Archidekt Deckbuilding Contest - July 2026 (Locked)

{"ops":[{"insert":"This deck's mana curve, like life's many systems, does not follow a normal distribution. Just as statistical outliers define our reality from the shadows, seemingly harmless 1-drops pile up and earn Zada and company a fat-tailed win. \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Most magic decks have curves that peak upwards like a rolling hill, growing towards a central mana value around 2-4 and leveling off. This deck does the opposite. The deck is extremely heavy at each extreme of the curve, with heavy emphasis on free or cheap spells and also on very expensive spells.\n\nWelcome to my deck built entirely around a hyper-aggressive half-pipe shaped curve: The Pit of Doom and Despair. \n\nWhile the curve of this deck is flashy when you look at it through archidekt's visualization tools, it's also highly practical. The low mana value cards are mostly eggs, powering out affinity and delve creatures at the top end. The commander takes advantage of these discounted big spells, turning them into way more mana than you invested into the creature. \"Scam\" effects like Not Dead After All further compound value. Then, this mana can be spent on more huge spells or on a finisher like Torment of Hailfire. This deck actually plays really well into bracket 3 decks, and most importantly, it plays well not in spite of its curve, but because of the curve.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"This is a deck with an inverse mana curve, so instead of the normal Bell Curve, I made the deck helmed by "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mister Negative"}},{"insert":" have a fitting bathtub curve. I have a little ramp in the deck with the infinity stones, but most of the low mana cards are blink and protection for the commander, who swaps life totals on ETB.\n\nThe main bulk of the game plan is using my life to cheat out expensive cards for free using the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bolas's Citadel"}},{"insert":" effects on Gwenom, Valgavoth, and the namesake card, as well as the Black and White Phyrexian Defiler cycle cards that do the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"K'rrik, Son of Yawgmoth"}},{"insert":" effect of letting me pay life instead of colored pips.\n\nBy cheating out big spells and draining my life to do so, then swapping life with the commander or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Axis of Mortality"}},{"insert":" /"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Shard of the Nightbringer"}},{"insert":" /"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Profane Transfusion"}},{"insert":", I'll have the advantage on board and in life total, leaving my opponents drained and ready for death with combat damage, or from mass life drain like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Debt to the Deathless"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Exsanguinate"}},{"insert":" , using the mana I saved from not spending it on the big spells in the first place.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"\"The seas churn, the earth shakes, in the End of Days, even the gods doth quake\".\n\nThis deck is a good old trip down memory lane, not only because it was one of the first decks I ever built as I got into magic at the end of 2019, but also getting to see how much more awesome decks could be before one concerns themselves with a mana curve.\n\nOriginally designed around the concept of I love giant sea monsters, I initially built it as a more classic Megalohydrothalassophobia deck, but as I also had a significant amount of wurms I had pulled and no place to put them, in this pre "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Baru, Wurmspeaker"}},{"insert":" time, I said screw it and put them all together under my favorite Legendary in all of magic, my boi "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arixmethes, Slumbering Isle"}},{"insert":" .\nAnd since it was at the time before I knew the importance of ramping, or spells, or anything but creatures, it was a very slow deck. But ooooo boy, when it got to raining, it drowned out the rest of the world.\nNow, a normal person would think to use mana dorks to get this deck going faster, but that's the secret, this deck says HIT ME, FIGHT ME, GIVE ME A HUG!!!! But beware, damn near nothing you have will touch what I'ma putting down. And while I may be at 2 hp when it wins, it will win. Maybe.\n\nA weird mana curve isn't there to help the deck function, the decks function just doesnt care about optimization. It wants the biggest snakes, the biggest fish, the biggest crabs, and the biggest snee snakes you can imagine. Then make them bigger.\n\nAnd while I have sinced broken down this deck into a Baru Wurms deck and an Orvar Megalohydrothassy deck, as well as plans for an optimized End of Days Compleat decks, each of which could fit the bill here, for the sake of this contest, I decided to go with the OG, the fan favorite (always gottem a complement the first time folks see it) the awe inspiring End of Days.\n\n\nCard draw? You mean "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Whelming Wave"}},{"insert":" ing my wurms back into my hand so I can cast them next turn? \nInteraction? You mean "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Whelming Wave"}},{"insert":" ing your worms or whatever else you have back to your hand?\nWanna see me do it again? Boom "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Slinn Voda, the Rising Deep"}},{"insert":" the risen deep in your face. Needs kicker, hey you Arixmethes tap into the frequency of the end of days. Like dude that's an Iroasdamn triple mast-er at the bottom of that art. He is the biggest fish.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Win con/General game plan"},{"insert":": The deck aims to win by burning your opponent’s life total down to zero. This can be achieved by playing a few damage-multiplying cards (such as Jeska, Thrice Reborn or Obosh, The Preypiecer) then playing a burn spells like Prisoner’s Dilemma, or cards that passively damage players, then watch as your opponents life totals diminish. (Note that Glacial Chasm* can help you live if a cards deals an age to all players. *Expedition Map can tutor it) Heartless Hidetsugu can kill the table when combined with a card like Twinflame Tyrant. (Note that cards that double damage to all players such as Obosh, will kill EVERYONE and the game will result in a draw)\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Ramping/Curve: "},{"insert":"The deck has quite the odd mana curve (because that was this month’s theme) but it means that ramping/curving out can be a bit of a challenge. I’ve combated this by playing cards that somewhat break the odd-mana-value-only curve of the deck. Cards like Wayfarer’s Bauble can be played for one mana on turn one, then on turn two you can sacrifice it and ramp a basic land. (Myriad Landscape, Stark Industries Executive, Forsworn Paladin, and Expedition map can all be played for one may but have abilities that can be activated for two mana.) There are other cards in the deck that can also help break this odd-mana-only curve, the most surprising might be tap-lands. Playing a land that enters tapped is usually and bad thing, but in this deck sometimes you don’t mind. For example, on turn four you might play a three-drop, and then you could play a tap-land if you have no one-drops in hand and not mind.\n\n\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"This is an Esper midrange deck with multiple gears of play. In the early turns of the game, the deck wants to push ramp to cast its four-drops and stick Eriette. This is challenging, though, because of our Gyruda companion restriction (he does matter!). Our two-drop slots are dedicated to ramp and to auras that either protect our commander or steal our opponents' permanents, like their mana rocks.\n\nOnce we reach the later stages of the game and can cast our six-plus drops, we transition our strategy into multiple infinite combos as our win condition. There are three separate win conditions with minimal redundancy, for a more fair play experience. Timestream Navigator allows us to take infinite turns with Temporal Anchor, and Dovescape, along with Guile, makes infinite 1/1 birds. Gyruda imposes an extreme restriction on the deck, and reaching that deep requires extreme win conditions. While those combos can win the game, they aren't tied to the deck's mana curve.\n\nThe ideal win involves manipulating our draws to set up cards like Twilight Prophet, using our high curve to drop our opponents' life totals quickly. Under the most ideal circumstances, the secret commander of the deck, Atemsis, can kill our opponents by having six different mana values in hand. In this scenario, Gyruda acts as a persistent six-drop sitting in the companion zone, letting us sculpt our hand to need only 0, 2, 4, 8, and 10 drops.\n\nIf all else fails, Mind Over Matter and Oracle's Insight let us set up Gyruda to hit Ulamog off the top of our deck, or to dump piles of enchantments into our graveyard for recursion effects like Replenish to take over the game (bonus points if Eriette is in play!).\n\nAt the end of the day, this is technically a bracket four deck, but its combos come with enough built-in restrictions to make a real case for a competitive bracket three. There's high synergy, with mana cost mattering for both the commander and the companion, but on different axes. Lastly, as constructed, the deck plays no game changers and has ample room for optimization for more competitive tables.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Those pesky hero’s have foiled my plans for the last time! Once my new evil plan comes to fruition they will cower in fear and I will rule the entire board! (Insert Evil Laugh) \n\nLady Octopus has hatched a new scheme to dominate the board with pure ingenuity! Using her acquired skill and dastardly collection of artifacts both Valuable and Devastating she will quickly escalate to total domination of her opponents. \n\nThe Weird Curve manifests itself in the amount of compiled cards per mana value category. Allow me to explain….there are 2 cards with mana value of 2 , then there are 3 cards with a mana value of 3, this continues all the way up to 10! (Insert another evil laugh, just a bit longer than the last one) Oh but there is more to this evil plot! To round out the weird curve there are exactly one of each of the following permanents, each deadly and powerful tools for destruction and surprise, in the 11, 12, 13, and 14 category’s! What’s that you say!? What about 0 cost spells well let’s just say there are plenty of those! \nThe Plan\nDraw cards! Cast big artifacts with the flick of the wrist! Destroy your opponents! \nwith a mana cost of 1 (the only one in fact) your commander is live the moment you draw your second card, use 0 cost artifacts, and fancy lands that you will never be able to afford and ramp into draw card spells which increase Lady octopuses ingenuity getting you ready to cast the biggest artifacts which give your board stat immense value by turn 10. Like the curve suggests exponentially grow until nothing can stop you. In the duration of this read you have undoubtedly found some holes in this plot, well we can’t make it to hard for the hero’s right? Thanks for the read hope you enjoy it! \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Big Fist"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Why settle for one game-ending threat when you can cast them all?\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Big Fist"},{"insert":" is a five-color battlecruiser deck built around cheating the impossible into reality. With "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Jodah, Archmage Eternal"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Fist of Suns"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Esika, God of the Tree // The Prismatic Bridge"},{"insert":", and an abundance of mana acceleration, this deck turns ten-, twelve-, and even fifteen-mana spells into everyday plays.\nEvery draw has the potential to become something spectacular. Eldrazi Titans, Ancient Dragons, colossal Dinosaurs, legendary heroes, and devastating Ultimatums all share the battlefield, backed by enormous mana production from cards like "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Nyxbloom Ancient"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Chromatic Orrery"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Timeless Lotus"},{"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Smothering Tithe"},{"insert":". When one giant spell isn't enough, cascade from "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Apex Devastator"},{"insert":", free casts from "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Omniscience"},{"insert":", or overwhelming value from "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sunbird's Invocation"},{"insert":" keep the fireworks coming.\nThe deck doesn't rely on a single combo—it wins by burying opponents under an avalanche of haymakers. Whether it's resolving "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Enter the Infinite"},{"insert":", dropping an army with "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Ghalta, Stampede Tyrant"},{"insert":", unleashing "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"The World Spell"},{"insert":", or simply attacking with legendary monsters that demand immediate answers, every game tells a different story.\nAnd if all else fails? Sometimes the biggest fist is simply casting "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Coalition Victory"},{"insert":".\nRamp hard. Cast bigger. Make every spell feel like the final boss.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"The goal of this deck is a bit obscure, even for this competition. Using a rarely used +1/+1 commander, we are taking it a slightly different direction:\n\nStep 1, get the potion seller on the field as fast as possible. \n\nStep 2, choose your favorite stompy planeswalker, preferably one with an ultimate that seems appealing. Feel free to get greedy with a menu of big hitters like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Garruk, Primal Hunter"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Vivien Reid"}},{"insert":" .\n\nStep 3, unleash the mono-green storm with zero and 1 cmc creatures to power up Tromell's ability, and finally\n\nStep 4, proliferate the counters on creatures, but more importantly the loyalty counters on your planeswalkers to use their last ability and change the game!\n\nTo enable the storm turns, Tromell allows us to cast the 'x' creatures such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Endless One"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Omarthis, Ghostfire Initiate"}},{"insert":" for zero and still keep the body as creatures enter with a counter. Additionally, there are a number of card draw engines such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Great Henge"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Glimpse of Nature"}},{"insert":" to keep refilling the hand and continue the storm.\n\nThere is a variety of ways in the deck to get extra value: whether that be bouncing the zero cost creatures repeatedly with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Cloudstone Curio"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Temur Sabertooth"}},{"insert":" , or simply making our storm turns twice as great by untapping Tromell to activate him again with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Wirewood Lodge"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Thousand-Year Elixir"}},{"insert":" . All of these work especially well when "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Defiler of Vigor"}},{"insert":" is in play, allowing us to save our mana to activate Tromell's ability over and over.\n\nWhen the Planeswalkers aren't enough to take the win alone, there is always the +1/+1 counter 'subtheme' to bring the win home with staples such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Innkeeper's Talent"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sphere Grid"}},{"insert":" . Additionally, with the number of X creatures in the deck, we can use our ramp options to cast massive "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hangarback Walker"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Marketback Walker"}},{"insert":" and continue to rake in the value.\n\nThis deck strays from the normal mana distribution of most commander decks, and especially from those with Tromell at the helm. Often, the mana average of his decks lies around 3 CMC, while this deck purposefully leaves a hole at that value. It leans heavily into low mana values and expensive planeswalkers, leaving 3 mana ramp stables like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Cultivate"}},{"insert":" on the bench in exchange for cheaper options such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bushwhack"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Utopia Sprawl"}},{"insert":" . \n\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"THE SEVEN–TWO SPLIT"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n\n"},{"insert":"Thirty twos. Thirty sevens. Nothing in between."},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n\n"},{"insert":"The Seven–Two Split is built around a strict deck-building rule: every nonland card in the 99 has a mana value of either two or seven. There are thirty cards at each value, with Zhulodok sitting alone at six in the command zone. The two-mana cards provide ramp, protection, card selection and utility, while the seven-mana cards serve as the deck’s threats, removal and major value engines.\nZhulodok gives every colourless spell cast from hand with mana value seven or greater cascade, cascade. Because the deck contains no nonland cards with mana values between three and six, and cascade cannot reveal another seven-mana spell, every trigger is guaranteed to find a two-mana card. This means that each seven-mana spell cast with Zhulodok in play produces two additional spells before it resolves.\nThe strange mana curve is therefore not simply a visual restriction. It is the central mechanism of the deck.\n\nGame plan"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n\n"},{"insert":"The opening turns are focused on establishing mana through the two-mana half of the deck. Cards such as Grim Monolith, Mind Stone, Thought Vessel, Liquimetal Torque, Prismatic Lens, Fellwar Stone, The Irencrag, Millikin, Manakin and Plague Myr all help move the deck toward Zhulodok ahead of schedule. Ancient Tomb, City of Traitors, Eldrazi Temple, Eye of Ugin and Ugin’s Labyrinth provide further acceleration or cost reduction.\n\nA strong opening sequence will usually involve casting a mana source on turn two, resolving Zhulodok on turn three or four, and then following with a seven-mana spell while protection is available. The deck does not need Zhulodok to cast its threats, but the commander is what turns those threats into overwhelming sources of card and board advantage.\nNot every two-mana card is included solely for acceleration. Scroll Rack, Collector’s Vault, Mazemind Tome and Tome of Legends help manage hands containing too many expensive spells. Scroll Rack is especially important because it can place specific two-mana cards on top of the library, allowing some control over future cascade results rather than simply guaranteeing their mana value.\nOnce Zhulodok is in play, protecting it becomes a priority. Lightning Greaves, Swiftfoot Boots, Defense Grid, The Moment, Not of This World, Cavern of Souls and Command Beacon all help keep the commander available. Defense Grid is a particularly useful cascade hit because it resolves before the original seven-mana spell, increasing the cost of opposing interaction while the rest of the stack is still waiting to resolve.\n\nNot of This World is one of the deck’s strongest interactions. Because Zhulodok has seven power, it can often be cast for no mana when protecting the commander. Its mana value remains seven regardless of how much is paid, so it still receives two cascade triggers. This allows the deck to counter a removal spell while also casting two additional two-mana cards.\n\nPlaying above the curve"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n\n"},{"insert":"Although the deck contains thirty seven-mana spells, several can be cast for much less than their printed cost. Myr Enforcer and Sojourner’s Companion have affinity for artifacts, Barricade Breaker uses improvise, and Not of This World can often be cast for zero mana. It That Heralds the End also reduces the cost of colourless spells with mana value seven or greater.\nReducing the amount paid for a spell does not change its mana value. A Myr Enforcer cast for two mana is still a seven-mana-value spell, so Zhulodok still grants it cascade, cascade. These discounted threats are important because they allow the deck to begin generating value before it naturally reaches seven mana.\n\nIngenuity Engine is one of the strongest cards in the deck because it already has cascade. With Zhulodok in play, it gains two additional instances, creating three separate cascade triggers. Each of those triggers is guaranteed to find a two-mana spell. If Strionic Resonator is available, one of those triggers can be copied, potentially allowing Ingenuity Engine to produce four two-mana spells before it resolves.\nThe Endstone serves as one of the deck’s main card-advantage engines. Once it is on the battlefield, each spell cast and each land played draws a card. A later seven-mana spell can therefore draw a card when it is cast, another card when the first cascaded spell is cast, and a third when the second cascaded spell is cast. This is in addition to the actual effects of the three spells. Its end-step ability can also restore the deck to 20 life after taking damage from Ancient Tomb, Hall of the Bandit Lord or opposing creatures, although it can be a liability when the life total is already above 20.\nCybermen Squadron gives myriad to the deck’s nonlegendary artifact creatures and creates several of the deck’s most explosive interactions. Meteor Golem can create attacking copies that each destroy a nonland permanent, while Myr Battlesphere can create copies that each produce four permanent Myr tokens. Sandstone Oracle can generate multiple opportunities to refill the hand, and Threefold Thunderhulk can produce a very large token army.\n\nIn a four-player game, attacking with Threefold Thunderhulk while Cybermen Squadron is in play creates two myriad copies. The original Thunderhulk creates seven Gnomes when it attacks, while each copy creates another seven when it enters. This produces 21 Gnome tokens from a single attack before combat damage is even considered.\nAll Is Dust is also especially effective in this build. Cascade triggers resolve before the spell that created them, so the two cascaded spells enter the battlefield before All Is Dust resolves. Opponents are then forced to sacrifice their coloured permanents, while the deck retains most of its colourless board, including Zhulodok and the newly cast artifacts.\n\nHow the deck wins"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n\n"},{"insert":"The deck usually wins by building a large artifact battlefield and converting that advantage into combat damage. Myr Battlesphere, Threefold Thunderhulk, Pentavus, Triskelavus, Mascot Exhibition and Cybermen Squadron all produce multiple bodies. Akroma’s Memorial can then give the board haste, flying, first strike, vigilance and trample, turning a developed battlefield into a finishing attack.\nDeceiver of Form provides another powerful combat line. Scroll Rack can place a creature on top of the library before combat, allowing Deceiver of Form to turn the deck’s Myr, Gnomes and smaller utility creatures into copies of that card until end of turn. Threefold Thunderhulk, Myr Battlesphere, Meteor Golem and Sandstone Oracle are all strong options depending on the board state.\nZhulodok can also win through commander damage. It begins as a seven-power creature, It That Heralds the End can increase that power, and Lightning Greaves or Swiftfoot Boots provide haste and protection. Rogue’s Passage gives the deck a way to make Zhulodok unblockable, allowing three successful attacks to eliminate a player.\n\nThe final route to victory is sustained resource advantage. Meteor Golem, Spine of Ish Sah, Scour from Existence, Desecrate Reality, Karn Liberated and Tri-Sentinel steadily remove opposing permanents while each seven-mana spell also produces two additional cards from the library. Over time, the deck becomes difficult to keep up with because every major spell represents three spells rather than one.\n\nMulligan guide"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n\n"},{"insert":"A strong opening hand should usually contain two to four usable lands, at least one two-mana accelerator, a reliable source of colourless mana, and one useful seven-mana spell. Card selection or protection is also valuable, particularly when the opening hand already has sufficient mana development.\n\nThe best opening cards include Ugin’s Labyrinth with a seven-mana card to exile, Ancient Tomb, Grim Monolith, Mind Stone, Thought Vessel, Lightning Greaves, Scroll Rack and Devourer of Destiny. Devourer of Destiny is particularly useful because it can examine the top four cards before the first draw and move unwanted cards to the bottom.\n\nHands containing four or more seven-mana spells should usually be reconsidered unless they also contain exceptional acceleration. Eye of Ugin does not produce mana, while Mishra’s Workshop cannot cast Zhulodok, so opening hands containing either still need enough unrestricted colourless sources to reliably cast the commander.\n\nThe final split"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n\n"},{"insert":"The completed deck contains thirty cards with mana value two, thirty cards with mana value seven, thirty-nine lands and Zhulodok at mana value six.\nThe two-mana cards establish the deck’s mana, protection and card selection. The seven-mana cards provide its threats, interaction and major payoffs. Zhulodok connects the two halves by turning every seven into two guaranteed additional spells.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Thirty twos. Thirty sevens. One exact cascade plan."},{"insert":"\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Helga had a vision, to win the game she needs to lead an army of even spells !\n\nDespite having no game changers nor infinite combos, this "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Helga, Skittish Seer"}},{"insert":" commander deck is still in my opinion a bracket 3 deck for its pace (the deck being capable of taking one or two people out at turn 6)\n\nThe thought behind the manacurve was to be able to win with Helga thanks to a decent amount of 4 cost instead of casting a big creature per turn. And so having pieces that synergies with each other and a board that buffs itself. This is were the deck started to focus on +1/+1 counters. The expected result being a board of 6 to 8 creatures with a good amount of +1/+1 counters capable of piercing through anyone defences. In short a classic midrange deck.\n\nThe typical early game for this deck goes like this:\nTurn 2: a ramp spell ("},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bloom Tender"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Gyre Sage"}},{"insert":", you name it)\nTurn 3: "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Helga, Skittish Seer"}},{"insert":" \nTurn 4: if the ramp was lucky, two 4 cost creatures otherwise a 2 cost value engine (like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ozolith, the Shattered Spire"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Generous Pup"}},{"insert":" ) and a 4 cost creature\n\nIn conclusion, this deck is fairly easy to maneuver and is a really fun to play, and even though the mana curve is weird the deck gets to play at every stage of the game and can be quite strong.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"The goal of this deck is to use the powerstones created by Ashnod to cast high mana-value artifacts. The mana curve is high at 1 and 8+ mana\nWhen a deck has mostly 1 mana cards, it will run out of cards in hand quickly. I do have some amount of card-draw, but I have focused on creatures that I am able to sink mana into, as the powerstones can also pay ability costs.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"This deck is all about using my turn one and two artifacts and creatures to set up the graveyard full 5 mana vehicles to reanimate. Right on curve, Greasefang will enter stage left to bring back a large value engine (pun intended). Turn 4 is all about refilling the gas tank or using another value piece to capitalize on vehicles entering or leaving. This deck is a low rider and does not need much ramp to get up to speed. We have several sacrifice outlets to put our reanimated vehicles back into the junkyard for reuse. The mana curve of this deck is weighted heavily on two and five to make our game plan work as flawlessly as possible. It also features few tap lands to help us play on curve. The deck features a sub theme of rats be cats. This rivalry between Greasfang and Zahur spills out onto the racetrack too. The mana curve also pictures “fang” in our commander’s name. Also tide to the symbolism of cats and rats having fangs. The curve also represents the towering skyscrapers of Kamigawa that Greasfang calls home.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"This deck has an odd mana curve, literally. Each card in the deck (excluding lands) has an odd mana value, playing perfectly into Yennett's ability. The mana curve is also weird in that it isn't really a curve, it's flat. Each odd value from 1 to 7+ has 15 cards. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Yennett, Cryptic Sovereign"}},{"insert":" \n\nJuly 2026 deck build challenge (weird mana curve)\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Overview"},{"insert":"\nThis Is a Bracket 2 Mono Red Combo Voltron based on the commander "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Laelia, the Blade Reforged"}},{"insert":" . Using cards such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bloodbraid Marauder"}},{"insert":" , "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Smoldering Stagecoach"}},{"insert":" , "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Dark Apostle"}},{"insert":" ,"},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rain of Riches"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Wild-Magic Sorcerer"}},{"insert":" the deck aims to cascade for exactly 2 mana. Why? The way that cascade interacts with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Laelia, the Blade Reforged"}},{"insert":" means that cascade checks each card individually, so if we can manage to cascade through our entire deck and \"miss\" we have the ability to put +1+1 counters on Laelia equal to the number of cards remaining in our library. This is made easier because we have a deck that has no cmc 1 cards and a large amount (35) of cmc 2 cards that we can use to cascade for the correct value. This means we have to be really creative of what type of cards we use for evasion , pump and removal as many staples of mono red Voltrons are just simply not available, including adventure, evoke costs, and 2 mana alternatives. Even though we can't use 1 cmc cards, having a large average cmc is not very effective in this deck because any card that costs too much is not able to be played off the many impulse draw mechanics in this deck, giving us a curve that starts at 2 and very quickly gets smaller and smaller, with most of our large cmc cards either being able to cast for less or being game enders.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"How to win"},{"insert":"\nThis deck wills almost always win via commander damage, but it will vary in the way you get to do the damage. Sometimes you will use a combo to make Laelia extremely big and other times you will grind through the game using impulse draw in order to do enough damage to knockout. Sometimes cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"All Will Be One"}},{"insert":" will ping your opponents to death using the counters you put on Laelia.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Combos"},{"insert":"\nLike stated above the biggest combos are with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bloodbraid Marauder"}},{"insert":" , "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Smoldering Stagecoach"}},{"insert":" , "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Dark Apostle"}},{"insert":" , "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rain of Riches"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Wild-Magic Sorcerer"}},{"insert":" and cascading for two but there are multiple other combos included that can also make Laelia really large. \n\nJust resolving "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Dance with Calamity"}},{"insert":" allows you to continuously choose to exile another card even once you pass by 13. effectively doing the same thing as the prior combo. In addition if you have "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Possibility Storm"}},{"insert":" on the board, casting either "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Invasion of Kaldheim // Pyre of the World Tree"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Jeska, Thrice Reborn"}},{"insert":" will also cycle through the entire deck because the deck only has one of each type of card. \n\nWith Laelia and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Expedited Inheritance"}},{"insert":" on the field together, any board wipe (including opponents) that does direct damage to creatures, such as your own "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Blasphemous Act"}},{"insert":" will give Laelia a ton of counters provided that Laelia has enough health to survive the board wipe. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Protection package"},{"insert":"\nAs you can see in the How to win section this deck relies heavily on protecting "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Laelia, the Blade Reforged"}},{"insert":" and your combos so your protection package is very important. Cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Commander's Plate"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Goblin Chirurgeon"}},{"insert":" are not able to be played so we have to use cards such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bolt Bend"}},{"insert":" (which will generally cost 1) or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Not of This World"}},{"insert":" (which I won't cast unless its free), anticounterspells such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Warping Wail"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Untimely Malfunction"}},{"insert":" , or protection staples such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Lightning Greaves"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Swiftfoot Boots"}},{"insert":" . I also have some protections spells that have multiple uses to increase their chances of not being a dead draw such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Reverberate"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Untimely Malfunction"}},{"insert":". \n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Draw Package"},{"insert":"\nRather than the normally strong red "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Faithless Looting"}},{"insert":" effects this deck is chock full of impulse draw engines that also put counters on laelia consistently such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Furious Rise"}},{"insert":" , "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Tavern Brawler"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Expedited Inheritance"}},{"insert":" . It also has some draw that can be done for one mana via alternative costs such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Light Up the Stage"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ecstatic Beauty"}},{"insert":" , and some cards that provide card draw in addition to other benefits such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Inti, Seneschal of the Sun"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Fists of Flame"}},{"insert":" \n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Removal Package"},{"insert":"\nThis is an area I had to get super creative. Lacking staples such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Vandalblast"}},{"insert":" I had to replace with cards such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ingot Chewer"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Embereth Shieldbreaker // Battle Display"}},{"insert":" . Most of my other removal spells have to be more multifunctional to make up for the fact that they are not very cheap in man cost. A lot of my choices have multiple options and can help with multiple phases of the gameplan. In addition to these cards there is cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Fling"}},{"insert":" , "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Chandra's Ignition"}},{"insert":" , and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Self-Destruct"}},{"insert":" that can act as removal in a pinch, but also as powerful player removal once Laelia gets to be a large enough size. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Ramp Package"},{"insert":"\nThis part of the deck is full of many red staples such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ruby Medallion"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Fire Diamond"}},{"insert":" , but also some unique choices such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Professional Face-Breaker"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rose, Cutthroat Raider"}},{"insert":" due to the card exile and aggressive nature of this deck and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Neheb, the Eternal"}},{"insert":" to cast the spells you impulse drew post combat. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hit the Mother Lode"}},{"insert":" is extremely likely to be a positive mana trade with a free cast due to the low cmc value of this deck and can be used to bank mana to combo off the next turn. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Last Agni Kai"}},{"insert":" has the ability to generate massive amounts of mana if Laelia is really big and also can be used as removal if needed. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Pump and Finishers"},{"insert":"\nFinally and arguably most importantly my pump spells are some of the most important cards in deck. Laelia can't really do anything if she doesn't have the ability to connect with my opponents. Of course you have all the staples such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Rogue's Passage"}},{"insert":" , "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Brotherhood Regalia"}},{"insert":" , and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Whispersilk Cloak"}},{"insert":". But in addition I added to my bulk of 2 mana cards by having a ton of two mana pump spells that give trample. These can pump laelia up if I can't find a combo that works as well as provide a 2 cmc target for the likes of "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Smoldering Stagecoach"}},{"insert":" as well as give laelia trample so she can actaully connect. \n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Landbase"},{"insert":"\nThe landbase is very different in comparison with a lot of my other decks because of the lack of a 1 drop in most plays. This means Lapland's such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Hidden Volcano"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Spinerock Knoll"}},{"insert":" can be very interesting turn 1 land drops. In addition, because this is a mono colored deck, not every single land has to be colored. In fact "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Warping Wail"}},{"insert":" prefers me to have some colorless lands, in addition with the extra abilities that can come in handy often. Due to the large amount of impulse draw A hand with at least 2 lands is necessary but most of the time you will draw a lot and hit your land drops more regularly. This means we can safely run only 30 non MDFC lands and 37 total because we are regularly gonna draw into those lands more often and some of those MDFCs can win games. \n\nIn conclusion the aim of this deck is to basically search for a combo while building up Laelia and protection/finisher support. Then either laelia will get big enough through pump spells or the combos to knock players out of the game with commander damage. \n\n\n\n\n\n"}]}