Doomsday with Silence and SDT is a cornercase to board in Xantid Swarms package + Thoughtseize over the Therapies and EtW.
ANT is a race and I would step back from boarding more than the EtW out for a Thoughtseize
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Originally Posted by Echelon
Ok, I got destroyed vs Show&Tell without Xantid Swarms so I think I'm going to go back to the drawing board on how to consolidate the disruption spells and the manabase, discard is good enough against RUG not to have to worry about SBing in Autumn's Veil at all and I honestly think SBing in 2 City of Brass would be better than SBing in 2 Carpet of Flowers because you can actually keep hands with City of Brass. As ridiculous as it sounds, I'm starting to wonder whether or not SBing lands just for the tempo match ups is a real strategy because I'm already about "this far" away from SBing Tundra.
I'm completely happy with discard and the MD tho', maybe I should still be playing Pyroblasts with discard.
Totally off topic: Does anybody have the mail-contact of Cedric Phillips? Can't find it on SCG.
Yeah, I did say this. :)I seem to remember notes from Lem's reports saying: "Sideboard: Nothing! Speed is king!"
Since I play a different sideboard, I usually have an additional discard to board, but with Bryant's current list I agree with the "side nothing" strategy.
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The four cabal main has been running hot for me. Love it, fcking love it. The empty plan has been so much more consistent for me since the switch. Kudos to you T.E.S. thread.
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Read your report well done!
I agree with lem on instead of pyro put the T.Seize in the EtW slot. vs the ANT match up.
Related to the Sideboard plan vs DD, i believe that you made a good use of the factor surprise, however a good DD player would have prevented those pyroblasts from TES, anyway good trap! I believe again that the Lem plans vs DD is good also, the Xantid puts them in a presure so that the DD player is advocated to Silence you, I think if he handles senseis and a Silence or two on the top you're dead. so +3Xantid+1Tropical+1T.Seize -4C.T,-1EtW plan is ok for me also. but I'm not sure... because of below, and just sideboard -1E.T+1Xantid. mainly the difference is that DD plays Senseis + 7 Orims.
The other day we went to that same local and went only 3 boys to play, there wasn't tournament... I played a match vs a known boy playing both TES, he played full silences and me 3 and full therapys, the first game was also critical C.Therapy discarding him 2 silences in a row playing the 3rd in response!, the second game I was in a need for a discard effect as I sided out -1EtW+1Tseize. he won when he reached the second silence... and we talked next about the decks, a fact is that Therapy is a very good card, the more I play it the more I like it, I think he shares this same feeling. I love it. we talked about Siding options in a TES mirror and we think we reach the conclusión -1 EtW +1 Xantid is the ritgh move - even can serve to flashback therapy!, Although T.Seize potentiates the base, sometimes you reach scenarios in which you need to B.W. into a discard effect, sometimes it is a Quick game but sometimes is just an attrition war, disrupting each other. and having 2 B.W. in hand now it is becoming risky in a TES mirror...
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vs ant Im sure i want to make -etw +pyro
and vs tes -etw +xantid.
I have come to lots of situations where I can not go of cause of silence fear but have get lots of extra bw so i can just wish for the seize.
so sure never in storm matchups -empty +seize
from my expericence.
btw after diner im going to write the report of the gp trial for parís where I condeced on top 4 to my friend (but won).
I don't see that much value in Pyroblast vs ANT compared to Thoughtseize as their whole combo is Black/Red while the matchup being a race. Wishing for Thoughtseize in this matchup is insanly slow and mana intense to do against a deck that kills turn 3 if unmolested. In the TES mirror, I don't see the buzz about Silence. You sling your own Silence or Discard at opponents Silence/Business or use it to interrupt their combo and win. What happens if you drop your Xantid? They say "thank you!" can go for the kill unmolested! Xantid only interacts with 3-4(!) of their cards. Think about it.
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So yesterday I played the GPT to Paris here in Madrid. But not being able to go I would just scoop to my friend if we play because he is going. But whatever.
I played the new TES version of Bryant.
1st round vs GW zenith
He has a one lander with zenith, 2 hierarch, forest, wasteland and 2 libraries. I just go off for empty before he is able to cast zenith with empty and he misplays when he draws an extra card with library cause he drew into the second sword having his own thalia on table so he lost 4 lives and was not able to cast both spells having paid 4 lives. So my goblin race won him the game. In this situation he also drew into a stoneforge but a infernal I put on top before going on for therapy was enough to get rid of his batterskull.
-empty -3 silence – ponder
+ thoughseize + tropical +chain of vapor +2 decay
G2 I he had a mother of runes 1st turn and I saw with gitaxian a zenith and a revoker which I therapy away cause I had a led. He had only one more land in hand so may be he was not able to cast zenith and I draw into win. Then I brainstormed and had to decide if I try to draw into an bussines next turn and combo or keep both chain of vapor and decay even one of them gets countered by mother of runes cause I just had 2 permanent mana sources. So I decide to go for the fast path and just get have the chain and next turn let go of. I win Nauseam and win.
2nd round vs Team America
This round I think I lost due a mistake in both games. I go for nauseam on 17 lives after some discard and disruption. I fail to get combo but Im at 4 lives vs his active shaman so that if I lose 2 more lives shaman can just kill me. The revealed cards miss one coloress mana to kill my opponent. There is like 20-30 cards still in my deck and there are exactly 13 cards which are win (Petals, Mox. Led, Dark ritual or Rite of flame) and 5 cards that kill me (infernal and burning) cause I had empty already revealed. I have 2 options: Keep going on the nauseam or brainstorm and try to get the extra mana which can end in this scenarios with nauseam:
- Draw a cost 1 card and stop going for the bs route directly
- Draw a cost 2 card and lose
- Draw a mana source and win
Or if I stop I have the following brainstorm plan:
- Draw into 1/3 leds in 3 cards and win
- Draw into 1/2 dark rituals and win
- Draw into 1/3 rite of flame and win
If this fails but I find one of the following and stopped at 4 and found one of the following 1/3 petals or 1/2 mox and fetch then brainstorm again and try to get one of the +2 mana sources. If all this fails I can just go to try to keep digging and try to get 2 rituals or a led. But this plan is bad.
So the thing is If I continue at 2 lives risking to lose on the spot or start the brainstorm plan.
I decided 5 vs 13 in 25 cards is a fair thing so I keep going. And a burning was revealed and I lost.
-Infernal – ponder
+ 2 pyroblast
G2 I was at 10 lives he had a 3/4 goyf in field and a shaman that he just summoned last turn. I have just brainstorm putting empty under burning wish. My hand is an extra land, 2 led and rite of flame. He has no blue card in hand, no way to draw into a fow or cast it. An envelope was already discarded. So any daze pierces are the only good cards apart from a nut brainstorm. This means I have to combo next turn. With him at 19 and I’m going to be in a so low life range I’m not able to go for infernal into ad nauseam so I will have to go into diminishing return. I think this can be bad cause I don’t have enough storm to kill him after the diminishing and so I don’t drop the leds which is usually a bad idea vs hymn and discard decks.
He rips the hymn to tourarch gets rid of my rite of flame and led and then I have to go for diminishing with just one or zero mana in pool. My diminishing is not so great and I lose.
Should I have played the leds? Or don’t worry about storm count and just have the ton of mana?
BTW this guy ended beating my friend in the finals.
3rd round vs agro loam
On the first game he starts and goes for mox diamond, land and chalice on one. So my half hand goes to the bin : ( and I manage to make a natural empty with 2 lands 2 moxes and a petal but a tarmo, punishing fire and ooze just destroy them before I can kill my opponent.
-3 silence -2 ponder
+tropical +2 decay +thoughseize + chain of vapor
I go for a fast empty the warrens turn 1 or 2 and he just loses somehow.
on the 3rd game he goes for chalice on 0 on the first turn and end of turn 2 I decay it and then on my turn 3 I go nauseam and win.
4th round vs goblins
He starts with lakey and I cabal a matron and get it (I don’t know if I should have called ringleader instead) but see the sharpshooter being my plan to drop empty the warrens turn 3. So my plan fails because It was his only goblin among with piledriver and so was going to drop it anyway after casting the pile. Then I draw a cantrip and see a 3rd dark ritual and the nauseam and go for it going to 1 live while he is tapped. And combo off. After this he shows me that if he had not taped out he could have tarfired me.
I think he does this to show me he has the card wich he is going to side but I knowing that he has it in his hand I can may be slow myself playing around, or may be not.
-3 silence –empty
+2 decay +chain +tropical
I have decent hand but not op. Just a burning and a led and some other good spells like a petal or so and a chain of vapor but low on lands. He goes mountain into lakey. I have no turn one action apart from gitaxing him to see 1 tin street, matron, cavern, and mountain so I just pass. In his turn I time walk myself chain of vaporing his goblin. I topdeck a brainstorm and then fetch to make gitaxian and see a second tin street to keep going I have to play a mox for later mana and so have black to therapy him both tin street. He draws a chieftain plays it and attacks with both goblins dropping the matron so he can search for piledriver to kill me. I draw into decay and now I have 2 options. Or do nothing going to 1 live on next turn if he doesn’t draw any relevant spell. Decay the chieftain losing a gemstone on the way so that I get only a few damages and be able to draw one more card. Or go for diminishing return and after resolving it having URB on pool. So I decide to go for the Russian roulette with a more than 70% chance of winning and so I if I fail I may be get rid of his piledriver if he don’t draw a second. So I draw into burning and led and win.
Time to eat, eggs with potatoes and bacon and back to work.
5th round vs Maveric
They put up the standing and I can draw myself into the top for the top with another guy of my group playing.
Top 8 vs GW Armageddon, suppression field, chalice agro deck.
He keeps a hand of seven thinking I play my usual deck (sneak attack) and then when I go for gitaxian see his shitty hand vs me I wonder and he starts cursing that he knew I was playing storm when he saw the gemstone and making the mistake to think I’m on sneak attack. Then I just go turn 2 nauseam and win on 4 lives.
-3 silence –ponder –warrens (because he sides in ghostly prison and ratchet bomb)
+tropical +2 decay +thoughseize + chain of vapor
I mull to 5 while he keeps his seven starting with land into noble hierarch. I gitaxian him and see 2 revokers, rip, cavern and a master of blades or something like that (2WW battle cry and makes 2 tokens) I therapy his 2 revokers and he starts complains that he has so much diferent hate cards and he just has to draw 2 of the same and also get therapy for both. Then turn 3 or 4 I go ant nauseam but I fail standing at 2 lives but cause he only has a noble so it’s no big problem. I pass the turn with 3 mana up in case he plays something like a quasali or trinisphere I can just bounce it. Then next turn untaping and so I combo in some maner I don’t remember.
Top 4 vs FOWless miracles with stoneforge (not even side board)
I’m going to concede to my friend anyway but before saying to him I want to just scoop I want to play the game out to know if he can beat with his no fow deck a storm. And so he plays in full energy.
He ended 1st on swiss so he starts and mulls to 5 searching for any kind of counterbalance, or spell pierce and so. I just go on and manage to make turn 4 a few goblins after making therapy for his spell pierce and then again to get rid of his hand good cards with the flashback.
-empty -ponder –mox –infernal
+2 decay +2pyroblast
This game he has some counter and makes a turn 3 counterbalance I pyroblast It, he flusters back and then with the mana of a land and a black mox I decay it. Next turn I can’t go of. But keep digging. I see his hand somehow and see a venser. So I have to force it. I manage to do so. But then when he is on top deck he draws counterbalance. I make therapy and he has nothing but the land on top of the counterbalance hinders me on comboing out. Then I wait. I cast a spell and on top of deck is a jace. So I can’t go for my silence plan into diminishing return with a top of artifact mana. He draws the jace brainstorm and from there on he has more counters and always a cost 2 card on top so I just loose.
3rd game I have the nut hand with turn 1 ad nauseam vs a deck without force of will. So I just go and fail on it ending on two lives. I gitaxian him with a mox mana and he has nothing relevant apart from a rest in peace, a counterbalance and a stoneforge. I keep a seven consisting of 1 gemstone, 1 fetch, 2 brainstorms, 1 decay, 1 burning, 1 silence and 1 rite of flame. He plays land and passes then I just go brainstorm, into ponder seeing having drawn the 2nd rite of flame. And I just set up with a ponder for in 2 turns being able to cast therapy, silence, two rite of flames who are waiting on top of my deck so I can make 10 mana with the 4 rites. And pass turn. He plays the counterbalance. And I just pass waiting for decay the balance. He can now cast the rest In peace or the stoneforge while I’m at 1 live. So obv as expected he goes into the stoneforge and I decay the balance. Then on my turn, therapy, silence, rite of flame. Past in flames and win.
Then I just conceded but he lost the finals. I told him that for paris its not a good idea to not play fows and after all today he played fows again XD
Thoughts after playing the deck:
I have still never used the grapeshot, not even in test games, but I would have won some games or do it easier having a pyroclams on the place of it when I used it.
I missed in this 2 days of events the ill gotten in my side deck but I understand not having it. May be changing one xantid for it is a good idea. But I don’t really know 3 xantids are so sexy.
Gitaxian + more therapy’s + goblins is nuts!
I think past in flames is necessary but I use it in too small amount of times (1 only) where I would have wished for ill gotens more. I’m not gonna cut it but thats just my thoughts.
Seeing this creatures matchups as a belcher mode matchups changed my mind completely and it gave me wins thanks to mulligan accordingly.
I failed in far too many Nauseams even at +15 lives at the event. Being able to still manage to win but only a few which where fast win without making some extra drawing cards, it’s just weird.
Deck is awesome love it!
Heya dude, great result! I'm glad you've been enjoying playing TES.
A few comments on your report (mainly touching on some of your questions)
I think in your match vs Team America you were definitely correct to try and keep going with AN, in that situation the maths was definitely on your side and I imagine even had you chosen to brainstorm you still could have bricked fairly easily.
Against decks that like to run a lot of discard (so both Thoughseize AND Hymn together) you should try to drop your rocks early, the exception being when you know he has engineered or deed or the like, then I would drop some but not all (if that makes sense).
Ad Nauseum can be fickle, sometimes you just don't get the cards you need. I did however like how you were happy to pass the turn and win the turn after when you knew they couldn't just kill you. That takes balls, but that's sometimes what playing combo is about!
I too have thought about grapeshot vs other sweepers, and my conclusion has generally been that grapeshot itself is far far less succeptable to counters than a Pyroclasm would be. With both situations your wish is the first counter target, but if they let it resolve, the grapeshot (as long as storm count is good) can't really be hard countered by the likes of daze/Peirce etc (assuming they hoped to stop you because of tight mana).
Hi, just wanted to add something about the grapeshot issue. Nothing new.
Grapeshot counts both as a board sweeper (or targeted removal) and win condition, where pyroclasm just have one role. I remember a game making some goblins tokens, attacking, and my opp freshly drawing a maelstrom pulse, and destroying my gobbs. Then I held a brainstorm as much as I could, and when facing lethal (tarmo and vendilion), I just casted brainstorm, drew burning wish, LED, land, and then I just went for the grapeshot kill, doing the exact 6 damage I needed.
Didn't have mana aviable to do anything else, so grapeshot gave me that game. Pyroclasm won't.
Last edited by Niggurath; 01-13-2014 at 05:39 AM. Reason: Pyroblast <> Pyroclasm
Currently playing: T.E.S. & RUG Delver
@vermiis
@Togores
I have a bad gut feeling about your boarding in the Team America matchups. I don't see how Pyroblast is better than the potential quick kill by having more Infernals, especially considering their Hymns. Pyroblast on the draw only gives you outs against their turn 1 Delver, putting you in the control seat you cannot fit in.
PS: drop your mana rocks ;)
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This happens to me every tourney I play TES. Tokens don't get there, but Grapeshot does.
Believe me, after the third time this happens to you, you don't ever consider to drop Grapeshot anymore.
TES just missed the top 8 yesterday in the scg open. Dude must not follow the thread though. Running the duress cabal silence split with ill-gotten gains the second discard spell and the third decay In the board as well a the second chain of vapor. No trop only two swarm no blasts.
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Oh yeah and it was miss labeled as ANT, typical.
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Small update for the ones who care: The Heart of the Storm Series is confirmed to move to a bigger publisher!
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Great to hear! I must admit I enjoy your little stories and jokes as much as the actual reports, but they definitely come together as an absorbing read each time :)
Out of curiosity, how long have you played TES (I know you've played ANT too), and how long did you play for before you felt like you'd mastered (as much as one can use that term) the deck?
Can I ask where they will be published?
Last edited by anakyn; 01-14-2014 at 10:27 AM.
Not sure. He might just disagree with the innovations.
The guys from Team Nijmegen in the Netherlands know about the innovations, but still play different stuff. Like 2x Dual, 4x Fetch, and 3x Wish + 2x Ad Nauseam. They also tend to run a different protection package and sideboard.
Awesome! Where will you publish now? We wants to know...
Oh my! Wouldn't say I'd ever "master" it as brainfarts still occur at times :)
On a more serious note, I play the deck for about 2 years or so now and for newcomers, I expect a timeframe of about 6-9 months for learning, to pilot it on a decent level in tournaments.
I'm happy about every reader enjoying the reports and hope this stays true, even if the format of HotS will change from a pure tournament report to an article.
Awesome! Where will you publish now? We wants to know...There are 2 well-known websites interested in hosting the Series. I hope you understand, that I cannot tell anything till the article launches.
Editing the Report for the websites is annoying as fuck.
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When? When?!?! WHEN!!!!????
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