Pyromancer Loam

By Luis Scott-Vargas

Luis Scott-Vargas plays, writes, and makes videos about Magic. He has played on the Pro Tour for almost a decade, and between that and producing content for ChannelFireball, often has his hands full (of cards).

I like Life from the Loam decks, and I like Delver of Secrets decks, and this is the first time I've seen them combined. Young Pyromancer even enters the fray, making this a pretty cool synergy deck, all told.

There are two major parts to the deck, and they both have plenty of pieces that overlap. The first is the Delver of Secrets/Young Pyromancer contingent, where the deck plays a ton of spells to take advantage of the power of the two Humans. Most of the spells are cheap, draw a card, have flashback, or possess all of the above qualities. That makes it all the more likely that you will find one to flip Delver of Secrets and get to play enough to make a sufficient amount of Pyromancer tokens.

Many of these spells coincidentally aid the second part of the deck, the Life from the Loam/Seismic Assault engine. Loam plus Assault has been a strong combo since the original Ravnica, and all that it really needs to get going is ways to find the combo. That's where all of the card draw comes into play, with Faithless Looting in particular making all the pieces fit together. Looting can be dredged into the graveyard with Loam, lets you toss the extra lands that Loam picks up, and even helps you find your other graveyard spell, Flame Jab. Seismic Assault is by far the most powerful way to use your lands, but Flame Jab works in a pinch if Assault isn't anywhere to be seen, and at a lower mana cost at that.

Besides the engine cards, Tarmogoyf and Lightning Bolt are here to keep the opponents honest, or possibly just end the game (whichever is easiest). Goyf will often be a 4/5 thanks to all the cards this deck goes through, and Bolt is just too efficient not to include. This deck plays like a mix between RUG Delver of Secrets and Assault-Loam (because that's exactly what it is), and if you like either of the decks this could be an interesting brew to try.

kei00's Pyromancer Loam

Decklist Stats Sample Hand

Creature (12)

4 Delver of Secrets 4 Tarmogoyf 4 Young Pyromancer

Sorcery (18)

3 Faithless Looting 3 Flame Jab 4 Gitaxian Probe 4 Life from the Loam 4 Serum Visions

Instant (6)

2 Electrolyze 4 Lightning Bolt

Enchantment (3)

3 Seismic Assault

Land (21)

2 Breeding Pool 1 Forest 1 Ghost Quarter 1 Island 4 Misty Rainforest 1 Mountain 1 Raging Ravine 3 Scalding Tarn 4 Steam Vents 1 Stomping Ground 1 Sulfur Falls 1 Tectonic Edge

60 Cards