Challenge

Hardcast Progenitus, using only cards from Shards of Alara block.

âHardcastâ means âcast by paying the mana cost.â Cost reducers (e.g., Etherium Sculptor) are allowed, casting from other zones (e.g., Oracle of Mul Daya) is allowed, but casting without paying the mana cost (e.g., Maelstrom Archangel and Brilliant Ultimatum) is not.

Assumptions

You have perfect luck; for example, even after you shuffle your library, itâs ordered how you want. You may not assume anything about your opponentâs hand or library, except that he wonât play any spells. If a card causes your opponent to make a decision, you must be able to complete the challenge regardless of which decision is made.

If you take an extra turn, that turn doesnât add to your turn count. For example, if you activate Time Sieve on turn two, the extra turn still counts as turn two.

Difficulty Levels

For each level, you must reach the previous levelâs restrictions.

Level 1 (Easy): Hardcast Progenitus on turn four on the play.

Level 2 (Moderate): Hardcast Progenitus on turn four on the play, without using Keeper of Progenitus.

Level 3 (Hard): Hardcast Progenitus on turn three on the draw.

Level 4 (Insane): Hardcast Progenitus on turn three on the draw, without using Time Sieve.

Send your solutions to nex342+puzzle@gmail.com with the subject line âPuzzle â Generating Progenitusâ and Iâll include the best ones in next weekâs article, along with the next puzzle!

Good luck!

Solutions to Last Weekâs Puzzle

As expected, last weekâs puzzle was quite difficult. Nevertheless, I received two distinct solutions, neither of which was the same as the solution Iâd come up with. The first one I got was from Nick Tower:

The second solution comes from Jack Vickeridge. It relies on the assumption that if you can repeat an action with a random outcome infinitely many times, eventually it will have the outcome you desire. The solution is as follows:

Finally, this is my solution. It relies on ante cards (yes, really), and the fact that the ante zone is the same across all subgames. Itâs as follows: