In Brawl mode, cunning and strategy reign supreme. In this guide, we will explore the devious potential of Ivy, the Gleeful Spellthief, as your commander. Prepare to outwit your opponents and embrace the art of misdirection.
Introduction
With Ivy, the Gleeful Spellthief, as your commander, you have the power to deceive, disrupt, and manipulate the battlefield to your advantage. Embrace the art of misdirection, surprise your opponents with unexpected plays, and revel in the satisfaction of outsmarting your foes. Master the cunning nature of this deck, and let the mischief unfold!
Deck List
1 Faerie Vandal
1 Essence Capture
1 Stormchaser Drake
1 Lantern Bearer // Lanterns’ Lift
1 Colossal Skyturtle
1 Hurkyl, Master Wizard
1 Reclusive Taxidermist
1 Venerated Rotpriest
1 Citanul Stalwart
1 Portent Tracker
1 Ledger Shredder
1 Howl of the Hunt
1 Assimilate Essence
1 Tyvar’s Stand
1 Majestic Metamorphosis
1 Serpentine Ambush
1 Cradle of Safety
1 Slip Out the Back
1 Zhalfirin Shapecraft
1 Storm the Seedcore
1 Suit Up
1 Massive Might
1 Fading Hope
1 Might of the Old Ways
1 Careful Cultivation
1 Bushwhack
1 Witch’s Web
1 Spell Pierce
1 Luxurious Libation
1 Most Wanted
1 Sheltering Boughs
1 Historian’s Wisdom
1 Gaea’s Gift
1 Tamiyo’s Safekeeping
1 Arachnoid Adaptation
1 Witness Protection
1 Combat Research
1 Shore Up
7 Forest
8 Island
1 Dreamroot Cascade
1 Tangled Islet
1 Brokers Hideout
1 Thornwood Falls
1 Command Tower
1 Plaza of Heroes
Deck Strategy
Ivy, the cunning Spellthief, thrives on deception and manipulation. With a combination of evasive creatures, tricky spells, and enchantments, this deck aims to disrupt your opponent’s plans while building your own advantage. Let’s explore some key aspects of the deck and strategies to maximize your success.
Creature Shenanigans
These creatures bring a range of abilities and synergies to the Ivy, Spellthief deck, enhancing your mischievous gameplay and keeping your opponents on their toes. Utilize their unique attributes to disrupt your opponents’ strategies, generate mana, draw cards, manipulate the battlefield, and ultimately secure your victory through cunning and deception.
Citanul Stalwart:
Citanul Stalwart, an Elf Druid Soldier, brings a unique ability to the Ivy, Spellthief deck. By tapping an untapped artifact or creature you control, you can add one mana of any color to your mana pool. This versatile ability allows you to generate additional mana and helps ensure you have the necessary resources to cast your spells and execute your mischievous plans.
Colossal Skyturtle:
Colossal Skyturtle is an enchantment creature in the form of a turtle, capable of taking to the skies with its flying ability. It also possesses ward, making it difficult for your opponents to target or disrupt its presence on the battlefield. Additionally, with its channel ability, you can discard Colossal Skyturtle to either return a card from your graveyard to your hand or return a target creature to its owner’s hand. This provides versatility and graveyard recursion, allowing you to retrieve valuable cards or bounce problematic creatures.
Stormchaser Drake:
Stormchaser Drake is a Drake creature with the ability to fly, granting it unblockable access to your opponents. What makes this creature even more intriguing is its triggered ability, which allows you to draw a card whenever it becomes the target of a spell you control. This ability not only promotes card advantage but also synergizes with the spell-focused nature of the deck, providing you with additional resources to fuel your mischievous plans.
Reclusive Taxidermist:
Reclusive Taxidermist, a Human Druid, has a power and toughness that scales based on the number of creature cards in your graveyard. With four or more creature cards in your graveyard, Reclusive Taxidermist gains +3/+2, making it a formidable threat. Additionally, you can tap Reclusive Taxidermist to add one mana of any color, further aiding in your mana production and spell-casting capabilities.
Venerated Rotpriest:
Venerated Rotpriest, a Phyrexian Druid, possesses the ability Toxic 1. This means that players dealt combat damage by Venerated Rotpriest also receive a poison counter, bringing an alternative win condition to your deck. Additionally, whenever a creature you control becomes the target of a spell, you can choose a target opponent to receive a poison counter. This ability punishes opponents for targeting your creatures, adding pressure and an additional layer of disruption to your strategy.
Portent Tracker:
Portent Tracker, a Satyr Scout, offers land manipulation capabilities. With its activated ability, you can untap target land, granting you additional mana resources and flexibility in your turns. The second ability of Portent Tracker allows you to choose a target battle and, if an opponent protects it, remove a defense counter from it. However, if they don’t protect it, you can put a defense counter on it. This ability provides a strategic element to the game, allowing you to influence battles and potentially sway the outcome in your favor.
Lantern Bearer (Disturbed Form):
Lantern Bearer is a Spirit creature with flying. With its disturb ability, you have the option to cast it from your graveyard transformed for its disturb cost. In this form, it retains its flying ability, providing you with an evasive threat that can bypass ground-based defenses. It is key to always have at least one creature besides Ivy in order to double the potential of your spells.
Enchantments of Mischief
Careful Cultivation:
Careful Cultivation is an enchantment aura that can be attached to an artifact or creature. If attached to a creature, it grants +1/+3, reach, and the ability to tap for mana. If you channel the card by discarding it, you create a 1/1 green Human Monk creature token that can tap for mana. This enchantment provides a boost in power and toughness, reach for blocking flying creatures, and additional mana generation.
Sheltering Boughs:
Sheltering Boughs is an enchantment aura that enchants a creature. When it enters the battlefield, you draw a card, providing card advantage. The enchanted creature gains +1/+3, making it more resilient and providing an additional defense against opposing threats.
Cradle of Safety:
Cradle of Safety is an aura enchantment with flash. When it enters the battlefield, you enchant a creature you control, granting it hexproof until end of turn. This protection ensures that the enchanted creature cannot be targeted by your opponents’ spells or abilities. Additionally, the enchanted creature gets +1/+1, making it stronger in combat.
Historian’s Wisdom:
Historian’s Wisdom is an aura enchantment that can be attached to an artifact or creature. When it enters the battlefield and if the enchanted permanent is a creature with the greatest power among creatures on the battlefield, you draw a card. This provides card advantage and rewards you for having the most powerful creature. As long as the enchanted permanent is a creature, it gets +2/+1, further bolstering its power and making it a formidable threat on the battlefield.
Combat Research:
Combat Research is an enchantment aura that can be attached to a creature. It grants the enchanted creature the ability to draw a card whenever it deals combat damage to a player. If the enchanted creature is legendary, it gets +1/+1 and has ward, making it more potent in combat and harder to target with spells or abilities.
These enchantments offer a range of benefits, including protection, power boosts, card draw, and versatility. Use them strategically to disrupt your opponents’ plans, protect your own key permanents, and maximize the strength and flexibility of your creatures. With these enchantments of mischief, you’ll keep your opponents on their toes and create a battlefield that is advantageous to your mischievous endeavors.
Tricks and Schemes
Arachnoid Adaptation:
Arachnoid Adaptation is an instant that grants +2/+2 and reach to target creature until end of turn. This allows the targeted creature to become larger and gain the ability to block creatures with flying. Use it to strategically to surprise your opponents and make your creatures more versatile in combat.
Tamiyo’s Safekeeping:
Tamiyo’s Safekeeping is an instant that grants hexproof and indestructible to a target permanent you control until end of turn. This protection ensures that the targeted permanent cannot be targeted by spells or abilities controlled by your opponents, and it also prevents it from being destroyed. Additionally, you gain 2 life when you cast this spell, providing a small boost to your life total.
Slip Out the Back:
Slip Out the Back is an instant that puts a +1/+1 counter on target creature and phases it out. Phasing out treats the creature and anything attached to it as though they don’t exist until your next turn. This trick not only provides a power boost to your creature but also removes it from the battlefield temporarily, making it immune to targeted spells and abilities.
Witch’s Web:
Witch’s Web is an instant that targets a creature and gives it +3/+3 and reach until end of turn. Additionally, it untaps the creature, allowing it to block creatures with flying. This trick can turn a small creature into a formidable blocker or surprise your opponent with unexpected combat potential.
Most Wanted:
Most Wanted is an enchantment aura with flash that can be cast at instant speed. When enchanted creature dies, it creates two Treasure tokens. This trick not only enhances the power of the creature it enchants but also provides an additional benefit when the creature eventually meets its demise. Use this aura to bolster your own creatures while setting up a reward for their eventual destruction.
Spell Pierce:
Spell Pierce is an instant that counters target noncreature spell unless its controller pays an additional mana cost. This counterspell allows you to disrupt your opponents’ plans and stall or deny crucial noncreature spells. By presenting a cheap counter option, you force your opponents to pay an additional cost or risk having their spells countered.
Luxurious Libation:
Luxurious Libation is an instant that gives +X/+X to target creature until end of turn, where X is a variable amount determined by the situation. Additionally, it creates a 1/1 green and white Citizen creature token. This versatile trick allows you to pump up your own creature temporarily and potentially surprise your opponents with a sudden power boost.
Fading Hope:
Fading Hope is an instant that returns target creature to its owner’s hand. If the creature has a mana value of 3 or less, you also get to scry 1, giving you a glimpse at the top card of your library. This trick provides temporary removal for problematic creatures and allows you to set up your next draw.
These tricks and schemes offer versatility, disruption, protection, and surprise elements to your gameplay. Use them strategically to outmaneuver your opponents, create advantageous combat situations, and maintain control of the battlefield. With these clever plays, you’ll showcase the cunning and mischievous nature of Ivy, the Spellthief.
Protecting Your Mischief
Slip Out the Back:
Slip Out the Back can help protect your creatures by phasing them out, making them temporarily immune to spells and abilities. This trick can save your creatures from removal or unfavorable combat situations.
Careful Cultivation:
Careful Cultivation not only helps with ramp and fixing your mana, but also provides protection through its +1/+3 bonus and reach. This can help your creatures survive combat and block flying creatures that might otherwise pose a threat.
Tamiyo’s Safekeeping:
Tamiyo’s Safekeeping grants hexproof and indestructible to a target permanent you control until end of turn. This provides a shield against targeted spells and abilities, protecting your valuable permanents from removal or destruction.
Spell Pierce:
Spell Pierce is a counterspell that can be used to protect your spells or disrupt your opponents’ plans. By countering noncreature spells unless their controller pays additional mana, you can prevent key spells from resolving and potentially disrupt your opponents’ strategies.
Luxurious Libation:
Luxurious Libation not only grants +X/+X to target creature until end of turn, but it also creates a 1/1 green and white Citizen creature token. This can serve as a blocker or a sacrificial lamb to protect your more important creatures.
By utilizing these cards strategically and considering their protective capabilities, you can enhance your ability to safeguard your mischief and maintain control on the battlefield. Remember to adapt to the game’s changing dynamics and use these protective tools at the opportune moments to ensure the success of your mischievous strategies.
Mastering the Art of Misdirection
As an Ivy, Spellthief player, your deck revolves around the art of misdirection and cunning strategies. By keeping your opponents on their toes and manipulating their expectations, you can gain the upper hand and secure victory. Here are some key tactics to master the art of misdirection with Ivy as your commander:
Feign Weakness, Strike Swiftly
Create the illusion of weakness early in the game. Play low-cost creatures like Faerie Vandal or Stormchaser Drake to make your opponents underestimate your threat level. This will lure them into a false sense of security, allowing you to strike swiftly and decisively when the time is right.
Disturbing Disruption
Take advantage of the disturb mechanic in your deck. Cards like Lantern Bearer // Lanterns’ Lift can be cast from your graveyard, catching your opponents off guard. By utilizing these unexpected plays, you disrupt their plans and force them to readjust their strategies.
Mischievous Protections
Protect your own creatures and permanents while simultaneously disrupting your opponents. Cards like Slip Out the Back and Tamiyo’s Safekeeping provide temporary immunity to spells and abilities, making your key assets difficult to target or remove. This misdirection not only keeps your board state intact but also diverts attention away from your true intentions.
Illusory Diversions
Create illusory threats and distractions to divert attention from your real objectives. Combat Research enchants a creature, making it more potent in combat and drawing you extra cards. Use this advantage to keep your opponents focused on dealing with your creatures while you secretly pursue your true win condition.
Cryptic Card Advantage
Utilize card draw and advantage to maintain a resource advantage over your opponents. Historian’s Wisdom, Luxurious Libation, and other cards in your deck allow you to draw cards or gain additional benefits while executing your mischievous plans. The more cards you have in hand, the more options and surprises you can unleash.
Unexpected Counters
Use countermagic like Spell Pierce to protect your spells and abilities. By countering noncreature spells unless their controller pays additional mana, you create doubt and uncertainty in your opponents’ minds. They will be forced to think twice before trying to disrupt your strategies, giving you the upper hand.
Adaptive Strategies
Stay flexible and adapt your tactics to the ever-changing battlefield. Evaluate your opponents’ moves and adjust your plans accordingly. Be prepared to switch between aggressive and defensive strategies, exploiting any openings or weaknesses you identify.
Remember, misdirection is not just about playing tricks on your opponents; it’s about strategic planning, calculated risks, and seizing the perfect moment to reveal your true intentions. By mastering the art of misdirection, you can keep your opponents off-balance, control the flow of the game, and emerge victorious with Ivy, the Spellthief as your cunning commander.
