So from the start I have to give credit to OcelotProblems for a lot of the combos in this deck. This deck is based heavily off of his 28 Turns Later deck, and I'm very thankful that he agreed to let me borrow some of the basic ideas.
So this deck is made entirely to find and exploit infinite combos. Below is a list of most of these combos.
1) Axebane Guardian + Freed from the Real
+ at least one other defender = Infinite mana A lot (but not all) of the other combos require infinite mana to immediately end the game, so this is the fundamental combo of the deck. In order to maximize the chances of getting this combo early, I'm of course running playsets of both Axebane Guardian and Freed from the Real. However, one of the other important cards for this combo is Drift of Phantasms. Its transmute ability is a great way to search for either Axebane or Freed, and it's also a defender in case you already have Axebane and Freed but are missing a second defender on the field.
2) Infinite mana + Dimir Guildmage = Infinite Draw Hello win condition number one, the deck out. Basically, you win the game once you draw Dimir Guildmage while you already have the infinite mana combo out. Use your infinite mana to just endlessly activate his ability and ask your opponent to please draw their entire deck plus one. Win. Alternatively, if you get Dimir Guildmage before you all the infinite mana combo pieces, then you can use his draw ability on yourself in order to get through your deck quicker and find the pieces you need.
3) Infinite mana + Duskmantle Guildmage = Infinite Mill / Mill Until Death By Life Loss Extremely similar to the previous combo. Instead of making your opponent draw their entire deck, you make them mill their entire deck and just pass the turn to them. This version could fail if your opponent has one of the Eldrazi titans in their deck, but Duskmantle Guildmage is so great that he gives us two ways to kill the opponent. You can activate his first ability so your opponent will lose life whenever they mill, and then use infinite mana to mill them until their life is gone. So with infinite mana and Duskmantle Guildmage your opponent will either run out of cards or life or both.
4) Infinite Mana + Blue Sun's Zenith = Infinite Draw Just like number two again except with an instant instead of a creature. Again, if you're missing combo pieces early game, you can target yourself to draw a lot of cards to search for the missing pieces. As a bonus, Blue Sun's Zenith gets shuffled back into your deck, so you aren't really losing anything by using it early game. Additionally, the converted mana cost is technically 3, so you can use Drift of Phantasms to search for it.
5) Infinite Mana + Doorkeeper
+
Freed from the Real
= Infinite Mill For this combo, you need the Axeband Guardian with Freed from the Real for infinite mana and Doorkeeper with a second Freed from the Real in order to keep untapping Doorkeeper to allow you to use his effect endlessly. It would technically go faster if you have more defenders out, but it doesnt really matter too much because you have infinite mana and infinite untaps.
6) Infinite Mana + Phenax, God of Deception + Freed from the Real = Infinite Mill Basically the same combo as above. Phenax gives all of your creatures Doorkeeper's effect, so you just need to give one of them Freed from the Real and there's your win by mill.7) Duskmantle Guildmage + Mindcrank
= Infinite Mill / Mill Until Death By Life Loss This is the one infinite combo in the deck that doesnt need infinite mana in order for you to win. That being said you win need at least three mana to activate the first ability of Duskmantle Guildmage and some way to start the cycle. You can start the cycle simply by paying an additional 4 mana to also activate the second ability of Duskmantle Guildmage, or by using Doorkeepers effect, or with the effect of Phenax, God of Deception, or even by attacking with a Ludevic's Abomination
that you got from transforming Ludevic's Test Subject
. This combo doesnt happen often (the infinite mana wins normally happen too quickly), but it is good to have a backup combo that doesnt need the infinite mana trick.
Additional things about the deck:Ludevic's Test Subject
: This card is somewhat an alternative win condition. If you have infinite mana (or even just enough mana and enough turns), but somehow dont have any of the other win conditions, then you can make this into a threat. I suggest always using any leftover mana to put a counter on him. If you ever need to stall for time, a 13/13 trample beatstick is a good way to do it.Phenax, God of Deception: This can also result in a win without the use of combos. Of course the combos work better, but if you are missing something then you can always tap your defenders at the end of your opponents turn in order to mill them.Doorkeeper: To be honest, Doorkeeper is probably the least important card in the deck. Yes, there is an infinite combo win with him, but Phenax does the same thing. Also, it is theoretically possible to use his ability to mill your opponent out without having infinite mana, but it would take very long and Phenax does it better. That is why I suggest removing Doorkeeper for any sideboard swaps. Speaking of which
The Sideboard:I typically dont play with a sideboard, so I didnt do a lot with it. Its there if you want it, but there are probably better things out there for the sideboard. Anyway, heres a quick rundown of why I included what I did.Dimir Machinations: Gives you a little bit of control which can be nice. Also is another transmute for converted mana cost of three, so it can help find some of those combo pieces. However, the double black in the transmute cost might be difficult early game.Kiora's Follower: Gives you the option for an infinite mana and untap combo. Axebane Guardian + Freed from the Real
+
Kiora's Follower
+ at least one other defender. Its a little more complicated than the standard infinite mana combo. The idea is that you put Freed from the Real on Kioras Follower, then tap Axebane Guardian for two mana. Use one of the mana to untap Kioras Follower, retap Kioras Follower to untap something else, then use the second mana to untap Kioras Follower again which you then use to untap Axebane Guardian and repeat. Its complicated and Im not sure when it might be needed, but thats why its a sideboard card.Perplex: Another control card with a transmute for converted mana cost of three. I would probably use it before Dimir Machinations but it really depends on what you are playing against.Shred Memory: This is in case your opponent has something that has a tricky effect in their graveyard while you are milling them. You can cast this before their effect resolves and remove the problem from the game. Additionally, it has a transmute for converted mana cost of two, which can be used to get find either of the Guildmages for a win condition or any of our numerous cheap defenders.Sultai Charm: This is really just for basic versatility. You can use it for control or draw power or to get rid of annoying enchantments. Basically, it just sounded like a good sideboard card.
Budget:True to OcelotProblems original deck, I tried to make this pretty cheap to buy. I like owning physical copies of the decks I make on here and my wallet has to dictate some of my choices. Although to be honest, I was able to fit most of the cards in here that I wanted to. I might like a few more copies of Phenax, God of Deception over Doorkeeper, but I dont think the end result is too bad.
I just want to say one more time that a lot of this is borrowed from OcelotProblems in his deck 28 Turns Later, and Im very grateful that he let me use his idea. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the deck and if you do, plus click that +1 button. Thanks!
