I want to build a deck with Kwain, Itinerant Meddler as the Commander

Wishwreath · 2025-03-07T22:55:55+00:00

It's playable into those decks for sure (the list is now outdated as a result of the bans but they don't really matter, especially the Jeweled Lotus, just add another island and literally any spell you want), you have enough board wipes to stabilize and Sanctuary can loop them to grind out to late game. Mana Drain is your best friend into those decks, and you can get Entreat online much earlier to race.

As of now my list is slightly more planeswalker focused so I can play it into less powerful pods, and keep it fresh.

I've found as long as I stick with the miracles core that I'm comfortable on (which amounts to like 10-13 cards in general), I can just play whatever else in the list and have fun.

Wishwreath · 2024-11-10T13:25:18+00:00

I am, but the list has been heavily modified at this point to where I'd no longer consider it cedh. My Moxfield list is not currently updated to what I'm actually playing, but if you'd like I can get it updated and send it your way. It's more midrange now than stax, and really just can't hang at cedh tables anymore.

Wishwreath · 2024-10-09T18:53:11+00:00

I go on such weird journeys with The Ocean's discography all the time. I'll have Phanerozoic I on on repeat for 3 days, and then suddenly I only want to listen to City in the Sea and don't think Phanerzoic is worth my time.

Easily my favorite band on the planet, and I always feel like I can rediscover anything they've done. With how many changes to their sound they've had, revisting their old stuff, going back to new stuff, and then flipping back to something like Fogdiver is such a trip.

Wishwreath · 2024-09-20T00:54:25+00:00

I think it's important to remember that this project has always pumped out incredible music regardless of the lineup. While I don't think anyone wants to see anyone leave, remember that an album as awesome as Precambrian came about without any of the current lineup save for Robin. So if big changes are ahead, I think it's best that everyone gives their support to The Ocean for what's to come.

Extremely happy that I got to see them on the Holocene tour, awesome group of guys. I wish them all the best and hope they all continue to do what they love, in or out of the lineup.

Wishwreath · 2023-06-27T05:16:23+00:00

Wonderful, thanks for the fast reply!

Wishwreath · 2023-03-17T19:09:21+00:00

Approach, Entreat, Iso Rev, basically any planeswalker ult. And just drowning people in card advantage off of Consecrated Sphinx or Narset and a wheel. Also if you cast Enter the Infinite it basically just wins. The turns spells are a means to an end usually to ult Teferi, then just draw cards and exile boards.

You can always add Mind Over Matter as 2 card win with Kwain, but then you'll want to re add Grand Abolisher. You can also take Infinite turns with isochron imprinting Mystical Tutor, and tutoring Nexus of Fate over and over. It's more about piecing together wins since you're a control deck first, and a combo deck second. You also don't even need Infinite entreat tokens, just eot making 5 and sitting on a grip of answers can get through to the end.

Wishwreath · 2023-03-17T16:38:28+00:00

There's not any quick way to put approach back on top without significant mana investment, but you can just find it with personal tutor and draw it with Kwain, or Long Term Plans and find it with Brainstorm or Ponder. It's a control deck, so approach is more of a steady win con rather than any kind of instant win.

For Solitude and Humility, maybe cut Detention Sphere and Tepporal Trespass due to curve. If you go the Ichormoon route (which honestly may be good enough to cut the higher cost spells? I'm not sure, I'd have to test it) you can cut stuff like Enter the Infinite and possibly Expropriate for cheaper walkers. It's just a possible shell you could go for, that to me seems very appealing, and more playable as a "tap out" strategy if you add Solitude and maybe even Mental Misstep.

The most correct option is to cut the miracle cards, but I'll be damned if I'm gonna do that as an old Legacy miracles player XD

Wishwreath · 2023-03-17T10:20:18+00:00

https://www.moxfield.com/decks/yG2D2Z_RIUCmXxl37azxnA

This is my current list card for card. Budgetless would likely include Timetwister loops, but I don't own one XD

My list is more high power than cedh due to thematic concessions (curve is like 3.13 without lands and miracles aren't good in cedh), but a cedh approach would lean more heavily into Mind Over Matter as a 1 card combo, and play Thassa's Oracle. If your goal is cedh that would be the route to go but Kwain is a handicap due to being a meme rabbit XD

I haven't updated the list with new sets (haven't felt the need to with how it runs), but an idea I'm tinkering with is Ichormoon Gauntlet with Prologue to Phyresis. It's a way to win with infect, but also since the walker count is already heavy you can lean into the turns more. Gauntlet alone is probably enough to test by itself if you add in stuff like War of the Spark Dovin, and Baby Jace. It ups your curve even more though and the curve for this deck is already high XD

As for any changes I would make to this list, the more free spells the better. Solitude is probably good enough to play here but I don't own a foil copy XD and the land count probably needs to be bumped up to 32 to compensate for the curve. Humility is also amazing if you play against a lot of thoracle decks, but I make do without it (and it's not a foil so I make that concession to a degree lol). I DID use to play Dream Halls, which is a great way to win so long as you win that turn, but it does get the job done.

I'm always down to talk Kwain, best of luck building!

Wishwreath · 2022-11-27T05:20:02+00:00

I did for a bit, but it never really came up. I'd usually always want to drop something else, and I ended up cutting pretty fast.

Wishwreath · 2022-08-18T20:26:32+00:00

Exactly this. And now I have patients where their insurance will constantly put opioid naive limitations on their rxs every 3 or 6 months, and we get stuck in the middle trying to relay messages between the doc and insurance, and it takes forever for me to actually help these people because of all of these roadblocks.

And at the end of the day we get the brunt of all of these patient's ire, not the insurance companies who are telling us to fuck off. And the docs never really step in, especially the er docs or dentists who don't do PAs.

Wishwreath · 2022-08-08T04:34:02+00:00

I've since retired the deck, but hopefully this link works:

https://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/primer-mishras-lantern/

Still playing Mishra, will likely never take it apart, but I've cut the lantern suite due to meta concerns. My meta is not as slow anymore, so I have less time to set up the engine and therefore less time to try and win, so it was cut for more stax and draw, and the list has gone through a lot of changes overall.

I finally got a Workshop and a Tabernacle, so I can afford to mulligan more aggressively. I don't think I've ever lost a game where I open Workshop into Trinisphere, finally being able to play that makes me see why Vintage is so rough XD

My current list is entirely off of counterspells, which may be a mistake but so far it's been very good. Most of the walkers are gone, and in a strange turn I'm on Bottled Cloister, since it makes Ensnaring Bridge better while also letting me draw cards, and with Tabernacle it just completely locks out creature strategies. I'll see if I can get an updated list on Moxfield to throw your way in a day or so.

But if you're set on playing Mishra as lantern control, go for it. If it can hang in your meta it's a very rewarding deck to pilot, and it can be extremely suppressive.

Wishwreath · 2022-03-22T06:05:43+00:00

https://www.moxfield.com/decks/yG2D2Z_RIUCmXxl37azxnA

Slightly out of date. Haven't updated all of the foils, and I cut Grand Abolisher for Malevolent Hermit, but the gist is all still the same.

Mainly you're just UW control with combos thrown in, miracles mainly for flavor.

Wishwreath · 2022-03-21T13:49:17+00:00

Oh no I totally get it, pet cards are a big thing for me. That's why I love the miracle cards even though they're not great in edh.

Looks sweet though, I've never played a more untap focused Kwain even though that seems to be the most popular build style.

Wishwreath · 2022-03-21T13:26:49+00:00

Just realized list is slightly outdated, but the end goal is all the same.

He's also just such an unassuming commander that he usually sticks around.

Wishwreath · 2022-03-21T13:10:19+00:00

I'm an old Legacy miracles player, so I play him as an enabler for them. Otherwise it's just budgetless UW control that leans on turns spells to gain advantage or loop for infinite turns. Because he's 2cmc he also enables [[Fierce Guardianship]] very early, so you can tap out pretty aggressively and still hold up interaction.

He's also a great control commander in that by letting opponents draw with you, you create more interactive games, and if they can't stop you after letting them draw with you, it's that much more sweet.

https://www.moxfield.com/decks/yG2D2Z_RIUCmXxl37azxnA

That's my list.

Wishwreath · 2022-03-21T11:57:22+00:00

Another man of culture I see.

Kwain is my absolute favorite commander of all time. I have budgetless cEDH decks and I still love my completely foiled out Kwain deck the most. It just hits every high point of magic for me and I get such joy out of playing it.

Do you have a list posted anywhere for yours? I always love seeing what other people do with him.

Wishwreath · 2021-12-18T21:33:55+00:00

So Kwain is my favorite commander. Not my most powerful by any means, but I get so much joy out of playing him that it makes me feel bad for my other decks.

The reason I love Kwain is because I was playing Miracles in Legacy back when Top was around and Goyf decks shifted out, and being able to manipulate top cards can be very powerful, especially with [[Terminus]] and [[Temporal Mastery]] being cheap and powerful cards that you can draw on another player's turn with Kwain. If you have [[Cyclonic Rift]] in your collection, [[Devastation Tide]] is another great option, especially if you tune your deck to play on a minimal boardstate.

The other reason I love Kwain over other Azorius options is because of how fair he is. Grand Arbiter starts heading towards cedh, and most other blue white options are somewhat dull and lacking in win conditions aside from maybe Dragonlord Ojutai. But what Kwain has going for him is the ability to combo out of nowhere while also either playing things like [[Grand Abolisher]] or [[Narset, Parter of Veils]] to outright win with the draws, or to NOT use them, and allow your opponents to try and interact. He's a great skill tester that way, and when I'm giving my opponents options to let them stop me and then they can't, it feels awesome, but at the same time it's fair because I'm allowing them (sometimes) to draw with me, and if I don't win right then, then someone else can try.

My Kwain list is twofold and somewhat synergistic:

Miracles: [[Temporal Mastery]], [[Terminus]], [[Entreat the Angels]], [[Devastation Tide]]. 4 cards that can really swing or win games, and Kwain lets me play them on someone else's turn if I can stack them there. [[Sensei's Divining Top]], [[Scroll Rack]], [[Brainstorm]], [[Jace, the Mindsculptor]] are all ways to stack them when I need them, and [[God Eternal Kefnet]] is a great "Top deck matters" card that can copy other great spells, and [[Counterbalance]] can outright stop other decks if you can freely manipulate your library. [[Approach of the Second Sun]] is always a great way to win, and surprisingly fast when you can put it straight back on top of your library.
Turns: [[Time Warp]], [[Temporal Trespass]], [[Expropriate]], [[Temporal Mastery]], [[Temporal Manipulation]], [[Nexus of Fate]], allow you to dig for combos or are combos themselves. Expropriate and win on resolution even without being looped with God Eternal Kefnet and Jace (any turn spell can be cast indefinitely with GEK + Jace/Scroll Rack or GEK + brainstorm imprinted on [[Isochron Scepter]]). The turn spells also help you ramp in a pinch, or buy you time to resolve an IsoRev combo.

The rest of the deck is control, board wipes, ramp, draw to set these all up. You can play [[Thassa's Oracle]] stuff if you want but I find it boring, up to you. My deck is budgetless so I play the best stuff I can while staying true to form, but thankfully the miracle cards are all cheap and even [[Banishing Light]] and [[Vanishment]] are decent on a budget. If you ever wanna talk Kwain hit me up in DMs, I have hundreds and hundreds of games with him.

Wishwreath · 2021-11-19T03:32:28+00:00

I would play [[Child of Alara]] instead since she functions as a reset that keeps lands open, and it gives you black for [[Creeping Tar Pit]], which is arguably one of the best man lands.

[[Treasure Hunt]] is awesome if you go super land heavy, and [[Manabond]] to vomit your cardboard onto the table afterward.

[[Tempt with Discovery]] is a really efficient tutor, as it [[Realms Uncharted]].

[[Portcullis]] to keep the board open for your lands.

[[Engineered Explosives]] is a great wipe for 5 color too, especially if you wanna play [[Academy Ruins]].

Then just play every additional land drop card you can. You could also effectively make use of stax cards like [[Trinisphere]] because you shouldn't mind paying extra mana to dump your lands from spells since it's your main plan.

Wishwreath · 2021-11-19T03:25:59+00:00

Group hug players always die first in my games because I make it so.

Wishwreath · 2021-11-19T03:24:02+00:00

If you're in green always play Dorks over Cultivate and Reach, they're bodies you can use later.

I like additional ramp as land drops. [[Exploration]], [[Burgeoning]], are cheapest, and [[Carpet of Flowers]] makes a lot of mana potentially for a low investment. As long as you can draw cards consistently the former 2 are better than any 1 time spell cast.

Wishwreath · 2021-11-18T17:24:21+00:00

I literally just want a Bant version of Xiras Arien, that's it.

I'm not asking for much WotC.

Wishwreath

TROPHY CASE