Melek Combo

Melek - Paragon for Life

For a card tag version - http://www.gatheringmagic.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&p=692630#p692630

Warning - My group has banned pure extra turn taking cards like Time Warp and Time Stretch as often it was just about self masturbation while everyone else sat down and watched. So that is why those cards are not this deck. However if your group hasn't banned them...they are stupidly good with Melek. Also as you'll notice our group does allow wishes.

So this is my Melek combo deck. You may be wondering...Jude if you are playing  :ur: combo...why are you not playing Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind? Well excellent question there Jimmy. To be honest if you are going pure competitive Niv is waaaaay better since he involves at least three 2 card combos that instantly win, each require the general as one of the cards. However, I generally dislike two card combos since they can make the game unfun. So get your Johnnies out fellas and get ready for this deck.

First the combos. There are quite a few of them in here so here we go. In this deck there are quite a few ways to make infinite mana. Most of which involve either Turnabout or Reset. I did also include the Palinchron combo (Mana Flare + him). With Turny/reset there are a few ways to get inf mana. One is Nivix Guildmage, another is Mirari and the other is Reiterate. You can also recur it with Izzet Chronarch or Archaeomancer combined with Riptide Laboratory or Deadeye Navigator. A  Well Jim you may be wondering what you do with the inf mana once you get it. Well obviously you can kill everyone with Comet Storm or 1-2 people with Devil's Play but there are other crazy shennigans you can do too. If you got infinite mana with Izzet Chronarch or Archaeomancer you can take infinite turns with Stitch in Time until you finally draw that confangled kill spell or just draw your library with Blue Sun's Zenith. But be careful Jimmy...you don't want to deck yourself. Also once you have your infinite mana, if it was with Reiterate + Turnabout you also get infinite spells which means Ignite Memories and Mind's Desire can be very very effective and Guttersnipe kills.

Worried about how you are going to get your combo Jimmy? Well their is plenty of dig and tutorage in the deck. If you have a lot of mana you can even Firemind's Foresight to get Brainstorm + Reset + Reiterate which as long as you have enough mana will allow you to potenially kill your opponent's at instant speed.

There are also a couple of cool interactions. If you use Archaeomancer or Izzet Chronarch with Evacuation you can get yourself a soft creature lock. Consecrated Sphinx and Thought Reflection works wonders with Time Spiral + Wheel of Fortune. Also with Melek out Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Brainstorm, Sensei's Divining Top, and Scroll Rack become very good. Also in the Wishboard there is a Tunnel Vision if someone's general gets tucked.

Without further ado a card by card explanation.

Melek, Izzet Paragon - The main man. The big cheese. While he doesn't exactly combo with the deck, he has great synergy for digging for cards. A big problem with Niv decks is often they are way too focused on Niv and if he gets tucked the player is SOL. Luckily that is much less of a problem here.

Board Wipes

Blasphemous Act - Standard board wipe, nothing too exciting.

Comet Storm - Can be a win con once you have inf mana. Since it is an instant it is very valuable. Can also wipe the field as needed.

Cyclonic Rift - F'n amazing. I would never use it in EDH nonoverloaded though unless very desperate.

Evacuation - Soft creature lock with Izzet Chronarch and the mancer.

4 Cards Total

Counterspells

Counterflux - Mostly for the "uncounterable" part. Makes this pretty good when someone tries to stop your shennigans. Can also stop storm cards from wrecking you.

Counterspell - In here mostly for the chance to Scepter it.

Force of Will - Need I say anything about how amazing this card is?

Hinder - Tuck tuck goose!

Pact of Negation - Same as force with a bigger downside

Spell Crumple - Tucky tuck.

6 Cards Total

Digging Power

Blue Sun's Zenith - Can also serve as a way to draw your deck or kill someone with inf mana.

Consecrated Sphinx - Has stupidly good synergy with Thought Reflection + Wheel of Fortune effects.

Faithless Looting - Standard dig. Flashback makes it worth including.

Izzet Charm - Perfect for the Scepter and good utility.

Telling Time - Really, really good with Melek esp on the Scepter.

Thought Reflection - Have nothing really more to say other than it's reaalllly good in the deck.

Time Spiral - With Melek it reads untap 12 lands and take an extra turn.

Wheel of Fortune - Solid draw when you are running out of steam.

7 Cards Total

Library Manipulation

Brainstorm - Pretty damn good for one mana. Especially with Melek.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor - Brainstorm and situational bounce? Yes please.

Scroll Rack - You almost need this with Melek.

Sensei's Divining Top - ^^^

4 Cards Total

Manaz + Mana Reduction

Arcane Melee - Allows for easier comboing off. You may want to sub in Goblin Electromancer as it can help your opponents out a lot too. The goal is to help you more though.

Chromatic Lantern - Solid color fixing

Darksteel Ingot - Solid mana rock

Gilded Lotus - ^^^

Izzet Keyrune - Mana rock and can punch face and dig. Nice.

Izzet Signet - Again mana rock

Mana Flare - Allows Palinchron shenanigans and makes comboing easier.

Mana Vault - With Tezzy this is nice. Early game this is nice. It is nice in general and is much cheaper than some alternatives...*cough* Mana Crypt and Grim Monolith *cough*

Palinchron - Infinite mana shenanigans is always nice.

Sol Ring - Erm...

Tezzeret the Seeker - A very nice tutor and can generate mana like a boss.

11 Cards Total

Recursion

Archaeomancer - Both him and the Chronarch can serve for many combo fodder as well as get you an emergancy counterspell

Izzet Chronarch - ^^^

Mystic Retrieval - A decent third slot with flashback.

Past in Flames - Recur all the cantrips!!!

Snapcaster Mage - Can get you back your buyback stuff if its countered. Also just solid in general

5 Cards Total

Spell Copiers

Mirari

Nivix Guildmage

Reiterate

(And Obviously The General)

Except the general these are all ways to produce infinite mana.

3 Cards Total

Spot Removal

Capsize

Chaos Warp 

Devil's Play

Into the Roil

4 Cards Total

Utility

Deadeye Navigator - Combos well with ETB effects

Isochron Scepter - My favs are Telling Time, Counterspell, Reset, Izzet Charm, Brainstorm, and Mystical Tutor

Leyline of Anticipation - Having flash on everything is really, really good.

2 Cards Total

Tutors

Burning Wish - See wishboard

Cunning Wish - ^^^^

Drift of Phantasms - Most of the time tutors for Mana Flare, Reiterate, Guttersnipe, Blue Sun's Zenith or Counterflux

Firemind's Foresight - Can grab a win con of Brainstorm, Reiterate, and Reset

Gamble - Fetches missing pieces of your combo. [i]Can be dangerous[/i]

Muddle the Mixture - Tutors for Nivix Guildmage, Cyclonic Rift, Isochron Scepter, Comet Storm, Epic Experiment, and Reset among the notable ones. Really good in this deck.

Mystical Tutor - Pretty self explaintory grab a combo piece.

Vedalken Aethermage - Grabs the Guildmage, your general, snapcaster, chronarch, and the mancer

8 Cards Total

Win Cons/Really Stupid Cards For Melek

Epic Experiment - With Melek and mana this is really dumb.

Guttersnipe - Inf damage with Reiterate + Reset or Turnabout

Ignite Memories - ^^^ but only if everyone has at least one card in hand.

Mind's Desire - Allows you to go off a lot easier or when you are lets you get a way to win.

Reset - Inf mana producer combo

Stitch in Time - Possible to take inf turns

Turnabout - Same as reset

7 Cards Total

Non-Basics

Boseiju, Who Shelters All - Uncounterable shenanigans is good

Command Tower

Desolate Lighthouse - Extra utility never hurts

Halimar Depths - Can be good with Melek but can see cutting in the future - entering tapped lands are rough in EDH

Izzet Boilerworks - Good with Palinchron

Ghost Quarter - Good nonbasic removal

Great Furnace - Tezzy tutorable land

Scalding Tarn - Fetchy fetch

Soldevi Excavations - Really good with Melek

Steam Vents - Dual land!!!

Sulfur Falls - ^^^

Tectonic Edge - Good nonbasic removal

Reliquary Tower - You draw a lot of cards in this deck

Riptide Laboratory - Good for comboin with the mancer and chronarch

Seat of Synod - Tezzy tutroable land

Thespian's Stage - Copy cabal coffers with Urbog in play? Yes please.

Tolaria West - Grabs Boseiju or Reliquary Tower usually

10 Island

9 Mountain

Wishboard

Acquire - Nice blightsteel/forge you got there

Cryptic Command - Nice counter. Only reason not MB is the  :u:  :u:  :u: requirement

Insurrection - Nice army...

Into the Core - Bye bye plate/forge

Fireball - Good for when you combo with Mind's Desire and need a kill.

Price of Progress - Boom.

Reforge the Soul - Nice if I am running out of steam

Rite of Replication - Cool creature bro.

Tunnel Vision - Die.

Vandalblast - Nice Lattice you have there. Oh wait...nevermind.

___________________________________________

Cards I considered that may work better on a budget

Eyes of the Watcher - Can sub in for Jace. Main reason it wasn't included was that it's an extra  :1: with each cast and it doesn't draw the card. So Jace beat it for this slot. It's advisable to keep nonland perms kinda low so you can use Melek. However I may try and squeeze it back in as it can be very good with Melek.

Merchant Scroll - I was already pretty tutor heavy and since it is limited to just blue instant cards I left it out.

Ponder, Preordain, and Index - Deck space is tight and these don't do enough to justify kicking out another card.

Chandra, the Firebrand - Good for her second ability. However I have many effects that do her second ability only better and I can tutor them.

Anarchist - Just sorcery is too restricting on this guy to justify a spot.

Rhystic Study - It gets annoying real fast in Multiplayer games. If you don't mind your friends hating the phrase "did you pay the extra one" then go ahead and play it as it is very good.

Grapeshot - While hilarious outside of comboing off it isn't really that useful. Ignite Memories however is pretty good against decks that draw a shitton of cards and play spells with a large CMC. However, this is a spell I may try and put back in.

Fork effects - Reiterate and cards that let you do it repeatably are just way better. Wild Ricochet may eventually get a spot though.