Luis Scott-Vargas

First of all, things aren’t getting any better by waiting, so it’s definitely time to go for it. Second, there’s no option but to open on [[Lotus Petal]] to start. Where we go from there is a bit more interesting.

I’d play a second [[Lotus Petal]], then sacrifice the first one to cast [[Dark Ritual]]. At this point, there’s a chance they’d cast [[Force of Will]] or [[Force of Negation]] on [[Dark Ritual]], but I wouldn’t assume them declining means they don’t have it. If they do “Force”, you are, well, forced to cast [[Veil of Summer]] and hope it resolves.

Assuming they don’t counter the [[Dark Ritual]], I’d play [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] number one. You don’t want to play [[Wishclaw Talisman]] before [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] because if they [[Force of Vigor]] the [[Wishclaw Talisman]], you can’t use it and still cast whatever you get with [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] mana, which would force you to get [[Echo of Eons]] (which is fine, but we can do better). If [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] resolves, I’d play the second [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. At that point, they may [[Force of Vigor]] the first [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], in which case you let it happen, and proceed to cast and use [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to get [[Echo of Eons]] (after sacrificing the [[Lotus Petal]] to get , since they presumably targeted [[Lotus Petal]] with [[Force of Vigor]]). You end up with [[Echo of Eons]] in hand, [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] in play, and floating. Cast [[Veil of Summer]] proactively, then sacrifice [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and cast [[Echo of Eons]].

If they don’t [[Force of Vigor]] the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] in response to the second copy, you can play [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and at that point, [[Force of Vigor]] doesn’t do anything since the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] is on the stack and you can use your pair of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] (still sacrificing [[Lotus Petal]] to cast [[Veil of Summer]] before doing anything else). Tap [[Wishclaw Talisman]], respond by sacrificing the two copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and get [[Ad Nauseam]] with floating. If they ever cast a spell before this, you can instead get [[Burning Wish]] for [[Tendrils of Agony]], using the copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for and that should be enough spells (seven cards in hand + [[Burning Wish]] + [[Tendrils of Agony]] + their spell).

Bryant Cook

This is a tricky one! Honestly, I’m not sure [[Force of Vigor]] would’ve been on my mind if it hadn’t been mentioned.

I’d start on the pair of [[Lotus Petal]] as it’s pretty free to do so and then cast [[Dark Ritual]]. Assuming everything resolves, play a copy of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. At this point, I would cast the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] which may draw out a possible [[Force of Vigor]] if they have one. If the opponent does have [[Force of Vigor]], there’s a backup [[Echo of Eons]] line available. Assuming that [[Wishclaw Talisman]] resolves, play the other [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. Cast [[Veil of Summer]] and now [[Force of Vigor]] no longer matters and then opponent would need a pair of blue “Forces” ([[Force of Will]] or [[Force of Negation]]) in order to stop us.

Alex Poling

I would lead off with both copies of [[Lotus Petal]]. I want to be able to keep [[Veil of Summer]] castable. Using one [[Lotus Petal]], I would then cast [[Dark Ritual]], [[Wishclaw Talisman]] from the black mana, then both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. This keeps [[Veil of Summer]] open if they decide to counter anything. Once all of those resolve and are in play, I would cast [[Veil of Summer]]. This would force them to use any counters or [[Force of Vigor]]. If they decide to cast [[Force of Vigor]], I can activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and use all of the mana in response. I would search for [[Ad Nauseam]].

Alex McKinley

Beating a [[Force of Will]] and a [[Force of Vigor]] is difficult from this spot and it comes down to how willing we believe the opponent to be to [[Force of Vigor]] a single [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. If the sequence is something like [[Lotus Petal]], [[Lotus Petal]], [[Dark Ritual]], [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Wishclaw Talisman]], weaving in the [[Veil of Summer]] afterwards or in response to a [[Force of Will]]. The main issue with this line is that if the singleton [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] is destroyed by [[Force of Vigor]], there is not enough mana to do anything besides cast [[Echo of Eons]] with one floating. If the opponent does not do anything and tried to [[Force of Vigor]] once the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] is in play or on the stack, cracking both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] in response allows [[Ad Nauseam]] to be cast.

Depending on the opponent’s decisions is not good play. If the opponent has [[Force of Vigor]], the best possible is [[Echo of Eons]] with three mana floating. I do not believe that the opponent would let the game reach a state where [[Ad Nauseam]] becomes castable. To achieve the best [[Echo of Eons]] line, I would sequence [[Lotus Petal]], [[Lotus Petal]], [[Dark Ritual]], [[Wishclaw Talisman]], [[Veil of Summer]], [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], and then [[Echo of Eons]]. Whenever the opponent casts [[Force of Vigor]], I would crack any copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and activate the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] in response to it. This allows for the [[Echo of Eons]] to have the three mana and a land drop available.

Theo Andresier

This is a super interesting position, and I truly believe that scenarios like this are what let me enjoy The EPIC Storm! The double [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] means that we are able to use that to try and draw out a [[Force of Will]] here. I would start by playing out both copies of [[Lotus Petal]] and hope that neither of them gets countered. I would then cast the first [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] fully expecting it to be countered, which will naturally be responded to with a [[Veil of Summer]]. If that is countered again, I expect that my opponent has no more interaction and the second [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] into the [[Dark Ritual]] and [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. This leads to a multitude of lines where we can either [[Echo of Eons]] or [[Ad Nauseam]]. If our opponent does not counter the [[Veil of Summer]], then the latter line is on the line! (Pun intended).

Luis Scott-Vargas

The first thing to keep in mind is that [[Ethersworn Canonist]] doesn’t interact with artifacts, so your copies of [[Wishclaw Talisman]], [[Lotus Petal]], and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] are all free spells. Additionally, [[Defense Grid]] means you can do whatever you want this turn with zero interaction.

If they had more [[Island]]s in play, I’d consider going [[Carpet of Flowers]], go to second mainphase, play [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and pass. As it stands, I don’t think it’s worth waiting a turn here, since going [[Carpet of Flowers]] into [[Burning Wish]] doesn’t have great targets, and [[Wishclaw Talisman]] into go doesn’t really change the equation much.

I’d play [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Lotus Petal]], [[Wishclaw Talisman]], then use [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and respond by sacrificing both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. Search for [[Abrupt Decay]], kill the [[Ethersworn Canonist]], and Flashback [[Echo of Eons]] with floating. You haven’t played a land yet and with seven new cards plus Defense Grid — you have a decent shot of winning. Even if you miss, [[Ethersworn Canonist]] is off the board and the [[Defense Grid]] is going to complicate things for them, so all is not lost.

Bryant Cook

A good scenario for reminding players to remember what the cards actually do! [[Ethersworn Canonist]] limits our ability to play non-artifact spells, which is a good thing for us in this specific scenario. We are still able to cast [[Wishclaw Talisman]], [[Lotus Petal]], and our pair of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]].

This allows us to search for [[Abrupt Decay]] to destroy the [[Ethersworn Canonist]] and then Flashback the [[Echo of Eons]] with either a or a floating. There’s even a land-drop available!

The downside to this play is if we don’t win the game, our opponent is able to use the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to search for the [[Ethersworn Canonist]] again which buys them enough time for multiple [[Jace, the Mind Sculptor]] activations to get ahead. That said, this is situation gives The EPIC Storm the best chance it has to win this game, you need to take it!

Alex Poling

I would cast [[Lotus Petal]] and [[Carpet of Flowers]] this turn. We are going to need extra mana and may need to cast [[Burning Wish]] at some point. They only have one island in play, but [[Carpet of Flowers]] will still be good. During our next turn, I would try to cast and use [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to search for [[Abrupt Decay]]. If that fails, we can also [[Burning Wish]] for [[Massacre]].

Alex McKinley

This is a fun situation that shows the power of [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and the weaknesses of bringing in [[Ethersworn Canonist]] against The EPIC Storm. Because of the [[Defense Grid]], the opponent cannot interact with any spells cast this turn. To play this turn, I would cast [[Lotus Petal]] followed by both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and then the [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. After cracking both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for blue and black mana, [[Wishclaw Talisman]] finds [[Abrupt Decay]] to remove the [[Ethersworn Canonist]] and allows [[Echo of Eons]] to be cast from the graveyard with two mana floating and a land drop available. While the opponent is still locked under [[Defense Grid]], this gives very good odds to win the game this turn.

Theo Andresier

Our hand is forced here and we have to do something this turn. I would play out one [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and then the [[Carpet of Flowers]], I would then go to my second main phase and use the mana from the [[Carpet of Flowers]] to cast the [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. Next turn, I would use the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to find an answer to [[Ethersworn Canonist]] and try and go off that turn – I believe with the [[Echo of Eons]] that we have a suitable backup if they try to interrupt a [[Burning Wish]] line.

Bryant Cook

This is really close. [[Ponder]] is Storm 12 and [[Burning Wish]] into [[Grapeshot]] would be 14 Storm, meaning we need to find three spells to cast. I’d activate the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] as a shuffle effect. Now we have two real choices in my opinion:

1. [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]
2. [[Ponder]]

[[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] would leave us with a back-door into [[Echo of Eons]] in case the first [[Ponder]] misses and we draw something that doesn’t make mana. Getting the second [[Ponder]] commits to a line where you’re very likely to hit assuming that you see something that makes a mana in eight cards.

I’d personally take the eight cards off of [[Ponder]] over a backup [[Echo of Eons]] line.

Alex Poling

I would activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and then cast [[Burning Wish]] to get [[Echo of Eons]]. Once [[Echo of Eons]] is in hand I would play and sacrifice [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to put [[Echo of Eons]] in the graveyard and then flash it back. I would hope the new seven-card hand can produce enough Storm and the ability to draw or find another [[Burning Wish]] for [[Grapeshot]].

Alex McKinley

There are a couple of options. Technically, [[Grapeshot]] is not the only win condition for this turn. [[Empty the Warrens]] would be lethal on the next turn, but if the opponent drew an effect that lets them mill themselves, the game ends on the spot in favor of the opponent. The opponent is about 72 percent to have something that wins the game, so passing the turn is not an option.

Casting another [[Echo of Eons]] an option. By activating [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to find [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and casting [[Burning Wish]] for [[Echo of Eons]], we reach 15 Storm with access to seven more cards with three mana available. This is about a 63 percent chance to find another tutor effect, but depending on which one, it changes the mana situation. The actual percentage of [[Echo of Eons]] is pretty close to a coin flip.

The best option may just be to cast [[Ponder]]. If [[Ponder]] (Storm 12) finds anything that produces one or more mana, it allows [[Wishclaw Talisman]] (Storm 13) for [[Burning Wish]] (Storm 14) for [[Pulverize]] (Storm 15) and then [[Burning Wish]] (Storm 16) for [[Grapeshot]] (Storm 17). Given that there was a [[Brainstorm]] cast this turn and the top two cards of the library are blanks, this means that [[Ponder]] only sees two new cards. Still, this gives about a 60 percent chance to find the mana. If we want to increase that percentage further, to about 84 percent, activating [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Burning Wish]] first clears the top of the library, but it also does not let [[Echo of Eons]] be a back up plan. I think that committing to the [[Ponder]] line is likely the best so I would activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] first.

Theo Andresier

I am tempted to use the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to find a [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and then go for the sideboard [[Echo of Eons]] with the [[Burning Wish]]. The lack of a [[Chain of Vapor]] hurts here a lot, but I believe a line with [[Ponder]] or perhaps finding a [[Brainstorm]] off of the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] is prone to lack of colored mana as we have very few red spells that generate card advantage.