$20 super budget jank fest! (not including sideboard)
All you need to do is have more life than your opponent, then drain yourself to pump Wall of Blood and finish the game with Rite of Consumption or Essence Harvest once you've matched Wall's power with their life total. Pretty much the black version of fling, but at sorcery speed, and able to win by turn 4.
If Wall of Blood doesn't come early enough, Lone Rider
and
Divinity of Pride
help out as threats and have lifelink to keep the combo a viable option for a few more turns before you get nuked. Simply having a Martyr of Sands with 1 white card in hand or dropping a Cathedral Sanctifier, not counting instants or sorceries, is enough to transform Lone Rider
to
It That Rides as One
and keep it on the curve. Maintaining our life total at 25 means
Divinity of Pride
turns into an 8/8. These plays are backups, but necessary since we only run 4 walls. All non-basic lands add life at the cost of coming in tapped, but with lots of low-cost creatures this should run ok.
Mid-late game, if you run into trouble finding a big piece,
Dimir Machinations
can help. This is here over Diabolic Tutor because either Wall of Blood or Essence Harvest can be pulled for 1 mana less, or it can help remove problem cards. You can also switch strategies, still utilizing life gain, to using Cradle of Vitality to stack your creatures (like Lone Rider
) as an alternative win condition. At that point, your job is to control the bleeding and outlast your opponent, which isn't ideal, but you're also not dead in the water if you can't get a Wall Combo off.
Synergies:
Wall of Blood + Rite of Consumption or Essence Harvest (our win condition)
Martyr of Sands + Vizkopa Guildmage
Cathedral Sanctifier (or any 3 point life gain) + Lone Rider
Sideboard for defense.
Essentially nothing matters as long as you have enough life to drop your combo. Keeping your life total high is paramount, but if they're shocking themselves and can't draw what they need, your opponent can almost win the game for you.
Thanks for checking this out! Feedback is welcome and appreciated!
