One of my favorite things in Magic is the infinite combo, so when you give me the option to do two things infinitley, I'm going to love the deck and that's what BloodCrank attempts to do. The goal of BloodCrank is to get Bloodchief Ascension to the field with 3 counters on it while also having a Mindcrank in play. The result is your opponent mills there deck while taking loads of damage. Bonus points foralso making your opponent think twice about using Phyrexian Mana spells such as Gitaxian Probe.
-------MAIN DECK-------
Arc Trail is an interesting choice for a burn spell in the deck, but a powerful one when you'd least expect it. The 2 damage it does to a player is enough for a quest counter on Bloodchief Ascension and the 1 damage is good to fry off annoying creatures such as Signal Pest.
Bloodchief Ascension is one of our combo pieces. It's simple to figure out, just play it down and begin to rackup counters on it. Also, I'm 99% certain multiple Ascension stack. So if you have two on the field with full counters, your opponent is suddenly losing 4 life for every card that goes to the Grave. Even with just one it's hysterical as your opponent fetching lands equals Lightning Bolt to the face.
Bloodghast is a good aggro option for the deck that will constantly have your opponent on their toes. If you never get Mindcrank it's not a big deal since just having a Bloodcheif Ascension with full counters on it will be enough to make this guy have haste and a slew of them come to the field. It will make any veteran nervous as they try to save their own skin.
Duskmantle Guildmage believe it or not is another part of our combo piece. Now before I go into the very simple details, I would like to point out that this card is not neccessary for the deck to work and he can easily be taken out for other control options, more burn spells, or whatever you please. I like him in here just because he is another combo piece, albiet a more costly one. His first ability is essentially a mediocre version of Bloodchief Ascension with the only upside being that he doesn't need counters on him for the ability to work. You can do this at instant speed too so if you already have Mindcrank on the field and then you play Duskmantle Guildmage down you can use his ability when an opponnent fetches or does whatever to have the combo go off. The second ability is less useful and is only good in getting some quick damage off when combined with Bloodchief Ascension since then you're paying CMC 4 to deal 4 damage. It's a nice option at the end of our opponent's turn if we have the mana open and nothing better to do.
Electrolyze as many know is a staple in any Izzet (UR) control strategy. It's a great removal spell getting rid of Signal Pest, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, and Delver of Secrets or the flipped version of him Insectile Aberration
. It also nets us a card which is always good and can put counters on Bloodchief Ascension. A good option to do with this is if an opponent fetches for a land and has a creature with 1 toughness or a creature that needs only one more damage dealt to it, you can ping your opponent for 1 while getting rid of their creature, and still get a counter on Bloodchief Ascension.
Goblin Guide doesn't even need a an explanation but I'll give him one anyway. One of the best Red Aggro creatures ever printed, you'd be a fool for not running him in the deck. When unblocked he gives you a counter for your Bloodchief Ascension, and odds are that's exactly what will happen.
Lavaclaw Reaches is a nifty choice in my opinion for the deck. It's agood option to go in for some extra damage when we're able to allowing for more counters on our Bloodchief Ascension and is capable of doing massive damage. It's also a nice option against any big creatures that we may have to deal with.
Lightning Bolt doesn't need an explanation.
Mindcrank however needs a little bit of an explanation. Any damage your opponent is dealt also translates as milling cards. That's how the infinite combo works with our Bloodchief Ascension. Either your opponent plays something ad it goes to the Graveyard resulting in them taking two damage from the Ascension and then milling cards with Mindcrank which will trigger Ascension which will trigger Mindcrank over and over again until they lose. Or you simply hit or burn for at least 1 damage. That 1 damage will trigger Mindcrank making the mill 1 which will trigger Bloodchief Ascension just as previously mentioned. It gets pretty nastysince your opponent can't fetch or use phyrexian mana once the combo is set up and they can't even counter your burn spells since the counter spell going to the graveyard will trigger the combo as well. The only way they can stop it is if they have artifact destruction, enchantment destruction, or a way to bounce one of the combo pieces back to the hand. Otherwise it's game over. Also, I find Mindcrank to be effective against certain matchups since the damage you can do to your opponent will force them to mill which can disrupt or shut down certain strategies. For example, Splinter Twin decks can lose their combo pieces by mill without a decent way to get them back. Just be careful when playing Mindcrank becasue in some situations its best to leave it in your hand until the combo is ready. The last thing you want to do is go against Gifts Ungiven deck and mill their Iona, Shield of Emeria and Unburial Rites.
Sign in Blood is the most effective card in this deck, and no I'm not joking. The BB is a steep cost at points but being able to draw two cards can be a lifesaver whether it's finding another part of the combo, finding removal for a creature, or whatever it is you might need. It is also a fantastic way to get counters on Bloodchief Ascension and even start our combo. Imagine the face of your opponent as they look confused as whey you're letting them draw two cards to the realization that you're just triggered Mindcrank allowing the combo to go infinite (see Mindcrank section for more details).
Snapcaster Mage will forever be a staple in any deck that can produce Blue Mana until the day that something better comes along or he's banned. With our low CMC for our instant spells, flashing him in successfully will allow you to play whatever it is you want from your graveyard the majority of the time. He can also swing in for 2 damage if necessary or just block for one turn.
Staggershock might not seem like it's worth the mana at first but it really is. The 2 damage gets a quest counter for Bloodchief Ascension and it comes back for free he next turn getting another counter on the Ascension. Or if you already have three counters you can burn off some more creatures.
Thoughtseize last but not least we have the premier discard card. This can easily help maintain your combo by letting you see what your opponent has in their hand and also getting rid of whatever shennanigan they might have to disrupt your strategy or strategies. Sure it costs 2 life but it's almost always worth it. You can replace this card with Inquisition of Kozilek instead if you don't like paying 2 life, but the option to discard any nonland regardless of CMC outwieghs the lifeloss when you consider being able to get rid of things like Karn Liberated, Ugin, the Spirit Dragon, Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker, or board sweeps.
--------SIDE DECK---------
Comet Storm is a card that to my knowledge isn't seen all to much in Modern which makes it fun to play since most people won't see it coming, although it will probably be countered so don't sink too much mana into it. Comet Storm is an additional burn spell if you feel like the deck needs more ways of dealing damage but has the additional benefit of being a mass removal spell late game.
Cryptic Command is there for all your counter needs. If you feel like you need a way to counter your opponent's spells or better yet to counter their Cryptic Command then just side in these babies. I personally suggest taking out the Duskmantle Guildmages in that situation. It's also a good way to stop Splinter Twin decks for a turn. Oh, you made infinite Pestermites with haste. Before combat, tap them all. It's also a good way to bounce Planeswalkers and have them rebuild their loyalty all over again or just for that draw.
Cyclonic Rift could honestly be replaced with more burn, more draw, or more counterspells. I like the option of bouncing something I don't feel like dealing with in the early game back to the hand or late game making my opponent recast everything to try to win the game. Instant speed also allows us to bounce all them Pestermites back, or make Delver of Secrets have to re-transform again.
Electrickery is another sideboard option for Splinter Twin since you'll wipe the field of their Pestermites or against affinity to get rid of that Signal Pest before it gets any counters from Steel Overseer. Also nifty for getting rid of Delver of Secrets before he flips.
Hurkyl's Recall is suited mostly for Affinity players since I personally hate going against that deck.
Tunnel Ignus is the one card you should always side in against Amulet Bloom decks. It's worth it just to them sweat a bit with their Primeval Titans and Azusa, Lost but Seeking in play.
-------MAYBEBOARD---------
Tezzeret's Gambit is divination if we pay the phyrexian mana but the main point of possibly running this card is the ability to proliferate. This gives us the chance to put another quest counter on our Bloodchief Ascension while netting us cards.
Volt Charge is a highly costed Lighning Bolt but once again can be worth it if we want to proliferate.
Thrummingbird is an interesting choice to me since it gives us flight protection if need be and can also proliferate if our opponent has no blockers or no flyers. I am slightly considering this card but odds are that it isn't as necessary as some of the control or burn aspects of the deck.
