This thread is intended for developing a decklist and discussing how to use Food Chain.
Here's my current decklist for a version using Misthollow Griffin (which was heavily influenced by Caleb Durward's own list and can be seen here):
*Food Chain Griffin Combo*
Creature - 22
1 AEthersnipe
2 Coiling Oracle
2 Fierce Empath
2 Raven Familiar
2 Court Hussar
2 Drift of Phantasms
3 Misthollow Griffin
1 Maga, Traitor to Mortals
4 Birds of Paradise
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
2 Noble Hierarch
Enchantment - 4
4 Food Chain
Instant - 11
4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
2 Spell Pierce
Sorcery - 3
1 Ponder
2 Living Wish
Artifact - 3
3 Chrome Mox
Land - 17
2 Forest
1 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Tropical Island
2 Windswept Heath
1 Savannah
2 Ancient Tomb
1 City of Traitors
SB: 1 Misthollow Griffin
SB: 1 Maga, Traitor to Mortals
SB: 1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
SB: 1 AEthersnipe
SB: 3 Gaddock Teeg
SB: 1 Progenitus
SB: 4 Natural Order
SB: 3 Loaming Shaman
Card Choices:
Court Hussar and Raven Familiar - lets you dig into the deck with creatures that can be cast with Food Chain or fed to Food Chain once it is found.
AEthersnipe - intended to remove many problematic cards from the board. Target for Fierce Empath.
Fierce Empath - debatable addition. If AEthersnipe is removed, Fierce Empath could be removed, as well. Finds AEthersnipe and Emrakul.
Drift of Phantasms - most often used as a Transmute for Food Chain, a Court Hussar, or Raven Familiar.
Living Wish - allows a fourth Misthollow Griffin; a second Emrakul, the Aeons Torn; and a second Maga, Traitor to Mortals to be played in the Sideboard. Also allows a few toolbox cards to be played in the Sideboard, as well, such as Loaming Shaman, Gaddock Teeg, and AEthersnipe.
Chrome Mox - provides a little speed. Misthollow Griffin can be imprinted on the card and cast later. Please note that once the Misthollow Griffin is cast from exile, Chrome Mox can no longer tap for blue mana. This is usually not problematic, however, as you'll likely be comboing off at that point anyways.
Misdirection - a little added protection. Works well with Misthollow Griffin. Often functions like Force of Will in forcing through Food Chain or a piece of the combo insofar as you can change the target of a counterspell targeting one of your cards to the Misdirection, effectively countering it.
Coiling Oracle - awesome little creature. Provides ramp or card draw. Works well with Brainstorm. Can be fed to Food Chain. Was an all-star in the older Elf Food Chain versions of the deck. Less powerful, here, but still a fine choice.
Ancient Tomb and City of Traitors - a small bit of ramp.
Emrakul, the Aeons Torn - the win condition of choice, given you'll be hard casting it.
Maga, Traitor to Mortals - secondary win condition. Gets around certain things that Emrakul cannot, like Ensnaring Bridge. Can be Stifled.
Some Cards to Consider:
Eternal Witness - a body that can recover a discarded card from the graveyard and be fed to the Food Chain.
Gaea's Herald - a little extra protection from counterspells. Seems unnecessary, but might be an option.
Intuition - apt at finding combo pieces at Instant speed. In this regard, Intuition has a leg up on Drift of Phantasm's Transmute. Can also find Misthollow Griffin. On the downside, it is not a creature.
Show and Tell - perhaps an excellent backup plan to maindeck or come out of the sideboard. Would require playing more Emrakuls maindeck and less Fierce Empath. Could be found with Drift of Phantasm's Transmute.
Natural Order - another backup plan coming out of the sideboard. The deck is already playing plenty of green creatures. Might not be a bad choice. Inferior to Show and Tell insofar as it is not a target for Drift of Phantasm's Transmute.
Jace, the Mind Sculptor - yet another backup plan that also provides added utility. Rarely needs to be justified and yet this deck may not be the place for him.
Man-O'-War - performs a function similar to AEthersnipe at a converted mana cost of 3. Thus, it is a legal target for Drift of Phantasms but not Fierce Empath. A version without Fierce Empath might value this card more. Note: this only targets creatures.
Mulldrifter - good card draw on a body. Its Evoke provides amazing value with Food Chain in play. Only downside is that it does not dig as deep as Raven Familiar or Court Hussar (albeit by only one card).
Ingot Chewer - removes an artifact. Seems inferior to AEthersnipe insofar as it only targets artifacts, is not blue, and cannot be searched with Fierce Empath.
Manipulate Fate and Foresight - allows you to search your library and exile Misthollow Griffin. Maybe too cute or narrow to really be good, as it can only find the Misthollow Griffin and not the Food Chain. Other obvious drawback is that they're sorceries.
Extract - functions as a tutor for Misthollow Griffin. Like Manipulate Fate and Foresight, this might be too narrow and is also, unfortunately, a sorcery.
Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir - allows the deck to go off at instant speed once the Food Chain is in play and provides protection for the combo.
Worldly Tutor - search your library for a creature card.
Eladamri's Call - search your library for a creature card at Instant speed. Requires a stronger commitment to white. Might not be too difficult to pull off with Birds of Paradise and Noble Hierarch. Might be worth doing because Enlightened Tutor is also white.
Enlightened Tutor - search your library for Food Chain or some other enchantment or artifact (possibly artifact creature) not yet considered.
Gaddock Teeg - Hinders combo and stops Force of Will.
Spoils of the Vault - you're usually naming Food Chain or Emrakul and hoping to exile a Misthollow Griffin in the process.
Plunge into Darkness - similar to Spoils of the Vault, but a little different. Hoping to hit a piece of your combo while exiling a Griffin. Less dangerous but requires a little more mana. Also allows you to sacrifice unwanted creatures, although this is a pretty rare occasion.
Tainted Pact - another card to fetch a combo piece or counterspell while exiling Misthollow Griffin in the process.
Momir Vig, Simic Visionary
Mystic Snake
Sages of the Anima
Trygon Predator
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It has also been suggested that the Misthollow Griffin + Food Chain combo isn't the way to go, and that it would be more effective to rely on an Imperial Recruiter chain. Here's a list that I threw together, which was based off of Sedris' list, here:
*Food Chain Recruiter*
Creature - 24
4 Imperial Recruiter
4 Phantasmal Image
1 Fierce Empath
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Birds of Paradise
2 Noble Hierarch
2 Drift of Phantasms
4 Court Hussar
2 Raven Familiar
Enchantment - 4
4 Food Chain
Instant - 12
4 Force of Will
3 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
4 Brainstorm
Sorcery - 3
3 Ponder
Land - 17
1 Volcanic Island
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Forest
2 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Ancient Tomb
1 City of Traitors
2 Tropical Island
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Christopher Piedra's Food Chain finished 42/147 at SCG Orlando May 20th, 2012. SCG Deck Tech: here
Creatures
1 AEthersnipe
4 Coiling Oracle
1 Drift of Phantasms
2 Elvish Visionary
3 Fauna Shaman
2 Fierce Empath
3 Llanowar Elves
1 Misthollow Griffin
2 Mulldrifter
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Quirion Ranger
3 Vengevine
3 Wirewood Symbiote
Enchantments
4 Food Chain
Instants
4 Brainstorm
Legendary Creatures
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Kozilek, Butcher of Truth
Sorceries
2 Glimpse of Nature
Basic Lands
4 Forest
1 Island
Lands
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Tropical Island
4 Verdant Catacombs
Legendary Lands
2 Gaea's Cradle
Sideboard:
3 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Faerie Macabre
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Vengevine
1 Viridian Shaman
3 Force of Will
2 Krosan Grip
1 Llawan, Cephalid Empress

