2
Keeper of the Flame
2 Keeper of the Mind
4 AEther Burst
3 Chrome Mox
2 Circular Logic
1 Epicenter
2 Fiery Temper
3 Flame Rift
2 Forbid
1 Mind Bomb
2 Oath of Mages
2 Oath of Scholars
3 Pulse of the Forge
3 Pulse of the Grid
2 Seismic Assault
1 Swirling Sandstorm
4 Turbulent Dreams
5 Island
2 Mountain
3 Barbarian Ring
3 City of Brass
1 Grand Coliseum
2 Mirrodin's Core
4 Shivan Reef
1 Tarnished Citadel |
  Keeper
of the Pulsing Oath.
Description of deck by it's author
(quoted):
Exodus featured two cycles of cards that rewarded players for having
less than their opponents. The Keepers were creatures, and the Oaths
were enchantments, and in most cases, they had the same trigger and the
same result. For example, Keeper of the Beasts and Oath of Druids both
reward the player who has the least creatures by providing a creature.
Darksteel revisited this theme with a cycle of spells called the Pulses.
If you lag behind your opponent in the area the spell addresses, you get
the spell back to do it again. For example, Pulse of the Tangle creates
a Beast token, then goes back to its owner's hand if an opponent still
has more creatures. Across six years' time, three of the colors match
condition and effect perfectly: green, red, and blue. Red deals damage
if your opponent has more life. Blue draws cards if your opponent has
more cards. (White and black weren't consistent.) It's hard to use all
the green cards together because you can't guarantee your opponent will
keep creating creatures. But the red one is easy because you can use
pain lands and mana burn to zap yourself down to a low life total. (I
like to think my electroshock sessions were an inspiration for that!)
And the blue one is easy because you can empty your own hand while
bouncing permanents back to your opponent's hand. Why, I almost said
“Turbulent Dreams” before he blinked it! The deck came together after
that.
It's a pretty motley assortment. The denial and permission cards either
assist (Forbid, Dreams) or reward (Aether Burst) your card-ditching
plan. Circular Logic does both. The Moxes accelerate you into your 2 and
3-cost spells, which covers just about everything, while helpfully
reducing your hand size. Swirling Sandstorm and Epicenter are there just
in case you need them after achieving threshold. The bizarre little Mind
Bomb depletes both commodities the deck trades in; it even kind of
trades one for the other. So as you keep your opponent locked up, you
burn both of you down at an alarming pace while drawing into the cards
you need, then you finish the job with Seismic Assault, Fiery Temper,
and the Pulse of the Forge you should still have in your hand.
But I started to wonder. It's clear Gottlieb's not thinking straight.
What's the point of mixing the red with the blue? The red can be brutal
by itself! Max out on Flame Rifts, Lava Hounds, and Pulses of the Forge
and you should end the game before you even need to draw cards. In
theory. Not that I care about such things. Oh, I've gotta go… the puddle
of drool is dripping off the table.
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