[Deck] Two-Card Monte

[Admiral_Arzar]

Two-Card Monte is/was an old Vintage deck featuring two two-card combos in the usual cantrips/tutors/disruption shell. I decided to port it to Legacy recently because I like to play off-the-wall decks. I figured I'd post it here in case someone found it amusing. Here is the list:

3 Lotus Petal
4 Grindstone
4 Painter's Servant
4 Helm of Obedience

4 Leyline of the Void

4 Brainstorm
3 Cabal Therapy
4 Dark Ritual
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Ponder
1 Preordain
4 Force of Will

2 Island
1 Swamp
3 Underground Sea
2 Ancient Tomb
2 City of Traitors
4 Polluted Delta
1 Marsh Flats
1 Misty Rainforest

Sideboard

2 Duress
2 Fatal Push
2 Flusterstorm
2 Hydroblast
2 Echoing Truth
2 Hurkyl's Recall
3 Massacre

Unfortunately I got the bye at my local so I was only able to play 2 full rounds. I lost to Miracles in 3 after flagrantly punting game three on two different occasions, and then defeated MUD 2-1 courtesy of some explosive hands. Out of my four game wins, two occurred on turn two and one on turn three (would have been two, but my opponent had Blightsteel to shuffle back in after Grindstone). I'm pretty sure I mulliganned prior to both turn two kills which was hilarious (one of these was through a Force vs. Miracles). The deck is ultra explosive although you have to mulligan hands with the wrong combo pieces relatively aggressively. The one for sure change I would make is cutting one Ancient Tomb for a fetch - colored mana was at a premium at times. Like most of the stuff I play for the lulz, this isn't going to top eight a GP but it's pretty fun to play. Build it and blow people out.

[kinda]

Enlightened tutor seems good with the core combo. I tried a port two weeks ago but instead of grindstone plus painter (don't own them) I subbed in show and tell plus fatties. I show and telled in helm a few times heh...went 2-2. I think painter is too fragile in legacy without lots of protection.

[thecrav]

Good job, Thomas. You found a way to make me buy Painters and Grindstones.

[descxz]

What do you think about Serum Powder for the leyline decks shenangians

[Admiral_Arzar]

Enlightened tutor seems good with the core combo. I tried a port two weeks ago but instead of grindstone plus painter (don't own them) I subbed in show and tell plus fatties. I show and telled in helm a few times heh...went 2-2. I think painter is too fragile in legacy without lots of protection.

I mean, they have to have the removal, and they have to have it early (also, resolved Painter on blue makes Force a LOT better and really helps with the low blue count). This deck is explosive. E-Tutor is definitely a card I considered splashing for, but decided to start with a basic UB list. E-tutor does have the drawback of tipping your hand, and the obscurity of this deck is one of its main strengths.

Good job, Thomas. You found a way to make me buy Painters and Grindstones.

Damn son, it's about time. That's my favorite two-card combo!

What do you think about Serum Powder for the leyline decks shenangians

I prefer not to tip my hand as to what my deck is about before even resolving mulligans. Cantrips and mulligans when necessary have been enough to find the right combo pieces so far.

[Kyle]

Whack decks make the world go 'round.

I don't know the history of the deck (in Vintage), but do you think a Red(der) shell so you can take advantage of even more of the Painters Shenanigans is beneficial?

[thecrav]

Whack decks make the world go 'round.

I don't know the history of the deck (in Vintage), but do you think a Red(der) shell so you can take advantage of even more of the Painters Shenanigans is beneficial?

Welder and Blasts are the two best reasons to play Red. The other two are Daretti 2 and Wheel of Fortune, which I think are less relevant here. Welder is argued over in Vintage. The fact that we'll have a Leyline means that we can only weld from our own yard, which they're also pilfering with Deathrite Shaman. That leaves just the blasts. I think the combination of speed, redundancy, and discard kinda obviate the need for the blasts. Plus, going monocolor makes the mana much easier!

[Kyle]

Welder and Blasts are the two best reasons to play Red. The other two are Daretti 2 and Wheel of Fortune, which I think are less relevant here. Welder is argued over in Vintage. The fact that we'll have a Leyline means that we can only weld from our own yard, which they're also pilfering with Deathrite Shaman. That leaves just the blasts. I think the combination of speed, redundancy, and discard kinda obviate the need for the blasts. Plus, going monocolor makes the mana much easier!

Cool, very helpful reply, thanks.

Also, I noticed that the list up top is 59 cards, so I added an Impulse. And just to be more whack, I dropped the Preordain and added another Impulse.

Benefits:
- Digs for combo pieces
- Conceals the shenanigans
- Gets around Chalice on 1
- Filters crap from bottom to the top

[thecrav]

Plus, going monocolor makes the mana much easier!

Pretend that I'm not dumb and said that two color is better than three because this deck is definitely two colors (blue and black)

[Kyle]

The deck seems pretty tight as it is, so how about some amount of Misdirection instead of Force of Will? It may fit better.

Pros:

- Functions as a Force of Will to counter one of their counters targeting one of your combo spells
- Protects your combo pieces on the battlefield
- Protects against Discard (and then some)

Cons:

- Doesn't stop Pithing Needle effects
- Doesn't stop bombs (Jace, Leovold, etc.)