>Introduction

The first thing anyone says after seeing Mishra is "How are you supposed to use him?" I said it when I first saw him, you said it when you first saw him, and if you're seeing this card for the first time, you just said it. It seems like that in order for Mishra to work you need to have multiple copies of the same artifacts in your decks; something that isn't allowed in commander. Instead, you do something really weird; you play with the timing of triggers on the stack. If you cast an artifact spell, that same card will end up in your deck or library by the time Mishra's ability resolves. See if you can figure out the interaction between Mishra and Possibility Storm. If you can't, I explain it later. Just know that weird interactions is what this deck is all about.

I usually don't like jank decks, but this is one that I just keep coming back to, time and time again. This is a storm deck, it's just not a very good one. You can expect to cast lots of spells in one turn and nuke people with Aetherflux Reservoir, but it will happen later in the game. It also doesn't work every game. Such is the curse of jank combo decks. But if you like wild interactions where you won't know what will happen next, this deck will serve you well. Now then, let's go over how Mishra works.

>Mishra's Toys

As I already mentioned, Mishra, Artificer Prodigy is all about interacting with the stack. When you cast an artifact spell, a bunch of different abilities will trigger from various sources (Vedalken Archmage, Aetherflux Reservoir, Nullstone Gargoyle, among others). The order that you choose to resolve these abilities is very important, and it's the core of how this deck functions. As a general rule, you want Mishra's ability to resolve last (so place it on the stack first). This way no matter what weird things happen, your artifact will be on the battlefield by the end of everything. There are a lot of strange ways to generate value off of Mishra, so let's go over his key synergy cards.

>Possibility Storm

This is the secret commander of the deck. Imagine you have Mishra and Possibility Storm on the battlefield and you cast Arcane Signet. You would choose to resolve the Possibility Storm trigger first, then Mishra. Reveal cards from the top of your library until you reveal another artifact. Cast that spell. Then put all the revealed cards and Arcane Signet on the bottom of your library in a random order. Now resolve Mishra's ability. Search your library for a card named "Arcane Signet" and put it on the battlefield. You just received two artifacts for the price of one, and two cast triggers. That's two cards drawn with Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain and/or 4 life gained with Aetherflux Reservoir (assuming those were your first two spells of the turn). Now that's value.

This deck pretty much revolves around Possibility Storm, so you want to try to get it every game. It's even gone so far as to affect which cards can and can't go in the deck. You may have noticed that nearly every instant in this deck is some form of removal (with a few exceptions). Nearly every sorcery in this deck is a form of either card draw or a search effect. The reason for this is simple; if I have Possibility Storm out and I need to remove something, I know that if I cast an instant it will get me into another form of removal. Chaos Warp will become Crosis's Charm, or Abrade will become Bedevil. Same thing with sorceries. I know that Ponder will become either a Wheel of Fate or a Fabricate. It makes the randomness of Possibility Storm a little less random.

>Rulings

So there are some rules attached to this one card, and if you plan on playing this deck, knowing the rules is important. This is a very complicated card and things can get weird. Here's the basic run-down:

• Possibility storm will only trigger if you cast the spell from hand. You can still cast Mishra from the command zone without issue. Casting spells from the top of your library (Bolas's Citadel) or from your graveyard (Echo of Eons) don't cause Possibility Storm to trigger.
• The card types checked are artifact, creature, enchantment, instant, sorcery, planeswalker, and tribal. Not sure why it checks tribal. Possibility Storm does not check legendary, snow, or world. So if you cast Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain, you keep flipping even if you reveal Mox Amber.
• If you cast an artifact creature, you flip until you find the first artifact or creature.
• If you choose to not cast the second spell, it also gets put on the bottom.
• Spells with miracle (Reforge the Soul) are cast from hand.
• Because you will always resolve Mishra's ability after Possibility Storm's, don't forget to also shuffle your library after searching. The cards that you put on the bottom will get mixed up with the rest of your library.

>Self-counter

Here's something fun: if a triggered ability that you controls counters an artifact spell, Mishra's ability will resolve after, so you get to grab that artifact from your graveyard and put it on the battlefield anyway. The self-counters that this deck includes are Chalice of the Void, Planar Chaos, and Nullstone Gargoyle. These will mess up your opponents, while leaving you virtually untouched. I used Blood Funnel for a while, but the upside of artifacts costing 2 less didn't make up for the downside of hardly being able to cast instants, sorceries, and enchantments. Then there is Nether Void. I would gladly play this card if it's price tag wasn't so damn high. Curse the reserved list. I should see what my playgroup thinks about proxying this card.

>Casting Opponents Cards

So here's the last trick of Mishra. Using either Praetor's Grasp, Opposition Agent, or Thada Adel, Acquisitor, exile an opponent's artifact that you also have in your deck. Common choices are Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, the Talismans, and Sensei's Divining Top. That way, when you cast your opponent's Sol Ring, Mishra will then search your library for a card named "Sol Ring". Two for the price of one. While this is a cool trick, it's not exactly game winning, so it is the more lackluster of things Mishra can do.

>Physical Toys

This part is optional, but it's a fun arts and crafts project, and it does make playing this deck easier. Cut some paper to about the size of a magic card. Get some colored markers or highlighters and write on five different papers "Mishra search", "Possibility flip", "Draw a card", "Counter", and "Gain life", and then give each card a border. These are typically the five different cast triggers that can occur with this deck. You can name them different things if you want. It helps to use a different color for each of these so they're color coded. Make about 4 of each. Then either laminate these or put them in a sleeve with a basic land behind it (to give it some rigidness). Now whenever you're putting spells and triggers on the stack, you can physically make a stack of all of these things. It helps when trying to resolve things, as interactions and triggers can get weird.

>Playing the Deck

>Starting Hand

Most important thing with a starting hand; you need to get Possibility Storm. Either pick a starting hand with Possibility Storm, or something that can search for it. Failing that, go with a wheel effect, as that will likely get into a way to find Possibility Storm. That's your first priority. After that, you'll probably want one piece of mana ramp, just to get you ahead a little bit. It's also important that you have some kind of repeatable draw like Rhystic Study or Vedalken Archmage. You'll want a lot of cards in hand by the time Possibility Storm is on the battlefield.

That seems like a lot of things to ask from a starting hand. I told you this was a jank deck. There are a lot of things that have to go well, and that's before your opponents start interacting. This deck doesn't always work, but when it does, it's fantastic.

>Early Turns

And by early, I mean turns 1 to 5. This is not a fast deck. During this time your goal is to get out both Possibility Storm and Mishra. With both ramp and tutors, you should be able to get one of these cards out on turn 4, and the other on turn 5. Ideally you would have set up a draw engine as well.

If you can't get Possibility Storm, try to use Planar Chaos instead, to buy you some time. It's also possible to manually storm off without Possibility Storm, but that's harder to do. Bolas's Citadel is a card that's really good for this. I go into more details later.

Once you have both Mishra and Possibility Storm, and preferably a draw engine, you're ready to storm off. Try to storm off the turn after you've played all these things, so that way you have lots of mana to work with. Fortunately, Possibility Storm is actually pretty good at protecting itself. If an opponent tries to remove it with Beast Within, they end up flipping into Brainstorm.

> Storming off

Storm decks are usually pretty difficult to play. The advantage with a commander like Mishra or Yidris is that even though there is an element of randomness you can't control, you're pretty much guaranteed to get a second spell just for casting the first one. If you play Talisman of Indulgence, you're likely going to get another artifact that taps for mana. You spent two mana, you received two mana, and your storm count increased by two.

Breaking even is good and all, but to really make storm work, you need to net positive. You want to acquire more mana and more cards than what you had at the start of the turn. For this, you need discount effects (Etherium Sculptor) and draw triggers (Vedalken Archmage). Alternatively, you can start the turn with a large amount of mana and spells to cast, and work with wheel effects to draw lots of cards. Then there is Bolas's Citadel. This card will give you so many spells, as long as you have enough life, and you're somehow able to get the lands out of the way. Shouldn't be difficult, since Mishra can shuffle your deck every time you cast an artifact.

Once you've got the ball rolling and you're able to cast a lot of spells in one turn, see if you can get into one of these win conditions. Remember that this deck is dependent on luck, but if you're able to keep casting spells, you should be able to get into one of them.

>Winning the Game

>Aetherflux Reservoir

This is the go-to win condition. While you're casting all these spells and gradually gaining more mana and cards, your aim is to get Aetherflux Reservoir out. Once Aetherflux is out, you now have a way to win the game, so just keep casting spells and gaining life. Once again; the order in which you place cast triggers on the stack is very important, and Aetherflux's life gain trigger is no exception. Let's say the storm count is at 5, and you cast an artifact spell. Set the Aetherflux lifegain trigger to resolve after Possibility Storm's trigger, but before Mishra's Trigger. That way, you get a second spell cast , so both Aetherflux triggers will go off one after the other. You'll gain 7 life twice instead of 6 life then 7 life. Further more, you can then cast an instant in response to the lifegain triggers, Possibility Storm will cast a different instant for you, and then when the Aetherflux triggers, you gain 9 life 4 times (36 life instead of 30). I know it seems like a small difference, but it can make a difference, especially for what comes next.

In order to wipe the table, you need to have 151 life, which is about 14 spells cast if you started the turn with Aetherflux Reservoir. More spells will need to be cast if you only get Aetherflux part-way through the turn, and if you've also taken damage throughout the game, both of which are very likely. Fortunately, you only really need to get past 50 life (4 spells or so). Once there, you're hovering over a death-button. You can activate Aetherflux's damage ability at instant speed, so if someone tries to remove something of yours, you can just kill them in response. If someone goes to remove Aetherflux, you just deal 50 damage to them in response, so Aetherflux doesn't get removed. The only thing you'll really have to worry about is Krosan Grip. Once you have 51 life, you're more or less untouchable, so you can wait another turn cycle and then try to get to 151 life.

>Bolas's Citadel + Sensei's Divining Top

Okay so technically this combo also wins with Aetherflux Reservoir, but whatever. With Citadel and Sensei's Top on the battlefield, tap the top to draw a card and place it on top of your deck. Then pay 1 life to cast the top off of the top. Keep in mind that each time you cast top off the top you can look at the top card before Mishra's ability resolves. If you like what's on top, keep it there, and don't use Mishra's ability. Otherwise, shuffle it away to get a new top card. Remember that you're looking for a way to cast Aetherflux Reservoir, so keep an eye out for Fabricate and the other tutors on the top. Keep track of how much mana you have too, because if you don't have a lot you're going to want to cast Aetherflux from the top by paying 4 life.

I get the feeling I'm saying "top" too much.

Once you have Aetherflux out, just keep casting Sensei's Top by paying 1 life. You'll net positive on your life total, and you'll be able to nuke the table in no time.

>Time Sieve + Thopter Assembly

This is the backup win of the deck. Thopter Assembly is a dead card, so you might not want to include this combo. Fortunately, Time Sieve still has some use. With both of them out, you have infinite extra turns. Because Thopter Assembly is an artifact, this combo will also work through Possibility Storm and all the self-counter effects.

>Single Card Discussion

>Synergy cards

Chalice of the Void: You want to set this thing to "2". It's an easy mana cost to pay, and there are a lot of good spells at 2 mana that you'll be stopping. Also remember that if you cast this thing off of Possibility Storm it will counter spells with CMC 0, so no Wheel of Fate.
Nullstone Gargoyle: Paying 9 mana is a lot, but it will seriously mess up your opponents. Remember that your first artifact spell will just come back to you, so then you'll be free to cast any other non-creatures.
Opposition Agent: Ideally you would cast this in response to someone casting a spell that will let you look for an artifact/enchantment, but it's more likely that you'll just cast it in response to the first thing that comes up. Two important notes with this creature; you can use it as another way of getting Possibility Storm if the card you search for is another tutor that opponent has, and this card eliminates the downsides of Scheming Symmetry, Wishclaw Talisman, and Noble Benefactor.
Planar Chaos: This card can be more annoying to use than you think. Each turn cycle there is a 50% chance that it's just going to disappear. It also makes it harder to cast your non-artifact spells, because there is a 50% they'll get countered. I've considered removing it, but I keep it because it does make your opponents not want to cast anything.
Possibility Storm: Here it is. The all-star of the deck. I really don't think there is anything else left to say.
Praetor's Grasp: The best use with this card is to get an opponent's artifact and cast it later. But you can also use this card to eliminate a combo piece. Or you can use this to search for an opponent's tutor, and cast it later to get Possibility Storm.
Thada Adel, Acquisitor: She's a little slow going, but if done right she can get you an artifact each turn.

Notable Exclusions

Blood Funnel: The upside of casting non-creatures for 2 less mana isn't enticing enough. Blood funnel makes it harder to cast wheel effects, as this deck doesn't have a lot of creatures to spare.
Gonti, Lord of Luxury: The odds of you finding an artifact you own with Gonti is very low, and not worth 4 mana.
Nether Void: I would like to use this card but the price tag is holding me back. I'm also not sure if paying more for my non-artifact spells is worth it.
Void Mirror: The upside of this is that your artifacts are still unaffected thanks to Mishra. The downside is that this is a soft-lock with Possibility Storm (player's can still cast from places other than hand). You'll still be able to cast artifacts, but you need to make sure you can win from a soft-lock, with much of your card draw locked away. The win condition would have to be combat damage, and Mishra can't out-aggro 3 other people.

I may still test out this card to see if there is a way to make it work.

>Finishers

Aetherflux Reservoir: There really isn't anything else to say about this card. It is this decks main win-condition so it's kind of essential.
Thopter Assembly: A dead card without Time Sieve.
Time Sieve: It has a little bit of use outside of the combo, but it really does need Thopter Assembly to be any good.

Notable Exclusions

Cranial Plating: This can work well as a backup win, but I found that I could usually only get away with taking out one player. Most people don't block Mishra (low damage, but he's got high toughness) so you can snap on Cranial Plating at instant speed and take that person out.
Hellkite Tyrant: Its not that great of a win condition but the shear number of artifacts in this deck makes winning with it a possibility.
Mind's Desire: This card doesn't win the game, but with a high enough storm count it does put you really far ahead, so you might end up building another combo by accident.

>Mana Ramp

Arcane Signet, guild signets, talismans, and Fellwar Stone: These are all great. They only cost two mana, and they tap for mana immediately. Auto-includes. If ever better stuff gets released, I'll slowly swap out the guild signets.
Cloud Key: Simple discount effect. In case it wasn't obvious, always name "artifact".
Dockside Extortionist: Gives lots of treasure very easily.
Etherium Sculptor and Foundry Inspector: The cost reducers. With one of these out, it's very easy to net positive off of casting the 2 mana rocks. These are also artifact creatures, so they are good to cast from hand as you can flip into either an artifact or a creature.
Gilded Lotus: Not that great to cast from hand, but it is sweet to flip into.
Helm of Awakening: A cost reducer, but this one also discounts your opponents. If you're in a slow pod this shouldn't be a problem, but try to remember that this will benefit your opponents in the early game more than yourself.
Leaden Myr, Silver Myr: These guys don't tap for mana immediately, which is an unfortunate downside during the combo turn. The upside is that because they are artifact creatures, casting them from hand will give either an artifact or a creature.
Jeweled Amulet, Mox Amber, Mox Opal: The zero mana artifacts. These are great to have in your hand so you can flip into another artifact for free. Perfect for the storm strategy.
Krark-Clan Ironworks: sometimes when storming off you steadily lose mana. The Ironworks acts as a way to get even more mana out of a rock. I would suggest sacrificing the signets first, as those are the weakest of the rocks in this deck.
Mana Crypt and Sol Ring: Auto-includes. I got lucky and managed to pull Mana Crypt from a pack. There is no need to feel like you absolutely must have one.
Urza, Lord High Artificer: Very good. Comes with some ramp in the form of a token, and can turn artifacts like treasure, summoning sick myr, and Bolas's Citadel into ramp.

Notable Exclusions

Chromatic Lantern, Coalition Relic: 3 mana ramp is just too much if it's not a cost reducer. Shame really, these are good choices otherwise.
Chrome Mox: There's only about 40 colored permanents in the deck, which is not effective to make Chrome Mox worth it.
Herald of Kozilek: Budget option if you can't afford Cloud Key. I prefer my cost reducers to also be artifacts.
Jhoira's Familiar: I'm already hesitant to use cost reducers at 3 mana. 4 seems like too much.
Storm the Vault: This would be really good ramp if this deck attacked more.

>Card Draw

Bolas's Citadel: Okay so it's not technically card draw, but it is still card advantage. As long as you can somehow get the lands out of the way, this card will give you a huge storm count.
Echo of Eons: This wheel effect isn't so great to cast from hand, but flipping into it is wonderful. You can also cast it from grave later at a much more reasonable cost.
Insight: There are a lot of decks that use green. It's also the color that is the most effective at removing artifacts and enchantments. I'm gonna take advantage of this.
Jhoira, Weatherlight Captain: draw cards off of artifacts and the few legendary creatures in this deck. Very good when storming off.
Mystic Remora: This card works dual purpose as either card draw, or stax. In the early game, you'll either draw lots of cards, or your opponents will barely play anything. Both outcomes are good for this deck.
Paradoxical Outcome: Very good card draw for a storm deck. Return all your zero and 1 mana artifacts to hand so you can cast them again, and draw lots of cards in the process. The downside is that this card is an instant, which makes it hard to flip into during the storm turn.
Ponder and Preordain: Low cost cantrips. Good for flipping into something bigger.
Reforge the Soul: The miracle is nice, and this is also a good sorcery to flip into. Paying the full 5 mana can be a lot though, so I wouldn't suggest doing that while Possibility Storm is out.
Rhystic Study: If your opponents aren't smart, you can end up with a lot of cards in hand right before you try to storm off.
Scroll Rack: This can help you set up your plays with Possibility Storm out. Put all those expensive spells back into your deck so you can cast into them with low-cost spells. Just remember that if you use Mishra's effect, you're shuffling.
Sea Gate Restoration // Sea Gate, Reborn: Most of the time this will be played as a land. Don't pay the full 7 mana for this card, just try to flip into it.
Sensei's Divining Top: Part of a combo with Bolas's Citadel, and also just really good top-deck manipulation. Use it's peek ability sparingly when you're trying to storm off; you'll need every bit of mana available for that.
Vedalken Archmage: A little worse than Jhoira, as she lets you draw off of legendaries. But still good card draw for this deck.
Wheel of Fate: This is a good early game play, because your hand will likely be empty in four turns time. It's also good to flip into.
Wheel of Misfortune and Windfall: Budget wheel effects. Both are very good.

Notable Exclusions

Insight: This card is a meta call, and I'm not sure what my meta is going to look like. If you have a decent amount of green decks in your group, I recommend using this.
Sai, Master Thopterist: I've considered him, but I don't know if I'm able to afford paying two mana for one card. Especially considering the amount of wheel effects I'm using.
Valakut Awakening // Valakut Stoneforge: Can be either a land or a personal wheel effect. Unfortunately, it's the weakest of the wheel effects in this deck, and being an instant means it messed with the interaction package of the deck, so it got cut.
Verity Circle: Tried using this, didn't turn out so well. Very dependent on facing off against decks that use mana dorks.

>Tutors

For this deck, it's important that tutors can search for Possibility Storm. Without white in the deck, I had to get creative with my choices.

Brainspoil: This card has one purpose; it searches for Possibility Storm. It can also be used as removal, but that's not what you want it for.
Demonic Tutor: Simple and effective.
Diabolic Tutor: Strictly worse than Demonic Tutor, but it's fine for now.
Fabricate: Doesn't get Possibility Storm, but it can search for Aetherflux Reservoir, which is useful later on.
Gamble: Can get anything at a low cost.
Grim Tutor: A nice tutor, but I can't help but think there is a better one I could be using. Any suggestions?
Noble Benefactor, Scheming Symmetry, and Wishclaw Talisman: So these ones all have a catch, in that they allow your opponents to search as well. Just remember that this deck is meant for a much lower-powered environment, so with any luck your opponents won't be getting any combo pieces. If you're still worried, use Opposition Agent.
Vampiric Tutor: The best single target tutor in this deck. Use it on the turn before you have 5 mana, so you can play Possibility Storm immediately after.

Notable Exclusions

Beseech the Queen: In order for this to get me Possibility Storm, I would need 5 lands, making Possibility Storm a turn 6 play. Even for this deck, that's a little late.
Whir of Invention: Two problems with this card. First, it's an instant instead of a sorcery. Second, if I flip into it with Possibility Storm, X will be zero. That doesn't get me the Aetherflux Reservoir I so desperately want.

>Interaction

Because of the random nature of this deck, it's important that removal is able to take out both artifacts and creatures. Because this is a low-interaction deck to begin with, it's alright if the removal ends up costing a bit more mana.

Abrade: One of the best removal spells in red.
Bedevil: Being able to hit three important targets puts this in the deck.
Chaos Warp: Hits all targets.
Crosis's Charm: Capable of removing all targets, some better than others.
Rakdos Charm: Doesn't remove creatures, but it does also work as grave-hate. Time will tell if this was a good choice.

Notable Exclusions

Counterspells: Using counterspells in this deck was weird. They would be useful for protecting Possibility Storm on cast, but kinda useless afterwards. I might try to use Swan Song, Fierce Guardianship, and Stubborn Denial in the future.
Cyclonic Rift: I can't Overload this with Possibility Storm out. There's just no way.
Hostage Taker: A similar problem as with Gonti, it's hard to guarantee that you'll exile an artifact that you also own, and not worth it at four mana.
Nihil Spellbomb: Something to consider if you need more grave-hate. It can always just draw you a card if nothing else.

>Other

Buried Ruin: Brings back any valuable artifact you may have lost.
Elixir of Immortality: This is a safeguard. It re-shuffles Possibility Storm into the deck if it gets removed.

Notable Exclusions

Artifact lands: If you flip into one of these after casting an artifact, you don't get a second spell. Really annoying.
Defense Grid: Possibility Storm can somewhat protect itself, but once people learn to hate this deck, you may want to start packing more protection against counterspells.
Emry, Lurker of the Loch: If ever the Citadel + Top combo needs more protection I'll use her. Because otherwise she's not good for much.
Padeem, Consul of Innovation: Terrible card draw for this deck, but the protection is kinda nice. If ever I end up comboing with Citadel + Top more and more I may use her.
Underworld Breach: A staple of good storm decks, I'm not sure how it will work in this crappy one. Because I use a lot of artifacts for storming as opposed to instants and sorceries I'm not sure if my graveyard would be able to get the right density of cards to make Underworld Breach work. I'll likely try it out at some point in the future.