Welcome back Legacy Storm Players! This month the Infernal Tutoring Series is celebrating its 40^th article! In March 2016, Alexandre Richardson published the very first Infernal Tutoring. Since then, Infernal Tutoring has had Anthony LaVerde (our guest today!) and Alex McKinley as authors — both of which have helped shaped this series into what it is today! In addition to the wonderful authors, Infernal Tutoring has also had countless guests ranging from platinum pros, influential streamers, and terrific community members. It’s crazy to look back and see how far The EPIC Storm and the Legacy format as a whole have changed over last four years!

Special Guest

Anthony LaVerde

(Twitter: @GrapeshotNH | MTGO: Aigis)

Anthony LaVerde has been playing Magic since early 2012 and has specialized in Legacy Storm since early 2015. Since then, he has written for The EPIC Storm and has put up results in both paper tournaments as well as on Magic Online under the username Aigis, most recently winning a Vintage Challenge. Outside of Magic, Anthony spends his time learning how to speed-run video games and searching for new music to listen to.

Deck List

SITUATION No. 1 – Elves

Elves generally looks to flood the board with a lot of Elves and then casting [[Natural Order]] to kill the opponent with a [[Craterhoof Behemoth]]. Elves is typically a great matchup for The EPIC Storm. With the recent sets, however, Elves got some new toys — [[Veil of Summer]], [[Archon of Valor’s Reach]], and [[Collector Ouphe]]. If you keep a relatively fast hand that doesn’t depend on [[Empty the Warrens]], you should have very little trouble winning the match.

HOW I SIDEBOARDED:

No Changes

In this first scenario, we were going into game two on the draw without knowing what our opponent is playing. For our turn one, we played out a [[Polluted Delta]] and passed. Our opponent’s turn-two play was a [[Quiron Ranger]] and a [[Wirewood Symbiote]]. Now that we are certain that we are against Elves and not Dark Depths, we need to make a move quickly. Our hand is really only missing an action card. Would you [[Brainstorm]] at the end of your turn, or save it for next turn? Is casting [[Brainstorm]] off of the [[Lotus Petal]] a consideration?

What do you do?

Special Guest

Anthony LaVerde

I would play [[Brainstorm]] at the end of the turn here. The way I look at it, there’s a solid chance your opponent is going to play [[Green Sun’s Zenith]] or [[Natural Order]] on their next turn to lock you out of the game. You should probably want to be winning the game on this next turn. If your [[Brainstorm]] whiffs on business and you need to cast the second one, you’ll still get two more looks at random cards. In some scenarios, you just need to cast [[Brainstorm]] and accept that you’re not going to get full value with cracking your fetch, I think this is one of those.

#TEAMTES

Josh Hughes

When I first started playing Legacy, I would take every opportunity to [[Brainstorm]] at the end of the opponent’s turn. I think I am finally learning that it is okay to be patient. Saving the [[Brainstorm]] for either a land that you draw, or casting off of the [[Lotus Petal]] so we can fetch gives us the most flexibility!

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Bryant Cook

I would wait until your main phase. If I drew a land, I’d cast [[Brainstorm]] off of it. If not, I’d use [[Lotus Petal]] to cast [[Brainstorm]] and then activate [[Polluted Delta]] to shuffle before casting the other [[Brainstorm]] (assuming the first one isn’t insane and you just win). This maximizes your odds of finding [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and a “tutor effect.”

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AJ Kerrigan

Normally in these spots, I’d want to [[Brainstorm]] on the end step because we really want to do our best to have eight mana for [[Wishclaw Talisman]] into [[Ad Nauseam]]. For that same reason, using a [[Lotus Petal]] to [[Brainstorm]] so that we can more efficiently use our fetchland and extra [[Brainstorm]] is not as amazing as it looks. One other important note is that our opponent knows we likely did minimal sideboarding as a result of not seeing anything last game, and so they can more safely jam [[Natural Order]] into [[Archon of Valor’s Reach]] without any weird concerns if they have a [[Gaea’s Cradle]]. Lastly, I like that the shields are down on [[Veil of Summer]] so that we can cleanly win the game this turn with even a mediocre [[Ad Nauseam]]. We certainly see fewer cards with the aggressive [[Brainstorm]]-ing, but I think overall it gives us the best chance of winning.

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Alex Poling

I would untap and cast the [[Brainstorm]] on my turn. It gets me one card deeper into the deck and a higher chance of finding an action spell. If my draw step isn’t a land, I would use a [[Lotus Petal]] to cast the [[Brainstorm]]. This would also make the second copy of [[Brainstorm]] also be better.

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Alex McKinley

Our hand currently has access to seven mana total. This is not enough for a number of common lines to cast [[Ad Nauseam]] unfortunately. The hand is also missing a tutor, which means that the hand is missing multiple pieces. Elves needs to hit four mana and a [[Natural Order]] to have a significant turn next turn. It is very possible that the opponent could hit that threshold, especially with [[Elvish Reclaimer]] being able to find a [[Gaea’s Cradle]]. I would choose to cast an end step [[Brainstorm]]. This gives us the best chance to untap and win the game and the second copy of [[Brainstorm]] can still see two new cards after the draw step if necessary.

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Landon Sworts

I would cast [[Brainstorm]] at the end of our opponent’s turn. Finding a pay off spell is important, but the biggest reason to cast [[Brainstorm]] before our next untap phase is to maximize our available mana next turn because it’s important we create a window for a combo turn before our opponent is able to take the game.

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Daniel Lee

I like casting a [[Brainstorm]] off of a [[Lotus Petal]] here. Speed is key against Elves, so I don’t want to give them more turns if I don’t have to. Plus, losing one [[Lotus Petal]] means we have a shuffle effect for our [[Brainstorm]]. If we really do need the [[Lotus Petal]], then we can cast [[Dark Ritual]] into [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]] to get it back (but I doubt we will need to go that direction).

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Theo Andresier

I believe we are in a reasonably strong position here, but I would definitely [[Brainstorm]] end of turn off of an [[Underground Sea]]. We have [[Lotus Petal]]s to make mana of other colors we want. If we hit a [[Burning Wish]], [[Ad Nauseam]] or a [[Wishclaw Talisman]], we are working with gas. We could have another turn here as our opponent has very little mana acceleration, so I might be inclined to try and find a land as well as a threat card to ensure we have the mana.

SITUATION No. 2 – Golgari Depths

In our second scenario, we are playing against Golgari Depths. Golgari Depths style decks have become very popular in the current Magic Online metagame because they are fast and disruptive. The deck generally looks to play hand disruption cards like [[Thoughtseize]], [[Duress]], and [[Hymn to Tourach]], while setting up a very fast [[Dark Depths]] kill. In this matchup, [[Goblin Token]]s are usually not preferred as [[Goblin Token]]s can’t interact with a [[Marit Lage Token]]. [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]] isn’t a reliable strategy because the opponent can [[Crop Rotation]] for [[Bojuka Bog]] at instant speed. Even if the opponent is tapped out, they have [[Elvish Spirit Guide]], which allows them to catch players off guard with an unexpected [[Crop Rotation]]. While this matchup is generally favorable for The EPIC Storm, it can be very challenging to navigate at times, especially when you have a hand that favors a [[Burning Wish]] line.

HOW I SIDEBOARDED:

-2 [[Defense Grid]], -1 [[Chrome Mox]], +2 [[Abrupt Decay]], +1 [[Chain of Vapor]]

We are in game two and on the draw. On our turn one, we cast [[Brainstorm]] into three lands. Our opponent played out a [[Lotus Petal]] and a [[Dark Depths]]. On our second turn, we drew a [[Bloodstained Mire]] and now we have quite a few options. How would you play out your turn to either win, or put yourself in a winning scenario? What are you trying to play around?

»What would you do?

Special Guest

Anthony LaVerde

When initially looking at this scenario, I thought my play would just be to play a land and pass. After further thought, I think I would cast [[Burning Wish]] to get [[Infernal Tutor]] and pass. This line gives you an [[Ad Nauseam]] line next turn while playing around [[Mindbreak Trap]] and have some mana left over for our troubles. I do think if our opponent kept a hand with discard, they wouldn’t have led with [[Dark Depths]] and [[Lotus Petal]]. I believe the most likely case is they’re looking to make a turn-two [[Marit Lage Token]] and maybe hold up a spell that’s either [[Mindbreak Trap]], [[Force of Vigor]] or maybe even [[Veil of Summer]]. The only way we’re playing around [[Force of Vigor]] here is by going for an [[Echo of Eons]] line now, but I don’t think that’s better than going for an [[Ad Nauseam]] next turn with the insurance that it wont get hit with a [[Mindbreak Trap]].

#TEAMTES

Josh Hughes

The main reason I thought that this was interesting was because of the fact that we have a brand new and exciting play pattern, where we can cast [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]] before casting [[Echo of Eons]]! Doing this causes so much unneeded risk to you being able to resolve [[Echo of Eons]] because the opponent has a chance to respond with [[Crop Rotation]] into [[Bojuka Bog]] or [[Surgical Extraction]]. With that being said, I think I favor going for an [[Infernal Tutor]] here. I believe if the opponent had a discard spell, they would have cast it on turn one.

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Bryant Cook

I would use [[Bloodstained Mire]] to search up [[Badlands]] and cast [[Burning Wish]] for [[Infernal Tutor]] before passing the turn. Our opponent can’t kill us on their turn. By getting [[Infernal Tutor]] on our turn, we’re more resilient to an [[Abrupt Decay]] on a [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] or something else bad happening by just sitting there. Getting [[Infernal Tutor]] saves you mana on the following turn when you’re about to cast [[Ad Nauseam]] which improves the likelihood for success. If the [[Infernal Tutor]] is discarded, you still have [[Burning Wish]] into [[Echo of Eons]] as a back-up plan.

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AJ Kerrigan

On the surface, the only things we really need to worry about here are [[Veil of Summer]] and [[Crop Rotation]] for [[Bojuka Bog]]. We can sneak an [[Echo of Eons]] Flashback under [[Bojuka Bog]] thanks to [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] being a mana ability. We will lose our copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] permanently if they get [[Bojuka Bog]], which would meaningfully decrease our change of winning, We would, however, get a fresh hand and they would be set back a bit on their setup, which seems worth a good amount. I think we should [[Burning Wish]] for [[Echo of Eons]], and sacrifice the copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for in order to leave ourselves with floating after casting [[Echo of Eons]]. We could cast [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]] before [[Echo of Eons]] for free, but then we really open ourselves up to [[Bojuka Bog]] which I don’t like. The upside though is that if we settle for [[Empty the Warrens]] for less than 20 [[Goblin Token]]s, we’d be able to gain three life from [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]] in combat to buy an extra turn against the [[Marit Lage Token]]. I still don’t believe that upside is worth it. Not knowing what we are drawing, my default plan would be to try and [[Ad Nauseam]] so we can set up a [[Grapeshot]] to play around [[Veil of Summer]], but otherwise just [[Empty the Warrens]] for a large number and try to dig for [[Chain of Vapor]] aggressively.

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Alex Poling

I would play a land here and just pass the turn. My plan would be to [[Burning Wish]] and sacrifice both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to get [[Infernal Tutor]] for [[Ad Nauseam]]. This plays around any [[Crop Rotation]] and does pretty well against a discard spell. The only real concern of mine is [[Hymn to Tourach]] hitting both tutors.

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Alex McKinley

The most common form of disruption that Turbo Depths generally plays is targeted discard. Because they played a [[Lotus Petal]], I’d be less concerned with a card like [[Hymn to Tourach]] as compared to a [[Thoughtseize]]. This turn we have access to eight mana, which is one mana shy of casting [[Burning Wish]] for [[Infernal Tutor]] for [[Ad Nauseam]]. I am not scared of dying to a 20/20 here because even if they have [[Crop Rotation]], there are not enough lands to keep [[Dark Depths]] and [[Thespian’s Stage]] in play. With two copies of [[Burning Wish]], a single discard spell does not stop us, so in this spot I would just pass the turn. When I do go off, I would not cast [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]] to play around [[Crop Rotation]] for [[Bojuka Bog]]. The card that most punishes a pass the turn line is [[Abrupt Decay]], but if they do have that card, I would shift to an [[Echo of Eons]] line, depending on draw steps.

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Landon Sworts

I would play a [[Bloodstained Mire]], fetch [[Volcanic Island]], cast [[Burning Wish]], and retrieve [[Echo of Eons]]. Sacrifice both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to discard and cast [[Echo of Eons]]. It’s important to not cast [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]] so we do not give our opponent a window of priority where they can disrupt our line with [[Crop Rotation]]. The card I’m most worried about would be [[Mindbreak Trap]], but it’s also possible that the opponent has a copy of [[Veil of Summer]] which could force us post [[Echo of Eons]] to be looking for a line that can win with a very large amount of [[Goblin Token]]s via [[Empty the Warrens]] with a one turn swing or Storm-ing to 20 for [[Grapeshot]].

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Daniel Lee

Like with Elves in the previous scenario, I don’t want to give this player more turns than necessary. My line would be to play a land, cast [[Burning Wish]] for [[Echo of Eons]], and cast [[Echo of Eons]] with mana floating. This will likely disrupt our opponent’s plan and leave us with a fresh seven cards with three mana to hopefully continue our combo. I’m mostly playing around [[Hymn to Tourach]] with this line.

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Theo Andresier

Our opponent’s hand is reasonably slow, and I believe that we are worried about an [[Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth]] into a [[Vampire Hexmage]] with their hand containing a [[Veil of Summer]]. I think because of a [[Veil of Summer]], going for a [[Grapeshot]] kill is necessary, but we have a turn. I would play out a [[Bloodstained Mire]] and pass the turn. Next turn I would play another land, cast [[Burning Wish]], and sacrifice the two [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]s to have and then get [[Infernal Tutor]] with [[Burning Wish]] — [[Infernal Tutor]] for [[Ad Nauseam]] and we are golden!

SITUATION No. 3 – BUG Delver

Despite being one of the less popular [[Delver of Secrets]] strategies, BUG Delver has a suite of powerful tools against The EPIC Storm. These cards including [[Stifle]], [[Spell Snare]], and [[Hymn to Tourach]]. It backs up these disruptive elements with large creature threats such as [[Tarmogoyf]], [[Nimble Mongoose]], and of course — [[Delver of Secrets]]. With the printing of [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]], BUG Delver is playing a copy and pairing it with cards like [[Mishra’s Bauble]] for additional card advantage.

HOW I SIDEBOARDED:

-2 [[Chrome Mox]], +2 [[Abrupt Decay]]

One again, we’re in game two on the draw. Our opponent destroyed our turn-two [[Defense Grid]] with [[Abrupt Decay]]. After going back and forth with the opponent, we eventually played a [[Dark Ritual]] into [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]]. This was met with a [[Force of Will]] exiling [[Delver of Secrets]]. With our [[Tropical Island]], we cast a [[Ponder]], which revealed: [[Burning Wish]], [[Lotus Petal]], and a [[Ponder]]. How would you play out this turn to either win, or put yourself in a winning situation? 

What’s the play?

Special Guest

Anthony LaVerde

I think this game is going to get much worse for you. If you pass the turn, as the opponent is going to play [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]] and start recurring [[Mishra’s Bauble]] every turn for card advantage that will be impossible to beat. That being said, I will draw [[Burning Wish]] off our [[Ponder]] and keep [[Ponder]] as our next draw. Then I’ll sequence this by playing [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint [[Rite of Flame]]), then [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], then [[Mox Opal]], [[Dark Ritual]], and then cast [[Burning Wish]] and crack [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] with the intent to end the game with [[Tendrils of Agony]]. If our opponent casts [[Daze]] on any of our artifacts, we can try again with [[Ponder]] next turn. As it is, I think our best opening to win the game is this turn, even if that means we get messed up by a [[Force of Will]]/[[Force of Negation]] or [[Daze]]. I think this scenario is a good example of playing to win, and not to “not lose” to whatever your opponent may have. Sometimes that means accepting losing to a good draw from your opponent.

#TEAMTES

Josh Hughes

This scenario is tough because the opponent only has three cards in their hand and they are tapped out. I think going for it is reasonable (and probably correct), especially because of their [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]] that will almost certainly be coming down next turn to cause some problems. I think the play I would want to make though would be drawing the [[Ponder]] and passing the turn. On the following turn, we will draw [[Burning Wish]] and will have a [[Ponder]] which could help us find a protection spell.

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Bryant Cook

I don’t really like the sideboard plan you selected for this matchup. [[Carpet of Flowers]] tends to be really strong versus the discard-based [[Delver of Secrets]] strategies and helps beat [[Collector Ouphe]]/[[Null Rod]]. Knowing that the list that “Griselpuff” (aka. Bob Huang) plays [[Stifle]] AND [[Spell Snare]], I would risk it and jam this turn. I’d start off on [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint: [[Rite of Flame]]), play [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], cast [[Mox Opal]], and then [[Dark Ritual]]. Assuming that the [[Dark Ritual]] resolves, cast the [[Burning Wish]] you drew off of [[Ponder]] and pray that “Old Bobbert” doesn’t have a second [[Force of Will]] or [[Force of Negation]]. Assuming everything goes correctly, you have lethal Storm and floating.

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AJ Kerrigan

First, that I think we are very unlikely to win this game if it continues from this point and our opponent has a [[Force of Will]] in hand. Second, most lists of BUG Delver are actually playing zero answers to [[Empty the Warrens]] right now. For that reason, I want to draw [[Burning Wish]], Imprint [[Rite of Flame]] on [[Chrome Mox]], use [[Mox Opal]] to cast [[Dark Ritual]], and [[Burning Wish]] for [[Empty the Warrens]]. I’d be interested to know how our opponent sequenced on their last turn to get a feel for how likely they are to have [[Stifle]] and/or [[Spell Snare]]. If they were willing to play this way, I’m going to assume they don’t, which means in theory we could wait an extra turn to play around [[Daze]] on [[Dark Ritual]]. If I really don’t think I’ve given my opponent a good opportunity to use a [[Daze]] previously in this game, and they sequenced in ways that make it particularly apparent they might have one, I could be convinced to wait. I don’t think they have [[Stifle]] or [[Spell Snare]]. Most of the time though, I’m going for it here.

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Alex Poling

I would choose not to shuffle, draw the [[Burning Wish]], and cast all three artifacts and imprint [[Dark Ritual]]. Use the [[Mox Opal]] for red mana to cast [[Rite of Flame]] and then [[Burning Wish]], sacrificing the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] in response for three red mana. I would grab [[Empty the Warrens]] and cast it using that three red and the [[Chrome Mox]] for 20 [[Goblin Token]]s.

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Alex McKinley

This situation comes down to how much do you respect your opponent having another piece of interaction. If we draw the [[Burning Wish]] off the [[Ponder]] this turn, we could play our entire hand to cast [[Burning Wish]] for a lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]]. Given that our opponent is tapped out, they cannot interact with cards like [[Stifle]], [[Veil of Summer]], or [[Spell Snare]]. This line does lose to another [[Force of Will]] effect or even a [[Daze]]. Things are not getting better by waiting though. Our opponent has a three-turn clock in play and will be able to leave up mana for most of the rest of the game, giving them access to their interaction spells. I think, as risky as it is, this is the window to attempt to win the game. I would cast [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] (to attempt to draw out a [[Daze]] early), then [[Chrome Mox]] (imprinting [[Dark Ritual]]), then [[Mox Opal]] and [[Rite of Flame]]. [[Burning Wish]], crack [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], find [[Tendrils of Agony]] finishes the sequence, hopefully with a win.

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Landon Sworts

I would ideally like to give ourselves a couple more turns to set up a more probable kill, but I think our opponent will be milking a decent amount of value with [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]] and the [[Mishra’s Bauble]] in their graveyard if we allow them to untap for a turn six and seven. I think right now is our best time to strike. Imprint [[Rite of Flame]] to [[Chrome Mox]] after drawing [[Burning Wish]], and play out our remaining artifacts. Cast [[Dark Ritual]] and [[Burning Wish]] to retrieve [[Echo of Eons]] — sacrifice [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to discard our hand, and then cast [[Echo of Eons]] while crossing our fingers. In the past, I would have advocated to make [[Goblin Token]]s with [[Empty the Warrens]] over [[Echo of Eons]] in position such as this, but the Lifelink from [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]] really changes things when it comes to racing with our 1/1’s.

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Daniel Lee

I’m going for it. Leave [[Burning Wish]] on top, draw it. Cast [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint [[Rite of Flame]]), [[Mox Opal]], and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] (Storm 7). Cast [[Dark Ritual]] with [[Mox Opal]] (Storm 8, ). Tap [[Chrome Mox]] for , cast [[Burning Wish]] and sacrifice [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] (Storm 9, ). Get and cast [[Tendrils of Agony]] for the kill. They need another [[Force of Will]], a [[Force of Negation]], or a correctly-timed [[Daze]] (on [[Chrome Mox]], [[Mox Opal]], or [[Dark Ritual]]) to stop us. Not impossible, but I also doubt we’ll catch them tapped out again since they’ve stuck a threat.

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Theo Andresier

Our opponent likely has another interaction spell in hand such as a [[Spell Pierce]], [[Daze]], or [[Force of Will]], but we don’t have many other options. The [[Tarmogoyf]] swinging in for five points of damage is going to hurt, and I think waiting for an [[Ad Nauseam]] next turn is not entirely feasible. I would draw the [[Burning Wish]] from the [[Ponder]] and place the other two cards back in any order. I would play out the three artifacts (exiling the [[Rite of Flame]] to the [[Chrome Mox]]) and use the [[Mox Opal]] to cast the [[Dark Ritual]]. I am banking on our opponent not having another [[Force of Will]] in hand, and I will get an [[Empty the Warrens]] from my sideboard for 14 [[Goblin Token]]s. Our opponent could not have boarded in [[Plague Engineer]] due to their revealed [[Lurrus of the Dream-Den]] so the [[Goblin Token]]s will get us there!

I just wanted to thank everyone for continuing to support the best format in Magic: The Gathering! While these past few months have been full of social distancing, it is great that a game that was founded on “Gathering” has managed to thrive. Everyone please be safe and keep Storming on!