[Deck] Non-LED Based Dredge/Ichorid Combo

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Originally Posted by zmattk

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to this deck, I just finished my first build of it and I have been playtesting it a bit. I have a few questions though. I have seen a lot of the recent lists not running FKZ or Sphinx/Sage. When I first played this deck, Sphinx or Sage was needed to win turn 2 or turn 3 and was extremely helpful just to cycle through your deck. I was wondering why people have been cutting these from the deck.

Also, I am going to be entering a tournament hopefully with this deck in about a month and I am having some problems with my sideboard. I was wondering what you guys normally side against certain match ups. Like if I am playing against goblins or any other aggro deck, should I side in Firestorm game 2 and hope I don't see Crypt/Relic, or should I side in my artifact hate like Grudge game 2 and hope I can go off quick enough, or do I side in both. But siding in both would be siding in like 8 cards which doesn't seem like the best idea. And how often do you guys see Leyline of the Void, do only black decks really play it? And do I need both Chain of Vapor and Nature's Claim in my sideboard?

Here's my current list:
4 Gemstone Mine
4 City of Brass
4 Cephalid Coliseum
2 Tarnished Citadel

4 Golgari-Grave Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
3 Golgari Thug
3 Ichorid
4 Putrid Imp
3 Tireless Tribe
4 Narcomoeba
2 Sphinx of Lost Truths
1 Flame Kin Zealot

4 Careful Study
3 Breakthrough
4 Bridge from Below
3 Dread Return
4 Cabal Therapy

SB
4 Chain of Vapor
3 Ancient Grudge
3 Nature's Claim
1 Ancestor's Chosen
3 Firestorm
1 Terastrodon

I also have Iona but I don't know when I'd want to bring her in over anything else. If you guys could help me out, I would really appreciate it

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I would completely cut the DR targets. That would look like -2 Sphinx, -1 FKZ, -1 DR, +Ichorid/+1 Citadel, +1 Thug, +1 Breakthrough
If you really want a DR silverbullet it would be like -1 Sphinx -1 FKZ, +1 Breakthrough, +1 Ichorid, +1 Iona/ Terastodon

I really don't think you need a md target though. and if, i would use terastodon over Iona. Doesn't matter too much if the opponent has removal, as terastodon does it's job while coming into play.
There are other reasons I dont like md dr targets, too:
I really don't like not having the full package of breakthorugh and thug. Breakthrough can pull of insane dredges, while Thug is useful for some tricks with moeba & therapy.

What you really need to work on is the sideboard. If you expect a lot of reanimator-like stuff, use chain.if not, don't. Nature's Claim does the same job equally good, also always have 4 Grudges, they are just THAT good.
I would consider -4 chains, +1 grudge, +1 claim, +1 firestorm, +1 Ray of Revelation

Edit: And as for sideboarding against goblins, using my list from the post a page ago, I would side : -4 Studies, -1 Thug, -1 DR,-2 Tribes/Pimps, +4 Firestorm, +4 Grudge

Here's the list I've been running after going back and forth between the LED and non-LED versions.

4 Gemstone Mine
4 City of Brass
4 Cephalid Coliseum
2 Tarnished Citadel

4 Putrid Imp
4 Tireless Tribe
4 Ichorid
4 Narcomoeba
1 Iona

4 Golgari-Grave Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
3 Golgari Thug

4 Breakthrough
4 Cabal Therapy
3 Unmask
4 Bridge from Below
3 Dread Return


Unmask is awesome. Try it.

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Originally Posted by sa17dk

Here's the list I've been running after going back and forth between the LED and non-LED versions.

4 Gemstone Mine
4 City of Brass
4 Cephalid Coliseum
2 Tarnished Citadel

4 Putrid Imp
4 Tireless Tribe
4 Ichorid
4 Narcomoeba
1 Iona

4 Golgari-Grave Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
3 Golgari Thug

4 Breakthrough
4 Cabal Therapy
3 Unmask
4 Bridge from Below
3 Dread Return


Unmask is awesome. Try it.

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Meh.Needs moar careful studies

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Originally Posted by sa17dk

Here's the list I've been running after going back and forth between the LED and non-LED versions.

4 Gemstone Mine
4 City of Brass
4 Cephalid Coliseum
2 Tarnished Citadel

4 Putrid Imp
4 Tireless Tribe
4 Ichorid
4 Narcomoeba
1 Iona

4 Golgari-Grave Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
3 Golgari Thug

4 Breakthrough
4 Cabal Therapy
3 Unmask
4 Bridge from Below
3 Dread Return


Unmask is awesome. Try it.

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Unmask MB is unneeded. Unless your Meta is combo heavy, in which case you should play Sadistic Hypnotist as your DR target and play the full playset Unmask.

I agree with HokusSchmokus, needs more CS.

I've read through the most recent 5 pages and couldn't help but notice a complete lack of Leyline of Sanctity in any sideboards. Is there a consensus that has been reached on its playability in legacy? I'm very curious as it seems like a must have 4-of in the side.

It stops:
Tormod's Crypt
Bojuka Bog
Extipate
Faerie Macabre
The tap ability of Relic
Additional Burn to the face
TENDRILS FOR 20 TO THE DOME(something that is still an important consideration due to dredges combo matchup %)

The 3 gravehate cards it doesn't stop are Leyline of the Void(this is a big one here I must admit), Yixlid Jailer(nobody plays this in legacy), and Relic.
So you still have to run answers to leyline but relic's ability to slowly grind you is negated and it turns into a speedbump at best with careful play.
The combo protection I think is huge. Unless you're running unmask somewhere in your 75, TES and its ick will steamroll you, in addition to being of the few decks to run Leyline of the Void. With Leyline of Sanctity, atleast you force the TES pilot to slowdown enough to wish for an answer, which can give you the time to do what dredge does(fight through the hate with anti-hate like Claim or Chain) or just therapy/unmask the answer if possible. At the very least, I believe LoS should be given a second thought in the grudge slot, as a single LoS does what all grudges in your deck do while not requiring a rainbow land.

I'm just curious as to why this card isn't getting at least the discussion it deserves. If your meta's gravehate is nothing but targeted effects or has a higher-than-average combo density, give LoS a shot. It has a lot of potential and no results, but I believe this is due to people being afraid of dropping grudge, or possibly the fear of additional mulligans. Regardless, I'm eager to hear some opinions on this.

Most people just board Relics and Crypts. Running Grudge is a better answer. And I find that it's easier to beat Bogs, Traps (well these are even easier to beat), Crypts and Relics mostly by just casting draw spells.

I would not replace Grudges with Leyline of Sanctity. Just try sideboarding in Leyline and see how often you don't draw it.

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Originally Posted by Anusien

Most people just board Relics and Crypts. Running Grudge is a better answer. And I find that it's easier to beat Bogs, Traps (well these are even easier to beat), Crypts and Relics mostly by just casting draw spells.

I would not replace Grudges with Leyline of Sanctity. Just try sideboarding in Leyline and see how often you don't draw it.

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I totally agree with that.
The chance of having at least 1 Leyline of Sanctity in your opening hand postboard is less than 40% assuming a 7 card hand. After each mulligan it becomes even less. Given the fact that Dredge already has some fixed requirements for its opening hand (Discard outlet, Gold Land and Dredger) you will have to be really lucky.
Grudge can easily be dredged into, if you don't see it in your opening hand. And it gets rid of Relic.
Trap, Extirpate and Macabre can be stopped by a timely Cabal Therapy, which is already in your main deck.
Bojuka Bog can be hard if topdecked by your opponent but mostly it will enter the battlefield through Knight of the Reliquary or you see it in the graveyard before it gets Loamed back, so you can prepare for it. Also it has Sorcery speed.

And if you're concerned about the storm combo matchup, you should rather board (or even maindeck) Sphinx of lost Truths + FKZ/Iona. From my expierience that is a more reliable way to deal with that.

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Originally Posted by Mana Drain

I've read through the most recent 5 pages and couldn't help but notice a complete lack of Leyline of Sanctity in any sideboards. Is there a consensus that has been reached on its playability in legacy? I'm very curious as it seems like a must have 4-of in the side.

It stops:
Tormod's Crypt
Bojuka Bog
Extipate
Faerie Macabre
The tap ability of Relic
Additional Burn to the face
TENDRILS FOR 20 TO THE DOME(something that is still an important consideration due to dredges combo matchup %)

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Okay vs Crypt, Bojuka or burn/Tendrils it might be good. Extirpate, Faerie Macabre, Relic (except useless against dredge first ability) doesn't target player but his/her GY or cards in it.

What about decks with Daze opening with turn one Relic of Progenitus? I guess DDD isn't an effective plan.

I'm going to be playing Dredge in a tournament this weekend, and my list currently looks fairly stock, like so....

Land (14)
4 City of Brass
4 Cephalid Coliseum
4 Gemstone Mine
2 Tarnished Citadel

Creatures (27)
4 Tireless Tribe
4 Putrid Imp
4 Narcomoeba
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
2 Golgari Thug
3 Ichorid
1 Sphinx of Lost Truths
1 Flame-Kin Zealot

Other (19)
4 Careful Study
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Breakthrough
3 Dread Return
4 Bridge from Below

SB
4 Ancient Grudge
4 Chain of Vapor
3 Firestorm
1 Ray of Revelation
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Ancestor's Chosen
1 Terastodon

I always seem to run into bad draws though. I know that I could gain consistency by adding a 3rd Citadel, a 3rd or 4th Thug, or a 4th Ichorid, but nothing seems like it can be removed. And I'm always changing my sideboard around....

it seems that while maindecks have been sharpened to a t. my personal build for reference has 3 careful study, 3 dr, no targets, 3 thug/1 darkblast, and 3 ichorid/ 3 citadel. sideboards, however, still seem to be all around the place. so here is my personal guide on how i arrived at my own sideboard

Leyline of Sanctity is not a replacement for grudge/ray/claim, it replaces Unmask for the Charbelchar/Storm matchups as a speed-bump that doesnt cause you card disadvantage. however, i feel the slot is truly competing with Leyline of the Void since the slot is dedicated to either a nigh impossible matchup or the mirror. after testing both these matchups with and without their respective hate cards, i can honestly say that having ammo to combat the mirror is much more important. its not just that my meta is more dredge than storm, but because Void in the mirror has upped my win percentage more than Sanctity vs storm did by a wide margin. furthermore, ive found that i can get by with 3 Void as opposed to the necessary 4 Sanctity. thus my sb is currently-

3 Leyline of the Void
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
11 ?

Tormod's Crypt and Relic of Progenitus still see plenty of play even though they are no longer, perhaps never have been,the best forms of hate. Regardless, we must expect them in quantity especially vs the aggro decks. i started put playing 3 grudges, and they have always been enough as ive never really needed the fourth. also, it is not uncommon for aggro to straight up race us and get us to single digits before grave troll and gang hit the board. many people already play Ancestor's Chosen because of this, but im trying not to leave anything out. thus my sb is currently-

3 Leyline of the Void
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
3 Ancient Grudge
1 Ancestor's Chosen
7 ?

I used to auto-include 4 Chain of Vapor like clockwork, but recently ive had trouble not just with my opponents recasting their Leylines (R/b goblins, WBG Junk, some Lands builds) but that Wheel of Sun & Moon has been discoved as possibly the best hate there is against us. its cheap, prevents dredge, and doesnt have to be in the opening hand. Ray of Revelation costs 2 and the odds of dredging what many run as a 1 of is really low. many like the relatively new Nature's Claim, but ive always wondered how often, if ever, id want it over Ancient Grudge. wouldnt Demistify serve the same role without giving our opponents 4 life? then i remembered there was a much better alternative and its name is Wispmare. it can even be dread returned and triggers our bridges when we evoke it. absolutely perfect. ill take 4 please. thus my sb is currently-

3 Leyline of the Void
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
3 Ancient Grudge
1 Ancestor's Chosen
4 Wispmare
3 ?

There is the argument of Woodfall Primus vs Terastodon. Lets keep this simple for once. the choice will be boarded in for our worst, yet still winnable, matchups in Lands & Enchantress. there are multiple targets in Enchantress, and i see no reason to keep any Cabal Therapy in the md against Lands. Terastodon is the clear winner. thus my sb is currently-

3 Leyline of the Void
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
3 Ancient Grudge
1 Ancestor's Chosen
4 Wispmare
1 Terastodon
2 ?

I knew that the last 2 slots would be dr targets so i set about testing those that others swore by. in games where you would want Sphinx of Lost Truths to come in with Zealot, Eternal Witness was just plain better. I also just love the fact i can get anything back, not just draw. I never liked Sadistic Hypnotist or Iona. I asked myself, "self, what matchup is causing me migraines?" I easily answered "Merfolk". There is lots of it, often has enough disruption + threats thanks to Standstill, and has one hell of an enemy in Llawan, Cephalid Empress. Llawan, backed by Ancient Grudge for Jitte/Relic. should spell endgame to the 'folk..

Final Sideboard

3 Leyline of the Void
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
3 Ancient Grudge
1 Ancestor's Chosen
4 Wispmare
1 Terastodon
1 Eternal Witness
1 Llawan, Cephalid Empress

tune in tomorrow when i go over my personal sideboarding strategies...

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Originally Posted by Digital Devil

What about decks with Daze opening with turn one Relic of Progenitus? I guess DDD isn't an effective plan.

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That's true. Generally we can afford to DDD against most blue decks but if they have turn 1 relic it won't work. So you will have to try to resolve an outlet or you can't really win. Maybe you can back it up with Cabal Therapy.
The best solution here is Firestorm out of your Sideboard. As the discarding is a cost, it can't be countered and especially against merfolk etc it can win you games.

@ Sintheros:

Your list seems pretty solid in general. Nonetheless I think you should add a Dredger. 11 is a good number for cards you want to see in your opening hand and it will make your deck a bit more consistent. For the same reason you might want to add the 3rd Citadel. But then you will probably have to give up your Dread Return Targets. If you really want to keep them, cutting the 4th Careful Study is also viable.
Your sideboard looks quite good to me, in fact I don't think you will have to make major changes.

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Originally Posted by Sintheros

I'm going to be playing Dredge in a tournament this weekend, and my list currently looks fairly stock, like so....

Land (14)
4 City of Brass
4 Cephalid Coliseum
4 Gemstone Mine
2 Tarnished Citadel

Creatures (27)
4 Tireless Tribe
4 Putrid Imp
4 Narcomoeba
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
2 Golgari Thug
3 Ichorid
1 Sphinx of Lost Truths
1 Flame-Kin Zealot

Other (19)
4 Careful Study
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Breakthrough
3 Dread Return
4 Bridge from Below

SB
4 Ancient Grudge
4 Chain of Vapor
3 Firestorm
1 Ray of Revelation
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Ancestor's Chosen
1 Terastodon

I always seem to run into bad draws though. I know that I could gain consistency by adding a 3rd Citadel, a 3rd or 4th Thug, or a 4th Ichorid, but nothing seems like it can be removed. And I'm always changing my sideboard around....

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Really? I think it's fairly easy what to remove. e.g. - 1 FKZ -1 Sphinx -1 DR +2 Thugs +1 Ichorid/Citadel...

Props on your Sideboard though. As I mentioned before, I find Iona completely unnessasary(is that how it's written?^^ )
If you really wanna run it, -1 Firestorm +1 Iona seems like the only viable change for me.

Also why Chain instead of Nature's Claim? A lot of reanimator in the meta?
Edit: Seriosly, why less then 4 Thugs? They are really THAT good, if used correctly. Even though I board 'em out a lot, at least 2 of them, you can pull off INSANE tricks with it.
I mean... Amoeba(s) in play, dredge thug->hardcast thug, now either
a) Multiple Therapies. Cast Therapy, Fb Therapy saccing Moeba, FB another Therapy sac Thug, Thug trigger-> moeba on top of bib and a whole lot of tokens.BOOOOM
b) Same with DR. FB DR saccing 2 moebas and a thug, get tokens, put moeba back on bib, evil grin-> opponent is a saaad panda as soon as he realises your amazingness.



@Sunsatzu: what neigh impossible matchup are you talking about?If you mean Reanimator, I find Chains viable, too.
Also, I don't like any Leylines because of what has been mentionend above. Void is certainly more viable then the other leylines though.
I just board Firestorm for the mirror though, and the all mighty elephant of frickin doom and destruction
The addition of the empress is kind of interesting btw. I can imagine using it myself in an Merfolk-heavy meta.
Instead of 1 Claim probably.Kudos for the idea!

This is going into an entire unknown meta, actually. I'm trying to cover as many bases as possible. Chain works better than Claim in any case that isn't Wheel of Sun and Moon, really. Sphinx/FKZ are generally for a speedy game 1 on the offchance they're combo, and then usually get removed.

Also, there's no reason to play Llawan over Iona. Iona wins more games, and Iona against Merfolk is just as GG as Llawan is.

Unknown meta, then. Chain is worse against leyline, too btw.
Still, I don't understand running less then 4 Thugs. You really don't need Sphinx imo. Citadel's usually enough.
Also, IF they are combo, FKZ does not really help. Orim's Chant-> useless FKZ. I like Thug even more then, because Multiple Therapies with less drawback is always a good thing, but exspecially against combo.

edit:yeah dumb me. Iona's of course better then the empress...-.- doh.

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Originally Posted by HokusSchmokus

Unknown meta, then. Chain is worse against leyline, too btw.
Still, I don't understand running less then 4 Thugs. You really don't need Sphinx imo. Citadel's usually enough.
Also, IF they are combo, FKZ does not really help. Orim's Chant-> useless FKZ

edit:yeah dumb me. Iona's of course better then the empress...-.- doh.

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Then what, Claims over Chains....?

And how does Citadel replace Sphinx?

And what if I do fight Belcher or Reanimator? I'd have nothing to bring in.

Oh. I mean Coliseum. Way too early around here, sorry.
If you need enchantment hate , definately Claim over Chain. Hatebears die to Firestorm, too, so no need for Chain.
If you expect a lot of Reanimator, you might wanna put chains over claims. but then again, a good reanimator player will just reanimate leviathan.
I would just race 'em nowadays. Leylines probably a solution, but no idea what to cut for it.

Belcher? Uhm...Therapies again? Terastodon + Ancestor's Chosen in SB is viable, too. Might even wanna side in Firestorm for those puny Goblins. But 2/2 Zombies -> 1/1 Goblins.

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Originally Posted by HokusSchmokus

Oh. I mean Coliseum. Way too early around here, sorry.
If you need enchantment hate , definately Claim over Chain. Hatebears die to Firestorm, too, so no need for Chain.
If you expect a lot of Reanimator, you might wanna put chains over claims. but then again, a good reanimator player will just reanimate leviathan.
I would just race 'em nowadays. Leylines probably a solution, but no idea what to cut for it.

Belcher? Uhm...Therapies again? Terastodon + Ancestor's Chosen in SB is viable, too. Might even wanna side in Firestorm for those puny Goblins. But 2/2 Zombies -> 1/1 Goblins.

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Coliseum you have to draw though, Sphinx you just run into.

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Originally Posted by Sintheros

Coliseum you have to draw though, Sphinx you just run into.

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Yeah, though it's quite common that you "run into" sphinx when you don't need her anymore. It does not help as much against difficult matchups as Thug would, imo.

Well, it seems a consensus is closer to being reached. While I can't argue against the opinions, I can argue against the reasoning.

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Originally Posted by Anusien

Most people just board Relics and Crypts. Running Grudge is a better answer. And I find that it's easier to beat Bogs, Traps (well these are even easier to beat), Crypts and Relics mostly by just casting draw spells.

I would not replace Grudges with Leyline of Sanctity. Just try sideboarding in Leyline and see how often you don't draw it.

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First of all, how many draw spells are you running post-board? I run 4 BT and 4 CS MD, then always side the 4 BT out post-side. When I play CS, I'm generally looking for anti-hate to answer a piece of hate on the table, not looking to get blown out by a relic activation after CS resolves and the narc triggers go on stack. And how often do you have the abundance of rainbow mana g2 against decks with wasteland? What about the mana to pay for daze or spell pierce? Do you always have the therapy in grave with a dude to sac also? Maybe you draw 2 rainbow land hands all day and never play against permission backed up by waste, but I can't say the same for myself.

I do agree that grudge is effective against crypt and relic WHEN you dredge it to grave and WHEN you have the mana, but your still at a loss. You're still removing your grave. Undoing work that took you mana and cards to achieve and losing more dredgers and ichorids. This may not directly lose you the game, but it sure slows you down. My point is grudge doesn't stop crypt or relic at all. It just makes them pop it sooner.
Why not try and prevent most of that altogether? Why not prevent your opponent from popping crypt in the first place? Why not name some business spells with therapy instead of the safety rav-trap, relic, or crypt? Why waste mana and tempo for a temporary answer, but not a solution?

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Originally Posted by Izor

I totally agree with that.
The chance of having at least 1 Leyline of Sanctity in your opening hand postboard is less than 40% assuming a 7 card hand. After each mulligan it becomes even less. Given the fact that Dredge already has some fixed requirements for its opening hand (Discard outlet, Gold Land and Dredger) you will have to be really lucky.
Grudge can easily be dredged into, if you don't see it in your opening hand. And it gets rid of Relic.
Trap, Extirpate and Macabre can be stopped by a timely Cabal Therapy, which is already in your main deck.
Bojuka Bog can be hard if topdecked by your opponent but mostly it will enter the battlefield through Knight of the Reliquary or you see it in the graveyard before it gets Loamed back, so you can prepare for it. Also it has Sorcery speed.

And if you're concerned about the storm combo matchup, you should rather board (or even maindeck) Sphinx of lost Truths + FKZ/Iona. From my expierience that is a more reliable way to deal with that.

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The argument you make regarding chances of LoS occurring in your opening hand can also be made against LotV, a card recent posts have said to be considered more valuable than LoS. I ask what matchups are relevant where LotV shines vs. what matchups are relevant where LoS shines.
Leyline of the Void is relevant in: Mirror (extremely, gamebreaking), Loam (relevant, but still have crusher and goyf), U/B reanimator (relevant, but still have show and tell), maybe U/G madness (a minor nuisance) and random jank that runs some slow, mana-intensive recursion/advantage engine.
Leyline of Sanctity is relevant in: almost any form of Combo (extremely), any deck that runs burn (Zoo, Sligh, janky burn), any jank Rock or black deck (having your discard outlet tossed by thoughtseize t1 can be ugly), and any deck that runs crypt, trap, or bog or the random wheel of sun and moon. Which is a lot of them.

Of those decks, which are you more likely to face in a large (30+ man) tournament? I exclude personal metagames because different card and even deck choices can be justified by the element of small scale tournaments and just knowing what the 15-20 people you constantly play with are using. If I were going to be playing in a GP tomorrow, I'd worry more about my Storm match FAR more than my mirror match.

Second, do you really have the time AND luck of the dredge to DR an Iona or Chosen against combo? We're not playing LED and Deep Analysis, so we don't have that kind of speed. I'm far more worried about whats in their hand and frankly don't always have 3 dudes, a DR, AND a target in the grave. I'd much rather the combo player answer MY cards through MY disruption than I would frantically dig through my deck to somehow make the stars align and DR the target I want all on Turn 3 at the latest. And that's if they don't have a LotV on their side that we have to answer.

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Originally Posted by Saff

Okay vs Crypt, Bojuka or burn/Tendrils it might be good. Extirpate, Faerie Macabre, Relic (except useless against dredge first ability) doesn't target player but his/her GY or cards in it.

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This one I completely blew. I should start ReadingTFC.

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Originally Posted by Sunsatzu

Leyline of Sanctity is not a replacement for grudge/ray/claim, it replaces Unmask for the Charbelchar/Storm matchups as a speed-bump that doesnt cause you card disadvantage. however, i feel the slot is truly competing with Leyline of the Void since the slot is dedicated to either a nigh impossible matchup or the mirror. after testing both these matchups with and without their respective hate cards, i can honestly say that having ammo to combat the mirror is much more important. its not just that my meta is more dredge than storm, but because Void in the mirror has upped my win percentage more than Sanctity vs storm did by a wide margin. furthermore, ive found that i can get by with 3 Void as opposed to the necessary 4 Sanctity. thus my sb is currently-

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I can't argue with the results you say you've had regarding LotV and dredge, but I completely disagree with not running a full set of whichever leyline you choose to run, and I must wonder what you are doing against the storm pilot with LoS on the table to lose, barring storm drawing chain of vapor plus raw gas. Coupled with unmask, therapy, and a possible DR on Iona if you can draw the game out long enough, LoS should go the distance. Many TES pilots I've played side out the ETW because anything short of a 6 Storm count after T3 is not going anywhere. That leaves them with the harder Tendrils route. Now they have to come up with atleat 8 storm plus a bounce spell all while dodging handrape.
Sometimes, yes, storm just does what it does and it doesn't matter what 75 you're running. More often than not, they're a beatable deck with proper siding.
Also, why would you run 3 of a card that has to be in your opening hand to be effective? Do you run it as a rare "Oops, I win"? Or do you plan on mulling like crazy against dredge only to lose your claims/chains and get blown out by THEIR LotV? I understand that the same argument can be made of LoS and Storm, but at the least, I run 4 of them to maximize my odds.

Everyone has their preferences when it comes to their local metagame and the hate that it runs. LoS is not meant to be a 4 card "answer-all-hate", and it never will be. Just a very powerful supplement and a great answer to an otherwise awful matchup. I typically side in 4 LoS and 4 Claim against everything but combo and Black. Cards that come out are usually a set of BT, an ichy, Some number of tribes, and a coliseum.
Combo is usually 4 LoS, 4 Unmask, and some number of claims/chains. I've found it to be quite effective against TES and ANT, although my testing against the Shelldrazi/DDFT hybrid is limited.

Different strokes I guess.