Yes. It was brought in at the same time as Flash. Like Stephen said, the fact that it exists in Legacy is great news for Vial Horror. It's a huge creature that we can steal and use. It's just like the old Shared Fate deck -- "Thanks for putting a really good win condition in your deck. I'd like to use it on you."
I recently realized that I have not been transmuting for Jitte lately, and I only kept it in the deck for the life gain. I sideboarded it out almost every game last Saturday, and never drew it in the game 1's. At the Grand Prix, same story.
If I recall from the bunch of other times that has come up, the Sage is handy to have when you consider that SJ likes to transmute for Umezawa's Jitte. He has a problem with Gobs, and this guy over Brainstorm is handy just often enough to make him worth the limited effect. I can't say I agree with it entirely, but then I am not the one testing the deck.
It's the truth... Epochrasite did horrible in testing today, but I think I do want to leave Jitte out permanently. I could almost see the 20th land coming in (a 2nd Riptide Lab).
I hate making statements like this without testing, and then reading them two months later and wondering what the heck I was thinking ever trying Looter il-Kor out, etc.
While netdecking and testing VileHorror i thought about Biorhythm. Sure its really expensive, off-color and crappy but still you're always the one with creatures while playing VH. That made me think.
Epochrasite is playing the role of conditional stupid fat for 2 mana. So why do you run them before the 4th horror? If you want the fat I would think that you would run the 4th horror and probably put the 2nd echoing truth back in. If not those slots should probably be devoted to utility cards. The fact that epochrasite comes back probably won't matter against the decks where you'll really want it, such as goblins. Also learn how to mulligan
Stephen, Dreadnought isn't just a vanilla 12/12. It tramples. It has shades of Hunted Horror except Stonewood bigger!
You are already running stifle main the deck which is great versus sac lands and what not, and you are already running vials. So you could theoritically just vial in the nought and then stifle its ability and proceed to smash face.
I think its funny that your using Epochrasite in this deck. Im using it in a B/R mini Reanimater deck im trying out.
It seems to work well with Vail and other cards in hte deck. Like to see that this deck deck has come so far in such little time.
Keep up the good work!
Some day this deck will Top8 along side the big bad three.
Stephen, Dreadnought isn't just a vanilla 12/12. It tramples. It has shades of Hunted Horror except Stonewood bigger!
You are already running stifle main the deck which is great versus sac lands and what not, and you are already running vials. So you could theoritically just vial in the nought and then stifle its ability and proceed to smash face.
hey has anyone thrown a brand deck together? maybe a red/black one with say hunted horrors and varchild's war-riders.
Dreadnought is an even more conditional beater than Horror (which isn't easy). You don't have a stifle it sits there dead, or if they counter the stifle after you play it you got 2 for 1'd. I'd rather save my stifle for my opponents storm cards and ringleaders than using them on my own conditional creatures. Its true that sometimes you use stifle on your own horror but its not something you want to do regularly. And at some point the size of the creature doesn't really matter all that much. 7/7 is still massive and while its true it usually takes one more swing with horror, between fetches, and confidant/sage/ape beats it won't take long to kill with horror. The deck doesn't really need more fat because fat isn't really doing anything to help it win its worst MU's.
Brand is a one shot effect. Scepters are repeatable and you can run up to 8. Thats already 2 things in favor of scepters/stylus. I think UrDraco made a UBR list or something like that using brand so if I were you I would talk to him about that style of deck. But from my testing I've found that style lacking in consistency. And its really a different deck. Also scepters do randomly cool things like keep counters off opposing jittes.
Epochrasite is playing the role of conditional stupid fat for 2 mana. So why do you run them before the 4th horror? If you want the fat I would think that you would run the 4th horror and probably put the 2nd echoing truth back in. If not those slots should probably be devoted to utility cards. The fact that epochrasite comes back probably won't matter against the decks where you'll really want it, such as goblins. Also learn how to mulligan
Tom, I read this two days ago and have been thinking about what you wrote on and off for those two days. You made me stop and think, and you're right here. I was distracted because it is "new blood" so to speak, it's an interesting card and also because I have 4x FOIL as bias, but I think that sometimes what is classic is right - I will stay with 2 Echoing Truth, and either play 4 Pongify or 4 Horror.
And I couldn't have said it better myself about Dreadnought. I don't know how else to say it... it's just not better than Horror in this deck.
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While netdecking and testing VileHorror i thought about Biorhythm. Sure its really expensive, off-color and crappy but still you're always the one with creatures while playing VH. That made me think.
I managed to put together the deck sans sideboard, but I plan to buy that at Gen-con.
Right now, I just need to play the deck and get more used to playing it, unfortunately, I have a rather rigid schedule from now to the 15th. I can help testing on MWS from 10-3 or so every day but Monday where I have the whole day free.
If anyone is interested in helping me prepare, pm with a schedule. I'll see what I can do.
Also the first day of Gen-con, I have no events I need to go to, so if anyone wants to help me prepare then that would be cool.
Edit- Sorry I killed the thread, but really, can anyone help me today Monday 8-13. Just a few hours so that I can familiarize my self with real match-ups (Vis-a-Vi Solidarity, Gobo's, Gro, Fish). Also, how will we meet up at gen-con. I have a variety of things to make me stand out (Cowboy Hat, Indian clothes, Swords), but we should probably arrange this properly.
I cannot tell you how much I wish I was going, after all the promoting I did ("Join me at Gencon" etc. etc. :sweat:) and the fact that I made two copies of the deck, asked, borrowed, and begged...
The truth is that I will not be there, so, Ender Wiggin, are you willing to be my representative? Will you write a detailed tournament report and refer to this MTGSalvation thread if interviewed / if you make Top 8? I think you can do it.
Because I am in Los Angeles until Friday, I cannot help you playtest on MWS, though I wish I could, because you won't feel comfortable with the deck immediately. It is difficult to type everything you could ever need to know, therefore you will have to read as many pages of this thread as you can that pertain to the strategy that goes into playing the deck, rather than reading my nitpicks on card choice over the years.
I am going to try and access a few of the text documents I have on my home computer that include general interactions & inner synergy, and last... my generalized match-by-match sideboarding strategy.
While netdecking and testing VileHorror i thought about Biorhythm. Sure its really expensive, off-color and crappy but still you're always the one with creatures while playing VH. That made me think.
All right. I think I can do that, and I will try my hardest to do this deck justice. And I will have a tourney report, complete with pictures if I remember. I am a fast reader, so this thread should be no problem. Also, if you could get my those documents that would be great, I need to know as much as I can if I am to do well.
Also, if anyone else is going to gen-con and is either playing vile horror or can help me familiarize my self with it on Thursday, please pm me or e-mail me at [EMAIL="kbrakke@gmail.com"]kbrakke@gmail.com[/EMAIL].
This is probably the last chance for me to check This thread before Gen-con. In case anyone reads this thread later than this and either is playing Vile Horror at Gen-con or wants to help me become more comfortable with the deck on Thursday before the Championships on Friday, I will probably be wearing a cowboy hat, have a backpack, and an Ultra Pro carrying case, it is also possible that I will be wearing fleece.
Other ways to find me
Look for every half-Indian Looking kid wearing a cowboy hat and possibly fleece and ask "Are you Kris With a K?"
Look for every Half-Indian Looking kid wearing a cowboy hat and possibly fleece buying Sideboard Cards for Vile Horror and ask "Are you Kris with a K?"
Please if anyone wants to help me, find me. I am playing in the Prelims' so that should give me some practice.
I will do my best to make a full tournament report with pictures.
I may check this once tomorrow, please post, e-mail me, or surprise me at gen-con.
I am sorry I couldn't get any of my documents to you by today. My server is off so I won't be able to retreive anything until probably tomorrow 12pm EST.
Thank you for representing myself and the deck, and good luck to you.
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While netdecking and testing VileHorror i thought about Biorhythm. Sure its really expensive, off-color and crappy but still you're always the one with creatures while playing VH. That made me think.
If you were to ask "Who really Sucks at legacy and managed to play terribly making the final record for this deck 2-6-1 over two days of legacy play?" The answer would be me. I will have have a tourney report up later today, be be rest assured, I suck, and I really need to play Legacy more often. Hopefully I can find a place the plays Legacy near me, and practice there and have a positive w/l ratio next Gen-con.
Bio Shock came out, I make no guarantees about when I will post the report. It is possible that I will be hungry around 2:00 EST and type it then.
Don't be hard on yourself, Ender Wiggin. I am interested to see the action in your games
I am also very excited for Lorwyn, and I am praying that there will be some great Faeries, Merfolk, Elves, Goblins, or Elementals (the UB creature types) that cost 1 or 2 and/or work wonderfully with the deck.
Puzzle, I am not sure about the Nodes/Drop idea because it would take up almost 8 slots. I think the cons outweigh the pros, but that could always be proven wrong. I just feel like it is very difficult to pursue and find out, without much profit in the end, knowing the final answer. I feel like looking to Lorwyn (even though easier) will be refreshingly helpful.
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While netdecking and testing VileHorror i thought about Biorhythm. Sure its really expensive, off-color and crappy but still you're always the one with creatures while playing VH. That made me think.
We live in a country were ~50% of the populace believe public schooling is a socialist conspiracy and that being called Einstein is an insult. We could try and fix it, but unfortunately the other 50% don't believe in euthanasia.
Whats the point of splashing goyf? Horror is bigger and you don't really want more than 4 horrors, especially not if it makes you even more vulnerable to wasteland. With Drake to steal opposing goyfs and Horror to outsize them I don't see any reason to include goyf.
What do you guys think about the goyf sp;lash plan?
Guys, please read the previous posts before suggesting things like this. First, this deck is extremely tight as it is. It plays efficient cards like Hunted Horror and Pongify and Gilded Drake only because it has enough control backup to ensure that it can clean up the creatures it gives to the opponent. There is absolutely no room in the deck for vanilla creatures such as Tarmogoyf and Phyrexian Dreadnought. The existence of these creatures in other decks right now, however, is exactly what Vial Horror wants to see because we can steal them and beat their owners' faces in. Unless anyone can suggest a build that supports the Horror/Drake/Stick synergy along with a goyf, please bring the suggestions and discussion to another thread.
We live in a country were ~50% of the populace believe public schooling is a socialist conspiracy and that being called Einstein is an insult. We could try and fix it, but unfortunately the other 50% don't believe in euthanasia.
Right now I'm pretty sure he isn't running epochrasite but is running 4 Horror. And either way you don't have to weaken the mana base to play epochrasite but you do for goyf. Though neither of them are needed.
I have been playtesting a Light Vial Horror variant quite a bit and have had a lot of success. The list (as can be seen at Shuffle Your Library with comprehensive deck analysis tools) is as follows:
Obilation: This is the most expensive card in the deck. It is occasionally difficult to cast, but with such strong emphasis on Æther Vial in this deck, I can often pull off the Horror and clean one token in a turn to draw 2. Pongify/Obilation is only 4 mana which is certainly reasonable. Finally, I have occasionally used Oblation against really pesky threats such as Chalice for 2.
Meddling Mage: If not Gilded Drake, I'd call this guy the all-star of the deck. I've noticed when playing with Vial Horror, the deck would be great except for one or two specific cards in every deck that seemed to hose me (pro-blue Piledriver, Chalice, Astral Slide, etc). Forcing my opponent to kill my Mage or play around their loss is HUGE benefit. I attribute a great deal of wins to this guy alone. In addition, he's a great card for blocking all those 1/1 goblins early on forcing them to slow down and gain complete board position before swinging in, which may not always happen with a turn 3 or 4 Hunted Horror or Jitte. I should also note that Meddling Mage is currently my only answer to combo (see sideboard explanation below).
Swords to Plowshares: Another new all-star for Vial Horror. Its number one target is definitely Lackey, but also works to destroy nearly every major threat in Legacy. StP is never really useless, even against creatureless matches due to Pongify/Drake/Horror, but can be boarded against certain matches.
Circle of Protection: Red (Sideboard): I'm still convinced Goblins is the best Legacy deck around, and without an edge to crush it, there's no way this deck will ever make a top-8. CoP: Red is a major transmute target that slows Goblins enough to get a Horror or Jitte on the table. I should note that I like Propaganda more for its versatility, but CoP: Red is a transmute target and the one mana really could make the difference.
Leyline of the Void (Sideboard): Again, the decks I primarily see at local tournaments use very heavy graveyard recursion. I see up to 12 Life from the Loam, a few Crucibles, possibly a Goblin Welder and lots of other graveyard tricks that would shut me down at a tournament with just the help of a Withered Wretch, an easy StP target. This slot is where you would put Rule of Law or Orim's Chant against combo players if you don't see as much graveyard abuse.
However, stephen's running epochrasite, a vanilla beater, when goyf is a better vanilla beater.
I absolutely disagree with Epochrasite in the deck. There is no need for a measly 4/4 in the deck, especially with a meta that is shifting to answer Tarmogoyf and other large vanillas. If anything, run another horror and a few more Echoing Truths or something. Epochrasite will never enter my build.
Oh no, I agree,I just think that if an extra dual is splashed for explosives, and epochrasite is run, why not use goyf instead? Goyf would only be used as a replacement for epochrasite, and I agree that neither should be run.
We live in a country were ~50% of the populace believe public schooling is a socialist conspiracy and that being called Einstein is an insult. We could try and fix it, but unfortunately the other 50% don't believe in euthanasia.
I absolutely disagree with Epochrasite in the deck. There is no need for a measly 4/4 in the deck, especially with a meta that is shifting to answer Tarmogoyf and other large vanillas. If anything, run another horror and a few more Echoing Truths or something. Epochrasite will never enter my build.
.... Have you ever looked at the list on the first page or no?
And as far as that UBW version you threw together, how can you possibly play anything through that mana base? Sorry to be mean, but valdrox has already shown that Oblation just doesn't cut it. If you want a non-scepter effect, play Brand. Honestly.
It actually has a good Goblins and Stax matchup, but it's Combo matchup (and a few others) are weak as a result, as evidenced by UrDraco's actual report with it at GenCon.
While netdecking and testing VileHorror i thought about Biorhythm. Sure its really expensive, off-color and crappy but still you're always the one with creatures while playing VH. That made me think.
.... Have you ever looked at the list on the first page or no?
Yes. I do regularly. I see that you're not playing Epochrasite. But I know how much you seem to like the card because over the last 55 pages, he's been in and out. I've never actually stated my opinion on the creature before, so I thought I would in addition to an alternative selection.
And as far as that UBW version you threw together, how can you possibly play anything through that mana base? Sorry to be mean, but valdrox has already shown that Oblation just doesn't cut it. If you want a non-scepter effect, play Brand. Honestly.
I've never had a problem with this mana base. Every fetch land is on color and can either find me a basic that I'm missing or a dual to get me a missing color. I've never had a problem with colored mana at all. As for the colorless lands, these seem to be either extremely useful or the first Wasteland targets which keeps Wasteland away from my duals. I don't see how the land base has any problems at all.
As for Oblation, Valdrox doesn't come close to convincing me that it is bad, and I won't take your dismissal as a sure sign that it is until you give me some clear evidence or logic supporting your claim -- it's worked very well for me.
It actually has a good Goblins and Stax matchup, but it's Combo matchup (and a few others) are weak as a result, as evidenced by UrDraco's actual report with it at GenCon.
Finally, I purchased Brands early on when I played this deck. I admit that my list wasn't exactly like yours, and I really do like the addition of Forbidden Orchard for its fixing and obvious abuse, but other than that, Brand just didn't cut it. If I didn't have a Brand or it got countered, I lost - plain and simple. Vial Horror is way more resilient to these sort of things, and Light Vial Horror even more so due to the extra bounce and kill spells.
For as much blind criticism as your decks take, and how much I know you hate exactly that, I'm really shocked at how closed minded you are to my suggestions seeing as how I'm one of the few people willing to explain them and share my own successes.
4 Gilded Drake
3 Hunted Horror
4 Dark Confidant
4 Sage of Epityr
2 Epochrasite
3 Dimir Infiltrator
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Stifle
4 Aether Vial
3 Despotic Scepter
2 Tel-Jilad Stylus
1 Echoing Truth
1 Riptide Lab
4 Polluted Delta
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Flooded Strand
4 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
2 Swamp
2 Island
4 Pithing Needle
3 Engineered Explosives
3 Engineered Plague
3 Propaganda
2 Hymn to Tourach
Yes? No?
I recently realized that I have not been transmuting for Jitte lately, and I only kept it in the deck for the life gain. I sideboarded it out almost every game last Saturday, and never drew it in the game 1's. At the Grand Prix, same story.
EDIT:
It's the truth... Epochrasite did horrible in testing today, but I think I do want to leave Jitte out permanently. I could almost see the 20th land coming in (a 2nd Riptide Lab).
I hate making statements like this without testing, and then reading them two months later and wondering what the heck I was thinking ever trying Looter il-Kor out, etc.
Celebrating 3 years of open-minded acceptance, indispensable help, great advice, and incalculably-creative deck-design... Thanks for all the magic!
You are already running stifle main the deck which is great versus sac lands and what not, and you are already running vials. So you could theoritically just vial in the nought and then stifle its ability and proceed to smash face.
Also would brand be better than say Specter?
hey has anyone thrown a brand deck together? maybe a red/black one with say hunted horrors and varchild's war-riders.
I think its funny that your using Epochrasite in this deck. Im using it in a B/R mini Reanimater deck im trying out.
It seems to work well with Vail and other cards in hte deck. Like to see that this deck deck has come so far in such little time.
Keep up the good work!
Some day this deck will Top8 along side the big bad three.
Later
Dreadnought is an even more conditional beater than Horror (which isn't easy). You don't have a stifle it sits there dead, or if they counter the stifle after you play it you got 2 for 1'd. I'd rather save my stifle for my opponents storm cards and ringleaders than using them on my own conditional creatures. Its true that sometimes you use stifle on your own horror but its not something you want to do regularly. And at some point the size of the creature doesn't really matter all that much. 7/7 is still massive and while its true it usually takes one more swing with horror, between fetches, and confidant/sage/ape beats it won't take long to kill with horror. The deck doesn't really need more fat because fat isn't really doing anything to help it win its worst MU's.
Brand is a one shot effect. Scepters are repeatable and you can run up to 8. Thats already 2 things in favor of scepters/stylus. I think UrDraco made a UBR list or something like that using brand so if I were you I would talk to him about that style of deck. But from my testing I've found that style lacking in consistency. And its really a different deck. Also scepters do randomly cool things like keep counters off opposing jittes.
I am in Los Angeles right now, so I am only able to stop in on the thread every couple days now for the next week or two.
Tom, I read this two days ago and have been thinking about what you wrote on and off for those two days. You made me stop and think, and you're right here. I was distracted because it is "new blood" so to speak, it's an interesting card and also because I have 4x FOIL as bias, but I think that sometimes what is classic is right - I will stay with 2 Echoing Truth, and either play 4 Pongify or 4 Horror.
And I couldn't have said it better myself about Dreadnought. I don't know how else to say it... it's just not better than Horror in this deck.
Celebrating 3 years of open-minded acceptance, indispensable help, great advice, and incalculably-creative deck-design... Thanks for all the magic!
Right now, I just need to play the deck and get more used to playing it, unfortunately, I have a rather rigid schedule from now to the 15th. I can help testing on MWS from 10-3 or so every day but Monday where I have the whole day free.
If anyone is interested in helping me prepare, pm with a schedule. I'll see what I can do.
Also the first day of Gen-con, I have no events I need to go to, so if anyone wants to help me prepare then that would be cool.
Edit- Sorry I killed the thread, but really, can anyone help me today Monday 8-13. Just a few hours so that I can familiarize my self with real match-ups (Vis-a-Vi Solidarity, Gobo's, Gro, Fish). Also, how will we meet up at gen-con. I have a variety of things to make me stand out (Cowboy Hat, Indian clothes, Swords), but we should probably arrange this properly.
The truth is that I will not be there, so, Ender Wiggin, are you willing to be my representative? Will you write a detailed tournament report and refer to this MTGSalvation thread if interviewed / if you make Top 8? I think you can do it.
Because I am in Los Angeles until Friday, I cannot help you playtest on MWS, though I wish I could, because you won't feel comfortable with the deck immediately. It is difficult to type everything you could ever need to know, therefore you will have to read as many pages of this thread as you can that pertain to the strategy that goes into playing the deck, rather than reading my nitpicks on card choice over the years.
I am going to try and access a few of the text documents I have on my home computer that include general interactions & inner synergy, and last... my generalized match-by-match sideboarding strategy.
Celebrating 3 years of open-minded acceptance, indispensable help, great advice, and incalculably-creative deck-design... Thanks for all the magic!
Also, if anyone else is going to gen-con and is either playing vile horror or can help me familiarize my self with it on Thursday, please pm me or e-mail me at [EMAIL="kbrakke@gmail.com"]kbrakke@gmail.com[/EMAIL].
This is probably the last chance for me to check This thread before Gen-con. In case anyone reads this thread later than this and either is playing Vile Horror at Gen-con or wants to help me become more comfortable with the deck on Thursday before the Championships on Friday, I will probably be wearing a cowboy hat, have a backpack, and an Ultra Pro carrying case, it is also possible that I will be wearing fleece.
Other ways to find me
Look for every half-Indian Looking kid wearing a cowboy hat and possibly fleece and ask "Are you Kris With a K?"
Look for every Half-Indian Looking kid wearing a cowboy hat and possibly fleece buying Sideboard Cards for Vile Horror and ask "Are you Kris with a K?"
Please if anyone wants to help me, find me. I am playing in the Prelims' so that should give me some practice.
I will do my best to make a full tournament report with pictures.
I may check this once tomorrow, please post, e-mail me, or surprise me at gen-con.
Thank you for representing myself and the deck, and good luck to you.
Celebrating 3 years of open-minded acceptance, indispensable help, great advice, and incalculably-creative deck-design... Thanks for all the magic!
Bio Shock came out, I make no guarantees about when I will post the report. It is possible that I will be hungry around 2:00 EST and type it then.
I am also very excited for Lorwyn, and I am praying that there will be some great Faeries, Merfolk, Elves, Goblins, or Elementals (the UB creature types) that cost 1 or 2 and/or work wonderfully with the deck.
Puzzle, I am not sure about the Nodes/Drop idea because it would take up almost 8 slots. I think the cons outweigh the pros, but that could always be proven wrong. I just feel like it is very difficult to pursue and find out, without much profit in the end, knowing the final answer. I feel like looking to Lorwyn (even though easier) will be refreshingly helpful.
Celebrating 3 years of open-minded acceptance, indispensable help, great advice, and incalculably-creative deck-design... Thanks for all the magic!
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Current Decks
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Vial Horror
Guys, please read the previous posts before suggesting things like this. First, this deck is extremely tight as it is. It plays efficient cards like Hunted Horror and Pongify and Gilded Drake only because it has enough control backup to ensure that it can clean up the creatures it gives to the opponent. There is absolutely no room in the deck for vanilla creatures such as Tarmogoyf and Phyrexian Dreadnought. The existence of these creatures in other decks right now, however, is exactly what Vial Horror wants to see because we can steal them and beat their owners' faces in. Unless anyone can suggest a build that supports the Horror/Drake/Stick synergy along with a goyf, please bring the suggestions and discussion to another thread.
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4 Flooded Strand
1 Island
1 Plains
4 Polluted Delta
2 Riptide Labratory
1 Swamp
2 Tundra
3 Underground Sea
1 Volrath's Stronghold
Creatures:
4 Dark Confidant
4 Dimir Infiltrator
4 Gilded Drake
3 Hunted Horror
4 Meddling Mage
1 Withered Wretch
4 Æther Vial
2 Despotic Scepter
2 Tel-jilad
1 Umezawa's Jitte
Spells:
1 Echoing Truth
3 Oblation
4 Pongify
4 Swords to Plowshares
2 Circle of Protection: Red
3 Engineered Explosives
3 Engineered Plague
4 Leyline of the Void
3 Pithing Needle
So here's a few explanations of choices:
Obilation: This is the most expensive card in the deck. It is occasionally difficult to cast, but with such strong emphasis on Æther Vial in this deck, I can often pull off the Horror and clean one token in a turn to draw 2. Pongify/Obilation is only 4 mana which is certainly reasonable. Finally, I have occasionally used Oblation against really pesky threats such as Chalice for 2.
Meddling Mage: If not Gilded Drake, I'd call this guy the all-star of the deck. I've noticed when playing with Vial Horror, the deck would be great except for one or two specific cards in every deck that seemed to hose me (pro-blue Piledriver, Chalice, Astral Slide, etc). Forcing my opponent to kill my Mage or play around their loss is HUGE benefit. I attribute a great deal of wins to this guy alone. In addition, he's a great card for blocking all those 1/1 goblins early on forcing them to slow down and gain complete board position before swinging in, which may not always happen with a turn 3 or 4 Hunted Horror or Jitte. I should also note that Meddling Mage is currently my only answer to combo (see sideboard explanation below).
Swords to Plowshares: Another new all-star for Vial Horror. Its number one target is definitely Lackey, but also works to destroy nearly every major threat in Legacy. StP is never really useless, even against creatureless matches due to Pongify/Drake/Horror, but can be boarded against certain matches.
Circle of Protection: Red (Sideboard): I'm still convinced Goblins is the best Legacy deck around, and without an edge to crush it, there's no way this deck will ever make a top-8. CoP: Red is a major transmute target that slows Goblins enough to get a Horror or Jitte on the table. I should note that I like Propaganda more for its versatility, but CoP: Red is a transmute target and the one mana really could make the difference.
Leyline of the Void (Sideboard): Again, the decks I primarily see at local tournaments use very heavy graveyard recursion. I see up to 12 Life from the Loam, a few Crucibles, possibly a Goblin Welder and lots of other graveyard tricks that would shut me down at a tournament with just the help of a Withered Wretch, an easy StP target. This slot is where you would put Rule of Law or Orim's Chant against combo players if you don't see as much graveyard abuse.
I absolutely disagree with Epochrasite in the deck. There is no need for a measly 4/4 in the deck, especially with a meta that is shifting to answer Tarmogoyf and other large vanillas. If anything, run another horror and a few more Echoing Truths or something. Epochrasite will never enter my build.
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.... Have you ever looked at the list on the first page or no?
And as far as that UBW version you threw together, how can you possibly play anything through that mana base? Sorry to be mean, but valdrox has already shown that Oblation just doesn't cut it. If you want a non-scepter effect, play Brand. Honestly.
For reference, here is my take on Brand:
4 Hunted Horror
4 Dark Confidant
4 Sage of Epityr
4 Brainstorm/Stifle
3 Mystical Tutor
3 Pongify
1 Echoing Truth
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Brand
4 AEther Vial
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Riptide Laboratory
4 Forbidden Orchard
4 Bloodstained Mire
2 Polluted Delta
2 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
2 Badlands
1 Swamp
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Stifle/Other Utility (Extirpate, Krosan Grip)
4 Pithing Needle
2 Hunted Phantasm?
1 Sudden Death
1 Massacre
It actually has a good Goblins and Stax matchup, but it's Combo matchup (and a few others) are weak as a result, as evidenced by UrDraco's actual report with it at GenCon.
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Yes. I do regularly. I see that you're not playing Epochrasite. But I know how much you seem to like the card because over the last 55 pages, he's been in and out. I've never actually stated my opinion on the creature before, so I thought I would in addition to an alternative selection.
I've never had a problem with this mana base. Every fetch land is on color and can either find me a basic that I'm missing or a dual to get me a missing color. I've never had a problem with colored mana at all. As for the colorless lands, these seem to be either extremely useful or the first Wasteland targets which keeps Wasteland away from my duals. I don't see how the land base has any problems at all.
As for Oblation, Valdrox doesn't come close to convincing me that it is bad, and I won't take your dismissal as a sure sign that it is until you give me some clear evidence or logic supporting your claim -- it's worked very well for me.
Finally, I purchased Brands early on when I played this deck. I admit that my list wasn't exactly like yours, and I really do like the addition of Forbidden Orchard for its fixing and obvious abuse, but other than that, Brand just didn't cut it. If I didn't have a Brand or it got countered, I lost - plain and simple. Vial Horror is way more resilient to these sort of things, and Light Vial Horror even more so due to the extra bounce and kill spells.
For as much blind criticism as your decks take, and how much I know you hate exactly that, I'm really shocked at how closed minded you are to my suggestions seeing as how I'm one of the few people willing to explain them and share my own successes.