aaaaaah, this challenge ate my 3-day weekend. I really wanted to beat it with a
Puresteel Paladin +
Stoneforge Mystic deck but I just couldn't pull it off (
Batterskull, lots of Swords,
Balance and lots of ways to find it, and oddly a first turn
Abu Ja'far of all things makes beating the early challenges trivial).
I finally beat it after not getting any bad draws with this:
8
Island14
Swamp1
Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite1
Akroma, Angel of Wrath1
Iona, Shield of Emeria4
Careful Study4
Personal Tutor1
Ancestral Recall1
Mystical Tutor1
Brainstorm1
Sheoldred, Whispering One1
Demonic Tutor4
Exhume1
Imperial Seal4
Reanimate1
Buried Alive4
Entomb1
Vampiric Tutor1
Demonic Consultation1
Sphinx of the Steel Wind1
Black Lotus1
Lotus Petal1
Mox Diamond1
Mox Jet1
Mox SapphireBasic reanimator, with targets like Sphinx against most decks, Akroma against Visara, Elesh Norn against the last three challenges (although it's great against most of them, especially Merfolk, Soldiers, and Elves- cold to Kobolds, ironically). It's not auto-pilot; every opening hand is a little puzzle to make sure you can drop the appropriate creature into play on the second turn.
After beating the challenge, I made it to about round 16 when I got a bad opening hand and couldn't mulligan into a better one.