The urge to build a new deck has overtaken me, so here it is.
My limited research suggests that the ideal way to build Tivit involves blinking him multiple times and overwhelming everyone through massive token advantage, especially with the help of Academy Manufacturer, Smothering Tithe, and Anointed Procession. Sadly, the latter two are in my Linden deck, so currently unavailable.
Time Sieve is a nasty enough trick to merit its own paragraph. Regardless of how the votes go, Tivit often provides enough token artifacts to ensure another turn. With solid blink options, this means all the turns, which is pretty impressive for a non-Simic deck. Reportedly, experienced Commander players presume Time Sieve is in a Tivit deck until proven otherwise.
Other mean tricks include powering out Exsanguinate, Debt to the Deathless (also a flavor win), and/or Torment of Hailfire with treasure-based mana or letting the Treasure tokens do the winning more directly via Revel in Riches, Mechanized Production, or with a bit of setup, Cyberdrive Awakener. Less mean and more amusing is one of my favorite Magic cards, Last Laugh. It's a shame it wasn't reprinted in the last round of Commander decks - it is a great card.
With Council's Dilemma, Tivit suggests that voting cards could be fun, but there aren't all that many worth running - voting cards were among the first I culled from my initial pile. Still, I own the big ones, so they are in the 99: Magister of Worth, Expropriate, Council's Judgment, and Plea for Power, all backed with Illusion of Choice.
There are also the flavor cards that fit an information broker: Bribery, Cut a Deal, Propaganda, Delay, Identity Crisis, and Gwafa Hazid, Profiteer. Knowledge Exploitation is not in the deck (yet), but fits thematically and has the Prowl ability, which could take the deck down the rogue tribal path, but one player in our group does Rogue tribal, and I don't want to steal their thunder.
On top of this is the realization that I really don't make use of Planeswalkers all that much, so I busted them out, because Semester's End suggests I should. So into the 99 went Narset Transcendant; Venser, the Sojourner; Kaya, Ghost Assassin; Teferi, Hero of Dominaria; and Tamiyo, the Moon Sage (as well as her BFF Rewind). I know, friends don't let friends play Tamiyo and Rewind in the same deck, but this color scheme really ain't about friendship at all.
Typing up this collection of superfriends makes me think I should look into the various Oath cards, Oath of Teferi, especially. Double loyalty abilities sounds ugly!
In short, I have lots of styles all jammed together, so there isn't much of a tight focus. Still, I am excited to play with cards that have been languishing unplayed in my boxes for years, in some cases. Yes, if victory is the main goal, I need to tighten up the 99 and probably drop at least a grand on a better landbase (original duals, better duals, fetchlands, 0-drop rocks), but that isn't what this is about.
Besides, a grand is a grand. Even I have standards and limits. To quote Doc Holiday from the movie Tombstone, 'My hypocrisy only goes so far.'
That's it. Playing it will decide what works and what doesn't. Happily, I discovered the local gamestore does Wednesday night EDH/Commander games that are not all about racing to combo. So as time allows, it's there I hope to be.
Decklist - which will change once the mail from Cardkingdom arrives.
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