Every so often, someone will suggest a deck such as 60x
Chancellor of the Dross
, as though they're playing some format that ignores ban lists and card limits. Now, of course that deck can be beaten, whether by a near-mirror match that replaces some of the Chancellors with
Soul Spike
to respond to the triggers no matter who gets to go second, or by 61x
Nourishing Shoal
, a mix of Simian Spirit Guide +
Surging Flame
, or other niche strategies.
In this "freeform" format, here's the deck I'd play, which is capable of going off over the top of pretty much anything. By running 8 copies of Advantageous Proclamation in the sideboard, the minimum deck size is reduced to 20 cards, but I play 21 here because there are two copies of Backup Plan and overdrawing during the opening hand phase is generally not a good idea. The Backup Plans will divide the entire deck into three starting hands, from which I can pick the single best one to get started with, guaranteeing a Leyline of Anticipation in the hand that gets kept.
For the hidden agendas, you'll want to name Timetwister for both Brago's Favor; the Double Strokes should be divided between Timetwister and Krosan Grip depending on what you're expecting to see. Krosan Grip is most helpful for dispatching of multiple copies of Leyline of the Void without losing too many of your Lotuses to exile, or for taking out the sole lifeline of another Leyline of Anticipation deck and leaving them in the dust; Echoing Truth can also dispatch of multiple Leylines at once but none of the others are quite as big of a deal.
Ideally you'll want to lead with Silence, forcing the opponent's hand, and if you brought Chancellor backup then it's that much harder for them to put a stop to it even with Force of Will. It is important to run Silence, and not Orim's Chant, because you don't want to allow Leyline of Sanctity to thwart your efforts.
As far as an actual win condition, the best option is to keep looping Timetwister and replaying your Black Lotuses without interference all during the first upkeep, building up mana. At some point you'll draw into Altar of the Brood, so that each time you replay a Lotus after that point, the opponent mills a card. Then play Extirpate targeting that card, ridding them of it forever and probably stripping out a good chunk of their deck (in the case of 60 Chancellors, this exiles the whole thing in one fell swoop). Repeat until you've milled their key cards and Extirpated them all, and then if they aren't running any basic lands, the next Timetwister will make them draw cards they don't have, and win the game right there during the upkeep. In certain unusual circumstances against decks full of singletons, it's possible for Extirpate/Timetwister to reduce them to exactly 7 cards, in which case no amount of further progress can take them any lower; in this case you just have to pass until their first draw step and make them lose at that point.
If they are running basics, you can at least build up some more mana and hardcast both of your Chancellors, then smack with them twice each, using Timetwister to replenish your deck if you ever fall in danger of running out. Which you shouldn't.
Not that you should ever be playing a format like this, anyway.
