Missing Items

The worst-case scenario: you lose instant speed graveyard manipulation. Stockpile reanimation spells in hand or aim for Volrath’s Shapeshifter plus Survival of the Fittest on the battlefield, and pivot toward any viable FEB kill line.

A small reminder: if you want to execute a FEB kill via Hermit Druid, you can reanimate Battlefield Scrounger first and then Triskelion with a second spell. Alternatively, if you have access to another active Hermit Druid (maybe you activated it end of opponent’s turn), reanimate Battlefield Scrounger to add some cards to the library, sacrifice it to Cabal Therapy to add some more cards including itself and Triskelion to the bottom of the library, then activate Devourer for all cards but the last (Triskelion!) and mill that to the top at instant speed with Hermit for the kill.

Without Akroma, you have no other way to grant Volrath’s Shapeshifter haste: that’s the main issue. Aside from that, you can still grant flying through Palinchron, Karmic Guide, or even Birds of Paradise.

As we have seen before, Akroma is also a key piece in many Scrounger-FEB lines where it is required to reach twenty counters on Shifter/Devourer and close the game. Keep this in mind: it is a very important detail. You may find ways to reshuffle additional cards into the library, but you must not be caught off guard without enough counters to finish with Shifter/Triskelion.

If you do not have Phyrexian Devourer in the deck, you cannot execute any FEB kill. Its absence also means that the only ways to pump Volrath’s Shapeshifter are Psychatog or Battlefield Scrounger. In most games, however, you can still pilot the deck in the right direction without too many issues.

The real problem arises when Devourer is removed while you are setting up an FEB kill, often due to graveyard hate. In this case, changing plans is not always straightforward.

Remember: as long as the sacrifice trigger is not on the stack, you can always change the top of the graveyard to ensure that Shapeshifter keeps its counters indefinitely.

Missing Triskelion is very different from missing Phyrexian Devourer. Triskelion is only necessary when combat is not a viable way to win: for example if Ensnaring Bridge is in play (though even in that case, we can still attack with a 0/1 Shapeshifter and pump it during combat).

Triskelion is also useful for clearing the opponent’s board, but it is not mandatory. As we have already seen, there are several lines that do not require Triskelion at all. As long as you have time and the ability to win through combat, Triskelion is not essential.

Many lines involve the use of Karmic Guide, but it is not an essential card for winning the game. There are numerous alternative paths to victory.

First of all, the main FEB combo does not require Karmic Guide at all: you can always cheat on mana with Palinchron or assemble the combo with Volrath’s Shapeshifter already on the battlefield. Likewise, Hermit Druid lines do not depend on Guide: with Krosan Reclamation you can put a Shapeshifter on top of the library, cast it, and as long as Psychatog is on top of the graveyard you are lethal in combat with Akroma. Even using two reanimation spells can be enough to secure a win without involving Guide.

Rather than being a mandatory combo piece, Karmic Guide is a card that smooths and accelerates certain lines. Its absence should not be a concern to navigate alternative paths.

If neither Volrath’s Shapeshifter are available, you cannot execute any combo lines. The most relevant plan then becomes to generate mana, deploy the creatures still in the deck, and win through combat.

Akroma is the primary threat, but Palinchron, Triskelion, and Psychatog are also excellent win conditions that can carry the game on their own. Karmic Guide becomes especially important here, both for reanimating creatures from the graveyard and for cheating threats onto the battlefield at a reduced mana cost.