Amulet Bloom
Also known as: Bloom Titan, Kangaroo
Also known as: Bloom Titan, Kangaroo
Contents
1) What is Amulet Bloom?
2) Card Choices
3) Technical Play
4) Matchups
5) Decklists
6) Articles
1) What is Amulet Bloom?
Amulet Bloom is a green-based ramp/combo deck, based upon Amulet of Vigor, Summer Bloom, and the Ravnica bouncelands. Amulet of Vigor removes the ETB tapped drawback of bouncelands, while Summer Bloom allows you to play enough lands to increase your per-turn mana production by 3. Their true power is unleashed when combined, allowing you to ramp into a Primeval Titan as early as turn two.
Why should you play Amulet Bloom?
1) It’s resilient. Firstly, your main resource is lands. With some exceptions, lands can’t be burned, killed, countered or discarded. Once you play a land, it’s there to stay. This lets you “combo off” more than once, in case you got disrupted the first time around.
Next, your Titans can search up more Titans (this will be explained later). If the first Titan dies, a second will be ready to take its place. Non-combo decks will find it hard to handle Titan after Titan.
2) It has good matchups against creature-based decks. Your creature (Titan) is larger than almost any of theirs, and can’t be killed by a single Bolt.
3) It has two wincons (Primeval Titan and Hive Mind). This isn’t just “cool”; it has some strategic applications too.
Why should you NOT play Amulet Bloom?
1) It requires practice. You need to learn to sequence your lands properly when playing this deck. You need to know every card in your deck, the quantities you play them in, and keep track of all that during the game – you don’t want to build your entire plan around, say, casting Primeval Titan and giving it haste with Slayers’ Stronghold, only to realize that the sole copy of Slayers’ Stronghold was in your hand the whole time.
2) It relies on the combat step. While having a creature as a wincon is great for walling attackers, it also opens you up to more ways of getting disrupted: chiefly, a Pestermite/Deceiver Exarch tapping down Titan before combat.
3) It’s vulnerable to land hate and tutor hate. Blood Moon is almost unbeatable, and land destruction like Fulminator Mage or Ghost Quarter on one of your bouncelands sets your tempo back by a large margin. This deck also searches for things a lot (Summoner’s Pact, Primeval Titan), so search hate like Aven Mindcensor can throw a wrench in your plans.
2) Card Choices
Combo
The core of the deck. Always play 4 Amulet and 4 Summer Bloom.
With regards to bounceland colors, you will need:
1 for pumplands
4 for general mana-generating purposes
1 for Slaughter Pact
For the rest, split them however you wish between and . These provide green for Bloom/Titan, and their secondary colors account for half the color requirements on pump lands. You should lean slightly towards , because:
1) Sideboard Pyroclasm/Firespout uses mana
2) it pays for Kessig Wolf Run all by itself, if you choose to play that
You will win most of your games with Primeval Titan, so max out on him and Summoner’s Pact.
Hive Mind is an alternate wincon. Given that you are already playing 4 Summoner’s Pact, it’s not hard to add a couple more (e.g. 2 Pact of Negation, 1 Slaughter Pact) for utility and the alt-win.
DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards |
---|
3 Azusa, Lost but Seeking 0 Simian Spirit Guide 0 Journey of Discovery 0 Sakura-Tribe Scout 0 Explore 0 Oracle of Mul Daya |
These cards provide you with extra land drops or mana, for when you don’t draw Summer Bloom. Azusa is the most powerful out of all of these; you should play at least 3 copies of her. The rest depends on personal preference.
I do not recommend Oracle because it costs a lot.
Journey of Discovery is a valid budget option if you don't have Azusa.
DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards |
---|
4 Serum Visions 0 Sleight of Hand 0 Ancient Stirrings 3 Tolaria West 0 Trinket Mage 0 Wargate |
These cards provide ways to dig/tutor for your game-winners, usually Amulet. Summoner’s Pact has already been covered under “Wincons”.
I do not recommend Trinket Mage or Wargate because they often come down too late. Their main function is to tutor for Amulet, but if you feel like you need more acceleration you should stick to lower-CMC ramp cards like Sakura-Tribe Scout or Explore instead. Running out a ramp spell on turn 1/2 will increase your mana production quicker than what is effectively a 4-mana Amulet.
Note that Tolaria West can tutor for both lands and Pacts. Also, transmute is an activated ability, so it can’t be countered by most counterspells. (Your opponent should be countering the tutor target anyway.)
DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards |
---|
1 Slayers’ Stronghold 0 Kessig Wolf Run 1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion |
These “pump” lands allow your Primeval Titan to close the game quickly. Slayers’ Stronghold is an absolute necessity, as it grants haste.
Helps you stay alive against aggressive strategies.
These lands have many uses:
1) chump blocker
2) protect your Titan against edicts (“sacrifice a creature” effects; e.g. Liliana of the Veil)
3) Slaughter Pact target for Hive Mind, if your opponent has no creatures
4) alternate wincon if you have Kessig Wolf Run
Inkmoth Nexus is better as an alternate wincon, but you need the creature for utility more often than as a wincon, so Khalni Garden is better in general.
Protects Titan from counterspells. Note that Titan’s type is “Giant”, not “Titan”. ("Titan" is not a legal creature type anyway.)
Helps you dig a little bit deeper.
The most versatile land of all. It can ETB as any other land, even your opponent’s (although most of the time your lands are better). 1 is sufficient, as it does nothing by itself.
Note that you have to choose a land that’s already on the battlefield for Vesuva to ETB as a copy of it. If you search for two lands with Titan, one of which is Vesuva, it can’t copy the other land.
Vesuva copies supertypes too, so if you use Vesuva to copy a basic Island for example, it can't be Tectonic Edged or affected by Blood Moon. Hardcasting Hive Mind (using Vesuva to copy your opponent's basic Island) is an out against UR decks with Blood Moon.
DeckMagic OnlineOCTGN2ApprenticeBuy These Cards |
---|
1 Forest 3 Gemstone Mine 2 Tendo Ice Bridge 1 Mana Confluence |
Green is the most important color in the deck, hence the basic Forest. Gemstone Mine and Tendo Ice Bridge can be reset with bouncelands, negating their drawbacks.
One final note: the total land count for this deck should be 26-29.
Mass removal. Pyroclasm is better against Pod and Firespout is better against Zoo. Good against: Zoo, Pod, Affinity, Bogle (Explosives only)
Artifact/enchantment hate. You will need this card against Blood Moon. Good against: Twin, Affinity, Pod, Storm, Bogle
Lifegain and wincons rolled into one. Thragtusk can be Pacted for, while Wurmcoil can be Stirred. Thragtusk’s life gain is immediate, so it is a little better. Good against: Burn, UWR
Anti-counters. Chalice is very effective against certain combo decks that have to resolve spells at one particular CMC to win. Good against: UWR, Storm, Living End (Chalice only), Faeries (Chalice only)
Grave hate. Good against: Living End, Storm
Nonbasic hate. Takes out manlands and disrupts Tron. Good against: Tron, UWR, Jund, Affinity
Anti-discard. Good against: Jund
Dedicated Affinity hate. Good against: Affinity
You can use some sideboard slots for extra HM pieces. Slaughter Pact in particular is good against Twin.
3) Technical Play
Summer Bloom Land Sequencing
There are two ways to utilize Summer Bloom:
1) Short-term: in conjunction with Amulet of Vigor to generate as much mana as possible in 1 turn. Do this if you know that you have the win in hand and your opponent cannot stop you.
2) Long-term: to put as many lands into play as possible so that you have more mana on future turns.
If you’re going for plan 1, you’ll want to play as many bouncelands as possible. Thus, you should use bouncelands’ triggers on themselves after you tap them for mana, so that you can play them again. A single bounceland can generate 6 mana all by itself this way, enough for either of your wincons.
If you’re going for plan 2, try to use your bouncelands’ abilities to reset as many Mines, Bridges and ETB-effect lands as possible (including Vesuva). Note that you can also bounce green/blue sources and replay them to cast 1-drops (Serum Visions, Ancient Stirrings).
Example (1): It’s turn 2. You have a land and Amulet of Vigor in play, with Summer Bloom, Primeval Titan and a Gx bounceland in hand. You decide to go for the combo now. Make the following sequence of plays:
Play bounceland, tap for , return bounceland to hand.
Cast Summer Bloom.
Play bounceland, tap bounceland for , return bounceland to hand. Do this three times, ending up with in your mana pool after all land drops have been exhausted. (On the final land drop you might want to return the other land instead.)
Cast Primeval Titan.
Example (2): It’s turn 2. You have a Khalni Garden in play, with Summer Bloom, a bounceland, Radiant Fountain and Temple of Mystery in hand. You decide to use Summer Bloom to put a bunch of lands down. Make the following sequence of plays:
Play Radiant Fountain.
Cast Summer Bloom.
Play Temple of Mystery.
Play bounceland, returning Garden/Fountain/Temple.
Play the land you just returned for 2 more life, or an extra token, or 1 more scry.
Titan Land Sequencing1) Short-term: in conjunction with Amulet of Vigor to generate as much mana as possible in 1 turn. Do this if you know that you have the win in hand and your opponent cannot stop you.
2) Long-term: to put as many lands into play as possible so that you have more mana on future turns.
If you’re going for plan 1, you’ll want to play as many bouncelands as possible. Thus, you should use bouncelands’ triggers on themselves after you tap them for mana, so that you can play them again. A single bounceland can generate 6 mana all by itself this way, enough for either of your wincons.
If you’re going for plan 2, try to use your bouncelands’ abilities to reset as many Mines, Bridges and ETB-effect lands as possible (including Vesuva). Note that you can also bounce green/blue sources and replay them to cast 1-drops (Serum Visions, Ancient Stirrings).
Example (1): It’s turn 2. You have a land and Amulet of Vigor in play, with Summer Bloom, Primeval Titan and a Gx bounceland in hand. You decide to go for the combo now. Make the following sequence of plays:
Play bounceland, tap for , return bounceland to hand.
Cast Summer Bloom.
Play bounceland, tap bounceland for , return bounceland to hand. Do this three times, ending up with in your mana pool after all land drops have been exhausted. (On the final land drop you might want to return the other land instead.)
Cast Primeval Titan.
Example (2): It’s turn 2. You have a Khalni Garden in play, with Summer Bloom, a bounceland, Radiant Fountain and Temple of Mystery in hand. You decide to use Summer Bloom to put a bunch of lands down. Make the following sequence of plays:
Play Radiant Fountain.
Cast Summer Bloom.
Play Temple of Mystery.
Play bounceland, returning Garden/Fountain/Temple.
Play the land you just returned for 2 more life, or an extra token, or 1 more scry.
Primeval Titan wins the game…provided you know which lands to search for. The following assumes Amulet on the battlefield.
Boros Garrison + Slayers’ Stronghold: The most common search when Titan ETBs. You activate Stronghold, giving Titan haste and grabbing another 2 lands.
Simic Growth Chamber + Tolaria West: This lets you tutor up a Pact, be it Negation to protect your Titan or Summoner’s to get another one. You tap both lands for , then bounce Tolaria West with the Growth Chamber’s effect. You can then transmute Tolaria West for the desired Pact.
Note that you can only transmute as a sorcery, so you should try to search for these 2 lands upon ETB (instead of when you attack), or if you have enough mana to transmute in the second main phase. You can still search for them otherwise, but it’ll be slower.
Radiant Fountain/Khalni Garden + bounceland: If you haven’t played a land this turn, you can get the ETB triggers of Fountain/Garden twice. You tutor it + a bounceland for one trigger, then bounce it and replay it during the main phase. Alternatively, if you have no land drops remaining, you can search for Fountain + Garden for 2 life and a chump blocker. If a Fountain/Garden is already on the battlefield (BEFORE Titan triggered), you can search for Vesuva to copy it.
Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion + Vesuva/Boros Garrison: Usually you’ll get this after Garrison + Stronghold, or if you don’t have Amulet. Vesuva comes down copying Garrison, generating the correct colors for Sunhome.
2 Simic Growth Chamber: If you have two mana open and a second Titan in hand, you can get two bouncelands, bringing you to 6 mana, and cast the second Titan.
Inkmoth Nexus + Kessig Wolf Run: The old combo from Standard. It gives you an out in case Titan bites it (although if Titan is going to die, you should get Simic Growth Chamber + Tolaria West instead). If you don’t play Inkmoth you can grab Garden.
Hive MindBoros Garrison + Slayers’ Stronghold: The most common search when Titan ETBs. You activate Stronghold, giving Titan haste and grabbing another 2 lands.
Simic Growth Chamber + Tolaria West: This lets you tutor up a Pact, be it Negation to protect your Titan or Summoner’s to get another one. You tap both lands for , then bounce Tolaria West with the Growth Chamber’s effect. You can then transmute Tolaria West for the desired Pact.
Note that you can only transmute as a sorcery, so you should try to search for these 2 lands upon ETB (instead of when you attack), or if you have enough mana to transmute in the second main phase. You can still search for them otherwise, but it’ll be slower.
Radiant Fountain/Khalni Garden + bounceland: If you haven’t played a land this turn, you can get the ETB triggers of Fountain/Garden twice. You tutor it + a bounceland for one trigger, then bounce it and replay it during the main phase. Alternatively, if you have no land drops remaining, you can search for Fountain + Garden for 2 life and a chump blocker. If a Fountain/Garden is already on the battlefield (BEFORE Titan triggered), you can search for Vesuva to copy it.
Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion + Vesuva/Boros Garrison: Usually you’ll get this after Garrison + Stronghold, or if you don’t have Amulet. Vesuva comes down copying Garrison, generating the correct colors for Sunhome.
2 Simic Growth Chamber: If you have two mana open and a second Titan in hand, you can get two bouncelands, bringing you to 6 mana, and cast the second Titan.
Inkmoth Nexus + Kessig Wolf Run: The old combo from Standard. It gives you an out in case Titan bites it (although if Titan is going to die, you should get Simic Growth Chamber + Tolaria West instead). If you don’t play Inkmoth you can grab Garden.
Cast Pacts during your turn, after your upkeep. You want your opponent to lose before you do, unless you can pay for the Pact and they can’t (wrong colors for example).
Here’s how Hive Mind works with regards to Pact of Negation, with a depiction of the stack at every move:
You play a spell: X
You cast Pact targeting that spell: X > Pact (you, target X)
Hive Mind triggers and your opponent gets a Pact copy: X > Pact (you, target X) > Pact (opponent, target whatever)
Now your opponent can choose whatever target he wants for his Pact copy, but since it resolved, he will get a “lose on upkeep” trigger.
Hive Mind shuts down counters. If your opponent casts a counterspell, you get to copy it, and can counter his counter. The exception is Counterflux.
Speaking of Counterflux, two things you should be aware of:
1) Counterflux cannot counter its controller's spells. That means your opponent can't use it to counter his Pact copy. Likewise, you can't use a copied Counterflux to counter your Pacts.
2) While Counterflux can't be countered, it is a valid target for a counterspell. Like, say...a copied Counterflux. If your opponent casts a non-overloaded Counterflux and you copy it due to Hive Mind, you do not have to target his Pact copy - you can target his Counterflux. Yes, it will do nothing, but that is exactly what you want - the alternative is throwing the game away because your opponent didn't have to pay for Pact.
Chalice of the Void on 0 doesn’t stop the Hive Mind kill – in fact, it makes things even better for you, because you don’t have to pay. Hive Mind copies Pacts, which Chalice does nothing to stop. If you cast a Pact, your Pact is countered, but your opponent’s copy is not.
Note that if the Pact fizzles (i.e. “countered upon resolution”), it does not create a “lose on upkeep” trigger.
Azusa and extra landsHere’s how Hive Mind works with regards to Pact of Negation, with a depiction of the stack at every move:
You play a spell: X
You cast Pact targeting that spell: X > Pact (you, target X)
Hive Mind triggers and your opponent gets a Pact copy: X > Pact (you, target X) > Pact (opponent, target whatever)
Now your opponent can choose whatever target he wants for his Pact copy, but since it resolved, he will get a “lose on upkeep” trigger.
Hive Mind shuts down counters. If your opponent casts a counterspell, you get to copy it, and can counter his counter. The exception is Counterflux.
Speaking of Counterflux, two things you should be aware of:
1) Counterflux cannot counter its controller's spells. That means your opponent can't use it to counter his Pact copy. Likewise, you can't use a copied Counterflux to counter your Pacts.
2) While Counterflux can't be countered, it is a valid target for a counterspell. Like, say...a copied Counterflux. If your opponent casts a non-overloaded Counterflux and you copy it due to Hive Mind, you do not have to target his Pact copy - you can target his Counterflux. Yes, it will do nothing, but that is exactly what you want - the alternative is throwing the game away because your opponent didn't have to pay for Pact.
Chalice of the Void on 0 doesn’t stop the Hive Mind kill – in fact, it makes things even better for you, because you don’t have to pay. Hive Mind copies Pacts, which Chalice does nothing to stop. If you cast a Pact, your Pact is countered, but your opponent’s copy is not.
Note that if the Pact fizzles (i.e. “countered upon resolution”), it does not create a “lose on upkeep” trigger.
Once you cast Azusa and it resolves, you gain priority and can play lands. Playing lands is a special action that doesn’t use the stack, so your opponent cannot respond to a land drop with removal. Note that, however, your opponent can respond to triggered abilities (e.g. Garden/Fountain/Temple/bounceland trigger). Whenever possible, play lands with triggered abilities last.
Gemstone Mine and Tendo Ice Bridge entering the battlefield with counters are NOT triggered abilities. They are replacement effects.
The “extra lands” rule was changed effective July 13 2013. Quoted verbatim:
Any time you want to play a land for any reason, if you've used all your land plays for the turn, then you can't play the land. By default, you have one land play on each of your turns. Spells or abilities can add to this number. So can permanents that allow you to play additional lands, but if these permanents leave the battlefield, those additional land plays disappear.
As before, you can take a special action once on each of your turns during either main phase to play a land. A spell or ability may also instruct you to play a land as part of its resolution (for example, the activated ability of Djinn of Wishes). No matter how you're playing the land, it uses up a land play. If you're out of unused land plays for a turn, you can't play a land. And just like before, you can never play a land if it isn't your turn.
What this means is that if you have Azusa in play, another Azusa in hand, and have used up both your extra land drops for the turn, it does you no good to cast the Azusa in hand. You don’t get to play 2 more lands, in addition to the 2 extra you’ve already played this turn.
Multiple Amulet triggers stackGemstone Mine and Tendo Ice Bridge entering the battlefield with counters are NOT triggered abilities. They are replacement effects.
The “extra lands” rule was changed effective July 13 2013. Quoted verbatim:
Any time you want to play a land for any reason, if you've used all your land plays for the turn, then you can't play the land. By default, you have one land play on each of your turns. Spells or abilities can add to this number. So can permanents that allow you to play additional lands, but if these permanents leave the battlefield, those additional land plays disappear.
As before, you can take a special action once on each of your turns during either main phase to play a land. A spell or ability may also instruct you to play a land as part of its resolution (for example, the activated ability of Djinn of Wishes). No matter how you're playing the land, it uses up a land play. If you're out of unused land plays for a turn, you can't play a land. And just like before, you can never play a land if it isn't your turn.
What this means is that if you have Azusa in play, another Azusa in hand, and have used up both your extra land drops for the turn, it does you no good to cast the Azusa in hand. You don’t get to play 2 more lands, in addition to the 2 extra you’ve already played this turn.
Multiple Amulets stack. When a bounceland enters the battlefield, it triggers both its own bounce ability and all Amulets you control. You can put the triggers on the stack in any order you choose, so the best option is to put the bounce trigger all the way at the bottom:
bounce > untap > untap (0 mana)
Resolve one untap trigger, then tap the bounceland for mana.
bounce > untap (2 mana)
Do it again:
bounce (4 mana)
Finally resolve the bounce trigger and return the land of your choice to hand.
Remember that the above also applies to fetched utility lands. For example, if you have two Amulets, you can fetch Boros Garrison + Slayers' Stronghold and activate Stronghold twice, for +4/0.
If you have two Amulets and fetch Kessig Wolf Run, tap it for after the first untap, then for +X/0 on the second. This gives you an extra point of power.
Sandbag bouncelands with Amuletbounce > untap > untap (0 mana)
Resolve one untap trigger, then tap the bounceland for mana.
bounce > untap (2 mana)
Do it again:
bounce (4 mana)
Finally resolve the bounce trigger and return the land of your choice to hand.
Remember that the above also applies to fetched utility lands. For example, if you have two Amulets, you can fetch Boros Garrison + Slayers' Stronghold and activate Stronghold twice, for +4/0.
If you have two Amulets and fetch Kessig Wolf Run, tap it for after the first untap, then for +X/0 on the second. This gives you an extra point of power.
Bouncelands provide 2 mana with Amulet out. This can jump you from 4 to 6 in one turn. Hence, it may be a good idea to keep a bounceland in hand to facilitate those plays when you topdeck a Titan/Hive Mind.
For example: if you have 3 lands and an Amulet in play, and have a bounceland and a generic source in hand, play the generic source. On the next turn if you topdeck Titan/Hive Mind/Summoner’s Pact you can slam it down immediately.
Sandbag non-ETB tapped lands WITHOUT AmuletFor example: if you have 3 lands and an Amulet in play, and have a bounceland and a generic source in hand, play the generic source. On the next turn if you topdeck Titan/Hive Mind/Summoner’s Pact you can slam it down immediately.
If you don't have an Amulet, pay attention when you reach 5 mana. You want to have a land in your hand that ETBs untapped so that you can cast a 6-drop if you draw it next turn.
For example: Your first 3 turns go like this:
T1 Khalni Garden
T2 Simic Growth Chamber, return Khalni Garden
T3 Tendo Ice Bridge, cast Azusa. Another Simic Growth Chamber, return Tendo Ice Bridge.
At this point, suppose you have the choice of Tendo Ice Bridge and Khalni Garden to play as your final land. Play Garden, so that next turn if you topdeck Titan/Hive Mind/Summoner's Pact you can play it immediately. Sometimes you'll be tempted to play Bridge instead and cast Serum Visions/Ancient Stirrings for value - try not to do this unless you have another land that ETBs untapped in your hand.
Optimal Wolf Run/Sunhome/Stronghold Mana ExpenditureFor example: Your first 3 turns go like this:
T1 Khalni Garden
T2 Simic Growth Chamber, return Khalni Garden
T3 Tendo Ice Bridge, cast Azusa. Another Simic Growth Chamber, return Tendo Ice Bridge.
At this point, suppose you have the choice of Tendo Ice Bridge and Khalni Garden to play as your final land. Play Garden, so that next turn if you topdeck Titan/Hive Mind/Summoner's Pact you can play it immediately. Sometimes you'll be tempted to play Bridge instead and cast Serum Visions/Ancient Stirrings for value - try not to do this unless you have another land that ETBs untapped in your hand.
Here’s how to get the most power out of the three pump lands. “Mana” refers to the total amount of mana you have, including that which the pump lands can produce.
Maximizing power is prioritized first, then minimizing mana usage.
6 power (Titan)
0-2 mana: nothing (6 power)
3-4 mana: Stronghold (8 power)
5-7 mana: Sunhome (12 power)
8-10 mana: Sunhome + Stronghold (16 power)
11+ mana: Sunhome + Wolf Run (18+ power)
1 power
0-2 mana: nothing (1 power)
3-4 mana: Stronghold (3 power)
6-7 mana: Wolf Run (4-7 power)
8 mana: Wolf Run OR Stronghold + Sunhome (8 power)
9-11 mana: Wolf Run (7-9 power)
12 mana: Wolf Run OR Wolf Run + Sunhome (10 power)
13+ mana: Wolf Run + Sunhome (12+ power)
0 power (Plant Token)
0-2 mana: nothing (0 power)
3-5 mana: Stronghold (2 power)
6-12 mana: Wolf Run (3-9 power)
13 mana: Wolf Run OR Wolf Run + Sunhome (10 power)
14+ mana: Wolf Run + Sunhome (12+ power)
Sample HandsMaximizing power is prioritized first, then minimizing mana usage.
6 power (Titan)
0-2 mana: nothing (6 power)
3-4 mana: Stronghold (8 power)
5-7 mana: Sunhome (12 power)
8-10 mana: Sunhome + Stronghold (16 power)
11+ mana: Sunhome + Wolf Run (18+ power)
1 power
0-2 mana: nothing (1 power)
3-4 mana: Stronghold (3 power)
6-7 mana: Wolf Run (4-7 power)
8 mana: Wolf Run OR Stronghold + Sunhome (8 power)
9-11 mana: Wolf Run (7-9 power)
12 mana: Wolf Run OR Wolf Run + Sunhome (10 power)
13+ mana: Wolf Run + Sunhome (12+ power)
0 power (Plant Token)
0-2 mana: nothing (0 power)
3-5 mana: Stronghold (2 power)
6-12 mana: Wolf Run (3-9 power)
13 mana: Wolf Run OR Wolf Run + Sunhome (10 power)
14+ mana: Wolf Run + Sunhome (12+ power)
Here are some sample hands to show what this deck is capable of, and how to play it. The following examples assume no disruption unless stated otherwise.
Sample hands are for educational purposes only. Do not assume that this deck consistently draws these kinds of hands!
I use Simic Growth Chamber and Primeval Titan in the examples. These can be substituted for any green bounceland and Summoner’s Pact/Hive Mind respectively.
If a given hand has fewer than 7 cards, it means that the remaining cards can be anything; they’re not needed for that particular sequence. If a given hand has more than 7 cards, it means that you need to assemble all those cards within the first few draw steps that you get.
Turn 2 Titan (Amulet + Summer Bloom)
Key lesson: Maximizing one-turn mana production. Using Vesuva to recover if you’ve already played and tapped a land that is needed later.
Gemstone Mine, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Summer Bloom, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Gemstone Mine, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself, Summer Bloom.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return Mine, Primeval Titan.
You can cast Amulet on turn 2 instead. Usually you get into this situation by T1 Mine, Ancient Stirrings finding Amulet.
Usually you will search for Boros Garrison + Slayers’ Stronghold, then activate Stronghold and attack for two more lands.
If Slayers’ Stronghold is in your hand, turn 2 would look like this instead:
Tap Gemstone Mine for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself, Summer Bloom.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return Mine.
Slayers’ Stronghold, Primeval Titan.
Search for Boros Garrison + Vesuva (copying Slayers’ Stronghold), activate the copied Stronghold and attack with Titan.
Turn 3 Titan, No Amulet (Summer Bloom)
Key lesson: Maximizing available mana for future turns. Maximizing ETB triggers. Sandbagging ETB-untapped lands at 5 mana without Amulet.
Khalni Garden, Tendo Ice Bridge, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Summer Bloom, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Khalni Garden, get token.
Turn 2:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Summer Bloom.
Simic Growth Chamber, return Khalni Garden.
Khalni Garden, get token.
Simic Growth Chamber, return Tendo Ice Bridge.
Turn 3:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Primeval Titan.
Note that if you returned Khalni Garden instead of Tendo Ice Bridge on turn 2, you would be unable to cast Primeval Titan on turn 3.
Turn 4 Titan, No Amulet (Azusa)
Key lesson: Maximizing available mana for future turns. Maximizing ETB triggers. Sandbagging ETB-untapped lands at 5 mana without Amulet.
Khalni Garden, Tendo Ice Bridge, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Azusa, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Khalni Garden, get token.
Turn 2:
Simic Growth Chamber, return Khalni Garden.
Turn 3:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Azusa.
Khalni Garden, get token.
Simic Growth Chamber, return Bridge.
Turn 4:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Primeval Titan.
Note that you still have 2 land drops with Azusa. Feel free to get bouncelands with Titan, bouncing Khalni Garden, then replay Garden for more tokens!
Turn 4 Titan, No Amulet (Azusa, 5-mana-topdeck-bounceland)
Key lesson: Maximizing available mana for future turns. Using Azusa’s extra land drops to generate mana without Amulet.
Tendo Ice Bridge, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Azusa, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Tendo Ice Bridge.
Turn 2:
Simic Growth Chamber, return Tendo Ice Bridge.
Turn 3:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Azusa.
Simic Growth Chamber, return Bridge.
Tendo Ice Bridge.
*Topdeck a bounceland*
Turn 4:
Tap all lands for .
Bouceland, return Tendo Ice Bridge.
Tendo Ice Bridge, tap for , Primeval Titan.
The key lesson here is to use bouncelands and Azusa to replay ETB-untapped lands. This gives you the crucial sixth mana for Titan, something which the topdecked bounceland would be unable to do by itself.
Turn 3 Titan (Amulet + Azusa, Azusa Dies)
Key lesson: Maximizing available mana for future turns. Playing lands with triggered abilities last so that Azusa can’t be killed in response. Sandbagging bouncelands at 4 mana with Amulet.
Forest, Khalni Garden, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Azusa, Primeval Titan
Your opponent has a Lightning Bolt that he will use to kill Azusa when he gains priority.
Turn 1:
Forest, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Tap Forest for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return Forest, Azusa.
Forest, then Khalni Garden, get token. Opponent kills Azusa in response to Garden’s trigger.
Turn 3:
Tap all lands for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return anything, Primeval Titan.
Note that if you play Forest, then Simic Growth Chamber returning Forest on turn 2 and Azusa gets killed, you would be unable to cast Titan on turn 3. If you try to play Khalni Garden then Forest, your opponent will kill Azusa in response to the trigger and you’d be out of land drops.
Turn 3 Titan (Amulet + Azusa)
Key lesson: Maximizing available mana for future turns. Maximizing ETB triggers. Not tapping out before combat. Playing lands in the second main phase.
Gemstone Mine, Khalni Garden, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Azusa, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Gemstone Mine, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Tap Gemstone Mine for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return Mine, Azusa.
Gemstone Mine, then Khalni Garden, get token.
Turn 3:
Tap all lands for .
Route A: Stronghold into Sunhome
Simic Growth Chamber, returning Khalni Garden, Primeval Titan.
Search for Boros Garrison + Slayers’ Stronghold. Tap Garrison for , then activate Stronghold targeting Titan. Return Stronghold/Mine with Garrison.
Gemstone Mine, Khalni Garden, get token. DO NOT TAP THEM FOR MANA YET!
Attack with Titan. Search for Vesuva (copying Boros Garrison) + Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion. Tap Mine, Garden and Vesuva for , activate Sunhome to give Titan double strike. Return any land with Garrison.
Route B: Stronghold into Tolaria West
Simic Growth Chamber, returning Gemstone Mine, Primeval Titan.
Play Gemstone Mine.
Search for Boros Garrison + Slayers’ Stronghold. Tap Garrison for , then activate Stronghold targeting Titan. Return Stronghold/Garden with Garrison.
Attack with Titan. Search for Simic Growth Chamber + Tolaria West, return Tolaria West. DO NOT TAP GROWTH CHAMBER FOR MANA YET!
In your second main phase, tap Simic Growth Chamber and Gemstone Mine for , then transmute Tolaria West for the Pact of your choice. You still have one land drop after this, use it however you wish.
Route C: Tons of Lifegain/Tokens with Radiant Fountain/Khalni Garden
Simic Growth Chamber, returning Khalni Garden, Primeval Titan.
Khalni Garden, get token.
Search for Boros Garrison + Slayers’ Stronghold. Tap Garrison for , then activate Stronghold targeting Titan. Return Stronghold/Mine with Garrison.
Attack with Titan. Search for Radiant Fountain + Khalni Garden.
Alternatively you can search for Radiant Fountain + bounceland, return Fountain, then play it again in your second main phase.
Turn 3 Titan, Amulet (Pact for Azusa)
Key lesson: Maximizing one-turn mana production. Pacting for Azusa.
Gemstone Mine, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Summoner’s Pact, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Gemstone Mine, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Pact for Azusa.
Tap Mine for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return Mine, Azusa.
Gemstone Mine, Simic Growth Chamber returning Mine.
Turn 3:
Tap both Growth Chambers to pay for Pact.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself, Primeval Titan.
On turn 2 after casting Azusa, you can cast Serum Visions/Ancient Stirrings, or transmute Tolaria West for value using the next two lands played off Azusa. You also can play two non-bouncelands instead, just be sure to have enough to pay for Pact!
Turn 3 Titan (Amulet + Azusa), 2 Lands
Key lesson: Sandbagging bouncelands with Amulet.
Tendo Ice Bridge, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Azusa, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Tap Tendo Ice Bridge for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself, Azusa.
Turn 3:
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return Bridge, Primeval Titan.
This sequence gets Titan out with only one bounceland.
Turn 3 Titan (Double Amulet)
Key lesson: Sandbagging bouncelands with Amulet.
Tendo Ice Bridge, Tendo Ice Bridge, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Amulet of Vigor, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 3:
Tap both Tendo Ice Bridges for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return a Bridge, Primeval Titan.
With two Amulets out, your bouncelands generate 4 mana at once, so you can hit 6 mana without Bloom/Azusa. With Bloom, though...
Turn 2 Double Amulet, Double Titan “God Hand”
Key lesson: Chaining Titan into Titan with two Amulets. Overwhelming your opponent if you have the opportunity to draw such an AWESOME HAND!
Gemstone Mine, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Amulet of Vigor, Summer Bloom, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Gemstone Mine, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Tap Mine for mana, Amulet of Vigor.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself, Summer Bloom.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself, Primeval Titan.
Search for Simic Growth Chamber + Tolaria West. Tap Growth Chamber and Tolaria West twice each for mana, then bounce Tolaria West.
Transmute Tolaria West for Summoner’s Pact. Pact for Titan.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return anything, Primeval Titan.
Search for Boros Garrison + Slayers’ Stronghold. Tap Garrison for mana twice ( ), then activate Stronghold on each Titan. Bounce Stronghold with Garrison.
Attack with both Titans. Search for Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion and any other lands to activate it (bounceland, Gemstone Mine or Tendo Ice Bridge), and use Sunhome to give one of your Titans double strike.
That’s 24 damage on turn 2, by the way. Oh, and you still have an extra land drop to use on your second main phase. Fun.
Sample hands are for educational purposes only. Do not assume that this deck consistently draws these kinds of hands!
I use Simic Growth Chamber and Primeval Titan in the examples. These can be substituted for any green bounceland and Summoner’s Pact/Hive Mind respectively.
If a given hand has fewer than 7 cards, it means that the remaining cards can be anything; they’re not needed for that particular sequence. If a given hand has more than 7 cards, it means that you need to assemble all those cards within the first few draw steps that you get.
Turn 2 Titan (Amulet + Summer Bloom)
Key lesson: Maximizing one-turn mana production. Using Vesuva to recover if you’ve already played and tapped a land that is needed later.
Gemstone Mine, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Summer Bloom, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Gemstone Mine, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself, Summer Bloom.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return Mine, Primeval Titan.
You can cast Amulet on turn 2 instead. Usually you get into this situation by T1 Mine, Ancient Stirrings finding Amulet.
Usually you will search for Boros Garrison + Slayers’ Stronghold, then activate Stronghold and attack for two more lands.
If Slayers’ Stronghold is in your hand, turn 2 would look like this instead:
Tap Gemstone Mine for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself, Summer Bloom.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return Mine.
Slayers’ Stronghold, Primeval Titan.
Search for Boros Garrison + Vesuva (copying Slayers’ Stronghold), activate the copied Stronghold and attack with Titan.
Turn 3 Titan, No Amulet (Summer Bloom)
Key lesson: Maximizing available mana for future turns. Maximizing ETB triggers. Sandbagging ETB-untapped lands at 5 mana without Amulet.
Khalni Garden, Tendo Ice Bridge, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Summer Bloom, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Khalni Garden, get token.
Turn 2:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Summer Bloom.
Simic Growth Chamber, return Khalni Garden.
Khalni Garden, get token.
Simic Growth Chamber, return Tendo Ice Bridge.
Turn 3:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Primeval Titan.
Note that if you returned Khalni Garden instead of Tendo Ice Bridge on turn 2, you would be unable to cast Primeval Titan on turn 3.
Turn 4 Titan, No Amulet (Azusa)
Key lesson: Maximizing available mana for future turns. Maximizing ETB triggers. Sandbagging ETB-untapped lands at 5 mana without Amulet.
Khalni Garden, Tendo Ice Bridge, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Azusa, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Khalni Garden, get token.
Turn 2:
Simic Growth Chamber, return Khalni Garden.
Turn 3:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Azusa.
Khalni Garden, get token.
Simic Growth Chamber, return Bridge.
Turn 4:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Primeval Titan.
Note that you still have 2 land drops with Azusa. Feel free to get bouncelands with Titan, bouncing Khalni Garden, then replay Garden for more tokens!
Turn 4 Titan, No Amulet (Azusa, 5-mana-topdeck-bounceland)
Key lesson: Maximizing available mana for future turns. Using Azusa’s extra land drops to generate mana without Amulet.
Tendo Ice Bridge, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Azusa, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Tendo Ice Bridge.
Turn 2:
Simic Growth Chamber, return Tendo Ice Bridge.
Turn 3:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Azusa.
Simic Growth Chamber, return Bridge.
Tendo Ice Bridge.
*Topdeck a bounceland*
Turn 4:
Tap all lands for .
Bouceland, return Tendo Ice Bridge.
Tendo Ice Bridge, tap for , Primeval Titan.
The key lesson here is to use bouncelands and Azusa to replay ETB-untapped lands. This gives you the crucial sixth mana for Titan, something which the topdecked bounceland would be unable to do by itself.
Turn 3 Titan (Amulet + Azusa, Azusa Dies)
Key lesson: Maximizing available mana for future turns. Playing lands with triggered abilities last so that Azusa can’t be killed in response. Sandbagging bouncelands at 4 mana with Amulet.
Forest, Khalni Garden, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Azusa, Primeval Titan
Your opponent has a Lightning Bolt that he will use to kill Azusa when he gains priority.
Turn 1:
Forest, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Tap Forest for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return Forest, Azusa.
Forest, then Khalni Garden, get token. Opponent kills Azusa in response to Garden’s trigger.
Turn 3:
Tap all lands for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return anything, Primeval Titan.
Note that if you play Forest, then Simic Growth Chamber returning Forest on turn 2 and Azusa gets killed, you would be unable to cast Titan on turn 3. If you try to play Khalni Garden then Forest, your opponent will kill Azusa in response to the trigger and you’d be out of land drops.
Turn 3 Titan (Amulet + Azusa)
Key lesson: Maximizing available mana for future turns. Maximizing ETB triggers. Not tapping out before combat. Playing lands in the second main phase.
Gemstone Mine, Khalni Garden, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Azusa, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Gemstone Mine, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Tap Gemstone Mine for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return Mine, Azusa.
Gemstone Mine, then Khalni Garden, get token.
Turn 3:
Tap all lands for .
Route A: Stronghold into Sunhome
Simic Growth Chamber, returning Khalni Garden, Primeval Titan.
Search for Boros Garrison + Slayers’ Stronghold. Tap Garrison for , then activate Stronghold targeting Titan. Return Stronghold/Mine with Garrison.
Gemstone Mine, Khalni Garden, get token. DO NOT TAP THEM FOR MANA YET!
Attack with Titan. Search for Vesuva (copying Boros Garrison) + Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion. Tap Mine, Garden and Vesuva for , activate Sunhome to give Titan double strike. Return any land with Garrison.
Route B: Stronghold into Tolaria West
Simic Growth Chamber, returning Gemstone Mine, Primeval Titan.
Play Gemstone Mine.
Search for Boros Garrison + Slayers’ Stronghold. Tap Garrison for , then activate Stronghold targeting Titan. Return Stronghold/Garden with Garrison.
Attack with Titan. Search for Simic Growth Chamber + Tolaria West, return Tolaria West. DO NOT TAP GROWTH CHAMBER FOR MANA YET!
In your second main phase, tap Simic Growth Chamber and Gemstone Mine for , then transmute Tolaria West for the Pact of your choice. You still have one land drop after this, use it however you wish.
Route C: Tons of Lifegain/Tokens with Radiant Fountain/Khalni Garden
Simic Growth Chamber, returning Khalni Garden, Primeval Titan.
Khalni Garden, get token.
Search for Boros Garrison + Slayers’ Stronghold. Tap Garrison for , then activate Stronghold targeting Titan. Return Stronghold/Mine with Garrison.
Attack with Titan. Search for Radiant Fountain + Khalni Garden.
Alternatively you can search for Radiant Fountain + bounceland, return Fountain, then play it again in your second main phase.
Turn 3 Titan, Amulet (Pact for Azusa)
Key lesson: Maximizing one-turn mana production. Pacting for Azusa.
Gemstone Mine, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Summoner’s Pact, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Gemstone Mine, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Pact for Azusa.
Tap Mine for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return Mine, Azusa.
Gemstone Mine, Simic Growth Chamber returning Mine.
Turn 3:
Tap both Growth Chambers to pay for Pact.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself, Primeval Titan.
On turn 2 after casting Azusa, you can cast Serum Visions/Ancient Stirrings, or transmute Tolaria West for value using the next two lands played off Azusa. You also can play two non-bouncelands instead, just be sure to have enough to pay for Pact!
Turn 3 Titan (Amulet + Azusa), 2 Lands
Key lesson: Sandbagging bouncelands with Amulet.
Tendo Ice Bridge, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Azusa, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Tap Tendo Ice Bridge for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself, Azusa.
Turn 3:
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return Bridge, Primeval Titan.
This sequence gets Titan out with only one bounceland.
Turn 3 Titan (Double Amulet)
Key lesson: Sandbagging bouncelands with Amulet.
Tendo Ice Bridge, Tendo Ice Bridge, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Amulet of Vigor, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Tendo Ice Bridge, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 3:
Tap both Tendo Ice Bridges for .
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return a Bridge, Primeval Titan.
With two Amulets out, your bouncelands generate 4 mana at once, so you can hit 6 mana without Bloom/Azusa. With Bloom, though...
Turn 2 Double Amulet, Double Titan “God Hand”
Key lesson: Chaining Titan into Titan with two Amulets. Overwhelming your opponent if you have the opportunity to draw such an AWESOME HAND!
Gemstone Mine, Simic Growth Chamber, Amulet of Vigor, Amulet of Vigor, Summer Bloom, Primeval Titan
Turn 1:
Gemstone Mine, Amulet of Vigor.
Turn 2:
Tap Mine for mana, Amulet of Vigor.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself, Summer Bloom.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return itself, Primeval Titan.
Search for Simic Growth Chamber + Tolaria West. Tap Growth Chamber and Tolaria West twice each for mana, then bounce Tolaria West.
Transmute Tolaria West for Summoner’s Pact. Pact for Titan.
Simic Growth Chamber, tap for , return anything, Primeval Titan.
Search for Boros Garrison + Slayers’ Stronghold. Tap Garrison for mana twice ( ), then activate Stronghold on each Titan. Bounce Stronghold with Garrison.
Attack with both Titans. Search for Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion and any other lands to activate it (bounceland, Gemstone Mine or Tendo Ice Bridge), and use Sunhome to give one of your Titans double strike.
That’s 24 damage on turn 2, by the way. Oh, and you still have an extra land drop to use on your second main phase. Fun.
4) Matchups
Favorable Matchups
Zoo, Burn: Aggro decks without disruption are practically beaten by the time you resolve Primeval Titan. Titan is too big to attack or burn through and you can tutor Radiant Fountain + Khalni Garden, followed by bouncelands to return & replay life-gaining lands, or Vesuva to copy them.
Jund, UWR: You have inevitability against these decks. Although they have disruption (discard, counterspells), you have a lot of live topdecks. Furthermore, if Titan resolves (i.e. their “disruption” was in the form of removal spells), you can tutor Simic Growth Chamber + Tolaria West and transmute for a Pact to blank their removal.
Unfavorable Matchups
Twin: Pre-board their combo pieces (Pestermite & Deceiver Exarch) actually disrupt you, and post-board they have Blood Moon.
Living End: They have a lot of land hate main (Fulminator Mage, Avalanche Riders, Beast Within), and Living End gets rid of Primeval Titan.
GW Death & Taxes: Not only does it have Ghost Quarter, it also packs Leonin Arbiter and Aven Mindcensor, shutting down your tutoring ability. Path to Exile also ruins your day (most other decks play things like Lightning Bolt, which can’t handle Titan).
Sideboarding
When sideboarding against other decks, ask yourself two questions:
1) Is the opposing deck fast?
2) Does the opposing deck have disruption?
If the answers to these questions are “yes/no” or “no/yes” then sideboarding is straightforward. Against fast decks without disruption, take out Hive Mind & Pact of Negation. Against slow decks with disruption, take out Radiant Fountain and Simian Spirit Guide.
After removing the obvious “do-nothings” in a matchup, if you still need space, take out some Azusa/Ancient Stirrings/Simian Spirit Guide.
Do not board out too many cards. Five or less is enough, perhaps more if you are bringing in some super-effective, practically-instawin cards e.g. Creeping Corrosion against Affinity. If you take out too many cards you end up losing to yourself because you couldn’t combo off in time.
daviusminimus' sideboarding guide
Justin Cohen's sideboarding guide
1
What if that is the wrong approach? What if this is one archetype with three to four sub archetypes?
What if that is the actual strength here? You can't hate out what you can't fully anticipate.
In the future, depending on card to be yet printed we may have a solved deck... but that seems far off.
1
She loots, shoots and scoops.
1
1
You can T1 Borderpost by ditching a Simian Spirit Guide. All-in-all it just nets you one less card in hand. You can just ditch that Simian Spirit Guide to go off on T2 anyway, if required. Bar none, you aren't doing anything T1 unless you have the super duper draw, and can't wait for a decent payoff.
I would suggest true fetches if you were running a more three colour reliant deck in that you can get perfect cross over for three colours using 6 fetches. It's not ideal.
The real hobble to this deck is having a distinct lack of a couple of much needed off colour combo Borderposts. If we had those it would open up the deck in many appealing ways as far as mana distribution goes.
The Planeswalkers I favour right now Are Tezz, Seeker and Gideon, Ally. Third on the list is Ajani Vengeant.
1
1
1
Aaaaahhhhh!!!!! A monster, it has been created.
1
After some testing last night on Cockatrice I am dead set on 4 Skullcrack and 4 Atarkas Command in the main.
Humble Brags:
The lightning bolts will get changed out soon.
1
I just think as a matter of most matchups having more in the board will likely be more beneficial.
I am super open to testing.
We should get a gauntlet started to be sure.
1
I guess with Delver getting the hit and Pod out of the way, 8Rack is well positioned again.