Archidekt Deckbuilding Contest - November 2025 (Locked)

{"ops":[{"insert":"If I told someone I made a dragon deck, they wouldn't think that it was Dimir. They would also think that the deck had actual dragons in it. They would think wrong. Here is my Dimir dragon deck featuring "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Silumgar, the Drifting Death"}},{"insert":" and a few changelings as the only dragons. Instead, the deck uses various non-dragon token generators like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sengir Autocrat"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Bitterblossom"}},{"insert":" and turns the tokens into dragons using "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Arcane Adaptation"}},{"insert":" and similar effects. Enjoy.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Just a little bit of Anti-Venom torture and all the while keeping the table in check. Obviously, Mono-White :)\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"This is my Elf Kindred deck with no green. Plenty of kindred boons and non-elf hate present, really speaking to the stereotypical superiority complex of the elves.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"I went into this challenge inspired to build a kindred deck using only colours the creature type shows up infrequently in. I saw the revealed elemental from the upcoming Lorwyn set and was inspired to build an orzhov elementals deck. I saw how the back side giving persist would interact with evoke, a keyword exclusive to elementals, allowing them to be cast for that cheaper cost and then returned to the battlefield for the price of giving them a -1/-1 counter. I then also added many ways to remove those counters, allowing them to continually return every time they die. I realised however there weren't enough elementals with evoke in orzhov to fill a whole deck with, so I looked through every elemental in orzhov and added what I thought the best ones were. I then filled out the rest of the deck with cards that synergise with elementals or work well with kindred decks in general.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Urabrask leads some mono-red phyrexians, focusing on some oil counter synergies with some artifact backup.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"When you think of Wizards, you'll likely think Snapcaster Mage, spellslinging control, Inalla's absurd value-fueled combo decks, or Azami drawing all the cards in the world."},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nAt the invite of this month's Archideckt Deckbuilding challenge I chose to shatter that expectation, choosing to build a aggro-reanimator Wizards deck on the least Wizardly wedge I could think of: Mardu!\n\nAfter looking at this deck, you'll think that Alesha could take the Hogwarts Express at the Grave Platform and become a Wizard too.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"link":"https://youtu.be/sF9DSoKLv_E"},"insert":"CHECK OUT THE VIDEO PRIMER HERE"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\nStrategy & Unexpected Synergy"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"As you would expect a Kindred Deck to do, we are turning small Wizards into massive threats with Staples like Coat of Arms or Banner of Kinship, as well as making lots of wizards with Mana Echoes and Flameshadow Conjuring.\n\nBut we are doing more than your kindred.deck that goes wide and big swinging on the red zone. We are building around one (rather two, with Terra) unique Wizard in our commander, Celes.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"#c285ff","bold":true},"insert":"Graveyard Setup"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Celes's ETB ability forces a discard, so out of the bat, I'm thinking of ways to reutilize the cards we discard.\n"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"#f06666","bold":true},"insert":"The Engine"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"Celes's second trigger is the star: Whenever a creature enters from the graveyard, she puts a "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"+1/+1 counter"},{"insert":" on "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"all"},{"insert":" our creatures.\n\nSo firstly, Celes helps us fill our graveyard, then she encourages us to get our creatures back from the grave. So the we are including key reanimator pieces and one of two creatures in the deck that's not a Wizard in "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sheoldred, Whispering One"},{"insert":" to help us get anything back from the grave. As we do this, our board will grow even bigger thanks to those +1/+1 counters.\n\nThis unlocks a secondary goal in the deck, which is taking advantage of both sides of that strategy:\n"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"#888888","bold":true},"insert":"Persist creatures"},{"attributes":{"header":3},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"These will come back from the graveyard with a -1/-1 counter, if they had none on them when they died. The thing is: as they come back they get a "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"+1/+1 counter"},{"insert":" from Celes, which removes the "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"-1/-1 counter,"},{"insert":" essencially ensuring these creatures will infinitely get back onto the battlefield for as long as we control Celes.\n\nDetermined to stick to the kindred theme I didn't go overboard on Persist creatures, as there is only one Wizard with Persist (and what a Wizard to have, that one is), so we are rounding it up with "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Cauldron of Souls"},{"insert":" as a board wide protection engine. Giving Persist to everything will get all of our creatures back from any board wipe, and while not infinite, it will also allow for some sacrifice shennanigans every turn.\n\n"},{"attributes":{"background":"#0066cc"},"insert":"The Combo Win"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"That one Wizard with Persist, is the key to our main combo. "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Puppeteer Clique"},{"insert":" gets a creature back from an opponent's graveyard as it enters, and it has persist. Alongside Celes and any "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sacrifice Outlet"},{"insert":" (Viscera Seer, Goblin Bombardment, Ashnod's Altar), we assemble our win condition:\n\n"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Result:"},{"insert":" Infinite ETB/Death triggers, infinite +1/+1 counters on the whole board, and infinite scry/damage/colorless mana (depending on the sac outlet), as well as returning all the creatures we have in the graveyard until the end of the turn as many times as we need.\n\nAs Wizards have a reputation of being calculating and controlling, and the ability from Celes quickly grows our whole board, it will almost certainly pass unnoticed at first that the Persist mechanic provides an instant wincon.\n\nAt this point, I consider this deck a upper "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Bracket 3"},{"insert":", since it has plenty of combos, but no way to expedite them, but with the next Llorwyn set, we'll have access to"},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":" Isilu, Carrier of Twilight"},{"insert":", which will give Persist to all our creatures and make the combo work with "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"any creature and a sac outlet"},{"insert":".\n\nThere are two alternate combo win con variations, with "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Bloodline Necromancer"},{"insert":" and "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Mana Echoes"},{"insert":" and a sac outlet, reanimating our whole graveyard and getting infinite ETBs, and infinite scry/damage/mana (depending on the sac outlet), or "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Dualcaster Mage"},{"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sevinne's Reclamation"},{"insert":" and a sac outlet, sacking "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Dualcaster Mage"},{"insert":" infinitely, with the copy of "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sevinne's Reclamation"},{"insert":" bringing it back and making a new copy of "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sevinne's Reclamation."},{"insert":"\n\nThis blend of calculated recursion and explosive aggression makes \"You're a Wizard Celes!\" a truly unique take on the classic Wizard creature type.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Is it possible to make a "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Mikaeus, the Unhallowed"}},{"insert":" deck without his immense hatred for humanity? I wanted to find out.\n\nThis dimir deck is all about Humans and their willingness to sacrifice themselves only to make opponents lives miserable. Every creature in this deck is a Human, even though the card might say otherwise (It's called "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Grand Creature Type Update"},{"insert":" -errata, thanks Google!). "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Vhal, Candlekeep Researcher"}},{"insert":" with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Haunted One"}},{"insert":" on the battlefield makes all our creatures quite sticky: when Vhal is tapped, our sacrificial people are un-die-able and will raise from the dead slightly stronger. Vhal's mana is handy when activating abilities that cost colorless mana. Undying humans are great blockers as well!\n\nIf you get a chance to activate your humans again after they have been buffed by undying's +1/+1 counters, you need to get rid of the counters. Simply put -1/-1 counters on them with cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Yawgmoth, Thran Physician"}},{"insert":" or remove them with "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Retribution of the Ancients"}},{"insert":" (see more in the "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"Un-undying"},{"insert":" category) to get another value round from undying loop. "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Living Death"}},{"insert":" is a fun way to get all humans back to the game, while your living undying humans only grow stronger.\n\nAll this sacrificing must lead to somewhere, right? That's why we have a few aristocrat payoffs such as "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Marionette Apprentice"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Zulaport Cutthroat"}},{"insert":" in the deck. If the summoning sickness sickens you, you can speed up the sacrifice game with classics like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ashnod's Altar"}},{"insert":" or "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Phyrexian Altar"}},{"insert":".\n\nWe've been focusing only on the undying part of Haunted One, but it also buffs our Humans by +2/+0 when Vhal becomes tapped! "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Cover of Darkness"}},{"insert":" gives all our humans a little bit of evasion to take some opponents down with good old combat damage.\n\nHave fun!\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Surprise — it’s dragons!\n Led by "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Sydri, Galvanic Genius"},{"insert":", this team of "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"unexpected"},{"insert":" dragons creates a truly unique take on the dragon archetype.\nUnlike most dragon decks that rely on red and green, this Esper build ramps with artifacts and develops its board before bringing Sydri into play. Once Sydri is on the battlefield, you can easily tutor for "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Maskwood Nexus"},{"insert":". With the Nexus in play, Sydri can turn all your noncreature artifacts into dragons, expanding your mechanical horde.\nThis deck already includes several dragons and changelings, but once the Nexus effect takes hold, "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"every artifact becomes part of your dragon army"},{"insert":" letting you swing in for the win with a powerful and unconventional Esper-style dragon strategy.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Goblin gor in the bag.\n\nMonoblack goblins were kind of a thing way back in OG Lorwyn-Shadowmoor so with the return coming up I figured it give a crack at that concept. It's a bit aristocrats, a bit general sacrifice, but mostly its just keep throwing goblins at people and then blowing them up. Wins are generally found through either malefic scythe or draining people with bastion of remembrance effects.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Rasputin the Oneiromancer has always been one of my favorite cards — I love the art, the flavor, and those Knight tokens. I’ve spent a long time trying to make him work in different ways, and when I saw the Archidekt competition theme, I knew this was finally my chance. This deck is my take on a "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"blue-white Goblin tribal build"},{"insert":", something you definitely don’t see every day. The idea is that Rasputin creates Goblins on opponents’ boards, then uses "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"blink, clone, and control effects"},{"insert":" to steal them back and form an "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"Azorius Goblin army"},{"insert":" of his own. It’s a weird twist on a typal deck — Goblins brought to order, chaos turned to strategy.\nIn the story of the deck, Rasputin doesn’t summon Goblins — he "},{"attributes":{"bold":true},"insert":"dreams"},{"insert":" them into existence. Each one begins as a figment in an enemy’s mind, taking shape as a wild little creature, only for Rasputin to reclaim it through will and illusion. Slowly, the madness bends to discipline until even Goblins march in perfect dreamlike order. In this deck, chaos and control aren’t opposites — they’re just two sides of the same dream.\n\nThe deck contains cards that will create more goblins on opponents, cards that will steal them or take control over them, cards that will populate tokens to make more goblins and of course a few goblin generators on your own board (since it was hard to find ways to add goblins into your own board but cards like "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Ainok Strike Leader"}},{"insert":" and "},{"insert":{"card-link":"Sarpadian Empires, Vol. VII"}},{"insert":" are some of the key cards to create your army of goblins while the main goal will be to grab them from your opponents. The Goblin tokens together with anthems to buff our Goblins it will create our strong army to defeat our opponents. \n\nhttps://archidekt.com/decks/17271541/rasputin_goblin_king\n \n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"This is a rakdos avatar deck that swings hard and sometimes steals your things\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"I bet you didn't expect anyone to make a white pirates deck 🏴‍☠️☠️\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Goblins usually like to overrun with a wide board and a bunch of tokens. In this deck the only relevant goblin is Missix, and the army is HIMSELF. The goal is to make a goblin army with many of the blue clone spells/effects and work around the legen rule while doing so, so Missix only has to tollerate his own company!\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Orzhov Elementals forego the natural colors of U/R/G in favor of a dawn and night cycle. Orzhov elementals take advantage of +1/+1 or -1/-1 counters from white and black, respectively, while keeping the feel of a \"flow\" to the board state by manipulating these counters. The new Orzhov elemental commander perfectly gives us the opportunity to balance this out on our end with Persist.\n"}]}

{"ops":[{"insert":"Welcome to the Lab!\n\nThis deck's chosen off-color kindred is Grixis Dinosaurs. Dinosaurs, normally Naya, are in tune with nature, typically using green to get their big bodies out and stomp the board. But here stompy has died, and in a world of slinging and combos my deck has turned to more artificial means of getting dinos on the board in a world without Green or White. The question arises though, \"Has science gone too far.\"\n\nThe deck is the League of Evil Paleontologists, a group dedicated to bringing back the creatures of old to take over the world (board) and prove that their degrees are not useless. This band of rebels is led by Sedris, who gives all the Dinos in the graveyard Unearth, which allows them to be dug up and brought back looking for a fight. And he and his team have found ways to make sure they stick around as well through the use of flickers, exiling them, but returning them un-unearthed, so that the rule of the dinosaurs can never die. \n\nThe strategy of this themed deck is fragile, but powerful. The early game consists of acting like a real paleontologist and staying back and appearing unassuming, getting some dinos into the graveyard through mill or discard, and there are even some dinos that do it by themselves with the landcycling trio that set up a land drop and make sure there's some bones to work with. It doesn't take much to get things kicking when Sedris arrives, so turns 1-4 should really be for making sure "},{"attributes":{"italic":true},"insert":"something"},{"insert":" reaches the graveyard. And since our commander is six mana, we'll need to be ramping, so to combine these efforts there are cards like Milikin, which provide a chance at a colossal discovery, as well as providing some extra mana. \n\nSince the commander is our main gameplan and we'll mostly likely need a turn cycle to get things started it best to cast him with protection at the ready, either at the hands of an early pair of boots or a spell. a bonus of our flickers spells is that they can be used as protection from a kill spell in a pinch. But once he's here he takes command of the field with a horde of hasty, dinosaurs. And with the help of Training Grounds and Convergence of Dominion allows any creature in your graveyard to come back for just one black. Most of which have powerful enter the battlefield effects that make up for a slower early game. Effects that'll get reused through out the course of the game with the help of our blink effects, which also allow any unearthed creature to stick around, and the best ones are Thassa, an indestructible way to keep a creature on each of you turns and re use any useful ETB's and Deadeye Navigator, who's taken a break from his drake riding to provide easily repeatable utility, and a target to be unearthed as well. Obeka can keep a mass board around by stopping the delayed trigger, but they'll still be unearthed and exiled if they leave unless blinked.\n\nOne of the weaknesses of this deck is due to it's strategy, it's draw is more explosive than anything. The best card draw spell is Kindred Discovery, which triggers on each Dino entering and attacking, otherwise you're looking to loot, or rummage, and an early game Mystic Remora can is helpful for keeping up and finding tools to stay on course. \n\nOur main win con is walking the dinosaurs over our opponent's faces. and for a later game Warstorm Surge can help with damage directly to our opponent's faces, alongside damage doublers to make up for the numbers. \n\n"}]}