By the time you read this, the whole of Dragon's Maze will be up in the Card Image Gallery on DailyMTG and Gathering Magic's text spoiler. If you haven't already taken a look, go check it out now. Seriously, I can wait.

All finished? Although here in the past we haven't seen all the cards in the set yet, there is one in particular that has me excited. Nivix Cyclops is a new variant of Kiln Fiend, trading an extra mana for 2 extra points of toughness. Although this does slow it down somewhat, it also turns it into a useful blocker when you're not going in for damage with instants and sorceries. Conveniently, Nivix Cyclops is in the same colors as one of the best new instants to come out of Dragon's Maze: Turn // Burn. Here's the list I put together to take advantage of these cards.

"U/R Cyclops"

• Creatures (12)
• 4 Delver of Secrets
• 4 Guttersnipe
• 4 Nivix Cyclops

• Spells (28)
• 2 Dispel
• 2 Turn // Burn
• 4 Fleeting Distraction
• 4 Searing Spear
• 4 Thought Scour
• 4 Unsummon
• 3 Artful Dodge
• 3 Inaction Injunction
• 2 Runechanter's Pike

• Lands (20)
• 11 Island
• 9 Mountain

• Sideboard (15)
• 4 Dispel
• 4 Skullcrack
• 4 Tormod's Crypt
• 3 Electrickery

Buy This Deck

The Creatures

Guttersnipe gives your opponent a little Shock every time you cast an instant or sorcery. With both Guttersnipe and the Cyclops on the battlefield, every Artful Dodge suddenly is a 1-mana Lava Axe with flashback, and Searing Spear deals more damage than Searing Flesh. Even without Nivix Cyclops, Guttersnipe can often win the game on its own thanks to all the spells that replace themselves with new cards.

Delver of Secrets has proven itself to be enormously effective in decks containing many instants and sorceries, giving you a 3/2 with flying for only 1 mana after a turn or two. With twenty-six instants and sorceries in this deck, Delver of Secrets has nearly a fifty percent chance to transform the turn after you cast it. Attacking with a 3/2 flying on turn two is an easy way to make your opponent start backpedaling immediately.

The Spells

Inaction Injunction also replaces itself, and although it costs more mana than the others, it gives you a valuable effect to go with it, eliminating a potential blocker and making it unable to attack for a turn as well.

Unsummon also helps remove blockers, forcing your opponent to spend a turn casting his creature again. Since it only costs a single blue mana, it's not difficult to remove your opponent’s blocker with this and then cast another spell or two to get in for a huge amount of damage with Nivix Cyclops.

If your opponent is relying on creatures to stop Nivix Cyclops from making it through, Artful Dodge smashes that plan to pieces quite effectively. So long as your opponent doesn't have an instant-speed removal spell, it guarantees that your Cyclops will get in for as much damage as you can muster. You can even flash back Artful Dodge immediately to pump by an extra +3/+0.

Searing Spear gets rid of blockers permanently and can also be aimed at your opponent's life total for an extra 3 damage. That third point of damage can be crucial to deal with larger creatures such as Olivia Voldaren and Boros Reckoner, and since Nivix Cyclops has 4 toughness, you can deal with a Boros Reckoner without losing your best threat.

Mizzium Skin mostly stops instant-speed removal, which is by far the best way to deal with Nivix Cyclops. Although immune to Searing Spear, the creature can still be removed by Abrupt Decay and Azorius Charm, which can make your hard work of pumping it up with instants and sorceries all for naught. Although Abrupt Decay can't be countered by spells or abilities, it can be countered by game rules, which is what will happen when you cast Mizzium Skin on its target. The best part is that if your opponent tries to kill your Cyclops, Mizzium Skin not only saves it, but gives it another +3/+0 as well! Mizzium Skin is also hilariously effective at saving Nivix Cyclops from Mizzium Mortars. Even if your opponent pays the overload cost, the Skin will pump its toughness up to 5 so it survives the damage.

Runechanter's Pike takes advantage of all the instants and sorceries you'll be casting to make any of your creatures into a giant, first-striking killer. Insectile Aberration’s flying makes it a great target, and casting Artful Dodge on a Cyclops with a Pike usually means game over.

The Sideboard

Skullcrack stops Sphinx's Revelation and Thragtusk from giving your opponent loads of life. Although outside of Restoration Angel shenanigans you'll usually be casting Skullcrack at a time when then +3/+0 for Nivix Cyclops won't be relevant, it does deal 3 damage on its own, and you can turn that into 5 if you have a Guttersnipe. Making your opponent lose 5 life instead of gain 5 when he casts a Thragtusk is pretty hilarious, and that will often put you in a position to win on your next turn.

Tormod's Crypt halts any plans for reanimation your opponent might have, making him play a fair game. Since most reanimator decks are fairly slow without access to Unburial Rites, it shouldn't be too difficult for you to win before the big stuff starts hitting the battlefield.

Electrickery prevents your opponent from stalling with Lingering Souls. A mass of Spirit tokens is an effective way to stop a Nivix Cyclops, but an overloaded Electrickery will deal with the problem and give you an extra +3/+0 as well.

Playtesting

Bant Control – Game 1

I drew Mizzium Skin, played my Mountain, and ended my turn. He played a Glacial Fortress and cast Farseek for a Steam Vents before passing the turn.

I drew a Mountain and cast Nivix Cyclops. I ended my turn, and he played a Hallowed Fountain and cast Loxodon Smiter.

I drew an Island, played it, and cast Unsummon on the Smiter. I attacked for 4 with my Cyclops, cast the second copy, and passed the turn. My opponent cast the Smiter again and ended his turn.

I drew a Mountain, played it, and cast Unsummon on the Loxodon Smiter. I cast Burn to deal 2 damage to my opponent, and I attacked with my two 7/4 creatures for exactly lethal, sitting on a Mizzium Skin just in case. Feels good, man.

Sideboarding:

−4 Searing Spear

−2 Turn // Burn

−2 Mizzium Skin

+4 Skullcrack

+4 Dispel

Game 2

My opponent played Hallowed Fountain and passed back. I drew Unsummon, played my Island, and ended my turn.

My opponent played Breeding Pool and passed. I drew an Island, played it, and cast Nivix Cyclops.

My opponent paid 2 life for Steam Vents and cast Supreme Verdict to kill it. I drew Guttersnipe, played an Island, and cast it. I ended my turn.

My opponent played a tapped Hallowed Fountain and passed the turn. I cast Fleeting Distraction during his end step, dealing 2 damage to him and drawing Thought Scour. I drew Inaction Injunction for my turn, cast the second Guttersnipe, and passed.

My opponent played a Hallowed Fountain and cast Thragtusk, going up to 21. He ended his turn, and I cast Thought Scour to drop him to 17. I milled a Mountain and a Guttersnipe and drew Skullcrack. I drew Unsummon and cast Inaction Injunction on Thragtusk, dealing 4 damage to my opponent and drawing Dispel. I attacked with the Guttersnipes to drop him to 9 and passed the turn.

My opponent played a Glacial Fortress and passed the turn. I cast Skullcrack, and he cast Sphinx's Revelation for 4 in response. I countered it with Dispel, dealing 4 damage with the Guttersnipes, and then the two Guttersnipe triggers from Skullcrack dropped him to 1, and Skullcrack finished him off.

Wrap-Up

This deck can end the game very quickly with the right creatures on the battlefield. The best part is that you essentially win just by doing things you already want to do. Unsummon a guy, get +3/+0. Counter a spell, deal 4 damage. Doing simple little things can kill your opponent with alarming speed. If you miss killing people with Kiln Fiend or if you just want to spend all your mana chaining instants and sorceries together, give this deck a shot once Dragon's Maze is released.

As always, if you have any questions or comments, you can find me on the forums under Twinblaze, on Twitter under @MTGCannon, or simply leave a comment below.