Hello! After quite a considerable amount of time, I decided to make another MTG puzzle. I would like to share this puzzle with people and get some feedback on it. Also, since I only recently finished making this puzzle it is possible that there are solutions to the puzzle outside of my intended one. Thus, if you find any kind of solution then I would love to see it! If you wish to post or comment on a solution, please hide it in a "Spoiler" box so that people who are attempting the puzzle do not have to look at solutions when scrolling through the forum if they do not want to. Also, feel free to post attempted solutions (in spoiler boxes) even if you didn't quite manage to solve the puzzle.
I hope everyone enjoys the puzzle!
Instructions:
The contents of Graveyards and Exile zones at the start of this puzzle are irrelevant. Your opponent will not cast any spells or activate any abilities during your turn, but will only make choices in response to the options you present to him.
Your solution must be valid regardless of the choices your opponent makes, such as declaring blockers.
The puzzle starts at the beginning of your precombat main phase with nothing having happened this turn besides your regular untap step, upkeep, and draw step. You must win this turn.
Advice:
Read all of the cards carefully. In fact, read all of the cards' Gatherer pages carefully since some cards in the puzzle are quite old and have received updated Oracle text.
The story so far:
Your opponent challenged you to build a fun deck involving Changelings, and he did the same. You built a Bant deck and planned to abuse Changelings with Reaper King, while your opponent decided to build his deck around Coat of Arms. The two of you sat down to play, but the board state stalled out during most of the game.
Last turn your opponent played Privileged Position and then attacked with an enormous creature equipped with Loxodon Warhammer, forcing you to sacrifice much of your board to kill it and stay alive. Your opponent then ended his turn, confident that his large life total and strong board position would win him the game. However, after you untapped and drew Mask of the Mimic and recalled the remaining cards in your library, you realized that you can win this turn.
Interesting Idea. Maybe I'll come back to it later, but the best I could do was...
256 damage with a complex sequence that involved stealing symbiotic wurm and sacing it, making lots of mana attacking with a massive cloned Colossus that was huge from coat of arms. I am probably missing something else but with 4 more mana I would have the win.
Tap all lands and creatures (thanks to the Citanul Hierophants mana ability) for 9G, 4W, 6U.
Pay GGGGG to activate Volrath's Laboratory, getting a 2/2 Scarecrow token. Reaper King triggers; choose to destroy Privileged Position. Also, tap your token for mana, since opponent's Mass Hysteria gives it haste. 5G, 4W, 6U left.
Pay GGGUU for Illusory Gains, enchanting War-Spike Changeling (which is possible now that Privileged Position is gone). Once again, tap it for mana. 3G, 4W, 4U left.
Pay WWUU for Clone, choosing to copy Symbiotic Wurm. Tap it for mana. 4G, 2W, 2U left.
Pay GGGW for Eye of Singularity, which triggers. GWUU left.
In response to the trigger, pay U for Mask of the Mimic, sacrificing your 2/2 Scarecrow token, and targeting opponent's Woodland Changeling. Search your library for the other Woodland Changeling and put it onto the battlefield. Reaper King triggers; choose to destroy your own Eye of Singularity. Again, tap your Woodland Changeling for mana. GGWU left.
Let Eye of Singularity's trigger resolve, even though the permanent is no longer around. Duplicate-named nonland permanents on the board are the two Symbiotic Wurms, and two Woodland Changelings (each player has one of each). All four are destroyed.
The Symbiotic Wurms both trigger, and the opponent's trigger will necessarily resolve first. Opponent gets seven Insect tokens, triggering Illusory Gains seven times (but not Eye of Singularity, since that left the battlefield before the tokens were created). In turn, you'll gain control of each token, tap it for mana, and give it back as the next trigger resolves for the next token. Then your own Clone-Symbiotic Wurm trigger will give you seven Insect tokens, which can simply be tapped for mana at your own pace. 16G, 1W, 1U left.
Pay WU for Flicker, targeting Chameleon Colossus. It leaves the battlefield and reenters the battlefield, causing Illusory Gains to trigger. Give back the last Insect token, and take Chameleon Colossus. 16G left.
Coat of Arms gives Chameleon Colossus +1/+1 for each other creature that shares a creature type, which is all of them. Namely: Citanul Hierophants, Reaper King, your seven Insect tokens, opponent's seven Insect tokens, and opponent's War-Spike Changeling. Additionally, Reaper King gives +1/+1 by virtue of its own ability. Chameleon Colossus is 22/22.
Activate Chameleon Colossus four times, spending all your mana. It gets +22/+22, then +44/+44, then +88/+88, then +176/+176, and is now 352/352.
All opponent's creatures are tapped, so swing with Colossus for 352. Unfortunately, you had to tap everything else you had to get it that big, so you can't spare any additional attackers. The Insects are 17/17 each, so one of them would have sufficed if there was one more mana available.
Actually SadisticMystic, you got 368, putting your opponent to 1. Here's why:
Eye of Singularity only destroys all permanents with the same name as another permanent when Eye of Singularity enters the battlefield. But when Eye is already in play and subsequent permanents with the same name as a permanent in play enter the battlefield, the Eye will only destroy the old permanents with that name, not the new one. Thus, your Woodland Changeling doesn't get destroyed. Therefore Chameleon Colossus is actually a 23/23 before you double its stats 4 times, making it a 368/368 in the end.
Start TAP EVERYTHING
10 G
4 W
6 U
Clone wurm-1u -3g
make a token -5G
Nuke position
Tap clone wurm and token for +2g
4 G
4 W
5 U
Cast illusiory gains on War-spike -3u-1w-1g
tap war for 1g
4 G
3 W
2 U
cast singularity -2w -2g
ETB on the stack -1u sack Citanul for woodland triggering singularity
kill singularity with ETB of Woodland
14 tokens cycle through your command +13 g
15 G
2 W
1 U
flicker colossus -2w
tap woodland you got from deck +1g
15 G
0 W
1 U
Recount of Current board state
Your Field: Tapped token Tapped king, Tapped Woodland, Tapped 6 Tokens of 1/1 insects one untapped colossus 1 undtapped insect
Opponents Field: Greeves, warhammer, tapped war 7 tapped insect tokens
Colossus is a 23/23 with 4 pumps is 368/368
Token is 18/18
Lethal
Two things:
1. You start with 9G, not 10G--seven forests plus two creatures. You need every bit of mana available to get close to enough pump, and cannot afford to hold up even one Insect token to attack alongside Chameleon Colossus.
2. After you've sacrificed Citanul Hierophants, it's not possible to tap any more creatures for mana.
Tap all lands, and tap Reaper King as well. 8G, 4W, 6U.
Pay WW to play Flicker on Volrath's Laboratory. Choose black Phelddagrif this time. 8G, 2W, 6U left.
Pay GGWWU to make a black Phelddagrif token. 6G, 5U left.
Pay U and sacrifice Reaper King to play Mask of the Mimic, targeting the Phelddagrif token. Search your library for Phelddagrif and put it on the battlefield. 6G, 4U left.
Pay GGGUU to play Illusory Gains on Phelddagrif. 3G, 2U left.
Pay G to give Phelddagrif trample, and give the opponent a Hippo token. Illusory Gains triggers, giving you control of the token. Tap it for G, getting back the mana it cost to make that token. This makes the process of giving them tokens absolutely free, so give the opponent 700 billion Hippo tokens this way.
When you get to the last token, don't tap it for mana, so you will drop to GGUU in pool. Instead, play Tricks of the Trade on your new token.
Attack with an unblockable 700,000,000,005/700,000,000,003 Hippo token, causing massive amounts of overkill.
Note that at no point do I tap Hierophants or either Phelddagrif for mana, so I could get 3 more mana than that--4 if I wanted to tap the last token and kill with something else.
Very close, SadisticMystic. However, I think you'll find that the amount of resources granted to you are exactly what you need. Here's why:
Mask of the Mimic's Oracle text contains the following: "Search your library for a card with the same name as target nontoken creature and put that card onto the battlefield."
1. Tap all your lands and creatures for mana (9G 4W 6U)
2. Spend GW to Flicker Volrath's Laboratory, naming 'Phelddagrif' and any color. (8G 3W 6U)
3. Spend GGGGG to create a Phelddagriff token and tap it for mana. (4G 3W 6U)
4. Spend GGGU to cast Clone, copying the token and tap the Cloned Phelddagrif for mana. (2G 3W 5U)
5. Spend WWWUU to cast Illusionary Gains on any of your creatures other than the Laboratory token. (2G 3U)
6. Spend U to cast Mask of the Mimic, sacrificing your Phelddagriff token and targeting the Cloned Pheldagriff. Search your library for Phelddagriff and tap it for mana. (3G 2U)
7. Spend G to activate Phelddagriff's trample ability and put a Hippo token into play under your opponent's control. Illusionary Gains triggers and you gain control of the token. Tap the token for mana. (2G 2U)
8. Repeat step 7 an arbitrarily large number of times.
9. Spend G to activate Phelddagriff's trample ability and put a Hippo token into play under your opponent's control. Illusionary Gains triggers and you gain control of the token. Spend GGUU to cast Tricks of the Trade on this token. (no mana remaining)
10. Attack with your hasted unblockable Hippo token for an arbitrarily large amount of damage.
I hope everyone enjoys the puzzle!
Instructions:
The contents of Graveyards and Exile zones at the start of this puzzle are irrelevant. Your opponent will not cast any spells or activate any abilities during your turn, but will only make choices in response to the options you present to him.
Your solution must be valid regardless of the choices your opponent makes, such as declaring blockers.
The puzzle starts at the beginning of your precombat main phase with nothing having happened this turn besides your regular untap step, upkeep, and draw step. You must win this turn.
Advice:
Read all of the cards carefully. In fact, read all of the cards' Gatherer pages carefully since some cards in the puzzle are quite old and have received updated Oracle text.
The story so far:
Your opponent challenged you to build a fun deck involving Changelings, and he did the same. You built a Bant deck and planned to abuse Changelings with Reaper King, while your opponent decided to build his deck around Coat of Arms. The two of you sat down to play, but the board state stalled out during most of the game.
Last turn your opponent played Privileged Position and then attacked with an enormous creature equipped with Loxodon Warhammer, forcing you to sacrifice much of your board to kill it and stay alive. Your opponent then ended his turn, confident that his large life total and strong board position would win him the game. However, after you untapped and drew Mask of the Mimic and recalled the remaining cards in your library, you realized that you can win this turn.
The puzzle:
Your Life - 3
Your Hand - Illusory Gains, Clone, Tricks of the Trade, Flicker, Eye of Singularity, Mask of the Mimic
Your Graveyard - 13 cards
Your Library - Scarecrone, Reaper King, Changeling Titan (x2), Angus Mackenzie, Far Wanderings, Rancor, Phelddagrif, Grim Poppet, Rafiq of the Many, Woodland Changeling, Citanul Hierophants, Clarion Ultimatum, Hornet Queen, Stroke of Genius, Forest (x3), Plains (x2), Island (x2)
Your Field - Citanul Hierophants, Reaper King, Volrath's Laboratory (set to produce White Scarecrows), 7 Forest, 4 Plains, 6 Island
Opponent's Life - 369
Opponent's Hand - 3 cards
Opponent's Graveyard - 14 cards
Opponent's Library - 19 cards
Opponent's Field - Symbiotic Wurm, Woodland Changeling, War-Spike Changeling, Chameleon Colossus, Lightning Greaves (equipped to Symbiotic Wurm), Coat of Arms, Mass Hysteria, Privileged Position, Loxodon Warhammer (unequipped), 9 Forest (tapped), 6 Mountain (tapped)
(All permanents are untapped unless otherwise specified.)
Visual Version:
Eye of Singularity only destroys all permanents with the same name as another permanent when Eye of Singularity enters the battlefield. But when Eye is already in play and subsequent permanents with the same name as a permanent in play enter the battlefield, the Eye will only destroy the old permanents with that name, not the new one. Thus, your Woodland Changeling doesn't get destroyed. Therefore Chameleon Colossus is actually a 23/23 before you double its stats 4 times, making it a 368/368 in the end.
Start TAP EVERYTHING
10 G
4 W
6 U
Clone wurm-1u -3g
make a token -5G
Nuke position
Tap clone wurm and token for +2g
4 G
4 W
5 U
Cast illusiory gains on War-spike -3u-1w-1g
tap war for 1g
4 G
3 W
2 U
cast singularity -2w -2g
ETB on the stack -1u sack Citanul for woodland triggering singularity
kill singularity with ETB of Woodland
14 tokens cycle through your command +13 g
15 G
2 W
1 U
flicker colossus -2w
tap woodland you got from deck +1g
15 G
0 W
1 U
Recount of Current board state
Your Field: Tapped token Tapped king, Tapped Woodland, Tapped 6 Tokens of 1/1 insects one untapped colossus 1 undtapped insect
Opponents Field: Greeves, warhammer, tapped war 7 tapped insect tokens
Colossus is a 23/23 with 4 pumps is 368/368
Token is 18/18
Lethal
1. You start with 9G, not 10G--seven forests plus two creatures. You need every bit of mana available to get close to enough pump, and cannot afford to hold up even one Insect token to attack alongside Chameleon Colossus.
2. After you've sacrificed Citanul Hierophants, it's not possible to tap any more creatures for mana.
In my intended solution, you must at some point have Clone enter the battlefield as a copy of a token produced by Volrath's Laboratory.
Note that at no point do I tap Hierophants or either Phelddagrif for mana, so I could get 3 more mana than that--4 if I wanted to tap the last token and kill with something else.
Mask of the Mimic's Oracle text contains the following: "Search your library for a card with the same name as target nontoken creature and put that card onto the battlefield."
1. Tap all your lands and creatures for mana (9G 4W 6U)
2. Spend GW to Flicker Volrath's Laboratory, naming 'Phelddagrif' and any color. (8G 3W 6U)
3. Spend GGGGG to create a Phelddagriff token and tap it for mana. (4G 3W 6U)
4. Spend GGGU to cast Clone, copying the token and tap the Cloned Phelddagrif for mana. (2G 3W 5U)
5. Spend WWWUU to cast Illusionary Gains on any of your creatures other than the Laboratory token. (2G 3U)
6. Spend U to cast Mask of the Mimic, sacrificing your Phelddagriff token and targeting the Cloned Pheldagriff. Search your library for Phelddagriff and tap it for mana. (3G 2U)
7. Spend G to activate Phelddagriff's trample ability and put a Hippo token into play under your opponent's control. Illusionary Gains triggers and you gain control of the token. Tap the token for mana. (2G 2U)
8. Repeat step 7 an arbitrarily large number of times.
9. Spend G to activate Phelddagriff's trample ability and put a Hippo token into play under your opponent's control. Illusionary Gains triggers and you gain control of the token. Spend GGUU to cast Tricks of the Trade on this token. (no mana remaining)
10. Attack with your hasted unblockable Hippo token for an arbitrarily large amount of damage.