Not a lot to say here that hasn't been said about similar decks. Typical attrition based disruptive BGx deck, except this time with blue for added consistency (Serum Visions) and value (Snapcaster). Obvious omission is Goyf, but I just haven't been extremely impressed with him in the current meta. 5/6 for 2 is sweet, but it doesn't much up well to Death's Shadow, Fatal Push, or Tron guys. Anything less than a 5/6, and Tasigur is just better anyway. Maybe I'll try him again later. Anyway, this is where I'm at now.
Straight to the point, this is mainly Grixis splashing Decay and Pulse, with a bit more in the board. Originally it was a bit more of a midrangey kind of build similar to Gerard Fabiano's BUG list from a while back, but the other creatures felt out of place. As of right now this is where I'm at.
I was recently working on a list reminiscent of UWR Flash decks of Standard past. I wanted it all to be workable at instant speed. After a while I found a number of black cards I wanted to splash (it got somewhat heavy). I don't have any sort of reliable sideboard at the moment, but this is the 60 I'm currently at.
Round 1 VS Bant Midrange/Blink Value (0-2)
A local good player with a brew I wasn't prepared for. Both games were basically, path your threat, Blade Splicer/Finks, Resto, Thragtusk. If I attacked his life he built up a huge board, if I tried to slow his board presence he gained a ton of life. I grinded it out the best I could but never felt close.
Round 2 VS UR Storm (2-0)
Game 1 I stuck a Delver on the play, flipped it, killed his electromancer, and then held up Snares and Leaks for anything relevant. Game 2 I did the same but with 2 Delvers through a Blood Moon.
Round 3 VS GR Tron (2-0)
Game 1 I stuck a turn 2 Tasigur on the play and countered his turn 4/5 Karn/Ugin and finished him with a couple bolts. Game 2 I stuck a Delver, countered his Turn 4 Karn, then Crumbled his Towers. He never built up enough to cast anything again before getting burned out.
Round 4 Vs Abzan (2-1)
Game one was super grindy and involved trading a lot of threats and removal. He eventually went to Inquisition me late game when I had 2 Bolts and a Shores in hand and he had a Bob in play while at 14 life. I opted to double bolt his face in response to the Inquisition and hope the Bob killed him. Over the next couple turns Bob did 5 to him and I topdecked a bolt for the win on my last possible turn. Game 2 he Abrupt decayed my turn 1 Delver then Maelstorm Pulsed my 2 Delvers I played on Turn 2. He then played and flashbacked a few Lingering Souls and killed me. Game 3 Was pretty back and forth, I had done everything I could, but was stuck on 3 lands (2 Steam Vents and a Swamp) on something like the 9th turn. I knew it was my last turn, I was at 5 and him at 8, my board was Snapcaster, he had 5 Lingering Souls and a Liliana with 3 counters. My hand was Serum Visions, Pyromancer, Bolt. I cast the Visions drawing a Probe and bottoming 2 cards. I assumed I was dead so Probed for life going to 3 and drew a Rakdos Charm that I had brought in due to the Sousl slaughter last game. I laughed at my luck, knowing that if I had 1 more land the Bolt and Charm would be lethal. I started to Bolt myself for laughs, but passed the turn to make him kill me. My opponent tanked hard, Liliana Edicted my Snapcaster, and decided to go all out in an attempt to play around removal. He played a shock going to 6 to activate both his manlands and attack with 7 creatures. I Rakdos Charmed for lethal. The crowd watching exploded.
A very fun night and the deck did pretty well I'd say. Beat all the "real" decks and 1 being tron so I was happy. I just couldn't keep pace with the Bant list. Overall I really liked the deck. I feel like Delver was very polarizing. It was either the best possible card or worst depending on the time I saw it. Can't think of any big changes for now, but I'lll definitely be putting in some more hours with the deck.
Round 1 Vs Infect
Game 1 I got him Turn2 on the draw. Sided in 2 Snares and 2 Disfigures. Game 2 I kept a hand with a bunch of Reanimation but missing the other half of the combo and got hit with 13 infect on turn 3. Game 3 I turn 2'd him again.
1-0
Round 2 Vs Nic Fit
Game 1 my opponent played Verdant Catacombs and passed on turn 1. I then took my turn and killed him. I sided in 2 Snares 2 Needles and I think maybe Tendrils. Game 2 My opponent started the game with a Leyline of the Void in play and I never drew a Snare to bounce it. Game 3 I mull'd to a Snare, then my opponent started with 2 Leylines in play. I tried to Vault into a hand where I could just cast Griselbrand but never got there in time.
1-1
Round 3 Vs Burn
Game 1 I turn 1'd him with the long drawn out casting of Emrakul plan. Game 2 I brought in 2 Snares and a Tendrils. I kept a hand heavy on disruption and was able to Ponder/Brainstorm into the combo before he could find enough bolts.
2-1
Round 4 Vs Dark Maverick
Game 1 he went turn 1 Deathrite, then I took my first turn and killed him. I sided in 2 Snares, 2 Massacre, and maybe a needle or something. Game 2 I went for a turn 3 kill, but he had the Karakas for my Emrakul. I was still able to combo off post combat and cast Emrakul for the win.
3-1
2nd Place
Aside from wanting to work in Show and Tell to the board, I'm not sure what else I'd like to change (other than the obvious addition of real duals).
Only 8 people showed up and the field was as follows
Cephalid Breakfast (Me)
Elves
Tezz Affinity
Tezz Affinity
Miracles
Nic Fit
Sultai Delver
Dredge
The event went like this
Round 1 VS Tez Affinity 2-0
Game 1 he mulliganed to 5, drew a bunch of lands, and died awkwardly. Game 2 he had a pretty sweet starting hand and on the play he went Turn 1 Seat of the Synod, Ornithopter, Signal Pest, Mox Opal, tap it for mana, Mox Opal, Cranial Plating. Luckily I had a Force of Will for the Plating. He then cast a Rest in Peace on turn two, but had no more pressure so I had plenty of time to tutor up my combo pieces then Echoing Truth his Rest in Peace.
Round 2 VS Sultai Delver 0-2
Game 1 was pretty miserable. I mulliganed to 4 off of a flip flop of all land/no land hands. My 4 was Delta, Strand, Daze, Therapy. I actually survived quite a while and died with all my combo pieces in hand the turn before I could cast them. Game 2 he had too much disruption and I died with a Cephalid Illusionist and Eladamri's Call in hand because I couldn't fetch a G/W source and use it twice since he had 2 Wastelands in play. Had I fetched a basic Plains earlier in the game I think I would have been fine. Every decision matters.
Round 3 VS Dredge 2-0
Game one was exactly what you expect from this matchup in game 1. Aside from a tiny bit of disruption we each played solitaire as fast as possible and I got there first. Game two my opponent mulliganed to 5 and then I Misdirectioned his Turn 1 Unmask to see 2 more lands in his hand. The awkward thing is my cantrips got me no where, and I ended up just beating him down with a Grand Abolisher while sitting on a pair of Nihil Spellbombs. My first time winning with damage with this deck.
The shop then announced the Top 4 for the Finals cut. At this point we all agreed it wasn't worth it to play out since it was a winner take all win-a-box and it wasn't sanctioned so no points were at risk, so we all just split the box and went our ways. For the record, the Top 4 was me, Elves, Delver, and Affinity. If I knew I'd be able to dodge the Delver player I might not have split as I feel very comfortable with the other 2 matchups, but I didn't feel like risking walking out with nothing and I had other places to be.
Overall I had a ton of fun with the deck and felt my losses could have been wins had I played better. I can't think of any changes I'd make currently. Not 100% sure if I'll stick to this deck or switch to Reanimator, but either way this deck still seems viable. Maybe not optimal, but not abysmal by any means.
My proxies are 4 Force, 4 Entomb, 1 Griselbrand, and 1 Elesh Norn. The rest of the cards I either already have or can get cheap enough. Any suggestions? I feel like I should be running Careful Study, but I'm not sure what to cut.
What's everyone's take on Æther Vial count? I most often see lists running 4, but occasionally 3. I am currently running 4, but I'm starting to feel 3 maybe correct, but I'm not sure. I'm gonna test both more, but anyone have any thoughts from their own experiences?
I'd suggest going for the creatureless combo route. I am positive that Spooky's budget thread has it listed.
By the gist is you use Mesmeric Orb with Basalt Monolith. (Not sure why that card won't link...but basically its an old card that got rerpinted in commander recently...all it is, is a 3 mana rock that lets you untap it for 3 at any time...basically you can tap or untap it at will--worth next to nothing.) The idea is to basically shut off creature removal even though its a full turn slower--though a few catch all answers like Abrupt Decay can be problematic with out a redirect spell. It gets rid of the white splash though and you could say, use ancient tomb for more speed. Being mono colored helps mana screw be less relevant and fewer non basics means more protection against wasteland. Basically 4 tombs lets you drop it on turn 1 and orb, then on turn 2 an island and monolith and combo out. I tried alot of things, even weird stuff like fabricate but cantrips usually are best.
I'd run an extra Narcomoeba since you won't have a creature in play to help with dread return. I like to through in a Grand Abolisher because if your opponent is unaware you have it, you can stack the triggers I believe so he comes into play first, which shuts off your opponents ability to respond at all. They can always respond before that point if they know, but often you can outmaneuver an opponent that doesn't know how your deck list works. Without fetches, replace your brainstorms back to preordain or something.
Ancient tombs run about 8 bucks and Force of Will is really pricy. Those are you 8 proxies. Everything else is fairly cheap. Mesmeric orbs recently spiked to 5 dollars...I think that's the most pricy card you'd actually need to buy. In theory you could just run basic lands, though you'd be a third turn at full speed combo deck then and then proxy the orbs. There's something to be said with having the power to mold your hand on turn 1, and then casting your relevant plays on turn 2 and 3 for the win but against some decks, speed is king.
I like that idea, and I've tried the Orb list from Spooky's post, but I know the most common removal spell played by good players will be Decay (a couple elf lists, and other BGx lists). So knowing that will be the removal of choice I like the occasionally faster creature route. Also, the creature route has the (highly unlikely, but possible) attack other combo decks to death route. I used countermagic and Therapy to slow down storm while beating down with multiple 1/1s earlier.
If you are proxying the fetches then you should definitely be playing brainstorm, as it can shuffle away unneeded combo pieces. I would get rid of 2 careful study and 2 dispel for them. Pact of Negation can be used instead of Pierce, depending on your meta. Pierce helps against discard, but pact helps defend against blue decks. Use whichever you think you will need the most.
Cabal Therapy is a staple in this deck, as it acts as protection, and allows you to defend yourself mid combo. Before you reanimate your finisher you can flashback cabal therapy to pick their hand apart. Also, it allows you to target yourself mid combo to put finisher pieces into the graveyard. No breakfast or boo berry deck should be without therapy.
I shifted around my proxies to work in Therapy. I think I can borrow some Arid Mesas to use in place of the Strands since I mainly have them there to fetch up white sources. With doing that I can change my proxies to this.
4 Force of Will
2 Cabal Therapy
3 Tundra
1 Scrubland
That way I have plenty of plains for my Mesas to grab, and a single black source to actually cast the Therapy from hand.
A local shop decided to host a somewhat casual Legacy event at the end of the month. I was going to try and brew something up, but seeing as I have next to nothing good enough left in my collection I looked at some budget articles and found a Boo Berry list. I played it a lot on free programs and liked it, but wanted the white splash. This is where I'm at with my list.
Part of the "casual" aspect of this is that we're allowed 10 proxies. Here is what I will be proxying from the above list
4 Force
3 Tundra
2 Cabal Therapy
1 Scrubland
I currently haven't put together a sideboard. The rest of the cards that I don't own I can buy for just over $10. I'd like to not spend a whole lot more, but I'd also like to do as well as possible. Any advice on low cost options to possibly improve this list?
1 Breeding Pool
2 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Darkslick Shores
1 Forest
1 Island
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Overgrown Tomb
3 Polluted Delta
2 Swamp
3 Verdant Catacombs
2 Watery Grave
Instants (13)
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Fatal Push
2 Go for the Throat
1 Murderous Cut
4 Thought Scour
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Serum Visions
1 Thoughtseize
Planeswalkers (4)
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
Creatures (10)
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
2 Dispel
1 Duress
2 Flaying Tendrils
1 Golgari Charm
3 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Pulse of Murasa
1 Natural State
2 Tireless Tracker
Straight to the point, this is mainly Grixis splashing Decay and Pulse, with a bit more in the board. Originally it was a bit more of a midrangey kind of build similar to Gerard Fabiano's BUG list from a while back, but the other creatures felt out of place. As of right now this is where I'm at.
1 Blood Crypt
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Blooming Marsh
1 Breeding Pool
2 Creeping Tar Pit
2 Darkslick Shores
1 Forest
1 Island
1 Mountain
1 Overgrown Tomb
3 Polluted Delta
2 Swamp
2 Watery Grave
3 Verdant Catacombs
2 Abrupt Decay
4 Fatal Push
2 Kolaghan's Command
1 Terminate
1 Ultimate Price
4 Thought Scour
Sorceries (10)
4 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Maelstrom Pulse
4 Serum Visions
1 Thoughtseize
Planeswalkers (3)
3 Liliana of the Veil
Creatures (10)
3 Scavenging Ooze
4 Snapcaster Mage
3 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Golgari Charm
1 Rakdos Charm
3 Crumble to Dust
1 Izzet Staticaster
2 Dispel
1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Duress
1 Thoughtseize
3 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Huntmaster of the Fells
Display deck statistics
Any critiques or ideas?
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Mountain
4 Flooded Strand
1 Godless Shrine
3 Polluted Delta
1 Sacred Foundry
2 Shambling Vent
2 Steam Vents
2 Bloodstained Mire
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Watery Grave
3 Celestial Colonnade
1 Vendilion Clique
3 Restoration Angel
4 Path to Exile
2 Spell Snare
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Mana Leak
2 Remand
2 Lightning Helix
1 Dimir Charm
1 Esper Charm
1 Anguished Unmaking
1 Electrolyze
2 Kolaghan's Command
1 Mystical Teachings
2 Cryptic Command
1 Fated Retribution
1 Sphinx's Revelation
Sideboard options include, Wear//Tear, Flashfreeze, more helixes, and not a lot locked in.
Any suggestions? It's a bit scattered at the moment, but it does a good job at beating up on creature decks currently.
1 Blood Crypt
3 Bloodstained Mire
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Flooded Strand
2 Island
1 Mountain
4 Polluted Delta
2 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Swamp
1 Watery Grave
// Creatures
4 Delver of Secrets
2 Gurmag Angler
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 Young Pyromancer
1 Dismember
1 Forked Bolt
3 Gitaxian Probe
2 Kolaghan's Command
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Mana Leak
2 Remand
4 Serum Visions
1 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
2 Terminate
4 Thought Scour
1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Crumble to Dust
1 Dispel
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Negate
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Rough // Tumble (Rough)
2 Thoughtseize
1 Threads of Disloyalty
2 Vampiric Link
1 Vandalblast
Basic rundown was like this.
Round 1 VS Bant Midrange/Blink Value (0-2)
A local good player with a brew I wasn't prepared for. Both games were basically, path your threat, Blade Splicer/Finks, Resto, Thragtusk. If I attacked his life he built up a huge board, if I tried to slow his board presence he gained a ton of life. I grinded it out the best I could but never felt close.
Round 2 VS UR Storm (2-0)
Game 1 I stuck a Delver on the play, flipped it, killed his electromancer, and then held up Snares and Leaks for anything relevant. Game 2 I did the same but with 2 Delvers through a Blood Moon.
Round 3 VS GR Tron (2-0)
Game 1 I stuck a turn 2 Tasigur on the play and countered his turn 4/5 Karn/Ugin and finished him with a couple bolts. Game 2 I stuck a Delver, countered his Turn 4 Karn, then Crumbled his Towers. He never built up enough to cast anything again before getting burned out.
Round 4 Vs Abzan (2-1)
Game one was super grindy and involved trading a lot of threats and removal. He eventually went to Inquisition me late game when I had 2 Bolts and a Shores in hand and he had a Bob in play while at 14 life. I opted to double bolt his face in response to the Inquisition and hope the Bob killed him. Over the next couple turns Bob did 5 to him and I topdecked a bolt for the win on my last possible turn. Game 2 he Abrupt decayed my turn 1 Delver then Maelstorm Pulsed my 2 Delvers I played on Turn 2. He then played and flashbacked a few Lingering Souls and killed me. Game 3 Was pretty back and forth, I had done everything I could, but was stuck on 3 lands (2 Steam Vents and a Swamp) on something like the 9th turn. I knew it was my last turn, I was at 5 and him at 8, my board was Snapcaster, he had 5 Lingering Souls and a Liliana with 3 counters. My hand was Serum Visions, Pyromancer, Bolt. I cast the Visions drawing a Probe and bottoming 2 cards. I assumed I was dead so Probed for life going to 3 and drew a Rakdos Charm that I had brought in due to the Sousl slaughter last game. I laughed at my luck, knowing that if I had 1 more land the Bolt and Charm would be lethal. I started to Bolt myself for laughs, but passed the turn to make him kill me. My opponent tanked hard, Liliana Edicted my Snapcaster, and decided to go all out in an attempt to play around removal. He played a shock going to 6 to activate both his manlands and attack with 7 creatures. I Rakdos Charmed for lethal. The crowd watching exploded.
A very fun night and the deck did pretty well I'd say. Beat all the "real" decks and 1 being tron so I was happy. I just couldn't keep pace with the Bant list. Overall I really liked the deck. I feel like Delver was very polarizing. It was either the best possible card or worst depending on the time I saw it. Can't think of any big changes for now, but I'lll definitely be putting in some more hours with the deck.
2 Gurmag Angler
4 Snapcaster Mage
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
2 Young Pyromancer
1 Dismember
1 Electrolyze
3 Gitaxian Probe
2 Kolaghan's Command
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Mana Leak
2 Remand
4 Serum Visions
1 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
2 Terminate
4 Thought Scour
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Darkslick Shores
2 Island
1 Mountain
4 Polluted Delta
2 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Swamp
1 Watery Grave
1 Ashiok, Nightmare Weaver
1 Chandra, Pyromaster
2 Crumble to Dust
1 Devour Flesh
1 Dispel
1 Izzet Staticaster
1 Negate
1 Rakdos Charm
1 Rough // Tumble
2 Thoughtseize
1 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Vampiric Link
1 Vandalblast
Still not sure if the Dismember should be that or a Murderous Cut.
1 Blood Crypt
4 Bloodstained Mire
1 Darkslick Shores
2 Island
1 Mountain
4 Polluted Delta
2 Steam Vents
1 Sulfur Falls
1 Swamp
1 Watery Grave
4 Delver of Secrets
2 Gurmag Angler
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Young Pyromancer
// Spells
3 Gitaxian Probe
1 Go for the Throat
2 Kolaghan's Command
4 Lightning Bolt
2 Mana Leak
1 Murderous Cut
2 Remand
4 Serum Visions
1 Spell Pierce
2 Spell Snare
2 Terminate
4 Thought Scour
-1/2 Griselbrand
-1/2 Gitaxian Probe
-1/2 Goryo's Vengeance
-1/1 Ponder
-1 Reanimate
-1 Thoughtseize
1 Children of Korlis
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
4 Griselbrand
Spells
4 Brainstorm
3 Cabal Therapy
2 Chrome Mox
4 Dark Ritual
4 Entomb
2 Gitaxian Probe
4 Goryo's Vengeance
1 Lim-Dul's Vault
4 Lotus Petal
2 Ponder
2 Reanimate
4 Shallow Grave
4 Thoughtseize
3 Bloodstained Mire
2 Flooded Strand
2 Island
4 Polluted Delta
2 Swamp
1 Watery Grave
2 Disfigure
2 Duress
1 Helm of Obedience
2 Massacre
2 Pithing Needle
1 Tendrils of Agony
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Tsabo's Web
2 Void Snare
Event went like this.
Round 1 Vs Infect
Game 1 I got him Turn2 on the draw. Sided in 2 Snares and 2 Disfigures. Game 2 I kept a hand with a bunch of Reanimation but missing the other half of the combo and got hit with 13 infect on turn 3. Game 3 I turn 2'd him again.
1-0
Round 2 Vs Nic Fit
Game 1 my opponent played Verdant Catacombs and passed on turn 1. I then took my turn and killed him. I sided in 2 Snares 2 Needles and I think maybe Tendrils. Game 2 My opponent started the game with a Leyline of the Void in play and I never drew a Snare to bounce it. Game 3 I mull'd to a Snare, then my opponent started with 2 Leylines in play. I tried to Vault into a hand where I could just cast Griselbrand but never got there in time.
1-1
Round 3 Vs Burn
Game 1 I turn 1'd him with the long drawn out casting of Emrakul plan. Game 2 I brought in 2 Snares and a Tendrils. I kept a hand heavy on disruption and was able to Ponder/Brainstorm into the combo before he could find enough bolts.
2-1
Round 4 Vs Dark Maverick
Game 1 he went turn 1 Deathrite, then I took my first turn and killed him. I sided in 2 Snares, 2 Massacre, and maybe a needle or something. Game 2 I went for a turn 3 kill, but he had the Karakas for my Emrakul. I was still able to combo off post combat and cast Emrakul for the win.
3-1
2nd Place
Aside from wanting to work in Show and Tell to the board, I'm not sure what else I'd like to change (other than the obvious addition of real duals).
1 Shaman en-Kor
4 Cephalid Illusionist
3 Narcomoeba
1 Angel of Glory's Rise
1 Laboratory Maniac
1 Hapless Researcher
1 Grand Abolisher
4 Æther Vial
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
1 Dig Through Time
4 Eladamri's Call
3 Cabal Therapy
3 Force of Will
2 Daze
1 Dread Return
4 Flooded Strand
2 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
1 Scrubland
1 Tropical Island
1 Savannah
1 Plains
1 Island
1 Swamp
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Duress
3 Misdirection
3 Nature's Claim
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Echoing Truth
Only 8 people showed up and the field was as follows
Cephalid Breakfast (Me)
Elves
Tezz Affinity
Tezz Affinity
Miracles
Nic Fit
Sultai Delver
Dredge
The event went like this
Round 1 VS Tez Affinity 2-0
Game 1 he mulliganed to 5, drew a bunch of lands, and died awkwardly. Game 2 he had a pretty sweet starting hand and on the play he went Turn 1 Seat of the Synod, Ornithopter, Signal Pest, Mox Opal, tap it for mana, Mox Opal, Cranial Plating. Luckily I had a Force of Will for the Plating. He then cast a Rest in Peace on turn two, but had no more pressure so I had plenty of time to tutor up my combo pieces then Echoing Truth his Rest in Peace.
Round 2 VS Sultai Delver 0-2
Game 1 was pretty miserable. I mulliganed to 4 off of a flip flop of all land/no land hands. My 4 was Delta, Strand, Daze, Therapy. I actually survived quite a while and died with all my combo pieces in hand the turn before I could cast them. Game 2 he had too much disruption and I died with a Cephalid Illusionist and Eladamri's Call in hand because I couldn't fetch a G/W source and use it twice since he had 2 Wastelands in play. Had I fetched a basic Plains earlier in the game I think I would have been fine. Every decision matters.
Round 3 VS Dredge 2-0
Game one was exactly what you expect from this matchup in game 1. Aside from a tiny bit of disruption we each played solitaire as fast as possible and I got there first. Game two my opponent mulliganed to 5 and then I Misdirectioned his Turn 1 Unmask to see 2 more lands in his hand. The awkward thing is my cantrips got me no where, and I ended up just beating him down with a Grand Abolisher while sitting on a pair of Nihil Spellbombs. My first time winning with damage with this deck.
The shop then announced the Top 4 for the Finals cut. At this point we all agreed it wasn't worth it to play out since it was a winner take all win-a-box and it wasn't sanctioned so no points were at risk, so we all just split the box and went our ways. For the record, the Top 4 was me, Elves, Delver, and Affinity. If I knew I'd be able to dodge the Delver player I might not have split as I feel very comfortable with the other 2 matchups, but I didn't feel like risking walking out with nothing and I had other places to be.
Overall I had a ton of fun with the deck and felt my losses could have been wins had I played better. I can't think of any changes I'd make currently. Not 100% sure if I'll stick to this deck or switch to Reanimator, but either way this deck still seems viable. Maybe not optimal, but not abysmal by any means.
1 Sire of Insanity
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
1 Grave Titan
1 Empyrial Archangel
1 Animate Dead
4 Entomb
4 Reanimate
4 Exhume
4 Force of Will
4 Daze
4 Ponder
4 Brainstorm
3 Gitaxian Probe
4 Polluted Delta
4 Flooded Strand
2 Watery Grave
4 Swamp
4 Island
My proxies are 4 Force, 4 Entomb, 1 Griselbrand, and 1 Elesh Norn. The rest of the cards I either already have or can get cheap enough. Any suggestions? I feel like I should be running Careful Study, but I'm not sure what to cut.
I like that idea, and I've tried the Orb list from Spooky's post, but I know the most common removal spell played by good players will be Decay (a couple elf lists, and other BGx lists). So knowing that will be the removal of choice I like the occasionally faster creature route. Also, the creature route has the (highly unlikely, but possible) attack other combo decks to death route. I used countermagic and Therapy to slow down storm while beating down with multiple 1/1s earlier.
I shifted around my proxies to work in Therapy. I think I can borrow some Arid Mesas to use in place of the Strands since I mainly have them there to fetch up white sources. With doing that I can change my proxies to this.
4 Force of Will
2 Cabal Therapy
3 Tundra
1 Scrubland
That way I have plenty of plains for my Mesas to grab, and a single black source to actually cast the Therapy from hand.
4 Cephalid Illusionist
3 Narcomoeba
1 Angel of Glory's Rise
1 Azami, Lady of Scrolls
1 Laboratory Maniac
1 Phantasmagorian
4 Ponder
4 Careful Study
3 Gitaxian Probe
4 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce
2 Dispel
1 Dread Return
2 Cabal Therapy
1 Scrubland
4 Arid Mesa
10 Island
1 Plains
Part of the "casual" aspect of this is that we're allowed 10 proxies. Here is what I will be proxying from the above list
4 Force
3 Tundra
2 Cabal Therapy
1 Scrubland
I currently haven't put together a sideboard. The rest of the cards that I don't own I can buy for just over $10. I'd like to not spend a whole lot more, but I'd also like to do as well as possible. Any advice on low cost options to possibly improve this list?