Survival Hulk Primer

Survival Hulk is a Shuffle Hulk variant that's designed with more attention towards managing the board than more traditional Hulk builds. It has most of the same Hulk lines as traditional Shuffle Hulk builds, but I've added a few more, as well, to help shore up some angles that I was having difficulty managing before the changes. As always, all cards and strategies are explained in full detail in the primer below. Full recognition for this deck should go to Sick_Robot and his crew for the initial design. It is a magnificent build. This build generally works the same way, but is ultimately intended for a more 'ground and pound' style of play that lets the pilot take stock of the board state, and make accurate, 'game time' decisions, rather than relying so heavily on speed to win most games. Thanks for reading.

About the Deck

So, the main difference between this version of Shuffle Hulk and the original version of Shuffle Hulk is that, with this version, I've really taken an honest look at the counterspell package from the original list, and I've asked myself if this is really the way that I want to play the deck? Now, I don't want this to sound like I'm opposed to the original build, because I'm not; what I want this to sound like is this: For years, the Calgary metagame has been subtly different than the perceived metagame for cEDH, when viewed through the lens of the Internet, and 'net decking'. Most players that have stuck around, or followed the Calgary metagame for any extended period of time will tell you that, in this city, there is a notable preference for hard answers on the board, rather than soft answers on the stack. Meaning, around here, you're more likely to HAVE to deal with a Grafdigger's Cage, or a Blood Moon, but less likely to eat random counterspells, so, you have to be prepared for that. There're a lot of what I call 'prison' builds in Calgary, which are basically stax decks (some of us older folk remember the difference, so I continue to toot my trumpet on that matter), and dealing with that style of play, while on Hulk, can be extremely tricky, if not downright difficult. Through this primer, I hope to help provide some additional ideas for longtime Hulk players, some insight for those just breaking into the archetype, and some marketing for those who are exploring their next deck, and maybe thought about giving Shuffle Hulk a try. Hint, hint: I think you should...


Foreword

Just a quick word of encouragement for those last two groups before we begin. I've been playing this game for a solid 25 years at this point, and cEDH-level Shuffle Hulk is by far the most challenging and complex deck that I have ever learned to pilot. Period. There are lines that must happen in Hulk that are counter-intuitive to EVERYTHING I thought I understood about Magic, specifically; and even card games themselves more generally. It took me six full weeks to get comfortable with the deck and the build that I wanted, and I almost gave up on the deck at one point for sheer frustration. But I sat down, I broke it down, I figured out what I wanted to do with it as a deck, and I moved forward from there. The product you are about to review is the result of that deconstruction and subsequent re-construction. If you're having trouble with Hulk, practice it against the goldfish until you nail the 'set' plays. Time your outs, and just focus on threatening the win by t3/4 when practicing. There are literally dozens of viable lines that will threaten the table in some very uncanny ways, but you need to understand both what to look for, and then how you intend to execute those lines once you've found them. If you're patient, tenacious, and willing to look the other way on some of the horrible top-decks that this deck can produce, then I promise that the essence of the deck will emerge for you, and as it opens up, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at exactly how flexible the archetype actually is. If you have any questions about the deck, I encourage you to find Sick_Robot and the Shuffle Hulk Discord channel. They're a wonderful group, and they WILL take the time to help you out. You can also feel free to reach out to DSC1 through FB. We're always happy to help, too... Now, without further ado, let's get the ball rolling on Magic's ultimate version of Ali's famous phrase: 'Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.' This is Survival Hulk, by DSC1. Enjoy!

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...

Main Combo Lines

As I mentioned earlier, Survival Hulk is modeled after Shuffle Hulk. I've taken the same combo, in mostly the same deck, and simply added room for more aggressive board control options, such as Trygon Predator, and Force of Vigor. In that sense, the main combo is the same. You Hulk for: Nomads en-Kor, Cephalid Illusionist, a sac outlet, and in my case, Zulaport Cutthroat. You use the Nomad's ability to repeatedly target the Illusionist, milling three cards off the top of your deck each time, and looking for either the Narcomeoba, or the Eldrazi to run each iteration of the combo. The big changes I made are as follows:

1) No Memory's Journey. I'm not denying that it doesn't work, this deck is simply tight for slots because of an increased emphasis on 'multi-hulking' options, such as Riftsweeper and Grand Abolisher, and I've decided to use timing, or my Grand Abolisher line to help guarantee the win.
2) Addition of Riftsweeper. With the addition of Riftsweeper, two things open up for Survival Hulk that are not available to any other Hulk decks: first, we can return cards that have been exiled through various means back into our library. This is useful because, second, we use Riftsweeper in conjunction with our multi-hulk enablers (Academy Rector and Body Snatcher) to actually use those multi-hulk enablers a second time. This is particularly useful with Body Snatcher, who is actually able to pull two combo pieces out from your hand through Riftsweeper. As for the Rector, the Riftsweeper is essential for enabling the Rector to grab either the Survival of the Fittest, or the Sylvan Library, and still be used at a latter point in the game, if need be.
3) Addition of Grand Abolisher. The Addition of Grand Abolisher enables the following multi-hulk: Spellseeker, Grand Abolisher, sac outlet. The Spellseeker searches for a Reanimate, which brings the Hulk back to finish the combo, while the Grand Abolisher basically locks everyone else out of the game. The drawback is that this can only be done at sorcery speed, currently, but the pay off is a completely indisruptable path to victory, so that's fun.

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Date added 5 years
Last updated 5 years
Legality

This deck is not Commander / EDH legal.

Rarity (main - side)

12 - 0 Mythic Rares

52 - 0 Rares

21 - 0 Uncommons

13 - 0 Commons

Cards 100
Avg. CMC 1.93
Tokens Bird 2/2 U
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