
Gamekeeper
Sacrifice Gamekeeper, mill your library, and slam a free fatty into play.
Oath Reanimator Combo
Overview
"Gamekeeper is a green-based reanimator combo deck that abuses Gamekeeper's death trigger: when it dies it digs through your library and puts the first creature it hits directly into play, sidestepping the mana cost entirely. The deck pairs that engine with Oath of Druids, which flips a creature into play for free when an opponent has more creatures, and an artifact-and-spell shell of Lotus Petal, Lion's Eye Diamond, Claws of Gix, and Altar of Dementia that lets it sacrifice Gamekeeper at instant speed and stock the graveyard. Intuition assembles the right pieces, Animate Dead and Dance of the Dead recur whatever lands in the bin, and a Duress plus Cabal Therapy disruption package clears the way so the combo resolves before the opponent can answer it."
Game Plan
The deck's core loop is to get Gamekeeper into play, then kill it on your own terms so its death trigger exiles cards until it puts a creature directly onto the battlefield. Lotus Petal and Lion's Eye Diamond provide the fast mana to deploy Gamekeeper a turn early, while Claws of Gix and Altar of Dementia are free sacrifice outlets that fire the death trigger immediately. Altar of Dementia doubles as a mill engine and a kill condition, since you can sacrifice the giant creature you just cheated out to deck the opponent. Saprazzan Bailiff is a recurring body the engine can keep rebuying when it needs an evasive clock.
Oath of Druids is the redundant combo half: with the opponent ahead on creatures it triggers each upkeep and flips your library until a creature enters play, so even a lone Gamekeeper or fatty becomes a free cheat-into-play. Intuition is the glue: fetch three copies of a combo piece, or grab Animate Dead, Dance of the Dead, and a target so whatever gets binned (by Altar of Dementia mill or the Oath/Gamekeeper dig) comes straight back. The reanimation suite turns milled creatures into resolved threats, so the deck rarely needs to hard-cast anything expensive.
The disruption package is what makes the combo reliable rather than fragile. Duress and Cabal Therapy strip counterspells, removal, and graveyard hate before you go off, and Cabal Therapy's flashback (paid by sacrificing a creature) lines up perfectly with the deck's sacrifice-everything plan, letting one Therapy hit twice while also triggering Gamekeeper. Against decks that can't pressure the board you slow-roll the combo behind disruption; against fast decks you assemble the fast mana and combo out as early as possible.
Key Cards
Core engine & flex
SignatureThe deck's namesake and heart: when it dies, exile cards from the top of your library until you exile a creature, then put that creature into play. Sacrificing it to a free outlet cheats an otherwise-uncastable threat directly onto the battlefield, and the death trigger doesn't care how big the creature is.

The redundant combo half. When an opponent controls more creatures than you, on your upkeep you may dig through your library until a creature enters play. It turns the deck's lone Gamekeeper or fatty into a free cheat-into-play without even needing a sacrifice outlet, giving the deck two independent routes to the same payoff.

A free sacrifice outlet that fires Gamekeeper's death trigger at instant speed while milling. It doubles as a kill condition: sacrifice the giant creature you just cheated into play to mill the opponent for its power, often decking them in a turn or two.

Tears the key answer out of the opponent's hand before you combo, and its flashback is paid by sacrificing a creature, which also triggers Gamekeeper's death ability. One Therapy can strip two cards while advancing the deck's own sacrifice plan, making it both protection and enabler.
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Sample Decklists
Adam Reiser
Mainboard (60)
$1413Creature (6)
$79.11Instant (1)
$3.98Sorcery (15)
$188Enchantment (11)
$286Land (27)
$856Sideboard (15)
$81.52Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Details
Joserra Soler
Mainboard (61)61-card deck
$939Creature (8)
$105Instant (7)
$41.86Sorcery (16)
$209Enchantment (4)
$63.08Land (26)
$520Sideboard (15)
$142Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Details
smogon
Mainboard (60)
$1414Creature (6)
$79.11Instant (2)
$29.25Sorcery (15)
$188Enchantment (10)
$257Land (27)
$860Sideboard (15)
$74.94Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Details

