[Deck] Turbo Exploring Braids

[Top Deck]

Okay I have been messing around with a deck idea and I want to advance hence I put it up on thesource.

The basics of the deck is to get a quick lock with braids or smokestack and paradox haze. I can afford to sac multiple lands once I get exploration and crucible of worlds online.

The deck can win by using the power of Terravore for the final swoop after braids and smokestacks clears the way.

Here is the deck so far:

// Lands
4 [B] Tropical Island
5 [UNH] Forest
1 [UNH] Island
3 [DIS] Ghost Quarter
2 [TE] Wasteland
1 [B] Underground Sea
4 [B] Bayou
3 [ON] Windswept Heath
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 [SH] Volrath's Stronghold

// Creatures
3 [FD] Eternal Witness
3 [OD] Braids, Cabal Minion
3 [CHK] Azusa, Lost but Seeking
2 [OD] Terravore
4 [10E] Birds of Paradise

// Spells
3 [TSP] Paradox Haze
4 [US] Exploration
1 [IA] Zuran Orb
4 [FD] Crucible of Worlds
4 [FUT] Rites of Flourishing
4 [US] Smokestack

[outsideangel]

The idea is kind of cool, but the list could use a bit of work. Rites of Flourishing, for example, is terrible, because it benefits your opponent as much as it benefits you, and letting your opponent get additional lands into play runs completely counter to your strategy.

You should try running something like Trinisphere or Sphere of Resistance to supplement your mana denial and keep them from playing even the cheap spells. It would also improve your (currently non-existent) combo matchup. Chalice of the Void is also a very strong card, and you can replace Birds with Mox Diamond to make it more playable in your current list. Wasteland is much better than Ghost Quarter (it actually puts them down a land) so bump up to four of those.

The mana base could use a bit of work, too. The singleton Island and Underground Sea are poor because you can't fetch for them. You should definitely incorporate more fetchlands, at least another four, as they'll really help ensure you get all the colors you need.

Lastly, try to shore up to the full playsets of the things you really want to see, like the fourth Braids and Haze. You can probably lose Eternal Witness since it's not really a necessary card.

Try those changes and see if it helps improve the deck any.

[vigilante]

I played a guy on Workstation the other day who using the following deck. It's certainly not what you'd call "similar" to what Top Deck has proposed, but I believe the concept and game-plan is close enough to warrant throwing a list into this thread. The deck below just uses an alternate method for gaining permanent-advantage to abuse Smokestack-type effects.

1 Savannah
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Windswept Heath
4 Wasteland
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Tropical Island
4 Tranquil Thicket
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
2 Taiga
1 Academy Ruins
1 Riftstone Portal
1 Nomad Stadium
2 Nantuko Monastery
4 Mishra's Factory
1 Maze of Ith
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Forest
1 Bayou
1 Barbarian Ring
4 Dark Confidant
2 Eternal Witness
3 Crop Rotation
4 Exploration
4 Manabond
3 Mulch
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Smokestack

SB:
2 Smokestack
2 Engineered Explosives
3 Trinisphere
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Constant Mists

Obviously, it's trying to be a fusion of 43Land.dec and Stax (or something). Personally, I believe he's gone a little overboard on the 43Land components and is lacking in the lock pieces department. Including more Smokestacks (and possibly Braids -- the deck is already playing black) is probably a good idea, as is cutting things like Dark Confidant and that random, random Swords (hell, cut the white splash altogether).

The gameplan seemed to involve dumping loads of lands into play (ala 43Lands), digging up a Smokestack (either by drawing it, or dredging it away then recurring it with Academy Ruins, or going Volrath's Stronghold -> Eternal Witness -> Smokestack). Once a Stack was in play, he aggressively ramped up soot counters (like, to 4 or 5) before sacrificing it to itself, Loaming back a heap of lands, dumping them back into play with Exploration or Manabond, then recurring the Stack and starting again. 43Land-style stall tactics (manlands, Tabernacle, Wasteland recursion, Maze of Ith, Glacial Chasm, even Nomad Stadium) ensured he survived long enough to pull off these admittedly slow Smokestack tricks.

Bonus Trivia Section! -- The only reason I have access to the list is because he dredged away his entire library over the course of the game, so between his board position and graveyard contents, I was able to reconstruct the list.

[Iranon]

I think the best way to handle this is make this more stax-y.

Braids + the exploration effects would give the deck a better chance for backbreaking openings than any other of its kind. We're in colour for the absolutely disgusting Sylvan Library + Uba Mask combo.

I'm currently tinkering around with this:




//Mana
4 Mox Diamond

4 Bayou
4 Wasteland
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
3 Crystal Vein
3 Mishra's Factory
2 Windswept Heath

//Stax
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Trinisphere
4 Crucible of Worlds
4 Braids, Cabal Minion
4 Smokestack

//Turbo
4 Exploration
3 Azusa, Lost but Seeking

//Cheese
3 Sylvan Library
2 Uba Mask


The deck is insanely powerful. However, it is very singleminded and tends to either win big or lose big, having no answers outside the primary lock engine.

[Top Deck]

I think the best way to handle this is make this more stax-y.

Braids + the exploration effects would give the deck a better chance for backbreaking openings than any other of its kind. We're in colour for the absolutely disgusting Sylvan Library + Uba Mask combo.

I'm currently tinkering around with this:




//Mana
4 Mox Diamond

4 Bayou
4 Wasteland
4 Ancient Tomb
4 City of Traitors
3 Crystal Vein
3 Mishra's Factory
2 Windswept Heath

//Stax
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Trinisphere
4 Crucible of Worlds
4 Braids, Cabal Minion
4 Smokestack

//Turbo
4 Exploration
3 Azusa, Lost but Seeking

//Cheese
3 Sylvan Library
2 Uba Mask


The deck is insanely powerful. However, it is very singleminded and tends to either win big or lose big, having no answers outside the primary lock engine.

I used to do Mox Diamond as well, but for some reason birds seemed way better for the mana base. Usually I want as many lands in play. Mox diamond doesn't develop enough synergy until Crucible of Worlds hit plays.

Yaw Rites of Flourishing is the weakest link in the deck, but it is only card draw that I have currently.

Really the key is getting tons of lands into play quickly and putting Paradox Haze unto them before dropping Braids and Smokestack.

The ideal turn sequence would look like this:

Turn1: Bayou + Exploration + Tropical Island + Birds
Turn2: Wasteland + Paradox Haze
Turn3: Bayou + Braids then pass the turn. (opponent sac's 2 perms)
Turn4: Drop out Crucible of Worlds (you sac the birds or wasteland) Waste two of their lands and pass the turn (opponent sac's 2 more perms).

At this point it is gg already, and you can drop out the rites of flourishing looking for more cards.

[Top Deck]

Okay I made some major shifts in the design. For starters, I added in quicksand to help against the goblin matchup. Turn 1 quicksand can stall out a lot of aggro decks.


// Lands
4 [B] Tropical Island
5 [UNH] Forest
1 [UNH] Island
1 [DIS] Ghost Quarter
1 [TE] Wasteland
1 [B] Underground Sea
4 [B] Bayou
3 [ON] Windswept Heath
1 [PLC] Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 [SH] Volrath's Stronghold
4 [VI] Quicksand

// Creatures
3 [FD] Eternal Witness
3 [OD] Braids, Cabal Minion
2 [CHK] Azusa, Lost but Seeking
2 [OD] Terravore

// Spells
3 [TSP] Paradox Haze
4 [US] Exploration
4 [FD] Crucible of Worlds
3 [FUT] Rites of Flourishing
4 [US] Smokestack
1 [BOK] Lifegift
4 [SH] Mox Diamond
1 [CHK] Uba Mask

[outsideangel]

Turn 1 quicksand can stall out a lot of aggro decks.

Only if they're terrible. I'd gladly swing a Lackey into a Quicksand. The tempo gain from taking out your land drop is definitely worth R and a card.

[Top Deck]

Only if they're terrible. I'd gladly swing a Lackey into a Quicksand. The tempo gain from taking out your land drop is definitely worth R and a card.

Okay do it. Remember this deck is all exploration effects and getting crucible into play with all of these explorations is pretty critical.

[HdH_Cthulhu]

You have no way to protect your Braids against StP and FoW. You realy need dures and or cabal therapy!
Whithout your smokestake and Braid get destroyd or countered, so all your turbo and haze is sensless...

[Top Deck]

You have no way to protect your Braids against StP and FoW. You realy need dures and or cabal therapy!
Whithout your smokestake and Braid get destroyd or countered, so all your turbo and haze is sensless...

Once you get crucible out you can wasteland lock them or ghostquarter them out of the game. Ghostquarter with crucible and exploration effects is much better than wasteland.

[outsideangel]

You have no way to protect your Braids against StP and FoW. You realy need dures and or cabal therapy!
Whithout your smokestake and Braid get destroyd or countered, so all your turbo and haze is sensless...

If only there was a card that could counter StP and Lightning Bolt for only two colorless mana...

[Bovinious]

If only there was a card that could counter StP and Lightning Bolt for only two colorless mana...

Lightning Greaves?

[zulander]

Lightning Greaves?
Chalice for 1 noob.

[Bovinious]

Chalice for 1 noob.

Great internet detective skills, that was obviously sarcasm. But Lightning Greaves fits the description also, provided they cant cast the bolt/stp in response to equip...

[troopatroop]

Great internet detective skills, that was obviously sarcasm. But Lightning Greaves fits the description also, provided they cant cast the bolt/stp in response to equip...

...Which they can do.

[Top Deck]

Great internet detective skills, that was obviously sarcasm. But Lightning Greaves fits the description also, provided they cant cast the bolt/stp in response to equip...

Yup greaves are great. I didn't like duress in the deck because I felt that I didn't have room to fit in all of the pieces and disruption. Obviously I am going to get rolled by turn 1 or 2 combo decks. There isn't much I can do about it. I could add duress but then I will my advantage over aggro decks. I am more afraid of aggro decks since most combo decks tend to fail. 70% of the time, a combo deck wont have all its pieces in the opening hand, so they will have to either dig for the piece or mulligan. I am willing to chance it. If I can establish solid board position by turn 3, then I am good to go.

[thefreakaccident]

without crop rotation in the deck, there really is no point to running single copies of lands that you cannot fetch for... that said, you might want to look into 5c eternal garden.

perhapes just a BG braids deck designed after complete jank's braids.dec might be more your liking.