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This most fragile of glass cannons was created for the Magus Challenge, proposed by Andramalech! The quick summary is that we're looking to play Angel's Grace, reduce our life total to 0 or less, then swap life total's with our opponent using Magus of the Mirror's ability.

If you'd like more detail, please read on!

The challenge was to create a Vintage legal deck around one of the 'Magus of' creatures. We decided on Vintage because it provides the largest card pool of any format, which allowed for the greatest creativity. The one caveat was that you could not use the original card the Magus was based on (because really, who is going to run Magus of the Jar over Memory Jar?).

Here'a a list of the options at the time of the challenge.

Each magus is a broken card from the early days of Magic transformed into a creature, and I can't resist a nostalgia lure like that! Our magus of choice to build around is Magus of the Mirror, which is an updated, creature version of Mirror Universe.

At first glance, Magus of the Mirror looks like a kind of wonky solution to a low life total late in the game. But what if we could get the Magus out early? And what if our life total was 0 when we activace its ability? Well that's exactly what we're trying to do!

I initially tried to ramp out Magus of the Mirror using Dark Rituals and the like, but that was just too slow and required too much of the deck to be dedicated to it. Then, I realised I was being silly and trying to play honestly. That's when I thought of Reanimate!

The goal of the deck is to Entomb or discard Magus of the Mirror to Thoughtseize and then Reanimate it (hopefully) on turn 1. On our next upkeep we play Angel's Grace and then reduce our life total to 0 or less through Plunge into Darkness or Spoils of the Vault. Activate Magus of the Mirror's ability and kindly Donate our lack of a life total to our opponent!

I like to think of the cards in this deck in three catgories: Dying, Not Dying, and Magus Support.

Dying

Ultimately, we're trying to get our life total low, similar to Death's Shadow builds in Modern, except we're trying to go one better and have 0 or less life. Incidental damage from Marsh Flats, Godless Shrine, and Thoughtseize is great, but it doesn't really do the trick. Our main life losers are Plunge into Darkness and Spoils of the Vault.

Plunge into Darkness is preferable if we also need it to find one of our pieces, since we can dictate how much life is spent, ensuring we have 0 life at the end. Spoils of the Vault, on the other hand, can be used to find a final piece of the puzzle, but we may not lose enough life if we reveal the named card early. If we have everything we need in hand, then either one works just as well! We can always name a card that's not in our deck for Spoils of the Vault and lose as much life as we have cards in our library.

Not Dying

We rely on Angel's Grace to keep us alive at 0 life. Phyrexian Unlife provides a little backup, but the higher mana cost makes it less helpful in most cases.

An important note for Angel's Grace is that it prevents damage from reducing our life total lower than 1. However, damage causes loss of life, but loss of life is not damage. We can pay as much life as we have (including the final point of life) to Plunge into Darkness, setting our life total to 0. Spoils of the Vault can actually reduce our life total below 0. In these instances, Angel's Grace doesn't prevent our life total from going below 1, but it does prevent us from dying, which is exactly what we want!

Magus Support

Magus of the Mirror needs some help to get into play and survive a turn. Entomb can get it from our library and into the graveyard so Reanimate or Animate Dead can get it into play. Thoughtseize is mostly to clear the way for the magus to not be killed, but it can also get it into the graveyard if it happens to be in your hand.

You may have noticed there's not much interaction, or support for the magus once it's in play. That's because we live by the magus and we die by the magus! Nevertheless, we have things like Imp's Mischief, Rebuff the Wicked and Silence in the sideboard if they're needed.

What is Vintage without the chance for a turn 1 win? Probably not really vintage.

Well, this deck can't win on turn 1, but it can win on your second upkeep, which pretty close! It just requires a very specific hand and your opponent to not have any interaction (or be asleep).

Your opening hand will need Angel's Grace, Entomb, Reanimate, Plunge into Darkness or Spoils of the Vault, Swamp, Mox Jet, and Mox Pearl or Black Lotus. You don't technically need Angel's Grace in your opener, but I'd rather have it there than hope find it when you dig with Plunge into Darkness.

On turn 1, play a Swamp and cast Mox Jet and Mox Pearl or Black Lotus. Cast Entomb to put Magus of the Mirror into your graveyard. Then, put it into play with Reanimate.

The hardest part will be surviving your opponent's next turn. If you do, on your upkeep cast Angel's Grace off of your Mox Pearl or Black Lotus. Then, cast Plunge into Darkness with your Swamp and Mox Jet. Pay all of your life, making your life total 0 but staying alive thanks to Angel's Grace. Finally, activate Magus of the Mirror to trade life totals with your opponent. Since they don't have the protection of Angel's Grace, they'll find 0 life much more of a problem than we did.

And there you have it! An almost turn 1 win! Is it reliable or likely? No. Is it technically possible? Yes, and that's all that matters.

Q: Where can I check out Andramalech's deck?

A: Right here! Give it an upvote! Magus of the Owls

Q: Where's Ad Nauseam?

A: Ad Nauseam didn't make the cut. It's technically the best way to dig and lose life with Angel's Grace, but the mana cost was just too high. I decided I wanted to avoid ramp or control, and go for as low cost as possible so Ad Nauseam had to go, sadly.

Q: What do you do if you're at 0 life and Magus of the Mirror is killed before you can activate its ability?

A: Scoop.

This was a fun challenge and a fun build! Most decks I create are built on a theme or around some weird card or combo. But, normally I keep the card pool to cards from 1999 or earlier and don't put any restrictions on the cards I can use from that timeframe, putting the decks firmly in the casual category. The restriction of an actual format, combined with the wider card pool of Vintage made this a lot of fun!

I like the way the magi give new life to old cards. Magic has been around so long and has so much history. I really enjoy how frequently newer cards reference this history. Although, I guess calling a card from Time Spiral 'new' shows my age...

Anyway, this deck would likely never win an actual Vintage match, but I'm ok with that. I'm pleased with the way it came together! Thanks for checking it out!

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Casual

93% Competitive

Date added 2 years
Last updated 2 years
Legality

This deck is Vintage legal.

Rarity (main - side)

44 - 11 Rares

7 - 2 Uncommons

4 - 2 Commons

Cards 60
Avg. CMC 1.35
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