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Matchup Mulligan: Titanic Dryad


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Final UG Omni-Tell Hand Answer

Hand No. 10: (on the draw)

[[Ad Nauseam|]] [[Veil of Summer|]] [[Chrome Mox|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Brainstorm|]] [[Ponder|]] [[Veil of Summer|]]

Mulligan

This hand is a bit of a trap, but it’s very tempting though! You’re on the draw, so you have an extra look at a land. The issue is that the UG Omni-Tell deck typically only has four [[Force of Will]] as interaction with an occasional [[Flusterstorm]] in post-board games. This makes the pair of [[Veil of Summer]] not as lucrative as they may seem. The bigger issue is the lack of mana. A [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] or [[Lotus Petal]] off the top would be amazing as they turn on Metalcraft. If it’s [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], you could do the trick of cantripping into the [[Ad Nauseam]] and in response, sacrifice [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to help cast it. The reality here is you need at least six mana and we have one-and-a-half. Even if you Imprint [[Brainstorm]] and cast Ponder into a land, you’re still very far away.

The key is to remember how fast UG Omni-Tell can be. Do you think we have the time to build up to six mana? I personally don’t think that is a viable plan.

If I were to keep this hand, I would instead look to Imprint [[Ponder]] and cast the [[Brainstorm]] instead hoping to be very lucky. The question here is why rely on luck when you can simply try six cards?

Titanic Dryad

Pre-board

Hand No. 1: (on the draw)

[[Burning Wish|]] [[Polluted Delta|]] [[Rite of Flame|]] [[Brainstorm|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Bloodstained Mire|]] [[Wishclaw Talisman|]]

Keep

Titanic Dryad is a [[Chalice of the Void]] and sometimes [[Trinisphere]] deck. Because of this, I highly value the ability to retrieve [[Pulverize]] with [[Burning Wish]], especially when the draw was fortunate enough to provide both necessary [[Mountain]]s as well. The best part about this hand is it has a plan post-[[Pulverize]] as there is plenty of mana as well as [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. If the opponent kept a hand that doesn’t have any lock pieces, this can can either have a risky second-turn [[Echo of Eons]] or a much safer [[Ad Nauseam]] on the following turn.



Hand No. 2: (on the play)

[[Veil of Summer|]] [[Defense Grid|]] [[Chrome Mox|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Polluted Delta|]] [[Volcanic Island|]] [[Dark Ritual|]]

Mulligan

Being a permanent-based disruption deck, the protection spells in this hand aren’t super useful. You could Imprint the [[Veil of Summer]] onto [[Chrome Mox]] and then cast [[Defense Grid]] to turn on the Metalcraft for [[Mox Opal]]. At this point, you would have six possible mana, but nothing to do with it.



Hand No. 3: (on the draw)

[[Ponder|]] [[Brainstorm|]] [[Wishclaw Talisman|]] [[Echo of Eons|]] [[Veil of Summer|]] [[Lotus Petal|]] [[Rite of Flame|]]

Mulligan

A secret about the Titanic Dryad deck is it isn’t the fastest deck, it doesn’t kill very quickly. That said, you can’t keep hands that just don’t do anything. The best draw would be either a [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] or a [[Dark Ritual]]. If it’s [[Dark Ritual]], you have to use [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], but if you don’t win your opponent is starting off the game with the ability to search for [[Chalice of the Void]]. The risk here just isn’t worth the possible reward.



Hand No. 4: (on the play)

[[Dark Ritual|]] [[Underground Sea|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Wishclaw Talisman|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Rite of Flame|]] [[Chrome Mox|]]

Keep

What a hand! Please keep in mind that these decks do not play [[Force of Will]]. I’d start off with [[Underground Sea]], [[Dark Ritual]], [[Wishclaw Talisman]], [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Mox Opal]], tap [[Mox Opal]] to cast [[Rite of Flame]], and then play [[Chrome Mox]]. With the [[Chrome Mox]] trigger on the stack, activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]], in response sacrifice [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], search for [[Ad Nauseam]] and cast it!



Hand No. 5: (on the draw)

[[Chrome Mox|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Burning Wish|]] [[Badlands|]] [[Ponder|]] [[Dark Ritual|]]

Keep

Unlike Hand No. 1, this hand doesn’t need to answer the [[Chalice of the Void]] on one. Instead, go through it! Lay [[Badlands]], cast [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint: [[Ponder]]), [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Mox Opal]], cast [[Burning Wish]], and then [[Empty the Warrens]] for 10 [[Goblin Token]]s. The thing to know about Titanic Dryad is that it doesn’t run [[The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale]]! Meaning that these tokens are highly likely to go he distance.



Post-board

Recommended sideboarding:

IN

[[Abrupt Decay|]] [[Abrupt Decay|]] [[Chain of Vapor|]] [[Chain of Vapor|]] [[Echoing Truth|]] [[Crash|]]

OUT

[[Veil of Summer|]] [[Veil of Summer|]] [[Veil of Summer|]] [[Veil of Summer|]] [[Defense Grid|]] [[Defense Grid|]]


Hand No. 6: (on the play — mulliganed once)

[[Crash|]] [[Ponder|]] [[Chrome Mox|]] [[Mox Opal|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Ad Nauseam|]]

Keep

I would bottom the [[Ad Nauseam]]. At this point, I would play the pair of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Mox Opal]], and then cast [[Ponder]]. At this point, based on what we see on the [[Ponder]], I would either play the [[Chrome Mox]] and then (Imprint: [[Crash]]) or hold the cards.



Hand No. 7: (on the draw)

[[Chain of Vapor|]] [[Chain of Vapor|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Wishclaw Talisman|]] [[Polluted Delta|]] [[Burning Wish|]] [[Burning Wish|]]

Mulligan

This hand is just way too clunky, despite having two copies of [[Chain of Vapor]]. The [[Chain of Vapor]]s can be shut down by [[Chalice of the Void]], and we’re still short on mana. An average six cards is much better than this.



Hand No. 8: (on the play)

[[Echo of Eons|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Ponder|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Lion’s Eye Diamond|]] [[Burning Wish|]] [[Abrupt Decay|]]

Keep

This hand is risk vs. reward, the question is, “Do they have [[Leyline of the Void]]?” This hand is actually very similar to Hand No. 10 from the Eldrazi Ramp article. The secret remains the same, you can’t play afraid. Starting the game off with three Storm and floating has way too much upside to consider the chance they even sided in [[Leyline of the Void]] and have it.



Hand No. 9: (on the draw)

[[Dark Ritual|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Ad Nauseam|]] [[Crash|]] [[Ponder|]] [[Brainstorm|]] [[Chrome Mox|]]

Keep

Remember, you don’t need to win the game on turn one. A fetchland here for [[Badlands]] is lethal here due to [[Crash]] destroying a [[Chalice of the Void]] on the first turn — even on the draw. If the opponent doesn’t [[Chalice of the Void]], you’re able to cast a [[Ponder]] off of [[Chrome Mox]]. If they do, you should have enough time to take a few draw steps for the land drop.



Hand No. 10: (on the play — mulliganed twice)

[[Mox Opal|]] [[Chain of Vapor|]] [[Brainstorm|]] [[Wishclaw Talisman|]] [[Dark Ritual|]] [[Chrome Mox|]] [[Lotus Petal|]]

Stay tuned for the next article!

I’ll provide my answer in the next article. For now, make sure to post your thoughts!