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Magic: The Gathering - Duels of the Planeswalkers
Challenge Mode FAQ by Mondo Mole
Version 1.0
Contact: [email protected]
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Introduction

Welcome to my first FAQ. I have known how to play Magic: The Gathering for many
years, but only in the last year started building serious decks and playing 
several times a week. Duels of the Planeswalkers is a fantastic way to 
familiarize new players with some of the more complicated rules, such as the 
stack or the various keywords like haste or lifelink, as well as introducing
archetypes of the five colors. Any suggestions or corrections about the FAQ
would be appreciated.

Whether you're a Magic: The Gathering veteran or just learning the ropes, the 
Challenge Mode in Duels of the Planeswalkers is wicked fun. In Challenge Mode, 
you are thrust into a situation from which there seems to be no chance of 
victory. Your opponent may have countless powerful monsters, while your side 
of the field is barren. Sometimes you are left with a scant trace of life, 
while your opponent is at or better than 20. 

Worry not. No matter how dire the situation seems, there is a solution to 
every puzzle. The path to victory is rarely obvious; many powerful cards and 
combinations will leave you just shy of your goal. As one of the loading tip 
screens reminds you, remember: It's okay to be at 1 life point, as long as 
your opponent has 0!

It is strongly recommended that you use this FAQ as a last resort. There is a 
finite number of cards and combinations, and you don't gain anything beyond a
few achievements. Hints are included in every solution for those who just need
a little push.

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Version History - 000ver


Duels of the Planeswalker Challenges

1) Garruk - 001gar
2) Elspeth - 001els
3) Garruk - 002gar
4) Chandra - 001cha
5) Liliana - 001lil
6) Chandra - 002cha
7) Nissa - 001nis
8) Liliana - 002lil


Expansion 1

1) Jace - 001jac
2) Elspeth - 002els
3) Liliana - 003lil

Expansion 2

1) Garruk - 003gar
2) Garruk - 004gar
3) Nicol Bolas - 001nic
4) Tezzeret - 001tez
5) Sarkhan Vol - 001sar

Expansion 3
1) Sorin - 001sor
2) Chandra - 003cha
3) Jace - 002jac
4) Ajani - 001aja
5) Sorin - 002sor

Frequently Asked Questions - 000faq

Legal - 000leg

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Version History - 000ver

Version 1.0 - submitted 11/12/10
Base challenges and expansions up through 3. FAQs, legal... and the version
history section.

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Duels of the Planeswalker Challenges


1) Garruk Wildspeaker - 001gar

Situation: Garruk has four tapped 6/4 Craw Wurms on the field, alongside a 
5/4 and a 0/3 untapped. Compared to his army, yours seems paltry. Your 
strongest fighter is a 2/1. Your only means of creature destruction entirely
taps you dry. How do we get through this one?

Hint: Double strike allows you to deal both first strike damage and regular
damage. With double strike, you would only need to attack with a power of 7.

Solution:
1) Cast Angelic Blessing on Skyhunter Skirmisher.
2) Cast your second Angelic Blessing on Skyhunter Skirmisher.
3) Continue to attack phase and attack with your Skyhunter Skirmisher.



2) Elspeth Tiriel - 001els

Situation: You have a 4/5 creature, but that won't be enough. Elspeth only 
has 1 life left, but her Voice of All has protection from red, and she has 
two other defenders besides. Unfortunately, you have no direct damage 
spells, and bringing in Raging Goblin will increase her life total. 

Hint: Since Elspeth's life total is only 1, creature power is irrelevant. 
How can you both overwhelm her with monsters and stop her from gaining life?

Solution: 
1) Play Threaten on Soul Warden.
2) Play Raging Goblin.
3) Continue to attack phase and attack with all three of your creatures.



3) Garruk Wildspeaker - 002gar

Situation: Garruk's Craw Wurm is 7/5, and with Treetop Bracers enchanting 
it, it is effectively unblockable. He has a blocker for each creature you
can attack with, and one of those blockers is a defender with a considerable
toughness of 10. You have plenty of creature enhancing spells, but a very 
limited amount of land.

Hint: Since he has as many blockers as you have attackers, your only means of 
dealing direct damage is through trample. You must avoid letting your damage 
get soaked up by the 7/10 Wall of Wood.

Solution:
1) Activate Elvish Piper's ability to bring Roughshod Mentor into play.
2) Continue to attack phase and attack with your three Grizzly Bears.
3) Wait until Garruk has declared blockers.
4) Play Giant Growth on a Grizzly Bear that is not being blocked by a Wall of 
Wood.
5) Cast your second Giant Growth on that same Grizzly Bear.
6) Cast your third Giant Growth on that same Grizzly Bear.

Special: If Garruk does not choose to block with his 0/3 Wall of Wood, you may 
instead play two Giant Growths on one Grizzly Bar that is not being blocked by 
the 7/10 Wall of Wood, and one Giant Growth on the other.


4) Chandra Nalaar - 001cha

Situation: You have a single life point against Chandra's 19. Your only 
reprieve is that she is tapped out. You have several means of getting around 
her two blockers to damage her, but only five mana.

Hint: If you use Terror to destroy a creature blocking Phage the Untouchable, 
she will still be considered blocked and will not deal combat damage. You'll 
have to wittle her life down the old fashioned way.

Solution:
1) Play Megrim.
2) Play Ravenous Rats.
3) Continue to attack phase and declare all creatures except Ravenous
Rats as attackers.


5) Liliana Vess - 001lil

Situation: Liliana has a slew of powerful monsters, untapped and ready to
defend for her. You have creatures as well, but none nearly powerful enough to 
get through on their own, and Overrun won't quite cut it. Elf decks are 
notorious for crazy combos feeding off of their numbers. Which one will win 
you the game this time?

Hint: Since the elves Lys Alana Huntmaster brings in have summoning sickness, 
and Liliana has as many blockers as you have attackers, overwhelming her with 
numbers won't be the key to victory. There must be a way to get around her 
defense.

Solution: 
1) Play Elvish Eulogist.
2) Play Elvish Warrior.
3) Play Eyeblight's Ending, targeting the Nightmare.
4) Activate Immaculate Magistrate's ability on the Elven Riders. Make sure 
the first three steps have resolved before you do this.
5) Continue to attack phase and attack with the Elven Riders.

Special: You can perform steps 1, 2, and 3 in any order you like.
The only requirement is that they all resolve before the Immaculate
Magistrate's ability is activated.


6) Chandra Nalaar - 002cha
 
Situation: This is a tricky challenge due to the sheer number of cards in your 
hand, the number of creatures on both sides of the field, and the amount of 
mana we have to play with. Undoubtedly one of the five red cards in her hand 
will be enough to take you once she untaps. Several of her defenders are 
powerful flyers with double strike. Mercifully, we have only a paltry 5 life 
points to chew through to prevail.

Hint: If your two Cloud Sprites and unblockable Phantom Warrior were to 
attack, and your possessed Prodigal Pyromancer were to activate its ability on 
Chandra, you would deal exactly enough damage to defeat her. Since these 
creatures are your only source of damage available, they must all four deal 
damage to Chandra this turn.

Solution: 
1) Play Unsummon on Shivan Dragon.
2) Play Unsummon on Shivan Hellkite.
3) Activate Prodigal Pyromancer's ability, targeting Chandra.
4) Continue to attack phase and declare your Cloud Sprites and Phantom Warrior 
as attackers.

Special: You can perform steps 1, 2, 3 in any order you like. You may also 
substitute Boomerang for Unsummon for either one. In fact, if you're bored, 
you can even Cancel one of your own Unsummon spells and still have enough 
mana for a Boomerang!


7) Nissa Revane - 001nis

Situation: Thanks to her currently 9/8 Rhys the Exiled, Nissa has 26 life, and 
you're down to a single point. While you have a considerable force on your 
side of the field, she has two blockers waiting, and you have a lot of health 
to chew through. 

Hint: If you could remove both of Nissa's defenders, you would have enough 
strength to take her out. Unfortunately, even using both Terror and Flamebast 
Dragon's power, you don't have the mana to do it. Neither of the creatures in 
your hand have haste, so you need to find a way to increase the power of your 
creatures.

Solution:
1) Play Terror on the Elvish Champion.
2) Continue to attack phase and declare all creatures as attackers.
3) When you are prompted to choose a target for Flameblast Dragon,
select Creatures, then target your own Sprouting Thrinax.
4) Pay 3 out of 3 lands.

Special: If you haven't already achieved it, this will get you
the achievement Devastator (Deal 20 combat damage to a player in a 
single turn in a game).


8) Liliana Vess - 002lil

Situation: Liliana is mostly tapped out, and her weak defenders can be easily 
dealt with by the two Incinerates in your hand. Unfortunately, it's not that 
simple. Platinum Angel guarentees that no matter how low her life goes, she 
will not lose the game so long as it remains  on the battlefield.

Hint: There are three ways to win, though only one is perfectly legitimate. 
For two of the solutions, they require Liliana to not play it as safely as she 
should during the declare blockers phase. For all three solutions, using Brion 
Stoutarm's ability effectively is required.

Solution 1:
1) Play Incinerate on Royal Assassin.
2) Play Incinerate on Ravenous Rats.
3) Play Pariah on Platinum Angel.
4) Activate Knight of the Skyward Eye's ability.
5) Play Sangrite Surge on Knight of the Skyward Eye.
6) Continue to attack phase and declare Knight of the Skyward Eye and 
Mistmeadow Skulk as attackers.
7) After first strike damage has been dealt and Dread's ability has triggered, 
activate Brion Stoutarm's ability. Target yourself and sacrifice Knight of the 
Skyward Eye.

Solution 2:
1) Play Incinerate on Platinum Angel.
2) Play your second Incinerate on Platinum Angel.
3) Activate Knight of the Skyward Eye's ability.
4) Play Sangrite Surge on Knight of the Skyward Eye.
5) Continue to attack phase and declare everybody except Brion Stoutarm as 
attackers.
6) After Royal Assassin triggers on Knight of the Skyward Eye, activate
Brion Stoutarm's ability. Target Liliana and sacrifice Knight of the
Skyward Eye.


Solution 3:
1) Play Rip-Clan Crasher.
2) Proceed to attack phase and declare everybody except Brion Stoutarm as 
attackers.
3) During main phase 2, enchant Platinum Angel with Pariah.
4) Play Wooly Thoctar.
5) Activate Brion Stoutarm's ability. Target yourself and sacrifice Wooly
Thoctar.
6) Play Incinerate on Liliana.
7) Play your second Incinerate on Liliana.


Special: While all three solutions will beat the challenge, only the first
one would be failproof against a savvy human player. In Solution 2 or 3,
Liliana could declare either or both of her untapped creatures to block,
and proceed to activate Royal Assassin's ability after that. She could also 
potentially wait until Brion Stoutarm becomes tapped while using his ability, 
then activate Royal Assassin's ability. As such, solution 1 is the only one 
that gives Liliana no chance to survive. Also note that order is important 
during solution 2 because the order in which the computer taps your mana 
doesn't always coincide with your plans. Card order in solutions 1 and 3 
are much more relaxed. 

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Expansion 1

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1) Jace Beleren - 001jac

Situation: You're caught in double trouble. Not only do you have a single life
point, but you have no cards in your library, meaning that any card draw will
spell victory for Jace. He has two potential blockers - one flying, one land
bound. You do, however, have an Etherium Sculptor on the field and two in the
hand, so you have the potential to do a lot with a limited mana supply. How 
can you wittle down his substantial 17 life points by the end of the turn?

Hint: Since you have no way of granting haste, Glaze Fiend is going to be your
strongest force. Etherium Sculptor won't reduce the cost of equipping Loxodon
Warhammer, which would grant trample, so you'll need to deal with the Wall of 
Air if you want to hit him hard.

Solution:
1) Play Etherium Sculptor.
2) Play Onyx Goblet.
3) Play Master of Etherium.
4) Play Howling Mine.
5) Play Loxodon Warhammer.
6) Play Terror on the Wall of Air.
7) Activate Onyx Goblet's ability, targeting Jace.
8) Declare all four creatures without summoning sickness as attackers.

Special: You can perform steps 2 through 6 in any order.


2) Elspeth Tiriel - 002elspeth

Situation: You're down to a single life point, and Elspeth has several flyers
ready to take you out during her turn. She has only seven life herself, and
while you have a few cards with haste, she has a much more sizeable army. You
have no means of flying, so you must find a way to bust through her defenses
with force.

Hint: Obsidian Battle Axe and Bramblewood Paragon have the same converted mana
cost as Jagged Lightning. Either of these two options will allow you to use
Vengeful Firebrand, your most powerful creature. Giving him haste will be
key to mounting a strong enough offense. 

Solution:
1) Play Jagged Lightning. Target Angel of Mercy first, then Mudbutton
Torchrunner. When Mudbutton Torchrunner hits the graveyard, choose to deal
3 damage to Elspeth directly.
2) Play Vengeful Firebrand.
3) Declare Bramblewood Paragon and Vengeful Firebrand as attackers.

Special: You can also choose Venerable Monk as a target for Jagged Lightning,
but not the Suntail Hawk.


3) Liliana Vess - 003lil

Situation: You're both down to two life points. You have a slew of controlling
cards in your hand, but only a single card left in your library. She has more
creatures untapped than you have potential attackers, so overwhelming her for
that last bit of damage won't do. What's more, it's impossible to win this 
turn. How can you survive long enough against Liliana to finish her off once
and for all?

Hint: This is a tricky one, requiring you to think outside the box. There's no 
way around it. Getting Wrath of God will be required for surviving long enough 
to find a way to beat Liliana. Your only means of drawing cards is Kiss of the 
Amesha, however, which would lose the game for you if you played it straight 
away. Can you find a way to obtain one of white's most powerful cards?

Solution: 
1) Play a Plains.
2) Declare Ambassador Laquatus as an attacker.
3) Play Condemn on Ambassador Laquatus.
4) During Main Phase 2, play Kiss of the Amesha, targeting yourself.
5) Play Wrath of God.
6) During your next turn, play a Plains.
7) Play Ambassador Laqautus.
8) Use Ambassador Laquatus's ability three times, targeting Liliana Vess.
9) Continue to your end phase.

Special: As long as you play a Plains every turn, the order in which you do 
so isn't important.


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Expansion 2

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1) Garruk Wildspeaker - 003gar

Situation: Garruk has a 15/15 creature on his side of the field, with a 
smattering of other blockers, including one with reach. You have several
creature destruction and toughness-reducing cards, but 20 life points are
an awful lot to chew through. Can you find a way?

Hint: Garruk has too many blockers to plow through. You won't be able to reduce
Garruk to 10 before the combat phase, so Vampire Nighthawk is your only 
reliable source of damage. You will need to find a way to maximize his power.

Solution:
1) Play the Swamp. 
2) When asked to bring Bloodghast back from the graveyard, select no.
3) Select no once again.
4) Equip Vampire Nighthawk with Blade of the Bloodchief.
5) Play Disfigure on one of the Ruthless Cullblades.
6) Play your second Disfigure on the other one.
7) Play Feast of Blood, targeting the Giant Spider.
8) Continue to combat phase and declare Vampire Nighthawk as attacking.

Special: You can equip Blade of the Bloodchief at any point before a creature
hits the graveyard. If you prefer, you can when prompted bring back your 
Bloodghasts and use Disfigure on them, or even on your Guul Draz Vampire. All 
that's important is that three creatures hit the graveyard, and that one of 
them is Giant Spider.


2) Garruk Wildspeaker - 004gar

Situation: Garruk has only a single creature, but it's mighty. His 17/17
Duskdale Wurm is proving a huge barrier for your comparatively paltry 6/6 
Maro. The cards in your hand are unusual, but powerful enough. Your single 
creature gets weaker with every spell you cast, so this will be an uphill 
battle.

Hint: You have Might of Oaks, and with Treasure Hunt have access to Giant
Growth, but you'll just barely fall short no matter what you do. You will need 
to find a way to enhance Maro's power in some other way.

Solution:
1) Play Select Memory and exile every nonland card in your library from 
the game.
2) Play Treasure Hunt. 
3) Play a Forest.
4) Play Primal Frenzy on Maro.
5) Continue to attack phase and declare Mako as attacking.

Special: Treasure Hunt lets you reveal cards, then put them in your hand. This
is a mechanic separate from drawing, hence why you do not lose the
game if you play Treasure Hunt with only lands remaining. 

This is a bit of an unusual challenge, because it would be easy to survive 
until the next turn while dealing significant damage. Simply Unsummon the 
Duskdale Wurm, play Might of Oaks, and attack with Mako. Pure green decks 
don't usually have haste cards, and very, very few green cards allow for 
direct damage - Hornet Sting being one noteworthy but uncommon example, and 
it doesn't exist in Duels of the Planeswalkers. Much would depend upon 
Garruk's next card, but using Treasure Hunt on your next turn to get Giant 
Growth and coupling it with Primal Frenzy could potentially win you the 
game.

Did you know that Maro is named after Mark Rosewater? Mark was a lead
designer for several Magic: The Gathering sets, as well as an important
contributor of puzzles for The Duelist magazine - puzzles that are, in 
essence, the inspiration for these challenges.


3) Nicol Bolas - 001nic

Situation: Nicol Bolas, the big man himself, has got you under his thumb. He 
may be hurting for health, but he has a great army of powerful creatures that 
dwarf your White Knight and Elite Vanguard. To make matters worse, he has an 
Executioner's Capsule, allowing him to destroy any creature that displeases 
him. You have a Planar Cleansing to wipe the board clear of creatures, but it 
would drain most of your mana and provide only a temporary breath of relief. 
Make him pay for his arrogance and take him out this turn.

Hint: This is a tricky challenge, and in my opinion, the most difficult one.
Tidings nets you an Island, Akroma (a flyer with haste and protection from 
red and black, but not blue), Threaten, and Polymorph, but drains most of your 
mana. Brainstorm is much cheaper, but fails to give you Polymorph. Nicol Bolas 
simply has too many creatures to mount an assault on his life, but there must 
be a way to win. What could it be?

Solution: 
1) Play Evolving Wilds.
2) Sacrifice Evolving Wilds and choose the Island.
3) Play Brainstorm. Place Dispeller's Capsule and Planar Cleansing on top of 
your library.
4) Play Excommunicate on Phage the Untouchable.
5) Play Polymorph on the Darksteel Colossus.


4) Tezzeret the Seeker - 001tez

Situation: The immediate concern isn't Tezzeret's or your life total - it's
the number of cards in your deck. Tezzeret has drained you to merely three
cards remaining in your library, while he's still rocking over half a deck. 
He has only a single defender, but it's the Platinum Angel. You have an 
Unsummon, but the next card he draws will be a Cancel to counter it. You won't 
lose during Tezzeret's next turn, but if you're not careful, Memory Erosion 
will deplete the last of your dwindling library and leave you stuck during 
your neck card draw.

Hint: Tezzeret has a Cancel with your name on it, and your only means
of countering that will force you to draw a card and spell your defeat.
You will need to find a way to damage Tezzeret without casting spells or 
find a way to prevent Cancel from going off - or both.

Solution:
1) Continue until your turn is finished.
2) After Tezzeret's turn, continue until your turn is finished. When prompted 
to bring Lorthos, The Tidemaker onto the battlefield, select yes.
3) On your next turn, play the Island.
4) Continue to combat phase and declare Lorthos, the Tidemaker as an attacker.
5) When prompted to choose an artifict, creature, enchantment, or land to
tap, select eight of Tezzeret's Islands.
6) When prompted about the additional cost, select yes.
7) Allow Lorthos, the Tidemaker to do combat damage.
8) Play Unsummon, targeting the Platinum Angel.

Special: You can play the Island during main phase 2. Also, you can play
Unsummon on Platinum Angel at any point after Lorthos has tapped eight
Islands.


5) Sarkhan Vol - 001sar

Situation: Sarkhan Vol is poised to spend all his mana on you during his next 
turn to Blaze you directly. He has a couple defenders with moderate toughness 
to overcome. You have a lot of options, but only one can see you to victory 
before Blaze takes you out.

Hint: You can't give any of the creatures haste, so you'll need to win using 
Fling. You have very few options for enhancing your creature's 
power. How can you get a creature to at least power 12? Despite the 
introduction text implying you'll need to win before Blaze "resolves", 
don't worry - you can beat him by the end of this turn.

Solution:
1) Play Eladamri's Call, putting Plated Geopede into your hand.
2) Activate Elvish Piper's ability, bringing Plated Geopede into play.
3) Play Harrow. Sacrifice a tapped Plains and select two Forests.
4) Play your second Harrow. Sacrifice a tapped Plains and select two
Mountains.
5) Activate Khalni Heart Expedition's ability. Select two Plains.
6) Wait until the Plated Geopede's ability fully resolves, making him a 
13/13.
7) Play Fling. Target players. Choose Sarkhan Vol, then sacrifice your Plated 
Geopede.

Special: I gave specific lands to sacrifice and choose for Harrow and Khalni 
Heart Expedition for simplicity's sake. As long as the first Harrow leaves you 
with at least one Forest and either the second Harrow or Khalni Heart 
Expedition leave you with at least one Mountain, you'll be fine.


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Expansion 3

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1) Sorin Markov - 001sor

Situation: Spearheaded by the deadly Vampire Nocturnus, Sorin's army of 
powerful flying vampires is a nightmare in the making. You have a few decent
creatures of your own, but at first glance have nothing on the field or in
your hand to make victory manageable. You've likely seen Sorin's amazing deck
in the campaign, so wipe that blood-dripping smile from his face and finish 
him this turn.

Hint: Without haste, White Knight is useless, and the only way you can 
effectively utilize Kor Sanctifiers is to use Open the Vaults, which won't
leave you with enough mana to play it, with or without kicking. Your mana 
must all be spent on equipment and Open the Vaults. Know your keywords well. 
There is one piece of equipment that can attach to one of your creatures to
great effect.

Solution:
1) Activate Triskelion's ability. Choose creatures and target Child of Night.
2) Activate Triskelion's ability. Choose creatures and target Blood Seeker.
3) Activate Triskelion's ability. Choose creatures and target Triskelion.
4) Play Open the Vaults.
5) Equip Basilisk Collar to Triskelion.
6) Activate Triskelion's ability. Choose creatures and target Vampire 
Nocturnus.
7) Activate Triskelion's ability. Choose creatures and target Vampire 
Nighthawk.
8) Activate Triskelion's ability. Choose creatures and target Sengir Vampire.
9) Continue to attack phase and attack with all capable creatures.

Special: You can activate steps 1 through 3 in any order, and 6 through 9 
in any order.


2) Chandra Nalaar - 003cha

Situation: While Chandra has fewer defenders than you, her Prodigal 
Pyromancer can destroy your Hissing Iguanar if you try to cast Might of Oaks
on it. Aggressive Urge grants you a useless Lava Axe, and you have no means
of damaging Chandra directly. How can you win the game this turn?

Hint: After a couple attempts, you'll probably realize that Hissing Iguanar's
ability will be the key to victory. Unfortunately, Prodigal Pyromancer will
take the little guy out if Chandra feels threatened. Until Prodigal 
Pyromancer is dealt with, you'll need to keep enough mana to play Aggressive 
Urge in response.

Solution:
1) Continue to attack phase and declare all three as attackers. When prompted
to deal one damage through Hissing Iguanar, select Chandra Nalaar.
2) During main phase 2, play Mind Rot. Target yourself and discard Might of
Oaks and Fireshrieker.
3) Play Aggressive Urge on Zombie Goliath. When prompted to deal one damage
through Hissing Iguanar, select Chandra Nalaar.

Special: You can play Aggressive Urge on Hissing Iguanar instead, if you 
prefer.


3) Jace Beleren - 002jac

Situation: Jace has a great army of untapped creatures, including the mighty
Lorthos the Tidemaker. You have only a single card in your hand, but it's
powerful enough to win you the game this turn. The only question is, how?

Hint: This is a challenge that's more for flash and show than challenge. 
Chances are fairly good that you'll inadvertantly win the match on your first
or second shot. The only thing to bear in mind is that Jace has more life than
you, and since you both take 1 damage each time a permanent hits the 
graveyard, you will either need to deal additional damage to Jace or gain
additional life by the end of the match.

Solution:
1) Play Protean Hulk.
2) After Protean Hulk resolves, activate Bile Urchin's ability. When prompted,
deal 1 damage to Jace Beleren.
3) Once prompted by Protean Hulk's effect upon hitting the graveyard, choose
to bring all four creatures back into play.
4) Activate the ability on a Children of Korlis.
5) When prompted by Academy Rector's effect upon hitting the graveyard, put
Necromancer's Covenant into play. Select yourself.
6) Use Evolving Wilds to search for a basic land card.

Special: If you like, you can activate your second Children of Korlis before 
the first one resolves. It isn't necessary, though. You can also use one of
your Evolving Wilds instead of activating Bile Urchin for step 2.


4) Ajani Goldmane - 001aja

Situation: Ajani has five 8/8 tokens, and a sixth on the way in response to 
anything you play. He has a 9/9 Kalonian Behemoth with shroud, and a Bull
Cerodon pumped all the way up to 11/11. You have only a little 2/2, an 
enchantment for doublestrike, and another enchantment that will end up doing 
more harm than help to you against a deck like Ajani's. 

Hint: This is a tricky one. Ajani has a ton of health and a huge army of
powerful blockers. You have a few powerful enchantments in your graveyard
which can be brought back with Anarchist, but he's very expensive. In previous 
challenges, in the face of an army like this, we needed to either eliminate the 
opponent's creatures, or find an alternative way to deal damage or otherwise 
win. In this challenge, you need to find a way to make a trampling monster 
powerful enough to chew through 68 toughness and still have enough to take 
out Ajani.

Solution:
1) Activate Vampire Hounds, discarding Anarchist.
2) Activate Vampire Hounds, discarding Anger.
3) Activate Vampire Hounds, discarding Ravenous Baloth.
4) Play Exhume and bring back Anarchist. When prompted through Anarchist 
entering play, return Patriarch's Bidding to your hand.
5) Play Patriarch's Bidding. Select Beasts. When prompted through the two 
Goretusk Firebeasts entering play, choose Ajani Goldmane both times.
6) Activate Ravenous Baloth's ability, sacrificing Realm Razer.
7) Continue to attack phase and declare all creatures as attacking. Using
Baloth Woodcrasher, deal damage to declared blockers in any manner you wish.

Special: You can perform steps 1 through 3 in any order. 


5) Sorin Markov - 002sor

Situation: The situation looks grim. Sorin Markov has a heady creature 
advantage on the field, and while Abyssal Persecutor and Platinum Angel are
preventing your defeat, anybody who has played Sorin knows that his deck is
full of creature destruction and toughness-reducing cards. Due to your low
health, however, Soot Imp and Furnace of Rath are making playing a card like 
Hurricane risky.

Hint: All sources of damage are doubled, on both players and creatures. This
includes combat damage and Hurricane, both of which will be key to victory.
With Sorin's life being what it is, there's only one creature on the field
strong enough to take it down to 0...

Solution:
1) Play Hurricane, tapping 2 lands.
2) Play Dragon's Claw.
3) Play Act of Treason, targeting Abyssal Persecutor.
4) Attack with Abyssal Persecutor.


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Frequently Asked Questions - 000faq

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Q: Hey! I found an alternate solution to one of the puzzles. Would you post it 
for me?
A: Absolutely! I can be contacted at [email protected] . Same goes for
any typographical errors or anything like that.

Q: What's your favorite deck in Duels of the Planeswalkers? Favorite card? 
Favorite Planeswalker?
A: Eons of Evil (it's not the best, but it's fun), Overwhelming Stampede, 
and Garruk Wildspeaker. Ajani Goldmane's a close second, though.

Q: Do you have any links to previous challenges published by The Duelist?
A: Unfortunately, I do not. If anybody does, please let me know.

Q: This is super useful. Mind if I put it on my own website?
A: Just toss me an e-mail and I will gladly give consent.

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Legal - 000leg

This FAQ is copyright Zachary Hubert, 2010. All rights reserved. This guide may
not be reproduced except for private use, and may not be placed on any website
without the author's permission. Use of this guide as part of any public 
display without prior consent is a copyright violation. Magic: The Gathering, 
Duels of the Planeswalkers, and all associated names are property
of Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.