{"ops":[{"insert":"This deck is built for Blue lovers (and haters) by a Blue lover. It has a little bit of everything that makes Blue great - card draw, mill, control, inevitability and resource generation. If you've never Blued yourself before, I recommend Blueing yourself on this deck.\n\nAt first glance, this may look like a mill deck. There are certainly enough mill cards to support that theory. Then you notice the equipment package and it starts looking like Voltron. Keep reading and you discover self-draw win conditions. Keep reading even longer and suddenly there are thopters, token generators, and ways to steal entire boards. In reality, none of those are the deck. This is a resource engine deck.\n\nEverything in the list exists to generate resources, multiply resources, protect resources, or eventually convert those resources into whichever victory condition makes the most sense. The deck's philosophy is simple: slow the game down, accumulate overwhelming card advantage, and transform that advantage into the path of victory that the table leaves open.\n\nThe deck revolves around "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Gadwick, the Wizened"},{"insert":". Most players look at Gadwick and see a draw spell attached to a creature. This deck treats him very differently. Gadwick is simultaneously card draw, board control, a Voltron threat, and a mana sink. Every time he enters the battlefield he refills your hand. Every cheap blue spell becomes a way to tap opposing creatures. Every recast generates additional value. Unlike most commanders, Gadwick remains useful at every stage of the game.\n\nEarly in the game, the goal is fairly simple. Develop mana through "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sol Ring"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Arcane Signet"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sapphire Medallion"},{"insert":", and utility lands while setting up future value engines. Gadwick is ideally cast as early as possible, even if that means drawing only a few cards. The important part is getting him onto the battlefield. Once Gadwick is active, every cantrip and interaction spell suddenly performs double duty. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Opt"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Ponder"},{"insert":", counterspells, bounce spells, and removal all advance your game plan while simultaneously tapping down opposing creatures. This is where the first layer of control begins.\n\nMost blue control decks leave mana untapped and wait for opponents to make mistakes. Gadwick prefers something much more proactive. By repeatedly casting cheap spells, you can manipulate combat, remove blockers, and create openings for attacks while continuing to advance your own position. The deck can effectively influence combat across the entire table without committing significant resources.\nAs the game progresses, Gadwick becomes increasingly valuable to recast. Unlike many commanders that become prohibitively expensive after removal, Gadwick actively benefits from larger mana investments. Drawing three cards is good. Drawing seven cards is often game-changing. Drawing ten cards is frequently enough to put the game out of reach. Because of this, cards such as "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Displacer Kitten"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Riptide Laboratory"},{"insert":", and other bounce effects effectively become additional draw engines. Returning Gadwick to your hand is often not a setback. It is simply preparing for a larger refill. Every deck has a \"pet card\". This deck's pet card is Shadow of the Second Sun. It WANTS the Blue player to aggressively cast in their first pre-combat main phase so it can untap after, allowing traditional \"pass and go\" type of Blue play that others hate.\n\nCard advantage serves as the deck's primary currency. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Rhystic Study"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Wizard Class"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Verity Circle"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Folio of Fancies"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Thopter Spy Network"},{"insert":", and Gadwick himself all contribute to a game plan centered around seeing more cards than everyone else. The goal is not simply to draw cards for the sake of drawing cards. The goal is to hit land drops every turn, continuously develop mana, maintain interaction, and ensure that answers are always available. Once multiple draw engines are operating simultaneously, it becomes extremely difficult for opponents to keep pace.\n\nThe deck is also deliberately designed to accumulate value through permanents that are difficult to answer efficiently. Enchantments such as "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Court of Cunning"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Court of Vantress"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Psychic Corrosion"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sphinx's Tutelage"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Teferi's Tutelage"},{"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Fraying Sanity"},{"insert":" continue generating value turn after turn without requiring additional investment. Copy effects such as "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Copy Enchantment"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Mirrormade"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Estrid's Invocation"},{"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Court of Vantress"},{"insert":" allow the deck to duplicate whichever permanent is currently providing the most value. This creates a battlefield where every turn cycle generates more resources than the last.\n\nThe stax package exists for a very specific reason. This is not a fast deck. It is not attempting to win on turn four. It is not attempting to combo immediately. Instead, the deck wants time.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Winter Moon"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Static Orb"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Opposition"},{"insert":", and additional taxation effects such as "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Propaganda"},{"insert":" slow opponents down long enough for your engine to take over. These cards are not present to prevent other players from participating in the game. They are present to make sure everyone is playing at the same speed. Since Gadwick generates significantly more value than most commanders over time, extending the game naturally benefits you more than everyone else. Eventually all of these resources need to become a win.\n\nThe deck has several ways to accomplish that. The most obvious is mill.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Bruvac the Grandiloquent"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Court of Cunning"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Fraying Sanity"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Maddening Cacophony"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Psychic Corrosion"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sphinx's Tutelage"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Teferi's Tutelage"},{"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Jace, Memory Adept"},{"insert":" form a surprisingly dangerous mill package. What makes this package powerful is that it naturally benefits from everything the deck already wants to do. Drawing cards fuels mill. Copying enchantments increases mill. Long games increase mill. Nothing about the strategy requires changing how the deck normally operates. \n\nVoltron serves as another path to victory. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Blackblade Reforged"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Empyrial Plate"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Runechanter's Pike"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Whispersilk Cloak"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Aqueous Form"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Security Bypass"},{"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Rogue's Passage"},{"insert":" can transform Gadwick from a value engine into a legitimate threat. Since Gadwick naturally wants you to draw large numbers of cards and accumulate mana, equipment that scales from hand size or board development becomes extremely effective. The same cantrips and interaction used to control the board also remove blockers through Gadwick's tap ability, making commander damage a realistic way to eliminate players.\nThe deck can also win by simply drawing itself out.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Laboratory Maniac"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Jace, Wielder of Mysteries"},{"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Triskaidekaphile"},{"insert":" reward the deck for doing something it already wants to do: draw cards. Unlike dedicated combo decks, these cards are not the primary objective. Instead, they function as alternative victories that naturally emerge from normal gameplay. If Gadwick has drawn half your deck and the game is still going, there is a good chance one of these cards will eventually end it.\n\nThere is even a go-wide backup plan. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Minn, Wily Illusionist"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Thopter Spy Network"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Opposition"},{"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Mass Manipulation"},{"insert":" allow the deck to generate board presence and win through traditional combat. While this is generally the least common victory path, it provides an important angle of attack when opponents are prepared for mill or commander damage. \n\nFinally, there are the late-game, classic Blue (and colorless?) haymakers. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Hullbreaker Horror"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Omniscience"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Mass Manipulation"},{"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Kozilek, Butcher of Truth"},{"insert":" exist to capitalize on the absurd amounts of mana and card advantage the deck can eventually generate. These are not the cards that make the deck function. They are the cards that punish opponents for allowing the engine to function for too long. Kozilek is also there in case you self mill a little too aggressively without having a win on on the board. \n\nUltimately, this deck wins the same way all great Blue control decks win: inevitability. More cards. More mana. More options. More engines. More resources. The objective is not to decide how you will win before the game starts. The objective is to survive long enough that the table eventually realizes they can no longer stop whichever win condition you decide to pursue.\n\nIn the end, Gadwick doesn't care whether victory comes through mill, commander damage, overwhelming card advantage, an army of tokens, or drawing the entire library. The king simply waits. Eventually, knowledge wins.\n"}]}