Philosophy of the Deck
I think it's probably best to start by going into detail about how 'Survival Hulk' came about, and why I modified the deck in the ways that I did. Survival Hulk is based on the idea that Survival of the Fittest is the best card in Shuffle Hulk, because it lets the player manage their hand through an incredibly useful mechanic for the deck. As many Hulk players will tell you, the bane of the archtype is drawing your own combo pieces, because Protean Hulk can't get them into play very easily from your hand. Shuffle Hulk is unique among Hulk types, because the shuffle effect of certain cards serves as both a combo piece, and also a unique tool for recycling your hand through Survival of the Fittest. The deck is named 'Survival Hulk' because certain features of the deck are designed to work with, or help find Survival of the Fittest. In my opinion, it's that important to the framework.
Concerning the framework itself, a couple of tricks that I picked up in building and tuning this deck that I think help the argument that Shuffle Hulk is the best Hulk framework, for anyone exploring the archtype, but unsure about which version to build, are that neither the Eldrazi, nor the the Narcomeoba are dead cards, as certain creatures can be, when drawn in other Hulk builds. As a 1/1 Flyer, Narcomeoba is a great tool for getting Tymna's ability going, and isn't particularly vulnerable on the battlefield to anything except being removed from the game, which this deck can cover. Now, on the other side of the coin, Ulamog is absolute monster, capable of causing extreme devastation to other player's boards through his annihilation triggers. On rare occassions, when Pattern of Rebirth does it's it's thing, but enough other angles got disrupted that you wouldn't be able to finish the combo anyways, go ahead. Indulge...
Last, Shuffle Hulk can go off at instant speed, and while this deck features a sorcery speed version of it's Hulk line that I think is more secure, there's no reason not to go off at instant speed if you feel that it's correct for the situation.
The Basics
There may be several different schools of thought on exactly how to play either Shuffle or Survival Hulk, so I wouldn't assume that what I have written in this primer is THE definitive guide by any stretch of the imagination. I encourage anyone learning the deck to both try out a few different play styles, and also to maintain lines of communication with known Hulk groups, such as the deck's official Discord channel. Being open to new ideas, while simultaneously critical of both your own play style, and how you want the deck to act against your perceived metagame, are both crucial for success with this deck. Regular practice is also essential, as the deck is both highly complex, and terribly susceptible to board-based control elements, such as: Grafdigger's Cage, Cursed Totem, and Blood Moon.
Essentially, what you have in your hands is an explosive concoction that WILL win games, if you can successfully pilot the deck to a point where it's capable of winning, but, a concoction that can also be pushed off course very easily if you're not dead certain where you are in the game for a given context. Survival Hulk is not the kind of deck for wishy-washy planning, as, pound for pound, you generally have some pretty horrible top-decks by comparison with the rest of the table. Given that you're the 'Hulk Player' at the table, you will also frequently, if not every game, find yourself playing as the Archenemy. The reason for this is simple: As far as the other players are concerned, your deck is representing the win, each and every time you have two mana open. Think about that for a second. In my experience, the toughest thing to adjust to as a player playing Hulk, was that the table simply eliminating you is never a bad play. It doesn't matter what anything else on the board looks like, if there's nothing stopping Protean Hulk, you ARE the threat until you aren't, and one way to eliminate you as a threat, is to simply eliminate you from the game. It's that simple.
Early Setup
Earlier in the primer, I brought up the idea of knowing your 'set' plays down pat to help orchestrate wins with Shuffle Hulk. What I mean by this is, because Shuffle Hulk is more narrow in it's focus than say, Kess Control, it really helps to pilot the deck if you're aware of where you are in your own trajectory, and through that knowledge, how you plan to orchestrate the win. Or at least represent it. One thing you will quickly notice when playing Hulk is that, basically, you are always in an aggressor role. There may be times where you are not the dominant aggressor, but by in large, you want the game over sooner than later, you don't generally have the resources for prolonged dog fights, and you should be making decisions and executing plans with those realizations in mind. What follows is a simple algorithm to help you optimally align your resources as early and efficiently as possible. This algorithm won't always be perfect, but it should help provide a general framework for how to build up your board state early on, so that you're ready to attempt to win when the right situation emerges. Here it is:
1. Am I representing the win in hand?
I found this point rather unique to Flash/Hulk, and I admit that it took me some hard knocks at first to accept it. But there does seem to be something magical about it... In my experience with Hulk, if you look down at your starting seven, and you have that fabled t2/3 Hulk win in hand, either literally, or via tutors, and the means to get there, then brother take your shot. I'm not kidding. For me, this defies conventional wisdom in the sense that, with Tymna and Thrasios as your commanders, you should be using their unique card draw abilities as early as possible to get your engine online, then shoot for the win. But this is not so with Hulk. If you have it, take the shot. If you get stuffed, oh well, but I have had abysmal luck trying to build up for the win when when the t2 is in my starting seven, and phenomenal luck just driving it, even if I don't have an out behind it.
2. Do I have gas?
With any Hulk build, you simply have to accept the fact that, your deck is primarily composed of really little creatures without evasion, and some brutal top-decks, and that just is what it is. So, with that in mind, the second major question to ask yourself in the early game is: if I don't have the win in hand, do I at least have the means for a sustainable board state? If the answer is no, then you need to go and establish that first (remember, at this point, we've already concluded that the t2/3 Hulk win is unlikely, so we'll push it a little further down the list in the interest of setting up for a complete game). Personally, I like to approach this question through a couple of smaller questions to help see the bigger picture. My thought process generally looks like this: A) are the other decks at this table representative of 'heavy' creature builds? If they aren't, go and get Tymna online as soon as possible, and just start abusing the heck out of her ability. If you find yourself in a situation where you're drawing 2, 3, or even 4 cards a turn, even just for a few turns, it can make a huge difference down the line. Now, if you're up against decks that you feel will crush your board state, avoid Tymna. Simply get Thrasios into play, use him as a blocker against other Tymna builds, and try to develop some early mana to start leaning on Thrasios' ability. It's slower than Tymna's version of card draw overall, but it's much safer in the long run, and will help you stay afloat while you move into position. Finally, there is a third scenario where neither Tymna, nor Thrasios is the correct play, for various reasons. In these cases, try to fire off a tutor for some solid board based draw to help yourself get ahead. My personal favourite is Sylvan Library, because it's just pure gas, but depending on the scenario, going for something like Survival of the Fittest, or even a Trygon Predator or an Aven Mindscensor (when using creature tutors) aren't terrible ideas.
3. Do I have Hulk in hand?
Hulk is the most important piece of Flash/Hulk, not Flash. In fact, in my opinion, most players would do well to simply drop the word 'Flash' from the title of the deck to avoid confusion. Hulk is the centerpiece. Flash is simply a means to an end, not different than Necromancy, Footsteps of the Goryo, or Pattern of Rebirth with a sac outlet in play. So, with that in mind, my third section of the algorithm is: Get Hulk! At this point, we're too far down in the algorithm for it to really matter how Hulk is acquired. What's relevant is simply knowing your deck well enough to determine if you should get Hulk via Survival of the Fittest, Entomb, or through a third option, and this largely depends on the context of the game at the time you reach this third segment of the algorithm. For me, it's a bit of a crap shoot how it all gets there. If you followed my steps in order, than you'll have set up your draw engines as early as possible to help propel you forward. Really, at this point, it's a matter of seeing what you draw, calculating how close that draw puts you, and always minding the board state to make sure you're good to go. If you happen to get ahead of your deck, like having the ability to cast a quick tutor while you're getting your draw online, and without interfering with that step, Survival of the Fittest is the best card you want to find, as it supports both the Flash side of the deck, and also the numerous reanimation paths that you could take. It can also get you out of a bind really quickly if someone drops an untimely Blood Moon, or a Grafdigger's Cage. That said, if you end up just top-decking a random recursion card, Entomb can be the better option, for sheer speed. As a one mana, instant speed tutor, it isn't all that difficult to keep something like a Necromancy and the Entomb completely tucked away in your hand, waiting for a huge stack war to build up between two other players, and then simply running out your Hulk line on top of their stack. Side note, this is also incredibly satisfying...
