Well, it looks like this most recent set of puzzles really gave some of you a run for your money. One of the important lessons to be learned from these puzzles is that the most obvious play is not always the correct play. Keep that in mind next time you have two Shrapnel Blasts in hand and an opponent at ten life.
Puzzle 7 Solution
Tricks:
Lock in the cost for Blinkmoth Infusion, then sac the Golem to pay part of the cost.
You have to cast Mind’s Desire before casting Sprouting Vines
You cannot draw cards until you know the exact contents of your deck.
Note: Red and White mana in the pool can be treated as colorless.
1) Attack with your Composite Golem. Your opponent is now at 24. (Spells Played: 0, Mana in Pool: 0)
2) Tap your three Eyes, your Mox, and lands for mana. (SP: 0, MiP: 15U)
3) Cast Chromatic Sphere. (SP: 1 MiP: 14U)
4) Cast Chain of Vapor, targeting your Chrome Mox. (SP: 2 MiP: 14)
5) Sacrifice your Temples to also target your three Eyes and the Sphere.
6) Replay the Eyes and the Sphere. (SP: 6 MiP: 7)
7) Play the Chrome Mox, imprinting Serum Visions, and tap it for mana. (SP: 7 MiP: 7U)
8) Announce Blinkmoth Infusion.
9) With the cost locked in at 5UU, sacrifice the Composite Golem for mana. (SP: 8 MiP: 4GB)
10) Tap your 3 Eyes, your Mox, and your Seat of the Synod for mana. (SP: 8 MiP: 10GBUU)
11) Cast Rampant Growth, fetching another Forest. (SP: 9 MiP: 9BUU).
12) Cast Mind’s Desire for 10. (SP: 10 MiP: 5B)
13) Play a revealed Forest and tap it for G. (SP: 10 MiP: 5GB)
14) Cast Sprouting Vines, pulling 11 Forests out of your deck. (SP: 11 MiP: 3B)
15) The worst case scenario is that your lone Tendrils is still in the deck. If it was revealed with Mind’s Desire, you can simply cast it for free and win the game now. Otherwise, sacrifice the Sphere for B, and draw the Tendrils. (SP: 11 MiP: 2BB)
16) Cast the Tendrils of Agony for the win.
Puzzle 8 Solution
Tricks:
You have to cast Wing Shards both before attackers are declared and afterwards.
You can use Avarice Totem to switch control of a permanent with your opponent if you activate it twice, one is response to the other.
The Shrapnel Blast is a red herring.
1) Tap 2 Cloudposts to activate your Mindslaver.
2) End your turn.
3) You begin your opponent’s turn and draw opponent draws Tooth of Chiss-Goria.
4) (As Jane) Tap a Mountain and cast Avarice Totem.
5) (As Jane) Tap 5 Mountains and activate the Totem targeting your Goblin Goon.
(As Jane) With that on the stack, tap your 5 Mountains and use the Totem, targeting Ur-Golem’s Eye.
6) Let both Totem activations resolve, giving you the Goon, and Jane the Eye and Totem.
7) (As Jane) Enter your attack phase.
8) Tap your lands and Ur-Golem’s Eye, and remove two Array counters for WWWW2.
9) Cast your first Wing Shards (2 copies total).
10) (As Jane) Attack with your Goblin Piledrivers and Anodet Lurker.
11) (As Jane) Cast Tooth of Chiss-Goria for free.
12) Cast Wing Shards number two, targeting Jane (4 copies total).
13) (As Jane) Sacrifice the four Piledrivers.
14) (As Jane) Use the four Goblin Sharpshooter triggers to shoot Jane three times, and the Sharpshooter once.
15) You take three from the Lurker. End Jane’s turn.
16) Draw Cloudpost.
17) Tap a Cloudpost and 2 Plains for 2WW, and remove the final counter from the Array for W.
18) Play Cloudpost and tap your remaining Cloudpost for three.
19) Use your mana to cast Akroma.
20) Attack with Akroma and Goblin Goon for the game.
Puzzle 9 Solution
Tricks:
None – this puzzle just takes focus and the ability to see your outs in every situation.
If you play perfectly, your odds of winning this game are 100%. All you need to do is survive Elroy’s turn, since he will deck himself on his next turn.
Every winning solution for Elroy requires Badlands to either cast Exhume or enable Anger. Therefore, you must build card splits such that he does not get Badlands and any combination of cards that he can use to kill you.
Card left in deck: Triskelion / Scalpelexis / Exhume
Split the cards Badlands and Anger vs. the rest. If Elroy takes the land pile, his creatures will not have haste, because Anger will be in his hand, so he cannot attack. The Mongrel could pitch Anger, but would still be too small to claim a victory. Without the land, his creatures cannot attack at all.
Card left in deck: Wild Mongrel / Anger
Split the cards Badlands vs. everything else. If he takes the land, he will not have sufficient attackers to win. Otherwise, his creatures will not have haste (except Anger, which can only deal two damage).
Card left in deck: Badlands
Split Wild Mongrel vs. everything else.
Anger has to be in the pile with Triskelion and Scalpelexis. Otherwise, Elroy could just cast a creature and attack for the win. If you put Exhume in the opposite pile, he can just reanimate a creature and win, so it also has to be in pile one. If you put the Mongrel in the same pile, he can swing with the Mongrel for lethal damage. This proposed split would force him to Exhume Mongrel. If he does this, you can sacrifice your Cephalid Snitch in response, and return him to play untapped to block.
Once again, thanks for playing, and I hope you enjoyed the puzzles! The Mind’s Desire puzzle was based off reader feedback, so if there are any particular cards you think might be interesting in a puzzle, feel free to post ideas in the forums.
Until next time,
Jeff Till
[email protected]