Aphelia, Viper Whisperer

$16.06

Aphelia is a 1/3 deathtouch Gorgon. Whenever she attacks, you may pay {1}{B/G} to make a 1/1 black Snake with deathtouch. Her real threat is the {4}{B} activation: until end of turn, whenever one or more of your Gorgons or Snakes deal combat damage to a player, that player loses half their life, rounded up. The deck plays snakes, ramp and evasion so the trigger can land, often more than once in a turn, and deathtouch keeps blockers honest.

In the recorded games, Aphelia started aggressively with cheap snakes like Wasteland Viper and handed out small deathtouch tokens that discouraged attacks and blocked large flyers. The half-life threat made each attack a big deal, so opponents tended to respond fast. Some lists used ninjutsu and Nature's Will to get more out of unblocked snakes. The main problem was connecting: with a 1/3 body and 1/1 tokens, the deck often couldn't get damage through, and a few games ended before the activated ability did much. With only eleven games, the results were mixed.