Battle Of Wits

Game Plan

Battle of Wits is a combo deck built around a single alternative win condition, and every other card exists to assemble, protect, or accelerate that enchantment into play. The early turns are spent deploying mana through Birds of Paradise, Utopia Tree, and Wall of Roots while stripping the opponent's answers with Duress, Cabal Therapy, and Mesmeric Fiend. Once the hand is sufficiently clear, the deck converts a creature into a tutor: Academy Rector dies to Altar of Dementia or Carrion Feeder and searches Battle of Wits directly from the library, while Pattern of Rebirth on any expendable body finds Academy Rector in a chain. Enlightened Tutor, Intuition, and Merchant Scroll function as the instant-speed search layer, letting the deck find whichever piece is missing and set up the kill turn.

The backup plan runs through Survival of the Fittest, which cycles Squee, Goblin Nabob to fuel continuous tutoring and can assemble a Volrath's Shapeshifter plus Phyrexian Devourer kill by placing the Devourer into the graveyard and using the Shapeshifter's continuous copy ability to activate the Devourer's power-boosting trigger until damage is lethal. Cunning Wish reaches the sideboard at instant speed for silver bullets, and Deep Analysis with Quiet Speculation restock the hand and graveyard as needed to sustain the long game. Meddling Mage locks out the most dangerous answers once the combo is within reach, turning a fragile midgame into a decisive closing window.