{"ops":[{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Primer"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Bracket: 2 - Low 3 (technically due to gamechangers)"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"How to plot a heist: "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Step 1: The Target."},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"As with any good heist story, we want treasures. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Win conditions is the part that I struggle most in deckbuilding. So when I was exploring potential types for this challenge, I came across a card I instantly knew was going to be the piece I built a deck around, Gemcutter Buccaneer. It has three types (Ogre, Pirate, Artificer) for potential use, the ability to change a useful token’s function and potentially a cost reducer. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"The challenge to brew around it felt fun, so I looked up other cards that function similarly. Thus I found Dan Lewis, Bludgeon Brawl, Armed with Proof, and Arterial Alchemy. Since treasures can sacrifice themselves to fund their own equip costs (as long as you have enough of them to equip), I focused on them cutting Armed with Proof and Arterial Alchemy. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Step 2: The Vault."},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Where the treasure is held determines what direction the plan will go. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"After deciding the win conditions, I kept to the straightforward path and chose strong and synergistic cards that would enable these cards to succeed. In the end I chose these five:"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Gleaming Splendor"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Descent into Avernus"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Monologue Tax"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Spiteful Banditry "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Smothering Tithe"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Finally, these cards also determined the colors of the deck, Red and White. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Step 3: Mission Control."},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Mission Control guides us to our target. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"With the win condition established and color pair decided, there were two types of commanders that could work for what I wanted to achieve. I could either go with a commander that would draw heavily or they would be the ultimate payoff for the plan. In the end, I chose to go with Payoff and narrowed my case down to two cards:"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Reyav, Master Smith"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Sephiroth, Fallen Hero"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"In this process I fell in love with Reyav but Sephiroth eventually became the clear favorite. Had I gone with Dragon typal instead, Reyav would’ve been the commander."},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Step 4: The Crew"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"The right people will get you to the Target. The wrong people will get you to start praying."},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Now comes the hardest part of the planning — deciding a type. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"There were three clear ideas I wanted the type to be synergistic with. First, I wanted the type to have synergy with artifacts. Initially, this was non-negotiable. I want to make a lot of treasure tokens, and the commander should be able to do something with them. Second, I wanted them to be able to attack. They must pressure the battlefield in some way. Thirdly, I wanted them to be "},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"background":"transparent","color":"#000000","bold":true},"insert":"evasive"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":". Sephiroth + a wincon allows you to knock a player out by swinging with 3 creatures. Maximizing this would be key as typal strategies tend to be weaker than taking the strongest individual cards. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Dragons front-ran this process as they can generate treasure and can swing in easily with Flying. However, after some initial goldfishing, I figured the dragons themselves became the win condition and didn’t really need to be equipped with treasure or buffed by the commander to close a game. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Were they strong? Yes."},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Were they how I wanted to win? No. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Secondly, I looked at Pirates. They too have treasure synergies and as previously mentioned, Gemcutter Buccaneer is a pirate. In the end, I thought that they really needed some evasion to be the right fit and most flying pirates are in blue. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"While just sorting through some old bulk of mine, I found a card that I pulled over a decade ago at a boyscout camp — Kitesail Apprentice. After looking at the Kor type, I realized there are a few alternatives to the Apprentice that are all cheap and have Flying. The Kor type also "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"So the type was chosen: "},{"attributes":{"italic":true,"background":"transparent","color":"#000000","bold":true},"insert":"Kitesailers"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":". "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Step 5: The Plan."},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Remember kids, eat your veggies! :D"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"The gameplan is tough enough to execute. Cheap removal and removal cards that create treasure keep the game going long enough to get to a winning position. As such I decided to add a few protection pieces, like Duty Beyond Death or Lightning Greaves, that work synergistically with Sephiroth and protect the cheap evasive creatures we will eventually use to win the game. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Ramp should basically all come in the form of equipment and treasures. Mana rocks aren’t really needed for acceleration if treasures are able to do both. I would also like to point out that our commander is an achievable 5 mana and is a finisher. We do not need to get to it until our boardstate is ready for him. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Finally, the mana base has some fun choices. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Axgard Armory - Tutors for equipment, if you really need the Sword of Wealth and Power."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion - This gives a creature double strike, could close a game out. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Slayer’s Stronghold - This gives Sephiroth haste on the turn he comes down. He only triggers if he is attacking. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Needleleverage Pathway//Pillarverge Pathway has Akiri talking about the home of the Kor. :)"},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000","bold":true},"insert":"Step 6: Execution"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"."},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Time to get the treasure. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Have fun testing the deck out! It was made a bit on a whim, so there is a lot of space to change it, should you want to adapt it to your own playstyle and preferences. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Here are some fun synergies that helped push me to make the deck possible: "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Armament Master + Balduvian Berserker - lets you get the benefit of a massive swing without risking the Balduvian Berserker. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Kor Skyfisher - returns any permanent, including lands, so Sokenzan can be reused for the channel effect."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Blasphemous Act + Duty Beyond Death - One-sided boardwipe with an automatic enabling of Sephiroth."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Imperial Recruiter and Recruiter of the Guard - They both tutor up any functional utility creature you need. The Kor has a strong suite of niche effects that could be good for setting up to close a game. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Dawnglare Invoker - Sick artwork, Flyer and if you have the mana can close a game. "},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Notable Omissions:"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Kitesail - Too mana intensive for the payoff. Most creatures have Flying already and sephiroth can die and be resurrected for that mana. I did leave in Cliffhave Kitesail for the flavor and auto-equip. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Reaver Cleaver - Felt there were too many non-treasure equipment in the deck and wanted to maintain ones that can equip on turn 3 consistently for a turn 5 sephiroth with mana for protection open. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Fighter’s Class - This was a harsh cut, but in goldfishing I never got to the point of activating the cost reducer for equipping, let alone utilizing the 3rd mode. "},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"transparent","color":"#000000"},"insert":"Academy Manufactor - Food and Clues are not the focus of the deck but I did want to include it when I can find room."},{"insert":"\n\n"}]}