Dimir Inverter is a combo deck and combo decks primarily consist of 3 parts: the cards that make the combo, the cards that protect the combo, and the cards that find the combo. As such, this will be a shorter analysis than most. Dimir Inverter revolves around the two card combo of Inverter of Truth and either Thassa’s Oracle or Jace, Wielder of Mysteries. Inverter of Truth is a 6/6 Eldrazi with flying that only costs 4 mana: 2 generic and 2 black. Those stats are absurd which is why it comes with a massive downside. When Inverter of Truth enters the battlefield, you exile your library and then shuffle your graveyard into a new library. In a vacuum, you could end up decking yourself before beating down your opponent, but you have two ways to turn that into a positive. Thassa’s Oracle is a 1/3 Merfolk that costs 2 blue. When it enters the battlefield, you scry equal to your devotion to blue and if your devotion is greater than or equal to the number of cards in your library, you win the game. Jace, Wielder of Mysteries is a planeswalker that has a static ability which says if you would draw a card while your library has no cards in it, you win the game.
Apart from this combo, the deck functions like a control deck, which is typical of most combo decks. Jace is the only card that needs protecting and Inverter of Truth, being a 6/6, is great for that. Inverter of Truth and Thassa’s Oracle only need to resolve and enter the battlefield to set up your end game. Even if you cannot protect Jace, Thassa’s Oracle serves as a second win condition as long as your devotion is high enough so your end game is very well protected against the most common threats. This part of the deck is designed to disrupt the opponent more than protect your combo, although they accomplish both. Thoughseize and Thought Erasure take away your opponent’s best cards. Narset, Parter of Veils prevents your opponent from drawing cards and replacing what your hand hate cards took away. Removal cards include things like Fatal Push and a few counter spells like Mystical Dispute.
The rest of the deck is all about finding the combo. I have already mentioned Jace and Thassa’s Oracle being used as a win conditions, but they also help dig for the other combo pieces. The Surveil from Thought Erasure and Narset’s -2 ability also help to accomplish this. Other cards that the deck uses to find combo pieces include Opt and Dig Through Time. It is worth noting that Dig Through Time is banned in modern and legacy and restricted in vintage so it’s on my radar as a potential ban in the future. With it’s delve mechanic, you can potentially cast it for only 2 mana, look seven cards into your deck, and put two into your hand. This can also help to thin out your graveyard if the game has gone on for some time.
The shell of Dimir Inverter should look something like the following:
Inverter of Truth x3-4
Thassa’s Oracle x3-4
Jace Wielder of Mysteries x3-4
Thoughtseize x3-4
Thought Erasure x3-4
Narset, Parter of Veils x2-3
Removal spells x6-8 (Fatal Push, Hero’s Downfall, Cast Down, etc.)
Counter spells x3-6 (Mystical Dispute, Cancel, Sinister Sabotage, etc.)
Opt x4
Dig Through Time x2-3
Dimir Inverter is an interesting deck and not for its unique win condition. With the exception of Fatal Push, Dig Through Time, Inverter of Truth, and Thoughseize, all of the other cards have been printed in standard legal sets the last 2 years. Opt is an older card, but if it hadn’t found its way into Ixalan and other recent sets, it would have remained a legacy card. I just find it interesting that most of the deck is still standard legal at the time of this post; decks like this are extremely rare. I mean, can you imagine a year’s worth of standard cards being viable enough to make an entirely new deck in a format like modern? That would be amazing! Don’t hold your breath for this deck to stick around though. At the time of this post it makes up roughly 20% of the meta and there is a ban announcement coming on the Monday after this goes up. Don’t be surprised if Inverter of Truth gets the ban hammer. Why would I post this if the deck won’t be around much longer? History. Sure this is a broken deck, but it can inspire future decks in other formats. Maybe one day we can revisit this deck with a fixed card to make it more fair to play against. Perhaps a casual player may decide to pick it up. What deck do you want to see next? Let me know in the comments below.