Locations
It’s the third game of your match against Fei, and the board has ground to a standstill. Your Jeskai deck has been fighting with you for the whole game: You’ve drawn every single Island you own, and you have seen neither hide nor hair of your other lands (save for a Wind-Scarred Crag). Fortunately, Fei’s a little land-locked herself; she only recently managed to stymie your offense with an unmorphed Sagu Archer.
As if on cue, the judge arrives at your table at that exact moment. “Time’s up,” he says. “Active player, start the first of your five extra turns.”
You let out a long sigh and untap your permanents. Your draw step gives you a Taigam's Scheming, and you cast it the first chance you have. As you go over the five cards on top of your library, Fei chimes in.
“Maybe we should just go for the draw,” she says. “What do you think?”
You look at the five cards from the Scheming and then at the cards in your hand. You look at the creatures you have in play and then at the untapped lands before you.
Fei clears her throat. “What do you think?” she asks again.
You glance back. “I think . . . I can win this,” you tell her.
It is the middle of your first main phase. Defeat Fei this turn.
You are currently resolving the Taigam's Scheming that you cast this turn, and you must first choose between the following five cards on top of your library:
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As per the effect of Taigam's Scheming, you must choose any number of these cards and put them into your graveyard; then, put the remaining cards back on top of your library in any order.
- Monastery Flock
- Zephyr Scribe
- A face-down 2/2 creature (Watcher of the Roost)
- Ugin's Construct
- Suspension Field (exiling Fei’s Mistfire Adept)
- 9 Islands (two tapped)
- Wind-Scarred Crag
You have the following cards in your hand:
You currently have no cards in your graveyard.
- Elusive Spellfist (tapped)
- Jeskai Windscout
- Monastery Loremaster
- Bellowing Saddlebrute
- Sagu Archer
- Goblin Boom Keg
- 2 Islands (one tapped)
- 3 Swamps (two tapped)
- 2 Forests (one tapped)
- Thornwood Falls
- Opulent Palace
If you think you have a great solution in mind, you’re welcome to send it to puzzles at gatheringmagic dot com with the subject line “Puzzle — Plans Within Plans”. We’ll include the best ones in next week’s article along with the next puzzle!
Click here to see the board state for this puzzle.
Last Week’s Puzzle
Correct solutions were received via e-mails from Mike Cannon, Don N, Matthew Wilson, gugliacci, Matthew Taylor, David Wadley, Eric Christoffersen, Nitzan Popper, Faith Manary, Daniel Dickey, Kelsi Lindblad, Phill Klinger, Matthew Roman, and Scott Klabacha. A lot of the submitted solutions were very entertaining to read, and I wish I could mention them all in full . . . but if I did, we’d be here all day!
Moving on the solution, Faith reasons the matter out as follows:
To paraphrase Matt Taylor’s solution, our steps are as follows:
- Pay
to activate Qarsi High Priest's ability, sacrificing the Kolaghan Stormsinger. The Stormsinger goes to the graveyard. - While the High Priest's effect is on the stack, pay
to cast Gravepurge. The order is important: Put the Gurmag Angler on top, the Atarka Efreet second from top, and the Stormsinger third from top. - The draw effect from Gravepurge resolves, putting the Angler into your hand.
- The High Priest effect resolves, manifesting the Atarka Efreet.
- Pay
to cast Twin Bolt, dealing 1 damage to the Shambling Goblin and 1 to the Champion of Arashin. - When the Goblin dies, give -1/-1 to the Champion, killing it.
On your untap and upkeep steps:
- Untap everything. During the upkeep step, pay to activate Qarsi High Priest's ability, sacrificing the Qal Sisma Behemoth.
- While the effect is on the stack, pay to cast Collateral Damage, sacrificing the High Priest and dealing 3 damage to the Glade Watcher. The only creature you now control is the (face-down) Efreet, which gains deathtouch.
- While both effects are on the stack, pay to unmorph the Efreet, targeting and killing the untapped Segmented Krotiq, being careful to leave a black mana source up.
- The effects on the stack resolve. The Glade Watcher dies, and the Stormsinger is manifested. There are now no blockers. Deadly Wanderings no longer applies.
- Draw step! (We don't know what the card is, but it's not important.)
Your main phase:
- Play a Mountain, so you now have 1 black mana and 1 red mana to use.
- Pay to play the Gurmag Angler from your hand, delving for six (Twin Bolt, Collateral Damage, Shambling Goblin, Qarsi High Priest, Qal Sisma Behemoth and Gravepurge).
- Pay to unmorph the Stormsinger; give haste to the Angler.
- We have a hasted 5/5, a hasted 2/2, and a 6/2 without summoning sickness. Swing with all three for 13 damage!
Matt Roman points out:
