2001)

Hello, my name is Aviv and this is my first magic article. I have played magic for about three quarters of a year so far.

A couple weeks ago I played someone with an interesting deck that used Fecundity, Saproling Burst, and Ashnod’s Altar to make lots of tokens, sack them, and burn your opponent for the win. I thought the deck wasn’t very good (not focused) but I thought the idea had potential - so I made a complete deck list for it. After lots of testing online, I know it can easily hold its own in casual play. It might even do well in tournaments (if I can get a good sideboard and cards to protect my combo). It is also the most fun deck I have ever played. The only problem is that the opponent sometimes forfeits. Most of the time, the opponent isn’t doing anything while you have lots of fun generating lots of mana with your tokens.

Anyway here is the deck list –

4:Academy Rector
4:Fecundity
1:Saproling Cluster
1:Aura of Silence
4:Ashnod's Altar
3:Phyrexian Altar
4:Saproling Burst
4:Enlightened Tutor
1:Eladamri's Call
4:Birds of Paradise
3:Snake Basket
1:Pandemonium
2:Kaervek's Torch
4:Llanowar Elves
4:Savannah
6:Forest
4:Brushland
2:Gaea's Cradle
4:City of Brass

The main combo in this deck is Fecundity, Saproling Burst, and Ashnod’s Altar. This combo gives you 12 mana and seven cards. If you use Academy Rector to get the enchantments, it costs one less mana, and adds an additional 2 mana to your pool. If you get Fecundity and Saproling burst without an altar (and no tutor or altar in your hand) you can make 7 tokens, they all die immediately, giving 7 cards. In those seven cards you’re likely to get the remaining cards you need for a combo.
Another combo you can use (but isn’t as good) is Fecundity, Saproling burst, and Phyrexian Altar. Basically you use Phyrexian Altar instead of Ashnod’s Altar.

You can use the Saproling Cluster instead of Saproling Burst (the reason that isn’t my main combo is that Saproling burst has much more flexibility than Saproling Cluster. It can even kill the opponent on its own and it combos well with fecundity and altar alone). I find the flexibility more important that the fact that Saproling cluster is 3 mana cheaper and when you get it out with Ashnod’s Altar and Fecundity it almost always assures your win.

The last combo is Pandemonium and Saproling Burst. This is an instant win unless the opponent has over 21 life which is very rare.

This deck is very good at getting a game-winning combo fast. This is because the cards in this combo work together to help you find and play the combo. Ashnod’s Altar works with Academy Rector to get any enchantment you need. As I said earlier Fecundity and Saproling Burst work together to draw you 7 cards. Eladamari’s call can search for either a rector, an elf or bird. You pretty much always get the combo or a way of getting it in your hand or first 3 draws. Also if the opponent kills a bird or elf, Fecundity lets you draw a card, and you can sack the poor birds and elves to the Altars to draw cards too.

The other important part of a combo deck is speed. This deck gets about one 3rd turn kill, three 4th turn kills and one 5th turn kill out of every 5 games. The pieces of the combo actually speed up the deck. Ashnod’s Altar is what allows the 3rd turn win. I also have birds and elves for more speed (not to mention sacking to the Altar).

This is how you can get a 3rd turn trigger, which usually leads up to a win that turn.

First Turn – Land, Bird/Elf
Second Turn – Land, Ashnod’s Altar
Third Turn – Tap and sack, The Bird/Elf play A Rector/Burst/
If you played the Rector - Sack the rector for a Burst. Then play Fecundity (remember, when you sacked the Rector you got 2 mana).
If you played the Burst, Make 6 Saprolings and sack one, then play a land and play Fecundity.

Now I bet your wondering how you win. Obviously my main combo isn’t going to win the game. Once you get the three parts of the main combo out what you must do is sack tokens to the Altars drawing cards and getting mana. You’re almost certainly going to draw something that will give you more tokens (snake basket, burst, tutor/rector (for Snake Basket/Burst) etc.). Play this and sack those tokens for more mana and cards. Continue this until you have 20 or more mana in your pool and then sacrifice one last token to a Phyrexian Altar for one red. Kaervek's Torch you opponent for a lot.

Of course, you don’t have to win with a torch, you can also win with a gazillion snake tokens or with pandemonium. If parts of the combo are killed before it gets started or by some strange chance I can’t get it going I can usually kill the opponent with Saproling and snake tokens.

Also, you can win with Saproling Cluster, Ashnod’s Altar and Fecundity, sacking tokens, drawing and discarding cards until you get a really big torch.

The Gaea’s Cradles are not really necessary but in some cases they can help. Everything else is just mana producing lands.

I’m working on a sideboard, maybe some Hall of Gemstones, City of Solitudes, Sterling Groves, and more Aura of Silences? What do you think? I mostly play casual so I’m bad at making sideboards.

Anyway, what do you people think of this deck? Feel free to give constructive criticism about my writing so I will do better next time. Email me at aviova@hotmail.com for suggestions (I’m going to camp on June 1, so I probably can’t contact you after that). Also I’m looking for a good tinker deck list, if you have one email that.

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