[Deck] T.E.S. - The EPIC Storm

[Final Fortune]

Shocks it is for me then :) I do have Undiscovered Paradise though, so I'd probably try those out as well. I'll be "biting the bullet" and getting the U. Seas much much later.

Wasn't there a dual land cycle where the only drawback was that the dual land came into play tapped if you already controlled 3 or more lands? Because if you're playing the full set of City of Brass and Gemstone Mine, I think you could probably cut your fetchlands and just use those pseudo dual lands at like 11 land count or so and not notice much of a difference from Undergournd Sea.

[Machahiko]

Or think of what good dual lands come into play untapped. How about, darkslick shores? Kinda pissed that I sold my karakas' and can't afford to get any extras now, on the other hand though, I haven't been playing at all in a long long time.

[RaNDoMxGeSTuReS]

Or think of what good dual lands come into play untapped. How about, darkslick shores? Kinda pissed that I sold my karakas' and can't afford to get any extras now, on the other hand though, I haven't been playing at all in a long long time.

You can't fetch for Darkslick Shores.

[Final Fortune]

You can't fetch for Darkslick Shores.

You don't necessarily need to play Fetchlands, a full set of gold lands and Darkslick Shores is probably a passable manabase on a budget.

[Rekk]

You don't necessarily need to play Fetchlands, a full set of gold lands and Darkslick Shores is probably a passable manabase on a budget.

you'd proooobabbly have to cut brainstorms for preordains if your only shuffle is ponder

[Bryant Cook]

Darkslick Shores are a fine replacement but it's still not ideal. Not having the shuffle effect will cost you some games.

I ended up playing T.E.S. for a second week in a row at our local event because I'm preparing for Providence this weekend. I ended up winning the event, I was never in a situation where I was forced to use the Artifact/Enchantment hate spell. I did use Abrupt Decay twice but neither time on a counterbalance.

I did have an awesome situation against Reanimator. I played a Xantid Swarm, he cast Force of Will. He then Entombed on my end step, untapped and played Exhume. I put Xantid into play then on my turn won the game. The other game I won, Karakas was MVP buying me several turns until I was ready to win the game.

[Final Fortune]

you'd proooobabbly have to cut brainstorms for preordains if your only shuffle is ponder

No, that'd be awful, contrary to popular belief Brainstorm is still good without Fetchlands.

[cuthbertthecat]

I did have an awesome situation against Reanimator. I played a Xantid Swarm, he cast Force of Will. He then Entombed on my end step, untapped and played Exhume. I put Xantid into play then on my turn won the game. The other game I won, Karakas was MVP buying me several turns until I was ready to win the game.

JUSTICE!

Also, I'm not sure if reanimator can beat Karakas out of this deck. It's beautiful.

[Dark Ritual]

JUSTICE!

Also, I'm not sure if reanimator can beat Karakas out of this deck. It's beautiful.

I don't think they can beat karakas out of storm combo. I know when I was playing doomsday once and I had the one of karakas in the 75 I boarded it in and put it in my doomsday pile. The guy got 2 legends out, elesh norn and jin or something and swung and I karakas'ed him out. Delayed shelldock isle into emrakul for a turn but I got there due to him paying 5+ life or more throughout the entire game through fetches, thoughtseize, force, maybe a reanimate.

Love exhuming xantid swarm. That is just plain awesome against a reanimator player. I'm of the opinion that he punted that to you by casting exhume instead of waiting, although he probably thought griselbrand would just win him the game. Turns out that isn't true

Brainstorm without fetchlands is basically going all-in typically. Because if you DON'T find what you need and you don't have a shuffle effect then you're double time walking yourself. I typically hate playing brainstorm when I don't have a shuffle effect available as it can literally lose the game for me.

Darkslick shores is a fine budget replacement though at 2 dollars versus 100+ dollars. Still infinitely prefer fetchlands in here due to brainstorm though and the deck thinning is slightly relevant. Only downside is stifle and that's it. Although if they aren't stifling fetchlands they could be stifling tendrils or EtW potentially.

[Deviruchi]

I tested the newest list and figured out almost the same sb (-1 Hull Breach / +1 Revoke Existance). Sideboard is not perfect because it still needs Echoing Truth. Leyline of the Sanctity is played in my metagame not because it is a bad card or I have bad players around me but because storm players are so happy about Abrupt Decay that they are now almost throwing a game vs Leyline. Next level thinking. During next tournament maybe I will try -1 Revoke Existance +1 Echoing Truth / Shattering Spree. One way I'm better positioned vs Leyline, other way vs Chalice. I think that making only one Kakakas / Swarm / Decay in the SB will hurt me more than Leyline / Chalice debate.

@Exhume story: nice. Hope I will encounter that kind of situation but I doubt it.

@BS without fetchland: I don't like the statement that you can't BS without fetchland. Sometimes you just have to cast it to have a chance in a game. It's not an all-in situation. I just rationally count when I should expect a fetchland, what is the situation on board and should I wait or am I forced to find "something". This feeling "play BS now or you are screwed" is more and more present when I play, I would like to think it is because I have played mainly storm decks for so long.

@EtW maindeck: I'm not very happy with that but sometimes "I just win with it" and it is hard to abandon that line of play. There were already few moments when I was angry that it is not 2nd Ad Nauseam. But also what Bryant wrote it is so nice to see your mana being countered.

[sherko7]

You don't necessarily need to play Fetchlands, a full set of gold lands and Darkslick Shores is probably a passable manabase on a budget.

Darkslick Shores to the rescue then! Will try that out :)

[ReinVos]

Don't forget Infernal Tutor shuffles too. If you have multiple tutors you can use one to get an extra Ritual or LED and shuffle after Brainstorming.

It's sub-optimal, just like using a Ponder to shuffle away Brainstorm garbage is sub-optimal, but when times get rough, there's at least 8 cards that can shuffle the deck if it's really needed and another Brainstorm a turn later allows you to look at two new cards.

Fetchlands makes Brainstorm much better but it's not like you can't get out of bad Brainstorms without them in this deck.

[Mojeh]

Darkslick Shores seems a fine replacement, but in a 13 land build, what would be the 13th land?

[kwis]

I probably missed it somewhere in the 45 pages of this thread but why did you go to 4 silence over chant?

I assume it has something to do with misdirection/divert or the opponent not being a legal target through some means.

[thefringthing]

I probably missed it somewhere in the 45 pages of this thread but why did you go to 4 silence over chant? I assume it has something to do with misdirection/divert or the opponent not being a legal target through some means.

You got it. There's also a (very unlikely) situation where you want to Infernal Tutor for a second Silence but the ones left in your deck are Chants or vice versa. The trade off is that you're more vulnerable to Meddling Mage effects.

[tsoatt]

Came in 22nd at the Providence legacy open with this list:

1 Ad Nauseam
4 Burning Wish
4 Infernal Tutor
4 LED
4 Lotus Petal
3 Chrome Mox
4 Dark Ritual
4 Rite of flame
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
3 Gitaxian Probe
4 Duress
4 Silence
1 Tendrils of Agony

Lands
1 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Flooded Strand
4 Gemstone Mine
2 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island
2 City of Brass

Sideboard:
1 Diminishing Returns
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Grapeshot
1 Ill-Gotten Gains
1 Past in Flames
1 Pyroclasm
1 Shattering Spree
1 Tendrils of Agony
2 Xantid Swarm
2 Inquisition of Kozilek
3 Chain of vapor

Round 1 Goblins (2-0)
I went first and pondered and passed my opponent went mountain Vial and passed. I played a land and passed then he played a land lackey and passed. I didn't want lackey to get out of control so I burning wished for empty made a lot of gobbos and forced him to start blocking (Did not board). Three turns later I had six gobling to my opponents two but he was at seven life and I was able to grapeshot him dead. Game two was a turn one or two Ad Nauseam into tendrils.
1-0
Round 2 Dredge (2-1)
Game one I was able to ad nauseam on turn two or three for the win (Board -1 probe -1mox +2 chain of vapor).Game two I took a couple of cabal therapies on turn two or three and an Iona naming black. Game three I was staring down a lethal Golgari grave troll and I topdecked burning wish floated a bunch of mana and went for Diminishing Returns was able to lethal tendrils from there.
2-0
Round three NO rug (2-1)
I was able to cantrip a lot this game and duress him because he wasn't putting on a clock early it was just a dryad arbor attacking and latter a vendilion clique. Eventually I was able to ad Nauseam and tendrils. Game two I lost to a turn three clique and dryad arbor beats with counter backup. Game three was long. I opened with all four ponders, a land, a probe and a duress. I probed and saw he had counters a single land and a green suns zenith so I played my land and duressed his zenith. I pondered a bit (one got Rebbed and one got pierced) eventually he was able to start beating down with Clique and dryad arbor. When I was at six and my opponent was at 16 I drew a Lion's eye diamond to give me a hand of Led,Petal,Petal,Dark ritual,Dark Ritual, Rite of flame, Tendrils and I had two lands and I knew my opponent had at least a pierce in hand. I went Led, Rite of flame, then dark rit he responded with a brainstorm then pierced the ritual I paid two red and he pierce it again then I played both petals and a dark ritual and tendrils for 20.
3-0
Round 4 Esper Stoneblade(0-2)
Game one my opponent mulls to 5 and thoughtseizes me turn one. Turn three was snapcaster thoughtseize and I could never come back from that (Board -1 mox -1 probe +2 swarm). Game two I played a land and passed my opponent did the same then he thoughtseize me turn two and I brainstormed in response and it got pierced, it was all downhill from there.
(3-1)
Round 5 Team Italia (2-0)
Game one he had a lot of discard but he took a burning wish with Tidehollow sculler rather than infernal tutor when my hand had a Rite of flame and a dark ritual in it and I went off next turn (Board -1 mox -1 probe +2 chain of vapor). Game two was a lot scarier he went land go and I played a land and duress and saw that he had three fetches two hymns and a tidehollow sculler. He drew another hymn off the top and I had now hand a few turns later when sculler took my rite of flame. I drew for turn and my opponent said "chain of vapor" he was right, so I passed. I drew burning wish looked down at my two cards and five lands and passed. I took two from a sculler and EOT bounced it getting back my Rite. I drew another rite of flame and was able to go for a past in flames kill.
4-1
Round 6 Dredge (2-0)
Game one I played a land and pondered. Once I saw it was dredge I went for Ad nauseam and tendrils(board -1 mox -1 probe +2 chain of vapor). Game two he was able to therapy away most of my hand getting rid of my tutors and I just top-decked ad nauseam to kill him.
5-1
Round 7 Rug (0-2)
Game one I couldn't assemble a good enough hand fast enough then Clique got me and I lost a few turns later (Board -1mox -1 probe + 2 inquisition) I mulled to five and couldn't really get there, I tried to go off and played into a spellsnare I had seen earlier, played like a chump there.
5-2
Round 8 Maverick ID
I couldn't Top 8 and 9-32 paid the same we agreed to ID then I asked what he was playing.
5-2-1
Thanks to all of my opponents for being nice guys and giving me some great matches.

[Bryant Cook]

I was there too! I'm surprised I didn't meet you.

I had a worse day than you however. My day went as follows:

Round 1 - Lands 2-1
Round 2 - BUG Control 0-2 (I had a turn 2 win with Duress back-up, he wastes me, I fail to draw a mana source for five turns and lose. g2 kill myself with Ad Nauseam from 16 after sideboarding out ETW)
Round 3 - TES 2-1
Round 4 - Burn 0-2 (I get flooded after a couple of cantrips and Goblin Guide, actually makes it so I can't become Hellbent. G2 sided in all 3 Therapy and lost to MBT because I couldn't wish for Discard)
Round 5 - Esper Stoneblade 2-0
Round 6 - Spiral tide 2-1
Round 7 - Dredge 1-2 (he mulled to 4 g3 and killed me turn 2)
Round 8 - Omnishow 2-1 (Xantid was MVP)

[tsoatt]

Yeah I heard you were there, my round 7 opponent was Ning and he said he plays a lot with you so I realized I was screwed.

[Endure2004]

this is ning, yeah I was your round 7 opponent. great job on the finish! it was a pleasure playing against you in a feature match, even though we were in a corner and no one saw us

[RaNDoMxGeSTuReS]

Round 8 - Omnishow 2-1 (Xantid was MVP)

Show and Tell?

Resolves.

Emrakul. Xantid Swarm.

Untap. Win.

Please say it so.