Saw in Half |Art by Slawomir Maniak

A Deadly Distraction

I'm sure the hypes and vibes are everywhere right now. Tarkir: Dragonstorm just released a few days ago, and everyone's having a blast! In fairness, I am, too. As a precon connoisseur, I cannot get over how well built those precons are. Why, I got the set of them with no higher than five upgrades each sleeved up and ready.

Unfortunately, tragedy had to strike and I fell ill, but I'm coming out of it as I'm writing this article. That being said, I'm looking forward to getting some games in with them and enjoying them before that massive meteorite known as Final Fantasy hits shelves. I'm trying really hard to distract myself from it.

Oh, but what's this? Another distraction? That's right.

April Pools! ...Or is it?

Well, well. I guess Tarkir was not the only talk of the town after all. We had our sixth Marvel-themed Secret Lair Drop in Deadpool, the big bad merc who just loves to break the fourth wall. Does he? Let's find out together.

Deadpool was originally an antagonist of the X-Force and the New Mutants but has evolved over time into an anti-hero character, where he enjoys an incredible amount of popularity, even in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe, for those who don't know).

In addition, he comes with a regeneration factor alongside a mastery for close combat (including swords and martial arts). Deadpool also boasts superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and reflexes among other things. But, let's face it, his greatest superpower is breaking the fourth wall, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

His card could very well be the most complicated card I've had to work with for an article. For starters, his textbox-swapping ability is seen on only one other card, Exchange of WordsExchange of Words, which is surprisingly legal. Consequently, he's going to be a rules nightmare for the uninitiated.

On the other hand, the other abilities rarely matter to you; that's for your opponents to worry about instead. Unless, somehow, Deadpool failed to switch textboxes. All this raises the question: how do we get him to work?

Draw Me Like One of Your Scam Artists

Firstly, it's worth noting that Deadpool won't work once you switch the textboxes. Think of him as a clone effect with an extra twist. When I started to make a list, my first attempt was to build it like one of those infamous Scam decks from 60-card formats, but the UB card pool was not in my favor. Then, it hit me eventually: what if I copied Deadpool?

The selection there isn't much, but it'll get us going. Effects like TwinflameTwinflame (reskinned as Friends to the End; 82978 decks) and Flamerush RiderFlamerush Rider (26,976 decks) create temporary copies of Deadpool, so you'll get more chances to steal some textboxes.

The tokens made will be legendary, so they will be sacrificed as part of state-based effects. However, that's not before the text swap happens, so you're essentially "eliminating" a threat in an unorthodox way.

You can also Saw in HalfSaw in Half (91,161 decks) your own Deadpool, so you can text-swap two creatures for the price of three mana.

That said, the best card in the deck is easily The Master, MultipliedThe Master, Multiplied (21,148 decks). The card spiked in price for a reason, after all. The "legend rule" no longer applies to the Deadpool tokens you create, so they're around forever, and they'll have myriad, ensuring you create even more tokens and become a real headache to your opponents.

Consequently, you likely will have swapped the textboxes to get that effect, so you'd have to get rid of the Deadpooled Master somehow.

Even if you don't have him, Blade of SelvesBlade of Selves (84,636 decks) does a good impression, for a whopping nine mana. If you can pay that much and protect both Deadpool and the Equipment, you're off to the races.

A Thrilling Encore

With a small card selection for making copies of Deadpool, I had to turn to some grave means: we're going to reanimate Deadpool over and over again.

Most importantly, if Deadpool were to kick the bucket, send him to the graveyard (don't worry if someone Bojuka BogBojuka Bogs you; you're still able to send him back into the command zone to cast again), then use a reanimation spell to get him back.

You can also do this to any creature you Deadpooled, because it'll have its original textbox back. Failing that, you can always use Harmless OfferingHarmless Offering (12,387 decks) to send it to an opponent.

Moreover, we've got a good selection of reanimation spells, from Living DeathLiving Death (155,419 decks) to the lowly ReanimateReanimate (484,613 decks).

Secondly, we've also got access to some reanimation spells unique to UB. Too Greedily, Too DeepToo Greedily, Too Deep (15,420 decks) wipes the board while bringing something back, clearing the way for an attack. If you can connect with Deadpool, Restart SequenceRestart Sequence (17,997 decks) can be cast for half off its original cost.

Otherwise, four mana isn't too shabby. Some others from the original IP include Incarnation TechniqueIncarnation Technique [reskinned as Escape Containment (31,814 decks)], which fills our graveyard and reanimates a creature, and, if you take advantage of the demonstrate ability, we can do it again.

In addition, don't worry if your opponents don't have anything worth text-swapping because we can do it to our own creatures, too. That said, Deadpool should be the number one reanimation target. If there's nothing worth copying, feel free to bring out some other beater and hammer your opponents that way.

Lastly, Don't be afraid to use cards like Buried AliveBuried Alive (reskinned as Bring Out Your Dead!; 167,946 decks) to ditch some big monsters into your 'yard.

You'd be able to reanimate them on a later turn or, if you're lucky, the same turn! If it's not in your graveyard when you cast it, find that AngerAnger (167,616 decks) and get it in there, so your creatures don't become sitting ducks, waiting a full turn to attack.

Deadpool's Cinema

Deadpool? More like Deadcool, Am I Right?

This decklist tells us one thing: a reanimator deck is absolutely possible within the UB card pool thanks to the Hosts of Mordor precon that came with The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth release.

Consequently, it also gave us some of the beefiest reanimator targets. Cavern-Hoard DragonCavern-Hoard Dragon (67,106 decks) can potentially get us a lot of Treasures. Meanwhile, Scourge of the ThroneScourge of the Throne and BloodthirsterBloodthirster (65,971 and 44,009 decks respectively) can also give us extra combat phases, and Inferno TitanInferno Titan (41,661 decks) and Grave TitanGrave Titan (reskinned as West Tek Tyrant; 68,587 decks) do something when they come in or attack, so they're valuable to have.

Further, it's perhaps best to treat Deadpool as yet another reanimation target, like I mentioned in the previous section. Chances are, you'll end up with a weaker version of your own creature if you Deadpool it, since he'll retain his stat line.

However, there are a few exceptions to this. Copying Crimson CaravaneerCrimson Caravaneer (5,825 decks) would enable Deadpool to gain double strike and trample, plus give us Junk tokens to impulse draw when we need it.

The only other exception in the deck list is Gimli of the Glittering CavesGimli of the Glittering Caves (27,572 decks), who also gives him double strike, but also the ability to make Treasure tokens when he hits.

That said, we can always return him to our hand if we need to. Phyrexian ReclamationPhyrexian Reclamation (reskinned as Sorry Jack...Chucky's Back; 96,674 decks) can fish it out of our 'yard.

This is especially useful if someone decides to exile your graveyard. Another way is Cloudstone CurioCloudstone Curio (reskinned as Elessar, the Eflstone; 52,062 decks), which will send Deadpool back to our hand if another creature of ours comes in.

Its application here is more limited, since you ideally don't want to be bouncing your big stuff to your hand. Then again, The Balrog of MoriaThe Balrog of Moria and Solemn SimulacrumSolemn Simulacrum (23,846 and 784,945 decks, respectively) are your other best targets for the Curio.

A Merc's Job Done

I quite enjoyed the semi-unique spin on Deadpool. Where with in-universe cards, you're making copies of him like he's a rabbit, we're out here reanimating him and other beefy creatures to get the job done. Hopefully one day, a full-on copy/scam build a truly possible with Deadpool, but only time will tell if that can be done.

With Marvel being a long-term crossover, we can expect more content centered on it. However, I'm going to cover as many of the Marvel legends from the first wave as I can. Maybe I can get them out before Final Fantasy hits shelves, but I doubt that. I do have others I want to cover before then, too, especially one that's on my shortlist.

Unfortunately, next time won't be Marvel... but it can be? I could make it a double decklist article, like I did with Eivor, Battle-ReadyEivor, Battle-Ready and Kassandra, Eagle BearerKassandra, Eagle Bearer the other week.

Let me know in the comments if you want me to do that next week If not, it won't be until around June that I get to it next. In any case, tune in next time when we get up to some wizardry shenanigans. Lastly, bonus internet points to any of you reading this article while eating a chimichanga.