Combo Craziness 1

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squire1

1 August 2010

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Hey there everybody! I'm back with an article that will hopefully cause some good hearted debate about deck building. I like to use underused cards and see if I can make a combo deck using them to make them broken. For this edition, I would like to focus on a card from the Time Spiral block (becoming my favorite more and more by the day). The point of this exercise is to make us all think about deck building and hopefully stretch ourselves to look at cards in different ways. In this case we are looking at building a legacy legal deck that is for casual play, but it can still crush. So without further ado the card is:

So I started to think all the directions this could go in.

Reanimating

I first thought about reanimating creatures like: Bloodghast, Nether Shadow, Krovikan Horror, Vengevine, Endless Cockroaches, Brood of Cockroaches, Ichorid, Reassembling Skeleton, etc. I figure that if I can get a replacement creature back for each that died and then bounce them from the graveyard back to play that would double up my creature. I figure that if I could bounce creatures and get more I could use Death Pit Offering then each creature I get from Bridge from Below would be 4/4.

Pumping

My next thought was to use the creatures I drop to feed a pumping creature like: Bloodthrone Vampire, Carrion Feeder, Crovax the Cursed, Fallen Angel, Nantuko Husk, Ravenous Vampire, Vampire Aristocrat, Nantuko Shade, etc. I figure if I could get a couple of creatures through, sacrifice the rest, and let Bridge from Below replenish my creatures, I could repeat next turn.

Direct Damage

This option almost garauntees that I pair with red using cards that require creature sacrifice to deal direct damage to my opponent. I figure that cards like: Blasting Station, Blood Rites, Bloodshot Cyclops, Brion Stoutarm *oversized*, Doom Cannon, Final Strike, Fling, Grab the Reins, Krovikan Horror, Rite of Consumption, Forbidden Ritual etc. This is a viable option. I love Forbidden Ritual and that Krovikan Horror keeps popping up and has a great deal of synergy.

So which direction really makes this card broken. Or is there a better way? I tried to think about other ways to use this but I stopped about here because my ideas started to get silly like using gravepact and such.

Support cards

Now this is an important factor with Bridge from Below. It has to end up in the graveyard. What is the best way? I could Entomb it, mill myself or discard it. Not sure which is the best here.

What I really wanted to do with this article was create a setup for people to read and discuss. Please discuss your thoughts about where I went, where it should go and what you would do. Feel free to build and post your decks in the comments. I would love to see what people come up with. I settled on this sac from below.

I may write another article like this if people like it, so suggestions for cards are always appreciated.

The next article in this series is Combo Craziness 2

birdseed says... #1

Consider: Bridge from Below (in graveyard) + Vampire Aristocrat , Fallen Angel , etc. + Many zuberas and changelings.

August 1, 2010 9:09 p.m.

squire1 says... #2

@ birdseed something like this? zubera below

@ blueclay - not sure, I don't think that you could sack the new creatures to it, but devour is something to play with as it would allow you to replace your devoured creatures.

August 1, 2010 9:41 p.m.

birdseed says... #3

yeah like that! you could also throw in a Devouring Greed (rather than Forbidden Ritual , but i guess it's all about preference) or two and a couple changelings to make it even more broken

August 1, 2010 9:50 p.m.

squire1 says... #4

@ birdseed- Devouring Greed is a great idea. I figured that the changeling thing was not necessary with Conspiracy

August 1, 2010 10:02 p.m.

birdseed says... #5

Thanks! yeah thats a good idea, with Conspiracy . (psst! its not in your deck...)

August 1, 2010 10:05 p.m.

eze01 says... #6

I am thinking Dredge and Unearth would be a great way to do this. I am thinking something along these lines Unearth/Dredge from below

August 1, 2010 10:22 p.m.

misshepeshu says... #7

Here's an idea to keep Bridge from Below in your graveyard as long as possible: play with Leyline of the Void . If your opponents' creatures hit the exile zone instead of their graveyard, then the Bridge stays nice and cozy where it belongs.

August 2, 2010 2:33 a.m.

Zanven says... #8

False Demise + Iridescent Drake make for a good infinite creature recursion engine for effects like this.

August 2, 2010 2:46 a.m.

exarkun809 says... #9

@Misshepeshu

Great call with the Leyline of the Void , that was my first thought.

card:Necromancer's Covenant could be good.

Or Phyrexian Reclamation ?

August 2, 2010 12:13 p.m.

exarkun809 says... #10

Also, I think Sac'ing/Pumping is the best way to get the most out of this concept.

Then something like Deepcavern Imp and then for the Echo cost discard Bridge or something with Dredge to mill yourself into a Bridge from Below?

Is Abandon Hope (Tempest) Legacy legal? Or Anvil of Bogardan , Insidious Dreams , Restless Dreams , Vengeful Dreams ? There's also Sphinx of Lost Truths . All of this is opposed to or to complement Entomb .

Anvil of Bogardan ... mmmmm.

August 2, 2010 12:28 p.m.

Battlecry1986 says... #11

how about Bridge from Below + Krark-Clan Ironworks + Myr Retriever

You need two Myr Retriever's to pull off the combo.

Sac Myr Retriever to the Krark-Clan Ironworks gaining 2 mana; target and return the other Myr Retriever to your hand then recast it with the 2 mana you just created then repeat.

With Bridge from below = infinite 2/2 Zombies

August 2, 2010 12:52 p.m.

birdseed says... #12

oooh i like that idea . throw in some Salvage Titan s and Myr Servitor s..... deck building time!

August 2, 2010 3:35 p.m.

MDragoon423 says... #13

Just a clarification on the whole Devour thing, it doesn't give you twice as many creatures to sacrifice since the creatures are only put into the graveyard as the Devour creature is coming into play so by the time the creatures hit the graveyard, your Devour guy is already on the field, making friends with his new Zombie friends.

August 2, 2010 4:52 p.m.

Firefighter_X says... #14

Play a BGW Fauna Shaman Elvish Piper deck with artifacts and equipment.

Eldrazi Monument + Bridge from Below + Leyline of the Void

Then tutor for and drop Sterling Grove X2 and finally a Novablast Wurm covered by a Whispersilk Cloak

Everything you own is indestructable & you have a shrouded 7/7 Wrath of God pounding them every turn.

Not the best deck, but sure sounds like fun.

August 2, 2010 8:09 p.m.

Firefighter_X says... #15

To set of the above combo just have 13 or more life and cast a card:Death's Shadow once you have the Leyline, Bridge & monument down.

Shadow goes to the GY from play and you have your creature to sac to monument from the Bridge.

August 2, 2010 8:14 p.m.

Firefighter_X says... #16

NM.. i misread bridge.. none of my ideas work.. I r Hurr Durr.....

August 2, 2010 8:17 p.m.

Phantos says... #17

Magmaw would help with the direct damage idea.

August 2, 2010 8:22 p.m.

Firefighter_X says... #18

Here's my deck concept .

Mishra's Monumental Bridge

August 2, 2010 8:52 p.m.

squire1 says... #19

@ birdseed - good call, I added conspiracy

@ blueclay - I LOVE the no-rest-for-the-wicked-idea.--damnation-might-be-a-bad-idea-though-as-it-will-make-[[bridge-from-below go away

@ [[user:misshepeshu - nice! Leyline of the Void would fix the problem with Damnation

@ Zanven - nice old solid combo there

@ exarkun809 - Vengeful Dreams seems like a good idea. It removes creatures from the game which would be great removal.

@ Battlecry1986 - that combo does work. never loved it though.

@ MDragoon423 - thanks for the clarification. That is what I thought but I do suck with rulings sometimes

@ Phantos - good call Magmaw is awesome. It could work with phyrexian-alter combo that bluclay had or the one that Battlecry1986.

@ Firefighter_X - nice build, took a lot of these concepts and put them together.

@ eze01 - I like the idea, it looks like it might loose steam. Not sure.

Great feedback! Keep building and brainstorming.

Any Ideas for other cards that are crazy esoteric that we know can be broken but just don't see the best way to do it?

August 2, 2010 9:42 p.m.

I would suggest Training Grounds . Its new, fun, and it DEFINATELY does some goofy things.

Also, for the next card, I would suggest avoiding cards that are already part of an insane combo deck.

But yeah. This was a fun Johnny Exersize. Im lookin forward to the next one!

August 2, 2010 11:50 p.m.

MasterPrime says... #21

Without Leyline of the Void it's not a long term card. Death Pit Offering is a pretty sweet idea, as is the bouncing creatures, but unless you can do it multiple times per turn, it would take too long for it to be a "crushing" combo. Maybe an annoying combo like Prodigal Pyromancer + Gorgon Flail .

It's a slow play card/combo. Gives the other player something to work against like my favorite combo: Megrim + Underworld Dreams + burning-inquiry combined with the aforementioned Prodigal Pyromancer + Gorgon Flail for creature control is wicked and annoying, but only becomes crushing if you get the time to set it up. and by then they could have milled the crap out of you or burned your life off.

August 3, 2010 1:01 a.m.

yeaGO says... #22

btw Squire: Hit Article. =)

August 3, 2010 12:45 p.m.

squire1 says... #23

@ MasterPrime that sounds like an interesting and tough build. What would that look like? Give it a whirl and post it.

@ yeaGO! - thanks.

So I am thinking for the next one maybe doing Mirror of Fate , Nameless Race , or Training Grounds . Any thoughts?

Or maybe Wood Elemental

August 3, 2010 1:33 p.m.

exarkun809 says... #24

Funny you should say Mirror of Fate ...

Celestial Mirror

Lifegain/Wall up... Tutor/Brainstorm for turn 4 Selective Memory and turn 5 Mirror of Fate ... turn 6 Vampire Hexmage + Celestial Convergence

:)

August 3, 2010 2:30 p.m.

squire1 says... #25

yeah it will work once but then you have to get another in graveyard

August 3, 2010 11:38 p.m.

Alzhander says... #26

I would love to have Bridge from Below in my modular deck, lazily called My Modular. Sac a creature to the Spawning Pit , move modular counters, AND get a 2/2 zombie as a bonus :D

August 5, 2010 6:22 a.m.

I know dredge decks combo with Narcomoeba and use it to flashback Dread Return on Flame-Kin Zealot , creating a bunch of tokens with haste

August 15, 2010 10:48 p.m.

cafeman says... #28

What about sacrificing Venerated Teacher and having have it pump level up creatures?

August 28, 2010 7:22 a.m.

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