That's more or less the solution I was thinking of; it looks like the puzzle needs a disclaimer to state that Kelly doesn't have any other surprises waiting in her library. I suppose I should have rephrased "Win this turn" as well.
With a Mycosynth Golem on the battlefield, you were expecting a few big plays from your opponent. Last turn, Kelly made that move: She cast both a Darksteel Colossus and a Platinum Emperion in the same main phase. You saw those big artifacts coming, so they weren’t much of a surprise, but her third play made your jaw drop.
So now you’ve got some really huge creatures on your opponent’s side of the board, with only one tiny creature on your side to play defense, and you've got no lands to help fuel a comeback. Fortunately, Staff of Nin gave you two draws at the start of your turn, and one of them turned out to be a Swamp. It’s not optimal, but it’s better than nothing.
Still, you’re not about to give up yet. You think there might be a subtle chink in your opponent's armor, so to speak.
It is the beginning of your first main phase. Win the game this turn.
Kelly is at 8 life, has no cards in her hand, and has 36 cards remaining in her library. She has the following cards in play:
Yup, I was trying to figure out if the solution to that one was easy enough to find.
Just one more for now before I go back to my archives. I have a solution in mind for this, but I'd be interested to see if there are any alternatives:
A few turns ago, your opponent, Paolo, played a number of Sinkholes to reduce your land count, then used Relic of Progenitus to make sure you wouldn't be getting them back. Now you're at 4 life and he has the dominant presence on the table; when his next turn comes around, Paolo's not going to have any qualms about sending everything he has in your direction.
You don't have a lot of cards on the table, so you shouldn't be any way to win this game... or is there?
It is the start of your first main phase. Win this game before your opponent does.
Paolo is at 6 life, has no cards in his hand, and has no untapped lands. He has these cards in play:
You have a deck made from your LGS’s bargain box. Bosko has a deck with some rather expensive cards. You'd think that you wouldn't stand a chance against him, but you've managed to hold up well so far.
Last turn, however, Bosko made his move: He cast Eureka, then used it to empty his hand of the three Eldrazi titans that are now glaring at you from across the table. That’s Ulamog, Kozilek, and Emrakul, in case you need the reminder. If you don't take them down now, they'll grind you into paste on Bosko's attack next turn.
It is the start of your first main phase. Remove all three legendary Eldrazi creatures from the battlefield this turn.
Bosko is at 15 life, and has no cards in his hand. He has these cards in play:
That's more or less the solution I was thinking of; it looks like the puzzle needs a disclaimer to state that Kelly doesn't have any other surprises waiting in her library. I suppose I should have rephrased "Win this turn" as well.
With a Mycosynth Golem on the battlefield, you were expecting a few big plays from your opponent. Last turn, Kelly made that move: She cast both a Darksteel Colossus and a Platinum Emperion in the same main phase. You saw those big artifacts coming, so they weren’t much of a surprise, but her third play made your jaw drop.
“Armageddon?”
And so it goes.
So now you’ve got some really huge creatures on your opponent’s side of the board, with only one tiny creature on your side to play defense, and you've got no lands to help fuel a comeback. Fortunately, Staff of Nin gave you two draws at the start of your turn, and one of them turned out to be a Swamp. It’s not optimal, but it’s better than nothing.
Still, you’re not about to give up yet. You think there might be a subtle chink in your opponent's armor, so to speak.
It is the beginning of your first main phase. Win the game this turn.
Kelly is at 8 life, has no cards in her hand, and has 36 cards remaining in her library. She has the following cards in play:
Boros Signet (tapped)
Basalt Monolith (tapped)
Dreamstone Hedron (tapped)
Mycosynth Golem (tapped)
Workhorse (with two +1/+1 counters)
Platinum Emperion
Darksteel Colossus
Darksteel Citadel
Kelly has the following relevant cards in her graveyard:
Myr Retriever
Goblin Welder
Cathodion
Myr Moonvessel
You are at 8 life. You have the following cards in play:
Salvaging Station
Staff of Nin
Serrated Biskelion
Your cards in hand:
Reanimate
Yoke of the Damned
March of the Machines
Swamp
You have not yet played a land this turn.
You have the following relevant cards in your graveyard:
Seat of the Synod
Springleaf Drum
Etherium Sculptor
Vial of Poison
Voltaic Construct
Master of Etherium
Altar of the Brood
Disciple of the Vault
Just one more for now before I go back to my archives. I have a solution in mind for this, but I'd be interested to see if there are any alternatives:
A few turns ago, your opponent, Paolo, played a number of Sinkholes to reduce your land count, then used Relic of Progenitus to make sure you wouldn't be getting them back. Now you're at 4 life and he has the dominant presence on the table; when his next turn comes around, Paolo's not going to have any qualms about sending everything he has in your direction.
You don't have a lot of cards on the table, so you shouldn't be any way to win this game... or is there?
It is the start of your first main phase. Win this game before your opponent does.
Paolo is at 6 life, has no cards in his hand, and has no untapped lands. He has these cards in play:
Child of Night (tapped)
Paolo has only one creature card in his graveyard: a Soul of Innistrad.Duskmantle Seer (tapped) with Assault Suit
Skaab Ruinator (tapped)
Abyssal Gatekeeper
Insectile Aberration
Faerie Macabre
Nightveil Specter
2 islands (both tapped)
2 swamps (both tapped)
2 Watery Grave (both tapped)
You are at 4 life. You have these cards in play:
Shadow Guildmage
Your cards in hand:Plague Witch
Puppeteer Clique
1 island
2 swamps
Izzet Guildgate
Dredge
The top two cards of your library (which you know due to a recent Ponder) are:Set Adrift
Exhume (topmost card)
You currently have only two cards in your graveyard:Nicol Bolas, Planeswalker (second to top)
Ponder
Ultimate Price
You have a deck made from your LGS’s bargain box. Bosko has a deck with some rather expensive cards. You'd think that you wouldn't stand a chance against him, but you've managed to hold up well so far.
Last turn, however, Bosko made his move: He cast Eureka, then used it to empty his hand of the three Eldrazi titans that are now glaring at you from across the table. That’s Ulamog, Kozilek, and Emrakul, in case you need the reminder. If you don't take them down now, they'll grind you into paste on Bosko's attack next turn.
It is the start of your first main phase. Remove all three legendary Eldrazi creatures from the battlefield this turn.
Bosko is at 15 life, and has no cards in his hand. He has these cards in play:
Fauna Shaman
Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre
Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Eldrazi Spawn token
3 plains (two tapped)
3 forests (two tapped)
Savannah
Temple Garden
You are at 9 life. You have these cards in play:
Festering Goblin
Vithian Stinger
Death’s-Head Buzzard
5 swamps
4 mountains
You have the following cards in your hand:
Tremor
Orzhov Euthanist
Funeral March