This deck was put together in an attempt to win games at FNM with Triskaidekaphobia and Tree of Perdition. The deck needs to gain a little time. It does this by discarding cards in the other player's hand and exiling their creatures or returning them to their hand to slow them down. Card draw is included to help speed things along and counter spells are used to protect the combo. Lastly Thing in the Ice
becomes a large threat they must deal with. It can eat their removal spells early which can protect Tree of Perdition. If they don't deal with it, about the same two turns the deck plays the win combo, Awoken Horror pops out and clears their board. If the combo is running slow or they disrupted it, this can lead to a new win condition or buy you a few more turns to get the combo out.
How to play:
Aggressively use Duress to see their hand and remove threats -and/or- save it for right before you play the combo to remove disrupting spells, this will depend on who you are playing against. Aggressively but smartly use removal spells Clutch of Currents, Declaration in Stone, Anguished Unmaking and Silkwrap to keep their threats hampered. If there is a threat to your combo focus on removing that first. An example is if you suspect they are using Stasis Snare, save an Anguished Unmaking or save a Duress to destroy it or pull it from their hand right before you run the combo. Saving a Duress for the same turn you cast Tree of Perdition, can win you the game as it is possible they are sitting on a removal until that moment, especially after game one.
Hold onto a counter spell Turn Aside and an untapped land to protect your combo as you use it. After game one move in a more appropriate counter if needed. Dispel can be used against certain threats and counter spells where Invasive Surgery might be better for others. Keep an eye on what the other player uses and adjust as needed.
Turn 4 or 5 play Tree of Perdition a turn 5 play is slower but safer since you can play a Duress that same turn or hold onto an untapped land for Turn Aside. It depends on the deck you are playing against and how fast they are moving.They next turn play Triskaidekaphobia and again keep counter spells ready and use Duress if you can.Win!
But wait! What about Thing in the Ice
? Use it as early as you can and without messing up your play, use spells in an order to move it's counters further forward. Use it to clear their board, draw removal and keep them on their toes. Not to mention it is a 0/4 which can block a lot of early creatures. Don't worry if you need to sacrifice it. It is there to distract and confuse, not to win you the game...although it can. Get two of them flipped and the game will likely end pretty quickly.
