Arthurian Legends Primer update coming soon! Shoutout to @MV for finding the Britomart interaction for guaranteed infinite turns!

Greetings, Sorcerers! Or...Deathspeakers, rather!

Welcome to the mysterious realm of combo in Sorcery. Given the current small card pool in the game, there aren't very many true combo decks yet but this one comes pretty close. This deck can still play a good midrange value game with the classic [[Deathspeaker]] package of minions with Genesis abilities but offers different end-game options for players who want to spice things up a bit.

Typically, [[Deathspeaker]] control/combo tends to use [[Summoning Sphere]] and [[Nimbus Jinn]] or just [[Ruler of Thul]] and a swarm of small minions to put the opponent to Death's Door in one or two turns very late into the game. While [[Nimbus Jinn]] or a swarm of small minions can certainly still be a reasonable path to victory for this deck, the real closers are combining [[Crave Golem]] with [[Candlemas Monks]] or winning with [[The Immortal Throne]].

For anyone who isn't familiar with the Golem/Monks combo, the goal is pretty straight forward but, pulling it off in a way that gets you multiple extra turns in a row can be tricky. If you have [[Kythera Mechanism]], the Golem is much easier to control but without that, you will need to place and move your minions in a very careful manner so that the Golem is always eating the right diet.

[[The Immortal Throne]] can also be a difficult card to use effectively as you rarely want to give your opponent extra cards. With [[Deathspaker]]'s ability having access to both Cemeteries, you'll typically be able to cast a spell with the right mana cost to trigger the Throne.

The Gameplan

So, how does this deck actually play out? First, let's cover some of the basics of operation before getting into the finer details and individual card choices.

Like most [[Deathspeaker]] decks, this list includes a fairly standard package of [[Vile Imp]]s, [[Land Surveyor]]s, and Wizards. This minion suite allows you to keep the card advantage flowing while you chump block your way into the late game. From there your combo pieces can - and typically will - come together to achieve victory. In the early stages of the game, [[Land Surveyor]], [[Vile Imp]], [[Highland Princess]], and [[Apprentice Wizard]] are all fantastic cards to have. These small minions will help develop your hand and board while absorbing incoming damage from the opponent's attacks. Sacrificing your minions to block larger enemies will often result in your opponent over-committing minions to the board which sets you up for good Earthquake and Poison Nova turns. As you play, really try to look for opportunities to set up 2-for-1 or better trades with your removal even if that means taking a bunch of damage or losing a few minions in one turn to set up the sweep on the following turn. As you play the early game, you can get in some small chip damage with your 2 or 3-drop minions but it is rare that these small attacks will end up mattering much in the end; make the attacks if they're free but it's ok to be overcautious and just leave stuff back to block surprise attacks.

Once you've arrived at the the end-game, where do you go from this point? (The end-game being the point by which you have enough combo pieces to start drawing a ton of extra cards and/or taking multiple turns in a row with Golems+Monks, or both...or, your opponent has dealt so much damage to you before you can stabilize, that you are forced to try to combo even if it's not guaranteed to work out. Understanding at what point you have entered the late-game - and at what point to start actually going for the combo - is very tricky to decipher in every match-up and it just takes a lot of practice to get familiar with. One question that this deck keeps asking me is this:

"You have [[Crave Golem]] and [[Candlemas Monks]] at your disposal. Do you play them both out and take a single extra turn with no guarantee that you will be able to continue taking extra turns? Or, do you continue to hold onto the combo pieces until you are sure that you can take 3-5 turns in a row and usually ensure that you will win?"

In most cases, I've found that while taking the single extra turn as soon as possible feels good in the short-term, it is usually better to wait until you know you can take multiple extra turns in a row rather than just one. Occasionally however, it is correct to take just a single extra turn right away if you can. Understanding when that is the case is incredibly difficult and is still something that I don't feel I've mastered even after 50+ matches with the deck.

Another question this deck asks is:

"When you decide to start going for the multiple extra turns, do you want to be at Death's Door or not?"

If you are going to take 3-6 turns in a row but really need to draw extra cards off of [[The Immortal Throne]] or dead [[Grandmaster Wizards]] to close the game out, it can be much easier to do that if you are at Death's Door and casting from Cemeteries is free. If you don't know that the extra turns available to you will be enough to win the game before your opponent gets a turn, then it's usually not a good idea to go to Death's Door by choice. It is often the case that being at Death's Door when you start to combo guarantees your win whereas being at 1 or more life (not being able to cast dead minions for free) is more of a gamble. Luckily, if you know that being at Death's Door will guarantee your victory, your opponents are likely to want you at Death's Door and will help you out with that by attacking. If your opponent is being less cooperative, you can often put yourself to Death's Door with [[Vile Imp]] or [[Lightning Bolt]] while still having the mana and resources needed to start the combo. If you are trying to win with [[The Immortal Throne]], you usually need fewer extra turns than you would if you were trying to win by attacking with your minions over the course of extra turns. 2 or 3 extra turns in a row is often enough to win with the Throne but if you are trying to win through attacking, you'll need 3-5 turns in most situations. One thing to keep in mind is that even though you are essentially skipping your opponent's turn with the combo, they do still get to untap and they do still get an end phase. If they have something like [[Angel's Egg]], [[Devil's Egg]], or [[Quarrelsome Kobolds]], they will get to trigger those things in their "skipped" turn's End Phase.

Individual Card Explanations

[[Kythera Mechanism]] - This is a very important card when you are trying to take multiple turns in a row. Mechanism allows you to better control where [[Crave Golem]] goes and what it eats. It also allows [[Raise Dead]] to continue bringing back [[Candlemas Monks]] even if there are other minions in Cemeteries. Look out for other decks with [[Kythera Mechanism]] because whoever controls the most recent Mechanism controls random outcomes. If you see your opponent has [[Headless Haunt]] or [[Thunderstorm]] it can be tempting to play your Mechanism out to control them but if your opponent plays their own Mechanism later, your's will be shut off and it will be more difficult to sustain your combo. If you find yourself needing to combo without it, you usually have to get pretty creative.

[[Mix Aer]]/[[Mix Ignis]] - The Mixes allow you to go for combo turns sooner or, cast an early [[Major Explosion]] or [[Grandmaster Wizard]] if needed. The 1 mana cost makes them fetchable with [[Highland Princess]] and trigger [[The Immortal Throne]]. [[Mix Ignis]] and [[Scavenging Fiend]] is a cute little combo. Just remember to summon the Fiend on a site with a Spellcaster so that the Mix isn't sitting somewhere it can't be used.

[[Angel's Egg]] - Surviving early damage output is the most important goal for this deck and gaining a little life each turn goes a long way. Remember to gain your life on the end step of the "skipped" turns!

[[Crave Golem]] - While this card is a key combo piece for the deck it still has great utility in various non-combo situations. It can often trade for two of your opponent's smaller minions which is fantastic against aggro. It can also be very useful for eating your own minions with Genesis abilities so that you can keep a well-stocked Cemetery for your Deathspeaker. It's a real sweet thing to have a [[Grandmaster Wizard]] on a [[Geistwood]] get eaten by the Golem. You'll just be drowning in card advantage. Make sure you familiarize yourself with the FAQ entries for [[Crave Golem]] as there are a lot of really weird interactions and restrictions with the card. For example, the Golem has to follow normal attacking rules when using it's triggered ability except that it can attack friendly minions. So, if the Golem attacks one of your minions, you can have other minions you control block the attack. This typically comes up in cases where you've played a [[Candlemas Monks]] slightly out of the Golem's reach but still in a position where they can move to block for a friendly minion being attacked by the Golem.

[[The Immortal Throne]] - This card is insanely powerful and you can often win in just two turns with it depending on the situation. The turn you play the Throne, you'll usually want to immediately be able to draw 2-3 cards off of it. Getting the Throne up to 3 counters is the best way to allow your opponent to draw a card or two on their next turn. While the opponent drawing cards is never a great feeling, you have a better shot of winning with the Throne the following turn if your opponent has helped you tick it up. With Mixes and a free summon from the Cemetery, it can be very easy for you to cast a 5-mana, a 6-mana, and a 7-mana spell all in the same turn and with with the Throne.

[[Undertaker Engine]] - If you want to win with [[The Immortal Throne]], you've got to have some 7-mana spells. While 7 mana for a 4 power minion isn't exciting, the ability to burrow/unburrow things can be very useful. The Throne will still trigger to draw cards if it has been buried but you can't win the game if it is underground with 8 counters. [[Undertaker Engine]] allows you to tick the Throne up to 8 counters and unburrow it at the end of the turn so that you win.

[[Candlemas Monks]] - The other half of the combo and definitely a weaker card compared to [[Crave Golem]]. Monks is rarely used outside of the combo but they can block in a pinch, attack if you're ahead, and offer some protection against [[Roots of Yggdrasil]] decks. Preventing the opponent from having a follow-up spell after popping Roots is nice.

[[Scavenging Fiend]] - This card is awesome! It was one of my favorite cards when I started playing the game and I'm really happy that it has a home here. This deck has a lot of useful artifacts and being able to get 2 artifacts back per Fiend thanks to [[Deathspeaker]] feels really amazing.

[[Nimbus Jinn]] - I don't think that there is room in this deck for [[Summoning Sphere]] but I still think that Jinn is a fantastic card here. The deck also needs 6-mana spells for the Throne and options are limited.

[[Browse]] - Triple Air threshold can be tough to get at times but [[Browse]] is the best way to piece together a stable combo.

[[Disenchant]] - [[Battlemage]] is a tough matchup and [[Screaming Skull]] is your worst nightmare so having access to a copy of [[Disenchant]] feels extremely important for this deck. You don't have [[Common Sense]] to be able to find it easily but you will usually draw enough cards over the course of the game to have a good shot at finding it.

[[Raise Dead]] - This card is typically necessary for chaining together multiple extra turns and if you don't have [[Kythera Mechanism]] you're going to need to clear out the chaff from the Cemeteries in order to make this a useful spell. Any time that you have extra mana lying around, consider casting a minion from a Cemetery just to get it out of the way of future [[Raise Dead]]s.

[[Earthquake]], [[Poison Nova]], [[Major Explosion]], and [[Death Dealer]] - access to 5 sweeper cards feels like a good spot to be. With how many cards you see in an average game, you'll rarely be unable to find at least one of these and one is often enough to get things stabilized.

[[Boneyard]] - The fact that your opponent gets to summon a minion as well means that you will often need a bit of setup before you're able to use [[Boneyard]] but when it's good, it's amazing.

[[Gnome Hollows]] - This site is excellent at slowing the game down so that you have time to set up. It can also be used to protect your own minions from [[Grave Golem]] or to at least affect a Golem's path. Be aware that if you you have [[The Immortal Throne]] on a [[Gnome Hollows]] and it gets buried, you'll almost never be able to bring it back up with [[Undertaker Engine]].

Wrapping Up

Overall, this deck has a lot of consistency and recursion for combo pieces so as long as you're patient, you should be able combo in most of your games. This deck has required a ton of practice but it is super fun once you start to get the hang of it. This is also a gross combo deck that may make your opponents hate you, or hate the game, so you should definitely feel guilty for playing it ;)

If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to post them!

Candlemas Snacks - DS Combo

@Kyle