Switching to Juniper Order Druid and Icatian Store should solve the problems, but then we need a different creature-type match, and the only option I see is the earlier-mentioned Sutured Ghoul and Smokespew Invoker, which, although resulting in slower increases, should still get past 2^^42. (When working this out, keep in mind the possibility of finishing creatures off in response to Forbidden Orchard's triggered ability, thereby taking them down a little earlier; this possibility seems to have been missed in earlier analyses.)
Forbidden Orchard is used four times to charge Calciform Pools in the opponent's turns and once more to cast Tidewater Minion, which then stops the opponent from winning with the five spirits, and is used to charge Calciform Pools for a long time. Eventually, Ghost-Lit Raider is cast, and on the next turn, Intruder Alarm, Coat of Arms, and Splinterfright are cast. From then on, Ghost-Lit Raider, Forbidden Orchard, and Tidewater Minion have to be used to take down the opponent's creatures every turn, as well as white mana from Calciform Pools, and taking one down almost doubles the number of them. The resulting number of turns should be between 2^^42 and 2^^43.
I should score 3 against the modified #2: if I go first, I survive to start getting tokens from Pride of the Clouds, and can always block Inkmoth Nexus with them thereafter, eventually winning with the spares.
Against #1: I can repeatedly block Pearl Lake Ancient with tokens from Pride of the Clouds until I build up enough power on one to attack and win.
(Isn't #2 illegal? It can play Inkmoth Nexus and a Forest on turn 1 because of the extra land rule, and play another land on turn 2 and use the other two cards to win.)
Against #3: I can block the Inkmoth Nexuses with tokens from Pride of the Clouds, receiving at most 6 poison counters, and proceed to win.
Against #4: The explanation #4 gave is mostly correct, but not completely. Going first, I can use Gavony Township to get Raging Ravine to 21/21, so that Marit Lage cannot stop it, but my opponent can simply use Maze of Ith on it.
Against #5: My opponent takes 12 turns to win; Pride of the Clouds and Gavony Township allow me to win before that.
Against #6: I easily win.
Does the card have a pair of "enemy colours" (i.e., white and black, or black and green, or green and blue, or blue and red, or red and white)? (This does not exclude having any more colours.) Tsabo Tavoc
Explanations:
Against #1: Mana Drain stops Worm Harvest, and on turn 11, I cast Pentarch Paladin with Mindbreak Trap available to stop Shrapnel Blast.
Against #2: Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle kills Pentarch Paladin and I lose.
Against #3: Pentarch Paladin picking white gets rid of the Solitary Confinements and I win easily.
If I go second, it could work out like this.
Opponent turn 5: If Sprout Swarm is cast now with buyback, Mana Drain stops it.
Opponent turn 6: Cast Sprout Swarm with buyback. 1 Saproling.
My turn 6: Cast Pentarch Paladin and choose green.
Opponent turn 7: Cast Sprout Swarm with buyback, tapping the Saproling. 2 Saprolings. I destroy one with Pentarch Paladin.
Opponent turn 8: Cast Sprout Swarm with buyback. 2 Saprolings. (No second casting, with or without buyback, because Mana Drain and Mindbreak Trap would stop that in a similar way as described later.) I destroy a Saproling with Pentarch Paladin.
Opponent turn 9: From now on, if Sprout Swarm is cast, I can stop it in one of the following ways:
Sprout Swarm (1)
Mana Drain (2 - both targeting Sprout Swarm)
Counterspell (3 - two targeting one Mana Drain and one targeting the other)
Mindbreak Trap (4 - all targeting Sprout Swarm and the three Counterspells)
Spell Pierce (5)
Paying for one Spell Pierce is enough to get one Mindbreak Trap to resolve, so I need 8 mana.
Sprout Swarm (1)
Mana Drain (2 - both targeting Sprout Swarm)
Spell Pierce (3 - two targeting one Mana Drain and one targeting the other)
Paying for one Spell Pierce is enough to get one Mana Drain uncountered.
Counterspell (4)
Mindbreak Trap (free) (5)
And if the Saproling attacks, I can block it with Pentarch Paladin. I can later destroy the last Saproling and attack to win.
If my opponent forgoes Sprout Swarm on turn 6, my opponent gets only two Saprolings. I can safely cast Pentarch Paladin on turn 13 and win.
Against #6: Mana Drain counters Preacher if the latter is cast, and I wait until turn 9 to cast Pentarch Paladin (choosing white) so as to be able to use Mindbreak Trap on Bile Blight.
Against #7: I keep Mana Drain to use on Boros Charm; on turn 11, I cast Pentarch Paladin choosing red, with Mindbreak Trap available to stop the second casting of Lava Dart.
Against #8: If my opponent ever casts Beacon of Destruction after Pyretic Ritual, I can hit it with Mana Drain and follow up with a free Mindbreak Trap if my opponent responds with Pyroblast. Therefore all my opponent can get is two uncopied castings of Beacon of Destruction on turns 5 and 6, after which I have enough lands to cast both Mana Drain and Mindbreak Trap even without the latter being free. I eventually cast Pentarch Paladin and win.
Each player has an added zone called a reserve zone.
Each player selects three extra cards that start in his or her reserve zone.
If a player would search a player's library, he or she may instead search that player's reserve zone.
3 cards, and the draw land rule
[Edit] Tinker should probably be disallowed for this format; perhaps Demonic Tutor too.
Anyway, does the card have a mana cost that 1WUBRG is sufficient to pay?
If you go for an interesting question like this, or the "2" question before, always be sure to be concise.
This question has room for interpretation, enough that Night Soil may or may not be possibile - depending on how the question was interpreted. It's casting cost can't be paid, but it does have a mana cost on it that could be paid by that mana. The wording of "a mana cost" is ambiguous, and I would not fault Kahedron for either interpretation.
Actually, the term "mana cost" is precisely defined in the rules; in the case of Night Soil, it refers to only the GG.
Rolling Thunder
Forbidden Orchard is used four times to charge Calciform Pools in the opponent's turns and once more to cast Tidewater Minion, which then stops the opponent from winning with the five spirits, and is used to charge Calciform Pools for a long time. Eventually, Ghost-Lit Raider is cast, and on the next turn, Intruder Alarm, Coat of Arms, and Splinterfright are cast. From then on, Ghost-Lit Raider, Forbidden Orchard, and Tidewater Minion have to be used to take down the opponent's creatures every turn, as well as white mana from Calciform Pools, and taking one down almost doubles the number of them. The resulting number of turns should be between 2^^42 and 2^^43.
Tarnished Citadel
Tezzeret the Seeker
Shield Sphere
7 | 6 ? 6 1 6 6 X
Against #1: I can repeatedly block Pearl Lake Ancient with tokens from Pride of the Clouds until I build up enough power on one to attack and win.
(Isn't #2 illegal? It can play Inkmoth Nexus and a Forest on turn 1 because of the extra land rule, and play another land on turn 2 and use the other two cards to win.)
Against #3: I can block the Inkmoth Nexuses with tokens from Pride of the Clouds, receiving at most 6 poison counters, and proceed to win.
Against #4: The explanation #4 gave is mostly correct, but not completely. Going first, I can use Gavony Township to get Raging Ravine to 21/21, so that Marit Lage cannot stop it, but my opponent can simply use Maze of Ith on it.
Against #5: My opponent takes 12 turns to win; Pride of the Clouds and Gavony Township allow me to win before that.
Against #6: I easily win.
Wild Growth
Not Of This World
Tsabo Tavoc
5 | 6 0 6 6 X 6 6 6
Explanations:
Against #1: Mana Drain stops Worm Harvest, and on turn 11, I cast Pentarch Paladin with Mindbreak Trap available to stop Shrapnel Blast.
Against #2: Valakut, the Molten Pinnacle kills Pentarch Paladin and I lose.
Against #3: Pentarch Paladin picking white gets rid of the Solitary Confinements and I win easily.
Opponent turn 5: If Sprout Swarm is cast now with buyback, Mana Drain stops it.
Opponent turn 6: Cast Sprout Swarm with buyback. 1 Saproling.
My turn 6: Cast Pentarch Paladin and choose green.
Opponent turn 7: Cast Sprout Swarm with buyback, tapping the Saproling. 2 Saprolings. I destroy one with Pentarch Paladin.
Opponent turn 8: Cast Sprout Swarm with buyback. 2 Saprolings. (No second casting, with or without buyback, because Mana Drain and Mindbreak Trap would stop that in a similar way as described later.) I destroy a Saproling with Pentarch Paladin.
Opponent turn 9: From now on, if Sprout Swarm is cast, I can stop it in one of the following ways:
Sprout Swarm (1)
Mana Drain (2 - both targeting Sprout Swarm)
Counterspell (3 - two targeting one Mana Drain and one targeting the other)
Mindbreak Trap (4 - all targeting Sprout Swarm and the three Counterspells)
Spell Pierce (5)
Paying for one Spell Pierce is enough to get one Mindbreak Trap to resolve, so I need 8 mana.
Sprout Swarm (1)
Mana Drain (2 - both targeting Sprout Swarm)
Spell Pierce (3 - two targeting one Mana Drain and one targeting the other)
Paying for one Spell Pierce is enough to get one Mana Drain uncountered.
Counterspell (4)
Mindbreak Trap (free) (5)
And if the Saproling attacks, I can block it with Pentarch Paladin. I can later destroy the last Saproling and attack to win.
If my opponent forgoes Sprout Swarm on turn 6, my opponent gets only two Saprolings. I can safely cast Pentarch Paladin on turn 13 and win.
Against #7: I keep Mana Drain to use on Boros Charm; on turn 11, I cast Pentarch Paladin choosing red, with Mindbreak Trap available to stop the second casting of Lava Dart.
Against #8: If my opponent ever casts Beacon of Destruction after Pyretic Ritual, I can hit it with Mana Drain and follow up with a free Mindbreak Trap if my opponent responds with Pyroblast. Therefore all my opponent can get is two uncopied castings of Beacon of Destruction on turns 5 and 6, after which I have enough lands to cast both Mana Drain and Mindbreak Trap even without the latter being free. I eventually cast Pentarch Paladin and win.
More Within
Each player has an added zone called a reserve zone.
Each player selects three extra cards that start in his or her reserve zone.
If a player would search a player's library, he or she may instead search that player's reserve zone.
3 cards, and the draw land rule
[Edit] Tinker should probably be disallowed for this format; perhaps Demonic Tutor too.
Has the card been reprinted?
Spear of Heliod