CaptainTwiddle
06-27-2015, 12:29 AM
Heartless Summoning is kind of a pet card of mine and one that I'm hellbent on trying to break. There are a number of combos that involve the card, the hard part is finding a shell that fits some of them. I believe the main strength of the deck I'm trying to develop is that by virtue of playing a deck which contains a few individual combos which share a card or two in common, there is a measure of built in redundancy; so, if you start to go for combo A and that path is thwarted, you can audible to combo B while still making use of a piece that you had acquired based on your initial line.
So, where do we start?
The combos:
Heartless Summoning + Myr Retriever x2 - Summoning allows you to play your Myr for free, it immediately dies upon entering the battlefield, which then provides a trigger to return your other Myr to hand. Rinse and repeat. This provides infinite storm/gravestorm count, enters the battlefield triggers, and dies/leaves the battlefield triggers. Obviously, this combination of 3 cards does not create a win in and of itself. You need something to take advantage of counts/triggers it provides. Grapeshot is the lowest cost option and most direct. Bitter Ordeal is another option that gets around some very niche cards that would stop Grapeshot (e.g. Urza's Armor, Angel's Grace, Worship + a creature with shroud/hexproof/protection from red, etc.). Falkenrath Noble is another potential win condition, albeit a fragile one, but it has an upside in being able to be dug for with Commune with the Gods.
Fecundity works well with Heartless Summoning. If you add it to the Summoning + Myr x2 combo, you get to draw your entire deck, at which point winning is essentially arbitrary. Fecundity also allows you to play some otherwise really weak creatures as chump blockers for value/draw as you dig for your combo pieces.
Heartless Summoning + Perilous Myr + Enduring Renewal = infinite colorless Shocks to your opponent's face. Note: Enduring Renewal is a bit awkward, as it's the most expensive mana cost in my initial list and it costs WW when we don't necessarily need white for anything else.
Enablers and value cards:
Myr Sire - free with Summoning and provides 2 cards with Fecundity. It can also be a source for 2 chump blocks.
Mogg War Marshal - provides 3 potential chump blocks and draws 3 cards for R with Summoning + Fecundity.
Myr Moonvessel - fits into the Summoning + Enduring Renewal combo to generate infinite mana, but I don't know if that's all that relevant.
Simian Spirit Guide - accelerates deployment of the combo pieces and provides a way to cast Grapeshot if you've tapped out to enable the "draw your library" combo.
Commune with the Gods - digs for combo pieces and can dump 1 of your 2 My Retrievers into the yard along the way.
Idyllic Tutor - a tutor for Summoning and Fecundity, but it's a bit expensive and is a color that we don't otherwise need.
Faithless Looting - a dig spell that is castable via Simian Spirit Guide, can put a Myr Retriever in the yard as well.
Gitaxian Probe - "free" dig that provides information.
Thoughtseize/Inquisition of Kozilek - disruption to that can be deployed turn 1 to protect the combo.
Noxious Revival - a "free" spell that allows us to get back a win condition if it was milled with a Commune or was countered/discarded.
Manamorphose - a mana filter/cantrip that allow Simian Spirit Guides to become any color of mana while comboing.
Spoils of the Vault - probably the cheapest way to find a combo piece, but it's risky, as you may exile your needed win condition. It's a more realistic option if we can stick to x4 of most cards.
Lands:
Given the nature of the combo with Fecundity, we want to run light on lands so as to avoid fizzling in the event that we have to just start chaining random creatures into draws looking to assemble the Retriever loop. We're also in 4 colors, so that makes a base including "5 color" lands along with a few fetches and some shocklands in the primary colors seem like a good place to start.
A rough list:
Heartless Combo
CREATURES
1 Falkenrath Noble
3 Mogg War Marshal
4 Myr Retriever
4 Myr Sire
2 Perilous Myr
3 Simian Spirit Guide
SPELLS
4 Commune with the Gods
4 Fecundity
4 Faithless Looting
1 Grapeshot
4 Heartless Summoning
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Enduring Renewal
1 Noxious Revival
LAND
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Forest
4 Gemstone Mine
3 Mana Confluence
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Stomping Ground
1 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wooded Foothills
This is just a starting point. In order for the deck to be a serious consideration, it needs to be on par with other combo options available. While technically capable of winning turn 1 if on the draw, that requires a perfect 8 cards (land, Spirit Guide x3, Heartless, Retriever x2, Grapeshot). A turn 2-4 combo is much more realistic and there is some disruption available.
I think the biggest weaknesses of the deck are that there isn't going to be a lot of wiggle room to sideboard and graveyard hate really puts the hurt on you. As such, it might be better to just work a Heartless Combo into another deck altogether, perhaps an artifact based deck that could play Myr Retriever for general value.
Thoughts? Is this even worth pursuing at this point in time?
So, where do we start?
The combos:
Heartless Summoning + Myr Retriever x2 - Summoning allows you to play your Myr for free, it immediately dies upon entering the battlefield, which then provides a trigger to return your other Myr to hand. Rinse and repeat. This provides infinite storm/gravestorm count, enters the battlefield triggers, and dies/leaves the battlefield triggers. Obviously, this combination of 3 cards does not create a win in and of itself. You need something to take advantage of counts/triggers it provides. Grapeshot is the lowest cost option and most direct. Bitter Ordeal is another option that gets around some very niche cards that would stop Grapeshot (e.g. Urza's Armor, Angel's Grace, Worship + a creature with shroud/hexproof/protection from red, etc.). Falkenrath Noble is another potential win condition, albeit a fragile one, but it has an upside in being able to be dug for with Commune with the Gods.
Fecundity works well with Heartless Summoning. If you add it to the Summoning + Myr x2 combo, you get to draw your entire deck, at which point winning is essentially arbitrary. Fecundity also allows you to play some otherwise really weak creatures as chump blockers for value/draw as you dig for your combo pieces.
Heartless Summoning + Perilous Myr + Enduring Renewal = infinite colorless Shocks to your opponent's face. Note: Enduring Renewal is a bit awkward, as it's the most expensive mana cost in my initial list and it costs WW when we don't necessarily need white for anything else.
Enablers and value cards:
Myr Sire - free with Summoning and provides 2 cards with Fecundity. It can also be a source for 2 chump blocks.
Mogg War Marshal - provides 3 potential chump blocks and draws 3 cards for R with Summoning + Fecundity.
Myr Moonvessel - fits into the Summoning + Enduring Renewal combo to generate infinite mana, but I don't know if that's all that relevant.
Simian Spirit Guide - accelerates deployment of the combo pieces and provides a way to cast Grapeshot if you've tapped out to enable the "draw your library" combo.
Commune with the Gods - digs for combo pieces and can dump 1 of your 2 My Retrievers into the yard along the way.
Idyllic Tutor - a tutor for Summoning and Fecundity, but it's a bit expensive and is a color that we don't otherwise need.
Faithless Looting - a dig spell that is castable via Simian Spirit Guide, can put a Myr Retriever in the yard as well.
Gitaxian Probe - "free" dig that provides information.
Thoughtseize/Inquisition of Kozilek - disruption to that can be deployed turn 1 to protect the combo.
Noxious Revival - a "free" spell that allows us to get back a win condition if it was milled with a Commune or was countered/discarded.
Manamorphose - a mana filter/cantrip that allow Simian Spirit Guides to become any color of mana while comboing.
Spoils of the Vault - probably the cheapest way to find a combo piece, but it's risky, as you may exile your needed win condition. It's a more realistic option if we can stick to x4 of most cards.
Lands:
Given the nature of the combo with Fecundity, we want to run light on lands so as to avoid fizzling in the event that we have to just start chaining random creatures into draws looking to assemble the Retriever loop. We're also in 4 colors, so that makes a base including "5 color" lands along with a few fetches and some shocklands in the primary colors seem like a good place to start.
A rough list:
Heartless Combo
CREATURES
1 Falkenrath Noble
3 Mogg War Marshal
4 Myr Retriever
4 Myr Sire
2 Perilous Myr
3 Simian Spirit Guide
SPELLS
4 Commune with the Gods
4 Fecundity
4 Faithless Looting
1 Grapeshot
4 Heartless Summoning
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Enduring Renewal
1 Noxious Revival
LAND
1 Blood Crypt
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Forest
4 Gemstone Mine
3 Mana Confluence
2 Overgrown Tomb
1 Reflecting Pool
1 Stomping Ground
1 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wooded Foothills
This is just a starting point. In order for the deck to be a serious consideration, it needs to be on par with other combo options available. While technically capable of winning turn 1 if on the draw, that requires a perfect 8 cards (land, Spirit Guide x3, Heartless, Retriever x2, Grapeshot). A turn 2-4 combo is much more realistic and there is some disruption available.
I think the biggest weaknesses of the deck are that there isn't going to be a lot of wiggle room to sideboard and graveyard hate really puts the hurt on you. As such, it might be better to just work a Heartless Combo into another deck altogether, perhaps an artifact based deck that could play Myr Retriever for general value.
Thoughts? Is this even worth pursuing at this point in time?