If anybody has a sideboard/sideboard guide for ANT they are quite happy with could you PM me? Thanks!
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If anybody has a sideboard/sideboard guide for ANT they are quite happy with could you PM me? Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrettF
Depends on the meta.
when I play ANT for a long time it is constantly in flux depending on what I expect.
For those of you who run a copy of Empty the Warrens in the sideboard, when do you board it in?
I'm thinking of adding it to my sideboard, and I see several situations where I'd consider it:
1) Decks that you know will run Leyline of Sanctity. I'll bring in bounce, but having an Empty is nice even if less reliable. I'll probably bring it in pretty much any time in this situation.
2) Decks that can reasonably attack your hand, graveyard, and life total. Something like BUG Delver or Jund where you can't rely on Ad Nauseam or Past in Flames to necessarily get there; the tutor chain plan is even worse against all their discard.
3) Decks that have a lot of grave hate. I wouldn't always bring in Empty the Warrens here, but a Rest in Peace or Relic of Progenitus can make Cabal Rituals and Past in Flames very awkward. Having an additional "bomb" to draw into or tutor for when necessary can be useful. I'd probably play the "shuffle your sideboard in" game with a potential opponent to make him guess what strategy I'm on.
Any other advice?
Against decks that simply can't deal with 10 to 12 1/1 tokens turn one: RUG Delver, Pox, etc. Basically any non-combo deck without SFM->Batterskull or mass removal.
Can't agree more bennotsi,
Empty is great against any kind ofdelver deck (but probe before to make sure he doesn't have golgari charm or anything like that,otherwise its suicide.
I wouldn't board empty against leyline decks if they are combo because then you give him 1-3 full turns to turn the game.
Mono blue omnitell for example,you cast swarm and then ad nauseam into the kill+chain of vapour.
- Team RUG-STAR Berlin -
Most everywhere I look, preordain is always the first card sided out. So if that's the case, why can't the preordains just be replaced as a main deck option that's both usually more versatile and frees up sideboard choices for those who were playing this card anyway. The card i have in mind is dark confidants. Maybe 2 bobs, 2 grim tutors? Do you think they can replace preordains in the main? If not, are any of you testing preordain main deck replacements? Senseis top?
So, you take out preordains and then add in two Dark Confidants and two Grim Tutors or four rite of flames. Now, whatever you're matched up against you will still want to sideboard for games 2 & 3. Now, will whatever you take out become a weak card that should be taken out next?Quote:
Originally Posted by Tombo175
With this I try to say that preordain in MD is a card that doesn't affect the plan too much, it allows you to find the missing combo pieces, fills graveyard and makes the deck more reliable. Whatever you get matched against, they'll (most likely) have something to bring in just against you. They'll have hatebears/discard/(taxing)counters or they might just play counterbalance in maindeck. Now you'll want to take cards from your sideboard to make those games easier while not taking any key cards away from your deck.
On a unrelated note, playtested sawatrix's build a lot this weekend and it didn't go well at all against BUG/bUrg/grixis tempo, while TES just performed great. :(
Most lists have moved away from 4 preordains, usually shaving one or two for additional discard or another tutor like effect. While the last two preordains are the weakest spells left, they do adequately support the game plan especially game one, versus say bob which is good in some matchups and bad in others.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tombo175
I have been trying the Empty in the maindeck as another tutor target over the 3rd Preordain and have been really liking it. Game 2 I just side out the crappy cards, but it gives me some solid game 1 outs. Since I have an extra slot in the board, I debated running a Sensei's Diving Top or a Deathmark. Thoughts on the entire ideas?
Why Top or Deathmark? They don't seem interchangeable. Either you're looking for a card to shore up discard-heavy matchups with Top. Or you're looking for an extra answer to hatebears. If you already have enough against hatebears then go for Top (or possibly something else). As far as answers to hatebears go I'm not a big fan of Deathmark. I'd prefer any of Chain of Vapor, Abrupt Decay or Slaughter Pact as targeted removal myself.Quote:
Originally Posted by elijah
Chain of vapour remains the best removal spell legacy has to offer for us,no need for deathmark,burn spells or such stuff
- Team RUG-STAR Berlin -
Hey Guys!
What's your take on sb flusterstorms/swan song for the combo mirror?
I'm currently sporting confidants with the counterspells on my sb. It seems to work well so far in my playtests.
Anybody else trying this approach?
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These serve different roles so it depends on your expected metagame as well as the rest of your SB.Quote:
Originally Posted by elijah
Carten Kötter and i play flusterstorms since summer 2013 and they are great gainst fast combo decks.
We moved away from swan songs because in the ant mirror we give our opponent the opportunity to flashback a cabal therapy.
Remember: There is a real game before we combo off,many guys forget this aspect.
- Team RUG-STAR Berlin -
I've played with both Flusterstorms and Surgical Extractions. My conclusions are as follows:Quote:
Originally Posted by cheerios
Cards intented to help you against other combo decks such as Flusterstorm (and Surgical Extraction against Reanimator and the mirror) can situationally be good, but as an over all plan I have decided to abandon them. On paper it looks good to have a few slots devoted to upping your percentages but there are problems with all of the cards.
Fighting Reanimator you'd like to see a Surgical Extraction on your opening hand, but with only two in your deck you aren't exactly tripping over them. They also have countermagic to thwart your plan of extracting a key piece. The matchup is also quite unfavorable to begin with and I feel that boarding in two lonesome Surgical Extractions doesn't do enough to really offset that. It is still a bad matchup and one you win through catching them with a slow hand or discarding them to bits. In order to really be able to hate them out enough to boost your chances significantly I believe you'd need 3 or more graveyard disruption spells as well as 1-2 Karakas. It's just not worth it as even then it's probably still in their favor and there aren't that many Reanimator decks around. If there ever is, perhaps it's time to give Storm a rest.
Against Show and Tell decks I don't like bringing in Flusterstorms or Swan Song. Do we all of the sudden want to sit back and be defensive against another fast combo deck? No, I'd like to either discard them to oblivion or try to race them, not play defense.
Against the mirror both Flusterstorms and Surgical Extractions make sense. However during a mirror match of storm there is usually a lot of discarding taking place. I've never had a 'gotcha' moment happen to me in the mirror as I've always known my opponent's hand before going off. Of course that can't always be the case but often you see an extraction in their hand during early turns and then just play around it from then on. Same with Flusterstorm. So even here I don't find that strategy rewarding enough.
Unfortunately I'm unable to get to BOM this time after all... money&people :frown:
So good luck to Peter, Kai, Jamie and all the other stormtroopers... I'll be watching the BOM coverage closely and expect to see your best!:wink:
Hopefully I can see you at the Prague Eternal...
Thx Slosh,
We arrived at the hotel yesterday and now we are going to storm 12 hours with the infinite trial package,it's going to be fun ;D
So i'll do my very best with Ant this time during Bom, hope to make some money,
See you in prague !
Thats the list i'm playing today:
Deck: Ant by Kai Thiele (RUGSTAR Berlin)
Counts : 60 main / 15 sideboard
Spells:45
1 Chrome Mox
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
4 Brainstorm
3 Cabal Therapy
4 Dark Ritual
4 Duress
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Ponder
1 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Infernal Tutor
1 Past in Flames
1 Tendrils of Agony
2 Ad Nauseam
Lands:15
1 Bayou
1 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
1 Tropical Island
2 Underground Sea
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Volcanic Island
Sideboard:15
2 Chain of Vapor
4 Dread of Night
2 Flusterstorm
3 Xantid Swarm
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Empty the Warrens
- Team RUG-STAR Berlin -
+1! :smile:Quote:
Originally Posted by Sloshthedark
+1 ... even if I'm not there :/Quote:
Originally Posted by Sloshthedark
Yesterday i played a couple of trials and finally won the very last one:
2:0 death&taxes
2:0 shardless bug
2:0 enchantress
2:0 ant mirror
2:0 mud
I talked to jeremy yesterday about 2 ad nauseams and other sideboard-slots in the metagame full of jund and miracle (thats my impression so far) and i'm adding 3 copies of young pyromancer in my sideboard now and cut 1 empty the warrens and 2 flusterstorms from the previous list i posted above.
Here we go, Stoooooooorm !
- Team RUG-STAR Berlin -