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Mana Like A National Bank

Legacy Combo Creature Cheat RG (Gruul)

Balaam__

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Creature (16)

Artifact (4)

Land (18)

Enchantment (4)

Sorcery (12)

Instant (6)

Sideboard

Creature (15)

Here’s my variation on a deck constructed around abusing the card Food Chain . This was originally a Vintage format deck when I built it, but people don’t seem to like that format (?) so I made some alterations and switched it to Legacy. Goodbye mana rocks:(

Configuring the land counts isn’t hard for a deck like this, and we have supplemental mana from other sources too. While playing a land like Taiga on Turn 1 is ideal, don’t be afraid to adjust and add more basics in favor of dual lands— Blood Moon can be bothersome. In descending order, aim to play these lands if it’s an option:

• Taiga —the ultimate Red/Green land.

• Stomping Ground works in a pinch if Taiga is hiding at the bottom of the deck.

• Wooded Foothills is great for grabbing the specific land we need and thinning the deck in the process.

• Forest and Mountain counts can be adjusted in case Magus of the Moon makes an appearance.

The deck boasts a low mana curve, playing relatively fast. Each card below speeds things up further by pulling mana out of thin air for immediate use. The faster we get our combo engine online, the better.

• Lotus Petal plays for free, covers either color of mana we might need, and can be used immediately.

• Chrome Mox is essentially a reusable Lotus Petal for a price.

• Simian Spirit Guide may have been banned in Modern, but it’s legal here. Instant red mana at your fingertips.

• Elvish Spirit Guide is the vegetarian equivalent of the previous card.

• Lightning Bolt is here for removal in the first few turns. Just zap anything worrisome to buy time until we can stabilize.
Having all the mana in the world at your disposal doesn’t make a difference if you don’t have the appropriate cards in hand to play. We have a few tutors and some draw power to go over below.

• Worldly Tutor grabs us whichever creature we need, setting us up for our next draw. Sylvan Tutor is another option, but plays at sorcery speed as opposed to this card’s instant speed playability.

• Gamble can find any card, but it comes with a price. Sadly, in Legacy there really aren’t any better options (at least in Red). As it stands, better to have a chance at retaining the card you need than to not have the option to find it at all.

• Faithless Looting isn’t a tutor, but it does help us find what we need through draw power. Pitch anything not of immediate value to the graveyard.

• Living Wish fulfills two main roles. The earliest use it has will be to fetch Eternal Scourge or Squee, the Immortal from your sideboard so that you can pitch them to Food Chain . The second use is as a finisher, detailed below.

•With Food Chain tucked away in the corner of the basement, it’s time we got to work and started cranking out mana by the truckload. All it takes is our little engine that could and a couple of specific creatures to get the ball rolling.

• Squee, the Immortal is a card we want to feed to Food Chain . Once removed from the game, simply recast Squee from exile—you’ll have gained one net mana. Repeat this process as many times as necessary, and the final time you exile Squee you’ll have x+3 red mana.

• Eternal Scourge is the ideal creature to compost using Food Chain . It’s generic casting cost nets us x+3 mana of any color, since we’re not color restricted to recast it. It’s only downside is if it somehow winds up in the graveyard (like if it had a thoughtseizure). “That is the boundary...and the price of immortality.”

So now that we started printing counterfeit mana, we better spend it fast. An Ongoing Investigation for some time, a tip from an Icatian Moneychanger allowed the Stern Constable to solve the case, and he has but one thought: Bring to Trial . Since the prosecuting Demonic Attorney has a history of Bribery , the Corrupt Court Official will doubtless influence the Stern Judge . The Supreme Verdict ? A Decree of Pain ! It’ll be the Oubliette for us, hauled off by the Palace Jailer :(

• Deathforge Shaman is the duffel bag into which we plan on shoving all the freshly minted mana. Cast him for 5, then pay whatever’s necessary as far as his kicker cost is concerned to finish off the opponent then and there. A kicker cost counts as part of a creature’s casting cost(s), so excess mana generated by abusing Food Chain will cover it. It doesn’t get any easier than that.

• Living Wish suddenly becomes relevant again. Let’s say you’re either bored with playing the shaman, or else you just haven’t drawn him yet. Simply cast living wish and grab one of our sideboard creature finishers to end the game. I chose some heavy hitters I liked from older sets, but theoretically you could grab any creature you wanted. I avoided Eldrazi simply because I use them in a few other decks and don’t want to grow weary of seeing them. Just make sure the casting cost of whatever you pick is mono colored for simplicity’s sake. Also, be mindful to keep enough regular mana open to cast Living Wish — Food Chain won’t cover that.

”Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.”

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92% Casual

Competitive

Revision 1 See all

(5 years ago)

-1 Elderscale Wurm side
+1 Eternal Scourge side
-1 Platinum Angel side
+1 Squee, the Immortal side