《Summoner’s Pact》 Issue

Vigilant readers will realize that the core line has a random element in it – the 《Aftermath Analyst》‘s ETB mill trigger. The line expects you to use 《Tolaria West》 to find your second 《Summoner’s Pact》.

It’s true that if you mill all your remaining 《Summoner’s Pact》 over, there’s no way to access 《Shifting Woodland》, leaving you stranded and unable to loop. Most likely, that means losing the game. It’s common for decklists to only run two 《Summoner’s Pact》. Assuming your 《Aftermath Analyst》 will be hitting the board with around 40 cards left in your deck, that translates to a 7-8% chance of losing on the spot. This causes much ire to new Amulet players, and it’s a situation I get asked about a lot.

That might sound like a huge problem, however, it takes very few extra resources to reduce the probability of failure to 0%.

– Controlling a fifth land in play lets you grab 《Shifting Woodland》 immediately, removing the need for the second 《Summoner’s Pact》. You’ll be guaranteed to loop Channel lands, but not guaranteed to make infinite power. 《Urza’s Cave》 as your fifth land guarantees that you’ll have access to every Analyst loop.

– Holding an extra 《Primeval Titan》 (or 《Summoner’s Pact》, or 《Green Sun’s Zenith》) in hand also removes the need for the second 《Summoner’s Pact》.

– Holding 《Tolaria West》 already in hand means you can search for 《Shifting Woodland》 with the original 《Scapeshift》.

– Holding another copy of 《Scapeshift》 lets you 《Scapeshift》 for 《Shifting Woodland》.

– Holding any extra land drop ramp spell solves the issue as well. Transmute 《Tolaria West》 to get 《Shifting Woodland》 and put it into play with your 《Arboreal Grazer》, 《Explore》, or 《Spelunking》.

– Controlling the 《Shifting Woodland》 or 《Urza’s Cave》, or having milled either earlier in the game, means 《Aftermath Analyst》 will access it.

– Floating extra three mana before 《Scapeshift》 lets you search for an 《Urza’s Cave》 instead of the second 《Lotus Field》, eliminating the need for the second 《Summoner’s Pact》.

– Milling 《Shifting Woodland》 or 《Urza’s Cave》 with your 《Aftermath Analyst》 trigger also saves you.

If we overly cautiously estimate the odds of none of the above criteria being fulfilled as 10%, then the failure rate of 《Scapeshift》 should be below one percent. In practice, if you are mindful of the possibility of milling your 《Summoner’s Pact》 over, the issue just never materializes.

Running a third 《Summoner’s Pact》 would reduce the fail rate further, but it’s already low enough that it’s not a significant incentive to play it.

《Tolaria West》 Issue

If 《Tolaria West》 ends up in your graveyard, you can no longer access 《Aftermath Analyst》. Therefore, if 《Tolaria West》 ends up in play, you can’t sacrifice it to your 《Scapeshift》. You will need at least an extra mana floating to perform the core line. For that reason, you should, when possible, prioritize playing your other lands first.

《Dryad Arbor》 Issue

The core line produces barely enough mana to start the loop. Since 《Dryad Arbor》 is summoning sick, if 《Dryad Arbor》 is one of your lands, you can end up one mana short. In practice, that’s very unlikely to pose a problem. Once again, any other resource – including milling over a land with 《Aftermath Analyst》‘s ETB – will make the numbers add up and save you, but be mindful.

Single Amulet 《Scapeshift》

《Aftermath Analyst》/《Summoner’s Pact》 Already in Hand?

With extra resources, you can win by 《Scapeshift》 on just three lands.

– Holding a 《Aftermath Analyst》 or 《Summoner’s Pact》 already in hand can skip the 《Tolaria West》 step entirely and save you a lot of trouble. Searching for two 《Lotus Field》 and a 《Shifting Woodland》 should get you there often, depending on your graveyard, but 《Urza’s Cave》 can guarantee the loop. Crack the 《Urza’s Cave》 for an 《Echoing Deeps》 after sacrificing your 《Lotus Field》 before resolving the original 《Aftermath Analyst》 – you will produce more mana. Get 《Urza’s Cave》 back, grab a 《Shifting Woodland》, and loop.

– If you haven’t Pacted, be mindful of Delirium, as it’s no longer guaranteed. You can get there with the 《Aftermath Analyst》 mill. Failing that, given enough mana, returning 《Echoing Deeps》 as a copy of 《Urza’s Cave》, fetching 《Urza’s Saga》, and sacrificing it to 《Lotus Field》 can produce the missing fourth type.

Three Lands Double 《Scapeshift》?

If you are holding two 《Scapeshift》, three lands in play, and two extra floating mana is enough to assemble the core loop. First 《Scapeshift》 will fetch three 《Crumbling Vestige》, producing six mana. Replace one of the 《Crumbling Vestige》 with 《Echoing Deeps》 if there’s already a 《Crumbling Vestige》 in your graveyard.

With three mana floating, your second 《Scapeshift》 can get a 《Lotus Field》, bounceland, and 《Tolaria West》. If you were able to get 《Echoing Deeps》, you already have two 《Lotus Field》; otherwise, the extra mana from 《Crumbling Vestige》 returning should make assembling the loop trivial.

《Lotus Field》 in Hand?

Sometimes, you’ll stare at a three-land 《Scapeshift》 with a 《Lotus Field》 as your only land drop in hand. In those spots, you can 《Scapeshift》 first, grab a 《Lotus Field》, bounceland, and 《Tolaria West》, and make your land drop afterwards – you will still get to nine mana.

In general, playing 《Lotus Field》 after resolving your 《Scapeshift》 will result in more mana, because your 《Scapeshift》 will get to operate with more lands.

Two-Land 《Scapeshift》?

Two-land 《Scapeshift》 for two 《Lotus Field》 is a play that typically happens in hands that are spell-heavy and land-light. You need an 《Aftermath Analyst》 and a 《Primeval Titan》 already in hand, because you are skipping 《Tolaria West》 entirely.

Double Amulet 《Scapeshift》

“Double-Amulet” makes three land 《Scapeshift》 trivial. 《Lotus Field》, bounceland, and 《Tolaria West》 is the classic package. You can replace any of those with a 《Urza’s Cave》 to guarantee the loop.

If your second 《Amulet of Vigor》 was fetched by an 《Urza’s Saga》 or 《The Mycosynth Gardens》, you’ll sometimes find yourself 《Scapeshift》 with one land in play. If you are holding a threat, that could be good enough to grab a 《Lotus Field》, produce six mana, and win.

Triple Amulet 《Scapeshift》

With rare three 《Amulet of Vigor》, 《Scapeshift》 on two lands finds a bounceland and 《Tolaria West》 and produces nine mana alone. Be mindful that with no 《Lotus Field》, there’s no looping 《Aftermath Analyst》, and if you spend your 《Tolaria West》 on a 《Primeval Titan》, you can’t access 《Aftermath Analyst》 anymore, so the best you can do is copying and hasting 《Primeval Titan》.

You should end up with enough mana to turn 《Scapeshift》 into 《Mirrorpool》, making a total of four 《Primeval Titan》. Hasting all of them will be easy if you control no 《Spelunking》 and challenging if you do.

Any instance of triple Amulet 《Scapeshift》 with a higher amount of lands will just be a trivialized variant of a previously explained line.

Role of 《Urza’s Cave》

《Urza’s Cave》 frequently showed up. It wasn’t often strictly necessary, but it turns likely wins into guaranteed wins and guarantees the payoff for maing infinite mana with 《Aftermath Analyst》. But where I find it most valuable is when playing around hate – let’s talk about maneuvering about the most common instants and hate-permanents.

The core 《Scapeshift》 line can be pretty fragile. Sometimes your opponent’s interaction will stop you from Analyst looping. Instead, summoning 《Primeval Titan》 is a fine backup plan. 《Primeval Titan》 typically won’t win immediatelly, but will set you up for victory next turn. That’s okay.

《Damping Sphere》

To assemble the core line through 《Damping Sphere》, you need two extra lands. You’ll get the core package, an extra bounceland, and a 《Boseiju, Who Endures》. Remove the 《Damping Sphere》 before tapping the lands that would be affected by 《Damping Sphere》 for mana and proceed from there. Beating 《Pithing Needle》 on Analyst should be identical.

《Tormod’s Crypt》

To combo through any one-shot graveyard hate piece, you need to do the same as above. Channel 《Boseiju, Who Endures》 before sacrificing lands to 《Lotus Field》. Unfortunately, opponent will likely crack their graveyard hate piece in response to your 《Boseiju, Who Endures》. That means your Analyst loop is reliant on a lucky Analyst mill to reestabilish Delirium.

You might be short mana as well, given that your first 《Aftermath Analyst》 activation will only get you back two 《Lotus Field》, two bouncelands, a 《Tolaria West》, and whatever you milled. Realistically, amassing extra resources in hand is required before trying to combo through a 《Tormod’s Crypt》.

An alternate solution is to sidestep the graveyard hate with 《Cultivator Colossus》. A five-land 《Scapeshift》 with one mana floating lets you search for four bouncelands and a 《Tolaria West》. Produce nine mana, up to ten total, transmute for a 《Summoner’s Pact》 and use it to find and cast 《Cultivator Colossus》.

You resolve a 《Cultivator Colossus》 trigger with at least three bouncelands in hand, which while not deterministic whatsoever, is likely to give you enough tools to win on the same turn or at least reatre an ovewhelming advantage. It’s a common line against 《Ketramose, the New Dawn》 decks maindecking 《Relic of Progenitus》.

《Thraben Charm》 & 《Kozilek’s Command》

Scapeshifting for 《Cultivator Colossus》 can also the only reasonable play to make if you suspect your opponent is holding up a 《Thraben Charm》 or a huge 《Kozilek’s Command》.

They both can potentially be worked around if you have a ton of resources, but in practice it’s really hard not to give your opponent a profitabe window to either exile your graveyard or kill your creature and stop your combo that way.

《Cultivator Colossus》 also shortens the combo, should any key loop pieces end up exiled. Two hasted Colossi should be good enough to win on virtually any board, and it’s achievable without looping Analyst a single time.

《Orim’s Chant》

《Orim’s Chant》 will stop you from winning or a turn and there’s not much to be done about it. Oftentimes opponents will just use it proactively in your upkeep, but if you suspect opponent is holding one and you still want to go for 《Scapeshift》, you should make sure you can pay for your 《Summoner’s Pact》. It’s pretty tricky, because to be able to loop you need to commit to it and sacrifice your 《Lotus Field》.

A five-land 《Scapeshift》 against a suspected 《Orim’s Chant》 might get a 《Lotus Field》, two 《Crumbling Vestige》, a bounceland and a 《Tolaria West》. If you held a 《Summoner’s Pact》 already, you can 《Summoner’s Pact》 in response to your 《Lotus Field》 sacrifice trigger, forcing your opponent to 《Orim’s Chant》 in response, letting you make an easier decision.

Otherwise, if you have to Transmute, you need to decide whether to commit or not beforehand. With more resources, getting a 《Vesuva》 copying any land and sacrificing it to 《Lotus Field》 will potentially still let you loop if opponent ends up not having 《Orim’s Chant》.

Thankfully, opponent doesn’t necessarily know whether you need to Transmute or not, so they are incentivized to 《Orim’s Chant》 early – such as in response to 《Scapeshift》. Otherwise, they risk letting you cast a 《Primeval Titan》 from hand.

《Boseiju, Who Endures》

Sometimes opponent will try to hold up 《Boseiju, Who Endures》, trying to it your 《Tolaria West》 before you can return it to your hand. If you combo off with 《Amulet of Vigor》, there is no counterplay other than simply having an extra threat in your hand.

If you control 《Spelunking》 and have enough extra resources, you can find an extra 《Urza’s Cave》. Try to pick up your 《Tolaria West》 with your bounceland, and if opponent responds, crack 《Urza’s Cave》 for another bounceland.

Another scenario where this line might be useful will be when facing 《White Orchid Phantom》m alongside 《Ephemerate》 or 《Aether Vial》.

《Consign to Memory》

When playing against 《Consign to Memory》, 《Spelunking》 is going to be stronger than 《Amulet of Vigor》. 《Amulet of Vigor》 produces triggers that can be 《Consign to Memory》, while 《Spelunking》 is a replacement effect that can’t be responded to.

If you go for the core 《Scapeshift》 line, an unreplicated 《Consign to Memory》 will stop you. Opponent can 《Consign to Memory》:

– 《Amulet of Vigor》 triggers, denying you mana.
– bounceland triggers, denying you access to 《Tolaria West》.
– 《Lotus Field》 triggers, stranding your 《Lotus Field》 in play and denying your ability to loop.
– A 《Primeval Titan》 or 《Cultivator Colossus》 trigger down the line.

All of those can be beaten by amassing extra resources. Importantly, 《Consign to Memory》‘s strength will depend a lot on how much mana your opponent leaves up. An unreplicated 《Consign to Memory》 will be much easier to work your way around. A 《Consign to Memory》 with 3-4 mana available will be more likely to stop you for at least a turn.

Importantly, 《Consign to Memory》 can not stop 《Aftermath Analyst》 at all. The best way to beat 《Consign to Memory》 on a low land count would be controlling 《Spelunking》 and holding an 《Aftermath Analyst》. Opponent needs to 《Consign to Memory》 《Lotus Field》 sacrifice triggers. If they do that, you should be still able to 《Aftermath Analyst》 back a bunch of lands, maybe still assemble the loop with a 《Vesuva》, or alternatively, 《Summoner’s Pact》 for a 《Primeval Titan》 instead.

If opponent plans to 《Consign to Memory》 your bounceland trigger, you can also get more bouncelands than they have mana available. Alternatively, the 《Urza’s Cave》 trick used to play around 《Boseiju, Who Endures》 will sidestep 《Consign to Memory》 no matter how many times they can replicate it.

If you have more lands but no extra threats in hand, sometimes what you need to focus on is not putting yourself in a spot where you end up sacrificing all your lands. That might mean searching for only a single 《Lotus Field》 and more regular mana-producing lands. 《Crumbling Vestige》 is a common one to produce an extra mana, but 《Vesuva》 or 《Urza’s Cave》 can be searched for as well.

Sacrifice 《Vesuva》/《Urza’s Cave》 to 《Lotus Field》‘s trigger, and if your opponent happens not to have 《Consign to Memory》 at all, you coud still be able to assemble the loop by copying 《Lotus Field》 or searching for another one after your first 《Aftermath Analyst》 activation. If your opponent stops you for a turn with 《Consign to Memory》, you will still retain lands in play and you’ll be able to continue to play the game.

If your opponent holds up 《Consign to Memory》 a lot, waiting with your 《Scapeshift》 and playing out your 《Primeval Titan》 first is often a strong move. A Consigned 《Primeval Titan》 still leaves a threat that has to be dealt with.

《Counterspell》

Opponent could wait with their 《Counterspell》, trying to counter your 《Aftermath Analyst》. If you run 《Cavern of Souls》 and hold a 《Primeval Titan》, you can instead search for 《Cavern of Souls》, two 《Crumbling Vestige》, and a bounceland, if simply resolving a 《Primeval Titan》 will be good enough.

《Spell Snare》

《Spell Snare》 will likely get boarded out, but you might want to play around it in game 1. 《Spell Snare》 interacts with 《Aftermath Analyst》, and not really anything else. In some spots, it might seem like opponent doesn’t have anything, but if you perform the core 《Scapeshift》 loop you’ll get 《Spell Snare》 and lose on the spot. There are two main ways to avoid that:

– If you play 《Cavern of Souls》, 《Scapeshift》 with an extra land in play. Get 《Cavern of Souls》 and name Detective.

– If you have significantly more resources available and lots of mana, make sure to control 《Shifting Woodland》 and have eight mana floating when you play 《Aftermath Analyst》. If they 《Spell Snare》 it, you can just start the loop straight from your graveyard.

Getting 《Aftermath Analyst》 with 《Green Sun’s Zenith》 sidesteps 《Spell Snare》 as well.

《Subtlety》 & 《Force of Negation》

《Force of Negation》 will typically be fired on 《Scapeshift》, unless opponent tries to get tricky. 《Subtlety》 can be the same as 《Spell Snare》 – a spell that will only interact with your 《Aftermath Analyst》. There’s no easy way to play around it besides holding an extra 《Aftermath Analyst》 already.

If you have an absolute ton of mana but no other resources – so likely a double-《Amulet of Vigor》 or even a triple-《Amulet of Vigor》 scenario – you can try to use 《Mirrorpool》 to copy your 《Summoner’s Pact》 to play around either. Keep 《Mirrorpool》 up after you’re done sacrificing lands to 《Lotus Field》. Against 《Force of Negation》, only copy in response. Against 《Subtlety》, copy proactively and grab a 《Primeval Titan》 or 《Cultivator Colossus》.

《Scapeshift》 with no Amulets

You want to avoid 《Scapeshift》 with no 《Amulet of Vigor》 if possible, but sometimes you’ll be forced to improvise because your hand is either flooded with 《Scapeshift》, or your 《Amulet of Vigor》 gets destroyed in response.

If you want to access 《Amulet of Vigor》 in two turns, 《Scapeshift》 away any number of lands you deem appropriate for 《Urza’s Saga》. Sometimes grabbing a bounceland and a Channel land on top of that to interact on the next turn will be valuable as well, but it’s very context-dependant and it’s hard to have strong guidelines as to what your play should be – you will need to judge the situation at hand.

If your 《Amulet of Vigor》 gets destroyed in response, if you Scapeshifted on a low land count, you’ll be looking to set up 《Urza’s Saga》 as well. If you Scapeshifted with a lot of resources, sometimes you have more options. 《Crumbling Vestige》 can still produce some mana, letting you activate an 《Aftermath Analyst》.

Most likely you won’t be able to loop straight away, but setting up a large amount of lands in play, a 《Shifting Woodland》 and a copy of 《Shifting Woodland》 can be a way to loop next turn by copying an 《Amulet of Vigor》 with 《Shifting Woodland》.

Hopefully these extensive instructions will help you resolve your 《Scapeshift》 better!

Piotr Glogowski (X / Twitch / Youtube)