There is the the obvious GP, Ponder, which allows you to see the most cards. Card quality/quantity might make it tempting to save the GP so you can maybe draw the best 2 but LED for UUU allows you use all your cantrips plus others you might find. I'd GP, Ponder.Originally Posted by icedagger
You need two cards to win; Lotus Petal (for a black mana source), and Tendrils of Agony (for the kill after you flash back your Dark Rituals). Anything less is a game loss.
So, you start with Gitaxian Probe. If you draw into either LP or ToA, you then Ponder for the second card, as this will let you see the most cards.
However, if you don't draw into either LP or ToA you must Brainstorm because that is the only cantrip that has any chance of allowing you to draw both of the cards you need.
Yup, I went with this line and found IT with probe, so I brainstormed and found petal and tendrils.
But one line I was also considering was to start with Ponder, see if petal and tendrils are in the top 3, shuffle if they weren't, then draw with GP.
Just because you found it doesn't mean this had the highest odds. I still think my play has greater odds. Sometimes you'll find the 2 of 5 cards in the top 4 but I think searching 5 cards for 8+ possible is objectively better (I can't account for cantrips into cantrips with LED).
I think you misread the scenario. I only had 1 blue mana and no other untapped sources.
I don't think so. Maybe my reply was not clear. Basically, GP, Ponder. If you find, the 2 you mentioned, great, if not then you can also draw LED and sacrifice for UUU to use the Preordain and BS to look at another 6 cards.
You got lucky to find the 2 cards in the BS and it wasn't the only line ftw.
Ah, now I see what you mean! I started off with Probe, and that drew me an Infernal Tutor. So are you saying it would have been better to Ponder instead of Brainstorming at that point?
Yes.
I'm with ScottW. If you've got some knowledge of the top of your library or an uncracked fetchland, the sequence might change, but generally it's best to expend Probes first, then Ponders, then Preordains, then Brainstorms if you've already dropped a land and/or don't have access to a fetchland. Those are the situations where Brainstorm is actually the worst cantrip (and Ponder is the best), because if you don't see what you need in the three cards it shows you, Brainstorm doesn't give a shuffle option or a means to get rid of bad cards.
Also, what he said about LED is crucial. If you've already cast Past in Flames, any cantrips you've got in the graveyard are live, so even if you don't find the precise cards you're looking for on top, an LED is quite likely to find you what you need.
All Spells Primer under construction: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e...Tl7utWpLo0/pub
PM me if you want to contribute!
I recently managed to take second at the legacy portion of Australia's eternal weekend. I have a tournament report for those interested
https://thesaltminesite.com/2017/06/...seam-tendrils/
i'm not sure I understand the question completely so correct me if i miss something
if you can only cast one cantrip, Ponder sees 4 cards. Then probe for 5
if you can cast three cantrips (because of a LED)
preordain , ponder, probe, brainstorm
- you almost never start with GP and usually want to end with BS
- you want to draw a LED in the first place like correctly identified above
edit: hmm actually it might be more complicated... there are too many combinations with seemingly just subtle differences, so I can't really say, I kinda like GP->Ponder and Preordain->GP but nothing I'd say it's clearly right or standing out, so I don't know tbh...
Last edited by Sloshthedark; 06-16-2017 at 12:31 PM.
Surprised none of you stormtroopers made it to top 16 in GP Vegas. Anyone get close?
I see Matt Nass and Martin Müller in 91. and 89. Both were on storm, both played horribly on camera.
Rodrigo follows in 157.
Not sure about other guys on ANT.
WantToPonder
former: Team SpasticalAction & Team RugStar Berlin
Team MTG Berlin
The Dragonstorm
http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...he-Dragonstorm
In what MU do you keep 7 (4 lands, LP, Duress, FP) on the draw g3?
I'm not sure but it seems like 6 with a scry is way better against Elves.
@scottw
Never...
It was a joke for anyone who watched the GP
lulz ok, so I'm not the only one who cried seeing that hand.
anyway, so sad that nobody reached top16, I had great expectations from this deck
Abrade-Promo-Hour-of-Devastation-Spoiler.jpg
opinions on that one?
A bit overdue, but I never took my time to type this out here. I played 5 side events at GP Copenhagen at three weeks ago and while the result was not ideal, it could still be interesting data for some. I played the same mainboard during all five tournaments:
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal
1 Chrome Mox
4 Dark Ritual
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Gitaxian Probe
3 Duress
3 Cabal Therapy
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Infernal Tutor
1 Burning Wish
1 Ad Nauseam
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Past in Flames
4 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island
1 Tropical Island
1 Badlands
1 Island
1 Swamp
Sideboard:
2 Xantid Swarm
3 Dread of Night
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Abrupt Decay
1 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Dark Petition
1 By Force
1 Pyroclasm
After the first day (2 tournaments) I changed my sideboard with -1 Chain of Vapor, -1 Surgical Extraction and +1 Echoing Truth, +1 Flusterstorm. I expected a good amount of D&T and decks with Chalice, Gaddock Teeg and Leovold mainboard. I figured after the first day that BReanimator is pretty hopeless even when having SE (Sire of Insanity can just be hard casted...), so I dropped one for the Flusterstorm. Echoing Truth hits multiple Chalices if needed, so I tested it out over CoV. Here's an overview of the results:
Event 1 (3-1)
R1 vs 4c Delver (2-0)
R2 vs Aggro Loam (2-0)
R3 vs Food Chain (2-1)
R4 vs Infect (1-2)
I made some dumb mistakes in g2 and g3 in round 4 vs Infect after a T1 kill in g1. No guaranteed win/lose mistakes, but still very stupid.
Event 2 (2-2)
R1 vs BReanimator (0-2)
R2 vs Czech Pile (0-2) (Got horrible draws here)
R3 vs Elves! (2-1)
R4 vs BUG Delver (2-1)
Event 3 (1-3)
R1 vs Red Taxes (2-1)
R2 vs EsperBlade (1-2)
R3 vs BReanimator (1-2)
R4 vs Grixis Painter (1-2) (I played like an idiot in g3, but it didn't matter much anyway)
Event 4 (2-1-1)
R1 vs BUG Elves (1-2) (With Daze, Flusterstorm, Leovold, etc.)
R2 vs ANT (2-1)
R3 vs Miracles (1-1-1)
R4 vs Maverick (2-1)
Event 5 (3-1)
R1 vs D&T (2-1) (Played my best game here with an awesome PiF line in G3 with my opponent being on 28 life. He really thought he had the game sealed, but after 10-15 minute in my final turn before facing lethal damage I ended with a Tendrils for 30 targeting his face. He was not so happy)
R2 vs Grixis Painter (2-0)
R3 vs Grixis Delver (0-2) (I lost g1 by going for an unsafe T1 Ad Nauseam line into FoW, whereas I could've gone for a safe PiF line with Duress backup...)
R4 vs BUG delver (2-0) (Top decked the needed tutor in both g1 and g2, better lucky then good I guess)
I was very, very happy with the single Burning Wish. I've killed a good amount of times with it. Maindeck was overall just very solid. The abrupt decays mainboard were useful every now and then. They might be better as non-green cards, but I have yet to find an answer that takes as good care of annoying permanents as AD. Also, I like Xantid Swarm in the side. I have removed the third AD from the board now though, because I don't want it that often. Abrade definitely looks interesting and will be tested in my sideboard at some point. The thing that I need to improve most on is reducing the amount of (minor) mistakes during games. Bad matchups are part of the variance of the game, but I had too many losses because of my own mistakes. Very frustrating, but hopefully they're learned from and I'll have less mistakes moving forward.
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