[Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils)

[GoblinZ]

How often do you find yourself boarding in Abrupt Decay?

I board three in against miracle. I think three is enough for they seem to not play 4 counterbalance recently

[End3r000]

Placed 5th at SCG Indy. Played poorly in the top 8 to lose to RUG Delver. List is posted on SCG.

[countorlandea]

I see people wondering about grim tutor. I'm not so sure about today's consensus, but I personally feel it is very powerful.

I'd say that in game 1 I'm winning about 35% of the time without needing AD and its often thanks to grim (I can also grim tutor for an LED if thats all I need and don't have it, to set up for next turn if I don't think that they will somehow interact with me, or I can get a cabal ritual if I need more gas and I'm at thresh.)


and I've learned that even if I lose game 1 against non-interactive decks with slower clocks, I might want to play on the draw for game 2....

[Sigyn]

Grim tutor is pretty lose IMO, cost 1BB, pay 3 life... It's a real demonic but the cost is so high, even though I feel It's a necessary evil, I mean, talking about UB ANT version, 4 tutors is just not enough, I wish I could play 6 infernals so Grim is the best alternative, since I'd like to play as less bad tutors as posible I went down to 1 Grim an add a couple of preordains which are fairly good, It has been performing well for me.

In the Burning wish version is necessay in order to make your wishes a real bussiness spell.

[aaronm678]

Placed 5th at SCG Indy. Played poorly in the top 8 to lose to RUG Delver. List is posted on SCG.

Did you need all those wish targets? It seems like a lot, especially with only 2 red lands main. Usually it seems like people have the 1 PiF main, 1 IGG Side, and then 1 Tendrils and 1 Empty split between main and side.

Congrats on your finish...I've come to a similar conclusion, that it wasn't really worth the effort for me to try a green splash.

I've learned that even if I lose game 1 against non-interactive decks with slower clocks, I might want to play on the draw for game 2....

I don't know what non-interactive decks with a slow clock you're talking about that you could possibly ever lose G1. Either way...I really don't think this deck ever wants to be on the draw, the extra card doesn't really speed up our clock much.

[Stoyrm]

I've played T.E.S to a reasonable success at my local game store. However it has way to little game against RUG for me to justify playing it at a large Grand Prix. With Strasbourg coming up, i've been playing this deck and it seems strong. I'm wondering if there's anything i should look out for, that is way different than with T.E.S. Obviously Ad Nauseum is a bit weaker (though you sometimes need it) and Past in Flames is really strong. Haven't played against Deathrite Shaman yet though :).

[Lemnear]

Just wondering: How can it be, that after ANT was seriously hurt by RIP, DRS and the metashift towards BUG, this deck made it back to the DtB section over TES?

[Zombie]

ANT is easier to play, for one. The metagame is also not the same everywhere, and what the player is comfortable with matters a bunch, too - I feel much more at ease playing Elves or ANT than TES, for example. So even though TES is probably a better deck than those two, I'd do better with them.

[Zombie]

I've played T.E.S to a reasonable success at my local game store. However it has way to little game against RUG for me to justify playing it at a large Grand Prix. With Strasbourg coming up, i've been playing this deck and it seems strong. I'm wondering if there's anything i should look out for, that is way different than with T.E.S. Obviously Ad Nauseum is a bit weaker (though you sometimes need it) and Past in Flames is really strong. Haven't played against Deathrite Shaman yet though :).

You can murder RUG pretty well with TES. A fast Warrens is something they just don't recover from. It's a volatile match, though.

[aaronm678]

Just wondering: How can it be, that after ANT was seriously hurt by RIP, DRS and the metashift towards BUG, this deck made it back to the DtB section over TES?

ANT is more consistent (DTB only looks at large tournaments), and it's more popular, RIP is a fairly niche card that's played in a deck that has no clock, DRS isn't really that hard to play around, and BUG isn't much different than RUG against this deck (very close matchup, not particularly close if the BUG deck cut Force).

[Lans89]

And discard hurts TES way more than ANT.. It does hurt ANT a lot as well, but players often side in Dark Confidants that are often absent in TES sideboards.

[jin]

ANT is more consistent (DTB only looks at large tournaments), and it's more popular, RIP is a fairly niche card that's played in a deck that has no clock, DRS isn't really that hard to play around, and BUG isn't much different than RUG against this deck (very close matchup, not particularly close if the BUG deck cut Force).

And discard hurts TES way more than ANT.. It does hurt ANT a lot as well, but players often side in Dark Confidants that are often absent in TES sideboards.

Diminishing Returns, Brainstorm, Ad Nauseam, Past in Flames all make discard negligible to TES. The move from RUG to BUG is actually favourable for ANT players playing Dark Confidant because in the RUG match up, Lightning Bolt doesn't come out, but in the BUG match up, Abrupt Decays do.

[SaberTooth]

Grim tutor is pretty lose IMO, cost 1BB, pay 3 life... It's a real demonic but the cost is so high, even though I feel It's a necessary evil, I mean, talking about UB ANT version, 4 tutors is just not enough, I wish I could play 6 infernals so Grim is the best alternative, since I'd like to play as less bad tutors as posible I went down to 1 Grim an add a couple of preordains which are fairly good, It has been performing well for me.

In the Burning wish version is necessay in order to make your wishes a real bussiness spell.

im testing ub ant (see prosak article) but with 1 grim tutor and 3 preordains. The deck looks fine, but i think that tnt is just better, the only issue with this is the green splash

[End3r000]

Did you need all those wish targets? It seems like a lot, especially with only 2 red lands main. Usually it seems like people have the 1 PiF main, 1 IGG Side, and then 1 Tendrils and 1 Empty split between main and side.

Congrats on your finish...I've come to a similar conclusion, that it wasn't really worth the effort for me to try a green splash.




I don't know what non-interactive decks with a slow clock you're talking about that you could possibly ever lose G1. Either way...I really don't think this deck ever wants to be on the draw, the extra card doesn't really speed up our clock much.

The wish targets all have won me games. Iggy and Tendrils are the most common, but Grim, EtW, PiF have all pulled out games that I would have otherwise lost. As for the Pyroclasm and the Shattering Spree, they stop you from losing to random hate. Your second quote which has my name on it is not mine either. I would never want to draw with this deck. Also the only time I've lost the non-interactive mu was when I got too greedy with AdN.

[End3r000]

im testing ub ant (see prosak article) but with 1 grim tutor and 3 preordains. The deck looks fine, but i think that tnt is just better, the only issue with this is the green splash

Can I suggest you look at my list from Indy? Aside from the SB it's Teemo's list that he won the GP with. I've found the extra cantrips are just too slow most of the time. I'd rather be winning than cantriping.

[AlleywayJack]

I played a really small local tournament today. it was only 4 rounds and i made a few misplays but i feel very good about the deck. here's the list i was playing

-----
2x bloodstained mire
2x misty rainforest
2x scalding tarn
1x polluted delta
2x marshflats
2x underground sea
1x badlands
1x volcanic island
1x island
1x swamp

3x lion's eye diamond ( the fourth didn't come in the mail in time! x_x', it should be -1 fetch +1 LED)
4x lotus petal
1x chrome mox

4x dark ritual
4x cabal ritual

4x infernal tutor
2x burning wish

4x brainstorm
4x ponder
3x gitaxian probe

4x duress
3x cabal therapy
2x inquisition of kozilek

1x ad nauseam
1x tendrils of agony
1x past in flames
------
2x chain of vapor
1x echoing truth
2x wipe away
4x dread of night
1x pyroclasm
1x cabal therapy
1x inquisition of kozilek
1x empty the warrens
1x past in flames
1x tendrils of agony
-----
i don't have notes but it went something like this..

round 1 i played against maverick.
g1 t1 i play inquisition of kozilek and get thalia. t2 i ponder into some business and t3 i storm him out with some ramp into past in flames and a tendrils.
g2 i land an early dread of night. he plays an ethersworn canonist. and then another. i wish for pyroclasm and next turn i wipe his field and play the 2nd dread of night. a few turns pass and i try to go off but i pop my lotus petal for black instead of red and force myself into a mini tendrils instead of a bunch of goblins x_x i end up getting beat down by an ooze.
g3 we have less than 3 minutes to play. i keep a pretty bad hand and get beatdown by 2 moms and a jitte

round 2 is mirror against an ant list without burning wish or grim tutor.
g1 i have some discard and business and get there off PiF
g2 he has the discard and business and gets there off an ad nauseam
g3 i have discard and a t2 ad nauseam with 1 black floating. i draw a bunch of rituals and a burning wish but no lotus petal. i end up killing myself with ad nauseam trying to find the petal. in retrospect i should have just fired off a dark ritual and some discard to strip his hand and try to go off again next turn.

round 3 was against goblins
g1 i went off t3 with some ramp, infernal tutor, past in flames into tendrils.
g2 i went of t3 into an empty the warrens for 14 tokens and won shortly after.

round 4 was against my buddy playing big red
game 1 i go off t2 or t3 and make 14 goblins. he draws something, but i guess it wasnt good enough because he scoops.
game 2 he plays a t1 pyrostatic pillar. on my turn i duress him and get a trinisphere. he draws lands for a few turns and i play a few cantrips and sculpt my hand. once im at 10 life i find an echoing truth. i bounce his pillar on the end of his turn and then on my turn i go off and finish with a tendrils.

and that's about it. all in all i feel very good about the deck and i feel like i could have done alot better today if it wasn't for a few minor misplays. i definitely plan on playing this list again in a few weeks at the next event.

[mishima_kazuya]

Why this deck usually makes DtB status instead of TES usually?

Having a more consistent mana base, more cantrips and just more consistency overall is better in the long run.

Playing 8+ Rounds in SCG Opens, GPs, etc exposes your matches to more variance. TES adds more to the variance part with a manabase more vulnerable to Wasteland and games less resistant to disruption. Being faster with those drawbacks is great on paper, but when you play so many rounds you expose yourself to greater chances to mulliganing, hate, etc.

[End3r000]

I find it funny that ANT only top 8s and TES wins, yet ANT, not TES, ends up in the DTB section.

[Megadeus]

I find it funny that ANT only top 8s and TES wins, yet ANT, not TES, ends up in the DTB section.

More people are probably prone to pick up ANT. It seems to be a bit easier to play. Also Bryant is a great player with TES! Less Colors also makes it a bit more consistent in some peoples eyes.

[Zombie]

The stronger late game also helps in dealing with the variance that was mentioned before. Besides that, it's a bit about aggro/control personality, too. TES is far more of an aggro deck than ANT can ever hope to be, and vice versa to a good extent.