Now Aid of the Treasures (Diogo Combo)

Update 9/10: First off, there is no way that I thought this deck could still be viable after the Invoke the Waystones nerf, but surprisingly, it seems to be performing even better. I have to credit camat0 for finding new win conditions in mf8ZPxO_bmQ. Basically, you use Aid of the Hooru to extend the game and deal damage playing it multiple times through Excavate and Re-read. However, this combo isn't nearly as strong as Invoke, but ironically that allows for even more win conditions with Zal Chi, Herald of War to finish off big opponents. In the old deck, you had to bend over backwards to try to make the combo go off, but here you don't need to worry about it as much, and so it can actually perform quite well against aggro by making additions like Hailstorm in the market as opposed to having run Kaleb's Choice and try to hold it up. Garden of Omens also deserves a special mention since the additional removal and combo potential combined in a site really power this deck immensely. Finally, by replacing Trailmaker with Devotee of the Sands, I can effectively run [/card]Common Cause[/card] for power fixing which is also improved.

This is my take on the infamous Diogo Combo list, but I've played this deck way too much so I needed to record my thoughts and reasoning.

First off, it is a combo list, so aggro matchups are not good. Yetis that run Swift Refusal are even worse. Additionally, this deck is relatively easy to counter with Royal Decree, Display of Instinct, Kaleb's Choice, and even Citywide Ban, but there are ways to win even challenging matchups, so that's what this deck explores. However, it doesn't make the deck good, so there will always be an interesting dynamic where if the deck becomes popular, it can be quickly countered, but if control takes over, this deck can come out to hunt.

My list tries to improve consistency rather than go for speed, but credit has to go to AhornDelfin's list With my last trick I will sooth away your health total for the Lethrai Soothsayer win condition. This card is substantially better than Stonescar Excavator because it is easy to get to 4 power which allows you to combo off in a single turn. You just have to be a little more aware of how to get extra burn and trigger onslaught. At seven power for example, you can play East Annex Smuggler to charge for onslaught and then combo the bolts. Also, because there is a fixed amount of burn to some extent, I find that Howling Peak Smuggler tends to be your best one, so try to save it for when you actually combo.

My list has some differences from AhornDelfin, so let's dig in. First off, the Whispering Wind is cool, but having to run 1 copy of Invoke the Waystones mean you will lose multiple games drawing it before the combo, and that just sucks. So instead of that, I went with a market abusing approach. It shouldn't really be a surprise, but Xo of the Endless Hoard is amazing in this deck. He gives card advantage while allowing you to feather in extra draw to get your combo set up. Likewise, Jotun Hurler ends up making it as a 2 of since snowballs are still good, and having just 1 extra card is a significant advantage, so you don't have to market away a Trail Maker or a Permafrost in a tricky spot. Note that this does result in the combo not automatically decking you completely every time on the combo, but that is a feature not a bug. You don't always need to use Excavate and while not all the bolts will be on top, you will have plenty of smugglers and hopefully more treasure troves to dig for them. I never lost as a result of not having access to bolts at the end.

Finally, the big card that I cut down to 2 is the Ixtun Merchant because in this new version, the market is mostly Primal. She can only fetch Diogo Málaga, Elonze and you already have East Annex Smuggler in a close to similar boat. With 2 health, she blocks poorly, and I never needed more Fire grab. So this allows me to run extra power; my base has 31 and makes sure that the power is ready to go at the end.

One last thing: I shifted the market away from Savage Denial to include Kaleb's Choice because in longer games and smart play you can protect yourself a little from all the hate. You can beat Royal Decree and Citywide Ban but not with fast spell refusal only.


Edit: Oops, I realized with Kaleb's Choice the Ixtun Merhcant is improved, so she goes back into the 2 of flex spot.