Torpornought (NPH)

[brianw712]

4 Ancient Tomb
4 Tundra
2 Flooded Strand
4 Polluted Delta
2 City of Traitors
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Volcanic Island
1 Seat of the Synod

4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Eater of Days

3 Enlightened Tutor
4 Stifle
4 Brainstorm
3 Ponder
4 Force of Will
4 Mental Misstep
4 Torpor Orb
3 Firespout
1 Threads of Disloyalty

SB:

1 Firespout
1 Ethersworn Canonist
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Sensei's Divining Top
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Oblivion Ring

The basic goal is to find Torpor Orb and play cheap, fat creatures. Enlightened Tutor can find all the pieces of the combo, Misstep and Force protect it. Still seems like something's missing though. Thoughts?

[ivanpei]

Eater of days is a pretty good find! I think it's better than Hunted Horror. I probably think you would want to run more acceleration to support the heavy CC. You are splashing white just for E-tutor. Why not just play intuition instead? It isn't card disadvantage and finds anything. You are now essentially mono coloured too, so chrome mox can come in. Here's a list:

4 Nought
4 Eater
4 Torpor Orb
4 Stifle

4 Force
4 Misstep
4 Intuition
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
3 Spellskite!! (You are most likely going to lose the race to zoo/folk/gobs)- http://sales.starcitygames.com/carddisplay.php?product=267353

4 Chrome
4 Tomb
4 City
6 Fetch
3 Island

Seems playable. Spellskite seems good. You can run it out early to block and then use it to protect your monsters from removal. Seems good.

[brianw712]

Updated the list with Firespout. As for Intuition vs. E Tutor, I think Intuition is too slow. This deck has to put up a board presence fast enough so that the opponent can't race a 12/12 or a 9/8.

As a side note, here are all the creatures I thought of off the top of my head that Torpor Orb stops. Add more if you think of some.

Trinket Mage
Goblin Ringleader
Goblin Matron
Siege-Gang Commander
Stingscourger
Mogg War Marshall
Silvergill Adept
Eternal Witness
Flickerwisp
Stoneforge Mystic
Imperial Recruiter
Aluren
Vendilion Clique
Elvish Visionary
Sylvan Messenger
Regal Force
Terastadon
Flame-Kin Zealot
ThopterSword
Gatekeeper of Malakir
Gilded Drake
Woodfall Primus

[kinda]

I think that spellskite could be in the sb (maybe in place of explosies+ring?) to sub in for force of will versus aggro decks. It will still protect your creatures while not being card disadvantage, serving as a blocker, redirecting last pieces of zoo burn at itself, and suriving firespout. It can also be e-tutored up when ur in race mode to win.

[TheSleeper]

What about adding 1-2 Lightning Greaves?

[SurFitOfTheVine]

What about adding 1-2 Lightning Greaves?

You might as well add the new Phyrexian Metamorph.

[mossivo1986]

The reason why Dreadstill was so succesful was due to the fact that counterbalance is a natural lock that enables dreadnaught to function through an enviornment of 0 disruption, occasionally against the right decks, speeding out a naught was acceptable practice.

There are a couple of problems you need to address with this deck from just taking a look at it.

This deck has 0 sources of CA. The only permanent advantage you have is when you resolve a fatty, but your auto 2-1 ing yourself without a shell that either protects it or has a CA engine to keep churning out fatty's turn after turn.

Torpor Orb is not a replacement for stifle. Anytime you cast a dude that requires a stifle, and you don't have one sitting in hand you are going to be sweating balls. This may sound like fun to you, but on a competitive level; having confidence in your deck is really key.

[(nameless one)]

You might as well add the new Phyrexian Metamorph.

Phyrexian Metamorph is a nonbo with Torpor Orb

[mistercakes]

is this a different idea than combining the orb with illusionary mask and stifle for some more consistency?

[AlterEgo]

Phyrexian Metamorph is a nonbo with Torpor Orb

A what?
If you mean it doesn't work, then you're confusing triggered abilities and replacement effects - the latter do work and having a Clone/Metamorph copy something IS a replacement effect.

[Benjammn]

You guys are forgetting a recently-unbanned card that is just like Torpor Orb: Illusionary Mask. Both allow fun things like Dreadnought and Hunted Horror to be sneaked into play. Redundancy is fun! (yeah yeah, Mask is expensive, but w/e)

Cheatyface
4 Torpor Orb
4 Illusionary Mask

4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Hunted Horror
3 Fathom Seer
2 Eater of Days

4 Stifle
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
2 Spell Pierce
2 Mental Misstep

22 lands

[B.C.]

Needs more Leveler. It's not the best, but it's LEVELER.

[NukeMoose]

A what?
If you mean it doesn't work, then you're confusing triggered abilities and replacement effects - the latter do work and having a Clone/Metamorph copy something IS a replacement effect.

Yes but by copying Dreadnought you copy it's 187 ability too, making you need another Stifle or Orb on the board. I think that's why he called it a nonbo-it's not a free 2nd dreadnought-it's still conditional on you being way ahead of your opponent.

[GGoober]

There used to be an OLD thread (forgot the name of the deck) that played Hunted Horror. I think it's better than Torpor shenanigans because it plays Hunted Horror and then plays Brand, or a couple of EE/Kegs maindeck with Stifle + Dreadnought.

[Sims]

There used to be an OLD thread (forgot the name of the deck) that played Hunted Horror. I think it's better than Torpor shenanigans because it plays Hunted Horror and then plays Brand, or a couple of EE/Kegs maindeck with Stifle + Dreadnought.

They changed the way that rule works. You can't play Hunted creatures and Brand the tokens back to your control anymore because now when the tokens are created, the controller is the owner of them, not you.

[Justin]

An explanation is here: http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/article.aspx?x=mtg/daily/feature/42a

4) Token Ownership
The Fix: We are matching most players' expectation by changing the rule such that the owner of a token is, in fact, the player under whose control it entered the battlefield.
The Details: The rules change is as Aaron described it. As for the ramifications, there are three kinds of situations when this rule comes up:
1. When someone is trying to exploit it. (Sorry, Warp Worlders.)
2. When a naturally occurring game situation makes it matter who owns a token. This is pretty darn unusual. For example, my Hunted Lammasu creates a token under your control, I Repeal the token, and one of us controls Azorius Æthermage. Whose hand did that token return to? Under the old rule, mine; under the new rule, yours. But without that Æthermage on the battlefield, it doesn't actually matter.
3. In a multiplayer game. My Hunted Lammasu creates a token under your control, then I lose the game. Under the old rule, I take my token with me when I leave the game. Under the new rule, it stays right where it is.

[GradStudentGuy]

Here is what I was working on its B/W/U with an enlightened tutor tool box.

1x Academy Ruins
1x Swamp
1x Island
2x Scrubland
4x Underground Sea
4x Wasteland
4x Polluted Delta
4x Flooded Strand



4x Dark Confidant
4x Phyrexian Dreadnought
4x Hunted Horror


4x Thoughtseize
4x Hymn to Tourach


4x Brainstorm
3x Daze
3x Metal Misstep
4x Stifle

// Tool Box
3x Enlightened Tutor
1x Oblivion Ring
1x Torpor Orb

SB:

1x Torpor Orb
3x Disenchant
2x Engineered Explosives
4x Force of Will
1x Null Rod
1x Pithing Needle
3x Tormod's Crypt

[myk]

is blue really the way to go? years ago in vintage mono black masknaught was a deck to play. i know you dont get the tutors and good fast mana (moxes and lotus) but its possible that it could be ran.

For reference this is what the Vintage deck looked like back in the day...

1 Black Lotus
4 Illusionary Mask
1 Mox Jet
4 Serum Powder

4 Dark Confidant
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Phyrexian Negator


1 Demonic Tutor
4 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Sinkhole

4 Dark Ritual
1 Demonic Consultation
1 Vampiric Tutor

11 Swamp
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland


So in trying to keep the deck somewhat similar to the Vintage deck and keep the current Legacy meta in mind this is what I came up with...

3 Chrome Mox
3 Illusionary Mask
4 Torpor Orb

4 Dark Confidant
4 Hunted Horror
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought

3 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Thoughtsieze

4 Dismember
4 Spoils of the Vault

4 Wasteland
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Polluted Delta
7 Swamp


Some of the reasoning behind the deck

All the discard is obviously there to try and clear the path of removal and counters to make sure that you're able to land your Torpor Orb or Mask and get your fatties in play.

The Moxes are something that I'm not totally sold on. I think with the prevalence of Mental Misstep in the blue decks that running Dark Ritual may be more of a liability when you want to be able to cast Bob, Hymn or one of your enablers on turn one. There could also be a need for more Moxes or a split of Chrome and Diamond.

Not really sure on the amount of Illusionary Masks that actually belong in the deck, but you do need another way to actually get your men into play w/out the drawbacks they typically provide. Two may be the right number, but having a way to consistently get them into your hand or play can be a problem.

Spoils of the Vault is a cheap and efficient (somewhat) tutor that can get you the piece that you're missing. The problem running this card is that it can be countered with Misstep and another aggro deck can make it a huge liability when you need to find another man.

Dismember seems like the best universal removal spell to me. It feels like its better than Snuff Out in terms of a "free" spell, but maybe not as good as Go for the Throat. This is something that I'll be toying around with as well.

You'll notice the absence of Serum Powder in the Legacy version compared the to Vintage version. I'm totally sold that trying to mulligan away your cards just find a quick Mask or Orb is the way to go as you're potentially discarding creatures or removal that you need for the actual game that is going to be played. It's just something that requires a little more time to test.

If anyone has any other ideas or suggestions to this style of deck input would be greatly appreciated as I'm sure I could be just totally blanking on a card(s) that would be more suitable for this deck.

[kinda]

is blue really the way to go? years ago in vintage mono black masknaught was a deck to play. i know you dont get the tutors and good fast mana (moxes and lotus) but its possible that it could be ran.

For reference this is what the Vintage deck looked like back in the day...

1 Black Lotus
4 Illusionary Mask
1 Mox Jet
4 Serum Powder

4 Dark Confidant
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Phyrexian Negator


1 Demonic Tutor
4 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Sinkhole

4 Dark Ritual
1 Demonic Consultation
1 Vampiric Tutor

11 Swamp
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland


So in trying to keep the deck somewhat similar to the Vintage deck and keep the current Legacy meta in mind this is what I came up with...

3 Chrome Mox
3 Illusionary Mask
4 Torpor Orb

4 Dark Confidant
4 Hunted Horror
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought

3 Duress
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Thoughtsieze

4 Dismember
4 Spoils of the Vault

4 Wasteland
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Polluted Delta
7 Swamp


Some of the reasoning behind the deck

All the discard is obviously there to try and clear the path of removal and counters to make sure that you're able to land your Torpor Orb or Mask and get your fatties in play.

The Moxes are something that I'm not totally sold on. I think with the prevalence of Mental Misstep in the blue decks that running Dark Ritual may be more of a liability when you want to be able to cast Bob, Hymn or one of your enablers on turn one. There could also be a need for more Moxes or a split of Chrome and Diamond.

Not really sure on the amount of Illusionary Masks that actually belong in the deck, but you do need another way to actually get your men into play w/out the drawbacks they typically provide. Two may be the right number, but having a way to consistently get them into your hand or play can be a problem.

Spoils of the Vault is a cheap and efficient (somewhat) tutor that can get you the piece that you're missing. The problem running this card is that it can be countered with Misstep and another aggro deck can make it a huge liability when you need to find another man.

Dismember seems like the best universal removal spell to me. It feels like its better than Snuff Out in terms of a "free" spell, but maybe not as good as Go for the Throat. This is something that I'll be toying around with as well.

You'll notice the absence of Serum Powder in the Legacy version compared the to Vintage version. I'm totally sold that trying to mulligan away your cards just find a quick Mask or Orb is the way to go as you're potentially discarding creatures or removal that you need for the actual game that is going to be played. It's just something that requires a little more time to test.

If anyone has any other ideas or suggestions to this style of deck input would be greatly appreciated as I'm sure I could be just totally blanking on a card(s) that would be more suitable for this deck.

Looks good to me, but I would still splash blue or white. Stifle (being realistic mask isn't an option for most people), brainstorm for consistency, and mental misstep. With white you get enlightened tutor which is better than spoils and swords.

Edit:

I would also consider adding leyline combo if your meta is team america/dredge/zoo/new horizons etc heavy.

3 Chrome Mox
3 Illusionary Mask
4 Torpor Orb

3 Hunted Horror
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
1 Eater of Days

4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Thoughtsieze
3 Swords to Plowshares or Other protection

4 Enlightened Tutor
2 Helm of Obedience
4 Leyline of the Void

21 Land

[DukeDemonKn1ght]

That Black Masknaught list looks fun as all fuck to play, but I'm not 100% sold on its viability... Really makes me wish I had access to a computer that could run MWS though, so I could test it.

@Kinda: I don't think the rarity/ cost of Illusionary Mask should be a prohibitive factor, if it tests like a real deck. I mean, right now the cost of Mask is less than the cost of Underground Sea anyways, so it's a little silly to be like "Mask isn't a realistic option for everyone, but you should run a black/blue manabase."

@Myk: If your list tests decently and this is a deck you want to run in real life, I would snap up your set of Masks fast. They're already pretty pricey, and Candelabra of Tawnos has already shown that if old sleeper cards find a home in a new deck, their price is gonna go up overnight.

[kinda]

That Black Masknaught list looks fun as all fuck to play, but I'm not 100% sold on its viability... Really makes me wish I had access to a computer that could run MWS though, so I could test it.

@Kinda: I don't think the rarity/ cost of Illusionary Mask should be a prohibitive factor, if it tests like a real deck. I mean, right now the cost of Mask is less than the cost of Underground Sea anyways, so it's a little silly to be like "Mask isn't a realistic option for everyone, but you should run a black/blue manabase."

@Myk: If your list tests decently and this is a deck you want to run in real life, I would snap up your set of Masks fast. They're already pretty pricey, and Candelabra of Tawnos has already shown that if old sleeper cards find a home in a new deck, their price is gonna go up overnight.

That's a fair point but a lot of people I know who play legacy either have duals or can easily borrow them...illusionary mask can be a bit harder to acquire.

[TheG]

Here is my list

// Lands 19
6 [U] Swamp (1)
2 [EX] City of Traitors
5 [SHM] Plains (3)
4 [TE] Ancient Tomb
2 [SH] Volrath's Stronghold

// Creatures 15
4 [JGC] Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 [RAV] Dark Confidant
4 [NPH] Spellskite
3 [DS] Eater of Days

// Spells 26
4 [NPH] Gitaxian Probe
2 [WWK] Basilisk Collar
3 [LRW] Thoughtseize
3 [M10] Duress
4 [MI] Enlightened Tutor
4 [BRB] Swords to Plowshares
3 [U] Illusionary Mask
3 [NPH] Torpor Orb

i prefered dark confidant as "card advantage engine" to have more consistency and support the Enlightened (on withc relies the the deck) card disadvantage. Idem for the Probe, and could save us a turn for (not) running a discard on opp. Spellskite + VolrathStronhold to make some usefull recursion and protect creatures, and artifacts. Collar to overtun race VS. aggro and balance ours Tombs and Phyrexian spells.

I liked a lot Layline+Helm combo from Kinda. and i'm thinking about a transfomational SB.

[kinda]

Here is my list

// Lands 19
6 [U] Swamp (1)
2 [EX] City of Traitors
5 [SHM] Plains (3)
4 [TE] Ancient Tomb
2 [SH] Volrath's Stronghold

// Creatures 15
4 [JGC] Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 [RAV] Dark Confidant
4 [NPH] Spellskite
3 [DS] Eater of Days

// Spells 26
4 [NPH] Gitaxian Probe
2 [WWK] Basilisk Collar
3 [LRW] Thoughtseize
3 [M10] Duress
4 [MI] Enlightened Tutor
4 [BRB] Swords to Plowshares
3 [U] Illusionary Mask
3 [NPH] Torpor Orb

i prefered dark confidant as "card advantage engine" to have more consistency and support the Enlightened (on withc relies the the deck) card disadvantage. Idem for the Probe, and could save us a turn for (not) running a discard on opp. Spellskite + VolrathStronhold to make some usefull recursion and protect creatures, and artifacts. Collar to overtun race VS. aggro and balance ours Tombs and Phyrexian spells.

I liked a lot Layline+Helm combo from Kinda. and i'm thinking about a transfomational SB.

Even with sol lands 19 is too low. I'd cut the collars and a spellskite or two for land and the 4th torpor orb. You want at least 11 black and white sources which for two colors means duals and fetches.

[kinda]

can i suggest a brainless/combo list for this deck?! check this out!

// Lands
4 [6E] Crystal Vein
6 [NPH] Island (1)
4 [TE] Ancient Tomb
2 [TSP] Academy Ruins
4 [EX] City of Traitors

// Creatures
4 [JGC] Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 [NPH] Spellskite
4 [DS] Eater of Days
4 [FUT] Street Wraith

// Spells
4 [V09] Lotus Petal
4 [NPH] Gitaxian Probe
4 [NPH] Mental Misstep
2 [WWK] Basilisk Collar
4 [U] Illusionary Mask
4 [NPH] Torpor Orb

are 58.. i suggest 2 Fathom Seer for the remaining 2 slots.
The strategy is simple: play a very redundant deck (8 critters and 8 torpor effect) with theorically 52 cards (8 wratih effect) and keeping alive the Dred/Eater for 3 turns for the win. the choise of playing wratihs and probe is based on the "mana saving" for maximize the threat output of the deck, except for phantom seer that's a +3 CA cc2 :eek:
Petals and veins are for a T1 fast nought as u can see.
i would like more protection with Spell Snare & Spell Pierce and maybe also 2 other phantom seer but in this case i should use more islands and the deck will result slower. what u think about? another chance is using Lightning Greaves for protection

Wraith/probe will only end up making mulligan decisions hard and the deck inconsistent. In other news with stoneforge/clique being so prevalent running a torpor orb deck might not be a bad idea.

[Benie Bederios]

Bwah, this is so cool, my old favourite deck (Brand) comming back to live.

From the final list I used, before Wizards killed the deck:

AEther Vial: playing creatures for nothing is quite good. You are also able to pay for 1 Dreadnought with another.

Dark Confidant: Great curve for the deck.

Echoing Truth: Quite good when you can put up a clock this fast. Also bounces the tokens made by Hunted Horror.

Gilded Drake: Probably not usable anymore. With Echoing Truth it still works a little bit. But playing Brand for this card is a little too cute. Maybe 1 or 2. Stealing a Goyf/Knight of the Relquary or a Emrakul (is this possible???) is still good times.

_.Benie._

[zpikduM]

Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas has a role here me thinks. Makes extra torpor orbs/artifacts huge beaters, ensuring late game relevance, then allows you to dig for torpor orbs you are missing.

[kinda]

Tez looks good, but idk about vial.

[zpikduM]

Not enough dudes to abuse vial.

[Benie Bederios]

Not enough dudes to abuse vial.

It's not how many creatures you play, it is how well you can abuse them with Vial.

This is the list I've been testing:


// Lands
2 Scalding Tarn
1 Island
3 Wasteland
4 Polluted Delta
4 Underground Sea
4 Volcanic Island

// Creatures
3 Gilded Drake
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Hunted Horror
4 Dark Confidant

// Spells
4 Mental Misstep
4 Thoughtseize
3 Echoing Truth
4 Tropor Orb
4 Brainstorm
4 AEther Vial
4 Stifle

// Sideboard
4 Blue Elemental Blast
4 Red Elemental Blast
3 Volcanic Fallout
4 Leyline of the Void

This deck is just a little change from my Vile Horror deck. That's why red is still in it.

Card choices:

Wasteland: I already play Stifle so Wasteland is not a bad include. I would like to play four, but don't know how to fit it in the deck( maybe for the Island)

Island: not more basic lands needed

Gilded Drake: Still left from my old build, but still in here and I like it. With so many big creatures around (Emrakul, Knight of the Reliquary or just plain Tarmogoyf.) This card is very powerful. Combined with Echoing Truth and AEther Vial you can really abuse this guy.

Hunted Horror: I found it better then Eater of Days because it's cheaper. With Echoing Truth you can kill the tokens too.

Mental Misstep: Testslot, but Swords to Plowshare was a problem in the early days. Now this got a solution.

Thoughtseize: Another testslot. It was Force of Will, but I didn't have enought blue to support it when tested. Also costs only 3 life with Dark Confidant instead of 6.

Echoing Truth: A catch all answer for nasty permanents and nice with Gilded Drake and Hunted Horror.

AEther Vial: 15 creatures is not much with AEther vial, but you can sneak in Gilded Drakes / Hunted Horror's during combat is great. It also dodges counters and hampes Standstill. Two examples: An opponent reanimated a Jin-Gitaxias, Core Augur and at the end of his turn, he needed to discard is hand. An other opponent hardcasted an Emrakul, he wanted to attack me the turn after, but I vialed in Gilded Drake and beat him to dead with his own creature.

Good card interactions:

Torpor Orb + Phyrexian Drearnought: a 12/12 trample for 1.
Torpor Orb + Hunted Horror: a 7/7 trample for 2
Echoing Truth + Hunted Horror: a 7/7 for 4
Echoing Truth + Gilded Drake: Nab a creature for 4 and do it again
Stifle + Phyrexian Dreadnought: a 12/12 for 2
Stifle + Hunted Horror: a 7/7 for three
AEther Vial + Phyrexian Dreadnought + Phyrexian Dreadnought: a 12/12 for 1.

Lesser card Interraction
Torpor Orb + Gilded Drake: Only a 3/3 flying for 2.

Not sure about the colour splash. I could easily play another colour, but like the Red Elemental Blasts and Volcanic Falouts out of the board.

_.Benie._

[Draener]

// Lands
4 Flooded Strand
1 Academy Ruins
1 Tundra
4 Wasteland
1 Swamp
1 Island
4 Underground Sea
4 Polluted Delta

// Creatures
4 Dark Confidant
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought

// Spells
2 Enlightened Tutor
2 Artificer's Intuition
3 Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
3 Chrome Mox
4 Torpor Orb
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Crucible of Worlds
4 Force of Will
4 Mental Misstep
4 Brainstorm
4 Stifle

I believe this list gives you a good balance of card advantage and tempo. Extra torpor orbs or chrome mox can be pitched to artifacer's intuition, or turned into 5/5s with tezzeret. Also, stifle + dark confidant + wasteland sometimes just wins.

[myk]

Okay, there's been a lot of great ideas tossed around on the thread. The ones that appeal to me are adding Spellskite to protect your men and the possibility of Fathom Seer with Illusionary Mask.

@kinda- yes duals are much easier to come by than Illusionary Mask, luckily I have a few of them from when I played this in vintage and have some friends with them as well :)

Honestly i think that Illusionary Mask is much better in this deck than Torpor Orb. In case you aren't familiar with its current rulings this is how it works:

Pay at least the casting cost of a creature in your hand to summon it to the battlefield as a 2/2 face down creature. this creature is colorless and has no mana cost. (meaning opponents cannot cast mental misstep on dreadnoughts) Whenever the creature would be become tapped, deals or is assigned damage turn it face up (this ability cannot be responded to).

This is the version that I've been testing lately as the first version didn't feel very well balanced and this is getting closer/more comfortable to play for me

3 Chrome Mox
4 Illusionary Mask
1 Topor Orb
1 Eater of Days
1 Sensei's Divining Top

4 Dark Confidant
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
2 Gatekeeper of Malakir

4 Thoughtseize
4 Hymn to Tourach
2 Cabal Therapy

3 Go for the Throat
2 Smother
1 Diabolic Edict

4 Bitterblossom

4 Wasteland
11 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs

More theory behind card choices:

Bitterblossom: I feel the need to add a flier to the deck since most u/w decks or other landstill style decks have access to Vendilion Clique. Having a way to effectively deal with that card aside from wasting removal on it seems necessary in todays meta. Although, I'm not sure that you actually need it since the goal of the deck is to ignore creatures like that as much as possible by dropping a Dreadnought. This gives me more men with evasion and a little more time to find a dreadnought/mask if I don't have it. By including this it allows me to get rid of Duress, which was mediocre in testing, and use Cabal Therapy to make sure I hit what I want and can flashback without much tempo loss. This was originally an Oona's Prowler, although after seeing the suggestion of Spellskite, I could see myself using those instead.

Gatekeeper of Malakir: With the format having random fatties such as Emrakul and Progenitus I felt that I needed way out against those particular decks. With all the spot removal in the deck already I felt the addition of two of these and an Edict was necessary.

After seeing a few of the lists however I do like the addition of Enlightened Tutor to dig up whatever half of the combo yopur missing or the addition of blue to have the library manipulation and countermagic needed to actually set up a defense.

[junitor]

this is good enough for me, but any improvement to the deck below?

Illusionary Orb by Mike Farmer
Format: Legacy - M12
Location: 2011 StarCity Open Legacy - Seattle - 7/26
Players: 184
Finished: 9th Place

4 Dark Confidant
4 Hunted Horror
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Tarmogoyf
Creatures [16]

4 Dark Ritual
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Illusionary Mask
3 Maelstrom Pulse
3 Surgical Extraction
3 Thoughtseize
4 Torpor Orb
Spells [25]

4 Bayou
3 Forest
1 Llanowar Wastes
4 Swamp
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Wasteland
Lands [20]

SIDEBOARD
2 Berserk
3 Choke
3 Krosan Grip
4 Mental Misstep
3 Perish

[Qweerios]

I played against a Torpornaught deck in the finals of a tournament this week and the deck was surprisingly strong. It beat Painterstone, Goblins, Survival/NO combo rock, and Deadguy. It placed second, losing 1-2 to my maverick/aura deck. I inquired about my opponent's deck and deduced the following list:


Creatures (12)
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Hunted Horror
4 Dark Confidant

Spells (22)
4 Dark Ritual
4 Thoughtseize
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Enlightened Tutor
3 Vindicate

Artifacts (5)
3 Torpor Orb
1 Sundial of the Infinite
1 Illusionary Mask

Lands (21)
4 Wasteland
4 Scrubland
2 Swamp
1 Plains
4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Bloodstained Mire


This deck made a lot of noise at that tournament, especially because of mainboard Torpor Orb shutting down Goblins, Stoneforge, and plenty of other notorious CiP creatures(Gatekeeper, Sculler, etc...). Sundial is great at cheating creatures into play, avoiding removal, and is extremely good against a wide array of decks such as Hive Mind, Painter-Stone, Smokestacks, and more. The 3 Mainboard tutors also open up the sideboard to a lot of diversity. I had played against the B/U variant a few times before and really thought this deck was casual at best but it appears to be quite powerful when coupled with white utility spells.

[kinda]

I played against a Torpornaught deck in the finals of a tournament this week and the deck was surprisingly strong. It beat Painterstone, Goblins, Survival/NO combo rock, and Deadguy. It placed second, losing 1-2 to my maverick/aura deck. I inquired about my opponent's deck and deduced the following list:


Creatures (12)
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Hunted Horror
4 Dark Confidant

Spells (22)
4 Dark Ritual
4 Thoughtseize
4 Hymn to Tourach
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Enlightened Tutor
3 Vindicate

Artifacts (5)
3 Torpor Orb
1 Sundial of the Infinite
1 Illusionary Mask

Lands (21)
4 Wasteland
4 Scrubland
2 Swamp
1 Plains
4 Marsh Flats
4 Verdant Catacombs
2 Bloodstained Mire


This deck made a lot of noise at that tournament, especially because of mainboard Torpor Orb shutting down Goblins, Stoneforge, and plenty of other notorious CiP creatures(Gatekeeper, Sculler, etc...). Sundial is great at cheating creatures into play, avoiding removal, and is extremely good against a wide array of decks such as Hive Mind, Painter-Stone, Smokestacks, and more. The 3 Mainboard tutors also open up the sideboard to a lot of diversity. I had played against the B/U variant a few times before and really thought this deck was casual at best but it appears to be quite powerful when coupled with white utility spells.

5 of the 1 combo piece (even with 3 e-tutor) seems low to me since there is no card selection here. Also, hymn seems awkward if u don't have a ritual.