"That which endures, survives."
This deck is tuned to be semi-competitive online and in my LGS. Overall this deck is hitting a pretty good balance between consistency and power - not too overwhelming for my playgroup but still competitive and fun to play. I like following the 1/x guideline: win 1 out of every x games, where x is the number of players each game. I usually play 4-player games, two games a night with this deck and win at least once every time so I'm pretty happy.
Win conditions
Step 1: make tokens
Step 2: sac tokens
Step 3:???
Step 4: Insert Blood Artist for profit!
If you don't like combos, thanks for looking but you won't like this deck.Sideboard is essentially other options/meta calls to keep in mind.Maybeboard are cards that could work but that I prefer something else in the mainboard.
Combos
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There are essentially two ways to go infinite with this deck. Infinitely create/sac tokens and get something extra out of the process, or get a recursion loop going. Ghave, Guru of Spores or Pentavus is the center of the former, along with one or two other support cards. The latter involves building up a critical mass of creatures.
1. Ghave, Guru of Life and Death
Ghave, Guru of Spores + Ashnod's Altar + Parallel Lives = make two tokens, use one to make 2 mana and the other to restart the loop. Pentavus works as a colorless Ghave too if he has been tucked. Primal Vigor instead of Parallel Lives will make Ghave/Pentavus infinitely large, as will having Blade of the Bloodchief OR Hardened Scales OR Death's Presence OR Corpsejack Menace out. Insert Blood Artist for profit. You can also just equip Behemoth Sledge and swing for the kill!
2. Ghave, Juniper Guru
Ghave, Guru of Spores + Ashnod's Altar + Juniper Order Ranger = Infinite Mana + tokens
You essentially pay 1c to make a token and distribute two +1/+1 counters. Sac the token to the altar, 2 mana in pool, Ranger has a counter on him. Use 1 mana to remove the counter from Juniper Order Ranger and make a new token, which triggers more counters. Use the second mana to remove a counter from the new token, putting another saproling out that triggers a second counter on the ranger. Ranger now has two counters, a token with no counter and a token with one. Repeat. You'll end up with an infinite number of dies/enter triggers and an infinite Juniper Order Ranger. Since there are infinite counters on him you can pay to take one off, make a token, sacrifice it for 2, and generate infinite mana. Pentavus doesn't work as it can only add/subtract counters from itself.
Insert Blood Artist for profit.
3. The Three Musketeers
Karmic Guide + Reveillark + Saffi Eriksdotter
+ sac outlet + any other creature. This will net infinite death/etb triggers and infinite graveyard recursion.
How it works: with Karmic Guide in the grave (from Jarad's Orders?), sacrifice Saffi Eriksdotter, targeting Reveillark. Sacrifice reveilark to a sac engine. Lark brings back both Saffi Eriksdotter and Karmic Guide, and Karmic Guide brings back anything you want. So you end up with them all on the board + whatever you brought back from the graveyard. Sac Karmic Guide to a sacrifice engine and Saffi Eriksdotter targeting Reveillark to restart the loop. Insert Blood Artist for profit.
Sac Engines: Viscera Seer, Blasting Station, Ashnod's Altar / Phyrexian Altar, Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter
Abzan Ascendancy will make you an infinite army of spirit tokens.
Gray Merchant of Asphodel to kill everyone, probably my favorite.
Acidic Slime to blow everything up.
Sun Titan for other permanent recursion, Rune-Scarred Demon for endless tutor.
3.a
Karmic Guide + Saffi Eriksdotter + sac engine (Vish Kal, Viscera Seer, either of the Altars, or Blasting Station).
With Saffi and Guide out, sac Saffi targetting Guide. Sac Guide to something, bringing back Saffi. You don't get recursion but you do get etb/dies triggers. Insert Blood Artist for profit.
3.b
Reveillark + Saffi Eriksdotter + sac engine + creature with less than 3 power.
With Saffi and Reveillark out, sac Saffi targetting Reveillark. Sac Reveillark to something, bringing back Saffi + whatever small creature you had. Blood Artist or Gray Merchant of Asphodel for the win, Acidic Slime to make people rage quit.
I'm adding Spirit Bonds because it is generally value, and with these infinite enter/leave triggers happening if you're saccing to Phyrexian Altar you can make an infinite army of spirits. Woohoo!
Unused Combos
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Here's a Plea for Guidance combo that is fun that you could add, although I don't have it right now: Earthcraft + Squirrel Nest
: Gets out an infinite number of squirrels that you can sac for huge mana or use Harsh Sustenance on. Also, squirrels!
Bloodsoaked Champion / Reassembling Skeleton + Ashnod's Altar + Abzan Ascendancy + Phyrexian Altar = Infinite colorless mana and etb/dies triggers.
Tier 2: Synergy and Redundancy
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Avenger of Zendikar
Butcher of Malakir: Get this and Ghave out to keep the board clear of your opponent's threats.
Fecundity: with one of the infinite loops you can draw your whole deck.
Sun Titan will get back most of the combo or support pieces, or lands that always seem to get destroyed.
Regrowth
Obzedat's Aid
Eternal Witness - not quite good enough to cut it in one of the combo kills, still excellent reuse of spells, particularly non-permanents.
Vish Kal, Blood Arbiter - Late game sac outlet + lifelink flier. Can't go wrong.
Realm Seekers - this guy is essentially the best Essence Harvest target ever. I played a six man game where it came out as a 59/59. Beast.
Fertilid - aside from the ramp, it has excellent synergy with Ob Nixilis, Unshackled!
I don't have Doubling Season in here for several reasons. One, it is expensive and I already have one for my Prossh deck. Two, it paints an even bigger target on your head, when everyone is already a little suspicious of the Ghave combo deck. Three, Primal Vigor does the exact same thing since I have no planeswalkers to go with Doubling Season, and there aren't too many other successful token decks I run across. If either of those conditions change then I might consider swapping.
Ramp
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Cultivate | Kodama's Reach | Explosive Vegetation
Mirari's Wake | Boundless Realms - yay for basic lands!
Gaea's Cradle
Card Advantage / Tutor
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Skullclamp
Diabolic Tutor
Tooth and Nail | Genesis Wave
Removal
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Putrefy & Mortify I really want a ___ify that deals with enchantments and artifacts.
Slice in Twain
Artisan's Sorrow
Aura Shards
Wrath of God
Replacements and Card Choices
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If I were to run some planeswalkers, I'd run a package of:
Ajani, Mentor of Heroes, Elspeth, Knight-Errant, Garruk, Apex Predator, (probably the other Garruk's too), and Vraska the Unseen. I've also come across a proliferate deck in my meta, and having doubling season out is a bad life choice in that case.
Current Proxies to Acquire
Genesis Wave - $6
Tooth and Nail $25. Thanks Twin ban.
Ashnod's Altar - $2, just need to do it.
Someday:
Phyrexian Arena
Phyrexian Altar
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth