Here's my issue with this deck: I don't think the Hydra has an actual "opponent" behind the deck for me to drain life from. Based on the limited amount of information about this event I could find online, here's what I know:
- The win condition is to kill all the heads, so draining life is pointless
- The deck is automated, so there's probably no "player" and draining life is even more useless
As such, this Orzhov deck won't work. I had to come up with a new strategy to take down this event. After looking through cards from the current Standard block (because they're the only cards I had some copies of ready at hand since I only started playing last December), I've figured out a deck that might let me solo this beast.
I present to you, Deathtouch Slivers starring Thorncaster (Deathcaster?):
Click to Expand
- 24 creatures -
x4 Manaweft Sliver
x4 Predatory Sliver
x4 Blur Sliver
x4 Striking Sliver
x4 Thorncaster Sliver
x2 Sedge Scorpion
x4 Wasteland Viper
- 12 Other -
x4 Bow of Nylea
x4 Pit Fight
x2 Seek the Horizon
x14 Forest
x10 Mountain
x4 Manaweft Sliver
x4 Predatory Sliver
x4 Blur Sliver
x4 Striking Sliver
x4 Thorncaster Sliver
x2 Sedge Scorpion
x4 Wasteland Viper
- 12 Other -
x4 Bow of Nylea
x4 Pit Fight
x2 Seek the Horizon
x14 Forest
x10 Mountain
If you haven't somehow already realized the plan for this deck, it's to swarm the battlefield with Slivers, drop a Thorncaster and Bow of Nylea, and just turn my Slivers sideways to ping all the heads away for glorious victory. Sedge Scorpion and Wasteland Viper are around just in case the Bow of Nylea is taking its time coming out of my deck, with Pit Fight also helping me make sure that some heads will definitely die if Thorncaster isn't out. They're also cheap deck fillers so sure, why not. Seek the Horizon is essentially my deck thinner.
I considered putting in Signal the Clans to try and get the Thorncaster in my hand as fast as possible, but I wasn't sure if it had a valid place in the deck over something else. I had two copies of Verdant Haven in the deck too just in case I wanted to ramp and gain a tad bit of life but then I realized that might be a silly idea and replaced them with more Vipers.
Is this a workable plan? Should I change some numbers in the deck or what cards to be using? Do I even need Hero cards (I only have the Protector, Philosopher, and Harvester anyway)? Is my Orzhov deck actually fine to use and I don't need to drop $20 on getting the cards I don't already have for this Sliver deck? What should I call this deck if I do end up using it? These are the important questions that I seek answers too and I hope you guys can assist me.