ZEST SEVEN
Dj'bre-el's assistance has moved me to explore a new plane, Ravnica, and I have taken a liking to the Orzhov Syndicate. The new tome I have penned, Zest Seven, works like the Seventh Sign in many ways, although it is more subtle and versatile. Because I fell in love with the Guilds of Ravnica, I felt free to rely more heavily on its interesting creatures once more.
ZEST SEVEN
Black/White Orzhov Bleeder/Aggro Deck
Creatures (20)
2x Teysa, Orzhov Scion (2/3) (R, Guildpact)
1x Ghost Council of Orzhova (4/4) (R, Guildpact)
2x Angel of Despair (5/5) (R, Guildpact)
1x Orzhov Pontiff (1/1) (R, Guildpact)
2x Agent of Masks (2/3) (U, Guildpact)
2x Souls of the Faultless (0/4) (U, Guildpact)
2x Okiba-Gang Shinobi (3/2) (C, Betrayers of Kamigawa)
2x Orzhov Guildmage (2/2) (U, Guildpact)
3x Blind Hunter (2/2) (C, Guildpact)
3x Shrieking Grotesque (2/1) (C, Guildpact)
Spells (16)
{Sorceries} 9
4x Castigate (C, Guildpact)
3x Cry of Contrition (C, Guildpact)
2x Vindicate (R, Apocalypse)
{Instants} 3
3x Mortify (U, Guildpact)
{Enchantments} 1
1x Debtor's Knell (R, Guildpact)
{Auras} 3
3x Pillory of the Sleepless (C, Guildpact)
Artifacts (2)
2x Spectral Searchlight (U, Ravnica)
Lands (22)
9x Plains
9x Swamp
1x Godless Shrine (R, Guildpact)
1x Eiganjo Castle (R, Champions of Kamigawa)
1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse (R, Champions of Kamigawa)
1x Caves of Koilos (R, Apocalypse)
Summary:
60 cards
Rares: 13
Uncommons: 11
Commons: 18
Basic Lands: 18
Zest Seven is pattered after the original Code of the Orzhov theme deck from the Guildpact expansion set. However, its aggression turns it into a very vicious variant thereof. Before I go on to explain Zest Seven, let me first explain the mechanics that the original theme deck was built on.
HAUNT---Haunt is an ability that allows the Orzhov to exert postmortem influence on the playing field. Instead of the living affecting the dead, here, the dead affect the living. Haunt works differently on creatures and spells.
Haunt on creatures: All of Orzhov's haunting creatures have an effect that triggers when they come into play. Blind Hunter, for example, steals 2 life from an opponent when it comes into play. When a creature with Haunt goes to the graveyard from play, it is removed from the game and attached to any target creature. (Of course, you can't haunt something if it's an illegal target) You can haunt either yours or your opponent's creatures that are in play. When the creature being haunted is put into the graveyard, the same effect that the Haunter had when it came int play triggers again. Let's make the example more concrete:
I have an Orzhov Guildmage in play. I then play Blind Hunter, which reads "When Blind Hunter comes into play or the creature it haunts is put into the graveyard, target player loses 2 life and you gain 2 life." So the "Comes into play" part triggers: I gain 2 life and my opponent loses 2 life. My opponent plays Mortify on my Blind Hunter, destroying it. Once the Hunter hits the graveyard, it becomes a Haunter, haunting my Orzhov Guildmage. If my Orzhov Guildmage is sent to the graveyard, it triggers the ghostly Blind Hunter's ability again, effectively doubling the Blind Hunter's ability.
Haunt on noncreature spells: Haunt is a bit simpler on noncreature spells. Once a Haunting spell resolves and is put into the graveyard, it sticks to any creature in play, if there is one. When the creature being haunted is put into the graveyard, the spell's effect resolves again.
I have an Orzhov Guildmage in play. I play Cry of Contrition, a Haunt spell that causes my opponent to discard a card. After it resolves and goes to the graveyard, it sticks to my Orzhov Guildmage. If the Guildmage dies, the Cry's effect resolves again. Like the Blind Hunter, the Cry's effect is effectively doubled.
The Code of the Orzhov theme deck is a very slow-moving deck, taking its time to deny the opponent resources while it builds up its own. As such, it is very reactive in nature, relying on cards like Souls of the Faultess to stall the enemy until the opponent eventually runs out of life due to Blind Hunters, Agents of Masks or Orzhova, the Church of Deals---as such, it is called a "Bleeder". As cool as the Orzhov are, the preconstructed theme deck is slow and not very versatile---that is, not until you start throwing in the really cool rares that the Orzhov Guild has.
Zest Seven still retains the "bleed" philosophy, but it does more than just steal life. Zest Seven eats away at your opponent's hand and permanents in addition to his or her life. How does it do this?
I mentioned in the previous entry that I played the magic of madness: blue and black. In other words, I used an old school discard deck with Hymn to Tourach, Mind Twist and Hypnotic Specters. The Discard deck is very disruptive, ruining your opponent's strategy by taking away his or her cards before they can be cast. However, if that's all it does, or if your opponent manages to actually play something, you're going to lose. Thus, discard decks of the past had to complement their disruptive abilities with counterspells, big creatures, or cards that thrive off your opponent's discarding (Megrim and The Rack). Times have changed, however, and pure discard is no longer very effective. Enter the Bleeder.
The Bleeder combines discard elements, permanent destruction, and big creatures to produce a versatile deck that cripples your opponent early while keeping itself alive to get out the haymaker. With Ghost Council of Orzhova, that really doesn't take very long.
It's revelation, soul castigation! Fire will burn us away!
Early to Mid-Game
The first step to crippling your opponent is to get rid of his cards before they can be cast. As I mentioned earlier, this is accomplished by discard. Cry of Contrition is a great discard spell---one card for one black mana is strong enough, but it has its Haunt effect which allows it to come back for another pass---for free. (Well, at the cost of a dead creature). Castigate is a staple for any Orzhov deck---costing just WB, you can permanently deal with any nonland card in your opponent's had, of your choice! It doesn't only throw stuff into the graveyard, it removes it from the game. (Cue: The Seven Angels. "It's revelation, soul castigation! Fire will burn us away!") Shrieking Grotesque can also be used for its discarding effect on the third turn, plus it leaves you with a nice 2/1 flyer. Ninja are cool, and Okiba-Gang Shinobi is no exception. Forget the fact that it's two ratwomen in ninja attire: it causes your opponents to discard TWO cards when it connects. The Ninjutsu ability allows the rat ninja to replace one of your unblocked attacking creatures with itself. If you have an unblocked attacking creature, then Okiba-Gang Shinobi becomes an uncounterable spell that causes your opponent to discard 2 cards and deals 3 damage to him or her. (Ninjutsu actually doesn't count as playing a spell, hence it's uncounterable.) If you're attacking with a Shrieking Grotesque and bounce it back for your Shinobi, you can play the Grotesque again next turn and make your opponent discard again.
In an ideal game, the play goes:
Turn One: Swamp, Cry of Contrition (better if you go second and your opponent cast a creature on the first turn: you have something to haunt)---Discard One
Turn Two: Plains, Castigate (take out early threats, but in the end, it's up to your discretion.)---Remove One from the game
Turn Three: Any Land, Shrieking Grotesque---Discard One
Turn Four: Any Land, Attack with Shrieking Grotesque, Ninjutsu Okiba-Gang Shinobi---Discard Two
Turn Five: Play Shrieking Grotesque again---Discard One
That's a total of 5 cards dealt with by turn 4, 6 by turn 5---and you only needed a total of 4 mana to do that! It doesn't matter what you discarded, they're gone and if your opponent will waste resources just to get them back, then you already have card advantage: You used one card to get rid of two. Of course, without going into the actual mathematics of it, you don't have a very high chance of actually playing this up to turn 3, let alone turn 4 and 5. That's why you have your midgame destruction spells: the speedy and versatile Mortify and the all-purpose Vindicate. Mortify and Vindicate both cost the same: 1WB, but Mortify is an Instant while Vindicate is a Sorcery. This early in the game, you're still probably busy casting stuff on your turn so you don't have leftover mana to Mortify your opponent's stuff on his turn. However, Mortify can be used to dispose of troublesome creatures or enchantments, early game or late game. If your opponent drops a massive Rumbling Slum or Burning-Tree Shaman, Mortify can easily deal with the threat. Vindicate, on the other hand, is more versatile, being able to destroy anything. There are only THREE cards in the ENTIRE database of magic that do that without conditions: Desert Twister, Vindicate, and Angel of Despair. Desert Twister is a green spell and is thus out of the question. Angel of Despair is also included in this deck, we'll discuss Angie later. Vindicate easily deals with threats that slip through your discard. If your opponent is mana-screwed, you can turn up the heat by destroying his lands.
Malleus Maleficarum--the Law!
Creature decks are still very prevalent nowadays, despite that despicable Onslaught block being rotated out of Standard play. Thus, this deck has some creature-stopping spells that can be used to strangle your opponent in more ways than one: Pillory of the Sleepless. This spell stops creatures from attacking and blocking, while pinging your opponent every turn for 1 life. Remember, life loss is unpreventable. Of course, the Pillory is used on aggressive or defensive creatures. Don't use it on creatures that are more useful for their abilities (like Vedalken Entrancer or Teysa, Orzhov Scion). In the end, though, it all boils down to what's threatening you and what you have. If you got mana-screwed and that Eager Cadet is beating you senseless, feel free to Pillory it.
Endgame: ZEST SEVEN
You will usually end up slaughtering your opponent before you ever get to put the pieces of this deck's crowning combo into play, but there were times when I was lucky enough to put the entire thing into place before my opponent perished. The pieces are:
-Debtor's Knell (4 [WB][WB][WB])
-Angel of Despair 3WWBB
-Ghost Council of Orzhova WWBB
-Teysa, Orzhov Scion 1WB
Debtor's Knell is a nifty enchantment on its own: during each of your upkeeps, you get to pull a creature from ANY graveyard into play under your control for free. You can either reanimate your own stuff, or add insult to injury and steal the your opponent's dead creatures.
On its own, Angel of Despair is a good, solid creature. She may be slow and unwieldy at 3WWBB, but Angie smacks a permanent of your choice when she hits the board, is a hefty 5/5, and she has flying. When Angie is in the graveyard, the Knell can return her to play and reactivate her comes-into-play ability. Enter the lynchpin of the deck: Ghost Council of Orzhova.
The legendary Guildmaster of the Orzhov Syndicate is the most well-loved of all the Guildmasters thus far, plus they're the easiest to play. At WWBB, the Ghost Council can be played as early as turn 4. They hit for 4 damage every turn, in addition to their life-leeching when they come into play. In addition to this, they have their personal evasion ability that only costs 1 mana and a creature. It allows the Council to sidestep any spell directed against them (and every thing else your opponent tries to do that turn)---and unlike Phasing, it returns to play at the end of your turn. IE:
-You still have a blocker on your turn
-You trigger the life leech ability once more, punishing your foolish opponent for his impudence
If you got the Council out early, your opponent will be dead really fast. However, if the dons arrived late or if you can't get through your opponent's wall of creatures, the Ghost Council can be the ignition key for the ZEST SEVEN combo. I'll explain in a bit.
Teysa is actually an optional piece. She's good on her own as a creature remover and token producer, but ZEST SEVEN's combo can work without her. Just that she makes it soooooo much better. Teysa produces 1/1 white flyer tokens whenever a black creature you control is put into the graveyard, apart from Teysa.
Step-by-step ZEST SEVEN:
-Sacrifice your Angie to Ghost Council.
-Teysa generates a 1/1 flyer.
-Ghost Council returns to play at the end of turn: you gain 1 life and your opponent loses 1 life.
-Debtor's Knell returns Angie to play next turn, nuking an opponent's permanent.
-Repeat as necessary.
Of course, you can just beat your opponent to death with Angie and the Ghost Council (sounds like some weird band o_O), but if he or she somehow has an impenetrable defense or an annoying combo that keeps you from damaging him or her enough, ZEST SEVEN is guaranteed to push your opponent into a painful position.
Resources
Before we finish this discussion, let's take a look at the lands. There's 18 basic lands, 2 legendary lands, 1 shockland (Godless Shrine) and 1 ouchland (Caves of Koilos).
Naturally the Godless Shrine and Caves of Koilos are there to lower your chances of getting mana screwed. In an ideal world, I'd have 4 Scrublands, 4 Godless Shrines and 4 Caves of Koilos, but it's nearly impossible to get all those. It's best to have an equal number of the basic lands in the deck, since the colors in this deck occur in nearly equal amounts. (Most cards are either gold or hybrid: the only ones that are solid-colored are the Grotesques, Cry of Contrition and Okiba-Gang Shinobi.)
The Kamigawa Legendary lands (Eiganjo and Shizo) are cool because they can produce mana just like a basic plains or swamp, respectively. Not only that, they have cool utility effects that you can use to bolster the Ghost Council or Teysa! With Shizo, you can have a Fear-boosted Teysa sneaking through your opponent's enemy lines that can be Kawarimi-no-jutsu'd by your Okiba-Gang Shinobi, or you can simply beat away at your opponent with the Council. Eiganjo can be used to save either one's life in the event that they take a bit too much damage. Otherwise, they behave almost exactly like regular lands.
My planned modifications are the addition of another Ghost Council and a very, very rare Umezawa's Jitte. If anybody can find me one, please let me know.
Thus ends my commentary on ZEST SEVEN. In the next entry I shall discuss my down-to-earth Gruul warriors who received a boon earlier today. As I wandered around Ravnica, I came across a distraught elemental made up not out of stone or fire, but brick and mortar---the remnants of a slum district from the City itself. The elemental was known to its Gruul compatriots as a "Rumbling Slum." Such creatures are very rare, and this is my second one. It was accompanied by a Gruul shaman of high rank---not a simple Guildmage, but a Burning-Tree Shaman. Another rare occurence, as Gruul shamans usually die very quickly in battle. Like the Slum, this is the second Burning-Tree Shaman that I've met. Something tells me that my Gruul muscle will now be very difficult to deal with.
ZEST SEVEN
Black/White Orzhov Bleeder/Aggro Deck
Creatures (20)
2x Teysa, Orzhov Scion (2/3) (R, Guildpact)
1x Ghost Council of Orzhova (4/4) (R, Guildpact)
2x Angel of Despair (5/5) (R, Guildpact)
1x Orzhov Pontiff (1/1) (R, Guildpact)
2x Agent of Masks (2/3) (U, Guildpact)
2x Souls of the Faultless (0/4) (U, Guildpact)
2x Okiba-Gang Shinobi (3/2) (C, Betrayers of Kamigawa)
2x Orzhov Guildmage (2/2) (U, Guildpact)
3x Blind Hunter (2/2) (C, Guildpact)
3x Shrieking Grotesque (2/1) (C, Guildpact)
Spells (16)
{Sorceries} 9
4x Castigate (C, Guildpact)
3x Cry of Contrition (C, Guildpact)
2x Vindicate (R, Apocalypse)
{Instants} 3
3x Mortify (U, Guildpact)
{Enchantments} 1
1x Debtor's Knell (R, Guildpact)
{Auras} 3
3x Pillory of the Sleepless (C, Guildpact)
Artifacts (2)
2x Spectral Searchlight (U, Ravnica)
Lands (22)
9x Plains
9x Swamp
1x Godless Shrine (R, Guildpact)
1x Eiganjo Castle (R, Champions of Kamigawa)
1x Shizo, Death's Storehouse (R, Champions of Kamigawa)
1x Caves of Koilos (R, Apocalypse)
Summary:
60 cards
Rares: 13
Uncommons: 11
Commons: 18
Basic Lands: 18
Zest Seven is pattered after the original Code of the Orzhov theme deck from the Guildpact expansion set. However, its aggression turns it into a very vicious variant thereof. Before I go on to explain Zest Seven, let me first explain the mechanics that the original theme deck was built on.
HAUNT---Haunt is an ability that allows the Orzhov to exert postmortem influence on the playing field. Instead of the living affecting the dead, here, the dead affect the living. Haunt works differently on creatures and spells.
Haunt on creatures: All of Orzhov's haunting creatures have an effect that triggers when they come into play. Blind Hunter, for example, steals 2 life from an opponent when it comes into play. When a creature with Haunt goes to the graveyard from play, it is removed from the game and attached to any target creature. (Of course, you can't haunt something if it's an illegal target) You can haunt either yours or your opponent's creatures that are in play. When the creature being haunted is put into the graveyard, the same effect that the Haunter had when it came int play triggers again. Let's make the example more concrete:
I have an Orzhov Guildmage in play. I then play Blind Hunter, which reads "When Blind Hunter comes into play or the creature it haunts is put into the graveyard, target player loses 2 life and you gain 2 life." So the "Comes into play" part triggers: I gain 2 life and my opponent loses 2 life. My opponent plays Mortify on my Blind Hunter, destroying it. Once the Hunter hits the graveyard, it becomes a Haunter, haunting my Orzhov Guildmage. If my Orzhov Guildmage is sent to the graveyard, it triggers the ghostly Blind Hunter's ability again, effectively doubling the Blind Hunter's ability.
Haunt on noncreature spells: Haunt is a bit simpler on noncreature spells. Once a Haunting spell resolves and is put into the graveyard, it sticks to any creature in play, if there is one. When the creature being haunted is put into the graveyard, the spell's effect resolves again.
I have an Orzhov Guildmage in play. I play Cry of Contrition, a Haunt spell that causes my opponent to discard a card. After it resolves and goes to the graveyard, it sticks to my Orzhov Guildmage. If the Guildmage dies, the Cry's effect resolves again. Like the Blind Hunter, the Cry's effect is effectively doubled.
The Code of the Orzhov theme deck is a very slow-moving deck, taking its time to deny the opponent resources while it builds up its own. As such, it is very reactive in nature, relying on cards like Souls of the Faultess to stall the enemy until the opponent eventually runs out of life due to Blind Hunters, Agents of Masks or Orzhova, the Church of Deals---as such, it is called a "Bleeder". As cool as the Orzhov are, the preconstructed theme deck is slow and not very versatile---that is, not until you start throwing in the really cool rares that the Orzhov Guild has.
Zest Seven still retains the "bleed" philosophy, but it does more than just steal life. Zest Seven eats away at your opponent's hand and permanents in addition to his or her life. How does it do this?
I mentioned in the previous entry that I played the magic of madness: blue and black. In other words, I used an old school discard deck with Hymn to Tourach, Mind Twist and Hypnotic Specters. The Discard deck is very disruptive, ruining your opponent's strategy by taking away his or her cards before they can be cast. However, if that's all it does, or if your opponent manages to actually play something, you're going to lose. Thus, discard decks of the past had to complement their disruptive abilities with counterspells, big creatures, or cards that thrive off your opponent's discarding (Megrim and The Rack). Times have changed, however, and pure discard is no longer very effective. Enter the Bleeder.
The Bleeder combines discard elements, permanent destruction, and big creatures to produce a versatile deck that cripples your opponent early while keeping itself alive to get out the haymaker. With Ghost Council of Orzhova, that really doesn't take very long.
It's revelation, soul castigation! Fire will burn us away!
Early to Mid-Game
The first step to crippling your opponent is to get rid of his cards before they can be cast. As I mentioned earlier, this is accomplished by discard. Cry of Contrition is a great discard spell---one card for one black mana is strong enough, but it has its Haunt effect which allows it to come back for another pass---for free. (Well, at the cost of a dead creature). Castigate is a staple for any Orzhov deck---costing just WB, you can permanently deal with any nonland card in your opponent's had, of your choice! It doesn't only throw stuff into the graveyard, it removes it from the game. (Cue: The Seven Angels. "It's revelation, soul castigation! Fire will burn us away!") Shrieking Grotesque can also be used for its discarding effect on the third turn, plus it leaves you with a nice 2/1 flyer. Ninja are cool, and Okiba-Gang Shinobi is no exception. Forget the fact that it's two ratwomen in ninja attire: it causes your opponents to discard TWO cards when it connects. The Ninjutsu ability allows the rat ninja to replace one of your unblocked attacking creatures with itself. If you have an unblocked attacking creature, then Okiba-Gang Shinobi becomes an uncounterable spell that causes your opponent to discard 2 cards and deals 3 damage to him or her. (Ninjutsu actually doesn't count as playing a spell, hence it's uncounterable.) If you're attacking with a Shrieking Grotesque and bounce it back for your Shinobi, you can play the Grotesque again next turn and make your opponent discard again.
In an ideal game, the play goes:
Turn One: Swamp, Cry of Contrition (better if you go second and your opponent cast a creature on the first turn: you have something to haunt)---Discard One
Turn Two: Plains, Castigate (take out early threats, but in the end, it's up to your discretion.)---Remove One from the game
Turn Three: Any Land, Shrieking Grotesque---Discard One
Turn Four: Any Land, Attack with Shrieking Grotesque, Ninjutsu Okiba-Gang Shinobi---Discard Two
Turn Five: Play Shrieking Grotesque again---Discard One
That's a total of 5 cards dealt with by turn 4, 6 by turn 5---and you only needed a total of 4 mana to do that! It doesn't matter what you discarded, they're gone and if your opponent will waste resources just to get them back, then you already have card advantage: You used one card to get rid of two. Of course, without going into the actual mathematics of it, you don't have a very high chance of actually playing this up to turn 3, let alone turn 4 and 5. That's why you have your midgame destruction spells: the speedy and versatile Mortify and the all-purpose Vindicate. Mortify and Vindicate both cost the same: 1WB, but Mortify is an Instant while Vindicate is a Sorcery. This early in the game, you're still probably busy casting stuff on your turn so you don't have leftover mana to Mortify your opponent's stuff on his turn. However, Mortify can be used to dispose of troublesome creatures or enchantments, early game or late game. If your opponent drops a massive Rumbling Slum or Burning-Tree Shaman, Mortify can easily deal with the threat. Vindicate, on the other hand, is more versatile, being able to destroy anything. There are only THREE cards in the ENTIRE database of magic that do that without conditions: Desert Twister, Vindicate, and Angel of Despair. Desert Twister is a green spell and is thus out of the question. Angel of Despair is also included in this deck, we'll discuss Angie later. Vindicate easily deals with threats that slip through your discard. If your opponent is mana-screwed, you can turn up the heat by destroying his lands.
Malleus Maleficarum--the Law!
Creature decks are still very prevalent nowadays, despite that despicable Onslaught block being rotated out of Standard play. Thus, this deck has some creature-stopping spells that can be used to strangle your opponent in more ways than one: Pillory of the Sleepless. This spell stops creatures from attacking and blocking, while pinging your opponent every turn for 1 life. Remember, life loss is unpreventable. Of course, the Pillory is used on aggressive or defensive creatures. Don't use it on creatures that are more useful for their abilities (like Vedalken Entrancer or Teysa, Orzhov Scion). In the end, though, it all boils down to what's threatening you and what you have. If you got mana-screwed and that Eager Cadet is beating you senseless, feel free to Pillory it.
Endgame: ZEST SEVEN
You will usually end up slaughtering your opponent before you ever get to put the pieces of this deck's crowning combo into play, but there were times when I was lucky enough to put the entire thing into place before my opponent perished. The pieces are:
-Debtor's Knell (4 [WB][WB][WB])
-Angel of Despair 3WWBB
-Ghost Council of Orzhova WWBB
-Teysa, Orzhov Scion 1WB
Debtor's Knell is a nifty enchantment on its own: during each of your upkeeps, you get to pull a creature from ANY graveyard into play under your control for free. You can either reanimate your own stuff, or add insult to injury and steal the your opponent's dead creatures.
On its own, Angel of Despair is a good, solid creature. She may be slow and unwieldy at 3WWBB, but Angie smacks a permanent of your choice when she hits the board, is a hefty 5/5, and she has flying. When Angie is in the graveyard, the Knell can return her to play and reactivate her comes-into-play ability. Enter the lynchpin of the deck: Ghost Council of Orzhova.
The legendary Guildmaster of the Orzhov Syndicate is the most well-loved of all the Guildmasters thus far, plus they're the easiest to play. At WWBB, the Ghost Council can be played as early as turn 4. They hit for 4 damage every turn, in addition to their life-leeching when they come into play. In addition to this, they have their personal evasion ability that only costs 1 mana and a creature. It allows the Council to sidestep any spell directed against them (and every thing else your opponent tries to do that turn)---and unlike Phasing, it returns to play at the end of your turn. IE:
-You still have a blocker on your turn
-You trigger the life leech ability once more, punishing your foolish opponent for his impudence
If you got the Council out early, your opponent will be dead really fast. However, if the dons arrived late or if you can't get through your opponent's wall of creatures, the Ghost Council can be the ignition key for the ZEST SEVEN combo. I'll explain in a bit.
Teysa is actually an optional piece. She's good on her own as a creature remover and token producer, but ZEST SEVEN's combo can work without her. Just that she makes it soooooo much better. Teysa produces 1/1 white flyer tokens whenever a black creature you control is put into the graveyard, apart from Teysa.
Step-by-step ZEST SEVEN:
-Sacrifice your Angie to Ghost Council.
-Teysa generates a 1/1 flyer.
-Ghost Council returns to play at the end of turn: you gain 1 life and your opponent loses 1 life.
-Debtor's Knell returns Angie to play next turn, nuking an opponent's permanent.
-Repeat as necessary.
Of course, you can just beat your opponent to death with Angie and the Ghost Council (sounds like some weird band o_O), but if he or she somehow has an impenetrable defense or an annoying combo that keeps you from damaging him or her enough, ZEST SEVEN is guaranteed to push your opponent into a painful position.
Resources
Before we finish this discussion, let's take a look at the lands. There's 18 basic lands, 2 legendary lands, 1 shockland (Godless Shrine) and 1 ouchland (Caves of Koilos).
Naturally the Godless Shrine and Caves of Koilos are there to lower your chances of getting mana screwed. In an ideal world, I'd have 4 Scrublands, 4 Godless Shrines and 4 Caves of Koilos, but it's nearly impossible to get all those. It's best to have an equal number of the basic lands in the deck, since the colors in this deck occur in nearly equal amounts. (Most cards are either gold or hybrid: the only ones that are solid-colored are the Grotesques, Cry of Contrition and Okiba-Gang Shinobi.)
The Kamigawa Legendary lands (Eiganjo and Shizo) are cool because they can produce mana just like a basic plains or swamp, respectively. Not only that, they have cool utility effects that you can use to bolster the Ghost Council or Teysa! With Shizo, you can have a Fear-boosted Teysa sneaking through your opponent's enemy lines that can be Kawarimi-no-jutsu'd by your Okiba-Gang Shinobi, or you can simply beat away at your opponent with the Council. Eiganjo can be used to save either one's life in the event that they take a bit too much damage. Otherwise, they behave almost exactly like regular lands.
My planned modifications are the addition of another Ghost Council and a very, very rare Umezawa's Jitte. If anybody can find me one, please let me know.
Thus ends my commentary on ZEST SEVEN. In the next entry I shall discuss my down-to-earth Gruul warriors who received a boon earlier today. As I wandered around Ravnica, I came across a distraught elemental made up not out of stone or fire, but brick and mortar---the remnants of a slum district from the City itself. The elemental was known to its Gruul compatriots as a "Rumbling Slum." Such creatures are very rare, and this is my second one. It was accompanied by a Gruul shaman of high rank---not a simple Guildmage, but a Burning-Tree Shaman. Another rare occurence, as Gruul shamans usually die very quickly in battle. Like the Slum, this is the second Burning-Tree Shaman that I've met. Something tells me that my Gruul muscle will now be very difficult to deal with.
posted by Aslan Cross at 1:19 PM
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