The 2atoms Magic Online Suicide Challenge. How fast can you lose a game of Magic? No conceding

Today we got very bored with Magic Online, so we were wondering. Just how quickly can a player "die" in Magic? Using just modern cards, ie. those in Magic Online, no conceding is allowed, just death by the normal rules. Of course mana burn is allowed and in fact encouraged, but therein lies the problem. We need to do more damage than we have lands each turn, so those value-for-mana damage cards like Blazing Salvo will really be needed here. But then - do you waste valuable mana burn on creatures? It is not as easy as it sounds. Of course, there's only going to be one colour to play if you want to do some serious killing, be it somebody else or yourself, so damage cards that make you lose life as well as deal it will be needed to squeeze every last point of suicidal damage out of your deck.

What we want to know is, is it possible, using just the cards in the sets that Magic Online currently comprises, to kill yourself by turn 3? What about turn 2? Of course we all know that turn 1 kills were possible in the days of Black Lotus, Channel, Fireball and the Moxes. But what about these days, when the game is supposed to be well-balanced and "unbreakable"? Scroll down for the full Suicide Challenge Rules...

26th May 2003 - Update

Well anyway the new unofficial format of "Suicide" has been unleashed. Say "Open - Suicide" in a play room and any of the clued-up players there will know what you mean... The rules are as above, but without co-operation as this is a race to the death. Of course you want all the luck so it is polite to wish your opponent "BL" or "Bad Luck." And of course when the game is over, don't forget to tell them "BG" or "Bad Game".

Thanks go to dericfulbright for suggesting this in the Casual Decks room: using Zombify on a Phage The Untouchable. OK - great idea, but how soon could we play it?

I don't like this method as it relies on an explicit card wording to lose the game. The challenge is still open to methods that do damage. I even think mana burn is an inelegant way to "do yourself in". So the 2atoms Magic Online Suicide Challenge is now this:

Suicide Challenge...

Kill yourself as quickly as possible, with another player's help!

No conceding!

No mana burn!

Death must be via natural causes, i.e.. any of the ways of losing a game mentioned in the rulebook EXCEPT specific card wordings. Because that would be just too easy!

You don't actually have to have played the game - you can just detail what the best hands would be to enable the quickest kill as in the Zombify / Phage example above.

Any cards currently available in Magic Online are allowed.

2nd June 2003 - Update

Many thanks to John Luu for emailing these in. Glad to see there's somebody else out there with way too much time on his hands... ;) We will be checking all these methods out later.

Method 1...

turn 1: wooded foothills, fetching mountain

summon skirk prospector

turn 2: mountain

summon another prospector

cast brightstone ritual

sacrifice both prospectors

cast erratic explosion

reveal Draco

(1 red left)

cast sonic seizure on yourself for 3

Method 2...

turn 1 - polluted delta, swamp

summon blood pet

turn 2 - polluted delta, island

sacrifice blood pet

cast cabal ritual

cast false memories, miraculously putting 4 laquatus

champions and 3 soul scourges in the grave

cast cabal ritual again

cast patriarch biddings. (dealing 33)

method 3

turn 1 - swamp

blood pet

turn 2

swamp, cabal ritual twice, sack the pet

cast necrologica paying 20 life

Method 4...

turn 1 cave of kolios

blood pet

turn 2 - swamp,

sack the pet, cabal ritual twice,

cast nefarious lich

tap one white, demystify it

Method 5...

turn 1 - island,

cast mental note, putting 2 draco's in the grave

turn 2 - swamp

cast cabal ritual twice

cast life/death targeting draco

do it again ^ ^

John Luu