Essence of Evil

Inspiration was derived from the original 'Sparkler' Preconstruct from Rath Cycle. Much modified from its original shape and form, it retains the general control mechanism of the 'Propaganda' versus attacking creatures, reinforced with the later released Collective Restraint x 3, which with all 5 land types in play becomes more effective than Propaganda or merely pairs with it. Still in residence also is the Reins of Power/Altar of Dementia Combination, which for all intents and purposes can serve as a Day of Judgment/Wrath of God with the added bonus of library mill. Further, the plethora of countermagic in this build allows (most of the time) to control the game tempo and slowly wedge your opponents life total or library to zero. There are more than likely more powerful casual builds out there, but this is still a fun deck, especially if you're the type of player who likes to frustrate your opponent.

In the early game, save your counterspells. For the first four turns, don't counter anything unless they are dropping a serious early game bomb. If it's a miniscule creature, let it slide. Be prepared to take damage in the range of turns 1-5. By turn 5, you will most likely have moved a Propaganda or Collective Restraint into play, meaning that your opponent (if a mana ramp is not at issue) will be able to attack with only 2 creatures (if Propaganda) or 1 creature (if Collective Restraint..due to the fact that you have a decent of chance of having 3 basic land types at this stage). By turn 7, your setup more than likely will carry either a paired Propaganda/Collective Restaint (for a mana attack cost of either 5 or 6 per creature) or Propaganda x 2 (attack cost 4 per c.) / Collective Restraint x 2 (attack cost 6 or 8 per c.). Your opponent will no doubt begin to overload you with spells if you haven't already routed them on their bombs. Anticipate your opponents moves and be patient. Use Prophetic Bolt on either an annoying creature that is dragging you down or your opponent, but always before the end of their turn. The same goes for electrolyze. These spells allow you to either remove a threat or slowly drag your opponent down while cycling through the library a bit for options. Eventually, your opponent will have creatures out, the total attack power being the key issue. Unless your life is in jeopardy, try to hold off on Reins of Power unless the combined attack power of creatures they control is equal to ten. If you're going to expend one of the two Reins of Power, it needs to be at least for ten cards off the top when you sacrifice them to the Altar of Dementia. Don't stress about when you'll see the Altar of Dementia, it shows up regularly. You start the game (without the Altar in your opening hand) with a 2/61 chance to draw the Altar. Every card you draw, increases the likelihood that it will appear. If your first five draws don't show the altar, that's fine because the likelihood that if will still appears has changed to a 1/28 chance. The next six draws, (which its actually more likely that you've seen one at this stage) changes it to a 1/25 chance. You have time. Take it. The longer the game goes and the less effective your opponents attack strategy becomes, the more their frustration will increase. The inclusion of the Lightning Angel is your most formidable asset. Wipe the board with Reins of Power, taking away their offense temporarily, dealing damage with said offense and taking away options with the following mill with their sacrifice, then follow up with playing Lightning Angel. Assault your opponent with the angel and perhaps Mystic Snake for portions to off-balance your opponent. Reinforce this goal with Countermagic to insure they can't turn the tide and crawl back out of the hole you've dug for them. Enjoy.

• Casual Control