This week, we’ll complete construction of our B/R Intro Pack. We began by looking at the list of rares, to determine in what direction we’d want to build. An Intro Pack’s rares don’t always lend themselves entirely to the deck’s theme, but even then they still work well alongside it. Looking at the list of rares we identified last week, we’re left with some exciting directions we could go.

These are the rare creature cards that show potential in our Intro Pack. We’re aiming to split the difference here, making a deck that does just fine in a two-player match, but can scale to enjoy the multiplayer experience Conspiracy is based upon. As we saw last week, there were some that we’d excluded due to play considerations, such as those who tied too heavily into the multiplayer mechanics of the set to the detriment of their utility in a two-player game (such as Archdemon of Paliano).

Here’s our rare B/R creature short-list.

• Charmbreaker Devils
• Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
• Guul Draz Specter
• Hamletback Goliath
• Harvester of Souls
• Sangromancer

While we’re set on having a creature as the premium rare, there’s the matter of the second rare card which we’ve opened to include any relevant card type. These include:

• Hedron Matrix
• Psychosis Crawler
• Gratuitous Violence
• Phyrexian Arena
• Capital Punishment
• Inquisition of Kozilek

Just from this small list, there are a number of directions we could go. Certainly if we were to go “all-in on the multiplayer aspect, as reader Roni Tabick suggested, there are tools here to do so (more on that later). But for today’s deck, we want something that hits both notes in an exciting splashy way, and nothing quite does the job the way that Grenzo, Havoc Raiser does.

Grenzo’s an amazing card for this sort of deck. The fact that he’s Legendary is no impediment here, since we only get to include one copy anyway. And while his power level isn’t “bomby” in that he’s a 2-mana 2/2, the impact he’ll have on the board state at any stage of the game gives him a high degree of utility. This is particularly evident when both players are playing off the top of their library in a long-game stall, when being able to cast “extra” spells can make all the difference.

In addition, his ability to goad an opponent’s creature means that you can often take their best defender out of the game, leaving them open for more fruitful attacks. This will help our creatures connect more often, meaning we’ll get more cards off Grenzo, and on it goes. To help maximize our chances here, we’ll also want to keep an eye out for evasive or hard-to-block creatures.

To be sure, the slow and steady loss of life is something that the beginning player is going to be concerned with, as beginning layers tend to look at their life totals not as a resource, but rather something to be conserved. But the hope here is that the extra cards they’re drawing will more than make up for the downside, and illustrate that life is meant to be lived, not hoarded away!

Now that we’ve determined our rares, time to fill in the rest of the deck! Here are the deck-building constraints we’re going to want to bear in mind.

• We have room for 12 uncommon cards, and 24 common ones.
• No playsets — limit of 3 copies of any card. Even then, three-of’s are comparatively uncommon, only occurring for cards that are critical to the deck. Sometimes “critical” means being on-theme to the deck, other times it means there’s no other card that can fill that role.
• For the five Intro Packs from Shadows of Innistrad, the average number of different creature cards was 12.4

Let’s take a look at the Common and Uncommon creatures in our Conspiracy: Take the Crown card pool.

• Blood-Toll Harpy
• Bronze Sable
• Carnage Gladiator
• Child of Night
• Crown-Hunter Hireling
• Deputized Protester
• Driver of the Dead
• Ember Beast
• Farbog Boneflinger
• Fleshbag Marauder
• Gang of Devils
• Garrulous Sycophant
• Goblin Balloon Brigade
• Goblin Racketeer
• Goblin Tunneler
• Grenzo's Ruffians
• Guttersnipe
• Havengul Vampire
• Hexplate Golem
• Ill-Tempered Cyclops
• Keepsake Gorgon
• Kiln Fiend
• Mausoleum Turnkey
• Ogre Sentry
• Opaline Unicorn
• Pyretic Hunter
• Runed Servitor
• Shambling Goblin
• Sinuous Vermin
• Smuggler Captain
• Stoneshock Giant
• Stromkirk Patrol
• Thorn of the Black Rose

As always, your mileage may vary (and I always enjoy seeing your thoughts in the comments below), but here’s what I’ve come up with.

The Creatures ? Conspiracy: Take the Crown Intro Deck | Jay Kirkman

• Creatures (24)
• 1 Child of Night
• 1 Driver of the Dead
• 1 Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
• 1 Keepsake Gorgon
• 1 Mausoleum Turnkey
• 2 Blood-Toll Harpy
• 2 Ember Beast
• 2 Goblin Balloon Brigade
• 2 Goblin Tunneler
• 2 Grenzo's Ruffians
• 2 Guttersnipe
• 2 Shambling Goblin
• 2 Thorn of the Black Rose
• 3 Deputized Protester

Buy This Deck

One of the cards that ties the deck together is the Goblin Tunneler. An unassuming 1/1 on his own, he lets some of your creatures be able to sneak pat enemy lines and get in for damage. This is great news for the somewhat brittle Child of Night, which can become a source of repeatable lifegain, but also useful for the Deputized Protester. While the Protester has menace on its own, using the Tunneler lets the Protester get through unimpeded — and the bonus it gets from melee won’t break the safe passage the Tunneler’s granted. Attack two different opponents, and that’s 4 points of unblockable damage — hardly a negligible amount! You’ll see the same benefit from the perfectly-sized Grenzo's Ruffians, too. With the number of smaller-power creatures in the deck, you’ll have no shortage of targets for the Tunneler.

Another theme in the deck revolves around taking advantage of Grenzo’s goad ability. After all, if your opponent is going to be doing you the courtesy of sending over their best creature next turn, it’s only proper to have a welcoming party waiting for them, isn’t it? One must keep up appearances in Paliano, after all. That’s where cards like the Thorn of the Black Rose and Keepsake Gorgon some in handy. These high-toughness creatures each pack deathtouch, spelling a certain end to your opponent’s creature- and you can repeat the process over and over again. The Thorn of the Black Rose will also pay for itself the turn it comes into play, since it makes you the monarch and thus entitles you to a free card at your end step.

The other cards here pad out the deck and give you some additional options. The Shambling Goblins offer a nuisance outsize their small stature, and can even block and kill a goaded 2-toughness creature in a pinch. Guttersnipes give you some reach across the table, and are perfect for multiplayer since they damage each opponent. Ember Beasts are quite robust for the mana cost, with a drawback that shouldn’t be too difficult to get around. And finally, should Grenzo (or another of your creatures) meet their end from misadventure, both Driver of the Dead and Mausoleum Turnkey offer ways to get them back.

Adding the Spells

With 24 creatures in the deck, we’ll have room for a dozen spell cards to support our build. Since this is a combat-focused deck, removal will be high on our list of priorities, and instants/sorceries to support the Guttersnipe will take priority over artifacts and enchantments.

The other thing we’ll be on the lookout for is combat tricks. We don’t want to go too deeply into them, but having even a couple at our disposal can lend an element of surprise and wariness for our opponent, who has to worry about being blown out. This is a fun dimension to Grenzo’s game, since Grenzo will be making our opponents uncomfortable about not blocking!

Here’s our supporting suite.

The Spells ? Conspiracy: Take the Crown Intro Deck | Jay Kirkman

• Spells (13)
• 1 Coordinated Assault
• 1 Death Wind
• 1 Public Execution
• 1 Trumpet Blast
• 2 Murder
• 1 Diabolic Tutor
• 2 Besmirch
• 2 Flame Slash
• 1 Marchesa's Decree
• 1 Phyrexian Arena

Buy This Deck

Besmirch serves a few useful purposes here. Like all Treason effects, it both removes a potential defender as well as adds another source of damage for a turn. In addition, the goad effect means that next turn, it’s red rover, red rover for the hapless soul, and hopefully you’ll have a deathtouch surprise waiting to greet them!

A singleton Diabolic Tutor will help up the odds of finding our star attraction, Grenzo, or whatever we happen to need at the moment as we build our combat engine. And finally, Marchesa's Decree is the only non-instant/sorcery card here, but it fits quite well with the aims of the deck and synergizes with goad. Overall, it’s a good mix of spells and effects, but still focused toward a particular outcome. Victory — and raising a little hell while you’re at it!

Here’s the final deck list.

Grenzo?s Delight ? Conspiracy: Take the Crown Intro Deck | Jay Kirkman

• Creatures (24)
• 1 Child of Night
• 1 Driver of the Dead
• 1 Grenzo, Havoc Raiser
• 1 Keepsake Gorgon
• 1 Mausoleum Turnkey
• 2 Blood-Toll Harpy
• 2 Ember Beast
• 2 Goblin Balloon Brigade
• 2 Goblin Tunneler
• 2 Grenzo's Ruffians
• 2 Guttersnipe
• 2 Shambling Goblin
• 2 Thorn of the Black Rose
• 3 Deputized Protester

• Spells (13)
• 1 Coordinated Assault
• 1 Death Wind
• 1 Public Execution
• 1 Trumpet Blast
• 2 Murder
• 1 Diabolic Tutor
• 2 Besmirch
• 2 Flame Slash
• 1 Marchesa's Decree
• 1 Phyrexian Arena

• Lands (24)
• 10 Swamp
• 12 Mountain
• 2 Evolving Wilds

Buy This Deck

Before concluding, I wanted to take a moment to mention a different way we might have gone with the deck, as suggested by reader Roni Tabick. While I wanted to thread the needle between a two-player focus and a multiplayer one, Roni suggested going all-in on the multiplayer, focusing the deck on Custodi Lich and Skyline Despot to make a strategy of taking — and keeping — the monarch’s crown. This would be accomplished, he said, by running cards like Ogre Sentry that could hold down the fort, and loads of 1-for-1 removal to keep your opponent’s forces under control. After all, if you’re drawing two cards a turn it won’t take long before you can overwhelm your opponent and claim the victory you so richly deserve.

A deck like this would be a blast, likely taking advantage of symmetry-breaking cards like Fleshbag Marauder and Garrulous Sycophant, goad effects like the Goblin Racketeer, and, of course, the Guttersnipe for a nice, steady drain of damage.

What direction would you have taken the deck? Let me know in the comments below! I hope you’ve enjoyed our take on the Intro Pack-cum-Conspiracy, and we’ll return next week with one last Meddling for Eldritch Moon!