REAL MEN DON'T PLAY STAX.

MAKE ARTIFACTS - NOT STAX.

>Why Urza?

>Story Time

I've been playing Magic since about 1998 and have always been captivated by the lore and the different characters.
The character I always liked the most and unfortunately never had his own creature card was Urza.
After a very intense time around the Onslaught block, I took a long break and gave up playing completely.
During Corona, my friend with whom I played Magic at the beginning got me back on track. I built my first Commander decks and then I found him: URZA, FCKING LORD HIGH ARTIFICIER.

> Facts

I decided to play Urza WITHOUT stax and WITHOUT infinite combos. I just don't like it.

So Urza is the right commander for you if you:

• love the lore around him
• want a extreme fast commander deck
• like to play a little bit of control
• love artifacts
• love big blue spells

>How fast is this deck?

I play almost all fast mana rocks in this deck, so Urza is an extremely fast and versatile commander deck.

Once Urza is on the field, you also get a construct token that you can instant speed tap for blue mana.

As a rule, you can say that Urza is on the field 90% of the time on turn 2-3. With a very good hand also on turn 1.

An average start would look like this:

>Setup Phase

Turn 1: Land for turn + Mana Rock
Turn 2: Land for turn + Urza (or Mana Rock)
Turn 3: Land for turn + Value Card
Turn 4: Land for turn + Ability of Urza

>Time to kill

As a rule, a quick start and a few value cards make you public enemy number 1.
This deck runs all the best counterspells to protect Urza and my key cards.
Urza often wins out of nowhere because with his ability you can cast cards like Expropriate, Time Stretch, Blightsteel Colossus or similar for free.

>Important

At the beginning, the first law is to protect urza. After a successful build-up phase, it is bearable if he is destroyed 1-2. At the beginning, however, it is a big problem.

>Starting Hands

In most cases, a good starting hand will look like this:

• 3 mana sources (For example Mana Crypt, any Mox or Sol Ring)
• 1 counterspell (For example Force of Will)
• 1-2 Island
• 1 value card (For example Rhystic Study)
• 1 Removal spell (For example Pongify)

>Get your Setup online

The best setup plan (in case you have the right cards) would be:

1. Get your manabase ready with at leas 1-2 mana rocks
2. Play an early Urza and have 1-2 blue mana in case of a need for a counterspell
3. Play value cards or the activated ability
4. Play value cards or the activated ability
5. Play value cards or the activated ability

>Why no Stax or Infinte Combos?

I hate it.

>Ways to win

In most cases, Urza wins because of the sheer value the deck can generate. There is always the possibility to play a finisher spell via Urza's ability for free.

Finishers in this deck would be:

• Expropriate
• Time Stretch
• Blightsteel Colossus
• Cyclonic Rift (Overload only)
• Omniscience
• Construct Token
• Portal to Phyrexia

Ein Beispiel für ein value setup dass zum Sieg führen kann wäre:

• The One Ring
• Vedalken Orrery
• Unwinding Clock

Mit diesem Setup kann in jedem Upkeep jedes Spielers der eine Ring UND Urza ausgelöst werden.

>Matchups

>Good Matchups

Decks that focus on building and are not designed to put pressure on the opponent. In general, decks with little artifact removal are always a thankful matchup.

>Bad Matchups

Decks that aggressively go on the attack (preferably flying) are very difficult to handle. With Urza's ability, the spells are cast at a cost, so they can be countered. An early counterspell on Urza can also decide the game at the beginning.

>How to keep the pressure off or "How to be a politcian"

There are 2 ways to make sure your opponents don't put too much pressure on you:

1. Build a solid defense with cards like Construct Token

2. Politics. My game depends a lot on who the strongest player is and how I get him not to attack me and increase the pressure on the other opponents. I often achieve this through agreements such as: "I won't destroy XY for you if you don't attack me" - sounds easy? It is, and it works very often.

Ultimately, the plan is not to look dangerous until you can be ;)

>FAQ

1. How fast is this deck? How many turns does it take to do the setup? On what turn do you typically play Urza?

• Very fast, turn 1 Urza is a absolut realistic thing. In most cases he comes about turn 2-3.

2. How do you keep the pressure off?

• Really good question. The answer is - politics - because I'm always trying to put the focus on an opponent and away from me.

3. How badly is this deck hurt by stax pieces that limit card draw? How would you deal with this situation?

• Stax is painful but not dramatic. Mana is usally not a problem in this deck. Card draw is also painful, but with the ability of urza it is okay to deal with.