I was having problems with uploading a picture so I hope this is o.k.

Jacob Orlove___Steve Shoots__Matt Groke_____Eli Kassis_______Ben Kowal

Jason Stinnet__Scott Limoges__Ashok Chitturi__Andrew Probasco_ShockWave

Zherbus______DicemanX_____Ric h Shay______Aaron Kerezner__Diaonic

Justin Walters_Doug Linn_____David Lawrence_Kevin Cron______David Allen

Marc Perez___Steve Houdlette_Carl Winter____JP Meyer________Smmenen

Assuming that ante cards are legal, you could try this mono - black build.


    6  Tendrils of Agony
    8  Duress
    20  Contract from Below
    24  Lotus Petal
    2  Yawgmoth's Will

The numbers can vary.  You could also try night's whispers but they don't seem to work quite as well as the current build.  I'm sure that this is by no means optimal though.  The reason that the yawgmoth's will count is only 2 is because you don't even need them to function at all, but replaying the lotus petals if you don't have enough mana to tendrils (hardly ever happens) is always cool.  This deck dies to 3sphere of course, but if you go first, you should be ok.  Also, if you fizzle, there are duresses to keep you safe.

Thanks for the tip about crystal keep and for answering the question.

Chalice of the Void

Color= Artifact  Type= Artifact  Cost= XX MR(R)  
Text (MR): ~this~ comes into play with X charge counters on it. ; Whenever a player plays a spell with converted mana cost equal to the number of charge counters on ~this~, counter that spell.  

To have it come into play with 3 counters, X must be 3, which means you have to pay {3} or mana. You pay twice of whatever value you want X to be. [Mirrodin FAQ 2003/10/01]
It only checks the number of counters on this card at the time the spell is being played. Changing the number of counters after that will not change the outcome. [Mirrodin FAQ 2003/10/01]
If it has zero counters on it, then it triggers for spells of cost . [Mirrodin FAQ 2003/10/01]
It has to be in play at the end of the playing of a spell to trigger. If you sacrifice it during the playing of a spell, it will not trigger. [Mirrodin FAQ 2003/10/01]
Note - Also see Converted Mana Cost, Rule G3.25.
Note - Also see X Costs, Rule G24.1.


Hello, I was just wondering if you have a chalice with 3 counters on it and play tinker sacrificing the chalice to it, will the tinker resolve or not?   On crystal keep, it says that if cotv is saced during the playing of the spell, it will not trigger.  Does sacing it as part of the cc count as sacing it during the playing of the spell and thus nullify the trigger and allow the tinker to resolve?  I found the crystal keep wording slightly confusing and am only asking for clarification.  Thanks a lot.