Chaos Theory (EDH / Commander)

Summary

This is primarily my collectible deck. It's meant to play as a goofy but functional chaos deck that doesn't treat Okaun as the only wincon. Because it's for collection and fun, there are some self-imposed deck limitations (eg balancing the mana usage between red and blue), flavor limitations (eg including Reef Worm only because it's a personal favorite), and strategy choices (eg focusing on Zndrsplt value, or including the Pact of the Titan combo at all) that make it more fun to play with in my opinion, but they don't make it non-functional.

>How to Play

General Strategy
This deck has many viable routes rather than one focused route. Okaun gives the most straightforward ways to win, so it can often be the better opening commander, but Zndrsplt's card advantage enables both its own wincons and finding pieces for others. Because Zndrsplt is the route to non-Okaun options, it's a toss-up on which commander is more beneficial to play first from game to game. It's also more fun for the table to not do the same Okaun strategy every time, and likewise using Krark, the Thumbless and Sakashima of a Thousand Faces as alternative commanders will give you a harder, but still viable, game while adding some variety.

Opening
Prioritize ramp over all else (except maybe Kark's Thumb- no ramp but Krark's Thumb is still a great starting hand). I generally plan to play Zndrsplt first once I hit 5 mana, and hopefully even having to mulligan will get corrected quickly by his ability. There are plenty of "no max hand size" effects, so access to mana for all of the cards you end up holding is essential. Okaun is better to start with if you already have evasion and coin flipping help in the starting hand along with ramp, but that's a big ask. Okaun and Zndrsplt are both big targets for removal, so ramp also helps with recovering from the hate. Just having lands and ramp in your starting hand is fine, even preferable. Ramp ramp ramp.

But after ramp, Krark's Thumb, Strionic Resonator, Mystic Remora, and Rhystic Study are excellent starting hand cards. Tutors can be helpful, but most of them tutor for something specific and are probably more useful in the midgame. See the tutor section under Extra Info for ideas of what you would want from them.

Midgame/Delay
If you aren't ready to win by the mid game- most likely because combat damage from Okaun is not an option- the goal is to keep flipping coins and keep Zndrsplt on the battlefield, and delay until you have a big hand full of all the tools. To delay, Planar Chaos can keep opponents hesitant about advancing at all while you gather cards. Impulsive Maneuvers is not just for pumping Okaun when he attacks; it can deter attacks just as much as Propaganda. You can threaten to neutralize attackers, leaving them free to be blocked without consequence, which leaves them tapped against all the third party attackers, attackers that you could threaten to pump. Similarly, Elemental Mastery, typically meant for offense, can also be used for defense: save some instant-speed coin flips, then use them to pump up Okaun and tap him to generate blockers at instant speed if someone swings an army at you.

For removal, it's harder for opponents to begrudge your spot removal when it has a chance of giving them something back, like with Chaos Warp. We're all gamblers at heart. The same goes for removal that has some element of choice added to it, as Whims of the Fates does. If a hard reset via Jokulhaups is needed, you have some indestructible mana (and hopefully lots of cards in hand) to recover faster than your opponents.

Late Game
Win. This is cEDH, after all.

>How to Win

With Okaun, Eye of Chaos

• Swing for lethal commander damage with evasion: False Orders, Footfall Crater, Access Tunnel, Rogue's Passage, Ethereal Usher, and Whispersilk Cloak
• Go wide with Elemental Mastery
• Win outright with Chandra's Ignition

With Zndrsplt, Eye of Wisdom

• Laboratory Maniac and deck yourself
• Draw cards and swing with Atemsis, All-Seeing with the same evasion used for Okaun
• Triskaidekaphile, using itself, Atemsis, and coin flips to increase hand size and casting instants to reduce it

With Style

• Classic Wincon: Chance Encounter. Activate Frenetic Efreet an arbitrary number of times, activate Viashino Sandswimmer as much as mana allows, or play Game of Chaos at instant speed using Emergence Zone during your last opponent's end step and be a degenerate gambler.
• Big Brain Jank Train: Body of Knowledge obviously pairs well with Zndrsplt, but Okaun can do tricks, too. If Okaun gets big (say, 96/96 after winning 5 coin flips), cast Kazuul's Fury, sacrificing Okaun to deal 96 damage. But what do you target? You could remove one opponent, sure, but if you have Body of Knowledge and Laboratory Maniac on the battlefield, you could simply win. Deal 96 damage to Body of Knowledge, draw 96 cards, and win thanks to Laboratory Maniac.
• There Can Be Only One: Win the tontine. Hive Mind on the board. Wipe the board with Jokulhaups and cast Pact of the Titan while Apocalypse is still on the stack, pass the turn, and watch as the involuntary members of your tontine drop. Ethereal Usher and Tolaria West can transmute to tutor all three of these pieces.

>Extra Info

Tutors

• Krark's Thumb: Muddle the Mixture , Whir of Invention, Tribute Mage
• Pact of the Titan combo: Pact of the Titan can be tutored by Mystical Tutor or Tolaria West. Hive Mind and Jokulhaups can both be tutored by Ethereal Usher.

Pointers to remember about individual cards

• Krark, the Thumbless and Sakashima of a Thousand Faces are a legal (and probably functional?) alternate commander pair for this deck.
• Frenetic Efreet's ability can be activated any number of times. It does not have to be on the battlefield for it to resolve. If Zndrsplt and Laboratory Maniac are on the board, activate it 500 times, and you should have all the Zndrsplt coin flip triggers you need to win. Same with Chance Encounter.
• Viashino Sandswimmer works the same as Frenetic Efreet, except the number of activations is limited by mana.
• Remember that for Mogg Assassin, both players choose their targets as the ability goes onto the stack, with the player controlling Mogg Assassin choosing first. Also remind them that they can choose any creature, not just creatures you control.
• Karplusan Minotaur's 2nd and 3rd abilities are triggered by all coin flips, not just those during its cumulative upkeep resolution. During cumulative upkeep resolution all of the triggers are created, but they don't go onto the stack (and targets are not chosen) until the cumulative upkeep is finished resolving, and you choose the order in which they go on the stack.
• For cards like Chaotic Strike when targeting Okaun, if you win the coin flip the +1/+1 counter will already be on Okaun when Okaun's triggered ability goes on the stack.
• Hive Mind creates spell copies; this is not casting a spell. This is relevant for Planar Chaos and Krark, the Thumbless. Mind's Dilation's trigger does result in casting spells.
• Elemental Mastery tokens can be created and used during combat. Okaun and Zndrsplt triggers will resolve before attackers are declared, and you will have priority to activate the ability of Elemental Mastery, so you'll know how big Okaun is and will have the opportunity to create the Elemental tokens and swing with them if it's worth it.

> Revision Notes

Version 8.0

> Things I considered previously, for posterity

Candidates to remove:
Niv-Mizzet, Parun ^^^
Body of Knowledge? ^^^
Artful Dodge (instants or permanent effects are better) ^^^
Ral Zarek ^^^
Goblin Archaeologist ^^^
Mana Flare ^^^
Impending Disaster ^^^
Ponder? ^^^
Metamorphic Alteration ^^^
Strionic Resonator (maybe, it's pretty universally useful in this deck though)
Bloodsworn Steward ^^^
Fog Bank ^^^
The Locust God ^^^

Cards that really should be in here:
Jeweled Lotus
Temur Battle Rage - too obvious, flavor whiff
Dockside Extortionist ^^^^^ - should be banned, will be banned
Expropriate ^^^^^
Krark, the Thumbless ^^^^^
Jeska's Will ^^^^^
Access Tunnel ^^^^^
Mystical Tutor ^^^^^
False Orders ^^^^^
Unsummon ^^^^^

Mana Clash - This is so good with Krark's thumb out, even if the flips don't count as "winning". Even better with Krark, the Thumbless out, because you could go at two opponents with the spell, although the odd start to hurt you as much as it hurts them.

Really need more removal and probably more mana ramp

Coin flip stuff
Chaotic Strike ^^^^^
Goblin Kites is great for Zndrsplt because it can be activated a bunch of times (effectively sacrifice a creature to get as many flips as you can pay for)
Viashino Sandswimmer ^^^^^ - same card draw value
Desperate Gambit
Puppet's Verdict ^^^^^
Aleatory ^^^^^
Winter Sky ^^^^^
Goblin Festival

Okaun stuff
(Top picks)
Elemental Mastery ^^^^^
Chaos Charm (good for bringing out Zndrsplt first, then giving Okaun haste the next turn)
Expedite (better than Chaos Charm, but Chaos Charm has the flavor)
Aqueous Form ^^^^^
Bloodthirster ^^^^^
March of Swirling Mist
Slip Through Space
Tenza, Godo's maul
(Less likely, still possible)
Hero's Heirloom
Slip Out the Back
Keep Safe
Sword Coast Sailor
Two-Handed Axe

Zndrsplt stuff
(Top picks)
Omniscience
Venser's Journal
(Less likely, still possible)
Teferi's Ageless Insight
Alhammarret's Archive
Psychic Corrosion

Creature Copy
Irenicus's Vile Duplication
Fable of the Mirror-Breaker ^^^^^ (called it)
Sakashima the Impostor
Vesuvan Duplimancy

Miscellaneous
(Top picks)
Reverberation ^^^^^
Impulsive Maneuvers ^^^^^
Wild Ricochet
Twinferno
(Less likely, still possible)
Shameless Charlatan
Gale's Redirection
Teferi, Master of Time
Blue Sun's Zenith

Removal
(Top picks)
Chaotic Transformation ^^^^^
Chaos Mutation ^^^^^
Mogg Assassin ^^^^^
Wild Magic Surge
(Less likely, still possible)
Boompile
Worldfire
Vandalblast

Card Advantage
(Top picks)
Whir of Invention ^^^^^
Reshape ^^^^^
Mutalith Vortex Beast ^^^^^
(Less likely, still possible)
Brainstorm

Indestructible Mana (add all of these probably)
(Ramp)
Darksteel Ingot ^^^^^
Skyclave Relic ^^^^^
(Lands)
Darksteel Citadel ^^^^^
Plaza of Heroes (oops, this gives a creature indestructible, doesn't have it for itself)
Cascading Cataracts ^^^^^

Other Mana Ramp
(Top picks)
Izzet Signet ^^^^^
Decanter of Endless Water
(Less likely, still possible)
Rituals?

Other (Mostly expensive) Lands
(Top picks)
Scalding Tarn ^^^^^
(Less likely, still possible)
Volcanic Island - LEB or nothing (why did they do izzet so dirty in LEA)
Prismatic Vista ^^^^^
Command Beacon
Path of Ancestry
Izzet Boilerworks