Standard Mardu Midrange Modern 4 Colour Delver, Naya Midrange CommanderSidisi 1v1, Sliver Overlord, Intet the Dreamer, Mayael the Anima (shameless plug http://youtu.be/4zu4QRvGSo8)
Alright, so lets say your commander is Riku of Two Reflections. Combo commander, to be sure, but lets push this into the realm of absurd. You cast Palinchron and do your Riku thing to make infinite mana because we're going to need it. Forget about your extra Palinchron tokens. A million flying 4/5s is boring. So now you cast Enter the Infinite, because drawing your deck is important. Follow it up with a Obstinate Familiar because not decking yourself is equally important. Laboratory Maniac could work here too, but we're gonna go some more levels deep. Cast a Greater Good because we want a tasteful sac outlet. Follow this up with Parallel Lives, Doubling Season,Copy Enchantment, Clever Impersonator, Mycosynth Latice, Phyrexian Metamorph, and Copy Artifact giving you 6 double token effects. Here's where it gets fun now. Cast a Reef Worm. Sac it to greater good and get 256 Fish, which you sac to get 65,536 whales, which you sac to get 16,777,216 Krakens. Are we done yet? Nope! Cast Thromok the Insatiable, devouring all your krakens to make a 281,474,976,710,656/281,474,976,710,656 Thromok. Where do we go from here though? Let your opponent cast Death Mutation on him! Why, that's 7.20575940x10^16 tokens! Good thing we have Body Double to make another Thromok the Insatiable who will be a 5.19229686x10^33/5.19229686x10^33! Seems big enough, but not for us! Since we're red anyways, lets cast a Furnace of Rath, Dictate of the Twin Gods, and a Fire Servant! Now it's time to Fling your guy, dealing a spicy 4.15383749x10^34 damage to your opponent. To put that in perspective, there are an estimated 3x10^23 stars in the known universe. You dealt more damage than there are stars. That'll give your opponent something to think about. PROTIP: Dodge Spellskite decks
First of all, SCG is out of second sunrise at $4.99 a pop. Wow.
Eggs on eggs is kinda weird because if they go second sunrise, you can respond by popping all of your eggs. Whoever goes off in the mirror match has the chance to win first, but the other person should have a gigantic hand (10+, i would think) if the turn gets passed back. Plus, this lets you dig for answers (silence being the big one), because once you hit that, you can respond to a sunrise with it, and even if the player can keep going off, he probably won't win that turn because he can't cast more eggs. Important to note that Angel's Grace doesn't really cut it, because with pyrite spellbomb loops you'll be put to 1 life and then die on your upkeep (or alternatively be entirely milled out with codex shredder). Good luck winning in response to that.
Duuuude, the mirror is going to be weird.
Also, for the mirror, if you run Ironworks, you can play pithing needle naming whatever to stop your opponent, then on your turn just sacrifice it at the beginning of each loop. That should do the trick. Playing it early lets you prevent both players from going off (I think I would name Conjurer's Bauble), until you hit the Ironworks.
Actually, thinking about it now, wouldn't any extraction / extirpate effects hit Conjurer's Bauble before anything else (for players who know what they are playing against)? The pyrite spellbomb win condition (almost always) depends on being able to loop sunrise effects, which you can't do without the bauble. Same deal with singleton codex shredder (having two- one to mill and one to recur - makes this problem moot). I guess the grapeshot plan is still ok, but I'm not a fan just because I don't want to count storm.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I still think I like the KCI version better. However, I do think I will take out some copies of the KCI - dependent eggs (Ichor Wellspring, Terrarion) because they utterly suck without KCI. You want KCI to be a benefit to the deck, not make the deck depend on having KCI out. I think we were too focused on maximizing the benefit of KCI that we forgot to keep evaluating the deck as a whole. As it is, the deck flops when it doesn't get KCI on the board, and it really shouldn't. In retrospect, the idea that I've gone down to 2 chromatic spheres is ridiculous. It's a 1 mana egg. What more do we want?
I've been testing Thoughtcast which I think is much better than any of the cantrips he used only in the KCI version mainly because of the Darksteel Citadels it runs. It is very very frequently a one mana draw 2 mid combo, which is nothing to scoff at. Early game it shouldn't ever cost more than a Divination, and even then I don't dislike it.
Also, I have to wonder about the choice of 0 noxious revivals. Now that we have 8 sunrise effects, would we be better served with more eggs than more pseudo sunrises?
Here's what I'm looking at right now, slightly edited after the PT. Not sure how I like it right now, may change some parts around.
Actually ever since Faith's Reward came out, Revivals haven't even been in my 75. They were there to help us not fizz and fail when we only had 4 Sunrise effects. We were a HECK of a lot more vulnerable to Extirpate as well. I've lost to my share of those back before M13. But FR just made the deck be able to be more consistant. As for the mirror... honestly it's going to be that pesky... who ever can go off first trick. :\
Wait... Is my endorsement a big deal or something? I am confused, please explain. I don't know if I should feel flattered or not.
Don't worry about it, it's not a big deal. It's just funny and unexpected, considering some of the things you've said previously. In no way is it meant to be derogatory. I'd provide links to said previous statements for the purposes of humoring your personal research into this allegedly baffling anecdote I have provided, but I'm just too lazy, dawg.
The Revery on SALT was intended for the captive audience in the other thread, who will no doubt spare some ranks to seek out scratch posts for their new-found salt-based prime directive. I don't really blame them, everyone's gotta have a wall to bang their head against sometimes. Like this deck is EVER going to get hit by a banhammer, that's utterly ridiculous. It would be unconscionable of the WOTC to humor these chumps. Pay it no mind, I say. If anything, it just means some really good players got caught with their pants down, which is exactly how this deck is supposed to function.
On topic for once: I've actually been playing some mirrors with this other dude on and off for awhile, just to figure this sort of issue out. FR is boom town in the mirror. Some of our matches were pretty interesting, like going "off" off of each others sunrises and getting the chance stolen BACK because dwindling resources, trying to be the guy to steal a chance by responding to the other guys FR with an FR, using revivals on Blooms and ghost quarters =) Usual shenanigans like angel's grace are fine if well timed, but it won't work against someone who has an opposing grace. THAT was a funny match. 1 card in library each, graces in the yards, baubles all around, revivals in hand, and myrs on the board. We just couldn't die! Neither of us could win or lose for the rest of the game. DRAW (IKR?!)
Don't worry about it, it's not a big deal. It's just funny and unexpected, considering some of the things you've said previously. In no way is it meant to be derogatory. I'd provide links to said previous statements for the purposes of humoring your personal research into this allegedly baffling anecdote I have provided, but I'm just too lazy, dawg.
The Revery on SALT was intended for the captive audience in the other thread, who will no doubt spare some ranks to seek out scratch posts for their new-found salt-based prime directive. I don't really blame them, everyone's gotta have a wall to bang their head against sometimes. Like this deck is EVER going to get hit by a banhammer, that's utterly ridiculous. It would unconscionable of the WOTC to humor these chumps. Pay it no mind, I say. If anything, it just means some really good players got caught with their pants down, which is exactly how this deck is supposed to function.
What things?
I mean, yeah... I don't consider this deck to be that serious of a contender (at least not on a regular basis. Just like you said people were caught with thier pants down). I just like really diverse formats and all is fair in love and war (and magic tournys).
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Modern (I collect the format):
WURDelver
[/MANA]MANA]R[/MANA]GTron WDeath and Taxes WSoul Sisters RWG Pod Combo URSplinter Twin URStorm RBurn
He boards out Flasks and Sleights most likely, as they are the worst representives of each category.
He has also devoted two slots in the MD to SB cards which you can exchange if they dont run counters.
I'd be amazed if you can board out flasks and still combo off consistently, 16 eggs is really the lower limit (I think anyway). You're right that the silences can come out though.
Shimmer Myr and Leyline of Sanctity. Also, try to resolve your lotus blooms before they try to go off. Don't instigate the combo.
Edit: also, a better version of eggs than your opponent. Also, extirpate. Yeah... Extirpate.
Mmm I believe that you have to put 4 silences and one echoing truth for the second game in a mirror match... (also i have one nihil spellbomb)... The main idea is that you should try to steal the combo when the opponent plays second sunrise and try to get silence to play it against him before he plays pyrite spellbomb (or his wincon that would not be instant kind)... if he plays leyline you depend on echoing truth or another wincon like laboratory maniac plus chromatic sphere. If he also has silence in his deck just surrender both
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():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
WUBGR Bring to Ad Nauseam XWU KCI Eggs XBRG Lantern Control
I've been looking for a way to get into modern cheaply for a while, and I somehow overlooked this deck until now. This is a ton of fun to play and cheap enough to fit in a budget (sort of). I've been playing around a bit with it, but I'd like some input on the list I've got right now.
My main requirement is trying to make this work without the fetch-lands, since they put the deck price out of range for me. Any suggestions would be awesome, thanks in advance.
Plant a seed. Watch it grow.
Hire a snake to plant more trees. Watch them grow.
Blow up a bunch of trees, break a vase when someone tells you not to blow up your trees, surprise the trees are now volcanoes.
Modern- Grapeshot - 79% Legacy- Tendrils of Agony - 83% Vintage- Mind's Desire - 49%, 0/10 Power
The deck can work without fetchlands and without KCI, just not as well. Be prepared to lose a little consistency because you only play 4 Ghost Quarters and not 4 Quarters and 3+ Poor Quarters.
I'd likely swap a Noxious Revival with the fourth Elsewhere Flask. I've had a surprisingly consistent time with only 8 Sunrises, and I tend to aggressively Bauble Sunrises by default. The fourth Flask should add consistency in its own way.
I don't like Distant Memories in a non-KCI build, as I don't think you're going to be able to cast a 7-mana Sunrise that often. Heck, if you search for a Sunrise with that card, I'll probably make you exile it and let you draw 3 cards, especially if you cast it with only 3 mana floating. You have a much lower chance of hitting a Sunrise in those 3 cards.
Your sideboard looks fine for the most part. I'm prone to swapping the Grapeshot with the fourth bounce spell, though, as casting Lab Man on an empty library with a Chromatic Sphere up, having him resolve, and then refusing to pass priority and cracking the Sphere for its mana ability is a virtually guaranteed win that fights through a lot of hate.
"Quarter" was referring to Ghost Quarter. Fetchlands do a poor imitation of Ghost Quarter for our deck, but I've found that having 3-4 of them raise no-KCI Sunny Side Up's consistency significantly.
Plant a seed. Watch it grow.
Hire a snake to plant more trees. Watch them grow.
Blow up a bunch of trees, break a vase when someone tells you not to blow up your trees, surprise the trees are now volcanoes.
Modern- Grapeshot - 79% Legacy- Tendrils of Agony - 83% Vintage- Mind's Desire - 49%, 0/10 Power
Standard Mardu Midrange Modern 4 Colour Delver, Naya Midrange CommanderSidisi 1v1, Sliver Overlord, Intet the Dreamer, Mayael the Anima (shameless plug http://youtu.be/4zu4QRvGSo8)
Alright, so lets say your commander is Riku of Two Reflections. Combo commander, to be sure, but lets push this into the realm of absurd. You cast Palinchron and do your Riku thing to make infinite mana because we're going to need it. Forget about your extra Palinchron tokens. A million flying 4/5s is boring. So now you cast Enter the Infinite, because drawing your deck is important. Follow it up with a Obstinate Familiar because not decking yourself is equally important. Laboratory Maniac could work here too, but we're gonna go some more levels deep. Cast a Greater Good because we want a tasteful sac outlet. Follow this up with Parallel Lives, Doubling Season,Copy Enchantment, Clever Impersonator, Mycosynth Latice, Phyrexian Metamorph, and Copy Artifact giving you 6 double token effects. Here's where it gets fun now. Cast a Reef Worm. Sac it to greater good and get 256 Fish, which you sac to get 65,536 whales, which you sac to get 16,777,216 Krakens. Are we done yet? Nope! Cast Thromok the Insatiable, devouring all your krakens to make a 281,474,976,710,656/281,474,976,710,656 Thromok. Where do we go from here though? Let your opponent cast Death Mutation on him! Why, that's 7.20575940x10^16 tokens! Good thing we have Body Double to make another Thromok the Insatiable who will be a 5.19229686x10^33/5.19229686x10^33! Seems big enough, but not for us! Since we're red anyways, lets cast a Furnace of Rath, Dictate of the Twin Gods, and a Fire Servant! Now it's time to Fling your guy, dealing a spicy 4.15383749x10^34 damage to your opponent. To put that in perspective, there are an estimated 3x10^23 stars in the known universe. You dealt more damage than there are stars. That'll give your opponent something to think about. PROTIP: Dodge Spellskite decks
For players 1) Is vanilla the best (Since it won the PT)?
To be fair, KCI is not without merit - two decks scored 24 and 25 points (8-2-0 and 8-1-1) in the Constructed rounds of PT RTR. One of them (Sebastian Denno of Canada) made 15th place.
KCI also seems to have 3-1ed and 4-0ed more Daily Events than vanilla, although it's arguable that this is because KCI can kill faster in terms of time taken (Banefire).
What was common among all Eggs decks in the PT, though, was 4 Leyline of Sanctity in the sideboard. This card proved to be powerful against Jund, blanking discard and grave hate alike.
2) How does vanilla avoid mana issues?
Vanilla plays 4 Lotus Bloom to maximize the chances of having one in their starting hand. It also has more fetchlands than KCI (4 compared to 2). One trick worth learning when playing vanilla is to hold off cracking your fetches unless you really need to, because they become repeatable Rampant Growths during your combo turn.
The cantrips are also very important - they help to find T1 Lotus, more lands, and Reshape. In part, the cantrips also make it possible to play 4 Lotus instead of 3, because they can find early Lotuses and bottom-deck late ones.
Side note: Valeriy Shunkov wrote this in his article at SCG:
"[T]here is a possible way to generate enough mana with Krark-Clan Ironworks, but I'm not sure if it's viable without artifact lands."
Chromatic artifacts and Elsewhere Flask don't work because they force you to draw, so you'll eventually deck yourself. The answer is Mox Opal. If you need multiple colored mana, sac it to KCI, use Bauble to put it back in hand (assuming you have 0 cards in library), then cast & tap it for mana.
3) What cards are good against the mirror?
One that hasn't been mentioned in the past few pages is Disciple of the Vault. It's also an alternative wincon for the deck.
2) It takes so long, I'm watching my opponent durdle, there's no interaction, etc (AKA The Sensei's Divining Top Argument)
Scoop lol. You want to cast your spells, wait for your combo opponent to finish or move on to the next game.
"But I don't want to wait!" - you're gonna have to. Do you play every single round in poker no matter how bad your hand is and justify it with "waiting is boring"? Know when to fold 'em.
I find it fascinating that in chess, losing a piece for nothing prompts immediate resignation. The etiquette in that game is to resign when you know you can't win, even though it's possible but unlikely that your opponent screws up (e.g. he touches the wrong piece, and is forced to hang it or put you in stalemate). In Magic, people choose to wait, then complain about it being boring, while they have the power end it by scooping.
izzet: you want that stapled to the front page in some way? Let me know.
Huh, after watching that video of the deck tech, seems like cifka's reasoning for grapeshot would have just as easily supported laboratory maniac =) I guess the reason he didn't is just not having the idea ever spring on him, but I'm inclined to believe he'd be down with the maniac if he knew =)
Also, that interviewer was seriously terrible, as soon as cifka starts explaining something, the guy just straight up steals the thunder for himself. Shameful. I guess it IS his show though...
Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Shimmer Myr and Leyline of Sanctity. Also, try to resolve your lotus blooms before they try to go off. Don't instigate the combo.
Edit: also, a better version of eggs than your opponent. Also, extirpate. Yeah... Extirpate.
Standard Mardu Midrange
Modern 4 Colour Delver, Naya Midrange
CommanderSidisi 1v1, Sliver Overlord, Intet the Dreamer, Mayael the Anima (shameless plug http://youtu.be/4zu4QRvGSo8)
Eggs on eggs is kinda weird because if they go second sunrise, you can respond by popping all of your eggs. Whoever goes off in the mirror match has the chance to win first, but the other person should have a gigantic hand (10+, i would think) if the turn gets passed back. Plus, this lets you dig for answers (silence being the big one), because once you hit that, you can respond to a sunrise with it, and even if the player can keep going off, he probably won't win that turn because he can't cast more eggs. Important to note that Angel's Grace doesn't really cut it, because with pyrite spellbomb loops you'll be put to 1 life and then die on your upkeep (or alternatively be entirely milled out with codex shredder). Good luck winning in response to that.
Duuuude, the mirror is going to be weird.
Also, for the mirror, if you run Ironworks, you can play pithing needle naming whatever to stop your opponent, then on your turn just sacrifice it at the beginning of each loop. That should do the trick. Playing it early lets you prevent both players from going off (I think I would name Conjurer's Bauble), until you hit the Ironworks.
Actually, thinking about it now, wouldn't any extraction / extirpate effects hit Conjurer's Bauble before anything else (for players who know what they are playing against)? The pyrite spellbomb win condition (almost always) depends on being able to loop sunrise effects, which you can't do without the bauble. Same deal with singleton codex shredder (having two- one to mill and one to recur - makes this problem moot). I guess the grapeshot plan is still ok, but I'm not a fan just because I don't want to count storm.
Maybe I'm wrong, but I still think I like the KCI version better. However, I do think I will take out some copies of the KCI - dependent eggs (Ichor Wellspring, Terrarion) because they utterly suck without KCI. You want KCI to be a benefit to the deck, not make the deck depend on having KCI out. I think we were too focused on maximizing the benefit of KCI that we forgot to keep evaluating the deck as a whole. As it is, the deck flops when it doesn't get KCI on the board, and it really shouldn't. In retrospect, the idea that I've gone down to 2 chromatic spheres is ridiculous. It's a 1 mana egg. What more do we want?
I've been testing Thoughtcast which I think is much better than any of the cantrips he used only in the KCI version mainly because of the Darksteel Citadels it runs. It is very very frequently a one mana draw 2 mid combo, which is nothing to scoff at. Early game it shouldn't ever cost more than a Divination, and even then I don't dislike it.
Also, I have to wonder about the choice of 0 noxious revivals. Now that we have 8 sunrise effects, would we be better served with more eggs than more pseudo sunrises?
Here's what I'm looking at right now, slightly edited after the PT. Not sure how I like it right now, may change some parts around.
1 Noxious Revival
4 Faith's Reward
4 Reshape
2 Thoughtcast
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Chromatic Star
4 Conjurer's Bauble
2 Elsewhere Flask
2 Ichor Wellspring
1 Terrarion
2 Krark-Clan Ironworks
1 Mox Opal
1 Pithing Needle
1 Codex Shredder
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
8 Island
1 Plains
2 Misty Rainforest
4 Ghost Quarter
4 Darksteel Citadel
2 Silence
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Defense Grid
1 Wipe Away
4 Echoing Truth
3 Leyline of Sanctity
2 Pithing Needle
Man, I'm just so pumped at this result! Look at me still talking when there's science to do! To the playtest-cave, Batman!
UR Storm WUBRG Sunnyside Up W Death+Taxes BR 7->0:60 Discard
EDH
GU Vig RWU Zedruu BR Olivia
Play Magic online free with GCCG!
Download it here -- (My Username is ShinkyP)
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Don't worry about it, it's not a big deal. It's just funny and unexpected, considering some of the things you've said previously. In no way is it meant to be derogatory. I'd provide links to said previous statements for the purposes of humoring your personal research into this allegedly baffling anecdote I have provided, but I'm just too lazy, dawg.
The Revery on SALT was intended for the captive audience in the other thread, who will no doubt spare some ranks to seek out scratch posts for their new-found salt-based prime directive. I don't really blame them, everyone's gotta have a wall to bang their head against sometimes. Like this deck is EVER going to get hit by a banhammer, that's utterly ridiculous. It would be unconscionable of the WOTC to humor these chumps. Pay it no mind, I say. If anything, it just means some really good players got caught with their pants down, which is exactly how this deck is supposed to function.
On topic for once: I've actually been playing some mirrors with this other dude on and off for awhile, just to figure this sort of issue out. FR is boom town in the mirror. Some of our matches were pretty interesting, like going "off" off of each others sunrises and getting the chance stolen BACK because dwindling resources, trying to be the guy to steal a chance by responding to the other guys FR with an FR, using revivals on Blooms and ghost quarters =) Usual shenanigans like angel's grace are fine if well timed, but it won't work against someone who has an opposing grace. THAT was a funny match. 1 card in library each, graces in the yards, baubles all around, revivals in hand, and myrs on the board. We just couldn't die! Neither of us could win or lose for the rest of the game. DRAW (IKR?!)
http://officeofstrategicinfluence.com/spam/ <---- kills spam, fyi.
I mean, yeah... I don't consider this deck to be that serious of a contender (at least not on a regular basis. Just like you said people were caught with thier pants down). I just like really diverse formats and all is fair in love and war (and magic tournys).
WURDelver
[/MANA]MANA]R[/MANA]GTron
WDeath and Taxes
WSoul Sisters
RWG Pod Combo
URSplinter Twin
URStorm
RBurn
Sexy Sig by mchief111 @ Rising Studios
EDH
G Isao
I'd be amazed if you can board out flasks and still combo off consistently, 16 eggs is really the lower limit (I think anyway). You're right that the silences can come out though.
Mmm I believe that you have to put 4 silences and one echoing truth for the second game in a mirror match... (also i have one nihil spellbomb)... The main idea is that you should try to steal the combo when the opponent plays second sunrise and try to get silence to play it against him before he plays pyrite spellbomb (or his wincon that would not be instant kind)... if he plays leyline you depend on echoing truth or another wincon like laboratory maniac plus chromatic sphere. If he also has silence in his deck just surrender both
XWU KCI Eggs
XBRG Lantern Control
10 Island
2 Plains
4 Lotus Bloom
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Chromatic Star
4 Elsewhere Flask
4 Conjurer's Bauble
4 Second Sunrise
4 Faith's Reward
1 Noxious Revival
4 Sleight of Hand
4 Reshape
2 Silence
2 Silence
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Pithing Needle
1 Nihil Spellbomb
4 Echoing Truth
My main requirement is trying to make this work without the fetch-lands, since they put the deck price out of range for me. Any suggestions would be awesome, thanks in advance.
Modern-
Legacy-
Vintage-
I'd likely swap a Noxious Revival with the fourth Elsewhere Flask. I've had a surprisingly consistent time with only 8 Sunrises, and I tend to aggressively Bauble Sunrises by default. The fourth Flask should add consistency in its own way.
I don't like Distant Memories in a non-KCI build, as I don't think you're going to be able to cast a 7-mana Sunrise that often. Heck, if you search for a Sunrise with that card, I'll probably make you exile it and let you draw 3 cards, especially if you cast it with only 3 mana floating. You have a much lower chance of hitting a Sunrise in those 3 cards.
Your sideboard looks fine for the most part. I'm prone to swapping the Grapeshot with the fourth bounce spell, though, as casting Lab Man on an empty library with a Chromatic Sphere up, having him resolve, and then refusing to pass priority and cracking the Sphere for its mana ability is a virtually guaranteed win that fights through a lot of hate.
I, too, am building a rather budget version of sorts.
Just, a weird name is all.
Modern-
Legacy-
Vintage-
4 Ghost Quarter
1 Hallowed Fountain
7 Island
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Plains
2 Scalding Tarn
Spells
4 Chromatic Sphere
4 Chromatic Star
4 Conjurer's Bauble
4 Elsewhere Flask
4 Faith's Reward
1 Gitaxian Probe
4 Lotus Bloom
1 Pyrite Spellbomb
4 Reshape
4 Second Sunrise
4 Serum Visions
2 Silence
3 Sleight of Hand
4 Echoing Truth
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Grapeshot
4 Leyline of Sanctity
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Pithing Needle
2 Silence
this just won a PT. how does it win?
and can anyone explain the SB?
Sarcasm. The most valuable tool at the eggs player's disposal.
On another note, there were 2 other eggs decks that made day 2. I don't know if that's top 64 or not, but they were both playing the KCI Build.
Standard Mardu Midrange
Modern 4 Colour Delver, Naya Midrange
CommanderSidisi 1v1, Sliver Overlord, Intet the Dreamer, Mayael the Anima (shameless plug http://youtu.be/4zu4QRvGSo8)
For players
1) Is vanilla the best (Since it won the PT)?
To be fair, KCI is not without merit - two decks scored 24 and 25 points (8-2-0 and 8-1-1) in the Constructed rounds of PT RTR. One of them (Sebastian Denno of Canada) made 15th place.
KCI also seems to have 3-1ed and 4-0ed more Daily Events than vanilla, although it's arguable that this is because KCI can kill faster in terms of time taken (Banefire).
What was common among all Eggs decks in the PT, though, was 4 Leyline of Sanctity in the sideboard. This card proved to be powerful against Jund, blanking discard and grave hate alike.
2) How does vanilla avoid mana issues?
Vanilla plays 4 Lotus Bloom to maximize the chances of having one in their starting hand. It also has more fetchlands than KCI (4 compared to 2). One trick worth learning when playing vanilla is to hold off cracking your fetches unless you really need to, because they become repeatable Rampant Growths during your combo turn.
The cantrips are also very important - they help to find T1 Lotus, more lands, and Reshape. In part, the cantrips also make it possible to play 4 Lotus instead of 3, because they can find early Lotuses and bottom-deck late ones.
Side note: Valeriy Shunkov wrote this in his article at SCG:
"[T]here is a possible way to generate enough mana with Krark-Clan Ironworks, but I'm not sure if it's viable without artifact lands."
Chromatic artifacts and Elsewhere Flask don't work because they force you to draw, so you'll eventually deck yourself. The answer is Mox Opal. If you need multiple colored mana, sac it to KCI, use Bauble to put it back in hand (assuming you have 0 cards in library), then cast & tap it for mana.
3) What cards are good against the mirror?
One that hasn't been mentioned in the past few pages is Disciple of the Vault. It's also an alternative wincon for the deck.
For haters
1) What cards are good against this deck?
Refer to my primer here. TL;DR version:
Permanents: Ethersworn Canonist, Rule of Law, Chalice of the Void set at 1.
Leyline of the Void, Rest in Peace, Stony Silence, Samurai of the Pale Curtain, Wheel of Sun and Moon.
Permanents with static or triggered abilities tend to be better because they can't be shut down by Pithing Needle.
Instants: Mindbreak Trap, Ravenous Trap
Counterspells and discard are soft counters. The Eggs player can double Sunrises to beat counters, or pay 2 extra against Spell Pierce.
2) It takes so long, I'm watching my opponent durdle, there's no interaction, etc (AKA The Sensei's Divining Top Argument)
Scoop lol. You want to cast your spells, wait for your combo opponent to finish or move on to the next game.
"But I don't want to wait!" - you're gonna have to. Do you play every single round in poker no matter how bad your hand is and justify it with "waiting is boring"? Know when to fold 'em.
I find it fascinating that in chess, losing a piece for nothing prompts immediate resignation. The etiquette in that game is to resign when you know you can't win, even though it's possible but unlikely that your opponent screws up (e.g. he touches the wrong piece, and is forced to hang it or put you in stalemate). In Magic, people choose to wait, then complain about it being boring, while they have the power end it by scooping.
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Big Johnny.
Huh, after watching that video of the deck tech, seems like cifka's reasoning for grapeshot would have just as easily supported laboratory maniac =) I guess the reason he didn't is just not having the idea ever spring on him, but I'm inclined to believe he'd be down with the maniac if he knew =)
Also, that interviewer was seriously terrible, as soon as cifka starts explaining something, the guy just straight up steals the thunder for himself. Shameful. I guess it IS his show though...
http://officeofstrategicinfluence.com/spam/ <---- kills spam, fyi.