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The Magic Chest 26: Phyrexian Tyranny
Just like Underworld Dreams, Phyrexian Tyranny hurts opponents if they draw cards. There are plenty of differences as well, though. Phyrexian Tyranny is multicolor, where Underworld Dreams costs BBB. Phyrexian Tyranny hurts everyone, including its controller and the life loss is preventable. On the other hand, it hurts twice as much for each card draw. A few cards spring to mind that look like they would work well in combination with Phyrexian Tyranny: Howling Mine: With just one in play, it's a potential four damage a turn the opponents have to deal with. Of course you have to deal with it as well, but it's not that hard to come prepared. Elfhame Sanctuary: A cheap and effective way to skip your draw step. It'll also help to get the right basic lands to be able to cast the Tyranny. Armageddon: Besides slowing everyone down, Armageddon will also make it hard to get enough mana in play to pay 2 for each card drawn. Elfhame Sanctuary allows for a fast recovery from Armageddon, although playing both will make it a 5 color deck, which will make mana a bit of a problem. Rejuvenation Chamber: Ivory Tower would be a good way to stop some of the Tyranny hurting, but since I'm trying to keep the deck type 2 for a change, Rejuvenation Chamber looks like an ok alternative with a potential 8 life for 3 mana. It looks like a good start for a casual deck so far. There's another option for the Armageddon, though: Jokulhaups: At six mana, it's more expensive than Armageddon, but it gets rid of other problems as well: creatures and artifacts. You'll blow up your own Howling Mines, but the price seems worth it. Teferi's Puzzle Box: Works even better than a Howling Mine, because it can make players draw up to 7 cards a turn. On the downside, it makes it easier for players to empty their hands if you're not also playing with Howling Mines to fill it back up. Plus it doesn't survive a Jokulhaups. Diminishing Returns: A guaranteed 7 cards, plus it isn't vulnerable to Jokulhaups and it messes with opponents who are trying to fill their graveyard for some reason. On the other hand, it can only be used once. That leaves a bit of a problem which cards to use in the final version. I finally settled on a deck with Jokulhaups, Howling Mine and Teferi's Puzzle Boxes. Additional cards to look at: Obliterate: In case the deck needs more than four Jokulhaups. The casting cost hurts, but being uncounterable, it can come in handy. I'll play one in the main deck and two more in the sideboard. Vampiric Tutor: The deck is seriously rare-heavy already, so I'd rather not. Besides, the Mines and Boxes will help get whatever else is needed. Counterspell: A bit of counter-backup should help. Foil or Thwart would be better choices, because they're free, but with no Islands, the deck can't support them. Terror: A bit of removal in addition to the Jokulhaups will be useful. Boomerang: The best way to stop a Tyranny from killing you is to make sure it's not in play. If you're ahead in life it can help stunt your opponent's mana development or temporarily get rid of a creature. Glowing Anemone: At 1/3 it's a nice blocker (it kills 1/1s and stops those pesky 2/2s from hurting you). Bouncing a land should slow the opponent down as well. Nightscape Battlemage: Both kicker costs are in color for this deck and both are useful. The blue one unsummons two non-black creatures and the red one destroys a land. It's too expensive, though. Paying just one kicker costs 6 mana in total, which is when I'd rather cast Jokulhaups. Seal of Fire: More removal or just a way to kill the opponent faster. Lands: Because of the Jokulhaups and Howling Mines, I decided to play with a lot of two mana saclands. With Crystal Veins, which don't come into play tapped, that makes a third turn Jokulhaups possible. Not that that's always a good idea. The mana base ended up iffy at best, but it should still be playable. Chill: Playing Howling Mine can be suicide if the opponent is playing burn. The extra cards will translate into extra damage to you. Chills will slow down the hurting. Perish: Big green creatures aren't nice to play against either, because you need to stay ahead in life. The finished deck:
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