{"ops":[{"insert":"Teval, the Balanced Scale: Sultai Graveyard Toolbox"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The one-line pitch"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Every attack fuels the graveyard, every card leaving the graveyard builds a board of zombies, and every land looping in and out of play snowballs your mana and card advantage until the table drowns in value or dies to one of four combo lines. This is a graveyard toolbox, not a fragile one-trick deck: it wins by grinding, by going wide, or by comboing, and it decides which one on the fly.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Combo quick reference"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"#ComboPieces neededResult"},{"attributes":{"table":"1"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"1"},{"attributes":{"table":"2"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Infinite zombies / drain"},{"attributes":{"table":"2"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Gravecrawler + Phyrexian Altar + one other zombie (+ Ayara or Meathook Massacre)"},{"attributes":{"table":"2"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Infinite drain, or feed Altar of Dementia to mill the table"},{"attributes":{"table":"2"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"2"},{"attributes":{"table":"3"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Table mill"},{"attributes":{"table":"3"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Gravecrawler + Kheru Goldkeeper + Altar of Dementia + one other zombie"},{"attributes":{"table":"3"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Infinite mill, game over"},{"attributes":{"table":"3"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"3"},{"attributes":{"table":"4"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Self-mill win"},{"attributes":{"table":"4"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The Gitrog Monster + Dakmor Salvage + Laboratory Maniac (or Shifting Woodland)"},{"attributes":{"table":"4"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Deck yourself, win on your next draw"},{"attributes":{"table":"4"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"4"},{"attributes":{"table":"5"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Earthbend mill"},{"attributes":{"table":"5"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Beifong's Bounty Hunters + Bloodghast + Altar of Dementia"},{"attributes":{"table":"5"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Infinite mill, game over"},{"attributes":{"table":"5"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Altar of Dementia and a sacrifice-able Gravecrawler show up in three of the four lines, so Altar of Dementia is your single most important combo permanent to find and protect. \nCrop Rotation, Wight of the Reliquary, and Finale of Devastation all help assemble pieces.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"How the commander works"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Teval is a 4-mana 4/4 flyer with two abilities that feed each other:\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"On attack:"},{"insert":" mill three cards, then return a land from your graveyard to the battlefield tapped. This self-mills you (fuel) and cheats extra lands into play (ramp and landfall) with zero setup beyond swinging."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Whenever one or more cards leave your graveyard:"},{"insert":" make a 2/2 black Zombie Druid token. This does not care "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"how"},{"insert":" the cards leave (exile, flashback, dredge, reanimation, returning to hand, even Teval's own land return). Because the deck moves cards in and out of the graveyard with dozens of small effects, this trigger fires constantly."},{"attributes":{"list":"ordered"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The zombie tokens are the glue. They crew vehicles, convoke removal, feed sacrifice outlets, power combos, and satisfy every \"sacrifice a creature\" cost in the deck for free.\nGame plan"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Cast Teval as early as turn three off the mana dorks, then start attacking to mill and ramp. From there you are assembling a graveyard you treat as a second hand: recur lands for value and landfall, reanimate midrange threats to grind, flood the board with tokens, or line up one of the combos below. You almost never run out of gas because the yard refills itself and the land engine keeps mana flowing.\nIdeal curve-out"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"This is the dream sequence. You will rarely hit every beat, but it shows what the deck wants to do.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Turn 1:"},{"insert":" Land, then a one-mana dork (Birds of Paradise, Delighted Halfling, Deathrite Shaman) or Hedron Crab. A dork sets up a turn-three Teval; Hedron Crab starts filling the yard the moment you play lands.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Turn 2:"},{"insert":" Land plus a second accelerant (Bloom Tender, Lotus Cobra, Fanatic-style dork) or an engine piece like Ripples of Undeath, Tortured Existence, or Aftermath Analyst. You want to be milling by now.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Turn 3:"},{"insert":" Cast Teval. If you have four mana, hold up nothing and just deploy him; a turn-three Teval that survives runs away with the game.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Turn 4:"},{"insert":" Attack with Teval (mill three, cheat a land in, make a zombie), then use the extra mana to add a land engine (Oracle of Mul Daya, Azusa, Dryad of the Ilysian Grove) or a payoff (Aesi, The Gitrog Monster). The board and the yard are now both snowballing.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Turn 5:"},{"insert":" One of three things happens: you assemble a combo from the quick-reference table, you cast Splendid Reclamation or World Shaper for a massive land dump plus landfall, or you go wide and end it with Craterhoof Behemoth or a large Finale of Devastation. Hold Swan Song or An Offer You Can't Refuse to protect the winning turn.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"If the game goes long:"},{"insert":" you are the happiest deck at the table. Sylvan Library, Gitrog, Aesi, and Oracle bury opponents in cards while your yard makes every board wipe a minor inconvenience. Grind until a combo comes together.\nThe core engines"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Self-mill:"},{"insert":" Hedron Crab, Ripples of Undeath, Six, Aftermath Analyst, Molt-style effects, and Teval himself keep dumping cards into the yard.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Land recursion (this build runs three heavy hitters):"},{"insert":" Aftermath Analyst, Splendid Reclamation, and World Shaper each return every land from your graveyard to the battlefield at once. With a full yard that is five to ten lands in a single turn, plus a wave of landfall and a stack of Teval triggers. Life from the Loam, Walk-In Closet, and Icetill Explorer give you repeatable land recursion on top.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Card advantage:"},{"insert":" Sylvan Library, Night's Whisper, Oracle of Mul Daya, Augur of Autumn, The Gitrog Monster, and Aesi turn all this activity into a card lead you cannot be raced out of.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Tokens:"},{"insert":" Teval zombies, Field of the Dead, Scute Swarm, Insidious Roots plants, and Titania bodies build a board that closes games with Craterhoof Behemoth or Finale of Devastation.\nWin conditions and combos"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"This build packs four combo lines that emerge naturally from the engine. You do not force them, they show up while you play the deck the way it wants to be played.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"1. Infinite zombies and drain: Gravecrawler + Phyrexian Altar + one other zombie."},{"insert":" Sacrifice Gravecrawler to Phyrexian Altar for one black mana, then recast it from the graveyard (legal because you control another zombie). Recasting means a card left your graveyard, so Teval makes a zombie. The loop is mana neutral and produces infinite zombies. With Ayara, First of Locthwain on board it becomes infinite drain (each black creature entering pings the table). With The Meathook Massacre it drains on each death instead. Point the infinite tokens at Altar of Dementia to mill everyone out instead.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"2. Mill the table out: Gravecrawler + Kheru Goldkeeper + Altar of Dementia + one other zombie."},{"insert":" Recast Gravecrawler (Kheru makes a treasure because a card left your yard), sacrifice it to Altar of Dementia to mill an opponent, crack the treasure for black, recast Gravecrawler, repeat. Infinite mill, instant game win.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"3. Deck yourself into a win: The Gitrog Monster + Dakmor Salvage + Laboratory Maniac."},{"insert":" Discard Dakmor Salvage (easy at cleanup with a full hand). Gitrog sees a land hit the yard and offers a draw, which you replace by dredging Dakmor Salvage back, milling two. Repeat until your library is empty, then win off your next draw with Lab Maniac already on the battlefield (or copy Lab Maniac with Shifting Woodland at instant speed if you have delirium).\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"4. Earthbend mill loop: Beifong's Bounty Hunters + Bloodghast + Altar of Dementia."},{"insert":" Sacrifice Bloodghast to Altar of Dementia (mill two). Beifong earthbends a land into a creature. Sacrifice that earthbent land to Altar of Dementia (mill more); earthbend returns it to the battlefield, which is a land entering, which returns Bloodghast from the graveyard. Repeat for infinite mill. With Teval out you can run the same loop off zombie tokens instead of Bloodghast.\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Non-combo finishes:"},{"insert":" a wide token board plus Craterhoof Behemoth or a big Finale of Devastation ends the game through blockers thanks to trample. Titania plus your sacrifice-lands (Strip Mine, Fabled Passage, Zuran Orb) also grinds out a lethal board of 5/3s.\nMVP cards to protect and prioritize"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Teval himself, Phyrexian Altar, The Gitrog Monster, Sylvan Library, and Titania are your highest-value permanents. Sylvan Safekeeper protects your key creatures at instant speed by sacrificing a land (which you happily recur later). Crop Rotation is a toolbox tutor: it finds Field of the Dead, your Festering Gulch combo finish, or whatever utility land the board calls for at instant speed.\nMulligan guide"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Keep hands with a way to cast Teval by turn three or four (a dork or two plus lands) and at least one engine or self-mill piece. Ideal openers have a mana dork, a couple of lands, and a card that starts filling the yard (Hedron Crab, Ripples of Undeath, Aftermath Analyst). Ship hands that are all payoff and no mana, or all mana and no action. You do not need a combo in your opening hand: the deck finds its pieces once the engine is running.\nPiloting tips"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Sequence lands before attacking so Hedron Crab and landfall triggers stack up. Do not overextend into an obvious board wipe: you recover from wipes better than almost anyone (your board is tokens and your threats are recastable from the yard), so bait removal with a modest board and hold the haymakers. Use Deathrite Shaman and Endurance-style graveyard interaction to shut off opposing reanimator and spellslinger decks. Hold up Swan Song and An Offer You Can't Refuse when you are about to combo so a single removal spell does not blow you out.\nInteraction suite"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Removal: Assassin's Trophy, Abrupt Decay, Toxic Deluge, The Meathook Massacre, Culling Ritual, and Lethal Scheme (convoke it with zombies for free). Counters: Swan Song and An Offer You Can't Refuse for cheap protection. Graveyard hate: Bojuka Bog, tutorable with Crop Rotation, plus Deathrite Shaman.\nWeaknesses"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Heavy graveyard hate (Rest in Peace, Bojuka Bog, Soul-Guide Lantern) slows you down, so keep a threat on board that wins without the yard and lean on Endurance-style resets when you upgrade. You are also creature-reliant for the mana base early, so a fast board wipe on turn four can set you back a turn. Play around it by not dumping every dork at once.\nUpgrade path (round two)"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"This list is a budget-conscious build. The clearest upgrades:\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Mana base:"},{"insert":" swap the precon stand-in lands (Sunken Hollow, Fetid Pools, Woodland Cemetery, Llanowar Wastes, Hinterland Harbor, Temple of Malady, Opulent Palace) for the five fetchlands plus Mana Confluence and Yavimaya, Cradle of Growth. Fetches double as self-mill fuel and land-recursion targets."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Re-add the fifth combo:"},{"insert":" Amulet of Vigor brings back the Aftermath Analyst plus Shifting Woodland plus Sylvan Safekeeper infinite-land loop that was cut for budget."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Premium adds:"},{"insert":" Endurance (graveyard protection and a free reset), Fierce Guardianship (free counter), Badgermole Cub, Bloom Tender upgrades, and Delighted Halfling for protected ramp."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The engine and all four combos stay intact through every upgrade: round two only makes the mana smoother and adds the fifth win line.\n"}]}