EDIT: Just realized I didn't do the first cabal ritual correct (only used B to cast, not BB); thanks to wintermute93 on Legacy reddit. This results in no mana left when casting past in flames.
I really only play Modern, but enjoy watching Legacy. I was watching the Ross Merriam vs. Tom Keating Semifinal from SCGNJ, and came to game 3. I spent about 30 minutes working out what I think is a winning line and wanted some help checking it. There was a thread on the Legacy Reddit, and it seemed people thought there was no guaranteed winning line, so I wanted to get some other thoughts on this. I didn't see a thread about this here already, so here we are.
Here is the situation: Video Link.
Your Opponent: 19 Life. Tapped out. Gaddock Teeg, Dark Confidant, Knight of the Reliquary on board.
You: 3 Life. Storm Count is 2. Tapped Island, Untapped Tropical Island, Underground Sea, Swamp, resolving a Brainstorm. 9 Cards in Graveyard (so threshhold).
Your hand (before putting 2 cards back from Brainstorm) is:
Ad Nauseam
Tendrils of Agony
Abrupt Decay
Polluted Delta
Chain of Vapor
Infernal Tutor
Dark Ritual
Cabal Ritual
Here is (I think) the winning line:
Put back Ad Nauseam & Tendrils of Agony
Play Delta
Fetch Volcanic: U/R U/G U/B B
Play Chain of Vapor on Teeg: U/R U/G B
Play Dark Ritual: U/R U/G BBB
Play Cabal Ritual: U/R U/G BB BBBBB [Here is the mistake: should be U/R U/G B BBBBB, see edit.]
Play Abrupt Decay (Bob/Knight, doesn't matter, going for hellbent): U/R B BBBBB
Now your only card is Infernal Tutor:
Infernal Tutor for Past in Flames: U/R B BBB
Play Past in Flames: B
Flashback Dark Ritual: BBB
Flashback Cabal Ritual: B BBBBB
Flashback Infernal Tutor for Tendrils of Agony: B BBB
Play Tendrils with Storm Count 10.
Win.
I think this works. It also took me about 30 minutes to figure it out. In a real match, I would lose.
As you yourself noted, that line requires one more mana than Merriam has.
The line he wound up taking was close but I personally think his best course of action was to Tendrils for 16 with the Delta on top instead of playing Ad Nauseam, putting himself at 19 life and Keating at 3. Assuming Keating boarded out no Lilianas or Knights and boarded in all of his Leylines, there are 9 cards in his deck that just kill him if he flips them over with his Bob trigger and puts him in the unfortunate position of having to decide between casting his Liliana and using it to sac his own Bob or recasting Gaddock Teeg. If he plays the Teeg, he's more likely to die to Bob flips next turn, and if he plays the Liliana then Merriam can cast Ad Nauseam on his turn with a pretty robust life total to hopefully find the Rituals -> LED -> Infernal Tutor -> Past in Flames -> Tendrils for lethal line.
Admittedly I only occasionally play ANT, but the likelihood of dying to your own all-or-nothing Ad Nauseam at 3 life is too high to risk making the play when there is a safer alternative.
I didn't see the game. Casting Ad Nauseam seems obviously bad.
I don't know what the pilot did, but putting back Nauseam seems like a no-brainer. The question is what else to put back. How much do you mini Tendrils for, and do you set yourself up to try to Nauseam next turn or just cripple their board and hope the Bob finishes them off?
Option A) Put back Ad Nauseam & Infernal Tutor
Tap lands for GUB.
Play Delta but do not crack it.
Chain of Vapor the Knight (GB, storm 3)
Dark Ritual (GBBB, storm 4)
Cabal Ritual (GBBBBBB, storm 5)
Abrupt Decay the Teeg (BBBBB, storm 6)
Tendrils for 14
You @ 17 life; OPP @ 5 life.
Opponent only has Bob. Teeg is permanently gone. You'll get hit by 1 Bob attack. He gets one turn to play something. Recasting Knight will do nothing. Discard will do nothing because your hand is empty and Nauseam is safely on top. Other than Wasteland effects, there's little he can do to interact. Next turn you draw Ad Nauseam with 5 mana and 14 life (and an unused land drop) and are heavily favored to win.
This is the first play that came to my mind.
Option B) Put back Delta & Chain of Vapor (is this what you meant by "put back Delta"?)
Tap lands for GUB.
Dark Ritual (GUBBB, storm 3)
Infernal Tutor for Cabal Ritual (GBB, storm 4)
Cabal Ritual (GBBBBB, storm 5)
Cabal Ritual (GBBBBBBBB, storm 6)
Abrupt Decay the Teeg (BBBBBBB, storm 7)
Tendrils for 16
You @ 19 life; OPP @ 3 life.
Teeg is dead. Opponent keeps Bob and Knight. Storming for one more puts him down to 3 life, and it's possible opponent just dies to Bob on upkeep. But if he gets a turn, there are some issues.
1) You can't actually cast Ad Nauseam next turn. Delta gets reshuffled when you Tutor for Cabal to build storm, so you only have 4 lands and rely on topdecking a mana source. The deck has tons of topdecks that get you from 4 to 5+ mana, but it's still a gamble.
2) Ad Nauseam is in hand instead of on top. If he has any discard (Liliana, Thoughtseize, Inquisition, whatever), Ad Nauseam is gone. In option A it is safely on top and immune to discard.
3) To Tendrils for 16 instead of 14 you have to bury one of your removal spells. That means you can only answer the Teeg. With his Knight still around, depending on what is in the decklist, he could grab something like Wasteland to stop you from casting Ad Nauseam next turn or get Bojuka Bog to thwart Past in Flames. That leaves him even more outs to disrupt you.
Option C) Ignore AN and race with Bob: Put back Ad Nauseam & Tendrils of Agony
Play Delta
Fetch Volcanic Island.
Tap lands for RGUB.
Dark Ritual (RGUBBB, storm 3)
Abrupt Decay the Knight (RUBB, storm 4)
Cabal Ritual (RUBBBBB, storm 5)
Chain of Vapor on Teeg (RBBBBB, storm 6)
Infernal Tutor for Tendrils (RBBB, storm 7)
Tendrils of Agony for 16 life
You @ 19, opponent @ 3. Knight is permanently gone. Bob is in play and Teeg goes back to his hand. Using the Delta gives you +1 mana, at the cost of setting up Ad Nauseam next turn. With +1 mana you can use Infernal Tutor AND both your removal, still dropping him to 3 life. Opponent might just die to the very next Bob reveal. But even if he doesn't, with the Knight permanently dead, you at 19, and opponent at 3, opponent is probably dying to his Bob before his bears can kill you. Unless opponent has a way to kill his own Bob, you're favored to win this race. Add to that the fact that the clock is almost out, meaning you are going to turns soon. So even if he can remove his own Bob or he gets lucky with the flips, the 5 turns are probably up before he can wittle you down from 19. So you're either killing him with Bob or getting a draw. This option minimizes your chances of losing, though whether it's a win or a draw becomes completely out of your control.
My first choice would be A (maximizes your chances of winning, I think), with C second (minimizes chances of losing). With C, you're gambling on the Bob flips and leaning on the draw as back-up. With A, you're gambling on being able to go off with AN at 14 life, needing to lean on Past in Flames to win. With A you could fizzle and then be killed by his creatures, so your chances of losing are higher. But I think you also have a higher shot of winning, compared to gambling on Bob flips.
B (putting back the land and/or any removal) just seems like the worst. By only removing one creature, you still leave the opponent with a clock and can't lean on Bob flips and/or the draw. Also, B doesn't even guarantee you can cast Ad Nauseam next turn!
I really only play Modern, but enjoy watching Legacy. I was watching the Ross Merriam vs. Tom Keating Semifinal from SCGNJ, and came to game 3. I spent about 30 minutes working out what I think is a winning line and wanted some help checking it. There was a thread on the Legacy Reddit, and it seemed people thought there was no guaranteed winning line, so I wanted to get some other thoughts on this. I didn't see a thread about this here already, so here we are.
Here is the situation:
Video Link.
Your Opponent: 19 Life. Tapped out. Gaddock Teeg, Dark Confidant, Knight of the Reliquary on board.
You: 3 Life. Storm Count is 2. Tapped Island, Untapped Tropical Island, Underground Sea, Swamp, resolving a Brainstorm. 9 Cards in Graveyard (so threshhold).
Your hand (before putting 2 cards back from Brainstorm) is:
Ad Nauseam
Tendrils of Agony
Abrupt Decay
Polluted Delta
Chain of Vapor
Infernal Tutor
Dark Ritual
Cabal Ritual
Here is (I think) the winning line:
Put back Ad Nauseam & Tendrils of Agony
Play Delta
Fetch Volcanic: U/R U/G U/B B
Play Chain of Vapor on Teeg: U/R U/G B
Play Dark Ritual: U/R U/G BBB
Play Cabal Ritual: U/R U/G BB BBBBB [Here is the mistake: should be U/R U/G B BBBBB, see edit.]
Play Abrupt Decay (Bob/Knight, doesn't matter, going for hellbent): U/R B BBBBB
Now your only card is Infernal Tutor:
Infernal Tutor for Past in Flames: U/R B BBB
Play Past in Flames: B
Flashback Dark Ritual: BBB
Flashback Cabal Ritual: B BBBBB
Flashback Infernal Tutor for Tendrils of Agony: B BBB
Play Tendrils with Storm Count 10.
Win.
I think this works. It also took me about 30 minutes to figure it out. In a real match, I would lose.
The line he wound up taking was close but I personally think his best course of action was to Tendrils for 16 with the Delta on top instead of playing Ad Nauseam, putting himself at 19 life and Keating at 3. Assuming Keating boarded out no Lilianas or Knights and boarded in all of his Leylines, there are 9 cards in his deck that just kill him if he flips them over with his Bob trigger and puts him in the unfortunate position of having to decide between casting his Liliana and using it to sac his own Bob or recasting Gaddock Teeg. If he plays the Teeg, he's more likely to die to Bob flips next turn, and if he plays the Liliana then Merriam can cast Ad Nauseam on his turn with a pretty robust life total to hopefully find the Rituals -> LED -> Infernal Tutor -> Past in Flames -> Tendrils for lethal line.
Admittedly I only occasionally play ANT, but the likelihood of dying to your own all-or-nothing Ad Nauseam at 3 life is too high to risk making the play when there is a safer alternative.
| Omnath | Zada | Alesha | Scion |
| Mazirek | Animar |
Modern
UR Storm RU
UBRG Dredge GRBU
Standard
UR Thermo-Thing RU
I don't know what the pilot did, but putting back Nauseam seems like a no-brainer. The question is what else to put back. How much do you mini Tendrils for, and do you set yourself up to try to Nauseam next turn or just cripple their board and hope the Bob finishes them off?
Option A) Put back Ad Nauseam & Infernal Tutor
Tap lands for GUB.
Play Delta but do not crack it.
Chain of Vapor the Knight (GB, storm 3)
Dark Ritual (GBBB, storm 4)
Cabal Ritual (GBBBBBB, storm 5)
Abrupt Decay the Teeg (BBBBB, storm 6)
Tendrils for 14
You @ 17 life; OPP @ 5 life.
Opponent only has Bob. Teeg is permanently gone. You'll get hit by 1 Bob attack. He gets one turn to play something. Recasting Knight will do nothing. Discard will do nothing because your hand is empty and Nauseam is safely on top. Other than Wasteland effects, there's little he can do to interact. Next turn you draw Ad Nauseam with 5 mana and 14 life (and an unused land drop) and are heavily favored to win.
This is the first play that came to my mind.
Option B) Put back Delta & Chain of Vapor (is this what you meant by "put back Delta"?)
Tap lands for GUB.
Dark Ritual (GUBBB, storm 3)
Infernal Tutor for Cabal Ritual (GBB, storm 4)
Cabal Ritual (GBBBBB, storm 5)
Cabal Ritual (GBBBBBBBB, storm 6)
Abrupt Decay the Teeg (BBBBBBB, storm 7)
Tendrils for 16
You @ 19 life; OPP @ 3 life.
Teeg is dead. Opponent keeps Bob and Knight. Storming for one more puts him down to 3 life, and it's possible opponent just dies to Bob on upkeep. But if he gets a turn, there are some issues.
1) You can't actually cast Ad Nauseam next turn. Delta gets reshuffled when you Tutor for Cabal to build storm, so you only have 4 lands and rely on topdecking a mana source. The deck has tons of topdecks that get you from 4 to 5+ mana, but it's still a gamble.
2) Ad Nauseam is in hand instead of on top. If he has any discard (Liliana, Thoughtseize, Inquisition, whatever), Ad Nauseam is gone. In option A it is safely on top and immune to discard.
3) To Tendrils for 16 instead of 14 you have to bury one of your removal spells. That means you can only answer the Teeg. With his Knight still around, depending on what is in the decklist, he could grab something like Wasteland to stop you from casting Ad Nauseam next turn or get Bojuka Bog to thwart Past in Flames. That leaves him even more outs to disrupt you.
Option C) Ignore AN and race with Bob: Put back Ad Nauseam & Tendrils of Agony
Play Delta
Fetch Volcanic Island.
Tap lands for RGUB.
Dark Ritual (RGUBBB, storm 3)
Abrupt Decay the Knight (RUBB, storm 4)
Cabal Ritual (RUBBBBB, storm 5)
Chain of Vapor on Teeg (RBBBBB, storm 6)
Infernal Tutor for Tendrils (RBBB, storm 7)
Tendrils of Agony for 16 life
You @ 19, opponent @ 3. Knight is permanently gone. Bob is in play and Teeg goes back to his hand. Using the Delta gives you +1 mana, at the cost of setting up Ad Nauseam next turn. With +1 mana you can use Infernal Tutor AND both your removal, still dropping him to 3 life. Opponent might just die to the very next Bob reveal. But even if he doesn't, with the Knight permanently dead, you at 19, and opponent at 3, opponent is probably dying to his Bob before his bears can kill you. Unless opponent has a way to kill his own Bob, you're favored to win this race. Add to that the fact that the clock is almost out, meaning you are going to turns soon. So even if he can remove his own Bob or he gets lucky with the flips, the 5 turns are probably up before he can wittle you down from 19. So you're either killing him with Bob or getting a draw. This option minimizes your chances of losing, though whether it's a win or a draw becomes completely out of your control.
My first choice would be A (maximizes your chances of winning, I think), with C second (minimizes chances of losing). With C, you're gambling on the Bob flips and leaning on the draw as back-up. With A, you're gambling on being able to go off with AN at 14 life, needing to lean on Past in Flames to win. With A you could fizzle and then be killed by his creatures, so your chances of losing are higher. But I think you also have a higher shot of winning, compared to gambling on Bob flips.
B (putting back the land and/or any removal) just seems like the worst. By only removing one creature, you still leave the opponent with a clock and can't lean on Bob flips and/or the draw. Also, B doesn't even guarantee you can cast Ad Nauseam next turn!