Welcome back to Possibility Storm, the weekly MTG puzzle series available exclusively through MTGCanada and PossibilityStorm.com.
We're happy to bring you the first Mythic-difficulty puzzle of the Ixalan season. There's an awful lot going on in this one, and the best time registered by a PS competitor was Christian John Hazlett, who finished it in an impressive 17m 20s. Think you can do better?
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Think you've got it? Check your answer against the solution below:
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- Play Mountain for the turn.
- Cast Captain Lannery Storm [four mana from lands remaining].
- Make Tilonalli's Skinshifter unblockable with Pathmaker Initiate.
- Attack with: Combat Celebrant (exert), Skinshifter (copy Combat Celebrant to become 4/1), Lannery (make treasure token).
- When the Celebrant's trigger resolves, untap everything and we'll later get another combat. Take this opportunity to re-tap Pathmaker Initiate to make Lannery unblockable.
- Before blocks, sacrifice the treasure to make Lannery 3/2, and use the mana plus four left from lands to Final Reward the Seraph of the Suns.
- Opponent can only block the Combat Celebrant, and is best off doing it with a Merfolk to trade them off.
- They take four from Skinshifter and three from Lannery, each reduced by one due to Protection of the Hekma, for a total of five. Two Merfolk and their Nimble Obstructionist remain on defense.
- Second attack phase begins and now the 6/6 Burning Sun's Avatar is untapped (but Pathmaker is not).
- Attack with: Skinshifter (exert), Lannery (make treasure), 6/6 Avatar.
- Don't sacrifice the new treasure to pump Lannery, because we will need the mana from it during the third and final combat, and the mana will clear from our pool at end of this combat phase.
- They can only block the Avatar, and are best off doing so by chumping it with a Merfolk. Hit with the same four plus three again, reduced by one each for a total of five. They're now at seven with one Merfolk and the Obstructionist still alive.
- Third attack phase begins and we have the 2/1 Pathmaker, 6/6 Avatar, 3/2 Lannery, and 3/1 Carrion Screecher that you've been neglecting to use untapped (Skinshifter is stuck tapped.)
- Attack with all, Lannery makes a treasure.
- Sac both treasures to make Lannery a 5/2 and use the two mana to cast Chandra's Pyrohelix on the Obstructionist. (You can send one to the face from it if you like, but Hekma reduces it to zero anyways.) [Note - it was important to save the Screecher until now to attack so you could get the other flier out of the way.)
- With only one blocker, they will throw it in front of the Avatar once again and take 2 + 5 + 3, each reduced by one, for 1 + 4 + 2 = 7 for exactsies.
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