Trade, reuse, and push through big damage
Use creatures and removal to trade profitably, fill the graveyard in the process, and finish with a large or recurring threat. Treat graveyard setup as support for a real battlefield.
Investigate green-black when useful creatures and black interaction are arriving together. Add graveyard support when Hapatra, a return spell or another actual payoff makes it useful.
Four checks while you draft
Does this pick help me trade or block before the expensive graveyard payoff?
Deathtouch discourages large attackers and can turn a small creature into a removal source.
Does its graveyard setup also advance the board or fix needed mana?
A creature that mills and returns a land advances the battlefield while helping later graveyard cards.
Which actual card turns the graveyard contents into a threat or another use?
Hapatra rewards a high mana value there; flashback and returns reward cards with another usable mode.
Can this answer work with my present creatures, rather than an imagined larger one?
Deathtouch plus one-way damage can answer a large creature; ordinary black removal works without that setup.
Choose the missing job before another reward that needs it.
You have Hapatra but few ways to place a high-mana-value card in the graveyard.
Consider a landcycler or a creature with useful graveyard setup.
Cycling Apex Witchstalker finds a basic into hand and puts a six-mana card in the graveyard. Primal Witchstalker develops a body while milling.
You have Compel Brutality but mostly small creatures.
Check whether deathtouch supplies a useful damage source.
Deathtouch can make one creature damage lethal to a creature. It does not multiply damage to a planeswalker.
You have graveyard rewards but lose before casting them.
Take the missing early body or cheap interaction.
Void Extrapolator blocks before its paid milling spell; Last Gasp can answer an early attacker without another damage source.
The support is missing
Play straightforward creatures and removal if milling or recursion is shallow. Preserve early defense and a few finishers; the pair does not have to become a dedicated graveyard deck.
Repeated useful cards are clues, not proof that the colors are open.
It changes what counts as lethal damage to a creature. It does not make a one-power source deal extra damage to a planeswalker.
Returning the high-mana-value card before Hapatra resolves may reduce her effect. Order the plays around what must remain in the graveyard.
Hapatra and another expensive card still need early turns and a useful graveyard. A landcycler is support, but cycling also uses mana.
Extended Absence3.5/5
Hapatra, the Desert Fang3.5/5
Jiang Yanggu, Never Alone3.5/5
Multiply by Zero3.5/5
Way of the Wildspeaker3.5/5Grades by J2SJosh · Review 1 ↗ · Review 2 ↗ · Review 3 ↗ · checked Sep 26, 2026 · Individual general Limited grades; not pair-specific ratings.
Garruk, Veiled Butcher 3BBExpendable creatures feed its sacrifice mode. Keep early defense; BB asks for a black base.
Garruk, Curse Breaker 3GGIts own Beast triggers a draw; other 4-power creatures add value. GG favors a green base.
Verdant Kraken 4GGGRamp and early defense buy time for seven mana and an upkeep. GGG makes this a green-base finisher.J2SJosh · MTG Arena Zone · Sep 26, 2026
Arcane AmphisbaenaA two-mana deathtoucher that also empowers Jace.
Void ExtrapolatorAn early blocker with later milling and a threshold bonus.
Primal WitchstalkerAdds a menace body, mills, then can return a land tapped when that milling happens.
Rewrite RegretsCan return an eligible landcycled creature rather than merely putting it in your hand.
Hapatra, the Desert FangHer entry counters use the greatest mana value in your graveyard; she needs double black.
Bloodline Recollector
Compel BrutalityA deathtouch creature can make its creature-damage mode potent against larger creatures.
Last GaspCheap interaction that works without a creature or graveyard setup.
Hapatra, the Desert FangHigh-mana-value landcyclers become useful setup even when you rarely cast them. Double black makes her more than a casual splash.
Heartwood CrafterAdd useful prepared or flashback spells; count its Heartwood separately from the creature’s mana.
Hunter's AxeA creature that already has deathtouch can choose trample when attacking; one already trampling can choose deathtouch. The equipment adds power but still costs mana to move.
Bloodline RecollectorEnormous upside attached to a creature that does NOT enter prepared.
Sanctum LurkerA self-contained Jace enabler that adds a life-drain loyalty ability.
Hexhaven InvigoratorA substantial creature with exceptional colored-mana demands and damage-trigger ramp.
Paradox ShaperPrimal Witchstalker
Stingerquill Voxmancer
Vigorbloom Vanguard
Woodwork ProdigyHapatra, the Desert Fang
Karn, Gilded Guardian
Vraska, the Cutting GlareExamples apply the printed rules; judge the board, costs and timing.
| Pick-Two | One-pick | Sealed | Reality Echoes |
|---|---|---|---|
| When Hapatra or a return effect is already drafted, useful setup plus early interaction can beat taking two more top-end cards. Keep the black and green sources needed to cast the finishers. | Prioritize bodies and interaction that stand alone, then select the graveyard package your actual picks reward. Do not spend every single pick on setup for one rare draw. | Its independent creatures and removal may require fewer matching pieces than a dedicated combo engine, but that is a pool-building inference, not evidence BG is the strongest Sealed color pair. | Choose one complete pair before the game only when its castable half helps this deck. If you exile the Hapatra pair and Apex Witchstalker remains your graveyard’s highest-mana-value card, then Hapatra, the Desert Fang’s entry can put six −1/−1 counters on an opposing creature; budget her full {2}{B}{B}{G}. Normal costs and timing still apply; only one half can be cast from exile. You may leave the other half in exile instead of shuffling it. Ask your store whether both halves must be in your deck. |
Mabel, Bitter Recluse
Theorix Metamage
Apex Witchstalker
Bestial Incursion