Hour of Devastation - Puzzle #9

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Welcome back to Possibility Storm, the weekly MTG puzzle series available exclusively through MTGCanada and PossibilityStorm.com.

Get ready for the final puzzle of the Hour of Devastation season! After this week's puzzle, we shift firmly into Ixalan mode. Can you solve this one before checking the solution?

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Think you've got it? Check your answer against the solution below:

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  1. Cast Retreat to Hagra.
  2. Play the Mountain from your Graveyard. Use the Retreat triggers to give Mina and Denn, Wildborn +1/+0 and deathtouch, and +2/+0.
  3. Use Mina and Denn's ability to give themselves trample, returning to your hand the Mountain just played.
  4. Play Game Trail from your Graveyard, revealing the Mountain in your hand so it enters untapped. Use the Retreat triggers to give Mina and Denn another combined +3/+0.
  5. Play the Foreboding Ruins, revealing the Mountain in your hand so it enters untapped. Use the Retreat triggers to give Mina and Denn another combined +3/+0.
  6. Cast Swell of Growth, targeting Mina and Denn. Put the Mountain from your hand into play again. Use the Retreat triggers to give Mine and Denn another combined +3/+0.
  7. Use your remaining two mana to activate Mina and Denn's ability again, giving The Gitrog Monster trample, and returning any land to your hand.
  8. Attack with a 2/3 Ramunap Excavator, 6/6 trample deathtouch Gitrog Monster, and 18/6 trample deathtouch Mina and Denn. Your opponent's best block is to stop the Excavator with something, and put the other three blockers in front of the tramplers to reduce the damage to 21. Because they also gain 1 from Sacred Cat's lifelink, they take exactly 20.(Note it is also possible to swap one of the Retreat to Valakut's triggers from +2/+0 to preventing Sacred Cat from blocking, to the same total damage effect.)

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