OnBC: B/u Phage

[Rakamir]

How do you turn Phage the Unplayable into Phage the Gamewinner? Here's an idea:

4x the following cards:

Blue cards:

Read the Runes
Stifle
Pemmin's Aura
Long Term Plans <=== tutor, sort of

Black cards:

Phage the Untouchable
Cabal Interragator
Undead Gladiator
Doomed Necromancer
Blackmail

Remember to cast your own Stifle on Phage's first ability when you bring it into play from your graveyard via Doomed Necromancer, or you lose the game. You have a million ways to get it there.
Slap a Pemmin's Aura on Phage and fly to victory. Yeah, I know it's janky but it's fun. So, have fun with it.

 

[Rakamir]

My friend Brian points out that Dragon Wings does the job better than Pemmin's Aura.

 

[Lotus Mox]

I've played vs. an interesting UB Phage control deck, splashing red for Dragon Breath and Lightning Rift, and using a lot of cycling cards.
I think that's a bit more reliable but slower than your idea.

 

[Rakamir]

I haven't thought about Lightning Rift, except how to defeat it. Astral Slide = pure death for this deck, unless you choose to waste a good Stifle. Wade Wojcak has a good argument against using Stabilizer in Aggro vs Slide, but that card would actually work here.

Dragon Shadow solves many problems too. Cabal Interrogator is also a wizard so please cast Thoughtbound Primoc against me. I came up with this preliminary design last night:

4 Blackmail (I prefer this over Chain of Smog or Unburden)
4 Stifle
2 Dragon Shadow
4 Dragon Wings
4 Cabal Interrogator
4 Read the Runes
4 Long-Term Plans
4 Doomed Necromancer
4 Phage the Untouchable
2 Lonely Sandbar
2 Barren Moor
11 Swamp
8 Island

SB:
4 Stabilizer
2 Dragon Shadow
2 Dragon Breath
4 Chill Haunting
3 Pemmin's Aura

 

[Spiderman]

Using Stifle to counter Phage's ability is great! Another reason why Stifle is underrated...

 

[Rakamir]

Yup, and thanks. Unfortunately, I'm winning no sooner (on average) than turn 9 against the goldfish, and that's fatal. So to speed it up a bit, I'll add a tad more cycling in Unburden, replacing the Cabal Interrogators, which weren't impressing/helping. This means the boarded Chill Hauntings may have to become Lingering Deaths, but I hope not. Back to ye olde drawing board.

 

[Rakamir]

4 Blackmail
4 Stifle
2 Dragon Shadow
4 Dragon Wings
4 Unburden <=== works much better now
3 Undead Gladiator <== or Twisted Abominations ?
4 Read the Runes
4 Long-Term Plans
4 Doomed Necromancer
4 Phage the Untouchable
2 Lonely Sandbar
2 Barren Moor
11 Swamp
8 Island

SB:
4 Dispersal Shield <== for Wing Shards, Pacifism, other cheek
2 Dragon Shadow
2 Dragon Breath
4 Chill Haunting <=== or Lingering Death ?
3 Pemmin's Aura

Has a consistant 7th turn kill against the goldfish.

 

[Reverend Love]

I personally liked the Volrath's Doppleganger, Escape Artist, Phage combo.

 

[Izaryo]

or then you can lower Phage's power and use Crafty Pathmage
that is one of my favourite onslaught commons

 

[NorrYtt]

It seems like a horribly convoluted roundabout way of winning...

Why not just play a traditional MBC deck and actually hardcast Phage? Is it necessary to go through 4 cards to get her in play turn 5 when you could just hard cast her turn 7 anyway, or turn 6 with Temple of the False God?

You could do some tricks like play Undead Gladiators, Dragon Wings, and probably Dragon Breath, with a normal big removal complement of Infest, Smother, and such.

It might be interesting to find out if Visara is strictly better anyway. Killing your opponent in one hit has to be good! The potential to kill your opponent in one hasty swing should steal at least a few games, right? It's likely your opponent will play like you always have this combo set up, right?

 

[Izaryo]

or then use trample and power increase!

 

[train]

If you really want to know - and I hate saying this because it involves blue...

But...

Sneak Attack, Phage, Stifle...

"That was game 2, and 3, and 4, and..."

 

[Spiderman]

That's my gameplan for my Phage MP deck...

 

[train]

Add to that aggravated assault for MP games...

 

[Rakamir]

Actually, I had a bunch of Doomed Necromancers sitting around collecting dust, so I wanted to find SOMETHING that could use them. Yes, hardcasting Phage is an option. In OnBC (and just about every other format come to think of it), there are tons of ways to kill critters. In OnBC we're looking at Wing Shards, Akroma's Vengeance. Not the happy cards you want to see. Hey, I make NO claims this is a good deck, I just like Jank, being the casual guy I am, and always try to figure out the best (boring) decks first, so I know what to "jank" aginst. This deck virtually ignores that agenda, however, save the Dispersal Shield in the board, which I thought was insprirational. <sniff> You can also send later discard stuff at them to get rid of enemy cards, but I always hated giving an opponent choice, so perhaps Head Games deserves a look...

 

[train]

What they needed to reprint was illusionary mask - especially with Morph being in the environment now...