December 23 Pauper Challenge Breakdown

I thought long and hard about what to write about this week. The December 23 Pauper Challenge was dominated by Dimir Delver. This came on the heels of an article I wrote for ChannelFireball that questioned the place of Gush in the format. Needless to say the article generated a ton of comments in various different places. Even though you get told to never read the comments, I read every one.

Before I go on I am going to say this: if you want people to keep creating Pauper content please treat them kindly. I have stopped posting in certain places simply because the legitimate criticism is buried behind personal insults. I'm sure some people reading this are going to think I'm being thin skinned.  That may be true, but look at where Pauper content creators are posting their work and where they've stopped.

Ultimate Masters

One of the most frequently repeated comments about Gush was that there was a recency bias. At the time of publishing there had been two Ultimate Masters events where Foil was legal and Dimir Delver had done exceptionally well in those two events. How could anyone make a point about the long term health of the format based upon such a small sample size?

I understand the allure of Gush. It is a supremely powerful card and one that is a ton of fun to cast. The above chart comes from Hour of Devastation season. Over that entire span Boros Monarch and Stompy had the most Top 8s and Izzet Delver, a high profile Gush deck, performed below expectations when it comes to Top 8s. But two of the Top 5 decks and three of the Top 10 were Gush decks that performed above their expected Top 8 ratio.

After Hour of Devastation comes Ixalan. These charts all represent decks that had at least 2% of the Top 32 metagame volume. Again, Boros Monarch did exceptionally well in the short season but again there were two Top 10 Gush decks. To be fair there were two other Gush decks that performed below expectation.

Iconic Masters is where things started to turn. The four main Gush decks at the time - Delver, Izzet Blitz, Izzet Delver, and Tribe Combo - all over performed their expectations. The thing to note here is that the traditional Gush predators - Boros Monarch, Elves, and Stompy - are at the bottom of the chart.

Rivals of Ixalan season had three Gush decks in the Top 5 with Stompy performing over expectation as well. Even though Tribe Combo faltered a bit it still won a Challenge. Gush decks took up one-third of all over-performing decks that season, by far their best share to that time.

25th Anniversary Masters saw Izzet Blitz fall off the top of the charts and had Izzet Delver perform relatively poorly. Still in this short season, Gush decks won two of five challenges and had half of all Top 8 appearances. Boros Monarch surged to the top while Stompy and Elves both languished.

 

Reports of Izzet Delver's demise were unfounded during Dominaria season. The deck performed absurdly well, earning four Top 8s above expectation. Delver also had a great run, as did Elves and Stompy. Tribe Combo and Izzet Blitz both performed about as well as the should have, conforming rather nicely to a T8 delver of 0.

Over the summer, Core Set 2019 gave Pauper its best performing non-Gush deck with Elves. An out-sized portion of Top 8 appearances combined with a win. Despite Elves in the top slot and Boros Monarch performing exceptionally well, Delver - mono-blue Delver - had the second best season on the back of three challenge victories. Izzet and Dimir Delver both had solid spans as well, with Tribe and Blitz bringing up the rear.

And that brings us to Guilds of Ravnica. Dimir Delver had the best overall season and the third best Top 8 delta in my tracking. Tribe Combo had a good run as well and the new Gush sniper - Boros Bully - coming in third. Izzet Faeries burst on to the scene as another Gush deck and cannibalized some share from its Delver running cousin. Gush killers Stompy, Elves, and Monarch took a hit.

Now we can look at all of these results and see a few things. Gush decks have consistently done well. Even when these decks have fewer Top 8 appearances than their Win+ indicate, they still make the Top 8 often. Decks often cited as being good against Delver builds cycle in and out of vogue, often struggling to combat the latest top Gush build. For the better part of two years, a Gush deck has been either number one or number two.

There are some who say that Augur of Bolas should be banned. I can see the arguments there. However at the end of the day Augur's power isn't inherent to itself but rather a byproduct of the other powerful blue cards it can find. The advent of Augur of Bolas helped to supercharge Gush decks and much of its power is tied to finding Gush (and Ponder/Preordain/Brainstorm). I've seen arguments against Foil, saying that Gush was fine until Foil came along, but I like to think the above charts show something different. 

I want to be wrong. I want a deck to rise up and prove that Gush can be allowed to stay. That a card so powerful as to be restricted in Vintage and banned in Legacy is just fine in Pauper. 

Almost two years in and I'm still waiting. 

December 16 Pauper Challenge Breakdown

Art by Donato Giancola; Source

December 16th gave us the second Pauper Challenge of the Ultimate Masters season. Stompy won the day in the extremely capable hands of _Dissonance_. The most notable thing about the victory was not that Stompy won but rather that the long time Stompy grinder had not moved away from Elephant Guide and towards Wild Mongrel. Over the past few weeks this change back to the Savage [D]astard himself has been a refreshing innovation in the green deck's composition. Mongrel has the ability to win games on its own and with the relative dearth of Chainer's Edict effects, Elephant Guide makes less sense. Still, being able to go toe-to-toe with Gurmag Angler has its advantages.

On that note, let's get to the rest of the results. Dimir Delver had a fantastic day with three different pilots making the Top 8. Nine of the 13 decks that made the Top 32 did so with winning records and the deck held the lone 6-0 at the end of the Swiss rounds. 

Numbers like this are reminiscent of the early stage domination of Izzet Delver.

I do think that Dimir Delver is a fantastic deck but it is likely not as good as these results seem to indicate. Rather the format is going to take time to adjust, specifically to Gurmag Angler in concert with Foil. Journey to Nowhere used to be the full stop answer to Angler. Now that Foil is in the picture, the opportunity to present Angler with multiple pieces of protection is far more likely and can render Journey less effective. 

What is the answer? I am not sure. In order to operate around countermagic it appears as if instants are best positioned to fight Dimir Delver. Cards like Vapor Snag are not permanent answers but they can help buy time. The issue is that no matter what you are spending to take down Angler you are likely trading down in mana thanks to Delve. Gurmag Angler might be the best it has ever been right now.

This chart is, in part, why I am not sounding the alarm on Dimir Delver just yet. While it has been far and away the most popular deck thus far in the short season, it is performing beneath its Top 8 expectation. I would not put too much stock in this until we get four Challenges in, especially given its volume, but we can see that Boros Tokens and monarch are both performing above expectation. Given the strength of Dimir Delver that should be noted. Let us also press 'f' for our currently fallen comrade in Izzet Delver. You had a fantastic 21 month run.

The elephant in the room for the next month will be Gush. January 21st signals the next update to the Banned list. While Foil is the new kid on the block, Gush is one reason why the pitch counter is so strong. Gush helps to mitigate the drawback while also being the backbone of the decks that want Foil most of all. Not to tease too much but I go into more detail in my upcoming article on ChannelFireball, so be sure to check this out.

Assorted musings:

• Mono Green Tokens looks to be the real deal. I think there's a lot to be done with that deck.
• Tethmos High Priest is clearly a powerful card that is still looking for the best shell.
• I am interested in Rakdos Monarch as a counter to Dimir Delver. Terminate is an attractive spell if it resolves. 

Tiana, Ship's Caretaker

I remember the impetus of my Tiana deck. When placing a preorder for Dominaria I decided to pick up a copy of the uncommon Legendary Angel Artificer in the hope that maybe it would spur me on to build a Red-White deck. The ability was interesting and narrow enough that it appealed to me.
When it comes to Commander there are few things I like more than sacrificing something for value. If you look at my decks there is always a way to turn that downside into a significant advantage. This makes it almost painfully easy to build base black decks. Branching into other colors can be a challenge. Yet I always manage to find a way to pay the ultimate price and turn that woe for my opponents. But in the Boros color combination I was never able to get it to click. Despite having a copy of Brion Stoutarm and Alesha, Who Smiles at Death in my box-o-generals, nothing ever did it for me.

One day I had some friends over to play Commander and I was in the process of building my Torgaar, Famine Incarnate deck. As I was going through my cards I started pulling weird auras that I felt might make Tiana fun. The more I pulled the more I realized something else I loved to do in Commander - force the table to read my cards and then beat them with utter jank. And so I started to gather the components for my Tiana deck.

Tiana is a value engine that turns dying Auras (and Equipment) into perpetual motion machines. The trick, as it were, is to get these elements to actually die. One reason I love enchantments in Commander is that they are a barely targeted permanent type. Artifacts draw more hate (and I decided to skimp on them for that reason) but getting Auras to hit the graveyard, well that's a challenge.

Capashen Standard does some serious work in that department, as do Flamespeaker's Will and Mortal Obstinacy. Soul Tithe is a nifty card that can tax an opponent's mana. Bound by Moonsilver also lets me bin Auras - like sat Sage's Reverie - in the hope of getting it back later. With Tiana on the board Choking Restraints becomes an incredibly expensive Swords to Plowshares but who cares because I'm beating you with draft chaff.

I decided to include a Sunforger package because I got blown out by it once. Seriously, no one ever expects throwing the hammer at someone and resolving a Settle the Wreckage. Boros Charm is in there for when I don't want my stuff to die while Oblation and Chaos Warp get the nod as ways to either save my own things or deal with problem permanents.

Tiana is one of my favorite decks to play at the moment. It's full of weird cards that don't look like much on their own. Together, however, they can create a rather impressive weapon. Or they can falter in an epic fashion. Because that's just how Auras are sometimes.

Commander

Tiana, Ship's Caretaker

Creatures

Auramancer

Boonweaver Giant

Duregar Hedge-Mage

Faith Healer

Heliod's Pilgrim

Ironclad Slayer

Kitsune Mystic

Knight of the White Orchid

Kor Spiritdancer

Mesa Enchantress

Nomad Mythmaker

Restoration Specialist

Silent Sentinel

Stonehewer Giant

Sun Titan

Umbra Mystic

Eidolon of Countless Battles

Danitha Capashen, Paragon

Sram, Senior Edificer

Valduk, Keeper of the Flame

Burnished Hart

Sorceries

Angelic Purge

Divine Reckoning

Open the Armory

Retether

Three Dreams

Winds of Rath

Instants

Boros Charm

Chaos Warp

Oblation

Path to Exile

Settle the Wreckage

Swords to Plowshares

Enchantments

Outpost Siege

Sigarda's Aid

Bound by Moonsilver

Capashen Standard

Chained to the Rocks

Choking Restraints

Darksteel Mutation

Daybreak Coronet

Ethereal Armor

Faith Unbroken

Faith's Fetters

Felidar Umbra

Flamespeaker's Will

Hobble

Hyena Umbra

Mortal Obstinacy

Sage's Reverie

Shielded by Faith

Soul Tithe

Squee's Embrace

Unquestioned Authority

Artifacts

Boros Signet

Crystal Chimes

Darksteel Plater

Helm of the Gods

Lightning Greaves

Skullclamp

Sunforger

Swiftfoot Boots

Sword of the Animist

Lands

17 Plains

9 Mountain

Battlefield Forge

Boros Garrison

Command Tower

Emeria, the Sky Ruin

Kor Haven

Sacred Foundry

Serra's Sanctum

Stone Quarry

Temple of Triumph

Wind-Scarred Crag

Teneb, the Harvester of Histories

Preamble Ramble

Everyone has a history with Magic. Mine just happens to be longer than most. I started playing in fourth grade in 1994. I was 10 then and I turn 35 in December so for over 70% of my life I've slung spells. 
Almost exactly halfway through these two points I moved to Buffalo, New York for Graduate School in the summer of 2006. I shipped almost all of my possessions. One box contained the vast majority of my collection and all CDs. 

Guess which was the one box that got lost?

I had a binder of rares and a few casual decks in another box but just like that a huge part of my identity made physical was gone. I stuck with the game thanks to Pauper and Magic Online. 

That paid off. After Buffalo I took a job in Westchester, New York. I played more Pauper and did more writing. One year later I got an email inviting me to the first ever Community Cup. I remember a few things distinctly about the run up to the event. First, I did multiple laps around my apartment. Second, I frantically built an Elder Dragon Highlander deck out of whatever cards I had left.

My general: a Japanese Darigaaz, the Igniter that I picked up in a triple Invasion Rochester Draft at Neutral Ground helping folks prepare for the Pro Tour.

Everyone has a history. Mine gets told in cards.

One neat thing about the Community Cup that year: we all got a full set. My set was Planar Chaos.

Part I

A few weeks ago I was playing my Zirilan of the Claw deck at Commander night. Everything was going well until Daretti, Scrap Savant played Mycosynth Lattice. This should set off about a million alarm bells, but the rest of the table paid it no mind.
The Mimeoplasm them took my Hellkite Tyrant. Despite my powers of persuasion, I couldn't stop them from attacking me and causing my own personal obliteration. I wanted them to hold back - to let me go after Daretti on my turn. No dice.
Daretti untapped with Krark-Clan Ironworks and drew Spine of Ish Sah. The game was over.

I'm not salty. Not one bit.

While I never shied away from powerful things in Commander I have long kept my decks firmly in the "fun" camp. But the more I play the more I realize I have been intentionally hamstringing myself for the sake of fun, when the mere concept itself is subjective. Commander should be fun - it should create stories.

It is okay if some stories end like my night with Zirilan.

Part II

Am I bad for wanting to do this in EDH? pic.twitter.com/1BgWwrjptx

— Alex Ullman (@nerdtothecore) August 2, 2018

Everyone has things they like to games of Magic. I enjoy sacrificing for value (obviously). I also like breaking symmetry. Back when I was buying into fringe Modern decks I purchased a playset of Death Cloud. There was something alluring about this tribute to Pox. While the deck never materialized I held on to the cards because I liked them.

After my drubbing I started to think of ways to craft a similar game state. I wanted a way to maintain my board position while absolutely decimating that of my opponents. Mass land destruction is one such way and with the right mix of spells (and mana rocks) I would be able to tilt the balance in my favor. 

So I knew I was going to be Black and Green. On the search for a third color I thought about what the deck needed. A way to close - a way to turn my adversaries' mana woes against them. I thought back to Planar Chaos.

I grinned a wicked grin.

Follow up: no I'm not bad, but I'm probably not going to be making friends. pic.twitter.com/nS8bsCvnbH

— Alex Ullman (@nerdtothecore) August 3, 2018

Teneb, the Harvester is one of those cards. You know the kind I'm talking about. They're the cards that aren't the best at what they do but you still have a fondness for. Teneb is a dragon, it reanimates things, and I have a copy tied to one of my biggest Magic memories. They just so happened to fit the bill this time around - you can't cast your threats so I'm just going to take it from your graveyard.

Part III

Putting together the decklist I realized exactly how much of my personal history was packed into this deck. The Commander came from my trip to Renton, as did the foil Birds of Paradise and the Necrotic Sliver. The Catastrophe is signed by Andrew Robinson - a keepsake from my trip to the Junior Super Series Open at Disney World in 1999. The Captain Sisay? From the same Invasion Rochester Draft that nabbed me that Darigaaz. Ob Nixilis, the Fallen came from the Zendikar Prerelease where I also opened a Hidden Treasure Volcanic Island (as well as a Goblin Guide and an Arid Mesa). Joining Ob Nixilis in prerelease power are stamped copies of Glissa, the Traitor and Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle.

Teneb may not make friends but the dragon knows its history. Jhoira's Familiar was an easy inclusion once I realized my plan was heavily built on mana rocks and Planeswalkers. A Medallion for over a third of your deck is pretty darn good. The aforementioned tag team of Glissa and Teshar is brutal as it can keep your board full despite redundant wipes. Teshar also plays well with Sun Titan which made me bias the deck towards cards that cost three mana or under. In hindsight, this deck should have Plague Boiler and Necroplasm somewhere in the 99.

What does Teneb do? Teneb ramps and then blows up the world. Then it rebuilds. Along the way, it earns some concessions.

Commander

Teneb, the Harvester

Creatures

Acidic Slime

Archon of Justice

Ashen Rider

Birds of Paradise

Deathrite Shaman

Centaur Vinecrasher

Courser of Kruphix

Desolation Angel

Necrotic Sliver

Ramunap Excavator

Sun Titan

Sylvan Caryatid

Terravore

Veteran Explorer

Wayward Swordtooth

World Breaker

World Queller

World Shaper

Captain Sisay

Glissa, the Traitor

Multani, Yavimaya's Avatar

Ob Nixilis, the Fallen

Teshar, Ancestor's Apostle

The Gitrog Monster

Copper Myr

Gold Myr

Jhoira's Familiar

Leaden Myr

Palladium Myr

Sylvok Replica

Instants
Sylvan Reclamation

Sorceries
Catastrophe

Death Cloud

Life from the Loam

Life's Finale
Splendid Reclamation

Artifacts

Commander's Sphere

Crucible of Worlds

Darksteel Ingot

Golgari Signet

Orzhov Signet

Selesnya Signet

Sol Ring

Thran Dynamo

Unstable Obelisk

Worn Powerstone

Enchantments

Cryptolith Rite

Debtors' Knell

Deadbridge Chant

Fall of the Thran

Frontier Siege

Mirari's Wake

Pernicious Deed

Phyrexian Arena

The Eldest Reborn

The Mending of Dominaria

Planeswalkers

Elspeth, Knight-Errant

Garruk Relentless

Nissa, Voice of Zendikar

Ob Nixilis, Reignited

Sorin, Lord of Innistrad

Vraska, Relic Seeker

Lands

6 Forest

4 Swamp

2 Plains

Ancient Den

Brushland

Caves of Koilos

Command Tower

Dakmor Salvage

Drifting Meadow

Drownyard Temple

Field of Ruin

Ghost Quarter

Godless Shrine

Golgari Rot Farm

Grasslands

Llanowar Wastes

Orzhov Basilica

Overgrown Tomb

Polluted Mire

Sandsteppe Citadel

Selesnya Sanctuary

Slippery Karst

Tectonic Edge

Temple Garden

Temple of Malady

Tree of Tales

Vault of Whispers

Verdant Catacombs

Part IV

I took Teneb to Commander night last week. I sat down with some familiar faces, including Tatoyva from last week. Nekrusar, Tuvasa, Tatoyva, and Teneb. I flipped an early Garruk, Relentless by fighting the Sunlit while. Tatoyva ramped and was setting up to win the game.  At some point I attempted to kick a Desolation Angel but the ramp player had the counter. Using Glissa I was able to Sylvok Replica away multiple problematic enchantment. Nekrusar renaimated a Jin Gitaxias while the other two players had Reliquary Tower on the table. 

I never ended up having to discard my hand. Tatoyva cast Praetor's Council and I managed to rip and resolve a Life's Finale. The Praetor left the table and when I targeted Tatoyva they scooped. 

So now it was a three headed game. I stuck a massive Terravore and began attacking. I don't remember what I did to prompt Nekrusar to scoop but I think it involved blowing up lands. A short while later I attacked Tuvasa for lethal. 

I quickly put the deck away. I wanted other people to have fun after all.

Conclusion

The night ended with me showing the deck off to a few more regulars. Each time when they finally realized what the deck was doing they looked uneasy. Every time, without fail - "this is so unlike you."

I guess I'm better at making friends than Teneb.

Torgaar, Salt Incarnate

Preamble Ramble

I have a few problems.

Understatement.

When it comes to Commander. 

First is I love building decks. Commander gives me the opportunity to flex the puzzle muscle. In Pauper, my deckbuilding exercises are constrained by the established metagame. With 100 cards I can roam free. 

The problem isn't that I build too many decks, it's that I have ways I like to play and they tend to repeat themselves. First, I am a Golgari mage at heart and nearly every one of my decks has a pretty significant graveyard theme. My mono-Blue deck: Hakim, Loreweaver. Second, I love sacrificing for value. That same mono-Blue deck? You can bet it has Barrin, Master Wizard and Claws of Gix. 

So when given Black cards I tend to push hard on these themes. It's an active effort for me to not play one way. And so when I looked at my last mono-Black deck - Yahenni, Undying Partisan - I realized it wasn't doing anything unique. Especially when I placed it next to my Elenda, the Dusk Rose and a planned Slimefoot, the Stowaway deck. 

Like the Avengers, it was disassembled.

Part I

I went undefeated at the Dominaria Prerelease. I had a sweet Black-White deck that was heavy on removal and grindy value. One of the cards in my deck was Torgaar, Famine Incarnate. While I had no intention of rebuilding a mono-Black deck, the avatar lingered on my mind. 

I absolutely will not be making friends the next time I play Commander #CMDR pic.twitter.com/Vt3hvizppW

— Alex Ullman (@nerdtothecore) April 23, 2018

Torgaar spoke to a different side of sacrifice - a political side. I was attracted to its ability to not only speed up the game by reducing life totals to 20, I loved how later on in the game it could be used to help out allies by boosting their health back to 20. The interaction with Dark Prophecy is was sold me on the card.

Part II

I am a huge fan of Nether Shadows. I love cards that can bring themselves back from the dead and it was the entire theme of my Yahenni deck. When I put together Elenda, she took on this suite of cards. That left many of my undying friends off limits, as well as the package of Blood Artist, Falkenrath Noble, and Zulaport Cutthroat. 

Don't worry - Grave Pact and its friends are in here. I couldn't resist the attempt to control the board through sacrifice.

So instead of Nether Shadows I went with a token theme. I want to be able to cast Torgaar early and often and generating gobs of tokens with Pawn of Ulamog, Sifter of Skulls, Endrek Sahr, and Ogre Slumlord seems like a good way to go. All those tokens mean Skullclamp and Mortarpod (I see you Carlos) do some work. 

Wound Reflection and Temporal Extortion were in from the get go. I mean, who doesn't love an "I win" suite of cards? Archfiend of Despair was another easy inclusion once it was spoiled. Torgaar was not going to be making me any friends.

Part III

Last week I had a pretty bad play experience at my friendly local game store. I was piloting my Zirilan of the Claw Dragon deck and we were down to three players after Daretti, Scrap Savant had Mindslavered me and used Zirilan to fetch out Dragon Tyrant to take out another player. With a Mycosynth Lattice on the table Daretti convinced Mimeoplasm to come at me with their Commander impersonating Hellkite Tyrant. 

Despite my best efforts to convince Mimeoplasm to not come at me and instead let me untap with mana and kill Daretti I was not successful and lost all my cards. Daretti went on to untap and win the game.

It me.

This led to a conversation with my friend Andrew about whether or not I was leaving out win conditions from my decks. It's not that winning is the only thing that matters to me, it's just that being a new dad means I don't have a ton of time to play; a third problem. Because of the time crunch I want to make sure that when I pilot a deck I enjoy the experience, but also that I give myself a chance to win.

Part IV

Tonight in #CMDR, Torgaar did Torgaar things with the help of Archfiend of Despair, Wound Reflection, and Temporal Extortion.

— Alex Ullman (@nerdtothecore) August 10, 2018

Last night I was able to make it to Commander night at my friendly local game store. I found some players and we got to gaming. In the first, Tatyova, Benthid Druid overtook Crosis (me), Yidris, and Naban. 

In the second game I decided to bust out Torgaar. The other Commanders don't matter much, except that one of them was Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis.

And my opening hand had Archfiend of Despair, Swamps, Cabal Coffers, and Cabal Stronghold.

I bet you can see where this is going.

After accumulating enough mana I was able to stick Archfiend. Yidris tried to take it out with Unlicensed Disintegration but a timely Imp's Mischief meant they took six damage instead. Kynaios has to pass the turn and I slammed Torgaar, targeting the group hug. I squeezed them for 32 life points and killed them.

The mono-Red Valduk player knocked me to six and then Archfiend hit the bin. No problem. Whip of Erebos brought it back at which point at I swung for lethal at the Mountain player. Helm of Posession meant I took Yidris from Yidris and swung at them.

So I had Cascade on my spells. Solemn Simulacrum netting a Toxic Deluge for zero. Hell's Caretaker got me Demonic Tutor with four mana available.

One Temporal Extortion later and I was victorious.

Just Torgaar things.

Commander
Torgaar, Famine Incarnate

Planeswalkers
Liliana Vess

Creatures
Abhorrent Overlord
Archfiend of Despair
Artisan of Kozilek
Butcher of Malakir
Bloodsoaked Champion
Crypt Ghast
Dread Drone
Grave Titan
Gravecrawler
Gravewaker
Harvester of Souls
Hell's Caretaker
Krovikan Horror
Magus of the Coffers
Massacre Wurm
Ogre Slumlord
Ophiomancer
Overseer of the Damned
Pawn of Ulamog
Pontiff of Blight
Rakshasa Gravecaller
Reassembling Skeleton
Rune-Scarred Demon
Sengir Autocrat
Shadowborn Demon
Sifter of Skulls
Smothering Abomination
Skeletal Vampire
Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder
Ghoulcaller Gisa
Krav, the Unredeemed
Sidisi, Undead Vizier
Whisper, Blood Liturgist
Hangarback Walker
Solemn Simulacrum

Instants
Imp's Mischief
Silence the Believers

Sorceries
Demonic Tutor
Increasing Ambition
Life's Finale
Mutilate
Temporal Extortion
Toxic Deluge
Victimize

Artifacts
Erratic Portal
Helm of Possession
Jet Medalion
Thaumatic Compass
Unstable Obelisk
Mortarpod
Skullclamp

Enchantments
Black Market
Breeding Pit
Contamination
Dark Prophecy
Dictate of Erebos
Diabolic Servitude
Grave Pact
Shadows of the Past
Wound Reflection
Arugel's Blood Fast
Whip of Erebos

Lands
21 Swamp
Bojuka Bog
Cabal Coffers
Cabal Stronghold
Crypt of Agadeem
High Market
Memorial to Folly
Mortuary Mire
Myriad Landscape
Springjack Pasture
Temple of the False God
Terrain Generator
Westvale Abbey
Nykthos, Shrine to Nyx
Urborg,Tomb of Yawgmoth
Volrath's Stronghold

Conclusion

I played one more game that night. This time I took out Elenda, the Dusk Rose. While I did not win (that went to Tatyova, again, with Craterhoof Behemoth, again) I saw that my decks could close. Blasting Station and Nether Shadows - that's a hell of a combination when Elenda is on the table.