Secret Tech to Rock GP Columbus?

by News | posted at 2010-07-22 01:02:00
tagged: MTG, Magic, Magic the Gathering, Legacy, Grand Prix, GP, Columbus, Imperial Recruiter, Aluren

The North American Legacy Grand Prix being held in Columbus is quickly approaching and murmurings on Facebook indicate a host of pros are trying to get their hands on one card:

Imperial Recruiter, which sells for as much as $150, is a key component of the modern day Aluren combo deck. The archetype uses its namesake enchantment to play creatures for free. That allows it to create a loop in which it uses Dream Stalker, Cavern Harpy, a lifegain measure like Essence Warden, and some sort of damage source like Ghitu Slinger to gain infinite life and deal infinite damage to any number of targets. Check out this early decklist from Patrick Chapin:

 

 

1 Etched Oracle

1 Cavern Harpy

1 Dream Stalker

2 Eternal Witness

1 Ghitu Slinger

4 Imperial Recruiter

1 Man-o'-War

1 Spike Feeder

4 Wall of Roots

 

4 Aluren

 

4 Brainstorm

1 Chain of Vapor

4 Force of Will

4 Intuition

 

3 Cabal Therapy

2 Deep Analysis

 

2 Forest

1 Island

1 Badlands

1 Bayou

2 Flooded Strand

4 Polluted Delta

1 Taiga

2 Tropical Island

1 Underground Sea

1 Volcanic Island

2 Windswept Heath

4 Wooded Foothills

 

Sideboard:

3 Etched Oracle

1 Goblin Pyromancer

1 Tinder Wall

3 Pernicious Deed

3 Divert

1 Cabal Therapy

3 Duress

(Source: StarCityGames.com)

 

The card is also a key component of Imperial Painter decks, which use the creature to tutor up Painter's Servant. Set to blue, the 1/3 allows a single Grindstone to be instantly lethal against an opponent, milling their entire strategy. Plus, Red Elemental Blast and Pyroblast allow the Painter player to counter their opponent's blue spells, which would be any spells they have after the Painter's Servant has resolved. Here's an example of just such a decklist from Stefano Cucciniello, which got 3rd place at a Legacy event in Europe.

 

4 Imperial Recruiter

2 Jaya Ballard, Task Mage

4 Magus of the Moon

4 Painter's Servant

4 Simian Spirit Guide

 

4 Lightning Bolt

3 Magma Jet

4 Pyroblast

4 Red Elemental Blast

 

3 Blood Moon

 

4 Chrome Mox

4 Grindstone

 

4 Ancient Tomb

4 City of Traitors

8 Mountain

 

Sideboard:

1 Vexing Shusher

1 Viashino Heretic

3 Pyrokinesis

2 Shattering Spree

3 Relic of Progenitus

3 Trinisphere

2 Umezawa's Jitte

(Source: DeckCheck.net)

 

So could one of these two archetypes be the secret tech for beating the field in Columbus? Or has a different strategy entirely been brewed up that necessitates the usage of the expensive rare? One thing is for certain: StarCityGames.com, one of the largest Magic retailers in the world, is completely sold out of the card even at $150.

 

For more information on Grand Prix-Columbus, visit the official event site here.

 

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