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Thread: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

  1. #1
    Bryant Cook
    Guest

    [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    The EPIC Storm

    I. Overview
    II. History
    III. Decklist
    IV. Card Choices

    a.) Manabase
    b.) Acceleration and Mana
    c.) Tutors and Draw
    d.) Win Conditions and Bombs
    e.) Protection/Utility
    f.) Sideboard Options
    V. Cards That Didn’t Make the Cut
    a.) Manabase
    b.) Acceleration and Mana
    c.) Tutors and Draw
    d.) Win Conditions and Bombs
    e.) Protection/Utility
    f.) Close Cuts
    VI. Reasons to Play The EPIC Storm Over Other Storm Combo
    a.) ANT – Ad Nauseam Tendrils
    b.) Belcher
    c.) Doomsday Variants
    d.) SI – Spanish Inquisition
    VII. Sample Hands and Sample Plays
    a.) Sample Hand One
    b.) Sample Hand Two
    c.) Sample Hand Three
    d.) Sample Hand Four
    e.) Sample Hands For You
    VIII. Additional Data
    a.) Diminishing Returns Percentages
    b.) Infernal Tutor Percentages
    IX. Match-ups
    a.) Countertop
    b.) Merfolk
    c.) Goblins
    d.) Ichorid
    e.) Landstill (UWx or BUG)
    f.) Zoo
    g.) Chalice Aggro
    h.) Reanimator
    i.) New Horizons
    j.) Team America
    k.) Painter
    l.) UW Stoneforge
    m.) UGx Natural Order
    n.) BW/x Discard/Junk
    X. Additional Information
    a.) Readings
    b.) Major Tournament reports from TES players
    c.) Feature matches including The EPIC Storm
    d.) Articles discussing The EPIC Storm
    e.) Other


    I. Overview

    The EPIC Storm was created by me – Bryant Cook, along with assistance from The E.P.I.C. Syndicate.

    The EPIC Storm (TES) is a deck with win conditions that use mechanic storm; mainly Tendrils of Agony and Empty the Warrens. Lists play Grapeshot in the sideboard as utility to get around hate and as an alternative win condition. The deck’s first and primary goal is to reach nine storm then cast Tendrils of Agony; however, it’s not always that simple. Often there’s problems in counter magic or not having enough resources, rest assured it’s not a problem because of Empty the Warrens - our secondary win condition. The EPIC Storm is a deck based around Tutors which are found in Burning Wish and Infernal Tutor. One of the deck’s strengths is the utilization and flexibility of Burning Wish. The EPIC Storm really came to power with the release of Coldsnap and Timespiral, when it received another powerful acceleration piece and win condition. Recently, the deck has changed its face due to a new powerful storm engine in Ad Nauseam. The EPIC Storm has gone from a niche deck to a powerhouse played all around the world, with some impressive Top 8’s (see reports below).

    II. History

    Back in march of 2006, I became fascinated with storm combo playing everything from Nausea in legacy to Pitch Long in Vintage. I began realizing flaws in each and every deck I tested, which caused me to shelve each one of them. Although, along this road I started to see the strengths and weaknesses in each deck became apparent. I decided I’d try and add all of the strengths into a single deck and have the fewest weaknesses that I could. Then in August 2006, I posted my first version of the deck ShLong (Shitlist Long). The deck opted to use creatures such as Priest of Gix and Trinket Mage (to find Lion’s Eye Diamond) for acceleration; Helm of Awakening and Second Sunrise were also used to “Go crazy”. As time went on I created a creatureless list about six months after my original incarnation, at this point in time I began to realize how creatures were under performing. Right about this time is when a new set was released, Coldsnap.

    Coldsnap was a huge step in the right direction when I saw the card Rite of Flame. Rite of Flame was a consistent ritual effect that had potential to be equal to or greater than Dark Ritual. This card replaced Priest of Gix, which was only good with a Helm of Awakening or two in play.

    With the printing of Time Spiral, TES gained 2 new Storm weapons - Grapeshot and Empty the Warrens. Grapeshot was the secondary win condition that I set eyes on, not Empty the Warrens. It wasn’t until much later that it became apparent that it wasn’t really needed; Grapeshot generally was used to kill creatures like Meddling Mage and True Believer. Now Grapeshot is a sideboard card used to win around problem cards such as Meddling Mage or Runed Halo. Adam Barnello (Nightmare) was the first person to recommend Empty the Warrens in TES, The EPIC Syndicate saw a serious powerhouse in this card. It improved all of the difficult matchups for the deck, Landstill, Threshold, Solidarity, and even Mono Blue Control. With Empty the Warrens, you had the option of keeping hands that couldn’t or weren’t capable of creating storm ten. With Empty the Warrens you have the option of putting 6-10 goblins into play turn 1 and ride them to victory. Many of the decks at the time weren’t prepared for that many creatures one turn one and very rarely played anything that wasn’t spot removal. Because of this these blue decks were becoming much more favorable.

    Later on in time I started to realize that The EPIC Storm was starting to become inconsistent with its draws. Cards such as Brainstorm, Careful Study, Serum Visions and Grim Tutor were tried at this time. Brainstorm ended up filling this niche nicely even with very few shuffle effects. Sometime after I won the second Mana Leak Open, The EPIC Storm became hated on. Cards such as Xantid Swarm and Defense Grid were no longer getting the job done. An outsider was called – Orim’s Chant, Chant to this very day is still one of the most powerful cards in TES. With new set after new set, cards are tested and added. Thoughtsieze was printed and ran for sometime over Duress. Cards such as Draw 4’s – Cruel Bargain, Infernal Contract, and Slithermuse were being used as additional bombs to compliment Diminishing Returns and Ill-Gotten Gains.

    Then Ad Nauseam happened… Ad Nauseam changed the name and face of storm combo all on its own. Lists were thrown everywhere, however, The EPIC Storm adapted like many other decks to the card. First extra storm engines were shelved, Diminishing Returns, Slithermuse, and Infernal Contract. Empty the Warrens was originally shelved with the other cards, but was later added back into the main deck because of its strength and ability to beat blue decks. Thoughtsieze’s life loss was too much, Duress once again found a spot in the main deck. Simian Spirit Guides were cut for less damage for Ad Nauseam.

    While the set M10 was being spoiled and right before it’s release, Wizards of the Coast made some rules changes. Two of these rules effected The EPIC Storm, the first rule being that Wishes could no longer retrieve cards that were removed from the game or “exiled”. Meaning the deck can no longer remove our Rite of Flame on a Chrome Mox and Burning Wish for them later. The second rule hurt the EPIC Storm quite badly, but it’s survived and gone on. This new rule being that we can no longer float mana through the upkeep into the draw step to cast spells. Meaning players can no longer break Lion’s Eye Diamond in our upkeep to cast Ad Nauseam during our draw step. This made Mystical Tutor much worse, going from a 3-4 of in many lists down to 2 or none. With the lack of Mystical Tutors in the deck, slots such as Chain of Vapor became weaker. Chain of Vapor left the main deck because of this and Empty the Warrens found it’s old home in the main deck.

    With the banning of Mystical Tutor, the 4th Infernal Tutor found it’s way back into the main deck along with Silence (4th Orim's Chant Effect). Keeping threats in the deck was important, players don't want to be stuck searching for cards during their opening turns. Players should be focused on winning, not destroying Gemstone Mines playing cantrips. A new mana base was eventually included consisting of four fetchlands and three duals, including five color lands. However, Simian Spirit Guide had to leave in order to make this happen. Below is the current incarnation of the EPIC Storm…

    III. Decklists

    The EPIC Storm
    Decklist as of 02/16/12

    4 Gemstone Mine
    2 City of Brass
    2 Scalding Tarn
    2 Underground Sea
    1 Volcanic Island
    1 Polluted Delta
    1 Bloodstained Mire

    4 Lion’s Eye Diamond
    4 Lotus Petal
    4 Chrome Mox
    4 Dark Ritual
    4 Rite of Flame
    4 Burning Wish
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Ponder
    4 Infernal Tutor
    3 Duress
    3 Orim’s Chant
    2 Silence
    2 Ad Nauseam
    1 Tendrils of Agony

    3 Pyroblast
    2 Echoing Truth
    1 Wipeaway
    1 Silent Departure
    1 Shattering Spree
    1 Duress
    1 Grapeshot
    1 Empty the Warrens
    1 Tendrils of Agony
    1 Ill-Gotten Gains
    1 Diminishing Returns
    1 Past in Flames


    IV. Card Choices

    a.) Manabase - Since The EPIC Storm is technically a five color deck, it needs to able to support all five colors. I ported the Grim Long mana base to Legacy, obviously removing Tolarian Academy and adding the Legacy legal lands – Underground Sea and Volcanic Island. Forbidden Orchard and Undiscovered Paradise were cut because of their drawbacks. Often games and sometimes even rounds were lost because of these drawbacks. I decided to cut Simian Spirit Guide due to damage on Ad Nauseam and wanted more lands, since there aren't any other great five color lands I added four “fetchlands” to go with the few duals. These “Fetchlands” were Polluted Delta, Bloodstained Mire, and Scalding Tarn.

    b.) Acceleration and Mana - 4 Dark Ritual, 4 Lion’s Eye Diamond, 4 Lotus Petal, 4 Chrome Mox, and 3 Rite of Flame are a necessity. There has been discussion to where the fourth Rite of Flame belongs. I personally believe that Rite of Flame in the sideboard is not worth it. Players are better off increasing potential turn 1 and 2 wins. Another debate for fast-mana is the number of Chrome Mox, I believe the best chance of winning on turn 1 and the best chance of winning after an Ad Nauseam is with the most possible Chrome Moxen. If Ad Nauseam doesn’t reveal 0cc mana players must pass the turn. The deck needs to play the maximum amount of 0cc artifacts.

    c.) Tutors and Draw - Burning Wish along with Infernal Tutor were auto includes into The EPIC Storm because well, paired with Lion’s Eye Diamond they might be the most broken plays in Legacy. For a while Plunge into Darkness was included but it became apparent that it was a weakness in the deck. Plunge into Darkness was later replaced with Ponder. Which happens to be Brainstorm 5-8 in The EPIC Storm, digging for tutor effects is huge in TES. Don't forget that with Ponder it is possible to shuffle away and draw a new card. Turn one, Brainstorm or Ponder? If it’s possible the hand can win on turn 1 with 1 or 2 different cards Brainstorm is the right card; otherwise Ponder. With the banning of Mystical Tutor, people are looking at Pre-Ordain. I think it's just better to play the additional Infernal Tutor main deck to increase threat density and then side it out making Infernal Tutor a Burning Wish target.

    d.) Win Conditions and Bombs - Tendrils of Agony is the primary win condition - a must include. Empty the Warrens was a huge addition to The EPIC Storm, for a while it was a 3 of in the main deck. However, times change and the metagame adapted to Empty the Warrens. Players had to cut back, currently Warrens is in the deck as a one of. Tutors in The EPIC Storm are used mainly to find one of two cards- Ad Nauseam or Empty the Warrens. Since this format has no Yawgmoth’s Will, I guess T.E.S will settle for the next best thing in Yawgmoth’s Bargain in Ad Nauseam. This card is often our “engine” in the combo. There’s also our former engines in Diminishing Returns and [Yawgmoth’s W]Ill-Gotten Gains in the sideboard to help in sticky situations or if Burning Wish is in hand. By engine I mean they ramp our storm count high enough for the deck to win the game, since chaining Infernal Tutors won’t always win the game. People like to use Ad Nauseam because it’s easy, however, not always necessary. Don’t forget the deck can always Ill-Gotten Gains loop to win.

    e.) Protection/Utility - In the early days of The EPIC Storm the deck relied on laying down a Xantid Swarm and winning the turn after. Blue decks adapted to answer X/1 creatures on turn 1, meaning that the deck had to adapt to compete. Xantid was cut for Orim’s Chant, but is often in and out of the main deck to compliment Orim’s Chant. Also complimenting Chant is Duress, Duress is there to protect Orim’s Chant or to take problematic cards like Counterbalance out of the opponent’s hand. Out of the sideboard the deck plays Red Elemental Blast and/or Pyroblast to deal with Force of Will on Orim’s Chant mainly. However, it can also be used to kill a Counterbalance- a huge threat to The EPIC Storm. Recently with the printing of Silence, many people opt for a split between Orim’s Chant and Silence because of cards that name cards, such as – Runed Halo, Meddling mage, Cabal Therapy, ect.

    f.) Sideboard Options – The sideboard needs to be a mixture between business, utility, and cards to be sided in. For business theres two win conditions, Tendrils of Agony and Empty the Warrens, and then two Storm engines in Diminishing Returns and Ill-Gotten Gains, these are necessary because they provide a storm engine that doesn’t require life. They also are sorceries while Ad Nauseam is not, meaning they can be Wished for.

    For Utility there’s Duress, Meltdown, Shattering Spree, and Grapeshot. Sometimes players don’t draw protection, so Burning Wish might as well find it. Other times there’s problematic artifacts, T.E.S doesn’t play anything wishable to destroy Enchantments. This is because there are no Enchantments game one that the deck cares about besides Counterbalance, Counterbalance will just counter whatever kills it. That and there isn’t a great card for the deck to remove Enchantments with. Then there’s Grapeshot, Grapeshot is used to kill problematic creatures as well as provide an alternative win condition for cards such as Runed Halo. People are always trying to play Pyroclasm over this card, it’s just wrong. Grapeshot often provides outs where Pyroclasm doesn’t, where Tendrils wasn’t able to finish off an opponent, Grapeshot steps in to hit them for that additional few damage. Often the deck will draw hands with Tendrils and a Wish, Wish for Grapeshot, play out the hand and cast them both. Take away the luck element of Storm Engines and just win. There’s other scenarios too, but I personally use it most to showboat up to storm twenty and Wish for it.

    Lastly, cards that are sided in. I like to play bounce because it’s versatile in dealing with whatever random card opponents bring in to hinder chances of comboing. For bounce there’s 2 Echoing truth and a Wipeaway, Wipeaway will answer that pesky Counterbalance. Currently there’s four cards for blue, 2 Xantid Swarm and 2 Pyroblast. These slots are often in flux for the metagame.

    V. Cards That Didn’t Make The Cut

    a.) Manabase - Tarnished Citadel, Undiscovered Paradise, Forbidden Orchard, Glimmervoid, Cabal Pit, Tomb of Urami, Chrystal Vein.

    b.) Acceleration and Mana – Cabal Ritual, Elvish Spirit Guide, Simian Spirit Guide, Manamorphose, Channel of the Suns, Priest of Gix, Culling the Weak, Helm of Awakening, Desperate Ritual, Seething Song, Tinder Wall, Mox Diamond, Carpet of Flowers.

    c.) Tutors and Draw – Mystical Tutor, Death Wish, Grim Tutor, Plunge into Darkness, Rhystic Tutor, Spoils of the Vault, Pre-Ordain, Infernal Contract, Cruel Bargain, Lim-Dul’s Vault, Meditate, Trinket Mage, Diabolic Intent, Night’s Whisper, Dark Confidant, Sensei’s Diving Top.

    d.) Win Conditions and Bombs – Slithermuse, Doomsday, Storm Entity, Goblin Charbelcher, Hunting Pack.

    e.) Protection/Utility- Wipe Away, Washout, Repeal, Snap, Rushing River, Cabal Therapy, Inquisition of Kozilek, Sudden Death, Pyroclasm, Tranquility, Cleanfall, Reverent Silence, Hull Breach.

    f.) Close Cuts- Thoughtsieze, Cabal Ritual, Abeyance, Krosan Grip, Deathmark, Chain of Vapor, Red Elemental Blast, Silence.

    There are some cards I choose to leave off this list because they we’re tried a very long time ago and didn’t work out, then some others that just seemed ridiculous.


    VI. Reasons to Play The EPIC Storm Over Other Storm Combo

    a.) Why play The EPIC Storm (TES) over Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT)? TES has no clear cut game plan; it’s very versatile and can end things many ways – unlike ANT. Ad Nauseam Tendrils is often forced to go for Ad Nauseam because lists don’t play Orim’s Chant (some lists do, but few). Without Orim’s Chant their Ill-Gotten Gains is shut off. Leaving them with one path to victory. TES because it plays five color lands has all of the best protection available (Orim’s Chant, Xantid Swarm, Duress, and Pyroblast), while various ANT lists play 2 of the 4, it’s hard for them to play all of these without destroying their mana base. Playing four colors on duals and fetches can hurt. Especially against the tempo decks of today, the stifle wasteland package already hurts ANT, while it doesn’t affect TES as much because there’s less Stifle targets. TES I feel has an edge on ANT because of the speed factor also, TES plays less land and more acceleration in order to win faster. While ANT goes for a more controlling feeling against blue (Which always doesn’t work), post-board the deck have 2 less protection spells than ANT. A marginal difference, I’ll take speed and protection against just two more protection spells. The most important reason to play TES over ANT is Burning Wish and it’s raw power. Burning Wish acts as an Infernal Tutor that doesn’t need Hellbent that can get answers to help out in sticky situations. Where ANT lists play more cantrips such as preordain.

    b.) Why play The EPIC Storm (TES) over Belcher? TES is fast, resilient, and has main deck protection and can fight through the hate. Many people played Belcher for awhile because it’s a fundament turn faster than TES, until they realized the unstableness and how fragile the deck was; The EPIC Storm doesn’t have to go for Empty the Warrens. Belcher often can’t choose what win condition to go for; it’s whatever it draws, not with TES. The player chooses between Tendrils or Empty the Warrens and sometimes Grapeshot. Because of this you will win more games due to the fact there is so many Engineered Explosives running around. Belcher doesn’t play any main deck protection whatsoever; here in TES there are 4 Orim’s Chant/Silence and 3/4 Duress to make sure the deck has a fighting chance to beat Countertop. One last reason to play TES over Belcher is that if the deck somehow manages to fizzle The EPIC Storm recovers a lot faster than Belcher thanks to storm engines in Ad Nauseam, Ill-Gotten Gains and mainly Diminishing Returns.

    c.) Why play The EPIC Storm (TES) over Doomsday combo? Mainly because Sensei’s Diving Top is a slow card in nature, which means that Doomsday combo in nature is slow. Slow combo decks aren’t good because decks like Zoo or Goblins now stand a chance, this is a mistake that players learned from Solidarity. On top of being slow, there are many “pass the turn” piles. Losing half of your life to Doomsday and passing the turn is a very dangerous thing to do but is necessary sometimes with Doomsday variants. My largest problem with the current Doomsday decks is their alternative routes to beating Countertop. Using a comes into play tapped land, forces a player to pass the turn, now the combo is susceptible to wasteland and stifle. Increasing the amount hate against the deck is just something I don’t think is worth doing. TES is faster, doesn’t pass the turn, and doesn’t lose to a Wasteland.

    d.) Why play The EPIC Storm (TES) over Spanish Inquisition (SI) variants? SI variants are very much like the belcher decks where their turn one percentages are higher, but they’re more likely to lose to Force of Will and other blue cards. This comes from not playing protection, something TES prides it’s self on. SI can also lose from not drawing a zero casting cost creature to sacrifice to Culling the Weak or Diabolic Intent. These decks relate to the Doomsday Variants in that they need to lose half of their life in order to win, sometimes, multiple times in order to draw a Tendrils of Agony. Meaning that a well-timed Lightning Bolt/Fireblast could take them out of the game. Because these decks rely on draw four cards such as Infernal Contract and Cruel Bargain the fizzle rates are much higher than a resolved Ad Nauseam from TES.


    VII. Sample Hands and Sample Plays
    “Keep, Mulligan, or I’d play it like this…”

    a.) Sample Hand One:
    Underground Sea, Brainstorm, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Dark Ritual, Infernal Tutor, Chrome Mox, Gemstone Mine.
    [Keep]

    Underground Sea, Dark Ritual (BBB), Lion’s Eye Diamond, Chrome Mox (Brainstorm), Infernal Tutor – Break Lion’s Eye Diamond for BBB (BBBB). Tap Mox. Ad Nauseam.

    Ad Nauseam (Revealing: City of Brass (20), Brainstorm (19), Ponder (18), Empty the Warrens (14), Dark Ritual (13), Rite of Flame (12), Burning Wish (10), Lotus Petal (10), Chrome Mox (10), Rite of Flame (9), Infernal Tutor (7), Burning Wish (5). Stop.)

    Lotus Petal, Dark Ritual, Chrome Mox (Empty the Warrens), Rite of Flame, Rite of Flame, Burning Wish, Tendrils of Agony for 22.

    b.) Sample Hand Two:
    Gemstone Mine, Lotus Petal, Infernal Tutor, Infernal Tutor, Burning Wish, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Rite of Flame.
    [Keep]

    Gemstone Mine, Lotus Petal, Rite of Flame, Lion's Eye Diamond, Infernal Tutor (RBBB), Empty the Warrens (10 Goblins).

    c.) Sample Hand Three:
    Gemstone Mine, Lotus Petal, Infernal Tutor, Infernal Tutor, Burning Wish, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Rite of Flame.
    [Keep]

    Gemstone Mine, Lotus Petal, Rite of Flame, Lion's Eye Diamond, Burning Wish (RUUU), Diminishing Returns.
    (Remove 10 cards from the game)

    Scalding Tarn, Underground Sea, Lotus Petal , Lotus Petal, Chrome Mox, Dark Ritual, Tendrils of Agony.

    Lotus Petal , Lotus Petal, Chrome Mox, Dark Ritual, Tendrils of Agony for 20.

    d.)Sample Hand Four:
    Scalding Tarn, Dark Ritual, Infernal Tutor, Tendrils of Agony, Chrome Mox, Lion's Eye Diamond, Burning Wish.
    [Keep]

    Scalding Tarn, Volcanic Island, Chrome Mox (Imprint: Tendrils of Agony), Dark Ritual, Infernal Tutor, Lion's Eye Diamond, Lion's Eye Diamond, Burning Wish. Ill-Gotten Gains, Lion's Eye Diamond, Lion's Eye Diamond, Infernal Tutor, Burning Wish, Tendrils of Agony for 24.

    e.) Sample Hands For You

    1.) Brainstorm, Brainstorm, Chrome Mox, Chrome Mox, Duress, Infernal Tutor, Lion’s Eye Diamond.

    2.) Underground Sea, Bloodstained Mire, Chrome Mox, Dark Ritual, Duress, Burning Wish, Infernal Tutor.

    3.) Chrome Mox, Chrome Mox, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Scalding Tarn, Dark Ritual, Rite of Flame.

    4.) Polluted Delta, Ponder, Ponder, Brainstorm, Gemstone Mine, Burning Wish, Burning Wish.

    5.) Ad Nauseam, Ponder, Brainstorm, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Rite of Flame, Volcanic Island, Polluted Delta.

    6.) Duress, Xantid Swarm, Gemstone Mine, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Dark Ritual, Burning Wish.

    7.) Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Rite of Flame, Rite of Flame, Burning Wish, Empty the Warrens, Lotus Petal.

    8.) Lotus Petal, Dark Ritual, Rite of Flame, Gemstone Mine, Infernal Tutor, Chrome Mox, Duress.

    9.) Xantid Swarm, Orim’s Chant, Underground Sea, Burning Wish, Infernal Tutor, Chrome Mox, Tendrils of Agony.

    10.) Duress, Tendrils of Agony, Gemstone Mine, Bloodstained Mire, Dark Ritual, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Burning Wish.


    VIII. Additional Data

    a.) Diminishing Returns Percentages (By OurSerratedDust)
    Situation
    -One Burning Wish is exiled.
    -You have two tapped gold lands in play (Gemstone Mine, and City of Brass.)
    -The opponent is at 20 life.
    -The storm count is four (including DR.)
    -You are at a safe life total for Ad Nauseam.
    -You haven't played a land yet this turn.

    Mana Floating/Win Percentage

    None: 18%
    U: 38%
    R: 42%
    B: 42%
    UU: 54%
    UR: 66%
    UB: 66%
    RR: 54%
    RB: 66%
    BB: 60%

    (U/B/R): 48%
    (U/B/R) (U/B/R): 70%
    U (U/B/R): 66%
    R (U/B/R): 70%
    B (U/B/R): 70%

    b.) Infernal Tutor Percentages

    4 Infernal Tutor in deck

    33.6280% 1 infernal drawn, 4 in deck, 7 card hand, 60 card deck

    5.9344% 2 infernal drawn 4 in deck 7 card hand 60 card deck

    0.3804% 3 drawn 4 in deck 7 card hand 60 cards

    0.0072% 4 drawn 4 in deck 7 card hand 60 cards

    = 39.95% chance of drawing total


    3 Infernal Tutor in deck

    28.1882% 1 drawn 3 in deck 7 card hand 60 card deck

    3.2525% 2 drawn 3 in deck 7 cards 60 card deck

    0.1023% 3 drawn 3 in deck 7 cards 60 card deck

    = 31.5430% chance of drawing
    Last edited by Bryant Cook; 02-16-2012 at 10:05 AM.

  2. #2
    Bryant Cook
    Guest

    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    IX. Match-Ups

    a.) Countertop - (45%-55%)

    - Does the hand have protection? What game is it? If it’s game one concentrate on winning before Counterbalance hits the table. Generally an open hand Duress helps out in this match-up taking away a Counterbalance. If the hand doesn’t have a Duress, Xantid, or Orim’s Chant there’s always Burning Wish for Duress. Keep in mind that on top of Counterbalance they have Force of Will, Mental Misstep, and Daze. It’s a rough match-up, but if the opening hand has a Duress and/or Xantid Swarm it makes the match-up a bit easier.

    - What is the path to victory? Is it Ad Nauseam or Ill-Gotten Gains off of Burning Wish? Cast Ad Nauseam at a safe life total, it can be very risky to cast at a life total lower that 13, any lower and the risk of killing yourself becomes much greater. This is a situation where Ill-Gotten Gains comes in handy. Although, without Orim’s Chant or Xantid Swarm, Ill-Gotten Gains can be risky, your opponent can get back Force of Will or Mental Misstep. Lastly, there’s Empty the Warrens, this card really shines in this match-up. Most lists don’t often play an answer and it comes down before Counterbalance, consider it an easy plan B if it isn’t possible to Ad Nauseam in this match-up.

    +3 Pyroblast
    +1 Wipeaway
    -1 Ponder
    -1 Chrome Mox
    -1 Infernal Tutor
    -1 Orim's Chant

    b.) Merfolk – (50%)

    - Unlike Countertop variants, Merfolk doesn’t play Counterbalance. What Merfolk does play is Force of Will, Mental Misstep, Daze, Cursecatcher, and Spell Pierce (out of the sideboard). Xantid Swarm absolutely shines in this match-up, if it’s possible to play him out and get him to stick; it’s difficult to lose the game. A key to winning this match-up is to be aware of their “soft” counterspells in Daze, Cursecatcher, and Spell Pierce. Play those Dark Rituals and Rite of Flames first, don’t try to cast that Orim’s Chant with two lands untapped. Empty the Warrens can be good in this match-up since they don’t play removal, but they do play a bunch of Creatures. This means that if Empty the Warrens is the play, make sure it’s for ten or more Goblins to get the job done.

    - Post board the deck brings in three Pyroblast to combat their counterspells. All Merfolk brings in is Spell Pierce, don’t worry about boarding in Echoing Truth for permanent based hate.

    Sideboarding
    +3 Pyroblast
    -1 Infernal Tutor
    -1 Ponder
    -1 Chrome Mox

    c.) Goblins - (70%)

    -This match-up is pretty basic; game one all the only thing Goblins has is wasteland. Don’t walk into it, hold the land in your hand if need be. Play cantrips, find more land or artifact mana. Don’t wait for the sake of waiting because they’re not putting on pressure, life total points matter for Ad Nauseam in this match-up. If Burning Wish happens to be in hand, Ill-Gotten Gains is a very good option since it doesn’t require a life total.

    -Games two and three, watch out for Mind Break Trap. If they’re playing R/b watch out for Thoughtsieze and Cabal Therapy too. Some lists might also play Chalice of the Void or Pyrostatic Pillar in addition to the previous cards mentioned. It’s acceptable to play out artifact mana to avoid it getting discarded, countered, or making you take damage.

    Sideboarding
    -3 Orim’s Chant
    -1 Silence
    +2 Echoing Truth
    +1 Wipeaway
    +1 Duress

    d.) Ichorid (60-65%)

    -This match-up is based on who can win faster – much like the combo mirror. Watch out for Cabal Therapy/Unmask, this means playing down artifact mana early or holding Brainstorm to hide crucial spells. Orim’s Chant can be used proactively in this match-up, use it on their upkeep in early turns or later on use it to stop massive attacks. What T.E.S doesn’t want to see on the other side of the table is Iona coming into play off of a Dread Return.

    -Postboard, watch out for Leyline of Sanctity, that’ll force the deck to win with Empty the Warrens tokens against Bridge from Below Tokens. I don’t see this happening. But luckily, Ad Nauseam is still an option. Cast Ad Nauseam and reveal, hopefully an Echoing Truth will appear to bounce Leyline. Echoing Truth can also be used to bounce a bunch of Zombies in a squeeze. I’d be weary of Firestorm, I’d count the number of cards in their hand and how many targets are in play. Then I would cast Ad Nauseam and try to stop around the number plus one.

    Sideboarding
    -2 Silence
    +2 Echoing Truth


    e.) Landstill (UWx or BUG) (60%)

    - The deck wants to sculpt a hand that can plow through 2-3 counterspells, meaning finding a few Duress/Chant effects and run them over. Landstill doesn’t create a threatening clock or have any cards such as counterbalance that are going to be deadly if they hit. Don’t be afraid to sit underneath standstill. If Tendrils of Agony is in hand, I’d try to create a hand that uses their countermagic for storm then to just lay the Tendrils. Another option is going for a speedy kill, if Landstill doesn’t stop the deck, great! If they do manage to stop the combo, there’s an entire game to recover since their clock is non-existent. It’s not uncommon for these decks to be playing Engineered Explosives or Pernicious Deed, meaning Empty the Warrens probably isn’t the greatest option. Neither is putting down artifact mana to get blown up.

    -Postboard, be prepared for anything from Runed Halo, Meddling Mage, Counterbalance, addition counterspells in negate, and Rule of Law. All of this permanent based hate means sideboarding in the bounce spells. It's either boarding the Blasts or the bounce, you don't want to bring in both.

    Sideboarding
    +3 Pyroblast / +2 Echoing Truth, +1 Wipe Away
    -1 Infernal Tutor
    -1 Chrome Mox
    -1 Ponder

    f.) Zoo (75%)

    - Pretty basic and simple match-up, don’t go low enough on Ad Nauseam for them to Bolt, Bolt, Fireblast or Price of Progress for that matter. Beware of main deck Gaddeck Teeg as it’s seeming to become a popular trend especially with Green Sun’s Zenith.

    - The biggest piece of hate they’ll have is Gaddeck Teeg and/or Ethersworn Cannonist, after that they may have Mind Break Trap. What T.E.S players should so is bring in bounce and the extra Duress. As Duress can take away Burn spells as well as Mind Break Trap, where Xantid and Orim’s under perform in this match-up.

    Sideboarding
    -3 Orim’s Chant
    -2 Silence
    +2 Echoing Truth
    +1 Wipe Away
    +1 Silent Departure
    +1 Duress

    g.) Chalice Aggro (40-45%)

    - By far the deck’s worst match-up, with Trinisphere, Chalice, Sphere of Resistance, and other problematic cards, there’s not much the deck can do other than win as past as possible. This is one of those match-ups that Empty the Warrens is golden. One thing I’ve done in the past is win with Trinisphere on the table. Let them kill themselves with Ancient Tomb, then get off a weak Tendrils for 3-4 Storm. This can get the job done. Use Duress to rip apart their hand and Orim’s Chant to stall until it’s possible to combo out.

    -Post board, they won’t bring anything too useful in. However, the T.E.S sideboard has answers in bounce and Shattering Spree/Meltdown. The artifact hate spell brought in is really up to personal preference.

    Sideboarding
    -2 Orim’s Chant
    -2 Silence
    +2 Echoing Truth
    +1 Wipe Away
    +1 Duress

    h.) Reanimator (50%)

    - Not a bad match-up, not a great one either. Reanimator has Thoughtsieze, Force of Will, Mental Misstep, and Daze for disruption. It's tough, but winnable. Their only animation target we really care about is Iona and we can win around her. Empty the Warrens is a great option if they've already landed her, it's a great option if they haven't too. Most reanimator lists don't play Echoing Truth main deck. You can also Diminishing Returns to get around Iona on black. It is possible to win without casting black cards. The other target they have is Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur, this is threatening because it allows the reanimator player to draw an entirely new hand full of Counters and Disruption. Luckily for us, it’s possible to Pyroblast it after game one.

    - Post board, Reanimator doesn’t have much to bring in. The T.E.S player will want to bring in Pyroblasts and bounce.

    Sideboarding
    +3 Pyroblast
    +2 Echoing Truth
    +1 Wipe Away
    -1 Orim’s Chant
    -1 Silence
    -1 Ponder
    -1 Chrome Mox
    -1 Infernal Tutor
    -1 Rite of Flame

    i.) New Horizons (60%)

    - Force of Will, Mental Misstep, Daze, Wasteland. To us, it's Merfolk with different creatures, there isn’t a worry about additional soft counters in Cursecatcher or Pierce. The deck doesn’t have to worry about Counterbalance/top, which is a huge bonus.

    - Postboard, they’ll bring in Spell Pierce, the deck brings in Pyroblasts.

    Sideboarding
    -1 Infernal Tutor
    -1 Chrome Mox
    -1 Ponder
    +3 Pyroblast

    j.) Team America (50%)

    - Much like the New Horizon’s match-up, although, they have discard in Thoughtsieze and Hymn to Tourach. This means laying down artifact mana so that it’s not discarded.

    - Postboard, same as New Horizons.

    Sideboarding
    -1 Infernal Tutor
    -1 Chrome Mox
    -1 Ponder
    +3 Pyroblast

    k.) Painter (70%)

    - Painter is just another combo deck, except they have the benefit of Force of Will, although they’re slower.

    - Postboard, bring in the regulars but Echoing Truth and a Spree to fight off their combo. It’s important to cast Echoing Truth in crucial situations, make them activate before bouncing, buy some time in order to combo. Pyroblast can become Vindicate with their Painters.

    Sideboarding
    +3 Pyroblast
    +2 Echoing Truth
    +1 Wipeaway
    -2 Orim’s Chant
    -1 Infernal Tutor
    -1 Chrome Mox
    -1 Ponder
    -1 Rite of Flame

    l.) UW Stoneforge (50%)

    - This match-up is a lot like Landstill except that they have a faster win condition in Stoneforge for Batterskull. Batterskull can race a horde of Empty the Warrens tokens, don’t try this at home.

    - Postboard, some lists have Enlightened Tutor packages, these are pretty bad for the deck. The tutor packages usually consist of Nullrod and Cannonist. Bring in bounce. The ones that don’t play the package aren’t as bad for TES. Don't bring in the bounce for these lists.


    Sideboarding
    +3 Pyroblast
    +2 Echoing Truth
    +1 Wipeaway
    -2 Orim’s Chant
    -1 Infernal Tutor
    -1 Chrome Mox
    -1 Ponder
    -1 Rite of Flame

    m.) UGx Natural Order (60-65%)

    - Force of Will, Mental Mistep, Daze, Wasteland. Much like the other UGx variants, except a different win condition. Empty the Warrens is a little stronger against these variants due to less creatures because of Natural Order and Green Suns Zenith. Some of these decks if not most are cutting Force of Will, if this is true the chances of success are much greater.

    - Postboard, bring in the regulars. If they're playing white bring in bounce for Gaddeck Teeg and/or Ethersworn Cannonist.

    Sideboarding
    +3 Pyroblast
    -1 Infernal Tutor
    -1 Chrome Mox
    -1 Ponder

    or

    +2 Echoing Truth
    -1 Infernal Tutor
    -1 Chrome Mox

    n.) BW/x Discard/Junk (40%)

    - These decks play Thoughtseize, Hymn, Wasteland, and Vindicate. They play more hand disruption than permanent destruction. Because of this, it’s better to play out artifact mana and sit there until the deck draws an Infernal or Burning Wish into a Storm Engine.

    - Postboard, board in bounce for whatever permanent based disruption they play. As of late it’s been Phyrexian Revoker.

    Sideboarding
    +2 Echoing Truth
    +1 Silent Departure
    +1 Wipe Away
    +1 Duress
    -3 Orim’s Chant
    -2 Silence
    Last edited by Bryant Cook; 02-16-2012 at 10:03 AM.

  3. #3
    Bryant Cook
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    X. Additional Information
    a.) Readings:
    First Thread
    Second Thread
    Third Thread
    The Definition of "Combo" - Do Storm Decks Count?
    Combo Summer
    TES vs. Iggy Pop
    What is the Best Current Combo Deck?
    The EPIC Storm (TES) vs. Fetchland Tendrils - The Competition
    Would the format be more interesting without Tendrils of Agony?
    Combo vs. Synergy
    Shattering Spree vs.Trinisphere
    Shattering Spree vs. Chalice of the Void
    Are there too many different combo decks in Legacy?
    City of Brass - Painting the Town REB by Andy Probasco

    b.) Major Tournament reports from TES players:
    01-01-2007 Brandon Adams's (Emidln) 4th place finish
    02-12-2007 Florian Fischer's (Flod0) 1st place finish
    02-18-2007 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 15th place finish
    02-20-2007 Jesse Krieger's (Krieger) 16th place finish
    03-05-2007 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 1st place finish
    04-05-2007 Gnesotto Carlo's (Jegger) 2nd place finish
    07-29-2007 Carl Wauer, Jr's (Carlos El Salvador) 2nd place finish
    08-07-2007 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 4th place finish
    10-08-2007 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 1st place finish
    05-25-2008 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 1st place finish
    07-20-2008 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 4th place finish
    10-20-2008 James Peyton's (Jrp) 2nd place finish
    01-04-2009 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 3rd place finish
    05-31-2009 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 10th place finish
    09-20-2009 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 1st place finish
    10-18-2009 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 2nd place finish
    01-03-2010 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 8th place finish
    01-26-2010 Derrick Cabrera's (tgDC$) 8th place finish
    06-13-2010 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 4th place finish
    06-28-2010 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 3rd place finish
    07-12-2010 Iñaki Puigdollers's (egosum) 1st place finish
    08-02-2010 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 5th place finish at GP: Columbus
    08-23-2010 James Higginbottom's (Lebron Jim) 8th place finish
    08-25-2010 Bob Yu's (Clown of Tresserhorn) 5th place finish at StarCityGames: Denver
    09-16-2010 Rolf Symons' (Diprivan) 1st place finish
    09-21-2010 Albert's (Albert) 1st place finish
    09-22-2010 Adam D's (Gorky) 1st place finish
    10-12-2010 Iñaki Puigdollers's (egosum) 5th place finish
    11-09-2010 Derek Brown's (technogeek5000) 9th place finish
    12-13-2010 Ken Koepplinger's (naarou) 3rd place finish
    12-16-2010 Liam Kane's (lorddotm) 1st place finish
    02-24-2011 Rolf Symons' (Diprivan) 8th place finish
    03-29-2011 Liam Kane's (Lorddotm) 3rd place finish at StarCityGames: Los Angeles
    04-18-2011 Weston Brown's (COBBLER) 1st place finish
    06-03-2011 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) Day 2 finish GP: Providence
    06-15-2011 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 8th place finish
    07-03-2011 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 11th place finish at StarCityGames: Baltimore
    07-18-2011 Rafael Lagasca's (paeng4983) 7th place finish
    10-15-2011 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) Top 16 finish
    11-05-2011 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 8th place finish
    12-03-2011 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 2nd Place finish
    02-11-2012 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 1st Place finish
    03-03-2012 Bryant Cook's (Bryant Cook) 8th place finish
    03-10-2012 Bob Yu's (Clown of Tresserhorn) Day 2 finish at GP: Indianapolis

    c.) Feature matches including The EPIC Storm:
    06-26-2010 Bryant Cook vs. Matt Kadilak
    07-24-2010 Bryant Cook vs. James Rynkiewicz
    08-21-2010 James Higginbottom vs. Allen Abendroth
    03-30-2011 Liam Kane vs. Patrick Sullivan
    04-02-2011 AJ Kerrigan vs. Robert Cuellari
    06-11-2011 Bryant Cook vs. Ryan Mckinney
    06-31-2011 AJ Kerrigan vs. James Rynkiewicz
    07-23-2011 AJ Kerrigan vs. Doug McKay
    07-24-2011 Liam Kane vs. Joe Lossett
    08-13-2011 Bryant Cook vs. Brandon Mccormick
    10-02-2011 Jason Golembiweski vs. Chris Anderson
    10-02-2011 Jason Golembiweski vs. Ari Lax
    10-02-2011 Brandon Burgoa vs. Marsh Usary
    11-05-2011 Liam Kane vs. Caleb Neufeld
    11-13-2011 Eduardo M Shimizu vs. Rodrigo V Pereira
    01-22-2012 Robin Meeker-Cummings vs. Ali Aintrazi
    01-22-2012 Robin Meeker-Cummings vs. Ali Aintrazi
    02-11-2012 Bryant Cook vs. Seneca Hobler
    02-11-2012 Bryant Cook vs. Tariq White
    02-11-2012 Bryant Cook vs. Michael Cutrone
    02-11-2012 Bryant Cook vs. Doug McKay
    03-03-2012 Bryant Cook vs. Nick Patnode

    d.) Articles discussing The EPIC Storm:
    Unlocking Legacy- A Metagame Update By Chris Coppola (Machinus)
    Unlocking Legacy- The Pet Deck By Adam Barnello (Nightmare)
    Unlocking Legacy- Combo: The Missing Link By Chris Coppola (Machinus)
    Unlocking Legacy- Extending a hand By Adam Barnello (Nightmare)
    Unlocking Legacy- Design Patterns By Anwar Ahmad (Anwar101)
    Unlocking Legacy- Emerging Decks By Chris Coppola (Machinus)
    Unlocking Legacy- "The Engine of Storm" By Anwar Ahmad (Anwar101)
    So Many Insane Plays – A Bird’s Eye View of Legacy: The Engines of Legacy By Steven Menendian (Smmenen)
    Playing TES (a Demystifying Guide) By Brandon Adams (Emildn)
    Ill-Gotten Pains (Vacrix)
    Arnold Palmer: Daily MTG By Mike Flores
    Legacy's Allure - GenCon and Columbus Trends By Doug Linn (HiVal)
    Ideas Unbound - The Tendrils/Merfolk Matchup By Max McCall (Frogboy)
    The Long and Winding Road – Legacy Storm (Don't Call It A Comeback) By Matt Elias (Voltron00x)
    The Long and Winding Road – The New Kings of Legacy By Matt Elias (Voltron00x)
    The Long and Winding Road – You, But Better By Matt Elias (Voltron00x)
    Ideas Unbound - So You Want To Kill Your Opponent On Turn One By Max McCall (Frogboy)
    Ideas Unbound - The Process Of Actually Killing Someone On Turn One By Max McCall (Frogboy)
    The Long and Winding Road – Legacy Combo: It's Whats For Dinner By Matt Elias (Voltron00x)
    So, You Want To Play Storm Combo... by Silent Requiem (Silent Requiem)
    Ideas Unbound - One Game Remix: Tendrils vs. U/G Survival by Max McCall (Frogboy)
    Storm Academy: Becoming a Storm Pilot by Silent Requiem (Silent Requiem)
    Storm Academy: Anatomy of Storm by Silent Requiem (Silent Requiem)
    TES (The EPIC Storm) Primer Article by Liam Kane (lorddotm)
    Tracking the storm - NPH Effects on Legacy Storm by AJ Kerrigan
    Legacy Matchups With AJ Kerrigan And Michael Caffrey (mchainmail)
    Out With The New And In With The Old by Ari Lax (AriLax) and AJ Kerrigan
    Cook's Kitchen - Storming into the Past by Bryant Cook (Bryant Cook)
    Cook's Kitchen - Storming into Indianapolis by Bryant Cook (Bryant Cook)
    Cook's Kitchen - Updating Storm by Bryant Cook (Bryant Cook)
    Legacy Week - Q & A: How To Count To Ten In 2012 by Ari Lax (AriLax)

    e.) Other:
    Pimp Legacy Decks - TES

    Thank you for reading.
    Last edited by Bryant Cook; 03-14-2012 at 07:27 AM.

  4. #4

    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    So if you have favorable match-ups against the most prevalent decks in the format (since Chalice aggro is pretty unpopular these days), does that make this the best deck in the format??

    If so, why don't more people use it? Is it just a play-skill issue? (This probably sound like trolling/baiting, but I promise that's not my intent...)
    Bless your heart, we must consider Blue/White Tempo's strategy and win percentages in an entirely different deck thread. -4eak

  5. #5
    Here I Rule!!!!!!!!!!
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    Quote Originally Posted by DukeDemonKn1ght View Post
    Is it just a play-skill issue? (This probably sound like trolling/baiting, but I promise that's not my intent...)
    Yes. Entirely. I've won a single tournament where I've brought in TES, out of many. The thing about these play tests is they are done by Bryant, who is going to win a much higher percentage of his matches than I would. Especially against decks that pack disruption, since I haven't played the deck enough I wouldn't know how to play through it well.

    This is largely a problem with anyone's play percentages who writes the deck up. Generally they will be better at it then you, so the percentages are going to be higher than when you play it. But they are still a good base to go off of if you subtract 5-10% from all of the scores as a "handicap" sort of thing.

  6. #6

    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    Bryant,

    You need to remove Duress from "Cards that didn't make the cut."
    Quote Originally Posted by wastedlife View Post
    Breathweapon, I regret saying this but ... I've been liking you more and more every day.

  7. #7
    just wants to cuddle
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    Quote Originally Posted by me
    Thanks for the primer, good to see more competitive decks up on these boards. I also see you didn't take our matches from last weekend's tournament into account when calculating your win percentages; I feel like you have a better UWx landstill matchup than you give yourself credit for.

    Also, you're sexy.
    I'm here to kick ass and play card games.

    BZK

  8. #8
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    Bryant, i'd keep Chants in against Ichorid, and board out Duress on the draw. I can't really remember how many games I've won chanting the ichorid player, so that he couldn't go off before me but, most of all, he couldn't Therapy me. Cabal Therapy is all you must fear from that deck, and the fact that the 70% of the times it gets cast it comes from their graveyard means that Chant>>Duress in here. I don't know if boarding in Pyroblasts has helped you, but I wouldn't care too much about playing the "control" role in here blasting their BThroughs. You just have to go faster, and Chant is a complete timewalk and a gorgeous protection, the only one worth to stay in steadily.
    Also, latter Ichorid lists have cut Cotv from their sides. It would also be hurting for them to set Cotv @0, since they arguably keep their LEDs in to go off at entire speed. If i were to define Ichorid sb changes, personally I'd go something like
    On the Draw:
    -3 Duress
    -1 Mox
    +1 IT
    +1 Truth
    +1-2 Spree (if you fear cotvs coming from random players)

    On the play, well, you can keep your Duresses in, and NOT board Blasts in.
    Quote Originally Posted by Pastorofmuppets View Post
    you just want us to do that because of your Silences, you sly dog.
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  9. #9
    Amen, brotha.
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    When it comes to bringing a deck to an unknown Meta, which would you take?
    TES
    ANT
    FT

    And how much do they cost ca.?

  10. #10

    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    TES has quite a bit of difficulties against blue decks, and unless you are very comfortable with the deck and the mu in question (whatever decklist that starts with some number of stifles, dazes, fows, and god forbid: cb+top) you are just going to plain succumb to it. (This comes from a guy that has a positive tournament record with tes against dreadstill, possibly the worst mu of them all)

    Chances are the other guy plays the mu even worse than you do (people don't seem to find testing against combo all that enjoyable), but it's still not going to be pretty. This is why people shy away from decks like TES, NLS etc. They need a good pilot that can outplay the opponent.
    Now this might come off as a flame, but I don't intent to start a fight about this: ANT is more played imo because the deck is auto-piloted. (I consider basic ANT lists easier to play than burn, a deck that some times needs you to know when to bolt dudes and not face.) Rarely comes playskill into equation with a streamlined deck like that.

    With TES you need to know when to go for the throat, when to try and get protection, when you need more than one protection spell etc. This is something you need to deduce from the opponents body language, his playstyle etc. I once won the third game against dreadstill by counting on that he mulliganed aggressively into CB (something I had picked up from the games we had played before), waited for him to tap out to it, eot bounced it, went off around daze in hopes he only had cb and no fow. I can't remember the game completely but I remember that if he didn't have the CB I would have lost the game having timewalked myself twice waiting for it and it would have meant he kept a hand that has lots of FoW & Daze action, something I was in no position to handle.

    EDIT: I went first and kept a hand that would have been horrid if he decided to not mulligan into CB. This was before M10 rules.

    And of all decks in legacy, I think TES is the hardest to mulligan with. No joke, you lose fuckloads of games when you pick the deck up due to wrong mulligan decisions.

    About those percentages btw, not only is Bryant possibly the most skilled TES pilot, he is also the luckiest. I mean, have you read his reports? This is also his pet deck, and if you go over the other threads their starters probably have "TES" in their mu analysis as slightly more favorable than the same mu is described here.
    Quote Originally Posted by Race War View Post
    <Carnage> fuck idiot learn education

  11. #11
    Amen, brotha.
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    Sounds like TES would be my deck of choice. I'm turned on by decks that cause headaches.

    Yes, I'm reading his reports atm. Sounds like a bit luck is important - and I do have that portion I guess. At least, in Limited.

    Edit: How much of an impact will Mindbreak Trap have on Legacy? We have 3 Chant effects, does it just make it more important for us to have a Chanteffect or is it useless and won't see play?

  12. #12
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    I would like to add a personal belief about TES not being Tier1: apart from the fact that it's surely a deck difficult to play perfectly, i think lots of people renounce to it because of its fragility. I mean, ANT has spread a lot more surely because it's way more easy to handle and the way to win are usually few and simple ( i can see only IGG and AdN as for now), but also because it can guarantee a way greater consistency than TES. Despites that "fetchlands are bad because you run into stifle" justification that cuts them away from TES, playing ANT you can notice how much those fetchlands can save you time to time from Wasteland, which is instead a critical hit for TES. And it's usually difficult to apply the "you have to play around Wasteland/need to draw more than 1 land-hand" thing, because it happens that you spend the first turn cantripping, either brainstorm or Ponder, so you fucking need THAT land to be on the board. If you don't manage to find another land, you can still go off with petals, Moxes and SSGs , that's for sure; but the fact that all your lands suck to wasteland is a huge factor. A smart tempo deck(Thresh, Merfolks, ecc) player can win you just wastelanding your first land drop and keeping a Fow in hand. When this happens, with the normal TES build i can swear sometimes you just lose games waiting for another land -which is not so easy since their low density- and being killed by a random Mongoose/Goyf or some Merfolks. You find another land and try to go off? They have filled their hands with fows, Snares, Dazes ad whatsoever. Brainstorm+Fetchlands is a huge machine when it comes down to hand-shaping skill, and it's not a mistery that a blue-based player, if given the time to, can shuffle away all that Bolts and keep a whole blue hand. And so the combo player does, indeed, if he runs those cards; from my personal experience, I am currently playing a hybrid version of TES, something which mixes rainbow manabases and fetchlands with the usual spell list, and holy shit brainstorming and then fetching away those horrible moxes-tutors in excess is such an advantage that i can't think what i could have done in a tournament if, say, i brainstormed into shit and was forced to keep that shit for 2 more turns. Opponents are meant to play good decks, and they don't require 4 turns to drop down that Counterbalance or that Chalice. You need to be fast , that's for sure, but you also need to be consistent and not to rollover to..your same deck.
    That's why, personally, I find that TES still lacks of that bit of stability which would make it a really great deal in the metagame. It still has lots of difficulties against tempo decks; of course this could be circumvent going off brutally before they can even full their hands of counters, but sadly it is a lie that this deck always offers golden hands. It often offers shitty hands, which should be mulliganed. A hand without a land, if it's not 1 piece away from being the perfect combo hand, is usually mulliganed; a hand with double mox is like a 5-cards hand; a hand stuck with 3 tutors and no mox is friggin' slow. This is what usually happened to me with the normal list. And i claim to have "standard" parameters of luck.
    All this to say that you shouldn't pick up TES if you're not really lucky like Bryant, or you should make some modifications to the deck in order to make it gain a bit more of consistency. I don't want to claim that the deck is shit; on the contrary, is way more puzzling and skill-intensive than ANT, and it should get its right recognization. But still, the fact that luck in drawing and topdecking is a very huge factor makes it difficult to appreciate, at least Imo.
    Quote Originally Posted by Pastorofmuppets View Post
    you just want us to do that because of your Silences, you sly dog.
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  13. #13
    Ur tears of nerdrage taste so sweet to me.
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    Quote Originally Posted by Nidd View Post
    I'm turned on by decks that cause headaches.
    Then rather try NLS.
    On the first 6-round tourney doomsday will break your head (although the deck will highly reward you, if you keep playing and understanding it).
    Team Legal Actions.

  14. #14
    Amen, brotha.
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    Quote Originally Posted by EaD View Post
    Then rather try NLS.
    On the first 6-round tourney doomsday will break your head (although the deck will highly reward you, if you keep playing and understanding it).
    I'm gonna have a look at the decklist.

    @ Piceli89: thank you for the information. I think it would be ok to start with ANT to get a feeling for Storm decks (I mostly played LED-Less Ichorid and Merfolk now, so Storm is completely new to me.). the deck can be modified to TES or NLS with some changes.

    Okay, so let's see whether I can get some LEDs for under 20€/piece...

  15. #15
    Bryant Cook
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    Quote Originally Posted by Piceli89 View Post
    Bryant, i'd keep Chants in against Ichorid, and board out Duress on the draw. I can't really remember how many games I've won chanting the ichorid player, so that he couldn't go off before me but, most of all, he couldn't Therapy me. Cabal Therapy is all you must fear from that deck, and the fact that the 70% of the times it gets cast it comes from their graveyard means that Chant>>Duress in here. I don't know if boarding in Pyroblasts has helped you, but I wouldn't care too much about playing the "control" role in here blasting their BThroughs. You just have to go faster, and Chant is a complete timewalk and a gorgeous protection, the only one worth to stay in steadily.
    Also, latter Ichorid lists have cut Cotv from their sides. It would also be hurting for them to set Cotv @0, since they arguably keep their LEDs in to go off at entire speed. If i were to define Ichorid sb changes, personally I'd go something like
    On the Draw:
    -3 Duress
    -1 Mox
    +1 IT
    +1 Truth
    +1-2 Spree (if you fear cotvs coming from random players)

    On the play, well, you can keep your Duresses in, and NOT board Blasts in.
    Haven’t we been through this before? Seems like déjà vu to me. I don’t like how you’re forced to keep mana untapped when you should be digging for the win. Not to mention Chants are awful for imprinting in this match-up where it’s actually important. The difference in the random card you draw to throw on a mox can determine if you win or lose a round due to that extra turn it’d take to draw a card of the right color. Ichorid players around here still pack Chalice, until they don’t, I’ll be boarding in sprees.

    @ your other post – I think you’re being a bit harsh and biased. I understand where you’re coming from, but when I try something and don’t like it. Then continue to win without it, it’s not really necessary.

  16. #16
    Amen, brotha.
    Nidd's Avatar
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    Quote Originally Posted by Bryant Cook View Post
    Haven’t we been through this before? Seems like déjà vu to me. I don’t like how you’re forced to keep mana untapped when you should be digging for the win. Not to mention Chants are awful for imprinting in this match-up where it’s actually important. The difference in the random card you draw to throw on a mox can determine if you win or lose a round due to that extra turn it’d take to draw a card of the right color. Ichorid players around here still pack Chalice, until they don’t, I’ll be boarding in sprees.

    @ your other post – I think you’re being a bit harsh and biased. I understand where you’re coming from, but when I try something and don’t like it. Then continue to win without it, it’s not really necessary.
    How longs does the average player have to practice before he can start playing this deck in a more serious environment?

    Would you recommend starting off with ANT and then seeing whether I can handle TES or do you think it would be better to play TES from the scratch?

  17. #17
    Bryant Cook
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    Quote Originally Posted by Nidd View Post
    How longs does the average player have to practice before he can start playing this deck in a more serious environment?

    Would you recommend starting off with ANT and then seeing whether I can handle TES or do you think it would be better to play TES from the scratch?
    Once you feel comfortable playing against countertop. If you can beat that you can beat anything.

    I wouldn't recommend ANT as a starting point, because it puts the idea into your head that Ad Nauseam is always the right choice. Especially when it's not, TES will make you a better player. It'll teach you what's the appropriate card for the appropriate situation and how to play around troublesome cards.

  18. #18
    Amen, brotha.
    Nidd's Avatar
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    Quote Originally Posted by Bryant Cook View Post
    Once you feel comfortable playing against countertop. If you can beat that you can beat anything.

    I wouldn't recommend ANT as a starting point, because it puts the idea into your head that Ad Nauseam is always the right choice. Especially when it's not, TES will make you a better player. It'll teach you what's the appropriate card for the appropriate situation and how to play around troublesome cards.
    I'm pretty resistent to that kind of thoughtpatterns. When i played T2, I enjoyed playing Gifts and that deck was pretty hardcore for T2, when it comes to decisionmaking.

    How much did your TES cost you?

  19. #19

    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    @ Nidd

    First of all, DO NOT ask Bryan how much TES cost him, the guy has it in gilded foil altered japanese that has been ritually blessed by tibetan monks. No joke, check the pimping threads.

    Seriously though, I would suggest you start off with TES. The deck is a great starting point since it will remain interesting unlike ANT, which is just so straightforward that you get bored after one tournament or so.

    Goldfish the deck when you listen to music, goldfish it when you go to the toilet, goldfish it when you watch porn. You have to get comfortable finding the way to victory, fast. When you start to win consistently on turn 1-2 you start having it.

    Now you can start testing with a real opponent.

    Try to find some Thresh-player with a low self-esteem to be your training partner. It will serve you both, he gets to win and you get to get your ass handed to you by cb+top.

    When you're done losing to counter-top you can start winning.

    EDIT: oh, and pro-tip: ad nauseam can fizzle even from 20 (i have lost a round where I got turn 1-2 nauseam three times. It fizzled twice. I have no idea wtf the other guy was playing, all I saw was a basic forest..) but IGG-loop is calculated and thus it does not fizzle. If you can go with iggy, go with it. Nauseam is the back-up win-con.
    Last edited by deviant; 09-25-2009 at 07:44 PM. Reason: I still cannot type thresh correctly :(
    Quote Originally Posted by Race War View Post
    <Carnage> fuck idiot learn education

  20. #20
    Plays green decks
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    Re: [Deck] T.E.S - The EPIC Storm

    Oh shit, 4th (right?) TES thread.

    I just started goldfishing this for the first time since the deck added AN (when Draw 4s were the shit and Plunge into Darkness was played). Gosh AN is amazing. Every time I cast it I win. I think this deck abuses it the best with much more acceleration and tutors for after it resolves. I think that is the major thing why I like it over ANT.

    I do have a few questions though.

    1. Do you miss the bounce spell main?

    2. The SB seems weird. You have the instants which are to be sided in to combat the random crap but you don't run some targeted Enchantments removal. Don't you think a Vindicate or Tranquility would be good there?

    3. The land base has hurt me twice in 50ish goldfishes. Mostly having a Volc and not having the black to ritual or Tutor. Is something like Forbidden Orchard that bad?

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