Solifaerity

“Solidarity, my brothers and sisters – together, we are mightier than our enemy.” It sounds like a line from a pretty awesome movie, right? In this case, it would be about a group of faeries who are working together to win a card game. Geez, maybe I should stop writing about Magic and start on some Hollywood blockbusters! But nah, this is way more fun. Today’s deck actually took quite a bit of play-testing and tweaking before I was ready to write about it. Any deck that combines the satisfaction of tight play with the spice of chance is bound to be fun. So with that in mind, let’s talk about Solifaerity.

Solifaerity is an iteration of the High Tide decks that have been around for a very long time. While some might see it as a sort of budget option, I found that the use of certain cards actually enabled it to play superior ones. Let me explain that.. because I chose to use Cloud of Faeries instead of Reset in this deck, I was then able to use Sleight of Hand over Opt or Peek. Since the deck wants to win on your own turn, the Instant speed is no longer necessary, thus allowing you to play the better card(s). I admit that I was tempted to use Peek though, and some might want to, simply because knowing your opponent’s hand can be very valuable in terms of choosing when to go for the win. In fact, I put one in the sideboard as a Wish target for this very reason.

The name Solifaerity isn’t just because it’s an awesome pun – Cloud of Faeries really does have a large effect on the deck. Not only does it affect when you want to win, but it also gives cards such as Snap some extra utility. For example, if you have a bunch of mana in your pool, you can Snap back Faeries and Cycle them to dig for more business. Another thing they can do? Block. But only use them for this when it is absolutely necessary, ok?

Speaking of business, let’s get down to it - how to play the deck. There are a couple of ways to win with Solifaerity, and they can be somewhat complicated. Essentially, you want to either generate a ton of mana and win via Stroke of Genius OR generate a huge storm count and win via Brain Freeze. The good news is that the way you do either of these things are by generating lots of mana via High Tides and drawing lots of spells. In other words: fun!

Alright then - the ‘how’. High Tide enables you to generate a ton of mana, but it works with a lot of cards to do this. Turnabout, Cloud of Faeries and Time Spiral all allow you to untap your lands to re-tap them for mana. This is done to both create mana and cast more spells. You always want a Time Spiral and/or a Meditate, as these allow you to draw more cards and continue the combo going for more mana generation. Cunning Wish is also a major player, as it allows the toolbox utility of your sideboard (this is also a reason there is a Meditate in the SB, just in case).

Comparison to decks that use Reset. Many people consider the strength of those decks to be that you may cast the win con in response to something such as a hoser. I find that Reset can also be a limitation however, as you can only cast it at certain times. Because of this, I think that both versions are viable strategies. Merchant Scroll does make Opt tempting though, so it can be a tough choice. I am not opposed to writing about a Reset-style deck in the future, but feel free to try your hand at both and see which you prefer. Happy Brewing!

Solifaerity

Land

10 Island

7 Fetchlands

Total: 17

Creatures

4 Cloud of Faeries

Total: 4

Spells

4 High Tide

3 Meditate

4 Force of Will

4 Brainstorm

4 Impulse

3 Cunning Wish

4 Time Spiral

4 Sleight of Hand

3 Turnabout

4 Merchant Scroll

1 Stroke of Genius

1 Snap

Total: 39

Sideboard:

4 Tormod’s Crypt

1 Stroke of Genius

1 Brain Freeze

2 Snap

1 Meditate

1 Rebuild

2 Chain of Vapor

1 Counterspell

1 Opt

1 Peek