Pandemonium!

Imagine if every creature in your deck was an improved version of Flametongue Kavu. That’d be pretty awesome, right? Since we’re dreaming here, perhaps there are a few things that could improve FTK. If you ask me, the most notable improvements would be a wider range of targets, a cheaper casting cost and/or recursion. Now here’s the really cool part.. you can actually take all of these things into account when designing this deck. I hope you enjoy a bit of chaos in your magic, because we’re about to enter Pandemonium!

To start things off, let’s talk about the namesake linchpin of the deck: Mountain. They’re pretty good lands, which can allow you to cast some sweet spells. In fact, they’re quite important when casting the other key card of the deck: Pandemonium. For 3R, this enchantment enables a creature’s controller to deal damage equal to its power upon entering the battlefield. Sound familiar, FTK? The problem is that both players are able to use this, and thus you must build around the card in order to abuse its potential and gain the advantage over your opponent.

Recursion. This is perhaps the most important aspect of creatures in the deck. Why? Because Pandemonium is dead on its own, so you want creatures you can use again and again in order to overcome the card disadvantage. In fact, almost every creature in the deck returns to your hand for re-use. Viashino Sandstalker and Viashino Sandscout are amazing here, because they offer a high offense at a low mana cost. Imaginary Pet does as well, but it is more of a defensive card that is meant to help buy time. It is good on offense as well however, as it can also be used in conjunction with Pandemonium for some very cheap direct damage.

Power. Remember how I mentioned that almost every creature in the deck has some form of recursion? There is 1 exception, and it is arguably the coolest creature WotC has ever printed: Phyrexian Dreadnought, which is just incredible here. Think about it - that’s [at least] 12 points of damage for 1 (multiple Pandemoniums stack). I also added some Stifles to the package as a sort of alternative win condition, as I didn’t want the Dreadnoughts to be completely dead cards without the enchantment in play.

Considerations. Early on in development, I had initially included Ball Lightning. The card only has a cmc of 3 and is very strong with (or without) Pandemonium in play. In the end however, its RRR mana cost and lack of recursion made me pass on it. I think B. Lightning could have potential however, and would love to see others try it out. Another card I’d considered was Flametongue Kavu, as the amount of value you can get out of him is incredible. I think there are several different avenues for building this deck, and encourage everyone to do some testing of their own. Happy Brewing!

Pandemonium!

Land

1 Island

3 Mountain

4 Volcanic Island

4 Ancient Tomb

1 City of Traitors

7 Fetchlands

4 Wasteland

Total: 24

Creatures

4 Viashino Sandstalker

4 Viashino Sandscout

2 Phyrexian Dreadnought

4 Imaginary Pet

Total: 14

Spells

4 Pandemonium

3 Stifle

4 Brainstorm

4 Mox Diamond

4 Lightning Bolt

3 Fire // Ice

Total: 22

Sideboard

4 Tormod’s Crypt

4 Blood Moon

4 Force of Will

2 Pyroblast

1 Red Elemental Blast