Welcome to the dungeon, boys and girls and other various life forms. With Avacyn Restored fresh off the presses, it's a great time to be a deck builder. There are a ton of fun new cards in this set, and I've only scratched the surface on the cool interactions that are possible. Today, we'll be doing a little study of what happens when things enter the battlefield. Join me as we explore that very first moment of existence.

Of course, why wait until your draw step for that? Alchemist's Apprentice will gladly sacrifice himself to draw that impossible card. With multiple copies on the battlefield, it will be almost impossible to stop you. If your opponent tries to use an instant-speed removal spell in response, you can simply sacrifice another Apprentice while it's still on the stack and win the game before it ever resolves.

10 mana is a lot, so we'll need some ramp to get us there, and we can't have any spells involved. Sakura-Tribe Elder is a simple and powerful choice, and Diligent Farmhand and Dawntreader Elk are almost as good. Fertilid will let you search for two lands before it bites the dust, and Wood Elves will search up a Forest and then stay around as a chump-blocker to help keep you alive. Speaking of keeping you alive, Oblivion Stone is a great way to clear the board if things start becoming a bit dangerous. It's one of the few board sweepers that's also a permanent.

After throwing in some green and black lands and maybe one Island just in case you need to cast a Laboratory Maniac for some reason, the deck should look something like this:

"Primal Laboratory"

• Creatures (32)
• 2 Laboratory Maniac
• 3 Alchemist's Apprentice
• 3 Fierce Empath
• 4 Dawntreader Elk
• 4 Diligent Farmhand
• 4 Fertilid
• 4 Rune-Scarred Demon
• 4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
• 4 Wood Elves

• Spells (4)
• 1 Primal Surge
• 3 Oblivion Stone

• Lands (24)
• 1 Island
• 16 Forest
• 3 Swamp
• 4 Golgari Rot Farm

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Shriekmaw is equally effective. For a mere 4 mana, you can destroy two creatures and still have a 3/2 with fear on the battlefield. Nevermaker can't be cast for less mana with its evoke cost, but it can create a sort of soft lock, putting all of your opponent's nonland permanents on top of his library every turn so he can't draw anything that you can't just bounce again.

Conjurer's Closet serves as a backup to Deadeye Navigator. It's not as powerful, but it still does what you want it to do, and it's less vulnerable as well. Eyeblight's Ending and Mana Leak will help keep you alive until you can cast a Navigator or Closet, and Devastation Tide will wipe the board clean if things get shaky. Since all your creatures have effects when they enter the battlefield, it will usually end up being much worse for your opponents than for you—even if you have several creatures out.

Throw in some lands, and you should arrive at a list like this one:

"Closet Navigator"

• Creatures (24)
• 1 Draining Whelk
• 3 Skinrender
• 4 Deadeye Navigator
• 4 Mulldrifter
• 4 Nevermaker
• 4 Shriekmaw
• 4 Wing Splicer

• Spells (12)
• 3 Mana Leak
• 2 Eyeblight's Ending
• 3 Devastation Tide
• 4 Conjurer's Closet

• Lands (24)
• 7 Swamp
• 9 Island
• 4 Dimir Aqueduct
• 4 Jwar Isle Refuge

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Now that both of these decks are ready to battle, let's have them fight it out in the arena.

Game 1

The Navigator played another land, and The Laboratory cast Wood Elves to grab a Forest, then used that Forest to sacrifice the Elk for more land. The Navigator finally had a play with a Wing Splicer, and The Laboratory cast another Wood Elves and Dawntreader Elk for two more lands.

The Navigator attacked with two Mulldrifters and a Golem token. The Demon took down the Golem, and The Laboratory dropped to 8. Deadeye Navigator hit the field and paired up with the Wing Splicer.

It was too late, however, as The Laboratory cast Primal Surge and won the game on the spot.

Game 2

The Navigator attacked with Skinrender, which was blocked by the Elves, and cast a Wing Splicer. The Laboratory cast another Wood Elves, then threw it in front of the Skinrender when it attacked, taking 3 from the Golem token. The Navigator cast Conjurer's Closet and flickered the Wing Splicer at end of turn for another Golem. The Laboratory cast and sacrificed an Oblivion Stone to get rid of all The Navigator's toys.

Another Conjurer's Closet was cast, another 4 damage was dealt, and another Golem token was made when the Closet flickered Wing Splicer. The Laboratory had another Oblivion Stone to get rid of everything. The Navigator cast another Mulldrifter, and The Laboratory didn't cast anything.

Mulldrifter hit for 2, and neither side cast any spells. Another 2 from Mulldrifter took the Laboratory down to 5, and all it could do was cast a Dawntreader Elk. A Shriekmaw forced the Laboratory to sacrifice the Elk, fetching an Island, and Mulldrifter dealt another 2 damage. The Laboratory cast Alchemist's Apprentice and sacrificed it but couldn't find an answer and died.

Game 3

Fierce Empath searched for a Rune-Scarred Demon, and the Golem token swung for 3 after a Mulldrifter drew some cards. A Rune-Scarred Demon came down and found Primal Surge, and The Navigator cast Conjurer's Closet, flickering the Wing Splicer to make another Golem.

Nevermaker came down and paired up with Deadeye Navigator, flickering at end of turn for good measure to put the Demon back on top of the library. The Laboratory cast Rune-Scarred Demon again, finding a land, then cast Alchemist's Apprentice. Nevermaker flickered twice and put both the Demon and Fierce Empath back on top of the library.

Mulldrifter swung in for 2, and Eyeblight's Ending killed Alchemist's Apprentice. The Closet flickered Wing Splicer at end of turn to make a Golem token. The Laboratory cast Primal Surge, leaving 3 mana for a Mana Leak. Two Laboratory Maniacs and two Alchemist's Apprentices entered the battlefield, and after some quick calculations, The Laboratory determined that if it started the chain, The Navigator could flicker Nevermaker enough times to stop it. However, if The Navigator started, The Laboratory would win.

The Laboratory drew the second Maniac for its turn and swung with everything. The Navigator had enough blockers to stay alive at 5 life. The Laboratory cast a Rune-Scarred Demon, failing to search for anything since there were no cards left in the library. He then cast Laboratory Maniac again.

Since bouncing the Maniac would allow The Laboratory to survive the draw step and swing with the massive army of 1/1s again, and not bouncing it would let the Laboratory win immediately upon trying to draw a card, The Navigator had no way out and conceded.

The first moment of existence is perhaps the most important one, and there are all different ways to take advantage of it in the game of Magic. I hope you enjoyed today's journey, and be sure to visit again next time for another adventure into Avacyn Restored.