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MITMH2022
Public Access

Solution to Something Command

The Quest Coast

Answer: THE DARK
by Jen McTeague, Nate Heiss and Ryan Dhuse

Puzzle 1

This is the list of all Magic cards that contain the word “Karn” in the flavor text. The opponent has a Glacial Chasm that you need to deal with, but there are no cards on your side of the field that deal with lands. Therefore, the card you need is Aftershock. Since you’ll be dealing yourself enough damage to put you below 0, this is the condition to win while at less than 0 life.

Full Solution

  1. Play the Tainted Citadel.
  2. Cast Aftershock, tapping all your available mana, targeting the Glacial Chasm.
  3. Aftershock resolves, killing the Glacial Chasm, and putting a Lich’s Tomb trigger on the stack.
  4. The Lich’s Tomb trigger resolves. Sacrifice Cathodion and the Scornful Egotist. Cathodion makes three colorless mana. Two Goblin Sharpshooter triggers go on the stack. (Current stack: GS, GS)
  5. Tap Goblin Sharpshooter to deal 1 damage to the Platinum Angel. (Current stack: GS, GS)
  6. Goblin Sharpshooter untaps. (Current stack: GS)
  7. Tap Goblin Sharpshooter to deal 1 damage to the opponent. (Opp: 20, Current stack: GS)
  8. Goblin Sharpshooter untaps.
  9. Spend two colorless mana to equip the Deathrender to Ember-Fist Zubera #1. (The third colorless mana is irrelevant.)
  10. Activate the Bloodshot Colossus, sacrificing Ember-Fist Zubera #1, targeting the Platinum Angel. This triggers the Deathrender, the Ember-Fist Zubera, and the Goblin Sharpshooter. (Current stack: BC, EFZ, GS, D)
  11. Deathrender trigger resolves, putting the Clone into play as a copy of Ember-Fist Zubera #2. (Current stack: BC, EFZ, GS)
  12. Tap the Goblin Sharpshooter to deal 1 damage to the opponent. (Opp: 19)
  13. Goblin Sharpshooter untaps. (Current stack: BC, EFZ)
  14. Tap Tainted Citadel for R. The mana deals 3 damage to you. This puts a Lich’s Tomb trigger on the stack. (Current stack: BC, EFZ, LT)
  15. The Lich’s Tomb trigger resolves. Sacrifice Ember-Fist Zubera #2, Clone, and Scornful Egotist. Deathrender triggers, both Ember-Fist Zuberas trigger, and the Goblin Sharpshooter triggers 3 times. (Current stack: BC, EFZ1, EFZ2, EFZ3, GS, GS, GS, D)
  16. Deathrender trigger resolves, putting the Goblin Masons into play. (Current stack: BC, EFZ1, EFZ2, EFZ3, GS, GS, GS)
  17. Tap the Goblin Sharpshooter to deal 1 damage to the opponent. Then it untaps. Repeat this process twice more. (Opp: 16, Current stack: BC, EFZ1, EFZ2, EFZ3)
  18. All three Ember-Fist Zubera triggers resolve. Each one deals 3 damage to the opponent since each one sees all 3 Zuberas die. (Opp: 7, Current stack: BC)
  19. The Bloodshot Colossus ability resolves, killing the opponent’s Platinum Angel. The Goblin Sharpshooter triggers. (Current stack: GS)
  20. Tap the Goblin Sharpshooter to deal 1 damage to you. This triggers Lich’s Tomb. (Current stack: GS, LT)
  21. The Lich’s Tomb trigger resolves. Sacrifice the Goblin Masons. This triggers the Goblin Masons and the Goblin Sharpshooter. This also triggers the Deathrender, but with no creatures left in our hand, it’s not relevant. (Current stack: GS, GS, GM)
  22. The Goblin Mason trigger resolves, killing the Wall of Glare. Goblin Sharpshooter triggers. (Current stack: GS, GS, GS)
  23. Goblin Sharpshooter untaps. Then tap it to deal 1 damage to the opponent. Repeat this process two more times. (Opp: 3)
  24. Cast Landslide with the floating red mana from the Tainted Citadel. Sacrifice all your Mountains and kill the opponent. (Opp: 0)

Puzzle 2

This is the list of all the rares in Core Set 2020. There’s a couple different ways you could attempt to win this puzzle.

Clear all the opponent’s creatures and then attack with Infinity Elemental. The problem is that with the given setup, you can kill 3 creatures with Lightning Bolt + Mnemonic Wall/Archaeomancer, plus another with Bone Shards. This leaves 2 creatures left. The four pieces of rare removal are Agent of Treachery, Chandra’s Flame Wave, Legion’s End, and Planar Cleansing. Agent of Treachery and Legion’s End only target one creature, Chandra’s Flamewave only kills one creature, and Planar Cleansing also kills the Infinity Elemental.

Give the Infinity Elemental some sort of evasion. The only rare 2020 card that grants evasion is Aggressive Mammoth, which we can’t play because we don’t have the green mana to do so.

Deal 12 damage to the opponent this turn with one card. Assuming that you cast all the sorceries and instants in your hand, use the two creatures to buy back Lightning Bolt, and point all your Bolts at the opponent, you will deal 19 damage. There’s 12 damage still to deal, and you have 4 mana to do it with. Perhaps, unsurprisingly, there is no rare 2020 card that deals 12 damage to the opponent for four mana.

Buy back the Lightning Bolt twice. Technically, there is no rare 2020 card that does this. But Brought Back will do so for the Archaeomancer and the Mnemonic Wall, which will then let you get the Lightning Bolts back. This also lets you cast the same spell 5 times.

Full Solution

  1. Tap all your mana. (Mana: WWWUUUBBBRRRRRRRRR)
  2. Cast Lightning Bolt for R, targeting your opponent. Guttersnipe triggers. The opponent takes 5 total damage. (Opp: 26, Mana: WWWUUUBBBRRRRRRRR)
  3. Cast Archaeomancer for UUBB. When it comes into play, return the Lightning Bolt to your hand. (Mana: WWWUBRRRRRRRR)
  4. Cast Lightning Bolt for R, targeting your opponent. Guttersnipe triggers. The opponent takes 5 total damage. (Opp: 21, Mana: WWWUBRRRRRRR)
  5. Cast Mnemonic Wall for UWRRR. When it comes into play, return the Lightning Bolt to your hand. (Mana: WWBRRRR)
  6. Cast Lightning Bolt for R, targeting your opponent. Guttersnipe triggers. The opponent takes 5 total damage. (Opp: 16, Mana: WWBRRR)
  7. Cast Bone Shards for B targeting the Mnemonic Wall. As an additional cost, sacrifice the Archaeomancer. Guttersnipe triggers, dealing 2 damage to the opponent. (Opp: 14, Mana: WWRRR)
  8. Cast Brought Back for WW, returning the Mnemonic Wall and the Archaeomancer back to play. Guttersnipe triggers, dealing two damage to the opponent. With the Mnemonic Wall, target the Lightning Bolt. With the Archaeomancer, target the Bone Shards. (Opp: 12, Mana: RRR, Stack: A, MN)
  9. Let the Mnemonic Wall trigger but not the Archaeomancer trigger resolve. Return the Lightning Bolt to your hand. (Stack: A)
  10. Cast Lightning Bolt for R, targeting your opponent. Guttersnipe triggers. The opponent takes 5 total damage. (Opp: 7, Mana: RR, Stack: A)
  11. Cast Bolt Bend for R because there is a creature with power 4 or greater. (See, the Infinity Elemental has a purpose!) Redirect the Archaeomancer trigger’s target from the Bone Shards to the Lightning Bolt. Guttersnipe triggers, dealing two damage to the opponent. (Opp: 5, Mana: R, Stack: A)
  12. The Archaeomancer trigger resolves, returning the Lightning Bolt to your hand.
  13. Cast Lightning Bolt for R, targeting your opponent. Guttersnipe triggers. The opponent takes 5 total damage. (Opp: 0, Mana: )

Puzzle 3

The “16-17 January 2016” is a prerelease stamp, which is the prerelease of Oath of the Gatewatch. This tells you both the set and also that the card is a rare or mythic. The /5 means that the creature has a toughness of 5. This is the list of all creatures that fit this criterion. Only two of the spells on that list can be cast with the mana we currently have available. While Reality Smasher is a big beater with trample, it doesn’t help deal with the Guardians of the Gateless on the other side of the board. Endbringer, on the other hand, will. This puzzle, because of X shenanigans, will fill the criterion of casting 15 mana value worth of spells.

Full Solution

  1. Tap all your mana. Tap the Eldrazi Temples for two mana each. (In our mana tracker, mana from the Eldrazi Temples will be represented as E.) (Mana: EEEEEECR)
  2. Cast the Nettle Drone for R, reduced by the Eye of Ugin. The Eldrazi Mimics will trigger. Ignore them. (Mana: EEEEEEC)
  3. Equip the Nettle Drone with the Lightning Greaves, giving it haste.
  4. Tap the Nettle Drone to deal 1 damage to the opponent. (Opp: 21)
  5. Cast the Endbringer for EEEE, reduced by the Eye of Ugin. The Eldrazi Mimics will trigger, becoming 5/5s. The Nettle Drone will trigger, untapping. (Mana: EEC)
  6. Tap the Nettle Drone to deal 1 damage to the opponent. (Opp: 20)
  7. Equip the Endbringer with the Lightning Greaves, giving it haste.
  8. Activate the Endbringer for E, stopping Guardian of the Gatewatch 1 from blocking this turn. (Mana: EC)
  9. Equip the Nettle Drone with the Lightning Greaves, getting the shroud boots off of the Endbringer.
  10. Activate the Magewright’s Stone for C, untapping the Endbringer. (Mana: E)
  11. Equip the Endbringer with the Lightning Greaves, giving it haste.
  12. Activate the Endbringer for E, stopping Guardian of the Gatewatch 2 from blocking this turn. (Mana: )
  13. Equip the Nettle Drone with the Lightning Greaves, giving it haste.
  14. Cast an Endless One for X=2, which is free with the reduction from Eye of Ugin. The Nettle Drone triggers and untaps. Tap it again to deal 1 damage to the opponent. (Opp: 19)
  15. Repeat the process above twice more. (Opponent: 17)
  16. Equip one Endless One with the Lightning Greaves, giving it haste.
  17. Attack with everything. The two Guardians of the Gateless cannot block. The attackers get through for (Eldrazi Mimic (5/5)*2, Juggernaut (5/3), Endless One (2/2)) 17 damage. (Opp: 0)

(Note that there is a line where you attack with Nettle Drone instead of an Endless One, but that deals exactly the same amount of damage.)

Puzzle 4

This is the list of split cards. Things get a little bit trickier to navigate here, as you need at least one side that can be cast only with black and green mana. This narrows it down to 31 cards. From there, you are looking for something that can either deal with the opponent’s creatures or allow you to punch through. Looking at the split cards closely, the only thing that works is Find//Finality. With the full solution the Algae Gharial just barely gets under the 15 +1/+1 counters needed for the one condition, making the only viable condition all your creatures have +1/+1 counters.

Full Solution

  1. Tap all your mana. (Mana: 9G, 9B)
  2. Activate the Festercreep for BG. The Festercreep is now a 0/0 and dies, triggering the Algae Gharial. (Mana: 8G, 8B, Stack: F, AG)
  3. The Algae Gharial trigger resolves. (AG: 1/1 w/ +1/+1, Stack: F)
  4. The Festercreep trigger resolves, killing your Fleshbag Marauder and the opponent’s Beloved Chaplain, triggering the Algae Gharial twice. All other creatures have -1/-1. (AG: 0/0 w/ +1/+1, Stack: AG, AG)
  5. Let both Algae Gharial triggers resolve. (AG: 0/0 w/ +3/+3)
  6. Cast Finality for BBBGGG. Put the +1/+1 counters on the Algae Gharial, which you can do because Finality doesn’t target anything. Finality kills your Plaguecrafter and the opponent’s Mentor of the Meek, Odric, Lunarch Marshal, Lightwielder Paladin, and Angel of Salvation. Algae Gharial triggers 5 times. (AG: -4/-4 w/ +5/+5, Mana: 5G, 5B, Stack: AG*5)
  7. Let the Algae Gharial triggers resolve. (AG: -4/-4 w/ +10/+10)
  8. Cast Regrowth for BG, targeting the Find//Finality. (Mana: 4G, 4B)
  9. Cast Find for BG, targeting the Plaguecrafter and the Fleshbag Marauder. (Mana: 3G, 3B)
  10. Cast the Fleshbag Marauder for GGB. When it comes into play, it’s ability triggers. Sacrifice it to itself, and the opponent sacrifices the Celestial Force. Algae Gharial triggers twice. (Mana: GBB)
  11. Let the Algae Gharial triggers resolve. (AG: -4/-4 w/ +12/+12)
  12. Cast the Plaguecrafter for GBB. When it comes into play, it’s ability triggers. Sacrifice it to itself, and the opponent sacrifices the Sun Titan. Algae Gharial triggers twice. (Mana: )
  13. Let the Algae Gharial triggers resolve. (AG: -4/-4 w/ +14/+14)
  14. Attack with the Algae Gharial. The opponent has no blockers and therefore must let it through. The opponent takes 10 damage and dies.

Puzzle 5

This is the list of all uncommon cards from New Phyrexia. You could reduce it by colors, but be careful! This set contains the Phyrexian mana mechanic, plus there are also all of the colorless cards to consider. This puzzle really wants to play the Goblin Boom Keg and then destroy it. The only card on the list to destroy artifacts is Phyrexia’s Core. (Note that Triumph of the Hordes is stopped by Melira, Sylvok Outcast.) At the end, Ageless Entity will have 18 +1/+1 counters, giving it the 15 +1/+1 counter condition.

Full Solution

  1. Tap all your mana. (Mana: GGGGGGW)
  2. Play Goblin Boom Keg for GGGW. (Mana: GGG)
  3. Play Phyrexia’s Core. This triggers Grazing Gladehart, gaining you 2 life. This triggers Light of Promise and Ageless Entity, putting 4 +1/+1 counters on that creature. (AE: +4/+4)
  4. Activate Phyrexia’s Core for G, sacrificing the Goblin Boom Keg. Goblin Boom Keg and Fangren Marauder trigger. (Stack: PC, FM, GBK)
  5. The Goblin Boom Keg trigger resolves, dealing 3 damage to the opponent. (Opp: 16, Stack: PC, FM)
  6. The Fangren Marauder trigger resolves, gaining you 5 life. This triggers Light of Promise and Ageless Entity, putting 10 +1/+1 counters on that creature. (AE: +14/+14)
  7. The Phyrexia’s Core trigger resolves, gaining you 1 life. This triggers Light of Promise and Ageless Entity, putting 2 +1/+1 counters on that creature. (AE: +16/+16)
  8. Cast Bull’s Strength on the Ageless Entity, giving it +2/+2 and trample. (AE: +18/+18)
  9. Attack with everything. Assuming the opponent blocks the best way possible, they will block the Grazing Gladehart with the Melira, the Fangren Marauder with the Orcish Lumberjack, and the Ageless Entity with the Wall of Heat. The Grazing Gladehart and the Fangren Marauder deal no damage, and the Ageless Entity deals 4+18-6=16 damage to the opponent, killing them.

Puzzle 6

This is the list of all enchantments illustrated by Mark Tedin. With no ways to deal with the Walls of Denial in that list, there is no way to push through combat damage. This means that the blank card has to either deal damage to the opponent or trigger the Bastion of Remembrance. The only card in the list that deals damage to the opponent is Psychic Allergy, but that doesn’t deal enough damage the one time it would trigger. Second Chance however gives an extra turn, which would normally be a problem in this genre of puzzles, if it weren’t for the one condition that requires an infinite turn loop.

Full Solution

  1. Cast Pillory of the Sleepless, targeting your Sphinx of the Second Sun.
  2. Cast Copy Enchantment, copying your Bastion of Remembrance, creating an irrelevant token.
  3. Pass through your combat step. Sphinx of the Second Sun gives you an additional beginning step. Untap your lands.
  4. Your upkeep happens. Pillory of the Sleepless, Second Chance and Starfield of Nyx trigger. Starfield of Nyx’s trigger fizzles due to lack of target. (Stack: PotS, SC)
  5. Second Chance’s trigger resolves, giving you an extra turn. Both Bastions of Remembrance trigger because the Second Chance was a creature thanks to Starfield of Nyx. (Stack: PotS, BoR, BoR)
  6. Both Bastions of Remembrances triggers resolve, dealing two damage to the opponent and gaining you 2 life. (Stack: PotS, Your Life: 7)
  7. The Pillory of the Sleepless trigger resolves, losing you 1 life. (Your Life: 6)
  8. Tap 1 mana to pay for Words of Waste.
  9. Go to your draw step and skip your draw thanks to Words of Waste.

At this point, you have set up a loop. In your first upkeep, you lose 1 life from Pillory of the Sleepless, going to 5, and you use Starfield of Nyx to bring the Second Chance back. Second Chance doesn’t trigger because it wasn’t in play at the beginning of your upkeep. In your second upkeep, you sacrifice the Second Chance, draining 2 life from your opponent, and you lose 1 life from the Pillory of the Sleepless. This leaves you in the same situation you were in at the beginning of the turn, with the exception that you have an extra turn and your opponent has lost two life. As long as you remember to pay for the Words of Waste so you don’t deck yourself, you can keep doing this infinitely until your opponent loses the game.

Puzzle 7

This is the list of all the rares from Commander 2019. There’s a lot of them. You can deal with the whole search at once, or you can make some reasonable assumptions to cut the number down. In the whole puzzle, you can only generate one non-green mana, so anything that costs more than 1 non-green mana is out. You can reduce it even further by hypothesizing that this is built around the interaction between Reef Wurm, Ooze Garden, and Doubling Season, so the non-green mana needs to be for the Reef Wurm. This means that the missing card can be at most green, which is this list of cards, a more reasonable 42 cards. If you do the math of the Reef Wurm, Ooze Garden, and Doubling Season, you find that your power is still not nearly enough to destroy the opponent - you’re off by a factor of 3. The only way to multiply your current power by 3 is to use Second Harvest. This will give you 48 of the biggest Ooze tokens, fulfilling that condition.

(Why does Second Harvest triple the tokens? Second Harvest creates a copy of each token on the battlefield, but Doubling Season sees it trying to create a copy and doubles the number of tokens created, creating two copies for each token already on the battlefield.)

Full Solution

  1. Steel yourself. This is not technically necessary, but it is good advice.
  2. Cast Reef Wurm, tapping the Elvish Aberration and the Noble Hierarch for GGGU to pay for it.
    • (Creatures in Play: CW, CD, EA (tapped), NH (tapped), RW)
  3. Cast Quirion Ranger, tapping the Forest to pay for it.
    • (Creatures in Play: CW, CD, EA (tapped), NH (tapped), RW, QR)
  4. Tap Gaea’s Cradle for 6G.
    • (Creatures in Play: CW, CD, EA (tapped), NH (tapped), RW, QR, Mana: 6G)
  5. Activate Ooze Garden for GG, sacrificing the Reef Wurm. Reef Wurm creates 2 3/3 Fish, and Ooze Garden creates 2 0/0 Oozes that immediately die to state-based effects.
    • (Creatures in Play: CW, CD, EA (tapped), NH (tapped), QR, 2 3/3 Fish Mana: 4G)
  6. Activate Ooze Garden for GG, sacrificing a 3/3 Fish. Reef Wurm creates 2 6/6 Whales, and Ooze Garden creates 2 3/3 Oozes.
    • (Creatures in Play: CW, CD, EA (tapped), NH (tapped), QR, 1 3/3 Fish, 2 6/6 Whales, 2 3/3 Oozes, Mana: 2G)
  7. Activate Ooze Garden for GG, sacrificing a 3/3 Fish. Reef Wurm creates 2 6/6 Whales, and Ooze Garden creates 2 3/3 Oozes.
    • (Creatures in Play: CW, CD, EA (tapped), NH (tapped), QR, 4 6/6 Whales, 4 3/3 Oozes, Mana: )
  8. Activate Nissa’s +1 ability, untapping the Gaea’s Cradle and animating it into a 5/5.
    • (Creatures in Play: CW, CD, EA (tapped), NH (tapped), QR, 5/5 Gaea’s Cradle, 4 6/6 Whales, 4 3/3 Oozes, Mana: )
  9. Tap Gaea’s Cradle for 14G.
    • (Creatures in Play: CW, CD, EA (tapped), NH (tapped), QR, 5/5 Gaea’s Cradle (tapped), 4 6/6 Whales, 4 3/3 Oozes, Mana: 14G)
  10. Activate Ooze Garden 4 times for 8G, sacrificing a 6/6 Whale each time. Reef Wurm creates 2 9/9 Krakens, and Ooze Garden creates 2 6/6 Oozes for each one.
    • (Creatures in Play: CW, CD, EA (tapped), NH (tapped), QR, 5/5 Gaea’s Cradle (tapped), 8 9/9 Krakens, 4 3/3 Oozes, 8 6/6 Oozes, Mana: 6G)
  11. Activate Ooze Garden 3 times for 6G, sacrificing three of the Krakens and producing 2 9/9 Oozes for each one.
    • (Creatures in Play: CW, CD, EA (tapped), NH (tapped), QR, 5/5 Gaea’s Cradle (tapped), 5 9/9 Krakens, 4 3/3 Oozes, 8 6/6 Oozes, 6 9/9 Oozes, Mana: )
  12. Activate Quirion Ranger, returning the Forest to your hand and untapping Gaea’s Cradle (which you can do since Nissa made it a creature.) Replay the forest and float a G mana.
    • (Creatures in Play: CW, CD, EA (tapped), NH (tapped), QR (used), 5/5 Gaea’s Cradle, 5 9/9 Krakens, 4 3/3 Oozes, 8 6/6 Oozes, 6 9/9 Oozes, Mana: G)
  13. Tap Gaea’s Cradle for 29G.
    • (Creatures in Play: CW, CD, EA (tapped), NH (tapped), QR (used), 5/5 Gaea’s Cradle (tapped), 5 9/9 Krakens, 4 3/3 Oozes, 8 6/6 Oozes, 6 9/9 Oozes, Mana: 30G)
  14. Activate Ooze Garden 5 times for 10G, sacrificing each of the remaining Krakens and producing 2 9/9 Oozes for each one.
    • (Creatures in Play: CW, CD, EA (tapped), NH (tapped), QR (used), 5/5 Gaea’s Cradle (tapped), 4 3/3 Oozes, 8 6/6 Oozes, 16 9/9 Oozes, Mana: 20G)
  15. Activate Ooze Garden 4 times for 8G, sacrificing Craw Wurm, Elvish Aberration, Quirion Ranger, and Gaea’s Cradle, producing the appropriate Ooze tokens.
    • (Creatures in Play: CD, NH (tapped), 2 1/1 Oozes, 4 3/3 Oozes, 2 4/4 Oozes, 2 5/5 Oozes, 10 6/6 Oozes, 16 9/9 Oozes, Mana: 12G)
  16. Cast Second Harvest for GGGG, effectively tripling all your tokens.
    • (Creatures in Play: CD, NH (tapped), 6 1/1 Oozes, 12 3/3 Oozes, 6 4/4 Oozes, 6 5/5 Oozes, 30 6/6 Oozes, 48 9/9 Oozes, Mana: 8G)
  17. Tap Crashing Drawbridge to give all your creatures haste, then attack with them. This deals (6*1)+(12*3)+(6*4)+(6*5)+(30*6)+(48*9)=708 damage, exactly killing your opponent.

Overall Solution

Order the puzzles by which condition they fill. Each missing card has a name that gives a letter when interpreted as cryptic crossword wordplay. (Turns out that the Something Command is Cryptic Command.) These letters in order spell THE DARK.

ConditionPuzzleCardLetter
Win after casting the same spell 5 times.#2BROUGHT BACKT
Win while taking infinite turns.#6SECOND CHANCEH
Win while having at least 15 +1/+1 counters on one creature.#5PHYREXIA’S COREE
Win while every creature in play has a +1/+1 counter on it.#4FIND // FINALITYD
Win while attacking with 48 identical creatures.#7SECOND HARVESTA
Win while playing spells with a total combined mana value of 15 this turn.#3ENDBRINGERR
Win with less than 0 life.#1AFTERSHOCKK

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