After playing Blue Farm at the RIW cEDH 1K I’m looking to stay sharp on a simpler deck depending on my mood. I’m back to Tivit for its simplicity, powerful commander, and redundant win conditions.
Najeela is also near the top of my list since it plays the strongest cards in the format in a proactive way. The commander lacking card advantage is certainly a tradeoff compared to Tymna and Kraum, but can play more bombs to compensate. I’m happy with the top 16 list from the Topdeck Expo with fewer mana dorks.
Atraxa was also interesting as it plays a Tivit shell, but the fourth color and more complicated loops made it less appealing. The mana dorks in these green decks are also under pressure from Orcish Bowmasters. It’s not easy being green as recent Blue Farm lists are looking to play more clones to keep Bowmasters on the battlefield.
Despite getting more cEDH experience it’s not a linear progression to more complicated decks. Tivit offers the ability to win your pod without as many complicated lines. When I get more familiar with the format decks like Blue Farm will still be a slog in a large event.
I also anticipate a wide dispersion of decks to be represented at upcoming 1Ks because not everyone plays top tier decks regardless of the stance on proxies. Blue Farm doesn’t want to play in heavily non-blue pods because it doesn’t have enough counters to fend off three opponents while taking more time to set up a win.
Tivit can play well in a diverse metagame because it presents a proactive win without needing too many pieces. Esper is also one of the best color combinations in cEDH.
After a top 4 split finish in my first cEDH event I made some changes to the deck. Some of the staples I cut made their way back while others remained on the sidelines. There are 71 spells in the deck while only about 50 are auto-includes. That’s a lot of room to maneuver.
Given how tutor-intensive cEDH can be there’s room for innovation in even the most popular archetypes. If you have a preference for playing the game a certain way there isn’t a reason to include infrequently found silver bullets.
Tivit can most easily combo the commander with Time Sieve to take an extra turn for each trigger. Thassa’s Oracle and Displacer Kitten combos are also available to ensure this isn’t a one-trick pony.
To play Tivit successfully you don’t want to mulligan every hand that doesn’t turbo your commander onto the battlefield by the second turn. The other side of the coin is you must mulligan hands that simply play a fair curve. Rocks that generate more than one mana are worth a lot in your opening hand as it will ramp Tivit out around turn three. The treasures ensure you hold up mana for interaction.
A balance of power and responsibility is weighted according to the seat order when taking mulligans. For example, a turn one Esper Sentinel going first will draw a couple cards quickly while going fourth it won’t do nearly as much. Interaction is less important if you’re ahead of the rest of the table on the play.
Urza, Lord High Artificer has performed well for me as I can cast it ahead of Tivit while keeping open a blue mana from the generated construct. After Tivit enters the battlefield I gain an additional five mana from the trigger. Note that clues don’t need to tap to draw a card. I haven’t activated Urza’s ability yet because when I have the mana available there will be a Tivit on the battlefield and I would rather crack clues.
I was low on Displacer Kitten as it likely doesn’t get cast without Tivit on the battlefield, but it does too much combined with the sphinx rogue. Kitten can also reset Mystic Remora, Mana Vault, and Grim Monolith.
Teferi is in the deck to combo with the Kitten should I need a win without casting as many spells in a permission-heavy pod. As a reminder you should be careful casting Teferi as the static makes it easy for opponents to combo unfettered. You can also make a deal with the next player taking a turn to attack it down if you feel they can’t use him to present a win.
Blind Obedience looks underwhelming at first glance, but often plays a large role on the battlefield. Dockside Extortionist is format-warping and this is a concession for playing a more expensive commander. Treasures need a turn to sacrifice, but clues and Lion’s Eye Diamond are unaffected. Extorting can combo with Displacer Kitten/Teferi loops to win the game, too.
Dauntless Dismantler, a new card from Ixalan, may have some legs in Tivit. Another Dockside punisher that can slow down the rest of the table.
Counterbalance is in the same category as Blind Obedience. An enchantment that slows down the game. Even if it misses countering a spell the rest of the table can’t cast anything with the revealed mana cost for the turn cycle. Tivit’s clues are also able to reset Counterbalance in the mid game making it even more difficult to ensure opposing spells resolve.
In 60 card formats Counterbalance’s objective is to counter every spell. In cEDH I’ve found Counterbalance to be effective even when it misses, but reveals to the table they can’t cast spells with common cheap mana costs for a turn cycle.
Mystical Tutor was a recent addition that’s not in every Tivit deck. It’s able to fetch Dark Ritual, Ad Nauseam, Silence, Transmute Artifact, removal, and counters making it fairly versatile. Counterbalance in the flex slot also encourages additional topdeck tutors. I can also find the tutored card before my next turn with Tivit’s clues.
Talion is occupying a similar slot as The One Ring, but I expect to draw more than one card the turn it enters the battlefield. It’s also a blue card that pitches to Force and creatures are harder to counter in cEDH. I will name either one or two as they will draw similar amounts of cards. At this point I play Talion in just about every blue/black cEDH deck.
Grand Arbiter Augustin IV is not in every Tivit deck, but it helps ramp out the commander while slowing down the table. The cost reduction is worded so that Tivit costs two mana less to cast.
Orcish Bowmasters is very powerful, but not format-warping as it’s only one out of ninety-nine cards. You can convince an opponent to draw a card and point a trigger at another enemy’s creature. It helps keep opposing mana dorks and Esper Sentinels at bay. Most of my black tutors find Bowmasters on a stalled board.
Path to Exile is a newly-added removal spell seen in some Tivit lists. Most cEDH decks don’t play basics so the ceiling is high and you can also fetch your Island to ramp into Tivit.
Dismember is another nimble removal spell that can be cast off of a single treasure or a colorless mana. Think of it as a more efficient Deadly Rollick when Tivit is the commander.
Toxic Deluge overperformed as it kills enemy flyers to clear the way for Tivit without killing my sphinx. Damn sees play in numerous cEDH decks, but I don’t think it’s worth including as it kills Tivit.
Sheoldred’s Edict is my pet card at this point. It’s a strong effect even if you kill a good creature from one opponent and a Dockside Extortionist or Rograkh from another. Underplayed in cEDH.
Imposter Mech is a clone for opposing creatures that doesn’t die to Orcish Bowmasters. A downside of Tivit is you can help your opponent’s Docksides, but you can also play two artifact clones to build your own. Remember you can also clone Thassa’s Oracles from failed win attempts.
Cavern of Souls names Rogue for Tivit which helps cast Dauthi Voidwalker and Lotho. Human is the second most common name for Grand Abolisher, Ranger-Captain of Eos, and about ten other creatures. Opposition Agent being a Rogue and Human makes it typically uncounterable. Wizard can help force through Thassa’s Oracle, but the Pact/Consultation is the more vulnerable piece of the puzzle. It’s a valid line if you bluff a defensive Pact only to reveal Cavern and Oracle after it resolves.
Since Tivit can win with combat damage, Thassa’s Oracle, Time Sieve, and Displacer Kitten I’m excluding Sevinne’s Reclamation. It doesn’t combo with Intuition in Tivit making it mostly a redundant Time Sieve. This would be more important if there weren’t so many alternate win conditions.
There’s a growing movement to cut Demonic Consultation and rely on just Tainted Pact for an Oracle win. I am coming around to this philosophy in Najeela and Blue Farm because the card quality is high with extra colors. Tivit playing just three colors makes me want additional redundancy to win with Oracle.
Grafdigger’s Cage can slow down Kinnan, but bounce spells are present in nearly every top tier deck. Cage also stops Underworld Breach from winning the game. This lock piece isn’t relevant in every game, but I chose to include it because of Urza’s Saga. Sevinne’s Reclamation being excluded also means there isn’t anything in my list that is stopped by Cage.
Cursed Totem is primarily to stop Kinnan’s creatures from adding mana. It’s a universal hate card that also stops your Urza, Dauthi Voidwalker, and Ranger-Captain of Eos. Since it costs two mana and stops my own creatures it’s not in the list.
There continues to be plenty of cEDH events with great prizes as the format gains momentum. Tivit offers the chance to play the strongest cards in the format with a relatively straightforward game plan.
