Citadel Storm
Also known as: Turbo Citadel
The primary gameplan for Citadel Storm is to find and cast Tinker to put Bolas's Citadel into play. From there, it plays cards from the top of the library using life until it finds a win condition.
Citadel Storm is commonly regarded as the fastest among fast combo decks in Canadian Highlander. The requirements of 3 mana, an artifact to sacrifice, and a single tutor for Tinker are frequently achievable by turn 3 to likely win, though there is some variance to whether or not Citadel will produce a winning line in a single turn.
The most direct line to winning after Citadel is in play involves a top-of-library tutor like Imperial Seal to find Doomsday. An example pile of Lion's Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Profane Tutor, Tendrils of Agony, and Noxious Revival can generate four mana and put Tendrils into hand without costing additional life after Doomsday, after which Noxious Revival can put Doomsday back on top to repeat the pile indefinitely.
Yawgmoth's Will allows the deck to win through manual storm lines without putting Citadel into play, which may be necessary if your life total is too low or if your opponent has a known artifact destruction effect.
Example Decklist
Citadel Storm
By: Brian B.
Event: Pull-N-Play Tournament - 2nd
Date: 2026-05-09
Points (10): Tinker (3), Mystical Tutor (2), Vampiric Tutor (2), Balance (1), Imperial Seal (1), Mana Vault (1)
Planeswalkers (1)
- 1Teferi, Time Raveler
Creatures (2)
- 1Thundertrap Trainer
- 1Drift of Phantasms
Sorceries (24)
- 1Profane Tutor
- 1Boomerang Basics
- 1Dread Fugue
- 1Duress
- 1Gitaxian Probe
- 1Imperial Seal
- 1Inquisition of Kozilek
- 1Personal Tutor
- 1Ponder
- 1Preordain
- 1Serum Visions
- 1Sleight of Hand
- 1Thoughtseize
- 1Balance
- 1Demonic Counsel
- 1Transmute Artifact
- 1Dimir Machinations
- 1Doomsday
- 1Solve the Equation
- 1Tinker
- 1Yawgmoth's Will
- 1Beseech the Mirror
- 1Tendrils of Agony
- 1Dark Petition
Instants (14)
- 1Brainstorm
- 1Consider
- 1Dark Ritual
- 1Enlightened Tutor
- 1Into the Flood Maw
- 1Mystical Tutor
- 1Noxious Revival
- 1Opt
- 1Orim's Chant
- 1Silence
- 1Vampiric Tutor
- 1Cabal Ritual
- 1Weather the Storm
Artifacts (27)
- 1Chrome Mox
- 1Jeweled Amulet
- 1Lion's Eye Diamond
- 1Lotus Petal
- 1Mishra's Bauble
- 1Mox Diamond
- 1Mox Opal
- 1Urza's Bauble
- 1Aether Spellbomb
- 1Candy Trail
- 1Chromatic Sphere
- 1Chromatic Star
- 1Conjurer's Bauble
- 1Mana Vault
- 1Sensei's Divining Top
- 1Witching Well
- 1Azorius Signet
- 1Defense Grid
- 1Dimir Signet
- 1Grim Monolith
- 1Orzhov Signet
- 1Pentad Prism
- 1Talisman of Dominance
- 1Talisman of Hierarchy
- 1Talisman of Progress
- 1Aetherflux Reservoir
- 1Bolas's Citadel
Enchantments (2)
- 1Static Prison
- 1Dress Down
Lands (30)
- 1Adarkar Wastes
- 1Arid Mesa
- 1Bleachbone Verge
- 1Bloodstained Mire
- 1City of Traitors
- 1Crystal Vein
- 1Darkslick Shores
- 1Flooded Strand
- 1Gemstone Mine
- 1Gloomlake Verge
- 1Hallowed Fountain
- 1Island
- 1Marsh Flats
- 1Meticulous Archive
- 1Misty Rainforest
- 1Peat Bog
- 1Polluted Delta
- 1Saprazzan Skerry
- 1Scalding Tarn
- 1Scrubland
- 1Seat of the Synod
- 1Shadowy Backstreet
- 1Starting Town
- 1Tundra
- 1Undercity Sewers
- 1Underground Sea
- 1Vault of Whispers
- 1Verdant Catacombs
- 1Watery Grave
- 1Windswept Heath
