Of all the mechanics in Theros block, constellation may be the most underrated. Most players see it as a little bonus if you happen to build a deck with loads of enchantments in Limited. However, at one of the prerelease events I participated in, the cards aligned to show me the true power of constellation.

I had Grim Guardian, Oakheart Dryads, and, most importantly, Strength from the Fallen to show off the mechanic, and I had Forlorn Pseudamma and Pharika, God of Affliction giving me ways to trigger it repeatedly. The synergy was powerful enough to allow me to win most of my games despite rarely attacking or blocking with the deathtouch Snakes Pharika provides.

After seeing its power in Limited, I think Strength from the Fallen might be worthy of a Constructed deck, so I set out to make one that would take full advantage of it even on a tight budget. Here's what I came up with.

Death Stars ? Journey into Nyx Standard | Mike Cannon

• Creatures (27)
• 2 Manaweft Sliver
• 3 Brain Maggot
• 3 Eidolon of Blossoms
• 4 Elvish Mystic
• 4 Nighthowler
• 4 Nyx Weaver
• 4 Satyr Wayfinder
• 3 Pharika, God of Affliction

• Spells (13)
• 2 Grisly Salvage
• 3 Kruphix's Insight
• 4 Commune with the Gods
• 4 Strength from the Fallen

• Lands (20)
• 7 Swamp
• 9 Forest
• 4 Golgari Guildgate

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The Creatures

Eidolon of Blossoms is the other constellation card I felt was worth including. The card-draw can grow out of control if it lives, and even if it doesn't, you're still gaining card advantage from it. Your opponent will have to trade a removal spell for your creature, and you'll have already drawn a card when it entered the battlefield.

Nighthowler works with both halves of the deck's strategy. It's an enchantment to trigger constellation, and it takes advantage of the number of creatures in your graveyard as well. Although the entrance of Banishing Light into the format has reduced its effectiveness somewhat, it still often requires two removal spells to fully deal with since most can't target the noncreature enchantment while bestowed.

Satyr Wayfinder also helps you fill up the graveyard, and it makes sure you can hit your land drops despite playing only twenty lands in the deck. It can even help you find the colors of mana you need if you hit more than one land to choose from.

Elvish Mystic and Manaweft Sliver help you play more creatures in the deck without sacrificing your ability to produce mana. Although Manaweft Sliver may seem to be a budget replacement for Sylvan Caryatid, it's actually a far better choice in this deck. With Nighthowler and especially Strength from the Fallen giving you the ability to turn any creature into a huge threat, the fact that the Sliver can attack will often be very relevant.

Brain Maggot is a card I've been playing in the sideboard of my own Standard deck (an improved version of the deck I wrote about in January), and I've been very impressed with it so far. Most of the time, you steal a removal spell from your opponent, putting him or her in quite a pickle. The opponent can either leave the Maggot alone and never gain his or her removal spell back or waste a second removal spell to kill it and return the first. Either way, that's one fewer removal spell the opponent has access to.

The Spells

Commune with the Gods is perfect for the deck, putting four cards into your graveyard and letting you grab Strength from the Fallen or any creature you reveal. It also only costs 2 mana, letting you start filling the graveyard early.

Kruphix's Insight costs 1 more mana, but it also reveals six cards instead of five. More importantly, it allows you to take up to three cards out of the six and put them into your hand. Although it can't get nonenchantment creatures such as Satyr Wayfinder, it does grab all the most important cards in the deck. This does force you to decide whether it's better to put the card into your hand or to have another creature in the graveyard. It's often better to not take the full three cards even if you can.

Although Grisly Salvage can't grab Strength from the Fallen, it still takes any of the creatures, and it does so for only 2 mana. Like Satyr Wayfinder, it also helps reduce the downside of the deck's low land count by grabbing a land if you need one.

Playtesting

W/U Control

My opponent played an Island and passed the turn. I cast Satyr Wayfinder, taking a Forest, then played a Swamp and passed the turn.

My opponent paid 2 life for an untapped Hallowed Fountain, and he cast Jace, Architect of Thought. He activated Jace's +1 ability and ended his turn. I cast Grisly Salvage during his end step, grabbing Pharika, God of Affliction. I cast Nyx Weaver and ended my turn.

My opponent added another counter to Jace, played a Temple, and passed. I attacked Jace for 1 with Nyx Weaver, and I then cast a second Nyx Weaver and ended my turn.

My opponent used Jace's -2, taking Detention Sphere and Mutavault. He played the Mutavault and then cast Supreme Verdict and passed the turn. I cast Kruphix's Insight, grabbing two Nyx Weavers and Eidolon of Blossoms. I then cast Nyx Weaver and ended my turn.

My opponent cast Elspeth, Sun's Champion. He used the +1 ability on both his Planeswalkers, and he then ended his turn. I attacked with Nyx Weaver, which was blocked by a token. I then cast Pharika and ended my turn.

My opponent used the +1 on each of his Planeswalkers and then played a land and passed the turn. I cast Brain Maggot, and my opponent cast Sphinx's Revelation for 5 in response. I exiled a second Sphinx's Revelation and drew a card. I cast a second Eidolon of Blossoms, drawing two cards, and I cast a second Nyx Weaver, drawing another two cards. I attacked with Nyx Weaver, and my opponent blocked with a Soldier. I ended my turn.

Elspeth and Jace used their respective +1 abilities, and my opponent passed the turn. I attacked Elspeth with two Nyx Weavers, and my opponent blocked each with a token. I cast Pharika, God of Affliction, drawing two cards, and I ended my turn.

My opponent used Elspeth's -7 to make an emblem, and he then attacked for 15 damage with the tokens. He used Jace's +1 and then cast a second Jace, keeping that one and using his +1 as well. He ended his turn, and I exiled both Nyx Weavers at end of turn to return two copies of Strength from the Fallen. I cast Strength from the Fallen, and my opponent countered it with Negate. I cast a second copy, drawing two cards and giving Pharika +10/+10. I cast another, which gave me another two cards and gave the copies of Eidolon of Blossoms +10/+10 each. I cast Brain Maggot, which exiled Azorius Charm and gave the existing Brain Maggot +20/+20. It also forced me to draw the last two cards in my library. I attacked with everything. The two Jace triggers gave all my creatures -2/-0, and a Mutavault blocked the Brain Maggot, but my opponent still took 33 damage.

Wrap-Up

Even when everything seemed lost, with Elspeth and Jace's double team leading to an army of 3/3 flying creatures, this damage managed to pull a win out of nowhere. Winning the game with zero cards in my library led me to discover that the draw trigger on Eidolon of Blossoms is not optional, which is something you might have to be aware of in longer games.

This deck is definitely very powerful, and the ability to pump up any and all of your creatures with Strength from the Fallen is huge, allowing you to engineer some ridiculous turns. If you're interested in using some crazy synergies to crush your opponents out of nowhere, give this deck a try.