There's no need for any other steps. Niv-Mizzet, Parun wins the game on its own. I was getting prepared to write this article when Adrian Sullivan went ahead and won GP Milwaukee with a variation of the deck I wanted to write about after checking the 5-0 results from the Competitive Leagues. One of the important aspects of this Standard format is being on top of the changes and being prepared for the meta shifts. MTGO is ahead, but certainly not by as much as it used to be.

Jeskai Niv | Guilds Standard | TheCorrupter, 5-0 MTGO League 11/15/18

• Creatures (7)
• 3 Enigma Drake
• 4 Niv-Mizzet, Parun

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

• Instants (17)
• 1 Essence Scatter
• 1 Justice Strike
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 1 Syncopate
• 2 Dive Down
• 2 Ionize
• 2 Shock
• 3 Expansion // Explosion
• 4 Opt

• Sorceries (5)
• 1 Lava Coil
• 4 Deafening Clarion

• Artifacts (3)
• 3 Treasure Map

• Lands (25)
• 1 Mountain
• 4 Island
• 4 Clifftop Retreat
• 4 Glacial Fortress
• 4 Sacred Foundry
• 4 Steam Vents
• 4 Sulfur Falls

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Banefire
• 1 Cleansing Nova
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
• 1 Ixalan's Binding
• 1 Lyra Dawnbringer
• 1 Negate
• 1 Nezahal, Primal Tide
• 1 Rekindling Phoenix
• 2 Seal Away
• 1 Settle the Wreckage
• 1 Spell Swindle
• 2 Star of Extinction

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It's no secret I think Niv-Mizzet, Parun is one of the best cards in Standard and I've been trying to find the best shell for it for quite some time. TheCorrupter tried the idea of using Treasure Map to get ahead on mana early and play a Niv-Mizzet, Parun with the ability to cast spells (or Dive Down) immediately to start gaining value. With the full set of Niv's in the main deck it's easier to jam at will with Niv instead of always having to try and protect it. Since it's pretty likely for Niv-Mizzet to win the game, putting one in play as fast as possible and being able to untap is very likely to end the game. Cards like Opt and Shock, while being generally on the weaker end of cards, help facilitate the more absurd turns with Niv-Mizzet while being not completely unplayable in your deck. The oddest card here has to be Enigma Drake, but in many ways it makes a ton of sense. There's no Jump Start cards, so Enigma Drake will always have some heavy power attached to it, but most importantly it's cheap. When you're trying to survive until landing one of your Niv-Mizzet's or having a cheap threat means you'll be able to end the game quickly. Instead of shuffling around with expensive tools the plan is to just get them dead with the win conditions we've selected. For this endeavor Enigma Drake fits the bill better than Crackling Drake.

Based on the deck's excellent performance, it's plain to see how devastating Deafening Clarion can be. Even against a deck like Golgari, Clarion is fantastic at cleaning up all the small creatures for an effective cost. If you can contain Wildgrowth Walker, then the creatures that escape Clarion are few and far between. With the move to Doom Whisperer over Carnage Tyrant it's even easier to manage the creatures. Otherwise the hope is to go over the top with Niv and work through a Carnage Tyrant. This main deck is configured more for the meta of White aggressive decks and Golgari while not having a great plan against Drakes. It seems the hope for Drakes might be to resolve Niv and hope it carries over the finish line. Post board, cards like Seal Away are incredible against the Izzet decks while having plenty of game against the White decks. I'm excited about the idea of Lyra Dawnbringer and Dive Down out of the board as a way to stop quite a few decks in their tracks. While I like what this deck is trying to do there is certainly some awkward cards in the pile. Adrian took basically the same build but made it a little cleaner.

Jeskai Niv | Guilds Standard | Adrian Sullivan, 1st Place GP Milwaukee

• Creatures (7)
• 1 Rekindling Phoenix
• 2 Enigma Drake
• 4 Niv-Mizzet, Parun

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

• Instants (16)
• 1 Settle the Wreckage
• 1 Shock
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 2 Dive Down
• 2 Ionize
• 2 Syncopate
• 3 Expansion // Explosion
• 4 Opt

• Sorceries (5)
• 2 Lava Coil
• 3 Deafening Clarion

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Treasure Map

• Lands (25)
• 5 Island
• 4 Clifftop Retreat
• 4 Glacial Fortress
• 4 Sacred Foundry
• 4 Steam Vents
• 4 Sulfur Falls

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Settle the Wreckage
• 2 Banefire
• 1 Cleansing Nova
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
• 2 Ixalan's Binding
• 2 Lyra Dawnbringer
• 1 Negate
• 2 Seal Away
• 1 Spell Swindle
• 2 Star of Extinction

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From here I think we can make it even more clean. Expansion // Explosion is a wonderful card but there's a reason it hasn't taken off. It's slow and clunky and often doesn't make the impact needed to be effective. I can see the Expansion side being used quite a bit to copy draw spells. Otherwise I'm not sold on playing multiple copies of this card and would love to see less.

Enigma Drake also stands out as awkward as well. I understand its role but wonder if there is something even better in its spot. Rekindling Phoenix is a little expensive, and I'm wary of running it with Lava Coil being the premier removal spell in the format. The most impressive card in the format that has continued to fly under the radar is Murmuring Mystic, an expensive Young Pyromancer that has a massive defensive body and pairs well with everything Niv already wants you to do. Cheap spells and extra mana can provide blockers ad nauseam and possibly a way to even win the game. We are starting to see it pick up a bit and I wouldn't be surprised if we saw dedicated Mystic decks coming up.

The mana base can sometimes be a bit tricky, but having Treasure Map means you can often fix your mana easily in the mid game for the brief period until you are able to stitch it together.

One of the best cards in this deck is easily Settle the Wreckage. It's one of the scariest removal spells of the past few Standards and has all but disappeared from the meta. I would guess the absence of Hallowed Fountain has quite a bit to do with that though. That being said, most decks in Standard are about turning creatures sideways and more often than not Settle isn't on everyone's radar. At least, not until the first one shreds them. Despite being on the tougher side to cast, I'm all about playing a few in this deck.

One of the downsides of Treasure Map is it being a colorless source which doesn't cast Niv very effectively. I can envision plenty of scenarios where having to take a turn off will be impactful or needed and having Settle in the deck will be awesome to play catch up with. If you're in the market to play at sorcery speed there are great options there too.

So, how would I build it?

How about this?

Jeskai Niv | Guilds Standard| Rudy Briksza

• Creatures (7)
• 3 Murmuring Mystic
• 4 Niv-Mizzet, Parun

• Planeswalkers (3)
• 3 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

• Instants (15)
• 1 Expansion // Explosion
• 1 Shock
• 1 Spell Pierce
• 2 Dive Down
• 2 Ionize
• 2 Settle the Wreckage
• 2 Syncopate
• 4 Opt

• Sorceries (6)
• 3 Deafening Clarion
• 3 Lava Coil

• Artifacts (4)
• 4 Treasure Map

• Lands (25)
• 5 Island
• 4 Clifftop Retreat
• 4 Glacial Fortress
• 4 Sacred Foundry
• 4 Steam Vents
• 4 Sulfur Falls

• Sideboard (15)
• 1 Settle the Wreckage
• 2 Banefire
• 1 Cleansing Nova
• 1 Disdainful Stroke
• 1 Firemind's Research
• 2 Ixalan's Binding
• 2 Lyra Dawnbringer
• 1 Negate
• 2 Seal Away
• 2 Star of Extinction

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There isn't a ton of variation but this is where I'm happy seeing the deck go. This Standard format has been quite incredible with lots of room to maneuver through all the different decks. This might be the best Standard format I've ever played and if this is what we have to look forward to I'm excited for Magic's future.