Welcome to the dungeon. Today, we'll be taking a little trip into the past, exploring some forgotten cards from days gone by. First, we'll be taking a look at a deck that uses all the colors of Magic . . . and none of them. Then, we'll examine a true relic of the old days—a deck made up entirely of cards printed before Onslaught, most of which are much older.

Sunburst is a mechanic that's often forgotten, lying in the shadow of the almighty affinity. Although not as powerful as its older brother, this mechanic can be a lot of fun—and surprisingly effective as well.

Etched Oracle's counterpart, Etched Monstrosity, has a somewhat different way of going about things. It starts out with similar stats to the Oracle, with 1 more power and toughness for 1 additional mana. Rather than making it smaller to draw cards, however, you make it larger. For an extra 5 mana, you not only get to draw three cards, but your 5/5 beater turns into a 10/10 behemoth. It will almost always be the biggest thing on the board, and it will provide even more card advantage when your opponent is forced to chump-block it.

Skyreach Manta isn't anything too impressive, but a 5/5 with flying can end games rather quickly, and this one can easily grow even larger with the help of a few other cards in the deck. Lunar Avenger is in a similar boat, but it can remove a counter to give itself one of several abilities, helping you punch through damage in any situation.

Solarion doesn't have any fancy combat abilities, and it won't be drawing you any cards. What it does have is the ability to double in size every turn. A 5/5 for 7 isn't very good, but after a turn, it will be a 10/10 for 7, and maybe even a 20/20 after that. Whatever your opponent might have, this will be bigger in just a few short turns.

Suncrusher is the big daddy of the sunburst family. It mercilessly slaughters opposing creatures, and then bounces itself back to your hand to reload on counters. It can also use its second ability to dodge any removal your opponent might throw at it.

Energy Chamber is very cheap at only 2 mana, and it increases the power of this deck significantly. With one or two of these on the field, Etched Oracle can keep drawing you more cards, Suncrusher and Infused Arrows can keep killing creatures indefinitely, and Skyreach Manta can put your opponent on a very fast clock.

Contagion Engine is much more expensive than Energy Chamber, but it's definitely worth the price. It can wipe out your opponent's army within just a few turns, all while making yours larger and more powerful.

Sphere of the Suns makes sure you can produce any color of mana you need, and with two different ways to add more counters, running out shouldn't be too much of a concern. The mana fixing is rounded out by one of each of the Ravnica-block Signets. Having them all different isn't completely necessary, but it does make things a bit more fun.

After adding in three of each basic land, and some Evolving Wilds and Terramorphic Expanse to find them, the deck ends up looking like this:

"Fun in the Suns"

• Creatures (15)
• 2 Lunar Avenger
• 2 Skyreach Manta
• 2 Solarion
• 2 Suncrusher
• 3 Etched Monstrosity
• 4 Etched Oracle

• Spells (22)
• 1 Azorius Signet
• 1 Boros Signet
• 1 Dimir Signet
• 1 Golgari Signet
• 1 Gruul Signet
• 1 Izzet Signet
• 1 Orzhov Signet
• 1 Rakdos Signet
• 1 Selesnya Signet
• 1 Simic Signet
• 2 Clearwater Goblet
• 2 Contagion Engine
• 2 Infused Arrows
• 3 Energy Chamber
• 3 Sphere of the Suns

• Lands (23)
• 3 Forest
• 3 Island
• 3 Mountain
• 3 Plains
• 3 Swamp
• 4 Terramorphic Expanse
• 4 Evolving Wilds

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Long ago, black, not red, was the go-to color for aggressive decks. With efficient creatures, powerful disruption, and fast mana, black decks were a force to be reckoned with. By combining strategies from a few different eras, we can create a powerful deck that's a reminder of days gone by—or a way to experience some of the history of the game for the first time.

Dauthi Slayer later joined the fray with the ability to make it past any blocker, hitting for 2 damage every single turn without fail. Nantuko Shade was a late addition to the powerful line of 2-drops, but it's the most powerful one of all. Starting out at a respectable 2/1, it can grow large enough to take down nearly any creature with the addition of just a few black mana.

Tempest block introduced Carnophage and Sarcomancy, a pair of 2/2s for 1 mana with a drawback. Carnophage dealt damage to you every turn it survived, and Sarcomancy dealt damage to you every turn after the creature's death. Fortunately, these two will never deal you damage at the same time—Carnophage is a Zombie, thus fulfilling Sarcomancy's requirement.

Random discard became even more terrifying in Fallen Empires with the release of Hymn to Tourach, easily one of the most devastating discard spells of all time. A turn-one Hymn to Tourach could tear the opponent's hand to shreds before he even had the chance to play a land. And two Hymns almost always meant that the game was over before it had even begun.

As decks played more and more black creatures, Bad Moon became a dangerous weapon in the hands of the aggro player, often providing 3 or 4 extra power instantly. When faced with a small army of creatures under a Bad Moon, most opponents crumbled within one or two turns.

After adding in some Swamps, (preferably of the Beta, Unlimited, or Revised variety) the list ends up like this:

"Vintage Black"

• Creatures (24)
• 4 Black Knight
• 4 Carnophage
• 4 Dauthi Slayer
• 4 Hypnotic Specter
• 4 Nantuko Shade
• 4 Order of the Ebon Hand

• Spells (16)
• 4 Dark Ritual
• 4 Hymn to Tourach
• 4 Bad Moon
• 4 Sarcomancy

• Lands (20)
• 20 Swamp

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Finally, it's time to take these relics of the past into the Arena where they'll battle it out to see who is the champion of yesteryear.

Game 1

Sunburst won the roll, playing a land and nothing else, but Vintage Black had a slightly faster start. After a Dark Ritual for 3 black mana, it ran out a Carnophage and two copies of Sarcomancy, dropping 6 power on the board on the very first turn. Sunburst has a Sphere of the Suns on turn two, but Vintage Black swung in for 6 before dropping a Nantuko Shade. A Signet and another Sphere of the Suns further accelerated Sunburst's mana, but Vintage Black swung in for a hefty 11 damage, and Sunburst's Etched Oracle wasn't enough to save it from death the following turn.

Game 2

Sunburst started things off with a land again, and Vintage Black had the dreaded Dark Ritual again, this time accelerating into a turn-one Hypnotic Specter. Sunburst dropped a Signet, and Hypnotic Specter swung in for 2, forcing the discard of another Signet. Vintage Black then played two copies of Sarcomancy again, putting 4 more power on the board. Sunburst dropped a land and elected not to cast any spells, hoping to reduce the chances of discarding a critical card to the Specter. Vintage Black dropped a Bad Moon and swung in for 9. Luck was not with Sunburst, and it was forced to discard the Etched Monstrosity it had tried to save. Sunburst had no other creatures, and Vintage Black attacked for the final 9 the following turn.

Game 3

Sunburst opened with Evolving Wilds, and Vintage Black dropped a Sarcomancy. A Signet came down for the artifact team, but Black's Hymn to Tourach forced the discard of an Etched Oracle and a land. The Zombie token dropped Sunburst to 18, and without Etched Oracle, the only play was another land. A second Hymn to Tourach got rid of Etched Monstrosity and Skyreach Manta, and Vintage Black attacked for another 2 with the Zombie.

Sunburst managed to draw a land, and Clearwater Goblet came down with 4 counters. The Zombie token dealt another 2, and Vintage Black cast a Hypnotic Specter to ensure that Sunburst's hand stayed empty. Sunburst went back to 18 from the Chalice and cast the Signet it drew. Vintage Black swung in to take back the 4 life and cast a Black Knight and an Order of the Ebon Hand to tip the scales. Sunburst gained 4 life and drew Lunar Avenger, but was 1 mana short of casting it. Vintage Black's Hypnotic Specter stripped the card from Sunburst's hand on the attack, dealing 8 life as well. It dropped another Hypnotic Specter and passed the turn. Sunburst's salvation came in the form of a Contagion Engine, which killed Order of the Ebon Hand and shrunk the other creatures down to 1/1s.

Vintage Black swung in for 4, then cast a Dauthi Slayer. Sunburst played a land and proliferated twice, killing everything but the Slayer and putting 2 more counter on the Chalice. Dauthi Slayer dealt 2, but the Chalice gained that back and more. Another activation of the Engine put the Chalice up to 8 counters, and Vintage Black concede after drawing another land, knowing that the 8, 10, and even more life per turn would easily prove too much to handle.

I hope you enjoyed this visit to the dungeon. Come back next time when we turn away from the past and look toward the future.