Graveyard ordering mattering was an interesting mechanic, and I lamented a little when they decided it no longer mattered on the tournament level, so much I found out ways to abuse it, and force your opponent to keep their graveyard in check. As far as I know, using a single Phyrexian Furnace will force your opponent to keep your graveyard in order in legacy (and EDH) to this day.
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| Crops this bad usually end in famine. |
When this strange "old school type 2" format was announced, I quickly settled on wanted to design a deck that utilized this mechanic. The card pool ranged from Revised to Mirage, a two and a half year card pool, and with the obvious offenders banned or restricted, there was a question on two things, what to put in my graveyard, and how to fill it. The two obvious ones were Ashen Ghoul and Nether Shadow. Both of these creatures could come back from the graveyard at their own leisure, as long as conditions were met, and with the other creatures in the deck, those conditions were far from impossible. With this in mind, I also included Death Spark. While certainly requiring some forethought into how to be used, one or two well used Death Sparks could deal an average of 6 damage per game, with one game going into double digits. Finally a card that needs no introduction, Hammer of Bogardan was an obvious choice from day one, and the two in the deck did their work.
Next was how to fill my 'yard, so the rave could take place. A pet card of mine was none other then Lim-Dûl's Paladin. While not an amazing card, it's a decent card in its own right, being able to replace himself when I choose not to do his upkeep cost, and forcing a bolt from my opponents to deal with the otherwise annoying card. Wheel of Fortune was an obvious one, and was always a good sight to see. Finally my other big one was none other then Ring of Renewal. Thanks to both old school as a whole, and Fallen Empires 40, this card has gotten a considerable amount of love in recent years, and I made the controversial decision to try this over the most familiar (and safe) Jalum Tome. I will say, it helped a lot, as most time I used it I discarded a creature or land with it. Finally, the single Ritual of the Machine made for a very potent sac outlet, allowing me to steal a creature (with traditional black restrictions on removal). It always forced an answer from my opponent.
Now that I knew how to fill my Yard, the question became how would I utilize it. An early picked Hell's Caretaker was taken from the deck, and instead I opted for a single Dance of the Dead (the only one I own sadly) and an animate dead. I comboed these with the lovely Skull of Orm, which allowed me to recur my two reanimation enchantments. Colossus of Sardia and Dance of the Dead was a potent combo, and had I had a second one, I would have put two Dance of the Dead's in the deck with two CoS. Finally I utilized Soldevi Digger as a mana sink, allowing me to get back cards that didn't help me in the graveyard, and also to help my graveyard stay manageable.
The two other creatures in the deck are a single Eron the Relentless, a long time favorite of mine, and the above mentioned Colossus of Sardia. Both did their job well, and outside of what I mentioned above, I have nothing particular to say about them. Finally the single Factory just seemed like an obvious staple, and I ran it.
Now it wouldn't be a black/red deck without a great deal of removal. The obvious choices were three burn spells, Lightning Bolt, Death Spark, and Hammer. Ritual of the Machine worked as pseudo removal. Mind Twist, without obvious fast mana (my deck ran no Rituals, and no Vaults), is a surprisingly fair card, and while I was always happy to see it, it never was a complete blowout that the card is famous for. Fumarole and Strip mine were put in the deck to hit problematic lands, and being able to naturally two for one is great, and 3 life is better then the 5 damage from Ashes to Ashes. Ashes to Ashes I don't believe resolved once, and I typically sided them out, but I have had good results with them in the past in other formats. Finally Soul Burn and Shatterstorm. Both of these were duds, with Soul Burn being somewhere in the ok variant, but I don't think one gained my more then 2 life, and I don't think I ever casted Shatterstorm effectively.
Finally I only contained two cards to keep me from dying, a single Maze of Ith (which was restricted), and good ol' Zuran Orb. Cheaters Orb is a great card, and we all know about Maze.
Finally comes the Sideboard. This sideboard could be described as "I'm terrified of Circle of Protections." It includes two Ghostflames, a Dystopia, and two anarchies. Combine this with two Blood Moons, 4 Pyroblasts, and 4 Guerilla Tactics, it was a surprisingly well rounded build.
The Good
Its amazing just how much Death Spark shined in the deck. Who though a mana sink like Death Spark would generate so much value. It was a good value engine, and only a few times did it wind up sitting dead in the graveyard, but with a playset in the deck, that wasn't that bad.
Wheel of Fortune, like many others, has been talked about since time in momemrum. However it was such a good yard filler in this that I have to mention it. Plus who doesn't love drawing seven cards?!
Lim-Dul's Paladin has always been a pet card of mine. I've always thought the art looked like Ronnie James Dio. The card is very interesting, as it came out in that period where they were trying to give black/red interesting ways to get around Circle of Protection. I've always wanted to try him in a sabeutor deck, and one day I might. However in this deck, his discard was an excellent way to get creatures in the graveyard. Then when I was done, if he didn't eat a removal spell, he would draw a card, which this deck had issues with from the start. He typically did 4 damage once, and is naturally immune to Maze of Ith.
Skull of Orm was such an engine. I had my doubts with only two enchantments (both reanimator spells) in the main deck. However, being able to recur those cards, if for nothing else then to remove creatures toward the top of my graveyards, was a great mechanic. I also once used it to recur Dystopia after I sacrificed it to not pay its upkeep. This value engine was so good, I'd almost call it the MVP, if it wasn't for the next part.
Ashen Ghoul (and Nether Shadow) were the work horses of the deck. While other cards were certainly helpful, these two self-replacing cards were the ultimate power of the deck, and without them, the deck would never have worked.
The Bad
Shatterstorm was a weak card and a disappointment. It was sided out in every game I could. Honestly, Shatter would have been better, and I think Disk would have been too. I guess it was just too slow and expensive.
Ashes to Ashes was the same boat as the card above, but I used it once. It was just slow compared to other cards in the format. At least I got to cast this a few times. Still, I probably would have been better with Dark Banishment.
Ghostly Flame was never added to the deck. Not once, and I heard a rumor at this time, the card doesn't technically do anything due to rule changes, but I haven't looked into it. Still I probably went into anti-white to much.
The Ugly
Thawing Glaciers should have been put in the deck, but since they were in another deck, I didn't see them while deck building and forgot about them until I already registered my deck.
Same goes with Shatter of Mox Monkey over the mentioned Shatterstorm above. Alas next time I'll know better.
Chadsters Land Destruction deck forced me to use Guerilla Tactics as an instant speed burn spell.
In conclusion, this deck was one of the most complicated decks I've ever built. It required a great deal of planning and mental energy every game, however I'm glad I built it.
As a bonus, here is, in all its glory, the one on one match between me and the Chadster himself. Its hosted on his Four Horsemen channel. It is posted here with permission. I hope you enjoy. (He actually is partially responsible for the name, as he called it Lim-Dul's Dance of the Ghoul),
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