Unleash the Chaos: Episode 18 of Fun & Jank at MTG Arena Zone!

Welcome back to Fun & Jank, where we draw cards not solely for value, but for triumph. Today’s deck is a tribute to mono-blue jank at its peak, merging Profit’s Eidetic Memory and Duelist of the Mind aiming for a straightforward objective: transform your card advantage into sheer, relentless force.

The list I assembled for the stream was inspired by a fellow brewer in Discord, and I’ve noticed the deck appearing on the Historic Ladder several times over the past few weeks. Many include some exciting additions like Oath of Jace or Tome of Gadwick. Let me showcase what we ended up playing on stream!

The Deck

The deck is fairly unambiguous, feeling like a blend between tempo and storm. In some matches, you find yourself deploying a Duelist or Eidetic Memory and chipping away damage while returning threats with cards such as Fading Hope or Sink into Stupor. However, most victories come from a “combo” turn, playing Duelist or Eidetic Memory followed by various card draw spells simultaneously to swing for significant damage.

Gingerbrute

Ah, the formidable Gingerbrute—small, tenacious, and unexpectedly deadly. This diminutive cookie isn’t merely for cuteness; it serves as an unblockable projectile for delivering the tremendous enhancements from Profit’s Eidetic Memory. When you draw 10+ cards in a turn, Gingerbrute morphs into a swift, unassailable beast capable of finishing off opponents in one hit. Additionally, its activated ability makes it even more difficult to interact with, evading blockers and sometimes leaving your opponents bewildered about losing to a cookie.

Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student

Tamiyo isn’t solely present for the theme of learning—she’s the top performer of mid-game value. Flipping her is quite manageable with cards like Hymn to the Ages or Brainsurge, and once flipped, the deck truly starts to shine. She can retrieve spells, contributing to your extensive draw turns and assisting in powering up Profit’s Eidetic Memory. Also, don’t overlook her ultimate—when paired with Duelist of the Mind or Eidetic Memory, it guarantees a swift demise. Tamiyo acts as the glue binding your setup turns and the fuel for your explosive endings.

Ledger Shredder

This bird’s got wings, and it’s on the verge of leading you to triumph. Ledger Shredder serves multiple functions in the deck: it’s a dependable flyer that scales effortlessly with Connive triggers, making it an excellent target for Profit’s Eidetic Memory enhancements. During your combo turn, it operates as a devious enabler, providing an additional draw when you cast your second spell.

Duelist of the Mind

Duelist of the Mind is essentially Profit’s Eidetic Memory on legs. Its power, being equal to the number of cards you’ve drawn minus one, transforms it into a wrecking force during your combo plays. The vigilance on a 0/3 body might not appear thrilling but plays a vital role as a blocker in early stages, assisting you in dealing with aggression. Pairing it with Profit’s Eidetic Memory escalates its card-draw scaling into sheer lunacy, amplifying its power and frequently leading to one-hit kills.

Oracle of the Alpha

Oracle of the Alpha joins the Power 9 celebration. Summoning Ancestral Recall, Time Walk, and Timetwister embodies the kind of absurdity we cherish in Fun & Jank. These spells aren’t just effective independently—they align perfectly with your strategy. Ancestral Recall invigorates your draw engine, Time Walk offers you an extra turn to prepare or attack with a boosted creature, and Timetwister replenishes your deck while enhancing a creature with draw buffs. The Oracle brings not just flair; it brings the entire kit.

Fading Hope

Sometimes the simplest tools yield the greatest impact. It’s affordable, instant-speed interaction that can return an early threat or shield your crucial creatures from removal.

Brainsurge

One of the engine components that keeps the deck operational, Brainsurge is an ideal method to flip Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student by itself, delve four cards deep for combo elements, and enhance Duelist of the Mind or another creature with Profit’s Eidetic Memory for a substantial strike.

Sink into Stupor

An inclusion of low opportunity cost for us, Sink into Stupor earns its place as both disruption and a land. Particularly effective at dispatching blockers or generally delaying as we prepare for a combo turn.

Hymn to the Ages

If Brainsurge is the turbo button, Hymn to the Ages presents the grand, dazzling nitro boost. This spell escalates in effectiveness with each casting. With Tamiyo, Inquisitive Student or Sapphire Medallion in play, it becomes extraordinarily efficient. Playing it on your combo turn can deeply search while simultaneously powering your creatures to lethal sizes with Profit’s Eidetic Memory.

The highlight of the spectacle and the deck’s titular victory condition, Profit’s Eidetic Memory transforms this assortment of unusual cards into a formidable combo mechanism. For merely two mana, it offers outrageous scaling, boosting your creatures for every card you’ve drawn that turn (beyond the first). Combine it with Brainsurge or Hymn to the Ages, and all of a sudden your seemingly harmless Gingerbrute can orchestrate single-hit knockouts. And when you place its counters on Duelist of the Mind, you’re not merely creating a substantial flyer—you’re crafting an aerial bomb. It’s affordable, it’s lethal, and it’s the backbone of this deck.

Piece It Together

Piece It Together is a straightforward cantrip, assisting you in refining your draws and forming the ideal hand. Yet there’s an added benefit: cast it four times in a match, and you earn an extra turn. In a deck that flourishes on linking spells, the opportunity to obtain a “complimentary” extra turn makes it a wise selection.

Sapphire Medallion

The overlooked champion of the combo turn, Sapphire Medallion serves as the lubricant that keeps this engine operating seamlessly. By diminishing the cost of your blue spells, it allows you to connect draw effects like Brainsurge and Hymn to the Ages for gigantic enhancements. Not only does it facilitate your significant explosive turns, but it also aids in maintaining efficiency in the opening stages by simplifying your casting of interactions and setup components. Absent this card, you would struggle to meet the mana requirements of the deck. With it, you become a well-functioning card-drawing apparatus.

Gameplay

(18:45 vs Mono Red and 1:23 vs Mono White feature some entertaining matches!)

Gameplay

The deck’s reward is an awe-inspiring combo turn where everything unites. Here’s what it entails in practice:

1. Draw and Buff: Begin with Brainsurge, Hymn to the Ages, or Piece It Together to draw cards and accumulate counters from Profit’s Eidetic Memory.
2. Explosive Growth: Enhance a creature like Gingerbrute or Duelist of the Mind to astronomical levels. The former’s unblockability makes it an ideal closer, while the latter’s scaling ability transforms it into a considerable, vigilant menace.
3. Synergistic Triggers: Cards such as Ledger Shredder and Tamiyo’s Clues maintain your card draw momentum, ensuring you can link spells together for even greater enhancements.
4. Win Out of Nowhere: Your adversary may believe they are safe at 20 life, but one well-timed hit from a 30-power Gingerbrute or Duelist will leave them in disbelief.

Key Synergies

• Duelist of the Mind + Profit’s Eidetic Memory: A pairing destined for greatness. Duelist naturally expands with your draw spells, while Eidetic Memory amplifies the card-draw capacity to render Duelist a significant threat.
• Hymn to the Ages + Sapphire Medallion: Casting Hymn for only a single blue mana allows for seamless spell chaining. The scaling characteristic of Hymn guarantees that the more you draw, the larger your benefits.
• Oracle of the Alpha + Combo Payoffs: Oracle’s conjured cards not only establish remarkable game-ending combinations but also blend flawlessly into the combo turn. A top-deck Ancestral Recall during your combo is simply outrageous.

Playing from Behind

This deck is not merely a fragile cannon. With cards like Fading Hope, Sink into Stupor, and Ledger Shredder, you can claw back into contests that don’t go your way in the early stages. Tamiyo’s ultimate is also an incredible asset for swinging the momentum when you’re behind, boosting your creatures for outrageous damage.

Closing Thoughts

This deck leads an exhilarating dual existence—it’s a tempo deck that nibbles away at your opponent’s life total, but hidden beneath that consistent pressure is a volatile storm ready to be unleashed. In the early game, you’re inflicting damage with evasive threats such as Gingerbrute and Ledger Shredder, keeping your opponent on the defensive with effective interactions. But then, the tempo shifts.

When the conditions align, you surge ahead with Hymn to the Ages or Brainsurge, layering draw spells to fuel enormous boosts from Profit’s Eidetic Memory or Duelist of the Mind. In a heartbeat, your unremarkable board transforms into a one-hit KO machine, catching rivals completely off-guard. The synergy between your tempo strategy and your explosive combo turns infuses every match with dynamism, making no two victories exactly alike.

It’s a deck that recompenses meticulous setup and exact timing, enabling you to engage in the long game while always posing a threat to conclude it instantly. Whether you’re picking away with tempo creatures or launching an all-out combo offensive, this deck offers a distinctive and thrilling gameplay experience.

Thank you for reading.

As always, feel free to comment and pose any inquiries you have below! Be sure to return next week for even more Fun & Jank!

If you wish to view these decks in action, join me on stream where we test, refine, and enjoy ourselves immensely!

Happy Brewing!