Commander Deck Tech: Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Hello! My name is Chris and I'm a new Commander writer for Flipside Gaming! I'm planning to write some articles on midbudget Commander decks somewhere between the 5-7 out of 10 power range, if you're into that sort of categorization. As such I'd first like to introduce to you my favorite Commander deck that I've been tinkering with since I got a copy of Azami, Lady of Scrolls in the Derevi precon deck in 2013. That deck retired awhile ago, in its place now is Momir Vig, Simic Visionary.
Let's start off by checking out the deck list!
Full disclosure I've been playing for over a decade now so a bunch of cards that I got for a reasonable price have gone WAY outside of the range of affordability. As such, I'll suggest some alternate options.
First lets talk about the deck. This is a Wizard combo deck where your main plan is to draw your whole deck. Mormir Vig lets you search for Creatures for either combo pieces or utility. There are two basic infinite combos and a 1 card win in the deck. The combos are Food Chain and Misthollow Griffin which allows for infinite mana for Creatures. The other combo is Azami, Lady of Scrolls and Mind Over Matter, allowing you to draw your entire deck. Azami in a deck full of Wizards and Wizard utility allows for a powerful engine to build value. The one card combo in the deck is the only sorcery in the list. Primal Surge is a silly card that allows you to put permanents into play until you find a non permanent card. As there are no non permanents in the deck, this places everything in play allowing for an instant victory.
Outside of comboing, this is a Creature based value deck. Master Biomancer and Progenitor Mimic can get out of hand very quickly. If you like drawing cards and playing Creatures then give this deck a try. But before you go playing this deck lets address the elephant in the room. If you wanted to buy these cards there are some WILDLY expensive Enchantments in the list along with a relatively expensive mana base. Lets address the mana base first to try and bring this deck down to a reasonable cost.
Improving a mana base is a commitment that gets more and more difficult the more colors you play, and honestly isn't a huge deal. Playing with basics is easy and obviously very affordable and adding cheap taplands like Thornwood Falls won't inflate deck costs either. Moving to fetchlands/shocklands like Misty Rainforest and Breeding Pool is an investment that I recommend making when these lands are in current Standard legal sets. Breeding Pools went down to under ten dollars when they were in Standard and fetchlands were under 20 when Khans of Tarkir block was legal. The only real step after upgrading to these levels of Lands is to go invest in old duals which is expensive. Would I like a Tropical Island? Yes. Would I like to spend money to buy a Tropical Island? No and I probably never will. *Unless theres a reprint but thats a discussion for another time.
Now lets talk about Enchantments. Mind Over Matter used to be 20 bucks. Its at least double that now. It's in the deck to untap Wizards for effects, including drawing infinite cards with Azami and making mana for things like Primal Surge with mana producing creatures. Replacing this Enchantment is odd because most mass untap effects that aren't banned in Commander are already in the deck. Umbral Mantle is a reasonable card to get multiple triggers at the cost of mana. Mind Over Matter is better in this deck because cards are easier material to acquire than mana.
Up next is Food Chain. Food Chain is a Legacy card played in a deck of the same name. Luckily it got a reprint recently so its not as hard to find as it used to be. However, it is still on the expensive side. Replacing this isn't a huge deal as it is not needed to combo off in most circumstances. Replacing Food Chain and Misthollow Griffin is pretty painless. I would recommend replacing them with mana producers, a Kiora's Follower and any generic mana producing elf would do the trick.
Eagle eyed readers may have seen that there's a Survival of the Fittest in this list. Reader, you don't need this card in your deck. Play Fauna Shaman instead, it's not as powerful but it has a lot going for it. It's a Creature, it has a powerful effect, it's in standard, and it's not a reserve list card.
To wrap up, this deck is for people who like weird tribes and drawing cards. Theres been a more recent Wizard Commander printed in Inalla, Archmage Ritualist but playing a normal tribal Commander is not my style. I like brewing with the unconventional and I hope to share more ideas like these with you all soon!
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