Solution to 15: Don’t Call It Dredge

Paolo did the smart thing last turn by dumping a hand full of flying creatures on the table; by doing that, he’s ensured that you won’t be able to attack him effectively. You’re going to need a different source of damage, and in this case Paolo has an obvious chink in his armor: the Duskmantle Seer.

But how do you guarantee that he has a six-mana card on top of his library? The obvious candidate is his Soul of Innistrad, so you’ve got to get it into play somehow, then back on top of his library somehow. One possibility is that you cast Dredge, draw Exhume, then use that and Set Adrift to accomplish your goal. However, the last thing you want is for Nicol Bolas to end up on top of your library — otherwise the Duskmantle Seer will kill both of you and leave this game a draw!

  1. Tap one swamp to add and one island to add to your mana pool.
  2. Spend and discard Dredge to activate Plague Witch’s ability, targeting Paolo’s Abyssal Gatekeeper. The Gatekeeper is now a 0/0 creature and dies.
  3. Abyssal Gatekeeper’s ability triggers, forcing you and Paolo to each sacrifice a creature. Choose to sacrifice your Puppeteer Clique. (It does not matter what creature Paolo sacrifices; note that he is not able to sacrifice Duskmantle Seer due to Assault Suit.)
  4. Puppeteer Clique’s persist ability triggers, returning it to the battlefield with a -1/-1 counter.
  5. When Puppeteer Clique enters the battlefield, choose to return Paolo’s Soul of Innistrad to the battlefield under your control.
  6. Spend to activate Shadow Guildmage and put Soul of Innistrad on top of Paolo’s library.
  7. Declare the end of your turn.
  8. At the beginning of Paolo’s upkeep, Duskmantle Seer’s ability triggers. Paolo loses 6 life due to Soul of Innistrad, while you lose 2 life due to Exhume. Paolo is now at 0 life and is defeated; you survive at 2 life.