Premodern Full English Breakfast Deck Guide (2026)
Premodern Full English Breakfast, or Hermit FEB, is a graveyard combo deck: Survival of the Fittest and Hermit Druid turn Volrath's Shapeshifter into a win. Players shorten it to hFEB, and TC Decks, MTGDecks and MTGTop8 all file it as Full English Breakfast. The name is a joke about the unrelated ingredients on the plate: Birds of Paradise, Squee, Psychatog, Akroma, Palinchron, Phyrexian Devourer and Triskelion in one list. Since September it has made up about 3 percent of the lists on MTGTop8, tenth among the archetypes. Jörg Heinrich reached the final of the 218-player European Premodern Championship in September and the top eight of the 189-player Eurofest Valencia side event in October, Jakub Grossmann made the top eight of the 191-player Czech Nationals, and Danilo Costa Geraldes, whose list is the reference here, made the top four of the 225-player Nacional Premodern Brasil in August.
How the deck wins
- Assemble an engine. Survival of the Fittest discards a creature card to search for any creature card, so every creature in hand becomes the one you need and every discard lands on top of your graveyard. Hermit Druid reveals cards until it hits a basic land; the list plays no basic lands, so one activation mills the entire library. Birds of Paradise, Wall of Roots, Elvish Spirit Guide and, in some lists, Eladamri's Vineyard bring either engine online a turn early, and Cabal Therapy clears the way.
- Put Volrath's Shapeshifter onto the battlefield with the right creature on top. It is cast for {1}{U}{U}, returned with Unearth, Shallow Grave or Animate Dead, or brought back by Karmic Guide. Animate Dead does not stay on it once it takes the form of Akroma or Karmic Guide: protection from black puts the Aura into the graveyard, and Shapeshifter is sacrificed. That is why the Hermit kill returns it with Unearth. The top card of your graveyard at each step decides which abilities Shapeshifter has, and when several cards hit the graveyard at once, you choose their order. Since September about half of the lists on MTGTop8, most of them online, play two Shallow Grave, mostly in place of an Unearth and either Eladamri's Vineyard or the fourth Wall of Roots. It is an instant and returns the top creature card of your graveyard whatever its mana value. If Karmic Guide is the top creature card, Shallow Grave puts it straight onto the battlefield, which Unearth cannot do. Whatever it returns is exiled at the beginning of the next end step.
- The FEB kill: with Survival and Shapeshifter on the battlefield and {G} for each Survival activation, discard Phyrexian Devourer to Survival and exile cards from your library for +1/+1 counters, keep going while the sacrifice trigger waits on the stack, then discard Triskelion, to Survival or to Shapeshifter's own {2} ability, and remove the counters to shoot the opponent. The trigger stays on the stack after the change of form and sacrifices Shapeshifter when it resolves, so fire every shot before that. The discards and the counter removal are costs, so removing Shapeshifter comes too late once the shots are on the stack; the opponent's window is while each Devourer activation resolves, before its counters arrive. Count the mana value left in your library first: 22 lands add nothing.
- The Hermit kill: mill the library with Hermit Druid and order it Karmic Guide, Shapeshifter, Psychatog, Cabal Therapy, Akroma. Unearth the Shapeshifter, which enters as a Karmic Guide and returns the real Guide, which returns Psychatog. Flash back Therapy by sacrificing Psychatog, pump the Psychatog-shaped Shapeshifter by exiling the graveyard two cards at a time, and uncover Akroma for a 20/20 with flying, first strike, trample and haste.
Core cards
- 4 Survival of the Fittest
- 4 Hermit Druid
- 4 Birds of Paradise
- 4 Cabal Therapy
- 4 Unearth
- 3 Wall of Roots
- 2 Volrath's Shapeshifter
- 1 Phyrexian Devourer
- 1 Triskelion
- 1 Psychatog
- 1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
- 1 Karmic Guide
- 1 Palinchron
- 1 Battlefield Scrounger
- 1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
Key cards
- Volrath's Shapeshifter: The center of both combos. As long as the top card of your graveyard is a creature card, it takes everything from that card: name, mana cost, mana value, colors, types, power, toughness and abilities, plus its own {2}: Discard a card. Counters and pumps stay when the form changes, and a new form in response to removal can make it miss: Palinchron's mana value of 7 is too high for Smother, and Snuff Out can't target it as Psychatog, which is black, or as Akroma or Karmic Guide, which have protection from black.
- Survival of the Fittest: For {G} and a creature card discarded from your hand, it searches your library for any creature card, and the discarded card becomes the new top card of your graveyard. It is the engine for the FEB kill and the most flexible card in the deck; against decks without enchantment removal, a resolved Survival is hard to beat.
- Hermit Druid: With no basic lands in the deck, one activation puts the whole library into your graveyard, and you arrange the pile. It is a 1/1 that has to wait a turn before it can tap to activate, so removal has a full turn to find it. Stifle counters the activation, Abeyance cast before it stops it for the turn, and Cursed Totem stops it for good.
- Phyrexian Devourer: As Shapeshifter's form it exiles cards from your library for +1/+1 counters equal to their mana value, at no mana. The sacrifice trigger at power 7 is a state trigger and does not trigger again while it waits on the stack, which is what lets the counters pile up.
- Triskelion: The FEB kill's finisher: as Shapeshifter's form it removes the Devourer counters to deal 1 damage each. It never needs to attack, so Ensnaring Bridge does not stop it. Null Rod and Cursed Totem do, and they stop the Devourer form as well: both are artifact creatures, and the kill uses their activated abilities. Cursed Totem, which Terrageddon, Stasis and Oath of Druids bring after boarding, also stops Psychatog's pump, so it shuts off both kills.
- Psychatog: On the battlefield it is free, instant-speed discard that changes the top of your graveyard. As Shapeshifter's form after a Hermit activation it exiles two graveyard cards per +1/+1 pump, which is how the Hermit kill gets to 20 power.
- Akroma, Angel of Wrath: The Hermit kill's finisher. A pumped Shapeshifter with Akroma on top attacks with flying, first strike, trample and haste and protection from black and red.
- Karmic Guide: When it enters it returns a creature card from your graveyard. As the top card when Shapeshifter enters, Shapeshifter gets the trigger too, which is the first link of the Hermit kill. It has echo and protection from black.
- Battlefield Scrounger: The answer to an empty library. With threshold, which a Hermit Druid activation always gives you, it puts three cards from your graveyard on the bottom of your library at no mana cost, once each turn. As Shapeshifter's form after a Hermit activation, that means you don't deck yourself, you choose your next three draws, and Phyrexian Devourer has something to exile again. It is in almost every list.
Mulligan guide
Keep
- An engine, enough mana to deploy it with green available, and some mix of acceleration, a combo piece or disruption: Yavimaya Coast, Llanowar Wastes, Birds of Paradise, Hermit Druid, Unearth, Cabal Therapy, Akroma is a typical keep.
- City of Brass, Reflecting Pool, Survival of the Fittest, Phyrexian Devourer, Triskelion, Wall of Roots and Squee: Survival finds Shapeshifter by discarding Squee, and the FEB kill follows.
- Gemstone Mine, Elvish Spirit Guide, Hermit Druid, Unearth, Survival and two lands; or two lands, Survival, Cabal Therapy and two creatures against a non-blue deck.
Ship
- Hands with neither Hermit Druid nor Survival of the Fittest, no matter how many combo pieces they hold, unless a sideboarded matchup allows it.
- One-land hands without Birds of Paradise or Elvish Spirit Guide.
- Hermit Druid as the only engine against Sligh or Goblins on the draw, where it dies before it can activate.
The deck mulligans well, because Survival can trade any creature card for the one you need. A six-card hand with Survival is often better than a seven-card hand without an engine.
Play tips and sequencing
- Choose the engine the opponent can't answer: Survival is safer against creature removal, Hermit Druid against enchantment removal. Cabal Therapy, and Duress after boarding, shows which one they can beat. Against a Mogg Fanatic on the battlefield or open white mana for Swords to Plowshares, discard Hermit Druid to Survival instead of casting it.
- Cast Volrath's Shapeshifter early when you can. On the battlefield it shortens every combo turn, changes form in response to removal when you discard a creature card to its own {2} ability or to Survival, and after a Hermit activation takes Battlefield Scrounger's form to refill your library. Keep creatures in hand for the same reason: each one is a Survival activation and a way to dodge.
- Discard Squee to Survival at the end of the opponent's turn: it returns to your hand in your upkeep, and you start your turn with Squee and the creature you searched for.
- With Cabal Therapy, name the card that beats your line: a counterspell if you go for Hermit Druid against a blue deck, enchantment removal if Survival has to stay, Withered Wretch against black decks.
- Before the FEB kill, count the mana value left in your library: every card that Hermit Druid, Survival or an earlier Devourer activation took out of it is damage you no longer have. With threshold, Battlefield Scrounger puts three cards from your graveyard on the bottom of your library, so choose those with the highest mana value; cards the Devourer exiled are gone.
- Activate Hermit Druid in your upkeep only with a plan for the draw step: Krosan Reclamation has to resolve, or a Shapeshifter on the battlefield has to refill the library as Battlefield Scrounger: the draw step comes before you can cast a sorcery, so a reanimation spell in hand does not save you from an empty library.
- Watch your life total: tap Reflecting Pool, Gemstone Mine and Undiscovered Paradise before painlands and City of Brass, and skip Survival activations that don't change the line. All 22 lands are nonbasic, so Wasteland, Price of Progress and Back to Basics hurt.
Matchups
- Stiflenought (slightly favorable): Mono-blue has little for a resolved Survival beyond Chain of Vapor, which only returns it for a turn. Their key card is Stifle, which stops Hermit Druid, Karmic Guide and Palinchron, and their Vision Charm can mill what Krosan Reclamation put back. Counterspell, Daze and Foil are in almost every main deck, Annul comes in for Survival, and Back to Basics, in two of three sideboards since September, keeps your nonbasic lands from untapping. Use discard to open a window, name Dreadnought if you are not ready to win, and bring Xantid Swarm, Duress, Uktabi Orangutan, Naturalize and Swords to Plowshares. MTGDecks: 55 percent over 53 matches.
- Goblins (even): Goblin Lackey starts can outrace you, and Mogg Fanatic, Goblin Sharpshooter and Gempalm Incinerator kill Hermit Druid. Slower Goblins hands give you time, though their Rishadan Port and Wasteland attack your five-color mana, and Wall of Roots blocks their 2/2s. Pyroclasm, Swords to Plowshares and Ghitu Slinger improve it after boarding; keep a Therapy for what Goblin Matron found, and expect Tormod's Crypt, which is in almost every Goblins sideboard. Their main-deck Naturalize, in about half the lists, and Tranquil Domain after boarding destroy Survival of the Fittest. MTGDecks: 52 percent over 56 matches.
- Sligh (even): Hermit Druid dies to almost every card in Sligh, so Survival is the main plan and Enlightened Tutor comes in to find it. The real opponent is your own mana base: painlands and City of Brass walk you into Fireblast range, and Price of Progress punishes 22 nonbasic lands. Eladamri's Vineyard gives painless green mana. MTGDecks: 48 percent over 44 matches.
- Enchantress (favorable): You are usually a turn or two faster. Their interaction is Seal of Cleansing, Swords, Parallax Wave, Abeyance and above all Solitary Confinement, two in almost every main deck: it prevents all damage to them and gives them shroud, so neither kill works and Duress and Cabal Therapy cannot target them until you destroy it. Abeyance stops an upkeep Hermit line before Krosan Reclamation. Therapy the Seal when Survival is the plan and the Swords when it is Hermit Druid; expect Tormod's Crypt after boarding. MTGDecks: 59 percent over 41 matches, limited data.
- Mono Black (even to slightly unfavorable): Duress and Cabal Therapy take Survival, Smother kills Hermit Druid, and Withered Wretch exiles the creature cards on top of your graveyard that Volrath's Shapeshifter would copy. Against Diabolic Edict, sacrifice Birds of Paradise, Wall of Roots or Squee instead of Hermit Druid, and Triskelion's three counters can kill Hypnotic Specter and Ravenous Rats. After boarding they bring Engineered Plague, which kills Hermit Druid or Birds of Paradise when it names Druid or Bird, Tormod's Crypt and Dystopia, some lists Phyrexian Furnace too; bring Pyroclasm for their creatures and Ray of Revelation for Plague or Dystopia. Pick the kill that runs into the fewest of their answers. MTGDecks: 50 percent over 34 matches.
- Oath of Druids (unfavorable): The match data make this one of your worst matchups. Sphere of Resistance, Rishadan Port, Wasteland and land destruction meet a five-color nonbasic mana base, their main-deck Swords to Plowshares answers Hermit Druid, and your creature count turns Oath on for them in almost every upkeep. After boarding they bring Tormod's Crypt, Aura of Silence and Cursed Totem, which stops Hermit Druid, Wall of Roots and Phyrexian Devourer. Force a piece through early, and bring Naturalize, Uktabi Orangutan, Ray of Revelation and Monk Realist for Oath, Sphere, Totem and Crypt. Limited data: 36 percent over 39 matches.
- Terrageddon (slightly unfavorable): Wasteland, Rishadan Port and Armageddon attack your mana, Swords to Plowshares and Naturalize are in their main deck, and Cursed Totem, Tormod's Crypt and Aura of Silence come in, which Sylvan Library helps them draw, with Pyroclasm for Birds of Paradise and Hermit Druid. Don't deploy Survival unless you can use it right away, and spend discard with Armageddon in mind. MTGDecks: 45 percent over 33 matches.
- Landstill (slightly unfavorable): Landstill has counterspells, Swords to Plowshares for Hermit Druid, Disenchant for Survival, Humility, which turns off Hermit Druid's ability, Standstill, Dust Bowl for your nonbasic lands, and in most main decks Phyrexian Furnace, which exiles the creature card on top of your graveyard. Win before it can hold up two answers, or play patiently and use Cabal Therapy, and after boarding Duress, once its hand is full. After boarding bring Xantid Swarm and Duress, Naturalize for a resolved Humility and Ghitu Slinger for Meddling Mage; once Swarm attacks, they can't cast spells that turn. MTGDecks: 45 percent over 31 matches.
- Replenish (even to slightly unfavorable): Both decks win with a combo out of the graveyard. Their Abeyance, in most of their lists, stops Survival of the Fittest, Hermit Druid and Krosan Reclamation for the turn, so do not activate Hermit Druid in your upkeep while they have two mana open: with Krosan Reclamation stopped you would draw from an empty library. Parallax Wave exiles Hermit Druid, or Volrath's Shapeshifter while it grows in Phyrexian Devourer's form, and Seal of Cleansing destroys Survival or Animate Dead. Decree of Silence, in almost every main deck, counters your next three spells once Replenish returns it, though Survival, Hermit Druid and Shapeshifter activations are not spells. Cabal Therapy can take Replenish, and after boarding bring Duress, Naturalize, Ray of Revelation and Swords to Plowshares for Meddling Mage. Limited data: 41 percent over 29 matches.
- Psychatog (favorable): Once Survival of the Fittest resolves, the blue-black lists can only return it with Chain of Vapor, so cast it after Cabal Therapy has taken their counter or while they are tapped out. Their Smother kills Hermit Druid before it can activate, so cast the Druid when they are tapped out too; Sickening Dreams for one on their turn still kills it, along with Birds of Paradise. After boarding bring Xantid Swarm and Duress for the combo turn, Pyroclasm for an unpumped Psychatog, Swords to Plowshares, and Ray of Revelation for their Engineered Plague, which kills Hermit Druid if it names Druid; the white Psychatog lists add Meddling Mage and Swords to Plowshares of their own. Limited data: 73 percent over 22 matches.
- The Rock (favorable): No counterspells, so your spells resolve, but Duress and Cabal Therapy, in almost every list, take Survival of the Fittest before it lands, and Smother kills Hermit Druid. Pernicious Deed for two destroys Survival, Animate Dead, Birds of Paradise, Hermit Druid and Wall of Roots at once; Shapeshifter can escape a bigger Deed by changing to a form with a higher mana value in response. After boarding they bring Naturalize, Tranquil Domain, Engineered Plague, Tormod's Crypt and Haunting Echoes, and some lists Phyrexian Furnace. Don't overextend into Deed; Ghitu Slinger, Uktabi Orangutan for their artifacts and Monk Realist for Deed or Plague each answer something when they enter. Limited data: 65 percent over 17 matches.
- Elves (favorable): Elves is faster but has little interaction: Masticore can shoot Hermit Druid, Nantuko Vigilante, or Naturalize after boarding, can destroy Survival of the Fittest or an Animate Dead, and Tormod's Crypt, in three of four of their sideboards, exiles your graveyard in response to Unearth or Animate Dead. Cabal Therapy naming Survival slows them, and after boarding Pyroclasm and Ghitu Slinger kill their mana Elves and Wirewood Symbiote. Limited data: 61 percent over 18 matches.
- Deadguy Ale (favorable): No counterspells, so the question is which resolved engine they can no longer beat; Cabal Therapy, and Duress after boarding, shows whether Vindicate, Disenchant or Swords is in hand. Vindicate destroys Survival of the Fittest, Withered Wretch, in more than half of their main decks, exiles combo pieces one at a time, and Gerrard's Verdict lets you choose the two cards you discard, so discard creature cards for Shapeshifter. After boarding they bring Engineered Plague, Perish, Tormod's Crypt and Phyrexian Furnace; bring Uktabi Orangutan, Ray of Revelation for the Plague and Auramancer to rebuy a Survival. No meaningful match data.
- UG Madness (slightly favorable): Their creatures are fast, and Circular Logic or Daze can counter Survival, Animate Dead or Unearth, so name Circular Logic with Cabal Therapy before you combo. After boarding, Pyroclasm, Ghitu Slinger and Swords to Plowshares handle their creatures, though Aquamoeba survives Pyroclasm, and Wild Mongrel and Basking Rootwalla do if they pump in response, and Duress also takes Circular Logic. They bring Naturalize for Survival and Tormod's Crypt for your graveyard. Limited data: 64 percent over 11 matches.
- MUD (even): MUD's Phyrexian Furnace is in its main deck, Winter Orb and Tangle Wire slow your mana, and Triskelion shoots Birds and Hermit Druid. Its artifacts give Uktabi Orangutan and Naturalize targets, and Eladamri's Vineyard, where you play it, gives MUD mana for its artifacts, so it comes out. Ensnaring Bridge, in about half their lists, stops the Hermit kill's attack but not the FEB kill, which never attacks, and after boarding they bring Pyroclasm for Birds of Paradise and Hermit Druid. Very limited data.
- Reanimator (even): Both are fast combo decks, so speed and a timely Cabal Therapy decide games, with Duress after boarding. Their Exhume makes each player return a creature card, so after a Survival chain or a Hermit activation it gives you one too, such as Akroma or a Karmic Guide that returns another, and Reanimate can take a creature from your graveyard. Sickening Dreams, main deck in almost every list since September, kills Birds of Paradise and Hermit Druid. After boarding about a third of their lists bring Tormod's Crypt for your graveyard after a Hermit activation, and a few Null Rod, which stops the Devourer and Triskelion forms. Keep every Hermit Druid in. Very limited data.
- Aluren (even): Aluren is another fast combo deck, so speed and a well-timed Cabal Therapy decide it, with Duress after boarding, and Hermit Druid stays in. Their Aluren works for you too: under it you can cast Hermit Druid, Volrath's Shapeshifter, Psychatog and your other creatures with mana value 3 or less for free and at instant speed. Monk Realist, free under Aluren, and Naturalize come in for Aluren itself. Naturalize, in most of their sideboards, answers Survival, and the Survival lists bring Tormod's Crypt for your graveyard after a Hermit activation. Very limited data.
- Tron (slightly favorable): Tron needs time to build its own threats, but it interacts from turn two: Swords to Plowshares, in every list, for Hermit Druid or Shapeshifter, Mana Leak, Miscalculation and Prohibit for Survival of the Fittest and the reanimation spells, Disenchant for Survival, and Masticore, which shoots Birds of Paradise and Hermit Druid. After boarding they bring Meddling Mage and Tormod's Crypt, some lists Phyrexian Furnace. Cabal Therapy naming Mana Leak or Miscalculation, and Duress and Xantid Swarm after boarding, protect the combo turn. No match data.
- The Solution (even): Meddling Mage can name Survival, Shapeshifter, Hermit Druid or Unearth, and Swords, counters, Disenchant for Survival and sideboard graveyard hate answer the rest, though Lightning Bolt and Fire cannot target your Akroma. Triskelion's colorless damage gets through Mother of Runes. Worship, in about two in five of their sideboards, keeps them at 1 life while they control a creature, so shoot their creatures first or destroy it with Naturalize or Ray of Revelation. Change plans when the Mage names your main line, and after boarding bring Swords, Ghitu Slinger and Pyroclasm for their creatures and Duress and Xantid Swarm against their counters. Only two recorded matches.
- Dromar Control (even to slightly unfavorable): The same Meddling Mage problem as The Solution: Mage, in almost every list, can name Survival, Shapeshifter, Hermit Druid or Unearth. Behind it Duress takes Survival and Vindicate destroys it, Swords to Plowshares answers Hermit Druid, Mana Leak and Dromar's Charm counter or kill, and Exalted Angel is a fast clock. After boarding expect Engineered Plague, Annul and Tormod's Crypt. Switch plans when Mage names your line, and bring Duress, Xantid Swarm, Swords and Ghitu Slinger. No match data.
- Clerics (even): Duress and Cabal Therapy, in almost every main deck, take Survival of the Fittest, Smother kills Hermit Druid, and Withered Wretch exiles the creature card on top of your graveyard. After boarding they bring Engineered Plague, which kills Hermit Druid when it names Druid, and about half the lists Dystopia or Perish. Pyroclasm, Ghitu Slinger and Ray of Revelation come in, but while Rotlung Reanimator is on the battlefield, every Cleric that dies leaves a 2/2 Zombie, so Pyroclasm does not clear their board. Very limited data.
- Zombies (slightly unfavorable): Main-deck Withered Wretch exiles the creature card on top of your graveyard, and Carnophage, Sarcomancy and Lord of the Undead are a fast clock. After boarding they bring Engineered Plague naming Druid or Bird, and Perish, which destroys all your green creatures, some lists Dystopia too. Bring Pyroclasm, Ghitu Slinger and Ray of Revelation; with Bad Moon on the battlefield, in some lists, most of their Zombies survive Pyroclasm. No match data.
- Stasis (favorable): Wall of Roots and, in some of your lists, Eladamri's Vineyard make mana without untapping, and one activation of Survival of the Fittest or Hermit Druid can be enough. Bring Duress, Naturalize, Uktabi Orangutan and Ray of Revelation. Their Cursed Totem stops Hermit Druid and Wall of Roots, and Annul counters Survival, Vineyard and Animate Dead. MTGDecks: 64 percent over 22 matches, limited data.
- White Weenie (slightly favorable): Their clock is fast, so combo early. Swords to Plowshares answers Hermit Druid or Volrath's Shapeshifter, Seal of Cleansing or Disenchant destroys Survival, and Armageddon, in more than half of their main decks, and Wasteland attack your mana. After boarding they bring Tormod's Crypt against the Hermit line and Aura of Silence for Survival, and some lists Cursed Totem, which stops Hermit Druid, Birds of Paradise, Wall of Roots and every activated ability of Shapeshifter, and Absolute Law against your Pyroclasm. Pyroclasm kills their small creatures, but not Silver Knight, Soltari Priest, a face-up Exalted Angel or a creature that Mother of Runes protects. Worship, in some lists, keeps them at 1 life while they control a creature, so shoot their creatures with Triskelion first. Very limited data: 83 percent over 6 matches.
- BW Control (favorable): Their answers are mostly sorceries, and only a few hit an engine: Duress and Vindicate for Survival of the Fittest, Swords for Hermit Druid or Shapeshifter, Phyrexian Furnace and Haunting Echoes, main deck in about a third of their lists, for your graveyard, and after boarding Tormod's Crypt, Aura of Silence and Engineered Plague naming Druid. Gerrard's Verdict lets you choose your two discards, so discard creature cards for Shapeshifter. Cabal Therapy naming Wrath of God or Vindicate clears the way. Exalted Angel is their fastest threat; until it is face up, you can usually wait for a safe turn. Limited data: 69 percent over 16 matches.
- Gro-a-Tog (unfavorable): Counterspell, Daze, Foil and Meddling Mage, in more than half their main decks, naming Survival of the Fittest stop the engine before it starts; a Mage on Hermit Druid only stops casting it, so discard the Druid to Survival and Unearth it. Swords to Plowshares answers Hermit Druid or Shapeshifter, and Fire // Ice kills Hermit Druid and Birds of Paradise with one Fire. Armageddon, in two of three main decks, leaves you only Birds, Wall of Roots and Elvish Spirit Guide for mana. After boarding they bring Engineered Plague, Ray of Revelation and Seal of Cleansing. Cabal Therapy naming Counterspell clears the way, and Pyroclasm after boarding kills Meddling Mage and a Quirion Dryad with at most one counter. Limited data: 33 percent over 15 matches.
- Pit Rack (slightly favorable): Their discard takes Survival before it lands, and Smother and Funeral Charm kill Hermit Druid or Birds of Paradise, but every creature card their discard and Bottomless Pit put into your graveyard is fuel for Shapeshifter. Against Diabolic Edict, sacrifice Birds, Wall of Roots or Squee. Watch for Withered Wretch, and after boarding for Engineered Plague naming Druid, Dystopia, and Planar Void or Tormod's Crypt. Limited data: 58 percent over 12 matches.
- Rebels (slightly favorable): Swords to Plowshares exiles Hermit Druid, and in the blue lists Counterspell and Mana Leak aim at Survival of the Fittest and Hermit Druid, and Meddling Mage can name a combo piece. Their clock is slow, so set up the combo on a turn they tapped out for creatures. After boarding expect Tormod's Crypt, Phyrexian Furnace and Aura of Silence, which makes Survival and Animate Dead cost two more and can destroy one of them. No meaningful match data.
- Contamination (even): Contamination leaves you only the green mana of Birds of Paradise, Wall of Roots, Elvish Spirit Guide and, in some lists, Eladamri's Vineyard for Survival of the Fittest and Hermit Druid, and Volrath's Shapeshifter needs two blue mana that only Birds can make, so reanimate it instead; Cabal Therapy, Unearth and Animate Dead are black and still work. Their Duress and Cabal Therapy go after Survival, Smother kills Hermit Druid, Powder Keg on one or two counters takes Birds, Hermit Druid and Wall of Roots, and Phyrexian Furnace can exile the creature card you need on top. Wasteland and Rishadan Port, in almost every list, attack your nonbasic lands, and Engineered Plague and Dystopia come in after boarding. Naturalize, cast with that green mana, destroys Contamination. Very limited data.
- Turbo Lands (slightly unfavorable): Glacial Chasm prevents all damage to them, so both of your kills, Triskelion after Phyrexian Devourer and a Shapeshifter pumped as Psychatog that attacks as Akroma, do nothing once it is out, and you have no way to remove a land. Race their engine instead, with Cabal Therapy naming Exploration or Seismic Assault and Survival of the Fittest finding your pieces fast. Their Seismic Assault kills Birds of Paradise and Hermit Druid, and Tormod's Crypt comes in after boarding. No match data.
- Fluctuator (slightly favorable): You are at least as fast, and four Cabal Therapy name Fluctuator or Songs of the Damned before they go off. Their cycling and kill do not touch your graveyard, and your engine does not touch theirs, so it is a race. Expunge and Drain Life kill Hermit Druid, so keep Survival of the Fittest as the second engine. Expect Gilded Light against Therapy, and after boarding Miscalculation and Misdirection, which can turn a Cabal Therapy back on you. No match data.
- RG Zoo (even): Zoo kills Hermit Druid and Birds of Paradise with Mogg Fanatic, Seal of Fire, Grim Lavamancer and Lightning Bolt, and its main-deck Naturalize, two in most lists, destroys Survival of the Fittest. Wall of Roots blocks Jackal Pup, an Elephant or Treetop Village, and Cabal Therapy can take Naturalize before you cast Survival, but a slow hand loses the race. The Hermit kill ends in Akroma's form, which their burn cannot target. After boarding expect Tormod's Crypt, which Uktabi Orangutan can force them to use before you go off, and Tranquil Domain for Survival, and bring Pyroclasm, Ghitu Slinger and Swords to Plowshares. Very limited data: 62 percent over 8 matches.
Sideboard guide
- vs Stiflenought, Landstill, Psychatog, Tron, The Solution and Dromar Control: Xantid Swarm, Duress, Swords to Plowshares. Two Xantid Swarm and two Duress protect the combo turn: once Swarm attacks, the opponent can't cast spells that turn. Swords comes in everywhere except against Landstill. Against Stiflenought add Uktabi Orangutan and Naturalize for Dreadnought and Back to Basics; against Landstill Naturalize, Ray of Revelation and Monk Realist, though only the two spells answer a resolved Humility, since under it Monk Realist has no enters trigger; against Meddling Mage Ghitu Slinger. Out: Eladamri's Vineyard where you play it and Elvish Spirit Guide, plus Palinchron, Wall of Roots or Krosan Reclamation depending on the matchup; against Psychatog Ray of Revelation comes in for Engineered Plague.
- vs Goblins, Sligh, Elves, UG Madness, Clerics, Zombies, White Weenie, RG Zoo and Gro-a-Tog: Pyroclasm, Ghitu Slinger, Swords to Plowshares. Two Pyroclasm and Ghitu Slinger against every creature deck. Pyroclasm kills your own Birds, Hermit Druid and Squee, so Birds of Paradise usually goes out with it. Against Sligh Enlightened Tutor comes in to find Survival and two Hermit Druids leave; against Clerics and Zombies Ray of Revelation answers Engineered Plague, and Pyroclasm is weaker while Rotlung Reanimator or Bad Moon is on the battlefield. At least two Hermit Druids stay in every matchup.
- vs Enchantress, Replenish, Deadguy Ale and Aluren: Naturalize, Duress, Ray of Revelation. Enchantment removal, Duress and Monk Realist against the combo and prison enchantments, Uktabi Orangutan against Enchantress and Deadguy Ale for Tormod's Crypt, Swords against Replenish, and Auramancer against Deadguy Ale to return a Survival that Vindicate or Disenchant destroyed. Out: Eladamri's Vineyard where you play it, Wall of Roots, Krosan Reclamation and Palinchron; against Aluren only the Vineyards and two Wall of Roots.
- vs Oath of Druids, Terrageddon, The Rock, Mono Black and MUD: Naturalize, Uktabi Orangutan, Ray of Revelation. Naturalize and Uktabi Orangutan come in against all five, for Oath, Sphere, Cursed Totem and Tormod's Crypt. Against Oath of Druids also bring Ray of Revelation for Oath and Aura of Silence, Monk Realist and Swords; against Terrageddon Swords, Duress and Ghitu Slinger; against The Rock Ray of Revelation for Engineered Plague, Monk Realist and Ghitu Slinger; against Mono Black Ray of Revelation for Dystopia, Ghitu Slinger and Pyroclasm; against MUD Ghitu Slinger. Eladamri's Vineyard, in the lists that play it, comes out against Oath of Druids, Terrageddon, The Rock and MUD, since it gives them {G}{G} in their first main phase too.
- vs Reanimator and the mirror: Duress, Swords to Plowshares. Two Duress and Swords against Reanimator, Duress, Ghitu Slinger and Swords in the mirror, for two Wall of Roots and Palinchron. Speed decides both, so Hermit Druid stays in; In the mirror, name Hermit Druid with an early Cabal Therapy.
Budget and upgrades
Typical cost: $2,100–$2,790. The reference list (Danilo Costa Geraldes, top four of 225 at the Nacional Premodern Brasil, August 23) costs about $2,790 with its sideboard at Premodern-era printings, and four Survival of the Fittest are about $1,750 of that, or 63 percent. Survival is on the Reserved List and has no cheaper printing. Next come three Reflecting Pool (about $142), four City of Brass (about $132), four Llanowar Wastes (about $116) and four Yavimaya Coast (about $111). Lists with two Shallow Grave pay about $220 more: it is on the Reserved List too, at about $111 a copy.
- If your events allow tournament-legal reprints, the painlands cost under $1 each, Squee under $1, Gemstone Mine about $2, Cabal Therapy about $5, City of Brass about $11 and Reflecting Pool about $5; with every card at its cheapest legal printing the 75 costs about $2,100.
- Replace Reflecting Pool and Undiscovered Paradise with extra painlands such as Brushland or Karplusan Forest, and Enlightened Tutor in the sideboard with a third Pyroclasm. You take more damage.
- Keep the core: Survival of the Fittest, Hermit Druid and Volrath's Shapeshifter, plus Devourer, Triskelion, Psychatog, Akroma and Karmic Guide for the kills. Basic lands cannot replace the nonbasic mana base, because Hermit Druid stops at the first basic land it reveals.
- Upgrade in this order: Hermit Druid, Shapeshifter, the combo creatures and the reanimation first, then the sideboard, the mana creatures, painlands, Gemstone Mine and City of Brass, Cabal Therapy and Squee, and Reflecting Pool and Undiscovered Paradise last. Survival of the Fittest has no cheaper printing and no replacement, so the deck needs all four copies from the start.
Every deck that costs under $500 with reprints is on our budget decks page, priced from a real tournament list.
