[Deck] ANC (Ad Nauseam Conflagrate)

[Mr. Safety]

1) Turn 4 is ideal and achievable in a large number of games. Outside of storm and splinter twin this is the only deck that really threatens a consistent turn 4 win.

2)The deck is consistent to the point that mulligans only come when you don't start with a combo piece in hand. As I said in answer #1 only a few other decks threaten a definate turn 4 win. Waiting a turn while using turn 4 to Teachings into your other combo piece is fine. It has placed well in a few big tournaments, most notably Jared Boettcher at PT Born of the Gods. I think he took 9th, and considering he played through two days of grinding matchups thats really something.

3) Thoughtseize decks like Rock, Jund, and B/W tokens are about the worst matchup. UWR control isn't a walk in the park but it's winnable. Blood Moon can sometimes push you off the colors you need but early Pentad Prisms and Lotus Bloom can usually help you grind through. Infect is almost auto-lose but I haven't seen infect in a long time. Leyline of Sanctity is really important for the thoughtseize decks and including 2-3 slots for low level wipers is smart. My particular card of choice is Pyroclasm but Drown in Filth has been used recently because it adds a touch of manipulation. I have found the faster Pyroclasm to be slightly better, especially against infect and early pod dorks.

4) Anything aggro based, such as affinity, zoo, merfolk, and RDW. They aren't as fast, with the exception of the nut draw from affinity.

5) On the combo turn Pact of Negation is really good. I personally play between 6-7 protections for the combo. I currently play 2x Pact of Negation, 1x Slaughter Pact, 1x Silence, and 3x Duress. I feel that its a good take-away from legacy, slowing you down a turn but giving you the tools you need to grind through. Blue-based control isn't easy to win against, but don't be afraid of the matchup. Its definately winnable. Some folks have tinkered with Defense Grid in the sideboard, but it is hard to fit in considering the other pieces of sideboard tech you need.

6) This is about the only deck in modern that can truly take advantage of Lotus Bloom. I wouldn't cut it *ever*. In my experience its absolutely crucial to making sure your turn 4 combo potential is as high as possible. Even if it makes more mana than you need because you have drawn into Pentad Prism it can STILL do work by working around Mana Leak.

I am by no means perfect with the deck, but that is my experience.

[Valtrix]

Thanks for the response. What is "a large number of games" that it goes off on turn 4? But the more important question is, how important was it that you went off in turn 4 of that particular game? For example, say you could have two decks:

Deck 1: Wins on turn 4 25% of the time, turn 5 50% of the time, turn 6 25% of the time.
Deck 2: Wins on turn 4 0% of the time, turn 5 100% of the time.

Which would be better? It's obviously a simplification of the problem, but it should illustrate the potential issue I'm trying to understand.

As for protection, did anybody experiment with Tolaria West? It's a bit slow, but your opponents can't interact with it. You can grab a pact of negation to go off earlier or a Boseiju to fight through multiple counterspells. It can also serve as a slaughter pact for the matches you really need it. I've been goldfishing a version with it and (in a vacuum) it's been fairly nice for consistency.

[Mr. Safety]

Generally teachings is better. When you pass a turn without casting a spell it can signal an open window for opponents to establish a board or threaten an eot peer or teachings. Even if you don't have it they will often play around it, buying you precious time. Tolaria must be used during your turn, giving opponents clearly a chance to make better decisions. The ability of this deck to combo at instant speed is really important.

As a land, tolaria west sucks, just a tapped island. The scry lands have proven their usefulness by providing dig. Tolaria needs to be seen as a spell, not a land. As a spell it is less powerful than teachings or even thirst for knowledge really.