No Underground Sea? How pathetic.

My deck stands as a testament to strategy and cunning. Yet, I must confess a bittersweet truth. The cards of true power, like Ragavan Nimble Pilferer, Force of Negation, Dockside Extortionist, and others, elude my grasp due to the constraints of my budget. Alas, the absence of these mighty cards grants my opponents a slight advantage.
How fortunate for them, to bask in the temporary glory of their ill-gotten power.

HOW TO PLAY

Certainly, there are players who undeniably chose the wrong color and seem to have missed out on the distribution of intelligence. Therefore, here is a brief description of how to play this deck.

>Lose the dice roll

Important! Lose the dice roll.
It's always great to go first in the game.
However, we don't want to attract unnecessary attention, suspicion, and become the immediate target before even drawing a card.

>Keep or Mulligan

Look! What a stunning 6 Land Hand!
We have a plan in place. Actually, it's quite self-explanatory: all we need are two combo pieces.
If we happen to have one in our starting hand, it's a seamless entry into the game.
In most cases, thanks to my unbelievably talented shuffling skills, i'll have two of the pieces in my starting hand.
You should expect 0. Hey, you can't have it all.

Here's how the wishlist looks:

We need some Lands, preferably Fetches like Scalding Tarn - Misty Rainforest or Bloodstained Mire. Grab the Xander's Lounge

a sweet little Tutor Demonic Tutor - Imperial Recruiter

lot of cantrips. They're fantastic. They're practical. I adore them. Opt - Ponder - Consider

It's better to have Preordain in your opening hand than Rise of the Dark Realms.

and a Mana Rock. Arcane Signet - Talisman of Creativity

With these, we can accomplish quite a lot.

And to stir things up on the board, some removal would be nice too. Abrade - Kolaghan's Command

>Do Kess and Kiki really get along?

SPOILER

No.

Kess, Dissident Mage primarily serves to enhance our color identity.

The focus isn't necessarily on actively playing the Commander.

We simply want to recast our removal and cantrips in case the cards we draw don't meet our expectations or if something annoying appears on the board once again.

No need to burst into tears.

I've heard a rumor that the brother of his father's uncle, who allegedly had connections with a government official,
once caught a glimpse of Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and Kess, Dissident Mage together on the battlefield.

>Cantrip into Cantrip into Tutor into Win

Card advantage is always fantastic. We aim to end the turn with at least 6 cards in hand. In most of the cases we need to discard.

Thanks to draw and scry effects, we navigate through our library, deciding on the spot what we need and what we don't.

Skithiryx, the Blight Dragon rests on top, ready to pierce through non-flying opponents.

Or perhaps it's better to put it at the bottom and operate under the radar?

Shall we use the Demonic Tutor to search for a Splinter Twin or for Toxic Deluge to satisfactorily clear the board for many?

The focus lies on the combo pieces. However, it's important to note that a minimum of 6 mana is required for a moderately secure win.

Ultimately, though, it all comes down to the board.

>Psychological warfare, to counter or not to counter?

Once two Blue mana can be produced, it's time to make the opponent squirm.

Even if you don't have a counter in hand, take a brief pause, leaving them in suspense, and then confidently declare a succinct RESOLVE.

Don't toss counterspells around like sand on the beach. Use them judiciously and strategically, reserving them for pivotal moments that truly warrant their disruptive power.

The most crucial aspect is to protect the win condition. With Dispel - Swan Song in hand, or ideally both, we are well-secured.

Of course, exceptions always exist.

If an opponent attempts to mess with a mere couple of land cards in turn 4, we swiftly nullify their efforts by countering the Talisman of Curiosity or Rampant Growth.

very amusing...

>"Oh my Gawd! He's using a tutor to get his Kiki-Jiki!"

Now that we finally have two of the combo pieces in hand, what's next?

First and foremost, we need an ample supply of red mana.

Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker demands three red mana, while Splinter Twin requires two.

Selecting the appropriate lands is vital.

When cracking fetch lands, the focus is on lands like Smoldering Marsh - Steam Vents and Blood Crypt, or the budget option Molten Tributary.

We don't want to exclude Dimir lands. This way, we can either use black and blue for various interactions and removal, or solely red for the copy effects.

Once that foundation is secured, we'll need one or two counterspells to react to various responses.

Rakdos Charm is one of many pesky disruptions. Whether the opponent plays a counter or removal, we counter it.

If we are going for the Splinter Twin combo, we should also protect ourselves from enchantment removals. Nature's Claim is one of the classics in that regard.

It's crucial to keep an eye on the opponents' board, mana, and hand cards. The more tapped lands the opponents have, the better.

Starting with Exhaustion on the opponent who likely has the most responses is truly brilliant. By doing so, we can restrict their options and greatly hinder their ability to react.

Sometimes, no response comes from any of the opponents. Okay, easy win!

However, it's always better to anticipate more and, if necessary, wait a turn or two.

If the board looks perfect, there's nothing stopping us from playing a Pestermite or a Deceiver Exarch at the end of the opponent's turn.

Now it's our turn. We either cast Splinter Twin on Pestermite - Deceiver Exarch or play Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker and copy as much as we can.

With Dispel and Mana Drain in hand, victory is now ours.

>Hope that your opponents are also your friends

Often, opponents get annoyed by so-called infinite combos.
In such cases, it's helpful to refer to the official banlist for Commander games.
"Apologies that my Grizzly Bears didn't deal 40 combat damage to you"
However, let's not attribute ignorance to non-Blue players, but rather acknowledge their limited perspective.
Be polite and offer a rematch.
Not everyone is clever enough to play BLUE.

>Cards that you should sponsor for me

As mentioned before, some cards exceed my budget. Here is a list of cards that would significantly enhance the deck:

Deflecting Swat
Force of Will
Bribery
Bitterblossom
Ragavan Nimble Pilferer
Fierce Guardianship
Chrome Mox
Dockside Extortionist
Mox Diamond
Consecrated Sphinx
Gilded Drake
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Imperial Seal
Liliana of the Veil
Mana Crypt
Mana Vault
Training Center
Force of Negation
Snapcaster Mage
Sheoldred, the Apocalypse
Spellseeker

To provide you with more information on how you can send me the free cards, please get in touch!