What is sneak attack? Sneak Attack is a combo deck that uses the card of the same name to cheaply bring out powerful creatures for a swing. Once the initial casting cost of 3R is paid, you can pay R to draw a creature card from your hand in a hurry to hit your opponent. However, the selected creature must be sacrificed at end of turn. While this may seem like an inconvenience, the creature cards selected for this deck are either shuffled, returned to the hand, or even have benefits from being sacrificed. You can also win once a creature has successfully attacked.

To go for speed, or not to go for speed: Considering Legacy has Force of Will, combining as early as possible is a huge risk of card disadvantage. Rule of thumb: “Big risks come big rewards.” If you manage to successfully slip away from the correct creature early on, you can either discard your opponent’s hand or kill them in one turn. If you fail, then you’ve wasted your hand to set an enchantment and little or no land.

If you are in the play and can combine, by all means do so. Winning the game is enough of a risk to take, as Force of Will is the only commonly played response to a first turn bull run. However, once the opponent establishes his first land, you’re left open to Heartbreaking Needles, Swords to Plowshares, or even Fog.

Delaying the Sneak Attack reduces the explosive power of the deck but increases stability and vice versa.

What are the basic cards you should run?
Lands/Mana Accelerators:

• Ancient Tomb: The best and most stable option for two-color lands in Sneak Attack unless you run Serra Avatar.
• City of Traitors: An alternative to Ancient Tomb, trading reduced stability for no damage repercussions.
• Crystal Vein – Versatile in the sense that if you can get out early, you’ll have both mana. If you can’t, then you have a stable source of colorless mana.
• Dwarven Ruins: Like Crystal Vein, except it produces R mana and enters the battlefield tapped.
• Sandstone Spire – ETBT (Enters the battlefield tapped). However, it provides two R mana twice before being sacrificed.
• City of Brass – Touches for all colors at the cost of 1 life.
• Seething Song: Trade 3 mana for 5 mana.
• Rite of the Flame: Haste improves as more copies enter the graveyard.
• Desperate Ritual: Trade 2 mana for 3 mana.
• Simian Spirit Guide: One-time R mana at the cost of RFGing this card from hand.
• Elvish Spirit Guide / Summoner’s Pact-Regainable mana speedup, as well as a minor deck reduction. However, red is more vital than green.
• Tinder Wall – Blocks + provides mana for when you sneak around.
• Dark Ritual: trade 1 mana for 3 mana; however, it is black.
• Cabal Ritual: Trade 2 mana for 3 mana (5 thresholded); again, though black mana.
• Pentad Prism – speed up/repair mana, best used for 3+ color decks.
• Mox Diamond: Speeds up mana, but requires a land to go to the grave. Run it if you have a lot of lands to roll (25 at least).
• Chrome Mox: Speed ​​up mana at the cost of 1 color card in your hand.
• Ruby Medallion – Reduces the cost of R spells, meaning your rituals produce more R, your Sneak Attacks cost less, and you have more mana for Sneak Attack.

Color Specific Utility Cards

• Stifle: Stops the EOT sacrificial trigger on Sneak Attack, keeping the creature in play.
• Trickbind – Same as Stifle except with a split second.
• Magus of the Jar – Gets more cards to use with Sneak Attack, but also does the same for the opponent.
• Rite of Consumption – Fling for B, additionally provides some padding with life.
• Recurring Nightmare: Swap creatures in play for creatures in the graveyard.
• Shallow Grave: Returns creatures from the graveyard to the battlefield for another hit.
• Cast: Deal direct damage with a creature you’re going to sacrifice EOT anyway.
• Blazing Shoal – Provides that last extra push for the killing blow.
• Final Fortune: Couldn’t deal lethal damage this turn? Try again on the next turn.
• Gamble – The red tutor, while risky, provides a way to stick to the mono-red on Sneak Attack.
• Through the Breach – Unique sneak attack.
• Strange Harvest: Look for creatures you want to sneak away.
• Kavu Lair – Get a unique draw for sneaking past a powerful creature.
• Regrowth – Return a spent card to your hand.
• Berserk – Doubles the power of a creature for a fatal blow.
• Survival of the Fittest – Look for bugs to sneak past.
• Living Wish – Allows you to run a toolbox of creatures.
• Xantid Swarm – Guarantees you won’t have a sneak attack countered.
• Academy Chancellor: Look for a Sneak Attack Charm.
• False Prophet: Clear the field of creatures when this card leaves play.
• Whey Powder – Increases your chances of getting a good starting hand.

Bread and Butter Creatures

• Magus of the Jar: Recharge your hand with more boosters and creatures.
• Hoverguard Sweepers – Bounces up to two creatures to re-tap next turn, including itself.
• Sakashima the Imposter – Take a hint from extended combos and use Sakashima to copy non-legendary creatures.
• Body Double: Use this to copy a spent creature, or try to copy a Phage the Untouchable into your graveyard to win.
• Dragon Tyrant – Double hit + fire breath can increase this up to 20 damage.
• Crater Hellion: Clear the board of swarming creatures.
• Dragon Mage: replenishes your hand and your opponents’ hand; considering that your hand would be spent, this gives you an advantage
• Bogardan Hellkite – Deals 5 direct damage and
• Kilnmouth Dragon – With a handful of dragons, this has the potential to be a 20/20.
• Rorix Bladewing: cheap dragon to sneak around so you can be tough.
• Arc-Slogger: A backup win condition in case Sneak Attack attempts fail.
• Weatherseed Treefolk – Returns to hand after sneaking.
• Genesis: Reuse creatures spent with this in your graveyard.
• Symbiotic Wurm: Swings to deal damage and drops Saprolings.
• Penumbra Wurm – Swings to deal damage and leaves behind a powerful creature.
• Elemental Thorn – Swings to deal full damage despite being blocked.
• Elemental Tornado – Like Elemental Thorn, except with one less P/T and a fly clearing ability.
• Woodfall Primus – Destroy two noncreature permanents with Sneak Attack courtesy of persist.
• Serra Avatar: One of the pioneers of the Sneak Attack deck, taking this out early enough kills your opponent.
• False Prophet: Clears the board once he leaves the game. An alternative to Crater Hellion.
• Academy Chancellor – Tutors for Sneak Attack or Survival of the Fittest.
• Progenitus: Usually a guaranteed damage of 10.
• Nicol Bolas: Another pioneer of the Sneak Attack, discard your opponent’s hand when he checks.
• Angel of Despair: Explode a permanent when it comes into play.
• Darksteel Colossus: Trample from 11/11 going back to your library, nothing too special.
• Sundering Titan – While this may end up destroying your mountains, this will also do massive damage to your opponents ground base should they run the basics.

Some types of Sneak Attack decks to try:

Sneak Attack Mono-R Straight– No cute tricks, just speed up on Sneak Attack to take out creatures.

Mono-R Sneak attacking dragons – Amp Kilnmouth Dragon as much as possible, and bring a Dragon Tyrant if that’s not enough.

sneaky survival breakfast – Use Survival to get a Phage the Untouchable in your graveyard, then Sneak Attack with a Body Double to win. Academy Rector would work very well here in addition to the control elements.

throwable brood – Sneak attack a Progenitus for 10 damage, then throw it at your opponent for an additional 10.

Reanimation Sneak Attack – Use revive after sneaking from monsters for another round of hits.

Sneak Attack is the perfect deck for players who like to take big risks and win in the early rounds of a game.