TES Infernal Tutoring #65

A new The EPIC Storm build just dropped, and it’s hot! The team has been working on a few ideas to address the growing contingent of unfair Blue decks in the format. Legacy has seen UR Delver drop in popularity in favor of three or four other decks. RB Reanimator, Cephalid Breakfast, 8-Cast, and Jeskai Control have all been on an absolute tear recently. Of particular concern to The EPIC Storm are the Cephalid Breakfast and 8-Cast portions in the top meta shares. Pairing [[Force of Will]] with either a quick and efficient combo (Cephalid Breakfast) or powerful hate and a quick clock (8-Cast) are both good ways to play against Storm.

The EPIC Storm v14.2 seeks to use [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] and [[Abrupt Decay]] alongside [[Thoughtseize]] to protect and disrupt in equal measures. With cards like [[Collector Ouphe]] seeing an increase in play, the [[Abrupt Decay]] is a great removal spell for that. [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] can be boarded in against Control decks where having additional lands is actually a bonus. The amount of times [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] is played as a land instead of as removal is surprisingly high.

Another thing that stands in stark contrast to other lists is the removal of [[Chrome Mox]] from the deck! With the step up in number of artifacts in The EPIC Storm, the number of cards that we don’t mind Imprinting under [[Chrome Mox]] is slowly dwindling. Additionally, [[Chrome Mox]] was often played simply to turn on Metalcraft or increase the Storm count for [[Galvanic Relay]]. To that end, [[Urza’s Bauble]] has taken the reins as a key enabler for [[Galvanic Relay]] and [[Mox Opal]]. It functions better alongside [[Galvanic Relay]] by acting as two cards over the turn cycle (one for the increased Storm count and one for the activation to draw a card directly). The card has been a welcome addition to The EPIC Storm and v14.2 has seen great success in Leagues in recent weeks. In fact, there seems to be a bit of a trophy race between members of The EPIC Storm staff during this season.

While the meta is largely neutral towards Storm strategies with both positive and negative matchups to be found in the top decks, The EPIC Storm can still be built to succeed. Practice and reflection are they best ways to improve your Combo game. What better way to do that than dive into some puzzles with the team and our awesome guest? Let’s take a look at what this month has to offer.

Mike DeVo

Special Guest

Mike DeVo

(YouTube: MikeDevo1 | Twitch: mike_devo)

Mike DeVo started playing Magic: the Gathering at the end of 2017, when his friend TheWordisBranch suggested he start with Modern (And Mike chose Mono Green Tron because cheating on mana and slamming haymakers looked fun). He has dedicated a majority of his time to his YouTube channel which contains gameplay and guides to many Tron, Rhino, and Prison variants. You can also find him occasionally streaming on Twitch trying to break the 3-2 curse, or crushing at his local game shop.

Deck List

the epic Storm

Main Deck

  • 4 [[Veil of Summer]]
  • 4 [[Brainstorm]]
  • 4 [[Mishra’s Bauble]]
  • 3 [[Urza’s Bauble]]
  • 4 [[Wishclaw Talisman]]
  • 4 [[Burning Wish]]
  • 3 [[Galvanic Relay]]
  • 1 [[Ad Nauseam]]
  • 1 [[Echo of Eons]]
  • 4 [[Rite of Flame]]
  • 4 [[Dark Ritual]]
  • 4 [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]
  • 4 [[Lotus Petal]]
  • 4 [[Mox Opal]]
  • 4 [[Bloodstained Mire]]
  • 1 [[Scalding Tarn]]
  • 1 [[Misty Rainforest]]
  • 1 [[Verdant Catacombs]]
  • 1 [[Underground Sea]]
  • 1 [[Volcanic Island]]
  • 1 [[Taiga]]
  • 1 [[Badlands]]
  • 1 [[Bayou]]

Sideboard

  • 3 [[Thoughtseize]]
  • 2 [[Abrupt Decay]]
  • 2 [[Boseiju, Who Endures]]
  • 1 [[Galvanic Relay]]
  • 1 [[Empty the Warrens]]
  • 1 [[Tendrils of Agony]]
  • 1 [[Massacre]]
  • 1 [[Aeve, Progenitor Ooze]]
  • 1 [[Pulverize]]
  • 1 [[Echo of Eons]]
  • 1 [[Peer into the Abyss]]

SITUATION No. 1 — 8-Cast

Currently positioned as one of the best decks in Legacy, 8-Cast has been on an absolute tear through the format. The card advantage offered by [[Thoughtcast]] and [[Thought Monitor]] allow an easy rebuild following the deployment of all kinds of synergistic artifacts. [[Sai, Master Thopterist]] and [[Emry, Lurker of the Loch]] pay out the artifact strategy to a large degree. The real glue that holds everything together, however, is [[Urza’s Saga]]. Uncounterable threats, searchable interaction, and a way to side-step [[Null Rod]]-type effects. Is this the perfect card for 8-Cast?

The EPIC Storm does not fair well against the deck with a quick clock, [[Chalice of the Void]], and at least eight [[Force of Will]] effects post-board. The inclusion of [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] alongside [[Abrupt Decay]] has certainly helped the matchup, but Storm is generally in a poor position against 8-Cast. Key cards that can be brought to bear include [[Pulverize]], the aforementioned removal spells, and [[Veil of Summer]]. Another card that has been helpful has been [[Galvanic Relay]]. If a game does not involve [[Chalice of the Void]], the advantage that [[Galvanic Relay]] offers can overwhelm opposing interaction, but this is a contextual card. To win a match, one needs both the skill to play well and the luck to dodge truly backbreaking sequences from an opponent.

SIDEBOARDING:

-4 [[Brainstorm]]; +2 [[Abrupt Decay]], +2 [[Boseiju, Who Endures]]

With a bevy of cards available thanks to last turn’s [[Galvanic Relay]] (all displayed near our hand), we have a few decisions to make in response to Upkeep triggers. This is a post-board game, and it’s our second turn (on the draw). The [[Urza’s Bauble]] trigger and the middle [[Mishra’s Bauble]] trigger are for our opponent. Our own [[Mishra’s Bauble]] trigger will resolve last and it revealed a [[Force of Will]] on top of our opponent’s deck. The board opposing us contains a [[Chalice of the Void]] with no counters and an [[Emry, Lurker of the Loch]] to rebuy it if we ever destroy it with the [[Abrupt Decay]] in our Exile pile. Knowing our opponent will draw a [[Force of Will]] in addition to the other seven cards in their hand, what should we do before our opponent gets to add another piece of interaction to their hand?

Situation 1

Special Guest

Mike DeVo

Mike DeVo

If we want to get some advantage before the opponent draws [[Force of Will]], we can crack [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and [[Lotus Petal]] for [[Ad Nauseam]] in order to refill our hand to set us up for next turn with all the cards drawn from [[Galvanic Relay]]. Depending on what we draw, we could continue casting instants for Storm count. Except [[Burning Wish]] is a sorcery, so we have to figure out a way to win this turn.

#TEAMTES

Jordan Karim

Jordan Karim

I think we can do a lot with all of these triggers on the stack. First is to cast [[Veil of Summer]] from hand using the [[Taiga]] and see what happens. The rest of my suggestions will hinge on it resolving. If it doesn’t resolve, we don’t have many lines that are fruitful — mostly it involves drawing another [[Veil of Summer]] and action to [[Pulverize]] and potentially [[Echo of Eons]]

If our protection does resolve, we have uncounterable zero-mana spells. Take that [[Chalice of the Void]]! Casting [[Ad Nauseam]] using the [[Dark Ritual]] from Exile and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] will hopefully result in a clean victory.

Another line that is available is to destroy the [[Chalice of the Void]] with the [[Abrupt Decay]] instead of [[Veil of Summer]]. That requires devoting more resources to this turn before knowing if our [[Ad Nauseam]] will resolve without [[Veil of Summer]] protection. We would also have to fight through the [[Force of Will]] they are drawing after this all occurs. I prefer the [[Veil of Summer]] line.


Bryant Cook

Bryant Cook

This is an interesting one! I’d likely cast [[Veil of Summer]] with the [[Urza’s Bauble]] trigger on the stack which would bypass the [[Chalice of the Void]] for zero. Assuming that it resolves, we can then easily cast [[Ad Nauseam]] using mana from [[Dark Ritual]] as well as [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. If the [[Veil of Summer]] is countered, I don’t believe there’s a winning line through the known [[Force of Will]] with what we have. That said, you do have a draw off of [[Mishra’s Bauble]] and your draw step.

The problem is that you can destroy the [[Chalice of the Void]] with [[Abrupt Decay]] after you play a land and sacrifice the [[Lotus Petal]] that’s already in play. After that, you have [[Dark Ritual]] into [[Ad Nauseam]] with [[Lotus Petal]] available. If we draw more mana, you may be able to trick the opponent with the [[Burning Wish]] somehow?


Alex McKinley

Alex McKinley

Dealing with this [[Chalice of the Void]] is necessary to win the game. The opponent might have another [[Force of Will]] in hand, but I would just cast the [[Veil of Summer]] with their [[Mishra’s Bauble]] triggers on the stack. This gives it the greatest odds to resolve and not having to spend the two mana on [[Abrupt Decay]] is good. If they have the [[Force of Will]], [[Abrupt Decay]] becomes the answer to [[Chalice of the Void]] and we have to beat a second [[Force of Will]]. I would solve that by using [[Burning Wish]] to find [[Thoughtseize]] and then casting [[Ad Nauseam]].


Alex Poling

Alex Poling

I would respond to the abilities on the stack with the [[Veil of Summer]]. This would let us know if the opponent is holding another copy of [[Force of Will]] or not. If [[Veil of Summer]] resolves, we would be able to play our artifacts through the [[Chalice of the Void]] and continue to combo here using the [[Ad Nauseam]].

If [[Veil of Summer]] doesn’t resolve, I would then still continue to combo here. Knowing they have a [[Force of Will]] on top of their deck and they already used one for the [[Veil of Summer]], I think it’s fairly safe to continue here. I would then cast the [[Dark Ritual]] and sacrifice the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for [[Ad Nauseam]].


Caleb Scherer

Caleb Scherer

Since we need to play all of our exiled cards this turn, resolving [[Veil of Summer]] is of the utmost importance. Thus, since we know that they have a [Force of Will]] on top of their deck and their draw triggers will place it in their hand, I would cast the [[Veil of Summer]] now in the upkeep. My reason is we can not cast [[Ad Nauseam]] while still holding up [[Veil of Summer]] this turn due to the [[Chalice of the Void]]. If this resolves, we are off to the races with being able to cast our [[Lotus Petal]] and then [[Ad Nauseam]].


Oliver Everhard

Oliver Everhard

Knowing our opponent will draw a [[Force of Will]], I’m inclined to fire off the [[Veil of Summer]] with the [[Taiga]] right now. We miss out on the potential “gotcha” of drawing an extra card if our opponent only has a single Force effect. If it resolves, we are essentially guaranteed to win the game (and the [[Chalice of the Void]] on zero no longer matters).

Life gets a little more complicated if they have interaction for our [[Veil of Summer]]. Because we have the [[Ad Nauseam]] and the [[Dark Ritual]] in exile (and an active [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] on the board), we can follow up with the [[Ad Nauseam]] (still on upkeep) by discarding our hand for to the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and casting the [[Dark Ritual]] off of that mana — this will force our opponent to have two pieces of interaction before drawing their [[Force of Will]]. I am of the perspective that if our opponent has two pieces of stack interaction already in hand with a [[Force of Will]] on top (not to mention their [[Chalice of the Void]]), our odds weren’t getting much better from this position anyway.

One important note here — we need to pick up at least one more [[Veil of Summer]] off of the [[Ad Nauseam]] and cast it using the [[Lotus Petal]] still on upkeep, as the active [[Chalice of the Void]] will prevent us from resolving the artifact mana we’ll need to get our combo going, and we want to do it before our opponent draws their [[Force of Will]] (my assumption is that if the [[Ad Nauseam]] resolves, the [[Veil of Summer]] will resolve too).

SITUATION No. 2 — 5C Yorion Zenith Natural Order

What happens when you cross your trade binder with the Legacy format? It may look something like this deck! Based in Blue and Green, the rainbow of splashes includes White for removal like [[Prismatic Ending]], Red for sideboard cards like [[Pyroblast]], and Black for [[Grist, the Hunger Tide]] and [[Plague Engineer]]. This deck has one goal in mind above all else. Never lose the grind. In mid and late-game scenarios, there may not be a better strategy to employ. But getting the wheels under the bus is the real trick. Mana can be finicky and cantrips can only help so much against the “Drew the Wrong Half” problem these decks can often face. Despite all of its shortcomings, the glue that holds everything together is [[Green Sun’s Zenith]] and [[Natural Order]].

Finding the tutor target that fits precisely into the space you need is a great way to shore up any potential weaknesses in a game. Artifacts got you down? There’s a [[Collector Ouphe]] for that. Do you need to grind? [[Undermountain Adventurer]] can generate eye-watering advantages. Need to get your mana straight? [[Dryad Arbor]] is right there waiting for you (this list is playing things like [[Omnath, Locus of Creation]] even!). Ready to win the game? [[Atraxa, Grand Unifier]] will shut the game down. There are answers to everything here, you just need to find them and deploy them correctly.

Storm can succeed against the fair portion of this deck with relative ease. [[Green Sun’s Zenith]] for [[Collector Ouphe]] can be annoying, but our copies of [[Abrupt Decay]] specifically attack this. The concern here is losing to a quick [[Natural Order]] once the decision to settle into a grind has been made — a common risk against these Control decks with a Combo finish. [[Galvanic Relay]] is a great way to convert small early strengths into rolling advantages, but only if there is enough time to actually build up to that.

SIDEBOARDING:

-2 [[Urza’s Bauble]], -1 [[Echo of Eons]]; +2 [[Abrupt Decay]], +1 [[Aeve, Progenitor Ooze]]

[[Veil of Summer]] has already resolved. That’s it then, wrap it up and send ’em home! This is obviously an easy win, right? Unfortunately not. We have the Storm count and the protection, but we need the mana. This post-board game has already seen a lot of action. We have used [[Burning Wish]] for a sideboard [[Echo of Eons]] — casting both halves of it in this turn cycle. Our opponent has put their Companion [[Yorion, Sky Nomad]] into their hand last turn, but that has since been shuffled into their deck along with the remaining contents of their hand. From here, we have a few avenues available. The main question involves picking our line for the following turn. With no line to a lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]], what should we do with the rest of our turn? How does that translate into a potential win on our following turn?

Situation 2

Special Guest

Mike DeVo

Mike DeVo

Since we have the Storm count, I think we activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Galvanic Relay]] and cast it using [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. While we do let our opponent untap with an active [[Wishclaw Talisman]], if they use it on us, we have it again on our turn. We also have 14 cards from [[Galvanic Relay]] to decide how to take the next turn depending on what plays opponent made.

#TEAMTES

Jordan Karim

Jordan Karim

[[Collector Ouphe]] is the primary point of concern if we [[Galvanic Relay]] from here. It would require giving our opponent a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] that can be used to get any number of possible cards. Other cards to consider have been listed in the [[Green Sun’s Zenith]] package — tapping one mana to tutor and then cast [[Leovold, Emissary of Trest]] is exactly like [[Green Sun’s Zenith]] actually. The other cards that could be played are stack interaction and artifact removal. I would imagine a hatebear of some kind entering play instead.

Our deck will have one more [[Abrupt Decay]] to find after this [[Galvanic Relay]] for 15 cards. Our powerful Channel land may not answer the card they get with [[Wishclaw Talisman]], so relying on that may not be the best. Plus, we cannot actually use it from Exile like we would want to.


Bryant Cook

Bryant Cook

I would [[Galvanic Relay]]. We’re protected, and 15 cards off the top should reveal enough resources to win the game through [[Collector Ouphe]] and countermagic. The issue with passing is that these are decks with [[Force of Will]], [[Force of Negation]], [[Force of Vigor]], and [[Collector Ouphe]]. While we’re giving them access to a guaranteed [[Collector Ouphe]], can our existing hand beat the other cards? Maybe? It would be very difficult. I believe that [[Galvanic Relay]] is our best option forward.


Alex McKinley

Alex McKinley

With four available mana between the floating Black and the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], a massive [[Galvanic Relay]] is on the table. Unfortunately, this means giving the opponent the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and discarding one of two copies of [[Abrupt Decay]]. With the [[Wishclaw Talisman]], it is free for the opponent to get [[Collector Ouphe]]. This means in a [[Galvanic Relay]] we would have to flip the one remaining copy of [[Abrupt Decay]] (30% odds) or find enough ritual effects to win the game through it. The opponent also does not have any pressure and so we have some time. It is unfortunate that casting both copies of [[Echo of Eons]] missed. With only one [[Abrupt Decay]] to draw to in the deck, I would pass the turn and try to develop into the [[Ad Nauseam]] in a turn or two.


Alex Poling

Alex Poling

I would just pass the turn. I don’t want to activate a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and then give it to the opponent, or play the [[Abrupt Decay]] on the [[Birds of Paradise]].

The opponent can have more threatening cards, and I would rather save the [[Abrupt Decay]] for a potential [[Collector Ouphe]] or [[Natural Order]] target than the creature they would sacrifce.


Caleb Scherer

Caleb Scherer

We don’t have any way of getting mana to win this turn, so I would just cast the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and then also use the [[Mishra’s Bauble]]. Since they also have a fresh seven cards, I would settle in for a longer game and anticipate using the [[Abrupt Decay]] soon and also just play land and [[Wishclaw Talisman]] next turn.


Oliver Everhard

Oliver Everhard

While we can’t win this turn, we thankfully have access to an [[Abrupt Decay]] to deal with anything hateful our opponent drew into.

First and foremost, we can consider cracking our artifacts. I am of the opinion that we crack the [[Mishra’s Bauble]] here — [[Leovold, Emissary of Trest]] (a stock 3-drop [[Green Sun’s Zenith]] target) stops this card in its tracks as early as next turn, and while we aren’t totally dead to him, I’d prefer to have the guaranteed card in hand now rather than support Metalcraft on future turns.

We also have the open mana to crack the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] now, and while this might be a bit greedy, I think we do it. My thinking is this:

  • If our opponent uses [[Prismatic Ending]] or [[Meltdown]] to take it out before we activate, we don’t have a ton of lines to a safe kill in the next turn or two. I am very inclined to play around this if possible.
  • If our opponent uses the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to get [[Collector Ouphe]], we have [[Abrupt Decay]] as an answer. No [[Natural Order]] threat ends us — [[Atraxa, Grand Unifier]] is annoying but beatable, the hatebears (mainly [[Collector Ouphe]] and [[Leovold, Emissary of Trest]]) all die to [[Abrupt Decay]], and [[Omnath, Locus of Creation]]/[[Primeval Titan]] aren’t going to get there against us within a turn. We also get to activate the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] again next turn if they do this, without having to worry about them getting a second card off of it.
  • Notably, our opponent does not have enough mana, even with a land drop, to cast [[Natural Order]], cast [[Collector Ouphe]], and activate the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] in the same turn.

The question then becomes what we get off of the [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. [[Veil of Summer]] is an obvious potential target (post board our opponent will have access to plenty of [[Force of Will]] effects in their fresh seven cards), as is [[Burning Wish]] (either for the second [[Echo of Eons]] or, depending on what we draw, a potential [[Peer into the Abyss]]).

Ultimately against this opponent with the [[Ad Nauseam]] already in hand, I want interaction more than anything, and I’m probably going for [[Veil of Summer]] — a [[Dark Ritual]] off the top from the [[Mishra’s Bauble]] or our next draw step casts [[Ad Nauseam]] with [[Veil of Summer]] backup. Exactly how we play this out is going to depend on what we draw — we may use the second [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to grab [[Burning Wish]], [[Aeve, Progenitor Ooze]], or another [[Veil of Summer]] depending on whether the top of our deck gives us mana, payoffs, or protection.

SITUATION No. 3 — UR Delver

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Lauded as an S-Tier menace just months ago, UR Delver is now merely one of the many decks in Legacy with competitive viability. It’s hard to disrupt the power of Blue in such an efficient Tempo shell — even if the glue that held it together in the late game is missing. Players have sought to fill the hole left by [[Expressive Iteration]] with other two mana cards like [[Chart a Course]] and [[Reckless Impulse]]. When you’re comparing legal Legacy cards to one on the ban list, the power difference can be felt. One novel idea has been to use [[Invasion of Tarkir]] in complex with [[Sprite Dragon]] and [[Murktide Regent]] to function more like the UR Delver decks of old — attacking fast and hard, the goal is to slip under opposing strategies and win using whatever resources necessary.

Because of the downgrades received by the bans, UR Delver has picked up tools that aren’t necessarily direct replacements for card advantage. [[Stifle]] always sees play in times like this before players are reminded how poorly the card actually performs. [[Spell Pierce]] and [[Minor Misstep]] are cards that actually succeed in these slots, and perhaps are underplayed. Throughout all of this, The EPIC Storm can fight and succeed against UR Delver. The core power of [[Galvanic Relay]] still exists, bolstered by the fact that [[Expressive Iteration]] is not around to rebuild after we have fought through the initial waves of interaction. If a build has a more aggressive focus, there can be difficulties in securing a win before our life total dwindles to nothing. Of course, UR Delver is still a [[Force of Will]], [[Daze]], and [[Wasteland]] deck, s even in its nerfed state, this is a menace Storm decks need to approach carefully.

SIDEBOARDING:

-1 [[Ad Nauseam]], -1 [[Urza’s Bauble]], -1 [[Mox Opal]]; +2 [[Boseiju, Who Endures]], +1 [[Aeve, Progenitor Ooze]]

In this scenario and the turns leading up to it, our fleet of baubles have really been able to pull their weight. Last turn, [[Urza’s Bauble]] let us know of a [[Brainstorm]] as the last card in our opponent’s hand as they cast a [[Ponder]]. [[Mishra’s Bauble]] then revealed a [[Force of Will]] on top of their deck with the [[Ponder]] still on the stack. Since the [[Ponder]] did not shuffle, we may be safe in assuming our opponent’s hand is currently these two cards. Our turn started out with a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] — trying to make it look as unassuming as possible given it is the only action in our hand. It resolved! From here, things get a bit more complicated. [[Grafdigger’s Cage]] is on the battlefield and our opponent has two copies of [[Dragon’s Rage Channeler]] with Delirium. Things are starting to look grim. Can we combo off here? What do we need to do for our victory to be ensured?

Situation 3

Special Guest

Mike DeVo

Mike DeVo

Knowing we have to bait the [[Force of Will]], we can start by casting [[Dark Ritual]], tapping [[Mox Opal]] for Blue, playing other copy of [[Mox Opal]] and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], and use [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] on [[Grafdigger’s Cage]] with [[Taiga]] and the floating mana. With no hand, we can crack our copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for Blue and Black and then activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to find [[Echo of Eons]]. We cast [[Echo of Eons]], it gets countered, then we have enough mana to flash it back hoping to draw into more gas to combo off.

#TEAMTES

Jordan Karim

Jordan Karim

Just like [[Past in Flames]] functions well against [[Force of Will]], this turn can see our very own card with Flashback functioning in the exact same way! Hardcasting [[Echo of Eons]] is the goal for this turn, followed by casting it again from our graveyard. To do this, we first need to remove the [[Grafdigger’s Cage]] — a card that often does nothing against us. Luckily, we have a combo line through it. We can Channel the [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] to remove the artifact and then deploy our hand completely. With both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], two copies of [[Mox Opal]], and [[Dark Ritual]], we have 10 total mana available. This is enough to activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Echo of Eons]] to hard cast it. If it does eat our opponent’s [[Force of Will]], our goal is to Flashback the wheel abd continue through our combo turn. If our opponent interacts with anything along the way, we can simply tutor the [[Echo of Eons]] and cast it normally using the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] or pivot into a [[Galvanic Relay]] plan if [[Tendrils of Agony]] is not lethal.


Bryant Cook

Bryant Cook

We need to [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] the [[Grafdigger’s Cage]] and then hardcast [[Echo of Eons]]. After the opponent counters it with [[Force of Will]], we’ll Flashback and pray.


Alex McKinley

Alex McKinley

With the resolved [[Wishclaw Talisman]], I would attempt to get the opponent to counter one of the pieces of mana. Start with [[Dark Ritual]], then [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], then [[Mox Opal]]. In the unlikely event that the opponent casts their [[Force of Will]], depending on which piece of mana gets countered, may leave open a natural Storm [[Tendrils of Agony]] line. In most worlds, the opponent does nothing, and we get to [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] their [[Grafdigger’s Cage]] and then cast both halves of [[Echo of Eons]].


Alex Poling

Alex Poling

I would lead off with the [[Dark Ritual]] and then use one of the Black mana and the [[Taiga]] for [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] on [[Grafdigger’s Cage]]. I would then play out the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and float a Red mana with [[Mox Opal]] before playing out the second copy. With three mana floating and no cards left in my hand, I would sacrifice both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for six Blue mana. This puts me at nine mana and an untapped [[Mox Opal]]. I would then search for and cast [[Echo of Eons]]. This would certainly be countered by [[Force of Will]], and then I would flash it back.


Caleb Scherer

Caleb Scherer

Since we know almost certainly they have a Blue card and [[Force of Will]] in hand, I would now then play out all my mana leading on [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] then use [[Mox Opal]] to cast [[Dark Ritual]] and finally cast [[Mox Opal]] keeping the untapped one. Next, I would use [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] on the [[Grafdigger’s Cage]]. We can then safely sacrifice both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for Blue mana and use [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to grab [[Echo of Eons]]. We are then left with nine mana available and can brute force through their [[Force of Will]].


Oliver Everhard

Oliver Everhard

In this board state, I think we are 100 percent to assume our opponent’s hand is as described — [[Force of Will]] and [[Brainstorm]]. In theory, we can go for [[Burning Wish]] into [[Peer into the Abyss]] off the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to hit the “I Win” button right now, but I can’t imagine why our opponent would not have kept that [[Force of Will]] (or at a minimum be able to [[Brainstorm]] into it and a Blue card).

This makes sense even given that they let the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] resolve. While this hand casts [[Aeve, Progenitor Ooze]] even through that [[Force of Will]] with a Storm> of at least five, we’re still dead in the air to the copies of [[Dragon’s Rage Channeler]] on the clap back, and we wouldn’t be able to generate the Storm we need to kill with a main-deck [[Tendrils of Agony]].

First and foremost, I think we play out everything in our hand except the [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] — tap the onboard [[Mox Opal]] for , cast the one from hand, cast the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], cast the [[Dark Ritual]]. Assuming nothing eats the [[Force of Will]] right now (I highly doubt a competent opponent would do so in this position), our board state will be two onboard [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], floating, untapped [[Underground Sea]] and [[Taiga]], and an untapped [[Mox Opal]] (Total potential mana = 12, Storm 4) with a [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] in hand.

The only real line I can see is this:

  • Take out the [[Grafdigger’s Cage]] with our [[Boseiju, Who Endures]], tapping the [[Mox Opal]] for and using one of our floating (ten mana left available).
  • Crack both [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]s for , activate the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] (nine mana left available).
  • Get and cast [[Echo of Eons]] from hand. When this eats the [[Force of Will]], we’ll still have enough mana to recast it for its Flashback> cost from the yard, and we’re guaranteed to be able to wheel with a land drop remaining at Storm seven (0 mana left floating).

Notably, our opponent’s copies of [[Dragon’s Rage Channeler]] will no longer have Delirium (ie. we’re no longer technically dead on board), but we’ll be dead to double [[Lightning Bolt]] (one copy of which our opponent will be able to get next turn with the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] we just gave them). We also won’t have [[Veil of Summer]] protection up.

While I think we are still likely to lose the game (and with the [[Boseiju, Who Endures]] land might lose the game on the spot to our opponent wheeling into double [[Lightning Bolt]] or [[Chain Lightning]]) I think it’s our best shot given that we’re dead on board in the air.

One last thing to consider — if for whatever reason our opponent decides to [[Force of Will]] one of the cards currently in our hand (likely the second [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] if anything, although if I were my opponent I’d view forcing any of these cards as a mistake), we can make the choice to immediately crack our [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to get [[Veil of Summer]] and cantrip. This leaves open a LOT of live draws ([[Wishclaw Talisman]], [[Burning Wish]], a protected [[Echo of Eons]], or [[Brainstorm]] into one of these options) with only 32 cards left in deck (after the [[Veil of Summer]] is pulled out and cast). If my opponent chooses to make this play, I actually think I might prefer my odds trying for the [[Veil of Summer]] rather than trying to wheel with no mana up — just a thought. This decision would definitely be impacted by the three specific cards in exile though. If they’re all payoffs, I may try my luck with the wheel.


Want to see your play?

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