[Deck] Imperial Bomberman

[Admiral_Arzar]

I would doubt it as there have been a total of about 6 people in the world that have played this deck

Lol yeah, I think I know of maybe 4-5 - and that's including myself (and I haven't played it in a year and a half).

[Megadeus]

I don't think I ever played an on camera match when I was playing this at our local :/

[Wanderlust]

Warping Wail - just spoiled in OGW - might be exactly what we need for the Imperial Bomberman sideboard. It's good against some of our rougher matchups, including ANT/TES, Elves, and Death and Taxes. It could even be maindeckable. We may be a tad light on colorless sources right now, though, with just the 7-8 (4 Cavern of Souls 3-4 Ancient Tomb/City of Traitors). Maybe throw in a couple Tendo Ice Bridge??

[.dk]

What does Warping Wail help with against Storm? I guess I don't see it - it only counters sorceries. D&T and Elves seems ok... it can kill a fair amount of their guys at least.

[Wanderlust]

What does Warping Wail help with against Storm? I guess I don't see it - it only counters sorceries. D&T and Elves seems ok... it can kill a fair amount of their guys at least.

Against Storm it counters Infernal Tutor, Burning Wish, Past in Flames, Dark Petition. Seems decent? Against Elves I would be using it against Natural Order, Green Sun's Zenith, and Glimpse of Nature rather than to kill creatures.

[.dk]

Against Storm it counters Infernal Tutor, Burning Wish, Past in Flames, Dark Petition. Seems decent? Against Elves I would be using it against Natural Order, Green Sun's Zenith, and Glimpse of Nature rather than to kill creatures.

I guess I would just have a hard time justifying playing that card over flusterstorm for the added benefit of being able to kill guys from D&T. Maybe I'm too pessimistic though.

[Wanderlust]

I took a good hard look at the sideboard and flex slots in this deck after a couple disappointing showings lately and made some big changes - in fact, the biggest changes I've made in the 2 years I've been obsessively playing it. I was rewarded with an undefeated run at my local tonight. The gist of the overhaul was to minimize blue in favor of green: Meddling Mage has been incredibly disappointing lately, and so has Enlightened Tutor, which honestly only remained in the deck as long as it did to fulfill a too-cute board plan against storm and burn. Trinket Mage is now the only blue card, and can be cast off Cavern of Souls and Mox Opal, so it barely even counts.

So, why move towards green? For access to more Qasali Pridemages and Krosan Grip to fight against all of the Counterbalances, Pithing Needles, Revokers, and Null Rods that seem to be abundant around here these days, and for Gaddock Teeg (which I'm trying main) to combat Miracles, Elves, Storm etc. Finally, I wanted more turn 1 answers to storm that I could cast reliably, leading to a huge change to the board plan:

4 Chalice of the Void
4 Silence
1 Krosan Grip
2 Qasali Pridemage
1 Containment Priest
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Pithing Needle

Yes, Chalice on 0 or 1 turns off our combo. But against the decks where I would bring it in, it is far worse for them than for us. It was fantastic for me tonight against RUG Delver, for example. And against storm, it makes a turn 2 Trinket Mage actually relevant (Chalice on 0).

Here's the latest main:

4 Auriok Salvagers
4 Imperial Recruiter
4 Trinket Mage
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Gaddock Teeg

3 Swords to Plowshares

3 Engineered Explosives
4 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Conjurer's Bauble
1 Pithing Needle
4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
3 Mox Opal

4 Cavern of Souls
3 Ancient Tomb
1 City of Traitors
2 Ancient Den
1 Great Furnace
1 Karakas
2 Windswept Heath
1 Arid Mesa
1 Flooded Strand
1 Marsh Flats
1 Plains
1 Plateau
2 Savannah
1 Tundra


I still think Imperial Bomberman is the real deal: I'm 15-7-2 with it over the past six events, even including some poor and tilted play at the last couple events and despite almost everyone in the room knowing that I'm "that Bomberman guy" and generally having an idea of how to beat the deck.

[itrytostorm]

http://www.starcitygames.com/article...Bomberman.html

I was able to top 8 a 17 person IQ. Not Imperial, but just another strategy I tried.

[Wanderlust]

http://www.starcitygames.com/article...Bomberman.html

I was able to top 8 a 17 person IQ. Not Imperial, but just another strategy I tried.

Congrats on the result! I especially like the Gitaxian Probes (making Meddling Mage so much better).

I'm interested to hear your reasoning behind the maindeck Ethersworn Canonists. Also, I would think the Spellskites in the board are overkill when already playing 4 Mother of Runes?

EDIT: Just saw your FB comments at the bottom of the Ross Merriam article to the effect that Canonist and Meddling mage are your "4x FOW." Interesting concept. I can see if for Meddling Mage, but Canonist is so much narrower than FoW - how has Canonist played out for you in actual games?

[GreatWhale]

http://www.starcitygames.com/article...Bomberman.html

I was able to top 8 a 17 person IQ. Not Imperial, but just another strategy I tried.

I like this list, have you tried Riddlesmith? I've been trying to find somewhere to play that card, this seems like a reasonable place for it.

I'm going to sleeve this up and take it for a spin

[itrytostorm]

Congrats on the result! I especially like the Gitaxian Probes (making Meddling Mage so much better).

I'm interested to hear your reasoning behind the maindeck Ethersworn Canonists. Also, I would think the Spellskites in the board are overkill when already playing 4 Mother of Runes?

EDIT: Just saw your FB comments at the bottom of the Ross Merriam article to the effect that Canonist and Meddling mage are your "4x FOW." Interesting concept. I can see if for Meddling Mage, but Canonist is so much narrower than FoW - how has Canonist played out for you in actual games?

Canonist was probably unnecessary. The Spellskites were great since the field was 40% infect and burn.

[Wanderlust]

Kaladesh update! Inventors' Fair is nuts in Imperial Bomberman. It may now make Expedition Map a viable inclusion in one of the "1 mana artifacts that wins the game under Salvagers+LED" slots. A downside is that you have to keep up a land drop for that to work in the same turn. But outside of comboing, it's a shuffle effect for top and has other relevant land targets besides just Inventor's Fair. Fragmentize is another potentially relevant card for the sideboard; Nahiri, the Harbinger could find its way into the 75.

My current list:
4 Auriok Salvagers
4 Imperial Recruiter
4 Trinket Mage
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Noble Hierarch (flex slot, kind of functions as Mox Opal #4)

3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Engineered Explosives
4 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Aether Spellbomb
1 Expedition Map (experiment)
1 Ensnaring Bridge (flex slot)

4 Sensei's Divining Top
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
3 Mox Opal

1 Inventors' Fair
4 Cavern of Souls
3 Ancient Tomb
1 City of Traitors
2 Ancient Den
1 Great Furnace
1 Karakas
1 Windswept Heath
1 Arid Mesa
1 Marsh Flats
2 Flooded Strand
1 Plateau
2 Savannah
1 Tundra

Sideboard:
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Gaddock Teeg
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Krosan Grip
1 Meekstone
1 Pithing Needle
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Nihil Spellbomb


Biggest concerns currently: playing 0 basic lands.

[Megadeus]

Is mentor bad as an alternate simple beat down plan that also happens to go infinite with the main combo in lieu of having a spellbomb? I loved it when I played the deck because sometimes simply assembling 2 tops and him won the game

[Wanderlust]

Is mentor bad as an alternate simple beat down plan that also happens to go infinite with the main combo in lieu of having a spellbomb? I loved it when I played the deck because sometimes simply assembling 2 tops and him won the game

Mentor is totally viable, yeah. It's an incredibly powerful card that has been in and out of my own lists. That said, I haven't really been missing it in the past couple of months... I guess that a. I feel like the deck is already thick in the 3-drop zone and b. I'm not sure what matchups Mentor significantly improves. Could simply be a metagame call though.

Edit: Actually, upon further thought, it partly comes down to my playstyle when I run this deck. I like to jam artifacts as fast as possible to turn on metalcraft, protect things from discard, force people to make decisions early about their counterspells, maximize my own mana efficiency, etc... and Mentor asks you to do the opposite, which is hold stuff back until Mentor is down to maximize its impact. I didn't like being pulled in two directions, thus not really enjoying Mentor in this particular deck.

[Wanderlust]

Imperial Bomberman was a joy to play today. Took it to 10th place of 93 (5-2-1) at the GP Denver main Legacy side event. Barely missed out on top 8 after being paired with Storm in the final round. (That's an especially terrible matchup when your sideboard is geared towards burn instead!) Beat a diverse array of decks, including Miracles, Grixis Delver, Death and Taxes, and Painter.

I decided to refocus all of the "flex slots" in the main deck into a true aggro backup plan (see below). Cranial Plating, in particular, was fantastic today. I didn't miss any of the cards that were cut. The question I got all day was, "Why not Monastery Mentor over Seeker of the Way?" The answer is the curve: Seeker and Cranial Plating fill a nice 2-drop niche that was nonexistent in the deck before. It's a smoother ride now. A bit to my surprise, Seeker of the Way was a lightning rod all day, drawing Force of Wills and Swords to Plowshares like a boss so that they were no longer around to stop Auriok Salvagers a turn or two later. It was still awkward, given my usual "jam all the artifact out there" play style, to have to hold stuff back to trigger prowess, but the difference between waiting on a 2 drop versus a 3 drop actually makes a difference in that regard.

So, since 10/4, the deck has undergone:

+2 Cranial Plating
+3 Seeker of the Way
+1 Conjurer's Bauble

-1 Qasali Pridemage
-1 Noble Hierarch
-1 Engineered Explosives
-1 Imperial Recruiter
-1 Expedition Map
-1 Ensnaring Bridge

+2 Mishra's Factory
+1 Plains

-1 Savannah
-1 Karakas
-1 Flooded Strand

[itrytostorm]

Imperial Bomberman was a joy to play today. Took it to 10th place of 93 (5-2-1) at the GP Denver main Legacy side event. Barely missed out on top 8 after being paired with Storm in the final round. (That's an especially terrible matchup when your sideboard is geared towards burn instead!) Beat a diverse array of decks, including Miracles, Grixis Delver, Death and Taxes, and Painter.

I decided to refocus all of the "flex slots" in the main deck into a true aggro backup plan (see below). Cranial Plating, in particular, was fantastic today. I didn't miss any of the cards that were cut. The question I got all day was, "Why not Monastery Mentor over Seeker of the Way?" The answer is the curve: Seeker and Cranial Plating fill a nice 2-drop niche that was nonexistent in the deck before. It's a smoother ride now. A bit to my surprise, Seeker of the Way was a lightning rod all day, drawing Force of Wills and Swords to Plowshares like a boss so that they were no longer around to stop Auriok Salvagers a turn or two later. It was still awkward, given my usual "jam all the artifact out there" play style, to have to hold stuff back to trigger prowess, but the difference between waiting on a 2 drop versus a 3 drop actually makes a difference in that regard.

So, since 10/4, the deck has undergone:

+2 Cranial Plating
+3 Seeker of the Way
+1 Conjurer's Bauble

-1 Qasali Pridemage
-1 Noble Hierarch
-1 Engineered Explosives
-1 Imperial Recruiter
-1 Expedition Map
-1 Ensnaring Bridge

+2 Mishra's Factory
+1 Plains

-1 Savannah
-1 Karakas
-1 Flooded Strand

Few questions:
1. Are you going to Louisville?
2. What is the current list?
3. Is the green worth it?
4. How are the Chalices?
5. Have you tried Elusive Spellfist over Seeker?

[Wanderlust]

Few questions:
1. Are you going to Louisville?
2. What is the current list?
3. Is the green worth it?
4. How are the Chalices?
5. Have you tried Elusive Spellfist over Seeker?

1. Yes, I'll be at the GP - first time traveling for a big event, very much looking forward!

2. Current list:

4 Auriok Salvagers
4 Imperial Recruiter
4 Trinket Mage
3 Flex Slots

4 Sensei's Divining Top
2 Engineered Explosives
4 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Aether Spellbomb
1 Nihil Spellbomb
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
3 Mox Opal
1 Ensnaring Bridge

3 Swords to Plowshares

2 Ancient Den
3 Ancient Tomb
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Flooded Strand
1 Plains
1 Plateau
1 Tundra
1 Inventors' Fair
1 Academy Ruins
1 Great Furnace
1 Karakas
1 Throne of the High City
1 Volcanic Island

Sideboard:
3 Chalice of the Void
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Pithing Needle
1 Meekstone
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 War Priest of Thune
1 Manic Vandal
1 Circle of Protection: Red
3 Enlightened Tutor


3. At the moment, I don't think the green splash is worth it. Instead (as you can see above) trying to fit in more lands that "do something" in long, grindy games (which happen often against Shardless and Miracles in particular).
4. In the matchups you need them (mainly ANT and TES these days), Chalices have been proving pretty important.
5. Hadn't considered Elusive Spellfist, but an interesting option! Thanks for pointing it out.

[itrytostorm]

1. Yes, I'll be at the GP - first time traveling for a big event, very much looking forward!

2. Current list:

4 Auriok Salvagers
4 Imperial Recruiter
4 Trinket Mage
3 Flex Slots

4 Sensei's Divining Top
2 Engineered Explosives
4 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Aether Spellbomb
1 Nihil Spellbomb
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
3 Mox Opal
1 Ensnaring Bridge

3 Swords to Plowshares

2 Ancient Den
3 Ancient Tomb
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Flooded Strand
1 Plains
1 Plateau
1 Tundra
1 Inventors' Fair
1 Academy Ruins
1 Great Furnace
1 Karakas
1 Throne of the High City
1 Volcanic Island

Sideboard:
3 Chalice of the Void
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Pithing Needle
1 Meekstone
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Ethersworn Canonist
2 War Priest of Thune
1 Manic Vandal
1 Circle of Protection: Red
3 Enlightened Tutor


3. At the moment, I don't think the green splash is worth it. Instead (as you can see above) trying to fit in more lands that "do something" in long, grindy games (which happen often against Shardless and Miracles in particular).
4. In the matchups you need them (mainly ANT and TES these days), Chalices have been proving pretty important.
5. Hadn't considered Elusive Spellfist, but an interesting option! Thanks for pointing it out.

// Deck: Bomberman (60)

// Lands
1 Academy Ruins
1 Ancient Den
3 Ancient Tomb
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Flooded Strand
1 Glimmervoid
1 Inventors' Fair
1 Island
1 Karakas
1 Plains
1 Plateau
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Tundra
1 Volcanic Island

// Creatures
4 Auriok Salvagers
3 Elusive Spellfist
3 Imperial Recruiter
4 Trinket Mage

// Instants
3 Swords to Plowshares

// Artifacts
3 Engineered Explosives
1 Ensnaring Bridge
4 Lion's Eye Diamond
3 Mox Opal
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Pithing Needle
3 Pyrite Spellbomb
4 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Æther Spellbomb

// Sideboard
SB: 2 Ensnaring Bridge
SB: 2 Ethersworn Canonist
SB: 2 Flusterstorm
SB: 1 Grafdigger's Cage
SB: 2 Grand Abolisher
SB: 1 Manic Vandal
SB: 2 Meddling Mage
SB: 1 Meekstone
SB: 2 War Priest of Thune

That is where I am at. I am not a huge fan of CotV in this deck. With Recruiter we can find Canonist and Meddling Mage. Also having a Flusterstorm is great against us when they go for a combo thinking we won't have permission.

[Wanderlust]

That is where I am at. I am not a huge fan of CotV in this deck. With Recruiter we can find Canonist and Meddling Mage. Also having a Flusterstorm is great against us when they go for a combo thinking we won't have permission.

The maindeck looks good and strong!

I'm less sold on the sideboard though - that configuration essentially sacrifices the storm and burn matchups and likely makes BR Reanimator harder as well. The idea with Chalice and Tormod's Crypt is that a turn 2 Trinket Mage is relevant against storm (Chalice on 0) and Reanimator (Tormod's Crypt). Also, I love Flusterstorm in general, but it's going to be inconsistent since there is no way to tutor for it here. Are cards like Grand Abolisher and Meddling Mage going to increase win percentages enough in other matchups to justify weakening the above matchups? Meddling Mage seems okay on paper against Storm, but it alone will rarely be enough disruption to win; and naming the right card with it against Reanimator is just random luck. (Although I do like Grafdigger's Cage since it's also good against Elves.)

Will you be at the GP? Would love to chat about the deck in person if so!

[itrytostorm]

The maindeck looks good and strong!

I'm less sold on the sideboard though - that configuration essentially sacrifices the storm and burn matchups and likely makes BR Reanimator harder as well. The idea with Chalice and Tormod's Crypt is that a turn 2 Trinket Mage is relevant against storm (Chalice on 0) and Reanimator (Tormod's Crypt). Also, I love Flusterstorm in general, but it's going to be inconsistent since there is no way to tutor for it here. Are cards like Grand Abolisher and Meddling Mage going to increase win percentages enough in other matchups to justify weakening the above matchups? Meddling Mage seems okay on paper against Storm, but it alone will rarely be enough disruption to win; and naming the right card with it against Reanimator is just random luck. (Although I do like Grafdigger's Cage since it's also good against Elves.)

Will you be at the GP? Would love to chat about the deck in person if so!

I will be there. Have you thought about True Believer? He can be tutored by Recruiter and beat for 2. Mage is a nice hate card for multiple matches, though Phyrexian Revoker can be tutored to stop LED, Griselbrand, Lotus Petal which are in the tough matches.