Kaza, Roil ChaserKaza, Roil Chaser | Art by Alex Konstad

With the release of Secrets of Strixhaven, it seemed like a great time to highlight a creature type prominently featured in the set. This creature type has a huge variety of possible commanders, one of which is among my favorite commanders of all time, and is the one that we'll use for this deck tech.

This creature type also just happens to be the namesake of the company that makes Magic... Have you guessed it? It’s Wizards!

This Wizard deck we're making today, led by Kaza, Roil ChaserKaza, Roil Chaser, is going to be largely influenced by the Prismari College of Strixhaven and the flavor represented by the College specifically and by the teamwork that schools tend to require in general. Interestingly, the concept for the union of these pieces comes from a completely different card game: the Phoenix Clan in Legend of the Five Rings (aka L5R; the Trading Card Game, not the Living Card Game).

The Phoenix Clan in Legends of the Five Rings is a dynastic family of spellcasters that specialize in Ritual Spells, which are powerful bits of magic that require multiple casters working together to cast. These spells are absolutely game-breaking, but they require a heavy investment and lots of patience and setup.

And that’s precisely what our Prismari-colored mages are going to emulate.

Wizard History

Wizard is a deep creature type, and, in a game called “Magic,” it should be. Wizards are part of the party mechanic, have been featured in both Strixhaven sets, and were given direct support on Dominaria. Some trigger when instant and sorcery spells are cast; some recover the instant and sorcery cards; and some have synergistic enters-the-battlefield (ETB) effects.

In fact, my Krile BaldesionKrile Baldesion Azorius Wizards deck isn’t even based around instant and sorcery spells! Instead, it uses creatures that UnsummonUnsummon on entering to reset creatures that draw cards on entering, all setting up game-winning spells like LevitationLevitation and Akroma's WillAkroma's Will. But that’s a story for another day.

Today, we’re talking about a different kind of Wizard: the mana dork. Mana dorks are often set in green, like Llanowar ElvesLlanowar Elves, but have drifted into other colors, like Sunset StrikemasterSunset Strikemaster, which was featured in the Monk build a few weeks ago. Wizard mana dorks are a little more specific, however. They ramp into instant and sorcery spells, as Wizards tend to do, and work together to make big, splashy spells.

But how do we win with these mana dorks? And what do we do with them until then?

What Does Kaza, Roil ChaserKaza, Roil Chaser Do?

Kaza, Roil ChaserKaza, Roil Chaser is one of my favorite commanders of all time. On the surface, she’s nothing special: a 1/2 Human Wizard with flying and haste for two mana. She comes down early, but doesn’t beat down particularly hard. She’s a solid chump blocker, but nothing about her stats suggest “lead singer” material.

Then comes the activated ability. Kaza can tap to reduce the next instant or sorcery spell we cast by the number of Wizards we control when the ability resolves. Admittedly, my version of Kaza isn’t even a Wizard deck; I just use her as a hasty way to enable the casting of big spells. But in a dedicated Wizards deck, her ability can be absolutely nutty and can lead to massive plays.

The Prismari College in Secrets of Strixhaven is based around the opus mechanic, which is a magecraft-adjacent ability that gets supercharged when spending five or more mana to cast instants or sorceries. It doesn’t matter where the mana came from, however, so we can pour mana from creatures on top of the reduced cost our commander applies to make absolutely massive X spells (though spell reductions don't count towards the mana spent).

With our creatures working together to cast the massive spells, it really feels like the Rituals from L5R! But how can we pull this off? And do it consistently?

Key Cards for Kaza, Roil ChaserKaza, Roil Chaser

This Kaza deck uses mana dorks to set up big, splashy spells, after digging to find them and then copying them to seal games off. Each part of the strategy is enabled by Wizards and uses a variety of kinds of Wizards working together.

Wizards may be squishy when faced with physical threats, but they can be incredibly powerful, especially when they work together. And that teamwork element is precisely what headstrong mages learn at a school like Strixhaven.

Hydro-ChannelerHydro-Channeler is a subtle but strong new addition from the most recent foray into Strixhaven, a mana dork that can also be a mana fixer, filtering a mana of one color into another to cast an instant or sorcery spell. As a two-color deck, we likely won’t be needing its filtering, but the ramp is always helpful. Vodalian ArcanistVodalian Arcanist is essentially Hydro-ChannelerHydro-Channeler without the filtering, but that’s still pretty strong. They’re even both Merfolk!

Goblin ElectromancerGoblin Electromancer is the poster-child for cost-reduction effects, a two-mana 2/2 that reduces instant and sorcery spells by one mana. The Gobbo’s been used to fuel storm strategies since we Return(ed) to Ravnica, but he’s also useful in big spell decks, as we can double up on the reduction with Kaza.

Wizards of ThayWizards of Thay is Goblin ElectromancerGoblin Electromancer on steroids. For twice the mana, we get a 3/3 with myriad that gives our sorcery spells flash. So we can attack, make a bunch of copies of the Wizards of Thay, and then hold priority and make a big sorcery reduced by all of the Wizards of ThayWizards of Thay.

A subtle kind of ramp our creatures can provide is in untapping permanents. We can untap Kaza to further reduce the cost of our next big X spell, or we can untap an important land, like Three Tree CityThree Tree City, to make a big burst of mana. FatestitcherFatestitcher can even do this from the grave after a board wipe!

But how do we make sure our big spells are enough?

Casting big, splashy spells is a bit like using Close Combat in Pokémon: either you win the game on the spot, or you leave yourself open to a huge counterattack after showing just how dangerous you are. Copying X spells by casting Naru Meha, Master WizardNaru Meha, Master Wizard or activating Sigil TracerSigil Tracer give us an additional copy of the spell as it's on the stack, including the value of X.

These abilities allow us to double up on our big, splashy spells and ensure that they actually win the game.

Azami, Lady of ScrollsAzami, Lady of Scrolls lets us draw cards by tapping Wizards, including those we just cast. Since we don’t have to spend mana on drawing the cards, and we can do the tapping at instant speed, we can find the spells we need to close the game out on the turn we need it or set up a game-winning turn on another player’s end step.

Riptide DirectorRiptide Director draws cards equal to the number of Wizards we control, so it can be employed on end steps for setup in a similar fashion.

Similar to FatestitcherFatestitcher, Minamo, School at Water's EdgeMinamo, School at Water's Edge untaps our commander to double up on the mana reduction. Boseiju, Who Shelters AllBoseiju, Who Shelters All, on the other hand, is what effectively gives us protection from untapped blue mana. I’ve loved the card since I first saw it forcing through Enduring IdealEnduring Ideals back in the days of Extended (the predecessor to the Modern format), and the cost of two life is minimal to make sure our big X spells resolve.

How Does This Kaza, Roil ChaserKaza, Roil Chaser Commander Deck Win?

BanefireBanefire is an excellent FireballFireball effect that imitates Boseiju, even if we can’t find that particular land. It’s also an excellent spell to copy, as it can easily take out multiple players in one fell swoop.

Speaking of taking out multiple players at once, having a commander that stays out of combat and makes a bunch of mana is exactly what a legendary sorcery like Jaya's Immolating InfernoJaya's Immolating Inferno requires, and we don’t even have to copy it to take out all of our opponents at once.

Secrets of Strixhaven brought back one of my favorite types of X spells, Izzet FireballFireballs with upside. I’ve won Pre-Pro Tour Qualifiers with MindswipeMindswipe in my Temur Standard deck, and Traumatic CritiqueTraumatic Critique is so much more than that. It’s a FireballFireball with Faithless LootingFaithless Looting attached.

But Invoke the FiremindInvoke the Firemind does one better. It combines FireballFireball with the option to make it BraingeyserBraingeyser instead. Just be warned: copying Invoke doesn’t let you change modes, so you can’t do both.

That would be a cute design, though…imagine a spell with “Copy target modal spell. You may choose new targets and modes for it”...

Kaza, Roil Chaser Commander Deck List

Conclusion

Wizards are a wild creature type with a wide variety of strategies and builds. They can go the storm route with Adeliz, the Cinder WindAdeliz, the Cinder Wind, the clone route with Inalla, Archmage RitualistInalla, Archmage Ritualist, or even a graveyard route with ArchaeomancerArchaeomancer effects!

But how would you build Wizards? And are there other routes than the ones listed?