If it helps to sway you, predict requires another card to be good while impulse will always be good. I still find the build clunky though. Needing 8 slots or so for a combo win that aren't great outside of said combo feels bad.
The Parfait Meta-Game
That's very true, but being able to net cards is pretty valuable against discard decks. The fact that Miracles plays Predict also makes me lean towards it, because overall that deck plays the best cards in blue and white, so might as well crib from them. But, you have a point, which is why I'm testing it out.
That's always been the complaint from Miracles players. I find it runs as smoothly as Miracles does with its reactive cards and cards you don't want in hand, but can go over the top without being vulnerable to commonly played hate. Really only results will prove it.
Edit: Thought more about why you might find it so clunky. Hybrid combo decks are often very tricky to play, because they have several game plans available, and playing to the right one affects so many game actions. Miracles has a little bit of that with its tempo draws of Counterbalance and Mentor, a) those hands are usually obvious, and b) you can get pretty good results just playing it as a control deck. This deck has light control elements, combo pieces that can be interchanged for control (CWish), a partial-combo (Showing Omni) that turns on some previously dead draws, and Mentor post board. Often I find that I shuffle away combo pieces in certain matchups. Maybe part of the reason you feel the deck is clunky is because you're misevaluating your cantrips because you don't have the experience with the deck to know which plan to be on?
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For netting cards I was looking at fact or fiction. I do feel my old standby of accumulated knowledge in tandem with predict could be a strong engine in the right deck. Otherwise needing 2 cards to try to net a card is bad and not actually netting cards at that point.
Edit: I feel it clunky because of what it's a hybrid of. My pedigree of building multiple attack angle decks is where I'm coming from. In enchantress as an example you have an engine present and you can add single cards to get multiple ways to win. That takes minimal space for maximum effect without watering the deck down. You have a deck here that removes the consistency and protection of something like miracles for some oops I win draws, but also gives itself a large choke point. When I had built my NOTopBantBlade the packages were so small that if one plan is stopped you can move seemlessly into a different plan and still threaten an existing plan. That's the makings of a powerful deck and something that could be possible here, I just don't think show and tell is the right plan.
The Parfait Meta-Game
I picked up the cards for this at GP Louisville and have been reading over what little material you've written up about it so far. A couple of quick questions:
1) Is there a reason to play a 4/1 split of non-Strand fetchlands over 3/2?
2) How have you been sideboarding against Death & Taxes? Like Miracles would? I know you bring in the Mentors.
3) I know you think this is bad in a Reanimator-heavy metagame, but is there anything you would try other than playing a different deck? Would you go up to a third Surgical Extraction or play a 1/1 Surgical/Faerie Macabre split or something like that?
"I'm willing to imagine a TES where Past in Flames replaces Ill-Gotten Gains entirely, and we just don't play Diminishing Returns." - me, 29/09/2011
Founding member of Team Scrubbad: Legacy Legends
1) Nope
2) Something like: +2 StP, +1 Disenchant, +2 Mentor, +1/2 EE, -3 Counterbalance, -2 Predict, -2 Force
The intuition is you can't pay the mana to Wish for an answer in the games where you actually need the answers like Plow and Disenchant.
3) More graveyard hate definitely helps. The question is cuts. Your meta will determine that.
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I guess actually there are some dumb corner case situations involving desperation Predicts where the 4/1 fetchland split is better.
I'm testing out one Merchant Scroll over the fourth Wish as a way of making the Counterbalance curve a little better.
"I'm willing to imagine a TES where Past in Flames replaces Ill-Gotten Gains entirely, and we just don't play Diminishing Returns." - me, 29/09/2011
Founding member of Team Scrubbad: Legacy Legends
Not a master, just prescient. The spice must flow, etc.
Good point. Oh that's an interesting idea. I actually have had several long games against Miracles and other grindy decks where I've run through all 4 Cunning Wishes, but otherwise that seems solid.
Languages and dates for every set. For all you true pimps.
He who controls the spice controls the universe.
"I'm willing to imagine a TES where Past in Flames replaces Ill-Gotten Gains entirely, and we just don't play Diminishing Returns." - me, 29/09/2011
Founding member of Team Scrubbad: Legacy Legends
I was actually testing out a Merchant Scroll in one of the Predict slots - obviously not as good for the CB curve. Usually was finding me Force of Will to backup S&T, but obviously multi-faceted. I suppose you could also run it in the 4th Terminus slot as well to help the counterbalance curve out too.
TFW opponent sees Merchant Scroll for Impulse and puts you on High Tide, then walks into a huge Terminus:
For reference, my maindeck is currently:
20 Land
4 Brainstorm, Ponder, Force of Will, Omniscience, Show and Tell, Sensei's Divining Top
3 Cunning Wish, Terminus, Counterbalance
1 Counterspell, Impulse, Predict, Merchant Scroll, Split Decision, Emrakul, Nahiri
"I'm willing to imagine a TES where Past in Flames replaces Ill-Gotten Gains entirely, and we just don't play Diminishing Returns." - me, 29/09/2011
Founding member of Team Scrubbad: Legacy Legends
Haha this sounds so janky but I like it.
List looks reasonable.
Languages and dates for every set. For all you true pimps.
Is Containment Priest in the board going too deep against Reanimator and Death & Taxes?
"I'm willing to imagine a TES where Past in Flames replaces Ill-Gotten Gains entirely, and we just don't play Diminishing Returns." - me, 29/09/2011
Founding member of Team Scrubbad: Legacy Legends
Almost completing the paper liso of the deck. I bought a personal tutor and a secound Nahiri test it !
Languages and dates for every set. For all you true pimps.
I tried my list from a previous post -1 Merchant Scroll -1 Show and Tell +1 Personal Tutor +1 Cunning Wish and thought it was fine. If it's worse than just playing 4/4/4 split of combo pieces and not worrying about the Counterbalance curve so much, it's not much worse.
"I'm willing to imagine a TES where Past in Flames replaces Ill-Gotten Gains entirely, and we just don't play Diminishing Returns." - me, 29/09/2011
Founding member of Team Scrubbad: Legacy Legends
Played in a monthly local event, not a large turnout due to rain and shit. Lost to the winner twice. First round and the finals.
Tried my hardest to channel my inner Hot Carl but didnt have a Vneck Tee or a sweet scaft. Shoulda been better and gone to Georgia Tech.
Lost to Team America spoiled by Dr. P
Beat Jund, 12 Post, B/W Pox, and UWR Blade.
Deck was pretty solid, not too happy about the mana base but thats fixable.
Maybe this has been hashed out somewhere in the Mono-Blue Omni thread, but is there any argument for replacing Eladamri's Call with Congregation at Dawn to let you find a Flusterstorm with Firemind's Foresight instead of a Brainstorm?
EDIT: I guess maybe you would still get Brainstorm anyway, since the most likely scenario where it matters is defending against Surgical Extraction? But in this case you get to save the Brainstorm to switch plans rather than use it up setting up plan A.
"I'm willing to imagine a TES where Past in Flames replaces Ill-Gotten Gains entirely, and we just don't play Diminishing Returns." - me, 29/09/2011
Founding member of Team Scrubbad: Legacy Legends
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