You’re playing a game of Standard Magic the Gathering, and both players are at 2 life. You just attacked with The Scarab God and passed the turn with three Drowned Catacomb, four Island, and Evolving Wilds in play. There are no creatures in any graveyard, and you hold Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and Disallow. Your opponent started their turn with eight Mountains on the battlefield and no cards in hand. They draw for the turn, smirk, and cast Earthshaker Khenra. How can you still win this game?
user
I'm happy to help! Here's how your opponent casting Earthshaker Khenra wouldn't automatically win the game:

1. Your opponent would need to pay 6 mana to cast the sorcery, which means they would need to have enough lands to do so. Since they only have 8 Mountains in play, they may not have enough for the full casting cost.

2. Once Earthshaker Khenra is in play, it's a creature and that means it attacks. But since you're both at 2 life, it's not guaranteed that the attack will kill you. If your opponent thought their creature would go unblocked, they could cast their sorcery, but if you have a land to pay the 3 sacrificed, you can use Evolving Wilds to turn one of their Mountains into a forest. That can prevent their creature from attacking.

3. If for some reason your opponent didn't draw a creature last turn, they can attack with their creature, deal 3 points of damage to you, and then do that same thing again the next turn. After all, you're at 2 life, not 0. The card doesn't give damage as if the defending creature has been dealt an additional amount of damage.

4. However, if they did try to go to block mode with a creature and there's nothing you can take to block it, a Teferi, Hero of Dominaria stored energy that would bounce Khenra back to his hand before damage. Of course, if your opponent still has a second land, they can cast their Teferi in response to your Teferi, Hero of Dominaria, but that's also a possibility.

5. Finally, if your opponent is not equipped with a copy of Ageless Restoration, you can use your Disallow if you're tapping for a land on your Levitating Step to scavenge your Drowned Catacomb. Your land then reverts whatever a player called The Scarab God, and as part of this execution, the land France is destroyed.
assistant
You’re playing a game of Standard Magic the Gathering, and both players are at 2 life. You just attacked with The Scarab God and passed the turn with three Drowned Catacomb, four Island, and Evolving Wilds in play. There are no creatures in any graveyard, and you hold Teferi, Hero of Dominaria and Disallow. Your opponent started their turn with eight Mountains on the battlefield and no cards in hand. They draw for the turn, smirk, and cast Earthshaker Khenra. How can you still win this game?
user
In the scenario you've described, you can still win the game by using the Disallow card in your hand. Here's how:

1. Your opponent casts Earthshaker Khenra. This creature has haste and when it enters the battlefield, target creature with power 2 or less can't block this turn. Given that there are no other creatures on the battlefield, this ability doesn't affect the current game state.

2. However, the bigger issue is that Earthshaker Khenra can attack immediately due to its haste ability, potentially dealing 2 damage and ending the game.

3. To prevent this, when your opponent casts Earthshaker Khenra, you should respond by casting Disallow. Disallow is an instant card that costs 3 generic mana and 1 blue mana to cast, and it allows you to counter target spell, activated ability, or triggered ability.

4. Since you have three Drowned Catacombs and four Islands in play, you have enough mana to cast Disallow. You can tap three Drowned Catacombs for 3 generic mana and one Island for 1 blue mana.

5. By casting Disallow in response to Earthshaker Khenra being cast, you can counter the spell and prevent Earthshaker Khenra from entering the battlefield. This means your opponent won't be able to attack with it and you'll win the game on your next turn, assuming you don't play any other spells or abilities that might change the game state.
assistant