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The Magic Chest 3: Teferi's Puzzle Box
Teferi's Puzzle Box has been one of my favorite cards for a very long time. With one of these out, an ordinary control deck can see up to 7 new cards a turn. The catch is, of course, that you should only use one or you'll see less cards next turn. It's especially fun to play this card against an opponent who doesn't know how to play against it. It's very tempting and easy to empty your hand with this. The problem with that is that you tend to get stuck with only small creatures and land on the board and nothing in your hand. All your situational, reactive and expensive cards will be stuck in your library somewhere and a single Wrath of God will spell doom for you. The correct play if you're facing a Teferi's Puzzle Box is to play only as much land as you need and not to cast more than a couple of weenies. That way your hand stays full and the Puzzle Box will work for you, instead of against you. Against permission it's an interesting card as well. They will hate and love this card at the same time. On one hand they can now play a land every turn for a lot longer than normal. On the other hand, they can never be absolutely sure they'll have enough counters in hand when they need them. Personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry, so I'd counter the Puzzle Box if I could, but a more adventurous player could let it through. Let's start thinking about a deck. There are several options, each focusing on different aspects of the card. An obvious one is a black discard deck, designed to get the opponent's handsize down and thus stopping them from getting any use out of the Puzzle Box. Another possibility is a combo deck with the Puzzle Box as a way to tutor for the cards you need. That might not sound very strong, but you'd be surprised. Try something like this for a laugh: 4x Teferi's Puzzle Box A third possibility is a very basic burn deck, using the Puzzle Box to trade excess land and dead spells for more burn than you can shake a stick at. This deck even takes a bit of thinking to play, because you can't cast the Box too soon or your burn gets ripped from your hand. The deck I made is white, though. With white's mass removal and the Puzzle Box's ability to get you whatever you need very fast, it should be a devastating deck against weenie deck, providing they aren't too fast. Let's look at the cards that we can use in such a deck: Land Tax: It doesn't take a genius to see that this combos extremely well with Teferi's Puzzle Box. Basically you get a free Ancestral Recall every single turn, as long as you have both out and you have less lands in play than your opponent. That shouldn't be too hard to arrange. You may not want to use Land Tax, because the combo really is VERY strong and that isn't much fun to play against. Also, depending on who you play with, they might not like you using a banned card. In that case, exchange this for some artifact card drawing source, like Jayemdae Tome or Well of Knowledge. Anything you want really, even Howling Mine if you want a bit of extra challenge. Thran Dynamo: With Land Tax out, you'll want to stop playing land pretty fast. With a few of these out, you'll still be able to cast several spells a turn. Enlightened Tutor: To fetch a Puzzle Box, Land Tax, Dynamo or maybe even something else. Under a Puzzle Box, this gets a bit tricky to play. I'm not a rules guru, so I can't tell you exactly how to play it under the 6th edition rules, but it should still be possible to use them effectively, somehow. Soldevi Digger: One or two of these will prevent you from decking yourself if you get a bit trigger happy with your Land Tax. It's also a good way of reusing your control cards. Swords to Plowshares: You need creature control and white just happens to have the best spot removal there is. There's no reason not to use it. Wrath of God: You need mass removal to deal with opponents who overextend themselves under a Puzzle Box. Aura of Silence: It's a tough choice between Disenchants, Seals of Cleansing and Aura of Silence, but I think the Aura wins it. You won't have any problems with the two white mana and the extra 2 mana for artifacts and enchantments can be pretty bad for some decks. I'd put a few Seals in the sideboard, just in case. Magma Mine: One thing we haven't got yet is a kill card. In theory, the deck could win by using Soldevi Digger to prevent itself from loosing, but if opponent is using Gaea's Blessing, you're stuck with a draw. The Digger method also takes a bit too long. Even when you're in complete control. Sacred Mesa: Another possibility for a kill card. I'd use one of each with a few more in the sideboard. Catastrophe: Extra Wraths, with the option to use them as Armageddons in case of emergency, or if you want to force your opponent to allow you the use of your Land Tax. Marble Diamond: Some colored artifact mana. Wasteland: Against irritating lands, or, if necessary, you can use it to blow itself up if that allows you to use your Land Tax. Remote Farm: Speeds the deck up a bit and helps to make Land Tax useful. Serra Angel: If you want a quick victory in the second game, four of these in the sideboard might do the trick if your opponent sides out his or her creature removal. Phyrexian Furnace: Sideboard card against graveyard recursion. Mangara's Blessing: Sideboard card against discard and against decks where lifegain is useful. And so, I proudly present: The Chinese Finger Trap |
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