My LGS is doing a Team Unified Modern tournament tomorrow. My teammates are on Hollow One and Affinity, so not too much possible overlap. This is the list I plan to run. Any suggestions?
Went 3-1 at FNM with a 4 Azusa/4 Scout/4 Explore list. 1 tracker main, 4 basic forests. Similar to the Toronto list. Beat Ponza, Tron, punted g3 vs Titanshift, then steamrolled affinity with double amulet turn 3 kills in 2 games.
I really like the 4 Explores. It smooths out your draws and speeds up your average hands a bit. I wasn't particularly impressed by tracker but I only saw it in 1 game. I'll keep trying it for a bit but it may be better as a thragtusk or a Hornet Queen.
I'm not all that concerned about opposing Jaces, except, as stated by others, potentially in Moon decks. Jace -2 on your titan doeasnt seem like much of a concern since you can just replay it, and the only really effective removal uwx has is path to exile. One thing I would be concerned about is if ja ce caused esper control to start cropping up more. They have access to more effective removal in black, plus discard.
I did consider primal command, I used to play Ponza and loved the card there. I haven't tried it because it can't be tutored for, but it might be worth a try as another multi purpose business spell.
I think tracker as a 1 of post board is fine but I've never been overly impressed. It's definitely gotten me out of some tight spots but a lot of the time it just dies before doing much. On the other hand, I love Explore. I find it really greases the wheels of the deck, getting you ahead on mana and keeping you moving through cards. Just kind of keeps things moving smoothly.
@fpawlusz i probably will try swapping the maindeck baloth for tracker, I don't think the baloth was needed main even considering the state of my local meta. The Eternal Witness was a test slot but it seemed fairly strong and put in a lot of work this week. At different points in the night it regrew EE, a dead thragtusk, a land that had been fulminator'd, and a ghost quarter. It seems potentially strong in grindy matchups, since getting back a stirrings or something and chump blocking is pretty strong.
I went 3-1 at my local weekly event. 2-0 vs GDS, 2-0 vs Grixis Control, 1-0 vs Abzan, and 1-2 vs Tron. Kind of bungled the Tron matchup, missequenced my lands and missed a kill g1, won g2, then got my Growth Chambers Crumbled to Dust g3 followed by back to back Karns and couldnt recover. My local meta is very light on combo so I've angled my maindeck in a more midrangey direction with the extra value creatures. It's been working pretty well though.
@d8dk32 in response to both your questions: I think you vastly underestimate how good scrying is in this deck.
A bit of elaboration would be appreciated. I assume you're referencing Temple of Mystery, and in the list I posted an Aether Hub could easily be swapped for a Temple without having to remove Cavern or Explore so I'm not sure how it's relevant. If you think the commonly played single serum visions is required, it easily could replace slaughter pact and you'd still be able to play cavern and explore. Plus I've never really had consistency problems with any build of the deck so I haven't felt like I needed more scry effects. For me the best thing about the new lists is the maindeck Hornet Queen, which could just as easily be played in the "normal" list.
So I haven't posted here before but I picked up the deck a little over a month ago. I don't claim to be an expert at all but have been playing it locally to strong results (something like 11-4 over the past month). I'd been playing the "normal" version without Lotus Bloom, but I saw these new lists being discussed and figured I'd give it a try. Went 4-0 with this list tonight at FNM:
I beat UW Control feat. Mentor (2-0), UWR Tempo (2-1), 8Whack (2-0), and Jeskai Tempo (2-0). I did get good matchups but still the Lotus Blooms felt fine but not exactly thrilling. I'll probably run it at least another week to test it a little more but the two versions felt just about the same to me. I do question why certain cards, particularly Cavern of Souls and Explore, aren't present in most Lotus Bloom lists.
Me and the crew rock up to the venue about an hour before it starts and I spent some quality time with the toilet due to overindulgence in chinese food the night before. I didn't have a Consign//Oblivion before the morning of so my friends and I cracked a couple boosters and pulled one about 15 minutes before the start. About 44 people turned out. 6 rounds, cut to Top 8.
Note: I added roughly how I boarded and occasionally a bit about why(from memory/based on how I think I'd do it since I didn't take notes).
Round 1 vs GR Sneak Attack ----------------------------
This match was on stream. www.twitch.tv/videos/170200838
It starts around the 35 minute mark. It should be on youtube eventually I think if that video goes away. I think they talk about my deck for a bit and then the match starts. I haven't watched it back so hopefully the description from my notes isn't too far off.
It looked like a normal Mono-R Sneak list, just with a green splash. Not sure what for.
G1 I play Badlands and Duress away one of their 2 Chalices. They don't have acceleration so they just play mountain for turn and keep the chalice in hand. I Therapy it and win a turn later with a basic pile. After the match I asked why they held back the chalice and they said they thought I was on BR Reanimator based on the Badlands so chalice on 0 was relatively weak.
+2 Echoing Truth, +1 Consign//Oblivion, +1 IoK
-4 Therapy
I don't like Therapy post-board because they have so many different things to hit that it's almost useless blind. I'd rather have bounce and duresses. Sure sometimes you'll duress and see double Trini or triple chalice, but you could also Therapy and name Chalice and hit and they'll still have double Trini and a blood moon or whatever.
G2 they land a Chalice on 1. I Burning Wish for By Force on my turn 2. On their turn 3 they hardcast Inferno Titan. I destroy the Chalice but Wish was my only business and I don't win before I die to the Titan.
G3 they mull to 5. I Duress and see Chalice and Trinisphere, Inferno Titan and 2 Mountains. I take the Chalice and hope to kill before the 3Ball comes down. I win on turn 3 with nearly the same pile as g1.
Round 2 vs 4C Loam-----------------------------------
G1 They have liliana but no real threats. I have an anemic hand, but I manage to field 3 black sources and hardcast Doomsday with an LED on board to their Lili with 5 loyalty. I intend to build this pile: [Probe, AoI, LED LabMan, Probe] which wins through Lili ultimate if they don't draw something to kill my LED or LabMan. Unfortunately I bungle the pile (my only misbuilt pile all day) and swap the LED and first Probe. I scoop.
+2 Echoing Truth, +1 IoK
-2 Therapy, -1 Duress
Similar reasons to the previous match. They have a diversity of hate athough some is creatures, so I diversify my anti-hate. Not totally sure about the numbers here.
G2 I fire off Empty the Warrens for 10 gobs on t2 or 3 and it gets there, barely.
G3 I mull to 5. I fetch around their Wasteland. They land Lili on t3. Around turn 5 I somehow scrape together a kill with exactly enough storm. Don't have notes but I think it involved Brainstorming to put a Wish back into my deck after Doomsday.
Round 3 vs Dark Depths----------------------------
G1 they're on the play and start Swamp, Petal, Petal and I think I'm just dead but they play Sylvan Library and pass. My hand is a little slow. I fetch basics and cantrip. They brick pretty hard off library. On my turn I Brainstorm into something ridiculous and make about a jillion Drills (really only like 15).
+2 Echoing Truth, +1 IoK
-2 Duress, -1 Therapy
I think you need at least 1 ETruth in just for the chance at bouncing Marit Lage or random permanent based hate they might bring in. Your targeted discard is just ok against them because it can't hit lands, so I diversify my options a bit. Looking at lists online though, many are playing mindbreak trap in the board. Perhaps -2 Therapy, -1 Duress would be safer.
G2 was probably my favorite of the day. My draws are a bit trashy and they get the combo together quickly. Staring down Marit Lage, I cantrip a couple times and set up a Wish on top with Echoing Truth Below it. Double LED, Probe into the wish and Tendrils for only 9 copies, leaving my opponent at 2. Take one hit from the eldritch horror, then bounce it. Opponent got a little salty about my "topdecks" but didn't realize i'd set it up that way. At this point we'd both expended quite a few resources and are topdecking. I am able to set up a pass-the-turn pile a couple turns later and kill with a storm count of 4.
Round 4 vs Czech Pile/4c Control------------------------------
G1 I mull to 5 and manage to get there since my opponent's draws weren't great. No notes on my pile but I think it was a Lab Man kill because I couldn't get enough storm.
+2 Defense Grid, +1 IoK
-1 Wish, -1 Petal, -1 Preordain
You're planning to play a longer game so cutting a little action is fine. When you cut a wish, Empties aren't as likely so cutting a petal is good. If you wanted to keep the Wish in you could cut another preordain instead. That might even be better.
G2 they mull to 5 and I'm pretty pleased but try not to show it. However, I can't for the life of me find a Doomsday or Wish to go with my Ritual, LED, and Probe. They Hymn me on t2 or 3, Snap-Hymn on turn 4 or 5, and start attacking/DRS-ing. They get me pretty low, and I wish for and cast Massacre to try to buy time. They rip Leovold and I die anyway.
G3 I resolve Defense Grid but again I can't find a business spell for too long and die to like 3 DRS's.
Round 5 vs Goblins---------------------------------
I'm playing against a guy who plays at my LGS and I feel a little bad about having to dreamcrush someone I know but what can you do. They are a very good goblins player so I know I have to be on my toes even though it's a fine matchup.
G1 I cantrip and cantrip and can't find action and die to the goblin horde. I am concerned about my chances at top8 at this point.
-3 Duress
+2 ETruth, +1 IoK
Duress is Kind of Bad I think. IoK can hit a creature in a pinch. I assume they're going to have some kind of permanent-based disruption so the ETruth's come in. Worst case scenario they reset Aether Vial. Mindbreak Trap is a concern but if you therapy the turn you go off, that's really the only thing relevant to name so you generally won't miss. I suppose they could have Pyroblast but I've never had a goblins player bring it in against me. It's a nonbo with the chalices they probably bring in.
G2 I mull to 5 but my opponent has no real interaction, just beats, and wasn't fast enough. On the last possible turn I get my ***** together and give em the drills.
G3 they mull to 5 and keep something like double Wasteland, double Vial, Lackey. Not bad for 5 I guess Potential quite good. The game ends on t3 or 4 with me having only basics and him not drawing real disruption.
Round 6 vs Intentional Draw--------------------
It's a clean cut to top8 so we ID.
Quarterfinals vs Omni Sneak---------------------
I sit down and start *****-talking myself a bit, telling my opponent about my curse of never being able to get past the first round of Top8, no matter the format. I jokingly wish them luck in the rest of top8.
G1 I summarily smoke them. I Duress a FoW, then another, and then give them the Drills on t3. I enthusiastically promise them the wheels will come off soon.
+2 Defense Grid, +1 IoK
-1 Preordain, -2 Petal
Goblins aren't really part of the plan here so petals can come out but I like to keep in all the wishes just to have business density. Cutting one cantrip is acceptable in most matchups if you feel you need the slot, so a preordain goes away. IoK maybe isn't the best but post-board they'll have extra countermagic so even though it can't hit most of their combo pieces I feel it's worth the slot. Defense grid is obvious. Putting it in off SnT to their Griselbrand feels great (even if you still lose).
G2 I probe and see spell pierce and a turn 2 Show and Tell into Griselbrand. I therapy and they pierce it. They SnT in Griselbrand, I drop in Defense Grid. They tank for a bit and pass without attacking. I don't rip the ritual I need, and on their turn they draw 14, SnT in Omniscience, Cunning Wish for Intuition for 3x Emrakul and I scoop it up.
G3 I pull the countermagic from their hand leaving them with a few fatties. I cantrip and have a kill set up for next turn, I think turn 3 or 4. After fetching and probing I am at 15. On their turn, they rip Sneak Attack and sneak in Emmy to hit me for exactsies.
FINAL STATS-------------
Match Record: 4-2
Game Record: 10-7
Doomsday+Tendrils Kills: 8
Lab Man Kills: 1
ETW Kills: 1
Natural Tendrils Kills: 0
Telemin Kills: 0
Between Round Bathroom Breaks: 4
The Act on Impulse, is it 'really' better than Ideas Unbound? Now that I think about it, you don't have the cards in your hands, so you can activate LED's without needing to discard it. So I get it. Is the extra manacost sometimes a problem in certain piles? I might think that. But the Act on Impulse will solve issues that normally only SDT could solve to keep a draw spell handy (for LM piles) in this case the instant cycling from Edge of Autumn I think is the best.
I think act is better now. A big draw of IU was how it would leave you with 1 mana left to recast top after using one to draw in to the pile. That's no longer a consideration. Also, AoI makes double cantrip storm piles cheaper.
Any possibility to post some post-SDT-ban piles? Just to get a 'noob' like me started. The non-SDT piles stay the same, but the SDT piles are not always replaced by a cantrip. (unless the cantrip gets exiled with Act on Impulse)
I think there is an updated pile document somewhere on the Storm Boards, which is a good resource, but the new class of important piles are double cantrip piles, which as I said are cheaper. If you have 2 cantrips and the resources to cast them post-doomsday, you can build a pile like this:
LED, AOI, LED, LED, BW or
LED, AOI, LED, LM, GP for the maniac version.
Telemin Performance: is it an alternate wincon against Lands/Storm/SnT decks?
Yes. Wholly unnecessary but also dope when it works. Probably not worth the slot unless you expect a lot of those decks or struggle against them.
Cruel Bargain/infernal contract: it was a replacement for Ideas Unbound in fear for Red/Pyro Blasts and Spell Snare, but now that we have AoI, are we that afraid of Hydro/blue blasts?
This slot actually serves another, more important purpose: it turns burning wish in hand post doomsday into a drawspell. This slot can really be any number of things. It could be Contract/Bargain, an edge of autumn, another AoI. Even IU i guess. I prefer Contract because i board it in in combo matchups where my life total matters far less than card advantage, and in grindy matchups where there are few threats. If you use Edge of Autumn, you can board it in for matchups where speed is important and you want more free cantrips to try for fast wins, such as burn. If you do board it in, ALWAYS swap it for a cantrip so you have one you can wish for.
4 Lotus Petals and 4 Burning Wish give the deck a better shot at quickly making a bunch of goblins. I like this because I've found it to be a better plan against Delver and Chalice decks and DnT. For this reason I've cut the singleton maindeck bounce spell/abrupt decay slot that people sometimes play; it was underperforming for me and I found I'd rather just try to go under lockpieces.
Edge of Autumn is a card I've waffled on but I think i'm going to try it for a while. With the green splash you can actually cast it, and it also makes certain piles cost less life which can be the difference beteween winning or losing. As a cantrip it is weak and sometimes i'd rather just have another preordain but it's worth a try. Another reasonable option here is Conjurer's Bauble.
I like a 4/3 split of therapy and duress but that's a personal taste thing.
The sideboard is something I'm not sure about. I think the minimum functional wishboard is DD, Tendrils, ETW, and IC/AoI/EoA. Maybe leaning harder on ETW means I can shave a few wish slots dedicated to beating hate and play a more robust sideboard. The green splash is also debateable. Xantid Swarm is only really good against things like New Miracles and Landstill. Maybe green should be cut and I can play a 3rd basic and a sideboard like this:
I've been testing a 1-of Shaman of the Great Hunt in my list and liking it so far. It's a cheap hasty threat that grows and can draw cards if you're out of gas or deadlocked on board. Sometimes a little win-more but it can be good to keep the tide of the game in your favor. Haven't gotten enough games in to give a definitive yes/no on it but it's a spicy one.
RE: Trinisphere, I have 3 in my board and sideboard them in pretty liberally, especially on the play. I bring them in against storm, cheerios, elves, ad naus, burn, 8rack, ds on the play, ancestral visions decks on the play, affinity, any deck that abuses cascade. Lots of decks. T2 Trinisphere is brutal against most decks, and nigh unbeatable if you follow it up with LD on t3+
So today I played the mirror match for the first time and I was wondering if anyone had some general thoughts on sideboarding/strategy. I managed to scrape together the win but I felt like I could have had a better plan for the matchup. My general plan was to board out Blood Moon, since it's generally not great vs other Blood Moon decks, bring in smaller threats (sideboard Kitchen Finks) to try to get pressure down early, and harass their manabase to try to stay ahead on board. Stone raining lands with Utopia Sprawl on it is particularly effective and almost made me want to board one or 2 sprawls out. What are other people's ideas on how to fight the mirror?
R1 vs GW Company 2-0
G1 They lead off with a bunch of dorks but no threats. I land blood moon which didn't do as much as I'd hoped but it created a speedbump and I clean up the dorks with Titan. G2 they mull, have a sketchy start, and I keep them off land and they never get in it.
R2 vs Jeskai Ascendency 0-2
G1 seems like a bit of an auto-lose, especially on the draw, and that's what happens. G2 I mull to try to find sideboard cards but can't and get blown out.
R3 vs Storm 2-0
G1 they never manage to find Gifts and I'm able to end the game relatively quickly. This matchup gets a lot better post board. Especially when you slam t2 Trinisphere. Which I did.
R4 vs Mono-Blue Tron (2-0)
I get land Blood Moon to slow them down a bit and get some early beats in with my elves and a Finks. I'm able to keep them off tron but they still get up to ~8 mana. They tap out for Plat Angel and I get Stormbreath down. I get them below 0, their Ugin wipes my board, but I rip a giant miracle Bonfire the turn after. G2 I cut Moon and bring in Ancient Grudge and my cheap sideboard threats, the idea being to put pressure on early or cast multiple threats per turn to overload their countermagic. It works relatively well and I keep pressure up and manage to resolve 1 or 2 LD spells to keep them off easy tron. It gets hairy for a bit when they slaver me but they don't have mana for the lock and I have 2x inferno titan in hand to finish up.
I'm beginning to think I want the 3rd Trinisphere in the board. In the relevant matchups, the card basically wins on its own, and there seem to be more combo decks around my LGS lately.
Quick Report------------------
R1 vs Elves (2-1)
I keep a solid 7 with t2 Moon into turn 3 Baloth, which it turns out isn't great vs the mono green deck and I am run over posthaste. In: 3x Anger, 2x Trinisphere. Out: 2x Blood Moon, 1x Stone Rain, 1x Thrun, 1x Beast Within. Game 2 I have t2 trinisphere and they're never in it. Game 3 they overcommit and I blow them out with Anger and mop up with Titan.
R2 vs Naya Burn (2-0)
I mull to a solid 5 of 2x forest, sprawl, finks, moon, which buys me enough time to find primal command to gain 7 and grab titan to mop up. In: 3x Anger, 2x Finks, 2x Trinisphere. Out: 2x Beast Within, 3x Stone Rain, 2x Stormbreath. Moon seems fine but they don't need much land to operate so Rain doesn't seem fine. Trinisphere on t2 slows them down a ton but i'm still not sure its worth it. G2 I have t1 sprawl, t2 finks, t3 finks, turn 4 primal command. Better lucky than good.
R3 vs Lantern Control (2-1)
They lock me out with bridge and 3 millrocks and I scoop rather than **** about for half an hour. In: 3x Ancient Grudge, 2x Needle. Out: 2x Baloth, 3x Blood Moon. With so many colorless business spells, moon seems weak. Never actually played this matchup before so I was kind of winging it. Fortunately, G2 and 3 they never found bridge and got them with quick beats, but I had Grudges for Bridge anyway.
R4 vs Classic Naya Zoo (2-0)
G1 I have Finks into Baloth into Titan. In: 3x Anger, 2x Finks. Out: 2x Beast Within, 2x Stone Rain, 1x Stormbreath Dragon. G2 I have Moon and a Miracle Bonfire to clear the board before a Baloth starts the beats and Primal Command for Baloth gets the concession.
Gotta say I'm not a fan of Beast Within. Rarely did I want to cast it and many times it seemed downright dangerous to cast on opponent's things. Bonfire also seems to be a little weak since I have plenty of other cards to deal with aggro. Trinisphere, however, gets me all hot and bothered. Finks in the maindeck seems correct as well, certainly in my aggro-heavy meta. Next week probably I'll try -1 Beast Within, -1 Bonfire, +1 Scooze, +1 Nissa, Vital Force. Thoughts on my sideboard/sideboarding? I had some trouble deciding what to take out sometimes.
4 Primeval Titan
4 Summoner's Pact
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Explore
4 Amulet of Vigor
4 Sakura-Tribe Scout
3 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1 Thragtusk
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Walking Ballista
1 Pact of Negation
4 Simic Growth Chamber
3 Gruul Turf
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Forest
3 Tolaria West
1 Boros Garrison
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Botanical Sanctum
1 Khalni Garden
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
1 Slayer's Stronghold
1 Vesuva
1 Radiant Fountain
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Cavern of Souls
2 Dismember
2 Swan Song
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Nature's Claim
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Reclamation Sage
1 Hornet Queen
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Chameleon Colossus
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
I really like the 4 Explores. It smooths out your draws and speeds up your average hands a bit. I wasn't particularly impressed by tracker but I only saw it in 1 game. I'll keep trying it for a bit but it may be better as a thragtusk or a Hornet Queen.
I think tracker as a 1 of post board is fine but I've never been overly impressed. It's definitely gotten me out of some tight spots but a lot of the time it just dies before doing much. On the other hand, I love Explore. I find it really greases the wheels of the deck, getting you ahead on mana and keeping you moving through cards. Just kind of keeps things moving smoothly.
1x Boros Garrison
1x Cavern of Souls
3x Forest
4x Gemstone Mine
1x Ghost Quarter
1x Golgari Rot Farm
3x Gruul Turf
1x Khalni Garden
1x Radiant Fountain
1x Selesnya Sanctuary
4x Simic Growth Chamber
1x Slayers' Stronghold
1x Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
3x Tolaria West
1x Vesuva
3x Azusa, Lost but Seeking
1x Hornet Queen
1x Obstinate Baloth
4x Primeval Titan
4x Sakura-Tribe Scout
1x Thragtusk
1x Walking Ballista
Artifact (6)
4x Amulet of Vigor
1x Batterskull
1x Engineered Explosives
Instant (5)
1x Pact of Negation
4x Summoner's Pact
Sorcery (7)
4x Ancient Stirrings
3x Explore
1x Bojuka Bog
2x Dismember
1x Eternal Witness
2x Kozilek's Return
1x Nature's Claim
1x Pact of Negation
1x Seal of Primordium
1x Slaughter Pact
1x Swan Song
1x Tectonic Edge
1x Thragtusk
1x Tireless Tracker
1x Tormod's Crypt
A bit of elaboration would be appreciated. I assume you're referencing Temple of Mystery, and in the list I posted an Aether Hub could easily be swapped for a Temple without having to remove Cavern or Explore so I'm not sure how it's relevant. If you think the commonly played single serum visions is required, it easily could replace slaughter pact and you'd still be able to play cavern and explore. Plus I've never really had consistency problems with any build of the deck so I haven't felt like I needed more scry effects. For me the best thing about the new lists is the maindeck Hornet Queen, which could just as easily be played in the "normal" list.
4 Primeval Titan
4 Summoner's Pact
4 Azusa, Lost but Seeking
4 Amulet of Vigor
4 Ancient Stirrings
4 Lotus Bloom
2 Explore
1 Slaughter Pact
1 Pact of Negation
1 Walking Ballista
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Hive Mind
1 Hornet Queen
Lands
2 Forest
2 Aether Hub
3 Tolaria West
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Simic Growth Chamber
3 Gruul Turf
1 Golgari Rot Farm
1 Selesnya Sanctuary
1 Boros Garrison
1 Slayers' Stronghold
1 Sunhome, Fortress of the Legion
1 Radiant Fountain
1 Khalni Garden
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Vesuva
1 Obstinate Baloth
1 Tireless Tracker
1 Ruric Thar, the Unbowed
1 Thragtusk
1 Ghost Quarter
1 Spell Pierce
1 Swan Song
2 Kozilek's Return
2 Dismember
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Nature's Claim
1 Seal of Primordium
I beat UW Control feat. Mentor (2-0), UWR Tempo (2-1), 8Whack (2-0), and Jeskai Tempo (2-0). I did get good matchups but still the Lotus Blooms felt fine but not exactly thrilling. I'll probably run it at least another week to test it a little more but the two versions felt just about the same to me. I do question why certain cards, particularly Cavern of Souls and Explore, aren't present in most Lotus Bloom lists.
My list:
http://tappedout.net/mtg-decks/topless-doomsday/
Me and the crew rock up to the venue about an hour before it starts and I spent some quality time with the toilet due to overindulgence in chinese food the night before. I didn't have a Consign//Oblivion before the morning of so my friends and I cracked a couple boosters and pulled one about 15 minutes before the start. About 44 people turned out. 6 rounds, cut to Top 8.
Note: I added roughly how I boarded and occasionally a bit about why(from memory/based on how I think I'd do it since I didn't take notes).
Round 1 vs GR Sneak Attack ----------------------------
This match was on stream. www.twitch.tv/videos/170200838
It starts around the 35 minute mark. It should be on youtube eventually I think if that video goes away. I think they talk about my deck for a bit and then the match starts. I haven't watched it back so hopefully the description from my notes isn't too far off.
It looked like a normal Mono-R Sneak list, just with a green splash. Not sure what for.
G1 I play Badlands and Duress away one of their 2 Chalices. They don't have acceleration so they just play mountain for turn and keep the chalice in hand. I Therapy it and win a turn later with a basic pile. After the match I asked why they held back the chalice and they said they thought I was on BR Reanimator based on the Badlands so chalice on 0 was relatively weak.
+2 Echoing Truth, +1 Consign//Oblivion, +1 IoK
-4 Therapy
I don't like Therapy post-board because they have so many different things to hit that it's almost useless blind. I'd rather have bounce and duresses. Sure sometimes you'll duress and see double Trini or triple chalice, but you could also Therapy and name Chalice and hit and they'll still have double Trini and a blood moon or whatever.
G2 they land a Chalice on 1. I Burning Wish for By Force on my turn 2. On their turn 3 they hardcast Inferno Titan. I destroy the Chalice but Wish was my only business and I don't win before I die to the Titan.
G3 they mull to 5. I Duress and see Chalice and Trinisphere, Inferno Titan and 2 Mountains. I take the Chalice and hope to kill before the 3Ball comes down. I win on turn 3 with nearly the same pile as g1.
Round 2 vs 4C Loam-----------------------------------
G1 They have liliana but no real threats. I have an anemic hand, but I manage to field 3 black sources and hardcast Doomsday with an LED on board to their Lili with 5 loyalty. I intend to build this pile: [Probe, AoI, LED LabMan, Probe] which wins through Lili ultimate if they don't draw something to kill my LED or LabMan. Unfortunately I bungle the pile (my only misbuilt pile all day) and swap the LED and first Probe. I scoop.
+2 Echoing Truth, +1 IoK
-2 Therapy, -1 Duress
Similar reasons to the previous match. They have a diversity of hate athough some is creatures, so I diversify my anti-hate. Not totally sure about the numbers here.
G2 I fire off Empty the Warrens for 10 gobs on t2 or 3 and it gets there, barely.
G3 I mull to 5. I fetch around their Wasteland. They land Lili on t3. Around turn 5 I somehow scrape together a kill with exactly enough storm. Don't have notes but I think it involved Brainstorming to put a Wish back into my deck after Doomsday.
Round 3 vs Dark Depths----------------------------
G1 they're on the play and start Swamp, Petal, Petal and I think I'm just dead but they play Sylvan Library and pass. My hand is a little slow. I fetch basics and cantrip. They brick pretty hard off library. On my turn I Brainstorm into something ridiculous and make about a jillion Drills (really only like 15).
+2 Echoing Truth, +1 IoK
-2 Duress, -1 Therapy
I think you need at least 1 ETruth in just for the chance at bouncing Marit Lage or random permanent based hate they might bring in. Your targeted discard is just ok against them because it can't hit lands, so I diversify my options a bit. Looking at lists online though, many are playing mindbreak trap in the board. Perhaps -2 Therapy, -1 Duress would be safer.
G2 was probably my favorite of the day. My draws are a bit trashy and they get the combo together quickly. Staring down Marit Lage, I cantrip a couple times and set up a Wish on top with Echoing Truth Below it. Double LED, Probe into the wish and Tendrils for only 9 copies, leaving my opponent at 2. Take one hit from the eldritch horror, then bounce it. Opponent got a little salty about my "topdecks" but didn't realize i'd set it up that way. At this point we'd both expended quite a few resources and are topdecking. I am able to set up a pass-the-turn pile a couple turns later and kill with a storm count of 4.
Round 4 vs Czech Pile/4c Control------------------------------
G1 I mull to 5 and manage to get there since my opponent's draws weren't great. No notes on my pile but I think it was a Lab Man kill because I couldn't get enough storm.
+2 Defense Grid, +1 IoK
-1 Wish, -1 Petal, -1 Preordain
You're planning to play a longer game so cutting a little action is fine. When you cut a wish, Empties aren't as likely so cutting a petal is good. If you wanted to keep the Wish in you could cut another preordain instead. That might even be better.
G2 they mull to 5 and I'm pretty pleased but try not to show it. However, I can't for the life of me find a Doomsday or Wish to go with my Ritual, LED, and Probe. They Hymn me on t2 or 3, Snap-Hymn on turn 4 or 5, and start attacking/DRS-ing. They get me pretty low, and I wish for and cast Massacre to try to buy time. They rip Leovold and I die anyway.
G3 I resolve Defense Grid but again I can't find a business spell for too long and die to like 3 DRS's.
Round 5 vs Goblins---------------------------------
I'm playing against a guy who plays at my LGS and I feel a little bad about having to dreamcrush someone I know but what can you do. They are a very good goblins player so I know I have to be on my toes even though it's a fine matchup.
G1 I cantrip and cantrip and can't find action and die to the goblin horde. I am concerned about my chances at top8 at this point.
-3 Duress
+2 ETruth, +1 IoK
Duress is Kind of Bad I think. IoK can hit a creature in a pinch. I assume they're going to have some kind of permanent-based disruption so the ETruth's come in. Worst case scenario they reset Aether Vial. Mindbreak Trap is a concern but if you therapy the turn you go off, that's really the only thing relevant to name so you generally won't miss. I suppose they could have Pyroblast but I've never had a goblins player bring it in against me. It's a nonbo with the chalices they probably bring in.
G2 I mull to 5 but my opponent has no real interaction, just beats, and wasn't fast enough. On the last possible turn I get my ***** together and give em the drills.
G3 they mull to 5 and keep something like double Wasteland, double Vial, Lackey. Not bad for 5 I guess Potential quite good. The game ends on t3 or 4 with me having only basics and him not drawing real disruption.
Round 6 vs Intentional Draw--------------------
It's a clean cut to top8 so we ID.
Quarterfinals vs Omni Sneak---------------------
I sit down and start *****-talking myself a bit, telling my opponent about my curse of never being able to get past the first round of Top8, no matter the format. I jokingly wish them luck in the rest of top8.
G1 I summarily smoke them. I Duress a FoW, then another, and then give them the Drills on t3. I enthusiastically promise them the wheels will come off soon.
+2 Defense Grid, +1 IoK
-1 Preordain, -2 Petal
Goblins aren't really part of the plan here so petals can come out but I like to keep in all the wishes just to have business density. Cutting one cantrip is acceptable in most matchups if you feel you need the slot, so a preordain goes away. IoK maybe isn't the best but post-board they'll have extra countermagic so even though it can't hit most of their combo pieces I feel it's worth the slot. Defense grid is obvious. Putting it in off SnT to their Griselbrand feels great (even if you still lose).
G2 I probe and see spell pierce and a turn 2 Show and Tell into Griselbrand. I therapy and they pierce it. They SnT in Griselbrand, I drop in Defense Grid. They tank for a bit and pass without attacking. I don't rip the ritual I need, and on their turn they draw 14, SnT in Omniscience, Cunning Wish for Intuition for 3x Emrakul and I scoop it up.
G3 I pull the countermagic from their hand leaving them with a few fatties. I cantrip and have a kill set up for next turn, I think turn 3 or 4. After fetching and probing I am at 15. On their turn, they rip Sneak Attack and sneak in Emmy to hit me for exactsies.
FINAL STATS-------------
Match Record: 4-2
Game Record: 10-7
Doomsday+Tendrils Kills: 8
Lab Man Kills: 1
ETW Kills: 1
Natural Tendrils Kills: 0
Telemin Kills: 0
Between Round Bathroom Breaks: 4
Don't eat chinese food before tournaments.
I think act is better now. A big draw of IU was how it would leave you with 1 mana left to recast top after using one to draw in to the pile. That's no longer a consideration. Also, AoI makes double cantrip storm piles cheaper.
I think there is an updated pile document somewhere on the Storm Boards, which is a good resource, but the new class of important piles are double cantrip piles, which as I said are cheaper. If you have 2 cantrips and the resources to cast them post-doomsday, you can build a pile like this:
LED, AOI, LED, LED, BW or
LED, AOI, LED, LM, GP for the maniac version.
Yes. Wholly unnecessary but also dope when it works. Probably not worth the slot unless you expect a lot of those decks or struggle against them.
This slot actually serves another, more important purpose: it turns burning wish in hand post doomsday into a drawspell. This slot can really be any number of things. It could be Contract/Bargain, an edge of autumn, another AoI. Even IU i guess. I prefer Contract because i board it in in combo matchups where my life total matters far less than card advantage, and in grindy matchups where there are few threats. If you use Edge of Autumn, you can board it in for matchups where speed is important and you want more free cantrips to try for fast wins, such as burn. If you do board it in, ALWAYS swap it for a cantrip so you have one you can wish for.
3x Doomsday
4x Burning Wish
1x Act on Impulse
1x Laboratory Maniac
Cantrips
4x Ponder
4x Brainstorm
4x Gitaxian Probe
3x Preordain
1x Edge of Autumn
Disruption
4x Cabal Therapy
3x Duress
Accelerants
4x Dark Ritual
4x Lotus Petal
4x Lion's Eye Diamond
4x Polluted Delta
1x Scalding Tarn
2x Bloodstained Mire
2x Misty Rainforest
2x Underground Sea
1x Volcanic Island
1x Badlands
1x Tropical Island
1x Swamp
1x Island
1x Doomsday
1x Tendrils of Agony
1x Infernal Contract
1x Empty the Warrens
1x By Force
1x Massacre
1x Duress
1x Flusterstorm
2x Surgical Extraction
2x Abrupt Decay
2x Xandtid Swarm
1x Echoing Truth
4 Lotus Petals and 4 Burning Wish give the deck a better shot at quickly making a bunch of goblins. I like this because I've found it to be a better plan against Delver and Chalice decks and DnT. For this reason I've cut the singleton maindeck bounce spell/abrupt decay slot that people sometimes play; it was underperforming for me and I found I'd rather just try to go under lockpieces.
Edge of Autumn is a card I've waffled on but I think i'm going to try it for a while. With the green splash you can actually cast it, and it also makes certain piles cost less life which can be the difference beteween winning or losing. As a cantrip it is weak and sometimes i'd rather just have another preordain but it's worth a try. Another reasonable option here is Conjurer's Bauble.
I like a 4/3 split of therapy and duress but that's a personal taste thing.
The sideboard is something I'm not sure about. I think the minimum functional wishboard is DD, Tendrils, ETW, and IC/AoI/EoA. Maybe leaning harder on ETW means I can shave a few wish slots dedicated to beating hate and play a more robust sideboard. The green splash is also debateable. Xantid Swarm is only really good against things like New Miracles and Landstill. Maybe green should be cut and I can play a 3rd basic and a sideboard like this:
1x Empty the Warrens
1x Tendrils of Agony
1x Infernal Contract
1x Inquisition of Kozilek
1x By Force
1x Massacre
1x Telemin Performance
2x Surgical Extraction
2x Flusterstorm
3x Echoing Truth
If I did that, maybe one of those ETruths should be consign//oblivion.
RE: Trinisphere, I have 3 in my board and sideboard them in pretty liberally, especially on the play. I bring them in against storm, cheerios, elves, ad naus, burn, 8rack, ds on the play, ancestral visions decks on the play, affinity, any deck that abuses cascade. Lots of decks. T2 Trinisphere is brutal against most decks, and nigh unbeatable if you follow it up with LD on t3+
4x Utopia Sprawl
4x Arbor Elf
2x Birds of Paradise
4x Blood Moon
4x Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
3x Stone Rain
1x Beast Within
1x Bonfire of the Damned
2x Primal Command
4x Inferno Titan
2x Stormbreath Dragon
2x Obstinate Baloth
1x Thrun, the Last Troll
2x Kitchen Finks
1x Chandra, Flamecaller
1x Nissa, Vital Force
1x Scavenging Ooze
4x Windswept Heath
1x Misty Rainforest
2x Stomping Ground
1x Sheltered Thicket
1x Mountain
8x Forest
3x Anger of the Gods
2x Kitchen Finks
1x Tireless Tracker
2x Trinisphere
3x Ancient Grudge
1x Pithing Needle
3x Relic of Progenitus
R1 vs GW Company 2-0
G1 They lead off with a bunch of dorks but no threats. I land blood moon which didn't do as much as I'd hoped but it created a speedbump and I clean up the dorks with Titan. G2 they mull, have a sketchy start, and I keep them off land and they never get in it.
R2 vs Jeskai Ascendency 0-2
G1 seems like a bit of an auto-lose, especially on the draw, and that's what happens. G2 I mull to try to find sideboard cards but can't and get blown out.
R3 vs Storm 2-0
G1 they never manage to find Gifts and I'm able to end the game relatively quickly. This matchup gets a lot better post board. Especially when you slam t2 Trinisphere. Which I did.
R4 vs Mono-Blue Tron (2-0)
I get land Blood Moon to slow them down a bit and get some early beats in with my elves and a Finks. I'm able to keep them off tron but they still get up to ~8 mana. They tap out for Plat Angel and I get Stormbreath down. I get them below 0, their Ugin wipes my board, but I rip a giant miracle Bonfire the turn after. G2 I cut Moon and bring in Ancient Grudge and my cheap sideboard threats, the idea being to put pressure on early or cast multiple threats per turn to overload their countermagic. It works relatively well and I keep pressure up and manage to resolve 1 or 2 LD spells to keep them off easy tron. It gets hairy for a bit when they slaver me but they don't have mana for the lock and I have 2x inferno titan in hand to finish up.
I'm beginning to think I want the 3rd Trinisphere in the board. In the relevant matchups, the card basically wins on its own, and there seem to be more combo decks around my LGS lately.
4x Utopia Sprawl
4x Arbor Elf
2x Birds of Paradise
The Hate
4x Blood Moon
4x Mwonvuli Acid-Moss
3x Stone Rain
The Interaction
2x Beast Within
2x Bonfire of the Damned
2x Primal Command
The Beef
4x Inferno Titan
2x Stormbreath Dragon
2x Obstinate Baloth
1x Thrun, the Last Troll
2x Kitchen Finks
1x Chandra, Flamecaller
4x Wooded Foothills
4x Windswept Heath
1x Misty Rainforest
2x Stomping Ground
1x Sheltered Thicket
1x Mountain
8x Forest
3x Anger of the Gods
2x Kitchen Finks
2x Trinisphere
3x Ancient Grudge
2x Pithing Needle
3x Relic of Progenitus
Quick Report------------------
R1 vs Elves (2-1)
I keep a solid 7 with t2 Moon into turn 3 Baloth, which it turns out isn't great vs the mono green deck and I am run over posthaste. In: 3x Anger, 2x Trinisphere. Out: 2x Blood Moon, 1x Stone Rain, 1x Thrun, 1x Beast Within. Game 2 I have t2 trinisphere and they're never in it. Game 3 they overcommit and I blow them out with Anger and mop up with Titan.
R2 vs Naya Burn (2-0)
I mull to a solid 5 of 2x forest, sprawl, finks, moon, which buys me enough time to find primal command to gain 7 and grab titan to mop up. In: 3x Anger, 2x Finks, 2x Trinisphere. Out: 2x Beast Within, 3x Stone Rain, 2x Stormbreath. Moon seems fine but they don't need much land to operate so Rain doesn't seem fine. Trinisphere on t2 slows them down a ton but i'm still not sure its worth it. G2 I have t1 sprawl, t2 finks, t3 finks, turn 4 primal command. Better lucky than good.
R3 vs Lantern Control (2-1)
They lock me out with bridge and 3 millrocks and I scoop rather than **** about for half an hour. In: 3x Ancient Grudge, 2x Needle. Out: 2x Baloth, 3x Blood Moon. With so many colorless business spells, moon seems weak. Never actually played this matchup before so I was kind of winging it. Fortunately, G2 and 3 they never found bridge and got them with quick beats, but I had Grudges for Bridge anyway.
R4 vs Classic Naya Zoo (2-0)
G1 I have Finks into Baloth into Titan. In: 3x Anger, 2x Finks. Out: 2x Beast Within, 2x Stone Rain, 1x Stormbreath Dragon. G2 I have Moon and a Miracle Bonfire to clear the board before a Baloth starts the beats and Primal Command for Baloth gets the concession.
Gotta say I'm not a fan of Beast Within. Rarely did I want to cast it and many times it seemed downright dangerous to cast on opponent's things. Bonfire also seems to be a little weak since I have plenty of other cards to deal with aggro. Trinisphere, however, gets me all hot and bothered. Finks in the maindeck seems correct as well, certainly in my aggro-heavy meta. Next week probably I'll try -1 Beast Within, -1 Bonfire, +1 Scooze, +1 Nissa, Vital Force. Thoughts on my sideboard/sideboarding? I had some trouble deciding what to take out sometimes.