Clever Impersonator also gets some special recognition because it doesn't need to be a creature when it hits the battlefield.

E.g., we can discard it, resolve a Hashaton trigger, and produce a Rhystic Study or Smothering Tithe instantly without a cast.

Impressive.

13/x

No really.

The double triggers are a BIG deal.

12/x

More importantly, the tokens generated by Hashaton are Zombies. It can't be overstated how quickly things get out of hand when essentially all of your value engines and control pieces are double triggering.

11/x

One nuance I've found particularly impactful is Roaming Throne naming 'Zombie'.

Hashaton is himself a Zombie, so getting two triggers for each discard leads to some interesting situations, provided we've got access to lots of mana (We're in Esper right?).

10/x

Narrowing in, we're on a number of focused denial pieces that have wide application but also completely hose specific strategies for as long as they remain in play. Making these things cheap, instantaneous, and nearly uncounterable is REALLY busted.

9/x

Rule of Law effects are notoriously hard to play through and happen to be something we naturally break priority with.

Few popular wincons can be executed in full while one of these is online. Couple that with disparity in material development and we've got a very potent angle for disruption.

8/x

Creature-oriented denial allows us to attack lines of play at a variety of scopes. Starting wide, we can disrupt the basic functionality that essentially all decks presume as a given. I.e., searching and casting spells.

7/x

Necropotence trades volume for broadcasted inflexibility.

When this comes down, everyone knows you're getting a ton of cards.

Everyone ALSO knows exactly when it will happen and how to disrupt it.

5/x

Ledger Shredder trades determinism for selection. With this guy on the field, we typically get to see lots of cards, but we're at the mercy of the table for WHEN we get to discard important pieces.

He's also got some internal conflict with Rule of Law effects, which we'll see about later.

4/x

For instance, Putrid Imp et all trade card advantage for precision. We can discard exactly what we want WHEN we want, but they generally don't provide much help in seeing more cards in the first place.

3/x

Time to get started exploring Hashaton according to the process described in my previous post. This one is just a baseline study looking at creature-oriented denial within a midrange shell. (Decklist at the end of the thread)

Lets dig into the core concepts and some general observations.

1/x

Imo, it's the perfect Mindslicer deck. 🙂

Why is this ability so PROFOUNDLY busted?

1. No cast - countermagic will not avail you.
2. Triggered - Cursed Totem is no help. Stifle or bust.
3. Breaks timing - Any creature, ANY time.
4. Token - RIP, Cage, Containment Priest do nothing.
5. 2U - Good rate for Elesh Norn.

This is what happiness looks like.

Still trying to make up my mind whether to take this turbo, control, or stax. All three avenues have real merit.

How are you brewing him?

Not seen anyone talk about this guy for cEDH, but boy howdy has it been incredible in Dargo/Ikra!

(Not feeding Bowmasters is a key feature)

Here's three cards. What list am I tinkering with? (cEDH)

The Legend of Zelda.