Puzzling Magic #14 – Commander Challenge, Part 2

Having won your last game of Commander before drawing your first card for the turn, you’re eager to try out your friend Ed’s deck again. Before you do, he makes a few tweaks: He removes Ashnod’s Altar and Mana Echoes in favor of Crop Rotation and Summoner’s Pact.

Challenge

You're playing first in a five-player game. Win the game on turn one.

Assumptions

You may choose your opening hand, including cards drawn in your draw step and any mulligans. However, apart from this, you do not have perfect luck.

Bonus Challenge

Complete last week’s challenge using the new deck list.

Commander (1) 1 Atogatog Creatures (25) 1 Academy Rector 1 Argothian Elder 1 Atog 1 Auratog 1 Cavern Harpy 1 Cephalid Sage 1 Chronatog 1 Cloud of Faeries 1 Elvish Spirit Guide 1 Fire Servant 1 Foratog 1 Lithatog 1 Megatog 1 Necratog 1 Phantatog 1 Priest of Gix 1 Priest of Urabrask 1 Psychatog 1 Sarcatog 1 Thaumatog 1 Vedalken Archmage 1 Viral Drake 1 Filigree Sages 1 Phyrexian Metamorph 1 Thopter Squadron Spells (44) 1 Animate Land 1 Cabal Ritual 1 Crop Rotation 1 Culling the Weak 1 Dark Ritual 1 Desperate Ritual 1 Hunting Pack 1 Manamorphose 1 Perilous Research 1 Read the Runes 1 Summoner's Pact 1 Thirst for Knowledge 1 Apocalypse 1 Divination 1 Empty the Warrens 1 Enduring Ideal 1 Ideas Unbound 1 Inner Fire 1 Kaboom// 1 Kuldotha Rebirth 1 Mind Rot 1 Scarscale Ritual 1 Time Spiral 1 Barren Glory 1 Earthcraft 1 Foster 1 Furnace of Rath 1 Helix Pinnacle 1 Inexorable Tide 1 Intruder Alarm 1 Leyline of Anticipation 1 Sneak Attack 1 Squirrel Nest 1 Sterling Grove 1 Chromatic Sphere 1 Darksteel Reactor 1 Doubling Cube 1 Gemstone Array 1 Gilded Lotus 1 Lotus Petal 1 Mana Crypt 1 Mirror of Fate 1 Serum Powder 1 Sol Ring Lands (30) 2 Forest 2 Island 2 Mountain 2 Plains 2 Swamp 1 Blood Crypt 1 Breeding Pool 1 Command Tower 1 Forbidden Orchard 1 Godless Shrine 1 Hallowed Fountain 1 Homeward Path 1 Maze of Ith 1 Mishra's Workshop 1 Overgrown Tomb 1 Sacred Foundry 1 Sorrow's Path 1 Steam Vents 1 Stomping Ground 1 Temple Garden 1 Watery Grave 1 Academy Ruins 1 Gaea's Cradle 1 Gemstone Caverns 1 Serra's Sanctum

Send your solutions to nex342+puzzle@gmail.com with the subject line “Puzzle – Commander Challenge, Part 2” and I’ll include the best ones in next week’s article, along with the next puzzle!

Good luck!

Solution to Last Week’s Puzzle

First, a shout-out goes to Jack Vickeridge for solving last week’s puzzle with the solution of casting Chronatog and using it to skip all of your turns while your opponents mill themselves out. Since you never have a first draw step, this technically works!

Although I got several solutions that were different in their details, the overall thrust of them was similar: Use fast-mana and draw effects to build up to a large storm spell, then take advantage of it with Ashnod’s Altar and Mana Echoes. The first solution I received was from Steve Guillerm and is reproduced below:

Play	Mana	Cards in Hand	Spells Cast
		7	0
Leyline of Anticipation		6	0
Lotus Petal		5	1
Dark Ritual		4	2
Priest of Gix		3	3
Exile Elvish Spirit Guide		2	3
Manamorphose		2	4
Culling the Weak, sacrificing Priest of Gix		1	5
Time Spiral		7	6
Lotus Petal		6	7
Dark Ritual		5	8
Priest of Urabrask		4	9
Culling the Weak		3	10
Empty the Warrens, creating 22 Goblin tokens		2	11
Mana Crypt		1	12
Manamorphose		1	13
Ideas Unbound		3	14
Ashnod’s Altar		2	15
Sacrifice 14 Goblin tokens	28	2	15
Gemstone Array, and activate it		1	16
Read the Runes for 9, sacrificing 8 Goblin tokens and Mana Crypt		9	17
Inner Fire		8	18
Mana Echoes		7	19
Hunting Pack, creating 20 Beast tokens	380 +	6	20
Helix Pinnacle	380 +	5	21
Activate Helix Pinnacle for 100	280 +	5	21