Into the Vault: Elsha of the Infinite Deck Tech

Written by Christian Gil Portugalisa


...all men are created equal

The Declaration of Independence (as penned by Thomas Jefferson)


        After going to two different shops in our local community, I noticed that not all of the Commander 2019 decks are equally sought after. The other three decks are flying off the shelves however, the Mystic Intellect deck is still waiting for someone to love. So I decided to see what cards are in the deck and how we can give this deck a fighting chance.


The Commanders

Sevinne, the Chronoclasm   Elsha the Infinite   Pramikon, Sky Rampart

        The Flashback mechanic is a very interesting ability allowing you to reuse spells that you've already played or discarded. Sevinne, the Chronoclasm takes full use of this mechanic and gives you a "fork" effect where you can copy the spell and you may choose new targets. After play testing the deck, I can safely say that the deck is pretty slow and there are other commanders who I believe can do the same thing Sevinne can and do it better. I personally think that Kess, Dissident Mage is the card you would want to use and in better colors.


        Pramikon, Sky Rampart is a unique commander when you are looking for a chaotic game. A group hug deck with a lot of pillow forts is the way to go if you want to use this as your commander.


        As you can tell from the title, Elsha of the Infinite is the commander we will be brewing today. She allows different strategies to function such as Storm, Voltron and can even go wide with tokens. Elsha's third ability allows you to cast the top card of your library if it is a noncreature, nonland card and it may be cast as though it had flash.


Mystic Forge   Future Sight

        These are two recently printed cards, in M20 and in Modern Horizons respectively, have very similar effects to our commander and can be your back up plan if Elsha has died way too many times. And they are relatively affordable too.


Synergistic Machinations

Sensei's Divining Top   Etherium Sculptore

        Once you have your commander on the battlefield with Etherium Sculptor and Sensei's Divining Top, you can then do broken stuff. So how does this combo work? Note: Sensei's Divining Top can also be in your hand or on top of your library.

                1. Play Sensei's Diving Top for free since Etherium Sculptor reduces the cost by 1.
                2. Activate Sensei's Diving Top to draw a card and put Sensei's Divining Top on top of you library.
                3. Rinse and repeat. This will allow you to draw your entire library.


Laboratory Maniac   Jace, Wielder of Mysteries   Aetherflux Reservoir

        Once you have drawn into one of these three, then you win the game. If you want to win using Aetherflux Reservoir, all you need to do is to cast Sensei's Divining Top one last time. Aetherflux Reservoir will then check how many spells you have cast that turn and you gain that much life. If your life total is still not enough then activate Top and cast it again. Make sure that you still have cards in your library so you don't deck yourself out of the game.


Synergistic Machinations

        Your opponents won't just stand there and let you win. Once they have seen you play this deck, or read this article, they will know that the key card of this deck is Sensei's Divining Top. And they will try to stop you or interact during your combo turn. Cards like Krosan Grip is very effective at stopping you since it has split second. Worse case scenario is if they exile Sensei's Divining Top using Praetor's Grasp. Hmm smart opponents. Can we be smarter?


Sevinne's Reclamation   Pull from Eternity   Echo of Eons

        Nice try opponents. Nice Try. These three cards can help you in a pinch. Getting Sensei's Divining Top back into your deck and you can start all over again.


Final Thoughts

        Mystic Intellect may not be the strongest deck out of the box but it definitely is a strong competitive contender if built properly. If you ask me what's the chase card for this year's Commander Set it would probably be Dockside Extortionist.


Dockside Extortionist   Smothering Tithe

        Treasure!!! Boros decks now has a lot of mana ramp. I can hear Boros rejoicing. Boros and Red players, better get this deck or order online before the price sky rockets to mana crypt level.


Elsha Goes Infinite

Instant (27)
1x Brainstorm
1x Chain of Vapor
1x Cyclonic Rift
1x Dig Through Time
1x Disenchant
1x Dispel
1x Dovin's Veto
1x Enlightened Tutor
1x Flusterstorm
1x Mana Leak
1x Mental Misstep
1x Misdirection
1x Muddle the Mixture
1x Mystic Confluence
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Narset's Reversal
1x Negate
1x Pull from Eternity
1x Pyroblast
1x Red Elemental Blast
1x Silence
1x Spell Pierce
1x Swan Song
1x Swords to Plowshares
1x Wear / Tear
1x Whir of Invention
1x Winds of Rebuke

Enchantment (6)
1x Future Sight
1x Jace's Sanctum
1x Mystic Remora
1x Rest in Peace
1x Rhystic Study
1x Smothering Tithe

Planeswalker (1)
1x Narset, Parter of Veils

Land (31)
1x Adarkar Wastes
1x Ash Barrens
1x Buried Ruin
1x Cascade Bluffs
1x City of Brass
1x Clifftop Retreat
1x Command Tower
1x Exotic Orchard
1x Fiery Islet
1x Forbidden Orchard
1x Glacial Fortress
1x Hallowed Fountain
1x Inventors' Fair
6x Island
1x Mana Confluence
1x Mountain
1x Nimbus Maze
1x Plains
1x Port Town
1x Prairie Stream
1x Sacred Foundry
1x Sea of Clouds
1x Shivan Reef
1x Spire of Industry
1x Steam Vents
1x Sulfur Falls

Creature (7)
1x Baral, Chief of Compliance
1x Dockside Extortionist
1x Etherium Sculptor
1x Laboratory Maniac 1x Spellseeker
1x Tribute Mage
1x Trinket Mage

Commander (1)
Elsha of the Infinite

Artifact (17)
1x Aetherflux Reservoir
1x Astral Cornucopia
1x Azorius Signet
1x Boros Signet
1x Coldsteel Heart
1x Commander's Sphere
1x Everflowing Chalice
1x Fellwar Stone
1x Helm of Awakening
1x Izzet Signet
1x Lotus Petal
1x Mind Stone
1x Prismatic Lens
1x Semblance Anvil
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Sol Ring
1x Talisman of Progress

Sorcery (10)
1x By Force
1x Earthquake
1x Echo of Eons
1x Gitaxian Probe
1x Ponder
1x Preordain
1x Pyroclasm
1x Sevinne's Reclamation
1x Whipflare
1x Windfall

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