Hulk Flash -- The Official Deck Thread

Laplie · League Staff Joined: 31 Aug 2004 Posts: 528

Since no one yet has started a thread on the newly popular deck commonly called Hulk Flash, I thought I'd start one now.

Main Idea:
The deck works by abusing the recent oracle update on Flash:

Flash | 1U | Instant | You may put a creature card from your hand into play. If you do, sacrifice it unless you pay its mana cost reduced by up to 2. | 6th, MI

This wording removed the old errata that was added for power reason. The combo is, play flash, put Protean Hulk into play, fetch some brokenness.

Two archtypal builds placing the highest in the last trial:
Kiki Hulk Flash as piloted by georgjorge (maybe not the most typical build of this type)

//Mana sources - 18
7 Island
3 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
1 Volcanic Island
4 Simian Spirit Guide

//Combo - 14
4 Flash
4 Protean Hulk
2 Carrion Feeder
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Karmic Guide
1 Benevolent Bodyguard
1 Body Snatcher

//Search and Draw - 17
4 Street Wraith
4 Brainstorm
4 Mystical Tutor
3 Summoner's Pact
2 Merchant Scroll

//Counterspells - 9
3 Pact of Negation
4 Force of Will
2 Red Elemental Blast

//Utility - 2
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Fire/Ice

SB:
1 Echoing Truth
4 Disrupt
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
2 Misdirection
1 Minion of the Wastes
1 Red Elemental Blast

Disciple Hulk Flash as piloted by Ironicus

//Mana Sources - 20
2 Underground Sea
7 Island
4 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
4 Lotus Petal

//Combo - 19
4 Flash
4 Protean Hulk
4 Disciple of the Vault
4 Phyrexian Marauder
3 Shifting Wall

//Search and Draw - 12
4 Brainstorm
4 Mystical Tutor
3 Summoner's Pact
1 Merchant Scroll

//Counterspells - 8
4 Force of Will
4 Pact of Negation

//Utility - 1
1 Chain of Vapor

SB:
4 Defense Grid
4 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
4 Stifle
1 Recall
1 Cunning Wish
1 Echoing Truth

These are merely starting points for discussion as there may be many ways that the decks can be built.

Pro and Cons
Since they pros and cons of each version mirror each other, I'll just mention the cons. And by "loses" I mean "is stopped by"

Disciple version
- Takes 11 md slots instead of 6 (can pack less anti-hate)
- Loses to True Believer/Gilded Light/Ivory Mask

Kiki version
- Loses to Sword to Plowshares/incinerate/other spot removal
- Loses to Tormod's Crypt/Extirpate (in addition to Leyline like the other build)
- Loses to anti aggro tech (worship, orim's chant, fog followed by WoG etc)
- Loses to Engineered Plague
- Loses to Nevinyrral's Disk (and the like)

The kiki version has a lot more cons, however, freeing up 5 md slots sometimes makes all the difference when battling hate (as georgjorge has shown)

Pro's of Both versions:
- only need 2 cards in hand to win
- can win as early as you're opponent's first upkeep before your first turn (gemstone cavern builds)

Cons of both:
- Loses to Stifle/Trickbind
- Loses to Leyline of the Void
- Loses to Meddling Mage naming "Flash"
- 6-11 "dead" cards md

Anyway. I think that's enough for a starting point. Discuss better builds improvements, etc.

yavin1 · Joined: 15 Jul 2006 Posts: 144

i think the disciple version is better. there is enough counters in this deck to beat gilded light, and they shouldn't let an ivory mask or true believer resolve. Also, if lotus petals or chrome moxes (banned??) are used, this deck can hit off even faster. ive seen my ass get kicked turn 1 by this deck (lotus petal, land, flash, hulk, disciple.) many more decks run MD orims chants and Wogs and fog than they do true believers and such

HUNGTACTICS · Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 102

16 leyline decks rofl

DS_McWerp · Joined: 15 Aug 2006 Posts: 78

With Tawnos SB!!!!

Hank333 · Joined: 23 Oct 2006 Posts: 123 Location: San Antoni

Would it be fair to say that iggy pop has a decent match up aganist Flash Hulk because it already wants to run 4 leyline main deck. Although iggy pop is not as powerful as Flash decks, and is hurt by alot of the Hate that will already be present because of Flash hulk.

Anyways, its fair to say the Flash Hulk defines what a Degenerate combo deck really is. It only needs to resolve 1 spell which cost 2 mana to win. That is very broken.

What if theCarrion Feeder Kiki Jiki version draws Kiki Jiki, how can is still kill? I guess it needs to brainstorm it back into the deck prior to going off.

Man, GP Colombus would of been so much better without this combo deck showing up.

Acid_Christ · Joined: 28 Aug 2004 Posts: 276

"Anyways, its fair to say the Flash Hulk defines what a Degenerate combo deck really is. It only needs to resolve 1 spell which cost 2 mana to win. That is very broken. "

I goldfished the deck a couple of times (disciple version), and my usual turn win was 1st, and sometimes 2nd. I definetly see this being banned. Especially after Columbus.

"Man, GP Colombus would of been so much better without this combo deck showing up."

I think GP Columbus would be better if the decklist wasn't spammed on the internet and brought as a rogue decklist.

kikimikejiki · Joined: 26 Dec 2004 Posts: 664

too bad a lot of the cards that push it over the top are form fs... daim

Cosmo · Joined: 15 Oct 2005 Posts: 107

yes, without street wraith, summoner's pact and pact of negation the deck seems weeker for the PTQ... but it still has turn 0 kill, and thats sexy

georgjorge · Joined: 10 Mar 2006 Posts: 13

Since I can't play in the next Trials, maybe someone would like to try out my fine-tuned version there, which would make me very happy....

I've come up with this pre-FS version, which I even deem to be better than my post-FS one (strange, no ?). It is a teched-out build prepared especially for this strange meta, where EVERYONE includes lots of sorceries (discard) and instants (cantrips, stifles, counterspells) in their deck in order to stand a chance. This leads me to a main feature of my deck - 4 Disrupt main. That will give you card advantage (which is key in the Fish matchups, not speed) time after time by countering first-turn brainstorms (they always wait till the end of their turn), duresses, and cycling later in the game, maybe even countering a Force or Stifle if you set it up right. They usually get sided out after game one if the opponent has seen them though, because they will ALWAYS keep an extra mana open in game two then, slowing them down considerably, while you bring in your non-situational cards.

The best build pre-FS is UBr, since you NEED black for Lim-Duls Vault in the absence of Summoning Pact, and the red Blasts are golden in a meta so fully packed with Meddling Mages (while still performing many other necessary functions, not the least of which is countering enemy Flashes).

// Deck file for Magic Workstation (http://www.magicworkstation.com)

// Lands
2 [A] Island (1)
4 [ON] Polluted Delta
4 [ON] Flooded Strand
2 [U] Volcanic Island
3 [ON] Bloodstained Mire
3 [A] Underground Sea

// Creatures
4 [DIS] Protean Hulk
2 [FNM] Carrion Feeder
1 [CHK] Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 [UL] Karmic Guide
1 [UD] Body Snatcher
1 [JU] Benevolent Bodyguard

// Spells
4 [6E] Flash
4 [FNM] Brainstorm
3 [AL] Force of Will
2 [A] Red Elemental Blast
4 [IN] Disrupt
1 [TSP] Wipe Away
4 [AL] Lim-Dul's Vault
4 [7E] Duress
3 [NE] Daze
2 [VI] Impulse
1 [IN] Opt

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [A] Red Elemental Blast
SB: 2 [8E] Merchant Scroll
SB: 1 [TE] Minion of the Wastes
SB: 4 [GP] Leyline of the Void
SB: 1 [DS] Echoing Truth
SB: 2 [NE] Massacre
SB: 4 [9E] Defense Grid

Sideboard: you usually side in one or two Scrolls, since your opponent brings in hate, and you need to tutor for your Wipe Away and Echoing Truth to solve that problem. Minion is there for those who think that they can hate out the Kiki version with Sudden Shock, Tormod's Crypt, and Pithing Needle. Defense Grid comes in against decks packing lots of a) Stifles and Trickbinds b) Counterspells c) Red Elemental Blasts. Siding them in is actually a tricky question...for example, I wouldn't side them in against Fish if they play no red and four Duress, but if you think your opponent plays a lot of relevant instants, then go for it. They are your only out for Trickbinds besides Duress, too.

As mentioned above, most of the time (also depending on whether you go first) you will side out the Disrupts, and Dazes.