{"ops":[{"insert":"The Basic Concept"},{"attributes":{"header":1},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"This is a deck built around "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Celestial Toymaker"}},{"insert":" offering my opponents a choice of piles, where the face-up pile is full of salty cards that are really just tricks, while the real value hides face-down. The treat comes when they hand me salty cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Armageddon"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Winter Orb"}},{"insert":". Most players won't take that risk, because nobody wants to be the one who gave the "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Celestial Toymaker"}},{"insert":" a land wipe. So they pick the safe-looking pile and give me the value I wanted all along.\n\nOn paper, this is a plain "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Celestial Toymaker"}},{"insert":" value deck. You play him, attack, split some piles and pick up value along the way, with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Fact or Fiction"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Gollum, Scheming Guide"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Do or Die"}},{"insert":" in the mix.\nThat's not really why you're playing it. The deck is about messing with the table.\n\nYou're the Toymaker, They're the Toys"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Whenever the Toymaker attacks, you look at the top three cards of your library and exile them into one face-up pile and one face-down pile. Then an opponent picks which pile you get.\nNotice who built the choice, though. You decided what's in each pile, what's visible and what's hidden. The opponent only gets to pick between the two options you handed them, and they'll spend the whole time trying to guess what you want. You're pulling the strings, and they think they're the ones making decisions.\n\nThe Trick"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"The deck is packed with cards nobody likes seeing across the table. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Armageddon"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Winter Moon"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Zur's Weirding"}},{"insert":". Salty cards that turn a friendly game of Commander into an awkward evening.\n\nThe classic line is to put one of those face-up. Nobody wants to hand you such salt, so they give you the other pile. They feel like they made a smart choice, and you got exactly what you were after.\n\nYou can also flip it. Hide the nasty card face-down and let imaginations run wild. Some players will assume the worst and give you the face-up pile, even when it's the better one. Others will convince themselves the hidden pile holds something even more disgusting. You never quite know what's going on in someone's head, which is half the fun.\n\nThere's a political layer too. Put removal like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Erode"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Starfall Invocation"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Counterspell"}},{"insert":" face-up, something that could answer a threat your opponent controls, and suddenly giving you that pile hurts. They might take the face-down pile just to keep their best creature alive. Some players will play along, and some will take the salt card just to spite you. Pay attention to who's who.\n\nThe Treat"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Sometimes they do hand you the salt card. How rude.\nYou can play it and blame the person who gave it to you. You didn't choose the pile, they did. You're just the humble servant of the Toymaker, and who are you to question fate?\nOr you can keep it in hand and make it politics. Promise not to cast it if someone does you a favour, use it to negotiate an alliance, or just sit on it and let everyone wonder when you'll pull the trigger. The threat is often worth more than the card.\nIf you do end up blowing up lands, make sure you can keep playing afterwards. Mana rocks like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sol Ring"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Thought Vessel"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Talisman of Dominance"}},{"insert":" or indestructible lands like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Cascading Cataracts"}},{"insert":" will keep you running.\n\nSo How Do You Win?"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Beyond making everyone question their choices, the deck does have a real plan. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"The Celestial Toymaker"}},{"insert":" pairs well with clone effects that play nicely with legendary creatures, like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Spark Double"}},{"insert":", "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ember Island Production"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Irma, Part-Time Mutant"}},{"insert":". Copy the Toymaker and you get multiple attack triggers, and the value snowballs fast.\nOnce you have enough copies and triggers, the end-of-turn effects add up to serious damage across the table. Keep the engine going long enough and it becomes a table-wide drain that finishes off the whole pod.\n\nA Word of Warning "},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Not everyone will enjoy this deck, especially if you lean hard on land destruction. That's part of the joke, but there's a big difference between making people sweat over what you might do and making the game miserable for everyone.\nIf the whole table is stuck topdecking lands and nobody can meaningfully play, it's gone too far. The idea is to make people nervous, get yourself ahead, and then actually finish the game. As long as you're genuinely trying to win and not just dragging things out, there's plenty of room to have fun. Just make sure you have a way to end the game once you're in control.\n\nAs for the bracket, the land destruction puts it in Bracket 4, though I'd say the real power level sits closer to Bracket 3.\nHappy Halloween! 👻\n"}]}