Quote Originally Posted by cuthbertthecat View Post
I'm starting to think that Intuition + another tutor lands is just straight better than only E-tutor. I did a lot of testing today with just e-tutor, and I lost several favorable matchups because I died before I assembled a gameplan, a problem that intuition solves. I think that may be why you're having trouble with some of those favorable matchups; for example today I lost 2 matces to maverick in testing, when with Intuition and Tutor lands, I've lost only one match to maverick across countless tournaments of varying scales of competitiveness over the last 7 months.

You are correct that this deck is difficult, the best thing to do is find a friend who can stand some torture and playtest like a fiend. The more you play with this deck, the more tricks and synergies you find. I would also suggest switching to a build with Intuition and E-Tutor if you're having trouble finding relevant cards.

For mulligans, I always mulligan 7-landers, I don't keep hands with 2 or more pieces of acceleration without loam on hands with 6 cards or more, double-diamond with loam and only mana lands is a mulligan that deciptively looks like a keep, and I don't keep 7 card hands with only 1 tutor as a business spell and the rest lands. I'm pretty finnicky with my mulligans, but I think they're correct.

Nic fit is bad for us, but after the last several times I've played against it, I think it's beatable. They don't do anything, and not in the good way like us. TES is impossible, good pilots will be able to beat your LD. The last time I played against it, I wasted him 3 times and ghost quartered him, and he won with ease. The other time I played agaisnt it recently, he was able to beat chalice on 1 with waste lock. Just hope you don't get paired against it, or that they don't draw bounce.
My list atm has changed to this;

4 Exploration
4 Life from the Loam
3 Intuition
4 Mox Diamond
3 Enlightened Tutor
1 Manabond
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Cursed Totem
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Zuran Orb
3 Maze of Ith
4 Rishadan Port
4 Wasteland
2 Verdant Catacombs
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Windswept Heath
3 Tolaria West
2 Tranquil Thicket
3 Tropical Island
1 Savannah
1 Bayou
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Forest
1 Academy Ruins
1 Karakas
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Glacial Chasm
1 Rifstone Portal
2 Mishra's Factory

My sideboard now;
1 Oblivion Stone
3 Chalice of the Void
4 Dark Confidant
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Circle of Protection Red
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Pithing Needle
1 Krosan Grip
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Smokestack

Not been tested to much, but i like having the intuition. Chalice of the Void has been okay so far, but i think i like having Thalia in that spot perhaps. Thalia seems like a beating in the combo matchups. Not sure though, as it can't be found with enlightened tutor.

I disagree with the NicFit part though. They ramp up and play cards that you can't interact with favourably (Sigarda or other shroud guys), then blow up your cursed totems to use scavenging ooze. They have so many ways of taking you out, you can't actually lock them out, you have to hope to get there in someway, but locking them out is not the way :p.

As for the mulligan decisions, still hard, but thanks for your insight :D