[Deck] Spanish Inquisition (B/x Storm Combo)

[CabalTherapy]

So, after some years I finally played some SI today using this list:

4 Infernal Tutor
4 Summoner's Pact
2 Dark Petition
1 Ill-Gotten Gains

3 Tendrils of Agony
1 Goblin Charbelcher

4 Cruel Bargain
4 Infernal Contract

4 Dark Ritual
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Lotus Petal
4 Chrome Mox
3 Elvish Spirit Guide
4 Land Grant
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Culling the Weak
1 Manamorphose
1 Skyshroud Cutter

1 Odious Trow (I don't have Shaman, and I don't give a f*ck)
1 Wild Cantor
1 Dryad Arbor

1 Bayou

SB:
3 Emtpy the Warrens
3 Pact of Negation
3 Unmask
1 Past in Flames
2 Contagion
(only brought 12 cards/ didn't think about the SB)

I switched from 3 Dark Petition to 2 because of some cluncy goldfish I had and went for the 3rd Tendrils. I think I will try -1 Tendrils and +1 Emtpy main.
Nonetheless, it was only a test group for fun not a torunament today but I had fun playing this pile again. Ah, and I went down to only 3 ESG and included a Cutter who was very nice in goldfish games and proved itself to be worth a slot in my type of approach to Pact SI.

2:1 Affinity
I fizzle after playing Infernal Contract and he has the kill with 2 Plating and a flyer. No boarding here. I manage to go through the turn 1 kill on the play with some Draw 4 spells into Infernal > Tendrils. The third game was rough. He plays Chalice on 1. I play 2 Chrome Mox, Dryad Arbor (played turn1) and Cabal Ritual > Charbelcher turn 2 and turn 3 for lethal activation.

2:0 Grixis Delver
Weird game because he takes mulligan on 4 I believe to find a Force but I have a turn 2 or something like that. I think I brought some EtW cutting the Pacts. The second game was also pretty weird. Apperently, he doesn't have counterspells but a Delver and some cantrips but fails to find a Force. I go for it and find a way to win involving IGG for Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual and Dark Petition for Tendrils.

Elves 2:0
Well, nothing much to say here. He cast GSZ in the first game and a Shaman in the second I believe. I have the combo two times.

UR OmniTell 1:2
I win because of no FoW with a lethal Belcher activation on turn 2. He then has enough counterspells in game 2 and a fast kill and protection in game 3. I think I brought PoN cutting here and there.

As already said, the SB was not really figured out. Main was solid although I don't know if the first EtW is better than the 3rd ToA. It feels that EtW can be huge game1 if there aren't Pacts involved. It'd be a similar appoach like TES or ANT which like to play EtW from the hand. Still thinking that IGG is better than PiF main because of the easy loop and its colour.

+ big thanks to JPA, Andy, Meffeo and Yoni for a nice afternoon
+ jumping in the pool
+ big, hot burger
+/- SI being better than ANT in test games...

[meffeo]

2 Dark Petition

So you believe that DP's the only shell in which DP could "take place"?

[CabalTherapy]

So you believe that DP's the only shell in which DP could "take place"?

I don't know exactly what you mean here but Dark Petition proved to be a good addition to this deck. It certainly lowers the fizzle rate.

[DarthVicious]

I haven't ran IGG in this deck in a long time. It wouldn't fit well into the list I've been testing, anyway.

How does Pact of Negation out of the sideboard work for you? Speaking with several blue players about it afterwards, they mentioned it is the scariest protection a storm deck can run. I think it's only because it's a surprise, but it still works. It's certainly in my board. A good question is what else to run...


Autumn's Veil
Defense Grid
Silence
Orim's Chant
City of Solitude
Dosan, the Falling Leaf


I guess they are options... Free options I find are better than spending precious mana, especially when starting the chain, but those options with mana costs are sweet protection.

I'm not sold on Dark Petition myself, but I'm not going to tell anyone else what to run in their storm deck. It becomes a Demonic Tutor with spell mastery met... but in my opinion we should really be winning the game right then if we spend five mana on one spell (e.g. Ad Nauseam). Regardless I will be curious to see how your testing goes.


On another note, and this should come as a shock to noone, I foresee everyone playing as a storm deck soon. Decks with Young Pyromancer/Monastery Mentor... chaining cantrips together... it's like everyone is playing EtW. Hell, they're even running Grapeshot in Omni-Tell. Soon, Chalice will be all over the place to keep people honest. That, I believe, is what we need to plan for.

[jrsthethird]

On another note, and this should come as a shock to noone, I foresee everyone playing as a storm deck soon. Decks with Young Pyromancer/Monastery Mentor... chaining cantrips together... it's like everyone is playing EtW. Hell, they're even running Grapeshot in Omni-Tell. Soon, Chalice will be all over the place to keep people honest. That, I believe, is what we need to plan for.

This. I picked up a single Abrupt Decay for the sideboard for this reason. Two mana is a bit steep, but it handles every piece of conceivable hate (except Leyline).

I had this crazy idea of running the Carpet/protection plan in the main deck, and the Culling/Pact package in the sideboard. It's been ok so far, I do need to test it more though. Matches against blue decks are obviously great. When 70-80% of the meta runs Island, I think it might be worth it to prepare for that.

Matches against non-blue suffer a little, though. It slows us down game 1, but game 2/3 we pick up the speed again with the Pact package. The thing is, we get more speed, but they get to side in their storm hate. It doesn't always stop us, but when it does it's embarrassing.

So I've been trying to come up with a diverse sideboard package to answer hate. I was running a couple Deathmarks, and I was playing against R/w Goblins, so I sided them in, expecting Canonist or Thalia. I think I won game 1, but I remember game 2 I went for turn 1 Belcher, pass turn. I had mana to activate next turn, but still had a land in the deck so it wasn't a guarantee. He drops Pithing Needle, and I'm sad because my deck doesn't have an answer to it. I can't draw into anything and get killed by the team. The next game, I mull to 6 and keep a hand with Deathmark, and I'm stuck with an uncastable card in my hand with Infernal Tutor. Doesn't get there.

I was thinking about trying a sideboard package of

Deathmark - Thalia, Teeg, Ruric Thar, Canonist, Eidolon of Rhetoric, etc.
Nature's Claim - Chalice (at 0 or 2), Needle, Null Rod, Revoker, Counterbalance, Canonist, Leyline, Rule of Law, etc.
Abrupt Decay - Everything except Leyline

Or maybe we just say fuck it and pay two mana for 3/4 Decays and call it a day?

[TheG]

Hi everyone! i'm testing a personal revision of the old tallman build, can you give me some advice?

Starters
4 Mox Opal
4 Lotus Petal
4 Chrome Mox
3 Land Grant
1 Bayou
Acceleration
4 Dark Ritual
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Culling the Weak
Fodder
4 Ornithopter
4 Shield Sphere
Business
3 Tendrils of Agony
4 Infernal Contract
4 Cruel Bargain
3 Dark Petition
4 Infernal Tutor
2 Ill-Gotten Gains

The Mox Opals are working perfectly till now, and with the new legend rule i can keep the untapped one gaining always an extra mana.

[Final Fortune]

Land Grant doesn't make a lot of sense in the Tallmen lists over the Black Artifact Land, Goblen Charbelcher isn't a good enough reason to give your opponent free Gitaxian Probes and turn all of his counter spells into Stifle.

[bjholmes3]

Where can I find that experimental D7 build? I've always had a great love for this deck, and I wanna test the apparently fastest edition.

[jrsthethird]

Where can I find that experimental D7 build? I've always had a great love for this deck, and I wanna test the apparently fastest edition.

http://www.mtgthesource.com/forums/s...ing#post604753

[bjholmes3]

I've been goldfishing several hundred games with a fairly stock PSI list and, despite its age and volatility, I've grown very fond of it. I've been trying to improve it (imo this means more Turn 1 wins), though, and that has not been working out so well lol. I've tried several cards and strats, hell, I've even tried a Doomsday plan with Street Wraith, Gitaxian Probe, Manamorphose, and Dark Petition, but I don't really feel like I can push this deck further.

Has anyone anyone been making any progress?

[DarthVicious]

This. I picked up a single Abrupt Decay for the sideboard for this reason. Two mana is a bit steep, but it handles every piece of conceivable hate (except Leyline).

So I've been trying to come up with a diverse sideboard package to answer hate.

Or maybe we just say fuck it and pay two mana for 3/4 Decays and call it a day?

Two mana is steep for this deck. Versatility has its cost, I guess.

Land Grant doesn't make a lot of sense in the Tallmen lists over the Black Artifact Land, Goblen Charbelcher isn't a good enough reason to give your opponent free Gitaxian Probes and turn all of his counter spells into Stifle.

This is why I stopped running Land Grant. One of this deck's greatest strengths is Surprise and Ruthless Efficiency... and Fear... Our three chief weapons are Surprise, Fear, and Ruthless Efficiency... and an almost fanatical devotion to... uhh... you get the idea.

Hi everyone! i'm testing a personal revision of the old tallman build, can you give me some advice?

Starters
4 Mox Opal
4 Lotus Petal
4 Chrome Mox
3 Land Grant
1 Bayou
Acceleration
4 Dark Ritual
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Culling the Weak
Fodder
4 Ornithopter
4 Shield Sphere
Business
3 Tendrils of Agony
4 Infernal Contract
4 Cruel Bargain
3 Dark Petition
4 Infernal Tutor
2 Ill-Gotten Gains

The Mox Opals are working perfectly till now, and with the new legend rule i can keep the untapped one gaining always an extra mana.

Opals are sweet. I run them in mine. I discovered 6 or 7 robots was a good number to support 4 Culling and help prevent drawing multiples, but I don't even run Culling anymore myself. Also... while I normally support going old-school... I'm sure those IGG could be something else. Past in Flames comes to mind, but with IT and DP you might not need either. Too much business drags the deck down. Then again, you have Chrome Moxes, so... have at it. As long as you are consistently going off within a reasonable amount of time I wouldn't change much.

I've been goldfishing several hundred games with a fairly stock PSI list and, despite its age and volatility, I've grown very fond of it. I've been trying to improve it (imo this means more Turn 1 wins), though, and that has not been working out so well lol. I've tried several cards and strats, hell, I've even tried a Doomsday plan with Street Wraith, Gitaxian Probe, Manamorphose, and Dark Petition, but I don't really feel like I can push this deck further.

Has anyone anyone been making any progress?

I am. With a much more volatile list.

[bjholmes3]

Much more volatile? Perfect. May I see?

[DarthVicious]

Much more volatile? Perfect. May I see?

Keep trying different cards and you might find it yourself.

[owerbart]

is everyone here ditching discard? i love the deck and been testing death wish lists, but i couldn't imagine running this deck without discard.

[emidln]

is everyone here ditching discard? i love the deck and been testing death wish lists, but i couldn't imagine running this deck without discard.

I haven't actually seen anyone play this on mtgo in awhile, but the last variants that I saw played or played myself were each the SAINT variations (black belcher with SI shell, 4x Ad Naus, 4x Goblin Belcher). It's been awhile since I seriously considered SI, but I do remember that 3CMC tutors were awful. Death Wish never panned out over Burning Wish (which had color problems, but was a lot more stable). If you did play without discard, you'd likely want to adopt an approach more similar to the red builds which had multiple Empty the Warrens.

Something that I hadn't considered until now is if a list that played Pact of the Titan in addition to Summoner's Pact with 2x free creature targets might be a better way to abuse Past in Flames with Culling the Weak. I won't be testing it, but it's probably worth throwing into one of the simulators.

[Final Fortune]

No, I still run a "traditional" list with 4 Tendrils of Agony, 1 Ill Gotten Gains, 8 Kobolds, 7 Swamps and 4 Cabal Therapy, and I think Pact SI is just a gold fishing exercise.

[DarthVicious]

No, I still run a "traditional" list with 4 Tendrils of Agony, 1 Ill Gotten Gains, 8 Kobolds, 7 Swamps and 4 Cabal Therapy, and I think Pact SI is just a gold fishing exercise.

4 Tendrils is the way to go in this deck, I think. Increasing the odds of being able to go for lethal after one draw4 on turn 1 is very important for this deck.

[TheG]

hi! i want to share some my nocturnal musings:

i was playtesting my tallman mono B list when i noticed that i would prefere some more draw (=card advantage) instead of tutors thx to the redundancy of the deck.

so i started magiccards.info and .. my search finished in front of - Lich's mirror -

Pros.
1- draw 7
2- recycle used spells
3- regain 20 life to fuel bargains

Cons.
1- Situational: difficult to reach 0 life with bargains/contracts
2- Dangerous: bounce/removals are now a threat
3- non-imprintable

in order to waive the firsr con. i introduced 8 free cycler (wraiths and probes), relying to the improved consistency with draw 7s for a t1 win.

the list right now: - lich's inquistion -

STARTERS
2 Vault of Wishpers
4 Lotus Petal
4 Chrome Mox
4 Mox Opal
-----------------------14

FODDER
3 Shield Sphere
3 Ornithopter
------------------------6
------------------------20

ACCELERATION
4 Dark Ritual
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Culling The Weak
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
-----------------------16
------------------------36

BUSINESS
4 Infernal Contract
4 Cruel Bargain
4 Tendrills of Agony
4 Lich's Mirror
-----------------------16
------------------------52

CYCLERS
4 Street Wraiht
4 Gitaxian Probe
------------------------8
------------------------60

what do you think about it!?

[jimmythegreek]

???

hi! i want to share some my nocturnal musings:

i was playtesting my tallman mono B list when i noticed that i would prefere some more draw (=card advantage) instead of tutors thx to the redundancy of the deck.

so i started magiccards.info and .. my search finished in front of - Lich's mirror -

Pros.
1- draw 7
2- recycle used spells
3- regain 20 life to fuel bargains

Cons.
1- Situational: difficult to reach 0 life with bargains/contracts
2- Dangerous: bounce/removals are now a threat
3- non-imprintable

in order to waive the firsr con. i introduced 8 free cycler (wraiths and probes), relying to the improved consistency with draw 7s for a t1 win.

the list right now: - lich's inquistion -

STARTERS
2 Vault of Wishpers
4 Lotus Petal
4 Chrome Mox
4 Mox Opal
-----------------------14

FODDER
3 Shield Sphere
3 Ornithopter
------------------------6
------------------------20

ACCELERATION
4 Dark Ritual
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Culling The Weak
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
-----------------------16
------------------------36

BUSINESS
4 Infernal Contract
4 Cruel Bargain
4 Tendrills of Agony
4 Lich's Mirror
-----------------------16
------------------------52

CYCLERS
4 Street Wraiht
4 Gitaxian Probe
------------------------8
------------------------60

what do you think about it!?

Two days ago I literally was looking at lichs mirror and was like " maybe in inquisition", what a weird coincedance. I think im gonna give it a go atleast.

[TheG]

???

Two days ago I literally was looking at lichs mirror and was like " maybe in inquisition", what a weird coincedance. I think im gonna give it a go atleast.

Testing with Lich's mirror didn't go well, but i continued my research on ArtifactSI. Check this out.

Starters - 16
4 Mox Opal
4 Lotus Petal
4 Chrome Mox
4 Vault of Whispers
Acceleration - 16
4 Dark Ritual
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
4 Culling the Weak
Fodder - 6
3 Ornithopter
3 Shield Sphere
CMC 3 Business - 12
4 Infernal Contract
4 Cruel Bargain
4 Meditate
CMC4 Business - 4
2 Slithermuse
2 Ill-Gotten Gains
CMC5 Business - 2
2 Dark Petition
WinCon - 4
4 Tendrils of Agony

From my tesitng i noticed that the deck prefers raw card advantage over the card quality, so i switched 6 of the previous 8 tutors with 6 more draw spells (Meditate and Muse). The list is far from perfect but runs well at the moment. do you have any suggestions?