{"ops":[{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Jace Value"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Four-color planeswalker blink, selective polymorph, and protected midrange pressure."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"The thesis"},{"insert":"\n\nThis is not conventional Superfriends, a token-aggro deck, or a pile of enormous creatures. It is an engine deck that turns small, expendable permanents into disproportionately valuable ones, then uses planeswalker resets, selection, and layered defense to make that exchange repeatedly.\n\nThe main character is "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Jace, Multiverse Architect"},{"insert":". His +1 keeps cards moving; his -3 exiles another creature or planeswalker you control and reveals cards until you find a creature or planeswalker to put directly onto the battlefield. His combat tax discourages attacks on Jaces. The deck builds around exploiting all three abilities while remaining functional when the commander is unavailable.\n\nThe typical plan is "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"develop mana and material -> land Jace with an answer or follow-up available -> turn a disposable body into a useful permanent -> reset, protect, or reuse it -> convert accumulated advantage into a win"},{"insert":". The deck aims to be a tuned, interactive high-Bracket-3-style Commander deck rather than a fast deterministic combo deck. It is intended to win through actual board development and varied finishers, not an automatic two-card kill.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"What the deck wants in an opening hand"},{"insert":"\n\nThe manabase includes "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"36 conventional lands plus Agadeem's Awakening as an additional land option"},{"insert":". The mana package features twelve mana-producing artifacts, mostly cheap rocks, as well as Gleaming Splendor's conditional Treasure production. Color access matters: Jace needs white, blue, black, and red; Bolas is even more demanding in black.\n\nA strong keep usually has three land-capable cards, a cheap rock or equivalent early play, usable colors, and at least one of: a cheap source of material, card selection, or an early answer. A two-land hand can work with credible fixing and action; a hand of seven- and eight-mana creatures plus a speculative recovery spell is not a successful plan just because the payoff cards are powerful.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Turns 1-3:"},{"insert":" Establish colored mana and, when practical, a first disposable permanent. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Lingering Souls"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Oath of Gideon"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Staff of the Storyteller"},{"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Occult Epiphany"},{"insert":" are productive ways to establish material before Jace. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sanctum Lurker"},{"insert":" and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Fatehold Charm"},{"insert":" can create a small Jace planeswalker token through empower Jace if you do not already have one. That token is also a valid input for Jace's -3. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Vraska, Soul of Stone"},{"insert":" is particularly useful when followed by a noncreature spell, because that cast produces a Sculpture Treasure creature.\n\nDo not assume Vraska's newly created Sculptures are immediately usable as mana. They are "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"creatures"},{"insert":" with a tap ability and normally must wait until you have controlled them since the beginning of your turn. They are, however, available immediately as blockers or conversion inputs.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Turns 4-6:"},{"insert":" Develop a walker, token engine, or defensive permanent, then deploy Jace when the follow-up is credible. Sometimes the correct turn is a +1 to draw and put a card on the bottom rather than immediately taking -3. Sometimes it is simply keeping mana available for the protection you already hold. The strongest turns are not necessarily the ones with the largest reveal; they are the ones that let the engine survive its first exchange with opponents.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Turns 6 onward:"},{"insert":" Start chaining productive activations. Preserve spare bodies, use the answer suite to keep the relevant permanent in play, and look for the moment to stop accumulating resources and finish.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"How the conversion engine actually operates"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Jace and the input economy"},{"insert":"\n\nJace's -3 "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"exiles"},{"insert":" another target "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"creature or planeswalker"},{"insert":" you control. The revealed hit can be either a creature "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"or"},{"insert":" a planeswalker. Because the input is exiled, a real creature you feed to Jace is normally spent for good. Prefer a token or a permanent that has already produced its value when you can.\n\nThe available inputs are broader than creature tokens alone: Spirits, Kor Allies, Sculpture Treasures, Gingerbrutes, Thopters, Rebels, Insects, and the small Jace planeswalker token can all be useful. Opposing removal can also force a judgment call: sometimes spending a support permanent now is better than waiting for a perfect token later.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Proteus Staff"},{"insert":" is a related but different tool. It converts a "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"creature"},{"insert":" only, activates at sorcery speed for three mana and a tap, and puts its input on the "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"bottom of its owner's library"},{"insert":" rather than exiling it. It cannot reveal a planeswalker as its Staff result. This matters for both resource conservation and the remaining composition of the library.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Controlling the reveal"},{"insert":"\n\nA reveal is dramatically better when it is informed rather than blind. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Brainstorm"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Brainsurge"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sensei's Divining Top"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Aminatou's +1"},{"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Jace, the Mind Sculptor's 0"},{"insert":" can place a desired card on top. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Loyal Tutor"},{"insert":" puts a selected planeswalker on top. Those effects turn Jace's -3 into something closer to deliberate deployment than random polymorph.\n\nNote that the commander's own +1 does "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"not"},{"insert":" set up the top card: it draws two and puts one card from hand on the "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"bottom"},{"insert":". Use the appropriate topdeck effect when the next reveal itself matters. Cards naturally drawn into your hand are not in the library to be revealed; in that situation, work toward casting them, discarding/recovering when useful, or setting them back on top with a legitimate setup effect.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Bolas as a second conversion engine"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Nicol Bolas, Dragon-God"},{"insert":" has the loyalty abilities of all other planeswalkers on the battlefield-including Jace's -3 while Jace is present. Bolas can therefore make another transformation without spending Jace's activation. He can also access the other walkers' draw, material, removal, and blink abilities when available.\n\nThis does "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"not"},{"insert":" give Bolas unlimited activations. Each planeswalker is still normally limited to one loyalty activation per turn, regardless of how many abilities it has. Bolas must actually be on the battlefield with the relevant walker to borrow its loyalty abilities.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Blink equals a fresh planeswalker"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Displacer Kitten"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Felidar Guardian"},{"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Aminatou, the Fateshifter"},{"insert":" reset the relevant permanent by exiling it and returning it during the resolution of the ability. A returned planeswalker is a new object, entering with its starting loyalty (plus any applicable entry modifications), and has a fresh loyalty-activation allowance that turn. That makes the following line possible when resources permit:\n\nActivate Jace or Bolas."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Reset that walker with an immediate-return blink."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Activate the newly returned walker again."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Use the resulting body, cards, or additional reset where the board warrants it."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Kitten triggers on "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"casting"},{"insert":" a noncreature spell, so counters to that spell do not undo Kitten's cast trigger. Its trigger can also reset a mana rock, Oath of Gideon, Staff, or a payoff creature where that is better than resetting a walker. Blink is not a command to target Jace every time: repeating "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Archon of Cruelty"},{"insert":" or "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Overlord of the Mistmoors"},{"insert":" can produce an immediate return without consuming another Jace input.\n\nBe mindful that blinking a permanent you control but do not own can return it under its "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"owner's"},{"insert":" control, depending on the effect. This especially matters after recovering opposing creatures with Ancient Brass Dragon.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Keeping the engine alive"},{"insert":"\n\nThe defensive package is meant to change opposing incentives, not prevent anyone from playing Magic.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Deification"},{"insert":", normally naming "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Jace"},{"insert":", gives your Jace planeswalkers hexproof. While you control a creature, it can also preserve one loyalty counter against damage that would otherwise remove all their loyalty. It does not protect your non-Jace walkers by name."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Archangel of Tithes"},{"insert":" taxes attacks at you and your walkers while it is "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"untapped"},{"insert":". "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Kazuul, Tyrant of the Cliffs"},{"insert":" can produce Ogre blockers when opponents attack you or your walkers, unless attackers pay its tax. Neither is an unconditional source of proactive token material."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Jace's own combat restriction"},{"insert":" applies to attacks at "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Jaces"},{"insert":", not attacks at Bolas, Tezzeret, or Elspeth. Opponents may pay two mana to bypass it for that combat."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sanctum Lurker"},{"insert":" lets your planeswalkers remain on the battlefield at zero loyalty and gives them an additional +2 ability. If Lurker leaves, those zero-loyalty walkers will be put into graveyards when state-based actions are checked. A freshly blinked walker reenters with its normal starting loyalty."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Clever Concealment"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Ripples of Potential"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Dawn's Truce"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Deflecting Swat"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Redirect Lightning"},{"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Teferi's Protection"},{"insert":" answer different threats. Ripples can phase out only qualifying permanents that received counters through its proliferate effect. Dawn's Truce grants indestructible only when its gift is promised. Deflecting Swat is free only while you control your commander."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The deck is protected, not invulnerable. It has substantial targeted interaction but "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"only one conventional full-board wipe, Austere Command"},{"insert":", and no dedicated graveyard-hate card. Do not mistake a strong fort for universal answers.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Material and card engines"},{"insert":"\n\nTokens here are "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"blockers, conversion currency, and an eventual combat option"},{"insert":"-not the premise of a conventional wide-attack deck.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Ginger, Queen of Sweets"},{"insert":" immediately establishes monarch and can create a Gingerbrute at "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"each upkeep"},{"insert":" while you remain monarch. That is meaningful material and card flow, but it also gives opponents a reason to attack. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Otharri, Suns' Glory"},{"insert":" contributes lifelink, haste, a growing number of Rebel attackers, and a graveyard-return route. The Rebels are tapped and attacking when created; they cannot block during that same combat. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Vraska"},{"insert":" converts subsequent noncreature casts into artifact-creature material and potential future colored mana. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Tezzeret, Artifice Master"},{"insert":" makes Thopters or draws, often two cards when at least three artifacts are present. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Elspeth, Storm Slayer"},{"insert":" doubles token creation while she remains on the battlefield and can turn accumulated material into attacking pressure.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"The Theorist, Jace Beleren"},{"insert":" is especially effective in slower pods: it draws during each opponent's draw step, makes Illusions, and has removal and a substantial late combat-enhancing ultimate. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Nezahal"},{"insert":" supplies independent card access when opponents cast noncreature spells. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Nissa"},{"insert":" converts landfall into cards and, on the first landfall resolution each turn, a creature from the library. Together these provide multiple ways to continue playing even when Jace is removed.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Payoffs and ways to win"},{"insert":"\n\nThe win condition is usually "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"accumulated board advantage converted into pressure"},{"insert":", not one prescribed combination.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Archon of Cruelty"},{"insert":" is an immediate high-value reveal, removing or taxing the chosen opponent's board and hand while drawing and gaining life; blinking or attacking with it repeats the effect."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Overlord of the Mistmoors"},{"insert":" immediately adds flying bodies and can make more on attacks or additional entries. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite"},{"insert":" turns an established token board into a much more serious clock while suppressing opposing small creatures."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Otharri"},{"insert":" becomes a growing combat threat, especially with lifelink and persistent experience counters. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Serra's Emissary"},{"insert":" can provide exceptional protection or a route through blockers depending on the card type chosen."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Elspeth"},{"insert":" and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Theorist"},{"insert":" can make already useful defensive creatures into credible attackers. Do not wait indefinitely for a perfect final reveal when the existing army can finish."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Summon: Bahamut"},{"insert":" offers repeated removal, cards, and a late Saga chapter that deals damage to "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"each opponent"},{"insert":" based on the total mana value of your other permanents. It is powerful but delayed, and resetting it also resets its Saga progression."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Hullbreaker Horror"},{"insert":" can dominate a developed exchange of spells and bounce; "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Bolas"},{"insert":" can also threaten a loyalty-based ending under the right board conditions."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"An excellent reveal that merely prolongs the game is not always superior to an available attack or a blink that immediately advances the kill.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Recovery and rebuilding"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Agadeem's Awakening"},{"insert":" is principally a land-capable flex slot and an expensive late recovery spell. To return any seven-mana creature requires X at least seven, which costs ten mana including three black; all chosen creatures must have "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"different mana values"},{"insert":". "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Restoration Seminar"},{"insert":" can return a nonland permanent and, after it successfully resolves, offer another free cast on later first main phases through paradigm; it requires an appropriate legal target each time. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Ancient Brass Dragon"},{"insert":" can return creatures from graveyards after connecting and rolling a d20, with the "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"combined"},{"insert":" returned mana values bounded by that result. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Takenuma"},{"insert":" returns a creature or planeswalker card to hand, and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Otharri"},{"insert":" can return itself by tapping an untapped Rebel and paying its costs.\n\nThe important limitation is that "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"most of this package is late, conditional, or mana-intensive"},{"insert":". Normal graveyard recursion does not retrieve creatures Jace has exiled as conversion inputs. Preserving expendable tokens when possible is better than assuming you can recover every resource afterward.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Decision checklist"},{"insert":"\n\nBefore committing an important activation, ask:\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"What's my expendable input?"},{"insert":" Does using it compromise the blockers or mana I still need?"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Is the best result in the library?"},{"insert":" Would a setup spell improve the reveal, or has the desired card already reached hand, graveyard, or exile?"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Is the next turn protected?"},{"insert":" Can I afford to keep the walker or payoff through a realistic answer, not just through attacks?"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Where does the second action come from?"},{"insert":" Is there enough usable mana for development or protection after deploying Jace?"},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Should I reset the walker, the payoff, or an artifact?"},{"insert":" Reusing an Archon, Overlord, or mana rock can be the better play."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Am I actually close to winning?"},{"insert":" Stop generating value for its own sake when the current board can close the game."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Rules and table expectations"},{"insert":"\n\nThe normal plan is "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"finite, interactive"},{"insert":" gameplay; it is not designed to tutor for a deterministic two-card win. Some blink pieces allow repeatable loops (notably Aminatou with Felidar Guardian); those are incidental, not the deck's advertised finishing plan."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Empower Jace"},{"insert":" creates a "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"nonlegendary blue Jace planeswalker token"},{"insert":" if you control no Jace planeswalker token. Otherwise it adds loyalty to an existing token. It does "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"not"},{"insert":" empower your nontoken commander."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"A walker that gains additional loyalty abilities still normally gets "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"one activation per turn"},{"insert":"; blinking it into a new object is what permits another activation."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Phasing and ordinary blinking are different. Phasing keeps counters and attachments; immediate-return blink creates a new object and resets counters, loyalty, and once-per-turn activation history."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Cursed Mirror"},{"insert":" can temporarily copy a creature as it enters, including an enters-the-battlefield payoff, but it is an artifact card in the library and cannot be found as a creature hit by Jace or Proteus Staff."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Build identity: protected planeswalker activations + selective deployment + resilient, varied finishers. Power target: tuned high Bracket 3; no mass land destruction, hard-lock plan, or intentional deterministic infinite-combo finish."},{"insert":"\n\n\n"}]}