Tune in to Clever Combo S4E7 for more on the deck
Despite some recently printed cards of questionable power, Wizards knows not to print a few specific things these days. One of those things is instant-speed, targeted discard. Understanding why only requires you to know that as the inactive player, you receive priority during your opponent’s draw step, allowing you (if you have instant speed discard) the opportunity to lock them into an empty hand.
Nothing intrigues us as brewers more than finding ways to play magic in single player mode, so if you’re playing Lydia this week, you may want to bring a book or some knitting.
The key is adding instant speed timing to the existing sorcery-speed discard options. This means playing a full mainboard playset of
Leyline of Anticipation
, on top of everyone’s favorite (now) 3-mana planeswalker,
Teferi, Time Raveler
. As a backup, we’re running 2 copies of
Emergence Zone
as well.
Most of the discard options are pretty straightforward, it’s simply a matter of picking the best mix available.
Duress
isn’t necessarily ideal (certainly it’s no Thoughtseize…), but it’s an easy turn one play. Follow that up with
Burglar Rat
and then
Mind Rot
and you’re off to the races. Importantly, Mind Rot and Harvest Fear actually allow you to start generating some card advantage by forcing the opponent to discard more than one card.
The deck should ultimately function a bit like a control deck, just one that preemptively discards your resources, rather than countering them. This means we want some card advantage options in our own deck in the form of
Tamiyo's Epiphany
. We also need a sweeper to clean up the first 2-3 turns worth of plays, which is why we have
Kaya's Wrath
. Lastly, a solid finisher, in the form of
Reaper of Night
.
Try it out and leave us a comment on how you like it!
Where to find us:
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.clevercombopodcast.com
Twitter: twitter.com/clever_combo