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

[Bryant Cook]

http://sales.starcitygames.com//deck...p?DeckID=47078

Can we also Wish for a Reanimate?

OMFG. Awesome. I don't know how realistically good it'll be, it pretty much requires them to use Study and not Entomb. But it may be worth trying.

I'm currently working on a new list, it'll be released later on this week. As the sideboard may be changing if there's a banning or not on Wednesday night.

[Shimi]

Played 2 tournaments this weekend.

Played with DDay UBWr and lost to EsperBlade( messed up with my pile and lost to a 1W -Inst - Landfall - Gain 8 life and a goodly t1 to t5 in game1) , also I got beat until I cry by SneakShow( G1 he T2 on play put an Griselbrand with fow backup, G2 he put T3 Emrakul after playing Pierce, Pierce, Fow and ending with 0 cards in hand).
This was very dissapoint and make me think that, if Sneak and Shows(and Reanimator) are killing us this fast and consistent, them I should go back to TES and kill them fast and make they suffer much more pain with 20 storms, also maindeck duress a + 4 IoK-pos SB should take care of their fast kills with fow backup.

So it takes me to Sunday, when I played with TES and finished in 10th at a 70-man tournament( prizes were for top16, with some FoWs, Blue duals, wastes and a delta), so I got a Polluted Delta to make some cash.

I will be very short but I would like to discuss some aspects.

I played WITHOUT EtW at SB, that's why:
1) With IoK I really don't need to make a bunch of goblins against Maverick, and T2 on draw it can be risk with their noble/ooze/thalias/jitte shitness)
2)I would not go for this route against Reanimator/Sneak or other combo.
3)There is almost no UW/x , and if it is not T1 , they can Stone , Ligering Souls, Batterskull + Souls.Also the match seems good so no need to try to be a belcherdeck.

So I got the 60 standard list( all foil , and missing 2 Fbb German U. Sea) plus this 15 SB:
1 ToA
1 PiF
1 Iggy
1 DR
1 Grapeshot
1 Shattering Spree( I was thinking about cutting this and the 1 Seize for 2 Pyro but a saw some Chalices decks and change my mind)
1 Seize
1 Virtue's Ruin
2 Echoiung Truth(thinking about putting a CoV or a Silent Departure here)
1 CoV
4 IoK

I got beat by Team America(who drew all 4 FoWs , Mana Leak , Pierce, Snare + 2 Seize and Snapcaster at g1 and g2 by 2 fast tarmogoyfs with FoW, Snare , wastes).No news here, it is just a bad matchup.

And by a Nic-Fit player( G1 I just DR , then Iggy to DR again and keep drawing like 3 lands , 2 chants , 1 petal , duress with a bunch of lands/petals in play) and G2 I win before a MB Trap shot my first earlier Adn, G3 I BW-> Seize -> take MB trap after que mulliged to 4 searching it, he plays Sensei's Divining Top , veteran and therapy me twice(hiting just 2 Rites of Flame) while I cantrip twice and play landdrops.He draws and witness for MB Trap, I BS and decide I should go for it next turn, so I play petals(except one(!) because if he draws and blows Deed and can still try to combo a 1 turn late) , mox and pass.I untap an play Ddark Ritual -> Adn, draw a bunch of cards (no LEDs here), duress his MB Trap, but I feel he is still confident so I guess he has another MB Trap hide on his top.I try to play around it, so I storm for 12 and ToA, which get Exiled by his hidden MB Trap, So I'm just left with 6 mana , IT , IoK in hand and ToA still in my deck, ok I'm one mana short of killing him, and the Judge calls for the 5 turns, I'm siting at 6 life, and he has a lone Witness so I'm dead on turn5.I decide to IoK him taking his last card( a SDT) and leaving him only with a SDT on his top, then I IT -> BW and get PiF, since I have 7 initial mana sources on my table(lands and moxes) he I even don't care if he tops into a Hymn(he was playing it) or Therapy he has two outs, play SDT and "blind" flip into a Deed to blow my 2 moxes and pray for me not draing a land/manaspell, or deal with my grave, he sees the SDT and flip ir to draw 1 of 2 Nihil Spellbombs.I just wanted write about this game, it was very exciting and fun, trying to play around a bounch of stuff and make some thought decisions.

The other games were easy or comum games against:
UW Miracle(featuring CB, g2 I beat him besides he having CB on table and 2 fecths + pierce)
Dreadge w/LED( two mulligan-oriented T2/T3 kills)
Affinity
Enchantress( friend who conceded in reponse to the 19 storm)
UB( discards + pierce + Reanimator + Ooze combo w/ FoW pos-SB)

Finished 5-2, got at 10th, because my standing were really bad since I lost at round1(Team America) and r4(Nic-Fit), also got the Affinity player no round3(which was 1-1 because got a bye on round2).

I'm starting to see a decrease in the Maverick numbers and UW , with an increase with Canadian , Reanimator and Sneak Show(also people playing less Snares and more Pierces). I would like to put back some Pyroblast at the SB, killing a T1 delver or countering a Show and Tell would be very good.Also, maybe a reanimate in the SB if Reanimator Griselbrad starts to be a much more common presence? What you guys, think about it? With a lot's of Griselbrands cheat decks( 2 combo pieces) and Canadian storm the life is a little harder for us.

Sorry for some grammar and being more long than I indeeded.

[thefringthing]

Woah. Bryant reacted positively to an idea in the thread. I think I need an adult. It is a pretty cool idea, though!

Bryant: Will your new list be available before this weekend? I'd be interested in seeing it before SCG Detroit.

[TerribleTim68]

... Opponents had everything they could possibly have virtually 100% of the time while I drew garbage and flipped garbage to Ad Nauseam all day. Pretty frustrating.

I've been there dude, I feel your pain. I ran this deck a few weeks back and literaly lost EVERY SINGLE GAME. Some times, it just isn't your day.

[Tammit67]

I've been there dude, I feel your pain. I ran this deck a few weeks back and literaly lost EVERY SINGLE GAME. Some times, it just isn't your day.

And some days you face staxx/hatebear.dec and turn 1 them twice.

[Final Fortune]

http://sales.starcitygames.com//deck...p?DeckID=47078

Can we also Wish for a Reanimate?

Why not just go for Bribery?

[AriLax]

[Reanimate] pretty much requires them to use Study and not Entomb. But it may be worth trying.

Usually if they Entomb EOT you are trying to Silence them on upkeep. Just makes "going off" the next turn easier in that case.

As for the person who suggested Bribery, if I can Wish with five up they should die anyways. Reanimate actually allows for "comboing" in new scenarios.

[Bryant Cook]

This is just something I'm fooling around with, nothing is set in stone. Watching Eli and the rest of the Sneak and Show guys at the invitational made me really realize the power of probe. While the list below only plays two, I've considered adding a third over the forth Chrome Mox. The only problem with this is that it makes Ad Nauseam weaker. Speaking of which, there's only one Ad Nauseam now. It's just something I'm trying, two has been perfectly fine, but I want to shake things up. With only one Ad Nauseam the deck should be able to get away with three moxen, but the life loss from Probe can be a hindrance. So... two or three probe, I haven't decided yet. The other slot in the maindeck was the Inquisition, with less and less Maverick it's not necessary in the main.

I was wrong about Probe, perfect information that doesn't slow down the combo is amazing.

The EPIC Storm
Decklist as of 06/20/2012

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 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Burning Wish
4 Infernal Tutor
3 Duress
2 Orim’s Chant
2 Silence
2 Gitaxian Probe
1 Ad Nauseam
1 Tendrils of Agony

3 Inquisition of Kozilek
2 Xantid Swarm
2 Echoing Truth
2 Deathmark
1 Shattering Spree
1 Grapeshot
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Diminishing Returns
1 Past in Flames


Honestly, I'm a crazy person. Part of me wants to keep two Probe just because the numbers on the decklist look better that way. But I know I need to do what's optimal. I need to test a bit more before I come to a final conclusion. You'll notice that there's also some changes in the sideboard. Well, Xantid Swarm to start. It's back! With the rise of Sneak and Show along with Reanimator, I believe it's time to bring our bug friend back in the sideboard as well. Three Inquisition, while Maverick may be dying out, I still dislike being cold to Thalia (She's a hooker). There's really no room for a sideboard Duress, if you feel confident going 2/1, go ahead.

The lack of Ill-Gotten Gains, I don't cast this card very often. It's really only good against super aggressive decks such as Zoo or Burn. Instead of using Gains, try to buy some time and Past in Flames instead.

No Reanimate, it's only good with Study. Chanting them in the upkeep is too much work. In order for this to happen they have to entomb, not have counters, pass, then Burning Wish for Reanimate and cast. Seems like a lot of, "What ifs". I'm just going to cover them in bugs instead.

[SaberTooth]

in my opinion 3 probes looks a lot better than 2, but i'll give it a try

[thefringthing]

I'll try it out before the SCG Open this weekend. I really like Ill-Gotten Gains, so I'm a bit sad to see it go, but I certainly willing to give it a shot.

[JamieW89]

Team Nijmegen played 3 Mox, 1 AdN, 4 Probes, 1 Empty, 3 Wish, 0 ToA at GP Amsterdam last year and did pretty decent with 3 people making day-2.

With the misdirections and leylines around I'd probably run 4 Silence before the first Chant.

And I've also considered Swarms (but then in ANT) as a decent answer to SnT/Reanimate. Green in general seems solid in this metagame with Carpet for RUG, Swarm for SnT/Reanimate en 1-2 Grips for Miracle Counterbalance.

[Bloodcookie]

Since you're running Probes now, have you considered Cabal Therapy as well? I'm actually running it as a one-of without any Probes, and am never really unhappy to see it.

[Bryant Cook]

Team Nijmegen played 3 Mox, 1 AdN, 4 Probes, 1 Empty, 3 Wish, 0 ToA at GP Amsterdam last year and did pretty decent with 3 people making day-2.

With the misdirections and leylines around I'd probably run 4 Silence before the first Chant.

And I've also considered Swarms (but then in ANT) as a decent answer to SnT/Reanimate. Green in general seems solid in this metagame with Carpet for RUG, Swarm for SnT/Reanimate en 1-2 Grips for Miracle Counterbalance.

I've thought about 4 Silence. I'm just not sure if it's the best option, countering a Silence and Surgical'ing it would pretty much mean game over against RUG. They do board in Surgical too. Having all four Chants being the same name worries me, if people can convince me otherwise I'll switch.

The kicker on Chant is relevant too, I beat Goblins last month in the top 8 off of a terrible Nauseam only because I got to Chant with Kicker two turns in a row until I could recover. I know this isn't exactly common, but these situations do happen. I've yet to have a Chant sent back at me but I do know that it's a possibility.

I have no desire to play either Carpet or Grip.

Since you're running Probes now, have you considered Cabal Therapy as well? I'm actually running it as a one-of without any Probes, and am never really unhappy to see it.

Two Probe isn't worth running Therapy. Even if I ran four I don't think I would, Duress/Inquisition is better in most circumstances and doesn't need support.

[KevinTrudeau]

New list looks pretty bad, mostly due to the abandonment of IGG. I could see myself being wrong about Probe (haven't really ever been a big fan of it in this deck), but there's no good reason at all to cut IGG. Absolutely none. Xantid Swarm on the other hand looks like it could be good (again).

[Bryant Cook]

Looks pretty bad, mostly due to the abandonment of IGG.

It's a sacred cow at this point. When was the last time you actually used the card? It's just not that good at the moment, if the metagame shifted toward faster aggro decks I could see it re-added to the sideboard. But for now, it's chopped.

[KevinTrudeau]

When was the last time you actually used the card?

All the time, and I'm not just saying that (though, to be fair, I never actually cast the card at the GP). Turn one IT (due to Mox usually) for another LED with BW in hand vs. fair decks is a fairly common line, and that's just one line.

Also, out of curiosity and to try to get into your thought process a bit, what specific lines of play/game states won Probe over with you?

[Bryant Cook]

Eli Kassis, James Higgenbottom, and Nick Patnode were all on the card for Sneak and the fact it didn't cost mana often made them a turn faster with plenty of turn twos since they didn't need to be worried about protection. It really opened up my eyes.

Probe -> See no Force
Tomb, Petal, Show and Tell happened a couple of times. It was nuts.

[KevinTrudeau]

I do remember Matthias Hunt playing and speaking highly of it in Spiral Tide at the first monthly tournament at the local store after the GP, and there is a weekly tomorrow, so I might just have to try it (and Swarm and possibly Therapy if I'm feeling super experimental) out. It's obviously great in DDFT, so I could definitely be wrong; it might actually just warrant a place in pretty much every combo deck. Still definitely playing IGG though.

[thefringthing]

A lot of Ill-Gotten Gains kills can become Diminishing Returns kills or Ad Nauseam kills without requiring additional resources, but these options involve some chance of bricking.

[Bryant Cook]

I do remember Matthias Hunt playing and speaking highly of it in Spiral Tide at the first monthly tournament at the local store after the GP, and there is a weekly tomorrow, so I might just have to try it (and Swarm and possibly Therapy if I'm feeling super experimental) out. It's obviously great in DDFT, so I could definitely be wrong; it might actually just warrant a place in pretty much every combo deck. Still definitely playing IGG though.

You'll find Probe to be good, not fantastic, but good. Swarm to be just as good as you remember in those match-ups and Therapy to be terrible in a deck with so few reveal effects and no way to flash it back.