[Deck] Elves Combo

[Eldariel]

whats the difference between elf aggro and elf combo? They seem to be almost the same deck

Elf Aggro wins first and foremost by utilizing Elves' natural mana production to quickly lay down a formidable army, pumping it with various tribal, and not-so-tribal effects, keeping a constant stream of threats going and overwhelming the opponent. Much like Vial Goblins, in fact, sans the control- and anti-countertop effects (but with a somewhat wider array of card advantage and acceleration).

Elf Combo wins first and foremost by utilizing the Heritage Druid/Nettle Sentinel combo to generate more mana than you spend on each spell and drawing library with e.g. Glimpse of Nature, Regal Forces and company (it's been discussed adequately in this thread). An Elf-deck with the combo engine(s) falls under Elf Combo while a traditional beatdownish Elf-deck falls under Elf Aggro. Elf Aggro tends to be able to drop a handful of Elves in a turn, while Elf Combo tends to be able to drop a deckful of Elves in the same amount of time.


Biggest differences you can find in cards like:

• Elvish Visionary (only combo)
• Heritage Druid (only combo)
• Birchlore Rangers (only combo)
• Wirewood Hivemaster (only combo)
• Wren's Run Vanquisher (only aggro)
• Wren's Run Packmaster (only aggro)
• Wolf-Skull Shaman (only aggro)

While I could certainly see an aggro-list with Nettle Sentinel/Heritage and company, those tend to be inconsistent and don't really contribute to the beatdown plan. Likewise, Elf Combo doesn't really play creatures that only serve to beat down; everything produces mana (alone or as a part of an engine), draws cards, answers problems or wins the game (such as Mirror Entity).

[Jon Stewart]

I have built and played both Aggro Elves and Combo Elves decks and I feel like a well built well tweaked Aggro Elf deck will run circles around a well tweaked Combo Elves deck in terms of consistency and resiliency, all while being able to goldfish almost just as fast as the combo variant.

Has anyone else had similar experience? Based on mine, I am almost convinced that a Aggro Elf variant with cards like Elvish Archdruid, Sylvan Messenger, Wirewood Symbiote, Quirion Ranger, Priest of Titania, and even Joraga Warcaller, is the better approach to take to the deck.

Has anyone played such a build and yet believes that Combo Elves is the better approach?

[danyul]

I haven't played Aggro Elves per se but I run 2-3 lord effects in my combo build which allows me to take the aggro role when I need to. I know that may not sound like much compared to the 10-12 lords that the aggro lists run, but it does the job. I like the ability to win in a single turn that the combo route allows you to take. I cannot speak from direct experience, but I'd imagine that it takes several turns for the aggro builds to go nuts and drop all those lords on the field. The combo lists can win pretty consistently on turn 3 and definitely by turn 4. I"m not sure how fast the aggro builds are.

Also, and this is purely anecdotal, but I can recall pulling out wins against a turn 3 Progenitus, an opponent who was able to reliably keep zero cards in hand with an Ensnaring Bridge out, a Blazing Archon, a freshly cast Engineered Explosives set at one and ready to go off after my opponent's next untap step, and many Glacial Chasms, all because I was able to combo out and toss a lethal Banefire at my opponent's head.

Now I'm not saying that Aggro builds are less consistent or reliable or that they win less or whatever, but I appreciate the flexibility that the combo build allows me. Sometimes you really don't want to give your opponent that next untap or draw step.

[Infinitium]

Has anyone else had similar experience? Based on mine, I am almost convinced that a Aggro Elf variant with cards like Elvish Archdruid, Sylvan Messenger, Wirewood Symbiote, Quirion Ranger, Priest of Titania, and even Joraga Warcaller, is the better approach to take to the deck.

I run all these cards in my combo variant since I firmly believe that the big mana elves/untappers engine > Nettle Sentinel by a long shot. It's more resilient since each piece (maybe sans Ranger) is a considerable threat on its own, with the easily accessible in legacy it's arguably about as fast through disruption and the fact that it generates insane as opposed to adequate amounts of mana without tapping everything you've got it not only means that you don't have to waste precious maindeck slots on Birchlore Rangers and superflous win spells but can also combo out manually with the secondary card advantage engines (eg drop Concordant Crossroads and draw 5-6 elves off Sylvan Messengers + Symbiotes, funnel the surplus mana into Warcaller and win on the spot).

Joraga Warcaller is also one of the most versatile cards in the deck even moreso than the aggro versions since it's a lord effect that additionally can be played for 1 to facilitate card/mana needs as well as act as a mana sink should you find yourself with a surplus but without mana engines. That said, the "I Win." factor of running Glimpse of Nature alongside the Wirewood/Visionary/Messenger/Survival/whathaveyou engines easily outstrips the advantage a few additional lords and 3/3's buys you.

[(nameless one)]

Hi guys, I have an aggro deck that I want to turn into a 'convertible' elf deck.

My list looks like this:

11 Forest
1 Pendlehaven
4 Elvish Spirit Guide

4 Heritage Druid
4 Llanowar Elves
4 Nettle Sentinel
4 Quirion Ranger
4 Priest of Titania
4 Wolk-Skull Shaman
4 Wren's Run Vanquisher
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Imperious Perfect
4 Sylvan Messanger
2 Elvish Champion
2 Tribal Forcemage

If I were to achieve this convertible aggro deck with combo sideboard, what should my sideboard look like? Obviously I would need Glimpse of Nature. Anything else on that?

[Jon Stewart]

Nameless One, I'm attempting to do the same thing.

The combo lists can win pretty consistently on turn 3 and definitely by turn 4. I"m not sure how fast the aggro builds are.

My aggro build is surprisingly fast as well. I've won many games on turn 3 or 4, and at the very latest, by turn 5. I've noticed this happens on the backs of the following cards.

4 Wirewood Symbiote
4 Quirion Ranger
4 Priest of Titania
4 Elvish Archdruid
4 Joraga Warcaller
4 Sylvan Messenger

The neat thing about this engine is that unlike the Nettle Sentinel engine, this doesn't require you to overextend so you can recover easily even if it fails, it doesn't require you to do everything on the same turn so it's more flexible and less prone to fizzling, and it actually feels more broken.

I run all these cards in my combo variant since I firmly believe that the big mana elves/untappers engine > Nettle Sentinel by a long shot. It's more resilient since each piece (maybe sans Ranger) is a considerable threat on its own, with the easily accessible in legacy it's arguably about as fast through disruption and the fact that it generates insane as opposed to adequate amounts of mana without tapping everything you've got it not only means that you don't have to waste precious maindeck slots on Birchlore Rangers and superflous win spells but can also combo out manually with the secondary card advantage engines (eg drop Concordant Crossroads and draw 5-6 elves off Sylvan Messengers + Symbiotes, funnel the surplus mana into Warcaller and win on the spot).

Joraga Warcaller is also one of the most versatile cards in the deck even moreso than the aggro versions since it's a lord effect that additionally can be played for 1 to facilitate card/mana needs as well as act as a mana sink should you find yourself with a surplus but without mana engines. That said, the "I Win." factor of running Glimpse of Nature alongside the Wirewood/Visionary/Messenger/Survival/whathaveyou engines easily outstrips the advantage a few additional lords and 3/3's buys you.

Infinitium, I really want to see your build because I agree with everything you just said.

This is why I think the 24 cards I listed above should be the shell of most any elf deck, but most of the other 20 cards (Thorn of Amethyst, Elvish Champion, Imperious Perfect, Wren's Run Vanquisher) can indeed be replaced as needed. The exception is of course

4 Llanowar Elves
4 Fyndhorn Elves
2-4 Arbor Elves (Very Underrated)

Those cards I think are also key, but the numbers of each is up for debate.

What I'm confused about is the rest of the cards. Should it play stuff like Concordant Crossroads/Lightning Greaves to be a turn faster? Should it play Summoner's Pact because Priest of Titania and stuff like Symbiote is so important to the engine so it's nice to find more if the first one gets killed or countered. Should it play Thorn of Amethyst since that really improves your combo and control matchups? Should it play Glimpse since it can be broken? Should it play Natural Order and Progenitus since it can usually let you win the next turn if you alpha strike with all your creatures along with Progenitus (although Joraga Warcaller lets you do the same thing and is an elf).

The tough part is, the deck itself cannot and should not play more than 6 or so non creatures because too many noncreatures screw up your ability to use Sylvan Messenger and Glimpse if you run that.

[Infinitium]

Pretty sure I posted it on the first page, but here goes. Not much have changed since it's currently tight as.

// Lands
14 [TE] Forest (1)
2 [US] Gaea's Cradle

// Creatures
4 [ALA] Elvish Visionary
1 [DS] Viridian Zealot
4 [WWK] Joraga Warcaller
3 [EVG] Sylvan Messenger
3 [10E] Llanowar Elves
4 [MOR] Heritage Druid
4 [FNM] Priest of Titania
4 [M10] Elvish Archdruid
4 [EVG] Wirewood Symbiote
3 [DM] Fyndhorn Elves
2 [VI] Quirion Ranger

// Spells
4 [CHK] Glimpse of Nature
2 [LG] Concordant Crossroads
2 [FUT] Summoner's Pact

// Sideboard
SB: 2 [ALA] Relic of Progenitus
SB: 4 [TSP] Krosan Grip
SB: 1 [MOR] Gilt-Leaf Archdruid
SB: 3 [10E] Pithing Needle
SB: 1 [NE] Reverent Silence
SB: 2 [10E] Gaea's Herald
SB: 2 [SHM] Faerie Macabre

[danyul]

I'll sleeve up one of your big-mana elf lists and give it a shot at one of the local tourneys tonight. I'm not entirely convinced of your arguments but I am certainly fed up with getting hosed by Chalices and EEs set at 1. We'll see how it goes.

[(nameless one)]

I have learned that Leyline of Lifeforce makes the deck work, even with Chalice on 1.

However, you better start on going off before you see that EE on 1.

[Jon Stewart]

That list looks awesome Infinitum. I can't wait to throw it together and try it out. Thanks for posting it.

I am surprised at the only 2 Quirion Ranger though. That card is money imo. Sylvan Messenger grabs it unlike Wirewood Symbiote. And you can use it to untap a Priest the same turn you cast it like Wirewood Symbiote, but you do so without having to bounce back an elf that you will have to recast, so it nets you even more mana. And sometimes, you can replay the land you bounced back too for even more mana.

I can see why Symbiote is so good though, being able to bounce back both Sylvan Messenger AND Elvish Visionary must be awesome.

Have you been playing it a lot? Any particularly awful matchups you've run into?

[Infinitium]

More or less exclusively for the last few months. It's an MWS build though so go figure what the input is actually worth..

As for matchups, I consider this a deck in the Ichorid vein where everything that cannot race it or somehow remove the card advantage engine is essentially a good matchup. In this case that makes combo and reanimator the chief culprits to look out for, albeit Zoo and certain Goblin builds (mainly the monored ones packing lots of spot removal) can race it off good hands (ie put down an early threat and burn everything remotely mana-producing on sight). Control and most Threshold-esque metagame decks (including counterbalance builds) usually gets steamrolled in the midgame once the card advantage engines sets in (they cannot counter them all). Mass removal sometimes gets sided and can slow it down for a turn or two, but unless it's followed by immediate pressure that is a moot point since unlike Goblins throwing down a few blockers isn't enough to stabilize in the face of glimpse and recurring messengers.

Oh, and Symbiote/Ranger where originally a 3/3 split, but with Ranger having diminishing returns in multiples and Symbiote being the best elf tribal card ever printed I quickly opted to go for the extra mana elves for consistency instead. Don't get me wrong, Ranger is awesome, but it's still dependent on the major interaction with Archdruid/Priest to live up to its full potential (the explosive starts with llanowar elves and interaction with Heritage Druid notwithstanding), and unlike Wirewood Symbiote you cannot use it to safely overextend the board versus sweepers. Postside you also really want to have a lot of forests on the board since land mana is the safest way to bounce back from sweepers and deal with assorted obnoxity such as Plague/Humility.

[Jon Stewart]

Infitum, I've been playing the decklist you posted and I love everything about it with one exception... Summoner's Pact.

It's the definition of a win more card. If you cast it in the midst of your combo, you're going to win that same turn, it's fantastic since it has no draw back.

But in those situations where you are not already well on your way to victory that same turn, it sucks.

The function it serves, to get you a Priest of Titania or Heritage Druid or Zealot is an important one. But you most desperately need that Priest of Titania early in the game, you want to tutor it up on turn one and have it in hand ready to cast on turn 2.

You can't use Pact to get you that Priest of Titania early on, when you most desperately need it. You have to wait till you have four mana on the board. And then, paying that 4 mana for Pact hinders your ability to combo off that next turn.

So here is what I propose to your list...

-2 Summoner's Pact
+2 Worldly Tutor

it still serves the exact same function, if you Glimpsed or have a Sylvan Messenger or Elvish Visionary, you can even get that tutored up card that same turn.

But it has two main advantages...

You can use it turn 1/2 to get you that Priest of Titania you want.

It won't eat up the entirity of your mana the turn after you cast it, effectively speeding you up by a full turn compared to Summoner's Pact.

What do you think?

[unicoerner]

Pact gets you Heritage and Sentinal! That`s what the combo needs.

That`s the difference between aggro and combo elves.

I just removed the NO-Prog for Warcallers and squeezed some Priests and Archdruids in aswell and i have to say, that i like it a lot.
We can smoothly change rolls now.

[Infinitium]

It's an awkward card at times since, like you noted, does little to aid development in the early game and requires some worst case scenarios assesments in case you have to pass the turn again.

That said I seldom use it for mana producers but rather as extra Symbiote/Messengers. Common situations include:

Midcombo to fetch Symbiote/Ranger. The 0 cost here is relevant since balancing mana expenditure off a single Heritage Druid/PoT can be precarious if comboing out early.

Mid/lategame to set up the missing part of a Symbiote/Draw engine. The 0 cost is again rather relevant as it still constitutes a net gain in tempo (you get to turn whatever you cast this turn sideways the next).

Mid/lategame to recover after sweepers. Again, actually fetching and casting Messenger in the same turn allows you to maintain pressure on the control deck.

Midgame to remove stuff with Zealot. Again, Zealot is mana-intensive, and especially equipment can lose you the game quickly if not dealt with rapidly. The tutor costing 0 is also clutch in dealing with Chalice@1 and sometimes tapped out CB/Top locks (which is also the prime reason why I believe Worldly Tutor is a suboptimal choice in this regard).

Generally, you shouldn't worry about actually casting it until after you have played out the rest of your hand, at which time developing mana shouldn't be the first priority. The deck can slowroll perfectly fine without PoT/Archdruid as long as it can draw/play more cards than the opponent.

[Jon Stewart]

Worldly Tutor gets you Heritage and Sentinal as well.

The problem with Pact is, it's only good if you are going to win the game that very same turn anyways. And while in the middle of your combo, Worldly Tutor can indeed serve the same function to get you the creature you need since you have a lot of ways to draw cards off the top of your library.

But what I end up needing the tutoring effect for, is to get me a Priest of Titania early on, to let me combo off and do ridiculous things, with or without Glimpse. And Pact is useless for that, because it will slow you down by a full turn or more. Worldly Tutor doesn't. Try the list...

// Lands
14 [UNH] Forest

// Creatures
4 [ALI] Elvish Spirit Guide
4 [MOR] Heritage Druid
4 [10E] Llanowar Elves
4 [FNM] Priest of Titania
4 [M10] Elvish Archdruid
4 [WWK] Joraga Warcaller
4 [VI] Quirion Ranger
3 [EVG] Wirewood Symbiote
3 [DM] Fyndhorn Elves
3 [ALA] Elvish Visionary
3 [EVG] Sylvan Messenger

// Spells
4 [CHK] Glimpse of Nature
2 [LG] Concordant Crossroads

(Basically a heavily modified more comboesque take on Infinitum's build)

If you're playing Summoner's Pact (I no longer am), imagine that Worldly Tutor is a Pact every game you draw it and see how often you prefer Pact. I think you will find that Worldly Tutor is better, because it actually lets you combo off earlier, rather than simply helping you once you have already comboed off, but actually slowing down if you use it in most other situations.

[unicoerner]

I tested today quite a bit with my List and this deck can be very explosive, but we have to include one suboptimal. I am not sure which one, but i lost soo many games vs some stupid lockpiece i couldn`t overcome:
Moat
Spore Frog lock

or i was one turn too slow ( not having enough attackers, because just 2 were in play when i started to combo)

Options:
Including the storm kill, which makes us play Birchlores again. But it serves vs all 3 cases and isn`t yalways a dead draw)
Concordant Crossroad, possibly helps in all 3 cases, but just if we had a good start ( comboing off in turn 3 vs an opponent without counter and Swords

Emrakul!! We play lots of mana elves now and he handles all 3 cases. He can sit in hand and do nothing early on, but he can win you otherwise unwinnable games.

My List:

// Deck file for Magic Workstation (http://www.magicworkstation.com)

// Lands
15 [IN] Forest (1)

// Creatures
4 [SC] Wirewood Symbiote
4 [M10] Elvish Archdruid
4 [ALA] Elvish Visionary
4 [EVE] Nettle Sentinel
4 [MOR] Heritage Druid
3 [AT] Llanowar Elves
3 [IA] Fyndhorn Elves
4 [AP] Sylvan Messenger
1 [DS] Viridian Zealot
1 [VI] Quirion Ranger
3 [US] Priest of Titania
4 [WWK] Joraga Warcaller
1 [ROE] Emrakul, the Aeons Torn

// Spells
1 [FUT] Summoner's Pact
4 [CHK] Glimpse of Nature

// Sideboard
SB: 2 [BOK] Umezawa's Jitte
SB: 4 [ZEN] Mindbreak Trap
SB: 4 [CH] Tormod's Crypt
SB: 4 [GP] Leyline of Lifeforce
SB: 1 [TSP] Krosan Grip

I am not longer that happy with Pact, but i won`t play Tutor in this spot, because it`s just inferior. Perhaps i could add IMperfect or another Ranger.

I`ll probably will remove the 1 Grip in the side, perhaps the Jitties,too . Not sure what i will include. Thorns could be worth a consideration

[Jon Stewart]

I like and understand your list except for the nettle sentinel. It can synergize with a grand total of 4 cards in your whole deck, the Heritage Druid. Without Birchlore etc, I don't think Sentinel is worth it. Why not play more Priests, Rangers (I really feel like you should play 3 of these minimum), Llanowar Elves in it's place.

I'm glad you cut the Pact, I don't like that card at all, it's almost always a dead draw except for the turn you combo off. I cut my two Worldly Tutor too for the 4th Ranger and a Viridian Zealot.

Don't you already have Zealot to deal with Moat and Spore Frog? Emrakul is the definition of win more. A 15 mana Warcalller will win you the game right then and there rather than making you wait a turn. I would rather play a second Zealot, the 4th Priest or make room for a Concordant Crossroads or two.

[Augustas]

I like and understand your list except for the nettle sentinel. It can synergize with a grand total of 4 cards in your whole deck, the Heritage Druid. Without Birchlore etc, I don't think Sentinel is worth it. Why not play more Priests, Rangers (I really feel like you should play 3 of these minimum), Llanowar Elves in it's place.

I'm glad you cut the Pact, I don't like that card at all, it's almost always a dead draw except for the turn you combo off. I cut my two Worldly Tutor too for the 4th Ranger and a Viridian Zealot.

Don't you already have Zealot to deal with Moat and Spore Frog? Emrakul is the definition of win more. A 15 mana Warcalller will win you the game right then and there rather than making you wait a turn. I would rather play a second Zealot, the 4th Priest or make room for a Concordant Crossroads or two.

Dude, you're in the wrong thread. You don't understand the uses of Nettle? It's propably the second most important card in the deck next to Glimpse. It wins you games. Go play some aggro elves if the combo is not consistent or is bad for you. You people completely forgott what the purpose of the deck is. It wants to COMBO., not to aggro down your opponent. And do it AS FAST AS possible. I just really don't understand what you people are trying to do the deck. Don't even try to fuse it with aggro stuff. It's either combo or aggro. And saying that Summoner's Pact is bad is ignorant as saying that Nettle is bad. So, if you want to re-invent the deck, as what you're trying to do these last pages, consider what you really want from the deck.

But anyway, I jsut can't believe how dumb Jon Stewart's post is. Nettle Sentinel is bad because it synergises with only 4 cards is like saying that Counterbalance sucks because it synergises with only two cards (brainstorm and ct). And same for Pact. it's bad on it's own, like Glimpse is bad without elves. It gets Regal Force in the middle of the combo, LIKE WHAT YOU SHOULD DO WITH THE DECK, YES - C O M B O OUT, it gets you missing Senintels. it's awesome. Don't complain when it sucks in your slow-mo decklists.

Sorry dudes, I'm not harsh, it's cool that you're trying out new things and stuff, but don't become ignorant and don't lie to yourself. Unicoerner decklist is slow, try to play with it against a true elf combo deck, it will get outraced in a matter of a turn, Jon Stewart's build just will loose even worse, the same goes for Infinitium decklist. I'll combo out on turn three, while you'll be angry on your 3 drop elves with summoning sickness. Guess why LSV won the PT Berlin. Because he was faster than anyone. That's what I want to say with this whole post.

And obviously, I might be wrong, that's just my point of view to the deck. If these decklists actually work against other decks, then good for you.

[Jon Stewart]

If your decklist is really faster and more consistent than Unicorner's, Infinitum's and my list, why not post it and explain why or how you believe it's more consistent rather than spout off about how much better you think your build is? Have you actually even played any thing similar to these lists that you are criticizing?

I much prefer to play any of their lists over traditional lists like Mendinian's since they can actually win the game by turn 4-5 even if they don't manage to draw a Glimpse and combo off undisrupted, where as traditional combo lists are inconsistent, very prone to disruption or fizzling on their own and are too singleminded with no adequate back up plan when they do fizzle.

But if you want to post your list and defend your choices like Unicorner and Infinitum have been doing, then by all means, please do so instead of just railing on them.

Nettle Sentinel is obviously an auto four of in a list with both 4 Birchlore and 4 Heritage Druid. But that's clearly not the list I was referencing. I was referencing a list where Heritage Druid was the only card in the whole list that could take advantage of Sentinel's ability. Likewise, Summoner's Pact may well be worth it in a list that plays Regal Force, but again, that's not the list I was referencing.

[Augustas]

If your decklist is really faster and more consistent than Unicorner's, Infinitum's and my list, why not post it and explain why or how you believe it's more consistent rather than spout off about how much better you think your build is? Have you actually even played any thing similar to these lists that you are criticizing?

I much prefer to play any of their lists over traditional lists like Mendinian's since they can actually win the game by turn 4-5 even if they don't manage to draw a Glimpse and combo off undisrupted, where as traditional combo lists are inconsistent, very prone to disruption or fizzling on their own and are too singleminded with no adequate back up plan when they do fizzle.

But if you want to post your list and defend your choices like Unicorner and Infinitum have been doing, then by all means, please do so instead of just railing on them.

Nettle Sentinel is obviously an auto four of in a list with both 4 Birchlore and 4 Heritage Druid. But that's clearly not the list I was referencing. I was referencing a list where Heritage Druid was the only card in the whole list that could take advantage of Sentinel's ability. Likewise, Summoner's Pact may well be worth it in a list that plays Regal Force, but again, that's not the list I was referencing.

... I just can't believe how dumb I am. I haven't paid attention to Concordant Crossroads, which makes my whole post pointless and stupid. My apologies :/

It's a very cool twist on the deck, I but I still don't like the lack of Nettle Sentinel. It allows to play out as many elves as you have in your hand, leaving other untapped and ready to attack. And I wonder does this decklist eliminate the main problems that Grapeshot suffers.



I wrote some obviousness about my version, so here it goes....

11x Forest

Llanowar Elves 4x
Fyndhorn Elves 4x
Nettle Sentinel 4x
Heritage Druid 4x
Birchlore Rangers 4x
Quirion Ranger 4x
Wirewood Symbiote 4x
Elvish Spirit Guide 4x
Elvish Visionary 2x
Eternal Witness 1x
Regal Force 1x
Progenitus 1x

Glimpse of Nature 4x
Summoner's Pact 4x
Natural Order 3x
Grapeshot 1x

Sideboard (I'm currently experimenting with with it) :

Elvish Champion 3x
Umezawa's Jitte 3x
Viridian Shaman 3x
Leyline of Lifeforce 3x
Pendlehaven 2x
Mycoloth 1x


It looks like any other combo elves deck, I just play Guides instead of Forests. The reason I play it like that is because one Forest is enough in the opening hand, with mana elf and Quirion, you have 2 two mana floating along wiith two untapped elves.

Most of the decks in legacy is either fast as hell or shuts you down with every card in their hand. I want to outrace them before they can put any threats of their own.

Speaking of consistency, guess why this deck doesn't show up anywhere in the top 8s? Because it's inconsistent from the beginning. It can't tutor for the Glimpse, it rallies only on the Glimpse, which is way too easy to disrupt. Other combo decks can use Orim's Chants, Silences and whatever, and we are forbidden from using such cards. None of the decklists play any disruption cards at all, and I can't think of a reason why everybody does that. Propably because the only option of disruption we have is some discard cards, which are not very powerful against all the control madness blue has. So that's why this deck is inconsistent. that's why other combo decks are better, that's why you're upset when you don't combo out and think that Pacts sucks or something. And obviously, Chalice, Engineered Plague, counterspells, the insane amount of creature removal is also a knife in our chest. And we are always going all in, and the sad thing is that there's a high possibility to not actually comboing out. Man, it has a lot more problems than any other deck, lol

After poitning out the obvious, I'll say why this deck is good. If they let through the Glimpse, you're on. Of course, there's lots of possibilities that you'll be StPd and whatever, which means that they allowed you to waste two of your combo cards, but otherwise, while playing on MWS, I noticed that many players tend to tap out on their first turns, which actually allows us to go off andnot be afraid of card removal.
If the combo plan fails, there's always Natural Order ready to help you out. Some games it will take the win of it's own, sometimes it will help you out in the middle of the combo. It's our own Demonic Tutor haha.
And the most important thing, it can win on turn 2 and turn 3, which is quite early. They obviously will have more options
on their turn 3 to disrupt you, but it's still possible to win right there. And there was many times when those pesky 1/1's took a win for me.

So, to sum up everything, it's good because it has a chance to compete in Legacy environment, and it's bad because it's way too easy to disrupt.