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Thread: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

  1. #1
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    [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    Single Card Discussion: Dark Tutelage

    Recently spoiled from M11:

    Dark Tutelage
    2B
    Enchantment
    Rare

    At the beginning of your upkeep, reveal the top card of your library and put that card into your hand. You lose life equal to its converted mana cost.




    This ... has promise. The Bob effect has always been high profit / medium risk, but is attached to one of the flimsiest bodies in the game (a ground-based x/1). The fact that he dies to pretty much every removal effect in the game guaranteed that he seldom lived to your upkeep. Also, the sting of having your Bob stolen by Shackles or Threads is one not that does not heal quickly. But stick that effect on an Enchantment--now we're talking.

    An obvious comparison here is Phyrexian Arena, but that double BB was never easy to pull of in anything less than a dedicated black deck. By comparison, Tutelage is eminently splashable, like Bob, and will often win the game if left unchecked.

    I think the pain would be too much for a dedicated control shell, but might work in a CT/Top shell. Top + Bob was often a Win-Bo; so maybe in a Thopter shell.

    Tweaking Josh Guiault's first place SCG St. Louis list...

    Dark Counter-T(h)op

    4 Brainstorm
    4 Force of Will
    4 Enlightened Tutor
    4 Swords to Plowshares
    3 Counterspell

    4 Sensei's Divining Top
    2 Thopter Foundry
    1 Sword of the Meek
    1 Engineered Explosives
    1 Pithing Needle

    4 Counterbalance
    2 Dark Tutelage
    1 Back to Basics
    1 Moat

    2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

    4 Flooded Strand
    4 Polluted Delta
    1 Marsh Flats
    3 Tundra
    2 Underground Sea
    5 Island
    1 Plains
    1 Swamp
    1 Academy Ruins

    Sideboard
    * Perish
    * Deathmarks
    * Hydroblast / BEB
    * Crypts / Relic / Leyline
    * Explosives
    * B2B
    * Hatebears

    Here, Dark Tutelage -- like Jace -- requires no further investment once on the board. Top will keep life loss low, Tutelage gives the deck a way to get ahead or stay ahead while giving you more 3s for CB (such as in the NH match-up) and lets you recoup lost CA due to E Tutor.

    I'm not saying this card is the be-all of Legacy or will be some overnight staple (like Ponder), but it's potent enough that it's worth some testing.

    Where do you think this card might have a home?

  2. #2
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    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    I definitely think this card will see play in control and aggro/control decks that can or already do run a black splash, particularly those builds that already run Sensei's Divining Top.

    Thopter, as you mentioned, is a very good start. I would cut the Vendilion Cliques for Swords to Plowshares, and also be mindful of your 2cc spot for Counterbalance; if you run Spell Snare instead of Countespell, you only have 7 2cc spells. 2cc is widely considered to be the most important cmc to consistently cover with Counterbalance, and you shouldn't let that number drop below 10 (so I'd definitely recommend 3 Counterspells instead of 3 Spell Snare). Other than all of that, yea. Good idea sir.

    I think all sorts of CounterTop decks stand to profit greatly from this, particularly those Supreme Blue lists that focus on a card advantage gameplan.

    I do not think this would make the cut in a deck like Landstill, though, which has a much higher average cmc.

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    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    Quote Originally Posted by Hanni View Post
    I would cut the Vendilion Cliques for Swords to Plowshares, and also be mindful of your 2cc spot for Counterbalance; if you run Spell Snare instead of Counterbalance, you only have 7 2cc spells.
    Heh, I assumed it was there. Clique was indeed added when I was all "woo-hoo, open slots!" Those slots definitely belong to StP. Updated above.

    Also, agreed on pairing Tutelage w/ Landstill. Too often, your opponent will thank you for playing it.

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    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    if you run Spell Snare instead of Counterbalance
    I made a typo. That's supposed to say Counterspell. I fixed it in my post above.

  5. #5

    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    I was about to say something about needing a way to gain life in deck with a hard to remove life sink like Tutelage, then I remembered Thopter/Sword gains you life when you make tokens.

    I think I'd want a Crucible in that somewhere, boarded at least if not main. Gargoyle Castle/Crucible/Wasteland could be a nice tertiary trick that wouldn't take up a lot of slots.

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    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    With Crystal Ball this might even be good in a black stax shell. There. I said it. Somebody had to. It's priced correctly and fills a sorely needed vacancy in the deck.

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    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    I dunno, I have often had to kill my own bob when I am low on life... It seems a lot harder to get rid of Dark Tutelage if you need too... Topping and sees a lot of high cmcs with out a fetch is a scary thing

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    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    Quote Originally Posted by Infinitium View Post
    With Crystal Ball this might even be good in a black stax shell. There. I said it. Somebody had to. It's priced correctly and fills a sorely needed vacancy in the deck.
    Stax kills slowly and the average cmc of its spells is unusually high for the format (which is why it needs to run Tomb and City of Traitors). Put those things together and I'm pretty sure Dark Tutelage will kill the Stax player far more often than the opposite.

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    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    True, but it's also pining desperately for some sort of easily castable card advantage, runs 32+ CMC0 cards, gets a 3cc scrying machine come M11 and already has the off switch in place what with its namesake. Granted there has been a fuckload of previous speculations that ultimately goes nowhere pertaining stax cards, but unlike most of them this one actually fillls a niche the archetype needs. I'm going to give it a swirl before joining the naysayers on this one.

    Somewhat sceptic regarding this in a control shell though, as most control decks running black > white does so for Pernicious Deed. Just saying.

  10. #10

    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    Quote Originally Posted by SomeRandomDude View Post
    I dunno, I have often had to kill my own bob when I am low on life... It seems a lot harder to get rid of Dark Tutelage if you need too... Topping and sees a lot of high cmcs with out a fetch is a scary thing
    Uhm, flip Top? ;)

    @ thread: this is exactly what I thought of when seeing this spoiled, too. The one thing the Enlightened-Thopter shell was missing was some form of good, tutorable carddraw that could recoup the cards lost through tutoring (in the control-matchups). This is incredible for that shell.
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    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    That's exactly what I thought as soon as I saw this card: add it as a 1 of to my Thopter Deck! Not sure that 2 will be needed, but I'll surely add 1 and see how testing goes.
    I think that this card has potential. Great news!!
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  12. #12
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    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    You know, I was just thinking about this, but this thing seems rediculous for Tendrils Storm Combo. Many Tendrils sideboards have Dark Confidant, and the reason he's sideboarded is because he comes in games 2 and 3 after the opponent's board out their creature removal. With Dark Tutelage, the deck no longer has to worry about opposing creature removal, and getting 2B in Tendrils Storm is not very difficult, I would think. Turn 1 Swamp, Lotus Petal, Dark Ritual, Dark Tutelage sounds awesome for that deck.

    Could this maybe replace Mystical Tutor in a new Tendrils Storm Combo deck, using a similar shell as Ad Nauseam did (low cc), but running 4 of these, Top's (in builds that weren't running them), and X Ad Nauseam(s)?
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    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    @Tendrils: Yes I think it could very much belong. However, I think that AdN will become bigger liability when cast 4cmc=3, 1cmc=4 + (Optional?: DD+ Wipeway/Grip+Igg+2nd. AdN). I could see it going to more of a TES, or Doomsday/Iggy way where even if you need to cast 2 tendrils to win, the first buys you enough time and you can restock your hand.

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    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    My line of thinking was, with 4 Sensei's Top's, you probably aren't taking that much damage from this thing if you toss it into an ANT shell, which was taking very little without Top's manipulation because of its inherent deck design. Plus, of course, Brainstorm and such, too.

    The deck could still be structured to race aggro, with the Dark Tutelage engine giving it a way to beat CounterTop. I mean, if you get to draw 2 cards a turn with ANT, you can easily try combo'ing off multiple times. Ad Nauseam can be cast right through CounterTop (5cc), and they can't keep spinning Top to counter 0cc, then 1cc, then 0cc, etc etc. after you resolve Ad Nauseam.

    I dunno, I could be way off. This is just an idea that had popped into my head out of nowhere.
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  15. #15

    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    If that was a good plan, people would have been playing Phyrexian Arena already; the only advantage this has over arena is the single black casting cost, which is not a problem at all for tendrils decks.

    Bob can come down turn one much more easily; with a 3 cmc, you either need Dark Ritual or have to blow two pieces of accel to drop Arena/this. Bob also beats for two; left unchecked for a few turns he makes it possible to go off without an engine, which is very strong against the decks you bring him in against. Finally, Bob can chump something to buy you another turn. Arena isn't on the same power level.

  16. #16

    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    I guess the problem with running it in storm is that Phyrexian Arena would actually be better in these decks (as the double black in its casting cost shouldn't make much of a difference), and that hasn't worked out so far. I actually tested Arena as a SB card for ANT before, but costing 3 instead of 2 (Bob) was a big turnoff. Therefore I don't think simply putting it into an existing shell will provide very good results. Maybe the possibility of running 8 arena-style cards changes things, though, because you can pretty much rely on finding one now. Could be the base of a new combo-control deck, which would be hot.

    edit: Damn, theintangiblefatman beat me to it. That's what I get for not refreshing before posting, I guess.
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    Re: [SCD] Dark Tutelage

    Ok, I'll accept that it was a bad idea.
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