[Deck] Faerie Stompy

Ive yet to test it as well, but I really hate the goddamn pestermites. They're really good on an opponent's land in their upkeep, but then I remember that I just paid 3 for a 2/1 flyer. I think with four seats this deck can easily support esperzoa as a 3-of that dodges chalice at 2 just like the damn 'mite. But then again it doesn't imprint to chrome mox. Anyway, maybe something like this:

4 city of traitors
4 ancient tomb
4 seat of the synod
6 island

4 sea drake
4 serendib efreet
4 trinket mage
4 mulldrifter
3 esperzoa
3 sower of tempation
4 force of will

4 chrome mox
4 chalice of the void
3 sword of fire and ice
3 sword of light and shadow
1 sigil of distinction
1 pithing needle

Not printing on Chrome Mox isn't that problematic, unless you have 2 Esperoza, because if you're in a position to imprint something then you imprint whatever else is in your hand to cast Esperoza.

I'd run 7 Islands, Wasteland sucks even more with 4 Seat of the Synod.

I think Esperoza is worth it, sometimes it just pisses you off, but other times it just wins you games.

It's a love hate hard.

Losing Esperoza to Lightning Bolt doesn't seen to be a problem, but losing Esperoza to Shattering Spree in addition to the rest of your board really sucks.

Essentially esperzoa is almost this in this deck: "Each turn you may not play any new spells."

That's really what he is, because each turn you're going to have to return an artifact back to your hand, and then replay it. Sure, you can cast chalice or mox for free, but you really don't want that, even for a 4/3 flyer. You want chalice to stay on the board at 1/2, and you want mox to give you mana. Seat is a little better, but then you stop yourself from getting to 4 land if you played esperzoa early. Most often you won't get enough mana to keep replaying an artifact, as well as play a threat. I don't think a deck that wants to play an aggro game needs a card that will prevent them from continuing to play more spells until that creature is gone.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BreathWeapon

Pestermite isn't that great.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by 3duece

I really hate the goddamn pestermites. They're really good on an opponent's land in their upkeep, but then I remember that I just paid 3 for a 2/1 flyer.

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Are you kidding me? Here's how I rate the creatures in Faerie Stompy:

Sea Drake
Sower of Temptation
Mulldrifter (vs. control/board control)
Pestermite/Trinket Mage
Serendib Efreet
Mulldrifter (vs. everything else)

I'd cut all my Serendib Efreets and a Mulldrifter before I'd cut any Pestermites. Pestermite isn't a big body, but he does so many other things:

-Tempo play on your opponent's land

-Swings damage races by tapping attackers or blockers

-Kills attacking creatures by untapping bigger creatures of yours

-Can be played through Rishadan Port, which is becoming more relevant with the rise of Merfolk

-Breaks Standstill at end of turn

-Lets you untap a land of yours to drop two permanents in one turn or to play Pestermite and equip it

Like Tacosnape has said, Pestermite is a blue Jesus.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 3duece

I think with four seats this deck can easily support esperzoa as a 3-of that dodges chalice at 2 just like the damn 'mite. But then again it doesn't imprint to chrome mox.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by BreathWeapon

Not printing on Chrome Mox isn't that problematic, unless you have 2 Esperoza, because if you're in a position to imprint something then you imprint whatever else is in your hand to cast Esperoza.

I'd run 7 Islands, Wasteland sucks even more with 4 Seat of the Synod.

I think Esperoza is worth it, sometimes it just pisses you off, but other times it just wins you games.

It's a love hate hard.

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Even if Pestermite sucks as badly as you say, Esperzoa is far worse. At least we can cast Pestermite if we don't have an artifact in play. Running four Seat of the Synod means we lose B2B out of the sideboard which greatly hurts the board control matchups. It also hurts the Dragon Stompy matchup, makes us even more vulnerable to Wasteland, makes Pernicious Deed wreck our mana base even more, and the damn thing doesn't even imprint on Chrome Mox. Oh, and it makes artifact removal even better against us.

I don't even have to say how bad Esperzoa + Seat of the Synod is when you have a City of Traitors out.

I got a bunch of sample hands from MWS and I asked myself if I'd rather have an Esperzoa over a Serendib in that hand. The No's outnumbered the Yes's by four or five to one. Then again I didn't add any Seat of the Synod, but even if I did I'll bet I'd still prefer any other creature by a margin of three or four to one.

Just say no to the metallic jellyfish.

Added 3 Esperzoa 3 Seat, subtracted 1 Tormod's Crypt, 3 Island & the last 2 Pestermites, went 4-0 today in the Swiss at our local tourney. Put 4 Blue Blasts replacing 4 Wipe Away in the SB and was fairly happy with Esperzoa all day. They were dealt with all day and I SB'ed them out at least one match, but they had to be dealt with, not ignored as the Pestermites usually are.

Round 1 vs the MR kid in his first tournament....not much to say other than this deck should beat random stuff 2-0. Nice kid, good attitude, I ended Game 1 3 life (vs G/W) as I refused to block his silly critters with my good critters since couldn't bring myself to believe he would attack into me without some trick - Giant Growth, etc. That & Ancient Tomb brought me really low, but large flying guys finish him.

Round 2 vs Belcher. G1 I keep the speculative hand of 7 with EE and Ancient Tomb, since he goes for goblins more often than not (which makes sense in a BWish build). Yup, he made a bazillion Goblins. They died. Followed shortly by him. G2 on the draw I should have mulliganned the Tomb & Chalice 6 hand but going too low for a FoW hand means he rebuilds as fast as you do. Hope he doesn't go off Turn 1. He does. Makes 10 goblins, which was just enough to kill me before I could drop the Trinket Mage off Tomb & Seat (no Mox) for EE in time. Had I topdecked the EE or a Mox, that game would have gone differently, but live & learn. Game 3 I keep 2 Land (Island & Seat) 2 Blue Blasts & Trinket Mage plus whatever. Island go. He drops some stuff, Rituals of a Petal and attempts to cast Rite of Flame. Blue Blast, burn for 3. 2 turns later Trinket Mage lands, Sigil follows, beats ensue & last Blue Blast stops BWish attempt to not die.

Round 3 vs Goyf Sligh Triple Esperzoa opening, he deals with all of them with an early Lavamancer & 2 Fanatics. In retrospect I should have forced the Lavamancer & shouldn't have blocked with the second Zoa, but I feared Goyf more (mistake). He gets ahead of me & finishes me off. Game 2 I side out the Zoas, fearing Spree (which he doesn't play, d'oh!). I misboard, not putting in Drakes & siding out the SOFI but still win. Game 3 I side correctly and end up stealing his 4/4 FoD with my SoFI'd Mulldrifter holding off my Drake. I land a Chalice @1 & an In The Eye of Chaos which slow him enough that I can chip him down faster than he can chip me until I can equip SOFI to FoD and swing lethal through my Drake.

Round 4 vs Ciccio and 4c Thresh & he can't ID as I'm the only 3-0 >.<
Game 1 he wins the die roll (of course...) and I play around Daze to land a Turn 3 Chalice at 1. He plays a Tarmogoyf, I play Sower, no FoW, I ride that 5 a turn to victory. Game 2 I keep a risky hand but try the Turn 1 Tomb into Chalice only to meet Daze. I do land a B2B when he's tapped out but he gets more benefit out of it than I do with a timely fetch & a Top. I lose that one... Game 3 he keeps a risky hand - 1 land. Turn 2 Chalice @1 with Daze protection from a Mox is bad for him. Turn 3 Trinket Mage into Turn 4 Chalice at 2 is very bad for him... Finally, I beat that goddamn deck...when it doesn't matter :cool: (to me, I was in Top 4 either way, he had to win to get in).

Top 4, since the Goyf-Sligh player wanted to play it out, damn his filthy soul, I get paired against UWB LD Landstill (Waste, Crucible, Vindicate) with other lovely things such as Academy Ruins/EE. Get my face eaten off 0-2. Oh well, that is a matchup we don't win...

Turnout was a bit low but with the exception of the MR kid, not a bad deck or player in the room, good testing in a tournament setting. Not convinced either way on Esperzoa yet, but I never wanted them to be a gawdawful Pestermite when I did see them.

I've actually experienced UWb Landstill to be quite beatable. Thanks to Needle, Back to Basics and quick beats, the EE recursion doesn't always get going and if your hand is fast, they can't properly utilize their Standstills. Also, Mulldrifters and Glen Elendra Archmages are huge. I've beaten DiF's UWb Cunning Still (admittedly it didn't pack Vindicate, but it had Cunning Wish to much the same effect) in two separate (online) tournaments rather handily with fast hands.

The problem in this case is 3 fold. First, this guy plays a TON of basics, wasn't even worth it to board in the B2Bs in my estimation. Secondly, I dropped the Pithing Needles (partly because my son is playing them, partly for the horrible synergy with COTV@1) and the Glen Elendras (although they may make a comeback...). Glen Elendra would be quite good, if I could land them & keep recurring them which would not have been a guarantee. And Vindicate, especially combined with the other elements, is a beast of a card. Combine it with Crucible-Waste, blue card draw & counter, and Ruins-EE, it makes for a hellaciously tough package. Fortunately, Landstill doesn't see much play in my area (esp 3-4 color) and I don't expect much at the GP.

Quick note: I just won a Magic-League Trial tournament with the following:

// Lands
4 [EX] City of Traitors
4 [TE] Ancient Tomb
9 [UNH] Island

// Creatures
1 [SC] Shoreline Ranger
4 [AN] Serendib Efreet
4 [FD] Trinket Mage
4 [P2] Sea Drake
3 [LRW] Sower of Temptation
4 [LRW] Mulldrifter
3 [LRW] Pestermite

// Spells
4 [AL] Force of Will
3 [DS] Sword of Fire and Ice
3 [DS] Sword of Light and Shadow
1 [ALA] Sigil of Distinction
4 [MR] Chrome Mox
4 [MR] Chalice of the Void
1 [SOK] Pithing Needle

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [SOK] Pithing Needle
SB: 2 [DK] Tormod's Crypt
SB: 3 [US] Back to Basics
SB: 3 [EVE] Glen Elendra Archmage
SB: 3 [BOK] Umezawa's Jitte
SB: 1 [FD] Engineered Explosives
SB: 2 [A] Blue Elemental Blast


Match-ups:

Round 1: UWb Wishstill

G1 I lose the roll and keep a slow hand (only Islands) with double Force. I Force his turn 2 Standstill and proceed to resolve Efreet (O-Ringed), Mulldrifter (resolves), Mulldrifter (Forced), Sea Drake (resolves), Trinket Mage (resolves), Needle (on his Factory; my Tomb was putting me low on life due to constant use - resolves) into Wrath. I pretty much expected that and let it resolve so I don't let a relevant spell like Humility to resolve. I drop the 3rd Mulldrifter I had been holding back while he drops an Elspeth. I play-equip SoFI and beat his face blowing up his tokens each turn. Then I drop a Pestermite to take his second white away just in case, Force his EE and win.

Side out 3 Chalices, a Serendib & Sowers for Glen Elendra Archmages, extra Needle and Back to Basics.

G2 I keep another slow hand with Force, Force his Standstill, he Forces back and it sticks. I drop a Trinket Mage for Needle breaking his Standstill, get there, drop Glen Elendra and try for a Mox, in response to which he StPs GEA (could've played Mox first, but as I had a Mulldrifter in hand, I figured I'd rather take the retail value out of it given the chance). I imprint nothing and next turn drop a Sigil for 4, equipping my Trinket. I get there for 5, and he Cunning Wishes for a Dismantling Blow. He drops EE at 0, I play Needle forcing his EE and name Factory. My follow-up Sword of Fire and Ice gets Counterspelled (bummer, I was hoping to sneak in equipment, but with his mana, he wasn't gonna tap low enough for that to happen). Next he casts his Dismantling Blow, but he had the kicker-mana so I'm in a bad spot now with him having drawn 4 extra cards to my 1. I resolve Efreet and beat him down to 7. However, now he has the backbreaking Humility & Standstill. Just to add salt to my wounds, I draw a Force next turn (I had a pitch in hand). I beat him down to 5, but have to break his standstill since his factory would stabilize him under the Humility. I don't have gas though so I wait a few turns hoping to find my second Needle, equipment or B2B. All I get is a crapton of creatures that would easily wreck him except for the Humility in play. I eventually drop a random and beat him down to 2 until I die to triple Mishra's and Elspeth (with SoFI off the top and Needle one card down).

G3 I have a solid hand with Island and City for mana and keep. Turn 2 Efreet gets there, while he masturbates with Brainstorms. Trinket gets countered, but a second one sticks fetching Needle. He drops Elspeth and even though I have two Forces in hand, I don't particularly care and let it resolve. I think of Needling her, but decide not to waste my time. I drop a Sea Drake, name one of his outs with Needle in EE and have now double Force ready for whatever else he might have. Turns out he doesn't have anything and he succumbs to my beats two turns later.


1-0 (2-1)

Round 2: Mono-Blue Painter

G1 I lose the roll and mull to 5 with a decent hand if I draw blue (dude, Needle, Tomb, dude, City or something). He Brainstorms and drops a Grindstone, which I let resolve, Needling it next turn. He drops Servant while I've drawn a Mox and Force and go for Mulldrifter, which resolves (imprinting Sower; stealing Servant does little good). I've also got a second 'Drifter at the ready. I find a second Force and am feeling pretty good. He Brainstorms, I allow it, and he finds little else. He has to leave though and we never get to play it out; he reveals a hand of Servant, double Pact and another 'Storm. I checked the top of my library and would've found a Chalice + Trinket soon so I could've pretty much put it away with a Chalice at 2 and 3 (yes, really), so I would've won this one anyways (unless he just opted to put his relevant cards on top of his library from the Brainstorm), but default win says it doesn't matter.

2-0 (2-1)

Round 3: Urg Dreadstill

G1 I lose the roll and he double mulligans, dropping an Island. I drop a Chalice at 1, he Forces and I figure he's playing a Dreadstill 'cause otherwise he'd save that Force. He drops a Top off Factory, and I resolve a Trinket Mage for another Chalice. He tinkers with his deck while I Chalice at 1 and drop an Efreet. Next turn I drop a SoLS and beat him low enough to earn a scoop after he checks his top. I had the Sower in hand so I wouldn't have really cared about a Dreadnought had it showed up.

Siding out Needle for EE.

G2 I go for Chalice at 1 that earns a Daze. I try to Islandcycle my Shoreline, but he Stifles meaning I need to topdeck a blue source now (first time that ever happened). I drop a second Tomb while waiting. Two turns later I find an Island and Trinket for another Chalice that I immediately drop at 1. It resolves. Then I drop an Efreet and a Mulldrifter that gets Forced. I'm at 7 from my Tombs and Efreet, and he is at 14. I decide to just beat him down while Trinket sits home ('cause I can't swing into a Factory). I don't play the SoLS in my hand, because that would mean that if it got countered, I'd lose the race with my Efreet vs. itself. I hit an Island and try for the SoLS and it indeed gets countered (while I have a Force in hand, I find the Chalice at 1 to be more important and continue to wait for EE). However, he finds no answer to my Chalice and Efreet beats take it home.

Game ends and he reveals a hand of Dreadnought, Stifle, REB and double Snare. Them's the beats.

3-0 (4-1)

Round 4: GBw Survival

G1 I win the roll (!!) and he mulls to 4 (!!!). I open with Island-go and he opens with a Seize taking my Efreet. Then I drop a second Island while he Therapies my SoLS away. For whatever reason he leaves my Chalice untouched so I promptly thank him with a Chalice at 2 (from the discard suite, I put him on Survival; this is further reinforced by his third land being Volrath's Stronghold). I proceed to cast some creatures and beat him to death while he does nothing but Seizes one more time.

As he's playing a very basic-heavy version, B2Bs stay on my SB. On the draw, I'm fairly sure I can't Chalice the Survival away so I side one out for a Needle. I also bring a Tormod's Crypt in, but otherwise leave my main intact.

G2 I get Seized for a Drifter and he plays a Goyf, while I City > Island into Drake keeping my Island. He has the Shriekmaw and I decide to drop a Sigil at 3 rather than Drake right away to avoid having to go to 0 lands. He has the Survival, however, and I have yet to Needle it. He proceeds to fetch Genesis, Squee and Harmonic Sliver and beats me down and my Needle and Drake > equip next turn feel kinda weak. He breaks my Needle as I wished and I get to beat with Drake, but he's still at 11. I drop SoLS, but don't have the mana to equip it yet (haven't drawn lands since the opener) and he BGHs my Drake and drops another Tarmogoyf. My next draw isn't a Sower and we're off to G3.

G3 I open with a Needle on Survival into Efreet + Mull. I beat him low and while he drops Deed, it's too little too late and he scoops 'em up after I beat him even lower and drop a second Drifter with SoLS in hand, while he reveals a second Deed, Gigapede, Stronghold and Seize, apparently off the top.

4-0 (6-2)

Round 5: Bye

G1 I lose the roll and bla bla bla, insert generic Bye-joke here.

5-0 (6-2)

Round 6: UWgb Counterslivers

G1 I win the roll and start with Island to his Sea - Vial. Turn 2 Trinket finds Needle and he drops a Sinew Sliver. I get there, drop a Mull, another and a Needle, while his Sinew stands lonely, unwilling to trade with my 2/2s. Next turn I drop a Sigil for 7 and an 8/8 Drifter makes short work of the game after a FoW shows his StP the door.

I side out two Chalices and two SoLS for Jittes and the second Needle.

G2 he opens with a Vial and I mulligan into 6 with a turn 1 Drake, but no other creatures. I decide to go with it, since my 5 is unlike to have much more. I run headfirst into a Daze, never draw another creature (and get Wasted for good measure) and while I do Needle his Vial, a combination of two Disenchants and just plain ol' hardcasting of two-drops along with Mutavault means I'm never in it. I die to double Muscle, Hibernation & Vault in short order (oh yeah, and the Needle blew up).

G3 He opens with yet another Vial while I have a turn 2 Mage (into Daze) into turn 3 Mage > Needle. I eat a Waste, but my 4-lander doesn't care. I drop an Efreet and Mox out a Force to cast Chalice at 2 (when he obviously doesn't have counters as that Needle wouldn't have resolved with his two Vials in play if he could do something about it). He had a Sinew + Mutavault, but beyond that the Chalice just locked him out and I beat him to death in short order while his creatures wonder when they could actually swing as I've got a new critter each turn all bigger than his. My flying hordes take it home in quick succession.

6-0 (8-3)


Hmm, that wasn't that brief after all, I guess. Oh well. As long as people don't die 'cause of it, I'd imagine it doesn't matter.

Eldariel, I always freaking loved your list. It's epic.

It just needs one important change...

-1 Island
+1 Seat of Synod

I mean for godsake dude, you play 3 Sower of Temptation with a cc of 2UU.

Seat of Synod is worth it for that reason alone.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Captain Hammer

Eldariel, I always freaking loved your list. It's epic.

It just needs one important change...

-1 Island
+1 Seat of Synod

I mean for godsake dude, you play 3 Sower of Temptation with a cc of 2UU.

Seat of Synod is worth it for that reason alone.

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I really don't think it is necessary. All it does is give you more of a chance of being randomly hosed by non-basic hate. If you really need the second blue, Trinket Mage -> Chrome Mox is there.

Grabbing Chrome Mox means that you'll have to part with another blue card in your hand other than the Sower, which is practically never worthwhile.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Captain Hammer

Eldariel, I always freaking loved your list. It's epic.

It just needs one important change...

-1 Island
+1 Seat of Synod

I mean for godsake dude, you play 3 Sower of Temptation with a cc of 2UU.

Seat of Synod is worth it for that reason alone.

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I can think of a few times I had wished I could Trinket for a Seat of the Synod, but that's not reason enough to run it. Faerie Stompy has an incredibly weak mana base, and it's not worth weakening it more for the rare time you have one blue source, no City of Traitors in play, a Sower in hand, a Trinket Mage resolving, and a blue card you really don't want to imprint on a Mox.

These situations are only slightly more common than wanting a Tel-Jilad Stylus to kill a Serendib Efreet.

Like the whole Shoreline Ranger/Island debate, running a Seat of the Synod over an Island boils down to a personal preference. It's not wrong per se to have it, but I believe it's sub-par.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Captain Hammer

Grabbing Chrome Mox means that you'll have to part with another blue card in your hand other than the Sower, which is practically never worthwhile.

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It's worth it when you have a City of Traitors out. That's around half of our games.

There are other rare times where you want/need your land drop plus a Mox for acceleration.

One of the premises of my experimental build was that upgraded quality of creature (especially combined with the recursive ability of SOLAS) negated the need for as much equipment as the original. I also wanted to maximize the ability to drop Chalice at both 1cc & 2cc. However, I have been missing the Jittes more and more - not just as a critical mass of equipment, but for all the lovely, retarded things you can do with a Jitte. The 3x Esperzoa wasn't bad, but 2x has felt more correct the more I test. I also hate to lose the MD Crypt, but I'm testing -1 Esperzoa -1 Crypt +2 Jitte MD and -1 BEB +1 Jitte SB.

SB for the tournament today:
2x Tormod's Crypt
1x Umezawa's Jitte
3x Back to Basics
3x Gilded Drake
3x In The Eye of Chaos
3x BEB

17 people, 5 rounds, retardedly good prize support...

Round 1 vs Josh Whittemore, good local PTQ player who usually plays GWB Goodstuff.

Game 1 win die roll....mull to 5...keep a 2 land hand...never see another mana source. Surprisingly, this game did not end well for the good guys & he played GWB but with some interesting choices (turns out he was trying more of a Berserk Stompy type build with Kavu Predators & Invigorate, False Cure either MD or SB) like the turn 1 (and turn 3) Skyshroud Elite(s) that went the distance on my face. I side in the Gilded Drakes for the Esperzoas and the SOFI. I lead with a Chalice at 1, take a bunch of Ancient Tomb damage but land that, Trinket Mage & friends with sticks. Getting stabilized and then ahead before he can deal with the Chalice is very satisfactory. FoW on his desperation Deed seals the game. Game 3 he leads with Bayou, Skyshroud. I lead with Tomb, Chalice. He never draws another land...ever...which does not bode well for the end result. That was stupid, one good game of back & forth magic sandwiched between two monumental mana screws.
1-0

Round 2 vs one of my nemesises Shane. Always a good match, always a good time, enjoyable even when I get monkeystomped...and he's playing Welder Survival, I know this because he played my son round 1 :cool:
Game 1 he wins die roll and land Savannah, BoP. I keep the Island, Chrome, Chalice, land, Trinket, Drake, Serendib hand. Draw FoW, I luv u deck! Land the Chalice, he plays some unimpressive critter & a land, I draw a blue card for FoW and land Drake. He draws, is not amused, plays a land & plays Squee...I refuse to lose to Squee-beats! I drop a piece of equipment and swing. He is low on cards & attempts a Witness on a fetch. I Force that and win through before he finds anything useful. Game 2 he gets an early Goyf and I misplay. I had Gilded Drake in hand at the time and could have stolen it untapped, even though I would have Lightning Bolted myself (Tomb + 1 mana burn) and then dropped a large-ish flyer next turn. I choose to do something else and he Grips my lone blue source (Seat)...and swings. I get an island shortly, but that sets me back enough that even when I get the swap & my flyer, I'm low enough that his angry Rofellos pushes through enough damage. I also sided out the Sigil, which was a mistake I rectified Game 3. Game 3 has another early Chalice for 1 and the mid game goodness of SOLAS equipped whatever bringing back the evoked Mulldrifter every turn. Yeah, that ended poorly for him...as FoW denied his Intuition for stuff that thankfully we will never know (probably triple Grip, but in a SotF, it's all scary...).
2-0
Round 3 vs Greg, WPI student and a good player with an extensive collection & the ability to build off-beat but effective decks with a BW Pikula-esque build. He wins die roll and leads turn 1 Ritual into Phyrexian Arena. Huh. Turn 1 Chalice at 1 should slow him down a bit, and does, he ends the game with 7 cards in hand (including at least 1 turn he had to discard from 9) including by the end all 4x STP, Thoughtseize, Ritual, etc. Not that he was unable to play cards. He lands, over a number of turns, 2x Auriok Champion (Bikini Chick!), Dark Confidant and Nyaxathid. I have five in hand for Nya and get to kill it with the evoke Mulldrifter, return it with SOLAS equipped flyer play, which makes me happier than Greg... Mulldrifter keeps my hand gassed as well & his last ditch Vindicate runs into FoW. Bob & Arena cancelled out the Auriok Champions (or vice versa...) but the large flyer that gained me life & cards (and had protection: his deck....) took that. Game two we trade cards back & forth clearing the board and our hands. Unfortunately for Greg, my deck is mostly creatures & equipment at that point, even Chalice or FoW being acceptable. I topdeck a critter and play it. He draws discard. I peel a Sigil and cast it for 7, equip 6, pound. Game ends shortly...
3-0
Round 4 vs John with Belcher (the only other undefeated), we calculate & ID then play for practice, lots of Games 1 (we know what we would SB, but that is definitely in my favor) :cool: We run about 50/50 on 10 Game 1s, often but not always related to who goes first (like the game I FoW his Turn 1 attempt, then drop a turn 1 Trinket Mage into Chalice zero (I knew he still has LED in hand from Land Grant) but draw 3 lands, a Sower, and then another land, giving him more than enough time to rebuild his hand Belch my face off.
Round 5 vs Roddy & his infamous 5c Sliver Survival deck, also at 10 points from an earlier unintentional draw with a local combo player who runs Dormant Sliver as a SB card :cool: We ID into Top 4 and then play to test. I get destroyed, hard, even when I don't get manascrewed, but Roddy is literally the only player on this continent who plays this build (I believe) which means I will face him Round 1 at GP Chicago >.< followed by seven guys playing Landstill...

So, 7-1-2 in tournament play the last 2 weeks and coming together nicely. However, I'm not fully satisfied with the sideboard. I should be acquiring a 4th ITEOC this week and plan to drop the BEBs for now (although a large showing of Goblins in Grinders at GP:Chicago could see them audibled back in). The question becomes, what to add as a 2 of? Add back in Glen Elendra? Add more Trinket targets, even if they conflict with Chalice (EE - which I almost always want more of..., Relic, Pithing Needle being at the top of the list...). I'm not sold on the 3rd Jitte either but that merits more testing before conclusions and 1x Relic could obviously replace the 2nd Crypt. The Mox Diamond experiment is also still inconclusive and I need to conclusively evaluate it soon.

I would love to abandon the Sigil except that it does 2 things repeatedly (and this may be a function of my having more mana, but I don't believe so) 1) it keeps winning me games 2) it allows me to have an offensive play with Trinket Mage instead of defensive/reactive/accelerative. Sigil will almost never be the first Trinket Mage target or gotten early in the game, but in a stall or a race later? It has been both an excellent tutor target & topdeck. It also makes a greater impact the later the game gets. I have, multiple times, had 4-6 mana on the board & and extra City of Traitors in hand, tap the one on board, play the new one, drop Sigil for a ton, equip (no mana, which is nice) swing for a ton when they were expecting to only take 2 or 3.

Damn, I ab-so-lu-te-ly adore Sigil. Topdecking it almost always sets me on a highway to win and it makes lategame T. Mage an absolute bomb. I wouldn't ever consider removing it again. (Especially since in the past I wanted to add Bonesplitter to have an equipment target for T. Mage.)

Goyf hasn't been as much of a problem to me since I started playing triple maindeck sower and the fourth + one Control Magic SB.

I'm finally trying the maindeck without P. Needle, replacing it with EE. I can't count the amount of times I've wanted an EE maindeck, but I'm having difficulty remembering the last time I wanted P. Needle maindeck. Guess I'll find out.

Finally dropped 2 Jitte and one SoFaI for SoLaS. Equipment configuration is now 3/3/1 (SofaI, SoLaS, Sigil).

Can I see your list? Maybe there are other things to drop... I know maindeck Needle can be very useful at times (but it hasn't been very useful for me very often, so I decided to swap it for an EE).

The way my list differs
+1 T. Mage target (in my deck, EE)
-1 Pestermite
-1 Shoreline Ranger (I've never found this good. The only thing it does is improve an Ancient Tomb-and-no-other-mana-hand, possibly Island+Chrome Mox hand. I honestly can't say I'd ever give this card another chance.)
+1 Mulldrifter (They cost 3 mana if you want them to. I always have a dilemma if I can't fullcast them, but Evoking them is pretty brutal as well. I see no reason not to run 4... The deck ran 4 TfK in the past.)
-2 Jitte (I became increasingly unpleased with this card)
+1 SoFaI(obvious reasons, I hate dropping below a certain number of equipments)
+1 SoLaS(see above)

My sideboard is pretty different, but that's all up to personal choice in the end.

Current main deck, for comparison & discussion:

Land: 20
2x Seat of Synod (need more than 1 for Esperzoa, 4 was too many)
1x Academy Ruins (inconclusive experiment to date)
4x Ancient Tomb
4x City of Traitors
9x Island (Unglued, of course, for luck & style)

Spells: 20
3x Chrome Mox
1x Mox Diamond
1x EE
1x Sigil of Distinction
2x Umezawa's Jitte
1x Sword of Fire & ice
3x Sword of Light & Shadow
4x Chalice of the Void
4x Force of Will

Critters: 21
4x Sea Drake
4x Serendib Efreet
4x Trinket Mage
4x Mulldrifter
2x Esperzoa
3x Sower of Temptation

While I miss some of the utility of other builds (Crypt, Relic, Needle etc) the complete lack of conflict between most of those & Chalice at 1 (which is one of the best plays against most of the format...) more than makes up for any pangs of longing. The Jitte provides removal (something blue is not noted for) at a very minor conflict with Chalice at 2. I am hoping, however, that the Counterbalance decks stop their ominous trend toward including more 3cc cards, Trygon Predator & Rhox War Monk especially. Stop it! Or at least wait until after Chicago, damn you.

Yup 61, that is one of the ways I can squeak in the extra land. As much as having a toolbox gives me a comfort zone (old fashioned toolbox Survival player...) I agree that topdecking random non-offensive things can be bad Game 1. I would never take out the EE, however, as it is one of the mechanisms which allow the deck to stabilize. The Mox Diamond has limped along for every time it shined, inconclusive to date, but I can't shake the feeling that EE for two is worth any possible disadvantage. The Ruins has also been inconclusive, mostly because it is random when it appears. Most often I am irritated that it doesn't produce blue or gets locked under a Back to Basics, however, since it would probably get either get cut or become an Island, the utility to date has been nice. Getting back equipment or Chalice (or Seat, and at some point Esperzoa) allows me to resume what my opponent has disrupted. Slow? Yes. Worth it? Still evaluating. The Sword of Fire & Ice is a fine card, and I don't believe that the more traditional builds running three are bad, in fact I would love to fit more - but I categorically believe that Sword of Light & Shadow is a better card. Furthermore, I wouldn't take out a Sigil for another (fetchability plus reasons stated in previous posts in this page by several people) and the removal & utility aspect of Jitte (plus the one mana less to cast & equip) is superior to SOFI in my opinion. So, what would I drop to add more SOFI? One is fine, but unless the Pro-Red/Blue is relevant, I often find myself sideboarding it out for relevant hate since it is one of the easier cuts to find from the MD.