Kang PrimeKang Prime | Art by Lixin Yin

Welcome to Too-Specific Top 10, where if there isn’t a category to rank our pet card at the top of, we’ll just make one up! (Did you know that Sphinx of the Second SunSphinx of the Second Sun is the only creature that can give you multiple upkeeps?)

Hold your hands up high, because Kang PrimeKang Prime has arrived!

The deep archives will show that I have an addiction to suspend, so when I saw Kang PrimeKang Prime, of course I immediately jumped at the opportunity to brew this time cheat! The question is, however, what is it that makes Kang better at abusing suspend than the likes of Taigam, Master OpportunistTaigam, Master Opportunist, Amy PondAmy Pond, or The Tenth DoctorThe Tenth Doctor?

For me, it's the fact that he can give anything suspend, like Taigam can, but he only puts on two time counters. Two time counters is no time at all, merely a single time travel or extra upkeep away to cast the card on the very next turn.

So... what cards will let us do that?

Top 10 Dimir Cards That Can Remove More Than One Time Counter a Turn

Criteria: Cards within the Dimir color identity that can either remove a counter from a suspended card, or can cause you to have more than one upkeep with which to remove time counters. As is tradition, all results are ordered by EDHREC score.

10. Cyclonus, the SaboteurCyclonus, the Saboteur

(Helms 348 Decks, Rank #2,276; 7.15k Inclusions, 0.31% of 2.28M Decks)

If you're just looking at the front side of CyclonusCyclonus, then you're probably a bit confused. Usually, with the Transformers cards, the front side is the powerhouse, while the backside is the discount. Cyclonus flips that trend on its head and has his fighter jet form be way more powerful and expensive. Cyclonus, Cybertronian FighterCyclonus, Cybertronian Fighter comes down for seven, and if it connects the following turn, gives you another beginning phase immediately following the combat it attacked in. In other words? You get to untap, have an additional upkeep to remove time counters in, and then draw a card, all before you go to your second main phase.

Don't have seven mana? Not to worry. You can also cast Cyclonus for his front-facing cost, then connive or proliferate for a few turns to flip him naturally, in which case he becomes an 8/8 flier that essentially gives you an extra turn within your own turn. Seems worth the wait, if you ask me!

9. All of History, All at OnceAll of History, All at Once

(12.6k Inclusions, 0.28% of 4.55M Decks)

All of History, All at OnceAll of History, All at Once is such a cool card that it's honestly a shame how difficult it is to find a deck that wants it. Long story short? I don't think Kang PrimeKang Prime is the deck. The issue is that you want a bunch of permanents that want to stack a bunch of time counters, paired with a lot of suspend cards that have huge amounts of counters placed on them, and the whole reason we like Kang is because he only stacks two. Now, does that mean that we could cast a card with suspend on our upkeep, swing in with Kang, and then immediately cast whatever he flips by casting All of History? Yes, it does. The question is: are you really casting things for free if you're paying four mana for them? The second question is: how unfun will it be to flip this off of Kang? Pretty not fun.

8. Jhoira's TimebugJhoira's Timebug

(14.3k Inclusions, 0.16% of 9.23M Decks)

It won't feel great to flip Jhoira's TimebugJhoira's Timebug, either, but at least it will be something that sticks around to make your following Kang flip cast the next turn. Where the Timebug will feel a lot better is when you draw and cast it early, allowing you to land a Kang, then immediately start removing time counters from his enters suspend trigger. In other words? This one was always in the deck.

7. Rotating FireplaceRotating Fireplace

(14.8k Inclusions, 0.16% of 9.23M Decks)

Brewing Taigam made me really reconsider my feelings about Rotating FireplaceRotating Fireplace, as having multiples of it gets really dumb and even pseudo-infinite, really fast. So, really, the question for this card is: does Kang have any interest in copy effects?

There's no question that multiple Kangs would get out of control fast, so it's possible that at least the copy effects that ignore the legendary rule are in contention. The other thing that Kang has an interest in? Huge spells to cheat out, so let's take a look at that list to help us determine if we want Rotating Fireplace or not:

Top 10 Dimir Huge Copy Spells

1. Jin-Gitaxias, Progress TyrantJin-Gitaxias, Progress Tyrant
2. Sublime EpiphanySublime Epiphany
3. Extravagant ReplicationExtravagant Replication
4. Auton SoldierAuton Soldier
5. Cybermen SquadronCybermen Squadron
6. Season of WeavingSeason of Weaving
7. Mirror Room // Fractured RealmMirror Room // Fractured Realm
8. Clone LegionClone Legion
9. Storm of SarumanStorm of Saruman
10. Impostor SyndromeImpostor Syndrome

So, our answer here is that yes, there are tons of huge, impactful spells that copy things that are likely to make Kang go nuts. Extravagant ReplicationExtravagant Replication specifically seems like it will make things get out of hand immediately with any multiple upkeep cards, Auton SoldierAuton Soldier with Kang is going to end up casting half our deck by the time its all said and done, and Storm of SarumanStorm of Saruman will go nuts with things we cast from our hand after we cast our free suspend spell in our upkeep. In other words? There are going to be more than enough things that can copy Rotating Fireplace to ensure that it will go nuts fairly routinely.

6. Wibbly-wobbly, Timey-wimeyWibbly-wobbly, Timey-wimey

(15.6k Inclusions, 0.34% of 4.55M Decks)

Another one that will feel fairly underwhelming to flip with Kang, we're going to play Wibbly-wobbly, Timey-wimeyWibbly-wobbly, Timey-wimey anyhow. Why? Because it has one of the best names ever concocted in fiction, and because we both want to time travel and draw cards. 'Nough said.

5. Time BeetleTime Beetle

(15.7k Inclusions, 0.35% of 4.55M Decks)

Time BeetleTime Beetle does a reasonable interpretation of ThrummingbirdThrummingbird, but is worse in several ways. Chief among them is that skulk is nowhere near as good as flying. Secondary is that time travel isn't as generically good as proliferate is. All that said, we'll love this little bug, all the way up until the whole table has 1/1 tokens to block it with.

4. ClockspinningClockspinning

(34.9k Inclusions, 0.77% of 4.55M Decks)

If ClockspinningClockspinning actually cost four mana, I think we'd be a little down on this when it came to Kang Prime. Fortunately, however, much as we tend to grip the possible value as hard as possible, you can just cast this without paying the buyback. And in Kang? That's likely to put a big spell on the stack, at instant speed. Yes, please!

3. Shadow of the Second SunShadow of the Second Sun

(41k Inclusions, 0.90% of 4.55M Decks)

The cheaper Sphinx of the Second SunSphinx of the Second Sun, Shadow of the Second SunShadow of the Second Sun is actually harder to kill as well. In other words? This one is pretty much all gravy, and is exactly the sort of card we're hoping to flip with Kang Prime early and often.

2. Paradox HazeParadox Haze

(52.6k Inclusions, 1.16% of 4.55M Decks)

Even better than praying for flips, however, would be just playing down a Paradox HazeParadox Haze the turn prior to playing Kang. Sure, sure, it's not nearly as good as getting an extra untap and draw like Cyclonus, the SaboteurCyclonus, the Saboteur and the various Second Suns provide. It is, however, a lot cheaper, and still going to remove our time counters just fine.

1. Sphinx of the Second SunSphinx of the Second Sun

(61.7k Inclusions, 1.36% of 4.55M Decks)

Much as I like that Shadow of the Second SunShadow of the Second Sun is harder to remove, games do have to end, and 6/6 fliers do a lot for that eventuality. Combine that with this wise Sphinx having pseudo-vigilance due to it untapping everything, and there's everything to like about this except the cost. In other words? We're going to have to include some BrainstormBrainstorm-type effects to make sure we're cheating huge things like this into play, rather than letting them rot in our hand until they're too late to do anything.

Honorable Mentions

We had a nice and tidy Top 10 this week, with literally every card that does the thing represented. So what now?

I suppose we could take a look at all these huge spells we're trying to cheat in?

Top 10 Dimir Spells That Actually Cost Eight or More that Don't Have Affinity or Delve or Somesuch

1. Rise of the Dark RealmsRise of the Dark Realms
2. OmniscienceOmniscience
3. Blightsteel ColossusBlightsteel Colossus
4. Portal to PhyrexiaPortal to Phyrexia
5. Vilis, Broker of BloodVilis, Broker of Blood
6. Archon of CrueltyArchon of Cruelty
7. Kozilek, Butcher of TruthKozilek, Butcher of Truth
8. Artisan of KozilekArtisan of Kozilek
9. Ulamog, the Ceaseless HungerUlamog, the Ceaseless Hunger
10. Decree of PainDecree of Pain

There is no doubt that this is a solid list of cards that will swing a game in your favor. With that said, most of them bore me. Yeah, OmniscienceOmniscience lets you cast all these huge spells we're trying to cheat for free, but then what would be the point? Sure, KozilekKozilek and their various Eldrazi friends devastate when they're cast, after which you follow up with annihilator triggers, but where is the spice? For me, Portal to PhyrexiaPortal to Phyrexia provides that, affecting the board when it's cast and then bringing me huge creatures from around the table each upkeep that follows, which will hopefully be multiple upkeeps per turn. The other one that really speaks to me is Vilis, Broker of BloodVilis, Broker of Blood. There's no doubt that he draws a lot of cards, but he also controls the table and flies in for eight damage a turn. Sounds like everything I want to be doing.

Speaking of what we want to be doing with this deck, why not take a look at the deck?

If you're not into complex copies of copies intermixed with a puzzle of stack nonsense each upkeep, of which there are probably multiple, this deck is not for you. In fact, I would go so far as to say that if you do pick this up, you need to practice with it so you're not bogarting everyone's time.

That said, if you think you're up to the complexity, and you love landing haymaker after haymaker, this deck can do that. A lot of folks will rightfully remove your commander, but that doesn't mean much if you can just get to a ton of mana anyhow and start casting the huge things, and it turns out there's enough ramp to do just that.

Nuts and Bolts

There always seems to be a bit of interest in how these lists are made (this seems like a good time to stress once again that they are based on EDHREC score, NOT my personal opinion…), and people are often surprised that I’m not using any special data or .json from EDHREC, but rather just muddling my way through with some Scryfall knowledge! For your enjoyment/research, here is this week’s Scryfall search.

What Do You Think?

It's been a month since spoiler season for Marvel Super Heroes started, and I feel like I've barely read half of the legends that were spoiled. Despite that, we're headed straight for The Hobbit spoilers, with back-to-back Universes Beyond sets that are more legendary than not. So, a simple question before moving on to the next one: Are you actually... doing anything with all these cards?

And finally, what is your favorite suspend-enabler? Does it just remove/add time counters, or does it give you extra upkeeps?

Let us know in the comments, and we'll see you at the table that keeps on setting itself up, simply to suddenly be folded again, and then setting itself up again, and then it's folded again, and then...