MTG Salvation

try search for azcanta

I don't understand what you need for a slow grindy match--just play your cards and win? Against BG or Shadow you mean?

forum has been awfully quiet for the past months. any new sideboard tech you guys are playing? hate the chalice for 1. thinking that Engineered Explosives might be necessary but I don't have the budget at the moment so I might use Ratchet Bomb instead. I've also tried putting Torpor Orb on the side instead of Grafdigger's Cage for the Humans matchup and EE / ratchet bomb should be a nice card against those decks. Just not happy after finding out that Walking Ballista's counters isn't a triggered ability and Torpor Orb is ueseless against them except for Thought-Knot Seer.

Thinking about going back to 2-3 Darkness / Ethereal Haze / Pollen Lullaby (to get around Chalice for 1 and you might get lucky with Clash) but seems like the boardsweep in Supreme Verdict is so important at this point since it's also useful with Grixis / 4 color Death Shadow decks but the 2 white mana has been a pain lately and Bontu's Last Reckoning is such a tempo loss when you need to win the next turn after the board sweep especially if they have manlands.

Any new ideas guys?? I think Ratchet Bomb is also nice against Blood Moon decks if it's too hard to recover.

What do people think of the Japanese Ad Nauseam lists? Someone posted one in the Ad Nauseam Facebook group and I've been really intrigued ever since reading through all of the recent lists.
It is very different to what I'm used to seeing.

http://www.hareruyamtg.com/jp/k/kD01677T/

Hi all

I am considering trying this deck out on MTGO...could you please let me know how it matches up with the current top ten decks in terms of favorable/unfavorable/even?

Decks such as:

Affinity
Storm
Jeskai Control
Grixis Death's Shadow
Eldrazi Tron
Titanshift
UW Control
Humans
Tron
Counters Company

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

Quote from Invokehazza »

What do people think of the Japanese Ad Nauseam lists? Someone posted one in the Ad Nauseam Facebook group and I've been really intrigued ever since reading through all of the recent lists.
It is very different to what I'm used to seeing.

http://www.hareruyamtg.com/jp/k/kD01677T/

I don't like the 3x mystical teachings lists. Why play the fetchless mana-base if you're going to mess it up by playing a tutor?

Otherwise these look pretty stock. Care to explain what you found so different about them?

I like 3 Teachings.

Forum has been quiet recently. I haven't played since Summer, not have any time for the game. I'll jam a couple of games during Christmas, maybe next week. The deck seems to be in a low position right now. Jeskai Control is sure a good matchup, as well as Tron and Burn. Affinity is 50/50, we must pack some hate. We should climb up if people show up with the deck. It's a bit sad that during the 2 GP we didn't do much.

Cheers!

I've been playing Ad Nauseam for years now and just thought of this line that I think should work but just want clarification.

- If you have 2 Angel's Grace and an Ad Nauseam, can you cast Angel's Grace holding priority, cast Ad Nauseam holding priority, then cast another Angel's Grace and have your Ad Nauseam resolve through a counter spell?

I'm assuming since the Angel's Grace is on the bottom of the stack and with how Split Second works, it couldn't be countered.


I've just never seen this discussed on here so hopefully i found a new line with this deck after all these years.

You should reread how split second works. Nothin else can be placed on the stack until after resolution of the spell
Meaning Ad Nauseum

What matchups do we bring slaughter pact in against?

What's weird with this is when Nicholas Byrd was covered when we won the SCG was he would always cast Ad Nauseam first (then I would assume he is saying that he is maintaining priority) and then casting Angel's Grace which I found weird and I can't make sense of it unless, you're facing a newbie opponent who reads Angel's Grace then foregoes casting his counterspell for Ad Nausema since the Grace "protects" the Ad Nauseam from being responded to.) Which is totally not the case, once Angel's Grace resolves, Ad Nauseam is still on the stack so it can still be responded to by a counterspell.

Anyone else running Ratchet Bomb instead of Engineered Explosives which seems great against Chalice of the Void, Geist of Saint Traft and Blood Moon or even a pesky planeswalker (Liliana of the Veil, maybe Nahiri the Harbinger or even Gideon of the Trials). Will try it this weekend and might cut my second Hurkyl's Recall for the Ratchet Bomb slot.

Just a thought.. So if you cast Lightning Storm holding priority and discarding 9 lands for 18 damage plus 3 for lethal targeting your opponent. So the opponent responds with Deflecting Palm -- can you respond by discarding another land for 21 damage to choose the same player since the additional activation of discarding a land will be on top of the Deflecting Palm??

Coz this saves the extra slot for the lone Pact of Negation I always keep on my main against Burn for game 2 and 3 just for Deflecting Palm.

I don't think so due to the first sentence on the ruling below however I may be wrong?
Here is a ruling from Gatherer:
Lightning Storm has an activated ability that can be activated only while the spell is on the stack. Any player may activate that ability. When the ability is activated, it goes on the stack on top of Lightning Storm. When the ability resolves, the Lightning Storm spell is affected.

***EDIT***
Just asked in a judge group.

"Deflecting Palm prevents damage whereas Lightning Storm's ability changes its target. Deflecting Palm doesn't change the target of Lightning Storm, so Lightning Storm is still targeting your opponent.

You could discard another land to it (if you had one) and change the target to a creature, which would save you from taking damage from Deflecting Palm."

Quote from tw0_fac3 »

Just a thought.. So if you cast Lightning Storm holding priority and discarding 9 lands for 18 damage plus 3 for lethal targeting your opponent. So the opponent responds with Deflecting Palm -- can you respond by discarding another land for 21 damage to choose the same player since the additional activation of discarding a land will be on top of the Deflecting Palm??

Coz this saves the extra slot for the lone Pact of Negation I always keep on my main against Burn for game 2 and 3 just for Deflecting Palm.

Lantern Control. Is it beatable? I'm sick of the deck. I only ever seem to drag it to a draw (makes me look like an ass when I do) or lose.

Quote from Invokehazza »

Lantern Control. Is it beatable? I'm sick of the deck. I only ever seem to drag it to a draw (makes me look like an ass when I do) or lose.

Everything can be used if you want to hate out on a deck. Lantern isn't fun to play against, the key is to race it. I have a poor record against it because I don't put much hate for post-board. There's two way:
1) Hate such as Hurkyl's Recall. Shatterstorm even if you want to go deep on hate or even Stony Silence.
2) Board presence and using a win condition against them. I have used Creeping Tar Pit and Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir in a game against Lantern to beat it out, but with a bridge on board at some point, I simply used Lightning Storm to get the seven last point of damages (I kept 2 lands in hand).

Edit : update on the list. I've tried to play with fastlands and no fetches, but I just can't. It feels wrong to me. So here's what I'm up to right now :



Horizon Canopy is still a flex slot, could be Urborg or again Creeping Tar Pit. Still the best list I've ever played and since I play Modern, I just dedicated myself to make it work and it's the best for me.

Cheers!

@Tom don't you find that the City of Brass painful rather than Gemstone Mines? The Arabian Nights version's price is insane so i'm holding off on those. Will be trying the fetch build next week but will have to do with Gemstone Mines first and just probably run an Urborg in situations when I'm at 0 life and draw a fetch land and need an extra mana but the Creeping Tar Pit is great pre-Fatal Push since BGx doesn't have an answer to it which makes their Liliana of the Veils weaker. Don't you reach situations when you're light on lands for a Lightning Storm kill because of the fetch lands and weaker without a Spoils kill via Lab Maniac?

Guys, what's your take on keeping either Lotus Blooms or Pentad Prisms against decks with Stony Silence in their sideboard? Lotus Bloom is just weak on Remand but it forces the action against control decks and is also great on turn 1-2 but is weaker after that and you have to leave at least 1 Pentad Prism to pull off the Lab Maniac kill as insurance (if ever Lightning Storm gets exiled via Spoils of the Vault). Pentad Prisms give you that rare turn 3 kill and also is sometimes enough of a top deck to force yourself to combo off the next turn and has more utility during game 2 and 3 to be able to use the mana off the Pentad for either Opt, Fatal Push/ Path to Exile, Hurkyl's Recall / Wear / Tear and Echoing Truth or Fog effects in response to a Stony Silence on that turn. Plus the Pentad Prism helps smooth out a turn 3 Supreme Verdict in case you get unlucky with your colors. Thoughts?

Quote from tw0_fac3 »

@Tom don't you find that the City of Brass painful rather than Gemstone Mines? The Arabian Nights version's price is insane so i'm holding off on those. Will be trying the fetch build next week but will have to do with Gemstone Mines first and just probably run an Urborg in situations when I'm at 0 life and draw a fetch land and need an extra mana but the Creeping Tar Pit is great pre-Fatal Push since BGx doesn't have an answer to it which makes their Liliana of the Veils weaker. Don't you reach situations when you're light on lands for a Lightning Storm kill because of the fetch lands and weaker without a Spoils kill via Lab Maniac?

Guys, what's your take on keeping either Lotus Blooms or Pentad Prisms against decks with Stony Silence in their sideboard? Lotus Bloom is just weak on Remand but it forces the action against control decks and is also great on turn 1-2 but is weaker after that and you have to leave at least 1 Pentad Prism to pull off the Lab Maniac kill as insurance (if ever Lightning Storm gets exiled via Spoils of the Vault). Pentad Prisms give you that rare turn 3 kill and also is sometimes enough of a top deck to force yourself to combo off the next turn and has more utility during game 2 and 3 to be able to use the mana off the Pentad for either Opt, Fatal Push/ Path to Exile, Hurkyl's Recall / Wear / Tear and Echoing Truth or Fog effects in response to a Stony Silence on that turn. Plus the Pentad Prism helps smooth out a turn 3 Supreme Verdict in case you get unlucky with your colors. Thoughts?

At first, I was running 21 land to make sure not to be too light on lands as you said, but I'm very comfortable at 20. There's 4 feetches, so you might draw 2 per game I would say as a rough average. Nothing to be worried about. That's why I'm very keen to rely on some beaters if needed like Creeping Tar Pit. I'm also not a fan of the labman plan, I feel it's clunky : but I run it to beat the company decks and infinite loops with Finks and Seer. I honestly prefer Conflagrate and would run it otherwise. I really like City of Brass and I didn't find it painful : I'd rather use my life points as a ressource and lean on protection such as Phyrexian Unlife rather than to race and being painted in the corner with only 3 counters on Gemstone Mine. It's a great card and I just prefer City, but Gemstone is really fine.

Cheers!

If you're at 1 life and have a City of Brass as your only possible white source, can you tap the Brass for white and put the damage trigger on the stack to successfully cast Angel's Grace first and get protected?

2.) Have you tried 4 Phyrexian Unlifes and feel that 3 is really the right number for a fetch build? Since you don't run Spoils, when you are suddenly facing a lethal attack and have to buy time, I just realized that you lose that line of play wherein you can cast Spoils blind and naming Phyrexian Unlife for crucial situations (or even in response to a Chalice for 1 on the stack)
3.) How often do you whif when casting Peer Through Depths (with instances wherein you're desperate for a Pentad Prism to combo faster) plus Peer being more susceptible to Spell Snare?
4.) If your opener has a Serum Visions, brass, temple and 2 fetchlands, which do you prioritize in G1? I would assume the fetchland first then always fetching Hallowed Fountain and taking 3? against a blind matchup? Then scry with temple and then Serum Visions?
5.) Don't you prefer an Echoing Truth mainboard instead of Slaughter Pact? Or the Slaughter Pact just synergizes well with the lone Tolaria West (for let's say the Humans matchup?)
5.) How is your Eldrazi Tron matchup since you have more 1 cmc spells with 2 Haze and 2 PTEs - Why not Fatal Push? - since most of the problematic creatures are 2 cmc below. (except for Eidolon of Rhetoric, Thalia Heretic Cathar, Thought-Knot Seer)
6.) Which matchups do you put Celestial Purge?
7.) Don't you prefer a Boseiju rather than Silence since you are running a Tolaria anyway? - which matchups does Silence stand out?

What I really love about this deck is your proactiveness against Blood Moon decks having 4 fetches gives you that edge! I would assume that you always fetch an Island against a deck with Blood Moon?

Cheers!

Quote from tw0_fac3 »

If you're at 1 life and have a City of Brass as your only possible white source, can you tap the Brass for white and put the damage trigger on the stack to successfully cast Angel's Grace first and get protected? Don't you like 4 Phyrexian Unlifes that just 3? And do you often whif when casting Peer Through Depths (with instances wherein you're desperate for a Pentad Prism to combo faster) plus Peer being more susceptible to Spell Snare? How is your Eldrazi Tron matchup since you have more 1 cmc spells with 2 PTEs and 2 Haze? Which matchups do you put Celestial Purge? Don't you prefer a Boseiju rather than Silence? - which matchups does it stand out?

Cheers!

You can do the city of brass trick, yeah.

.