Golos, Tireless Maze Runner (EDH / Commander)

Golos, Tireless Maze Runner

I have to imagine that every EDH player toys with the idea of crafting a Maze’s End build. When Golos, Tireless Pilgrim was spoiled for M20, I knew I had a fever and there was only one cure; turn Golos into the Tireless Maze Runner.

Here is the decklist: https://deckstats.net/decks/102068/1536992-golos-tireless-maze-runner

Golos has everything going for them in terms of an ideal Maze’s End commander; they have a very relevant ETB trigger that fetches any land and they are both colorless in casting cost while also WUBRG in color identity. This allows us to utilize the best tools from every color in our effort to get nine different Gates into play and activate Maze’s End (grabbing the tenth) to win the game.

Golos also has a useful secondary ability in that we can pay WUBRG2 to exile the top three cards of our library and play any of those exiled cards without paying their mana costs. While this does present some risk, because we can draw two or three Gates with this ability and not be able to play them all, such an outcome would be a RNG nightmare and most likely not to occur, but it is a risk and should be known when piloting this deck.

On the flip side, we have several higher CMC spells that either sweep the board or ramp us further, not to mention bring into play several of the support cards that help us achieve our larger goal. Golos cuts through these cards like a hot knife through butter, and you will savor the sad faces on your opponents faces when you hit the proverbial jackpot of exiled cards.

Bonus: Golos allows you to pay extra costs of cards, like Buyback or Entwine, exiled with their card draw ability. This will come in handy with some of the cards we have included in the 99.

Maze’s End has great promise, but also presents great peril. We can win the game on the spot, but we are also telegraphing our win condition the entire time and can be vulnerable to attack from multiple fronts once we become close to achieving our victory condition. How can we buy enough time to assemble ten gates + Maze’s End and win?

Ramp/Fix, Sweep, and BFB (Blink/Flicker/Bounce).

First, this build wants to ramp/fix in order to access WUBRG and also get Golos out before turn five. To this end we have a whopping 27 sources that either ramp or fix our mana situation. Second, we want to use sweepers in order to stall out the board states of our opponents and buy time for Golos to assemble the pieces needed to win with Maze’s End. We have 18 different options, most in White, and have the advantage in that we don’t really care if Golos gets swept off the board because their ETB trigger provides a down payment of 1 to future instances of commander tax. Finally, we have 11 sources of BFB to help maximize the number of Golos ETB triggers we can accrue per turn. Our blink sources carry the added advantage of removing Golos unit the end of the turn, meaning we can cast a sweeper while Golos is safely in exile.

To reinforce and round-out our strategy, 8 other cards act as support. These include cards that let us sacrifice basic lands and replace them with Gates (Elvish Reclaimer, Scapeshift) as well as cards that let us grab Gates or other permanents from the graveyard that our opponents might destroy (Sun Titan, Ramunap Excavator).

The line of play is simple. We want to assemble WUBRG and ramp in order to cast Golos as quickly as possible. Then we utilize BFB pieces to accrue Golos ETB triggers, or we turn to Golos’ secondary ability in order to dig for needed cards. Whenever our opponents create threatening board states, we cast one of our many sweepers and keep on runnin’. Once we have nine Gates in play, we can activate Maze’s End to grab the tenth and win the game.

Here’s a big caveat before I spend a lot of words explaining the choices I made in this build; I didn’t try to optimize this list with expensive cards. If you see a card below that is above $5, it is probably because I pulled it in a pack. Some of the sweepers came from the Commander 2017 Ur-Dragon deck that I took apart last year to feed other builds. A good many cards were acquired by me combing the 50 cent bulk box at my FLGS once a week over the past few months. Yes, I bought some cards. But I want to be clear and state that I wasn’t trying to get the best cards. I wanted to use what I had at hand and what I found through very budget friendly means.

Play with the cards you have! You can always upgrade over time.

Let’s take a closer look at the cards that make up our three main strategies (plus support) and see how they operate in this build.

Ramp/Fixing

One of the core components of our strategy is to ramp and fix aggressively in the first few turns, setting up an early Golos casting or the ability to activate their WUBRG2 card draw ability once on the board. We want to prioritize finding and playing Gates, but our desire to move fast in the early game means we need access to lands that enter the battlefield untapped. Of the 35 total sources of mana, 21 are basic lands. Ideally we want an opening hand with at least one source of green mana, but are happy to keep a non-green mana hand so long as we draw one of our colorless sources of ramp/fixing or feel confident we can get to five mana total and cast Golos.

One-Drops

Sol Ring - I avoided filling the deck with mana rocks, mostly because the game plan is to prioritize finding and playing lands. Some of our sweepers also remove artifacts and we don’t want to put ourselves in a position where casting a sweeper hurts us more than everyone else. Sol Ring, however, is too good to pass up for this build.

Wayfarer’s Bauble - Very versatile colorless ramp that a build like this craves. I much prefer ‘installment’ ramp like Wayfarer’s Bauble that costs 1 on the front end and 2 on the back. The reverse is not near as good. Costing 2 on the front end means the earliest you can play it is turn two (baring a degenerate Sol Ring appearance) and then crack it on turn three. With a 1-2 split, you can cast the card on your first turn and crack it on turn two. A full turn, especially in the early game, is worth its weight in gold. As will be a theme for many permanents in our 99, Wayfarer’s Bauble can be targeted by Sun Titan’s ETB/Attack trigger and recycled over and over again for value.

Wanderer’s Twig / Traveler’s Amulet - Cheap colorless fixing is very valuable in this build. You probably won’t see the Twig in many other lists, but for a 5C deck that isn’t sporting all the fetch lands and expensive mana, the Twig and better known Amulet are rockstar inclusions. Sun Titan friendly as well.

Renegade Map / Expedition Map - Both are fixers, but first finds you a basic and the second finds you any land you want. Sun Titan friendly, although you clearly want to bring back the Expedition Map over its inferior Kaladesh cousin. Still, like the Twig and Amulet above, Renegade Map saves an opening hand that contains no green mana sources.

Horizon Spellbomb - This edged out Armillary Sphere for two reasons: it only costs 1 to cast and it has a sometimes useful draw ability when you cash it in for a basic land. You could cast this on turn one, then crack it on turn two in order to make sure you either hit your land drops, build WUBRG, or find that ever useful green source to ramp further. Armillary Sphere can, at best, be cracked on turn three (Sol Ring degeneracy could mean turn two) and does not provide a card draw option. Spellbomb is still slow and clunky, but it is ‘installment’ fixing AND we need colorless sources to fix our mana for those occasional opening hands where we don’t draw a green source. Oh, the Spellbomb went to school with the Sun Titan so they are cool.

Font of Fertility - Paying three to ramp one is a not great but standard rate, yet Font of Fertility adds flexibility in being ‘installment’ ramp; cast it on turn one, crack it on turn two. Plays well with Sun Titan in that it essentially becomes an enchantment version of Rampant Growth when brought back.

Open the Gates - Can’t really envision a time when you would cast this to find a basic, but that is an option. We want to grab Gates and this does so at a cheap price.

Two-Drops

Rampant Growth - Paying two to ramp one is, (checks notes), good value.

Farseek - The not-quite Rampant Growth, but still good value. That it doesn’t grab a forest is hardly a downside considering we want to assemble WUBRG as quickly as possible in the early turns.

Gatecreeper Vine - Finds Gates (and basics) with its ETB trigger. If you have a BFB piece that can be used early to interact with Gatecreeper that’s awesome, but once Golos is out the old Vine becomes outclassed. Bonus points for being Sun Titan friendly, of course.

Sylvan Scrying - Let’s you find any land. Which means any Gate. Which is what we want to do.

Sakura-Tribe Elder - Can’t have a ramp deck without Steve! Seriously, you can sacrifice Steve to the ramp gods for free AND Sun Titan can turn Steve into a free Rampant Growth.

Thaumatic Compass - Of all the ramp/fixing cards listed here, the Compass is perhaps the poorest card for what we want to do. It does fix, but you have to spend 3 to do so, meaning it can only fix our mana on turn four and beyond. Considering that by turn five or before we would like to cast Golos, and thus solve any fixing problem we have, Compass comes across as a slow, clunky option that will only be situationally useful. While all of that is true, and you will probably never want to see this in your opening hand unless you have no green mana, it is absurdly easy for this build to get out seven lands and turn Compass into the Spires of Orazca. That makes Compass a 2CMC land ramp source that also has a highly relevant Maze of Ith ability. Our game plan is to utilize sweepers to keep the battlefield clean, but there are times when a single threat will emerge to take us down. Compass transformed into Spires can help us outlast single creature threats, especially ones that are Commander focused.

Three-Drops

Cultivate / Kodama’s Reach - Wonderful cards that pull double duty in providing both ramp and fixing. You will always be glad to see one of these cards in your opening hand.

Grow from the Ashes - There are many 3CMC ramp spells that put a tapped basic on the battlefield while providing extra value with added cost. Grow from the Ashes is among the best of these spells as it brings out a basic untapped and can be ‘kicked’ for 2 more to bring out two basics untapped. Remember, Golos’ card draw ability allows you to cast cards that have ‘extras’ tacked on, like Kicker or Entwine, for free.

Growth Spasm - Finds any basic but brings it out tapped. It does provide an Eldrazi token we can sacrifice right away for 1 colorless, however, which is helpful.

Far Wanderings - Familiar ‘finds a basic, enters tapped’ shenanigans, but this 3CMC ramp spell has Threshold which allows us to find three basics and put them into play tapped if we have seven cards in our graveyard. Always happy to see a ramp spell early, but later on this becomes insane value as it is pretty easy, especially as we use Golos’ card draw ability, to fill our yard with ramp spells or sweepers.

Journey of Discovery - This is a funky card, but one that can be helpful. If you need mana fixing or want to keep hitting your land drops, this card is for you. If you draw a bunch of lands and need to get them out of your hand, this card is for you. Pretty unlikely we will ever cast its Entwine version for GG4 to get both abilities, but it makes for one hell of a pull with Golos’ secondary card draw and can help you get stockpiled Gates out of your hand.

Search for Tomorrow - I could have technically put this under the ‘one-drop’ slot, given that you can pay G and utilize its Suspend 2 ability. Finds a basic and puts it on the battlefield untapped, which provides pretty good value if you hard cast or suspend it.

Beanstalk Giant//Fertile Footsteps - This slot was originally occupied by Spring//Mind, but Spring brought a basic into play tapped, and Fertile Footsteps does not. Beanstalk Giant is also a more useful half than Mind, especially in a deck that wants to ramp like crazy and has access to a better card draw ability than what Mind provides. Big Boy Beanstalk can help defend or take out a weak opponent after you have swept their board of threats.

Four-Drops

Circuitous Route - When you get to 4CMC, you better be getting a lot of value for your ramp/fixing spells. Circuitous Route is an absolute powerhouse in this build, allowing us to grab two gates and put them into play. Four mana for two ramp is, (checks notes), still very good value. If you can ramp into casting this on turn three, you will feel like a champion.

Pir’s Whim - Battlebond was so good for EDH, and Pir’s Whim is just one jewel among many from that set. It a 4CMC ramp spell that finds only one land (yuck), but it is any land we want (that’s better), and it puts it onto the battlefield tapped. It also allows us to play politics at the table and help ramp ‘friends’ while also punishing ‘foes’. Almost everyone has a good enchantment or artifact in play by turn four and Pir’s Whim allows us to create distance in board state with its ramp + destroy effect.

Scapeshift - Helps us close the Gate gap in dramatic fashion. Running a lot of basics means we don’t often care if they get sacrificed for greater value. Scapeshift allows us to get the greatest value out of basics by turning as many as we have into instant Gates. One of the best cards in the 99.

Sweepers

Assembling the Gates needed to achieve victory with Maze’s End, even with Golos, is a slow process. Your opponents will not idly sit by as you bring Gate after Gate into play and run towards victory. They will increasingly focus their efforts towards thwarting your plans if you do nothing to stop them. Luckily, we care little about establishing a board state outside of the lands we play. That is why this build runs 18 different types of sweepers, or sweeper-lites. Anytime an opponent starts building an threatening board state, we cast a sweeper and knock them, along with everyone else, down a notch.

Three-Drop

Plague Boiler - This is a fun card that I found in the 50 cent bin at my FLGS. In fact, most of the sweepers listed here came from the same 50 cent bin. It’s good to have colorless sources of board wipes and Plague Boiler destroys all nonland permanents when it finally detonates. You have some control over when that happens, if you want to invest additional mana, which is a nice feature. Really can’t ask for more at 3CMC when you want to hit the reset button. Oh wait, it’s Sun Titan friendly as well.

Four-Drop

Chain Reaction - Red brings damage sweepers to the table and Chain Reaction deals damage in proportion to the number of creatures on the battlefield. Won’t always get the job done, but it is cheaper than most of our sweepers and shuts down any ‘go wide’ strategies our opponents might utilize.

Nevinyrral’s Disk - A classic from Magic’s distant past. Sure, your opponents get a turn to respond. But any artifact hate it draws means one less card to target Golos later.

Five-Drop

Cataclysmic Gearhulk - White is the king of 5CMC sweepers, and we begin our select (i.e. available from the 50 cent bin) inclusions from this fantastic list with the Gearhulk. Not a true sweeper, but one that targets more than just creatures and gets around indestructible targets with its sacrifice requirement.

Fumigate - Destroy and gain life? Yes, please.

Planar Outburst - This is a cheap, as in $$$, sweeper that should be included in any budget list that contains White in its color identity. I’m sure their are those out there running killer lands decks against which Planar Outburst is useless. But for the rest of us, Planar Outburst works just fine as a stock sweeper. I guess you could cast this for its Awaken cost, but making lands into vulnerable creatures is not what this deck wants to do.

Rout - Standard sweeper that includes the ‘creatures can’t regenerate’ clause in case you have friends who play Will ‘o’ the Wisp or the like. Can be made an Instant if you pay 2 more, which can be situationally helpful.

Single Combat - Much like Gearhulk above, this is a sweeper-lite. But it does keep your opponents from casting other creature spells for one turn, which can be useful when you are trying to race creature-based threats.

Tragic Arrogance - Another sweeper-lite, but the bonus is that with this spell we get to choose what stays and what is sacrificed. Let me tell you right now; choosing makes all the difference.

Winds of Rath - Destroys creatures, but only those that are not enchanted. There will obviously be cases where this does not help you sweep the board at all, but should do the trick most of the time.

Six Drop

Akroma’s Vengeance - Destroys all artifacts, creatures, and enchantments, but has 6CMC. You can Cycle it for 3 (situationally helpful), but, again, I’m using this because I got it from the 50 cent bin and it allows us to target more than creatures.

Kirtar’s Wrath - Another destroy sweeper where creatures can’t regenerate. There is a bonus Threshold where we get two 1/1 flying Spirits after everything goes bye-bye. Um, cool.

Phyrexian Rebirth - Destroys all creatures, then gives you an actually useful token creature. Kirtar’s Wrath could learn a thing or two. (Just kidding Kirtar...)

Seven Drop

Duneblast - Another 50 cent card I found in the bulk bin. Let’s you pick one creature and destroy the rest. You should probably pick Golos, but there are times when you will be happy to save a support piece and remove Golos from the board if you can just recast them and keep moving towards Maze’s End.

Kindred Dominance - I did not find this card in the 50 cent bin, ha. Often a powerhouse sweeper in tribal decks, here it is just another way to kill everything else and save Golos (or a crucial BFB creature if recasting Golos is no problem).

Star of Extinction - When I first brewed up this Golos list, my thought process was to have a lot of ramp, a lot of sweepers, and a lot of targeted land destruction. I figured I could keep my opponents off their game plans by sweeping and targeting vulnerable lands that would hamstring them in terms of access to specific mana. It seemed like a good idea. But when I goldfished that list, I found targeted land destruction to be dead cards in my hand. Most of the LD cards were 4CMC or higher, and while it was great to use Golos’ card draw ability and hit two or three of them, they did little else and just slowed the deck down. Star of Extinction is a holdover from that list. Yes, it’s expensive. But we don’t really care that much about CMC for this build. Turns out that dealing 20 damage to each creature and planeswalker + destroying a land is just really fun and that is what we are tying to do here—have fun while winning with Maze’s End.

Eight Drop

Decree of Pain - Having access to card draw isn’t that important for this build, thanks to Golos, but if we are going to sweep it doesn’t hurt to receive a little bonus. Decree of Pain is flexible in that we can cycle it to draw a card and give all creatures -2/-2 until end of turn, but with so many other sweeper options available its hard to think of a time when you will be happy to settle with cycling this card. (Especially because we could use that mana to activate Golos’ card draw ability)

Nine Drop

Blasphemous Act - Almost never a true 9CMC sweeper, I find that I can reliably cast this for just a few mana. Classic Red sweeper that provides insane value as your opponents grow their board.

BFB (Blink/Flicker/Bounce)

Second only to the generous amount of ramp included in this build, the BFB package is a crucial component of our overall strategy. We want to accumulate as many Golos ETB triggers as possible; flicker effects are best, because we get instant payoff, but blinking has its own advantages in that we can cast a sweeper while keeping Golos out of harm’s way. Bounce effects can be just as useful in that regard, and we become less concerned with spending mana to recast Golos from our hand when we ramp with every ETB trigger.

One Drop

Ephemerate - Oh yeah, is this a sweet common or what? One white mana can give you up to two Golos ETB triggers. I did have a game where someone removed Golos so the Ephemerate fizzled on the Rebound, but getting a single flicker for one mana is still quite good.

Nephalia Smuggler - Clunky, in that you have to wait a full turn to start the flickering action AND pay U3 for the honor, yet useful, in that you can activate this ability over and over turn after turn. Loves chilling with the Sun Titan.

Voyager Staff - Cheap, colorless blink option. Can be brought back over and over again with Sun Titan.

Two Drop

Flicker Form - Slow, somewhat clunky blink effect. Bonus points for reattaching itself after you blink the enchanted creature. Sun Titan loves catching the latest flick on tv. (Oh no, I’ve dated myself)

Mistmeadow Witch - Another blink option, but one that is repeatable in a single turn. Guess what? Sun Titan is not afraid of witches.

Momentary Blink - Remember how good Ephemerate was? Momentary Blink is not that card. But it is an instant flicker effect and we have more control over the timing of its second casting at the cost of spending a lot more mana. This build will have no problem paying six mana for two flicker effects once Golos is out. So Ephemerate is still better in terms of mana value, but Momentary Blink is more than capable of generating Golos ETB triggers in the mid to late game.

Three Drop

Crystal Shard - At first, I had Skeleton Shard in this slot as a support card. It made sense to have graveyard recursion for artifact creatues, i.e. Golos or Cataclysmic Gearhulk, if I planned on casting a lot of sweepers. But I found that casting Golos repeatedly from the command zone, even with a hefty commander tax, was rarely a problem. It made more sense to gain value by bouncing Golos with Crystal Shard and then hard casting them for 5 to gain an additional ETB trigger. Oh, and Sun Titan has a fantastic Crystal Shard collection that they will not shut up about if you ask.

Portal of Sanctuary - Crystal Shard lite. It’s 3CMC, but requires U to cast. You can spend 1 to tap and activate it, allowing you to bounce a creature you control, but you can only activate it on your turn. Still very useful in this deck even if it plays second fiddle. The Portal of Sanctuary is where the Sun Titan keeps his Crystal Shard collection, btw.

Soulherder - A free flicker effect that not only helps you acquire more Golos ETB triggers, but also builds a credible threat and has synergies with our other blink and flicker pieces. If I told you Sun Titan can bring back Soulherder, would it feel repetitive?

Teferi, Time Raveler - The only planeswalker in the build. This card has a lot of uses; it hoses our opponents interactions on our turn while also giving us the ability to either bounce Golos and draw a card or allow us to cast spells, either from our hand or from Golos’ card draw ability, at instant speed. Be careful, however, because you can’t play lands at instant speed and using Golos’ card draw ability when it’s not your turn can result in exiling critical Gates. Again, less of a chance as you get more and more Gates on the board, but something that should be noted. Sun Titan, blah, blah, blah.

Four Drop

Angel of Condemnation - News Flash: Can’t be brought back by Sun Titan. But it can blink Golos or exile other creature threats on the board, although the second option is probably not the best play considering we will be sweeping the board semi-frequently to maintain our advantage.

Support Cards

These cards play an essential role in supporting what our build wants to do. You could easily label this section the ‘toolbox’, because each of the following cards either reinforce our core strategies or help cover potential weaknesses.

One Drop

Elvish Reclaimer - Earlier, I was singing the praises of Battlebond, but M20 was no slouch either. Reclaimer allows us to pay 2, tap, sacrifice any land, and then search our library for any land we want and put it on the battlefield tapped. Once we start building up our Gate count, basics we find or ramp into become excellent fodder for the Reclaimer. The modest casting cost means Reclaimer can also help assemble WUBRG in the early turns, not to mention the fact that Sun Titan can easily bring the elf back on tour to play all their greatest hits.

Two Drop

Bonds of Mortality - If our strategy relies on liberal use of sweepers, we better have a plan to deal with Indestructible creatures. Some of our sweepers are sacrificed focused, which does help, but we need more redundancy in dealing with these pesky foes. Bonds of Mortality has a low CMC, replaces itself with the ever wonderful ‘draw a card’ ETB trigger, and allows us to remove both hexproof and indestructible from our opponents creatures. Sun Titan loves bonding time.

Disturbed Burial - Let’s us grab Golos or another support creature from the graveyard and put it into our hand, with the added option of paying 3 more to activate Buyback and return Disturbed Burial to our hand as well. I’m not too worried about grabbing Golos from the graveyard, as we will usually be ramping so much anyway that repeatedly casting them from the command zone is no problem, but grabbing a BFB creature or, wait for it, the almighty SUN TITAN can be very helpful in the mid to late game.

Three Drop

Knight of the Reliquary - Sac lands, find lands creature. Higher CMC than Elvish Reclaimer, and more choosy in the lands that can be sacrificed (Forest or Plains), but the tap ability is free and we are running plenty of basic Forests and Plains. Plays poker with the Sun Titan on Tuesdays.

Ramunap Excavator - Just in case our opponents use land destruction to remove our Gates or Maze’s End. Can occasionally be helpful in hitting land drops if we are sacrificing lands to Elvish Reclaimer or Knight of the Reliquary.

Uro, Titan of Nature’s Wraith - Pulled this from a Theros Beyond Death pack. Three mana to draw a card, gain 3 life, and then play an additional land for the turn is exactly what this build wants to do at all stages of the game. We also put a lot of cards in the graveyard, either through ramp spells or casting things for free with Golos’ card draw ability, which means Uro can Escape fairly easily and provide us with a backup beater if that’s required. Don’t forget that you can cast Uro, get the benefits from its draw/life/land ETB triggers, and then bounce it back to your hand before the sacrifice trigger takes effect.

Four Drop

Once and Future - Another redundancy piece that can be used to grab a destroyed Gate or Maze’s End. But this card does so much more for our build. If we cast it using three or more green mana, which should be very easy for us to do in the mid to late game, we can grab two cards from our graveyard and put them into our hand. Grabbing Circuitous Route to cast a second time is filthy, but really any ramp spell is good when cast again. Yet we might not want to trigger the three green mana ability of Once and Future. We might want to, instead, put an expensive spell, like a sweeper, on top of the library so that it can then be exiled and cast for free with Golos’ card draw ability. Or something like Grow from the Ashes which has an added cost but generates added value. The flexibility in how it can be used makes Once and Future a valuable card.

Six Drop

Sun Titan - While you already know all the cards Sun Titan can bring back with their ETB and attack triggers, you might forget that this big, bad giant can also bring back lands. Nice card that really ties the build together.

Mana

We are, of course, running one copy of each Guildgate + the new Gateway Plaza + Maze’s End. Command Tower and Exotic Orchard round out our non-basic choices. Otherwise this build uses seven forests, five plains, and three each of mountains, swamps, and islands.

Alternative Cards

Everyone knows a build can have any number of cards, especially when price is not a hinderance or competitiveness is the priority. As I stated above, this build is constructed from cards I either pulled from packs, found in the 50 cent bin, or were at or around a few dollars for purchase from my FLGS. I’ve tried to optimize this build for what it want’s to do, given those restrictions, but there are always better options or alternative ideas that could be included. Here are a few cards that fit both categories.

Burnished Hart - Another classic EDH ramp card. This plays well with Sun Titan and does ramp us two basics, but the total cost—6 mana—to play and then sacrifice the Hart felt too slow in the early turns and not worth that amount of mana in the mid to late game for what it does. Still, an alternative option if you have it and another potential source of colorless ramp.

Deadeye Navigator - High CMC, but the potential to flicker Golos multiple times in one turn is very tempting. Probably the first upgrade piece I would try and acquire.

Conjurer’s Closet - Adds a free flicker effect for Golos at the end of your turn. Not so powerful on its own, but when combined with another BFB piece it helps stack Golos ETB triggers.

Thassa, Deep-Dwelling - A new toy in the flicker parade, Thassa is cheaper than Conjurer’s Closet and has the added bonus of being indestructible. This build, as is, will never accrue enough devotion to make Thassa a creature, but that actually works well for our game plan.

Mirage Mirror - Nifty little artifact that can copy a creature/artifact BFB piece, or, more importantly, copy Maze’s End. Anything that can reduce the amount of turns it takes to get nine Gates out is helpful, and the Mirage Mirror can even win the game on its own as a copy of Maze’s End. I actually own a copy of this card and might swap out Disturbed Burial for its inclusion.

Hopefully folks find this helpful or at least were entertained with the read. Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions for other cards or other strategies.