Elminster turns constant scrying into mana. Every scry effect discounts the next instant or sorcery by the number of cards seen, so a dense suite of cheap scry cantrips, scry creatures, upkeep scry engines and repeatable scry artifacts lets the deck cast its expensive card draw, extra-turn spells and big sorceries for little or nothing. Cost reducers stack on top of those discounts, and Oath of Teferi plus Spark Double multiply Elminster's +2 card draw and −3 Faerie Dragon tokens, all behind a control shell of counterspells, Propaganda and sweepers. How it wins: It chains discounted extra turns and big draw spells into lethal air armies of Faerie Dragons, Drakes and fliers boosted by token anthems, with Approach of the Second Sun (found by Solve the Equation), a Lost Isle Calling extra turn, or Jace, Reality Sculptor's library exile as alternate finishes. Key roles: - Scry density: Cheap cantrips, enter-the-battlefield scry creatures and repeatable or upkeep scry sources keep Elminster's discount ready every turn while smoothing draws. (Preordain, Cryptic Annelid, Netherese Puzzle-Ward) - Discounted bombs: Expensive card draw, extra-turn and free-cast sorceries become cheap or free after a big scry, and stack with flat cost reducers. (Temporal Mastery, Aminatou's Augury, Jace's Sanctum) - Scry payoffs: Beyond Elminster, several permanents turn each scry into counters, tapped-down blockers or extra cards played off the bottom, building toward an extra turn or huge card advantage. (Lost Isle Calling, Elvish Mariner, The Temporal Anchor) - Planeswalker doubling: Extra loyalty activations, a copy of Elminster and Jace tokens multiply Elminster's +2 draw and −3 Faerie Dragon output, and big loyalty drops draw extra cards. (Oath of Teferi, Spark Double, Way of the Mind Sculptor) - Flying token army: Faerie Dragons, Drakes from each spell, and copied or mass-produced fliers grow into a lethal evasive force under token anthems, with combat damage drawing more cards. (Talrand, Sky Summoner, Intangible Virtue, Storm Herd) - Control shell: Counterspells, attack taxes, spot removal and sweepers protect Elminster and stall opponents until the engine takes over. (Counterspell, Propaganda, Supreme Verdict)

Elminster decklist

• Arcane Signet
• Azorius Signet
• Crystal Ball
• Gideon's Memorial
• Mind Stone
• Sol Ring
• The Temporal Anchor
• Thought Vessel
• Azorius Chancery
• Command Tower
• Exotic Orchard
• Fatehold Annex
• Glacial Fortress
• Irrigated Farmland
• 13× Island
• 9× Plains
• Port Town
• Prairie Stream
• Reliquary Tower
• Skycloud Expanse
• Temple of Enlightenment
• Tranquil Cove
• Augury Owl
• Cryptic Annelid
• Elvish Mariner
• Faerie Seer
• Fblthp, Impossibly Lost
• Geist of Saint Thalia
• Siani, Eye of the Storm
• Sigiled Starfish
• Spark Double
• Sphinx of Foresight
• Talrand, Sky Summoner
• Wizards of Thay
• Intangible Virtue
• Jace's Sanctum
• Lost Isle Calling
• Netherese Puzzle-Ward
• Oath of Teferi
• Plan for All Outcomes
• Propaganda
• Way of the Mind Sculptor
• Aetherize
• Arcane Denial
• Behold the Multiverse
• Brainstorm
• Condescend
• Contact Other Plane
• Counterspell
• Deliberate
• Dig Through Time
• Diviner's Portent
• Dovin's Veto
• Elminster's Simulacrum
• Negate
• Opt
• Path to Exile
• Swords to Plowshares
• Jace, Mirror Mage
• Jace, Reality Sculptor
• Alrund's Epiphany
• Aminatou's Augury
• Approach of the Second Sun
• Beacon of Tomorrows
• Clone Legion
• Foresee
• Interpret the Signs
• Mnemonic Deluge
• Mystic Speculation
• Preordain
• Serum Visions
• Solve the Equation
• Storm Herd
• Supreme Verdict
• Tamiyo's Epiphany
• Temporal Mastery
• Island
• Plains
• Island