Gogo Mon
I'd really apprecciate having a primer.
Originally Posted by Einherjer
Thanks for the tips guys. I seem to be making a mistake with my discarding strategy. Regarding sideboard material vs Delvers decks, which would you prefer Carpet of Flowers or Xantid Swarm?
On a side note, this deck really needs an updated primer. Come on Carsten!!
If you want Carsten to do this, write him a regular eMail. He's not checking here every day and neither browse all the threads. I doubt you'll be lucky tbh. He's very buisy writing for SCG and possibly working on a new Type of articles afaik. He may mix some of his storm-articles together for a new primer if you ask him
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The answer is almost certainly Yes, you should have cracked. By not cracking, your only outs were 4 Petals. By cracking, you open up your options. Also, do you run Chrome Mox, Rain of Filth, or LDV?
Think about your outs via Ad Nauseum:
1) Cracked UUU: 3 LED, 4 Petal, cantrips into missing piece
2) Cracked BBB: 3 LED, 4 Petal, rituals, Tutors
I don't know what your exact deck configuration looks like, but I'm almost certain the correct play is to crack for BBB, which maximizes your outs to a resolved Ad Nauseum in the form of Tutor chains, ritual chains, Tutor+LED, Rituals + Tendrils, etc. In this particular case, cracking for BBB was a win: cast Rituals, drop LEDs, Tutor for Tutor, Tutor+crack LEDs, grab Tendrils.
One thing I always find useful when practicing with/against storm, is to revisit a specific board state over and over again. Revisit this Ad Nauseum 20 times and see what happens. Then, revisit this Ad Nauseum with 4 Petals on the bottom of the deck (in other words, how to win out of this position if you cracked).
I was the Elves player that you played against. The game went as follows:
T1: I fetch Bayou and cast Thoughtseize (revealing Infernal Tutor, LED, Ponder, Gitaxian Probe, Scalding Tarn, Dark Ritual, Abrupt Decay) I bin Tutor
T1: You pay 2 life to Probe me (revealing Natural Order, Forest, Llanowar Elves, Green Sun's Zenith, Deathrite Shaman, Elvish Visionary). Play Tarn, fetch Sea, cast Ponder.
T2: I cast Llanowar Elves and Deathrite Shaman.
T2: You play a Delta, fetch a Tropical Island, Dark Rit (1,BBB), Abrupt Decay (2,BB), Cabal Ritual (3,BBBBB), Ad Nauseam (4,0 mana) -> 3 life. You hit 3 discard spells, an LED, Infernal Tutor, a few tutors, a few cantrips (no probes) and lands.
T3: I draw and cast Quirion Ranger to get the last mana for Natural Order into Craterhoof and 7 you. If you had not gone for the Ad Nauseam that turn, you would have died to Ruric Thar I assume.
You did not have LED in play. You had it in your hand before casting Ad Nauseam, but that is less relevant than the sequencing of activating it, because you would have cast the LED before hand if necessary. I believe that you had to cast Ad Nauseam that turn and that you should have used LED for Black mana because, as you said, you would have been able at least set up a hand for the next turn and use that turn for discard spells if you didn't have a win. I think that I almost always crack there, but I can see holding it for Infernal Tutor. I just think that you had to stop me before I went off myself Not necessarily going off yourself, but just stopping me for a turn or two to build up another big turn.
I think it was a misstake not cracking the LED for BBB. Yes sometimes it happens, that you can`t generate Hellbent after Ad Nauseam, but I think the percentage of fizzeling after AdN without manafloting is really higher, than the Hellbent thing. Even with T.E.S I would have cracked LED in this scenario, where I would have 3 Chrome Mox as additional outs. Also I would suggest trying out a Grim Tutor or Lim Dul`s Vault + 1 Chrome Mox and your Ad Nauseams will be really better, after that small changes.
Do you know his e mail? I'd give e mailing him a shot,especially for a chance at a new primer. If so pm me.
Sure I know. May better send him a PM ... could take a few days for him to answer, but handing out private mail is uncool
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I'm not the most expertiest of experts, but I can write a primer for this deck if people are willing to wait until after Thanksgiving. I might get it done a little before then but I'm busy at work and at home right now. I've played the deck every week almost nonstop for about 6 months (ever since I got LEDs for a wedding present), including several major tournaments (Champs, SCG Open, GP DC), and I'm a decent writer.
Obviously Carsten knows the deck better than I do, but I'm also not writing elsewhere so I may have more time/interest to do it.
Did anyone in this thread play in the Legacy Plus event at the GP? There was soooo much combo there!
[QUOTE=Star|Scream;767039]Did anyone in this thread play in the Legacy Plus event at the GP? There was soooo much combo there
To accelerate this process, I've started making a basic framework for the Primer that can be fixed up nice and proper by whomever becomes responsible for it. I'll finish this through edits over time.
Ad Nauseam Tendrils
I. What is the deck?
Ad Nauseam Tendrils is a combo deck that focuses on abusing the Storm mechanic to cast a game-winning Tendrils of Agony. This is made possible by the combination of powerful ritual effects, excellent tutors, powerful Storm engines, and a discard suite for protection, all of which will be discussed in upcoming sections. This deck is powerful and consistent, and has consistently placed in big tournaments for years. If you want a strong combo deck that has a long history of success, this is the deck for you.
II. What does the deck look like?
Here are some sample decklists taken from high finishes in recent events:
2nd Place @ SCG Open Dallas 10/11/13, by Avery Williams
1 Ad Nauseam
4 Brainstorm
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Dark Ritual
1 Past in Flames
1 Tendrils of Agony
2 Cabal Therapy
4 Duress
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Infernal Tutor
4 Ponder
4 Preordain
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
1 Swamp
1 Volcanic Island
2 Gemstone Mine
2 Island
2 Underground Sea
3 Scalding Tarn
4 Polluted Delta
// Sideboard
3 Carpet of Flowers
2 Abrupt Decay
2 Chain of Vapor
2 Slaughter Pact
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Cabal Therapy
1 Massacre
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Tropical Island
1 Karakas
3rd Place @ BoM Paris 3/11/13, by Grzegorz Jezierski
1 Ad Nauseam
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Dark Ritual
1 Past in Flames
1 Tendrils of Agony
3 Burning Wish
3 Cabal Therapy
4 Duress
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Infernal Tutor
4 Ponder
4 Brainstorm
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
1 Badlands
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Swamp
1 Volcanic Island
2 Island
2 Underground Sea
3 Scalding Tarn
4 Polluted Delta
// Sideboard
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Massacre
1 Reverent Silence
1 Past in Flames
1 Wipe Away
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Pyroclasm
1 Deathmark
2 Extirpate
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Cabal Therapy
1 Meltdown
1 Tropical Island
6th Place @ Eternal Weekend 2/11/13, by Mark Tocco
1 Ad Nauseam
1 Lim-Dûl's Vault
4 Brainstorm
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Dark Ritual
1 Past in Flames
1 Tendrils of Agony
2 Preordain
3 Cabal Therapy
4 Duress
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Infernal Tutor
4 Ponder
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
1 Badlands
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Tropical Island
1 Volcanic Island
2 Underground Sea
3 Scalding Tarn
4 Polluted Delta
// Sideboard
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Chain of Vapor
3 Dark Confidant
1 Empty the Warrens
3 Massacre
3 Xantid Swarm
III. How do I play the deck?
This deck typically wins on turn 3-4, with occasional turn 2 wins and rare turn 1 wins. This means that for the first 2-3 turns of the game, you want to be digging for your combo pieces with your cantrips and disrupting your opponent with discard. When you have your pieces and the coast is clear, you will start to cast ritual effects, draw spells, and Storm engines until you have amassed adequate Storm to finish them off with Tendrils of Agony (the formula for this is simple: half the opponent's current life, rounded up, minus 1 is how much Storm you need before casting Tendrils of Agony). The biggest obstacle to learning Storm combo is learning how and when to combo. Failing to learn this will cause you to keep bad hands, to get hated out by the opponent, and to fizzle. Therefore, outlined below are some example combo routes to get you started. Be sure to read the Cards section below for more in-depth info on when and how each card should be used. Let it be said, however, that the best way to learn is to watch skilled pilots play the deck, and to goldfish it yourself.
Legend
#StormCount CardName(ManaFloating)(Notes)
All examples assume player has out 1 Swamp, 1 Island, and 1 Underground Sea
All examples assume player has 5 cards in grave, with 2 fetches and 3 draw/discard
Past in Flames Engine
1 Gitaxian Probe(Opponent has no disruption), 2 Lion's Eye Diamond, 3 Dark Ritual(BBB), 4 Cabal Ritual(BBBBBB)(Threshold), 5 Infernal Tutor -> Crack Lion's Eye Diamond(BBBBRRR)(LED for Red, Tutor for Past in Flames), 6 Past in Flames(BBB), 7 Cabal Ritual(BBBBBB)(Flashback), 8 Dark Ritual(BBBBBBBB)(Flashback), 9 Infernal Tutor(BBBBBB)(Flashback, Tutor for Tendrils of Agony), 10 Tendrils of Agony(BB)(20 damage)
Tutor Chain Engine
1 Gitaxian Probe(Opponent has castable Force of Will), 2 Cabal Therapy(Naming Force of Will), 3 Lion's Eye Diamond, 4 Lion's Eye Diamond, 5 Dark Ritual(BBB), 6 Cabal Ritual(BBBBBB), 7 Infernal Tutor -> Crack both Lion's Eye Diamond(BBBBBBBBBB)(LEDs for Black, Tutor for another Tutor), 8 Infernal Tutor(BBBBBBBB)(Tutor for another Tutor), 9 Infernal Tutor(BBBBBB)(Tutor for Tendrils of Agony), 10 Tendrils of Agony(BB)(20 damage)
IV. What do the cards do?
Cantrips
- Brainstorm - The best card in Legacy, so-called. This does so many things for us. Cast in response to discard to place important cards safely on top of your library. Put something on top of your library, cast a cantrip, then crack LED in response to draw the card with LED mana available to cast it. Even without tricks you still see 3 new cards and keep at least 1 of them. Note that, because they can protect you from discard, it is often beneficial not to use these right away when you suspect that may be an issue. Also, this card becomes much better when used in conjunction with the shuffling effect of Tutors or Fetches, as you typically don't want the 2 cards you send back. It's typically good not to cast this without having a shuffle effect available.
- Gitaxian Probe - Very useful little sucker. Alerts us to potential combo deterrents in opponent's hand. Makes Cabal Therapy better. Draws us a card. Gives us easy Storm, all for the low cost of 2 life. However, becomes less useful post-Ad Nauseam and with multiple copies in hand.
- Ponder - Great card. Not as exciting as BS, but it still lets us see 3 cards and keep 1. Don't hesitate to shuffle them in if you don't see helpful things. Remember, if you keep a dud pile, you condemn yourself to 1-2 turns of nothing. Not a good plan in Legacy. Again, this card is typically much improved in conjunction with fetchlands, which allow you to take key cards and shuffle away the jank.
- Preordain - This is the more fickle of the cantrips we run. It's decent, but whenever new tech comes around or it's time to sideboard, this is usually the first thing to go. That said, this still allows us to see 2 cards and have complete control over when those cards are drawn, if at all. The digging power it offers in conjunction with the other cantrips helps to assemble combos quickly and efficiently, but running so many cantrips can also make your early game durdly, non-interactive, and potentially stale. Playtest from 12 to 16 cantrips and decide how many you would feel comfortable running.
Discard
- Cabal Therapy - Amazing spell, once you get used to it. This card requires extensive knowledge of the entire format to utilize fully, as well as info on what your opponent is running. Or Gitaxian Probe, whichever works best for you. We won't be taking any advantage of it's Flashback function, unfortunately, so our opponent is only scheduled for a maximum of four therapy sessions. We must make them count. We must sit the opponent down and make sure they're comfortable (sit across from them to play cards). We start to talk about how their life is, what their goals are, and how they feel about things (badger them and try to trick them into revealing what deck they're playing and what they boarded in). We try to find insight into the embarassing or shameful memories which they aren't sharing with us (we stare at their glasses, glossy forehead, or shiny bling to see if we can see a reflection of the cards in their hand). Then, with the tactful expertise of a professional, we attempt to relieve them of their stress (make them get rid of important cards). You see, in the end, everyone's happy. You have either interrupted their plans or prevented them from interrupting yours, and their hand has become lighter, and thus easier to hold. Win-Win.
- Duress - Great discard. Fun feature, the opponent cannot Misdirection this card back to you, since you aren't your own opponent. If you are, you need a Therapy session to discard that extra personality. Anyways, this card is good because it gets rid of everything we need it to EXCEPT for hatebears. For this reason, against creature-centric decks like Death & Taxes we will be siding these out, as they become nigh-useless.
- Thoughtseize - Usually a discard all-star, this card becomes less useful here, mainly because it has terrible synergy with Ad Nauseam. Nonetheless, it hits everything that we need to get rid of, and if you are willing to work more with this and less with AdN, feel free to give it a try.
- Inquisition of Kozilek - Meh. It does get rid of hatebears and other weenies without the lifeloss, and it gets rid of most countermagic, but it misses out on a lot of huge stuff we need to get rid of, like Force of Will, Natural Order, Jace, the Mindsculptor, Omniscience, Enter the Infinite, etc. Therefore, it is not advisable to run this card.
Mana Acceleration
- Lotus Petal - Good card for our deck. Free Storm and mana, all for the cost of one card? Sign me up! Generally you will want to save these until combo turn unless you are afraid something will happen to them (discard, counters, whatever) in the meantime, or unless you need to mana, obviously.
- Lion's Eye Diamond - One of the key cards of our deck. Free Storm and mana if you use it right. Obviously you can't go casting cards in your hand with LED, but there are some tricks of the trade. Note, however, that as of 2010 I believe you can't carry mana over from the upkeep to the draw step. So, if you're reading info from before then, don't be tempted by those shenanigans. So, to make the most out of this, keep the following tricks in mind. For one, this card works extremely well with Infernal Tutor. Most of the time you crack a LED, it will be for that interaction. This is sometimes a source of confusion, so pay attention. You cast LED and pass priority (assume it resolves). Then, you cast Infernal Tutor and crack LED in response without asking your opponent "k?". If you ask for a response to IT before cracking LED, they can just say "k" and suddenly you can't crack LED anymore until IT does its thing. Other benefits of doing the above listed procedure is that it makes your LED safe from Instant-speed permanent removal. Your opponent never has priority while LED is a permanent, so cards like Abrupt Decay are useless. If you have Past in Flames in hand or in the bin, this card can help you cast it easily. When you cast Ad Nauseam with these out, think about your goals. If you have enough mana floating to reasonably win the game with the cards you draw, keep your LEDs in case you get lots of lands with your Tutors. Otherwise, crack them so you have enough mana to at least set yourself up with an awesome hand and a clear field for next turn. Also, these empower your Cabal Rituals. Cast Tutor, respond with CRit, then crack LED to reach Threshold for tons of mana.
- Dark Ritual - Ah, the Lightning Bolt of mana acceleration. Trade 1 mana for 3 mana and Storm count. This card is fantastic. There's not too much else to be said about this, really. Just don't forget that you can cast this in response to a taxing counter like Spell Pierce to surprise pay for it, should the need arise.
- Cabal Ritual - Again, don't forget this card is an Instant. You can cast it in response to taxing counters to surprise your opponent. Before threshold this card is meh, but given the nature of this deck, we are likely to reach Threshold by the time we cast this card. After Threshold, this card provides massive mana acceleration. Timo Schunemann put it best by saying that "Cabal Ritual has more skulls printed on it than the average cover of a black metal band". Truth.
Business
- Ad Nauseam - Ah, the namesake of the deck. Do keep in mind, however, that this card is not your primary or even your secondary route to victory (those are Tutor Chaining and PiF "loops", respectively). Like Tracy Morgan, this is the third heat that makes your Storm oven extra-effective. You use this if you need to pull a win out of nowhere, which it can and will do for you, or if you only need a couple cards and know this will get them for you. Never get too greedy with this card. Don't go down to 3 if the opponent has a Mountain untapped. Don't take any more cards once you hit 4 life unless you must. Just be wary of what your opponent can do to you when you cast this. Also, don't forget it's an Instant, meaning that you can cast it EoT on your opponent's turn to set up your combo turn, or in response to something that your opponent casts that would otherwise screw you over.
- Infernal Tutor - One of the best cards in our deck, and reminiscent of the only Yugioh deck worth playing (what?). You will cast this card at least once in almost every game that you win. Interacts nicely with Lion's Eye Diamond to reach Hellbent. See the combo routes in the above section to see what to fetch and what to crack LED for. Remember, this card can fail to find things if you use its first ability, which is helpful if you have a hand with 2 Tutors and not enough mana for a full chain. You can use this early to fetch up more acceleration to combo off, if needed. Also, if your opponent hits you with discard, this is what they usually will (and should) get first. For the love of all that is holy, don't let this get Surgical Extraction'd. Use Brainstorm to protect this card, as it is extremely valuable.
- Past in Flames - Fabulous card. One of the more recent additions to our deck, as well, so you won't see this in older builds. This makes comboing out much easier. See the above combo routes section for more info on how to use this card. Beware, of course, that this card means that opposing grave hate actually becomes relevant, so be ready to play through or around that. Also, when you're Flashbacking everything, keep in mind to cast Cabal Ritual again while you still have Threshold, and to tutor for Tendrils of Agony before you flashback cantrips for Storm.
- Tendrils of Agony - Our wincon, and the ugliest card in our deck (unless you have the FNM promo version, of course). When casting this card, keep in mind how the opponent can interact with it. Countermagic will only counter one of the many copies of this card, but that also means that you need more Storm to kill them. Also, the opponent can do tricky things like Swords to Plowshares-ing their own dudes. Be vigilant and prepared. Also, while this card is pretty resilient to countermagic, it is still vulnerable to the likes of Flusterstorm and Mindbreak Trap, so be sure to get rid of that stuff. Also, do not forget, the Storm trigger can be Stifle'd. Do not let this happen to you, or you will soon see your opponent posting about it on the Interwebs and it will be embarrassing.
Less Common Options
- Burning Wish - This card has its ups and its downs in our build of Storm. On the one hand, it gives us outs to a lot of shenanigans, so our opponents don't accidentally win game 1 by resolving, say, Gaddock Teeg. It also helps us be even more flexible in our routes to victory. However, the fact remains that it is off-color, demanding a heavier dependence on R, which mandates some changes in our manabase. Also, casting this card before combo turn is usually not what this deck wants to be doing, so its usefulness is limited here as opposed to its usefulness in TES.
- Lim-Dul's Vault - Another powerful, but limited card. With life to spare, you can find any one card to set up your next draw. With any luck, you can even find two, three, or more. Also, being an Instant is nice, allowing you to use it EoT on your opponent's turn to set up your big move. However, the main issue with this card is that it doesn't cantrip. This card is effective only when you have another cantrip to get your card(s) or when you devote an entire turn to it, thus limiting its use in our build of Storm.
Common Sideboard Options
- Tropical Island - You will almost always need G post-board. If you don't have one of these in your MD, keep one in your SB.
- Xantid Swarm, Carpet of Flowers - This is our version of the Silence that T.E.S. runs. They each have advantages and disadvantages. Swarm is a recurring quasi-Chant, and excels against U decks like Miracles and High Tide. It is a must-counter, or else they basically lose. It also protects us from any other shenanigans the opponent may have had planned in hand for our combo turn. Carpet, on the other hand, performs very well against decks like RUG Delver which run lot's of soft counters and creature removal. Carefully plan for your meta and decide which of the two is best for you.
- Abrupt Decay - The best excuse to Sideboard in a random new color ever. This card alone changes matchups. Counterbalance, Trinisphere, and Chalice of the Void no longer cripple us. Deathrite Shaman or basically any other relevant creature threat giving you trouble? Dead. Really, this card is amazing, and one of the best SB options we could hope for.
- Karakas - This card has a lot of uses. It protects us from the fatties that decks like Hypergenesis, Reanimator, Dredge (on DR plan), Elves (lol), and Sneak Show like to bring in against us. It gets rid of annoying things like Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Gaddock Teeg. Best of all, it's permanent and uncounterable. Sweet!
- Slaughter Pact, Massacre, Dread of Night, etc. - These cards all serve pretty much the same function: kill Thalia. OK, so they do more than that, but they're mainly to improve the unfavorable matchup against Death & Taxes type decks. Use these to get rid of creatures you simply can't play around and, of course, for the free (or cheap) Storm!
- Chain of Vapor - This card is exciting. It's cheaper, on color, and hits some things that Decay misses, like Leyline of Sanctity, at the cost of being counterable. The bounce usually isn't a problem, as you'll tend to cast this when your opponent will not be receiving another turn to recast their beloved permanent. Also, you can be tricky with this. Bounce your own free Artifacts, sac your tapped lands, and then get your opponent's stuff. Free storm, 1 less troublesome permanent to worry about, and potential protection on your artifact mana? The Circus of Value clown would be proud.
- Wipe Away - This is like the compromise between Decay and CoV. It's on color and it hits everything that either of the other two could hit, all at the cost of being, well, costly. 3 mana is a lot.
- Dark Confidant - Bob is primarily for decks that wish to regain card advantage after being ravaged by opposing discard. He's useful, but also risky. He makes our life total even more relevant than it already is, and severely limits the usefulness of AdN.
- Empty the Warrens - This is your alternate win-con. This is where the sideboarding metagame really comes into play. On the one hand, much of the hate for Tendrils is blanked by this card (e.g. Leyline of Sanctity), and you can go off both earlier and with lower Storm counts (12-14 goblins is usually adequate), but on the other hand, these tokens will die if you breathe on them too hard, and Batterskull will ruin your day. Typically, though, your average opponent won't go creature hate on you, so this is a useful thing to throw into your deck post-board to deal with the hate you anticipate for your opponent to bring in.
V. What do my matchups look like?
vs. Elves Very Favorable
This is our best matchup by far. Elves has practically no chance against us whatsoever game 1, and they still struggle hardcore post-board. Seriously, every time I play against Elves, I feel like I've won some kind of matchup-raffle. So anyways, their plan early-game is to set up low-cost elves to prepare for their combo. Then, when it's time to combo off, they resolve a Glimpse of Nature and continue to cast and draw more cards until they resolve a lethal Craterhoof Behemoth. As an alternate win, they can resolveAnakin SkywalkerNatural Order to bring out a fattie like Progenitus or Craterhoof Behemoth. The problem they have is that they can't really interact with you at all, except for DRS nuking your yard, and they are a turn slower than we are, some game 1 is basically a goldfish. Post-board, they bring in some discard and something along the lines of Ruric Thar, the Unbowed and/or Mindbreak Trap. Don't fall for MBT, and definitely don't let Ruric Thar happen. When using discard, always aim for their Natural Order, Green Sun's Zenith, Glimpse of Nature, Craterhoof Behemoth (builds that don't run 1 only have 2, so hitting him is big), and combo food, Heritage Druid and Wirewood Symbiote being big ones.
vs. RUG Delver
Ah, tempo decks. Much fun. This has been the most popular deck in Legacy for some time (although Elves is starting to get up there), so it would behoove you to be prepared for this matchup. Their strategy is to wreck your early game by Stifle-ing your fetches, Wasteland-ing your duals, and countering your spells. In the meantime, they resolve a Delver of Secrets, Nimble Mongoose, or Tarmogoyf and ride it to victory by preventing you from doing anything about it. First thing's first, use your basics. This is one of the main reasons we have them. They can't be killed by Wasteland, and that gives us a big advantage. Until you know better, always assume the opponent has a counter in hand, so don't try to play important things unless you must, in which case, try to have 2 mana available to pay for their soft counters. Also, when discarding things, remember that they can't cast FoW without something U to pitch, so if you see a hand like Force of Will, Wasteland, Stifle, Tarmogoyf, Lightning Bolt, consider taking the Stifle to put them off of two cards at once. This is especially useful if you do it the turn you go off. Post-board, your Swarm/Carpet will help you deal with their counters. As for what they might bring in, Surgical Extraction, Flusterstorm, Tormod's Crypt, and possibly Vendilion Clique are things you can expect to see. RUG doesn't change too much against us, so try to keep a good hand with one of your SB counter-hate options and have at it!
vs. BUG Control
BUG Control, a relative newcomer to the Legacy gauntlet. It is full of all sorts of card-advantage, what with Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Baleful Strix, and powerful cascades from Shardless Agent. They also run Deathrite Shaman to disrupt our grave, Tarmogoyf to put a clock on us, and Liliana of the Veil to ruin our hand, with her sidekick, the little pixie from Thoughtseize. To round it all off, they also run several counters and permanent destruction. Like an angry Gators fan at a Bulldogs game, we'll have to fight through lots of hate. When you have artifact mana in hand, you have to decide whether it's safer to hold on to it until combo turn and risk it being discarded or playing it early and opening it up to Decay. When you play your cantrips, you need to thing very, very carefully about how you stack your draws. Brainstorm is incredibly important to surviving this matchup, don't blow it right away like a noob. When you're preparing to dismantle their hand, always make sure to go for the thing they have which will disrupt you the most and prevent you from comboing off when you want to. Always think hard about what you're trying to accomplish before you decide what to strip away, instead of just "lol, Jace, where are your $100 now?".
vs. Sneak Attack
The tried and true way to cheat ridiculous creatures into play, the creatures of choice tending towards Emrakul, the Aeons Torn and Griselbrand. This deck uses cantrips and Intuition to find their stuff (formally referred to as durdling), Show and Tell and Sneak Attack to get everyone's favorite demon and/or spaghetti monster into play, accel like Lotus Petal and the Sol lands to play stuff on a timely basis, and countermagic to back it all up. Post-board, they have better counters in Flusterstorm and more business, if they want it. This matchup is all about the race, with your discard vs their counters. Carefully consider the game state when you play your discard. It's a hard decision between fatties and cheats, but usually you want to go off before they do, so counters will be your targets. Also, they tend to run Misdirection, so they can hit your discard. Call it reverse psychology. Just remember you still pick what to hit. If they bounce a Therapy, name something awesome.
vs. Jund
Turn 1 Thoughtseize, turn 2 Hymn to Tourach, turn 3 Liliana of the Veil, gg? This deck wins by attacking our hands with discard, gaining card advantage through Lili and Dark Confidant, abusing extremely useful creatures such as Deathrite Shaman and Tarmogoyf, and shooting down early permanents with spot removal like Abrupt Decay. Proper use of our cantrips is critical to succeeding in this matchup. Set up your upcoming draws with business so that you'll only draw it the turn you use it, keeping the important things safe from discard. Consider when to play out your artifact mana and when to keep it in hand. Post-board, they have access to Surgical Extraction, so be extremely careful about the cards you keep in your opening hand. Do not keep any hands with critical spells like Infernal Tutor or Tendrils of Agony unless you can either win without them or take care of their threats. However, an full opening hand of 7 cards has great value here, as an otherwise good mulligan to 4 or 5 becomes less good when it gets attacked every turn. Be careful.
vs. Patriot xx-xx
Game 1:
SB:
Game 2/3:
vs. OmniTell
This is a mono-U combo deck with a similar clock to ours but with countermagic in the place of our discard. It wins by cheating in either Omniscience or Dream Halls (occasionally a hard-cast on this one), then casting Enter the Infinite to draw their deck. To get there, they run lots of cantrips and tutors, and to stay there, they run lots of counters. Post-board they have even more, although they can Wish these in game 1 as needed. This matchup is another race. Post board, we want to bring in our bouce spells and extra discard. Hitting Omniscience with Enter the Infinite on the stack is a devastating play.
vs. Death & Taxes Unfavorable
Nothing is certain but death and taxes, and you'll hate your life until your dead. They have Wasteland and Rishidan Port to harass our manabase, Phyrexian Revoker to attack our artifact mana, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben to heavily strain our spell chains, and Aven Mindcensor to wreak absolute havoc on our fetches and our tutors. We have to be fast in this matchup to succeed. Use your basics, and assume that if they leave mana open they are going to Mindcensor you. Post-board, they have access to Ethersworn Cannonist to stop our combo completely. Luckily, the majority of our sideboard is devoted to this very matchup. We want to side out any copies of Duress we may be using and side in all of our creature hate. Best of luck!
vs. Miracle Control xx-xx
Game 1:
SB:
Game 2/3:
vs. Reanimator
The best piece of advice I can give you for this matchup is to not discard their fatties, lol. Their gameplan is to get one of their fatties in the bin via Entomb, self-targeted discard, or cleanup step, then to use one of their many reanimation spells to cheat it into play. They have Daze and Force of Will to help them out. Post-board, they have access to more counters, and potentially Show and Tell to have more routes to victory. To practice this matchup, I recommend trying this deck out for a little while. This will help you know what to discard to interfere with their combo. For instance, when they have Entomb and Reanimate in hand, binning their Entomb blanks their reanimate because they need to find a fattie and bin it.
Last edited by bjholmes3; 11-25-2013 at 03:03 PM.
Neither the list nor the placing is correct. Greetings2nd Place @ BoM Paris 3/11/13, by Grzegorz Jezierski
1 Ad Nauseam
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Dark Ritual
1 Past in Flames
1 Tendrils of Agony
3 Burning Wish
3 Cabal Therapy
4 Duress
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Infernal Tutor
4 Ponder
4 Preordain
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
1 Badlands
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Swamp
1 Volcanic Island
2 Island
2 Underground Sea
3 Scalding Tarn
4 Polluted Delta
// Sideboard
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Massacre
1 Reverent Silence
1 Past in Flames
1 Wipe Away
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Pyroclasm
1 Deathmark
2 Extirpate
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Cabal Therapy
1 Meltdown
1 Tropical Island
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Yeah don't ever first post a list without Brainstorm :P!
Challenge: win a (min 25 person) tournament with a list without brainstorm!
Any takers?
I'm afraid I don't agree with you here. When you play against a deck with maindeck Gaddock teeg and Thalia (hello, Maverick) it is imo always the right play to name thalia. While Teeg will be a one-off Thalia is a 4-off in those deck.
On top of this they have 3 or 4 GSZ to go search for their Teeg.
It is true that Teeg is GG but imo it's always better to name thalia (or GSZ for that matter if they know you play storm).
Preboard I name Thalia, postboard I name Teeg/Zenith, Canonist or even Revoker (depends on the deck) because I will most likely hit one of my three Dread of Night to instantly kill Thalia.
Nice job on the Tendrils pic
3 Massacre in Mark Tocco's board? That just seems weird.
Oops, just copypasted straight from The Council without even noticing. What is the list supposed to be?
Yeah, the Teeg/Thalia thing was a weak example. It was tough coming up with something helpful that wasn't also pedantically obvious.
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