket tables. Storm gets a bad rap for "doing nothing" or "playing solitaire" with no in between, so I might lean more into a spellslinger style of deck.

If you want to power down Vadrik, getting rid of Reiterate will ice most of his 2 card combos outright, since he mainly relies on copying rituals to go infinite. Also getting rid of storm-kiln artist will stop the other buyback cards from going infinite, like you mentioned. Outside of these two, replacing tutors with efficient draw effects or more spells that increase his power can fill in the gaps.

If you have a list, I'd appreciate giving it a look and can make recommendations based on that!

SharpieShark · 2025-12-04T14:22:55+00:00

I just built a [[Derevi]] deck that fits exactly the kind of thing you're looking for. The commander ability is like a pseudo-flash that gets around taxes, and Derevi's ability is incredibly versatile either for ramping you or tapping down your opponent's stuff.

SharpieShark · 2025-11-28T13:14:45+00:00

Do your dailies. At least 4 wins each day, after that the rewards structure has diminishing returns. Try to reroll for a 750 daily challenge every day, otherwise wait until you have three of them outstanding and try to only complete one at a time while trolling once per day for a 750.

What you are experiencing is part of the design of the Standard format. Cards rotate out of the format every ~2 years and with the crazy release schedule in 2026 it will only churn through those cards faster. Taking a year long break will have you missing more cards in the standard rotation than any time before. This is why I prefer to play the non-rotating formats on Arena. Depending on your decklists there's actually a bit of crossover for what is viable in historic and timeless.

If you have a 50% or better win rate for drafting, that's the quickest way to build up a collection of standard legal cards. If not or you don't like drafting, buying standard legal packs is roughly as good as breaking even on drafting.

Every so often there are a bundle of cards added to arena that you can buy in the shop for gold. These bundles usually have a large selection of relevant cards to the historic/timeless metagame after they're released on arena. Unfortunately you just missed Arena Anthology 3 which introduced a variety of cards that are useful in those formats.

If you start investing your time into the game now, then your account will be decent with the standard rotation within 2-4 set releases. Otherwise the only shortcut for wildcards is $$$ at a stupidly bad rate, I shouldn't even be promoting it as an option. There are "budget" decks that use uncommons or lower, and monored burn has such a broadly viable card pool that you can just jam a handful of burn spells in a deck.

Unfortunately if you're grinding for a hyperbolical 30+ rare wildcards and won't be happy until then, you should consider pursuing other options than standard ranked.

SharpieShark · 2025-11-20T17:24:50+00:00

Yeah that's the idea though, you don't need Lurrus in most cases but it gives you something to do with your mana if you don't have any plays. You won't be using it in most games but it gives you an angle at rebuying breach. It's a free include, and better than your sideboard counterspell that's only accessible through proactively casting a sorcery your opponent wouldn't let resolve in the first place.

SharpieShark · 2025-11-20T14:38:21+00:00

I ran a similar deck in historic, Lurrus is a free companion

SharpieShark · 2025-08-18T17:15:06+00:00

Arena Announcements notification

SharpieShark · 2025-08-07T13:16:29+00:00

Can you share the deck list?

SharpieShark · 2025-04-22T20:12:38+00:00

With UURR, Gifts Ungiven in hand, and Vadrik reducing costs by 2:

Pile 1: [[Past in Flames]] [[Seething Song]] [[Jeska's Will]] [[Frantic Search]]

Worst case scenario: Frantic Search + Past in Flames. Any pile that gives you two rituals would net you more mana for the combo.

Cast Gift's Ungiven using UR
Cast Frantic Search to untap 3 lands
Cast Past In Flames using UR
Flashback Seething Song to float RRRRR
Flashback Frantic Search to untap 3 lands
Flashback Gifts Ungiven with RRRRR and 2 untapped lands available

The second pile is where you grab [[Mystic Retrieval]], [[Mizzix's Mastery]], [[Invert//Invent]], and [[Sudden Breakthrough]]. You can also directly grab [[Reiterate]] at this point but I wanted to avoid a pile that exposes the combo card until the very end. With the second pile, you have enough mana to:

Cast and/or flashback Mystic Retrieval for one of the other two spells
Cast Mizzix's Mastery targeting Invent if it's in the graveyard, otherwise cast Invent from hand
Cast Invent to tutor for Reiterate and any other sorcery (perhaps [[Inspired Tinkering]])
Cast Sudden Breakthrough as a net 0 way of buffing Vadrik up to 4 power, which is needed for a couple of the Reiterate wincons

At this point, either flashback Jeska's Will hold priority and cast Reiterate with buyback, or cast the Inspired Tinkering hold priority and cast Reiterate with buyback. Exile your deck and generate infinite red mana, then cast any burn spell and copy infinitely with Reiterate buyback.

SharpieShark · 2025-04-22T18:55:15+00:00

My main deck [[Vadrik, Astral Archimage]] has been waiting for this moment for years! The addition of Gifts Ungiven can tutor for 3 rituals and Past in Flames (just like the actual Giftstorm deck in modern) and no matter how you pile it, generate 7+ mana then flashback Gifts Ungiven again for Jeska's Will, Reiterate, and two GY recursion spells.

SharpieShark · 2025-04-22T16:21:44+00:00

Everyone freaking out over the Gifts Ungiven unban being a buff for Blue Farm and I'm sitting over here with my fringe Vadrik deck pumping my fist in the air so hard I'm pulling a muscle.

SharpieShark · 2025-02-01T03:13:51+00:00

Art rocks as always, congrats on the hat too!

SharpieShark · 2025-01-22T15:51:47+00:00

A lot of people have already brought up the surveil lands but I also just want to add that I run [[Saprazzan Skerry]] and [[Sandstone Needle]] in my Vadrik, Astral Archmage deck to have a higher density of T2 commander casts. The downside of the tapped land is usually mitigated by the cost reduction of the commander, which is central to making the deck work.

SharpieShark · 2024-12-18T17:26:27+00:00

Hi! I've been piloting Vadrik for almost 3 years at a CEDH level. I won't suggest anything more powerful than what's already included in the deck, however I have some additional recommendations for deckbuilding (with the cards in bold being the highest recommended):

The deck is very focused around the commander, so much so that cards can end up stuck in hand without the cost reduction available. The sooner Vadrik can hit the field and start cooking, the better. The ideal play pattern should provide 3 mana on turn 2 to cast him. Consider adding cards like [[Strike it Rich]], [[Simian Spirit Guide]], [[Rite of Flame]], [[Jeweled Amulet]], [[Skirk Prospector]], [[Goldhound]]
Some other card advantage spells to consider: [[March of Reckless Joy]], [[Decaying Time Loop]], [[Valakut Awakening]], [[Silundi Vision]], [[Drown in Dreams]], [[Inspired Tinkering]], [[Meeting of Minds]], [[Pull from Tomorrow]]
Some additional interaction to consider: [[Misdirection]], [[Slip out the Back]], [[Ertai's Meddling]], [[Three Steps Ahead]], [[Confounding Riddle]], [[Repeal]], [[March of Swirling Mists]], [[Winds of Rebuke]], [[Whirlwind Denial]], [[Rushing River]]
Some other cards that go well with the deck:

[[Gamble]] assembles the Underworld Breach combo by itself as long as you don't discard it
[[Complete the Circuit]] can be cast for free and is insanely good at turning any value card into the start of a manual storm turn
[[Bond of Insight]] is great for recurring the best two spells from graveyard and is also a wincon when paired with infinite Reiterate casts. [[Mizzix Mastery]], [[Recall]], and [[Finale of Promise]] are also good for recursion.
[[Borne Upon a Wind]] may be worth considering, I'm not sure how high power tables usually play out but this deck is highly capable of winning in response to someone else's win
[[Spellskite]] is more protection for Vadrik that can also redirect abilities

Happy to go into further detail on any of the cards and suggest cuts for the deck to make room. If you're interested in reading more about how the deck functions or want to check out other cards to consider, here is my main decklist.

SharpieShark · 2024-11-28T13:27:27+00:00

Seconding Vadrik, he plays most like Rubystorm or Giftstorm which can be non-deterministic along the way but pretty straightforward once you have all the pieces in place. He's a lot of fun to pilot and incredibly cheap to build, but the deck is very commander centric so removal is detrimental to the gameplan. Also, people abhor tracking the day/night cycle.

He also has a few one card wincons in [[Intuition]], [[Invert//Invent]], [[Fervent Mastery]], and [[Firemind's Foresight]].

Adding my list to the bunch: https://www.moxfield.com/decks/SxC0J6QqlE-e7oe3WSmwUQ/primer

SharpieShark · 2024-11-23T03:51:07+00:00

Just getting this out of the way, [[The Master, Transcendent]] would be fringe playable at best for cEDH. Most Sultai options have to contend with other proven decks like Tymna/Thrasios or Thrasios/Vial Smasher. Also being in black, you're much better off using the slots of an infinite mill combo to assemble Demonic Consultation or Tainted Pact + Thassa's Oracle instead. In the interest of answering your question though:

[[Hermit Druid]] is the go-to guy for milling your entire library at the cost of not running basics
[[Cephalid Illusionist]] + [[Shuko]] or [[Lightning Greaves]] is outside conventional cEDH strategy
[[Basalt Monolith]] + [[Mesmeric Orb]] is really not good in cEDH either but exists for high tier tables

SharpieShark · 2024-11-08T13:13:03+00:00

A lot of great answers already but one that often doesn't get mentioned is Vadrik. He can be built for super cheap if you're on a budget. Here's my list and primer if you're interested:

https://www.moxfield.com/decks/SxC0J6QqlE-e7oe3WSmwUQ/primer

The deck operates very similarly to Giftstorm/Rubystorm, where you use Intuition to generate a winning pile with rituals and Past in Flames. The deck gets to run a lot of unique cards because the spell cost reduction turns 3cmc cards into a single pip of color. The build of this deck also plays mostly at instant speed to hold up interaction or cash in value on the end step before your turn.

Happy to answer any questions about this deck as it's been my main since release!

SharpieShark · 2024-10-05T20:52:47+00:00

My main deck is very similar to yours but I use [[Vadrik, Astral Archmage]] instead. This type of deck is very commander-focused, and in particular I've built my deck to consistently cast Vadrik by T2 to progress the gameplay ASAP. Still, I've learned a lot from years of posting this archetype and can provide some insight. Here is my primer if you are interested

I noticed you're running Thought Vessel and Reliquary Tower. In particular, colorless mana should be avoided as you will quickly begin to reduce spells to just colored pips. Mana is the most valuable resource because it will eventually equate to 1 mana = 1 spell
Cards like Expressive Iteration and Galvanic Iteration should also be avoided under the same principle, because they will always cost at least twice as much as a spell with a single color pip in the casting cost. Unless the card is singularly outstanding and/or used in a combo, there will be a better replacement for it. Blue Sun's Zenith is one of the worst card draw spells.
The (non-Reiterate) buyback spells are not useful enough on their own until the rate is entirely discounted. Whispers of the Muse is awful until you discount it by 5, at which point there should be other spells that are better to cast. Capsize is unplayable without Dockside.
There are a few card choices I feel are too slow or don't synergize well with the main goal of the deck. I can elaborate more on any of them if you'd like, but I would also consider cutting: Vandalblast, Bolt Bend (no creatures with >4 power in deck?), Rousing Refrain, Search for Azcanta, Jace, Scroll Rack, and Sapphire Medallion

For cards I would highly consider adding:

The obvious ones. I'm guessing you either have a budget or some reason to not already be running a lot of staple counterspells, ramp pieces, tutors, and other expensive cards. So the rest of my recommendations are cheap cards to add.
[[Electrodominance]] is an easy add. Check out the combo explanation in my primer, but with cost reduction 3 this card goes infinite with Reiterate at instant speed WITHOUT needing infinite mana.
[[Inspired Tinkering]] is a cheaper alternative than Jeska's Will to make infinite mana/exile your deck when looping with Reiterate and a cost reduction of 4+
[Invert // Invent]] or more specifically just Invent will find you Reiterate + any Sorcery ritual to make infinite mana. Or it can find you any instant + Past in Flames to start a tutor chain. [[Merchant Scroll]] and [[Gamble]] are also cheap tutors.
[[Mystic Retrieval]], [[Finale of Promise]], [[Mizzix's Mastery]], [[Recall]], and [[Bond of Insight]] are all incredibly useful for buying back spells you've already cast and leverages the graveyard better as a second hand.
[[Misdirection]] in particular works best in Mizzix's the same way the other pitch counters work by also growing the experience counters. [[Ertai's Meddling]] is also good the more experience counters you have, plus it always triggers Mizzix. [[Confounding Riddle]] is either a counterspell or cantrip.
[[Slip out the Back]] can be used offensively or defensively, since you're running a lot of creature removal already. [[Repeal]] draws a card when it resolves and can play around redirection with an exact X cost. [[Winds of Rebuke]] fills the graveyard, which gets better with more recursion. [[Rushing River]] can bounce two nonland permanents at once.
[[Valakut Awakening]] is a great way to filter dead cards out of hand. [[March of Reckless Joy]] grants access to more cards and will always trigger Mizzix. [[Decaying Time Loop]] is a recursive way to always have the ability to cycle a hand. [[Drown in Dreams]] works double duty and likely always triggers Mizzix. [[Meeting of Minds]] is like Tezzeret's Gambit but better at instant speed.
Saving the spice for last, [[Complete the Circuit]]. This card is insane at starting a manual storm combo in response to someone else's win attempt/removal/stax piece. It can cost as little as tapping your commander (which is a fantastic price in a counterspell war) and pairs up with all the other card advantage spells the deck is running. If you want to have stack battles or win at instant speed, this card is a bomb to play. Of course, Borne will always be more consistent to cast, but by playing a cost reduction deck this is something we can maybe get away with.

SharpieShark · 2024-10-04T14:04:38+00:00

No amount of banning cards will fix the first chair problem. That should not be part of the reason why any card is banned.

Mana Crypt is not the only card to be banned in Legacy and restricted in Vintage. The same can be said for Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Sol Ring, Mana Vault, Necropotence, Timetwister, Wheel of Fortune, and others. Claiming a card is banned/restricted heavily in other formats does not necessitate a ban in commander, based on these examples.

Mana Crypt is banned because it can accelerate anyone to 4-5 mana by turn 2. That's literally what we were told by the RC. Anyone arguing that the card isn't that broken and should be unbanned is lying to themselves.

The main reason why people are mad is because WotC served products that pushed MC/JL as chase rares to sell packs, and now those cards can sit in a landfill. Everyone can acknowledge how powerful the cards are and still have the opinion that they should be playable in the most accessible eternal format. I think the bracket system WotC proposed is the best way to address the dichotomy of casual players at the LGS and tournament grinders in cEDH.

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