[03] Nekusar, the Mindrazer: Drawlicious (EDH / Commander) [Revision 73]

Power lvl: 7/10
Complexity: 4/10
Salt lvl: Mid
Infinite combos: No
Tutor quality: Mid
Webcam-unfriendly cards: none

Nekusar, the Mindrazer turns the symmetric effect of Wheel of Fortune and its ilk into a wincon. Apart from lands, ramp, removal, counterspells and utility cards, the cards in the deck can be categorized into 5 main categories:

1) “wheel” effects, which make players get rid of their hands (via discard or shuffling into library) and drawing a new hand. When evaluating a wheel effect, it is necessary to take into account a) whether it discards the hand or shuffles the cards it into the library, b) whether it affects each player, each opponent or target player, c) how many cards a player redraws, and d) whether it is instant speed or not. Examples include Wheel of Fortune, Wheel and Deal, Jace's Archivist, Teferi's Puzzle Box or Memory Jar. Some lands also provide additional draw/discard utility, such as Geier Reach Sanitarium, Mikokoro, Center of the Sea, Mystic Sanctuary (to return a wheel effect) or Fetid Pools (in conjuction with Bone Miser). Several artifacts also include a one-off draw ability, such as Commander's Sphere or Mind Stone.

2) draw punishers, which damage players (or make them lose life) for each drawn card. Again, you should pay special attention to symmetrical punishers, so that you don’t end up killing yourself. Examples include Kederekt Parasite, Spiteful Visions, Phyrexian Tyranny, Psychosis Crawler or Fevered Visions.

3) discard punishers, which damage players (or make them lose life) or provide value for each discarded card. Examples include Megrim, Fell Specter, Waste Not or Bone Miser.

4) graveyard recursion cards, which allow you to recast wheel effects in your graveyard, thus generating additional value, such as Mizzix's Mastery and Yawgmoth's Will.

5) draw limiters, which limit the number of cards that an opponent can draw from a wheel effect. These cards are a nonbo with draw punishers, however the sheer card advantage they provide let you win using a different avenue. The draw limiters included in this list are Notion Thief and Narset, Parter of Veils.

Before firing off any wheel effects, you should always assemble a set of draw/discard punishers to maximize the amount of damage caused. Tainted Strike targeting Nekusar, the Mindrazer serves a similar purpose, since opponents can be killed via 10 poison counters.