B/R Bloodcrank

[Darkenslight]

I was inspired by the card Mindcrank and was considering its applications with other cards, and stumbled upon this gem: Bloodchief Ascension. The gameplan is to crank up your Ascension to the max, and then Once you have Mindcrank out, any damage will instantly kill your opponent.

But, "How do I set this set up?" I hear you ask. IT's actually pretty simple; play lots of burn spells to enable the Ascension.

Here's a basic decklist:

Lands: 20

3 Mountain
3 Swamp
4 Badlands
4 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstainde Mire
2 Scalding Tarn

Combo: 8

4 Mindcrank
4 Bloodchief Ascension

Tutors: 12

4 Imperial Seal Gamble
4 Vampiric Tutor Infernal Tutor
4 Grim Tutor

Damage Stuffs: 20

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Incinerate
4 Chain of Plasma
4 Blightning
4 Grim Lavamancer

Sideboard: 15

4 Smash to Smithereens
4 Ingot Chewer
4 Tormod's Crypt
3 Duress

Note the Sideboard has a lot of artifact hate, rather than Dredge hate. That's because, once the combo gets going, there is almost literally no way to stop it outside of Planar Void.

Thoughts/critiques are always appreciated.

[allek]

Ahem.
FYI: Vampiric Tutor and Imperial Seal are banned in legacy.

[DownSyndromeKarl]

and isn't a combo that takes three turns to do anything terrible? It's not like it's a "turn 3 win"....with a lack of mana excel, you need both combo pieces in hand(or topdeck like a pro) to get this thing to work on turn 4. If unmolested. Kitchen Table awesome.

[Darkenslight]

Ahem.
FYI: Vampiric Tutor and Imperial Seal are banned in legacy.

Derf, that'll learn me. Will edit the decklist to compensate.


and isn't a combo that takes three turns to do anything terrible? It's not like it's a "turn 3 win"....with a lack of mana excel, you need both combo pieces in hand(or topdeck like a pro) to get this thing to work on turn 4. If unmolested. Kitchen Table awesome.

No, it's fairly doable Turn 4:

T1: Bloodstained Mire ->Badlands, Bloodchief Ascension;
T2: Mountain, Mindcrank:
T3: Mountain, Burn; Opponent's turn burn
T4: Burn, get third counter EoT, opponent's upkeep burn for win.

Still, there are always ways to improve, right?

[Nidd]

No, it's fairly doable Turn 4:

T1: Bloodstained Mire ->Badlands, Bloodchief Ascension;
T2: Mountain, Mindcrank:
T3: Mountain, Burn; Opponent's turn burn
T4: Burn, get third counter EoT, opponent's upkeep burn for win.

Still, there are always ways to improve, right?
That's the goddraw, I suppose. And how in hell do you want to win outside of that?

And what does Infernal Tutor grab for you?

[Darkenslight]

That's the goddraw, I suppose. And how in hell do you want to win outside of that?

And what does Infernal Tutor grab for you?

The IT will usually grab a burn spell to add to the combo. IF it hadn't been for my stupidity, it would be a ton better. I'm still considering things and am open to suggestions. I was considering changing some of the burn for creatures like Hellspark, and possibly replacing the Gambles with Sign in Blood, as that would put a counter on Bloodchief.

The Plan B is to be a bad burn deck. I'm honestly not sure what I'd do as a backup plan. The SB is more geared for an artifact-heavy meta, and I'm not sure what else would fit in.

[DownSyndromeKarl]

As an aside: There's an article on SCG about running this combo in Standard. Honestly might be viable in that format, but still not Tier1.

[Darkenslight]

As an aside: There's an article on SCG about running this combo in Standard. Honestly might be viable in that format, but still not Tier1.

Yup. ONe of the things I was thinking was if it would be possible to run a lighter manabase with the Red accelerants. or running it as an aside with cards like Ankh of Mishra in a B/R midrange-esque deck.

[brattin]

Haven't read the article yet, but I was thinking about Bloodchief Ascension a couple weeks ago, and I thought I'd contribute--

Turn 1: land, Carnophage/Goblin Guide or other 1 mana 2/x.
Turn 2: land, Bloodchief Ascension, swing (one counter). Opponent's turn bolt (2 counters).
Turn 3: mindcrank, swing, win.

[mistercakes]

might want to think about that new phyrexian R spell. deal 1 damage. each time they crack a fetch you can play it for free and you'll build up a counter on your enchantment.

[Darkenslight]

might want to think about that new phyrexian R spell. deal 1 damage. each time they crack a fetch you can play it for free and you'll build up a counter on your enchantment.

Add to that the ACC on Mental Misstep, and you can have a LOT of fun. Play a burn spell, they use ACC, get a counter? Seems strong to me.

[Darkenslight]

After testing this, I was looking at a card from New Phyrexia, Volt Charge. I Also like Seal of Fire for enabling the charge on Bloodchief. What do you think if these changes:

-4 IT
-4 Blightning

-4 Volt Charge
+4 Seal of Fire

?

[Greenpoe]

Drop some tutors for Sygg, Rivercutthroat and Dark Confidant.

[dahcmai]

I was working on this little combo in standard. It was pretty bad there, sadly enough. There's little in Legacy to make it any better. It still requires the same things. Putting the enchantment out and then dealing damage three turns in a row, then playing Mindcrank. It's cute due to it's insta win after that, but most decks are much faster at dealing damage 3 turns in a row than you. They straight up kill you first. In the end, it became a cute trick in standard, but nothing worth building a deck around.

I had actually tossed the Mindcrank out of my build somewhere along the line. It worked better without it. It just doesn't do anything by itself at all.

I'd love to see it work, so don't give up too fast, just keep in mind the Standard version really didn't like the Crank much. Proliferate worked quite well with it. The red proliferate Bolt worked pretty good. Good Luck!

[Scatterbrain]

This deck really needs to be running Enlightened Tutor since it finds both combo pieces. That way you can run a single Mindcrank and 4 Bloodchief Ascension and have a much more solid backup plan.


2 Mountain
1 Swamp
2 Plateau
1 Scrubland
4 Badlands
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Arid Mesa
2 Marsh Flats

1 Mindcrank
4 Bloodchief Ascension

4 Enlightened Tutor

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Grim Lavamancer
3 Magma Jet
4 Goblin Guide
3 Steppe Lynx
3 Dark Confidant
1 Stoneforge Mystic

1 Basilisk Collar
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice

2 Path to Exile



This way you are basically a bad Zoo deck with a combo finish, which is quite a bit better than a bad Burn deck. Magma Jet both activates the combo and digs for pieces, so it is great here.

[Darkenslight]

This deck really needs to be running Enlightened Tutor since it finds both combo pieces. That way you can run a single Mindcrank and 4 Bloodchief Ascension and have a much more solid backup plan.


2 Mountain
1 Swamp
2 Plateau
1 Scrubland
4 Badlands
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Arid Mesa
2 Marsh Flats

1 Mindcrank
4 Bloodchief Ascension

4 Enlightened Tutor

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Grim Lavamancer
3 Magma Jet
4 Goblin Guide
3 Steppe Lynx
3 Dark Confidant
1 Stoneforge Mystic

1 Basilisk Collar
1 Umezawa's Jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice

2 Path to Exile



This way you are basically a bad Zoo deck with a combo finish, which is quite a bit better than a bad Burn deck. Magma Jet both activates the combo and digs for pieces, so it is great here.

Hmm, I'd not considered the value of White in the deck. Why would you play Steppe Lynx? IT's not two guaranteed damage without equips. I'll definitely consider it.

[Galroth]

I could see this combo being a great backup win condition. You could insert into a variety of shells, from Red Death to Suicide Black to Pox to a B/R homespun deck utility cards. But as many have critiqued, focusing on the combo is lacking. It's not quick enough to vie with the rest of the legacy scene combo.

My suggestion: spend time figuring out which common deck you can switch 8 cards out for this combo and I'd wager money you're going to have a stronger overall deck than building around the combo.

[Hot Soup]

Just to point something out. The deck was already "Combo-able" in Standard. Bloodchief ready to go plus Archive Trap is an autowin. It still saw zero play, I fail to see how an artifact is going to make the differance. Admittedly, Archive trap is pretty meh, but in standard alone every single deck is shuffling most every turn. I'm sure theres better mill cards in legacy too. Glimpse anyone?

[Darkenslight]

Just to point something out. The deck was already "Combo-able" in Standard. Bloodchief ready to go plus Archive Trap is an autowin. It still saw zero play, I fail to see how an artifact is going to make the differance. Admittedly, Archive trap is pretty meh, but in standard alone every single deck is shuffling most every turn. I'm sure theres better mill cards in legacy too. Glimpse anyone?

The deck isn't about the milling aspect of Mindcrank - it's about its interaction with an active Ascension. One damage snowballs into an autowin. I was actually thinking about this in something like Zoo, going B/W/G instead of R/W/G. IT's an alternative, and I would like to see it work.

[oblivion4560]

You guys are overlooking the possibility that this deck could be so much easier if it was just B/W. This way you still have Enlightened Tutor and the combo, plus you have room for an alternate win con that actually helps your combo.

4 Bloodchief Ascension
1 Mindcrank
4 Enlightened Tutor
4 Sword to Plowshares
4 Mental Misstep
1 Umezawa's jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice

2 Stoneforge Mystic
4 Dark Confidant
3 Isamaru, Hound of Konda
4 Savannah Lions
4 Vampire Lacerator
4 Inquisitor Exarch

4 Scrubland
4 Marsh Flats
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Karakas
5 Swamps
5 Plains

Something like that. Serious playtesting would be needed to see if it actually works all together. Good luck to everyone who tries it!

[Neuad]

I was inspired by the card Mindcrank and was considering its applications with other cards, and stumbled upon this gem: Bloodchief Ascension. The gameplan is to crank up your Ascension to the max, and then Once you have Mindcrank out, any damage will instantly kill your opponent.

But, "How do I set this set up?" I hear you ask. IT's actually pretty simple; play lots of burn spells to enable the Ascension.

Here's a basic decklist:

Lands: 20

3 Mountain
3 Swamp
4 Badlands
4 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstainde Mire
2 Scalding Tarn

Combo: 8

4 Mindcrank
4 Bloodchief Ascension

Tutors: 12

4 Imperial Seal Gamble
4 Vampiric Tutor Infernal Tutor
4 Grim Tutor

Damage Stuffs: 20

4 Lightning Bolt
4 Incinerate
4 Chain of Plasma
4 Blightning
4 Grim Lavamancer

Sideboard: 15

4 Smash to Smithereens
4 Ingot Chewer
4 Tormod's Crypt
3 Duress

Note the Sideboard has a lot of artifact hate, rather than Dredge hate. That's because, once the combo gets going, there is almost literally no way to stop it outside of Planar Void.

Thoughts/critiques are always appreciated.

Tutor's need to be just more burn spells.

[TheG]

Hey why do not try with a control-combo shell.. this is my BW list


// Lands
2 [ROE] Plains (4)
6 [HOP] Swamp (5)
1 [MR] Ancient Den
4 [R] Scrubland
4 [ZEN] Marsh Flats
1 [MR] Vault of Whispers

// Card Advantage
4 [RAV] Dark Confidant

// Discard
4 [ROE] Inquisition of Kozilek
4 [M10] Duress
4 [LRW] Thoughtseize
4 [LG] Chains of Mephistopheles
2 [VI] Anvil of Bogardan

// Board control
4 [AP] Vindicate
4 [OD] Ghastly Demise

// Closers
4 [ZEN] Bloodchief Ascension
2 [NPH] Mindcrank
4 [M11] Liliana's Caress
4 [MI] Enlightened Tutor


the gameplan is: take card advantage with confidant thanks to the low cc of the deck | controlling op. hand and board and don't letting him to take card advantage with the chains of m | meanwhile charging bloodchief with Liliana's. and when is charged anvil makes the ascension working every turn | finnally find mindcrank and win

Problems: 62 cards...what would i put out? and multiple copies of bloodchief are not very usefull.

What u think about?!

[bowvamp]

The deck isn't about the milling aspect of Mindcrank - it's about its interaction with an active Ascension. One damage snowballs into an autowin. I was actually thinking about this in something like Zoo, going B/W/G instead of R/W/G. IT's an alternative, and I would like to see it work.

I'm pretty sure he wasn't talking about building mill.dec
Rather, that if Archive Trap triggers this 13 times (not sure if it does), then that would be 26 damage for free.

[Darkenslight]

I'm pretty sure he wasn't talking about building mill.dec
Rather, that if Archive Trap triggers this 13 times (not sure if it does), then that would be 26 damage for free.

That's an interesting idea, but then, where would you fit in the combo? Merfolk? That onyl makes MErfolk worse? Hatebears? Possible, but unlikely. I'm still convinced that it's bossible, and I like the B/W list mentioned earlier. I think it warrants some testing.