W/B Helm Leyline

[NiRVeS]

So, I was tinkering around with this thing yesterday...

3 Thoughtseize
3 Collective Brutality
3 Swords to Plowshares
2 Toxic Deluge

4 Enlightended Tutor
1 Porphyry Nodes
2 Land Tax
2 Scroll Rack
1 Chains of Mephistopheles
1 Oblivion Ring
2 Ensnaring Bridge

2 Rest in Peace
4 Leyline of The Void
3 Helm of Obedience

4 Dark Ritual
1 Chrome Mox

4 Scrubland
4 Marsh Flats
1 Verdant Catacombs
4 Plains
2 Swamp
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Karakas
4 Ancient Tomb

What I'm missing, now that Top is gone, is a tutor-target to go for during the mid-game, when you haven't got either part of the Helm-combo yet.
I'm considering something like Coercive Portal, or Dark Tutelage. My preference goes to an enchantment, due to the current presence of Kolaghan's Command. Tutelage goes well with Scroll Rack.
Less so with the 7 four-cost combopieces, Thoughtseizes and Toxic Deluge, though.

Tax-Rack felt surprisingly good when goldfishing, even if it clashes somewhat with the Ensnaring Bridges.

This build above might also be a little mana-heavy.

Having literally nothing else besides the Helm-combo to close out a game could also be too greedy, perhaps.

Long story short: list requires a lot of testing.
Did anyone else fiddle around with an idea like this since top got the axe?

[Weapon X]

Well I can appreciate this as it forms the shell of how I feel enchantress should be built if it intends to win with helm. Leyline of the void is the obvious selling point, but being able to maindeck leyline of sanctity is great. The leylines also help power sanctum. Using mesa enchantress should help with your inevitability and let enlightened tutor get you silver bullets.

Food for thought unless you add green.

[Fjaulnir]

Hey Nirves I remember you wanting to work on this - in the end I was too busy playtesting Opal-Wave for the BLC so I didn't get around to it yet.

I've got most of those cards except the mana base so I'll proxy it up for next week's playtesting night.

[Fjaulnir]

One Dark Tutelage-like effect I had considered before was Sylvan Library - it would require a 3rd splash color but it'd be more impressive in a vacuum I think.

It would open up 2 possible different ways to build this deck:

1) similarities with some Opal-Wave builds but with a different finisher. Cfr Freggle's latest attempts at adding Terminus to the main deck which works semi well with Mirri's Guile and okay with Library:

Got home from work and tested Terminus a bit. I think we're on to something here.

Again MTGO Tournament Practice, will move up to League once the sideboard is worked out.

First 5 matches with Terminus:

Belcher 2-0 – Rule of Law G1 got there / Sphere of Resistance Game 2

Turbo Depths 2-1 - Lost Game 1 / Game 2 parallax wave with Swords back-up / G3 See Game 2

Black Bitterblossom Deck 2-0 - Combo Got there both games

Belcher 1-2 I Terminus-ed Goblins! – Game 1 I got a turn on the draw, and had Rule of Law. I ramped with a Sprawl, but op went off t2 :( - Game 2 Sphere of Resistance / Terminus / Leyline of Sanctity - Game 3 could not find Leyline and got belched with 3 cards in hand, but I had a turn on the draw again, and played Guile. After loosing I looked at the top 3. If it was gobos again I did have Terminus in the top 3 to clear them, and a Sphere in hand. It wasn't I lost.

4 color Stoneblade 2-0 – Terminus-ed True Name Nemesis, worked like a charm both games.

Overall early signs show that this version is showing great potential. I think we should explore Mindbreak Trap in the board as a card to get us to Sphere or Resistance of Rule of Law.

I'll try and test more later, but for now. Life stuff.

Main:

The Combo
4 Parallax Wave
4 Opalescence
1 Starfield of Nyx - Alt win 1

The Dig
4 Kruphix's Insight
3 Sylvan Library
3 Mirri's Guile
2 Enlightened Tutor

The Ramp
4 Wild Growth
4 Utopia Sprawl


The Stall / Clean-up
4 Oblivion Ring
3 Rule of Law
3 Terminus

The Inevitability
1 Replenish

The Mana
1 Verdant Catacombs
4 Windswept Heath
1 Savannah
4 Serra's Sanctum
6 Forest
2 Plains
2 Wooded Foothills

The Board
4 Leyline of Sanctity
4 Sphere of Resistance
1 Banishing Light
3 Faerie Macabre
3 Swords to Plowshares

2) similar to Sylvan Plug, with options like Choke and Trinisphere added to the mix potentially.


I'm on my phone but I might draft some janky decklists of both versions when I'm back on my laptop.

[Fjaulnir]

This is a very rough sketch and feels actually quite bad compared to your original list:

3 Ancient Tomb
1 Bayou
1 Forest
1 Karakas
4 Marsh Flats
2 Plains
1 Savannah
2 Scrubland
2 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Verdant Catacombs
2 Windswept Heath
1 Chrome Mox
1 City of Solitude
3 Collective Brutality
4 Dark Ritual
4 Enlightened Tutor
2 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Helm of Obedience
4 Leyline of the Void
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Porphyry Nodes
2 Rest in Peace
3 Swords to Plowshares
4 Sylvan Library
3 Thoughtseize
2 Toxic Deluge

maybe a version that also includes Guile-Terminus like the Opal lists Fregg has been working on? Like

2 Ancient Tomb
2 Bayou
1 Forest
1 Karakas
4 Marsh Flats
2 Plains
2 Savannah
2 Scrubland
2 Swamp
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Verdant Catacombs
2 Windswept Heath
2 Collective Brutality
3 Dark Ritual
1 Engineered Explosives
3 Enlightened Tutor
3 Helm of Obedience
4 Leyline of the Void
3 Mirri's Guile
1 Mox Diamond
1 Oblivion Ring
1 Porphyry Nodes
1 Rest in Peace
3 Swords to Plowshares
4 Sylvan Library
3 Terminus
3 Thoughtseize
1 Trinisphere

[kinda]

I would try this. The sb would need an alternative wincon.

4 Ancient Tomb
4 serra's sanctum
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
14 lands

3 City of solitude
4 Orim's chant
4 Enlightened Tutor
4 Helm of Obedience
4 Leyline of the Void
4 Leyline of sanctity
1 Oblivion Ring
4 Rest in Peace
4 Sylvan Library and/or mirri's guile
5 ensnaring bridge/humility/dueling grounds/the abyss

[Weapon X]

4 land tax
3 scroll rack
1 zuran orb
4 enlightened tutor

3 leyline of the void
3 leyline of sanctity
2 helm of obedience
2 rest in peace
4 thoughtseize
4 Orims chant
4 mox diamond
3 oblivion ring
1 humility
1 ivory tower
1 pitching needle
1 chains of Mephistopheles
1 blind obedience

2 scrubland
1 swamp
9 plains
2 Serra sanctum
4 ancient tomb

[kinda]

4 land tax
3 scroll rack
1 zuran orb
4 enlightened tutor

3 leyline of the void
3 leyline of sanctity
2 helm of obedience
2 rest in peace
4 thoughtseize
4 Orims chant
4 mox diamond
3 oblivion ring
1 humility
1 ivory tower
1 pitching needle
1 chains of Mephistopheles
1 blind obedience

2 scrubland
1 swamp
9 plains
2 Serra sanctum
4 ancient tomb

I think thoughtseize md is right, in my list above I think I would move city of solitude to the board and put seize in the main. However, I think you are doing yourself a huge disservice by not running 4 Leyline of the Void and 4 Helm of Obedience. Helm decks are my jam (I played helm tonight even) and the consistency of running 4 of both of those plus then the ability to play your combo pieces aggressively is huge. Make your opponent have answers...they often won't. This strategy is better with more redundancy.

[Weapon X]

Parfait is my jam and I feel like I've been at the helm of it, pun intended.

That said having dead cards sucks a lot. You only want helm when you are going to try to win and the are ways to protect that. Most of the other cards are just good to play. Honestly I'd prefer to make this more like parfait and forgo the leylines almost all together. As a base line list it's good enough though.

As for answers, abrupt decay it almost the only answer you will consistently see. That makes leyline and helm safe, rest in peace tends to not be. Regardless of that this is set up for a longer haul of a game with potential to just jam the combo with chant and thoughtseize for protection.