Paradox Academy
Also known as: Academy Combo
Paradox Academy is an artifact combo deck named after Paradox Engine and Tolarian Academy. The general gameplan is to quickly play out a hand of cheap artifacts and then break parity with your opponent in mana, cards, or both. The titular Tolarian Academy is the most common way to gain a mana advantage, while card advantage can come from engines like The One Ring, draw spells like Time Spiral, or unique effects like Balance.
There are numerous ways to win after establishing mana and card advantage over your opponent. Paradox Engine is a common win condition enabled by a draw engine, a few mana rocks, and something to start an infinite loop such as Capsize or Rings of Brighthearth.
The points are flexible, with Tolarian Academy being the only mandatory card.
Example Decklist
Paradox Academy
By: NickelAndDimed
Event: Dragon's Lair Weekly - 1st/2nd
Date: 2026-06-29
Points (10): Mystical Tutor (2), Vampiric Tutor (2), Balance (1), Mana Vault (1), The One Ring (1), Tolarian Academy (1), Urza's Saga (1), Wishclaw Talisman (1)
Planeswalkers (4)
- 1Narset, Parter of Veils
- 1Teferi, Time Raveler
- 1Tezzeret, Cruel Captain
- 1Tezzeret the Seeker
Creatures (5)
- 1Walking Ballista
- 1Painter's Servant
- 1Forensic Gadgeteer
- 1Hullbreacher
- 1Urza, Lord High Artificer
Sorceries (10)
- 1Boomerang Basics
- 1Balance
- 1Reshape
- 1Sylvan Scrying
- 1Fabricate
- 1Timetwister
- 1Wargate
- 1Wheel of Fortune
- 1Echo of Eons
- 1Time Spiral
Instants (9)
- 1Brainstorm
- 1Crop Rotation
- 1Enlightened Tutor
- 1Entomb
- 1Mystical Tutor
- 1Vampiric Tutor
- 1Whir of Invention
- 1Commit // Memory //
Artifacts (35)
- 1Chrome Mox
- 1Lion's Eye Diamond
- 1Lotus Petal
- 1Mox Diamond
- 1Mox Opal
- 1Zuran Orb
- 1Aether Spellbomb
- 1Candelabra of Tawnos
- 1Conjurer's Bauble
- 1Expedition Map
- 1Grindstone
- 1Mana Vault
- 1Manifold Key
- 1Nihil Spellbomb
- 1Pyrite Spellbomb
- 1Retrofitter Foundry
- 1Sensei's Divining Top
- 1Shadowspear
- 1Soul-Guide Lantern
- 1Vexing Bauble
- 1Voltaic Key
- 1Grim Monolith
- 1Talisman of Creativity
- 1Talisman of Curiosity
- 1Talisman of Dominance
- 1Talisman of Progress
- 1Wishclaw Talisman
- 1Basalt Monolith
- 1Chromatic Lantern
- 1Crucible of Worlds
- 1Rings of Brighthearth
- 1Crystal Skull, Isu Spyglass
- 1The One Ring
- 1Memory Jar
- 1Paradox Engine
Enchantments (1)
- 1Fastbond
Lands (36)
- 1Ancient Den
- 1Bayou
- 1Buried Ruin
- 1Deserted Temple
- 1Echoing Deeps
- 1Flooded Strand
- 1Fomori Vault
- 1Glimmervoid
- 1Great Furnace
- 1Inventors' Fair
- 1Island
- 1Karakas
- 1Marsh Flats
- 1Minamo, School at Water's Edge
- 1Mishra's Workshop
- 1Misty Rainforest
- 1Otawara, Soaring City
- 1Polluted Delta
- 1Savannah
- 1Scalding Tarn
- 1Scrubland
- 1Seat of the Synod
- 1Spire of Industry
- 1Tolaria West
- 1Tolarian Academy
- 1Tree of Tales
- 1Tropical Island
- 1Tundra
- 1Underground Sea
- 1Urza's Cave
- 1Urza's Saga
- 1Vault of Whispers
- 1Verdant Catacombs
- 1Volcanic Island
- 1Wasteland
- 1Windswept Heath
