Qweerios
03-08-2018, 02:35 PM
Greetings fellow sourcers!
I have been experimenting with various Tribal Flames decks since the Treasure Cruise Era and have found the 5 damage sorcery to be quite excellent at closing out games against both Aggro and Control decks. Tribal Flames is a criminally underrated card that scares a lot of brewers from experimenting with it. Some of the concerns surrounding the card tend to be about the ''greedy'' manabase required to play it or the price tag associated with the acquisition of the lands (especially since 5c configurations are so volatile). I have been playing and brewing Legacy decks for a long time now (2001?) and I have accumulated a good amount of cardboard over the years that allowed me to play all sorts of fantastic decks. Some of my all-time favorite brews have been 4c decks involving Deathrite Shaman so I am no stranger to greedy manabases. The development of a viable Legacy TF deck has been a pet project of mine over the last 6 months and I am ready to share some of my discoveries.
Why play TF?
TF offers massive reach and removal potential to any deck that wishes to win a game through fast creatures and/or midrange bombs. TF usually supplements a 4 Bolt suite for a total of 8 burn spells. TF is simply the bigger version of Bolt that will clear the way from most threats Bolt alone cannot handle (Goyf, Gurmag, Stalker, TKS, Smasher). This allows you to reliably switch between the aggro and control role in any aggro matchup. TF's massive reach is also enough to race most situations that appear dire such as an early TNN, a clogged Czech Pile board, a late Griselbrand, the menace of an impending Price of Progress... I have commonly won games by swinging once against a control deck that had fetched a few times and finished the last 10-13 points of life in two turns with burn reach alone.
The weaknesses...
Blood Moon and the lack of Wastelands are this deck's biggest weaknesses. As with most Delver decks, a Blood Moon at any stage usually spells disaster. Lucky for us, we have access to some SB tools to deal with Moon pretty efficiently when we have to play a long game against a UWr deck or a Grixis/Czech control deck. Again, as with most Delver decks, Wasteland can be troublesome. Given our unusually high colored land count it is uncommon to become land screwed by 1-2 Wastelands. However, it is more common to be color screwed by a few Wastelands so fetching with this deck can be challenging and requires careful planning. Not having Wastelands of our own makes the deck more resilient to opposing Wasteland decks by virtue of playing more colored lands instead. This lack of nonbasic hate makes the deck vulnerable to degenerate nonbasic land interactions such as anything involving Dark Depths, Punishing Grove, Cavern of Souls, and even Boseiju. Price of Progress can be troublesome but is usually matched by TF in terms of damage exchange. A good chunk of the SB slots are dedicated to mitigating those weaknesses.
Current List:
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 True-Name Nemesis
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Tribal Flames
2 Thoughtseize
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
1 Sylvan Library
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Polluted Delta
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Tropical Island
1 Volcanic Island
1 Underground Sea
1 Tundra
1 Badlands
1 Taiga
1 Containment Priest
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
2 Pyroblast
2 Submerge
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Golgari Charm
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Bitterblossom
1 Pithing Needle
The core:
Tribal Flames and Lightning Bolt are central to the aggro-control strategy because they provide versatile removal and unparalleled reach.
Deathrite Shaman, Brainstorm, and Ponder are all necessary for this deck to operate smoothly on so many colors.
Delver, Force, and Daze are easy inclusions given the cantrip and burn suite.
Tarmogoyf is an excellent threat overall. Fast and efficient with a flexible cost. Goyf is arguably better than Gurmag Angler in this deck when green is favored to black. Playing 4 TF means that you have many outs to Angler. However, 5 damage will not deal with opposing 5/6 Goyfs so having Goyfs of our own is a good way to gain time for other threats to close the game out. I play 2-4 copies depending on my dedication to black/green.
Gurmag Angler is reliable in this deck but can be a bit slow/off-color. Multiples are clunky but the first copy is nearly always welcomed. I wouldn't play Angler alongside Nimble Mongoose...
Nimble Mongoose is the latest addition to the deck mainly to combat the various control decks that are common in the format. An obvious competitor to Angler but a great threat when coupled with plenty of relevant disruption.
Since this Delver deck benefits from making 3-4 land drops, it can afford to play more threats at the top of the curve:
True-Name Nemesis is what this deck wants to be doing lategame or as a last resort. TNN is notorious for stealing games and digging Delver decks out of huge holes when games drag for too long. Aside from Delver/DRS/Burn reach, TNN is the most reliable way to push damage through a dire situation (including opposing TNN). Because of the presence of Equipment aggro decks, huge vanilla creatures, and various grindy control decks, TNN is an essential component of the mid and late game of any aggro-burn strategy. Having access to a few copies pre-board is a huge boon.
Snapcaster Mage is a good versatile choice here because of so many quality targets. If you thought Bolt Snap Bolt was a great play, wait until you close out a game with TF Snap TF... Snapcaster is also a happy medium between threat, disruption, and card advantage that any true aggro-control deck is more than happy to take advantage of. Snap is mostly burn on a stick or cantrip on a stick and will double up in versatility in many matchups after sideboard, especially against Combo decks. Snap can feel underwhelming when mana is limited and you find yourself with no better options than to use it as an expensive cantrip for suitable threats or disruption, or wait for Snap to have a good target. Bottom line is that Snap is usually burn or cantrip on a stick... Anywhere between 0-2 copies is enough.
How can you play 5c without Leovold? We all know how good Leo is so I'd rather explain how he is not always good. The effect of Leo is amazing, his body is not. A Legendary 3/3 for UBG is underwhelming for this type of aggressive deck. Sometimes your first 3 lands end up lacking green or black making Leo uncastable on curve. Drawing multiples can be clunky, especially versus Karakas. Leo mainly competes with Snapcaster so 0-1 copy is reasonable.
Cards that didn't make the cut:
Wild Nacatl offers great aggressive openers when played in multiples or coupled with DRS or Delver. The crippling drawback of Nacatl is that it requires white mana early and/or a Plateau for a Daze opener if it is to swing for 3 damage. With proper (safe) mana development, Nacatl usually swings for 2 and can take a long time to reach 3/3. Nacatl is outclassed by Goyf in this deck.
Spell Pierce used to be in the Thoughtseize slot but proved too ineffective against combo decks. TS also pairs nicely with Snapcaster and Leovold and offers much needed proactive and varied disruption. Without Wasteland support, Spell Pierce eventualy fell to the wayside. For those playing 3+ Wastelands and a low black commitment, Pierce is a fine option over Thoughtseize.
Wasteland is great for our worst matchup (Depths) but making a colorless land drop early can prevent the deck from unfolding optimaly. It is crucial for this deck to have access to 4c and will benefit from Tundra when casting TF therefore making colored land drops preferable.
Sideboard options:
Of course the options are limitless when playing 5c so I will simply give a small resume of the cards I find the most relevant.
-Containment Priest offers an additional lock piece against SnT, Elves and Reanimator decks. I preffer Priest to a 3rd Surgical.
-Surgical Extractions are necessary to stop Waste-Loam and PFire aside from the obvious T0 GY hate required to beat reanimation strategies.
-Flusterstorm and Pyroblast need no explanation..
-Diabolic Edict, Dead // Gone, Submerge effects are important against Marrit Lage if we want to have a chance against Lands and Turbo Depths.
Abrupt Decays act mainly as Artifact/Enchantment removal for Blood Moon, B2B, Chalice, Equipments, even RiP and Counterbalance. Decay also acts as additional removal for aggro decks and will usually destroy the few creatures that TF won't be able to burn like big Goyfs and KotR.
Golgari Charm is a great filler card that plays an important role in a few Matchups. The main use for Charm is as a -1/-1 sweeper against DnT, Elves, TES/Belcher, heavy TNN decks, and as a 3rd Blood Moon answer.
KCommand is my 3rd Artifact destruction spell and lone Batterskull answer. It is a bit expensive compared to Grudge but will offer some grinding power against Czech Pile, Stoneblade, and every BUG deck out there. Both Command and Grudge are suitable.
Sylvan Library is a must against any control and midrange deck. Just like Zoo, this deck will have no issue abusing Library when shifting between a control and aggro role. Library is also mainboard material.
Bitterblossom is one of the most powerful card you could play against passive control decks.
Pithing Needle is a concession to our worst matchups because of the lack of Wasteland. Needle is the most effective way to turn off nonbasic land abilities that need to be interacted with such as Stage-Depths and recurring Wastelands.
Sideboard Map!
Aggro:
Grixis Delver
-2 FoW -2 TS -1 Library
+2 Pyro +2 Decay +1 Charm
UR Delver/Burn
-2 FoW -2 TS -1 Library -1 Taiga
+2 Fluster +2 Pyro +2 Decay
BUG Delver
-4 FoW -2 TS
+2 Submerge +2 Decay +2 Fluster
DnT
-4 FoW -2 TS
+2 Decay +1 Charm +1 Grudge +1 Needle +1 Blossom
Eldrazi
-2 TS -1 Library
+2 Decay +1 Grudge
Moon Stompy
-2 TS -4 TF
+2 Decay +1 Charm +1 Grudge +1 Blossom +1 Needle
Maverick/Deathblade/Bant
-4 FoW -2 TS -1 Daze
+2 Submerge/Pyro +2 Decay +1 Charm +1 Grudge
+1 Needle/Blossom
Aluren
-4 TF -1 Tundra
+2 Pyro +1 Charm +1 Needle +1 Blossom
Control:
Miracle
-4 Bolt -4 TF -1 Tundra
+2 Fluster +2 Pyro +2 Decay +1 Charm +1 Blossom*
+1 Needle
Czech Pile
-3 FoW -2 TS -1 Taiga
+2 Fluster +2 Pyro +1 Charm +1 Blossom
Lands
-4 Bolt -4 TF -2 TS
+2 Surgical +2 Submerge +2 Fluster +2 Decay +1 Grudge +1 Needle
4c Loam
-2 TS -4 TF -2 FoW
+2 Surgical +2 Submerge +2 Decay +1 Grudge +1 Needle
Combo:
Storm
-2 TNN -4 TF -1 Tundra
+2 Surgical +2 Fluster +2 Pyro +1 Charm
SnT
-4 Bolt -4 TF -2 TNN -1 Tropical
+1 Priest +2 Surgical +2 Fluster +2 Pyro +2 Decay*
+1 Charm +1 Needle
Turbo Depths
-4 Bolt -4 TF -1 Tundra
+2 Submerge +2 Fluster +2 Decay +1 Charm +1 Blossom +1 Needle
***BR/UB Reanimator
-4 Bolt -4 TF
+1 Priest +2 Surgical +2 Fluster*
+2 Submerge/Pyro/Decay
Elves
-2 TNN -2 TS -1 Library -1 Taiga
+2 Submerge +2 Fluster +1 Charm +1 Priest
Dredge
-4 TF -2 TS -1 Taiga
+1 Priest +2 Surgical +2 Fluster +2 Decay/Pyro
Thank you for reading!
Updates and data to come...
I have been experimenting with various Tribal Flames decks since the Treasure Cruise Era and have found the 5 damage sorcery to be quite excellent at closing out games against both Aggro and Control decks. Tribal Flames is a criminally underrated card that scares a lot of brewers from experimenting with it. Some of the concerns surrounding the card tend to be about the ''greedy'' manabase required to play it or the price tag associated with the acquisition of the lands (especially since 5c configurations are so volatile). I have been playing and brewing Legacy decks for a long time now (2001?) and I have accumulated a good amount of cardboard over the years that allowed me to play all sorts of fantastic decks. Some of my all-time favorite brews have been 4c decks involving Deathrite Shaman so I am no stranger to greedy manabases. The development of a viable Legacy TF deck has been a pet project of mine over the last 6 months and I am ready to share some of my discoveries.
Why play TF?
TF offers massive reach and removal potential to any deck that wishes to win a game through fast creatures and/or midrange bombs. TF usually supplements a 4 Bolt suite for a total of 8 burn spells. TF is simply the bigger version of Bolt that will clear the way from most threats Bolt alone cannot handle (Goyf, Gurmag, Stalker, TKS, Smasher). This allows you to reliably switch between the aggro and control role in any aggro matchup. TF's massive reach is also enough to race most situations that appear dire such as an early TNN, a clogged Czech Pile board, a late Griselbrand, the menace of an impending Price of Progress... I have commonly won games by swinging once against a control deck that had fetched a few times and finished the last 10-13 points of life in two turns with burn reach alone.
The weaknesses...
Blood Moon and the lack of Wastelands are this deck's biggest weaknesses. As with most Delver decks, a Blood Moon at any stage usually spells disaster. Lucky for us, we have access to some SB tools to deal with Moon pretty efficiently when we have to play a long game against a UWr deck or a Grixis/Czech control deck. Again, as with most Delver decks, Wasteland can be troublesome. Given our unusually high colored land count it is uncommon to become land screwed by 1-2 Wastelands. However, it is more common to be color screwed by a few Wastelands so fetching with this deck can be challenging and requires careful planning. Not having Wastelands of our own makes the deck more resilient to opposing Wasteland decks by virtue of playing more colored lands instead. This lack of nonbasic hate makes the deck vulnerable to degenerate nonbasic land interactions such as anything involving Dark Depths, Punishing Grove, Cavern of Souls, and even Boseiju. Price of Progress can be troublesome but is usually matched by TF in terms of damage exchange. A good chunk of the SB slots are dedicated to mitigating those weaknesses.
Current List:
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 True-Name Nemesis
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Tribal Flames
2 Thoughtseize
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
1 Sylvan Library
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Polluted Delta
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Tropical Island
1 Volcanic Island
1 Underground Sea
1 Tundra
1 Badlands
1 Taiga
1 Containment Priest
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
2 Pyroblast
2 Submerge
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Golgari Charm
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Bitterblossom
1 Pithing Needle
The core:
Tribal Flames and Lightning Bolt are central to the aggro-control strategy because they provide versatile removal and unparalleled reach.
Deathrite Shaman, Brainstorm, and Ponder are all necessary for this deck to operate smoothly on so many colors.
Delver, Force, and Daze are easy inclusions given the cantrip and burn suite.
Tarmogoyf is an excellent threat overall. Fast and efficient with a flexible cost. Goyf is arguably better than Gurmag Angler in this deck when green is favored to black. Playing 4 TF means that you have many outs to Angler. However, 5 damage will not deal with opposing 5/6 Goyfs so having Goyfs of our own is a good way to gain time for other threats to close the game out. I play 2-4 copies depending on my dedication to black/green.
Gurmag Angler is reliable in this deck but can be a bit slow/off-color. Multiples are clunky but the first copy is nearly always welcomed. I wouldn't play Angler alongside Nimble Mongoose...
Nimble Mongoose is the latest addition to the deck mainly to combat the various control decks that are common in the format. An obvious competitor to Angler but a great threat when coupled with plenty of relevant disruption.
Since this Delver deck benefits from making 3-4 land drops, it can afford to play more threats at the top of the curve:
True-Name Nemesis is what this deck wants to be doing lategame or as a last resort. TNN is notorious for stealing games and digging Delver decks out of huge holes when games drag for too long. Aside from Delver/DRS/Burn reach, TNN is the most reliable way to push damage through a dire situation (including opposing TNN). Because of the presence of Equipment aggro decks, huge vanilla creatures, and various grindy control decks, TNN is an essential component of the mid and late game of any aggro-burn strategy. Having access to a few copies pre-board is a huge boon.
Snapcaster Mage is a good versatile choice here because of so many quality targets. If you thought Bolt Snap Bolt was a great play, wait until you close out a game with TF Snap TF... Snapcaster is also a happy medium between threat, disruption, and card advantage that any true aggro-control deck is more than happy to take advantage of. Snap is mostly burn on a stick or cantrip on a stick and will double up in versatility in many matchups after sideboard, especially against Combo decks. Snap can feel underwhelming when mana is limited and you find yourself with no better options than to use it as an expensive cantrip for suitable threats or disruption, or wait for Snap to have a good target. Bottom line is that Snap is usually burn or cantrip on a stick... Anywhere between 0-2 copies is enough.
How can you play 5c without Leovold? We all know how good Leo is so I'd rather explain how he is not always good. The effect of Leo is amazing, his body is not. A Legendary 3/3 for UBG is underwhelming for this type of aggressive deck. Sometimes your first 3 lands end up lacking green or black making Leo uncastable on curve. Drawing multiples can be clunky, especially versus Karakas. Leo mainly competes with Snapcaster so 0-1 copy is reasonable.
Cards that didn't make the cut:
Wild Nacatl offers great aggressive openers when played in multiples or coupled with DRS or Delver. The crippling drawback of Nacatl is that it requires white mana early and/or a Plateau for a Daze opener if it is to swing for 3 damage. With proper (safe) mana development, Nacatl usually swings for 2 and can take a long time to reach 3/3. Nacatl is outclassed by Goyf in this deck.
Spell Pierce used to be in the Thoughtseize slot but proved too ineffective against combo decks. TS also pairs nicely with Snapcaster and Leovold and offers much needed proactive and varied disruption. Without Wasteland support, Spell Pierce eventualy fell to the wayside. For those playing 3+ Wastelands and a low black commitment, Pierce is a fine option over Thoughtseize.
Wasteland is great for our worst matchup (Depths) but making a colorless land drop early can prevent the deck from unfolding optimaly. It is crucial for this deck to have access to 4c and will benefit from Tundra when casting TF therefore making colored land drops preferable.
Sideboard options:
Of course the options are limitless when playing 5c so I will simply give a small resume of the cards I find the most relevant.
-Containment Priest offers an additional lock piece against SnT, Elves and Reanimator decks. I preffer Priest to a 3rd Surgical.
-Surgical Extractions are necessary to stop Waste-Loam and PFire aside from the obvious T0 GY hate required to beat reanimation strategies.
-Flusterstorm and Pyroblast need no explanation..
-Diabolic Edict, Dead // Gone, Submerge effects are important against Marrit Lage if we want to have a chance against Lands and Turbo Depths.
Abrupt Decays act mainly as Artifact/Enchantment removal for Blood Moon, B2B, Chalice, Equipments, even RiP and Counterbalance. Decay also acts as additional removal for aggro decks and will usually destroy the few creatures that TF won't be able to burn like big Goyfs and KotR.
Golgari Charm is a great filler card that plays an important role in a few Matchups. The main use for Charm is as a -1/-1 sweeper against DnT, Elves, TES/Belcher, heavy TNN decks, and as a 3rd Blood Moon answer.
KCommand is my 3rd Artifact destruction spell and lone Batterskull answer. It is a bit expensive compared to Grudge but will offer some grinding power against Czech Pile, Stoneblade, and every BUG deck out there. Both Command and Grudge are suitable.
Sylvan Library is a must against any control and midrange deck. Just like Zoo, this deck will have no issue abusing Library when shifting between a control and aggro role. Library is also mainboard material.
Bitterblossom is one of the most powerful card you could play against passive control decks.
Pithing Needle is a concession to our worst matchups because of the lack of Wasteland. Needle is the most effective way to turn off nonbasic land abilities that need to be interacted with such as Stage-Depths and recurring Wastelands.
Sideboard Map!
Aggro:
Grixis Delver
-2 FoW -2 TS -1 Library
+2 Pyro +2 Decay +1 Charm
UR Delver/Burn
-2 FoW -2 TS -1 Library -1 Taiga
+2 Fluster +2 Pyro +2 Decay
BUG Delver
-4 FoW -2 TS
+2 Submerge +2 Decay +2 Fluster
DnT
-4 FoW -2 TS
+2 Decay +1 Charm +1 Grudge +1 Needle +1 Blossom
Eldrazi
-2 TS -1 Library
+2 Decay +1 Grudge
Moon Stompy
-2 TS -4 TF
+2 Decay +1 Charm +1 Grudge +1 Blossom +1 Needle
Maverick/Deathblade/Bant
-4 FoW -2 TS -1 Daze
+2 Submerge/Pyro +2 Decay +1 Charm +1 Grudge
+1 Needle/Blossom
Aluren
-4 TF -1 Tundra
+2 Pyro +1 Charm +1 Needle +1 Blossom
Control:
Miracle
-4 Bolt -4 TF -1 Tundra
+2 Fluster +2 Pyro +2 Decay +1 Charm +1 Blossom*
+1 Needle
Czech Pile
-3 FoW -2 TS -1 Taiga
+2 Fluster +2 Pyro +1 Charm +1 Blossom
Lands
-4 Bolt -4 TF -2 TS
+2 Surgical +2 Submerge +2 Fluster +2 Decay +1 Grudge +1 Needle
4c Loam
-2 TS -4 TF -2 FoW
+2 Surgical +2 Submerge +2 Decay +1 Grudge +1 Needle
Combo:
Storm
-2 TNN -4 TF -1 Tundra
+2 Surgical +2 Fluster +2 Pyro +1 Charm
SnT
-4 Bolt -4 TF -2 TNN -1 Tropical
+1 Priest +2 Surgical +2 Fluster +2 Pyro +2 Decay*
+1 Charm +1 Needle
Turbo Depths
-4 Bolt -4 TF -1 Tundra
+2 Submerge +2 Fluster +2 Decay +1 Charm +1 Blossom +1 Needle
***BR/UB Reanimator
-4 Bolt -4 TF
+1 Priest +2 Surgical +2 Fluster*
+2 Submerge/Pyro/Decay
Elves
-2 TNN -2 TS -1 Library -1 Taiga
+2 Submerge +2 Fluster +1 Charm +1 Priest
Dredge
-4 TF -2 TS -1 Taiga
+1 Priest +2 Surgical +2 Fluster +2 Decay/Pyro
Thank you for reading!
Updates and data to come...