Niv-Mizzet, Guildpact wants a deck that piles armor and magic onto one creature and attacks with it. It also suits a deck that gains life over and over and gets rewarded for it.
Mana cost
All five colors ()
Power / toughness6 / 6
RarityRare
Flying, hexproof from multicolored
Whenever Niv-Mizzet deals combat damage to a player, it deals X damage to any target, target player draws X cards, and you gain X life, where X is the number of different color pairs among permanents you control that are exactly two colors.
Picked for what they do in Niv-Mizzet's deck. When two cards do the same job, the one with the lower comes first. All of them fit Niv-Mizzet's color identity.Mana ValueThe total amount of mana a card costs, all added up. A card costing two generic and one green has a mana value of three. Wizards renamed this from "converted mana cost" in 2021, so older cards and articles may still use the old name.Open the full glossary
explain how Niv-Mizzet works in tricky situations. They come from Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic.RulingThe official answer to how a card works in a tricky situation. Most rulings are written by Wizards of the Coast, the company that makes Magic, and a few are notes from Scryfall, the card database Magic players use. A ruling explains a card. It does not change what the card says.Open the full glossary
Wizards of the Coast2 Feb 2024
A "color pair" is exactly two colors. There are ten color pairs in Magic: white-blue, white-black, blue-black, blue-red, black-red, black-green, red-green, red-white, green-white, and green-blue.
Wizards of the Coast2 Feb 2024
The value of X is checked only once, as Niv-Mizzet, Guildpact's triggered ability resolves.
Color identityEvery color of mana symbol on a card, in its cost and in its rules text. Your commander's color identity sets the limit for your whole deck: every other card has to fit inside it. A deck led by a green and white commander cannot play a card with any blue in its color identity.Open the full glossaryWUBRGPlayers write colors as letters: W for white, U for blue, B for black, R for red, G for green. Blue is U because B was already taken by black.VoltronVoltron decks load one creature, usually the commander, with Equipment and Auras until it can win by attacking on its own. In Commander, a player dealt 21 or more combat damage by the same commander over the game loses, so one huge commander can knock a player out.Open the Voltron pageVoltron CommanderA legendary creature that can carry the whole game plan by itself. It protects itself, grows with what is attached to it, or rewards attacking alone. The deck piles Auras and Equipment onto it and wins with commander damage, since 21 or more combat damage from one commander knocks a player out. Named for the toy robot built from smaller pieces. Zurgo Helmsmasher, Uril, the Miststalker, Sigarda, Host of HeronsOpen the Voltron Commander pageEvasionAn ability that makes a creature hard to block, so its attacks reach the player. Flying, menace, landwalk and plain 'can't be blocked' are the common kinds.Open the Evasion pageProtectionA creature with protection from something, like a color, is safe from anything with that quality. It cannot be damaged, enchanted or equipped, blocked, or targeted by it, and players remember the four with the word DEBT. It does not stop effects that neither target nor damage, like a board wipe that destroys every creature. ProgenitusOpen the Protection pageSaboteurTriggers when a creature deals combat damage to a player, so the reward comes from connecting rather than from the damage itself. Evasion makes these far more reliable. Ragavan, Nimble PilfererOpen the Saboteur pageLifegainLifegain decks gain life over and over and use cards that reward each gain with extra cards, creatures or damage to opponents. Everyone starts at 40 life in Commander, so the extra life also keeps you safe while you set up.Open the Lifegain pageLifegain EngineGains you life again and again, on a trigger that keeps happening, rather than once. You start at 40 life in Commander, so life is something to spend as well as a cushion, and a card like this sets off every card that rewards you for gaining it. Soul Warden, Trostani, Selesnya's VoiceOpen the Lifegain Engine pageLife GainGains you life, once or over and over. Soul Warden, The Great Henge. In Commander life is something to spend, not just a cushion, and many of these cards also set off others that reward gaining life.Open the Life Gain page
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