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Hey! We’re back with the second Matchup Mulligan! Let’s dive in.

This series will go over 10 opening hands, 5 pre-board and 5 post-board with the same numbers for being on the play or drawing first. The hands are not random, they’ve been sculpted by me for the purpose of these exercises.

Pre-board

Hand 1: (on the play)

Keep

Even on the play, this is an ideal hand. It’s capable of a first turn Ad Nauseam with a land drop still left. Not much else to say about this hand, it’s ABC Magic.

Hand 2: (on the draw)

Mulligan

This hand is a trap. While 10+ Goblins on the first turn seems like a dream, they won’t kill until turn 3 (with your opponent having three turns as well) by then your opponent would’ve killed you. The real issue is that this hand doesn’t interact with the opponent after you’ve cast Empty the Warrens. Hands like this are sometimes okay if paired with a Cabal Therapy, but even then, it’s risky.

Hand 3: (on the play)

Keep

Not a fantastic hand, but you get two looks for a first turn kill with either your scry for a Dark Ritual or Lion’s Eye Diamond. Alternatively, if you can scry a black source to the top of the library, Duress is now an option. This hand has a lot of play which is something I enjoy.

Hand 4: (on the draw)

Keep

This hand is great. It’s resilient to discard and if you draw Dark Ritual, you’re options are really open. That said, I put this hand in here to discuss how Burning Wish into Telemin Performance is a 100% win in game ones in the storm mirror. Where even if you draw the Dark Ritual for Ad Nauseam, it’s not correct.

Hand 5: (on the play)

Mulligan

This hand seems good when you look at it. You have multiple copies of discard spells and redundant “tutor effects” to make their discard less effective. The issue is that this hand doesn’t actually do anything. This hand ends up losing to the opponent just playing out lands and artifact mana until they top deck and kill you.

Post-board

Website recommendation for sideboarding

ANT

-1 Empty the Warrens
+1 Tendrils of Agony

TES

-1 Empty the Warrens
+1 Thoughtseize

Hand 6: (on the draw)

Keep

I tend to keep hands like this, a lot of people will think this is a mulligan. That said, TES is very threat dense – you will find something. If they play a discard spell, they have to choose between your Duress or Lion’s Eye Diamond. Which isn’t a bad spot to be in.

Hand 7: (on the play)

Mulligan

Very similar to the hand above, but not quite the same. This hand will have trouble becoming hellbent due to the number of lands, but it also lacks interaction and is weak to Cabal Therapy. An easy decision in my opinion.

Hand 8: (on the draw)

Keep

This hand has three looks to be a turn one kill if left undisrupted (scry, draw step, and Gitaxian Probe). Hands like these tend to be tough, but I think they’re worthwhile even without hand disruption. You have enough hits where I believe the risk is worthwhile.

Hand 9: (on the play)

Mulligan

Another trap hand. This seems playable due to two copies of Ponder and some Rite of Flames, but it doesn’t actually do anything. Even if your Ponder finds Lion’s Eye Diamond, the best it can do is Telemin Performance (which can be risky post-board) or Empty the Warrens.

Hand 10: (on the draw)

Unsure (Leaning toward keep)

This is a tough one. I would probably try to scry a card I can imprint on Chrome Mox and then pray they didn’t sideboard a creature into their deck for Telemin Performance. If they did, this hand is just a bad version of hand #2.

Stay Tuned!

Later this week we’ll have a report from Jim Baxter on his top 8 finish at Eternal Extravaganza 7. After that there will be an article explaining deck changes followed by another great piece of writing from Jasper Gardener Burch. What a time to be a storm enthusiast!