Game 14

Game Summary

Yedora’s Compost Pod opened with exactly the kind of role-dense draw the deck wants: early mana, Tireless Provisioner, Phyrexian Walker, Spawning Pit, and then Yedora herself. Academic Dishonesty did interact, using Counterspell on the first Spawning Pit, but Eternal Witness immediately bought it back, turning Saruman’s best early answer into a tempo loss instead of a real stop.

Saruman’s own development was functional but airless. Clever Impersonator copying Tireless Provisioner was good, and Saruman eventually came down on Turn 5, using Bender’s Waterskin to trigger and steal Crop Rotation. That found Ancient Tomb and kept the mana flowing, but Saruman never found the removal, theft, draw, or control follow-up needed to actually contain Yedora’s board.

The game turned on Yedora’s Turn 6. Avenger of Zendikar entered, made six Plants, and then the deck’s innocuous pieces started interlocking: Phyrexian Walker and Eternal Witness were sacrificed to Spawning Pit, returned by Yedora as face-down Forests, triggered Tireless Provisioner and Avenger, and turned the Plants from 0/1s into real threats. Quirion Ranger then let the Walker/Forest return to hand, be recast for zero mana, and repeat the landfall line again.

Turn 7 exposed the real engine. Springheart Nantuko was bestowed on Avenger of Zendikar. From there, each Yedora landfall could make a Treasure with Tireless Provisioner, tap the new Forest for green, and pay Nantuko’s {1}{G} to create another Avenger copy. Sacrificing Fyndhorn Elves, Phyrexian Walker, Quirion Ranger, and finally Tireless Provisioner snowballed into five Avengers and 45 Plants.

The final board included six 13/14 Plants, eighteen 9/10 Plants, ten 7/8 Plants, eleven 4/5 Plants, and five Avengers of Zendikar. Yedora attacked with six 13/14 Plants. Saruman blocked two, but the remaining four connected for 52 damage. Saruman’s lifelink block was not nearly enough.

Key Moments

• Yedora opened with early mana, Tireless Provisioner, Phyrexian Walker, Spawning Pit, and Yedora, Grave Gardener.
• Academic Dishonesty countered the first Spawning Pit, but Eternal Witness returned it to Yedora’s hand.
• Clever Impersonator copied Tireless Provisioner, giving Saruman a useful source of mana development.
• Saruman entered on Turn 5 and used Bender’s Waterskin to trigger, steal, and cast Crop Rotation, finding Ancient Tomb.
• Avenger of Zendikar entered on Turn 6 and created six Plant tokens.
• Phyrexian Walker and Eternal Witness were sacrificed to Spawning Pit and returned by Yedora as face-down Forests, triggering both Tireless Provisioner and Avenger of Zendikar.
• Quirion Ranger returned the face-down Phyrexian Walker to hand, allowing it to be recast for zero mana and used to repeat the sacrifice and landfall line.
• Springheart Nantuko was bestowed on Avenger of Zendikar on Turn 7.
• Each subsequent Yedora landfall could produce a Treasure, provide green mana from the new Forest, and pay Nantuko’s {1}{G} cost to create another Avenger copy.
• Sacrificing Fyndhorn Elves, Phyrexian Walker, Quirion Ranger, and Tireless Provisioner expanded the board to five Avengers of Zendikar and 45 Plants.
• Six 13/14 Plants attacked. Saruman blocked two, and the other four dealt 52 combat damage.

Game Context

This was not merely a strong Yedora draw. The game uncovered a previously unmapped kill engine: Yedora, Grave Gardener + a sacrifice outlet + Tireless Provisioner + Springheart Nantuko bestowed on Avenger of Zendikar turns expendable creatures into Avenger copies and escalating landfall pressure.

Academic Dishonesty developed mana and found one early counterspell, but it never found the removal, theft, card draw, or control follow-up needed to contain the accumulating Yedora board. Counterspell delayed Spawning Pit rather than removing it from the game because Eternal Witness immediately recovered it.

With Proteus Machine, or with a haste-enabled Nantuko and Quirion Ranger line, the same shell can become deterministic. This game therefore identified a repeatable engine worth documenting beyond the immediate combat result.