[Deck] TES - The EPIC Storm

I am still trying to wrap my head around playing this deck after sideboarding... with 2 Xantid Swarms and 4 Vexing Shushers, it does play quite differently that "normal" version.

Anyway, I have a question about first turn. I quite often have an option to do something like 1st turn Land, Petal, Vexing Shusher.

Is this a good play? In my experience it often allows me to get one attack with Shusher, and sometimes I manage two. Getting storm count 8 is much easier than getting 10... but I have found the difference between 9 and 10 to be much less significant.

So, what do you think: are those 2-4 points damage worth a card?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by esmandil

I am still trying to wrap my head around playing this deck after sideboarding... with 2 Xantid Swarms and 4 Vexing Shushers, it does play quite differently that "normal" version.

Anyway, I have a question about first turn. I quite often have an option to do something like 1st turn Land, Petal, Vexing Shusher.

Is this a good play? In my experience it often allows me to get one attack with Shusher, and sometimes I manage two. Getting storm count 8 is much easier than getting 10... but I have found the difference between 9 and 10 to be much less significant.

So, what do you think: are those 2-4 points damage worth a card?

---

I doubt it, wasting a Lotus Petal to a removal is terrible, but if it were Chrome Mox, sure.

Hi friends!!!

Now I play this list:

// Lands
1 [OD] Tarnished Citadel
1 [VI] Undiscovered Paradise
4 [8E] City of Brass
4 [TSB] Gemstone Mine

// Creatures
4 [PLC] Simian Spirit Guide
2 [SC] Xantid Swarm / cabal terphay / Thoughtseize

// Spells
1 [TSP] Empty the Warrens
1 [SC] Tendrils of Agony
1 [US] Ill-Gotten Gains
1 [6E] Diminishing Returns
1 [7E] Infernal Contract
2 [LRW] Ponder
4 [MM] Brainstorm
4 [JU] Burning Wish
3 [MR] Chrome Mox
4 [TE] Lotus Petal
4 [MI] Lion's Eye Diamond
4 [MM] Dark Ritual
4 [PS] Orim's Chant
4 [CS] Rite of Flame
4 [DIS] Infernal Tutor
2 [SHM] Manamorphose

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [TSP] Empty the Warrens
SB: 1 [SC] Tendrils of Agony
SB: 1 [US] Ill-Gotten Gains
SB: 1 [6E] Diminishing Returns
SB: 1 [10E] Pyroclasm
SB: 3 [SHM] Vexing Shusher
SB: 3 [GP] Shattering Spree
SB: 1 [CHK] Cleanfall
SB: 2 [SHM] Wheel of Sun and Moon
SB: 1 [TSP] Krosan Grip

SB:

I'd play:

- Whell of Sun and Moon and Krosan Grip
+ Rack and ruin, Ingot Chewer, Serenity or Hurkyl's Recall


In my metagame there're a lot of stax and it's a not good game.
I'd play overmaster in my side too, but I've few slots.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BreathWeapon

I doubt it, wasting a Lotus Petal to a removal is terrible, but if it were Chrome Mox, sure.

---

This somewhat irritates me, I thought Chrome Mox was the first card to be boarded out for Shushers/Swarms/Blasts. Do you board out SSGs instead?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brehn

This somewhat irritates me, I thought Chrome Mox was the first card to be boarded out for Shushers/Swarms/Blasts. Do you board out SSGs instead?

---

It depends, I SB out either Chrome Mox or Simian Spirit Guide based on the number of Pernicious Deeds and/or Engineered Explosives in the opponent's MD and the amount of Wastelands in their manabase. You either don't want to get two for oned or you don't want to get mana screwed, so you adapt your boarding strategy to the opponent's disruption suite.

Also, I have more SBing options because I pre-board 2 Empty the Warrens and SB them out based on their removal (MD Engineered Explosives, SB Pyroclasm etc.) instead of MDing 2 Draw 4s.

Whilst looking up a card posted in the Landstill thread (Fracturng Gust) I ran across an interesting card by the name of Gustha's Scepter. I know it's either win-more, not enough, or too prone to artifact removal for it's own good, but I was wondering if it could be a feasable SB card against heavy Discard stratiges, somewhat like extra SDTs (this is a cross post from the FT thread) that function differently, or Brainstorms that are more than one shot. I'm fairly sure it's not up to the grade, but I presume introducing semifeasable innovation so it can be optimized or discarded is what these boards are for :\ I think CB would be a better choice though.

Not in TES, but it does have sweet implications with LED, so I'd consider Trinket Mage for Gustha's Scepter and LED shenanigans else where.

Tournament report from my 4th place finish found Here.

Short question to you Bryant: Why do you play Brainstorm over Ponder, without real shuffling effects?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TeKo

Short question to you Bryant: Why do you play Brainstorm over Ponder, without real shuffling effects?

---

I think the best reason is because of discard. Thats why I like Brainstorm.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by THEchubbymuffin

I think the best reason is because of discard. Thats why I like Brainstorm.

---

Not only because of that. Brainstorm accelerates into an almost "draw 3 cards", by replacing up to 2 useless cards in hand, allowing you to go off much earlier.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by TeKo

Short question to you Bryant: Why do you play Brainstorm over Ponder, without real shuffling effects?

---

I play both.

I think what he meant was "why do you play 4 brainstorm and 3 ponder instead of 4 ponder and 3 brainstorm?"

but that has still been answered - brainstorm is a draw 3 relevant spells, throw away the garbage...

i have been played your older list bryant, with the 4 moxes, 4 ponder and a 2nd draw 4... and i like the addition of 3 thoughtseize!

the deck definitely needed some form of pro active card like that in addition to orim's chant - xantis swarm was not it.

I have been testing the list with some large amount of sucess. Grat's on the recent finish!

I've some other question:
Why do you play Bargain/Contract as Draw4 over Meditate?

I tested it and it can be pretty amazing vs. Landstill, and actually I didn't find a Matchup where Meditate is worse than Draw4 in form of Bargain.
On the other hand meditate can't be abused as a Set-Up Spell at turn 1, are there some other pros of the black Draw4 compared to meditate?

bargain/contract:
- cast off a dark ritual
- draw 4 cards and get a turn straight after
- allows you to float black off a LED for either a drawn into draw 4 or tendrils or infernal (why would you realistically float blue?)


meditate:
- life loss advantage seems pretty irrelevant
- you lose your next turn allowing your opponent to brainstorm/lackey into some goodness!


I can see why people like meditate in fetchland for the doomsday stack because it requires less mana strains but TES doesnt really want meditate. i have played storm combo with meditate before and if you use it and fizzle or try to set up the combo with it... that extra turn they get is murder on you.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by slobad23

bargain/contract:
- cast off a dark ritual
- draw 4 cards and get a turn straight after
- allows you to float black off a LED for either a drawn into draw 4 or tendrils or infernal (why would you realistically float blue?)

meditate:
- life loss advantage seems pretty irrelevant
- you lose your next turn allowing your opponent to brainstorm/lackey into some goodness!

---

I'm with you That bargain/Contract are better than Meditate in this deck, but you forgot to mention some of meditate's props.

- Can be cast on your opponent's turn. You skip a turn but on the next one you have like 10 cards in hand with all your mana open.
- Doesn't lose life, so if the opponent plays burn it doesn't put your life at risk.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by slobad23

I think what he meant was "why do you play 4 brainstorm and 3 ponder instead of 4 ponder and 3 brainstorm?"

but that has still been answered - brainstorm is a draw 3 relevant spells, throw away the garbage...

i have been played your older list bryant, with the 4 moxes, 4 ponder and a 2nd draw 4... and i like the addition of 3 thoughtseize!

---

Thoughtsieze has been an amazing addition to the deck while freeing up sideboard slots. A great idea.

People have pretty much cleared up the Brainstorm and meditate problems.

In recent things, Ruined Halo is becoming a big problem, along with Gaddeck Teeg in the Syracuse Metagame. I've decided I can just win before Teeg comes down against Survival. I win game one, game two Teeg, game three I'm on the play. However, Ruined Halo while at the same costs, comes from control decks with Force of Will. The only logical thing I can think of besides swapping out Shatter Spree for Chain of Vapor (Which won't happen, then I have 0 chance of beating Dragon Stompy) is removing Pyroclasm for Grapeshot. Get your laughs out now, it's not terrible. They both kill the problematic creatures, being Meddling Mage and Gaddeck Teeg. Although, Grapeshot serves as a tertiary win condition. Has anyone here tried to Empty the Warrens against Landstill? EE and Wrath of God suck.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bryant Cook

Thoughtsieze has been an amazing addition to the deck while freeing up sideboard slots. A great idea.

People have pretty much cleared up the Brainstorm and meditate problems.

In recent things, Ruined Halo is becoming a big problem, along with Gaddeck Teeg in the Syracuse Metagame. I've decided I can just win before Teeg comes down against Survival. I win game one, game two Teeg, game three I'm on the play. However, Ruined Halo while at the same costs, comes from control decks with Force of Will. The only logical thing I can think of besides swapping out Shatter Spree for Chain of Vapor (Which won't happen, then I have 0 chance of beating Dragon Stompy) is removing Pyroclasm for Grapeshot. Get your laughs out now, it's not terrible. They both kill the problematic creatures, being Meddling Mage and Gaddeck Teeg. Although, Grapeshot serves as a tertiary win condition. Has anyone here tried to Empty the Warrens against Landstill? EE and Wrath of God suck.

---

Yes, I more or less go for IGG->ETW or ETW and either Orim's Chant and/or Burning Wish->Thought Seize, it's difficult for Landstill to deal with an ETW after a Runed Halo because their double WW investment keeps them off Counterspell for a turn and off Pernicious Deed for two turns, while Wrath of God is kind of slow.

Attacking our kill conditions just isn't a good idea, I don't see Runed Halo being superior to Meddling Mage against us, and if they have both, they can't have that many of each.

I like Grape Shot, I've been using it over Pyroclasm for awhile.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BreathWeapon

Yes, I more or less go for IGG->ETW or ETW and either Orim's Chant and/or Burning Wish->Thought Seize, it's difficult for Landstill to deal with an ETW after a Runed Halo because their double WW investment keeps them off Counterspell for a turn and off Pernicious Deed for two turns, while Wrath of God is kind of slow.

---

This sentence just makes no sense at all. Landstill decks with Runed Halo and Pernicious Deed don't exist. If LS runs Halo, it runs Wrath. Also, "Wrath of God is kinda slow" - to be exact, one turn slower than Deed. To race a Wrath, you'd have to EtW turn 2 on the play or turn 1 on the draw. That's not always possible - do you want to mulligan for that?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BreathWeapon

Attacking our kill conditions just isn't a good idea, I don't see Runed Halo being superior to Meddling Mage against us, and if they have both, they can't have that many of each.

---

At least Tranquility/Cleanfall is one mana more expensive than Pyroclasm/Grapeshot...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bryant Cook

Thoughtseize has been an amazing addition to the deck while freeing up sideboard slots. A great idea.

---

QFT. But at the moment I'm still running a 2/1 main/side split because I never want to miss Burning Wish for Thoughtseize. I also don't want to miss the fourth Ponder in a deck with so few manipulation and unpowered Brainstorms, I have even thought about adding Sleight of Hand as Ponder #5.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BreathWeapon

Yes, I more or less go for IGG->ETW or ETW and either Orim's Chant and/or Burning Wish->Thought Seize, it's difficult for Landstill to deal with an ETW after a Runed Halo because their double WW investment keeps them off Counterspell for a turn and off Pernicious Deed for two turns, while Wrath of God is kind of slow.

---

I've tried this, it's easier in theory than practice.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BreathWeapon

Attacking our kill conditions just isn't a good idea, I don't see Runed Halo being superior to Meddling Mage against us, and if they have both, they can't have that many of each.

---

It's a great strategy for Landstill, they play enough board sweepers in their deck where they just don't care about any other card than Tendrils. I play against Geoff Smelski a lot, he's by far one of the best Landstill players out there. Very consistent, makes top X in almost every event. He plays both Halo and Mage, I can deal with Mages via Pyroblast, however, Ruined Halo is much more difficult. I believe he plays 3 and 3, which is enough to draw them.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BreathWeapon

I like Grape Shot, I've been using it over Pyroclasm for awhile.

---

I'm sure you have ;-p.