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Matchup Mulligan: Black Saga Storm


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Final Dimir ReScaminator Hand Answer

Hand No. 10: (on the draw)

[[Echo of Eons|]] [[Lotus Petal|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Echo of Eons|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Volcanic Island|]] [[Galvanic Relay|]]

Keep

I can’t imagine sending this hand back! There’s the fear of [[Grief]] discarding [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] which would turn off [[Mox Opal]] stymiying [[Galvanic Relay]] or [[Echo of Eons]] but “you can’t beat everything!” While [[Grief]] would be unfortunate, this hand can beat [[Wasteland]], [[Daze]], [[Force of Will]], and various other interaction.

You could [[Echo of Eons]] on the first turn. If it’s countered, flashback the other copy since you six total mana.The correct line here is to cast [[Galvanic Relay]] for four copies and try to win on the following turn with more resources.

The EPIC Storm vs. Black Saga Storm

the epic Storm

.dek (MTGO) | .txt

Main Deck

  • 4 [[Ponder]]
  • 4 [[Brainstorm]]
  • 4 [[Burning Wish]]
  • 3 [[Beseech the Mirror]]
  • 3 [[Galvanic Relay]]
  • 3 [[Echo of Eons]]
  • 1 [[Tendrils of Agony]]
  • 1 [[Song of Creation]]
  • 1 [[Gaea’s Will]]
  • 4 [[Veil of Summer]]
  • 4 [[Dark Ritual]]
  • 4 [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]
  • 4 [[Lotus Petal]]
  • 4 [[Chrome Mox]]
  • 4 [[Mox Opal]]
  • 4 [[Misty Rainforest]]
  • 3 [[Bloodstained Mire]]
  • 1 [[Underground Sea]]
  • 1 [[Volcanic Island]]
  • 1 [[Bayou]]
  • 1 [[Undercity Sewers]]
  • 1 [[Commercial District]]

Sideboard

  • 4 [[Force of Will]]
  • 2 [[Chain of Vapor]]
  • 2 [[Boseiju, Who Endures]]
  • 1 [[Thoughtseize]]
  • 1 [[Grapeshot]]
  • 1 [[Galvanic Relay]]
  • 1 [[Empty the Warrens]]
  • 1 [[Tendrils of Agony]]
  • 1 [[Beseech the Mirror]]
  • 1 [[Echo of Eons]]

Pre-board

Hand No. 1: (on the draw)

[[Undercity Sewers|]] [[Ponder|]] [[Brainstorm|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Bloodstained Mire|]] [[Burning Wish|]] [[Veil of Summer|]]

Mulligan

There are important things to know about this match-up:

  1. Keep explosive hands! In game 1, it’s a race to win first.

  2. They’re likely to cast [[Echo of Eons]], which means you can mulligan aggressively

  3. On the draw, there’s a good chance your opening hand doesn’t matter but mulligan for something that has a coherent game plan.

These seven cards are not keepable. While there are lands and spells, which would be great against something like Dimir Scaminator — it’s not a fast enough hand for this matchup.

Hand No. 2: (on the play)

[[Chrome Mox|]] [[Galvanic Relay|]] [[Gaea’s Will|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Lotus Petal|]] [[Misty Rainforest|]]

Mulligan

This is a mulligan because passing the turn with [[Galvanic Relay]] risks losing the game. The EPIC Storm has the ability to win the game on the first turn or protect itself with [[Veil of Summer]]. Additionally, [[Gaea’s Will]] is no longer an avenue to victory, making copies of [[Beseech the Mirror]] revealed to [[Galvanic Relay]] much worse.

Hand No. 3: (on the draw)

[[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Echo of Eons|]] [[Beseech the Mirror|]] [[Tendrils of Agony|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Brainstorm|]] [[Burning Wish|]]

Mulligan

All this hand does is cast [[Echo of Eons]]! That isn’t as good as it sounds. What does a game look like where the opponent didn’t cast their [[Echo of Eons]] on the first turn? Typically, a [[Thoughtseize]] or [[Duress]] has happened. If that is the case, this hand immediately loses when the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] is discarded.

Magic: the Gathering has a built in feature where if you don’t like your hand you can send it back and draw seven cards again. We should leverage that rather than hoping the opponent doesn’t take any meaningful game actions.

Hand No. 4: (on the play)

[[Veil of Summer|]] [[Veil of Summer|]] [[Beseech the Mirror|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Chrome Mox|]] [[Song of Creation|]]

Keep

This hand is sketchy, but only a black mana source away from a win. By casting [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint: [[Song of Creation]]) and then [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] before passing the turn. Cast [[Veil of Summer]] to protect yourself while digging deeper for a black mana source. Assuming you find one, leverage [[Gaea’s Will]] to a win. If not, another [[Veil of Summer]] buys time and two more looks for that black mana.

Hand No. 5: (on the draw)

[[Echo of Eons|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Burning Wish|]] [[Galvanic Relay|]] [[Underground Sea|]]

Keep

This hand is discard resistant. Cast at least one copy of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Mox Opal]], and then [[Echo of Eons]]. In a world where you get to keep your hand AND they don’t discard you (wishful thinking), it is a deterministic win using the sideboard [[Beseech the Mirror]] tutored by [[Burning Wish]].

Post-board

Recommended sideboarding:

IN

[[Force of Will|]] [[Force of Will|]] [[Force of Will|]] [[Force of Will|]]

OUT

[[Galvanic Relay|]] [[Galvanic Relay|]] [[Galvanic Relay|]] [[Mox Opal|]]

Hand No. 6: (on the play)

[[Echo of Eons|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Chrome Mox|]] [[Veil of Summer|]] [[Volcanic Island|]] [[Echo of Eons|]]

Keep

This seems like an easy keep but it’s not once you understand how the opponent is trying to interact. Black Saga Storm typically brings in four copies of [[Leyline of the Void]] which obsoletes this hand. Playing out all of your artifacts to have [[Veil of Summer]] available is a good move. From there, hope the opponent casts their own [[Echo of Eons]]. If they do, respond with [[Veil of Summer]] and get a new hand. This is a reasonable scenario to assume against the deck that runs four [[Echo of Eons]] as well as [[Entomb]].

Hand No. 7: (on the draw)

[[Force of Will|]] [[Ponder|]] [[Veil of Summer|]] [[Commercial District|]] [[Misty Rainforest|]] [[Brainstorm|]] [[Dark Ritual|]]

Keep

This is why we’re playing [[Force of Will]]! On the draw, The EPIC Storm has the ability to interact instead. You don’t even necessarily need to have [[Force of Will]] in your hand, the fear of [[Force of Will]] will slow the game down! You can draw it off of their [[Echo of Eons]] too. Assuming the fear of [[Force of Will]] buys time and can be protected with [[Veil of Summer]], don’t worry about this hand being slow; you’re dictating the pace of the game.

Hand No. 8: (on the play)

[[Dark Ritual|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Beseech the Mirror|]] [[Chrome Mox|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Misty Rainforest|]] [[Bloodstained Mire|]]

Keep

Turn one win! In post-board games, Black Saga Storm usually doesn’t play anyway to interact that isn’t [[Leyline of the Void]] which avails the basic [[Gaea’s Will]] win. If they do have a [[Leyline of the Void]], then a first turn [[Song of Creation]] plus a way to trigger the [[Song of Creation]] will have to do!

Hand No. 9: (on the draw)

[[Force of Will|]] [[Force of Will|]] [[Echo of Eons|]] [[Song of Creation|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Burning Wish|]] [[Beseech the Mirror|]]

Mulligan

Hand No. 10: (on the play)

[[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Chrome Mox|]] [[Brainstorm|]] [[Ponder|]] [[Veil of Summer|]]

Stay tuned for the next article!

I’ll provide my answer in the next Matchup Mulligan.