Death Star (Casual)

Object of the Game: Accumulate enough mana to cast a powerful enough Banefire or Comet Storm to kill an opponent with a single spell. This is accomplished through an infinite colorless mana combo utilizing one of the following: Grim Monolith and Power Artifact; Basalt Monolith and Power Artifact; or Basalt Monolith and Rings of Brighthearth (Maybeboard).

Power Artifact decreases the untap cost of both Grim Monolith and Basalt Monolith. Doing so means that tapping them and untapping them always nets at least one colorless mana, resulting in an infinite colorless mana combo. If Grim Monolith is already tapped, you will additionally need two mana from elsewhere to get this combo started. If Basalt Monolith is already tapped, you will additionally need one mana from elsewhere to get this combo started. You can use Muddle the Mixture to find both Power Artifact and Grim Monolith. Sadly, the only way to find Basalt Monolith is to draw it.

Rings of Brighthearth (Maybeboard) is a bit more complicated. First off, you additionally need two mana from elsewhere. (If Basalt Monolith is already tapped, you will instead need five mana from elsewhere to get this combo started.) Then you tap Basalt Monolith, producing three mana. You use those three mana and the two mana from elsewhere to untap Basalt Monolith twice, using Rings of Brighthearth's ability to copy activated abilities. After Basalt Monolith's first untap ability resolves but while the second untap ability is still on the stack, you tap Basalt Monolith again to produce three mana again. Since the tap ability is a mana ability, it doesn't use the stack and resolves immediately - before the second untap ability resolves. Then the second untap ability resolves and untaps Basalt Monolith. Ultimately, this results in a net increase of one colorless mana and you can repeat the process as many times as you like, resulting in infinite colorless mana. Rings of Brighthearth does not work with Grim Monolith. Sadly, the only way to find Basalt Monolith and Rings of Brighthearth is to draw them.

Whether you should tap a monolith before starting your combo is a judgment call. Tapping them to get more mana is both useful and does not do much harm to the deck's ultimate strategy. There is only a slim chance that you can pull off a fatal Banefire on turn three - it's much more likely the game will last a few turns longer than that. After turn three, you should have enough land to untap either monolith and get your combo started. (If you have a Rings of Brighthearth (Maybeboard) in hand rather than Power Artifact, avoiding tapping the monoliths becomes more important because its combo requires more mana to get started.) It's also possible that tapping a monolith makes it a less likely target for an enemy spell - the monoliths look useless after they are tapped.

You can use Crystal Quarry to convert five of those infinite colorless mana into one mana of each color, which you can use to power spells like Comet Storm, Banefire, or Cyclonic Rift.

If there is a permanent in your way of casting a fatal Banefire or Comet Storm, Cyclonic Rift can remove it - and possibly all other permanents - from play. You can use Muddle the Mixture to find Cyclonic Rift. Since Cyclonic Rift only bounces permanents, avoid casting it unless you already have a Banefire or Comet Storm in hand and the red mana necessary to play them.

Once you have the combo in place and enough red mana, you can cast Banefire or Comet Storm and kill your opponent with a single shot. You can use Muddle the Mixture to find Comet Storm and Dizzy Spell to find Banefire. If you're in multiplayer, Comet Storm is preferred because it only costs 1 mana more to kill each additional opponent. If you're up against a control deck or in a one-on-one match, Banefire is preferred over Comet Storm because it cannot be countered and costs one less red mana, unless you have a counter spell of your own in hand and mana to cast it too.

A quick aside about Transmute, which can be found on both Tolaria West, Muddle the Mixture, and Dizzy Spell: It is an activated ability. Rule 702.52a. What does that mean? First, it cannot be countered by most counter spells. Second, re-read Rings of Brighthearth (Maybeboard). That's right, Rings of Brighthearth lets you pay two more mana and Transmute twice. Most importantly, if you have the mana you can use Rings of Brighthearth to find Grim Monolith, Power Artifact, and/or Comet Storm.

Nearly everything else in the deck is dedicated to keeping you among the living until you can cast Banefire or Comet Storm.

Silent Arbiter combos amazingly with Maze of Ith and Fog Bank. Your opponent can only send in one attacker at a time. In multiplayer, Fog Bank is preferred because it can deal with more than one opponent's attack phase. However, Maze of Ith can prevent damage from Trample and otherwise unblockable attacks. You can use Tolaria West to find Maze of Ith and Muddle the Mixture to find Fog Bank.

This deck's default build is for multiplayer. (My SO refuses to play against Silent Arbiter anymore, so I don't use it in one-on-one much.) If you're in a one-on-one-match, it's best to substitute some cards - see the cards in the Maybeboard.