Life

[Dipstik]

I figure in the stax-heavy metagame of the midwest, some version of Life.dec might be playable. I've always had fun with it, and I'd like to give it a shot... possibly at SCG Chicago next month. I don't have the time to do much competitive playtesting, so if anyone has any advice on how to make this deck work, it would be greatly appreciated.

Here's the decklist I've sketched out so far:

Combo:
4x Daru Spiritualist
3x Task Force
4x Nomad En-kor
3x Shaman En-kor
4x Worthy Cause
1x Animal Boneyard

Protection:
4x Duress
4x Cabal Therapy

Search:
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Death Wish
1x Vampiric Tutor
4x Academy Rector

Kill:
1x Test of Endurance
1x Form of the Dragon

Mana:
5x Moxen
1x Black Lotus
1x Mana Crypt
4x Scrubland
4x Swamp
3x Starlit Sanctum
6x Plains

Explanation:

The combo is an old one. Use the en-kor's ability to repeatedly target Daru Spiritualist or Task Force so that the toughness becomes an ungodly number. Then sacrifice the creature to Worthy Cause, Starlit Sanctum, or Animal Boneyard in order to gain that much life. Once that happens, it's all over but the crying for many decks.

I chose to go with White/Black build in order to add tutors and hand disruption. Death Wish is a nice way to go get a win condition from the sideboard after you combo out. I think Neverending Torment might be fun if the test of endurance route doesn't work. I will probably devote only two or so slots to wish targets in order to ensure a win after my life gain. It is easier to put a couple alternative win conditions in the sideboard than to waste maindeck slots on them.

Academy Rector is probably the most controversial slot on the deck. It allows me to devote only one slot each to Animal Boneyard and Test of Endurance. It's a cleric, and it can be sacced to Worthy Cause, Starlit Sanctum, or Cabal Therapy. I think Form of the Dragon will make a nice silver bullet against several decks (I'm thinking fish), but I haven't added any other enchantments to the maindeck. I thought of a single Serenity, Rule of Law, or Ivory Mask. Any suggestions here would be great.

Clearly this deck is not Tier 1, but it has surprise factor, and can go off quickly. Since I find most Smokestack/Mana Drain decks tedious to play, I am looking for an unanticipated combo. (Seriously... if anyone's going to plan for Life.dec, I'll see you in the X-2 brackets)

What do you think? Should I just play Dragon? Is there a way to make this effective in a Workshop heavy metagame?

[Jacob Orlove]

Why not just use Unspeakable Symbol for the kill? If you want to keep the Rectors, you could cut Test and Form for Symbol and Bargain. That way, you can win with Rector before going off.

[Necrologia]

No Diamond Valley?

This doesn't seem like it stacks up very well in comparison to modern storm decks. Where they win, your deck just stalls. Remember, even with infinite life CS for instance can still get the infinite slaver lock and make you kill yourself with Form or something.

Heck, for that matter Donate + Illusions of Grandeur is a 2 card mono blue combo that wins the game. It even gains you life to buy some time, but sees no play whatsoever. Your combo is clunkier, with more cards, and in worse colors.

You're also running Rector who's goal is to fetch something other than Bargain which is just suboptimal.

[Dipstik]

Bargain... now how did I forget that one? Thanks! I could use unspeakable symbol, but test of endurance is better. Form of the Dragon serves a different function since it allows me to just rector straight for an enchantment that wins against several decks.

The reason this is better than illusions/donate is because it's actually a combo deck and not a control deck. This can have a trillion life on turn 2... that buys a LOT of time. I'm already aware of the weakness the deck has against a couple combo decks, and I brought that up in the main post. Last time I went to SCG Chicago, I never saw one of these combo decks, but I did see stax, CS, oath, and FCG. I think this deck has game against each of these.

You do bring up a good point about CS hitting the slaver lock on me. I wonder what the best way to stop that would be...

[Dipstik]

I'm sorry, Jacob... I *just now* realized that you didn't mean to use unspeakable symbol to pump up creatures and attack with them... I could pump a cleric and sac it to starlit sanctum. This does seem better than Test of Endurance.

[yespuhyren]

Although I'm not too faithful in the deck being able to succeed, I'll help where I can just in case.  Here is some possible SB cards.

Ivory Mask - Stops you from being hit by slaver or tendrils
Sacred Ground - VERY good against Stax

[Dralock]

Bargain... now how did I forget that one? Thanks! I could use unspeakable symbol, but test of endurance is better. Form of the Dragon serves a different function since it allows me to just rector straight for an enchantment that wins against several decks.

The reason this is better than illusions/donate is because it's actually a combo deck and not a control deck. This can have a trillion life on turn 2... that buys a LOT of time. I'm already aware of the weakness the deck has against a couple combo decks, and I brought that up in the main post. Last time I went to SCG Chicago, I never saw one of these combo decks, but I did see stax, CS, oath, and FCG. I think this deck has game against each of these.

You do bring up a good point about CS hitting the slaver lock on me. I wonder what the best way to stop that would be...

A platinum angel is definitely the biggest threat to your deck. While I was playing slaver at my local tournaments, I would many times be up againsed WB life. It was easy to play around their combos, and all I really had to do was keep my library larger than his as I worked toward an angel in a slave lock. Being that there is little life can do to stop a slave lock, this happened quite frequently and I got to chalk the match up as pretty much an auto-win.

Test of endurance helps this a lot, as does the pale curtain (to make welder obsolete and beat at the same time).

[Dipstik]

yeah platinum angel's a bitch too... oh well. Guess I'll play ninja mask again. Or maybe just run dragon and hope no one is ready for it. I had hoped I could make this work, but I think the control slaver matchup is just too difficult.

Thanks for the advice.

[ELD]

Vial.  IMO You need vial if you are going to try and run a creature deck like this.  It frees up your mana for assembling the combo.  It allows you to put a rector in play after your opponent has drain mana up.  Living Wish is also a strong card for this deck.  Wish allows you to deal with most any threat your opponent can throw at you as well as assemble the combo. 

While it would not be amazing, with vial you have the tools to deal with many threats.  Vialing in a true believer is probably much better than trying to run Ivory Mask. 

[Dipstik]

But I can get away with only one Mask because of Rector. I'd have to run multiple true believers to make it effective.

HOWEVER... vialing in a rector and saccing it to my starlit sanctum (it's actually great that he's a cleric) would be kind of awsome.

Living wish means running green. I think black is too important. Death wish isn't bad in this deck though.

[islanderboi10]

Wouldn't AEther Vial be kind of good in this deck?
By sheer coincidence, that's actually what the two posts just above yours are discussing! Next time, please read the thread before posting, and avoid one-liners that don't add any useful information.

-Jacob

[silvernail]

one issue i can see this deck having is that it only has a few cards that need to be handled, and the other cards arent threatening in  and of themselves.this gives other decks the ability to practically ignore you and try to win for themselves. Whie you twiddle your thumbs and drawing random dudes, im on the other side of the table winning the game.

[ReAnimator]

I think weathered wayfarer should get in this deck, it is probably stronger than rector in the MD.

if you use wayfarer you get to run a diamond valley a strip mine and cycling land for utility. you would also need to run 4 fetchlands for their synergy with him.

I don't think that rector really adds anything to this deck. Rector doesn't really help you combo out early any more than running nights whispers or more tutors would and it is the most expensive spell in your deck.

another option is to run blue for brainstorm and mystical tutor. you would also get force which can help you disrupt while comboing out without having to use up mana. you would get a strong sb options in meddling mage as well.

If you really think you will run into lots of CS you can run 4 pithing needles in the board.