CardShark Content - Dwayne Hunter (6/5/2004)

Ever since the full Fifth Dawn spoiler was released new and interesting decks have been popping up all over the internet, almost all of which are Standard. Metal Worker is probably the only deck outside of Standard that is Post-Fifth Dawn, and works.

But I'm here to introduce a new deck to you. I've been working on it and tweaking it for the past few days and it is amazing. It is basically a combo deck, but what makes it superior is that it is basically a ONE-Card combo deck. It is very consistent. It uses Aluren

Aluren
	Set: Tempest Cost: 4 Color: Green Type: Enchantment Rarity: R Artist: April Lee Text: Any player may play a creature card with total casting cost 3 or less whenever he or she could play an instant and without paying its casting cost.

and Relentless Rats

Relentless Rats
	Set: Fifth Dawn Cost: 3 Color: Black Type: Creature Sub Type: Rat Rarity: U Number: 58 Artist: Thomas M Baxa Text: Relentless Rats gets +1/+1 for each other creature named Relentless Rats in play. A deck can have any number of cards named Relentless Rats.

to win turn 4 more often than not. I would say about
60-70% of the time you will pull off a turn four kill. That seems unrealistic but I assure you it isn't.

Anyway, I'll begin by providing you with a decklist.

Land: (18)
6x Swamp

Swamp
	Set: Oversize Cards Color: Land Type: Land Rarity: X Artist: Tony Roberts Text: T: Add B to your mana pool.

4x Forest

Forest
	Set: Oversize Cards Color: Land Type: Land Rarity: X Artist: Tony Roberts Text: T: Add G to your mana pool.

4x Hickory Woodlot

Hickory Woodlot
	Set: Mercadian Masques Color: Land Type: Land Rarity: C Number: 319 Artist: Sean McConnell Text: Hickory Woodlot comes into play tapped with two depletion counters on it.tap, Remove a depletion counter from Hickory Woodlot: Add two green mana to your mana pool. If there are no depletion counters on Hickory Woodlot, sacrifice it.

4x Llanowar Wastes

Llanowar Wastes
	Set: Apocalypse Color: Land Type: Land Rarity: R Number: 141 Artist: Rob Alexander Text: TAP: Add one colorless mana to your mana pool. TAP: Add B or G to your mana pool. Llanowar Wastes deals 1 damage to you.

Creatures: (23)
23x Relentless Rats

Relentless Rats
	Set: Fifth Dawn Cost: 3 Color: Black Type: Creature Sub Type: Rat Rarity: U Number: 58 Artist: Thomas M Baxa Text: Relentless Rats gets +1/+1 for each other creature named Relentless Rats in play. A deck can have any number of cards named Relentless Rats.

Spells: (19)
4x Aluren

Aluren
	Set: Tempest Cost: 4 Color: Green Type: Enchantment Rarity: R Artist: April Lee Text: Any player may play a creature card with total casting cost 3 or less whenever he or she could play an instant and without paying its casting cost.

4x Vampiric Tutor

Vampiric Tutor
	Set: Classic Sixth Edition Cost: 1 Color: Black Type: Instant Rarity: R Number: 161 Artist: Gary Leach Text: Search your library for a card, then shuffle your library and put that card on top of it. You lose 2 life.

4x Duress

Duress
	Set: Urza's Saga Cost: 1 Color: Black Type: Sorcery Rarity: C Number: 132 Artist: Lawrence Snelly Text: Look at target opponent's hand and choose a noncreature, nonland card there. That player discards that card.

4x Eladamri's Vineyard

Eladamri's Vineyard
	Set: Tempest Cost: 1 Color: Green Type: Enchantment Rarity: R Artist: Ron Chironna Text: At the beginning of each player's main phase, add GG to that player's mana pool.

3x Desperate Research

Desperate Research
	Set: Invasion Cost: 2 Color: Black Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 100 Artist: Ron Spencer Text: Name a card other than a basic land. Then reveal the top seven cards of your library and put all of them with that name into your hand. Remove the rest from the game.

And now to explain the uses of each of these wonderful cards in this
wonderful deck...

Hickory Woodlot

Hickory Woodlot
	Set: Mercadian Masques Color: Land Type: Land Rarity: C Number: 319 Artist: Sean McConnell Text: Hickory Woodlot comes into play tapped with two depletion counters on it.tap, Remove a depletion counter from Hickory Woodlot: Add two green mana to your mana pool. If there are no depletion counters on Hickory Woodlot, sacrifice it.

- Acceleration. The fact that it comes into play tapped stinks, but in the end it works out just fine.

Relentless Rats

Relentless Rats
	Set: Fifth Dawn Cost: 3 Color: Black Type: Creature Sub Type: Rat Rarity: U Number: 58 Artist: Thomas M Baxa Text: Relentless Rats gets +1/+1 for each other creature named Relentless Rats in play. A deck can have any number of cards named Relentless Rats.

- I don't have to explain, do I?

Aluren

Aluren
	Set: Tempest Cost: 4 Color: Green Type: Enchantment Rarity: R Artist: April Lee Text: Any player may play a creature card with total casting cost 3 or less whenever he or she could play an instant and without paying its casting cost.

- Once this card hits the field you basically win next turn.

Vampiric Tutor

Vampiric Tutor
	Set: Classic Sixth Edition Cost: 1 Color: Black Type: Instant Rarity: R Number: 161 Artist: Gary Leach Text: Search your library for a card, then shuffle your library and put that card on top of it. You lose 2 life.

- For the most part you will be Vamping for Aluren

Aluren
	Set: Tempest Cost: 4 Color: Green Type: Enchantment Rarity: R Artist: April Lee Text: Any player may play a creature card with total casting cost 3 or less whenever he or she could play an instant and without paying its casting cost.

. It's in the deck because if you don't get Aluren

Aluren
	Set: Tempest Cost: 4 Color: Green Type: Enchantment Rarity: R Artist: April Lee Text: Any player may play a creature card with total casting cost 3 or less whenever he or she could play an instant and without paying its casting cost.

there is no way you can possibly win.

Duress

Duress
	Set: Urza's Saga Cost: 1 Color: Black Type: Sorcery Rarity: C Number: 132 Artist: Lawrence Snelly Text: Look at target opponent's hand and choose a noncreature, nonland card there. That player discards that card.

- Ahh... Duress

Duress
	Set: Urza's Saga Cost: 1 Color: Black Type: Sorcery Rarity: C Number: 132 Artist: Lawrence Snelly Text: Look at target opponent's hand and choose a noncreature, nonland card there. That player discards that card.

. A definite staple for this deck. There are so many cards that screw this deck over in extended. Pernicious Deed

Pernicious Deed
	Set: Apocalypse Cost: 3 Color: Multicolor Type: Enchantment Rarity: R Number: 114 Artist: Christopher Moeller Text: X, Sacrifice Pernicious Deed: Destroy each artifact, creature, and enchantment with converted mana cost X or less.

, Lobotomy

Lobotomy
	Set: Tempest Cost: 4 Color: Multicolor Type: Sorcery Rarity: U Artist: Thomas M. Baxa Text: Look at target player's hand and choose any of those cards other than a basic land. Search that player's graveyard, hand, and library for all copies of the chosen card and remove them from the game. That player shuffles his or her library afterwards.

, Haunting Echoes

Haunting Echoes
	Set: Odyssey Cost: 5 Color: Black Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 142 Artist: Arnie Swekel Text: Remove all cards in target player's graveyard other than basic land cards from the game. Search that player's library for all cards with the same name as cards removed this way, and remove them from the game. Then that player shuffles his or her library.

, Cabal Therapy

Cabal Therapy
	Set: Judgment Cost: 1 Color: Black Type: Sorcery Rarity: U Number: 62 Artist: Ron Spencer Text: Name a nonland card. Target player reveals his or her hand and discards from it all cards with that name. Flashback - Sacrifice a creature.

(Not as much as the others), and many others. That's why we have Duress

Duress
	Set: Urza's Saga Cost: 1 Color: Black Type: Sorcery Rarity: C Number: 132 Artist: Lawrence Snelly Text: Look at target opponent's hand and choose a noncreature, nonland card there. That player discards that card.

.

Eladamri's Vineyard

Eladamri's Vineyard
	Set: Tempest Cost: 1 Color: Green Type: Enchantment Rarity: R Artist: Ron Chironna Text: At the beginning of each player's main phase, add GG to that player's mana pool.

- Can you say turn 2 Aluren

Aluren
	Set: Tempest Cost: 4 Color: Green Type: Enchantment Rarity: R Artist: April Lee Text: Any player may play a creature card with total casting cost 3 or less whenever he or she could play an instant and without paying its casting cost.

with a turn 3 kill? This card makes it all possible.

Desperate Research

Desperate Research
	Set: Invasion Cost: 2 Color: Black Type: Sorcery Rarity: R Number: 100 Artist: Ron Spencer Text: Name a card other than a basic land. Then reveal the top seven cards of your library and put all of them with that name into your hand. Remove the rest from the game.

- Once Aluren

Aluren
	Set: Tempest Cost: 4 Color: Green Type: Enchantment Rarity: R Artist: April Lee Text: Any player may play a creature card with total casting cost 3 or less whenever he or she could play an instant and without paying its casting cost.

hits the table this card is insane. You cast it calling Relentless Rats

Relentless Rats
	Set: Fifth Dawn Cost: 3 Color: Black Type: Creature Sub Type: Rat Rarity: U Number: 58 Artist: Thomas M Baxa Text: Relentless Rats gets +1/+1 for each other creature named Relentless Rats in play. A deck can have any number of cards named Relentless Rats.

and it's like putting 4+ rats into play for 1B.

There you have it. This deck will almost definately be a dominating deck once extended season rolls around and once Fifth Dawn becomes a tournament legal set. It's just so incredibly fast and incredibly consistent that I can't see people NOT playing it. I was hesitant to post this at first because it may just turn into the next Ravager Affinity or U/G Madness(In It's Standard Days) of Extended.

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