This deck uses and Refurbish to get God-Pharaoh's Gift out on turn 4. I've been hammering away at a based Gift's deck since HOU came out and I think this is it. It has all the stuff I like: lots of interaction, can be explosive, requires decision making, has multiple playlines, lots of hand filtering to avoid crap games due to land droughts or floods. I've had a strong winning record with it overall, and been able to take down a lot of tier 1 decks.
The Plan
Initially I tried to use Gate to the Afterlife, but found it was too hard to make it work consistently; getting 6 creatures in the yard rarely happened by turn 4, and often not by turn 7. I couldn't make
Ever After
work consistently either. Instead I decided to add for Refurbish.
The turn 4 goal:
- 4 lands including a source
- a Refurbish in hand
- a God-Pharaoh's Gift in graveyard
- a creature in the graveyard
If we don't have 3) , then a Noxious Gearhulk in the graveyard can serve as a good refurbish target as well.
This allows us to play gift on our turn 4 first main phase and have it eternalize from the graveyard for a free hasted 4/4 creature on that turn and every next turn. If the opponent does not have an answer at that point, the game is over.
The First 3 Turns
Getting the right cards in hand and in the yard is the hard part. Champion of Wits is the superstar here. Not only can he get the land or Refurbish that we need into our hand, but he also can get a Gift or a big creature in the graveyard. The discard part is really important. We have a lot of cards that help find what we need (Strategic Planning and all the cycling cards. Winds of Rebuke helps fill the yard)), but we also need a good way to get the big cards out of our hand without losing card advantage. Champion of Wits does this, and the
Miasmic Mummy
acts as a 5th card-neutral discard creature. The Geier Reach Sanitarium can do this as well, but is expensive to use in the early game.
Nimble Obstructionist is there to try to block graveyard wraths such as Scavenger Grounds or
Crook of Condemnation
.
The Payoff
We have a toolbox of great creatures to target with the gift.
Champion of Wits is actually one of our best targets for gift. He comes back with 4 power, drawing 4 cards and then discarding 2. This helps keep our graveyard stocked and fills our hand. The best part is that he can do it himself with eternalize. Once he is on the board, we will often look for an opportunity for him to die, so that he becomes available as a target for gift or for eternalize.
Archfiend of Ifnir adds a lot. He can fly, can cycle himself to the yard, and is amazing against go-wide decks.
Noxious Gearhulk is a star. He gains life, kills a creature and swings with menace. Also, it can be an alternative target for a Refurbish.
Sphinx of the Final Word is a superstar against control decks.
The Scarab God acts as a "backup Gift". Usually, we prefer to play him from our hand, so we can keep him if he dies. If we have enough mana, he can accelerate our end game greatly.
Cataclysmic Gearhulk is hard to use, because we usually only keep it and one gift. However, in the right situation, he can save the day.
Striped Riverwinder
has hexproof, which is good. The big upside with the serpent is that it cycles itself for just , which is great for stocking the graveyard early.
Not Cheap
Usually, I brew budget decks. I managed to pick up a set Champion of Wits when they were cheap, and the same for the Fatal Push, but the cost is a bit prohibitive now. You can probably sub out the Fatal Push, but the champions are essential to the deck. Sorry.
On the other hand, the deck is pretty rotation-proof. (Sphinx of the Final Word will be missed).
Likewise, a Torrential Gearhulk would probably be good in the deck, but is out of my budget range.
Lands
We are running on a low land count but compensate with all the cycling and filtering in the deck. However, beware of sideboarding out cycling and other hand filtering cards, it leaves you vulnerable to a land drought.
Ipnu Rivulet and Geier Reach Sanitarium both give us ways to stock our graveyard.
Sideboard
Sideboard should be straightforward. The Abandoned Sarcophagus is for long games, typically against control. If we can resolve it late-game in a control matchup, then we can get access to a handful of Censor, Countervailing Winds, Nimble Obstructionist, and Cast Out.
