Arjun, Shifting Storm

[Ulka]

I finally wanted to post my Arjun list, which has become one of my longest put together lists. while I don't play it often, the deck is a blast to play in the right group and I figured its time to share the list for possible feedback and maybe even to inspire another player to try out the shifting storm that is Arjun.

Arjun. Shifting Storm

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Commander (1)

1 Arjun, the Shifting Flame

Artifact (15)

1 Aether Vial

1 Alhammarret's Archive

1 Chromatic Sphere

1 Chromatic Star

1 Chrome Mox

1 Elixir of Immortality

1 Everflowing Chalice

1 Helm of Awakening

1 Izzet Signet

1 Lotus Petal

1 Mishra's Bauble

1 Sol Ring

1 Talisman of Creativity

1 Tormod's Crypt

1 Urza's Bauble

Creature (11)

1 Cloud of Faeries

1 Goblin Electromancer

1 Laboratory Maniac

1 Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind

1 Obstinate Familiar

1 Psychosis Crawler

1 Runaway Steam-Kin

1 Storm-Kiln Artist

1 Thassa's Oracle

1 The Locust God

1 Treasonous Ogre

Enchantment (4)

1 Rhystic Study

1 Sunbird's Invocation

1 Thought Reflection

1 Underworld Breach

Instant (19)

1 Brainstorm

1 Counterspell

1 Desperate Ritual

1 Expansion // Explosion

1 Fact or Fiction

1 Fists of Flame

1 Force of Will

1 Frantic Search

1 Gush

1 High Tide

1 Impulse

1 Mystical Tutor

1 Opt

1 Pyretic Ritual

1 Remand

1 Reverberate

1 Seething Song

1 Snap

1 Turnabout

Sorcery (17)

1 Blasphemous Act

1 Bonus Round

1 Faithless Looting

1 Gitaxian Probe

1 Inner Fire

1 Jeska's Will

1 Mana Geyser

1 Merchant Scroll

1 Ponder

1 Portent

1 Preordain

1 Reforge the Soul

1 Serum Visions

1 Sleight of Hand

1 Treasure Cruise

1 Wheel of Fortune

1 Windfall

Land (33)

1 Bloodstained Mire

1 Cascade Bluffs

1 Command Tower

1 Desolate Lighthouse

1 Frostboil Snarl

9 Island

7 Mountain

1 Mystic Sanctuary

1 Polluted Delta

1 Reliquary Tower

1 Riverglide Pathway

1 Scalding Tarn

1 Shivan Reef

1 Spirebluff Canal

1 Steam Vents

1 Sulfur Falls

1 Training Center

1 Treasure Vault

1 Volatile Fjord

Approximate Total Cost:

[Feyd_Ruin]

Teferi's Ageless Insight?
Not only your commander, but also quite a few card draw spells, as well as wheels in here.
Is it too good for what you're doing?

[Ulka]

It's one I keep forgetting to add to my cart when I order cards. It's silly I've missed it like 6 times so far

[Ulka]

Okay I wanted to finally do a physical post of cards Im considering adding from recent sets as I haven't had this thread before thus I've missed important cards such as Teferi's Ageless Insight.

Consider - Solid Cantrip and an easy slot into the deck imo.

Strike It Rich - A card that allows for later ramp setup which is nice but also allows for flashback for dead hands with only lands.

Emry, Lurker of the Loch - Im considering Emry mostly a source of Ramp with Lotus Petal or a source of card draw with Mishra's Bauble. Im still not sold on it in the list but I think it might be worth it.

Baral, Chief of Compliance: another Goblin electromancer variant. Seems like I should make space for him.

I'd love any card suggestions for testing if people have any

[Magiqmaster]

How about using teferi's puzzle box as a backup for your general? This card can also screw your opponent's hands in a major way. Just a thought.

[Ulka]

I realized I never responded to you @Magiqmaster. I'm not a huge fan of Teferi's puzzle box. I would rather include Mindmoil buti haven't becasue typically I can protect Arjun once he is out or i just sandbag another turn or two before I try again.

Eruth, Tormented Prophet is an intresting card for this deck as it might provide the perfect backup for allowing me to storm off but its is counter productive if Arjun is out. still I'm very intrigued by this card.


I'm also very pumped for Stormcarved Coast for this deck as manafixing is huge

[RowanKeltizar]

The draw doublers are dangerous with Mindmoil effects, aka your commander, just be careful! Being able to bounce your doubler is important.

I have other feedback but ran out of time!

[Ulka]

I appreciate the feedback!

Yep I have killed myself more than once messing with it but its why I play the Obstinate Familiar and Aether Vial. the idea is to play the vial and let it hit 1 before I try to storm off as then I can drop the familiar to stay alive.

That said, I keep wanting to look into Trinket Mage Packages and how to better utilize artifacts in the build. becasue they are often free wheels for me.

[RowanKeltizar]

Ok, getting back here for more feedback.

Have you tried Ominous Seas before? I also like Chasm Skulker.

Have you tried Gamble? One of the few tutors in these colors. There is also Long-Term Plans which might be a good fit for this deck since when you wheel it goes straight to your hand. Seems like a couple more tutors would help you access your win cons a litte more consistently.

Dream Halls and of course Omniscience go infinite with your commander. I've always liked that interaction. I used to do the same thing in my Niv-Mizzet deck when I was running those and Mindmoil. Dream Halls can just be a fun card in general, although it can totally backfire also.

I would maybe try Fabricate so you can get Psychosis Crawler and other stuff. A lot of times I would just get a mana rock with it.

Birgi, God of Storytelling // Harnfel, Horn of Bounty I think would go a long way in this deck. You can keep chaining spells for free off her ability.

Prismari Command, Visions of Ruin and Unexpected Windfall have been running great for me. The little bit of ramp they provide is quite welcome to get my commander out earlier.

Board wipes? I only see Blasphemous Act I do think at least getting a Cyclonic Rift would be worth your while, but there are other options too. I am liking the new Consuming Tide.

Targeted removal? Where's Reality Shift? I've also had success with Reality Ripple since it saves your commander from removal also and stops combos. There's Suspend Rapid Hybridization Chaos Warp

I think you should consider Mission Briefing and Shreds of Sanity they are two of the best recursion spells outside of Underworld Breach.

Insight and Mystic Remora are the two other passive draw enchantments that have played well for me.

You only have 3 counterspells and I question if that's enough. I think protecting Arjun and your draw doublers is going to be pretty important. I've said this before a lot but I really think izzet spellslinger needs those control spells. Thankfully there are plenty of good ones to choose from. Swan Song Force of Negation Fierce Guardianship Deflecting Swat are all good fits I think. There are also some decent 1U counters like Memory Lapse or Delay if you are more on a budget. Tibalt's Trickery is decent. Narset's Reversal is great.

Possible cuts:

Aether Vial. I understand you're reasoning here, but honestly I think you'd be better off with something like a Chain of Vapor that can bounce either your doubler or Arjun. I just feel like Aether Vial tends to be pretty dead unless you are in super dense creature deck and even then I would question it.

I'm not 100% sold on all your 0 and 1 drop artifacts. I know you are running them to trigger your commander for free, but I think you have enough 1 cmc spells to do that fairly efficiently anyway. I would just worry about these not doing enough on their own in a vacuum or early game. Running more ramp and interaction I think is more important.

Portent and Sleight of Hand Both seem bad compared to other options. You mentioned Consider and I think that's a great swap. But there's also Careful Study and Thrill of Possibility. Visions of Beyond is also decent.

I kind of question the value of running wheels when your commander himself is a wheel effect. I think fattening your handsize would be more important so you get more fuel for your commander's ability. Giving your opponent's new hands isn't always a great idea. That's why I ended up cutting Windfall from my own list.

Thought Reflection is an easy swap out for Teferi's Ageless Insight.

Treasure Cruise - I've never like this card. I think it's bad. Mainly because it can't be reliably cast early game. You are going to get WAY more draw with a draw doubler in play and any of your cheap draw spells. Pull from Tomorrow or Sea Gate Restoration // Sea Gate, Reborn or even Recurring Insight would be better imo.

Cloud of Faeries - doesn't really seem to fit? I know you are trying to get those free triggers, but I just don't see this having enough of an impact on its own.

Sunbird's Invocation - it's a neat card no doubt, i can see why would want to run it, but that cmc isn't great for the effect. We get a lot of card advantage in izzet already.

Inner Fire - I think this could be a different ritual. As much as I like the card thematically, I don't know if it's consistent enough. I think Unexpected Windfall would be a better pick.

Fact or Fiction Expansion // Explosion higher cmc spells that I think could be something more efficient.