Tezzeret the Schemer hasn’t been getting a lot of love during preview season. As a card that requires a lot from you in deckbuilding to make work with a +1 that doesn’t generate a lot of card advantage, it hasn’t had the eye-popping appeal of a Gideon, Ally of Zendikar or Chandra, Torch of Defiance. But there is potential for those who are willing to look for it. Today’s user-submitted deck from Femi Badmos is a control deck built around the new planeswalker, and there’s a lot to like with this list.
First, it’s nice to see that Tezzeret the Schemer plays perfectly with Fatal Push. You can tap out on turn 4, make an Etherium Cell token, and later sacrifice it to both turn on Revolt and generate black mana to cast Fatal Push, meaning that you won’t be in danger of dying to Felidar Guardian. For anyone looking to play planeswalkers in this format, that is an absolutely essential test to pass.
The second benefit is Tezzeret the Schemer’s interaction with Heart of Kiran. Tezzeret has plenty of loyalty to crew Heart of Kiran on both offense and defense, giving you a way to proactively leverage your planeswalker while you build up mana or kill a creature. This deck is light on ways to remove opposing planeswalkers, so Heart of Kiran should be critical in that role.
Third, I am increasingly impressed with Herald of Anguish. In any creature matchup it will dominate the game, and even against creature-light decks its discard ability can ensure solid value if left unchecked.
The rest of the deck is a standard mix of card advantage and removal, but there’s a lot to be explored here because the mana is so good. Spire of Industry and Prophetic Prism are great splash facilitators. Renegade Map can complete the trifecta while also jumpstarting your Improvise enabling as early as possible. Etherium Cells from Tezzeret the Schemer make mana of any color, too.
With so much powerful fixing, I think it’s a mistake to stay in two colors. The sideboard can be improved dramatically with a splash or two (or three), and you can surprise a lot of opponents who simply cannot have a full grasp on every possible card you can have in your deck.
With so many options to explore, this is going to be a labor-intensive archetype to figure out, but Improvise is a cost reduction mechanic and I think we all know the potential that lies there.
Creatures (5)
Planeswalkers (7)
Lands (21)
Spells (27)
- 3 Island
- 4 Prophetic Prism
- 2 Grasp of Darkness
- 4 Metalspinner's Puzzleknot
- 2 Yahenni's Expertise
- 2 Heart of Kiran
- 4 Fatal Push
- 2 Inspiring Statuary
- 4 Metallic Rebuke
Sideboard
