In the highly unlikely event that Magic somehow survives the coming apocalypse that has only be postponed by the sheer volume of Mana Leaks that have all become totally obsolete, understanding Avacyn Restored early is going to be like camping out in a base surrounded by treadmills (assuming we are talking about a Zombie apocalypse). Outside of the fact that blue is totally unplayable in all formats, now that Cavern of Souls has effectively banned permission, we also have to take into consideration that Vexing Devil and Temporal Mastery pretty much lock us in with two years of nothing but burn decks and Time Walk-recursion decks.
Monday, we covered Temporal Mastery (and nineteen other white and blue Avacyn Restored cards) in Part 1 of this set review, which can be found here . Cavern of Souls (and her nineteen friends) are coming Friday. Today, we get into the latest in a long and proud tradition of Blazing Salvo, Browbeat, and Longhorn Firebeast, as well as oodles of other black and red cards that don’t have as high a power to casting cost ratio as Vexing Devil.
As always, I’m not really into the whole objectifying these objects with 1-5 or 1-10 ratings. Cards’ power levels are contextual and assigning which cards have value and which do not, as well as assigning labels to them, can have a dangerously mind-closing effect on us. If we had to play in a tournament where winning was the top priority and we have just a day to prepare, numerical rankings would be an ideal method of learning about the set, as that little time rewards more close-minded thought to hone us in. Obtaining the greatest understanding of the set we can is a bit different of a goal.
Black
Black is an interesting one in Avacyn Restored. To start with, no miracles. This is huge loss, because a lot of the miracles are real good. People are already very excited about Entreat the Angels, Terminus, Bonfire of the Damned, Thunderous Wrath, and Temporal Mastery, and at least one of the green ones is underrated…
Black does get the Demonic enchantments (Demonic Rising and Homicidal Seclusion), which actually goes a much longer way that I think most people realize. Those cards look pretty good, but they are good in a way that is new so people are not going to know how to feel about them at first.
Well, that and posting on Facebook that you are excited about Homicidal Seclusion is fraught with a bit more peril than posting that you believe in miracles.
Another aspect of black that is tricky is that Griselbrand sets a pretty high bar, which then makes Crypt Creeper, Treacherous Pitdweller, and Killing Wave look less impressive. Not to spoiler the hell out of you, but I have Griselbrand at #1 by a clear margin. That said, there are tons of tournament playable black cards, albeit often fringe or role players. White may be the "best" color in Avacyn Restored, but black might be the deepest just in terms of how many mono-color black cards from this set see play compared to the other colors.
In fact, there is so much competition that I want to give some honorable mentions out so as to be able to sneak a few extra cards into the top 10 black cards.
First off, Bone Splinters is that perfect reprint that the first time out got no love. However, it gets reprinted in the right context, and now people are (rightfully) excited. It combos with Gravecrawler, Geralf’s Messenger, Strangleroot Geist, and more. It isn’t going to be that big of a new option, but it will see some play.
Next we have Harvester of Souls. Ok, just keeping it real, this one is a little bit of a cop-out, since the Titans will only be legal for six more months. Yes, his body isn’t that impressive, but he could be halfway respectable in the right world.
Appetite for Brains was presented to us on a silver platter with instructions to thank our dark masters for the solution to Wolf Run Ramp. I am not impressed. Oh it’s fine, of course, but it is not exactly in the same league as Inquisition of Kozilek. Not all of our opponents will have nearly as many expensive spells as cheap ones, meaning we would miss more if we maindecked this one.
Once you are hitting cards that cost four or more, the question then becomes why are you using Appetite for Brains instead of Distress? Spending two on turn 3 or later to hit an expensive card is not that much worse than spending one, and the ability to actually hit a card far more often, as well as decide to hit better targets (like Dissipate, Oblivion Ring, and the like) has me liking this new one a relatively minimal amount.
Finally, Unhallowed Pact is just a color shifted False Demise, but my "Spidey sense" is tingling. I am not sure what you are supposed to do with this bad boy, but it feels like there is something going on. It’s half of a poor man’s Mind Control. It is a strange regeneration shield. It (like so many things) makes Geralf’s Messenger look even scarier. It is a potentially recursive engine card (since it can cause a card to effectively be played "for free"). Its power level doesn’t impress, but there might be some synergy that contains more than meets the eye.
10. Treacherous Pit-Dweller – This guy is a very risky fellow to employ if you are doing to it on purpose. Creatures die a lot, so one that gives your opponent an even bigger creature when it dies are not going to win us over baseline. However, if you combine this card with Nihil Spellbomb or other similar cards, it is possible to come out ahead on value for your mana. However, we can do even better. Vapor Snag / Unsummon and any kind of Man-o’-War type let us turn the drawback into an actual advantage.
Now we aren’t just getting a 4/3 for two, we are getting the ability to upgrade our extra Unsummons into more 4/3s for two. Playing four Vapor Snags was already a realistic move, so I wonder just how many you can get away with if you have four Pitdwellers in your deck. Between this and Geralf’s Messenger, plus using them as tempo plays, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was actually realistic to play with six or seven Unsummons!
One final note, make sure to ask yourself which is actually better in your deck, Vapor Snag or Unsummon. It is not about if you target yourself or your opponent more than 50% of the time. It is about how often does the one damage (either way) decide the outcome of the match?
9. Human Frailty – And you thought Avacyn Restored was short on removal!
Human Frailty may look a little janky, but Humans is the most heavily supported creature type in Magic these days. Obviously, this could be a very reasonable sideboard option in a lot of situations, ala Deathmark, but it is not actually crazy to think it might end up a maindeckable card. Delver of Secrets, Snapcaster Mage, Avacyn’s Pilgrim, Huntmaster of the Fells, Champion of the Parish, Hero of Bladehold, even Skirsdag High Priest.
Who doesn’t play Humans? The guy playing eight Planeswalkers? Whatever spot removal you were going to play was going to be pretty awful there. Black has a lot of solid options, so it definitely might not come to it, but this is a real option to consider maindeck as well as sideboard.
8. Killing Wave – This is a fascinating card that is actually at a higher power level than these sorts of cards usually are. That said, the bar was pretty low, so it is very possible that Killing Wave does not make it into Constructed purely on that account. Black does have a very aggressive package of cards these days and a lot of creatures that don’t mind dying, so I could actually imagine this card becoming a very potent role player for aggressive decks looking to play it for three or four on the fourth or fifth turn (and being willing to take the life loss to keep their guys).
It is tempting to want to put it in a creatureless deck to not take the life loss, but generally if you do that, your opponent will get to hit you back next turn and you haven’t really gained much. Even in a burn deck, it is just a punisher sweeper that is rarely going to be better than Black Sun’s Zenith. To really get your money’s worth, you are going to want to put it in some kind of Kamikaze aggro deck that hits fast and hard while being willing to take a lot of damage (like the Suicide Black decks of old). Here, using a copy or two of Killing Wave as a midgame punch could have some value.
7. Dark Impostor – There is a lot of room for a creature to be worse than Olivia and still be good. Dark Imposter is going to totally take over games in a fairly similar fashion to Olivia, although he has a significantly worse body and a much tamer ability. That said, he is straight black, so if you are in the market for a creature to totally beat people that can’t kill a dude, he is a fine option. There are some backdoor possibilities that might allow some crazy, lots of colors Birthing Pod deck to set up some kind of infinite combo by stealing your own guys’ abilities, but that kind of thing doesn’t usually work out (though to be fair, Project X was that kind of thing).
I know I’d hate to play against this guy in a Limited format without a lot of creature kill…
6. Crypt Creeper – Look, what is it you want? What would make you happy? This is a two-drop Zombie with two power. Already, we are close. Friggin Walking Corpse is fringe. Now you factor in a very relevant ability, and we have to take this guy seriously. If you don’t like this ability, you obviously haven’t gotten the memo that it’s Griselbrand’s world and we are just living in it…
5. Gloom Surgeon – I have heard basically no one say anything about this guy, despite him being (more or less) protection from creatures. Yeah, he is not a Zombie, but so what? Yes, he would be better if he got +1/+1 from your Captain or helped dig up Gravecrawler, but imagine playing this guy against a Human deck. He is the epitome of "dies to removal," but not everyone has removal all of the time, his milling can help find Gravecrawlers, and he has an aggressive body. Besides, you just got Crypt Creeper.
What if we put him in a Spirits deck instead of a Zombies deck? Lingering Souls is already black, and Cavern of Souls could help. Spirits needs a two-drop desperately, and getting powered up by Drogskol Captain seems super-hot since it naturally foils all of the "dies to removal arguments."
4. Demonlord of Ashmouth – First the good news: this is an exciting body that has great synergy with usual suspects (Gravecrawler and Geralf’s Messenger). A flier is very much appreciated in a deck like this, and at worse, this is a much better Vampiric Embrace. Now the bad news: black has plenty of good options at four that it is already not playing, so is this really what we want? And since we are effective communicators that know to open and close with a positive message, let’s take a moment to consider why people don’t really love Bloodline Keeper, Lashwrithe, or Phyrexian Obliterator in Zombies decks.
They aren’t really what a Zombies deck needs! Bloodline Keeper flying is nice, but he is the wrong tribe, takes a few turns to get going, and is vulnerable to Slagstorm. Demonlord of Ashmouth hits as hard as Obliterator but is better suited to fighting removal. He can even beat Day of Judgment, when paired with Geralf’s Messenger. It is not clear this is what the black aggro decks need, but like Denise Richards in Wild Things, he is definitely worth experimenting with.
3. Demonic Rising – Now to be fair, I am definitely mising a two-for-one on this one, as Homicidal Seclusion should probably get its own slot. These two cards look great, as they are exceptionally difficult to deal with long term and can both take over games pretty quickly. Additionally, they work fantastic in tandem and have me imagining the possibility of a deck archetype being born. Obviously a 5/5 flying Demon being added to the table every turn a creature lives is a very big game, but so is +3/+1 and lifelink. How can you race that?
Revenant makes it easy to meet the condition, since he does it himself. How to trigger Demonic Rising and Homicidal Seclusion is a trickier proposition. You want to play enough creatures to consistently meet the criteria, but not so many that you have nothing but dudes and can’t. Of course, you can just not play out all of your guys. This makes black sweepers appealing. Uh oh, it’s that time of set again!
Boy I sure wish Sign in Blood was legal, let alone Phyrexian Arena or Skeletal Scrying!
2. Barter in Blood – While we are on the topic, Barter in Blood is a powerful reprint from Mirrodin that tells us a few things:
-Between this, Terminus, and Bonfire of the Damned, there are a lot of powerful new ways to fight hexproof creatures.
-U/B Control gains a powerful weapon that punishes players for not overextending into your Black Sun’s Zeniths.
-Whoever designed this card is surely very attractive and a real cool dude.
Where does Barter in Blood go? Control decks, mostly, but really any non-aggro deck. Not really a lot more to it.
1. Griselbrand – Griselbrand is in serious consideration for best eight-drop of all-time. A 7/7 flying lifelink creature is such an incredible board presence, most decks are not going to beat him without removal. That he has a Yawgmoth’s Bargain (more or less) attached to him is going to be most punishing to the exact people that are least concerned with a 7/7 lifelink creature. This makes him very good against actual everyone. Plus, his abilities work so well together that whichever ability is not optimal against your opponent starts to become very good once you use the other. This guy is like Eldrazi good.
Yes, everyone and their mother has figured out that brilliant interaction between Unburial Rites and Faithless Looting, and that’s cool, but I am suggesting Griselbrand is so good people will actually pay retail.
Wrap your mind around that one.
Griselbrand is one of the most powerful creatures of all time, and he only costs eight. Nicol Bolas saw play at eight, had to compete with Cruel Ultimatum, and might not win as often as a hard cast Griselbrand. Imagine if you just drop this guy against a control deck! Even if they have the removal spell, you get to Bargain! What if they Leak it? Well, that’s the funny thing about Cavern of Souls, isn’t it? Even if you plan on naming Human or Titan or whatever, if things go long, you can name Demon and get busy in a Burger King bathroom.
Besides, who plays Mana Leak anymore? Right guys? In all seriousness, obviously Mana Leak is still good, let’s not be ridiculous. However, Distress is a card, sometimes they don’t have it, sometimes they had to use it already, etc. Anyone can see Griselbrand is an A+ Reanimation target, but mark my words:
"Worth. It. At. Retail."
Black:
10. Treacherous Pitdweller
9. Human Frailty
8. Killing Wave
7. Dark Imposter
6. Crypt Creeper
5. Gloom Surgeon
4. Demonlord of Ashmouth
3. Demonic Rising (Homicidal Seclusion)
2. Barter in Blood
1. Griselbrand
Red
Up next, as advertised, Vexing Devil and a bunch of cards that wish they were Vexing Devil.
First, an honorable mention to Battle Hymn. This one is sweet and has chances of being really awesome in some kind of Past in Flames deck or something, plus like any deck Alan Comer would ever build. No idea the home yet, but if you like breaking formats, keep that one in the back of your mind. It’s the classic 96% to be stone terrible but 4% to win a GP.
10. Reforge the Soul – Are we at the point where people are so disenfranchised by Wheel of Fortunes and Timetwisters that they stop buying into the hype? Well, we know that certainly isn’t true for Time Walks…
Reforge the Soul is an interesting one, since you are going to turn down the chance to miracle it more than most miracles. That said, five mana for a Wheel of Fortune is already basically retail, so it’s not like you are really being charged for the ability. Of course, not a lot of people are in the market for this type of business, but it is really interesting to consider that you can play with four Time Reversals and four Reforge the Souls. That is a lot of draw sevens. I wonder if we could play some acceleration, some bounce, who knows what else?
When you have access to eight draw sevens and a draw phase each turn, you are getting dangerously close to being able to access a draw seven every turn. Once that is the case, the rules are very, very different about which cards you are going to want to consider. For instance, if you just play a bunch of acceleration, you could conceivably play with maybe eight Fogs as your creature removal and just draw one every turn! Maybe some sweepers are worth it to clean up the mess, but it really would not take a lot.
Ramping into Primeval Titan is cool, bro, but if you just starting ramping out draw sevens, it is actually possible to just go over the top of those people (way over). This is the exact sort of deck that is not good long term (as once it is known, it isn’t hard to hate it out if you want to), however, it looks like all the pieces are there to break it for a given weekend.
9. Kessig Malcontents — One toughness is definitely disappointing on this guy, but he’s yet another way for a W/R Humans deck to get some much needed reach. This archetype has been savaging in Block and it’s been almost fifteen months since Paul Rietzl last Pro Tour Top 8, so I think it is fairly safe to assume Boros is on the comeback.
8. Hound of Griselbrand – A 2/2 double striker for four is not "good enough," but it is also not embarrassing. Once you factor in getting to keep a threat that deals (at least) six damage if your opponent sweeps the board, you are starting to really get somewhere. The Hound faces extremely tough competition at the four spot, but it’s deceptively good. This is because if your opponent doesn’t deal with him, they will die very quickly, and if they do, they better have the second answer (because a timely Cloudshift could be backbreaking).
Besides, this is Griselbrand’s hound. Have you met that guy?
7. Vexing Devil — See, the funny thing about the punisher cards is that even though people have been tricked by them every time in the past, they are still going to fall for it again (and they will definitely fall for it again, next time, not close). Punisher cards exploit a fundamental flaw in human reasoning.
Now before I go any further, just as a disclaimer, it is not that Vexing Devil is unplayable. Far from it. Furnace Scamp wasn’t unplayable either. You are also not a bad person if you thought (or still think) Vexing Devil is good.
Most people do not apply a rigorous logic to every decision and every evaluation they make. Who has that kind of time? Out of necessity, we develop shortcuts to try to save us processing power. One of these short cuts that serves us well 99% of the time is the short cut of, "If there are two possibilities, then hoping for the best and planning for the worst." Additionally, when evaluating a risk, looking at the worst case scenario is a powerful tool.
When most people evaluate Vexing Devil, they see the two possibilities: a Lava Spike that is 33% stronger and a 4/3 for one mana. They think that they really like the sound of both of those options, so they can’t lose. The thing is Vexing Devil is not a random outcome. You are giving your opponent the choice. The lower the skill level of your opponent, the more likely it is that they will choose wrong, sure, but that isn’t what is generally going on with this card.
You say you don’t care which you get, four damage for one mana or a 4/3 for one, but that isn’t true. First of all, let’s just be clear about one thing: Lava Spike is not that good. Sure, it is playable in straight burn decks that amount to combo decks in much the same way Pyretic Ritual is playable, but that doesn’t make Pyretic Ritual good on its own. It makes a possible combo piece in the right deck.
The vast majority of decks are going to be pushed off of Vexing Devil because of how horrible Lava Spike is in most decks. Most decks do not want to trade a card and a mana for four damage.
But wait! What about Mono Red? Surely they would, right?
Well, sure, if we could play a one mana sorcery that deals four damage, we probably would (and would at least consider it). Remember, Bump in the Night hasn’t been seeing a ton of play.
But that isn’t what Vexing Devil does.
It lets your opponent trade his creature removal to counter your guy. It lets your opponent counter it by having a bigger creature. It even lets opponents race it that are just far enough ahead on the board or have enough chump blockers. These are all options your opponent gets. If they want, they can always just let it be the Lava Spike version. How often does Vexing Devil have to backfire to make it worse than Lava Spike? A third of the time? Half the time? Remember, it isn’t failing at random. It is failing whenever it is the worst thing for you (aka your opponent chooses).
Just like casting Time Warp does not assure you five mana worth of value, getting to deal four or getting a 4/3 is not always "worth more than a mana."
Compares favorably to Goblin Guide? Please. Vexing Devil doesn’t compare favorably to Lava Spike.
6. Kruin Striker – This guy is probably going to average at least a 3/1, which is a halfway exciting body already (though not great). He is a Human, which helps. Red could really use some good options at two. The truth is, even with cards like Kuldotha Rebirth legal, this guy is probably worse than Vexing Devil, so that should tell you something.
However, people who play Vexing Devil will probably be wrong, whereas anyone that plays Kruin Striker probably means it (and Kruin Striker will probably have a higher match win percentage since you don’t walk around just randomly sliding Kruin Strikers into decks).
5. Burn at the Stake – Consistently rated as one of the worst cards in Avacyn Restored, I must be missing something. Let me make sure we are on the same page. So, if you tap three creatures with Burn at the Stake, you can deal nine to your opponent’s face? That doesn’t sound like something we might be interested in? What about tapping four creatures to deal twelve?
This is a red Overrun, sure, but it makes the creatures unblockable and essentially unkillable (since you just tap the creatures as part of the cost). When you cast Overrun, a lot can still go wrong. When you cast Burn at the Stake, they are just dead. Besides, it isn’t even clear that red wouldn’t want an Overrun anyway.
Yes, obviously you don’t also get the creature’s power in damage, but this is a very easy to set up one-shot kill card that gives an incredible amount of reach to creature decks. Plus, unlike Overrun, you can use it for utility. That’s right, it isn’t pretty, but you can still tap two creatures to kill a Titan. That isn’t the worst.
Look, I don’t know where the Kool-Aid came from that has people thinking this card is "terrible," but that is not the Kool-Aid I want. Maybe the card turns out to be merely fringe. Maybe this isn’t what the format really calls for, but to write it off without considering it is ludicrous.
4. Tibalt, the Fiend-Blooded – Planeswalkers being good cards is among the safest bets possible in Magic. Planeswalkers, more than any other permanent type, get better the cheaper they are. Tibalt’s abilities are not tailor-made for an existing deck, but they are quality. His casting cost is actually quite restrictive, making him not play well in a number of the first places you’d want to put him, particularly when we are all relying on Cavern of Souls to fix our mana. Still, there are a few things to remember:
– Drawing a card, then discarding a card at random is generally a good thing (particularly when you opt in or out). Whatever cards you need most, you generally use first. The longer cards sit in your hand, the more likely they are to be not good. Additionally, you generally want whatever you don’t already have (strategically, not just psychologically). If you are short land, this helps you find it. If you have too much, this lets you use it. If you have dead removal, you draw better cards. If you need to find removal, this helps. Using Tibalt’s +1 ability makes your hand’s average quality and composition closer to the average of your deck. Once you are factoring in flashback, graveyard recursion like Chandra’s Phoenix, and so on, you are starting to get way ahead.
– Tibalt’s two ultimates help against different opponents and combo with each other. Neither is as backbreaking as Tamiyo’s, for instance, but he comes down on turn 2, starts getting very modest value immediately, and threatens to Storm Seeker people very quickly. If you ever pull this off, you are generally way, way ahead on value, as it will generally be closer to a Shrine than a Lava Spike.
– Opponents that just play out all of their cards have to face the Insurrection ability. Won’t opponents just attack Tibalt? Well sure, but presumably you are trying to do something about that. Outside of just blocking, there is also just killing your opponent’s guys, riding Tibalt as a way to dig and fuel your graveyard. Eventually, Tibalt’s loyalty gets up high enough that you can threat to Insurrection at will. This is a really tough spot for opponents to be in, such as those relying on Titans.
– Tibalt doesn’t always have to be the center of attention the way Sorin or Garruk, Primal Hunter have to be. He could just be a role player, like Jace Beleren.
– There is a lot of room for a planeswalker to be worse than Jace Beleren and still be good.
3. Zealous Conscripts – This guy is totally rad! A good rule of thumb is that five mana for two things that should cost three is a better deal than those things that cost three (for instance, Tidings compared to Divination). A 3/3 haste for three would be decent and Act of Treason for permanents would be fantastic. Zealous Conscript gives you both and they synergize with each other.
Obviously stealing a blocker then smashing your opponent’s face is awesome, but he also steals planeswalkers, often just in time to ultimate them. This guy is the real deal!
To make things even sweeter, Cloudshift and Restoration Angel are worded different in this set than those type of abilities have been previously. They return the creature to play under your control, rather than the owner’s. That is very exciting with Zealous Conscripts. For instance, you can Conscripts your opponent’s creature, bash them with it, then use Cloudshift to make it a permanent arrangement. Alternatively, you can use the Cloudshift to just steal a second creature in the same turn or to reset a Conscripts in play (at instant speed).
Conscripts is also fantastic in Birthing Pod since he steals the guy, lets you bash, then sacrifices it away. Besides, Act of Treason for permanents is a great ability to Pod up anyway, letting you play a very aggressive game. Pod decks are likely to want a bunch of Restoration Angels now, anyway, so you could also use Pod to get a Conscripts and still have plenty of mana to make the swap permanent by using Restoration Angel. You could even steal your opponent’s Birthing Pod then sacrifice the Conscripts to get a Titan!
Even against creatureless opponents, the ability to steal planeswalkers is huge (particularly Tamiyo, which will make the right play to wait for it… wait for it…). Even when they have no targets at all, a three-power haste creature is still a reasonable threat.
This guy is going to do big things.
2. Pillar of Flame – While not as exciting as Zealous Conscript (and not as powerful), this is a nuts and bolts card that will see a huge amount of play and is the perfect card for this day and age. Strangleroot Geist, Gravecrawler, and Geralf’s Messenger are all top-notch targets, although hitting Doomed Traveler, Loyal Cathar, and Chandra’s Phoenix is no joke. Plus, just being able to kill a Delver of Secrets is extremely important. That it also hits players can give an aggro deck more reach and control decks more answers to planeswalkers. It combos great with Snapcaster Mage and is just right for hitting Diregraf Ghoul, Huntmaster, and more.
A top tier staple.
Creatures (22)
- 4 Grim Lavamancer
- 4 Chandra's Phoenix
- 4 Stormblood Berserker
- 2 Goblin Fireslinger
- 4 Stromkirk Noble
- 4 Hellrider
Lands (21)
- 21 Mountain
Spells (17)
No, this isn’t the deck I’d play tomorrow, but if I had to play Mono-Red, I would play zero Vexing Devils. I wonder how many Patrick Sullivan would play.
1. Bonfire of the Damned – This is probably the best miracle card to draw in your opening hand and can easily steal games when drawn randomly. Bonfire fights planeswalkers, swarm decks, Invisible Stalker, and more. Having a one toughness creature is a much bigger liability than it was, and having a third point of toughness is actually going to go a long way in the new Bonfire of the Damned world. This isn’t always as good as a card like Slagstorm in a control deck; however, in a midrange deck in a world of aggro and control, it’s hard to do better.
Red:
10. Hound of Griselbrand
9. Kessig Malcontents
8. Reforge the Soul
7. Vexing Devil
6. Kruin Striker
5. Burn at the Stake
4. Tibalt the Fiend Blooded
3. Zealous Conscripts
2. Pillar of Flame
1. Bonfire of the Damned
See you Friday, when we conclude the Avacyn Restored Set Review, including discussing Cavern of Souls, Sigarda, Abundant Growth, and a mythic that everyone seems to be sleeping on despite having off the rails power…
Patrick Chapin
"The Innovator"
Creatures (7)
Planeswalkers (2)
Lands (25)
Spells (26)
- 3 Mana Leak
- 1 Ancient Grudge
- 2 Ponder
- 1 Doom Blade
- 2 Ratchet Bomb
- 1 Go for the Throat
- 2 Slagstorm
- 3 Pristine Talisman
- 2 Forbidden Alchemy
- 4 Desperate Ravings
- 1 Bonfire of the Damned
- 4 Pillar of Flame
Sideboard