Lather the Townsfolk Playtest

Hey hey! Welcome to this week’s edition of Fedger’s Furnace.  This week I playtested the changes I made to Dark Ascension’s Dark Sacrifice.  My opponent this week is Mr Chris and he will be using a mono-black vampire deck with a heck-of-a-lot of removal. Now, let’s get to it!

Round 1

I win the roll-off so I am to go first.

I end up mulliganing down to four here, my first two hands contained 5 land and my third had none at all.  In the end I stick with 3 Swamps and a Doomed Traveler as I really don’t want to go down to three.  Chris mulligans down to six.

Turns 1-4

We exchange land drops on turn 1.  Chris gets a Child of Night on turn 2 and I respond with a doomed traveler on turn 3.  Chris’s turn 3 yields no more land but he does get a Blood Seeker .  My turn 3 is a blank so back to Chris who misses another land drop and summons another Blood Seeker.  Chris opts not to attack and passes to me so I summon a Falkenrath Torturer which, because of the Blood Seekers, drops me to 18 life.

Turn 5

Chris finally hits his third land and celebrates with a Markov Patrician .  I cut the celebration short by plonking a Bonds of Faith on said Patrician.

Turn 6

Bored of the stalemate Chris goes on the offensive, firstly casting Sorin’s Thirst on my Torurer and then attacking with his child of the night.  I accept the trade for the traveler and get a spirit token which costs me 2 life thanks to the Bloodseekers and Chris gains 2 life.  The score is 22-16.  My turn is a blank.

Turn 7

A bloodline keeper hits the field on Chris’s side, things are kicking off!  My turn is another blank.

Turn 8

The Bloodline Keeper taps to produce a Vampire and another blank for me.

Turn 9

The bloodline keeper produces another vampire token and transforms into the Lord of Lineage giving all of Chris’s dudes +2/+2.  The Blood Seekers attack, one of them gets blocked by my spirit token and the other gets through taking me down to 11.  After the combat phase I quickly Tragic Slip the Lord of Lineage.  My turn is my fourth blank in a row.  With no defence Chris finishes me off with an all-out attack followed by a Sorin’s Vengeance .

Round one to the vamps.

Round 2

 I’d prefer to draw first so I give the first turn to Chris.

A much better opening hand this time – Skirsdag Flayer , Selfless Cathar , Galvanic Juggernaut , Falkenrath Torturer, 1 Swamp and 1 Plains. 

Turn 1-3

For the first 3 turns we exchange land drops and creature summons.  All told I have a Selfless Cathar, Skirsdag Flayer, Falkenrath Torturer.  Chris has a Blood Seeker, Markov Patrician.

Turn 4

Chris tries to kill my Flayer with a Sorin’s Thirst but the Falkenrath torturer gets there just before and sacrifices it for a +1/+1 counter, countering Sorin’s Thirst and depriving Chris of the 2 life.  No attack from Chris is forthcoming so it’s my turn.  I bonds of faith his markov patrician for starters and attack with both my creatures for 4.  Chris declines to block and goes down to 16.

Turns 5-6

A diabolic tutor is all Chris manages.  I attack again with both creatures and again Chris lets them through for 4.  Next I summon a Galvanic Juggernaut which loses me one life getting here and becomes a victim the night on Chris’s turn 6.  Chris then adds a child of night to the team.  Back to me and I Gather the Townsfolk (losing 2 life to the Blood Seeker), the Torturer gobbles up a human to gain flying and become a 4/3.  I tap the Cathar and the Torturer and send them at Chris who trades the Child of the Night for the Cathar.  Chris takes 4 damage and gains 2 life back putting the scores at 15-10 to Lather.

Turn 7-8

Another Diabolical tutor from Chris; stuck on four land this is all he can do.  I attack with my human token and my Falkenrath Torturer putting Chris on 5 life.  I follow up by adding another Falkenrath torturer to the team.  Chris adds a Child of the Night on his turn but there’s nothing he can do to block my Falkenrath Torturer when it sacrifices the last human token and attacks in the air for fatal 5.

Game two to Lather the Townsfolk.

Final Round.

Chris opts to play first.  I stick with 2 swamps, a plains, Increasing Devotion, Falkenrath Torturer, Galvanic Juggernaut and a Doomed Traveller.  Chris mulligans to 6.

Turns 1-2

Chris opens with a swamp, I plains a Doomed Traveler who becomes a Victim of Night on Chris’s second turn.  The Traveler’s spirit avenges its death by attacking Chris for one and I add another freshly drawn Doomed Traveler.

Turns 3-4

A Markov Patrician joins the party on Chris’s side and gets weighted down by the bonds of faith on my turn.  The traveler and the spirit attack a defenceless Chris putting him on 17.  Back to Chris who summons a Child of night and then back to me again for another 2 point attack from Traveler and Spirit.  I summon a Falkenrath torturer and the score is 20-15.

Turn 5

Chris gets some air defence in the form of a Sangromancer and his child of the night attacks me.  Not wanting to trade I allow the damage through making the score 18-17 to Lather.  I cast Gather the Townsfolk and attack with the Torturer and the Traveler.  Chris blocks the Traveler and before damage is calculated I sacrifice said traveler to the Torturer making him 3/2.  The death of the traveler also gives me another Spirit token and gives Chris 3 life which effectively cancels out the Torturer’s attack.  Another gathering of the townsfolk brings my human token count to 4.

Turns 6-7

Chris’s only play is a Tribute to Hunger , I sacrifice a spirit token giving Chris 4 life all told.  Not wanting to give Chris anymore life I hold off the attack and summon Ol’ Juggsey.  A blank on Chris’s 7 and its back to me.  I open with an all –out attack.  Juggsey, 4 Humans, my 3/2 Torturer and the Spirit all hurtling towards Chris who chooses only to block the spirit with his Sangromancer.  Before it can be killed I sacrifice the Spirit to an Altar’s Reap to draw two cards, give Chris 3 life, untap Juggsey and activate the Morbid effect on my forthcoming tragic slip which takes out the Sangromancer.  Damage happens and Chris takes 12 damage.

Turn 8

Chris, sensing the game is up attacks with the child of the night who gets blocked and killed by Juggsey.  He adds a Bloodline keeper.  On my turn I add a Demonmail Hauberk , equipping it to the Torturer and attack with everything.  Chris effectively scoops by blocking one of the human tokens which gets sacrificed to feed the torturer.  The combined damage from Jugsey, the torturer and the three remaining tokens is enough to finish Chris off.

Game to Lather the Townsfolk.

Fedger’s Thoughts

I haven’t dramatically changed the flow of the deck so the Fedger’s Thoughts from the Dark Sacrifice playtest still apply.  The deck is still fun and rewarding providing you have had sufficient time to set up the components and are patient with using the human sacrifices. 

It’s a shame that we didn’t get to see Skirsdag High Priest , Thraben Doomsayer Increasing Devotion or Ravenous Demon though it’s good to see the deck is effective without its four rares.  I managed to cast Increasing Confusion in a game against Kelly the other day.   She scooped after I flashbacked it.

Card of the playtest: Falkenrath Torturer.

It was through this guy that I was able to whittle Chris down in the latter two games though we can’t give him all the credit.  Without the doomed travellers and gather the townsfolks he would have been useless.  Tragic slip is just superb in this deck, and bonds of faith is effective and the art fits the deck thematically.

I’m really looking forward to getting more plays out of this deck.

Next time

I recently went to another booster draft at Southsea Models.  This time it was 2 x Inistrad and 1 x Dark Ascension.  I ended up drafting a Red/Black & Splashed white (for Sorin) Vampire Deck with Markov Blademaster , Rakish Heir , Stromkirk Captain and quite a few other vampires. That’s my second Blademaster (I got one in the Dark Ascension Pack Wars) so this week I’m putting together a deck based around the blademaster.  No Fedger’s Fiddling rules this time, I’m filling it with as many rares as I like (can afford). 

Next week I’ll probably be posting about how it performs at FNM on Wednesday. (As long as the cards arrive in time).

See you then!
Fedger

Dark Sacrifice Playtest

Oioi!  Welcome back to Fedger’s Furnace, where this week I’ll be playtesting Dark Ascension’s Dark Sacrifice.  My opponent today is Kelly and her undead hoards from Relentless Dead.  For a detailed rundown on the cards in both decks, check out these articles on Ertai’s Lament; Dark Sacrifice Review & Playtest, Relentless Dead Review & Playtest.  The foremost also contains a look at the history and controversy in games which have the occult theme present like Dark Sacrifice.  A good read that.

Now, on to the playtesting!

Game One

No time for a warm up game to decide who goes first – so we roll off.  Kelly wins the roll and goes first.  I mulligan away my first hand – and then stick with the second; a Champion of the Parish, a Doomed Traveler, a Skirsdag Flayer, a Galvanic Juggernaut, a Plains, a Swamp and a Haunted Fengraf.  Not too shabby!

Turns 1-2

Kelly opens with a Swamp into a Diregraf Ghoul.  I hit back with a Plains into a Champion of the Parish.  With the 2 humans in my hand, he’ll be outclassing her ghoul in 2 turns.  Kelly’s turn 2 consists of her attacking me with her Ghoul, which I let through, and then summoning a Screeching Skaab, which mills her two swamps.  Over to me and I cast the Skirsdag Flayer which pumps the Champion up to a 2/2.

Turn 3

Straight to Kelly’s attack phase where she attacks me with both zombies for 4.  I decline any sort of trade for my Champion or Flayer and take the 4 damage which puts me on 14 life.  She then adds a Walking Corpse to her growing ranks of undead and passes to me.  I draw and play a Village Cannibals which pumps Champ to a 3/3 hopefully halting Kelly’s advance for now.

Turn 4

Not quite!  Kelly summons a Diregraf Captain who gives all of her zombies a power & toughness boost.  Her three zombies are back on even footing with my champion.  She attacks with the Skaab, the Ghoul and the Corpse for 9.  Not wanting to lose any of my creatures – who all have their part to play – I decline the block and take 9 damage.  At the end of Kelly’s fourth turn she is winning 20-5.  Something must be done.  A plan formulates in my head and I lay the groundwork with a Haunted Fengraf, and pass to Kelly.

Turn 5

Kelly heads straight to her combat phase and attacks with 3 of her creatures (keeping the Captain back out of harm’s way).  I block the Corpse, the Ghoul and the Skaab with the Cannibals, the Flayer and Champ respectively.  Before the damage step I activate the Flayer’s ability (sacrificing himself) and destroying her Diregraf Captain.  This has a couple of knock on effects:

     1)  Her zombies revert back to their more manageable power 2 states. 

     2) My village cannibals grow to a 3/3 as they feast on the fallen Flayer.
 

My two remaining blockers outclass their zombie counterparts and when the dust settles Kelly is left with just the Ghoul.  Kelly replaces her Screeching Skaab with a Headless Skaab one and ends her turn.  Wary of my life total I opt to keep Champ on defence and send in the Village Cannibals for 3.  Kelly has no blockers and takes her first damage of the game putting her on 17.  I then add a Doomed Traveler to my force.   Champ, at 4/4, is happy to see him.

Turn 6

Kelly’s sixth turn is a blank except that I activate the Haunted Fengraf’s ability at instant speed to return the Skirsdag Flayer from my graveyard to hand.  On my turn I summon both the Skirsdag Flayer and an Elder Cathar.  Champ is now a 6/6 so I send him in to the red zone to cause mischief.  Kelly opts to gang block him with both Headless and the Ghoul, and she casts Corpse Lunge flinging her fallen Screeching Skaab at Champ.  Champ bravely fights on, taking down the headless skaab but succumbs to his wounds and heads to the graveyard.  On the plus side, he makes a fine meal for the Cannibals (4/4 now).

Turn 7

Another blank for Kelly.  I activate Skirsdag Flayer’s ability, this time sacrificing Elder Cathar (who adds three +1/+1 counters to the village cannibals all told) and destroying Kelly’s only defender.  The Cannibals take Champ’s place as my offensive threat (now at 7/7) and together with the traveller attack Kelly for 8.  After turn 7 the score is 9-5 to Kelly who needs an answer soon.

Turn 8

Kelly adds a Cellar Door but alas, is stuck on 4 land and cannot try for a zombie token.  I attack with everything for 9 on my turn and Kelly is unable to do anything about it.  Round 1 to Dark Sacrifice.

Game 2

Having no swamps or white spells I mulligan.  The next hand is a fair bit better; a Disciple Of Griselbrand, Galvanic Juggernaut, Unburial Rites, a Selfless Cathar and one each of a Swamp and Plains.

Turn 1 – 2

The first two turns consist of both of us hitting our land drops, Kelly summoning a Walking Corpse and me getting a Selfless Cathar and Skirsdag Flayer. 

Turn 3

Kelly plays Forbidden Alchemy discarding a Black Cat, a Swamp and a Diregraf Captain. She then attacks wi- wait, a Diregraf Captain!!??  Whatever she kept must be pretty special. I’m slightly worried.  Anyways, she attacks with the corpse what walks and I’m down to 18.  I return fire with the Flayer and the Cathar taking her down to 18 also then, I add a Disciple of Grieselbrand to the team.

Turns 4-5

Kelly attacks once again with the corpse for 2, and adds a Makeshift Mauler to her team.  I answer her 4/5 Mauler with my 5/5 Juggernaut and pass back to Kelly who’s turn is a blank.  I draw my foil rare: Fiend of the Shadows. Having hit all of my land drops I have just the right amount of land for it.  The Juggernaut attacks on its own volition, there’s nothing I could do even if I wanted to stop it and gets blocked by the Mauler.  Kelly finishes my Juggernaut off by Corpse Lunging her dead Diregraf Captain at it.  I end the turn on a high and summon my Fiend of the Shadows! The Shadow? The Shadow.

Turn 6

Kelly adds two ready-tapped zombies in the form of a Diregraf ghoul and a Headless Skaab.  I attack with the Fiend on my turn taking Kelly down to 15 and making Kelly exiles a Moan of the Unhallowed from her hand.  I like the fiend’s ability; it’s fun and can produce all kinds of random results.  When it comes to Fiddling with this deck I reckon she’ll be a sideboard though, brought in only if I’m playing against a Black or White deck to get consistent results. If I was playing against an off colour, I’d have to be lucky enough to get them to exile the correct land first.  After the fiend’s attack I bring back my Juggernaut with Unburial Rights.

Turn 7

Kelly plays an Endless Ranks of the Dead with much whimpering from me.  I need to start whittling those zombies down before it can have too much of an impact.  Currently she has 3 zombies which will net her one token next turn.  I summon an Unruly Mob (just in-case something dies) and the attack with my Fiend and Juggernaut for 8.  Kelly gang blocks the Juggernaut with her Headless Skaab and Diregraf Ghoul, currently forcing a trade (ghoul for Juggernaut).  The Selfless Cathar sees this and says “No”. He valiantly sacrifices himself for the greater good and gives everyone +1/+1.  This makes all the difference as now I can kill her headless Skaab and the Juggernaut lives to fight another turn.  A few other side effect from the Cathar’s demise include:

       1)        The Unruly Mob get a +1/+1 Counter.

       2)         The Fiend hits for 4 rather than 3.

       3)       The Juggernaut untaps

Thank you Selfless Cather, you’ve done a great thing on this day.

Oh and the Fiend makes Kelly exile a card from her hand!  At the end of turn 7, Kelly’s at 11 life and I’m at 16.

Turn 8

Kelly’s Endless Ranks enchantment spawns a Zombie token.  She then adds a Ghoulraiser to the party.  The ghoulraiser brings a zombie back from the graveyard to her hand though she knows it will eventually fall into my grasp via the Fiend.  I opt to attack with everyone bar the Skirsdag Flayer.  Kelly gang blocks the Unruly Mob with 2 of her zombies but the Skirsdag Flayer evens up the score by Sacing off the Disciple.  The mob grows to a 3/3 and dispatch the remaining zombie with ease.  Meanwhile, the Juggernaut and the Fiend hit for 8, the Juggernaut untaps and the Fiend forces Kelly to Exile a headless skaab from her hand.  I end with a Gravepurge to return the selfless Cathar and disciple to the top of my deck – ensuring I’ll have humans to sacrifice for the next couple of turns.

Turn 9

Kelly gets another zombie token from her enchantment and adds a Havengul Runebinder.  Over to me, I re-summon the selfless Cathar and attack with the Mob, the Fiend and the Juggernaut.  Kelly scoops.

Game 2 and set to Dark Sacrifice.

Game 3

Relentless dead is down two, can Kelly pull one back and avoid a 3-0 defeat?  I mulligan my first hand again and stick with a Doomed Traveler, Skirsdag Flayer, Gravepurge and Unburial Rights figuring I could probably use the recursion to keep sacing the traveler for removal.  Kelly starts.

Turns 1-2

Kelly has no one-drop so the first play is my Doomed Traveler.  Kelly sees my traveler with a Black Cat and declines the trade when the traveler attacks next turn.  Then, I summon my Skirsdag Flayer.

Turn 3

Kelly counters with the Cat for one and summons a walking corpse. She’s not willing to face a 1/1 flyer so she lets my traveler through again for 1.

Turn 4

Kelly hits back with both the cat and the corpse, hitting me for three, and Dead Weights my Flayer.  Unwilling to let him die for nothing I cast Altar’s Reap and get two cards for him (regrettably more land).   My turn 4 is a blank.

Turn 5

The Walking Corpse and pet zombie cat both attack me again for 3. I block the cat with the traveler hoping that the random discard will be one of the many lands occupying my hand.  Alas, Gravepurge hits the graveyard.  A 1/1 Spirit is my consolation prize.  Kelly ups her board position and zombie making potential with a Havengul Runebinder – uhoh!  I attack with the spirit on my turn and needing to answer that Runebinder sooner rather than later I reach for the only removal available to me, the Skirsdag Flayer via Unburial Rights.  The actual removing will have to wait one turn unfortunately.  The score is 17-14 to Kelly.

Turn 6

The Runebinder performs his Necromancy and brings forth a Zombie token and buffs both zombies to 3/3.  The Corpse then hits me for 3 reducing my life to 11.  Facing two 3/3 zombies is bad enough, I really don’t want to be facing three plus 4/4 Zombies so the Flayer bites the sacrificial dagger and takes Kelly’s necromancin’, runebindin’ wizard down with him.  My life isn’t looking too great so I keep my Spirit back for defensive duties.

Turn 7

Without hesitation Kelly attacks with both zombies, one of them gets chumped by the spirit, the other gets through putting me on 8.  Horrifyingly she casts Endless Ranks of the Undead.  I respond with a Fiend of the Shadows.

Turn 8

The hoard begins to grow as Kelly gets a free zombie token from the Endless Ranks enchantment.  The 3/3 zombies hit me for six which I allow through putting me on 2.  Relentless dead lives up to its name when a Moan of the unhallowed is cast adding two more zombies to the rapidly increasing horde.  My turn and what I wouldn’t give for a Fateful Hour Gather the Townsfolk or two.  All I can manage is flashbacking unburial rights to return Doomed traveller and playing a Lingering Souls to get two spirit tokens.

Turn 9

The ranks of undead swell to 7, 5 of which can attack and with only four blockers 2 damage gets through and Kelly wins.

Fedger’s Thoughts

Wow, I friggin’ love this deck – it’s so fun to play!  I’m always going to enjoy a deck with synergy, and this deck oozes the stuff.  Setting up big plays like on Game 2 Turn 7 is both satisfying and rewarding, where just the activation of the Selfless Cathar’s ability had so much knock-on effect – providing you have the time to set everything up! 

In the first game, Kelly had me down to 5 life before the Sacrifice engine started moving.  One turn longer and the outcome would have been completely different.  Game three also demonstrated well what happens when you don’t quite have the right components in place.

The star of the playtest for me was the Skirsdag flayer; his repeatable removal is a bit pricey but worth it given the environment he is performing his rituals in.  More often than not, activating his ability will be doing more than just destroying an opponent’s creature.

Timing is everything in this deck. You really need to squeeze as much as you possibly can out of each sacrifice.  One can’t just go activating sac effects willy-nilly.  If you can use them at instant speed, then wait until the sac’d creature chump blocks an opponent’s beater or sac a creature that has been targeted by an opponent’s removal.

Another card I really enjoyed was the Galvanic Juggernaut.  Firstly he’s a 5/5 for 4 colourless mana; a great deal!  Secondly, given that we frequently have the ability to sac on demand we have control over his taps/ untaps.  Even when he’s tapped an opponent will think twice before counting him out of a block if they suspect we have some instant speed sac ability lurking in our hands (or in plain sight on the battlefield).

Fiend of the Shadows worked well against Relentless dead.  Our colour in common meant that (had I needed to) I could have cast the exiled cards. Relentless Dead doesn’t have much in the way of anti-air so she was sailing over the zombies, combat phase after combat phase.  I’m not sure she would be as good against other decks so she’s likely to live on the side board in the future.

All in all, this deck is both fun and tactically rewarding.  I look forward to tweaking the deck list to really tighten up the synergy between the cards.  I’ll post the results next week.

See you then!

Fedger.

  

Mind For Mayhem Playtest

Greetings all! Welcome to the playtest for Mind for Mayhem.  In my last blog I took Eldritch Onslaught and made some changes to it, in the hope of making the deck more focused, consistent and efficient.  I renamed the deck mind for mayhem and on Monday tested it out against my good friend Kelly.  She brought her own edited deck; ‘Spirituous Spirituous’ which is a fiddled Spectral Legions deck from Inistrad.  Some of the changes from the original deck include my old Sturmgeist, another Geist-Honored Monk, a playset of Intangible Virtue and more ways to get spirit tokens a la Mausoleum Guard and Midnight Haunting. Now, on to the battle!

Game One

Turns 1-3

The first play of the game comes on turn 2 after we both hit our land drops.  I summon a Deranged Assistant; Kelly has no answering play so on turn 3 I opt to attack with my assistant taking her down to 19.  I then cast a Burning Vengeance (wehay!).  Kelly’s turn three is another blank.

Turn 4

Again, I opt to attack with my Assistant but this time Kelly is prepared with a Midnight Haunting.  She trades one of the tokens with the assistant and still has one left over.  I replace my lost assistant with an Armored Skaab milling a Dream Twist, Charmbreaker Devils, Silent Departure and mountain.  Kelly casts an Enchantment of her own in the form of an Intangible Virtue making her token a 2/2 with Vigilance.  Said token attacks me for 2 taking me down to 18.

Turn 5

My flashbackery begins when I flashback a dream twist allowing Burning Vengeance to burn Kelly’s token for 2 and me to mill a Desperate Ravings and two islands.  The armoured skaab attacks in my combat phase and Kelly’s life is at 18.  She has no turn 5 play and I cast a Desperate Ravings from my hand at the end of her turn, drawing a Deranged Assistant and an Island.  I have a Civilized Scholar in hand which I sure hope doesn’t get discarded.  Unfortunately for me, it does.

Turn 6

The Armored Skaab charges at Kelly once again but this time is met by a 2/2 spirit after Kelly casts another Midnight Haunting.  (She forgot to multi-block here and kicks herself when she realises).  I round off my turn by summoning another Deranged Assistant.  Over to Kelly who plays a Gallows Warden. Before the warden resolves, I flashback a desperate ravings so that burning vengeance takes out one of the spirits before it gets the toughness boost.  The ravings let me draw a land and another Armored Skaab (which gets pitched).  Kelly attacks with her one remaining Spirit token and takes me down to 16 life.

Turn 7

I flashback Silent Departure, targeting her Spirit token with the burn and Gallows Warden with the bounce.  The Warden’s departure finishes off the wounded Spirit and the way is clear for my Assistant and Skaab to hit Kelly for two putting her on 16.  Gallows Warden returns to the battlefield on Kelly’s turn and that is her only play.

Turn 8

I cast another Armored Skaab but this time I use the deranged assistant for his mana ability.  As a result I mill 5: a Grim Lavamancer (damn!), a Civilized Scholar, a Nightbird’s Clutches and 2 lands.  I then attack with the Armored Skaab and Kelly smartly takes the damage (down to 15).  Had she blocked with the Warden I would have been able to finish him off with Burning Vengeance damage.  Kelly, having had enough of my Burning Vengeance shenanigans, casts oblivion ring targeting the enchantment.  I opt to get one last 2 point burn out of it by flashbacking Desperate Ravings which Kelly mana leaks.  I still get to deal the 2 damage and that takes Kelly’s life total down to 13.  After the stack resolves, my beloved Burning Vengeance is exiled under the Oblivion Ring.  Kelly’s combat phase brings her Gallows Warden through the Red zone for 3 (taking me down to 13).  Before her end step I cast a dream twist from my hand; milling 2 islands and a Silent Departure.

Turn 9

I have nothing but land in my hand so I look to my graveyard for options: a dream twist, a nightbird’s clutches and a silent departure.  I flashback the dream twist, hoping for more options.  I lose a murder of crows and another civilised scholar but a silent departure does fall into the graveyard.  I attack Kelly with my Skaab twins.  I tap my Assistant, Igor, for his mana and his mill and I’m pleased to see a Dream Twist hit the graveyard. The mana generated by Igor contributes to the flashbacking of that very dream twist – allowing me to mill a mountain, a Skaab and another Dream Twist.  Let’s flashback that dream twist as well.  Murder of Crows, Deranged Assistant and Geistflame get milled.  Kelly has nothing to cast on her turn and opts to play it safe and keep her warden back for defensive duties.

Turn 10

I draw, play and flashback a Think Twice drawing an Island and a Burning Vengeance (!!!) in the process.  The Skaab twins attack Kelly again; one of them gets blocked by her Warden.  Igor produces colourless mana, mills a mountain and I cast Burning Vengeance.  Kelly responds by placing a Curiosity on her Gallows warden and attacking with him, putting me on 10.

Turns 11-12

I do a quick count of the cards in my deck; seven left.  Ample time to end the game, but I must be more sparing with my mill.  I attack Kelly for 3 with Igor and the Skaabs (sounds like the name of a band) putting her on 8, I then flashback a Silent Departure, taking Kelly down to 6 with the burn, and bouncing her Gallows warden before he has a chance to sate his curiosity.  Kelly returns the Gallows warden to the battlefield as well as a Doomed Traveler on her turn.  Before Kelly’s end step I flashback Geistflame dealing a total of 3 damage to her (taking her down to 3).  Then, on turn 12, I flashback the Nightbird’s Clutches, preventing her Traveler and Warden for blocking my 3 point attack.  Game one to Mind for Mayhem.

Game 2

Kelly Mulligans and I stick with a questionable opening hand:  5 lands, a deranged Assistant and the Skaab Ruinator.  I figured I should probably mulligan but I was blinded by the ruinator.  Let’s see how it pans out eh?

Turns 1-3

Kelly starts and opens with a Doomed Traveler on turn 1 and follows up with a turn 2 Intangible Virtue.  Doomed Traveler attacks me for 1.  I get the Deranged Assistant out on my second turn and attacked again by the Traveler on Kelly’s third.  On my third turn my assistant mills a Burning Vengeance (Damn!).  I mill 4 more with an Armored Skaab’s ability - 2 mountains, a dream twist and burning vengeance number two (Double-Damn!).  At the end of my turn Kelly plays a Midnight Haunting bringing two 2/2 vigilant flying Spirit tokens into play.  Uh-oh!  With no creatures occupying my graveyard as of yet a ruinator summon looks a long way off.  Currently the score is 20-18 to Kelly.

Turn 4

Kelly attacks with both spirits and the Traveler.  Unwilling to give her another token I let the Traveler through, taking 5 damage and putting me on 13.  She brings out a Spectral Rider in her second main phase whilst I cast another dream twist, milling a deranged assistant, a mountain and another Dream Twist.  My turn and I draw a much needed Murder of Crows which hits the battlefield immediately (assistant mills a mountain for mana).

Turn 5

Kelly attacks with her intimidating spectral rider and her doomed Traveler who lives up to his name when he meets my Armored Skaab.  I want to activate the Crow’s ability in the hopes of drawing (and therefor pitching) a creature for the Ruinator.  No such luck, I draw land so I pitch the Ruinator since he doesn’t care whether he’s in hand or in graveyard.  The Traveler is still with us (albeit in spirit, that’s 3 now) and I take 2 damage from the rider.  I take out two of her tokens with 2 castings of silent departure (1 flashback and 1 the old fashioned way). As tokens, they are removed it from play rather than sent to her hand.  I’m not 100% sure on the rulings here but I assume this doesn’t count as a creature ‘dying’ so I don’t activate the Crow’s ability.  For the flashbacked Silent Departure I required the Assistant’s mana and he milled a Think Twice in the process.  Kelly’s spirit count is down to a more manageable 1 now and I relieve the crows from their defensive duties and send them in for 4.  Unwilling to suffer her first wound, Kelly blocks the crows with two freshly summoned Spirits off the back of a midnight haunting.  The crows hit the graveyard but I still have one more use for them yet ;) .

Turn 6

Kelly hits me for 4 with her remaining spirit and the rider and then adds a Chapel Geist.  Over to me, I check my graveyard and find that I need just one more creature to cast the ruinator.  I tap the assistant for mana and mill *fanfare* a civilised scholar!  I promptly exile the crows, the scholar and the assistant from the graveyard, tap two islands and finally cast my mythic rare; Skaab Ruinator from the graveyard. At the end of the turn the score is 20-7 to Kelly.

Turns 7-8

Kelly sends in the Spectral Rider for 2 dropping me to 5.  She then adds a Gallows Warden giving her other spirits 0/+1.  I need to find an answer next turn as an all-out assault on Kelly’s part will finish me.  Still in Kelly’s second main phase, two flashbacked dream twists mill my third burning vengeance, an armored skaab, the grim lavamancer, a desperate ravings, nightbird’s clutches and an island.  My turn, I flashback a desperate ravings – drawing an Armored Skaab and Island, randomly discarding the island.  I draw a Charmbreaker Devils with a flashbacked think twice and pass to Kelly.  Who, after doing some maths, opts to hit me with everything.  Game 2 goes to the deck with Spirit.

Game 3 – The decider

My opening hand consists of no real threats, but plenty of cards to get things set up nicely.  I have a deranged assistant, 2 dream twists, a think twice, a Sulfur Falls and 2 islands.  I opt to play first and we’re off!

Turns 1-2

My turn 1 play is a dream twist which mills another dream twist, a silent departure and a civilised scholar.  So far so good.  Kelly opens again with a Doomed Traveler.  Next turn I bring about a Deranged Assistant and Kelly casts intangible virtue.  No tokens to take advantage of it thankfully. If she thinks I’ll be blocking her Doomed Traveler any time soon she’d best think again!  I let him through and he deals 1 damage to me.  First Blood.

Turn 3

The assistant mills a mountain and adds a colourless mana to my manapool which I put towards a think twice drawing an island.  I pass to Kelly whose Traveler nicks me for 1.  After the attack she adds a Voiceless Spirit to the proceedings.

Turn 4

I tap the assistant for mill (Think Twice) and mana which flashbacks said Think Twice (drawing land).  I guess I must’ve shuffled too well because (with the exception of a single silent departure) I haven’t drawn anything but land so far.  Kelly enchants her voiceless spirit with Curiosity and attacks with both her creatures which takes me down to 15 and allows her to draw a card too.  I flashback a dream twist before she passes to me which disappointingly mills a Burning Vengeance, Grim Lavamancer and a mountain.

Turn 5

More land for my draw step, in most decks being mana-drowned is a death sentence.  Luckily, this one is less susceptible as I have plenty of options in my graveyard.  I flashback a think twice hoping for anything but land but my library delivers a mountain.  I contend myself by silently departing her curious spirit and passing.  Kelly attacks me for one with her Doomed Traveler and then adds a Mausoleum Guard to her side.  I flashback another Dream Twist which sends an Armored Skaab, Charmbreaker Devils and my – wait for it – Skaab Ruinator to the Graveyard.

Turn 6

Draw - land - *sigh*.  (My hand currently consists of a dream twist + 4 land!).  The assistant helps me summon the Skaab ruinator, milling a nightbird’s clutches in the process (exiling 3 creatures from my gravehand).  Over to Kelly who knowing that I won’t block, attacks with both Humans reducing me to 11.

Turn 7

Mountain drawn.  I tap both the Assistant and the Ruinator and send them at Kelly who rebukes the Ruinator in response.  She takes 1 point of damage, a small consolation.  A quick count of the creatures in the graveyard reveals I need two more to cast the ruinator again.  Best get to milling!  I start with a dream twist which gives me 1 (a deranged assistant along with a geistflame and some land).  I have another dream twist available for flashback, I do so which dumps and Island, Silent Departure and a Civilised Scholar.  Without delay I exile the Scholar, the Assistant and the Lavamancer, pay 3 mana and the ruinator makes a triumphant return.  Kelly summons my old Sturmgeist who enters as a 4/4 and attacks me with her humans again taking me down to 8.

Turn 8

I need to start slowing her down now as if I keep letting the Guard and Traveler through I’ll be a goner in 3 turns.  I draw – yep, you guessed it – more land.  I have a hand of land so instead I move to the graveyard and peruse my flashback options, of which I have many.  I start by flashbacking Silent Departure to send the Sturmgeist back to her hand and the Ruinator wastes little time in attacking her for 5.  On her turn, Kelly attacks me with the Guard and the Traveler.  I chump the Guard with my assistant, activating his ability (mill Armored Skaab) on his way out.  I take one damage from the Traveler and I’m down to 7.

Turn 9

This time I draw a deranged assistant (only my second non-land draw of the game). I attack with the Skaab Ruinator (Kelly’s down to 9.) then bounce her Guard back with a flashbacked silent departure.  I finish off by summoning the deranged assistant.  Kelly keeps the pressure on and attacks with the Rider and Traveler taking me down to 4. She follows up by re-summoning a mausoleum guard and voiceless spirit.

Turns 10-11

It’s tense at the table.  Where before, there had been plenty of banter, now there was only quiet determination.  I bounce and burn her Riders and Voiceless spirits with a flashbacked Silent Departure and Geistflame leaving her with the not-so-doomed Traveler and the Guard.  The Ruinator attacks again making the score 4-4.  Kelly’s humans attack once again, and just as before I chump the Guard with my assistant (who mills a murder of crows on his way out).  I take 1 damage.  Kelly shores up her defences with a Sturmgeist and a Spectral Rider but it’s for nowt as all I need to do next turn is flashback the Nightbird’s clutches to prevent her Sturmgeist blocking and my Skaab Ruinator sails through the red zone unopposed to finish her off.  Game three to Mind for Mayhem.

Fedger’s Thoughts

I’m still very much enjoying this deck – there’s something very satisfying about the way it plays.  Once established its very hard for an opponent to stop the momentum – we didn’t see it here but in previous plays, once I’ve got a burning vengeance set up, a good flashback larder and a beater, opponents get left defenceless time and time again as their creatures get repeatedly bounced or burnt.  The third game demonstrated that: even without burning vengeance, a well-stocked graveyard can still provide enough control to keep a beater crashing through the red-zone unmolested.

The deck is still prone to beater drought, as we saw in game 1, though this is somewhat mitigated by my star player: the Skaab Ruinater.  The third game would have been a completely different story had I not managed to summon this guy twice.  By that same token though, the 2^nd game shows that he needs support otherwise he may have to stay on the defence.

This deck requires that you play for time, so the longer it goes on the better your chances of getting established, that being said, play for too much time and you may well deck yourself.  This is a bit easier to control with the removal of the Curse of the Bloody Tombs though.

I was impressed with the way Kelly’s deck played.  Intangible virtue really does add a lot of clout to those spirit tokens, especially with Midnight Haunting – effectively 4/4’s worth of creature with Flash.  In our warm up game she slaughtered me when she managed to get two Intangible Virtues out, making all tokens 3/3.  I reckon her deck could do with a couple of sac outlets though, because at the moment, she has to rely on her opponent to kill of her Doomed Travelers and Mausoleum Guard which, in game three, I stubbornly refused to do.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this playtest. The best games are the ones that can go either way which 2 of them were.  I don’t feel that Mind for Mayhem’s full potential was unleashed in any of the games.  Not to worry; there’s plenty of time and blogs for that to happen!

Thanks for reading, see you next time!

Fedger

Eldritch Onslaught Playtest

Welcome to my first ever Magic the gathering intro pack playtest where I’ll be pitting Inistrad’s ‘Eldritch Onslaught’ against ‘Deathly Dominion’ from the same set. Piloting Deathly Dominion is my good friend Mr Chris. I will be taking the reins on Eldritch Onslaught. Check out Ertai's Lament for a review of the cards in both decks and a whole bunch of Playtests (Eldritch Onslaught, Deathly Dominion).


Now without further ado:

Game One

Turns 1-3
My opening hand consists of a Murder of Crows, a Silent Departure, A Curse of the Bloody Tome, 2 Islands and 2 Mountains. We both lay lands on our first two turns with Chris getting an extra one from a Rampant Growth. On turn three I curse myself with the Curse of the Bloody Tome and Chris responds with a Reassembling Skeleton.


Turn 4
The Curse Mills an Into the Maw of Hell and an Island and I summon a Fortress Crab. Chris sacrifices the Skeleton in order to play an Altar’s Reap to draw 2 cards. Chris admits that he misses the Skeleton and taps two to bring him back.


Turn 5
An Island and a Deranged Assistant get milled by the Curse and I draw a mountain. I tap the Fortress Crab and send him in for first blood and follow up with the Murder of Crows. Chris attacks with the Skeleton on his turn and, like a fool, I block it with the Crows. I completely forgot about his deck’s mechanic and under-estimated Chris here. I figured (without too much thinking on my part) that he hadn’t noticed the Birds on my side of the field (!?). The crows suffer for my mistake when he busts out a Morkrut Banshee – the morbid activated effect ending my aerial threat. The crows’ ability did allow me to draw a Rolling Temblor and Pitch my Silent Departure though.


Turn 6
Another Island and a Fortress Crab hit the graveyard and I draw my foil rare, the Sturmgeist, which hits the battlefield as a 3/3. Chris casts Demonmail Hauberk and that pesky skeleton makes a sheepish return to the battlefield.


Turn 7
“NOOOOOOOOO” – The curse puts a Burning Vengeance and an Island into the graveyard. Sad times. I draw a Grasp of Phantoms and send the Sturmgeist in for 4 damage, which takes Chris down to 15 and lets me draw another grasp of phantoms. I then proceed to make a play I immediately regret – using the Grasp Of Phantoms to return his Morkut Banshee to the top of his library. Bounce removal’s not so hot when the creatures have ‘enters the battlefield’ abilities. I think Chris forgot about his Demonmail here as he uses a Prey Upon (Sturmgeist vs Skeleton) to activate Morbid, in any case the effect is the same and back comes the Morkut Banshee to take down another flyer. Sorry Sturmgeist, my bad.


Turn 8
A mountain goes to the graveyard along with a Desperate Ravings, then I play another grasp of phantom returning the Banshee to his deck again. I promptly forget to attack with the Fortress Crab and pass to Chris.
Chris’s skeleton makes its way back to the field and is joined by a Devouring Swarm.


Turn 9
I mill another desperate ravings and an Island. I play a freshly drawn Cellar Door. Your move Chris. The Skeleton Perishes in preparation for outfitting the Demonmail to the Swarm I quickly put the Devouring Swarm on to the Harvest Pyre in response. Just to be sure, I exile 12 cards to pay for it. He then plays a Woodland Sleuth whose morbid ability allows him to return a creature card at random to the field; sadly it’s the Devouring Swarm (as opposed to the Skeleton). Before the end of his turn I activate Cellar Door to mill a Silent Departure from the bottom of my library,


Turn 10
Two islands hit the graveyard at the beginning of my upkeep. I flashback desperate ravings to draw a Ghoulcaller’s Bell and my other rare: the Charmbreaker Devils. The Scourge of Geier Reach reach is randomly discarded. Over to Chris and the earth shakes as the Moldgraf Monstrosity is summoned. Chris then taps the Swarm to hit me for 2 and I’m down to 18. We are now at 18 – 15. I activate the Cellar once more and turn a deranged assistant into a 2/2 Zombie.


Turn 11
I mill a mountain and a Dream Twist and tap six lands to bring out the Charmbreaker Devils. Chris brings out the Lumberknot which could be an issue; its Hexproof means that I can’t simply bounce it back into his hand when it grows too big (heh). The skeleton makes a brief return and then perishes whilst outfitting the Demonmail to the Devouring Swarm. I’m not sure what a Swarm of insects would do with a suit of armour but it seems to grant them great strength. The Swarm is now a 6/2 and the Lumberknot becomes a 2/2 due to the sacrificed Skeleton. Chris sends in the Swarm and, with no aerial blockers I’m down to 12.


Turn 12
The Charmbreaker Devils return a Silent Departure back to my hand, the curse mills a Murder of Crows and a Deranged Assistant. I cast a Ghoul Caller’s Bell and then Flashback a silent departure to return the Molgraf Monstrosity to Chris’s hand, making the Charmbreakers 8/4. I grow it further by casting a Silent Departure the old fashioned way to bounce back his Woodland Sleuth making my Devils a 12/4. The Devils and the Zombie token turn sideways, the Lumberknot chumps the Devils and the Zombie scratches Chris for two. Over to Chris, who’s Skeleton makes another brief visit only to be Devoured by the Swarm (making them 7/3) which then proceed to nip at my health with fervour. I’m down to 5. With Morbid active his Woodland Sleuth comes back and brings with it a creature from the graveyard.


Turn 13
I’m feeling fairly confident here; Chris is on 14 life so I should be able to bounce his only defender back to his hand and cast enough spells to grow the Devils power and send them in for lethal. Charmbreakers return a grasp of phantoms, the curse mills 2 lands. I cast the grasp to put the Sleuth on Chris’s Library and grow the Devils to 8/4. I activate the Ghoulcaller’s Bell to rid the game of the Sleuth, I mill a Merfolk Mesmerist. A Think Twice lets me draw a Geistflame growing the Devils to 12/4. I then attack with the Devils and the Zombie for 14. Aha! Victory…
…almost. Before the Devils can do their nasty work they get ambushed by a Viper with Flash and deathtouch. Ach So close! On Chris’s turn I’m powerless to stop the swarm and they finish me off. First match to Mr Chris!

Game 2

My opening hand consists of a Burning Vengeance (Woo-Hoo!), Silent Departure, Dream Twist, a Harvest Pyre, a Mountain and an Island. Excited by the Burning Vengeance I elect to keep the hand and go first.


Turns 1-3
I Dream Twist a Desperate Ravings, Island and Armored Skaab into the graveyard. Chris then returns fire with a Typhoid Rats. I manage only land on my second turn and Chris plays a Skirsdag High Priest on his. He also sends the Rat in for 1 point of damage. On my third turn, I cast Burning Vengeance; hoping that I will see some action from the deck’s showcase combo. Chris attacks with both the rats and the Priest and I’m down to 17.


Turn 4
I pass to Chris after laying land and he attacks with both creatures again. I take the 2 damage and hit Chris with 2 of my own damage when I flashback my dream twist. A Ghoulcaller’s Bell, Cellar Door and a Mountain get milled before I play Think Twice from my hand to draw a Merfolk Mesmerist.


Turn 5
I play Rolling Temblor to wipe out Chris’s Rat/Cleric double act. Chris squeezes one more bit of use out of the Rats by sacrificing them to an Altar’s Reap and draws 2 cards. I summon a Merfolk Mesmerist. Chris’s summons a Reassembling Skeleton.


Turn 6
I’m pleased to see a Deranged Assistant make his way into my hand and eagerly cast him. I send the Merfolk Mesmerist into the Red Zone to take Chris down to 17. Over to Chris who attempts to make his Skeleton fight my Deranged Assistant with a Prey Upon. To save my Assistant I flashback a think twice and use the Burning Vengeance damage to take down the skeleton before the Prey Upon resolves. I get an Island from the think twice. Chris still gets the desired result as the death of the Skeleton causes Morbid to go live, allowing Chris’s Woodland Sleuth to randomly return a creature to his hand. After the creature is randomly (and secretly) returned from the graveyard I rejoice when I see it is not the Preist.


Turn 7
I tap the Assistant for Colourless mana and mill a Grasp of Phantoms which gets flashbacked (Burning Vengeance Damage goes straight to Chris’ face) and the Sleuth sleuths back to the top of his library. I attack Chris with my Merfolk taking him down to 14. Chris’s turn. He casts a Reassembling Skeleton from his hand (the Woodland Sleuth’s effect must have returned said Skeleton) and passes to me.


Turn 8
I draw a Silent Departure and flashback desperate ravings doing 2 damage to Chris’s life a la Burning Vengeance. A murder of Crows and a Mountain get drawn and my Harvest Pyre gets discarded. I silently depart the Skeleton, the deranged assistant mills an island, the merfolk mesmerist attacks Chris for 1 and I summon a murder (of crows). Chris Dead Weights the Murder of Crows making it a slightly less fearsome 2/2 and re-summons his Skeleton. At the end of the turn its 15-11 to me.


Turn 9
Fortress Crab hits my hand.*sigh* Now is not the time for a defensive play dammit! With all the bounce in my hand and graveyard, not to mention the burn increments I get from burning vengeance, what I really want are some beaters. I attack with the Mesmerist and the Crows taking Chris down to 8. I then play a Silent Departure to bounce the dead weighted crows who immediately get replayed. I much prefer them in their 4/4 state. Chris elects to attack with his Skeleton, I block with the deranged assistant, activating its ability on its way out to mill a desperate ravings. The dead Assistant and Skeleton trigger the Crow’s ability twice. In my eagerness to use the Crow’s ability I lose it again, to the same trick from game one! The Morkrut Banshee makes her first appearance this game and gleefully Murders my murder, again. In retaliation I flashback desperate ravings drawing a mountain and a Pitchburn Devils and discarding said mountain. Chris takes two more direct damage.


Turn 10
I draw a Mountain, I summon Pitchburn Devils. Over to Chris who returns the Skeleton to the field and summons a Woodland Sleuth, no Morbid triggered recursion this time. Before the end of Chris’ turn I activate the Merfolk’s ability to Mill a Think Twice and an Armored Skaab.


Turn 11
I draw a Grasp Of Phantoms which I use to return the Morkrut Banshee to the top of his deck, I flashback silent departure to return the Sleuth to his hand and 2 damage bringing Chris down to 4 and with his Skeleton still tapped Chris has no blockers to stop the Mesmerist and the Devils from attacking for lethal. Game 2 to me and we’re tied at 1-a-piece.

Game Three; Match Point

I mulligan and then stick with a Ghoul Caller’s Bell, Desperate Ravings, an Armored Skaab, a Fortress Crab, 2 Islands and a Mountain. Chris opts to go first.


Turns 1-2
Chris has no turn one play. I manage a Ghoulcaller’s Bell which makes Chris mill an Ambush viper on his turn; good to know that’s not lurking in his hand. I mill an Island. I cast Desperate Ravings on my turn – drawing a Deranged Assistant and a mountain. I discard an Island.


Turn 3
Chris has hit all three of his land drops so far, however none have been swamps. I tap the ghoulcaller’s bell again to force myself and Chris to mill a Geistflame and Devouring Swarm respectively. I play an Armored Skaab milling a Curse of The Bloody Tome, Think Twice, Silent Departure and a Mountain (not a bad haul of Flashy-backers)!


Turn 4
“Hurr-aaay” Chris hits his first swamp and immediately turns it into a Disciple Of Grieselbrand. Over to me and I draw a Deranged Assistant and send the Armored Skaab in for 1. Chris opts to block the Skaab with his Disciple, then, activate the disciple’s ability to sacrifice it and give Chris one life I summon a fortress crab and pass.


Turns 5-8
Over the next few turns Chris does not make any plays. He’s stuck on two swamps and is waiting for a third. Over the course of the turns I summon a Deranged Assistant and another Fortress Crab attacking him each turn with the mighty power 1 creatures. I contend myself by playing various draw/mill cards such as Desperate Ravings and Think Twice and remember to activate Ghoul Caller’s bell each turn which , infuriatingly for him, makes Chris mill many, many swamps. On turn 8 Chris casts a Rampant Growth and gets the third land he’s been waiting for (Though it comes into play tapped – “Next turn”, he vows). I finally get a proper beater in the form of a Shiny Sturmgeist which comes into play as a healthy 4/4.


Turn 9
Chris’s first turn with three swamps. He’s been waiting for a suitable Doom Blade victim to activate Morbid for his Morkrut Banshee. Like a magnet to metal the Doom Blade rushes for my Sturmgeist. Chris follows up with the Banshee who gives -4/-4 to my deranged assistant. He then uses prey upon to force my Armored Skaab to fight his banshee. Just like that, in one turn I’ve gone from 5 creatures to 2. I ring the Ghoulcaller’s bell and we both mill land. My turn and I put Chris’ banshee on top of his library with a grasp of phantoms, and complete the removal by ringing the bell yet again and making him mill it. I mill a merfolk mesmerist and send in the Fortress Crab twins for 2 taking Chris down to 6.


Turn 10
Chris enchants one of the crabs with a dead weight – making it a 0/2. He then summons a Festerhide Boar to try and get some board presence. Before the end of Chris’ go I cast a Desperate Ravings (drawing a mountain and Charmbreaker Devils and discarding land. I cast said Charmbreaker Devils on my turn and decide to put Chris’ boar on the Harvest Pyre (exiling 6 cards to be sure). Chris sacs it off with Altar’s Reap before the Pyre gets near. I then attack Chris for 1 with the healthy crab and he’s on 5. (Getting there!)


Turn 11
Chris plays another Deadweight; this one finds the Charmbreaker Devils making it a 2/2. Next he summons a Hollowhenge Scavenger. But it’s too little too late, all I need to do is cast grasp of phantoms on his lone blocker which pumps the Devils to 6/2 and send them in for lethal. Game three to me.

Fedger’s Thoughts

I really enjoy playing this deck. The act of milling my deck in search of flashback options is a refreshing way of playing and can be surprisingly effective when it works. You get amazing value for mana and synergy once you have some cards ready for flashback, burning vengeance and a decent beater ready to take advantage of a red zone recently vacated by bounced or burnt blockers.


Its main weakness (as demonstrated perfectly in the third game is its lack of offense). Chris’s only defence for 9 turns was a lonely disciple of greisband and yet I was only able to chip away at him slowly with power one creatures.


It takes some patience to get the combo going and there will be games where both burning vengeances and charmbreaker devils get milled but when used right it is both rewarding and a damned fun deck to play.


Check out my next blog on 13/02/2012 where I’ll be replacing some cards in this deck with others from Inistrad and Magic 2012 to really maximise the synergy between the cards.


See you then and thanks for reading!
Fedger