Grixis Wheels: When Drawing 7 Is a Win Condition

You ever cast Wheel of Fortune and think, "That was fun - I wish I could do that every turn"? Well, you're in luck. In Vintage and Legacy+ Cubes, Grixis Wheels isn't just a gimmick - it's a strategy. A chaotic, card-dumping, graveyard-filling, storm-skirting strategy that turns symmetrical discard into one-sided obliteration.

The Grixis (Blue-Black-Red) Wheel archetype is one of the wildest, most explosive builds you can draft in Cube - and when you do it right, it makes other decks look like they're playing 1995 Standard.

In this article, we're diving into how the Wheel deck functions, which pieces you need to make it sing, and why drawing seven and tossing your hand in the graveyard might be your new favorite win condition.

Check out the other articles in this series here: The Comprehensive Guide to Cube Archetypes

What Is the "Wheel" Strategy in Cube?

Let's start with the basics: in Magic, a "wheel" refers to a card that forces all players to discard their hands and draw new cards - usually seven.

Iconic examples include:

• Wheel of Fortune (Red)
• Windfall (Blue)
• Time Spiral (Blue)
• Echo of Eons (Blue)
• Magus of the Wheel (Red creature version)

In a vacuum, these are symmetrical effects. Everyone discards. Everyone redraws. But with the inclusion of Black you get access to payoffs for discard, hand disruption, graveyard synergy, and finishers.

It's not a control deck. It's not Storm. It's not Reanimator. But it feels like all of them at once - and that's what makes it so good. It is also what makes it so divisive. Before moving on, let's address the wheel in the room. This archetype is Stax in sheep's clothing. Its support pieces are parasitic. Its game play loops are painful. Only include this in your cube if you and your players are prepared for what it will do.

Why Grixis Wheels Works in Legacy Cube

Legacy Cube offers two things that make this archetype possible:

1. Cheap, powerful wheels that refill your hand and disrupt your opponent.
2. Payoffs that punish symmetrical effects - turning Wheel of Fortune into a one-sided Ancestral Recall and Mind Twist at the same time.

Here's what makes the deck click:

• You benefit more from discarding thanks to graveyard recursion, flashback, madness, or Delve.
• You punish your opponent for drawing with cards like Narset, Parter of Veils, Hullbreacher, or Leovold, Emissary of Trest.
• You can rebuild fast while your opponent stares at their hand of six lands and a frowny face.

Grixis Wheel Archetype: Core Identity

At its heart, Grixis Wheels is about disrupting the hand and rebuilding faster. You're looking to turbo through your deck, dump cards into your graveyard, and pull ahead with synergies your opponent didn't even know they needed to play around.

Depending on the cards you draft, the deck can lean in different directions:

• Control-Combo: Set up a Narset + Wheel lock and win with planeswalkers.
• Reanimator Hybrid: Discard Griselbrand to Wheel, then reanimate it next turn.
• Burnout Finisher: Pair wheels with Underworld Breach and Brain Freeze for a Storm-lite kill.
• Stax-Lite: Lock your opponent out of drawing with Leovold or Hullbreacher.

It's all fair - until it's not.

Priority Cards: What You're Hunting For

Wheel Effects

These are the backbone. Without them, you're just playing a pile of Grixis goodstuff.

Wheel of Fortune - The gold standard. Three mana, discard your hand, draw seven. Don't pass this if you're in Red.

Windfall - Often draws 5-7 cards for just three mana. Gets better the more opponents hold back.

Echo of Eons - Flashback for three with a discard outlet? Yes please.

Time Spiral - Expensive, but untapping six lands post-wheel is filthy.

Magus of the Wheel - Slower and more fragile, but still a functional Wheel.

Disruption Payoffs

Now you make it unfair.

Narset, Parter of Veils - The queen of the archetype. Narset + Wheel = opponent draws one, discards their hand. That's game-ending. Slam this card whenever you see it.

Leovold, Emissary of Trest - If you're lucky enough to have Leovold in your Cube (or you're splashing Green), he literally shuts down every draw. That's not synergy - it's a war crime.

Hullbreacher - Flash this in and spin the wheel - your opponent gets nothing, and you get a full hand and a pile of Treasure tokens. Bonus: you just killed Storm's dreams, too.

Liiana's Carress / Razorkin Needlehead / Spiteful Visions - Turn your wheels into burn spells.

Support Pieces and Enablers

Wheels don't win games by themselves - you need infrastructure.

Faithless Looting / Frantic Search / Careful Study - These smooth draws, set up your graveyard, and make Echo of Eons a one-card combo. Also help dig for Narset + Wheel setups.

Snapcaster Mage / Torrential Gearhulk - Your graveyard is full of juice - replay those Windfalls and Bolts with Snappy and close out games with free value.

Underworld Breach - This is the silent assassin of the deck. You can recast everything you've discarded - cantrips, burn, even the wheel itself. Goes infinite with Brain Freeze in the right shell.

Dark Ritual / Seething Song - If you're going fast, fast mana lets you Narset + Wheel in one turn. That's just rude.

Graveyard Synergies

Discarding isn't a drawback if your yard is a resource.

Griselbrand / Archon of Cruelty - Pitch them to Wheel, bring them back next turn with Reanimate or Exhume.

Delve threats - Gurmag Angler or Tasigur, the Golden Fang cost almost nothing when your graveyard is full.

Flashback & Madness cards - Loot, discard, and profit. Firebolt, Deep Analysis, Fiery Temper, they all shine here.

How to Draft Grixis Wheels in Cube

Here's your blueprint for drafting this chaotic masterpiece:

1. Start With Wheel Pieces or Narset - If you see Wheel of Fortune or Narset Pack 1, you can absolutely move in. If both show up, congratulations, you're the menace of the draft.
2. Look for Payoffs, Not Just Wheels - Windfall is fine. Windfall with Notion Thief is filthy. Prioritize disruption cards that make Wheel effects asymmetrical.
3. Draft Red Fixing Aggressively - A lot of your best cards are or -heavy. Grixis fixing is decent in most Cubes, but prioritize Steam Vents, Watery Grave, and Badlands when you see them.
4. Pick Interaction Smartly - You're not a full control deck, but cheap counterspells, Thoughtseize, and Lightning Bolt buy you the time to combo off. Don't overvalue five-mana haymakers.

Traps and Pitfalls

Even the best chaos mages can miscast their spells. Watch for these traps:

• Too Many Wheels, Not Enough Payoffs - If you don't have Narset or graveyard synergy, you're just spinning your wheels.
• No Finisher - A seven-card hand is great, but you need to do something with it. Plan for recursion, pressure, or inevitability.
• Graveyard Hate - Know when to side out Breach and Reanimator packages if your opponent brings in Rest in Peace.

Final Verdict: Wheel Hard or Wheel Home

Grixis Wheels isn't a deck for the faint of heart. It doesn't play fair. It doesn't play slow. It doesn't even care about keeping its own hand.

But if you want to draft a deck that draws half its library, disrupts every other strategy, and wins with sheer style points, this is it.

Just remember: the best hand is the one you're about to throw away.