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Thread: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

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    [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo




    Ad Nauseam Tendrils
    Last updated 02/11/2018

    NOTE: The old ANT thread can be found here.


    Table of Contents
    • I. What is the deck?
    • II. What does the deck look like?
    • III. How do I play the deck?
    • IV. What do the cards do?
    • V. What do my matchups look like?
    • VI. FAQs
    • VII. Useful Links

    I. What is the deck?

    Ad Nauseam Tendrils is a combo deck that focuses on leveraging the storm mechanic to cast a game-winning Tendrils of Agony. This is made possible by the combination of powerful ritual effects, excellent tutors, powerful Storm-generating engines, and a discard suite for protection, all of which will be discussed in upcoming sections. This deck is strong and consistent, and has been placing in big tournaments for years. If you want a strong combo deck that has a long history of success, this is the deck for you.


    II. What does the deck look like?

    Here is a sample build of the deck and a great starting point for new players. To keep up with the latest played builds and newest tech, check this link.

    4 Lion's Eye Diamond
    4 Lotus Petal
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Cabal Ritual
    4 Dark Ritual
    1 Rain of Filth
    1 Ad Nauseam
    4 Misty Rainforest
    4 Polluted Delta
    2 Underground Sea
    1 Volcanic Island
    1 Swamp
    2 Island
    3 Duress
    3 Cabal Therapy
    4 Gitaxian Probe
    4 Ponder
    2 Preordain
    4 Infernal Tutor
    1 Dark Petition
    1 Past in Flames
    1 Empty the Warrens
    1 Tendrils of Agony

    3 Chrome Mox
    2 Chain of Vapor
    2 Echoing Truth
    2 Hurkyl's Recall
    1 Wipe Away
    2 Fatal Push
    1 Tendrils of Agony
    1 Cabal Therapy
    1 Thoughtseize


    III. How do I play the deck?

    ANT typically wins on turn 3-4, with occasional turn 2 wins and rare turn 1 wins. This means that for the first few turns of the game, you want to be digging for your combo pieces with your cantrips and disrupting your opponent with discard. When you have your pieces and the coast is clear, you will start to cast ritual effects, draw spells, and storm engines until you have amassed adequate storm count to finish them off with Tendrils of Agony. The biggest obstacle to learning storm combo is learning how and when to combo off. Failing to learn this will cause you to keep bad hands, to get hated out by the opponent, to fizzle, or to wait longer than you should. Therefore, outlined below are some simple combo routes to get you started. Be sure to read the Cards section below for more in-depth info on when and how each card should be used. Let it be said, however, that the best way to learn is to watch skilled pilots play the deck, and to goldfish it yourself. Practice, practice, practice!

    Legend

    #StormCount CardName(ManaFloating)(Notes)
    All examples assume player has out 1 Swamp, 1 Island, and 1 Underground Sea
    All examples assume player has 5 cards in grave, with 2 fetches and 3 draw/discard


    Past in Flames Engine

    1 Gitaxian Probe(Opponent has no disruption)
    2 Lion's Eye Diamond
    3 Dark Ritual(BBB)
    4 Cabal Ritual(BBBBBB)(Threshold)
    5 Infernal Tutor -> Crack Lion's Eye Diamond(BBBBRRR)(LED for Red, Tutor for Past in Flames)
    6 Past in Flames(BBB)
    7 Cabal Ritual(BBBBBB)(Flashback)
    8 Dark Ritual(BBBBBBBB)(Flashback)
    9 Infernal Tutor(BBBBBB)(Flashback, Tutor for Tendrils of Agony)
    10 Tendrils of Agony(BB)(20 damage)


    Tutor Chain Engine

    1 Gitaxian Probe(Opponent has castable Force of Will)
    2 Cabal Therapy(Naming Force of Will)
    3 Lion's Eye Diamond
    4 Lion's Eye Diamond
    5 Dark Ritual(BBB)
    6 Cabal Ritual(BBBBBB)
    7 Infernal Tutor -> Crack both Lion's Eye Diamond(BBBBBBBBBB)(LEDs for Black, Tutor for another Tutor)
    8 Infernal Tutor(BBBBBBBB)(Tutor for another Tutor)
    9 Infernal Tutor(BBBBBB)(Tutor for Tendrils of Agony)
    10 Tendrils of Agony(BB)(20 damage)


    IV. What do the cards do?


    Cantrips
    • Brainstorm, run 4 - Instant speed cantrip with many uses. Cast in response to discard to hide away valuable cards. Cast in coordination with shuffle/scry effects from Fetches, Tutors, and (worst-case scenario) other cantrips to sculpt a new hand. This card has many uses, and one defining element of a good Legacy player is proper use of the card. Casting Brainstorm without any of its enablers is not getting full value of it, and should only be done in a pinch or if the extra power is not necessary.
    • Gitaxian Probe, run 4 - 0 mana cantrip which gives us information on the opponent's hand. Useful for determining when it is safe to combo and also allows us to get more value out of Cabal Therapy.
    • Ponder, run 4 - A strong cantrip which, much like Brainstorm, becomes much stronger in coordination with shuffle effects which allow you to take however many of the 3 you wish and shuffle away the rest. Don't be afraid to shuffle if the cards are not exactly what you need.
    • Preordain, run 0-2 - Our weakest cantrip. Can be used to be rid of leftover cards from Brainstorm/Ponder in a pinch. Generally the first card to cut when sideboarding or trying new tech.

    Discard
    • Cabal Therapy, run 3-4 - Very strong discard which demands knowledge of opponent's deck to use properly. If you are not confident naming something blindly, don't be afraid to save it until you can Duress or Probe your opponent to make an informed decision. With appropriate preparation, this card gets rid of everything that threatens us. See FAQ section below for more information on what to name.
    • Duress, run 2-4 - Great against combo and control, useless against creature decks. Very effective way to get rid of key enemy cards easily without threatening our life total like Thoughtseize does, and easily sided out in creature-based matchups like D&T. You generally want 6 discard, so balance the numbers on this out with your Cabal Therapy.
    • Thoughtseize, run 0-1 - Useful in that it gets rid of everything that is threatening to us, but the life cost is relevant. If you main Ad Nauseam, you should not main this card. Otherwise, 1 is worth considering.

    Mana Acceleration
    • Lotus Petal, run 4 - Free storm, free mana, good card.
    • Lion's Eye Diamond, run 4 - Free Storm and mana if you use it right. Obviously you can't go casting cards in your hand with LED, but there are some tricks of the trade. Note, however, that as of 2010 I believe you can't carry mana over from the upkeep to the draw step. So, if you're reading info from before then, don't be tempted by those shenanigans. So, to make the most out of this, keep the following tricks in mind. For one, this card works extremely well with Infernal Tutor. Most of the time you crack a LED, it will be for that interaction. This is sometimes a source of confusion, so pay attention. You cast LED and pass priority (assume it resolves). Then, you cast Infernal Tutor and crack LED in response without asking your opponent "k?". If you ask for a response to IT before cracking LED, they can just say "k" and suddenly you can't crack LED anymore until IT does its thing. Other benefits of doing the above listed procedure is that it makes your LED safe from Instant-speed permanent removal. Your opponent never has priority while LED is a permanent, so cards like Abrupt Decay are useless. If you have Past in Flames in hand or in the bin, this card can help you cast it easily. When you cast Ad Nauseam with these out, think about your goals. If you have enough mana floating to reasonably win the game with the cards you draw, keep your LEDs in case you get lots of lands with your Tutors. Otherwise, crack them so you have enough mana to at least set yourself up with an awesome hand and a clear field for next turn. Also, these empower your Cabal Rituals. Cast Tutor, respond with CRit, then crack LED to reach Threshold for tons of mana.
    • Dark Ritual, run 4 - 1 mana for 3 mana. Instant speed is relevant, can be used in response to taxing counters like Spell Pierce to pay for them.
    • Cabal Ritual, run 4 - Again, don't forget this card is an Instant. You can cast it in response to taxing counters to surprise your opponent. Before threshold this card is meh, but given the nature of this deck, we are likely to reach Threshold by the time we cast this card. After Threshold, this card provides massive mana acceleration.
    • Rain of Filth, run 0-1 - Essentially another ritual with the drawback of losing your lands. On the victory turn this is free mana and Threshold count, but if you do not win losing land is a major setback. Use with caution.

    Business
    • Ad Nauseam, run 0-1 - Ah, the namesake of the deck. Do keep in mind, however, that this card is not your primary or even your secondary route to victory (those are Tutor Chaining and PiF "loops", respectively). You use this if you need to pull a win out of nowhere, which it can and will do for you, or if you only need a couple cards and know this will get them for you. Never get too greedy with this card. Don't go down to 3 if the opponent has a Mountain untapped. Don't take any more cards once you hit 4 life unless you must. Just be wary of what your opponent can do to you when you cast this. Also, don't forget it's an Instant, meaning that you can cast it EoT on your opponent's turn to set up your combo turn, or in response to something that your opponent casts that would otherwise screw you over.
    • Infernal Tutor, run 4 - Interacts nicely with Lion's Eye Diamond to reach Hellbent. See the combo routes in the above section to see what to fetch and what to crack LED for. Remember, this card can fail to find things if you use its first ability, which is helpful if you have a hand with 2 Tutors and not enough mana for a full chain. You can use this early to fetch up more acceleration to combo off, if needed. Also, if your opponent hits you with discard, this is what they usually will (and should) get first. For the love of all that is holy, don't let this get Surgical Extraction'd. Use Brainstorm to protect this card, as it is extremely valuable.
    • Past in Flames, run 1-2 - Fabulous card. This makes comboing out much easier. See the above combo routes section for more info on how to use this card. Beware, of course, that this card means that opposing grave hate actually becomes relevant, so be ready to play through or around that. Also, when you're Flashbacking everything, keep in mind to cast Cabal Ritual again while you still have Threshold, and to use your tutors before you Flashback cantrips.
    • Dark Petition, run 0-2 - Expensive 5 mana cost up-front, but upon resolution is only a net loss of 2 mana for any card in your deck. Devastating if this card is countered or if your grave is nuked, but if you can afford the mana cost and fulfill the Spell Mastery condition, this is more effective than your other tutors.
    • Tendrils of Agony, run 1-3 - Our wincon, and the ugliest card in our deck (unless you have the FNM promo version, of course). When casting this card, keep in mind how the opponent can interact with it. Countermagic will only counter one of the many copies of this card, but that also means that you need more Storm to kill them. Also, the opponent can do tricky things like Swords to Plowshares-ing their own dudes. Be vigilant and prepared. Also, while this card is pretty resilient to countermagic, it is still vulnerable to the likes of Flusterstorm and Mindbreak Trap, so be sure to get rid of that stuff. Also, do not forget, the Storm trigger can be Stifle'd. Grinding Station lists run more than one, otherwise run a singleton.

    Common Sideboard Options
    • Ad Nauseam - Decks which do not run this card main should include it in the side to give the deck more speed against matchups where that is needed.
    • Extirpate, Surgical Extraction - In coordination with discard, this card is absolutely devastating, particularly against combo decks. Extirpate is more effective against control and counters, but is more restrictive. Surgical Extraction is much more flexible, but is easier to deal with. Consider running 1-2 in combo (particularly Show & Tell) or control heavy metas.
    • Xantid Swarm - A resolved Swarm is backbreaking against counter-heavy decks without removal. It also serves as a body to Flashback Cabal Therapy. Against any blue meta, you should always have 2 of these.
    • Carpet of Flowers - Another anti-blue card which shines in Delver matchups. Provides lots of mana in both main phases to power through their taxing counters while avoiding their removal. If you're meta is Delver heavy, consider 2-3 of these.
    • Abrupt Decay - Kills most hatebears and artifacts, and simply gets rid of problem permanents. Incredibly useful, and completely changes several matchups for the better.
    • Chain of Vapor - Compared to Abrupt Decay, this is cheaper, on color, and hits more things, like Leyline of Sanctity, at the cost of being counterable. Bouncing instead of destruction usually isn't a problem, as you'll tend to cast this when your opponent will not be receiving another turn to recast their beloved permanent. Also, you can be tricky with this. Bounce your own free Artifacts, sac your tapped lands, and then get your opponent's stuff. This provides you with more free storm and potential artifact protection. Don't forget this is an instant, you can cast this EoT before combo turn or in response to lethal. You should always have 2-3 of these.
    • Empty the Warrens - This is your alternate win-con. This is where the sideboarding metagame really comes into play. On the one hand, much of the hate for Tendrils is blanked by this card (e.g. Leyline of Sanctity), and you can go off both earlier and with lower Storm counts (12-14 goblins is usually adequate), but on the other hand, these tokens will die if you breathe on them too hard, and Batterskull will ruin your day. Typically, though, your average opponent won't go creature hate on you, so this is a useful thing to throw into your deck post-board to deal with the hate you anticipate for your opponent to bring in. Furthermore, this allows you full value from your Therapies, so that will help keep you safe. If you don't have one in your main, you should have one in your side.
    • Tendrils of Agony - An extra Tendrils is included in some sideboards to add even more resilience to the deck and to improve the control matchup and matchups with discard and grave hate (minus Extirpate and Surgical Extraction). Consider running 1 against slow, grindy metas.


    V. What do my matchups look like?


    Caleb Scherer has kept up an amazing blog in which he has detailed his list modifications, matchup notes, and sideboard strategies, which can be found here. I would highly encourage you visit it and take a look!


    VI. FAQs


    Why do we play Ad Nauseam with so many high CMC cards?

    Dark Petition is a common 2-of in many lists these days, which certainly appears to be a non-bo with Ad Nauseam. Before I go any further, I need to make it clear that yes, there will be games where you flip 2 Petitions and just die. I also need to point out, however, that the risk has proven to be worth it. Dark Petition is a very powerful tutor. If you can put together the mana to cast it after Ad Nauseam, you are very likely to find a route to victory, whereas its counterpart Infernal Tutor almost requires LED to perform the same function. Therefore, while Petition will zap you for more, it will also on average allow you to get away with smaller, aka less risky, Ad Nauseam piles.


    What do I name with Cabal Therapy against an unknown opponent?

    A lot of the decision making with Cabal Therapy comes from knowing what your opponent is playing. However, sometimes you just don't know, and in those situations using your Therapies properly can be tricky. In many cases, it is advisable to hold on to discard until you are ready to go off against an unknown deck. That said, there are also cases where you might be encouraged to use them early, for instance hands with multiple Therapies or which will not have the ability to cast discard on the combo turn. In these situations it can be advisable to just play the numbers game and name some of the most common cards in Legacy: Force of Will and Brainstorm. If I have multiple discard in hand, I like to name Brainstorm, as it leaves the opponent with less of an ability to sculpt their hand and play around future discards. If I'm casting it early because of mana restraints in a turn 1 Therapy turn 2 combo situation, I'll name Force of Will. Again though, try to remember that if you can wait to cast the card against an unknown opponent, you probably should so you can get a better idea of what to name.


    VII. Useful Links
    Last edited by bjholmes3; 02-11-2018 at 01:21 PM. Reason: Another update right quick

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    Re: ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Great job on the new thread - much more befitting such an established and popular deck.

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    Re: ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Thank you, I think that having a "what to sideboard out" guide would be appreciated as well. I would love to hear what people like to side out in specific matchups since it hasn't been a problem to bring stuff in, but take stuff out.

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    Re: ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    I think you overrate the Elves matchup. Elves is about as fast as ANT, IMO - the difference G1 is that in ANT that fundamental turn includes discard, in Elves it doesn't. G1 is obviously horrible as a result. G2/G3 depends a lot on who wins the die roll, obviously, and on what Elves can bring in. Mindbreak Trap is a bad card against a smart ANT player IMO, which is why many people run Thorns/Thalia. The fundamental turn can increase a lot with Ruric Thar - T2 NO isn't usually done G1 because the Hoof isn't lethal, but Ruric is vs. Storm. Furthermore, Gaddock Teeg is a possibility, turning GSZ=2 into something nasty. The typical MO is boarding out Symbiotes and Visionaries, basically turning into a prison-combo deck. You pull enough fast kills and highly disruptive hands with that that the postboard matchup is pretty even, IMHO. Still overall in your favour.
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    Yeah, an insanely powerful block which put the "derp!" factor in Legacy completely over the top.

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    Re: ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Missing informations:
    - Dark Confidant and Cabal Therapy interaction
    - Grim Tutor over Burning Wish in Past in Flames perspective

    MU / SB in Mirror

    I agree that Elves are very favorable only G1, G2/G3 is much harder.

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    Re: ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Updated card sections on Burning Wish, Grim Tutor, Empty the Warrens, and Bob. Also, reworded the Elves! matchup to make it seem less exaggerated. :)

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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Also Wirewood Symbiote is poor against Storm and usually 2-3 get sided out as a result. Creature-wise, what you're afraid of are mana dorks and Quirion Ranger, and to some extent Heritage Druid, because those are what enable T2 NO =>win.
    Quote Originally Posted by Lemnear
    (On Innistrad)
    Yeah, an insanely powerful block which put the "derp!" factor in Legacy completely over the top.

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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    btw. Where is the old thread? Should be a link in the OP...

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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Link to the archived thread can be found here.
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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    I made a video to expand on the How to Play section. Is it helpful?

    http://youtu.be/F9o7oj03xIo

    Side note: I uploaded the wrong video, lol, where I cut the last few minutes. Only up to 9:55 is good. Really, though, I just want to know if the idea of the video is good or not, so I can make a better one.

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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Quote Originally Posted by bjholmes3 View Post
    I made a video to expand on the How to Play section. Is it helpful?

    http://youtu.be/F9o7oj03xIo

    Side note: I uploaded the wrong video, lol, where I cut the last few minutes. Only up to 9:55 is good. Really, though, I just want to know if the idea of the video is good or not, so I can make a better one.
    Haven't watched more than the one game, but why didn't you just win at 1:30 after you Pondered into the Probe/Tutor? You had the win and passing the turn is much worse there.

    Edit: Watched game 2. I also don't understand why you didn't take Probe off Ponder (keeping PiF as next card) and cast it and just win on turn 2 instead of passing turn for no reason.

    lawlz @ the ragequit punt game 4…

    So I'm being tough on you… But yes, videos would be cool if done well. Don't rush through them like LSV and make a bunch of mistakes. It is OK to take your time and talk through each little play.

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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Good job at cleaning the thread a bit.

    Will keep a bit of activity to assist with information as well when I've got some free time

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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Quote Originally Posted by Patrunkenphat7 View Post
    Haven't watched more than the one game, but why didn't you just win at 1:30 after you Pondered into the Probe/Tutor? You had the win and passing the turn is much worse there.

    Edit: Watched game 2. I also don't understand why you didn't take Probe off Ponder (keeping PiF as next card) and cast it and just win on turn 2 instead of passing turn for no reason.

    lawlz @ the ragequit punt game 4…

    So I'm being tough on you… But yes, videos would be cool if done well. Don't rush through them like LSV and make a bunch of mistakes. It is OK to take your time and talk through each little play.
    I was a little tilted, lol. I got spammed when I downloaded HyperCam (evidently CNet isn't as good as I thought), and my computer was freaking out before I fixed it. Then, I had to rerecord, like, 10 times, mostly because of mana flood. It was horrible, one I drew land every turn, and every cantrip revealed all lands the whole game. So this is the kind of thing that would be helpful? If so, I can spend more time on it and make it legit.

    Also, uploads to YouTube take FOREVER. I had no idea.

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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    That Tendrils art is so gross. Wow. It looks better on the card.

    Good job on the primer!
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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Made a new video, this one was much better. Make sure to leave feedback. It'll be up in a few hours at this address:

    http://youtu.be/3gc7MgK3vd8

    EDIT: Video is up! Enjoy, I made a small mistake, but I annotated it to fix it up. Also, I made a small change to the op, see if you can find it.
    Last edited by bjholmes3; 12-04-2013 at 01:11 AM.

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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Quote Originally Posted by bjholmes3 View Post
    Made a new video, this one was much better. Make sure to leave feedback. It'll be up in a few hours at this address:

    http://youtu.be/3gc7MgK3vd8

    EDIT: Video is up! Enjoy, I made a small mistake, but I annotated it to fix it up. Also, I made a small change to the op, see if you can find it.
    Lol. Love it. I hope you didn't take down the Tendrils art for little old me.
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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Nice video bjholmes! I like it and I think it will be very usefull for people picking up the deck!

    Some small pointers though:

    1st game second turn
    you had the "kill" in hand before you drew LED with the probe. Maybe you could point out that if he didn't have any countermagic you could AN with a landdrop left to make at this point.
    2nd game second turn
    I think you should have waited with playing the swamp before playing brainstorm. You never know if your going to draw a fetch with the BS
    You also could have comboed out after the BS: putting back infernal + AN. Play petal, ritual, LED. Play ponder resp saccing LED and play AN with one mana floating and a tutor on top.
    (I know AN sucks in this deck and it might be better to wait but it might be usefull to point the possible wins sequences out to newer players)
    2nd game third turn
    when you go off you might want to point out that against a real life opponent you always want to play your LED last (you don't want to lose it to an abrupt decay or sth in response to the dark rit)
    5th game second turn
    It's better to play the preordain before you start the ritual sequence. If by any chance the top 3 cards would be lands or uncastable cards you wouldn't have been able to empty your hand for the inf tutor and would have lost your tutors. This didn't happen ofcourse but still

    Hope some of these comments are usefull.
    And again, great job on all the work!
    EDIT: you pointed out the 2nd game 2nd turn win after the game. My bad!
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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Nice videos, would be nice if you did some while playing against an opponent that has some kind of hate or disruption against you. ;) I would like to start a discussion about what to take out when sideboarding, here's example list with an sideboard:

    Instants [13]

    1 Ad Nauseam
    4 Brainstorm
    4 Cabal Ritual
    4 Dark Ritual

    Sorceries [23]

    1 Past in Flames
    1 Tendrils of Agony
    2 Preordain
    3 Duress
    4 Cabal Therapy
    4 Gitaxian Probe
    4 Infernal Tutor
    4 Ponder


    Artifacts [9]

    1 Sensei's Divining Top
    4 Lion's Eye Diamond
    4 Lotus Petal

    Lands [15]

    1 Bayou
    1 Island
    1 Swamp
    1 Tropical Island
    1 Volcanic Island
    2 Underground Sea
    4 Misty Rainforest
    4 Polluted Delta



    Sideboard:
    3 Xantid Swarm
    3 Abrupt Decay
    2 Chain of Vapor
    3 Dread of Night
    3 Carpet of Flowers
    1 Dark Confidant


    I'll go through my sideboarding and thoughts, I'll use the matches used in the opening post:

    RUG Delver:
    +3 Carpet of Flowers
    -1 SDT
    -1 Preordain
    -1 Gitaxian Probe

    I feel like I might want to side out Ad Nauseam, since I haven't been so impressed with nauseam from low life with this deck. I'm not 100% on the SDT either, but I feel like it just makes the game longer, which is good for the RUG pilot. I'm taking one probe out because I feel like I wouldn't want a multiple of these. I wouldn't want to take Swarms in, even though I would like to. If I would take swarms in, what would you take out?

    Patriot:
    +3 Carpet of Flowers
    (+2 Chain of Vapor)
    +3 Abrupt Decay
    -1 Sensei's Divining Top
    -2 Preordain
    -2 Gitaxian Probe
    -1 Cabal Ritual
    (-2 Gitaxian Probe)

    This gets really tricky, there's so much that I would like to take in, but so little to take out. Feels like I'm diluting my maindeck way too much, but I kind of want to take Carpets in to pay for soft counters. I kind of also want 3-5 responses to answer Meddling Mage or AEthersworn Canonist.

    Blade Control

    +1 Dark Confidant
    -1 Preordain

    I feel like mainboard is pretty well positioned against this deck. If there's no fear of hatebears I'd go with this. If there would be hatebears, I'd bring in decays and/or chains of vapor, taking out probes and preordains.

    Team America

    +1 Dark Confidant
    +3 Carpet of Flowers
    -3 Gitaxian Probe
    -1 Cabal Ritual

    Carpets to pay for the soft counters, confidant to possibly take some card advantage. Probes out instead of preordain because preordain feels like a good card against discard. Cabal Ritual out because taking 3 carpet in.

    Elves

    +2 Chain of Vapor
    +3 Abrupt Decay
    -1 Sensei's Divining Top
    -1 Preordain
    -3 Duress

    Taking in the removal to answer Teeg or ruric thar. Taking out SDT because it's slow, preordain instead of probe because of speed and Duress because it can only take away GSZ or Glimpse.

    Death & Taxes

    +3 Dread of Night
    +3 Abrupt Decay
    +2 Chain of Vapor
    (+1 Dark Confidant)
    -3 Duress
    -4 Gitaxian Probe
    -1 Cabal Ritual
    (-1 Preordain)

    Instead of trying to win fast, I'd aim to play the control role. Trying to either kill their board with single Dread of Night or stick two to the board so all you have to be afraid are Revokers. If I would play a massacre or hurkyl's recall, this is the matchup where I would take them in. Taking Duress and Probes out, because duress is a blank and probes are the weakest card in this matchup in my opinion.

    BUG Control:

    I think that the sideboard doesn't really provide anything that would radically make this matchup better. Xantid Swarms could be added so the opponent would have to waste his FoW or Abrupt Decay on it instead of a LED that has been played to the table to save it. If Swarms come in, Probes go out.

    UWx Miracles:

    +3 Abrupt Decay
    +3 Xantid Swarm
    +1 Dark Confidant
    -1 Swamp
    -1 Island
    -1 Lion's Eye Diamond
    -4 Gitaxian Probe

    Gather up an unbeatable hand and then go off. Taking basics out because this deck doesn't play wasteland and LED because the games tend to go long and you should be able to find enough mana.

    Sneak Attack

    +3 Xantid Swarm
    (+2 Chain of Vapor if expecting LLoS)
    -1 Sensei's Divining Top
    -2 Preordain
    (-2 I have no idea, feels like Probe or basics)

    This is horrible, I have no idea what to do and it's a horrible matchup anyways. :(

    Maverick

    +3 Dread of Night
    +3 Abrupt Decay
    +2 Chain of Vapor
    (+1 Dark Confidant)
    -3 Duress
    -4 Gitaxian Probe
    -1 Cabal Ritual
    (-1 Preordain)

    Same line of thought with playing against Death and Taxes, this time you have to be more afraid of hatebears, but they should play less Revokers!

    Jund

    +1 Dark Confidant
    -1 Gitaxian Probe

    Not much to take in, just taking in Dark Confidant to possibly draw some cards lost to their discard.

    Reanimator

    +3 Xantid Swarm
    (+2 Chain of Vapor)
    -1 Sensei's Divining Top
    -2 Preordain
    (-2 Gitaxian Probe)

    Taking in the swarms (because you can get them countered and then brought back thanks to your lovely opponent!) and possibly Chain of Vapors as a back-up if they stick a fatty into the table. Not so sure about that.

    OmniTell

    +3 Xantid Swarm
    +2 Chain of Vapor
    +1 Dark Confidant
    -1 Sensei's Divining Top
    -2 Preordain
    -3 Gitaxian Probe

    Discard, discard and discard. Vapors in to bounce LLoS or Omniscience/Dream Halls. Xantid Swarm can null all their counterspells, Dark Confidant should draw you more discard. LLoS is scary and should be expected in all three games.




    I would like to hear your thoughts regarding these sideboarding plans, what would you do differently and why? I would like to discuss about siding out wincons (AdN/PiF) and possibly siding out Lion's Eye Diamonds. Siding out LED's feels so hard!

    Thanks in advance, hopefully this will bring up a nice discussion.

  19. #19
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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Why the heck would you ever cut or board out even a single Probe? You know that the card does for your Cabal Rituals, Cabal Therapies and other cantrips in case you see discard in your opponents hand?
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  20. #20
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    Re: [Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

    Quote Originally Posted by Lemnear View Post
    Why the heck would you ever cut or board out even a single Probe? You know that the card does for your Cabal Rituals, Cabal Therapies and other cantrips in case you see discard in your opponents hand?
    Good question, in this deck I just feel like it's a card that can be cut out easily. Other easy cuts are Preordains and the singleton SDT or Cabal Ritual, besides that taking out any of the other cards feels like diluting or taking out too good pieces of your deck. I find Discard hard to cut and the fast mana is very good as well. What would you suggest to take out instead of Gitaxian Probes - Preordains & Lotus Petals or something completely different?

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