This week’s puzzle is another in the mold of #20. Across the table from you is a Tron player who seems to have all the answers. Both of you are at a sliver of life. The next few plays will determine the outcome of the game. Find a way to fight through their defenses and win this turn!
Player: 4 Life
Field: Prodigal Pyromancer, Scourge Devil
Lands: 4x Island 3x Mountain
Hand: Lightning Bolt, Galvanic Blast, Press for Answers, Tandem Lookout
Library: Incinerate
Opponent: 3 Life
Field: Dimir Signet, Izzet Signet
Lands: Swiftwater Cliffs, Simic Growth Chamber, Urza's Power Plant,
Urza's Mine, Urza's Tower
Hand: Counterspell, Doom Blade, Lightning Bolt, Natural End
Solution
If the opponent Counterspells anything except a direct damage spell, they lose to Bolt + Blast + Ping. Given this information, we can play in the following manner:
1. Cast Tandem Lookout for UUU. Bond with Prodigal Pyromancer.
2. Ping the opponent. They must at this point either Bolt or Doomblade the Pyromancer, or else you draw Incinerate and cast all your spells and kill them.
3. Move to combat. They have to kill the Scourge Devil with whatever spell they didn’t use to kill the Pyromancer or else you cast all of your spells and kill them.
4. In your second main phase, cast Galvanic Blast at their face. Since they are at two life, they are obligated to respond with either Counterspell or Natural End. Whichever they choose, they will be forced to float the mana for the other thanks to Simic Growth Chamber.
5. Go to the end step. It is at this point impossible for them to have enough colored mana to cast any of their spells, and we can safely bolt them for lethal.
