Quote Originally Posted by JCLe View Post
You are right about the blooms, they are good but seem unecessary. I just fished a bit with them and sure, it does assure you a turn 4 win and only when you have them in your opener. They do give you fuel, but the point is its not instant fuel and it seems clunky to me.
I realized also when goldfishing that I tend to mulligan and/or draw4 into crap more and it feels like I'd die to a fast clock. Maybe I didn't goldfish enough but it really doesn't feel consistent. Drawing the extra tendrils wasn't as good as drawing anything else in any other version imo, and it does give you some 2 tendrils or 2 belchers openers that are quite annoying. Too much win isnt superior to having more consistency through pact / slithermuse / cantor etc. as far as it seems for the 20 average fishes I did. The chrome mox argument seems pretty invalid as it could have been any other card that gets imprinted if you weren't gonna use it anyway.

I understand the fizzle argument but you have to keep in mind that it cost you 1 or 2 card slots that might have made you win.
I believe that more than 4 opal 4 chrome 4 petal is quite a bit overkill, I'd rather have more business (cut some tendrils or belchers and run the pact package, which makes you much more efficient imo)
I completely agree with the first part of your post. I don't like bloom either because every card in this deck counts, we need to optimize our draw 4's to win now instead of in 4 turns while we're sitting on 1-10 life. 4 Mox Opal is ideal though, atleast in the non-pact version. Because of Opal I've upped the number of initial mana sources from 14 to 17, which is a huge difference, making mulligans less frequent and much smoother, and making the belcher package much more deadly. Multiples can be casted for storm, and fuel the graveyard for Cabal Ritual. Although I'd prefer not to draw multiples, the gains of running 4 outweigh the risks.

I don't like the pact package though, I've found it rather clunky having to summoner's pact for elvish spirit guide, and pray for a good Draw4. In addition, it loses Empty the Warrens, which has won me many games against blue that I would not have won, and Dryad arbor has summoning sickness to tap for mana, which means if you fetch it to use as culling fodder, you've lost your land drop. Vice versa, if you drop a Bayou then you have no means to tutor for a free creature unless you run Skyshroud Cutter, which not many lists I've seen do.

Quote Originally Posted by Nonkel View Post
First, about the wing snare, its there for 1 purpose: Iona on black. With al the Survival Retainers decks out there its a good thing to have an out maindeck via Burning Wish with the deck. It happened to me the latest tournament, if Iona hits its GG... So you never side it in after game 1, it stays in your sideboard.
Then tell me, what do you do if you can cast IT but don't have 4 mana lying around after you cast it? I know about the problems with IGG thats why this build doesnt play it. Im also missing the point on IGG, please enlighten me about this card. If I can play IT and Im going for an IGG, I need 5 mana floating, 4 to cast it and 1 after so I can cast Dark Ritual. So the only scenario its usefull when you got a Dark Ritual, LED, IT and an additional mana. Looks like a far off chance if you ask me, but maybe Im missing something obvious.
Casting a Tombstalker turn 1 against Merfolk is GG, they dont have any answers to this maindeck. Against goblins also, you can block incoming stuff with ,Tallmen. Survival is a bit trickier because of plowshares, but I would still take my chances.
If survival gets an Iona on black then how often do you have the mana to wish and cast Wing Snare without black rituals? It seems like a one in a million potshot, it might just be better to devote that slot to improving the control match post board. SI is fast enough to race most of the hate, they can't resolve Iona until turn 4+, and by then you've either won or are staring down a Gaddock Teeg, or bad draws, but it happens when you play this deck. And if you can't cast IT with 4+ mana floating, I generally just wait. If I need to win now there's always the go all in on a draw4 plan, which rarely works, but it's there. I'm a huge fan of Tombstalker, he's won me a lot of games vs blue, but if he is MD he is just going to make one of your opponents almost dead cards (removal) into a 4+ for 1 (assuming you cracked LED discarding your hand). And merfolk does have an out to Tombstalker, Coralhelm Commander. In the last Vestal tourney I lost G1 vs merfolk, won G2 because of a turn 1 Tombstalker, then G3 went like this:

Merfolk: Turn 1 Island, Vial, Pass
Me: I forget the rituals but it wound up casting my whole hand but tendrils, and turn 1 Xantid Swarm and Tombstalker, and Thoughseizing away a Coralhelm Commander
Merfolk: Turn 2 Silvergill Adept, reveal Lord of Atlantis
Me: Swing, pass
Merfolk: Turn 3 Coralhelm Commander, level, Vial in LoA, swing
Me: Swing, pass
Merfolk: Turn 4 Standstill, level twice, Vial in Reejery

Now Coralhelm commander is as big as Tombstalker, and when he leveled it fully next turn it was gg. Merfolk should never be able to block a Tombstalker ]=. This was when I was 4-1 too.