Carl invited the spectacular Sam of TeamSamuraiX1 to face Taylor, our resident Yu-Gi-Oh! expert, in the ultimate challenge: Who can figure out old cards from a different game better than the other? Tune in to find out!
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Staple or Stinker
The cards to rate this time are: , , , , and . Find the best Altar decks below!
The Best Ashnod's Altar Decks in Magic History
Nicolas Labarre surprised everyone in 2000 when he brought an innovative combo deck to the World Championship and played it to a Top 8 finish. His whole strategy revolved around assembling the trifecta of , , and the powerful . Fecundity turns every dying creature into one new card; Cluster turns every card into one new creature at the cost of just one mana; but Altar sacrifices any creature to generate two mana. With Serra Avatar, which can be discarded and redrawn any number of times, one can then generate infinite mana and also find an immediate win in Whetstone.
Chimera by Nicolas Labarre, 2000 Standard
Main Deck
Sideboard
4
4
4
4
1
1
4
1
1
4
4
1
1
4
1
4
3
8
2
2
2
1
3
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
The year 2000 is of course long past, and combo engines have become even more refined since. However, Ashnod's Altar still sees regular play in today's Pauper, thanks to . When sacrificed, one Retriever can return another, and Altar provides the necessary mana to repeat this indefinitely. All that's missing then is something to benefit from the loop, like or .
