[Deck] Imperial Bomberman

[Wanderlust]

Here's hoping for a human Reclamation Sage sooner rather than later! For now, Qasali Pridemage has been working wonders for me. It was great tonight against Death and Taxes, for example.

I'm pretty frustrated at the moment, however, by 4-Color Delver, which is popular in my area. I've now played about 20 games against it and even futzing with the sideboard it feels like a pretty abysmal matchup. Young Pyromancer and Treasure Cruise have just felt busted out of that deck. I threw 3x Timely Reinforcements into the board to see if that would help, but they competed with Trinket Mage and Imperial Recruiter at the 3-drop slot and just got countered or Cabal Therapied away before they mattered in just about every game. And Salvagers isn't even safe against them, since the lists I've been testing against pack a couple Murderous Cuts between the main and the side. Holly, have you tested the UW build against them? If so, how is it faring?

[Holly]

So far I haven't played against a delver variant featuring murderous cut thus playing salvager has always been a safe bet. Counterbalance is great against those delver decks and improves the matchup as a whole.
The matchup plays a whole lot different depending on them playing stifle or not, I feel like the stifle variants are a lot harder to beat as our bombs as you said are cmc 3 (trinket mage for ee vs tokens/delver, timely reinforcement).

Terminus obviously also makes a good impression.

[heathen]

Some janky potential tech against the Pyromancer/Cruise decks:

Jotun Grunt
Runeflare Trap (burn 'em out...yeah right)
Caltrops

And yes I realize these are suspect, at best.

[Wanderlust]

Jotun Grunt

Ooh, I haven't heard hide nor hair of that card in forever, but it actually may be decent with all of the Delve running around.

[.dk]

I was just talking to Richard Cheese yesterday about Jotun Grunt for a different deck!

Problem I see here is that it isn't fetchable by any of your tutor package. You'd have to run a few in the board to really make it worthwhile, right?

[Wanderlust]

Tonight I am all about Seeker of the Way making its way into this deck. It's a human that nicely fills the 2-drop slot in the main that, until now, I have debated being either Meddling Mage or Grim Monolith. In particular I think Seeker's lifelink helps the URx Delver matchup, which I've been racking my brain to improve. Also, Seeker is another wincon under the Bomberman infinite loop, meaning a Seeker build could be running as many as 10 cards that fill that role (and that's not even including Top+EE), inching us that much closer to making Bomberman effectively a 2-card combo. Seeker also plays like butter with 2x Tops, and makes it really tempting to try to run either Helm of Awakening or Etherium Sculptor. Helm is actually pretty sweet in this deck - casting Trinket Mages and Imperial Recruiters for 2 mana seems decent. If any deck is capable of breaking the symmetry of Helm, it is probably this one, since just about every card in the deck has at least 1 colorless mana symbol in its cost.

Finally, I'm going oldschool and trying out a singleton Phyrexian Furnace in the main as tech against Treasure Cruise. Unlike Relic of Progenitus, Furnace plays nicely with the Bomberman combo. True, it only draws a few cards under the infinite loop, but a few cards should usually be enough to find another wincon. Plus the art is sweet and it's from my favorite block - what's not to love?

Problem I see here is that it isn't fetchable by any of your tutor package. You'd have to run a few in the board to really make it worthwhile, right?

Yes, good point about Jotun not being fetchable with Recruiter. I could still imagine it as a 2-of in the board, though.

[Holly]

For anyone interested:
Joe Losset tried out Bomberman on modo:
http://www.twitch.tv/oarsman79/b/580887274

[.dk]

Ohhh Seeker of the Way is pretty sweet against Burn and UR.

Running Helm of Awakening is an interesting idea as well, and might warrant inclusion of Burning Wish and/or Grapeshot somewhere in the 75 in that case. You're already running LED, so Burning Wish could be interesting if there are enough targets for it.

[Wanderlust]

Well, I went 4-0 tonight and 3-2 on Saturday with Imperial Bomberman. The matchups were:

Monday 10/28 (17 person local)
2-1 Merfolk
2-0 UR Delver
2-1 Belcher
2-1 MUD

Saturday 10/26 (30ish person GPT)
2-1 UR Delver
1-2 Burn
0-2 Doomsday (piloted by .dk)
2-0 RUG Delver
2-1 Miracles (w/ maindeck Rip/Energy Field)

I'm stoked to have beat Delver every time I played against it, and to have finally beat a lot of the random decks (a problem historically when I pilot this deck). Seeker of the Way, which I'm running in the main as a 3-of, felt really good every time I cast it - looking back at my life pad and seeing games ended against UR Delver with me at 24 life seems like things probably went pretty well.

Ohhh Seeker of the Way is pretty sweet against Burn and UR.

Yeah, Seeker has been awesome against URx Delver. Sadly I don't think it's that great in the case of Burn, since against a good player it might as well read "1W, Sorcery, Counter the next Lightning Bolt, Rift Bolt, or Chain Lightning your opponent casts." Usually they should just kill it on sight. I guess sometimes it will randomly get the chance to connect a couple times, in which case it will usually win the game, but those cases seem like they would be very few.

There are two more GPTs coming up this weekend and I'm dead set on beating burn, since there was a lot of it this past Saturday. So I'm debating which and how many of: Warmth, Circle of Protection: Red, Kor Firewalker, Children of Korlis, Leyline of Sanctity. While Leyline is the more versatile option, it's a bummer that you have to run 4 (instead of just 2-3 and some Enlightened Tutors) and lose a slot for an anti-burn Imperial Recruiter target. Also, the burn list I played against on Sat. was bringing in Chaos Warp from the board in anticipation Leyline and to warp away Bombermen in case I try to go off. At least in the case of Warmth you gain some life before it gets nuked. I'm thinking maybe the best route against burn is to diversify the hate and run at least three 1-ofs - Warmth, CoP: Red, and a Recruiter target. Kor Firewalker or Children? I'm not sure yet.

[heathen]

There are two more GPTs coming up this weekend

I'm going to have to look into those...

and I'm dead set on beating burn, since there was a lot of it this past Saturday. So I'm debating which and how many of: Warmth, Circle of Protection: Red, Kor Firewalker, Children of Korlis, Leyline of Sanctity. While Leyline is the more versatile option, it's a bummer that you have to run 4 (instead of just 2-3 and some Enlightened Tutors) and lose a slot for an anti-burn Imperial Recruiter target. Also, the burn list I played against on Sat. was bringing in Chaos Warp from the board in anticipation Leyline and to warp away Bombermen in case I try to go off. At least in the case of Warmth you gain some life before it gets nuked. I'm thinking maybe the best route against burn is to diversify the hate and run at least three 1-ofs - Warmth, CoP: Red, and a Recruiter target. Kor Firewalker or Children? I'm not sure yet.

I think Warmth and Firewalker look the best of these options. Leyline is less appealing now that there's Eidolon in the mix. Warmth is probably the best since you can tutor for it and it's easier on the mana. I like your idea of diversifying and I think Firewalker is definitely better than Children, provided the WW won't be a big problem.

[.dk]

Warmth and Firewalker both seem... fine. Cutting Children does weaken your Tendrils matchups though. But if you are really worried about Burn/UR Delver, then either (or both of those) seem good.

But I have to ask - how the heck did you beat Belcher? That seems like an abysmal matchup.

[Wanderlust]

But I have to ask - how the heck did you beat Belcher? That seems like an abysmal matchup.

Step 1: win the die roll.

Game 1: I play Ancient Den, Top, Mox Opal, pass. He Probes me, casts a bunch of rituals and an LED for storm, then makes 16 Goblin tokens and passes. I play turn 2 land, Imperial Recruiter for Trinket Mage, pass. He attacks me down to 5 and passes (I blocked a token with the Recruiter, which was quite unecessary in retrospect). I untap, play a Sol land, Trinket Mage into Engineered Explosives and kill all the goblins and his LED. I'm able to win a couple turns later. He tells me after the game that if he hadn't used the LED turn 1 to make more storm he could actually have Belchered me out a couple turns after I blew up all his stuff.

Game 2: He kills me turn 1 with Taiga, Chome Mox imprinting something, 2x spirit guides, Belcher, Lion's Eye Diamond. I look through his Belcher-flipped deck but don't see anything out of the ordinary.

Game 3: I keep a hand that can cast a turn two Ethersworn Canonist - about the best I can hope for. But he has the turn 1 Belcher and activates it, I'm ready to scoop - he flips 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, TAIGA. I go to 2 life and he passes the turn. In the next two turns I follow my plan of Ethersworn Canonist, Trinket Mage, Pithing Needle on Belcher. He's locked out unless he can find Burning Wish for Shattering Spree - which he isn't able to do in time.

[.dk]

Well that sounds like a thrilling nailbiter... good work!

[Richard Cheese]

I'm going to have to look into those...



I think Warmth and Firewalker look the best of these options. Leyline is less appealing now that there's Eidolon in the mix. Warmth is probably the best since you can tutor for it and it's easier on the mana. I like your idea of diversifying and I think Firewalker is definitely better than Children, provided the WW won't be a big problem.

Nope. Recruiter -> Academy Rector -> Conversion.

[Wanderlust]

Sideboard space is so tight in this deck that I'm considering moving an Ethersworn Canonist into the main. It actually seems okay against the new breeds of Delver. I'm also going to try out a Thorn of Amethyst in the board for the Storm matchup - Storm is running a lot of Pyroclasms and Massacres, so the current plan of just playing 2/2 hatebears against them seems pretty sketchy. I know it turns off our combo, but once Thorn is online we can just try to drop hatebears turn after turn to beat them down rather than trying to combo off. Also, rather than boarding three pieces of Burn hate, I think I'm going to go with two (CoP: Red and Warmth) and the 4th Enlightened tutor, which actually has uses in other tough matchups, like finding the aforementioned Thorn of Amethyst or Ethersworn Canonist against Storm.

Nope. Recruiter -> Academy Rector -> Conversion.

I actually pulled a Conversion out of a giant box of cards I was rifling through yesterday in honor of your comment :-).

[heathen]

I'm also going to try out a Thorn of Amethyst in the board for the Storm matchup

Having played Storm, I don't like this plan. If you want that effect, play Thalia. At least she attacks. Storm can most certainly fight through a Thorn, and potentially faster than you win around it considering Thorn disrupts your game plan as well. Also Storm players will likely bring in Abrupt Decay against you because of the threat of Canonist. If you want something to compliment your Canonists against Storm I think Mindbreak Trap or Flusterstorm would be better. Sure, they can get snagged by discard, but so can your Thorn if Storm is on the play or you aren't able to find an accelerant to get it out on turn one.

[Wanderlust]

Having played Storm, I don't like this plan. If you want that effect, play Thalia. At least she attacks. Storm can most certainly fight through a Thorn, and potentially faster than you win around it considering Thorn disrupts your game plan as well. Also Storm players will likely bring in Abrupt Decay against you because of the threat of Canonist. If you want something to compliment your Canonists against Storm I think Mindbreak Trap or Flusterstorm would be better. Sure, they can get snagged by discard, but so can your Thorn if Storm is on the play or you aren't able to find an accelerant to get it out on turn one.

This is great feedback, thanks. Maybe I just concede that Storm is a bad matchup, hope to dodge it, and waste almost no SB slots for it. The problem with Mindbreak Trap or Flusterstorm is that they are pretty abysmal 1-ofs - a single Thorn + all of the Enlightened Tutors makes that more or less a 5-of.

EDIT: Do you think a singleton Lodestone Golem to tutor up would be better than Thorn? It's slower to come down, but it lives through Abrupt Decay, Pyroclasm, and Massacre and doesn't turn off our own combo.

[.dk]

This is great feedback, thanks. Maybe I just concede that Storm is a bad matchup, hope to dodge it, and waste almost no SB slots for it. The problem with Mindbreak Trap or Flusterstorm is that they are pretty abysmal 1-ofs - a single Thorn + all of the Enlightened Tutors makes that more or less a 5-of.

EDIT: Do you think a singleton Lodestone Golem to tutor up would be better than Thorn? It's slower to come down, but it lives through Abrupt Decay, Pyroclasm, and Massacre and doesn't turn off our own combo.

Lodestone is weird. It's pretty damn good against ANT, but not as great against TES. It dodges removal from Storm decks outside of bounce, and provides a super fast clock. But... it still leaves Lotus Petals and LED's unhindered from them. It's probably worth testing, as most of the storm (at least locally to us) seems to be ANT.

[heathen]

This is great feedback, thanks. Maybe I just concede that Storm is a bad matchup, hope to dodge it, and waste almost no SB slots for it. The problem with Mindbreak Trap or Flusterstorm is that they are pretty abysmal 1-ofs - a single Thorn + all of the Enlightened Tutors makes that more or less a 5-of.

EDIT: Do you think a singleton Lodestone Golem to tutor up would be better than Thorn? It's slower to come down, but it lives through Abrupt Decay, Pyroclasm, and Massacre and doesn't turn off our own combo.

Lodestone would be good if you can consistently get it into play on turn two, and even then it's not guaranteed to disrupt them enough. If you can't consistently get it onto the board until after turn two, you will either be dead by then or they will have made you discard it.

The thing about playing 1-2 MBT/Flusterstorm in the board is that those would compliment your Canonists. Also you can potentially see a lot of cards with your Tops and shuffle effects, so finding those 1-2 cards isn't totally unrealistic. Canonist can buy you time, which might be all you need since you are also playing a combo deck that can just win on a single turn. You're not playing CounterTop where you need to get them locked out and go for the long game. I would think that if you can just set them back a few turns that might be enough for you to win. While they're scrambling to find an answer to your Canonist, you can find your combo and/or the MBT/Flusterstorm.

Of course sometimes the Storm player will just have a busted turn one or two hand. You may just never beat those draws and it might not be worth trying. It might be worth it to be able to beat their average draws, though.

Edit: I should add that Storm seems very, very bad in the current meta. I certainly would not want to try playing Storm in a format that's so saturated with URx Delver. That's a terrible matchup for ANT (TES gets the luxury of upgrading their chances to just bad). I guess what I'm getting at is that I would think less people would play Storm right now, assuming they have access to pretty much any other deck, so you may not need to worry too much about that matchup. Let the hordes of Delver players dispatch Storm for you

[Wanderlust]

Compliment your Canonists... Canonist can buy you time, which might be all you need since you are also playing a combo deck that can just win on a single turn...While they're scrambling to find an answer to your Canonist, you can find your combo and/or the MBT/Flusterstorm.

That's basically what I had in mind with Lodestone Golem - turn 2, plan on dropping a Canonist or a Meddling Mage to slow them down, then by turn 3 or 4 the Lodestone Golem comes down or combo off.

Of course sometimes the Storm player will just have a busted turn one or two hand. You may just never beat those draws and it might not be worth trying. It might be worth it to be able to beat their average draws, though.

I totally agree - this deck doesn't beat their God draws, it would just be nice to stand a chance against the average ones.

Edit: I should add that Storm seems very, very bad in the current meta.

One of my other Storm-playing friends begs to differ, since it seems like the Delver decks are playing less countermagic than previously. He's been boarding in multiple Pyroclasms against them as 2 mana Wraths - it's been treating him quite well so far.