Info:
This build is a rather unorthodox deathtouch "tribal" deck. Deathtouch in my opinion is often overlooked and vastly underrated, which I will talk more about later. For those who don't know, the ability states that any damage dealt to a creature by this card destroys it. It forces your opponent's attention to your half of the battlefield, and compels them to let your attacks slip through their defences and chip away at their life count. I wanted to capitalize on this unique trait, so I started messing around.
Going into the project, I knew I had a few options. I could try to get some enormous creatures with trample on the field, and give them deathtouch with cards like Coat with Venom, forcing your opponent to sacrifice all their creatures to avoid damage, or just tank it. Another option, which I favored, was going more aggro by loading my deck with small creatures that come with deathtouch and slowly pick at the opponent's life bit by bit, controlling the field with some other removal. I was testing the deck, and adding the finishing touches when I had an epiphany.
While I was in the process of play-testing the deck, I remembered that Turn 2 Glistener Elf build, that Bad Boy Gaming made a video on a while ago. It was centered around hammering your opponent with an 11/11 Glistener Elf on turn 2, using buff spells, resulting in an immediate overload of infect counters. For those who don't know, when a creature has Infect, and deals combat damage to a player, instead of taking life away, it puts that many Infect counters on them. 10 infect counters, and the player loses the game.
Anyways, I realized that deathtouch was a perfect avenue to obliterate your opponent unexpectedly, since they aren't going to want to let you destroy all their creatures by blocking over the loss of 1 life. So, I took full advantage of this, aiming to take any one of my creatures, wait until the enemy declares no blockers, and flip the tables, making the attacking creature a monstrous infecter and ending the game on the spot. This is a versatile combo, as it can win on turn 3 using any creature you can play by turn 2. Here's the strat:
Strategy:
This combo is amazing, because it fits in an opening hand, but you don't need all the cards in it until turn 3, so you have some freedom. The required cards are as follows:
-Forest (x2)
-Swamp
-Groundswell (x2)
-Tainted Strike
-Any creature you can get out before turn 3
So first, you get out your creature when you can, playing a land each turn, and holding off until turn 3. I would even advise not attacking turn 2 if given the option, as swinging now could give the opponent an idea of how fast the damage could build up, and leaving your deathtouch creature strongly encourages them not to attack themselves, not that it matters.
Once turn 3 rolls around, if everything is set up properly, play your final land required for the combo(be it a second forest, or your first swamp), and before playing anything else, attack. Because your opponent won't want to lose any creatures this early blocking a creature with power of 1(maybe 2), they will most likely skip the option to block. Before the damage resolves, cast your 2 Groundswells, which each give +4/+4 because you played your land in your first main phase, along with your Tainted Strike. This gives your former 1/1 or 1/2 a total of +9/+8 and infect. As you know, 10 damage from an infector is an automatic win.
Summary:
All in all, this deck was a blast to build, simple and fun to play- and the feeling when you see your opponent's face after dropping the combo is priceless, and shockingly competitive. But the best part, is it is still evolving.
Currently, I have it set up as a budget build, and have messed around with some more expensive bits. If you have the money, I would highly suggest swapping some basic lands for a few Overgrown Tombs, the only dual land I would advise using, as life is expendable in the beginning. The only non-budget card I have in the deck currently is a single copy of The Gitrog Monster, as I believe that card draw is one of the most valuable aspects of the game. I am a person who always wants to get down to the good stuff in my deck, hence the Sixth Senses and Costly Plunders. And for some reason, I always have a surplus of lands no matter how many I take out of the deck(just my luck), so I thought that The Gitrog Monster was the perfect late-game option.
A few other options for this slot that I like, are Clackbridge Troll for more card draw and a lot of pressure, or Tetzimoc, Primal Hunger to clear the opponent's board and make way for your smaller creatures to finish off your opponent's life.
