"Dragons of Tarkir PR: Heeding Silumgar's Ruthless Command"

"Dragons of Tarkir PR: Heeding Silumgar's Ruthless Command"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

So it was another Midnight PR and being the night owl that I was I felt like I was in my element again. There was an overwhelming excitement on my part that I had to go and join the 27 other players already in Gmasters in Caloocan from the company clinic that I worked for in SM North Edsa. I would not regret the decision even though I did arrive a few minutes just after midnight and the rush to build a deck. 

After playing Sultai for the 2 other Pre-Release events there was no doubt in my mind which Dragonlord would gain my allegiance and that was Dragonlord Silumgar , He with the Tasigur Bling and the clan full of creatures that exploit other creatures. I wanted to have that level of ruthlessness. That and the cool Muddy Black/Brown Semi-See Through Dice that comes with the Silumgar PR kit.

The night was great as I played very skillful opponents who never knew when to quit. I went on a 3-0 winning streak until I hit a wall in the 4th round against Van Mamokhan who was piloting a much meaner deck than the one that I had. 

Some of the highlights of the night included the deadly combination of Dragonloft Idol and Deadly Wanderings. Opponents who have no answer for a couple of turns against a 5/3 Deathtouch and Lifelink creature usually succumbed rather easily. Sadly I was not able to use any dragons with Deadly Wanderings but the added boost to most of the weenie creatures on the deck were enough for the win.

In the third round I found myself battling a war of attrition where I could not deal any lethal damage and while most of my creatures were coming out one by one they were easily dealt with or mass blocked to the grave. It was an exhausting battle but eventually one of us would not have enough creatures to fight. Fortunately I was able to draw this.

My opponent could only stare on at disbelief as all the creatures he had previously dealt with would now be coming out one by one on the battlefield. A fresh wave of old faces that could neither be dealt with or matched because of the lack of resources. "Lord Silumgar is pleased" is all I could hear. I was able to appreciate this wonderful reprint from Dark Ascension.

The Exploit creatures did not disappoint either. As well as those creatures willing to be exploited by their own clan members.Shambling Goblin, Sultai Emissary and Palace Familiar gleefully dies to help the cause. (target creature -1/-1 , Manifest a card and draw a card respectively). While the exploit cards Qarsi Sadist , Silumgar Sorcerer ,Gurmag Drowner and Sidisi's Faithful were all too happy to exploit them. Sidisi's Faithful is a particular favorite because it is Unsummon on a stick. If you were not able to exploit any creatures it puts an early stop to Dash Shenanigans because of its 0/4 butt. 

Speaking of Dragonlord Silumgar , he was the powerhouse of this deck along with Silumgar's Command.For once I was able to support cards that supported my Seeded packs contents. Opponents became really wary of the 6th land drop because they would expect the Dragonlord to grab something on their side of the board if they their creatures did not have Hexproof. Dragonlord Silumgar was able to win the game for me a total of 4 times because almost all the time I would be able to control something big and attack with it. 

Silumgar's Command proved to be a strong card as well as it delayed or outright eliminated creatures on the battlefield. Most of the time players were able to breathe a sigh of relief when they were able to put 2 massive blockers on the board until they get a key removal card. Silumgar's command takes care of the hope and repays it with Ruthlessness. 

Midnight Pre Release events are always great no matter what the outcome , Heeding the voice of Silumgar and spreading of Ruthlessness turned out to be more fun than I could ever imagine. Now on to Standard Pauper and maybe a Monoblack Standard deck. Brewing time.

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Thanks to my opponents Joshua . Ren and Paolo(tama ba?)...Kay Van Mamokhan di na ako magpapasalamat kasi nagulpi talaga ako....Di man lang nakapalag hahaha.

Gmasters Thank you for always providing a comfortable and safe venue for the players in the CaMaNaVa area and beyond. More power Boss Alvin and Boss Archie!

"Dragon Control: Removal , Dragons of Tarkir Edition"

"Dragon Control: Removal , Dragons of Tarkir Edition"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

The skies of Tarkir are now filled with dragons and not much of the plane remains untouched by them. In the Pre release this coming week end you would find yourself facing these monstrosities more and more because of their abundance and with the inclusion of mana ramping spells and dragon enabling creatures( Dragonlord's Servant) in this expansion they are much easier to cast.

So how does a Planeswalker like you survive and win in a plane filled with Dragons? By mastering the ways that you could control or destroy them of course. Defeating Dragons could be easy if you only know how.

Black:

Deathbringer Regent.The most obvious way of defeating Dragons is with other Dragons. Deathbringer Regent for example just simply kills everything else once it hits the battlefield from your hand.(and if there are five other creatures in play of course). The 7 mana cost is a bit expensive but you would be glad to have it in your hand when your opponent is threatening to "Overkill" you with 4 dragons already on the field. 

Minister of Pain.Basically exploits a creature and does a Mini-Silumgar impression by giving your opponents creatures a -1/-1. Goodbye Hordeling outburst , Raise the Alarm  , Secure the Wastes and Monastery Mentor tokens! You could also say Goodbye Delver if it hasn't transformed yet. Then again that is for another day.(and another format.focus focus!)

Silumgar Assasin is one of those Megamorph cards that you would want to have.Hmmm Megamorph it's like you were about to unleash a giant only you don't. At least when he does get turned face up he could kill a power 3 or less creature your opponent controls. Not enough to kill a dragon(except Shieldhide Dragon) but there are still some pretty nasty things with that power and toughness. Like a hidden dragon slayer or another Morphed card. 

Silumgar's Butcher.So we have an assassin and then we simply have a butcher.Silumgar butcher exploits a creature and gives a target creature a -3/-3. Takes care of most of the creatures in the limited format. Perfect for the PR but still remains to be seen if Exploit will be as good in Standard.(EDH welcomes it though).

Death Wind(like someones constipated Fart) will kill something at Instant Speed and it does so by giving -X/-X on a creature , indestructible creatures beware! However the only draw back is that you need to have enough mana to use this spell. You have to at least have 5 mana available to kill a "basic" 4/4 Dragon.

Defeat isn't really a removal spell for dragons but it does take care of creatures like Dragon Whisperer and Dragonlord's Servant that either produces dragons of enables your opponents to put more dragons on the battlefield(as in the Formidable ability of Dragon Whisperer).2 mana to kill a power 2 or less creature. Fantastic.And at common too.

Flatten just Flat out kills a dragon for you , well at least the "basic" ones that have a 4/4 frame. It doesn't kill any of the Dragonlords , Ojutai has Hexproof and the rest are just plain too tough but it does kill almost all the others including the "Lieutenant dragons" and Rock Dragons from the monuments.At instant speed it is best to include this a deck that has a splash of black.

Foul-Tongue Invocation is actually good without even revealing a dragon from your hand but it is better when you do show a dragon for 2 reasons. You have managed to gain 4 life and you have shown your opponent that you are not empty in the threat in the department because you could cast your Dragon when you have the mana available. Oh and that is not good news if you were able to let them sacrifice their best creature. 3 mana instant with a sacrifice effect. Great!

Self-inflicted wound hits White and Green creatures.A one sided advantage for the Silumgar(Blue/Black) and Kolaghan(Black/Red). It is a great removal against those who are running Atarka , Ojutai and Dromoka colors.In standard those who play the wedge colors of Abzan , Temur ,  Jeskai and Mardu are vulnerable to this spell since the strongest creatures in those clans have White or Green mana costs in them. I could see a lot of Sultai players smiling(And like Silumgar hoarding this card). Oh and Yes(to answer that Cardboard Crack question could it kill Siege Rhino?)...this could kill Siege Rhino. For 2 mana. Albeit at Sorcery speed.Well they can't make it any better than that otherwise it won't be in the uncommon slot. 

Ultimate Price is reprinted here for all those Monocolored creatures. In an block where the strongest cards are Dual or Wedge colored Wizards thinks that it is safe to bring out. It does kill a lot of those pesky mono colored creatures including black creatures that in the past was always singled out when it comes to being removed by a Doomblade. 

Virulent plague.Creature tokens get -2/-2 permanently!(or until it is removed by Naturalize at least). I could just see myself unleashing this. I am from Team Virulence after all. Hosing down tokenators and will keep on hosing them until another better card comes along. Delays so many token strategies in standard.

Total Number of removal: 11

White:

Dromoka Dune Caster. Have I already mentioned how annoying it is to get your big creature tapped? well if I haven't they yeah , it is pretty annoying. The Dune caster could be cast on turn one and activated on the second turn to keep on tapping Dragons and other creatures alike for as long as you have the mana. Like I said Annoying. I usually blast these type of creatures whenever I can. 

Hidden Dragon slayer seems to be jumping out of the sands to ambush a dragon and it might just work because this megamorph creature faces up to destroy a target creature with power 4 or greater that your opponent controls. The really is some fine dragonslaying right there. 

Enduring Victory. Sounds like a plan to attack Iraq or something. However this 5 to cast Instant speed killer is just a bigger and better version of Sandblast. For 5 mana not only have you destroyed an attacking or blocking creature you also Bolstered 1. 

Fate Forgotten is a great spot removal. Stops Darksteel Citadel in its tracks with instant speed but that is in standard. In limited though Fate Forgotten needs to deal with the various Enchantments that are coming out this expansion like Dragon Tempest. 

Glaring Aegis is one of those 1 to cast Aura's that benefits your creature and annoyingly taps another creature an opponent controls. Hopefully the 8/8 dragon that is about to end you. 

Pacifism. And yet another wonderful reprint. Causing a dragon not to attack or block is huge and should go without saying. But I said it anyway so there. One of my favorites since it used to go so well with Ethereal Armor. 

Radiant Purge , the opposite of Ultimate price this 2 to cast instant cares about Multicolored creature or enchantment cards and exiles them. The Dragonlords and their Lieutenants are highly susceptible here and is a must add for white decks.At least sideboard material.

Silkwrap. This art reminds me of the Edo Tensei zombies from Naruto being sealed away one by one. For 2 mana this is another version of Suspension Field.Only in this version it cares more about the 3 or less casting cost. Still handy to have around because there will be rush type decks in the PR. 

Surge of Righteousness , Destroys Black or Red Creatures. The Non-Kin Tree worshipping Dromoka takes advantage of this because they no longer have black creatures. In standard on the Jeskai Wedge is immune to this card and might be one of only 3 wedges to use it. 

Total Number of Removal:9

Blue:

Icefall Regent is another one of those Dragons that spew ice and hold another creature at bay. For 5 mana and a comes into play Tapping ability this 4/3 dragon is worth every ounce of mana. As an added protection your opponents need to up their mana quite a bit because spells that they control that targets it cost 2 colorless mana more to cast. Tapping or Icing a creature for a few turns is very significant especially if that is the only creature that your opponent could cast.  

Profaner of the Dead is wonderful. I mean look at his Naga holding out a White walkers head. This creature cares about the toughness of the creature that it exploited. When it does Exploit(you sacrifice a creature) opponents return to their owner's hands all creature with toughness less that the exploited creatures toughness. Safe to say if you were able to Exploit an 8/8 Dragon everything else on the battlefield bounces up to their owners hands. 

Blessed Reincarnation is a blessing and a curse. The 4 to cast instant will make an opponent exile a creature they control , in exchange they get to "Proteus Staff" a creature from their own deck. It is a very situational card since you can use it on an attacker and delay the damage. Never use it on a small creature because you might end up getting a bigger problem(aka Dragon) on your hands. If you do get a bigger creature in play though this spell has Rebound and you have a second chance to remove it on your own upkeep. All you need to do is hope that the same monster doesn't pop out of the deck!

Encase in Ice is part of the 5 card cycle that aims at destroying opposing colors. Red and Green creatures are the main target here and after tapping they do not untap. The Flash helps too since you could do this on the opponents attack phase. It is a good thing that is only hoses down Red and Green creatures. Silumgar and Ojutai players will enjoy this option because of the easy two mana casting cost. 

Mirror Mockery is a card that makes sure that you have an answer to any creature attacking you. The answer is a clone of itself. Be wary of creatures with ETB effects like Silumgar Assassin.  

Ojutai's Breathe is another Ice card. Tapping a creature and making sure that it does not rise up on your opponents next untap phase. A 3 mana instant at that it takes care of opposing dragons who are on the attack and due to its rebound you could tap another creature or the same creature to prolong its Ice state. 

Reduce in Stature is only ruined because it does not have Flash otherwise itt is kind of cool to see a dragon become a 0/2 creature though. Tough luck for the dragon.

Void Squall is a 5 mana instant and it lets you bounce a non-land permanent backs to its owners hand. The Rebound helps too if you managed to miss another creature or annoying enchantment on the battlefield. Could have been better with Flash since it is already a bit overpriced at 5 mana but then again you get to bounce to Non-land permanents.

Total Number of Removal:8

Green: 

Foe-razer Regent is the Fight Dragon. It has an ETB ability that lets you fight a target creature you do not control. As a bonus this 4/5 dragon encourages your creatures to fight more because if they survive the Fight ,they would then get 2 +1/+1 counters at the beginning of the next end step. 

Epic Confrontation. Due to the abundance of huge creatures in green like the new Surrak greens default removal spells coming in Fight or Boxing cards like this one. So you Target someone like Surrak , the Hunt Caller , pump it with a +1/+2 and let it deal 6 damage to a target creature you do not control. In the meantime if that player could only muster 5 points of damage Surrak could then attack after giving that creature a massive killing blow. 

Naturalize. This should become relevant since there is a cycle of Dragon Rocks. Mana producing artifacts that turn into 4/4 dragons when players have enough mana to activate them. Naturalize them before they deal any damage to you. 

Pinion Feast. A great instant card that destroys a target creature with flying. So far I haven't seen any crawling dragons so this very much spells doom for any dragon closely hovering by. Oh and you get to bolster 2 as well. Sweet. 

Total Number of removal:4

Red:

Crater Elemental. For 3 mana you get a 0/6 wall. If you have a pesky dragon problem you just need to pay 1 red mana and sacrifice this wall to deal 4 damage to that pesky dragon. If you wait for your side of the table to be full of creatures and they total up to 8 power or more. Then this defender becomes an 8/6 menace that could threaten your opponents. Up to you. Early removal or Mid to late game threat?

Dragon Tempest. Casting this on turn two while gradually building an army of dragons on your side of the boards means that you both have threats and removal as another dragon comes into play. Talk about Dragon advantage!

Lose Calm. It doesn't directly solve a creature problem but it does make your opponent pay for playing a creature card like Atarka without any way of dealing with it since they do not expect it to be dishing out damage their way. 

Rending Volley. The fastest way to deal with a White or Blue creature. 4 uncounterable damage at instant speed! Ojutai , Dromoka and Silumgar Broods beware. Kolaghan and Atarka players will surely be packing this instant. 

Roast. Another card that answers the question , could it kill Siege Rhino? 5 damage to target creature without flying. Not really a dragon killer but hey this could take out everything else that doesn't have hexproof. A 2 mana sorcery not bad. 

Sarkhan's Rage. A nod to Urza's Rage  , this 5 mana instant is meant to take everything and everyone down. 5 direct damage to a creature or player. Despite costing 5 mana this is a great improvement over other burn spells like Lava Axe. Expect some copies of this when you are facing a red player since this is at the common slot. No one will mind the 2 damage if they don't control a dragon. Chances are they would always have one in play anyway. 

Seismic rupture is just a more expensive Pyroclasm. Not a dragon killer but it does take care of a lot of tokens and dragon enablers like Dragon Whisperer. 

Tail Slash seems like a Fight card for Green but it still remains red because of its Direct Damage aspect. At Instant Speed any strong creature could swipe another creature with its tail and deal damage. Perfect for taking care of Blockers and Attackers alike. 

Vandalize. Another card just itching to destroy some Dragon Rocks. 

Total Number of removal:9

Multicolored Cards:

Dragonlord Atarka. Doing a very cool Bogardan Hellkite impersonation with an ETB effect of dealing 5 damage divided as you choose among Creatures or Planeswalkers. Atarka is surely high on a lot of players wish list right now. 

Dragonlord Silumgar. What is another way of dealing with strong creatures? Why adding them to your army of course or maybe even making them into your bling of choice. Try asking Tasigur as he swings around Silumgars scaly neck. 

Dromoka's Command.Another Fight card and rest assured when you try and fight with a Dromoka fighter you will be slamming into something very hard. 

Kolaghan's Command. Not only does it deal 2 direct damage. It also acts as a cheaper Vandalize. Dragon Rocks beware.

Silumgar's Command. Bounce a permanent. Give a target creature -3/-3. Lesser dragons quake in theirs scales at the command.

Total Number of removal:5

So there we have it. Every possible removal that you would ever need in your arsenal to survive in the dragon dominated plane of Tarkir. May your packs bring you the answers that you need. Time to kill some dragons. Let the Hunt Begin! 

"Remembering Katrina"

"Remembering Katrina"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

"Hold still..."

"Don't touch it..."

"You'd be ok buddy..."

I keep on hearing Arnolds concerned voice. He sounded like he was underwater, I couldnt open my eyes so I had to rely on my other senses. I could smell the vomit that was on me .Feel what I imagined to be blood on my hands.They were moving me , wheeling me in and the moment I smelled the air I knew where I was. It was the antiseptic smell of a hospital , I wasn't sure where but basing on our proximity I could guess where I was. The nearest hospital to Eastwood. The expensive one.

"We're here bro..."

"Hang on..."

"We called an eye specialist in..."

Arnolds voice could be calming when he wanted to but right now it was echoing like a hammer in my head. An eye specialist? It was that bad huh? I could remember blocking a guy who was about to smash a bottle of beer over my head. I remember kicking his ass. The only problem is that in the heat of battle you tend to forget that this asshole has friends. 2 of them to be exact and Arnold as big as he was was as useful as tissue in a torrential downfall when it comes to a fight. I knew something hit me and I blacked out.And now here I am listening , thinking if I could ever see again.

"Arnold?"

"Ollie?"

"Oh no Ollie..."

A familiar voice. A voice I never thought that I would hear again. It was here. It was Katrina.I don't know if it was relief or the realization that she was somewhere in front of me that made me brave.

"You should see the other guy..." I began to say but her voice was stern and serious as she cut me off.

"Mr. Ollie Oliveros..."

"Thats Dr. Oliveros to you!"

"Yes , Dr. Oliveros , you know better than to get into a fight like you were some high school kid.I knew you to be more level headed than this."

Wow! The first time I have heard her voice in almost a decade and here she was scolding me.I didn't know why I suddenly lost the ability to talk back. Katrina still has that effect after all this time. I wanted to ask so many questions but there might be time for that later , if there is a later. 

I felt myself beginning to pass out. I must be losing a lot more blood than I calculated. I felt afraid that I might not be able to ask my questions. Damn it. I still have so many questions. Here I am possibly dying and my dying thoughts were. "Where have you been?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The world was sound.The beeping of monitors. The distant sounds of cars and other peoples voices. It was so normal and it was so cliche. The movies always had the guy in the accident covered in gauze so that he won't be able to see anything and here I was anxious to get these things off so I would be able to know if I was waking up to a nightmare or something else. I wanted to see her. I wanted to see how she looked liked. How age has been kind or unkind to her. If her smile was the still the same.

"Katrina"

"I'm here" she whispered softly. It was always like that with her. A soft whisper that seemed to turn into a howl in my mind.

A hand reached out to touch mine. It was cold.

"I am not a ghost if that is what you are thiking. Try being in this airconditioned room for a couple of hours and you'd be cold too."

"Never thought of it"

"Liar."

"I thought you were the coldest phoenix ever though."

Katrina gave a short chuckle. It was a sweet sound compared to the silence that followed.

"So Opthalmologist huh? You always were an eye opener."

"Among other things."

"You know it's really funny , before all this Arnold and I were wondering where you were. For someone who is unforgettable you seem to have kept your life a secret from everyone."

"Well I am not really into facebook or twitter or any of those things. I still prefer seeing people and them seeing me in the flesh. The internet seems so distant and cold."

"I wanted to see you."

"I know."

"You knew?"

"Yeah. When I read the papers and I saw your name I knew that we would bump into each other again.Eventually.It took you quite awhile though."

"You didn't even know what I wanted to get into."

"I knew enough."

"Yeah...."

There was a kiss on my lips.As light as a feather. As searing as the rays of hottest afternoon sun. It lasted a second.It stretched for an eternity. The kiss of a phoenix.

I was afraid to move. I was afraid to finally find that this was some sort of dream where I was given what I wanted only to be cruelly wrenched away by reality. The kiss did not end though. And I remembered. I remembered that laughing girl in the cadaver room. The one who was blushing and out of breathe.It didn't matter if I could ever see again. I remembered Katrina. 

"Putol na Bahaghari"

"Putol na Bahaghari"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

At di na babalik

mga oras na ating sinayang

Di na mababawi

mga salitang may panghihinayang

Ang nasabi ng may galit

tuluyan nang nakasakit

At ang nasaktan

tuluyan nang nagalit

At di na babalik

mga pintong nagsara

Di na mababawi

ang nilimot na alaala

Ang nasabi ng pangnunutya

kahit sabing di sadya

Ang nasaktan

tuluyang nawala na

Nawala sa alaala

Nawala sa simula

"Kolaghan , The Storms Fury:Death Dash"

"Kolaghan , The Storms Fury:Death Dash"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.

How does one play with a card like Kolaghan? Well Aggressively of course. Just look at all that lightning and that sleekness that connotes speed. The aim is to strike fast and hard. Something that the Mardu of old have come to embody. Ever since this dragon came out of print there are a lot of token players who are aching to  give it a spin.

So the ability says that whenever a dragon you control attacks , creatures you control get +1/0 until end of turn. The card in standard that benefits from this massive boost is Hordeling Outburst , the alternate version of this card even shows a Kolaghan chasing after a bunch of goblins. The alternate card answers the question why the goblins were running in the first place and why they are just bursting out to get away from those massive jaws of death.(or are they being led by Kolaghan? Hmmmm)

So if you already have at least 6 tokens in play when Kolaghan arrives on the battlefield(Via Dash Mechanic of course) , all creatures including the attacking Kolaghan gets +1/0. This translates into 17 points of damage! 12 from the tokens and an additional 5 from Kolaghan itself. Nothing short of a bloodbath would ensue for your opponents. Kolaghan goes back to your hand and evades End Hostilities or Crux of Fate that your opponent would hopelessly cast on his or her turn to at least clear the board of those pesky tokens that you amassed. If they do not have a Hero's downfall or any spot removal at hand then Kolaghan could finish them off with ease.

When it comes to aggression and surprise Kolaghan is the most explosive of the dragon brood coming out of Fate Reforged, In comparison Atarka and Ojutai are way too slow. Silumgar is probably the only Dragon who could hold it off while Dromoka needs to have itself bolstered first in order to stand a chance at surviving the sudden attack. 

Oh and just in case you were wondering what other card works well with this Kolaghan + Token strategy then look no further than the card Dragon Rage which gives you 1 red mana for each of your attacking creatures and a "dragon breathing" ability for each one of them. You pay 1 red mana and pump any of them for +1/0 until end of turn.

So going back. You have 6 tokens attacking as well as Kolaghan. The plan is to go for lethal but your opponent casts 2 Raise the Alarms effectively blocking 4 of your Goblin creatures with 4 1/1 Soldier tokens.Do you go quietly and accept the death of these goblins? Of course not. You cast a Dragonrage for 3 mana at instant speed and add 7 mana for all your attacking creatures. One of those unblocked Goblins or Kolaghan itself then gets a +7/0 boost. Though you may have lost 4 tokens and 8 damage the unblocked creatures would still be able to dish out 16 points of pain. If you have 2 Collateral Damage at hand you could even sacrifice your goblins and deal 6 damage since your goblins are about to die anyway.

Now imagine if there were no blockers or only one creature was blocked. This is what we call GG or Good game. Nothing to do but scoop up your cards and be ready for Kolaghans next Death Dash. 

"Standard Pauper: Sultai Burn"

"Say Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....all the way down..."

"Standard Pauper: Sultai Burn"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. 

Most of the time when people associate Fire with the Sultai it is often with the image of a zombie being burned and a graveyard being purified by the same fire. However Fire is a fickle thing and like a lot of things in the world of magic could be used by more than one master. Sultai Burn for Standard Pauper is something that I have not seen just yet. Until now. The Sultai are masters of exploiting any known resource why not hold the one thing that gives them fear? Fire. 

"Oh not today Mr. Fire , Not today."

The deck revolves around the idea of getting a lot of burn spells and then delving for the sultai biggies that would have a bigger impact in the mid to late games.

4 x Bloodfell Caves

4 x Evolving Wilds

7 x Mountains

7 x Swamps

__________________

22 lands

4 x Lightning Strike

4 x Collateral Damage

4 x Bolt of Keranos

2 x Bathe in Dragon Fire

4 x Tormenting Voice

__________________

18 Spells

4 x Typhoid rats

4 x Necromancers Assistant

4 x Gurmag Angler

4 x Sultai Emissary

4 x Shambling Attendants

____________________________

20 Creatures

The trick is to usually have a lot cards in the graveyard to easily cast out the power houses of the deck Gurmag Angler and Shambling Attendants. At 7 and 8 to cast respectively they may seem a bit hefty but then again no one sees them that way and only look at both as 1 black mana , much like they would look at Tasigur. 

"Let me give you a hug"

Now in this Black/Red deck how do you start getting your cards to the graveyard for abuse? Well since you do not have Taiga's Scheming you need to rely on the same thing that ends a lot of zombies lives. Burn. Yup all you need to do is build up your mana base with Evolving Wilds serving as the poor mans Land Fetch. 

The Burn suite of this deck includes Lightning Strike , Collateral Damage , Bolt of Keranos and a pair of Bathe in Dragon Fire. The concept here is that with this amount of burn readily available any worthy target that hits the board will not survive for very long.So what do you do when there are no worthy creature targets? Well you burn someone of course.

Tormenting Voice has been a favorite of mine since I played in the Khans Pre release and it feels quite at home here discarding a card for 2 more. When it comes to thinning out your deck and filling your graveyard this is the only thing in Red. With Burn decks it is always important to have a refilled hand. Tormenting Voice will do just the trick and in the process put more fuel for your delve creatures.

Now comes the interesting part , with your opponent losing all of his or her creatures this leaves you with a field that is open for domination from the 5/5 Gurmag Angler and the 3/5 Shambling Attendants. The latter even has deathtouch in case there are still some remnants of opposition left on the other side of the board.

Of course there would be a couple of times when you would be overwhelmed by the odd token deck or even a pauper heroic deck. Typhoid rats and Sultai Emissary are there to hold the fort. They are even willing to die for the Sultai cause. More fuel to consume as I always say. Typhoid rats is an early deterrent because of death touch. Nobody wants their 4/4 monster to die to a 1/1 rat.  Sultai Emissary , well this is a guy that just keeps on giving. When he dies you get to Manifest the top of your card giving you a 2/2 blocker or if it happens to be another creature you could actually flip it over by paying its morph cost. Not bad for a 2 to cast creature right?

Sultai burn might win by burning someone to death but it is really more satisfying to get an Angler or Attendant just oozing their way into someones gut. Let Fire serve the Sultai. Let all Serve the Sultai.

"The Knocks"

"The Knocks"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

"I want you to check these tapes out"

Roy barely had time to remove his hands from the desk before a huge box came crashing down on it. The old thin desk seemed to groan from the weight of the box and Roy found himself thinking what the hell could all these tapes contain.

"These are CCTV footage's for the past couple of months facing Apartment 23. Did you know that no one stays in that unit for more than a week? The tenants have all been spooked out and would rather not get their 2 months deposit from the owner rather than stay another night there. One of them said that there was an incessant knocking for every night that they stayed there."

"Sounds like a Ghost story to me boss" Roy said while fingering all the tapes that he would go through.

"Or it could be some sort of extortion scam. Our client has asked us to look into this and as a gesture of good faith the complex owner has given us all these tapes to go through , he even included a list of the last tenants who stayed there that coincides with the tapes.If its any consolation to you this footage all comes from a lone camera that faces the door of Apartment 23. Lucky right? Well it seems you have a long night ahead of you so get to it."

"A long night sounds about right" Roy said after his boss has shut the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Roy had to sort out the beginning of the tapes and was instantly bored by the daily comings and goings of the first residents. The lone camera on the floor had been placed at the far end of the hall. At the other end of the hall were 2 doors. One going to the left and another which had the gold embossed number 23 nailed to it. The first tenants he could identify was a middle aged couple who by the looks of it had no children. Nothing odd about the first couple of tapes until he reached a part where all it showed was the door left ajar. It was like that for a couple of hours until some people who looked liked the care takers of the apartment complex came and moved the belongings of the middle aged couple. Odd but nothing that could show why they left.

The next couple was a bit more lively. Roy checked his notes and found that they were newly weds and both could not keep their hands off each other. The pretty female was even more aggressive , touching her husbands crotch despite the latter pointing to what Roy assumed to be the highly visible camera at the other end of the hall. The female merely replied by undressing and encouraging the man to caress her breasts. A free show!Roy thought but before anything else could happen the man opened the door and carried his very well endowed wife in. The door closed silently. Roy was disappointed because out of all the hours of footage this was the only stimulating part that have come his way. He decided to keep the tape running while he made himself a cup of coffee. This was taking longer than he thought. He first suspected that the door on the left would be trying to knock on the door to scare the tenants or someone would try and sneak near the door , knock and then run away. No one seemed to linger in this particular corridor though. At least nothing that he could see on the camera.

The tape had come to an end. The door was again left open and after a few hours the caretakers had come to take out the contents of the apartment. Roy would see the same pattern repeating for the next 3 tenants of the place. A single man , a pair of lesbian lovers and another pair of newly weds. Daily activities , coming and going and then just the open door. No one was seen running. No one was seen going near the door. Did the owner already get his hands on these tapes and edited them somehow? He was sure that these were all unaltered. His eye could easily see any loops or alterations. He decided to look at the footage of the second couple. He might get lucky and see some more of that woman.

Roy did see something. 

At first he thought that the camera blurred a little bit as what seemed liked white smoke rose in front of the Apartments door. In what seemed like a small amount of time the smoke shaped into that of a woman with long black hair and gossamer white clothing.

A white lady? Classic.

The lady lifted her left hand slowly and gave the door the 3 sharp knocks. Roy could only imagine it as the hands fell in quick succession. The door was framed in light as the tenants turned it on from the inside. Only did Roy realize that he was looking at the camera in total darkness. The lights were on in the apartment but no one came out. They were probably asking who was outside. Roy deftly rewind the footage and checked the time on the first knock It was 3:33am. This time he let the scene unfold. When the lights turned on and it seemed that no one answered the question from the inside the lights turned off again in Unit 23. The lady was still there.

She lifted her left hand again and began her 3 successive raps. Like someone striking a bell Roy thought to himself. The lights went on again but no one came out. It turned off. 

3 more knocks. And then the door opened showing a guy with his sando and boxers. He was looking straight at the lady who stood motionless. Not a single strand of her black hair was disturbed as the man was gesturing with his hands and shouting at the corridor. No one opened their doors. The Door on the left remained shut despite the mans shouting. Probably used to it by now. The man stepped back a bit and to talk to his wife. The lady then seemed to glide and inside. The door closed.

Roy took all of this in. A couple more minutes and the disheveled couple were running out. The woman clutching a blanket to cover herself.The man pale and hurrying her forward. Their bare feet must have been causing quite a ruckus as they ran. The other doors remained shut.

Roy focused on the door and zoomed in a bit. He saw it. The lady. Her face contorted in her death. Her involuntary smile frozen forever. Her eye , her red bright eyes turning toward him.

Roy closed the monitor and stepped away.

There were 3 raps on his door. Roy looked at the clock  on his left. It was 3:33am.