Lazav, the Multifarious | Graveyard Shapeshifting Voltron

[materpillar]

I'm thinking of giving Mask of Griselbrand a whirl. We've got some huge beefy, non-evasive boys. It seems great to slap on Necrogoyf and friends.

[materpillar]

In:

+ Baleful Strix
+ Cabal Initiate
+ Gingerbrute
+ Necrogoyf
+ Arcane Signet
+ Resculpt
+ Sol Ring
+ Tolarian Winds
+ Training Grounds
+ Unmarked Grave
+ Island
+ Swamp

Out:

- Cavern Harpy
- Faerie Impostor
- Jace's Archivist
- Notion Thief
- Dark Deal
- Library of Leng
- Mnemonic Betrayal
- Sudden Spoiling
- Thran Turbine
- Unstable Obelisk
- Fetid Pools
- Ghost Quarter

This time around i mostly tweaked the noncreatures and stream-lined the mana base. Cutting Notion Thief has been quite a relief. While it's not Hullbreacher, it is still a card that never had an interesting impact on the course of the game.
Necrogoyf is yet another beefy bastard and Cabal Initiate provides both another discard option as well as lifelink to survive a little longer, just in case.

I'm slotting in Form of the Mulldrifter because it's hilarious.

That one gave me a good grin and perfectly fits your deck!

Cutting Thran Turbine for Sol Ring? I am disappointed.

[Toshi]

Cutting Thran Turbine for Sol Ring? I am disappointed.

Trust me, so am i.

Unfortunately my build has been part of a dilemma for a while now. It has been very consistent and very capable of punching people out. To an extend that i rarely wanted to play it in our more low to mid-powered pods. Adding a Training Grounds i was able to trade for, it just didnt feel very on brand anymore.
I'd consider Training Grounds to be the swap for Thran Turbine with Unstable Obelisk being cut for Sol Ring.

Every now and then i ponder building a second - more casual - version of Lazav, the Multifarious. One that's running all the charming things i've cut in the past... but with 18 well maintained active EDH decks there's only so much effort and budget left for side projects.

[SpicyMuffinz]

I've been playing Lazav, the Multifarious graveyard voltron as my main commander deck for quite a while, and just stumbled across this thread. Lazav is by far the most fun commander I've played, and it's definitely interesting seeing how different all of our lists our. My version runs a much lower creature count (currently 15), a small ninjutsu package as a backup in case of insurmountable graveyard hate, and is built heavily around abusing Artificer's Intuition, Meekstone, and Ensnaring Bridge. If you are interested, I can post a list so we can compare notes. My deck is built to be played in high-powered casual games, and is by no means 100% optimized even for high-casual standards, but has no budget restrictions.

[Toshi]

If you are interested, I can post a list so we can compare notes.

Sure thing!
I'm always happy to sift through other peoples lists.

[SpicyMuffinz]

Lazav the Multifarious: UB Control/Voltron

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Creatures (15)

1 Ornithopter

1 Stonecoil Serpent

1 Gingerbrute

1 Phyrexian Dreadnought

1 Spectral Sailor

1 Vector Asp

1 Baleful Strix

1 Cavern Harpy

1 Dark Confidant

1 Dimir Infiltrator

1 Ghostly Pilferer

1 Moon-Circuit Hacker

1 Thief of Sanity

1 Crackdown Construct

1 Fallen Shinobi

Sorceries (6)

1 Gitaxian Probe

1 Ponder

1 Preordain

1 Unearth

1 Demonic Tutor

1 Toxic Deluge

Instants (24)

1 Brainstorm

1 Consider

1 Dispel

1 Entomb

1 Pongify

1 Stifle

1 Swan Song

1 Vampiric Tutor

1 Arcane Denial

1 Cyclonic Rift

1 Delay

1 Drown in the Loch

1 Lim-Dûl's Vault

1 Mana Drain

1 Reality Shift

1 Remand

1 Resculpt

1 Forbidden Alchemy

1 Intuition

1 Thirst for Discovery

1 Thirst for Knowledge

1 Fact or Fiction

1 Mystical Teachings

1 Force of Will

Artifacts (15)

1 Engineered Explosives

1 Everflowing Chalice

1 Expedition Map

1 Meekstone

1 Pithing Needle

1 Sensei's Divining Top

1 Sol Ring

1 Soul-Guide Lantern

1 Arcane Signet

1 Dimir Signet

1 Fellwar Stone

1 Mind Stone

1 Talisman of Dominance

1 Crucible of Worlds

1 Ensnaring Bridge

Enchantments (3)

1 Artificer's Intuition

1 Search for Azcanta

1 Propaganda

Lands (36)

1 Academy Ruins

1 Clearwater Pathway

1 Command Tower

1 Darkslick Shores

1 Drowned Catacombs

1 Exotic Orchard

1 Fabled Passage

12 Island

1 Mana Confluence

1 Moprhic Pool

1 Polluted Delta

1 Prismatic Vista

1 Reflecting Pool

1 River of Tears

1 Shipwreck Marsh

1 Strip Mine

1 Sunken Ruins

4 Swamp

1 Underground River

1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

1 Urza's Saga

1 Watery Grave

Approximate Total Cost:

This build is a blue-black control deck that ends the game with Lazav, the Multifarious voltron beatdown. The deck has two main "combos" with Lazav to eliminate an opponent in one attack:

• Phyrexian Dreadnought + Vector Asp + Gingerbrute (optional). All of these can be tutored for and put into the grave via Artificer's Intuition
• Crackdown Construct + Stonecoil Serpent or Ornithopter. Stonecoil is preferred over Ornithopter because of trample, but the drawback is that Lazav dies at the end of the turn unless you transform away from Stonecoil. This combo is commonly found using Intuition, with Ghostly Pilferer as the third card to ensure everything goes to the graveyard.

Outside of these combos, Lazav is mostly used as a value engine. One of the most common Entomb targets is Dark Confidant, but Thief of Sanity and sometimes even Fallen Shinobi are other creatures that Lazav can copy to generate value.

The ninja package gives the deck a way to play around graveyard hate, and consists of Fallen Shinobi, Moon-Circuit Hacker, and Cavern Harpy. Cavern Harpy is decent at protecting Lazav, but more importantly resets the ninjas, and helps play around Meekstone. The ninja's inherently play around Ensnaring Bridge as well. Another upside to running a few ninjas is that they make Gingerbrute and Ornithopter more useful outside of their interactions with Lazav. Shinobi is a powerhouse and potentially an alternate win condition, whereas the hacker is the most efficient ninja when combined with Cavern Harpy. It and the harpy can also be found via Transmute.

A few other odd card choices:

• Engineered Explosives - an answer to Rest in Peace that is tutorable via Artificer's Intuition
• Pithing Needle - an answer to Maze of Ith that is tutorable via Artificer's Intuition
• Stifle - an answer to Bojuka Bog that is tutorable via Mystical Teachings
• Mystical Teachings - replaced Buried Alive as it often acts as a second copy of Intuition or Entomb
• Spectral Sailor - Testing this card out currently as an additional ninja enabler, and card draw that is copyable with Lazav

Notable Omissions:

• Buried Alive and Unmarked Grave. The latter might find its way back in the deck at some point, but because my deck plays for a much slower game, I've found I don't need the sorcery graveyard tutors and can get away with eventually drawing one of the two instants Intuition and Entomb, or Artificer's Intuition. Also, I run a lot of tutors, and might end up cutting either Demonic Tutor and/or Vampiric Tutor for more variety. The only reasons they are in the deck right now is because without the tutors, my deck feels like a mono blue deck haha.
• Invisible Stalker and other cards that protect Lazav. Cavern Harpy can help "protect" Lazav by avoiding commander tax on recast, but in general, I try to stick to counterspells for protection, and rely more on the haste from Gingerbrute to get a player when their shields are down

We've definitely got very different builds, which is pretty cool. I've only ever run into one other Lazav deck out in the wild... it's not the most popular commander, but its definitely very unique and fun to play.

One thing I would like to change in my deck is that I'd like to add a few more creatures that synergize with Lazav that aren't win conditions. One card I've been considering is Crypt Rats, which might take the spot of Spectral Sailor at some point, or I may just up the creature count by 1 or 2 more creatures when I find something else that interests me. Also Spellskite is a card that I keep considering as a way to protect Lazav, Meekstone, and Ensnaring Bridge.

[materpillar]

I've been playing the deck Full English Breakfast in pre-modern and having a blast. It uses Survival of the Fittest + volrath's shapeshifter to do stupid stuff like Palinchron, Akroma, Angel of Wrath, Phage the Untouchable to kill people. The deck is hella fun and somewhat similar in play pattern.

Another upside to running a few ninjas is that they make Gingerbrute and Ornithopter more useful outside of their interactions with Lazav.

Our deck lists are wildly different but I am offended by this hot-take. T1 Gingerbrute swing at whoever has the most hated commander is one of the strongest plays in the deck. You know when people go Sol Ring → Azorius Signet turn 1 and the table goes "bleh, guess we have to focus them down first." Turn 1 Gingerbrute is polar opposite. You slam it down and everyone laughs and thinks "well I don't have to worry about that deck." Although, basically ever card in my deck is designed to provoke that reaction right up until a kill people.

I'm not a huge fan of tutors and your list is filled to the brim with them so our lists aren't going to align very well. Disciple of Deceit is fantastic in this deck. I'd recommend giving it a whirl, especially because your deck is built around a CMC tutor already.

If you're looking for pure powerlevel I'd recommend slotting in Phyrexian Devourer and Walking Ballista. It's a combo that's basically impossible to interact with if you hold priority and manage your triggers properly. It's also pure artifact so it'd be easy for you to set up with your artifact tutors. Ballista is a pretty easy 1-1 swap for stonecoil.

If you're going hard on the combo kills, Cephalid Inkshrouder is the best way to guarantee lazav combat damage while you're doing silly thing. I also super value discard outlets in my list so you might get less value.

[SpicyMuffinz]

Our deck lists are wildly different but I am offended by this hot-take. T1 Gingerbrute swing at whoever has the most hated commander is one of the strongest plays in the deck. You know when people go Sol Ring → Azorius Signet turn 1 and the table goes "bleh, guess we have to focus them down first." Turn 1 Gingerbrute is polar opposite. You slam it down and everyone laughs and thinks "well I don't have to worry about that deck." Although, basically ever card in my deck is designed to provoke that reaction right up until a kill people.

Don't get me wrong, Gingerbrute is one of my favorite cards in the deck along with Phyrexian Dreadnought. Those two cards, along with the whole Artificer's Intuition package, is what inspired me to build Lazav. I'm adding ninja's to get even more equity out of Gingerbrute

I'm not a huge fan of tutors and your list is filled to the brim with them so our lists aren't going to align very well. Disciple of Deceit is fantastic in this deck. I'd recommend giving it a whirl, especially because your deck is built around a CMC tutor already.

I like tutors when they are used as a reactive toolbox, or synergize with the deck in some way. I've been strongly considering removing Demonic Tutor and Vampiric Tutor as they are too generic and powerful. Artificer's Intuition, Entomb, Intuition, Dimir Infiltrator, and Urza's Saga are all tutors that have synergy with the deck's gameplan, making them much more interesting imo. Mystical Teachings is mostly a pet card I run because it was one of my favorite decks to play in pauper and modern.

I did notice you are very light on tutors in your list, even avoiding the graveyard tutors like Buried Alive and Unmarked Grave. Have you ever considered adding those, or are you entirely opposed to tutors? Disciple of Deceit is some cool tech though, being both a tutor and a discard outlet.

If you're looking for pure powerlevel I'd recommend slotting in Phyrexian Devourer and Walking Ballista. It's a combo that's basically impossible to interact with if you hold priority and manage your triggers properly. It's also pure artifact so it'd be easy for you to set up with your artifact tutors. Ballista is a pretty easy 1-1 swap for stonecoil.

As for powerlevel, I'm not maxing it out by any means, but the deck is built to be viable in high-powered casual games. This is my main EDH deck, and I have other budget decks that I use for lower power levels.

I've been considering removing the Crackdown Construct voltron combo, and having a combo kill such as Phyrexian Devourer and Walking Ballista would certainly be a good replacement. My only concern is that I don't want the combo win to overshadow the voltron gameplan, but the fact that Artificer's Intuition enables the voltron kill and not the combo kill that you suggested means that the voltron strategy will always have some relevance. I do love an excuse to play a unique, old card like Phyrexian Devourer though. I think I will test this out and see how it plays.

[materpillar]

I like tutors when they are used as a reactive toolbox, or synergize with the deck in some way. I've been strongly considering removing Demonic Tutor and Vampiric Tutor as they are too generic and powerful. Artificer's Intuition, Entomb, Intuition, Dimir Infiltrator, and Urza's Saga are all tutors that have synergy with the deck's gameplan, making them much more interesting imo. Mystical Teachings is mostly a pet card I run because it was one of my favorite decks to play in pauper and modern.

I did notice you are very light on tutors in your list, even avoiding the graveyard tutors like Buried Alive and Unmarked Grave. Have you ever considered adding those, or are you entirely opposed to tutors? Disciple of Deceit is some cool tech though, being both a tutor and a discard outlet.

As a rule of thumb, I find that tutors streamline my deckbuild far far too much. Part of while I like EDH is because of my decks play out very differently every game. Tutors massively reduce the variety of a game. For example, Entomb would replace a graveyard creature which means that my opponents see Phyrexian Dreadnought twice as often because there's basically two copies of it in my deck. I don't mind a tiny amount of tutors or very narrow/toolbox tutors. For example, Artificer's Intuition is super cool. That's why I'm running Dimir Infiltrator/Disciple of Deceit. They're very restrictive at have applications outside of just tutoring (unblockable/discard outlet).

I also introduce my decklist as "bad card tribal" so I'm trying to have my card choices be really janky and random as much as possible. People are used to seeing Entomb/Buried Alive, they're not used to seeing Oath of Scholars/Tolarian Winds.

I've been considering removing the Crackdown Construct voltron combo, and having a combo kill such as Phyrexian Devourer and Walking Ballista would certainly be a good replacement. My only concern is that I don't want the combo win to overshadow the voltron gameplan, but the fact that Artificer's Intuition enables the voltron kill and not the combo kill that you suggested means that the voltron strategy will always have some relevance. I do love an excuse to play a unique, old card like Phyrexian Devourer though. I think I will test this out and see how it plays.

Phyrexian Devourer can also work as a voltron kill. Stack a ton of triggers and then respond by turning Lazav, the Multifarious something evasive like Gingerbrute. I'm actually not running Walking Ballista so I usually do this with Invisible Stalker/Cephalid Inkshrouder.

[materpillar]

My decklist needs a Scandalmonger as it turns out.

[Toshi]

My decklist needs a Scandalmonger as it turns out.

Ewwwww (in the absolute best way possible!)

[Toshi]

It's been a while that i've changed much of the decks composition, but unfortunately the last few sets didn't give us much to play with.
Malcator's Watcher has been on my mind, but will require some playtesting, to find out if vigilance is worth the extra mana.

The actual shift in the deck did come with a package of counterspell variants though. As the deck has been facing stronger and more fierce competition in our top notch non-combo tier, i decided to axe a bunch of lackluster stuff for nonexciting interaction, to have him close out games even more consistently.

Once i find an extra copy of Arcane Denial it will get included as well.

New Cards

+ 1 Counterspell - It counters spells, apparently.
+ 1 Lose Focus - I really love both the art and the tech of this card a lot!
+ 1 Mana Leak - I've had a full art player reward one i desperately been trying to include somewhere.
+ 1 Miscalculation - Really surprised this didn't get reprinted ever.
+ 1 Muddle the Mixture - I can find Unmarked Grave, Cyclonic Rift, Resculpt, Lightning Greaves and all sorts of creature stuff. Brutal.
+ 1 Negate - Classic.

Cuts

- 1 Ancient Excavation - Rarely did holding up 4 mana with no guarantee to hit crucial pieces feel good.
- 1 Everflowing Chalice - It did well to ramp and keep mana open for copy shenanigans, but no access to mana of color didn't help much.
- 1 Jace's Erasure - I still love it, it is just too slow in most cases.
- 1 Mind Stone - Never used its sac effect, nothing spectactular aside from it.
- 1 Prismatic Lens - The worst way to get mana of color if need be.
- 1 Tolarian Winds - Not being able to shape a hand and going down a card on top was enough to cut it.

To be honest, i would really love to hear about Lazav, the Multifarious stuff you guys picked up over the last (few) year(s) or so, as this by far one of the most slowly evolving decks i own and it puzzles me.

[materpillar]

Here's where I keep my list updated.
https://aetherhub.com/Deck/lasav

My meta is significantly less cutthroat than yours I believe. I also value playing super random janky stuff that doesn't get played in any other decks. My list is less of a combo murder and more a lategame 1v1 political deck. My newest cards are the following

• Combat Research I really liked how Curious Obsession played, this seems like the same but better
• Dress Down this is an awesome answer to a bunch of BS and does stuff like let me cast Eater of Days
• Stern Lesson Lazav really likes powerstones, they're functionally normal mana rocks for him. So this a card neutral mana rock while also being a discard outlet. I expect this to be exceptional.
• Scandalmonger My deck enjoys being hellbent and this does that to everyone
• The Biblioplex landslots that draw me / mill me are great.

[Toshi]

[*]Stern Lesson Lazav really likes powerstones, they're functionally normal mana rocks for him. So this a card neutral mana rock while also being a discard outlet. I expect this to be exceptional.
[*]Scandalmonger My deck enjoys being hellbent and this does that to everyone

Oh, i never thought of powerstones to activate abilities! This will have me research them since Ezuri, Renegade Leader, Grenzo, Dungeon Warden and Slimefoot, the Stowaway also have activated abilities...
Ashnod, Flesh Mechanist could be a card right up your alley!

Yeah, you told us about Scandalmonger already - and i am still tempted to run it, even if my deck doesn't look much like yours.

Are you playing Mental Misstep solely for the existence of Sol Ring, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Pongify and Rapid Hybridization?
Since you said your meta might be a lot less cutthroat i was wondering about that include.

[materpillar]

Ashnod, Flesh Mechanist could be a card right up your alley!

…

Are you playing Mental Misstep solely for the existence of Sol Ring, Swords to Plowshares, Path to Exile, Pongify and Rapid Hybridization?
Since you said your meta might be a lot less cutthroat i was wondering about that include.

Ashnod, Flesh Mechanist worries me that I don't have enough sacrifice fodder. I might though. And she's so cute with Lazav and Masticore.

I have a foil Mental Misstep. It's in the deck purely because it's foil and so that some day I can blow out someone's T1 Sol Ring while I have no lands for the memes. I want to see the salty look on their face. XD
In practice, I'm not sure that I've ever cast it.

[Toshi]

It feels really weird posting another deck update within a week of the last one and after few changes for months... But hear me out!

So, mix and matching with different people over the winter, every now and then i get access to unknown trade binders, which i might never see again.
Last weekend i stumbled upon someone who had an unused Phyrexian Dreadnought and i just knew i had to make a deal happen, if possible! We pulled it off and going over the deck i decided to change things up a little.

Lazav, the Multifarious usually competes with the strongest non-combo decks in our meta and with Phyrexian Dreadnought being the most aggressive piece available i wanted to embrace its nastiness further - without splashing the money on another free Counterspell suite of Fierce Guardianship/Mana Drain/Pact of Negation.
So further down with the curve, in with more key pieces!

New Cards

+ 1 Changeling Outcast - I rarely chump block stuff to my yard, so its limitation is fine.
+ 1 Opposition Agent - I had one sitting in a binder and with this aimed for higher powered pods now, in it goes!
+ 1 Phyrexian Dreadnought - I was pissed not picking one up before it went beyond 20-30 bucks, so i am hyped to have gotten one in a trade!
+ 1 Putrid Imp - Have been trying this one before and wanted to give it another spin.
+ 1 Tormented Soul - I got a beautiful promo one from a friend.
+ 1 Arcane Denial - As mentioned, this was supposed to get included anyhow.
+ 1 Suspend - I got to play this to great success in a draft and i'm certain in high powered metas the game will escalate before the creature returns anyway.
+ 1 Thirst for Discovery - I have 2 Search the Count's Castle ones, which are gorgeous and i like the flexibility - especially with a Basic in hand!

Cuts

- 1 Baleful Strix - Sure, it is what it is, but i rarely drew its card or had it sitting as a potent blocker.
- 1 Mortivore - Of the scaling-with-the-yard ones this was a little high on the curve and the deck contains a lot better options than its regenerate.
- 1 Necrogoyf - It did get in a lot of damage, but unfortunately it didn't buff Toughness and the mana cost was a tad too high.
- 1 Nyxathid - Very solid stats, nothing fancy.
- 1 Rotting Regisaur - Comparable to Nyxathid. Barely used its trigger to discard aggressively.
- 1 Careful Study - The way the deck is build right now, i prefer instant speed discard. Even 1 extra mana might keep you from swinging for lethal early.
- 1 Frantic Search - Not too sure, if this might be a mistake, but the initial card disadvantage is there and getting it countered is even worse.
- 1 Miscalculation - I'm never not gonna love this card, but there are just stronger options.

So long, we'll see what's next... though i don't expect much.

[SpicyMuffinz]

I haven't been very good about updating my decklists online, but Ledger Shredder is probably the best upgrade this deck has received since I last posted. Its decent enough to copy with Lazav for evasion, but its primary strength is that we run a bunch of small creatures that we would rather have in the graveyard, and connive helps us do that while providing recurring card selection.

[Toshi]

Ledger Shredder is probably the best upgrade this deck has received since I last posted.

Ledger Shredder is a great catch! I will likely wait to pick it up once it rotates out of Standard, 26€ is a little much for it...
Over the recent weekend i was able to get in a lot of rounds and did playtest Stern Lesson, since @materpillar did mention it and I loved it! So far i am on the verge of cutting Phage the Untouchable for it... A much as i love utilizing her, she's the last creature in my deck above mana value 3. Especially me experiencing how nimble the deck got since cutting Mortivore, Necrogoyf and Consuming Aberration, i don't see any other prime candidate to get axed for it.

[SpicyMuffinz]

Ledger Shredder is a great catch! I will likely wait to pick it up once it rotates out of Standard, 26€ is a little much for it...

Yeah, understandable. I just recently picked up a Sheoldred, the Apocalypse for Lazav as well, which was stupidly expensive for a standard legal card.

Over the recent weekend i was able to get in a lot of rounds and did playtest Stern Lesson, since @materpillar did mention it and I loved it!

Stern Lesson is a really cool find. I tested it out over the weekend as well and it was solid. I may cut Thirst for Knowledge for it.

So far i am on the verge of cutting Phage the Untouchable for it... A much as i love utilizing her, she's the last creature in my deck above mana value 3. Especially me experiencing how nimble the deck got since cutting Mortivore, Necrogoyf and Consuming Aberration, i don't see any other prime candidate to get axed for it.

I think cutting Phage is the correct call. Like you, I play in a fairly high-powered meta, and keeping a low mana curve is important. Another thing I've done as I went up in power level is remove most of the cute synergy cards with Lazav (things like Cephalid Inkshrouder) in favor of more generally playable cards like Mercurial Spelldancer. The only true voltron piece left in the deck is Phyrexian Dreadnought. One of these days I'll have to put a list together online and post it; its way different than my previous list at this point.

[Toshi]

Like you, I play in a fairly high-powered meta, and keeping a low mana curve is important. Another thing I've done as I went up in power level is remove most of the cute synergy cards with Lazav (things like Cephalid Inkshrouder) in favor of more generally playable cards like Mercurial Spelldancer.

I'd be really interested in your list! Especially since you apparently haven't built an all out Voltron deck...
I don't know if i would call Cephalid Inkshrouder "cute" in this deck. Sure, Putrid Imp, Ghostly Pilferer and Cabal Initiate let you discard key cards at a lower mana value, but granting both evasion and shroud is very neat! Aside from Invisible Stalker there are few cheap alternatives, why i would consider it a no-brainer.

[materpillar]

How're you guys killing people now a days? Phage the Untouchable + Cephalid Inkshrouder is the most mana efficient way to get someone dead in my deck by far.

My game plan seems to be somewhat widely diverging from your guys' as my metagame hasn't really been powercrept much. I'm still on durdle Oath of Scholars to politic the game into a 1v1. Then, win that with Lazav BS. I will continue to stride forth playing as many unplayable cards as I can stuff my deck with. You can pry my Rites of Refusal out of my cold dead hands. XD

[Toshi]

How're you guys killing people now a days?

My game plan seems to be somewhat widely diverging from your guys' as my metagame hasn't really been powercrept much.

You can pry my Rites of Refusal out of my cold dead hands. XD

Up until i got Phyrexian Dreadnought, Wall of Blood and Nighthowler have been the main haymakers of my deck. There are few things as satisfying as clubbing someone for 21 with a goddarn Wall!
Plus, going down to 19 life creates just the kind of tension i like.

I can only speak for myself, but on the contrary. My usual playgroup decided to diversify power levels among our decks, to see more of the card pool and commander options.
I get to combo with Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle on turn 3 as well as tutoring for Orcish Lumberjack with Rocco, Cabaretti Caterer, just to churn away my forests to force the most stupid creatures early.
My Archidekt page is a mess, tbh.

Awww yiss, i love my foil Rites of Refusal! It's in my noncreature top 2 of the deck with Brain Freeze. I just love to hypercharge my yard in response to a Storm-ish turn of an opponent - or deck him with it.
If i ever get tempted to cut either of them, force me to disassemble my deck!

[SpicyMuffinz]

@materpillar I am mostly on Phyrexian Dreadnought as voltron win conditions go, which does a similar job as Phage the Untouchable at a lower cost, especially if combined with Vector Asp.

@Toshi Cephalid Inkshrouder is probably the best of the Lazav synergy cards, so maybe I should have chosen a different example . I definitely see the merits of playing Inkshrouder.

I'll try to get a list put together over the next few days. My deck has changed a lot over the last few sets, most notably because of Sheoldred, the Apocalypse and Mercurial Spelldancer.

Sheoldred, the Apocalypse is a win condition that doesn't require the combat step, but still benefits from combat damage being dealt throughout the game. A cool line is to copy Sheoldred with Lazav, then reanimate Sheoldred (since Lazav keeps his name you can control both at the same time), then play a wheel effect like Echo of Eons. A draw 7 will do 28 damage with double Sheoldreds, and if you can both frontside and flashback echo, that's 48 damage.

Mercurial Spelldancer works very well with the Phyrexian Dreadnought + Vector Asp kill, as you can copy an extra turn spell to take 2 additional turns, killing all 3 players via infect without passing the turn. This is particularly valuable as I try to hide the infect kill, and find it when I am ready via Artificer's Intuition, usually tutoring them at the previous player's end step.

I am also currently running a Displacer Kitten combo line, but I'm probably going to cut it as it doesn't have much synergy with Lazav.

[Toshi]

When it comes to Lazav combos that fit well in its shell, Crackdown Construct is neat, with Lightning Greaves out or Ornithopter in the yard.

[materpillar]

I'd rather avoid infinite combos if I can. I'm also leaning into running mostly inexpensive, rarely played cards so sadly no Sheoldred, the Apocalypse as much fun as she'd be with Whispering Madness.

I'm going to give Nighthowler a whirl. I also saw Breakthrough for the first time in a master draft I did. I'm going to give that a test too. I'd really love a Thassa, God of the Sea.

My List still hasn't changed a bunch.

Decklist

DecklistCMCManaPricesChartsDraw 7

Commander

1 Lazav, the Multifarious

Creatures (Threats)

1 Phyrexian Devourer

1 Phage the Untouchable

1 Hunted Horror

1 Eater of Days

1 Nighthowler

Creatures (Control)

1 Ovinomancer

1 Lesser Masticore

1 King Macar, the Gold-Cursed

1 Masticore

1 Royal Assassin

1 Daring Thief

1 Big Game Hunter

1 Archfiend of Ifnir

Creatures Lazav Protection

1 Invisible Stalker

1 Kefnet the Mindful

1 Putrid Goblin

1 Treacherous Pit-Dweller

1 Slippery Scoundrel

1 Butcher Ghoul

Creatures (Misc Value)

1 Sea-Dasher Octopus

1 Deranged Assistant

1 Millikin

1 Cephalid Inkshrouder

1 Dimir Infiltrator

1 Disciple of Deceit

1 Fog Bank

1 Fatestitcher

1 Guard Gomazoa

1 Gingerbrute

1 Ghostly Pilferer

1 Dreamscape Artist

1 Wonder

1 Scandalmonger

1 Ashnod, Flesh Mechanist

Non-Land (Card Advantage)

1 Oath of Scholars

1 Pulse of the Grid

1 Mask of Memory

1 Unearth

1 Tolarian Winds

1 Whispering Madness

1 Curious Obsession

1 Ancient Excavation

1 Form of the Mulldrifter

1 Frantic Search

1 Stern Lesson

1 Tome of Legends

1 Recall

1 Stolen Identity

1 Combat Research

1 Breakthrough

1 Drake Haven

1 Ghirapur Orrery

Non-Land (Interaction)

1 Mental Misstep

1 Rites of Refusal

1 Reins of Power

1 Arcane Denial

1 Circular Logic

1 Dress Down

1 Didn't Say Please

1 Foil

1 Torpor Orb

1 Aetherspouts

Non-Land Ramp

1 Victory Chimes

1 Training Grounds

1 Thran Turbine

1 Heartstone

Land (33)

1 Homeward Path

1 Survivors' Encampment

1 Terrain Generator

1 Temple of the False God

1 Shizo, Death's Storehouse

1 Sea Gate Wreckage

1 Dimir Aqueduct

1 Castle Locthwain

1 Cabal Pit

1 Holdout Settlement

1 Ghost Quarter

1 Drownyard Temple

1 Drowned Catacomb

1 Ash Barrens

1 Geier Reach Sanitarium

1 The Biblioplex

1 Underground River

9 Island

7 Swamp

Approximate Total Cost: