Right, I did not vote for Gitaxian Probe. I expected some degree of surprise that no one voted for Gitaxian Probe as I cast a vote for Preordain.
Managed to get myself into the finals of MKM Trial again, but this time, already having a bye for myself, me and my opponent decided to split - he gets a bye and I get evey other prize that LGS offered for both 1st and 2nd place. Deck felt great - just like previously. Definitely did not miss the Empty the Warrens in maindeck. Naturally drawing PiF won me 2 games, so having two of them in the maindeck definitely worked out.
My initial thoughts:
[1]. Dark Petition was very useful once again. After my tutors were exiled by Surgical Extraction, revealing Dark Petition with Ad Nauseam was not that painful (though it's worth to mention that I also revealed five 0-mana spells) and in the end resulted in a win.
[2]. Discard split of 3/3 is really good, especially backed up by double PiF main. Did not feel like I would change it anywhere in the future.
[3]. Sudden Shock in the sideboard is amazing. Killed multiple Deathrite Shamans and Glistener Elves throughout the entire event.
[4]. Abrupt Decay was not stellar. I sided it in 2 times and never used it / rather wanted to draw Sudden Shock.
[5]. Xantid Swarm basically was a 7th discard spell that is also useful when played before the combo turn. Everytime I played it against BUG Midrange it was instantly countered. Would think about cutting green already, but Xantid is just too good for my local meta and I think it will perform well in the MKM main event.
My matchups were: Turbo Depths | Infect | BUG Midrange | Elves | Mono R Painter.
What is your 75 Fureeish?
It was posted 2 pages ago, but it won't hurt anybody if I post the list again, right? Here it goes:
4 Dark Ritual
4 Cabal Ritual
1 Rain of Filth
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Gitaxian Probe
1 Preordain
3 Duress
3 Cabal Therapy
4 Infernal Tutor
2 Past in Flames
1 Dark Petition
1 Ad Nauseam
1 Tendrils of Agony
4 Polluted Delta
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Underground Sea
1 Badlands
1 Volcanic Island
1 Tropical Island
1 Swamp
1 Island
Backed up with those 15 sideboard choices:
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Sudden Shock
2 Flusterstorm
2 Chain of Vapor
1 Xantid Swarm
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Tendrils of Agony
As you can see, this list is pretty much the same what Rodrigo played some time ago. I have been experimenting with some particular slots and choices but the deck always kept coming back to its 'original' state. The only card I am not sure about is the presence of Empty the Warrens. I know that this card sometimes is amazing, but I have not faced a matchup where I would like to bring it in. Not a lot of Eldrazi in my area, and what's more, my meta is heavily focused on board mass-removal, so cards like Toxic Deluge, Engineered Explosives and even Pernicious Deed are omnipresent here. It might be the correct card to bring in to bigger event though - I'm not quite sure here. How is everybody's impression on Empty? How often you wish it was in/out the deck? Basically this is the only slot that gives me headaches when trying to analyse its pros and cons given certain matchup both of opponent being familiar with the Goblins plan
I don't think I'd ever play a 75 without Empty. I'm not convinced I'll want it main unless Ad Nauseam is moving to the side. I'm torn on whether or not I actually like it, at least in the same way I like most other cards in the deck. I feels like it tends to be a necessary evil. It can win games early that Tendrils may have been locked out against. It also occasionally leads to blow-outs when my opponent top-decks a sweeper. I love it against DnT and Delver. In fact it's great against stoneforge in general, I tend to think, as well as fair bug decks. So long as they don't have a sweeper in hand, it's worth the gamble. You'll get there more often than they'll have the sweeper (plus sometimes you can just take it)Originally Posted by Fureeish
Having had a think, I guess it's the fact that it's a higher variance card that bugs me more than anything else. I love ANT for the low variance factor
I personally love Empty very much, possibly to an unreasonable degree: possibly, indeed, to an unwarranted degree. I just love swinging with a horde of Goblins.
More than that, though, getting beyond the irrational appeal of YOLO Goblin aggro mode, Empty is great because it enables "T1, Get 'em" hands to a greater extent than any other single card. Not an insignificant amount of time that horde of Goblins is paired with both halves of a Cabal Therapy, and it's just backbreaking. There is no combo deck in the format, including this one, that is likely to recover from a double Therapy backed up with a 2 turn clock.
I guess I don't have anything to say on Empty's behalf that hasn't already been said in The Brainstorm Show's episode 32: Storm Reborn.
Part of Empty's value is in forcing the opponent to bring in, or keep in, bad cards just in case you do go for the Goblins, and as this becomes common knowledge or the general expectation, the card loses a bit of value. I think it's kind of like Xantid Swarm. If players are keeping in removal, it's better not to have a target for it. So in Empty's case, is the threat stronger than the execution? That I can't answer.
Last weekend we have in Brazil a 2 days Magic Event called "Final Circuito Ligamagic". It's a big event, close to a GP in my country. I've not played the main event but a Parallel Legacy event with 33 players. I finished in First place on the Swiss with a 4-1.
Here's my report.
I know that my english is not good, but I believe my report is readable.
My list is:
1 Badlands
2 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island
1 Tropical Island
4 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
2 Bloodstained Mira
1 Swap
1 Island
1 Ad Nauseam
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Dark Petition
2 Past in Flames
4 Infernal Tutor
3 Duress
3 Cabal Therapy
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Dark Ritual
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
4 Ponder
2 Preordain
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Brainstorm
Sideboard
2 Xantid Swarm
2 Flusterstorm
2 Hurkyl's Recal
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 By Force
1 Echoing Truth
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Massacre
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Abrupt Decay
Round 1 - Charles, Elves
G1 - My opponent mulls to 6.
I keep a playable hand with possibilities to combo off on turn two and Gitaxian Probe to give me sobe informations about what I'm playing against.
My opponent wins the dice and start with Pendelhaven and Nettle Sentinel. Now I know that are facing elves.
I Start with G. Probe and see that he don't have a early combo hand. So, I play a Polluted delta, crack for a Underground Sea and then Ponder and Pass.
My opponent tap the Pendelhaven to Birchlore Rangers, tap the Ranger and the Sentinel to Green mana, play another elf and untap the Sentinel, tap both to a new elf and do it another time. With four elfs in play he puts on play a Gaea's Craddle and tap for GGGG, plays a Green Sun's Zenith to Elvish Visionary, draw and just attack with the Nettle Sentinel... Finally my turn.
I untap my lands, play a new land, dark ritual, dark ritual LED, Ad nauseam holding priority to crack the LED to BBB and starts to reveal cards from the top. I revel a few good cards, enough to make storm 10 and win.
Side:
in - 1 chain of vapor, 1 abrupt decay, 1 echoing truth
out - 3 duress
G2 - I've decided to put in 2 bounce spells and 1 decay agains some kind of hatebear, and because duress is sick in this match.
We both mulls to 6.
He starts the game with dryad arbor and pass.
My has was very good and able to go off on turn 2 again. But I was waiting for some discard from him since is common to Elves side in something like 6 discards against combo. My hand was double LED, Past in Flames, Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual and two lands. A tutor needed hand.
I drew something not relevant and play a land and a LED to not be ripped by a cabal therapy naming LED and pass the turn.
I don't remember how but in some place he plays a reclamation sage early and destroy my LED. It's very bad to me but ok.
I Draw a Ponder on my next turn and play it to find a Infernal Tutor. I made some counts and I still not able to go off 'cause of the LED lost last turn. I just play a land and pass.
He plays another irrelevant elf, attack for three with the Reclamation Sage and Arbor.
I finally draw a Infernal Tutor, thrown all my rituals, plays a LED, Infernal Tutor holding priority to crack LED, search Past in Flames with the tutor, play all the rituals again, flashback the Tutor for tendrils and win.
2-0 (1-0)
Round 2 - Eduardo, MUD
G1 - I keep a bad with two lands, two cantrips(one Gitaxian probe) e and three discards. I don't know what my opponent are playing and then I've decided to keep this disruptive hand.
I won the dice and start with Gitaxian probe to see I'm facing a MUD Stax-like deck. I didn't see any Chalice of the Void or Trinisphere. The worst card was a Lodestone Golem and a Tangle Wire. I draw from the Probe, plays a fetch land to Underground Sea and Cabal Threapy naming Lodestone Golem.
He starts with Glimmerpost and goes to 21 life
My turn I play a Duress and rip the Tangle Wire, plays a land and Ponder to start a dig for the combo pieces. I found on the top three a Ritual and another Ponder.
He plays another Glimmerpost for 23 points of life and just pass.
On my Turn I play another Ponder for another piece of the combo and then I pass the turn back.
A Acient Tomb is played by my opponent, Lightning Greaves and pass. At this point I know
that his hand have a Wurmcoild Engine but I don't have how to remove it from his hand.
I drew and pass.
He lands another Tomb, tap all the four lands going to nineteen of life and plays the Wurmcoil Engine, equips on the greaves and attack me receiving 6 and going to 25 of life.
Actually I'm with eleven of live and need to go for the "all-in", my hand is not full scupted but I don't have more time. And I have a Ad Nauseam in my hand and lot of rituals.
I play some rituals and get lot of black mana in my pool and then play the Ad Nauseam with only 11. Then I start to reveal just crap things and a Infernal Tutor going to 2 life and without LED... I think a lot of the cards in my hand. I have two blue mana to be generated with my lands. I Play one Ponder, Shuffle and don't find the LED. Try with the Brainstorm and nothing, but at this time I'm able to leave my hand only another ponder, another brainstorm, a Past in Flames and the Infernal tutor. I crack a Lotus Petal for red and play the Past in Flames. Ripped my Ponder flashbacking the Cabal Therapy and then I die with a Tutor+Brainstorm in my hand.
Side:
in - 2 hurkyl's recall, 1 By force, 1 abrupt decay
out - 1 Past in flames, 1 lotus petal, 2 preordain
G2 - I keep a good hand with a Hurkyl's Recall.
I Start with mana Ponder and pass.
He plays Ancient Tomb and Chalice for one. Everything is OK to me
I draw and I'm fine to go off but need to remove the Chalice first. My plan is to play the Recall on my opponent EOT and won in my turn.
He lands a glimmerpost going to 21 and a Tangle Wire. On the EOT I show the Hurkyl's recall.
My turn I start with Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, LED, Infernal Tutor holding priority to crack LED for RRR, search for Past in Flames, flashback everything and then tutor for Tendrils.
G3 - I'm confident and keep a hand with Hurkyl's Recall and some pieces of the combo and cantrips.
He starts with a tapped cloudpost and pass.
I draw and plays duress removing a Chalice of the Void.
He plays Glimmerpost and goes to twenty two, tap both lands to three and plays a early tangle wire and the time froze for both of us.
My turn I land a LED to tap it to the Tangle Wire, Fetch to Island and Ponder and pass.
Tangle wire goes to 3 counters, he taps the Artifact and the two lands, draw, plays a land and pass
I tap my two lands and the LED, draw, land to duress and see a hand with Lodestone Golem, Trinisphere, and staff of domination. I Choose to remove the Trini.
He plays another land and the Golem hits the Battlefield.
My plan is again to play the Recall on him EOT and won on my Turn. But I did a wrong math on my manas.
He plays a Wurmcoil Engine and I Recall everything on the EOT.
On my turn I play rituals, Ad Nauseam with nineteen of life...and........ just crap cards that let me with one of life.
At this point I'm very disappointed with me and my deck and decided to conced the game.(a big mistake)
1-2(1-1)
Round 3 - Diego Mignon, Lands
G1 - Diego Mignon is a friend of mine that plays with Lands since I know him. And I believe that G1 is easy to me. I keep a hand keepable.
Until the turn 3 I have played 8 cantrips and my grave is full of cards.
While he is playing only lands, lands, lands, lands and more lands.
On turn four I plays a Duress and he reponds with Punishing Fire targeting me. I see a hand with Glacial Chasm and Thespian Stage. Everything looks fine to go off next turn.
He draws, plays a Thespian Stage and pass the turn back to me.
I try to go off on my turn with Past in Flames line.
I play Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, LED, Infernal Tutor for PiF, PiF but he drew a Crop Rotation on last turn and rip my graveyard with Bojuka Bog. I end my turn with nothing in my hand but the game continue.
Some turns after he make a 20/20 token and the game's over.
Side:
in - 1 chain of vapor, 1 echoing truth, 2 hurkyls recall, 1 by force, 1 surgical extraction
out - 2 preordain, 1 past in flames, 1 cabal ritual, 1 lotus petal, 1 infernal tutor
G2 - He keeps seven with a happy smile in him face. I decide to keep a hand with some combo pieces and Echoing Truth.
I Start then with a Land and Cantrip to dig for more combo pieces.
He plays Thespian Stage, Mox Diamond and Sphere of Resistance.
On my turn I play a Land and a LED paying one mana for the Sphere and pass.
For him another land and pass.
On my turn I play another land(three on the board), tap 1 for lotus petal and pass.
The next turn he plays a Dark Depths and are able to make the 20/20 on my EOT
I Just draw a card(a very useful Surgical Extraction) and pass. on the EOT the make the 20/20 and I bounce it with my Echoing truth and Surgically I remove all the Dark Depths hitting one from him hand. - Now I have time to sculpt a Good Hand and maybe beat the Sphere.
The time passes and He start's to punish my lands with Wastland + Ghost Quarter + Life from the Loam + Exploration. In a few turns I'm without any land in the field.
I Keep a Underground Sea in my hand and still drawing the perfect and to beat the Sphere of Resistance. My Field actually is a LED and a Lotus Petal that I've played early with my dead lands.
After some turns I play my Underground Sea, tap it to B, sacrifice the Petal for B, plays the Dark Ritual for BBB, pays all the three mana for Cabal Ritual for BBBBB, and then more rituals, ever paying one more mana for the Sphere. And then with 16 Black Mana in my Pool I play Infernal tutor to infernal tutor for infernal tutor for infernal tutor for a Lethal Tendrils of Agony with storm. He was at 18.
G3 - He mulls for five and I start with duress ripping a Life from the Loam and then Surgical Extraction on the Loam.
After a few turns I'm able to combo off with no troubles thanks for the mull to five and the Surgical on the Loam.
2-1 (2-1)
Round 4 - Eduardo Shimizu, New Miracles
Shimizu is a Classic ANT Player in Brasil. But this time he decides to give a try to the New Miracles. So, this time it's not a Storm Mirror.
G1 - I keep the best hand untill now with all the combo pieces and duress and Cabal Therapy.
I won the dice and start with Gitaxian Probe to see a hand with Brainstorm, Swords to Plowshares, 2x Predict, Portent, Flooded Strand and Flusterstorm. Then I played Duress to remove the Flusterstorm.
He draw, plays the Strand and pass the turn.
On my turn I plays Cabal Therapy and he respond with Brainstorm. The Therapy resolves and I name Force of Will and hit it.
Ritual, Ritual, LED, Infernal Tutor holding priority, Infernal Tutor for Past in Flames, PiF to flashback everything and Tutor for Tendrils of Agony to 20.
Side:
in - 1 chain of vapor, 1 abrupt decay, 2 xantid swarm, 2 flusterstorm
out - 1 swamp, 2 preordain, 1 lotus petal, 1 past in flames, 1 infernal tutor
G2 - My opponent mulls to five.
I can land a Xantid Swarm on turn 1 after see a hand with Counterspell, Verdic Supreme and two lands with my Gitaxian Probe.
Turn 2 I attack with Xantid and duress to the Verdict.
After this I have turns to attack with the xantid and use my cantrips to sculpt a perfect hand and go off with secure.
3-1 (2-0)
Round 5 - Alexandre - Show and Tell w/ omniscience
G1 - I can remove a FoW from his hand with Duress on turn one and then see a hand with no combo pieces but Cunning Wish and Intuition. - At this point I cannot go off for PiF since he can Wish for Surgical Extraction and I have LED and Tendrils in my Hand.
He plays Volcanic Island and Lotus Petal and pass.
On my second Turn I play Ponder and starts to construct my hand.
Ancient Tomb from him and pass.
I plays a Preordain and a Land and pass. On my EOT he plays Cunning Wish to PACT OF NEGATION. and on his turn a City of Traitor lands the field.
I'm happy to see he wastes the Wish to the Pact of Negation and the I can try to go off with Past in Flames this time. I then start my turn with Dark Ritual and Infernal Tutor revealing Cabal Ritual. Cabal Ritual, another Cabal Ritual, tap the my Volcanic Island to R and plays Past in Flames that is countered by Pact of Negation - at this point I still having a LED and Tendrils at my hand and then able to go off again on next turn with PiF.
He pays the Pact and pass the turn with only one open mana of a Lotus Petal.
He pass the turn and on my turn I plays LED, crack it for BBB, tap two more lands to BR and flashback the PIF. Tap another land to B and start to flashback lot of rituals to a lethal Tendrils of Agony already on the Graveyard.
Side:
in - 1 echoing truth, 2 xantid swarm, 2 flusterstorm
out - 1 badlands, 2 preordain, 1 lotus petal, 1 past in flames
G2 - My hand is Tropical Island, Xantid Swarm, Flusterstorm, Echoing truth and more. I keep it.
He mulls to 5 and keeps a hand with Leyline of Sanctity. He puts the Leyline on the Battlefield, plays a Land and pass.
I decide just land the Tropical Island and pass the turn with the possibility of use my Flusterstorm in a turn 2 Show and tell.
He plays City of Traitors and then Show and Tell that is countered by my flusterstorm.
On my Turn I play a Fetch land and Xantid Swarm with the Tropical Island and then pass.
A Lotus Petal hits the table and the turn come back to me
I play a land and at my EOT he plays Intuition for a triple Show and Tell.
He plays the Show and Tell on his turn and it resolves. He puts a Griselbrand and I have only a Island to put.
He pass the turn back to my and I plays a Echoing Truth on the Griselbrand before.... for some reason he let it resolves without drawing seven with Grisel. - all the four Show and Tell are on the Graveyard at this momment.
My turn I attack with Xantid Swarm and plays Ad Nauseam after a Thresholded Cabal Ritual and two untapped lands. The Ad Nauseam gave me two Lotus Petal, Cabal Ritual, LED, Infernal Tutor and more.
I play both Petal, Ritual, LED, Infernal Tutor cracking the LED to RRR, Past in Flames from the tutor, everything again, crack a Lotus Petal for U to flashback the Echoing Truth used before on the Griselbrand and now targetting the Leyline of Sanctity and a Lethal Tendrils of Agony.
2-0 (4-1)
I finished 4-1, first place in the swiss, and received $250.00 after a split of the money from the Top8.
After a decent 4-0 in a Prague local I went 5-0-2 in the Grand Legacy Trial at MKMS Prague playing CTstorm15 today.
1-1-1 Miracles
2-1 DnT
2-0 UR
2-0 UW Blade
2-0 Jund
2-0 UR
ID
WantToPonder
former: Team SpasticalAction & Team RugStar Berlin
Team MTG Berlin
The Dragonstorm
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...he-Dragonstorm
Been on other decks for awhile and deciding to pick this back up. Can someone take the recent sideboards and give me some side strats for a few of the top decks?
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Sudden Shock
2 Flusterstorm
2 Chain of Vapor
1 Xantid Swarm
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Tendrils of Agony
Is this side good?
Thanks!
Congrats - good luck in the main event!
I'd read back through the thread or ask specific questions.
SO, I've been tinkering around with ANT on cockatrice/xmage and in proxy, and I'm thinking of buying into mtgo and possibly paper. This is my first combo deck, so the learning curve is steep. But, I love the challenge and explosive power of the deck. I just want to post my list, and see if you guys have any ideas about possible changes. I'm not an expert yet, so I would love some advice.
Main Deck
Lands - 15
Bloodstained Mire - 2
Polluted Delta - 4
Scalding Tarn - 2
Island - 2
Swamp - 1
Undergrdound Sea - 2
Volcanic Island -1
Badlands - 1
Mana Accel - 16
Dark Ritual - 4
Cabal Ritual - 4
Lotus Petal - 4
LED - 4
Discard - 6
Cabal Therapy - 3
Duress -3
Cantrip - 14
Ponder - 4
Brainstorm - 4
Gitaxian Probe - 4
Preordain -2
Business - 9
Infernal Tutor - 4
Dark Petition - 2
Past in Flames - 1
Tendrils - 1
Ad Nauseam - 1
Sideboard - 15
Tormod's Crypt - 3
Hurkyl's Recall - 3
Chain of Vapor - 3
Massacre - 2
Flusterstorm - 2
Cabal Therapy - 1
Empty the Warrens - 1
So, there is the deck right now. The one question I have about the main board right now is whether I want to switch the numbers of Past in flames and Dark Petition. I've seen some lists go 2 pif/1 dp and some go 1 pif/2 dp. Some obviously can go 1 etw/1 pif/ 1dp, but I'd rather keep my etw in the side. I don't like it main at all. I feel like two DP's is more consistent and more resilient to gy hate, but 2 pif can be more explosive. Any thoughts?
My next question is about the sideboard. I'm kinda struggling sideboarding with ANT, because it is my first combo deck ever. I'm more used to sideboarding with more fair decks, and I feel it's slightly different with combo. I really don't feel comfortable not playing GY hate in the side. I'm also not doing the green spash for decay/ xantid swarm. Feels to weak to Wasteland/mana denial. Anyone feel like that's worth it or not?
So, for the sideboard. Starting with Tormod's Crypt. I know some ant players seem not to run any grave hate, but it's a personal preference to always have some way to interact with the gy. Tormod is IMO the best option I have. It's free and doesn't nuke my gy. Works for me. Decks can obviously rebuild from it, but I don't want the game to be going long anyway.
I really like Hurkyl's Recall and Chain of Vapor's ability to function as solid insurance against hateful permanents in a fairly general way. Because of their versatility, I can run more copies of them without handicapping my board. (Hurkyl's hits double chalice, and if they have double chalice against storm, they usually don't go for 2. It's usually 0 and 1. So, Hurk is safe). The only thing I am conceding that I could conceivably answer is double creature/enchantment. Echoing Truth would help that, but I feel like my current answers are better in more common situations.
Massacre is just a great card against white decks, specifically D&T or Maverick. It can also add to the storm count for free which can be really good if you need that extra storm spell. Dread of Night doesn't kill Canonist which I don't like. I know that my Ad Nauseum are worse with Massacre, but it is a concession I am willing to make.
Next flusterstorm and cabal therapy are my answers for permission/discard or permanents before they ETB. Cabal has felt good for decks where I really need more discard. But, the flusterstorm has sometimes felt awkward. I know I need it when a deck has a lot of counterspells. But, I feel like the opponent can play around my flusterstorm and my ultimate necessity for hellbent with Infernal Tutor. Sometimes I feel it is stuck in my hand or being forced discarded to secure hellbent with infernal tutor. Any ways you guys best utilize flusterstorm? I could be misplaying some interactions or situations. If I do drop flusterstorm, I would like the extra two spots to help against counterspell/discard decks, because I do feel I have permanent hate-based covered as best I can.
Empty the Warrens is great against decks w/o sweepers and only spot removal. Happy with 1 side, but don't want 1 main.
Thanks for the help. If you have any suggestions about the deck or sb, I'd welcome the advice.
The best recent treatment of the deck as a whole, in my opinion, is the Brainstorm Show episode 32.
They have a couple of other podcasts featuring Storm that are worth checking out, but their effort to be comprehensive in that one episode is obvious. http://www.thebrainstormshow.com/pod...-storm-reborn/
Virtually every question you asked is addressed there somewhere. You may not like the answer, but it's backed up.
I consider myself a rather good at the Taxes matchup. Dread of Night is by far the best card you can pack against taxes, 100% guaranteed. Massacre can be as good but it requires good timing and a perfect hand, which you don't always have. On the other hand, you can drop dread of night any time you want and kill half of their deck right away, then durdle around as long as you want, then you either combo or find the second copy and make their whole deck unplayable. That's what worked for me and I never ever lost one match to taxes in tournament.
Dread of Night doesn't kill canonist but gives you so much time that Canonist is a non-issue. The card has obvious downsides though:
1. It requires 3-4 slots to function
2. It's not as versatile as Massacre is.
I'd say if your metagame is infested with DNT you should go 3 Dread + 1 Massacre + some artifact removal, otherwise you can stick to 2 massacre (or maybe pyroclasm) and be ok with it.
P.S. Also, Sanctum Prelate calling for 4 can cause instant tears
That card is one of my least favorite to see print over the past year or so. Incidentally, it's worth pointing out that Prelate on 1 is also a colossal pain. I'm starting to come around to the idea of playing a few Echoing Truths if for no other reason than that I'm tired of "can't play X-costs" cards. Fed up with having to compromise on effectiveness to get around "you lose" shit.P.S. Also, Sanctum Prelate calling for 4 can cause instant tears
Out of curiosity, is Prelate your reason for not playing a full quad of Dread of Night?
All Spells Primer under construction: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e...Tl7utWpLo0/pub
PM me if you want to contribute!
Thank you for asking. In fact, I never questioned myself about that, so you're helping me.
Well, I think there are many reason why I never added copy #4.
First of all, white based aggro decks are quite present in my local meta (3 or 4 out of 15-20) but I don't think Taxes, Junk and Pikula deserve much more than 3 dedicated cards in my sideboards: i prefer to rely on versatile cards and DoN is quite narrow (it also fights mentor, but other than that it's pretty useless). Playing four copies would maybe improve my chances, but I wanna play other stuff in my sideboard so I struggle making room. And I repeat, I've never lost to Taxes in tournament and I've maybe lost a single full match (1-2) to Pikula, iirc that was a couple of years ago. I think i'm pretty good at playing against Thalia-Based aggro-midrange.
I think 3 DoN are enough because you don't want to see two copies in your first hand. You just want to drop the first one and kill most of their creatures (Thalia in first place, but also moms and 3/1 flying facehuggers, spirit of the labyrinth and horses) and this usually buys you so much time that their other threats are irrelevant.
I never considered Prelate a reason not to play full set of dread. In fact I think we can estimate that Sanctum Prelate comes into play at roughly turn 4, because it's either vial @3 or double plains which is rather hard for taxes to have that early in the game. I think prelate is generally slow in the ANT matchup, and you can alway decay that. It's just that I feel the combination of DoN and a 1-2x massacre is just stronger than 4 DON overall.
If I can give a tip to everybody who struggles against DNT, here are my 2 cents: If you play in a known metagame and you know you're playing someone who's on taxes, all you have to do to win is to abuse their turn #1, which is very weak against you. It's either plains->mom->go or land->vial->go, and both starts are pretty bad against a deck who can win as quickly as we do. So, you hard mulligan and keep either a hand with burst win or one with Cabal Therapy (you name Thalia G.o.T., even in the blind) and that's game 1.
Game 2 and 3 you board out duresses, preordains and maybe some petals, board in Dread of Night, Massacre, and Artifact disruption. Gameplan is either to win t1-2 or to stall them and make them suffer with Dread of Night until you sweep with massacre or can kill them with ease. I don't really like Empty in this matchup.
5-0->6-3 MKM Prague main palying 42ADMD2017, won all the dierolls except R6, played poorly R1, got lucky R2, deck refused to work R6,7
2-0 Miracles - G1 Fowproof T3, G2 struggled against a W leyline mispalyed hard, got there w EtW anyway
2-1 UR Delver - G1 lost, G2 Op did not draw burn for 3 turns, G3 easy T3
2-1 Grixis Control - G1 Op luckily got there, G3 Op mulled 6 and got CTed 3 Snapcsters T1, easy life
2-0 BReanimator - G1 T2 discardproof EtW turned out to be ToA for enough, G2 T1 Chancellor met with T3 Echoing truth into midgame 2x value PIF feat Extirpates, discard and Karakas -> lategame EtW
2-0 Thresh - G1 close, G2 AD-> Delver, Storm> no clock
0-2 Elves - G1 6x cantrips = 0 bussiness, G2 apparently boarded into lands.dec despite my Op giving me more turns I die on T7 or so
0-2 UBG Depths midrange - G1 see R6, G2 my medium hand vs. her good hand
1-2 BReanimator - G1 T2 EtW>T2 Tyrant, G2 always a turn behind, G3 lost to Blood Moon
2-0 ANT - G1 got there G2 EtW+2x CT & 2x Flusterstorm
Hmm in the end I dropped at 2-3.
Rd2 UR Control - he had always a counter more than I could discard/play around in both postboard games with my mulligans to 6. 1:2
Rd3 Sneak Show - Classic t2 SnT in game 2 and random topdeck SnT in game 3 with FoW, Flusterstorm backup. 1:2
Rd4 Elves - 2:1
Rd5 NicFit - Game2 he has Thoughtseize for ToA and the obvious SE in hand, plays a lot of discard after that. In game3 he had a bit of everything and I simply needed to draw any manasource on turn 3 (failed), he played some hatebears and
when I finally drew the AD he had also a Mindbreak Trap. 1:2
Apart from that the thing that was really disappointing was the price pay out. I got 3/88 on Friday and got a foil Lorwyn Cryptic Command in a bad condition (entrance was 20E). Another guy who made top8 in Vintage got a 35E voucher with 35E entrance. I simply can't understand this greed. JK does not organize for the players but focuses purely on the money. Plus they also limited the main event to slightly below 301 players which would have meant a significantly better price pay out according to their site.
WantToPonder
former: Team SpasticalAction & Team RugStar Berlin
Team MTG Berlin
The Dragonstorm
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...he-Dragonstorm
I've seen a lot of lists lately that run a number of Tormod's Crypts. Assuming we're most worried about BReanimator (which I think we should be), why Crypt over Leyline of the Void? 'Boarding out Ad Nauseam seems a small price to pay given that they'll have a pretty rough time finding a way around a T0 enchantment. Is it just the awkwardness of mulligans for Leylines? Also, I get why people prefer Crypt over Surgical, but I find that stopping their T1 kills on our T0 is just as important as stopping them from binning two creatures. Anybody else have input on this?
All Spells Primer under construction: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e...Tl7utWpLo0/pub
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This actually confused me - it seems to me that surgical is far and away better than any of these other options: it's "free," does a weird Probe impression to see if it's safe to go off, gives us knowledge of their outs/SB cards in G2 and G3, can be cast with mana if necessary, is instant speed, plays well with our discard, can be flashed back with PiF, doesn't hurt much off of AdN, etc.
They can grab surgical out of your hand via discard and binning 2 different creatures then exhume makes crypt a lot better
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