Tag: swan-song

U/W/R Twin

Samuel Tharmaratnam

10th Place at Grand Prix on 3/9/2014

From the time it was discovered that Splinter Twin could be paired with Twin in order to create an infinite army to smash your opponent it has been abused in every way possible. Its short life in Standard left people wanting to continue to abuse this interestingly unique interaction and has lead to several different iterations of this combo kill. Traditionally Blue/Red was the build of Twin but lately there’s been a new spin adding Green while this version of the deck goes for White.

While the main combo finish involves enchanting an Exarch with a Twin there is a redundancy package which includes Restoration Angel that can interact with Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker as a secondary plan to create infinite token creatures. One way the White splash helps in this deck comes from Wall of Omens which is part of the decks draw engine and especially abusive if you Twin in, but more importantly in a new meta which is partially defined by recently unbanned Wild Nacatl a four toughness two drop can be the sole difference between holding off a ruthless assault and holding on to combo the win. Additional draw comes from format staple Serum Visions with its Scry ability to not only draw valuable cards but also filter unneeded cards away and a one of Desolate Lighthouse allows you to dig through the deck to find answers or missing combo pieces. For removal with this deck having access to both Red and White we find the requisite format all-stars Lightning Bolt and Path to Exile both efficient and effective for their purpose. There is also Swan Song as a light permission suite to handle at an very cheap cost many of the problems that the deck might face and the token you give usually not problematic, with the removal able to handle most other problems. A full set of Snapcaster Mage are able to rebuy all of your used instants and sorceries to effectively double the amount of draw, removal and counters in your deck. As an alternate beatdown plan the deck sports a full set of Celestial Colonnade to bring the ‘death from above’ should the game stall into a draw out affair. Finally a one of Spellskite in the maindeck is there as a hedge preboard in the mirror and also a way to draw removal away from your combo creatures so you can go off unhindered when you’re ready for the kill.

Eric J Seltzer

@ejseltzer on Twitter

ejseltzer@hotmail.com‎

Ashen Rider – as an obvious upgrade to Angel of Despair this one finds it’s way into Reanimator.  Not only do you gain the effect both in and out it also exiles the permanent instead of just destroying it.

Swan Song – as a very versatile answer card for just one blue mana this one finds its way into the sideboards of most blue based decks as a one of.

Toxic Deluge – could be poised to be a premier sweeper as it is able to even get through all forms of protection.  Since it reduces toughness instead of dealing damage it is much more effective and can even be used to remove otherwise extremely difficult to answer cards like Emrakul or Progenitus.  Also is able to get in under Gaddock Teeg.

Unexpectedly Absent – hasn’t been showing up in numbers yet but has a high potential payoff.  This will frustrate many player when it unexpectedly shuffles away a key permanent in response to them cracking a fetch or casting a Stoneforge.

Baleful Strix – this was an important card to get reprinted with the surge of Shardless BUG decks.

Bojuka Bog – a key sideboard card for Knight of the Reliquary to tutor up against Dredge, Reanimator or other graveyard based strategy decks.

Goblin Sharpshooter – quite obviously an inclusion for many goblin decks.

Krosan Grip – the split second was a key element in how this card was used to combat against Counterbalance before Abrupt Decay, but it is still a very versatile sideboard choice regardless of the mana cost.

Lim-Dul’s Vault – while only appearing as a one of it is as always an amazing dig spell which can realistically set up two or three great draw steps at a minimal cost.

Thopter Foundry – a classic combo piece when paired with Sword of the Meek.  Usually found for overlapping win conditions with Dark Depths combo.

Thoughtseize – has always been one of the best disruption spells because of it has very small limitations on targets.

Wrath of God – although not uncounterable like Supreme Verdict it is still the all time classic sweeper.