For today’s deck, I decided to mine the quarry of the Underused Cards of All Time, Volume III. After all, if I think that these cards need more play, shouldn’t I be bringing one or more to light?
For the record, I see Reckless Embermage on my list, and realize that would’ve been an interesting card in yesterday’s daily. Even if it didn’t make the final cut, I should’ve mentioned in later in the article. Anyway, I did use Portent in a deck earlier this week. Still, I wanted to use one of my special cards, and I think that I found an interesting combo.
Using Reap to return a bunch of cards in combination with Prismatic Lace can feel a bit dirty. After all, it was part of an interesting and occasionally successful Type One deck. Instead, how about combining it with a few other cards?
Agents Among Us
4 Reap
2 Sleeper Agent
4 Darkest Hour
4 Rend Flesh
2 Spiritmonger
4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
4 Nantuko Blightcutter
4 Whirling Dervish
4 Phantom Centaur
2 Compost
2 Elephant Grass
4 Llanowar Wastes
12 Forest
8 Swamp
This deck began as a Reap/Sleeper Agent deck with a couple of Darkest Hour tossed in. However, as I fully explored the possibilities of Darkest Hour and Green, I placed less and less emphasis on the Sleeper Agent. I really explored the possibilities of Darkest Hour, although I still have plenty of space for more ideas.
Obviously, the deck wants Darkest Hour out in the worst way possible. Even without Darkest Hour, you can still develop a solid defense. You have several early drops, and when combined with several powerful mid-game creatures, your deck will do just fine while trying to find Darkest Hour.
After Darkest Hour hits, you’ll have several powerful options. Many of your creatures have Protection from Black. This allows you to swing into an opponent with impunity. Nantuko Blightcutter will get significantly bigger under a Darkest Hour, and the Dervish will start getting counters every turn.
You’ll likely have the only creature on the table that can be something other than Black. Spiritmonger’s color changing ability will make it another color if needed. This is important just in case an opponent has out White Knight or something.
With a Reap in hand and a Darkest Hour in play, you can Regrowth an awful lot of cards, just make sure that you do not go below threshold with your Blightcutters. Bring back Rend Flesh or Elders to reuse. Elephant Grass retires quickly, and you can keep reusing it. You’ll also want to return a Reap, so you can keep this up.
Elephant Grass is in the deck for two major reasons. First of all, in the early game, Elephant Grass will act as a cheap Propaganda which will stall your opponent for a round or three. If your opponent gets out a lot of creatures, it can stave off several in the mid game. Once you play Darkest Hour, however, Elephant Grass prevents you from being attacked as long as its in play. It can’t be around for very long, but you can always Reap it back.
Compost is a similarly abusable card once Darkest Hour is in play. You can draw a card from every creature of your opponent’s that dies. That will allow for some serious card advantage. Rend Flesh as a cantrip? Now, I believe Compost works in that way – the creature is black when it dies. If that doesn’t work for some reason, toss in two more Elephant Grass to replace it in the deck.
You still have a pair of Sleeper Agents to give to your opponent. First of all, you’ll have enough Pro Black creatures that it serves as a quick clock. Secondly, Elephant Grass keeps the agent from attacking. Thirdly, it’ll give your opponent a Black creature for the Reap just in case you can’t find a Darkest Hour or it got disenchanted.
All of this assumes that your opponent is not playing Black. If they are, then you won’t need much help. It’s difficult to conceive of how this deck loses to a naturally Black deck when it is loaded with this much hate.
In multiplayer, you can typically rely on one or more opponents playing Black. Reap will work for a few cards even without Darkest Hour. You have quick creatures to keep people away, like Sakura-Tribe Elder. Your mid-game creatures are similarly daunting to attack into. Elephant Grass is like a nice Propaganda, because people will be able to attack you eventually, and Sleeper Agent may just make people laugh.
In other words, your deck may not appear to be the biggest threat at the table, and you’ll have an advantage because there might already be a few Black cards here and there to help out your deck.
There are a slew of other cards you could use. I like Pygmy Kavu as a card drawing engine of doom. It’s just a 1/2 when it is in play, but a simple chump block and you can Reap it back into your hand for more card drawing.
Krosan Constrictor will help keep Black creatures from harming you, but its swampwalk ability might not come in handy. Another group of creatures that like fighting Black creatures include Amphibious Kavu and Darkwatch Elves.
One interesting card is the Enchant Creature Decomposition. It will cause your opponent to lose life, and it may kill their creature. You’ll just Reap it back and keep replaying it. Imagine giving your opponent a Sleeper Agent and then Decomposing it. Ouch.
This deck can cause serious pain, and it does so with some seriously bad cards. Sleeper Agent? Darkest Hour? Even cards like Elephant Grass and Reap don’t see that much play. You might find that aspect of the deck to be really enjoyable. Having a multiplayer table that Disenchants Darkest Hour on sight, because they know what you can do with it, is a beautiful thing.
I hope that you have enjoyed today’s deck.
Until Later,
Abe Sargent