Cunning Wish variant here.
Based on:
PreModernMagic.com
Facundo Conde 5th. Place
Open @ Conflux (Argentina)
32 players on 3-19-2023
This is a mono-blue combo deck for the Pre-Modern format. The sequence is pretty simple: get two mana reduction artifacts into play (Helm of Awakening or Sapphire Medallion) and then play free spells that untap your lands. After drawing a bunch of cards, you can find enough copies of Brain Freeze to storm out your opponent. A storm count of 18 is lethal with 1x Brain Freeze, while a storm count of 7 followed by 2x Brain Freeze is lethal after your opponent's turn 3.
This deck easily goes off on turn 3. I'm fairly certain a turn 2 kill is possible, but not likely since it involves Lotus Petal -> Island -> Helm of Awakening on turn 1, followed by Island -> Lotus Petal -> Meditate -> draw and play Cloud of Faeries on turn two. Then, you play another Lotus Petal into a second Helm of Awakening and cast Meditate for , then Frantic Search, Snap, or Cloud of Faeries to continue untapping your lands. This is an 11 card sequence that has to be drawn in perfect order.
One cool thing about this deck is how much value you get out of Merchant Scroll. You're usually going to grab Frantic Search, but it's an excellent way to refill your hand with Accumulated Knowledge, Meditate, or go for lethal with Brain Freeze. I'm considering Cunning Wish since it would effectively be an additional copy of Merchant Scroll to let you grab Frantic Search, Turnabout, Meditate, Brain Freeze, or Chain of Vapor out of the sideboard.
I've cut Islands, several Snaps, and several Impulses to make room for one mana cantrips. This is to help smooth out the opening draws and through goldfishing I've found the deck doesn't have many turn 1 plays. I'm also considering splashing other colors for more Helm of Awakening effects or to dump more lands into play to take full advantage of Frantic Search's untapping of three lands earlier in the game. Fact or Fiction End of Turn You Lose is definitely a thing with this deck, but it's really easy to win on turn 3 already, making Fact or Fiction a bit redundant.
