Jeremy Hines

I believe this hand is a keep. While RUG is 60 percent to have permission on turn zero, those odds only grow higher as the turns go on, and that doesn’t include soft permission like [[Daze]] being added into the mix. Both sides of the table know how risky it is for TES to go off unprotected turn one, which in my opinion can lead to RUG keeping otherwise solid hands with [[Daze]], [[Spell Pierce]], or even [[Stifle]] hoping they can trip up their opponent during setup. I’m willing to take my chances and go under the soft permission with an [[Empty the Warrens]] line. I would cast [[Lotus Petal]], cast [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], play [[Underground Sea]], cast [[Rite of Flame]] off [[Lotus Petal]], cast [[Burning Wish]] holding priority and crack Lion’s Eye Diamond for , wish for and cast [[Empty the Warrens]] for 10 [[Goblin Token]]s.

Josh Hughes

For me, this is definitely a keeper! While the temptation is there to go for an [[Echo of Eons]] line, I think I would play out [[Bloodstained Mire]] and pass.

Bryant Cook

This is a tough spot, I think this is a spot where it’s correct to go against the odds. You could try to wait to draw a protection spell, but the reality of the situation is the opponent is more likely to find additional interaction before you do. You could cast [[Echo of Eons]] instead of [[Empty the Warrens]], but the opponent likely only has one answer to [[Goblin Token]]s in their entire 75 cards. Did they even side it in? If they did, they only have one copy. Now weigh this against the chance your new seven cards also beats another free counterspell and can win the game. I would cast [[Empty the Warrens]] for 10 [[Goblin Token]]s and pray.

AJ Kerrigan

Playing this hand would be fairly straightforward. We just try to make 10 [[Goblin Token]]s and hope they don’t have a “Force” effect or a sweeper. This would put us at winning the game roughly 35-40 percent of the time. The question is really whether or not you think your average six-card hand will win the game more often. Another way to think about it is if you think we win a lot of games where they don’t have a “Force” effect in their opening hand anyway, then this hand is a mulligan because it never wins the games where they do. That said, I think RUG Delver is not the kind of deck where we are necessarily guaranteed to beat their [[Force of Will]]/[[Force of Negation]]-less openers, so that line of thinking doesn’t apply to this matchup. I’d probably keep and jam, but that also stems from not having enough experience with this list in the matchup to feel necessarily comfortable grinding out games from fewer cards. If you feel very comfortable in this matchup, you should probably mulligan.

Alex Poling

I would keep this hand and go for the turn one [[Burning Wish]] for [[Empty the Warrens]] to make 10 [[Goblin Token]]s. They may have a 60 percent chance to have a [[Force of Will]] or [[Force of Negation]], but I don’t think the odds get much better once they have their first turn. Them having a turn opens them up to all of the one mana counters, [[Daze]], and the cantrips to find [[Force of Will]] or [[Force of Negation]]. It’s also really hard for me to imagine mulliganing a hand that can make 10 [[Goblin Token]]s on turn one on the play.

Alex McKinley

This hand makes 10 goblins or casts [[Echo of Eons]], which isn’t a lot, especially with the current creature suite that RUG delver plays. While this hand isn’t a mulligan, I might prefer to play more patiently to draw a [[Veil of Summer]] or more cantrips to help sculpt. Jamming into 6-7 [[Force of Will]] effects for a line that might not win is not an ideal situation. I would keep this hand and play the long game.

Landon Sworts

Keep! This hand is slow, but that doesn’t really matter. With this hand, I’m looking to sculpt an eight card hand that wins on the last turn before we would be killed. We want to consistently hit our land drops. [[Burning Wish]] is a good bait spell as we can use that to draw out countermagic on the way. I’m sure we will draw into cantrips and other additional spells as the game goes on. As long as we have this late game plan in mind when making each choice leading up to our pivotal combo turn, I think we will be fine. Stay loose and observant. I genuinely believe we will get there!

Daniel Lee

This is already effectively a 6-card hand due to the presence of [[Tendrils of Agony]]. We can put together 10 [[Goblin Token]]s, but we’d be all-in on that plan and we just lose to any countermagic. I’d mulligan this hand.

Theo Andresier

This is one of the better 7-card hands, but is not resilient enough to breakthrough in my opinion, so a slow-ish game would have to be played. Depending on our opponent’s keep/mulligan decision, I would look to draw into a piece of protection/disruption in the form of a [[Veil of Summer]] or another [[Burning Wish]] for the sideboard [[Thoughtseize]] and just play out the lands and mana slowly for the first couple of turns. Another option would be to mulligan to look for a [[Carpet of Flowers]] which is great in this matchup, but I think I would prefer a decent/good seven cards to the risk of a mulligan.

Jeremy Hines

I’d like to take advantage of the Storm count and [[Veil of Summer]] protection we already have. I would start by placing back [[Chrome Mox]] and [[Burning Wish]] with [[Burning Wish]] on top. I would proceed to cast [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint: [[Veil of Summer]]), cast the second [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint: [[Veil of Summer]]), cast [[Carpet of Flowers]], move to second main phase, make with [[Carpet of Flowers]], cast [[Dark Ritual]], cast [[Tendrils of Agony]] for 18 life leaving the opponent at one life. I am then untapping next turn with five mana from [[Tropical Island]], double [[Carpet of Flowers]] and double [[Chrome Mox]], which would allow me to cast [[Burning Wish]] into [[Grapeshot]], playing around a [[Daze]] and any number of [[Force of Will]] (due to being at one life). If they have a [[Flusterstorm]] or [[Spell Pierce]] for the [[Burning Wish]], it can be paid for and the following turn casting the drawn [[Chrome Mox]] into [[Grapeshot]] should do the trick through more permission.

Josh Hughes

There is no better feeling than when a Veil of Summer resolves! Unfortunately, we are so close to being able to win, but not quite there… I would do the following:

1. Put back [[Chrome Mox]] first and then [[Veil of Summer]].
2. Play out a [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint [[Veil of Summer]]).
3. Play out [[Carpet of Flowers]].
4. Play out [[Chrome Mox]] imprinting [[Tendrils of Agony]].
5. Pass to second main-phase.
6. Cast [[Burning Wish]] with red mana from [[Carpet of Flowers]].
7. Grab [[Peer into the Abyss]].
8. Pass and hope that I can play that in the next couple of turns with a [[Veil of Summer]] backup.

Bryant Cook

This is a cool spot! It’s set up to look like you need to pass the turn, but that’s not true at all. Put back [[Chrome Mox]] and [[Burning Wish]]. Cast [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint: [[Veil of Summer]]) and then cast [[Carpet of Flowers]]. At this point, move to second main-phase, at this point [[Carpet of Flowers]] will trigger and we can make a . Cast [[Dark Ritual]], [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint: [[Veil of Summer]]), and then [[Tendrils of Agony]] for 18 life. Why we put [[Burning Wish]] on top is that next turn, we’re going to cast it for [[Grapeshot]]. This plan does work, but now we’re at 38 life and our opponent can’t cast [[Force of Will]] or activate fetchlands. In theory, you can take a slower line but I think it’s less likely to win as we’re essentially [[Brainstorm]] locked.

AJ Kerrigan

We’re very close to a lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]] using [[Carpet of Flowers]] to generate black mana, but unfortunately we can only do create nine copies. We could put our opponent to one with two [[Chrome Mox]] and two [[Carpet of Flowers]] in play with a [[Burning Wish]] in hand, which is a pretty solid option. Alternatively, we take it a bit slower, but we just don’t have enough mana to do anything exciting, especially if our opponent doesn’t play additional lands, which they could very reasonably get away with. For those reasons, I like putting back [[Chrome Mox]] and [[Burning Wish]] ([[Burning Wish]] on top), then play both copies of [[Chrome Mox]] imprinting both copies of [[Veil of Summer]], and play [[Carpet of Flowers]]. Move to the second main phase, use [[Carpet of Flowers]] to make black mana, cash [[Dark Ritual]], and then [[Tendrils of Agony]]. This puts our opponent to one and us to 38, and also means our opponent can no longer cast any [[Force of Will]] or use any fetchlands, which should put us in a good position even if they end up countering our [[Burning Wish]] next turn.

Alex Poling

I would put back a [[Chrome Mox]] and then [[Tendrils of Agony]] on top. I would cast a [[Chrome Mox]] next, imprinting a [[Veil of Summer]], to cast the [[Carpet of Flowers]]. If the opponent played a land, this would give me four mana next turn with two copies of [[Carpet of Flowers]] in play. On my turn turn, I would cast another [[Chrome Mox]] with no imprint, [[Dark Ritual]], [[Veil of Summer]], and then [[Burning Wish]] for [[Empty the Warrens]]. This would allow me to cast the [[Veil of Summer]] with seven floating mana to avoid any soft counterspells. I think any other play that requires two or more turns to combo off might be too slow by giving the opponent that much time to find any more counterspells.

Alex McKinley

This is a neat kill! I would put back one copy of [[Chrome Mox]] and then the [[Burning Wish]]. Next, I would play [[Chrome Mox]] (imprint [[Veil of Summer]], Storm five). Off the [[Chrome Mox]], I would cast [[Carpet of Flowers]] (Storm six) and move to my second main phase. The [[Carpet of Flowers]] gets to make a black mana to cast [[Dark Ritual]] (Storm seven). [[Chrome Mox]] (imprint [[Veil of Summer]], Storm eight) and then I would cast [[Tendrils of Agony]] to put the opponent to one. This means that they cannot fetch and cannot cast [[Force of Will]]. On the next turn, I would draw and cast [[Burning Wish]] to find [[Grapeshot]]. Because of the mana from [[Carpet of Flowers]] and [[Chrome Mox]], the opponent will be unlikely to be able to counter this. If the opponent played a second island to give us four mana, I would cast the [[Grapeshot]], otherwise I would play the [[Chrome Mox]] and then the [[Grapeshot]] for two lethal spells.

Landon Sworts

At this junction, the game is pretty much ours. It’s just a matter of crossing the “t’s” and dotting the “I’s”. [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint: [[Veil of Summer]]) and cast [[Carpet of Flowers]], move to second main phase, create black, cast [[Dark Ritual]]. Cast the additional copies of [[Chrome Mox]] imprinting [[Veil of Summer]] and [[Burning Wish]], then shove our win condition, [[Tendrils of Agony]], on the stack along with its Storm trigger. GG!

Daniel Lee

This is an awkward position, since we are one mana short of a kill this turn. I’d put [[Tendrils of Agony]] and [[Veil of Summer]] back with Brainstorm, drawing [[Veil of Summer]] next turn. Then, I would play [[Chrome Mox]], imprinting the other [[Veil of Summer]]. I would use that [[Chrome Mox]] to cast the second [[Carpet of Flowers]], then pass the turn. The plan here is to use the double [[Carpet of Flowers]] mana to ramp into another, more productive [[Veil of Summer]] protected turn in the future.

Theo Andresier

It’s a little sad that the [[Echo of Eons]] didn’t give us that great a hand, but with a veil resolved the set-up potential here is great! I would start by hiding the [[Tendrils of Agony]] on the top of the library underneath the [[Burning Wish]]. I would then play out a [[Chrome Mox]]exiling one [[Veil of Summer]] and play a second [[Carpet of Flowers]]. This sets us up next turn to have enough mana to do whatever we want since we have set ourselves up in such a strong position for the next couple of turns. If our [[Delver of Secrets]] opponent plays a second [[Island]] (Likely a [[Volcanic Island]] for a [[Dreadhorde Arcanist]]), we are gaining four mana a turn from the two [[Carpet of Flowers]]!

Jeremy Hines

I see three main ways to approach: [[Echo of Eons]], [[Empty the Warrens]], or pass the turn and [[Peer into the Abyss]] on the next turn. All three options fold to any piece of interaction, but going for [[Empty the Warrens]] this turn denies them a new seven cards (from [[Echo of Eons]]) or another draw step untapped mana from [[Echo of Eons]] and [[Peer into the Abyss]] lines respectively. I would cast [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] into [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], make off of [[Lotus Petal]] and cast [[Burning Wish]], holding priority cracking [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] one and two for and , and then cast [[Empty the Warrens]] looking to make 12 [[Goblin Token]]s. If the first [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] gets countered, I believe the correct play is to [[Burning Wish]] for [[Echo of Eons]] and pass, hoping to draw into a [[Veil of Summer]] or [[Defense Grid]] on following turns. I’m willing to play, “draw, go.” while they only have one card in hand.

Josh Hughes

I think I would just cast [[Ponder]] here using the [[Lotus Petal]]. There is a good chance that we can get away with making 12 [[Goblin Token]]s here, but I have been blown out by UB Ninjas with [[Plague Engineer]]. Depending on what we see with [[Ponder]], that would shape what I do next.

Bryant Cook

Another good submission! I’d guess the question here is do we cast [[Ponder]] looking for another protection spell or do we jam? With [[Ornithopter]] on the battlefield, I think it’s safe to assume a [[Yuriko, the Tiger’s Shadow]] in our near future, meaning we’re likely to start being buried in card advantage — this tends to not favor the bold. This leaves us at either casting [[Empty the Warrens]] for 12 [[Goblin Token]]s or [[Echo of Eons]]. I honestly can’t remember if these Ninja decks side in [[Plague Engineer]] or not against us and in game, I probably would be lazy and not look. I will say that we sided out six pieces of acceleration making the [[Echo of Eons]] line worse, I’d let the goblins out of the Warrens.

AJ Kerrigan

It’s a little hard to tell how this game has played so far, which matters a little bit, but I think it is hard to wait here because I think we just don’t have enough flexibility to continue playing the waiting game especially after we use up our [[Lotus Petal]]. We just risk falling behind to too many things and potentially not having the ponder even get us anywhere. The question is whether we go for [[Echo of Eons]] or for [[Empty the Warrens]]. [[Empty the Warrens]] loses to the few copies of [[Plague Engineer]] if they have that and two additional land drops, but the [[Echo of Eons]] line loses in a lot more scenarios given that we often need another [[Veil of Summer]] or a [[Defense Grid]] in order to be able to win. I like making 12 [[Goblin Token]]s and hoping for the best!

Alex Poling

The opponent had no choice but to counter the [[Veil of Summer]]. If we planned on comboing this turn and the opponent let the [[Veil of Summer]] resolve, then their [[Force of Will]] would be turned off anyway. Just like in the previous scenarios, I would take the more aggressive line. I would play out both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and cast [[Burning Wish]] and then sacrificing them both. This would play around a [[Daze]]. I would get the [[Empty the Warrens]] and cast it to make 12 12 [[Goblin Token]]s. That’s more than enough to win the game, and I don’t see how waiting additional turns is better.

Alex McKinley

By looking at the opponent’s graveyard, you can see that they missed a land drop. This means that their hand has more counter magic or it has a glut of ninjas that they are unable to put into play. For this reason, I would cast both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], then [[Burning Wish]] (cracking for UUU and RRR) to find [[Empty the Warrens]] and cast it to make 12 [[Goblin Token]]s.

Landon Sworts

I’m not going to lie, with the opponent only having three cards in hand, I’m probably just going to try and cheese some 1/1’s onto the field via our sideboard copy of [[Empty the Warrens]] with [[Burning Wish]] after playing out and sequencing our two copies [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] correctly. I don’t think they have a second live counter spell, and I’m not giving them more time to find one or establish a presence that is capable of dealing with our hoard. Let’s force them to have it.

Daniel Lee

Based on card counts, we are on the draw and both players mulliganed to six. That means that while our opponent only has three cards in hand, and that’s after the sculpting of both a [[Brainstorm]] and a [[Ponder]]. I’m putting them on having a second free counterspell, so I’m going to play it safe and just pass this turn.

Theo Andresier

I feel tempted to go for an [[Echo of Eons]] or [[Empty the Warrens]] here and gamble on them not having another [[Force of Will]] effect or [[Daze]]. I believe a large number of the Ninja decks run 2-3 copies of [[Plague Engineer]] in the sideboard, so I think we should go for an [[Echo of Eons]] with three mana floating from the second [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. I would cast the two [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] would use the [[Lotus Petal]] and the [[Swamp]] to cast the [[Burning Wish]] (For the [[Echo of Eons]] and then crack both [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]s to cast the [[Echo of Eons]]), and go from there!