Wheels

Wheel decks force all players to discard their hands and draw new ones, then punish the mass card draw. Wheel of Fortune (discard hand, draw 7) is the namesake card. You pair it with effects that deal damage when opponents draw (Nekusar the Mindrazer) or punish discarding (Waste Not).

The cruel version of Group Hug. Everyone draws cards, but they take damage for each one.

How it works

1. Deploy damage-on-draw or discard payoffs (Nekusar, Notion Thief)
2. Cast wheel effects to force mass discard and draw
3. Each opponent takes damage per card drawn and loses their previous hand
4. Repeat with more wheel effects. Each wheel with Nekusar out deals 7 damage to each opponent.

Key cards

Wheel effects:

• Wheel of Fortune — discard hands, draw 7. The original.
• Windfall — discard hands, draw cards equal to the greatest number discarded
• Whispering Madness — wheel on cipher (repeats when the encoded creature deals combat damage)
• Wheel of Misfortune — each player secretly chooses a number, highest takes damage, everyone wheels

Draw punishment:

• Nekusar the Mindrazer — opponents take 1 damage per card drawn
• Underworld Dreams — opponents take 1 damage per card drawn
• Ob Nixilis the Hate-Twisted — opponents take 1 damage per card drawn
• Spiteful Visions — everyone draws an extra card, takes 1 damage per draw

Discard payoffs:

• Waste Not — when opponents discard, get Zombies (creatures), mana (noncreatures), or cards (lands)
• Liliana's Caress — opponents lose 2 life per card discarded
• Megrim — opponents lose 2 life per card discarded

Strengths

Disrupts opponents' plans. Forcing a discard wipes out carefully held combos, removal, and answers. Each wheel resets opponents' game plans.

Scales in multiplayer. Nekusar + a wheel = 7 damage to EACH opponent. Three opponents means 21 damage from one wheel.

Card flow. You're drawing 7 fresh cards per wheel too. You'll find more wheels and more payoffs.

Weaknesses

Giving opponents cards. You're also giving opponents 7 new cards. Sometimes those cards are better than what they had.

Dependent on payoffs. A wheel without Nekusar or damage effects on the board is just giving everyone new hands. You need payoffs in play before wheeling.

Target priority. Nekusar decks become immediate targets. Dealing damage to everyone makes everyone want to kill you.

Popular commanders

Nekusar the Mindrazer (U/B/R) — opponents take 1 damage per card drawn and draw an extra card on their draw step. Built-in payoff in the command zone.

The Locust God (U/R) — create a 1/1 Insect with flying and haste whenever you draw a card. Wheels make massive token armies.

Xyris the Writhing Storm (U/R/G) — create a Snake token for each card an opponent draws. Wheels produce huge boards.

Typical colors

Blue and red are core (wheel effects). Black adds discard punishment and tutors. Grixis (U/B/R) is the default.

Ratio adjustments