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Matchup Mulligan: Stiflenaught


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Final Bant Nadu Combo Hand Answer

Hand No. 10: (on the play)

[[Force of Will|]] [[Force of Will|]] [[Undercity Sewers|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Echo of Eons|]] [[Ponder|]] [[Song of Creation|]]

Keep

Starting off with two copies of [[Force of Will]] gives you a solid defense against Bant Nadu’s early-game tactics. While you are slightly lacking in explosive combo potential, the ability to slow down your opponent’s development allows you to dig for the necessary pieces to execute your game plan. The primary concern is that [[Force of Will]] cannot protect the pivotal combo of [[Echo of Eons]] and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], which could leave you vulnerable on the combo turn. However, [[Ponder]] is your key here, as it can dig deeper into your deck to find [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] or a [[Veil of Summer]] to solve that issue.

The EPIC Storm vs. Stiflenaught

Pre-board

Hand No. 1: (on the play)

[[Lotus Petal|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Chrome Mox|]] [[Galvanic Relay|]] [[Misty Rainforest|]] [[Tendrils of Agony|]]

Keep

Being on the play provides a huge advantage, especially with this hand’s ability for a fast combo start. Without the threat of [[Stifle]] or [[Consign to Memory]] on turn one, you can confidently combo off. [[Tendrils of Agony]] might seem like an issue due to [[Chrome Mox]], but you can safely Imprint knowing that [[Burning Wish]] gives you access to another copy if needed out of the sideboard.

Hand No. 2: (on the draw)

[[Misty Rainforest|]] [[Commercial District|]] [[Bloodstained Mire|]] [[Echo of Eons|]] [[Veil of Summer|]] [[Brainstorm|]] [[Lotus Petal|]]

Keep

On the draw, you’re more exposed to Stiflenaught’s disruptive elements, but this hand is well-equipped to handle them. With an abundance of lands and mana sources, you can play around [[Stifle]], [[Wasteland]], and [[Daze]]. Having [[Veil of Summer]] in hand provides crucial protection against [[Force of Will]], but it’s important to recognize that it won’t help against [[Stifle]] or [[Consign to Memory]]. The ideal line here is to use [[Brainstorm]] in combination with one of your fetchlands to find [[Undercity Sewers]]. When the [[Undercity Sewers]]’s Surveil triggers, you can cast [[Brainstorm]] to place [[Echo of Eons]] on top of your deck, ensuring that you can put the [[Echo of Eons]] to the graveyard.

Hand No. 3: (on the play)

[[Echo of Eons|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Song of Creation|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Burning Wish|]]

Mulligan

Although this hand has some appealing elements, it is ultimately a risky keep due to the lack of Metalcraft for [[Mox Opal]]. Your ability to protect [[Echo of Eons]] on turn one is non-existent, making you lose to [[Force of Will]]. In a matchup against a deck filled with free counterspells, it’s usually wiser leverage the London Mulligan and seek out a more stable hand that can sustain pressure without putting all your eggs in one basket.

Hand No. 4: (on the draw)

[[Bloodstained Mire|]] [[Galvanic Relay|]] [[Galvanic Relay|]] [[Beseech the Mirror|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Echo of Eons|]]

Mulligan

Facing Stiflenaught on the draw, this hand is too clunky and slow to keep. The double [[Galvanic Relay]] might seem powerful in a vacuum, but without sufficient mana to support it, this hand is more likely to falter than succeed. Mulliganing for a hand that can establish more resilient mana that doesn’t lose to [[Stifle]] or [[Wasteland]] is a better course of action.

Hand No. 5: (on the play)

[[Bloodstained Mire|]] [[Bloodstained Mire|]] [[Misty Rainforest|]] [[Burning Wish|]] [[Veil of Summer|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Galvanic Relay|]]

Keep

This hand provides a strong balance between mana sources, protection, and potential combo execution. With three fetchlands, you can play around [[Wasteland]] and ensure that you hit the necessary colors for casting your spells. [[Veil of Summer]] offers protection against counterspells like [[Force of Will]], allowing you to push through [[Burning Wish]]. The plan here would be to use [[Burning Wish]] to grab a discard spell such as [[Thoughtseize]] from the sideboard, protecting your [[Galvanic Relay]] from [[Stifle]] or [[Consign to Memory]]. The hand’s flexibility and resilience make it a solid keep in this matchup.

Post-board

Recommended sideboarding:

IN

[[Thoughtseize|]] [[Thoughtseize|]] [[Thoughtseize|]] [[Boseiju, Who Endures|]] [[Boseiju, Who Endures|]]

OUT

[[Echo of Eons|]] [[Echo of Eons|]] [[Echo of Eons|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Mox Opal|]]

Hand No. 6: (on the draw)

[[Thoughtseize|]] [[Veil of Summer|]] [[Veil of Summer|]] [[Beseech the Mirror|]] [[Chrome Mox|]] [[Song of Creation|]] [[Commercial District|]]

Mulligan

These seven cards contain powerful disruption tools like [[Thoughtseize]] and [[Veil of Summer]], but it suffers from a significant lack of mana, which is a must for coming off. Additionally, [[Song of Creation]]—a key [[Beseech the Mirror]] target—would allow you to grind through multiple [[Stifle]] effects by drawing into more copies of [[Thoughtseize]], but without black mana to cast [[Beseech the Mirror]], this hand’s potential is severely limited. A mulligan is advisable to find a more balanced hand.

Hand No. 7: (on the play)

[[Thoughtseize|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Misty Rainforest|]] [[Lotus Petal|]] [[Burning Wish|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Boseiju, Who Endures|]]

Keep

This opening hand is a clear keep. By leading with [[Misty Rainforest]] to fetch [[Underground Sea]], you set up for a turn one [[Dark Ritual]], which can lead into a [[Thoughtseize]] to strip away your opponent’s countermagic. If the opponent doesn’t have a copy of [[Force of Will]] or another counterspell, you can cast [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and [[Burning Wish]], leading into an [[Empty the Warrens]] for an early army of [[Goblin Token]]s. If the opponent has [[Wrath of the Skies]], you could always pivot to [[Galvanic Relay]] or [[Echo of Eons]]. The presence of [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] further ensures that you can deal with any troublesome permanents they might play, such as [[Null Rod]] or [[Back to Basics]], making this hand versatile and powerful.

Hand No. 8: (on the draw)

[[Bloodstained Mire|]] [[Lotus Petal|]] [[Veil of Summer|]] [[Ponder|]] [[Beseech the Mirror|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Song of Creation|]]

Keep

A mix of mana acceleration, protection, and card selection, making it a strong keep, especially against a deck like Stiflenaught. Leading with [[Bloodstained Mire]] allows you to fetch [[Underground Sea]] and cast [[Ponder]] looking for more mana, ideally a [[Dark Ritual]] or another artifact for Metalcraft. Having [[Lotus Petal]] and [[Mox Opal]] gives you the mana acceleration to cast [[Beseech the Mirror]] as early as turn two, with [[Veil of Summer]] providing protection against [[Force of Will]].

Hand No. 9: (on the play)

[[Volcanic Island|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Ponder|]] [[Burning Wish|]] [[Gaea’s Will|]] [[Veil of Summer|]]

Keep

Leading with [[Volcanic Island]] and [[Ponder]], you can search for the mana to make this hand function. As it stands, black mana is required for [[Dark Ritual]] and green for [[Veil of Summer]] — meanwhile, we’re limited off of those colors with [[Volcanic Island]]. That said, the potential is there we just need to find the mana. Having [[Gaea’s Will]] in hand means that sideboard copy of [[Beseech the Mirror]] is likely off the table as an option which means [[Empty the Warrens]], [[Galvanic Relay]], or [[Echo of Eons]].

Hand No. 10: (on the draw)

[[Thoughtseize|]] [[Thoughtseize|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Beseech the Mirror|]] [[Bloodstained Mire|]] [[Tendrils of Agony|]]

Stay tuned for the next article!

The answer will be provided in the next Matchup Mulligan.