[HOU] Mind Games

Hello there!

How has your Draft Weekend (Release weekend) been? Did you manage to snap up a few copies of this nice shiny promo, Ramunap Excavator (Crucible of Worlds on a stick!)

Now, we have a mind game for you, that makes you look through all the Hour of Devastation cards and your deck-building spirit! (Courtesy of Michael Wiese, a judge from Germany) So, let us start with that the objective of this mind game.

Objective: To deal as much damage to our opponent, from the start of the game until our 4th turn. The game only ends after our 4th turn, which means that you can deal more than 20 damage to your opponent and your opponent doesn't die due to state-based effects for having 0 or less life.

Rules:

1. You are participating in Hour of Devastation Constructed format which means that only cards from Hour of Devastation can be used. The link to HOU cards is here.
   (No masterpieces, Invocation nor cards from the intro deck are allowed.) 
2. The opponent is the starting player, who is playing a deck with 60 forest lands, and lays a land on his turn, without other interactions.
3. Unlike the normal game of magic, you get to decide what your starting hand of 7 consists, and get to decide what you would draw whenever you get to draw a card.
   (Eg, You need a forest on your draw step, you draw it. You cast Strategic Planning, and choose the 3 cards that you will be looking at.)
4. For ease of standardisation, your deck only contains 60 cards.
5. Feel free to ask any questions if you are unsure.

Your email submission to us should include:

1. Your name (if you want to be featured)
2. Your decklist of 60 cards.
3. Step by step of your turns.
4. Calculation of damage. (Eg, Ans: 3: attack in turn 2, 3 and 4 for 1 damage each)

Please submit your answer through here.

You may submit more than answer.

Feel free to discuss and share this Mind Game with others, and also through other mediums, but please do not spoil the the answer to others if you know have tried this game on another forum.

The game ends on 11.59pm on 30th July 2017. The results with the maximum damage will be posted on 1st Aug on this post. Reader's solution with the maximum damage will also be featured here.

Answer:-

Turn 1:
Forest
Frilled Sandwalla

Turn 2:
Mountain
Hope Tender
Attack with Frilled Sandwalla for 1 (1)

Turn 3:
Island
Wildfire Eternal (exhausting Hope Tender)
Attack with Frilled Sandwalla for 1 (2)

Turn 4 (where the fun is):
Earthshaker Khenra
Attack with Frilled Sandwalla, Earthshaker Khenra and Wildfire Eternal (Reveal Hazoret's Undying Fury to Wildfire Eternal: Exile Neheb the Eternal and 3* Overcome from Hazoret's Undying Fury) for 7+8+7 (24)
Second main phase
Neheb the Eternal’s ability triggers, tap the Island for mana: 1U, 22R
Play Swarm Intelligence: 16R
Play Mirage Mirror: 13R
Copy Swarm Intelligence with Mirage Mirror: 11R
Play Hazoret's Undying Fury (additional copy from Mirage Mirror, additional copy from Swarm Intelligence): 5R
Exile the following cards from Hazoret's Undying Fury: 3* Mirage Mirror, 1* Act of Heroism.
Play Act of Heroism targeting Hope Tender (additional copy from Mirage Mirror, additional copy from Swarm Intelligence): 8R
Play 3* Mirage Mirror
Copy Swarm Intelligence with the three Mirage Mirror: 2R
Exile the following cards from 2nd copy Hazoret's Undying Fury: 1* Strategic Planning, 3* Act of Heroism.
Play Strategic Planning (4 additional copies from 4* Mirage Mirror, additional copy from Swarm Intelligence) and put Crash Through, 3* Swarm Intelligence, 2* Bloodwater Entity into hand while putting Claim//Flame, 4* Consign//Oblivion and 7 other cards into graveyard: 2R
Play 3* Act of Heroism targeting Hope Tender (4 additional copy from 4* Mirage Mirror, additional copy from Swarm Intelligence): 6U, 8R, 6G
Exile the following cards from 3rd copy Hazoret's Undying Fury: 1* Firebrand Archer, 1* Oasis Ritualist, 2* Bloodwater Entity
Play Firebrand Archer
Play Oasis Ritualist
Play 2* Bloodwater Entity (Each targeting Act of Heroism on top of the library)
Play Fame on Oasis Ritualist: 6U, 6R, 6G
Play 2* Swarm Intelligence: 2U, 2R

Loop has been created (This loop generates infinite mana and infinite damage from Firebrand Archer.):-
Play Crash Through (using optional additional copies from 4* Mirage Mirror and 2* Swarm Intelligence) drawing 2* Act of Heroism, Unsommon, Crash Through: X-1
Play Act of Heroism (using optional additional copies from 4* Mirage Mirror and 2* Swarm Intelligence)  on Oasis Ritualist: X-3, then X+14 - Net X+11
Play Unsummon on the Bloodwater Entity: Net X+10
Play three Bloodwater Entities to put back Act of Heroism, Unsummon, and Crash Through on top of the library: Net X+1

At some point, we should play Nicol Bolas, God-Pharaoh to exile the opponent’s library, Oblivion to discard their hand, Nissa’s Defeat to destroy their forests, and Scavenger Grounds to exile their graveyards.

Enjoy!

~Sign off
SGJudges(Dennis Xiao)