Use surveil, looting and useful interaction to build a graveyard, then attack with threshold creatures while card selection sustains the longer game.
Use surveil, looting and useful interaction to build a graveyard, then attack with threshold creatures while card selection sustains the longer game.
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?
Surveil 3 can fill the graveyard and improve the next draws. At seven graveyard cards it becomes unblockable; graveyard removal immediately turns that continuous permission off.
Do my actual cards enable this plan?
Cephalid Inkmage's entry surveil and Dreadwing Scavenger's loot can reach seven graveyard cards. Check the actual count before attacking with the Inkmage or relying on Scavenger's larger body.
Can I stop their strongest play and finish a stalled game?
Use surveil, looting and useful interaction to build a graveyard, then attack with threshold creatures while card selection sustains the longer game.
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 Cephalid Inkmage or Billowing Shriekmass.
Cephalid Inkmage's entry surveil and Dreadwing Scavenger's loot can reach seven graveyard cards. Check the actual count before attacking with the Inkmage or relying on Scavenger's larger body.
Your deck enables the plan but is losing the early turns.
Take a castable early creature or efficient answer before another expensive payoff.
Threshold counts cards, not card types. Dreadwing Scavenger's bonus is continuous, so graveyard removal can shrink its toughness and make damage already marked on it lethal.
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.
Threshold counts cards, not card types. Dreadwing Scavenger's bonus is continuous, so graveyard removal can shrink its toughness and make damage already marked on it lethal.
Exile graveyard cards before attackers or damage to disable threshold. Apply pressure while the opponent spends mana filtering, but account for cheap Stab and instant-speed interaction.
Dreadwing Scavenger63.2% GIH · 27,895 instances
Micromancer62.5% GIH · 14,167 instances
Bloodfell Caves62.2% GIH · 185 instances
Mischievous Mystic61.8% GIH · 14,299 instances
Faebloom Trick60.6% GIH · 13,378 instances
Stab60.4% GIH · 32,926 instances17Lands ↗ · Nov 12–Dec 15, 2024 · at least 100 card-in-hand instances in this pair’s no-splash decks. Choose the job your deck needs first.
Curator of Destinies 4UUThe uncounterable 5/5 flyer refills your hand on entry, but an opponent chooses which pile you keep. Divide the five cards so either choice advances your plan, including needed lands; the other pile goes to your graveyard and can support recursion.
Bloodthirsty Conqueror 3BBThe 5/5 flying deathtouch body converts every opposing life-loss event into life for you, including damage from your other creatures. That can reverse a race, but it does not stop removal or an attack that deals lethal damage before its life-gain trigger resolves.
Liliana, Dreadhorde General 4BBChoose between adding a blocker and making each player sacrifice two creatures. Your sacrificed creatures, including tokens, draw cards through her death trigger; expendable bodies improve the exchange, while an opponent with many small bodies can protect a larger threat.
Sire of Seven Deaths 7Seven mana buys a resilient attacker and blocker: vigilance keeps it available, first strike and trample punish blocks, and lifelink can reverse races. Ward asks an opponent to pay seven life to target it; it is a cost they may pay, and untargeted removal still works normally.17Lands Premier Draft ↗ · Nov 12–Dec 15, 2024 · 100-instance minimum
Cephalid InkmageSurveil 3 can fill the graveyard and improve the next draws. At seven graveyard cards it becomes unblockable; graveyard removal immediately turns that continuous permission off.
Think TwiceIt supplies an instant or sorcery cast and a card now, then another cast from the graveyard later. Flashback costs three and exiles it afterward, so do not count it as a permanent threshold resource.
Billowing ShriekmassIt mills three on entry and becomes a larger flyer at threshold. Count actual graveyard cards before combat, and remember that removing cards can shrink its toughness under already marked damage.
Bigfin BouncerExamples 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. |
