For my 4th turn I drew a third [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], and facing almost lethal, I decided it was time to go. The key issue here was that my only initial mana sources were one land and [[Mox Opal]], making it impossible to cast anything more than a single tutor from hand that turn, but I strongly suspected my opponent was holding a [[Force of Will]]. Fortunately, also having [[Echo of Eons]] in hand made for a backup plan. I cast [[Burning Wish]] as force bait and sacrificed all my [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]s. Here I was really hoping opponent would force this, because if it resolved, I would have been terrified to grab [[Peer into the Abyss]] knowing I’d be dead to a cleverly slow-rolled [[Force of Will]], but I didn’t really have any other targets, [[Galvanic Relay]] for 4 being extremely weak with no mana and 4 life. Fortunately, [[Keranos, God of Storms]] was smiling on me, opponent forced [[Burning Wish]], and I cast [[Echo of Eons]] into lethal with a [[Veil of Summer]] for protection.

Post-mortem

The line I took in game 2 basically relied on my opponent making a mistake. It was an easy mistake to make – forcing [[Burning Wish]] is usually the right thing to do, it’s a scary card, and knowing not to here would involve knowing my decklist – but still, an opponent playing perfectly would have beaten me here. Watching the replay now, I see that there was a better way to beat a slow-rolled [[Force of Will]]. Instead of cracking all 3 [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]s in response to the [[Burning Wish]], I could have just passed priority. If opponent forces, I crack my [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]s and flashback [[Echo of Eons]], and if they let it resolve, I can grab the other [[Echo of Eons]] from the sideboard. Now, I get to crack the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]s discarding both Echos, letting us play through a [[Force of Will]].

Round Three – kauffj with BUG Zenith

Game One (Draw):

Opponent revealed [[Yorion, Sky Nomad]] making me assume they were on Death and Taxes, but I was a little paranoid while bottoming my [[Orim’s Chant]], having just hopped over to Twitch between rounds and seeing CalebD on a Bant [[Green Sun’s Zenith]] deck with Yorion. My 6 card hand was a little slow, but had a couple cantrips and a [[Wishclaw Talisman]], so it seemed better than 5. Opponent led on [[Bayou]] into [[Green Sun’s Zenith]] for [[Dryad Arbor]], which together with [[Yorion, Sky Nomad]] meant BUG (lol imagine someone playing Abzan in Legacy). I cast turn 1 [[Wishclaw Talisman]] off a [[Chrome Mox]], which ate a [[Force of Negation]] and passed. On turn 2, I cast two cantrips, managing to find both [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and [[Echo of Eons]], but [[Ponder]]-locked myself into a couple draws I didn’t really want. Feeling no sense of urgency, I opted to pass the turn instead of wheeling in hopes of drawing protection in the next couple turns.

This was a big mistake, as opponent used their turn 3 to [[Green Sun’s Zenith]] for a [[Leovold, Emissary of Trest]], shutting off [[Echo of Eons]]. I played draw-go for a couple turns when, facing down lethal from a hellbent opponent, I topdecked my only out, a [[Burning Wish]]. I wished for [[Prismatic Ending]], exiled [[Leovold, Emissary of Trest]], and cast [[Echo of Eons]] with an untapped [[Underground Sea]] and a land drop available. Unfortunately, not all stories have happy endings, and my new hand was close, but not quite good enough, and I conceded.

Sideboarding: -4 [[Ponder]], -1 [[Echo of Eons]], +3 [[Galvanic Relay]], +2 [[Abrupt Decay]]

Game Two (Play):

Kept a solid 6 card hand missing only land number two but having a [[Brainstorm]] to dig for it. Fortunately I naturally drew [[Scrubland]] on turn 2 and cast my first [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. On turn 2, my opponent cast [[Ponder]] and shuffled, making me feel pretty positive about resolving a second [[Wishclaw Talisman]] on turn 3, with the intent of going off on turn 4. Instead, I topdecked [[Veil of Summer]], and sensing weakness from my opponent’s choice to shuffle, cast it first. Opponent cast their own [[Veil of Summer]] and F6’d the rest of the turn. I tutored and cast [[Ad Nauseam]], but needed it to be good to hit storm 18 for [[Grapeshot]], since [[Tendrils of Agony]] was no longer an option. Fortunately, [[Ad Nauseam]] was good and I took game 2.

Game Three (Draw):

Kept a fairly strong hand that was just looking to draw a bit of mana and cast [[Galvanic Relay]]. My second turn came around and I had drawn a second land and [[Lotus Petal]] as hoped, so it was time to start casting spells. I cast a couple petals, ritual, and then used [[Brainstorm]] to stack [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and a third land drop on top of my deck for my storm 5 [[Galvanic Relay]]. I’m not used to [[Brainstorm]]ing before [[Galvanic Relay]], and I’m not sure how much it mattered, but I chose to hide the protection spells in my hand and reveal the tutors. Opponent cast [[Carpet of Flowers]] and took some other game actions that did not in any way stop me from casting [[Orim’s Chant]] and [[Veil of Summer]] from hand, the two [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]s from exile, and winning the game (storm 9 [[Tendrils of Agony]] from the [[Wishclaw Talisman]]).

Round Four – C_o_B with RUG Delver

Game One (Draw):

Riding a bit of a 3-0 high going into round 4, I proceeded to lose my fourth consecutive die roll, but hey, I won those other three matches right? I kept an average 7 card hand that needed to find a bit more mana and a piece of protection, but had [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and [[Ad Nauseam]] in hand. My opponent also kept 7, leading on [[Dragon’s Rage Channeler]] and [[Mishra’s Bauble]], a fairly aggressive start. On my turn 1, I cast a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] off of [[Chrome Mox]] (with a [[Lotus Petal]] to play around possible [[Daze]]) and passed the turn. On their turn, my opponent played a [[Delver of Secrets]], so the shelf life of my [[Ad Nauseam]] was limited. I drew and cast [[Ponder]] on turn 2 seeing nothing but lands, shuffled, and drew another land. Opponent played another [[Delver of Secrets]], but luckily neither did their first one flip, nor did they hit delirium for [[Dragon’s Rage Channeler]]. Going into my turn 3, I was two mana away from casting [[Ad Nauseam]] while holding up two mana to claw for [[Veil of Summer]]. Instead, I drew [[Veil of Summer]] itself for turn, and windmill slammed it. It resolved, so I tapped [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to search up a [[Dark Ritual]]… and got it [[Stifle]]d. I passed the turn, opponent revealed [[Force of Will]] to flip both Delvers, I cursed the existence of [[Stifle]], drew a card and conceded.

Sideboarding: -1 [[Ponder]], -1 [[Ad Nauseam]], +3 [[Galvanic Relay]], +2 [[Abrupt Decay]]

(Note: I misclicked when sideboarding and accidentally ran a 63 card deck instead of boarding out 4 [[Ponder]] as intended)

Game Two (Play):

Mulliganed an unkeepable 7, into a weak 6 that lost really hard to [[Wasteland]], into a 5 that was leaning pretty hard on [[Brainstorm]]. [[Brainstorm]] did a decent job, leaving us with a hand seeking only action. Meanwhile, opponent played [[Wasteland]] on turn 1, wasted my [[Tundra]], and did nothing else? They made no land drop on turn 2 or 3, and discarded a [[Ponder]] to hand size. Unfortunately I did not draw anything useful, and on turn 4 (with the help of a turn 3 [[Mishra’s Bauble]]) opponent played a land and a [[Delver of Secrets]]; the clock was on. After nothing much happening other than me getting my face beat by Delver for a few turns, on turn 7 I drew [[Wishclaw Talisman]].

I didn’t quite have enough mana to try to win, so I settled for trying to resolve [[Wishclaw Talisman]] this turn. I cast [[Orim’s Chant]] ([[Force of Will]] pitch [[Expressive Iteration]]), [[Veil of Summer]] ([[Force of Will]] pitch [[Stifle]]), and then got my [[Wishclaw Talisman]] onto the battlefield. The next turn, at 7 life, I [[Ponder]]ed and found [[Echo of Eons]] and [[Orim’s Chant]], with the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] representing [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. I drew [[Echo of Eons]] and passed so I could draw [[Orim’s Chant]] next turn, since opponent needed double [[Lightning Bolt]] to kill me. Alas, opponent untapped, cast [[Meltdown]] to blow up my [[Wishclaw Talisman]], leaving me with a hand that did nothing.

Post-mortem

I don’t think there was a whole lot that could have been done differently here, opponent just had the cards and we didn’t, and congratulations to them.

0-2 | 3-1

Round Five – MeTheKaptain with The EPIC Storm

[[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]]

[[Wishclaw Talisman|]]

[[Orim’s Chant|]]

Game One (Play):

Since MeTheKaptain is a regular participant in the Storm Discord, I knew before resolving mulligans that this was the mirror match, so winning the die roll (for the first time that night) was particularly nice. I kept 7 and pondered to set up a turn 2 [[Echo of Eons]]. I did as planned on turn 2, casting [[Echo of Eons]] floating a black mana with a land drop available, drawing this monstrosity of a hand.

I made my land drop and passed, knowing that I had just given my opponent a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and expecting to lose in short order. Instead, they played some mana rocks and a second [[Wishclaw Talisman]] before passing back to me. On my turn, I drew [[Ponder]] and proceeded to cantrip like a maniac. [[Ponder]], fetch, [[Brainstorm]], fetch, [[Brainstorm]], fetch, [[Brainstorm]], finally finding the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] with the fourth cantrip. Unfortunately, opponent silenced me in response to my [[Wishclaw Talisman]] activation, and I conceded on the premise that anyone who couldn’t figure out how to win with 3 [[Wishclaw Talisman]] against a hellbent opponent probably wouldn’t take TES to a tournament.

Sideboarding: None

Game Two (Play):

I kept 7 and started by casting [[Wishclaw Talisman]] off a turn 1 [[Dark Ritual]], with enough mana in hand to [[Ad Nauseam]] on the following turn. Opponent played some mana rocks, I jammed on turn 2, did not get [[Orim’s Chant]]ed, and won the game with Tendrils (after casting [[Orim’s Chant]] just in case of an opposing [[Veil of Summer]]).

Game Three (Draw):

Being on the draw for the third game scared me, and so did mulliganing to 6. The 6 looked slow to me, so I mulliganed to a respectable 5, looking for action but with an [[Orim’s Chant]] in hand to disrupt the opponent. For 3 turns both opponent and I just cast rocks and cantrips (including one cycled [[Veil of Summer]] on my part), until I drew [[Wishclaw Talisman]] on my fourth turn. Unfortunately I was a mana short of silencing opponent before casting [[Ad Nauseam]], so I opted to pass the turn, only to get my claw [[Abrupt Decay]]ed. The next turn I drew [[Burning Wish]] and wished for [[Peer into the Abyss]], passing the turn again. I strongly suspected my opponent had a [[Orim’s Chant]], but I was holding up one of my own as well. I passed, intending to draw out their Chant with mine on the next turn, and win the turn after that.

Unfortunately, opponent exiled one of my [[Lotus Petal]]s, leaving me a mana short of casting [[Orim’s Chant]] before [[Peer into the Abyss]]. but at this point I didn’t really want to pass the turn back to a storm opponent with 8 mana in play and a known [[Echo of Eons]] in hand. I decided to jam my [[Peer into the Abyss]], figuring in the worst case, I deploy a lot of mana, hold up [[Orim’s Chant]] for opponent’s turn, and discard down to a perfect 7 to win with. As it happened though, opponent had been bluffing the Chant the whole time, I drew 23 cards, cast spells unimpeded, and cast [[Grapeshot]] for the win.

Post-mortem

I think I made a couple mistakes in this match. One, I definitely should have sideboarded. [[Veil of Summer]] is not a particularly good card against TES, as I demonstrated in round 3, and they would have been better off as [[Prismatic Ending]]s and [[Abrupt Decay]]s as my opponent did, and used to good effect. Also, while I feel the 6 card hand was kinda borderline, it was probably better to keep it. I haven’t played very many mirror matches since MH2 released, and the impact of [[Orim’s Chant]] on the games is huge. I spent half the games playing around it, and I know from conversations with my opponent that they did the same. Given that, I should have kept what I thought was a slow hand on the back of [[Orim’s Chant]] and a [[Ponder]].

2-1 | 4-1

Round Six – JPA93 with Jeskai Delver

[[Meddling Mage|]]

[[Tendrils of Agony|]]

[[Ad Nauseam|]]

Game One (Draw):

Opponent kept 7 and led on Volc into [[Dragon’s Rage Channeler]], so I marked them down as on UR Delver. I pondered on turn 1, cast Chant on turn 2, played double [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Ad Nauseam]], some other stuff, and [[Tendrils of Agony]] for 24.

Sideboarding: -4 [[Ponder]], -1 [[Ad Nauseam]], +3 [[Galvanic Relay]], +2 [[Abrupt Decay]]

Game Two (Draw):

I kept a 7 with a line to play a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] (which ate a [[Force of Will]]) and [[Galvanic Relay]] for 6 on turn 1, which is what I did. Sadly, it contained 3 tutors but no mana, and the best I could accomplish was to deploy a [[Lotus Petal]] and a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and pass the turn with [[Burning Wish]] in hand. On top of that, the maindeck [[Echo of Eons]] got exiled to [[Galvanic Relay]] as well, further limiting potential options. On their turn 2, opponent played a [[Ponder]] and, surprisingly, a [[Tundra]], the first white source I had seen this match.

At this point, I was just hoping to topdeck an [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], which would have allowed for an [[Echo of Eons]] from the sideboard with [[Veil of Summer]] backup, but no spare mana, so even the best case scenario was not looking great. After drawing [[Tendrils of Agony]] for turn, I decided to Wish for a [[Peer into the Abyss]] that I was a couple mana away from casting, but in hindsight this was probably a mistake. A draw of [[Dark Ritual]] next turn would have let me cast [[Peer into the Abyss]], but without any protection, and drawing an [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] would be basically useless with the [[Peer into the Abyss]] already in my hand. Instead I should have Wished for [[Echo of Eons]] as I mentioned earlier, leaving me [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] as an out to cast a protected engine. In reality though, my choice this turn did not end up mattering, as opponent used their [[Tundra]] to cast a [[Meddling Mage]] on their turn, shutting off my [[Burning Wish]] target. I was able to [[Abrupt Decay]] the [[Meddling Mage]] a turn or two later, but fell to 1 life in the process, was forced to cast a mini [[Tendrils of Agony]] just to stay alive, and then conceded to [[Murktide Regent]].

Game Three (Play):

I kept a 7 with a bunch of mana and a [[Veil of Summer]], looking to draw action some time in the next couple turns. Opponent played a turn 1 [[Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer]] and I bricked on turn 2, but on turn 3 I spiked a [[Galvanic Relay]] and cast it for 6 following 4 mana rocks and a [[Rite of Flame]]. With a [[Veil of Summer]] in hand and a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] in exile I was feeling good about winning on turn 4, until my opponent cast a [[Meltdown]] on their turn, destroying all my mana rocks.

On the upside, drawing [[Dark Ritual]] for turn at least gave me the option of casting [[Wishclaw Talisman]] with [[Veil of Summer]] backup, but opponent had double force, as well as a [[Wasteland]] for my [[Badlands]]. It may have taken another 6 turns for [[Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer]] beats to eventually kill me, but for all intents and purposes, the game was over here.

1-2 | 4-2

Round Seven – into_play with Mono-G Post

[[Mindbreak Trap|]]

[[Force of Vigor|]]

[[Pithing Needle|]]

Game One (Play):

I kept a solid 7 with [[Wishclaw Talisman]], a couple cantrips, and all 4 colors of mana between [[Tropical Island]] and [[Badlands]]. Ponder saw an [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], which gave me a line to [[Echo of Eons]] next turn. On their turn 1, opponent played [[Pithing Needle]] naming [[Wasteland]] and passed back to me, and the fact that they played it off of a turn 1 [[Forest]] suggested to me that I could afford to be a little more patient. Instead of taking the relatively risky line of casting [[Echo of Eons]] with no mana floating, I chose to cast a [[Brainstorm]] instead to get a bit more mana for next turn, and played the [[Tundra]] I drew off it rather than the [[Badlands]], hoping to look like a Bant deck. into_play is a master of their deck though, and either saw through my ruse or just hedged correctly by playing a second [[Pithing Needle]] on [[Wishclaw Talisman]], stopping me in my tracks. I spent the next 3 turns [[Brainstorm]] locked, heroically tried to stave off death by [[Primeval Titan]] with a kicked [[Orim’s Chant]], and then died.

Sideboarding: -4 [[Veil of Summer]], +2 [[Abrupt Decay]], +2 [[Prismatic Ending]]

Game Two (Play):

I kept a 6 card hand that could [[Echo of Eons]] on turn 1 using a [[Wishclaw Talisman]], but was forced into a decision on the first turn. I know that into_play’s sideboard contains 4 each of [[Mindbreak Trap]] and [[Force of Vigor]], and I needed to decide which one to play around. Jamming [[Echo of Eons]] would put me dead to [[Mindbreak Trap]], by playing out the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and passing the turn would expose myself to [[Force of Vigor]]. I decided to play around [[Force of Vigor]], and promptly got hit with a [[Mindbreak Trap]]. I cast nothing else of relevance for the rest of the game before being hit by [[Marit Lage Token]].

0-2 | 4-3

Round Eight – mhwhet with Elves

[[Ad Nauseam|]]

[[Tendrils of Agony|]]

[[Wishclaw Talisman|]]

Game One (Play):

I went into round 8 feeling pretty demoralized by my third loss, and contemplated dropping, but since I still had a shot at top 64 with an x-3 finish I rallied and went into the next match. I won the die roll and kept the following no lander.

This hand actually had [[Ad Nauseam]] and 5 mana, so I had the option to jam on turn 1, but in the dark I didn’t want to take the chance of losing to a [[Force of Will]], so instead I cast [[Lotus Petal]], [[Mox Opal]], and [[Chrome Mox]], then cast [[Brainstorm]] with the imprint trigger on the stack hoping to draw a land to shuffle and cast [[Ponder]], looking for some more mana and protection, particularly a fetchland. My 3 cards off the [[Brainstorm]] were basically perfect: fetchland, [[Lotus Petal]], and [[Veil of Summer]], so I hid [[Ad Nauseam]] on top of my deck and passed the turn. To my delight, my opponent spent their turn casting [[Green Sun’s Zenith]] off a [[Forest]], signaling Elves, a good matchup for TES. I untapped, played [[Veil of Summer]], [[Dark Ritual]], and [[Ad Nauseam]], culminating in a turn 2 [[Tendrils of Agony]] for 28.

Sideboarding: -2 [[Orim’s Chant]], -2 [[Veil of Summer]], +2 [[Abrupt Decay]], +2 [[Prismatic Ending]]

Game Two (Draw):

I kept a hand with [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and a couple [[Dark Ritual]]s, looking to cast [[Ad Nauseam]] on turn 2 or 3. Between turns 1 and 2, opponent played [[Dryad Arbor]], [[Quirion Ranger]], and [[Birchlore Rangers]], but I topdecked [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] on turn 2. That gave me 8 mana, exactly enough to cast [[Wishclaw Talisman]] into [[Ad Nauseam]] for another turn 2 [[Tendrils of Agony]]. The entire match took 12 minutes from die roll to match win screen, which was very pleasing. I think when playing combo, one deserves at least 1-2 free wins per tournament, so after having to fight all night for my wins, it was nice to get a quick round to take a break and have a drink before the final round.

2-0 | 5-3

Round Nine – connormc02 with UR Delver

[[Tendrils of Agony|]]

[[Grapeshot|]]

[[Peer into the Abyss|]]

Game One (Draw):

I kept 7 with mana and a cantrip, while my opponent took the play and mulliganed to 5. I briefly suspected combo from the mulligan, but then they led on [[Volcanic Island]] and [[Dragon’s Rage Channeler]], making this my third monkey matchup of the day (fewer than I was expecting to face to be honest). My turn one [[Ponder]] saw both [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and [[Veil of Summer]], but with only two lands in play and no [[Lotus Petal]]/[[Mox Opal]], the colors didn’t work out for me to [[Veil of Summer]] into [[Ad Nauseam]] on turn 2, so I was going to have to pass the turn back. Opponent played turn 2 [[Ragavan, Nimble Pilferer]], I played land and passed, taking 3 damage from opponent’s creatures. On turn 3, I played a pile of rituals, [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], and a [[Veil of Summer]] which ate a [[Force of Will]], leaving opponent with just a single card in hand. At this point, my storm count (and mana) was high enough that I could [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for Wishclaw for [[Tendrils of Agony]], taking game 1.

Sideboarding: -4 [[Ponder]], -1 [[Ad Nauseam]], +3 [[Galvanic Relay]], +2 [[Abrupt Decay]]

Game Two (Draw):

Fortune was on my side these last couple rounds, as my opponent mulliganed to 5 again in game 2, opening with a [[Dragon’s Rage Channeler]] again. Meanwhile, I opened a hand with 9 mana, [[Burning Wish]], and [[Veil of Summer]], which meant that with a single exra mana source off the top I would be able to cast [[Peer into the Abyss]] with [[Veil of Summer]] for backup on turn 1. Naturally, I kept that hand and prayed for another mana. Unfortunately I drew [[Tendrils of Agony]], so I played a land and generously gave my oppponent a second turn, with which they cast [[Brainstorm]] and a second [[Dragon’s Rage Channeler]]. On turn 2 I drew [[Chrome Mox]], the perfect use for my [[Tendrils of Agony]] (I had nothing else to pitch to it). I cast mana, [[Veil of Summer]], [[Burning Wish]], and [[Peer into the Abyss]] to draw 25 cards. I cast a bunch of other spells, culminating in (just for fun) [[Grapeshot]] for lethal.

2-0 | 6-3

Totals & Stats

• Games & Record: 13-9 | 6-3
• The Die Roll: 3-6
• Mulligans: 10
• Turn One Combos: 1

• Ad Nauseam Wins: 6
• Echo of Eons Wins: 2
• Empty the Warrens Wins: 0
• Peer Into The Abyss Wins: 2
• Natural Tendrils of Agony Wins: 2

 

Closing & General Thoughts

Since my last round was so fast, I had to wait upwards of half an hour for everyone else’s match to finish to get my final standing with tiebreakers, but I ultimately finished in 55th place and prized out slightly better than break-even, which is a win in my book. TES feels great in the current Legacy meta, and though I definitely made mistakes in this tournament, luck was on my side and I was able to end with a good record, with my sole regret being that I did not get to cast [[Empty the Warrens]] a single time all night. A call with a friend and the general chill vibes in my house made 9 rounds of timed Swiss much less draining than I thought it might be, and I’m now considering playing the Sunday Vintage EW event this weekend. I went into this event expecting little more than a round 5 drop, so a final record of 6-3 was something I was very happy with, and a top 64 finish on breakers left me in the mood to celebrate. Until next time, may [[Keranos, God of Storms]] heap blessings upon you!