1. Introduction
Inspired by Luke Chirayath's article about transforming a known Type 1 combo deck into a viable Online Extended deck, I decided to write an article about my favorite Online Extended deck: Cephalid Breakfast. It all began in Pro Tour: Columbus, where a couple of Spanish people played a combo deck that worked very similarly to the old Angry Ghoul deck, which died when Hermit Druid got banned.
Undaunted, they began playing with Cephalid Illusionists and Nomads and Shaman en-Kors. As soon as I downloaded and watched the video where David Carvajal explains how his deck worked, I started to build this deck on Magic Online - only to find out there were no good substitutes for en-Kors available online. The best it had to offer back then was Lightning Greaves, which needs another creature to work, and Grafted Wargear, which costs too much mana to be viable in a format where just about every other deck is Affinity.
I buried the idea of this deck for some time... until I saw Betrayers of Kamigawa spoiler. It had this one-mana equipment with equip cost of zero called Shuko.
I patiently waited until Betrayers was available online. As you might know, everything new is expensive. I bought four Shukos for a ticket each, and then built a deck list from Carvajal's Pro Tour: Columbus list. Here's what I and my friend came up with:
2. Card choices and explanations
The Mana Base
This deck runs pretty much every playable rainbow land available on Magic Online. The most important thing is that every land should produce green mana. I've considered playing Riftstone Portal - but it hits the graveyard after you've comboed, and by then there's no need for white mana anymore.
Aether Vial (or the lack of)
The biggest difference between Online Extended and Extended caused me to cut these. While they're excellent in Extended, they're virtually useless Online. They make your combo slower, there is very little countermagic in the field, and there are basically only four cards in your deck you want to Vial out.
I've seen a Cephalid Life deck on Magic Online, and it should run these because it has no Living Wishes - and therefore a full set of Cephalids along with Daru Spiritualists and probably four Trinket Mages too. But unless you like to spend ten minutes clicking between Shuko and Daru Spiritualist every time you get the combo, I don't suggest playing it.
Eladamri's Call
The only really good Tutor online.
Living Wish
Tutors 5-8, with the exception that these can get rid of problematic cards like Solitary Confinement.
Steelshaper's Gift
Shukos number 5 through 8.
Trinket Mage
It allows you to get a Shuko with Eladamri's Call. Also makes your Sutured Ghoul a bit bigger, which might be helpful if you're facing Ravenous Baloths.
Cephalid Illusionist + Shuko
The combo this deck is based on.
Krosan Cloudscraper
The biggest creature available. If they ever print something larger than this, feel free to switch to it. I've played this multiple times as a face-down creature and chumped something with it just to buy another turn.
Sutured Ghoul
No explanation needed.
Krosan Reclamation
Likewise.
Dragon Breath
Yup.
Stitch Together, Life / Death
The reanimation spells. I've tried adding more of these because drawing one can sometimes make your kill a turn faster... but there's nothing I really want to cut. Two of both are perfect because against some decks you can't afford to take that seven damage when reanimating the Ghoul. Life/Death also works well when your Cephalid faces removal or discard.
Cabal Therapy
Usually they just clear the way, but sometimes you need them to hit yourself when you've drawn a Cloudscraper, Sutured Ghoul or Dragon Breath.
Engineered Plague
These are in here against Goblin decks - mostly the ones running black for Therapies. Mono-red Goblins rarely have anything to say to your combo, excluding the possibility of Gempalm Incinerators.
Buried Alive
These are the key cards against control decks that side in Engineered Plagues. Usually if Engineered Plague resolves against you and you haven't comboed yet, you're not going to win. I've played against some people who keep hands like Sakura-tribe Elder, Engineered Plague, Cabal Therapy and lands against me; no pressure at all. Sometimes all it takes to win is a Birds of Paradise and a couple of Shukos.
Flaring Pain
You need this against three decks: Balancing Tings, Tooth and Nail, and Mirari's Wake. Moment's Peace is a card you can't win against if you've already flipped your deck over.
Visara the Dreadful
This is a card to Living Wish for against decks like GR beatdown or UG Madness. I also side it in against Affinity, mostly because it gives +5/+5 to the Ghoul and lets it trample over an Atog. I've also cast this on my fourth turn after Eladamri's Calling for Birds of Paradise.
The rest of the sideboard cards are just Living Wish targets.
3. Matchups
There are basically five different deck types played in Magic Online Extended tournaments: Affinity, Goblins, Rock, Tooth and Nail, and random decks like U/G Madness, Scepter-control, Balancing Tings. None of these are impossible to beat, but some of them will be really intense.
Affinity:
This is by far the most-played deck in Online Extended premier events. It's cheap, it's fast, and it can beat expensive Invasion block rares easily. Because of its popularity, Affinity decks have a lot of sideboard cards for mirror matches. Usually they'll board in Cabal Therapies (unless they're maindecking them) and perhaps Engineered Plagues.
Because Affinity doesn't have that many black mana sources, those Therapies shouldn't be that much of a problem. I advise you to mulligan marginal hands against Affinity, especially on the draw.
The most annoying card against you is Atog, which can kill you at once or block your Ghoul and avoid lethal damage. Against Affinity, side out one Living Wish and in the Visara. Don't be afraid to go for a fast Visara if you have the chance; it will most likely end the game.
Goblins:
There are two kinds of Goblin decks: The ones that have Cabal Therapies and the others that don't. Cabal Therapy combined with pressure usually spells your doom. If you get a chance to Therapy them, go for Goblin Piledrivers if they haven't reached two mana yet; otherwise, hit their Goblin Warchiefs, Gempalm Incinerators, or whatever else the situation needs. Against Goblins, in go three Engineered Plagues, out comes one Chrome Mox, one Birds of Paradise, and a Trinket Mage.
Rock:
This is the matchup I hate to play. They have Duresses, Cabal Therapies, Cranial Extractions, Pernicious Deeds, and the version splashing red has Terminates. Any of those can make your life difficult.
When going first, an opening hand with turn 3 action should be enough because they don't have the mana to cast and activate Deed yet. Usually it comes down to long topdeck wars, where you either lose to your mana base and his one or two beaters, or you get lucky enough to draw and cast enough combo pieces. Side in three Buried Alives, take out two Eladamri's Calls and a Chrome Mox.
I've seen a lot of people keep hands of Cabal Therapy, two Engineered Plague and lands against me after sideboarding. These hands lack pressure, and they give me enough time to draw either Living Wish or Buried Alive and an animation spell.
Tooth and Nail:
This is probably the easiest matchup you can get. They have absolutely nothing to stop your combo, apart from Moment's Peaces. You can play around Moment's Peaces by leaving some cards in your deck after comboing, and then waiting until he runs out of them.
Early Cabal Therapies should be used to take out Sakura-Tribe Elders. And if you draw a Reanimation, you can Millstone your deck until you see both Krosan Cloudscrapers, Sutured Ghoul, and Dragon Breath, then Therapy for Moment's Peaces and use Reclamation to shuffle them back to his library.
Sideboard in Flaring Pain and take out one Cabal Therapy. Sideboarded games are a lot easier, because you have a solid answer to their Peaces.
U/G Madness:
This deck usually taps out during turn 2, so that's when you should try to get most of your combo in play. Remember to Therapy for Circular Logic before you do anything important if they have the mana for it. Sideboard in Visara and take one Chrome Mox out.
That said, I haven't seen this deck in ages.
Scepter-Control:
This is a horrible matchup for you. They have Fire / Ices, Counterspells, and Isochron Scepter, which all cause you big troubles. Luckily, this deck costs too much and isn't very good against the rest of the field.
There are no sideboard changes unless they're running Holy Days for some reason. If this deck becomes more popular, I'll consider playing Aether Vials.
Balancing Tings:
This deck doesn't do much most of the time. You can nullify their plans with a single Cabal Therapy. Also, remember that Forbidden Orchard is pure gold against this deck. Just empty your hand as fast as possible while setting up for the combo and make sure your opponent has a bunch of tokens. He can't get rid of the tokens, and his Balancing Acts won't do much with them in play.
Most builds run Moment's Peaces, but casting them usually requires them to sacrifice a land. Bring in the Flaring Pains and take one Eladamri's Call out. Beware of Condescends; some people play these and they can ruin your day.
4. Hints and Tips
There are some things you need to know when playing Cephalid Breakfast.
1. Mulligan Aggressively.
If your hand doesn't have the combo (or tutors for it), it's usually a bad hand. Exceptions are hands with decent mana, Shuko or Steelshaper's Gift, and a reanimation spell. Drawing Cephalid or a tutor will win you the game almost immediately. Take your time and think about what will happen during the next four turns.
2. Look At Your Life Points And Do The Math.
Sometimes it's good to leave the Illusionist alive after doing the combo just to chump block something. Also, remember that Forbidden Orchard works as a damageless source for some time. For example, use it to cast Reclamation at your opponent's end step, and then pay half of Stitch Together with it.
3. You Can Cast The Life Part Of Life / Death, Too.
This gives you plenty of gas for Cabal Therapies.
4. Take Your Time Looking At Your Graveyard Before You Mill The Last One, Two, Or Three Cards In Your Library.
Check if all the necessary combo pieces are in the graveyard and if all the reanimation is gone. I've won games I would've lost only because the last card of my deck was a Stitch Together.
5. Against Decks With Creature Removal, Always Play Shuko Before Cephalid.
This way you get the maximum amount of cards to your graveyard.
6. Cephalid Illusionist Has An Activated Ability.
It can stop a Kokusho from attacking, or you can use it as a bad Millstone. You might draw a Reanimation spell later, and then you can animate a smaller Ghoul or just a Cloudscraper.
7. Casting Dragon Breath On A Birds Of Paradise Is A Good Play If You Have Nothing Better To Do.
This way you don't need to get it from your hand with Cabal Therapy - and the tiny Shivan Dragon sometimes prevents Blinkmoth Nexus + Cranial Plating from killing you.
8. Don't Be Afraid To Reanimate The Cephalid If Your Opponent Is Tapped Out Or You Suspect That He Doesn't Have Removal.
'Nuff said.
5. A Small Magic Online Tournament Report.
I decided to write a small tournament report so you can get an idea of how this deck works in reality. A total of 32 players joined the tournament I was going to play in. This is the maximum amount of players for five rounds of Swiss; it also means that ten points isn't going to be enough for some people.
Round 1:
Game 1: My opening hand is Shuko, Steelshaper's Gift, Chrome Mox, Living Wish and an assorted collection of 5-color producing lands. He plays a first-turn Okina, Temple to the Grandfathers and a Birds of Paradise. I suspect he's playing Tooth and Nail, which is almost like a bye for this deck. I play a turn 1 Living Wish for Cephalid Illusionist and Illusionist + Shuko, then dump my deck to the bin. I flashback Cabal Therapy and name Pernicious Deed to see a hand of Flametongue Kavu, Sword of Fire and Ice, and Eternal Witness.
He has nothing, and I Flashback Krosan Reclamation and Ghoul him out.
Game 2: I decide to keep Birds, Dragon Breath, Shuko, Stitch, Mox, and a two-land hand. I fail to draw anything and his two Therapies wreck me. He kills me with a Flametongue Kavu.
Game 3: My opener is Brushland, Shuko, Cabal Therapy, Trinket Mage, Living Wish, Cephalid Illusionist and Buried Alive. I think about it for a while and decide to keep it because if I draw another land or a Chrome Mox I should be fine.
I play a first-turn Shuko while he plays only a Forest. I topdeck a Forbidden Orchard, play Illusionist, and dump all but one card from my deck. I count the lands in graveyard and notice the last card in my deck is a land - a Yavimaya Coast, to be specific. I Therapy, him naming Tribe-Elder, and he shows a hand of two Engineered Plague, two Terminates, and a Viridian Shaman. He plays a Swamp and passes.
I play the land I drew, Cabal Therapy for Terminate and flashback Krosan Reclamation, targeting two Life / Deaths. He plays Engineered Plague for Zombies and it makes my Sutured Ghoul's power drop to twenty-eight.
Round 2
Game 1: I keep a hand of Birds, Mox, Wish, two lands, Stitch Together, and Shuko.
I play Birds, he plays Sakura-Tribe Elder. I Wish for Cephalid Illusionist, play Chrome Mox and the Cephalid. He plays Pernicious Deed and has one mana open. I topdeck another Shuko and win.
All his cards were Foil, apart from the Pernicious Deed. His ratings were horrible, so I assume he's just a collector trying to show off his money.
Game 2: I keep a decent hand with one land, Birds, Shuko, Illusionist, and Animation. He plays turn 1 Cabal Therapy for Shuko. Turn 2 flashback it for Cephalid Illusionist.
I manage to cast Buried alive at one point - and then, some turns later, I animate the Ghoul and attack with him.
He casts Fog.
Fog!
Not a Moment's Peace.... but Fog.
I concede in disgust.
Game 3: He draws four Cabal Therapies, two Duresses, and two Witnesses. Good Game.
Round 3
Game 1: I mulligan a no-lander into two Tarnished Citadels, two Forbidden Orchards, Shuko, and Stitch Together.
I draw a Cabal Therapy and I know from the last round replays that he's playing Goblins. I consider Therapying him for a while, but I chose to wait for a turn, hoping to draw a Llanowar Wastes or City of Brass. He drops a Piledriver and passes.
I topdeck Eladamri's Call and I'm looking at a Turn 4 kill. I Therapy for Goblin Warchief, seeing lands and two more Piledrivers. He plays a freshly-drawn Goblin Matron and I concede after drawing a land.
Game 2: I keep Shuko, Illusionist, Living Wish + lands. He plays a turn 1 Piledriver with Chrome Mox and on my turn I flip my deck over except for one card. I take my time thinking what his last card is... and then Therapy for Warchief. His hand is two lands and a Goblin Ringleader, and he concedes shortly after drawing his card for the turn.
Game 3: He plays turn 1 Skirk Prospector and nothing else for two turns. I Wish for Cephalid, try to equip him with Shuko - and he cycles Gempalm Incinerator in response. I cast Death and reanimate the Squid, flip my deck, Reclaim two Stitch Togethers, and smash him with a rather large Ghoul.
Round 4
Game 1: My friend messages me and tells me I'm against a UGR Snaketongue deck.
My opening hand isn't great: Birds, two lands, Shuko, Cabal Therapy and Krosan Reclamation. I play turn 1 Birds, topdeck a Living Wish (which fetches me an Illusionist) and I steal an Eternal Witness with Cabal Therapy, seeing Mystic Snake and Repulse in his hand. I draw land number three and flip my deck again, taking his Mystic Snake after fueling a Cabal Therapy with the now-useless Cephalid.
On my upkeep, I cast Krosan Reclamation targeting Life/Death and Stitch Together (and me, of course). He topdecked a Mana Leak with the help of Sensei's Divining Top and counters my first attempt to Reclaim. Flashback resolves, and I pass the turn.
He drew Fire / Ice and fried my Birds on his own turn, still holding Repulse. I cast Life, sacrifice one of my lands to get rid of his Repulse, and Ghoul him out.
Game 2: He keeps a one-lander with Aether Vial and never draws another land. I start with Krosan Reclamation, two Steelshaper's Gifts, Chrome Mox, Eladamri's Call, and Forbidden Orchard. I topdeck a Forest, cast Call for Cephalid with the aid of the Chrome Mox. On my second turn I topdeck Life / Death, play Cephalid Illusionist and Steelshaper's Gift, getting the other combo piece. Next turn I get rid of my deck again, therapy for Unsummon, and animate the Ghoul.
My tiebreakers are the worst among the nine-pointers and I'm forced to play for The Top 8.
Game 1: I play Land, Mox, Mox, Cephalid Illusionist, Shuko. He concedes.
Game 2: I mulligan into a no-lander, but it has a Chrome Mox. He Duresses me, takes the Mox, and Í fail to draw a land.
Game 3: I start the game by casting Cabal Therapy and naming Duress. It hits and I see a Cranial Plating and a Cabal Therapy. He Therapies my Illusionist and has no action whatsoever. He plays two Cranial Platings while I set up for the kill.
I get the combo going - but I only have three mana and no more in hand, so I can't cast Reclamation in my upkeep and then immediately Reanimate something. He plays a Blinkmoth Nexus, so I'm forced to cast Krosan Reclamation for two Birds of Paradise. He has Engineered Plague and I die despite his horrible draws that game.
3-2
Overall, I'm a little disgusted about the last game of the last round, but these kind of things just happen in Magic.
6: The end.
I have several Premier Event top 8s with this deck and I have enough faith in it to play it in PTQs (and the Pro Tour/Worlds, if I somehow qualify) when Extended rotates out and matches Magic Online extended.
I enjoyed writing this article. Who knows? Maybe I will write another about my Lich-combo or my Sneak Attack deck.
Then, I'd like to thank:
- Luke Chirayath, for making the article about Meandeck Tendrils in Online 1.x.
- Spanish people, for finding Cephalid Illusionist.
- Km Valori, for building this deck with me.
I hope you enjoyed reading this.
- Jussi Timonen
100% Mozzie.
50% Brusher
| 
