[Deck] Sneak and Show

[JPA]

On an unrelated note, I'm psyched to be back on my favorite legacy deck of all time after scrubbing out with UR delver at Worcester in my first event since returning home.

Keep making monsters, boys.

Awesome to have you back, Norman! I still remember your great report and hope we will get to read another one after Legacy Champs.

[Norm]

Awesome to have you back, Norman! I still remember your great report and hope we will get to read another one after Legacy Champs.

Thanks, JPA!

I always have fun playing this deck so I'll be sure to take notes and follow up with you guys afterward.

By the way, you did an awesome job with this primer. Thanks for the great contribution!

[sawatarix]

dig through time is not what this deck wants to do in my opinion.
Sneak Show is designed to put a dude on the field as fast as possible (!)
In my testing games against team america i lost more than half of the games because i got raced even after i executed the combo because i played to "controlish"- seriously,this is the worst kind of loosing.

What the deck needs is additional speed and demonic tutors so gitaxian probe and intuition have their home here.
Dtt is a great tool to recover later in the game but i would rather build a deck which has such a strong early game that there won't be a lategame most of te time.

[Unassigned]

Not to distract from the purpose of this thread, but please use the current "goings-on" in the Magic world as a reminder to play legit, and hold your opponents to the same standard that you are engaging in. Protect yourself, and always call over a judge for any suspect play. It saddens me to see what's transpired over the last several days in the game that I love.

[tescrin]

Intuition = Demonic Tutor (for 3 mana + the occasional shuffle graveyard/library)

Why would DTT be more powerful?
Maybe supplementary, but IMO Sneakshow probably shouldn't open itself up to more hatebears (Teeg) than it needs to. What makes the deck powerful aside from being compact combo + myriad counters is that it's resilient. I could have a board of

You're at 5-HP (somehow), 5 lands
I have DRS, Teeg, Thalia, Canonist, Wasteland, Karakas, Bayou

and you can still just Land, S&T->Sneak->Emmy with me being essentially ~100% chance to lose. While the above board is exaggerated (and thalia makes it a lot of lands to double-sneak), the exaggeration shows why diluting the deck too much with weird cards will probably weaken it. Teeg probably comes in for something against you just to make your line more convoluted, and at a time when Miracles is being targeted by Teegs everywhere and Cruise + DTT is being meta'd against; I feel like opening yourself up needlessly in a deck as reliable and powerful as this one isn't worth it.

Think about how confident that board state looks while being a ~100% to lose. Can't cast sneak. Can't dig + do stuff. Can't pay for things easily. Can't show in fat and have it work. He's probably sandbagging Decay for a Moon, maybe sitting on Lily and didn't want to tap out due to said Moon. Then Boom. Lose.

[Brentane]

Hello people. My mate said I should try out this deck because it sounds like my playstyle. I've got the cards for and played 12 post and Reanimator. I told him how this deck is a combination of the two, but without a toolbox option and he said I should give it a go. So I'm gonna proxy the deck up for Monday and see how it plays. Any advice on the deck?

P.S. As for decks I play now, I mostly play Elves, some Goblins, some Merfolk, and trying U/R Delver at the moment. Would this deck be a great inclusion for my Gauntlet? I'll take apart U/R Delver if it becomes a deck I play.

[JPA]

Any advice on the deck?

There is plenty of advice in the primer!

[apple713]

Any advice on the deck?

There is plenty of advice in the primer!

yes, read the primer. this is one of the best primers i have seen on the site.

[sawatarix]

how have Jace the Mind sculptor and vendillion clique been in the maindeck for you guys?

Both cards were pretty good against Miracle Control and having more "threats" felt always good so far.
Other people say that jace is just a 4-Mana Brainstorm because we have no way to protect it from opposing creatures.

[i_b_TRUE]

Just got back from Eternal Weekend. Was 4-0, then 4-2 and had to leave Rd 7 my girl friend got sick at work and I had to pick her up

I will have a tournament report tomorrow. But quickly, DTT got countered the 2 times I cast it... I kind of miss Jace... and My 2 losses were Deathblade and Jund (triple thoughtseized g1 & g2 against Jund.) I do feel like I want Leyline of Sanctity back in the SB. Lemme know your thoughts and I'll have the report for tomorrow!

[i_b_TRUE]

Hey guys, here is the list I played at Eternal Weekend on 10/25/14. I started off 4-0, then fell to 4-2 and had to leave rd 7 as my girl friend got sick and I had to drive an hour to pick her up at work. But I did want to write a small tournament report and share my thoughts. I've been playing the deck for about 5 months and I do feel like I make misplays from here and there, but I do feel I have confidence and a tight grasp on what my game plan is each game and how to utilize each cantrip correctly.

Lands [19]
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Polluted Delta
3 Ancient Tomb
2 City of Traitors
3 Volcanic Island
3 Island
1 Mountain

Creatures [8]
4 Griselbrand
4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

Spells [33]
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Show and Tell
4 Sneak Attack
4 Lotus Petal
3 Spell Pierce
3 Gitaxian Probe
2 Dig Through Time
1 Misdirection

Sideboard [15]
3 Pyroclasm
2 Through the Breach
2 Echoing Truth
2 Defense Grid
2 Swan Song
2 Blood Moon
2 Grafdiggers Cage

Rd1. Opponent was a no show
After waking up at 6am, and getting there by 8am... and they player meeting was scheduled for 9am, we didnt start until 11am. It did affect me a little since I was aggravated over the long wait and didnt even get to play rd1... but I'll take the win.

Rd2. vs Lands
G1, he was on the play and went Mox diamond, land pass. I had Island into Ponder... I found SnT which was exactly what I needed for my Hand of Petal, Emrakul, City of Traitors and win easily. G2 I board in the Blood Moons and he has a slow start and isnt doing much, I find a Blood Moon on my brainstorm and lock him out until I find Griselbrand.

Rd3. vs Elves
G1, he was on the play with Land DRS. I had a slow start but had a FOW for a quick Glimpse or Natural Order if he had one. The game went long and i countered his first Natural Order and went SnT into Emrakul. He then bounced his Visionary with Wirewood to find another Natural Order for Craterhoof but it wasnt enough damage and I had Emrakul to block.
G2, I had to Mull to 6, but I found a Cage for T1. That was able to slow him down as he was just attacking with his guys, I landed a Sneak Attack into Griselbrand, Drew 7 which put me to 2 life but I found an Emrakul for the win.

Rd4. vs RW Painter
G1 was quick, he had Ancient Tomb, Simian Spirit guide, into Recruiter... I had FOW for it. I went on to find Emrakul for my SnT to win.
G2, We both had to mull to 6. We both went land pass for 3 turns, on t4 he decided to go for recruiter and i let it resolve as i had Sneak Sttack into Emrakul next turn with FOW back up for his Pyroblast for the win.

Rd5. vs Jund
G1, not even close. I had to mull to 5 with an opener of Tarn, Tomb, SnT, Brainstorm, Spell Pierce. He had T1 Thoughtseize and took my Brainstorm. T3 he has double Thoughtseize which was 3 in his first 2 turns... you can figure out that it was over after that.
G2, I had to mull to 5 again but Had Tomb, Volcanic, Blood Moon, FOW, Sneak Attack. I had land pass. He started with T1 DRS, I had T2 Blood Moon. We went back and forth for a while as he just kept attacking with DRS. He drew a thoughtseize followed by a second one after that. I saw 2 ponders which I had to shuffle twice. He finally drew a swamp to use DRS to Abrupt Decay my Blood Moon, Landed a BBE into Bolt and DRS for the win.

Rd5. vs Esper Deathblade
G1, I was on the draw and had to mull to 5 once again... Opener was no land, 6 hand was Griselbrand, Spell Pierce, 4 land (which seemed unkeepable) He had t1 Thoughtseize and took my Ponder and just stumbled to his Stoneforge and TNN.
G2, I had a solid start, I had turn 1 Defense Grid and won from there.
G3, Had to mull to 5 and kept Volcanic, Delta, Pyroclasm, Ponder, Sneak Attack (pyroclasm for Meddling Mage) I was able to draw well, but he had to much pressue, Stoneforge into Liliana, into Jace and fateseal me out.

All in all it went well. But from the tournament and the last, I lost games to Jund and Esper Deathblade due to Thoughtseize. I do miss having Leyline of Sanctity and think I will add it and cut the blood moons. I also think Defense Grid needs to be in the list... and I want to cut Swan Song for Flusterstorm. I also only cast DTT twice and they were both countered. I kind of missed Jace in the Jund/Deathblade matchups. I also was disapointed I didnt face any UR Delver lists since during testing, Sneak and Show was destroying it. What do you guys think of the changes? Let me know, thanks and let's keep this deck going!

[Brentane]

Hi people. Proxied up Sneak and Show and I love how it is just so powerful. Was playing with my friends with casual games with it, and I felt so guilt. I don't know if it was because they were proxied and not real or because the deck was powerful. But I had the biggest grin every time I saw an Emrakyl off a ponder or brainstorm. Usually I am disappointed when I see one in 12 Post, so this was a nice change. Feels so awkward dropping an Emrakyl casually on turn 2. In the primer I did not notice anything on why someone should not play this deck. Can anyone give me any reasons which might want to not build this deck?

[apple713]

Hi people. Proxied up Sneak and Show and I love how it is just so powerful. Was playing with my friends with casual games with it, and I felt so guilt. I don't know if it was because they were proxied and not real or because the deck was powerful. But I had the biggest grin every time I saw an Emrakyl off a ponder or brainstorm. Usually I am disappointed when I see one in 12 Post, so this was a nice change. Feels so awkward dropping an Emrakyl casually on turn 2. In the primer I did not notice anything on why someone should not play this deck. Can anyone give me any reasons which might want to not build this deck?

you probably won't find any really good reasons here. not everyone likes playing combo, or has a ton of money to invest in cards that only see play in few decks.

the deck does have issues with consistency occasionally but otherwise it is very solid and has very few weak matchups

[Vandalize]

How good is Gitaxian Probe in this deck? Information it provides is always useful, but often I wish it was a Spell Pierce, or more business. Storm combo has a better shot with Gitaxian Probe because they can combo with Cabal Therapy for full value.

This is my list:

4 Scalding Tarn
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Volcanic Island
3 Ancient Tomb
2 City of Traitors
3 Island
1 Mountain
4 Griselbrand
4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Lotus Petal
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Force of Will
4 Show and Tell
4 Sneak Attack
3 Intuition
3 Spell Pierce
1 Misdirection
2 Blood Moon
SB: 3 Pyroclasm
SB: 3 Through the Breach
SB: 2 Defense Grid
SB: 2 Flusterstorm
SB: 2 Echoing Truth (this slot is really bad, only really useful against Enchantress and Chalice of the Void decks)
SB: 1 Blood Moon
SB: 1 Ashen Rider
SB: 1 Shattering Spree

Echoing Truth is a necessary evil? Should I find place for Leyline of Sanctity, since I'm playing without DTT?

[Grand Superior]

I don't run Gitaxian Probe in Sneak and Show and I agree with your sentiment. I know that the free information is fantastic, but I do always wish that the card was a Spell Pierce, Flusterstorm, Intuition, Dig Through Time, or even a Preordain. Storm does make better use of it not just because of Cabal Therapy, but because it adds to the Storm count and to Threshold for Cabal Ritual (although I will say that Dig Through Time does make Gitaxian Probe in Sneak and Show sound more appealing).

Echoing Truth - It might just be me, but I'd never leave without at least two copies of bounce in my 75. Sneak and Show may not be the format's boogeyman at the moment, but I hate knowing that I can't deal with a "must-answer" permanent like Ensnaring Bridge or Humility.

As for Leyline of Sanctity - IMO it's not a good sideboard card to be running right now. My other Legacy deck is Team America/BUG Delver and over on that thread there seems to be some consensus that targeted discard just isn't cutting it in the new Treasure Cruise world and Liliana of the Veil matches up horribly against Monastery Swiftspears and UR Delver. People there seem to be dropping discard in favour of cards like Stifle and that makes it seem like the Leyline of Sanctity SB slots are better used elsewhere.

[Koby]

I think Gitaxian Probe shines best against matchups where Show & Tell is sometimes a liability, and also against Tempo decks that play soft counters. In both cases, it's value shines well above Spell Pierce or other taxing counters. In matchups where you know you're favored, you simply board them out (Elves for instance).

[Unassigned]

I've been doing a lot of testing against the latest flavor of the month, UR Delver. Seeing as the meta is swamped with it, I decided to test a theory last night.

Rather than running Pyroclasm in my board, I ran Volcanic Fallout. The additional mana for instant speed and uncounterability seemed to be well worth it. The 2 damage to both players could be considered a boon or a bane, depending on your game position. Either way, I faced UR Delver several times and Fallout was a wrecking ball. I didn't need to worry about their Daze, Force or boarded Flusterstorms. It also allowed me to sit back while my Elves opponent was comboing off, and I swept his board when he went for his Behemoth. The only time I regretted it was when I brought it in against UWR Delver, and had to give them a target for their Wastelands after it was cast.

That being said, does anyone else think that this could be worth looking into more?

[Koby]

Even thought Fallout has positive points for it against counter-magic, I feel that we're playing the "deal 2 damage to everything" effect because it's a convenient mana cost of 2 mana. This is particularly important against D&T matches, where Thalia would make it cost .

I'm less concerned with Pyroclasm against UR Delver, as we should just be jamming Defense Grid, checking their hand with Gitaxian Probe, and resolving S&T as soon as possible under the Grid. Pyroclasm may be too slow for this matchup post-board. Therein lies the danger of over-boarding against a mostly even matchup.

[Unassigned]

True, but that is another matchup where the instant speed could shine as well. I haven't tested that one yet. Perhaps I'll seek one out tonight and see how it plays out. As for Defense Grid, I'm not a fan of it at all in the S&S sideboard. I think that this was discussed many pages back as a sideboard card that has lost it's efficacy over recent time.

[JPA]

I love Defense Grid, it's the best card in the Tempo matchup in my opinion.

I would always board Pyroclasm against UR Delver, slowing them down is pretty valuable. I found the games against them to be a race pretty often, since they don't have as much disruption as the other Delver decks.

Hence my boarding plan against them:

-3 Gitaxian Probe
-2 Force of Will
-2 Dig Through Time

+3 Pyroclasm
+2 Defense Grid
+2 Echoing Truth