Probably the lamest title ever conceived... Read it out and see...
Paramore references ( I had nothing else to listen to ) aside, this deck uses the often overlooked Nivmagus Elemental and the new cipher card Hidden Strings for one crazy, spell-devouring, mana-ramping, land-untapping, counter-slinging, drake-pooping deck,
Here's how the deck works given a great opening hand.
T1: Land, drop the Elemental
T2: This is where things get funny. Hidden Strings, untap a land, tap their blocker, hit with the elemental, exile the second copy or untap a land and play another Hidden Strings /
Hands of Binding
.
Alternatively, if they don't have a guy out, untap two lands on the first casting, cipher Hands Of Binding or another copy of Hidden Strings, then attack. Exile the spare Hands Of Binding and untap two lands, making a 3/4 with mana left to Spell Rupture!
T3: Enjoy your 3/4 and perhaps play an Artful Dodge allowing the elemental to feast on a cipher trigger/flashback, leaving mana open for a now Mana Leak-esque
Spell Rupture
?
Tap down any blockers with the Hands Of Binding you played last turn, ramp up to a grand total of 5 mana with Hidden Strings to play Talrand and some spells, or just gobble up all the ciphers and have a 7/8 and mana left to protect him!
Spell Rupture
is there because... the only thing you really really need to protect is your giant Nivmagus Elemental most of the time, and since it only takes one cipher activation to pump him up to 3 power ( and therefore Rupture turns intoMana Leak ), it should do the trick. You will rarely end up tapped out thanks to Hidden Strings.
Goblin Electromancer fills an important role here. Reducing the cost of Hidden Strings in turn increases the amount of mana you're getting. With 3 lands and him out, you're getting 4 mana instead of just 3, or 6 if you successfully cipher. What do we do with all that mana? Well, this deck has several 1-drop instants and sorceries, and that's where the next guy shines...
Guttersnipe and Talrand, Sky Summoner both turn spells into damage or creatures. Now, Artful Dodge comes with two 2/2 Drake Tokens, and hits for 4! Cipher copies also work off this guy, putting your opponent on a slowly ticking clock.
Faithless Looting and
Think Twice
to dig for key cards such as Strings and the Elemental, while triggering Guttersnipe effects.
Mizzium Mortars to clear the path for a final attack, or to get rid of weenie rushes.
Skullcrack to deal with lifegain. Emptying your hand to nearly finish off an opponent only for him to gain back all the life he lost isn't what we want here...
