Hidetsugu's A Multiplayer Deck, And Now I Know

I don't really have a lot to talk about in the ways of new stuff quite yet, so I thought I'd continue to talk about the Heartless Hidetsugu deck I mentioned last week.

My Heartless Hidetsugu Deck Article

Though I'm sure somewhere a dead horse is getting smacked with rocks and sticks, I'm trying to talk about what's relevant to my recent Magic endeavors here, and this is it.

A lot can change in a week, and that's perhaps pretty good for the ol' red deck.

So I must be doing something right.

One of the biggest things I noticed was how well this deck can function in the multiplayer environment. Some of my disappointment with the deck has stemmed from its inadequacies in typical 1v1 situations, which I've always felt were pretty indicative of a deck's performance in the bigger games. Just makes sense. If you can handle one person you'll be better able to handle multiple people. After all, if you're doing things right in multiplayer, you're probably devoting damage to one person.

However, HH doesn't want to be a 1v1 deck. He's a pimp remember? He's got all kinds of tricks to turn, and not a whole lot of time to do it. Why waste time with one person?

Pimp Smackin's What I Do Doe.

Heartless Hidetsugu's an equal-opportunity offender, and for all the right reasons, more people means more fun for the Ogre Shaman.

And obviously, less fun for your opponents when you can get HH his favorite bling, the Basilisk Collar or his pimp cane, which is what I affectionately call his Loxodon Warhammer. Either of these cards make the game pretty sadistic. You know, pleasure in other people's pain, and all that.

Anyway, because this deck is significantly more successful in multiplayer, I wanted to talk a little bit about why.

The first answer to me is something I've already been talking about. HH interacts with all players, including you. Not many Legends, or even creatures outside of Red Ashling and the Pestilence Demon are capable of getting really far with this tech.

The second was actually pretty revealing for my metagame. No one, outside of me, apparently runs single removal. One of the players even called it a waste of card space.

Not an idea I can get behind, but hey- it only takes one Blightsteel or one non-Emrakul Eldrazi to make you a believer in Path to Exile. You've gotta run it. Or else you'll be pretending the airplanes in the night sky are shooting stars, or whatever.

Also, we don't run a whole lot of counterspells. In fact, I'm pretty sure I'm the lone policeman a majority of the time on the board.

Another reason this deck has a chance is because he doesn't need a whole lot of draw power to get online. HH gets loose fairly consistently before or around turn 5, at which time most people are still durdling in multiplayer, and gets a nice blast before someone tries to get rid of him.

Although this week was the first real detrimental experience my opponents had with Hidetsugu, I think it will continue to stay a viable deck. Mostly because haste means HH can come into play and do his thing with little-to-no way for them to respond if the meta stays constant and the counter-wars stay dormant.

Also, I can play around their expectations with various haste outlets. If they expect me to cast HH at a certain point in the game because I have a Greaves chillin on my board or a Fervor, I can wait to play these things until the moment I'm ready to play HH next game. The best card for this situation is Mark of Fury, which isn't as good because a Doom Blade can come down while it's on the stack, which is rough. Though HH might now have to come out later, I'm fine with that if I've got a Wheel of Fortune or a nice creature to play like the recently tested and rather successful Thundermaw Hellkite. Sometimes you've gotta play risky.

At most, I need HH to do two Shiva-Blasts a game, which isn't a lot of work if they let him stay alive until my next turn. At three Shiva-Blasts and no life gain, it's pretty much Good Game for my opponents because of all the burn spells I run, or their negligible fetch land/shock land damage. Hopefully, I'm not in the danger zone either.

Anyway, this deck has been a nice surprise and a particularly fun challenge for me as a non-red player trying to experience the red deck in EDH culture. I highly suggest this deck to people who are sick of their opponents complaining about game-length, or to people who are like that jewel thief from Burma that simply "just want to watch the world burn."

If you're looking for something a little less risky, I might suggest playing Kaervek, which is what I feel this deck is bound to become at some point. Kaervek's even quicker with access to tutors, infect, Havoc Festival, and Everlasting Torment. The true Punisher, really.


As always, talk to me in the comments if you want.
Or if you believe in reverse-psychology, don't talk to me cause I think you're an idiot.

Hope you learned something, I guess?

...The following is an unpaid Shiva-Blast.

SHIVA KAMINI SOMA KANDA KRAM!

-UL