Possibly one of the best EDH generals of all time.
Chrisrawr
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(4 votes)
LLLAZER BEEMS!
inmypants22
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.6/5.0)(16 votes)
Esper is artifacts.
Zulp
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(6 votes)
This artwork greatly confused me upon first sight. I thought his legs were broken off at the knees and floating around him, and his head was exploding.
Bulhakas
★★★★☆ (4.6/5.0)(8 votes)
He reminds me of Tim, the Enchanter from Monty Python's The Holy Grail.
Lateralis0ne
★★★★☆ (4.5/5.0)(2 votes)
@22: Esper Stole those colors. This predates that set by quite a bit...unless you're trolling. Then yes, Esper is artifacts.
A3Kitsune
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Load him up with auras and turn him into a massive, evasive attacking monster.
Disruptor
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(10 votes)
What did you say? Necropotence is restricted to one? Ok, no problem.
HairlessThoctar
★★★★☆ (4.8/5.0)(14 votes)
If you play this as your general in EDH; all of your friends hate you and say dirty things about you behind your back.
rufflmao
★★★☆☆ (3.9/5.0)(6 votes)
I use this in EDH and it very rarey fails me. The main problem you're going to face with this deck is removal, but there are ways around that; Robe of Mirrors or even Angelic Renewal for Wrath of God-like cards. In terms of your own removal, you can search for Oblivion Ring, Pacifism, Journey to Nowhere and Seal of Doom with Zur.
To protect your life, I mainly use Ghostly Prison or Island Sanctuary (it doesn't matter if you're not drawing, as most cards will be found by Zur). I also use Soul Barrier to slow opponets down a bit/do some shocking.
Finally, you want a good win condition. I usually use something like Luminarch Ascension or make Zur more offensive with Steel of the Godhead. (If any important enchantments are destroyed, I can get them back with Auramancer, Tragic Poet etc.)
Missed the "CMC 3 or less" the first time I read this guy. Drew up a deck for him and then realized that I couldn't pull big enchantments XD. I was writing Eldrazi Con***ion in the deck list and then went "wait, that can't work" >.< Still a cool card, though.
kilovortex
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
combo him with diplomatic immunity !! zur was def. my pic. as general in edh !!
ScoundrelLV
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
I can think of some decent 3cmc globals enchantments like solitary confinement and astral slide megrim, bloodchief ascension, and words of war or words of waste.
jakeface94
★☆☆☆☆ (1.2/5.0)(6 votes)
i dont like this card.
Sumai4444
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Lim-Dûl the Necromancer , nuff said. Okay maybe not, all the enchantments mentioned in previous posts. Plus a little fun.Necromany, well cuz DUH!Buried Alive,Reoccuring Nightmare,Inviolability,Pariah,Necromancer's Magemark,Flickering Ward, well you get the idea, mix that with any Transmutation spell for card fetching, and well, you get a sick deck fast.
Kirbster
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(17 votes)
EDH was invented because they wanted a better way to use Zur.
D0UBLE_A
★★☆☆☆ (2.9/5.0)(6 votes)
My typical EDH games with Zur go like this, assuming I get to attack with him first:
Turn 1: Pacificy his commander Turn 2: totem armor Turn 3: Underworld Dreams Turn 4: Let's be honest, I've pretty much won by now.
I just wish I had an invulnerability. I also stuck Lost Auramancers in there. Maybe I should add Eldrazi Con***ion so when they die I can stick it on Zur.
Gwafa_Hazid
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(5 votes)
I find it pretty cool that his staff is that tree that Zuran Orb is sitting on(with the Orb itself on top). Awfully snazzy little throwback to the old Ice Age.
Bursama
★★★★☆ (4.0/5.0)(5 votes)
I started hating this card after I saw this one on my opponents EDH-general...
Nick30075
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Well, it works nicely with Con***ion and Arcanum Wings. Or as a tutor for combo pieces (like Reality Acid and Vedalken Mastermind, Triskelion and Daily Regimen, or Torture and Grim Poppet). Oh, and it tutors for Declaration of Naught. :)
@Mithrandir.mvm: You could play it on a creature with shroud or hexproof, because those abilities only protect from targeting, and if you read the official ruling on Zur the Enchanter, the enchantments he finds do not target when they come into play.
You could not, however, play it on a creature with protection from white. Well, you could, but I wouldn't recommend it, since your Prison Term would just go to the graveyard if you did.
Rule 702.15c: A permanent or player with protection can’t be enchanted by Auras that have the stated quality. Such Auras attached to the permanent or player with protection will be put into their owners’ graveyards as a state-based action.
Kamahl_FoK
★★★☆☆ (3.0/5.0)(4 votes)
Really needs to be banned in EDH. Even with the french list he's still obnoxious (assuming they're running a generic blue control deck, with undermine / charm slapped in). Counter counter counter, Zur, counter your removal spell, swing, bust out an answer. 1v1, I mean.
AssKickingBoots
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(2 votes)
Using him as a Commander. No surprise there. The big surprise is it's a Merfolk deck. There are alot of badass Merfolk (there's 6 pages of Merfolk related cards on Gatherer). You can pull so many cool combos, using Zur to get to the key enchantments.
Cards like these quickly enable multiple infinite combos (Damage, Damage Prevention, Milling, Card Draw, Token Production) and other just plain mean combos (Reusable Countering, so on) with my Merfolk cards, (like Lullmage Mentor, Stonybrook Schoolmaster, Drowner of Secrets, etc) and a couple other handy cards (like Paradise Mantle). Being able to pull those key enchantements out for free in a way they can't even be countered? It can get pretty sick.
Justice1337
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
Hands down best combo here is Contamination and Bitterblossom. Don't worry about all that other garbage. The only reason there is anything else in your deck is so that you have a plan B for when more removal gets pointed at your stuff than you have counters, or when you're facing a mono-black opponent.
And when you do this, make sure to pack your deck with things like Gilded Lotus so that you can still cast your spells. Easy-mode EDH.
RJDroid
★★☆☆☆ (2.2/5.0)(2 votes)
Zur is really, really good in EDH. He was the second deck I ever built for that format, back when I knew zilch about what was good. I went through my collection, threw in a ton of random enchantments that cost three or less, and some black kill spells and about 5 counters, and I brought it to my local game store one fateful Saturday. It just so happens that on that day, there was an EDH tournament. I signed up for the heck of it. I proceeded to roflstomp my first two opponents, even though I was running cards like Arcanum Wings (for the more expensive cards like Auramancer's Guise, of course). I lost to the resident jerk who played a finely tuned Erayo deck, and he won 80 bucks. Later games showed that I had simply gotten lucky that day, but the power of Zur was fully revealed to me. Tutoring up a solution to a problem every turn is backbreaking for the opponent. Zur is a card advantage machine, and you are a jerk for playing it. (I later tuned the deck to be deliberately good rather than accidentally good. Isochron Scepter + Counterspell + Rule of Law + the appropriate tutors makes me the new jerk.)
All this is true for 1v1. Good luck keeping him alive in Multiplayer.
Oleggio
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
Oh man, what a TNT! He blast enchantments so easily. I use him as my commander and I must admit, this maybe the only card which can win alone, I dont need other creatures @ probably just an ... auramancer @, but some counters to protect him, the rest of the game zur make on his own! He kills, he pacifie, he destroy other enchantments, and he protect himself with enchantments he tutor. Yumiyumi
LordRandomness
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
I was going to run Zur EDH, but I recognized how annoying that would be. Instead I run a deck with four of him and four Vedalken AEthermage.
What?
Reliquium
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
When you're a wizard, having to take a leak really badly means lightning starts shooting out of your eyes.
Being a wizard has its ups and downs.
gman92
★★☆☆☆ (2.8/5.0)(2 votes)
I'm currently doing an art edit for this card. I'm changing his name to "Tim, the Enchanter" and changing his art to Tim from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I'm going to give him to a friend for his birthday.
morugatu
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Hmmm, this guy would work great with Innistrad block curses!
And making this into Tim would be cool, however, he doesn't remind me of Tim at all. I mean for starters Tim is obviously a red mage with all the absurd amounts of fire he shoots!
tcollins
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
A very mean card to play against in EDH, need card draw? Pull Standstill or Phyrexian Arena need him to survive combat? Try Steel of Godhead. Need generic, dear god that has to be removed immediately removal? Try Oblivion Ring...so many possibilities and a real tough general to play against. Add on top of that that his colours are {W}{U}B} and the fact that he has toughness 4 (which puts him outside of normal bolt range, not really that important in EDH but can still be a factor) and you've got yourself a mean general.
Goatllama
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
This guy is a monster in both card form and back-story.
Cthulhu_Shin
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Zuuuuuuuur mother fuc kers, Zuuuuuuuuuuur!!!!
Azerial1337
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Yes he can bring in Auras and hit an opponents Shrouded or Hexproof creature, as Zur's ability does not Target the creature, Diplomatic Immunity does not prevent you from further buffing Zur. one of the only decks that should be able to give you any problems is the Scion of the Ur-Dragon. only if its well built, seeing as you should be ramping this with artifacts and such you should be able to get Zur on the field and be able to swing once before they can cast Scion, choosing nevermore and naming Scion will net you the game.
TheWrathofShane
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.5/5.0)(1 vote)
This guy is a monster general, Here is a way to rig an EDH game.
This will ensure you can drop Zur Quickly and Safely, giving fantastic chances of getting that first swing and grabing Diplomatic Immunity. Stack the rest of the deck with hard counters and whatever other enchantments you want. This is against the spirit of commander, but will win you many games in the same fashion every time.
DarthParallax
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Ubiquitously needs a Mythic Rare reprint....frankly, preferably Oversized. Not because Wizards should be saying "Hey kiddies, Zur is a fun EDH General! Go beat people up now!" But because people hate Oversized cards, and hopefully if he's Oversized, not too many people will see the need to suddenly overnight change their Commander Strategy to making people cry.
But as with many Broken To Hell From the Vault cards, his power level, his notoriety, and his mystique do qualify him to be honored with the other cards like, say, Tinker or Balance that deserve a brief shoutout as a special unique-process-foil for going above and beyond the call of douchebaggery, to being QAA. (Quite Annoying, Actually.)
MisterAction
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(3 votes)
EDH makes you build 100-card singleton decks to make for gameplay that stays exciting through variation. But when your Commander's a tutor on a stick, every game will play the same way: if they don't kill him before his first attack, he winds up shrouded, indestructible, or immune to damage, whichever one will most neuter the opponent's removal. Then he fetches the same two enchantments that combo into some sort of complete lockdown or infinite combo.
I don't hate him because he's overpowered, I hate him because he's boring and against the spirit of EDH. If I've played against your Zur deck once, there's no need for a rematch because I know what you're going to do every game.
MrMilosz
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
An often overlooked card to put on Zur is Sigil of Sleep. Bounce a threat every turn? Yes, please.
Conazer0
☆☆☆☆☆ (0.0/5.0)
Zur the Enchanter is a boss in edh. He is not unbeatable believe me. He is hard to beat but not impossible. A good friend woke me up a couple of nights before this posting and asked to play a game of edh before he went to work to test out kaalia v zur. well we played and to my sleeping stupidity i swing/lay solitary confinement with BB on field no mana in hand and necropotence in hand. dont make those mistakes and zur will win most of your games depending on the level of competitiveness. i always play enchantments as follows with zur..
1. diplomatic immunity 2. necropotence/phyrexian arena (whichever you prefer to play with, necro is way better) 3. solitary confinement 4. nevermore paraselene if you think theyre running white destroy all enchantments type stuff. back to nature if green whatever the color answer with nevermore or if they havent casted their commander at this time that always works too. 5. daybreak coronet or steel of godhead if you dont wana spend 15$ on an enchantment 6. battle mastery (gives doublestrike) 7. bitterblossom (if the game has even lasted this long...) 8. contamination
and there you have all colors besides mono black decks or the like locked out while your swinging for unblockable commander. Dont play zur against your good friends for they will not be friends for very long or you may lose some of your mtg player base in your area lol.
I sat down against an opponent for an EDH game, with my fairly casual Maelstrom Wanderer deck. Does well casually, fails against competitive decks.
My opponent gets out his deck. His commander - Zur.
I immediately know that unless I draw/mulligan into something like Beast Within or Hinder, I'm going to lose in short order. This made me think - I'm pretty sure that most players get this kind of feeling when they come up against Zur with a deck that isn't very high tier.
SAUS3
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(1 vote)
@JaxsonBateman Nope. You get that feeling regardless of what deck you're using. Too many counterspells to feel comfortable - ever. I hate this card as an EDH general because, after it's cast, it's basically 3 turns of permission and then you are locked down and may as well scoop (unless you want the brutal 5 more turns where this old dude pokes you to death).
It's extremely unfun, even for a more competitive match. Basically, if you stop Zur, you have a really high chance of winning. If he lands and you don't kill him before he untaps, you may as well quit.
Lord_of_Tresserhorn
★★★★☆ (4.7/5.0)(3 votes)
Hellllooooo, Thassa!!
NARFNra
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
Theros is going to make Zur EDH even more terrifying, mark my words.
DangeRuss
★★★★★ (5.0/5.0)(2 votes)
I like how, thanks to the silliness of Enchantment Creatures, Zur just became even more broken. For crying out loud, he can summon Thassia, God of the Sea, who can make old Zur truly unblockable...then nothing can stop him.
Zur is NOT inherently unfun in EDH. There are more interesting and more fun things you can do with Zur than just lock down the board and make him impossible to kill. Take a look at what enchantments he can summon. There is a lot of room for creativity and fun. If you are using Zur in EDH in order to just win automatically, you're the problem, not Zur.
Zur is an awful general to play against because repeatable tutors in EDH are just way too powerful. Zur decks do the exact same thing every single game. Play Zur turns 2-4 with countermagic backup, attack and tutor up one of 5-6 enchantments (usually necro, contamination, bitterblossom, and forms of protection like solitary confinement or vanishing). Eventually you armageddon the board.
Zur is NOT inherently unfun in EDH. There are more interesting and more fun things you can do with Zur than just lock down the board and make him impossible to kill. Take a look at what enchantments he can summon. There is a lot of room for creativity and fun. If you are using Zur in EDH in order to just win automatically, you're the problem, not Zur.
Every EDH general can be built in a "fun" way. But when built in "unfun" ways, some are more oppressive than others.
Comments (63)
To protect your life, I mainly use Ghostly Prison or Island Sanctuary (it doesn't matter if you're not drawing, as most cards will be found by Zur). I also use Soul Barrier to slow opponets down a bit/do some shocking.
Finally, you want a good win condition. I usually use something like Luminarch Ascension or make Zur more offensive with Steel of the Godhead. (If any important enchantments are destroyed, I can get them back with Auramancer, Tragic Poet etc.)
Still a cool card, though.
Turn 1: Pacificy his commander
Turn 2: totem armor
Turn 3: Underworld Dreams
Turn 4: Let's be honest, I've pretty much won by now.
I just wish I had an invulnerability. I also stuck Lost Auramancers in there. Maybe I should add Eldrazi Con***ion so when they die I can stick it on Zur.
Necropotence or Phyrexian arena
Solitary Confinement
Greater Auramancy
and Vanishing on Zur.
Its really quite irritating.
You could not, however, play it on a creature with protection from white. Well, you could, but I wouldn't recommend it, since your Prison Term would just go to the graveyard if you did.
Rule 702.15c: A permanent or player with protection can’t be enchanted by Auras that have the stated quality. Such Auras attached to the permanent or player with protection will be put into their owners’ graveyards as a state-based action.
Intruder Alarm
Psionic Gift/Hermetic Study
Pemmin's Aura/Freed From the Real
Mark of Asylum/Inviolability
Pariah
Diplomatic Immunity
etc...
Cards like these quickly enable multiple infinite combos (Damage, Damage Prevention, Milling, Card Draw, Token Production) and other just plain mean combos (Reusable Countering, so on) with my Merfolk cards, (like Lullmage Mentor, Stonybrook Schoolmaster, Drowner of Secrets, etc) and a couple other handy cards (like Paradise Mantle). Being able to pull those key enchantements out for free in a way they can't even be countered? It can get pretty sick.
And when you do this, make sure to pack your deck with things like Gilded Lotus so that you can still cast your spells. Easy-mode EDH.
It just so happens that on that day, there was an EDH tournament. I signed up for the heck of it. I proceeded to roflstomp my first two opponents, even though I was running cards like Arcanum Wings (for the more expensive cards like Auramancer's Guise, of course). I lost to the resident jerk who played a finely tuned Erayo deck, and he won 80 bucks.
Later games showed that I had simply gotten lucky that day, but the power of Zur was fully revealed to me. Tutoring up a solution to a problem every turn is backbreaking for the opponent. Zur is a card advantage machine, and you are a jerk for playing it.
(I later tuned the deck to be deliberately good rather than accidentally good. Isochron Scepter + Counterspell + Rule of Law + the appropriate tutors makes me the new jerk.)
All this is true for 1v1. Good luck keeping him alive in Multiplayer.
What?
Being a wizard has its ups and downs.
And making this into Tim would be cool, however, he doesn't remind me of Tim at all. I mean for starters Tim is obviously a red mage with all the absurd amounts of fire he shoots!
Stack the deck with
Stave Off, Rebuff the Wicked, Emerge Unscathed, Blessed Breath, Turn Aside, Apostle's Blessing, Faith's Shield, Dispel, Cloudshift, & Brave the Elements... Bathe in Light, Negate, Mana Leak, Remand, Delay, Arcane Denial, Confound, Dawn Charm, Razor Barrier, & Shelter, would each get the job done.
Also stack the deck with
Vessel of Endless Rest, Seashell Cameo, Drake-Skull Cameo, Manalith, Sphere of the Sun's, Sky Diamond, Marble Diamond, Charcoal Diamond, Darksteel Ingot, Eye of Ramos, Skull of Ramos, Tooth of Ramos, Obelisk of Bant, Obelisk of Esper, Obelisk of Grixis, Fellwar Stone...
This will ensure you can drop Zur Quickly and Safely, giving fantastic chances of getting that first swing and grabing Diplomatic Immunity.
Stack the rest of the deck with hard counters and whatever other enchantments you want. This is against the spirit of commander, but will win you many games in the same fashion every time.
But as with many Broken To Hell From the Vault cards, his power level, his notoriety, and his mystique do qualify him to be honored with the other cards like, say, Tinker or Balance that deserve a brief shoutout as a special unique-process-foil for going above and beyond the call of douchebaggery, to being QAA. (Quite Annoying, Actually.)
I don't hate him because he's overpowered, I hate him because he's boring and against the spirit of EDH. If I've played against your Zur deck once, there's no need for a rematch because I know what you're going to do every game.
1. diplomatic immunity
2. necropotence/phyrexian arena (whichever you prefer to play with, necro is way better)
3. solitary confinement
4. nevermore paraselene if you think theyre running white destroy all enchantments type stuff. back to nature if green whatever the color answer with nevermore or if they havent casted their commander at this time that always works too.
5. daybreak coronet or steel of godhead if you dont wana spend 15$ on an enchantment
6. battle mastery (gives doublestrike)
7. bitterblossom (if the game has even lasted this long...)
8. contamination
and there you have all colors besides mono black decks or the like locked out while your swinging for unblockable commander. Dont play zur against your good friends for they will not be friends for very long or you may lose some of your mtg player base in your area lol.
Unfortunately, he cannot fetch Helm of the Ghastlord.
My opponent gets out his deck. His commander - Zur.
I immediately know that unless I draw/mulligan into something like Beast Within or Hinder, I'm going to lose in short order. This made me think - I'm pretty sure that most players get this kind of feeling when they come up against Zur with a deck that isn't very high tier.
Nope. You get that feeling regardless of what deck you're using. Too many counterspells to feel comfortable - ever. I hate this card as an EDH general because, after it's cast, it's basically 3 turns of permission and then you are locked down and may as well scoop (unless you want the brutal 5 more turns where this old dude pokes you to death).
It's extremely unfun, even for a more competitive match. Basically, if you stop Zur, you have a really high chance of winning. If he lands and you don't kill him before he untaps, you may as well quit.
Instant 5/5
Prevention and Neutering:
Stranglehold
Disruption:
Anarchy
Ruination
Merciless Eviction
Zur is NOT inherently unfun in EDH. There are more interesting and more fun things you can do with Zur than just lock down the board and make him impossible to kill. Take a look at what enchantments he can summon. There is a lot of room for creativity and fun. If you are using Zur in EDH in order to just win automatically, you're the problem, not Zur.
Every EDH general can be built in a "fun" way. But when built in "unfun" ways, some are more oppressive than others.