r Hesha's Emporium
Highlights
This is a Ministry r combo powerbleed deck using Hesha Ruhadze as star. The goal is to influence Angel Chavarria, fetch all the equipments possible using Hag's Wrinkles to stealth and unlock, the influence Hesha Ruhadze, give him the equipments with Nod or Heidelberg, so he can bleed for something like 20.
This deck is a masterpiece of deckbuilding finesse, and has attracted a lot of attention when Sérgio Louçã Martins played it in the 2024 Atlantic Cup finals. He was first seed there, with a brutal 3GW13 score. Yes, this deck sweeps tables.
At first sight, this thing is a crazy idea. What stops the prey to just bounce this awful bleed and simply win the game thanks to the help of their predator? Well, the deck has a few tricks: First it can check for bounces or an Archon Investigation with Monocle of Clarity. Second, it can use Vial of Elder Vitae, The Textbook Damnation, Veneficorum Artum Sanguis and Ritual Goblet to have access to and , so he can play Perfect Clarity and I Am Legion. Of course, he can also use Hide The Mind. As a last resort, Approximation of Loyalty and Revelations, that Angel Chavarria can play with a Vial of Elder Vitae
So, maybe you can just block him, right? But Hesha Ruhadze has a whole arsenal of block denial: with Flaming Candle, Concoction of Vitality and Horrific Countenance, that's three bleeds that vampires cannot block, and that's enough to win the game.
One would think you can just rush Hesha Ruhadze and be done with him then. But he has a Body Bag to be able to simply fail any rush attempt.
Does it seem unlikely the deck gets all the cards it needs at the right time to be able to land his bleeds? Well, with Learjet and Angel Chavarria performing 20 or more actions on turn 2, no it's not. The deck can basically get all the equipments out in a turn or two, and construct the perfect lunge hand while doing it.
Isn't it slow to set up? In fact, no, it's very fast. That deck can sweep tables in 20 minutes. Angel Chavarria gets a Learjet early during his Hag's Wrinkles chain on turn 2, allowing him to plow through the deck and fetch a Kaymakli Fragment and The Textbook Damnation: that's why they're both doubled in the deck. Once he has those, he can use Kaymakli Fragment to help bring Hesha Ruhadze immediately at the end of the turn. And the next turn should start with either a Nod or Heidelberg and Hesha Ruhadze can bleed for 20 or more on turn 3.
Considerations
This is a piece of art but, of course, as well-designed as it is, it's still a pretty fragile combo deck. First, it can simply hit a bounce it cannot cancel. That's what happened during the Atlantic Cup finals. Given all the solutions against bounce the deck has, it's unlikely, but against Bait And Switch, it really only has Revelations and Approximation of Loyalty.
Second, the deck needs exact precision to be played: it has three unblockable bleeds to offer: Flaming Candle, Concoction of Vitality and Horrific Countenance. To land them quickly, one needs to make the exact right choice on each Learjet discard and order all actions and card plays correctly. That sad, The Sargon Fragment can still be used to bring back a card if not everything goes according to plan, so it is not completely flimsy.
So, in the end, can this deck win a tournament? There's no doubt. And make sure to credit Sérgio for this beautiful build once you do. The problem, of course, could be to find enough Hag's Wrinkles to build it: given it's a not-yet-reprinted rare, that might prove difficult.