Needless to say, I won that game. My Tooth and Nail obtained my victory. But this was a duel, late in the match when it was time to end things. What do you do when you cast Tooth and Nail in a multiplayer game, where Psychatog probably is not your ideal target and you aren’t probably top-decking?

When you play Tooth and Nail, what do you summon?

Obviously, this answer depends in part on what colors you are playing and the board situation. If you are facing an untapping Nevinyrral's Disk, you may want creatures that will survive it going off. What you have access to changes with deck construction. A Commander deck that is rocking Bant’s G/W/U has a different answer than Intet’s U/R/G or Jund’s B/R/G. When you Tooth and Nail, how do you do it?

When you build your deck with Tooth and Nail, do you make sure that you include some combo that should win you the game so that if you need to win immediately you can? For example, any green deck that has black can run Mikaeus, the Unhallowed and Triskelion. You can combo-kill with your Triskelion when Mikaeus is in play. (You pull off 2 counters to smash someone for damage and then pull off the last counter to kill the Trisk’; it comes back with an extra +1/+1 counter, and repeat.) Both are strong cards on their own, so you don’t even weaken your deck to drop stuff like that into it.

Or perhaps you run a combo that is less fragile but takes longer to win. Many commonly-played spells can keep back a Kiki-Jiki-fueled horde. Perhaps you prefer Painter's Servant and Iona, Shield of Emeria. Locking down any spells from being played cuts out typical answers. Opponents can’t Swords to Plowshares, Rout, Starstorm, or Damnation themselves out of their problems. It’s a slower win, but it’s probably an easier one in many situations.

The first sort of combo reminds me of Izzet. Do you have the cards to stop me? Nope? Then I win now; let’s shuffle up! Otherwise, we keep playing—yay! But the other combo takes longer, is harder to crack, and slows down the game, but makes it more likely to win—kind of like an Azorius combo.

Maybe these sorts of combos aren’t your thing. When you Tooth and Nail, you want something else at the multiplayer table. Great!

Perhaps you want synergies instead of game-ending combos. Tooth and Nail and Defense of the Heart are booooorring when all someone does is fetch a combo. So for you, you want a clever synergy.

Some of those are nastier than others, and perhaps this is where your preference lies with the Tooth and Nail.

Another synergic trick is to grab a powerful creature and Eternal Witness. Then, you recur the TnN and do it all over again next turn. I have to admit that I’ve run this trick a few times. Plus, my deck has cards such as Auramancer and Izzet Chronarch, so I can do it a few times if they are in my stack. Of course, when a deck becomes greedy like that, countermagic and angry opponents often follow in its wake, so make sure you run Boseiju, Who Shelters All to keep playing the Tooth and Nail; I like grabbing a creature like Spike Weaver first because no one really cares, and you set up three Fogs for later defense. If you grab Spike Weaver and Eternal Witness to replay your Tooth ‘n’ Nail next turn, people just don’t feel threatened.

Of course, the Timmies in all of us want to grab a big, fat creature. For example, I once grabbed both Akromas. That was a lot of fun. I admit that I also once grabbed both Blightsteel and Darksteel Colossuses (Colossi?). Swinging with double beaters is nasty.

But some people like to push. They want their Timmy, but then they also want to be a Spike. So, they grab something like It That Betrays and Ulamog, the Infinite Gyre (or Emrakul, the Aeons Torn in formats that allow it). Not only do these players gain two giant beaters, but they can start stealing permanents when they swing. Another example of a classic Timmy/Spike creature is Sundering Titan. It brings boom and blows up lands. In fact, a nasty combo would be it with a Clone-like card or two Titans in a sixty-card deck.

To be fair, a lot of folks like to grab big creatures that smash things when they arrive. For a long time, we didn’t have many larger creatures that blew up stuff, so Angel of Despair was it. So, if you were playing the colors, you could grab this 5/5 flyer with her free Vindicate and then whatever else you needed. This way, if a foe followed up your Tooth and Nail with a Wrath of God, you would gain card advantage. Today, we have options like Woodfall Primus and Terastodon that are right in our color!

Shoot, the Primus and the Elephant are so commonly played today that they are often Tooth and Nail defaults. They not only make your inner Timmy feel good, but they bring some pain. I read a forum post that suggested to run Terastodon with Kederekt Leviathan. This way, you destroy three noncreatures with Terastodon, and then you bounce both the ‘Don and their tokens (plus everything else other than the Leviathan and lands) to hands. You can probably replay the Terastodon next turn since you hand the mana for a Tooth and Nail. Meanwhile, you have a Leviathan to start attacking with next turn. Of course, if the Leviathan dies, you can pull off that trick again by playing the ‘Don and then unearthing the Leviathan.

Another way to Tooth and Nail is the way I typically prefer. It should be no surprise to my readers that I like to make sure I don’t lose in multiplayer, so I emphasize defense. I will often find two creatures that will keep my alive. My new favorite Tooth and Nail target is Avacyn, Angel of Hope. Not only does she have indestructible—and provide an 8/8 body for swinging in the air—but she also protects all of my other stuff. Then, I like something else to help out, such as Platinum Angel or Platinum Emperion. My life total is safe behind that creature, which is safe behind Avacyn. Meanwhile, I can start swinging and punching people in the mouth with my indestructible creatures.

Take a look at Empyrial Archangel. All damage dealt to the controller is redirected to this 4/8 shroud flyer. Now look at something like . . . Vigor. All of the damage that is dealt to me is dealt to the Archangel, where it is prevented and gains a ton of +1/+1 counters. This is a nifty little Bant-themed combo to keep your life safe while also giving you a massive beater in the sky.

Here’s a nifty little one I enjoy—just for fun: Rune-Scarred Demon and Vampire Hexmage. You tutor for Dark Depths, play it, and then sacrifice the Hexmage to make your 20/20 Marit Lage. It’s a fun little way to make a giant indestructible flying beater in just Golgari colors.

What sort of Tooth and Nail player are you? What are your favorite ways to use and abuse this commonly-played sorcery? Do you fetch Progenitus? Butcher of Malakir? Magister Sphinx?

And what does your Tooth and Nail say about you?

See you next week,

Abe Sargent