every card is better with brainstorm, so not really a great argument. feel free to try it out though.
in addition, here's my latest sandstone needle list:
// 60 Maindeck
// 12 Artifact
4 Lotus Petal
4 Ruby Medallion
2 Scroll Rack
2 Lion's Eye Diamond
// 10 Instant
4 Manamorphose
4 Seething Song
2 Desperate Ritual
// 14 Land
4 Ancient Tomb
6 Mountain
4 Sandstone Needle
// 24 Sorcery
3 Rite of Flame
4 Burning Wish
3 Past in Flames
4 Reforge the Soul
4 Bonus Round
4 Act on Impulse
2 Hazoret's Undying Fury
// 15 Sideboard
// 5 Artifact
SB: 3 Defense Grid
SB: 2 Silent Gravestone
// 2 Instant
SB: 2 Abrade
// 8 Sorcery
SB: 1 Tendrils of Agony
SB: 1 Grapeshot
SB: 1 Empty the Warrens
SB: 1 Past in Flames
SB: 1 Fiery Confluence
SB: 1 Rite of Flame
SB: 1 Hazoret's Undying Fury
SB: 1 Dark Petition
i just want to point out that even though scroll rack isn't the most efficient card, if you play this deck over many rounds you will have some consistency issues. scroll rack is being tested to help mitigate that.
if you're only playing 3-4 rounds, then it might be fine without it. (the UR version prob doesn't need it as you have ponder/brainstorm)
-rob
@mistercakes regarding LED in a AoI-less list:
I can see where you're coming from. While all your points are valid and I'm going to play Desperate Ritual in the next build, I do worry about not being able to cast Tendrils often from the sideboard without LED. I have a feeling that Manamorphoses alone are not enough, but maybe I'm too cautious.
RE: Sandstone Needle
Are you sure that Sandstone Needle is good enough in a format with Wasteland and where you can go in the long game sometimes against Grixis Control and Miracles? I haven't tested it, because you can test so many decks in so little time so maybe I'm just talking bullshit but I don't see that the benefits outweigh the risks.
I still need to test some more with needles, but have been happy with it as of yet.
One of the main reasons why I'm running needles is that I'm trying to max out on reasons to keep it mono red. It's never a bad bet to play with 4 brainstorm and 4 ponder. (they're great cards and they add a lot of value to any deck.)
Sandstone needle is a card that the other combo decks can't reasonably run. It also allows your turn 2 games to happen a lot more frequently. If you do expect a meta with not so much miracles and instead tons of delver variants and dnt, then maybe needle won't be right that time.
I've only played a few matchups with the deck since I started running needles, and wasteland hasn't really had a huge enough impact so far.
Don't worry about casting tendrils, the deck is quite capable. Also remember that 2 bonus round and a wish can get you a fiery confluence.
-rob
In my experience lacking black mana for tendrils do come up really rarely, and when it do come up I often can win anyways. Can't recall a single time I lost because of it, and I usually never get black from my manamorphoses preemptively. Most of the time if you can win through tendrils you can burning wish for grapeshot+fiery confluence and win that way.
So Michael Clifford (cl1ffy81) had a Ruby Storm Stream yesterday. https://www.twitch.tv/videos/313538393
Here is the highlight:
i watched the first game vs goblins and saw a bunch of misplays on how to interact with rishadan port. happy to see the deck being played regardless.
thanks for the link.
-rob
Mengucci streamed mono red storm.
https://youtu.be/MP8iyLSKAi4
he was being ported for some turns when he had a tomb and mtn out. he could have cast manamorphose into a brainstorm. this would have potentially opened up some big plays. instead he just got ported down and died.
it's fine, the deck isn't as easy as casting a bunch of brainstorm/ponder/discard and going off when the coast is clear. :)
-rob
Fair enough, I can see why you wouldn't do that because there is always fear to spend two cards with no good returns. That said, it's a combo deck so brainstorming can indeed make you go off and there are points in the game that you should go for it, because it ain't gonna get better in the future.
Brainstorm Realist
I close my eyes and sink within myself, relive the gift of precious memories, in need of a fix called innocence. - Chuck Shuldiner
I can see Overmaster being good, because in the worst case it will draw a card and in the best case you will combo off. You don't have to worry about the one mana when going off because Bonus Round and the rituals will provide that. I'm gonna try a couple. SSG is a weird and wrong in my opinion with Bonus Round now, I rather see a ritual or a LED (because he is playing 4 AoI).
Brainstorm Realist
I close my eyes and sink within myself, relive the gift of precious memories, in need of a fix called innocence. - Chuck Shuldiner
that's not true :)
but you should hedge a few cards after sb that can prevent interaction, like defense grid or hope of ghirapur. the opponent can only have so many counters, they will run out. after sb you have to deal with surgical as well, which is the main reason to stop interaction.
-rob
after listening to a podcast experimental frenzy seems sweet.
if you get an act on impulse chain going you see a LOT of cards with this one. Also great with LEd for the mana.
The "reforge feeds the opponent fows" idea is a fallacy. What usually happens at least in ur-storm is that your opponent spends the first few turns cantripping to get counters and stops you from going off. Then you miracle a reforge and start over again, but this time you start the game with a juicy graveyard and a few lands in play, perhaps even a ruby medallion. Do you really think you are worse off in this situation than you are at the beginning of the game?
There are some cases where it might not be a good idea to reforge, if you hardcast it and float zero mana with your landdrop already made and you are facing elves and they have a couple of dudes and a cradle, sure. But being afraid that your opponent might draw fow is not a good argument against reforge.
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