Create several small creatures, force awkward blocks with attack rewards, and use Arabella's drain plus a hasty Gremlin turn to close a race.
Create several small creatures, force awkward blocks with attack rewards, and use Arabella's drain plus a hasty Gremlin turn to close a race.
Commit when repeated useful cards and enough support make a complete deck in these colors.
Four checks while you draft
Can I affect the board before the payoff?
The hasty artifact creature can attack or be sacrificed, and its death exiles a card playable until your next end step. You still pay that card's costs and obey land-play limits and timing.
Do my actual cards enable this plan?
Build small bodies before attacking with Arabella, then count creatures with power two or less as her trigger resolves. Midnight Mayhem supplies three such bodies and a lifelink attack when cast before combat.
Can I stop their strongest play and finish a stalled game?
Create several small creatures, force awkward blocks with attack rewards, and use Arabella's drain plus a hasty Gremlin turn to close a race.
Choose the missing job before another reward that needs it.
The key card is present but its support is thin.
Prioritize useful support such as Clockwork Percussionist or Unsettling Twins.
Build small bodies before attacking with Arabella, then count creatures with power two or less as her trigger resolves. Midnight Mayhem supplies three such bodies and a lifelink attack when cast before combat.
Your deck enables the plan but is losing the early turns.
Take a castable early creature or efficient answer before another expensive payoff.
Increasing a creature above two power before Arabella's trigger resolves lowers her count. Defaced Gallery's pump is useful, but stack simultaneous attack triggers to resolve Arabella before the power increase when needed.
The support is missing
Favor independently useful creatures and interaction if the narrow support does not arrive.
Repeated useful cards are clues, not proof that the colors are open.
Increasing a creature above two power before Arabella's trigger resolves lowers her count. Defaced Gallery's pump is useful, but stack simultaneous attack triggers to resolve Arabella before the power increase when needed.
Trim small creatures before Arabella's damage trigger resolves, or remove Arabella before attackers. Respect Midnight Mayhem's haste and lifelink when deciding whether a return attack wins the race.
Sheltered by Ghosts63.9% GIH · 13,612 instances
Midnight Mayhem63.0% GIH · 33,795 instances
Painter's Studio // Defaced Gallery2R // 1R61.1% GIH · 17,147 instances
Arabella, Abandoned Doll61.0% GIH · 35,099 instances
Optimistic Scavenger60.8% GIH · 11,013 instances
Splitskin Doll60.3% GIH · 19,294 instances17Lands ↗ · Sep 24–Oct 28, 2024 · at least 100 card-in-hand instances in this pair’s no-splash decks. Choose the job your deck needs first.
Dollmaker's Shop // Porcelain Gallery 1W // 4WWRoom: statistics and whole-card assessments describe this card, not an individual door.Dollmaker's Shop: The white two-mana door creates one Toy when one or more of your non-Toy creatures attack a player. Multiple attackers in the same attack still give one token in a two-player game. Porcelain Gallery: The six-mana white door sets your creatures' base sizes to your creature count. Develop several bodies first, and remember losing creatures can shrink the entire team immediately.
Ghostly Dancers 3WWIts entry can recover an enchantment to hand or unlock a locked door, while later eerie events create 3/1 flying Spirits. Have useful enchantments or an unfinished Room ready; fully unlocking a Room with the entry ability can immediately trigger the Dancers' Spirit reward.
Overlord of the Mistmoors 5WWThe four-mana impending mode immediately makes two flying Insects while leaving the Overlord a noncreature enchantment until its time counters are gone. Seven mana gives the 6/6 body immediately; choose the mode around your defense, then use later attacks for more flyers.
Overlord of the Boilerbilges 4RRIts four-mana impending mode deals four to any target immediately, even while it is not a creature. Six mana supplies the 5/5 body now; later attacks repeat the damage, so clear a blocker or finish the opponent according to the race.
Dissection Tools 5Five mana manifests a body and attaches this Equipment, making that face-down creature a 4/4 with deathtouch and lifelink. Later equips cost a sacrificed creature and still use sorcery timing; use expendable bodies to move the Tools onto a flyer or other threat likely to connect.17Lands Premier Draft ↗ · Sep 24–Oct 28, 2024 · 100-instance minimum
Clockwork PercussionistThe hasty artifact creature can attack or be sacrificed, and its death exiles a card playable until your next end step. You still pay that card's costs and obey land-play limits and timing.
Acrobatic Cheerleader
Unsettling TwinsOne creature spell supplies two bodies by manifesting dread. Keep track of which face-down card is yours to turn up; noncreature cards cannot use the normal creature-mana-cost turn-up action.
Prop Room2WRoom: cast this door from hand. On the battlefield, unlock a locked door by paying its cost as a sorcery; unlocking is not casting.
Razorkin HordecallerHaste supplies immediate pressure and each of your attacks creates a Gremlin. The new token was not declared as an attacker and has no haste from this card, so it does not join that attack.
Defaced Gallery1RRoom: cast this door from hand. On the battlefield, unlock a locked door by paying its cost as a sorcery; unlocking is not casting.The two-mana red door gives attacking creatures extra power when you attack. It works best with several bodies, and unlocking it after attackers are declared misses that combat's trigger.
Arabella, Abandoned DollBuild small bodies before attacking with Arabella, then count creatures with power two or less as her trigger resolves. Midnight Mayhem supplies three such bodies and a lifelink attack when cast before combat.
Defaced Gallery1RRoom: cast this door from hand. On the battlefield, unlock a locked door by paying its cost as a sorcery; unlocking is not casting.The red two-mana door rewards attacking with several bodies. If Arabella also attacks, order the simultaneous triggers to count your small creatures before the Gallery raises their power when that preserves a larger drain.
Examples apply the printed rules; judge the board, costs and timing.
| One-pick | Sealed |
|---|---|
| With one pick at a time, fill the missing early play, answer or support card before adding another narrow payoff. The plan must work without drawing its key card. | Compare complete builds from the cards you opened. Keep the castable curve and interaction even if the draft theme is only partly supported. |
