Chaos Theory (EDH / Commander) [Revision 221]

Summary

This is meant to be a fun-for-the-whole-table version of a chaos deck that is tricked out as my personal pet deck. There are flavor choices (such as including "Chaos Mutation" and other spells that have better choices but worse flavor; including Reef Worm as a personal favorite card), deck-building limitations (balancing the colors between red and blue), and strategy choices (going all over the place with different strategies instead of focusing on winning with Okaun; including Pact of the Titan at all) that make it more fun to play with in my opinion, but don't make it non-functional. It still works pretty well and is fun as long as you aren't playing in too competitive of an environment. That said, I won a Mana Crypt in a bet and included it in the deck and will absolutely include a Volcanic Island if I can ever get one, so it obviously qualifies as cEDH.

>How to Play

General Strategy
This deck has many viable routes rather than one focused route. It makes it fun, chaotic, and interesting, but having lots of possible ways to win means the priority is instead getting access to all the ways to win, so card advantage is the most important mechanic. Okaun gives the most straightforward ways to win, but Zndrsplt gives the most reliable card draw. Getting Zndrsplt out early will allow you to get to the relatively limited interaction spells, access more mana ramp, and get all the pieces you need to finish.

Opening
Go for lands and mana ramp. Generally plan on Zndrsplt first once you hit 5 mana. Once out, your access to cards will go up quickly. 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 usually only 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 helps with that as well. Just having lands and ramp in your starting hand is fine, even preferable. Ramp ramp ramp.

But besides ramp, Krark's Thumb, Strionic Resonator, Mystic Remora, and Rhystic Study are excellent starting hand cards. Tutor cards can be helpful, but most of them tutor for something specific. 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 Okaun combat damage 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 that end, 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. It will make half of opponents' attacks meaningless (more if you have Krark's Thumb out), which will make them hesitant to attack at all. Similarly, Elemental Mastery's tokens can 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 and army at you.

For removal, Mogg Assassin is a fun politics card besides adding coin flips. If you and an opponent can agree on a third player's creature that needs to go, Mogg Assassin will always hit (although keep in mind that you have to declare your chosen target before they do, so make sure you trust them at least that much). It's hard for opponents to begrudge your removal when it involves library replacements, as Chaos Mutation, Chaos Warp, and Chaotic Transformation do, or when it has some element of choice added to it, as Whims of the Fates does. If Jokulhaups is needed, you have indestructible mana 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, 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

• The Classic: 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.
• The NaCly Nerfherder: Knock out a single opponent with their own spell. Reverberation will make an opponent pay for their Blasphemous Act.
• The Big Brain: Body of Knowledge is obviously buddies with Zndrsplt, but Okaun likes it too. If Laboratory Maniac is out and Okaun is big (say, 96/96 after winning 5 coin flips), cast Kazuul's Fury, sacrificing Okaun and targeting Body of Knowledge instead of an opponent. Why knock out one person when you can kill your own creature and deck yourself?
• The Greatest: Win the tontine. Hive Mind on the board. Wipe the board with Jokulhaups. Cast Pact of the Titan, pass the turn, and watch as the involuntary members of your tontine drop.

>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 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, although limited by mana.
• 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 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 7.0

> Things I considered in this revision, 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:
Deflecting Swat - lame, also need Fierce Guardianship if this is in
Fierce Guardianship - lame, also need Deflecting Swat if this is in
Lightning Greaves - overdone, can't target Okaun during combat if equipped
Swiftfoot Boots ^^^^^
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