Happy New Year!!!

Fun fact: did you know the art in my banner for this article is from an actual card? It's an old version of Clone, and it's less then a quarter! In the spirit of cosplay, and becoming a copy of something else, I thought this was worth sharing. (If anything, it's probably the most insightful information this article is likely to provide!)

Anyway, has anyone else prepared some New Year's Resolutions? I know I have. Oftentimes life can get busy with just managing bills and work, and true goals can be sidetracked as a result. I've kept up on my passions in 2018 with cosplay and EDH, but I definitely haven't accomplished anywhere near enough. This year, I've put in some simple goals to ensure that even at my laziest, I'll definitely beat last year by a long mile. I've got some cosplays ready to go and plenty of 3D-printed goodies coming out!

Speaking of last year, I forgot to show off some pictures of our EDH Scavenger Hunt! This year we had some heavy downpour but it definitely didn't stop plenty of hardcore participants! The turnout was great and a lot of people walked away with plenty of prizes!

We had far too many cards to give away! I enjoyed doing a lazy girl Nissa cosplay as we passed out countless cards for those willing to brave the elements.

Because of the turnout we had to have multiple stations to satiate the scavengers in a timely manner. No matter how many times we do this, we are always surprised on how much manpower is needed for these events.

Finally, there were plenty of other prizes to be won outside of the scavenge itself. The tournament proceeded after the hunt and had several prizes, which depended on the players' selections. I'm glad we had so many female players again this year, as there was plenty of jewelry to go with the loot!

Another fun fact: the same person who won the Bolas Trophy last time won it again this year. I think they're starting a collection at this point!

That's enough about the past though. It's time to move forward! Today's article is a nice step toward my ever-increasing goal to maximize the most out of life!

The OG Cosplayer?

Because I'm focusing on my hobbies more this year, I thought it would be fun to once again to merge multiple things I love doing! This month is going to involve mixing Cosplay and EDH! Although I definitely wouldn't call myself a professional cosplayer, it's something I love doing, so much so that it became one of the reasons I moved to Orlando. However, the occasional convention just isn't enough.

Let's add some cosplay magic into Magic! Who will handle the mantle of the ultimate cosplayer in the Multiverse?

Lazav, Dimir Mastermind! Lazav immediately become one of my favorite commanders when I first discovered them. Imagine how easy it would be to cosplay as your favorite characters when you can simply just turn into them!

I actually had a Lazav deck a long time ago, but had to quickly take it apart due to how powerful it was. Well, let me rephrase that, actually, as I'm sure many are confused by that statement. I had to take it apart because it caused a lot of grief as a very target-specific and therefore oppressive deck. If I knew you had goodies in your deck, I would gun you down to share in your wealth! The fact that Lazav was untouchably hexproof and ad access to counterspells didn't help matters, either. Lazav was made in a time where everyone was playing giant Eldrazi Titans and other horrible creatures that would end games in a single swoop. However, now Lazav has finally gone through his angry teenage phase and is ready to let his hair down (but never his hood). Let's find a way to make a fairly casual Lazav.

The name of the game is simple. Mill opponents and steal their special ingredients that make their own decks frightening to their owners. Lazav hits a strange sweet spot; you play the deck like a mill deck, but you don't have to actually worry about emptying everyone's decks into the graveyard pile. I'm sure many who try to find a mill option in EDH are quickly frustrated by the lack of mill power in a format with 99-card decks. However, with this brew, we should be able to satisfy our desire to mill one or two players, and crushing whoever is left!

The Supporting Cast

It won't be fun to cosplay by yourself. You need a group to enjoy the festivities with you! The great part about this sort of deck is there are plenty of support creatures who do the same thing as Lazav, becoming copies of the dead, such as Dimir Doppelganger and Cemetery Puca or even Body Double.

Do you want to make a simple copycat deck? You can! Do you only want to include particular copy creatures that also give amazing effects like Evil Twin? You can definitely afford to be picky, as there are plenty of other cards in the Multiverse to support this theme, from Clever Impersonator to Stunt Double.

The Show Must Go On

Of course, for Lazav (or any graveyard-heavy deck) to work, you need plenty of cards that force cards into the graveyard! There are literally hundreds of cards to chose from, but the key is to find particular cards that either drop dozens of cards or have static effects like Sphinx's Tutelage or Psychic Corrosion.

Above are some particularly nasty cards I absolutely love. Nothing is more fun then abusing Traumatize! Imagine cursing someone with Fraying Sanity and then dropping that Traumatize bomb on them! If your friends think milling is weak, feel free to use this to remind them otherwise.

Stealing Their Hearts!

Now, it would be unfair to make Lazav do everything. Even if he is the best cosplayer around, we still need to fit him with some awesome outfits!

Some people would think that a true cosplayer would craft their own costumes. That's totally 2018. Now it's all about stealing everyone else's cosplay! Bribery is for when you get tired of trying to search for someone's Eldrazi as card after card goes into the graveyard. Just pull the ultimate card out of someone's deck and take all the credit for yourself! It's especially rude if you take their win condition away from them and use it against them! Like milling itself, you have plenty of options for stealing more than just creatures.

Break a Leg!

Finally we have the infinite combos. Because... well we always need an infinite combo, don't we? As usual I typically limit these kinds of combos to 1-2 different sets of cards, so it's fair for everyone. Although I can go through the deck fairly quickly with how it's built, without tutors I don't think it's very mean. It also gives the deck something to look for when I'm facing decks that could care less if I steal from them (looking at you, Ezuri, Renegade Leader).

Below is the complete deck. It might look a bit of a mess, divided between milling and copying, but that's half the point. It has fun doing both those things! Winning is a bonus to the mayhem of copying all the creatures and spells you can!

Closing Thoughts

I hope everyone enjoyed one of our first articles for the new year! I think I should probably close with a thank you for all your support in 2018. Remember those awesome Sensei's Divining Tops I've posted a few times?

Well now I thought it would be fun to do a giveaway for all those who don't have a 3D printer of their own to access. Entering is simple! Like and Retweet the following Tweet for a chance to win! Read this too late? No worries. This will be the first of many giveaways, I promise!

Keep your hobby lifestyle strong! Life is far too short to only work yourself to the end of the race, after all.

Love,

Kya