Shadowborn Apostle is among the most unique cards in Magic 2014 Core Set. With the ability that allows you to play any number of copies, it can let you potentially put a Demon into play from your library as soon as turn four. This seems powerful enough that I'd like to try to make it work. Here's the deck I put together to make it happen.

"Shadowborn"

• Creatures (35)
• 1 Reaper from the Abyss
• 1 Sire of Insanity
• 31 Shadowborn Apostle
• 2 Griselbrand

• Spells (4)
• 4 Immortal Servitude

• Lands (21)
• 21 Swamp

• Sideboard (9)
• 4 Barter in Blood
• 4 Xathrid Necromancer
• 1 Swamp

Buy This Deck

The main target for Shadowborn Apostle is Griselbrand. Interestingly, in this deck, it's mostly the flying and lifelink you really want. Drawing a bunch of extra cards really just allows you to grab another Demon. That’s not bad by any means, but many times, it won't be necessary.

Sire of Insanity is a great option if your opponent doesn't have much board presence or if you've already grabbed Griselbrand. A turn-four Sire of Insanity can often just end it against control decks, and it can solidify your position against decks like Jund.

Reaper from the Abyss is basically a way, way better Shadowborn Demon here. It still kills a creature immediately, it has 1 more power, and it can potentially kill more creatures later. If there's a creature you really need to deal with, such as an Olivia Voldaren threatening to steal your Demon, the Reaper can take care of it.

At only nine cards, the sideboard is a bit unusual to say the least. You can't really do a whole lot of sideboarding with a deck as linear as this one, so I chose only the most high-impact cards.

Xathrid Necromancer doubles your chump-blocking capacity against fast decks, and the Zombies are big enough that they can even trade with your opponent's creatures on occasion. Although taking out Apostles will slow down your offense a bit, Xathrid Necromancer shores up your defense so significantly that I feel it will be worth it.

Barter in Blood comes in against Bant Hexproof to help you murder Geist of Saint Traft and Invisible Stalker before you die. Since you'll need to hit 4 mana, there's also an extra Swamp to put in instead of the mostly useless Reaper from the Abyss.

Now, let's see if Shadowborn Apostle can handle a real match. This deck only does one thing, so your matchups are going to vary wildly, but I’d guess that decks that have a hard time killing Griselbrand (a number that has increased thanks to Doom Blade) are going to be somewhat easier.

Playtesting

Prime Speaker Bant – Game 1

My opponent played a Forest and cast Voice of Resurgence. I drew a Swamp, played it, and cast three more Apostles. I passed the turn. My opponent played a Hinterland Harbor and passed the turn. I drew a Swamp, played it, and cast Shadowborn Apostle. I sacrificed them all, grabbing Griselbrand. I passed the turn, and my opponent flashed in a Restoration Angel. He played a Forest and cast Loxodon Smiter on his turn before passing back.

I drew Shadowborn Apostle and attacked with Griselbrand, dropping my opponent to 12. I drew seven cards with Griselbrand, unfortunately drawing the Sire of Insanity I wanted to cheat into play. I played a Swamp, cast five Shadowborn Apostles, and passed the turn. My opponent attacked with everything, dropping me to 11, and passed the turn.

I drew Shadowborn Apostle, cast two of them, and attacked with everything. My opponent cast Sphinx's Revelation for 3 and dropped to 3 life. I sacrificed six Apostles to grab Reaper from the Abyss. I ended my turn, killing Restoration Angel. My opponent drew his card and conceded.

Game 2

My opponent played a tapped Temple Garden, attacked for 2 with his Voice, and cast a second one before ending the turn. I drew a Swamp, cast three Shadowborn Apostles, and ended my turn. My opponent paid 2 life for an untapped Breeding Pool and cast Jace, Architect of Thought. He used his -2, and I split up two Sphinx's Revelations, with him grabbing the pile with the land. He ended his turn.

I drew a Swamp, played it, and sacrificed my Apostles for Griselbrand. I cast my last Apostle and ended my turn. My opponent used Jace's -2 again, taking the pile with Avacyn's Pilgrim and Breeding Pool. He cast the Pilgrim and passed the turn. I drew an Apostle and attacked with Griselbrand. My opponent flashed in Restoration Angel and blocked, and I paid the life to draw seven cards. I played a land, cast five Shadowborn Apostles, and passed the turn.

My opponent cast Prime Speaker Zegana, drawing six cards. He played a land and then attacked with Thragtusk and the two Voices of Resurgence. I took the damage, dropping to 12, and he cast another Voice of Resurgence and passed the turn, discarding his hand. I drew a Swamp, played it, and attacked with Griselbrand. I paid 7 life to draw seven cards, and I then cast Immortal Servitude for 1, returning thirteen Shadowborn Apostles. I cast one for from my hand and then sacrificed six of them to grab Reaper from the Abyss. I ended my turn, discarding my hand and killing Prime Speaker Zegana.

My opponent cast Restoration Angel, flickering Thragtusk to gain 5 life and make a Beast. He passed the turn, and I sacrificed six Apostles at the end of his main phase, choosing not to find anything. Reaper from the Abyss killed Restoration Angel at the beginning of the end step, and my opponent died to my flying Demons.

Wrap-Up

Apparently, putting Griselbrand into play on turn four is pretty good. Who would have thought? This deck can accomplish that fairly consistently, and it really preys on slower, low-removal decks such as the one I faced. Also, I think keeping a one-land, six-Apostle hand is what you want to do most of the time. There's always the chance that you never draw a second land and are screwed, but you can have the turn-four Griselbrand on just two lands, and if it takes a minute to draw a second one, a turn-five Griselbrand isn't bad either. Having five or more Apostles in hand basically guarantees you're going to have Griselbrand as soon as you can cast them, which is tough to pass up.

If you've been itching to use Shadowborn Apostle—or if you have a lot of grindy midrange decks in your area—give this deck a try at your next Friday Night Magic.