Sneak and Show

The 'Sneak and Show' archetype, like the cards Sneak Attack and Show and Tell it is named for, seek to put out large mana value permanents as early as possible. Unlike the Big Mana archetype it seeks to avoid the casting cost and put the permanents into play another way. In this way it plays similar to Reanimator, and may even use that archetype as a backup plan.

'Sneak and Show' decks can share a lot of cards with the Big Mana archetype and even combine both tactics in the same deck, switching between them based on what it has in it's starting hand.

'Sneak and Show' decks often contain Red or Blue

## **Popular Cards & Commanders**

**Notable 'Sneak and Show' cards include:**

* Fist of Suns
* Jodah, Archmage Eternal
* Sneak Attack
* Show and Tell
* Flood of Tears
* Spelltwine

**Commanders that may commonly use 'Sneak and Show' cards include:**

* Jodah, Archmage Eternal
* Jhoira of the Ghitu
* Mayael the Anima
* Braids, Conjurer Adept

## **Common Deck Categories**

* Big Creatures
* Sneak into Play Spells
* Card Draw
* Ramp
* Removal
* Board Wipe Cards
* Protection Cards / Mass Protection Cards

**10 cards** will probably give you **2 cards in a given game** from that category, and a good chance to **start with 1** in your opening hand. Critical categories for your deck may require a similar or larger number than this, depending on expected levels of Counterspells or Removal.
**5 cards** will probably give you **1 card per game** of that category. Cards you don't want to overload on but still want access to (*board wipes in a tokens deck for instance*) may want a similar figure to this... Going smaller than this number makes receiving a card of this category very unlikely without Tutors or some other Toolbox approach.

## **Strengths and Weaknesses**

### Strengths

* 'Sneak and Show' decks put enormously powerful creatures into play long before other decks are able to play creatures of a similar caliber. They may even sneak a powerful creature so early in the game that other players are not yet prepared to respond to those creatures, staunching opponents’ abilities to set up their own plans properly.

* 'Sneak and Show' decks put powerful permanents directly into play form their hand, often without actually casting them, potentially at instant speed and/or granting them haste. This can make them very difficult to interact with... If an ability is used to put the creature into play then counterspells can't effect them, and if cast at instant speed or granted haste or hexproof there may be no window for non-instant speed removal.

### Weaknesses

* 'Sneak and Show' decks rely upon a few integral pieces: the 'sneak' spells, and the creatures to sneak into play. An imbalance in either direction can offset the player's strategy. Drawing too many high-cost creatures with no ability to put them into play can be a large setback, while drawing too many 'sneak' spells without any creatures to put into play will leave the deck spinning its wheels. Also if their initial permanents are countered or removed, they may be left with fewer cards in hand than other players, and may become dependent on their draw step to help put their strategy back on track.

* 'Sneak and Show' decks create an intentionally large threat on the battlefield early, which can have the unintended consequence of turning that creature's controller into the 'archenemy', or Public Enemy Number 1. Other players, even those that the sneak player does not intend to attack, may strongly fear and decide to eliminate before it becomes impossible to deal with.

* Since 'Sneak and Show' decks are aiming to win using a small number of powerful permanents, they are particularly vulnerable to removal spells. While a single pinpoint removal spell technically only removes one permanent, if they are not common in the deck it can hurt them disproportionately.

* Since most 'Sneak and Show' decks rely on powerful creature, they rely heavily upon the combat step. This means their play patterns tend to be more predictable (*at least once their board is established*), which allows other players to predict their actions more easily and take steps to prepare for them ahead of time. A small number of threats often forces them to focus on one player at a time, rarely able to eliminate multiple enemies at once. Reliance upon combat can also make it difficult to circumvent hyper-defensive decks such as Pillowfort strategies, especially those that use Fog effects.

### **Stax**

Powerful creatures aren't the only game winning permanents that can be cheated into play. Some powerful Artifacts or Enchantments can lock down your opponents ability to play, and help you lock down a victory.

### **Reanimator**

If your deck already has a large number of powerful creatures to sneak into play, and sometimes suffers as a result of removal or is forced to discard when it fails to find a 'Sneak and Show' card, why not include cards that put those creatures into play another way? Or even back into play if someone kills them

### **Toolbox**

Since you need a specific combination of 'Sneak and Show' Cards AND Powerful Threats... Why not ensure that you have them when you need them? Toolbox cards can give you whichever you need, and/or the tools to protect them or prevent your opponents being able to stop you.

**Related EDHREC Resources**

* EDHREC Big Mana theme page
* EDHREC Sneak articles