Philipp2293
10-19-2015, 11:21 AM
As MKM Prague was coming up and I wasn’t really happy with playing Miracles, I decided to once again brew up a deck with Punishing Fire/Grove of the Burnwillows. Since the ban of DTT allowed for more deckbuilding space, I decided to inluded quite a few fun-offs.
4C Flash 1.0
3 Island
1 Plains
3 Tundra
3 Volcanic Island
1 Underground Sea
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Misty Rainforest
3 Grove of the Burnwillows
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Force of Will
3 Counterspell
2 Spell Snare
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Punishing Fire
3 Engineered Explosives
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Izzet Charm
1 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Pearl Lake Ancient
1 Flusterstorm
SB:
3 Meddling Mage
2 Sulfur Elementa
2 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Containment Priest
1 Wear//Tear
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Slaughter Games
1 Baneslayer Angel
To the games:
Round 1 vs Merfolk
Game 1: I control the board with Grove/Fires, until he drops a True-Name Nemesis with Cavern of Souls. I’m unable to find EE and die.
Game 2: We trade back and forth, this time I have the EE for his Nemesis, it’s a really close race, with lethal on board I mess up combat damage/decisions, fail to kill him and die on the backswing.
0-1
Round 2 vs Infect
Game 1: I keep the board clear with EE which eats 2 Hierarchs, Spell Snare on Blighted Agent and once I assemble Punishing Fire he sits on an Inkmoth Nexus and builds his hand. As I endstep flash in Pearl Lake Ancient he is forced to do something. His Nexus doesn’t get there as my hand is 2xFire, Stp, Counterspell, Snapcaster, Force of Will.
Game 2: I keep a starting hand with 2 Swords, a Snapcaster, a Brainstorm and lands. Brainstorm finds me more removal and I win with Snapcaster beats.
1-1
Round 3 vs 4C Loam
Game 1: He drops Chalice at 1, which I’m not able to counter, and basically locks out my hand with it. We then both get Fire activate, but since I’m ahead in the race by a lot he is forced to drop Chalice at 2, at which point we play draw go for a long time. My outs are plenty at this point (EE, K. Command, Clique, Teachings, PLA), but he draws into Knight before I find them.
Game 2: I snare a Confidant, he resolves Lilly, which I’m able to keep under control with Fires, but once he Wastelands my Grove and drops Sylvan Library, the game is pretty much over.
1-2
Round 4 vs Dredge
Game 1: I keep an ok hand without Force, lead with Volcanic, go, he explodes on his first turn and I scoop in response to his first Therapy.
Game 2: Ridiculous game. I’m able the keep removing Bridges by redblasting my own Snapcaster while swording his Ichorids. By the point I cast Supreme Verdict vs his Zombie Horde he has no bridges left and only 1 Ichorid in his grave, for which I have the fire every turn. I’m pretty scared of Firestorm since I’m at 2. Turns out it was the second to last card in his deck, at which point I have double FoW in hand. I win without hitting any hate because he decks.
Game 3: He has a rather poor start und runs out of dredges without accomplishing anything. By the time he draws LED of the top I have Containment Priest in hand and finish with Priest and Clique beatdown.
2-2
Round 5 vs Miracles
Game 1:
We play draw go for a while, until he Forces throuhg a Monastery Mentor. I play Punishing Fire on it every turn, forcing him the spend spells just for the trigger. He even has to sword a token to get a trigger out of it, but at this point I have double Fire and the tokens get eaten by EE. I counter the second Mentor and some number of Counterbalances, he scoops in disgust.
Game 2:
Once again draw go, he attempts to resolves Back to Basics, but I’m able to win the counterwar. For some reason (not sure anymore if Clique or Surgical Extraction) he sees my hand and scoops afterwards because he doesn’t want to play this anymore. I think my hand was Snapcaster, Clique, 2 Red Blasts, Force, Counterspell.
3-2
Round 6 vs Shardless Bug
Game 1:
He thoughtseizes me after fetching for Bayou and takes my Vendilion Clique. Leaving a naked Force in my hand. The turn afterwards he plays Wasteland and casts a Tarmogoyf. I have EE in hand, but no pitch for Force in cases he has countermagic himsself. Turns out he has a Fow of his own. The next turn he draws Underground Sea of the top which cascades into goyf. I fake being Miracles by just playing Plains, Islands and Tundras.
Game 2:
Best game of the weekend. He has Lilly and Jace active for at least 10 turns, resolves 2 Ancestral Visions, Notion Thiefs a Brainstorm of mine, yet I’m able to grind him out on the back of Punishing Fire. I finish him with flashback Mystical Teachings -> Kolaghan’s Command -> destroy Null Rod and return Pearl Lake Ancient -> kill you with PLA from way above 40 life.
Game 3:
I think I’m in fine shape until he cascades into Chill and then assembles Life from the Loam/Wasteland. Still he is excited to show his friend my deck.
3-3
Round 7 vs ANT
Game 1:
He mulls to 5 and a do nothing hand. At one point I eot teachings for Flusterstorm, counter his first Therapy, then some turns later Teachings for PLA and kill him in one turn from 12 life with 4 prowess triggers and a Fire to the face.
Game 2:
I have to force a Xantid Swarm, drop Meddling Mage on Infernal Tutor, and one turn before I can Slaughter Games Tendrils he kills me via Dark Petition
Game 3:
I have a solid hand and as I eot Clique him I take his only duress leaving him with some mana and business to my double Fow hand. He rips back to back therapies off the top and the game somehow becomes close. Still Clique gets the jobs done.
4-3
Round 8 vs UWR Stoneblade
Game 1:
Once again draw go, I’m better at making landdrops and he eot discards 2 Swords to Plowshares to handsize. I’m very tempted to just Teachings for PLA to force a quick win, but I’m aware that I should win a longer game no matter what (this deck doesn’t even have Counterbalance, and everything except Nemesis dies to Fire). I kill a Jace, some Stoneforges, some Snapcasters, some Cliques with Fire and he scoops.
Game 2:
I have everything easily under control, until I make a very very stupid misstake. He does not have any pressure anyway, but I don’t dig for a second Grove of the Burnwillows and as result lose my Fires to his Surgical Extraction. From this point on the game is very back and forth until we run out of time.
5-3
Going forward: This deck was a blast to play, felt both flexible and challenging during the games, and vs fair decks is really really good at grinding games out unless the opponent has something like Fires of his own or Loam/Wasteland or a high level of inevitability like 12 Post. You just need to be aware that you need the operate the deck at a very high pace.
For the maindeck, the most flexible slot is Flusterstorm, which was a last minute inclusion because I heard that lots of Storm decks were present in the trial on Friday.
I’d like to test a bomby instant spell in this slot which is searchable with Teachings, the first cards I’m going to have a closer look are Fact or Fiction and Sphinx Revelation.
For the SB, I’m definitely going to replace the Containment Priest with a second Surgical Extractions, since Fire/Groves and Loam/Waste are both issues I need to better address in the future.
Also, I’m pretty sure the second Sulfur Elemental is overkill and likely to become another Ethersworn Canonist.
Thanks for reading and I’m happy to answer any questions.
4C Flash 1.0
3 Island
1 Plains
3 Tundra
3 Volcanic Island
1 Underground Sea
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Misty Rainforest
3 Grove of the Burnwillows
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Force of Will
3 Counterspell
2 Spell Snare
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Punishing Fire
3 Engineered Explosives
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Izzet Charm
1 Kolaghan’s Command
1 Pearl Lake Ancient
1 Flusterstorm
SB:
3 Meddling Mage
2 Sulfur Elementa
2 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Surgical Extraction
1 Containment Priest
1 Wear//Tear
1 Supreme Verdict
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Slaughter Games
1 Baneslayer Angel
To the games:
Round 1 vs Merfolk
Game 1: I control the board with Grove/Fires, until he drops a True-Name Nemesis with Cavern of Souls. I’m unable to find EE and die.
Game 2: We trade back and forth, this time I have the EE for his Nemesis, it’s a really close race, with lethal on board I mess up combat damage/decisions, fail to kill him and die on the backswing.
0-1
Round 2 vs Infect
Game 1: I keep the board clear with EE which eats 2 Hierarchs, Spell Snare on Blighted Agent and once I assemble Punishing Fire he sits on an Inkmoth Nexus and builds his hand. As I endstep flash in Pearl Lake Ancient he is forced to do something. His Nexus doesn’t get there as my hand is 2xFire, Stp, Counterspell, Snapcaster, Force of Will.
Game 2: I keep a starting hand with 2 Swords, a Snapcaster, a Brainstorm and lands. Brainstorm finds me more removal and I win with Snapcaster beats.
1-1
Round 3 vs 4C Loam
Game 1: He drops Chalice at 1, which I’m not able to counter, and basically locks out my hand with it. We then both get Fire activate, but since I’m ahead in the race by a lot he is forced to drop Chalice at 2, at which point we play draw go for a long time. My outs are plenty at this point (EE, K. Command, Clique, Teachings, PLA), but he draws into Knight before I find them.
Game 2: I snare a Confidant, he resolves Lilly, which I’m able to keep under control with Fires, but once he Wastelands my Grove and drops Sylvan Library, the game is pretty much over.
1-2
Round 4 vs Dredge
Game 1: I keep an ok hand without Force, lead with Volcanic, go, he explodes on his first turn and I scoop in response to his first Therapy.
Game 2: Ridiculous game. I’m able the keep removing Bridges by redblasting my own Snapcaster while swording his Ichorids. By the point I cast Supreme Verdict vs his Zombie Horde he has no bridges left and only 1 Ichorid in his grave, for which I have the fire every turn. I’m pretty scared of Firestorm since I’m at 2. Turns out it was the second to last card in his deck, at which point I have double FoW in hand. I win without hitting any hate because he decks.
Game 3: He has a rather poor start und runs out of dredges without accomplishing anything. By the time he draws LED of the top I have Containment Priest in hand and finish with Priest and Clique beatdown.
2-2
Round 5 vs Miracles
Game 1:
We play draw go for a while, until he Forces throuhg a Monastery Mentor. I play Punishing Fire on it every turn, forcing him the spend spells just for the trigger. He even has to sword a token to get a trigger out of it, but at this point I have double Fire and the tokens get eaten by EE. I counter the second Mentor and some number of Counterbalances, he scoops in disgust.
Game 2:
Once again draw go, he attempts to resolves Back to Basics, but I’m able to win the counterwar. For some reason (not sure anymore if Clique or Surgical Extraction) he sees my hand and scoops afterwards because he doesn’t want to play this anymore. I think my hand was Snapcaster, Clique, 2 Red Blasts, Force, Counterspell.
3-2
Round 6 vs Shardless Bug
Game 1:
He thoughtseizes me after fetching for Bayou and takes my Vendilion Clique. Leaving a naked Force in my hand. The turn afterwards he plays Wasteland and casts a Tarmogoyf. I have EE in hand, but no pitch for Force in cases he has countermagic himsself. Turns out he has a Fow of his own. The next turn he draws Underground Sea of the top which cascades into goyf. I fake being Miracles by just playing Plains, Islands and Tundras.
Game 2:
Best game of the weekend. He has Lilly and Jace active for at least 10 turns, resolves 2 Ancestral Visions, Notion Thiefs a Brainstorm of mine, yet I’m able to grind him out on the back of Punishing Fire. I finish him with flashback Mystical Teachings -> Kolaghan’s Command -> destroy Null Rod and return Pearl Lake Ancient -> kill you with PLA from way above 40 life.
Game 3:
I think I’m in fine shape until he cascades into Chill and then assembles Life from the Loam/Wasteland. Still he is excited to show his friend my deck.
3-3
Round 7 vs ANT
Game 1:
He mulls to 5 and a do nothing hand. At one point I eot teachings for Flusterstorm, counter his first Therapy, then some turns later Teachings for PLA and kill him in one turn from 12 life with 4 prowess triggers and a Fire to the face.
Game 2:
I have to force a Xantid Swarm, drop Meddling Mage on Infernal Tutor, and one turn before I can Slaughter Games Tendrils he kills me via Dark Petition
Game 3:
I have a solid hand and as I eot Clique him I take his only duress leaving him with some mana and business to my double Fow hand. He rips back to back therapies off the top and the game somehow becomes close. Still Clique gets the jobs done.
4-3
Round 8 vs UWR Stoneblade
Game 1:
Once again draw go, I’m better at making landdrops and he eot discards 2 Swords to Plowshares to handsize. I’m very tempted to just Teachings for PLA to force a quick win, but I’m aware that I should win a longer game no matter what (this deck doesn’t even have Counterbalance, and everything except Nemesis dies to Fire). I kill a Jace, some Stoneforges, some Snapcasters, some Cliques with Fire and he scoops.
Game 2:
I have everything easily under control, until I make a very very stupid misstake. He does not have any pressure anyway, but I don’t dig for a second Grove of the Burnwillows and as result lose my Fires to his Surgical Extraction. From this point on the game is very back and forth until we run out of time.
5-3
Going forward: This deck was a blast to play, felt both flexible and challenging during the games, and vs fair decks is really really good at grinding games out unless the opponent has something like Fires of his own or Loam/Wasteland or a high level of inevitability like 12 Post. You just need to be aware that you need the operate the deck at a very high pace.
For the maindeck, the most flexible slot is Flusterstorm, which was a last minute inclusion because I heard that lots of Storm decks were present in the trial on Friday.
I’d like to test a bomby instant spell in this slot which is searchable with Teachings, the first cards I’m going to have a closer look are Fact or Fiction and Sphinx Revelation.
For the SB, I’m definitely going to replace the Containment Priest with a second Surgical Extractions, since Fire/Groves and Loam/Waste are both issues I need to better address in the future.
Also, I’m pretty sure the second Sulfur Elemental is overkill and likely to become another Ethersworn Canonist.
Thanks for reading and I’m happy to answer any questions.