"Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their women."
I see a lot of multiplayer theory that talks about why it's good to have a non-threatening control deck. Counter a spell or kill a creature that everyone hates, make some allies, and then later - much later - establish control of the game as one of the last survivors. It's a good way to win more than your fair share of multiplayer games.
But what if you don't want to make a deck that makes friends? What if your goal is to win the game and make it the most painful loss possible for your opponents? You could play combo, and bore them all to tears with your thirty-spell turn, but that's not the most painful way to die. It's much worse to be held helpless in unceasing agony, unable to cast anything, unable to avoid an eventual death by deck exhaustion.
Ever since my recursive Shahrazad/Haunting Echoes/Mesmeric Orb deck was neutered by those meddling judges (Players have the ability to concede subgames without conceding the main game!), I've been looking for a substitute. This is my latest concoction:
The primary win condition is Pendrell Mists, Nature's Revolt, and an artifact source of mana. Every land will then have an upkeep cost of one. Your helpless opponents will have to tap all their lands during their upkeeps, and they will be unable to cast spells or keep creatures alive. Even if they play a land they cannot tap it for mana, since thanks to the Revolt it is now a creature that just came into play.
Sometimes, even this sad state will not cause an immediate concession. After all, one opponent thinks, he can't cast much of anything, either. I could draw Disenchant or Naturalize. I can use a couple lands to keep important lands untapped.
That's when you drop the second Pendrell Mists.
Usually, you slowly kill each opponent by attacking with a single 2/2 land. Each opponent can stave off the bleeding for one turn by dropping an untapped land. Occasionally, in larger multiplayer games, you drop Feldon's Cane late in the game and deck them all. Your single artifact mana source will keep your land alive, and you don't even need to have it in hand when you get Pendrell Mists/Nature's Revolt, since you will eventually draw into one of your zero-mana mana-producing artifacts and build up from there.
There are some cards and interactions I'd like to go over in more detail:
Armageddon
This is one of the key cards for the deck. If you have Pendrell Mists in play, it reads "Kill all opponents' creatures and lands." If you have Propaganda in play, it reads: "Creatures can't attack you for at least two turns, and even after that it is difficult." If you have Land Equilibrium in play, it reads "You win the game."
It also completely wrecks most multiplayer decks that I've seen. Few spells will cause more hatred in the multiplayer arena than Armageddon will. The best part about it is, they usually can't do anything about it. Revel in their suffering.
Land Equilibrium
Once this is in play, stop playing lands. Most of the time, you want to stop playing lands when you reach four mana sources, but it's even more true when you have Land's Equilibrium in play. Multiplayer decks use lots of mana. If you resolve Armageddon after Land Equilibrium, the game is usually over. Eventually, you will draw your mana artifacts and then Feldon's Cane, and you will win.
There are only three ways that you could fail to win after resolving Land Equilibrium/Armageddon: The first is Power 9 cards, like Moxen or Black Lotus, which I don't see much in multiplayer. Non-powered mana sources, like Mox Diamond or Elvish Spirit Guide, can hurt it, but most multiplayer decks don't play those because the card disadvantage is bad and the speed unnecessary. Finally they could have Llanowar Elves, Sol Rings, or other mana producers already in play.
Aura of Silence
Speaking of Sol Ring, you must keep your opponents from getting artifact mana. Aura of Silence kills mana artifacts and discourages them from being played. It is also a catchall for dealing with other players' evil enchantments and artifacts. It tends to get recursed a lot.
Replenish and Attunement
There is a lot of synergy between these cards, and people have been playing them together as long as they've played Replenish decks. If you haven't seen this in action before, the strategy is to use Attunement to fill your graveyard with powerful enchantments as you try to draw Replenish. Once you cast Replenish, you get back four to five enchantments. In practice, I find that it is far more common to Replenish Nature's Revolt into play than it is to actually cast it.
Propaganda and Rhystic Study
Long-time multiplayer favorites of mine, this is the perfect deck for them. With Propaganda, other players attack other opponents so that they can use their mana to cast spells. With Rhystic Study, the incentive to pay mana to keep you from drawing cards is much less than it would be in a duel. Of course, these enchantments tend to work better on weaker players (or those who haven't witnessed the full power of your fully-operational battle station). The fact that your opponents have fewer lands available makes them even more impressive.
Rhystic Study after Armageddon is Pain...for everyone other than you.
Mana Short
This was originally a pre-sideboarded card against control decks, but it is very useful against other opponents. If you have Pendrell Mists out, you can Mana Short someone after all of the "pay one mana" triggers have been put on the stack, and it's like Wrath of God. If you have Propaganda out, it's Fog.
Karmic Justice
This is a great deterrent, especially against the weak. "If you Disenchant my Propaganda," you say, "I'll kill your land... Why don't you kill that threatening Skullclamp instead?"
It is also a rough answer to board sweepers: "You can cast that Akroma's Vengeance, but I'll kill all your land if you do."
Academy Rector
Try to hold this until you have Pendrell Mists in play so that you can sacrifice it to them and go fetch Nature's Revolt. Otherwise, it's like Moat, since nobody wants to attack into it.
Balance
This is usually what you want to find with Mystic Tutor. It is really strong for you, since you don't want lands or creatures in play, and in a large multiplayer game you might catch one opponent without many lands.
The Tabernacle At Pendrell Vale
I often waver on this one. Is it worth playing a land that doesn't produce mana in a deck where every mana counts? It is anti-synergistic with Armageddon, and it uses up your artifact mana once you get Nature's Revolt in play. On the other hand, it is a fifth Pendrell Mists that can't be countered and is very difficult to remove from play.
Playing Suffering Against Creature Decks
Suffering likes creature decks. Propaganda stops critter hordes in their tracks, and Pendrell Mists tends to keep them from developing. You don't have any spot removal, so big creatures can be a problem, but usually the creature players are the easiest to manipulate into attacking other people. The one creature you cannot beat is an active Devout Witness. If you see a lot of Devout Witnesses in your playgroup, I suggest taking your Misery elsewhere.
Playing Suffering Against Control Decks
This may look like a deck that auto-loses to Counterspell, but that's not actually the case. You have a ton of threats, and some of them come into play quite early. Your first goal should be to resolve Lilting Refrain. Most people won't counter it, since it looks so bad... And it is bad, but only because it cannot directly counter your opponents' threats at will. But it does a great job of forcing your spells through.
The other big question is when to cast Replenish and Armageddon. Either one can be the nail in the coffin for a control deck, and often you will cast Armageddon one turn to get rid of one opponent's last counter so you can cast Replenish on the next. You typically want to hold Replenish in your hand while your opponents kill your enchantments and then cast it to undo the damage. You do have four Replenishes (and ways of drawing them), so don't hesitate to cast them even when you don't have the full combo in your graveyard yet.
The flip side of countering control decks are permanent-killing control decks. You are even better against them. Your enchantments have a lot of synergy, and single-shot removal typically won't hurt much. The only exception is when they kill your Pendrell Mists and then attack you with 2/2 lands. Be careful not to overextend into a position where a single removal spell will kill you. Many global effects like Wrath of God or Shatterstorm will miss your enchantments, and Replenish gets back everything that is lost. Most control decks will not put pressure on you, giving you time to enact your evil.
Playing Suffering Against Combo Decks
Suffering can do very little against combo decks, since it's usually slower than other combos. It has some disruption and countering, but it needs them to force through its own victory conditions. Its one saving grace is that it doesn't look that intimidating.
Your tactic against combo is to make wild predictions about how the combo deck will kill everyone next turn so that the control decks will use up their counters slowing down the combo decks and leave everyone helpless when you throw the real grenade.
Wild Speculation: Ravnica Cards That Might Have A Place In Suffering
Life from the Loam: This can be used to get back lands that you've thrown away with Attunement or Armageddon. In particular, The Tabernacle of Pendrell Vale. The Dredge mechanic works well with Replenish. On the down side, it doesn't accelerate your mana or hurt your opponent.
Suppression Field: It makes commonly-played spells like Goblin Welder, Survival of the Fittest, or Isochron Scepter much worse. It works better in a low-mana environment and can be returned with Replenish. Its problem is that it is very narrow and does nothing against some decks.
Selesnya Sanctuary: This is a great land to cast on turn 2, since you lack early plays. It has synergy with Armageddon, since you can return a land to your hand and because you will lose less land in play when you cast it. It is great after the combo hits because it can power an additional land like an artifact can. It's terrible if it is your only land in hand after an Armageddon.
The first time you bring Suffering to your playgroup, it's unlikely that people will understand how evil you are... At least until it's too late. "What's that? A Lilting Refrain? Okay, no problem." "An Attunement? It can't hurt me, so I'll let you have it." " Pendrell Mists? Well.... I guess since I only have this Morphling, and Jack over there has the creature horde, I'll let it pass." "Replenish? What do you have in your graveyard... Aura of Silence, Attunement, some weird green spell... okay, I'll save this counter for a real threat."
Be careful not to gloat until you have complete and utter control, and only then take pleasure from their suffering.
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