Image courtesy of Scryfall.com
A Plan for Narset Transcendent in a Clever Combo
Narset Transcendent isn’t just a pretty planeswalker from Dragons of Tarkir; she’s a puzzle box for players who love cerebral glee mixed with a touch of chaos. Her +1 ability teases out the top of your library, nudging you toward a noncreature, nonland spell you can tuck into your hand. Her -2 can swing the tempo into a rebound-friendly arc, letting you set up a future payoff that can derail opponents and tilt the table in your favor. And that dramatic -9 emblem? It slams the door on most noncreature spell chaos from the other side. If you enjoy long, carefully constructed turns where you sequenceツ and twist the stack, Narset invites you to build a deck that is equal parts math problem and magic show 🔮🧙♂️.
Oracle text (summary): +1: Look at the top card of your library. If it’s a noncreature, nonland card, you may reveal it and put it into your hand. -2: When you next cast an instant or sorcery spell from your hand this turn, it gains rebound. Exile the spell as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast that card from exile without paying its mana cost. -9: You get an emblem with "Your opponents can't cast noncreature spells."
With those tools, a clever combo deck centers on two rails: (1) draw, tutor, and assemble core pieces that fit Narset’s rebound window, and (2) deploy a finisher that wins whether you’re ahead on the board or locked in a tight race. A typical curve starts with early card selection and protection, moves into a rebound-heavy sequence, and culminates in a win condition that capitalizes on the emblem or a drawn-out engine. The joy is in how you thread lines that might look ordinary in other decks but become explosive when Narset is your command center 🧭💥.
Key ideas to build around
- Card-advantage tempo: Use the +1 to find and pocket a noncreature, nonland spell that can either protect your plan or accelerate the engine. Think of it as your “fetch” that doesn’t fetch a land, but rather a catalyst spell such as a cheap cantrip or a pivotal time-warp spell. Cards like Brainstorm or Ponder fit nicely here—instant-speed, noncreature options you can put into your hand and then deploy with care.
- Rebound as a safety valve: The -2 shaping rebound is a built-in insurance policy that lets you set up an extra turn-style payoff. Your chosen instant or sorcery should be something that truly benefits from a second cast—think time manipulation or dramatic draw spells that can swing the game late. The rebound timer encourages you to pace your threats and protect your stack with countermagic or disruption.
- The emblem as a lockdown tool: The -9 emblem can be a game finisher in a pod of players who frequently rely on noncreature spells. You’re not just trying to survive; you’re actively curbing the late-game spell-slinging of adversaries. In multiplayer environments, Narset’s emblem can swing the game’s dynamic by forcing opponents to pivot away from their win conditions or expensive combos.
- Win conditions that reward your plan: Look for finishers that either win through a single explosive line or scale as you draw into more solutions. Laboratory Maniac and Jace, Wielder of Mysteries are classic blue-aligned alt-wins if you’re digging deep for the last few cards with heavy card draw. If you want a straight-forward path, a well-timed time-warp loop or a deck that draws to a Laboratory Maniac can close the door decisively.
- Protection and resilience: Your game plan relies on keeping Narset alive and keeping key spells safe. Include a suite of counterspells, bounce effects, and removal that can handle opposing threats while you assemble the pieces. In this kind of build, you’ll appreciate tempo tools such as Counterspell, Swan Song, and other blue-white staples that preserve your plan without derailing the tempo you’re setting up.
A sample blockbuster line you might aim for
Turn 1–2: Narset hits the battlefield. You look at the top card with +1; you find Time Warp or Temporal Mastery and tuck it into your hand. You cast a cheap cantrip to deploy your plan while staving off early pressure. If an emergency defense is needed, you’ll hold up countermagic and keep your options open 🛡️.
Turn 3–4: You cast Time Warp from your hand. It resolves, and because Narset’s -2 promised a rebound target, you exile the spell as it resolves. On your next upkeep, you may cast Time Warp from exile for free. This gives you an extra turn to set up the decisive move, whether it’s a second rebound loop, a wheel effect to refuel, or a direct win via a Laboratory Maniac/Jace engine. The audience leans in as you engineer a sequence where every card you draw or tutor feeds into your final plan, and your opponents realize they forgot to plan for Narset’s clever misdirection 🔥🎲.
As the turns stack, you lean into synergy with draw-spell support and protective counters. You don’t always win in a single sequence; often the joy is the control and consistency you establish as you pressure the table toward your endgame. And because Narset’s +1 can threaten to sweep away dead-ends, you’re constantly pruning suboptimal lines in favor of smoother, safer progress. The deck asks you to think several steps ahead, like a chess match with a splash of kinetic magic ⚔️.
Card choices and practical notes
- Tutor and draw suite: Ponder, Brainstorm, and other cantrips to fuel your early game and set up the top-deck shenanigans that Narset can leverage. The goal is to keep your hand fed with noncreature, nonland spells you can rebound into advantage.
- Protection: Countermagic, bounce effects, and cheap removal are essential. If you can stop someone from interfering while you assemble your line, Narset shines much brighter.
- Finishers: Laborator y Maniac, Jace, Wielder of Mysteries, or a controlled draw engine that ends the game on your terms. The exact choice depends on your metagame and whether you’re playing one-on-one or in a larger pod.
- Mana base: A lean, consistent mana base that supports blue-white strategies will help you reliably cast your rebound spells when you need them most.
In the end, a Narset Transcendent-led combo deck is less about a single, flashy kill and more about the thrill of an interactive, layered approach. You’ll savor the micro-snap decisions—the draw, the reveal, the rebound, the exile, the upkeep cast—each piece building toward a crescendo that lands with a satisfying, strategic snap. And if you enjoy the nostalgia of Dragons of Tarkir’s mythic moments with a modern twist, you’ll feel that classic MTG joy all over again 🧙♂️💎.
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Neon Card Holder Phone Case (MagSafe) — Neon Card Holder Phone Case
Narset Transcendent
+1: Look at the top card of your library. If it's a noncreature, nonland card, you may reveal it and put it into your hand.
−2: When you next cast an instant or sorcery spell from your hand this turn, it gains rebound. (Exile the spell as it resolves. At the beginning of your next upkeep, you may cast that card from exile without paying its mana cost.)
−9: You get an emblem with "Your opponents can't cast noncreature spells."
ID: 4816d092-e34b-4397-8599-43d8e85a8f39
Oracle ID: e1de0c94-0ecc-425a-9b92-27c2745d07e7
Multiverse IDs: 394633
TCGPlayer ID: 96450
Cardmarket ID: 273106
Colors: U, W
Color Identity: U, W
Keywords:
Rarity: Mythic
Released: 2015-03-27
Artist: Magali Villeneuve
Frame: 2015
Border: black
EDHRec Rank: 7211
Penny Rank: 2969
Set: Dragons of Tarkir (dtk)
Collector #: 225
Legalities
- Standard — not_legal
- Future — not_legal
- Historic — legal
- Timeless — legal
- Gladiator — legal
- Pioneer — legal
- Modern — legal
- Legacy — legal
- Pauper — not_legal
- Vintage — legal
- Penny — legal
- Commander — legal
- Oathbreaker — legal
- Standardbrawl — not_legal
- Brawl — legal
- Alchemy — not_legal
- Paupercommander — not_legal
- Duel — legal
- Oldschool — not_legal
- Premodern — not_legal
- Predh — not_legal
Prices
- USD: 4.64
- USD_FOIL: 24.39
- EUR: 5.72
- EUR_FOIL: 17.29
- TIX: 0.02
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