Zamir’s playing a creature-heavy, removal-light deck against you, so he wasn’t happy when you played a Blood Seeker on your second turn. Still, he’s done a remarkable job to stem the constant bleeding, and now he’s in a position to exact a little payback.
At some point, Zamir played a Shepherd of the Lost while you struggled to mount a defense. However, it wasn’t until last turn when he really raised the stakes: he tapped seven mana, dropped an Archangel on the table, ignored the life loss from your Blood Seeker, and knocked you down to five life with the Shepherd.
With two Angels on the battlefield, you’re in a bad spot. By itself, the Archangel will kill you next turn, and even if you find a way to deal with it (say, with a nice Zombie Assassin that you conveniently played last turn), you’d still have his Shepherd to deal with.
So on the first chance you get, you cast Goblin Lore. Your eyes light up as you peel four cards from the top of your deck: Scourge of Valkas is apparently a good draw. That’s when you realize that you really should have played a land before you cast the Goblin Lore ― you lose the only Mountain in your hand to the random discard, and now you can’t cast the Scourge at all.
Dejected, you lean back in your chair. It looks like Zamir’s getting a well-deserved victory today.
…Or is he?
It is the middle of your first main phase. Can you win the game this turn?
Zamir is at 4 life, has no cards in his hand, and has no untapped lands. He has the following cards in play:
- Martyr of Spores
- Veteran Cavalier
- Palace Guard
- Hornet Nest
- Shepherd of the Lost
- Yavimaya Scion
- Archangel
- 4 Forests (all tapped)
- 3 Plains (all tapped)
Zamir has the following relevant cards in his graveyard:
You are at 5 life, and have not yet played a land this turn. You have the following cards in play:
- Blood Seeker
- Undertaker
- Crypt Creeper
- Bladewing’s Thrall
- Zombie Assassin
- Kuldotha Flamefiend
- Mogg Cannon
- 3 Swamps (one tapped)
- 3 Mountains (one tapped)
You have the following cards in your hand:
You have the following cards in your graveyard:
1) Tap your zombie assassin: remove two non-creature cards from your graveyard, kill one of the angels.
2) Sacrifice the crypt keeper to exile one non-creature card from your graveyard.
3) Exile Faerie Macabre: exile two more non-creature cards from your graveyard.
4) B, discard scourge of Valkas, Tap your undertaker: return the crypt keeper to your hand.
Play search for survival. Win depending on what card is returned to play:
If it is scourge of valkas:
Make it deal 1 damage to your opponent when it comes into play.
using the cannon on the flamefiend.
Attack with the trall and the flamefiend which both have flying.
If nova chasser:
Champion the flamefiend.
Use the cannon on the nova chasser.
End of turn it dies.
Return the flamefiend, sacrifice to the cannon to its etb trigger, deal 4 to the hornet nest, kill your opponent with the blood seeker triggers.
If Crested Craghorn:
attack with it, provoking the hornet’s nest, deal 4 to the hornet nest, kill your opponent with the blood seeker triggers.