[Deck] ANT (Ad Nauseam Tendrils) Storm Combo

[sawatarix]

Cabal Therapy and Lemnear are totally right here, can't add more.

Xantid Swarm is for fast combodecks with counterbackup.

Defense Grid is against Delverdecks and Midrange decks.

City of Solitude is against slow deck with a ton of counterbackup.

I prefer Defense Grid because there are a lot more delverdecks around than slow controldecks like landstill and miracle decks.

[GoblinZ]

I never like defense grid.

We do not have sol land and it is hard to play around soft counters...I don't see why not just play discard.

[Surfinbird]

I agree with GoblinZ, i've never tested it in ANT and maybe the results are surprising, but it can get countered by all the soft and hard counters (with the exception of flusterstorm). You must have 4 lands into play to play it around pierce and daze, what is a bit difficult due to wasteland and stifle. Also, if you've got 4 lands it's possible that they can play around grid leaving 3+ lands untapped:(

[emidln]

I agree with GoblinZ, i've never tested it in ANT and maybe the results are surprising, but it can get countered by all the soft and hard counters (with the exception of flusterstorm). You must have 4 lands into play to play it around pierce and daze, what is a bit difficult due to wasteland and stifle. Also, if you've got 4 lands it's possible that they can play around grid leaving 3+ lands untapped:(

Having Defense Grid as your only protection is the most miserable thing in the world past turn 2. Further, as we play alternate disruption that requires no mana commitment from our opponent, Defense Grid and Duress on the combo turn isn't even all that likely to beat your opponent.

[sawatarix]

Guys, don't get me wrong.I'm not telling here that Defense Grid is a totally awesome card and you should play it because i do.
Call it rather an experiment, such as Young Pyromancer during Bazaar of Moxen during May 2014.

Ant has such a well-adjusted maindeck with all tools we need to go off though defense that we actually just need a few slots in the sideboard to concentrate on decks with weird angles of attack such as permanents.
In my opinion we don't even NEED more than 7-8 cards in our sideboard and everyone knows that boarding more than 3-4 cards could bite us as the deck gets slower and clunkier.
Remember back in July on the 'Prague Eternal I' main event last year when i fought through 8 Delver decks with no additional discard/defense grids/city of solitude in my sideboard.
Only lost 1 round of them while defeating the other 7.
What i try to say is that additional discard/protection is not absolutely essential in our deck so we get some sideboard slots to test some weird stuff from Young Pyromancer, Extirpate or Vendillion CLique or whatever comes in your mind.
So is Defense Grid, just a fancy and goodlooking card (if it's foil)

[Rokkastut]

I ike Nauseam main deck, helps vs a lot of decks.
Usualy vs Ur I just go g1 the pif route and post board I side out the nauseam and side in a second tendrills.

Its quite easy to tendrills them or doublé tendrills them after some kind of cantrips and counterwars.

That my list:
http://www.tcdecks.net/deck.php?id=15070&iddeck=112035

I find this quite amusing. I have, with some assistance from CK, tweaked this deck for almost a year now. Only to find, with my changes this week, that our md is identical -1 Duress, +1 Therapy and that our sb have 13/15 similar cards. I guess great minds think alike. My next legacy tournament is 1st of February, 4 swiss + top 4, I will post a report.

Edit; same as link in my sig, but changed manabase to support g instead of r and took out 1 AD and 1 XS for 2 COF in sb.

[Togores]

I find this quite amusing. I have, with some assistance from CK, tweaked this deck for almost a year now. Only to find, with my changes this week, that our md is identical -1 Duress, +1 Therapy and that our sb have 13/15 similar cards. I guess great minds think alike. My next legacy tournament is 1st of February, 4 swiss + top 4, I will post a report.

Edit; same as link in my sig, but changed manabase to support g instead of r and took out 1 AD and 1 XS for 2 COF in sb.

I have been playing this same list more or less 9 months. Tested other options amd they always feelt worser. Sb also uses to include 2 grips.

What is cof?

[grmpytopdecker]

CoF is Carpet of Flowers, I imagine


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[Rokkastut]

CoF is Carpet of Flowers, I imagine


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Correct. I usually use full names and proper grammar, but sometimes very late, and on my phone, I deviate from this rule. Sorry.

I only boarded in 4 Abrupt Decay against Miracles, and Carpet of Flowers is also good against them. So 3 Abrupt Decay, 2 Xantid Swarm, 2 Carpet of Flowers and sometimes 1 Entreat the Angels against Miracles.

What other matchups do you feel Carpet of Flowers really shines?

Have a nice weekend!

[Shaman]

I have been trying for a couple of weeks a singleton Noxious Revival in my list, that's quite a stock list, in place of 1 preordain (so 1 grim 1 sensei main). I find it really strong, against discard or after ad nauseam, expecially when you pif with 0 mana left you can recycle led with GP. Aside corner cases it seems quite powerful. Has anybody of you tried it?

[sawatarix]

What....the hell?! ;D
That's a troll post, isn't it?

[Shaman]

I don't know why this should sound as a troll post. It has pretty useful application considering free cantrips and sensei for example. I have also just found some lists on tc decks that used it in a storm shell, and aside been innovating it covers so many scenarios. Pls explain why this is soooooo bad, I have played a lot of games with it as singleton on MODO and you can look at me like Obama meme saying "not bad".
Really, pls explain.

[Lemnear]

I don't know why this should sound as a troll post. It has pretty useful application considering free cantrips and sensei for example. I have also just found some lists on tc decks that used it in a storm shell, and aside been innovating it covers so many scenarios. Pls explain why this is soooooo bad, I have played a lot of games with it as singleton on MODO and you can look at me like Obama meme saying "not bad".
Really, pls explain.

Because in the best case scenario you pay 4 life and two cards for a Regrowth. That's .... not impressive

[Sloshthedark]

What....the hell?! ;D
That's a troll post, isn't it?

I also have it in my Storm binder, the card has some future potential, It's good to be reminded of it's existence, I haven't found useful application yet (not that I looked for much, but future printing or total reinvention of deck/different deck might like it) but if it works for someone, Shaman got my attention, from my point of view it's rather weak on it's own and can't really imagine which situations I'd like systematicaly to play it or what for, above all it's a card disadvantage which I really hate in Ant, imo even mystical tutor wont cut it as a 4of in current state of things
_______________

EDIT

obscure list for your amusement http://www.mtggoldfish.com/deck/259164#online, 5C = no PH33R

[Shaman]

My testing so far has revealed many scenarios it is actually useful in. The best is not a 4 lives regrowth!
Some of them from the top of my memory... most of them corner cases as seen by their own but quite frequent if you look at all of them:
- answer to vendillion when ritualing into infernal;
- answer to discard on key spell;
- "upkeep" regrowth when topdeck mode on;
- new land when mana screwed;
- resolved past in flames, no mana available (quite often it happens): led on top then gitaxian into it
- resolved nauseam, forced to look for IT or LED: you may stop earlier revealing cards, so 2 or 4 lives is a good replacement instead of keep on revealing into possible death. If you reveal noxious with AN it gives many more options, you'll see.
- answer to surgical or rip or DRS on key resources when assembling pif combo
- sinergic with top...
- makes counterbalance fizzle if not paired with top;
- slow down opponents draw (land on top?);
- recycle discard when needed...

It is ok looking at it as a "Mystical tutor-like" card. Many times weaker, many times stronger.
I agree more than a singleton is poor.

You cannot see it as a 4 lives regrowth because it is instant and you don't need mana sources: just these two things make all the difference.

Anyway I am not advocating everybody should run this. I simply ask for opinions to share thoughts and give hints to who likes innovating (that's the reason why I read this forum).

EDIT: I usually side it out in many MU, it shines maindeck in my opinion. Added comments.

[Togores]

Today another sad 3-3 at my legacy event. Due to the rise of reanimator I changed both carpets of flowers for extirpates, im not sure if they are better than surgical, but was neat to have them.
Im also thinkin of cutting a sensei for a preordain beacuse its faster. But i dont like to waste a sb slot for it u.u.

R1 uwbg drs tnn geist noble deck 2-1
He mull to 5. And starts with usea drs. I have a 0 mana floating nauseam stop on 6 and his wasteland plus drs plus no ims plus fow on my ritual (he drew the blue card) wins him the game.

G2 i have another t1 nauseam now with mana. And gg
G3 he missplays all time removing in his turn land with drs instead of leavingg up. And pif comes. And gg.

R2 loose to ur standstill 1-2
G1 win
G2 nullrod plus counters
G3 standstill plus presure plus counters

R3 win ur 2-0
G1 he disnt force my ritual so i duress and go off
G2 he didnt therapy my tutor qith falshback when i was just missing one mana.

R4 mud 1-2
G1 he starts slow i duress his chalice
G2 2 chalice 2 trinisphere plus lodestone and me on one land and a t2 hand didnt get there.
G3 chalice on 1 for my t2 hand thats need a dr wins.

R4 reanimator 2-1
G1 he griselbrands. Draws. Atacks goes to 11. I storm and infernal he decides not to draw cards and dies.
G2 he mulls to 6 makes a t1 grisel and t2 iona
G3 i discard his entomb and he never gets there.


Lately i have been having not so great results, chalice, mud and reanimator are beeing harsh decks to play vs. Will neeed to improve in some way. Also ppl sidding much more cards against combo is not nice. Today a guy was playing in his esper blade. Sb notion and thalias.

Tomorrow if I wake up I will play tes. Lets see if I miss the basics like usualy (love to not been wasteland dead).

[Shaman]

Definetely 2 sensei's divining top maindeck are not the best configuration in very fast metagames: for the same reasons (heavy presence of reanimators in MTGO metagame) I switched back to only one, having the second one become first one preordain then noxious revival. I am also debating Grim Tutor slot, but I guess it is a necessary evil.
I consider surgical superior to extirpate in many different situations, and superior as a specif answer for other MU (storm mirror and dredge mainly).

About noxious: yesterday during the daily I am paired against dredge. My hand is petal land duress gitaxian ritual nauseam noxious. Land + duress tells me the path is clear but there's an high chance things gat nasty because of double leds and faithless looting and dredgers...so I go petal ritual noxious targeting ritual gp ritual nauseam from 16. Another sweet corner case, I would say. In another match I have grim in my hand along with noxious and cabal ritual, with topin play. I need the win but cabal plus grim alone don't get me there... so cabal (threshold) noxoius switch with top cabal again grim tendrils.Again, another corner case. Again, useful.I am sold on it for the moment.

[Surfinbird]

Hi! As I said a week ago, i'm hard-testing in cockatice to prepare the first tournaments of the year. After the matches of this week (the second one) the results are:

FIRST WEEK: 18-8 (69%)
SECOND WEEK: 30-8 (79%)
TOTAL: 48-16 (75%)

STORM TESTING
VS MIRACLES: 6-3
VS TEAM AMERICA
VS UR DELVER 2-0
VS DEATHBLADE: 1-1
VS JESKAI STONEBLADE: 2-0
VS PATRIOT: 0-1
VS ANT: 2-0
VS OMMITELL
VS SNEAK ATTACK 0-1
VS CANADIAN 2-1
VS BRUG TEMPO: 0-1
VS DEATH AND TAXES: 5-1
VS REANIMATOR: 1-0
VS GWB ZENITH: 2-1
VS UW STONEBLADE 2-0
VS BURN: 1-0
VS JUND: 1-0
VS BUG SHARDLESS 1-1
VS MUD
VS ELVES: 3-1
VS PAINTERS: 1-0
VS DREDGE: 2-0
VS JUNK ROCK 2-0
VS GRIXIS DELVER 1-0
VS GRIXIS CONTROL 1-1
VS STIFLENOUGHT: 1-0
VS NIC FIT 1-0
VS LANDS: 1-0
VS BIG RED: 1-0
VS DARK DEPTHS 2-1
VS JESKAI ASCENDANCY 1-1
VS AFFINITY: 1-0
VS SLIVERS: 1-0
VS GOBLIN STOMPY 0-1

As you see, I've played against a long variety of decks, so i can't take conclusions about most of the pairings. I must say that 2 tops, 3 decays, 1 krosan and 1 empty the warrens are working well against miracles, and also 2 decays, 1 massacre, 1 pyroclasm, 1 disfigure and 1 chain of vapor against death and taxes. Remember that i play 2 preordains, 1 grim tutor and 7 discard spells. No tops in the main.


Playing with regularity is so important with this deck, and i've noticed it a lot in the results (I began with a 7-7 the first week). I'll keep working to prepare the first catalan league of legacy of the year (Saturday 24, 80-100 players). After being the 4th of the league in 2014, I'll storm for the victory this year!

[Togores]

^you only test g1?

If so its easy to get a really hight percentage. But if you dont play with side I think the g2-3 are the dificult ones. Decks loose most of they bad cards and gain thinks like hatebears. Thorns, discard and so on.

[Surfinbird]

^you only test g1?

If so its easy to get a really hight percentage. But if you dont play with side I think the g2-3 are the dificult ones. Decks loose most of they bad cards and gain thinks like hatebears. Thorns, discard and so on.

No, no! I obviously play complete rounds, otherwise testing wouldn't make any sense the results are counting the rounds won/lost