Timeless Wisdom Decklist & Guide: Gavi, Nest Warden Precon

Overview

Timeless Wisdom is a cycling deck that turns every cycled card into value. Gavi, Nest Warden lets you pay {0} rather than the cycling cost of the first card you cycle each turn, and whenever you draw your second card each turn, you create a 2/2 red and white Dinosaur Cat creature token. Cycling a card is a draw, so cycling a card after your draw step makes a token, and with the first cycle free it costs no mana.

The 99 cards are 23 creatures, 1 planeswalker, 10 artifacts, 14 enchantments, 4 instants, 8 sorceries and 39 lands. A lot of cards in the deck have cycling, including Curator of Mysteries, Valiant Rescuer, Decree of Justice, Eternal Dragon, Cast Out, Slice and Dice and the Desert and Ash Barrens lands. Payoffs for cycling or discarding include Drake Haven, Astral Drift, Lightning Rift, Savai Thundermane, Zenith Flare and Spirit Cairn.

Key Cards

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Drake Haven

Token Maker · Cycling Payoff

An enchantment for {2}{U}. Whenever you cycle or discard a card, you may pay {1} to create a 2/2 blue Drake creature token with flying. Each cycled card turns into a card and an evasive creature.

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Astral Drift

Blink · Cycling Payoff

An enchantment for {2}{W}. Whenever you cycle this card or cycle another card while it is on the battlefield, you may exile target creature, and that card returns at the beginning of the next end step. It protects your creatures, resets enter effects or removes a blocker for a turn.

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Zenith Flare

Finisher · Lifegain

An instant for {2}{R}{W}. It deals X damage to any target and you gain X life, where X is the number of cards with a cycling ability in your graveyard. After a few turns of cycling it can finish a player or a big creature.

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Decree of Justice

Token Maker · Mana Sink

A sorcery for {X}{X}{2}{W}{W}. It creates X 4/4 white Angel creature tokens with flying for {X}{X}{2}{W}{W}, and it can be cycled for {2}{W}, then you may pay {X} to create X 1/1 white Soldier tokens. It works well at any stage of the game.

Playing the Deck

The early game is about mana and cycling. Sol Ring, Arcane Signet, Azorius Signet, Izzet Signet, Boros Signet and Raugrin Crystal ramp you, Ash Barrens and Migratory Route find lands, and cheap cyclers such as Valiant Rescuer, Vizier of Tumbling Sands and Curator of Mysteries start your engine. Fluctuator makes cycling cheaper.

The middle of the game is about drawing cards and making tokens. Gavi, Nest Warden, Drake Haven, Akim, the Soaring Wind and Valiant Rescuer make creatures, Shabraz, the Skyshark, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and The Locust God reward every draw, and Mercurial Chemister draws two cards each turn. Abandoned Sarcophagus lets you cast cycling spells from your graveyard.

The late game is about big payoffs and resets. Herald of the Forgotten and Rooting Moloch bring back or replay cycling cards, Windfall and New Perspectives refill your hand, and Akroma's Vengeance, Descend upon the Sinful, Slice and Dice and Chandra, Flamecaller clear the board. Isperia, Supreme Judge draws cards when you are attacked.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths: The deck has an enormous amount of card draw and plenty of ways to turn cycling into damage, tokens or removal. It also has good interaction, including Cast Out, Fierce Guardianship, Neutralize, Nimble Obstructionist and Dismantling Wave.

Weaknesses: The deck has a lot of cards that are only good if you are cycling, so some draws are weak, and it has relatively few creatures to win the game on its own. It is also three colours with double-coloured costs in all of them, and Windfall can help opponents as much as you.

Want to improve it? See the Timeless Wisdom upgrade guide: eleven swaps with the data behind each one.

Verdict

Timeless Wisdom is a very consistent and enjoyable engine deck with a clear theme. It is a good choice for players who like to draw a lot of cards and gain value from every card in hand.

Want to see what a fully optimised Gavi, Nest Warden build looks like? Try the Oracle.

✦ Build with The Oracle

Frequently Asked Questions

What cards are in the Timeless Wisdom decklist?
The Timeless Wisdom precon is a 100-card Commander deck led by Gavi, Nest Warden. The full Timeless Wisdom decklist, with every card, current prices and a button to copy the list into your deck builder, is on this page.

When was Timeless Wisdom released?
Timeless Wisdom was released on April 17, 2020 as part of Commander 2020 (Ikoria).

Who is the commander of Timeless Wisdom?
Timeless Wisdom is led by Gavi, Nest Warden, a Jeskai (W/U/R) legendary creature.

How many creatures are in Timeless Wisdom?
The 99 cards besides Gavi, Nest Warden include 23 creatures.

How many lands does Timeless Wisdom have?
Timeless Wisdom has 39 lands in the 99 cards besides Gavi, Nest Warden, including basic lands.

Full Decklist

All 100 cards from the out-of-the-box Timeless Wisdom precon, with current prices. Click any card to expand it.

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Gavi, Nest Warden (commander), Ash Barrens, Azorius Chancery, Boros Garrison, Command Tower, Desert of the Fervent, Desert of the Mindful, Desert of the True, Drifting Meadow, Exotic Orchard, Forgotten Cave, Hostile Desert, Irrigated Farmland, 5 Island, Izzet Boilerworks, Lonely Sandbar, 6 Mountain, Myriad Landscape, Mystic Monastery, 4 Plains, Prairie Stream, Reliquary Tower, Remote Isle, Secluded Steppe, Shivan Reef, Skycloud Expanse, Smoldering Crater, Temple of the False God, Astral Drift, Cast Out, Crystalline Resonance, Drake Haven, Hoofprints of the Stag, Lightning Rift, Martial Impetus, New Perspectives, Ominous Seas, Psychic Impetus, Reconnaissance Mission, Shiny Impetus, Spirit Cairn, Tectonic Reformation, Abandoned Sarcophagus, Arcane Signet, Azorius Signet, Bonder's Ornament, Boros Signet, Commander's Sphere, Fluctuator, Izzet Signet, Raugrin Crystal, Sol Ring, Akroma's Vengeance, Boon of the Wish-Giver, Decree of Justice, Descend upon the Sinful, Dismantling Wave, Migratory Route, Slice and Dice, Windfall, Agitator Ant, Akim, the Soaring Wind, Brallin, Skyshark Rider, Cryptic Trilobite, Curator of Mysteries, Eternal Dragon, Ethereal Forager, Herald of the Forgotten, Isperia, Supreme Judge, Mercurial Chemister, Nimble Obstructionist, Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind, Portal Mage, Psychosis Crawler, Rooting Moloch, Savai Thundermane, Shabraz, the Skyshark, Spellpyre Phoenix, Sun Titan, Surly Badgersaur, The Locust God, Valiant Rescuer, Vizier of Tumbling Sands, Fierce Guardianship, Hieroglyphic Illumination, Neutralize, Zenith Flare, Chandra, Flamecaller.