The ruling on cards with X in the casting cost is that while on the stack, X becomes the declared amount. But in cases such as Decree of Justice and Skeletal Scrying, I don't want to declare X until the spell resolves and then pump mana into it.

How does chalice effect this? If chalice is at 1, can I scry with the intent to pump mana into it? If chalice is at 3, can I cycle DoJ with the same intent?

Thanks in advance.

-WhiteMage05

Wicked tech. Thanks man.

Right. Thanks all.

So my best option would then be to Gush before Titan resolves?

Ah. Thanks.

Once Sundering Titan declares targets, if I Gush tageting those lands, what happens?

Does Sundering Titan fissle?
Does controller choose new targets?

What is the deck size like? Is it 15 card highlander or a normal 60? If it's 15 than you might try a Squee->Masticore combo. But yes, I agree that Masticore would be a house in this format.

I agree that library manipulation is ill in this format, however I disagree that it should be banned completely. I suggest banning mass library manipulation such as milstone, brainfreeze, and (of course) feldon's cane. However, Gaea's Blessing and Demonic Tutor should be allowed as tech cards.

15 Card Highlander has been dubbed "The Combo Format"

The broken decks that involved the banning of the "storm" spells were as follows:

Tendrils.dec created by WhiteMage05 + MixingMike
Black Lotus
Lotus Pedal
Brainstorm
Ancestral Recall
LED
Mana Crypt
Tendrils of Agony
Retract (Or hurkyl's recall)
Opt
Underground Sea
Sol Ring
Chromatic Sphere
Yawgmoth's Will
Mox Sapphire
Dark Ritual

As the Mixer said, I think the best we did on turn one was storm for high 20's or once even 30 (I think?)

BrainFreeze.dec created by WhiteMage05 + MiseMaster + Mike Lovett

Black Lotus
Wheel of Fortune
Brainfreeze
Sol Ring
Lotus Pedal
Eater of Days
Brainstorm
Mox Ruby
Mox Sapphire
Ancestral Recall
Goblin Welder
Yawgmoth's Will
Underground Sea
Volcanic Island
Lotus Pedal

Some of this deck has slipped my mind but the concept is to Brainfreeze their library away, and then wheel their hand away such that all of their cards are in their graveyard. (Sometimes we play a Tormod's Crypt just to add salt to the wound.) After they are left with absolutely nothing, you play/weld an Eater of Days into play, pass turn twice   and precede to beat.

This format is pretty fun. We used to play every thursday with our Spanish teacher, but we stopped (teacher strikes suck the butthole!). Anyway, I greatly support the exploration of this Format.

Yawgmoth's Will>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Planar Void

Do you even like to win?  

Riiiiiiiiiiight. About the making top8 thing.

My day in a nutshell:
After almost getting a ticket my nerves are a little shaken. Anyways. In recent tournaments I've done really bad, so I wasn't really planning on making top8 (bad attitude!!!). As it turns out, my birthday was the next day and my brother was coming in from Boston to play a round of Golf with me and my dad. I figured, sweet! I'll play some magic, I won't top8, and then I'll bounce to get in a round of golf.

(I lost my notes!!)
Round 1: BYE!!!! (1-0)
Round 2: I lose. (1-1)
Round 3: I lose again. (Red green beats!) (1-2)
Round 4: Paired down against some wicked bad deck. I can't even remember it. All I remember is WICKED bad CoP: Red ownage from my SB and an Angel for the win.  (2-2)
Round 5: Up against some janky monoBlue deck and I own it. (3-2)
Round 6: Vs. TJ playing slaver. Like the rest of the day he gets totally mana screwed and I win. (4-2)

I FTK in. Who saw that coming? It was either going to be me or TJ and I didn't want to take the chance of losing the pearl. However, I was plannig on leaving to play Golf anyways. I almost cut a deal with him, to get him into the top8 and then buy the Pearl for 150 BUT I'm going to three concerts this summer and owe my dad about 2500 for my car....so I'll go for the $15 Mox. Well. As I inderstood it, Misemaster's match was going to decide whether or not I would make top8. I left without knowing. Oh well. Seeing my brother was good and I beat both my dad and bro in Golf so HA!

Props:
The Cop who pulled Brendon and I over for not giving us a ticket.
My mom for making a hugeass breakfast.
Darksteel Alden for sending his evil spirit to keep him in the computer.
My 5-iron.
My Pitching wedge.

Slops:
Gary for starting the tournament 45-55 minuntes late. (I might have been able to play my top8 match!!!!!).
My 5 wood.
My putter.

EBA doesn't play off colored mana. Where do you see that in the build?
--See wuaffiliate's comment--

Thanks for all the ideas and suggestions. As I said, I bumped the Angel count back up to two, and cut a Cunning Wish/Skeletal Scrying for 2 Damping Matrix. This deck is shaping up pretty nicely.

I knew I forgot something! Matchups. Some people have already posted about some of the good matchups, for example, aggro, and also many control decks. Anything that one Mage can stop is pretty much owned by EBA. Naming "Psycatog" can win games, especially if you can get off another one and name REB or Swords. With the "12" counters in the deck, one should be able to keep the Mage on the board. EBA also has a great matchup against Sui. Again, meddling mages seem to house that deck. Masticore also houses that deck, if it is MD'd or maybe even in the Sideboard??? (comments? Should I move Masticore to the Sideboard or drop it completely?) Pinging their peremanents away versus a Negator won me a game the other day. Mize. EBA also has a pretty good matchup against combo decks IF a Mage can be dropped quick enough. It's all about the IF's. If I forgot any, let me know...

Agreed. Null rod is ownage, but in EBA it would be quite silly to play. Moxen and the Ring are very essential to the deck's speed.

Methuselahn:

Why? Please explain your thinking...

Nantuko Rice:

I agree with Feanor. As much as I love the "fear" ability, Ophidian is easier to cast (one U + Sol Ring) and you can mana drain into it, which gives it a huge advantage by at least this:  [___________________] much...

Feanor:
I agree that the " one of's " seem quite random. There should be at least two angels.

I decided to cut the Masticore in order to allow for another Angel. I also cut the Cunning Wish and the Skeletal Scrying in order to maindeck two Damping Matrix. They are way too good to leave out. Especially since one can still morph the Angel. It stops many a deck from going off.

As far as the mana base, I also agree about the City of Brass. However, I like playing as many duals as possible, though they can very easily be owned. If I were to cut the City, which basic land should I play: Swamp or Plains? Stifles are seen less and less, but 4 fetches has always seemed to work out. I normally don't get mana screwed, and because of the high dual count, one can always obtain the colors needed.

I still stand firm with the 8 counters. One reason is that this count always seems good enough especially with 3 duress and 3 Meddling Mages. However, another issue of adding the suggested straight up Counterspell would be what to cut. There is very little room for more counterspells. Cutting Duress, I think, is out of the question because it causes way too much disruption and allows you to plan for future turns. Cutting Meddling Mages would defeat much of the purpose of the deck. Meddling Mage is one of your key defences, especially right after a Duress, which is another reason to leave the Counter-Count at 8.

Keep the suggestions coming!!

The rise in EBA has been great over the past several months. It did very well at many of the bigger northeast tournaments. My favorite deck quickly became EBA when I got back into magic two years ago becasue it played my three favorite colors. Since then, I've been trying to make my own version that might actually win a match or two. This is what I finally came up with, though it will probably be under construction within days.

Hard-Core EBA - Andrew Valainis

//Win
2 Decree of Justice
1 Exalted Angel
1 Masticore
3 Meddling Mage
3 Ophidian

//Counter
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
3 Duress

//Draw + Tutors
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Skeletal Scyring
4 Brainstorm
1 Cunning Wish
1 Fact or Fiction

//Removal
3 Swords to Plowshares
1 Vindicate

//Tempo + Wicked Good
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Time Walk

//Mana Base
4 Underground Sea
4 Tundra
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 City of Brass
1 Island
2 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring

Sideboard: (As if I were going to a very diverse meta)
2 Damping Matrix
2 Energy Flux
1 Blue Elemental Blast
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Ebony Charm
1 Coffin Purge
1 Disenchant
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Balance
1 Serenity
1 Circle of Protection: Red
1 Circle of Protection: Green
1 Skeletal Scrying

Comments on the build:

Decree of Justice:
This card is terrific. It's just plain good. It works incredibly well with Mana Drain and with EBA's mana base, there is a very good chance of getting off a large Decree. This card is also good when looking Standstill in the face. TECH!!

Masticore:
Honestly, I put this card in my deck because I was without another Exalted Angel. However, I began to love it as soon as I dropped it. This card has so much potential that I had to MD it. It's abilities yell "I can help you beat Landstill!" You can even Regen a Masticore after a Nev's Disk goes "boom". Taking out 6/6's against Aggro is no longer a huge issue. Although 6 mana is a lot to take out a 6/6, two *pings* and a regen can go a long way.

Cunning Wish
Playing one is a little strange, and many people might drop it to make the deck an even 60 cards. I, however, love having that warm fuzzy feeling that I might just topdeck that Wish that I need. Also, it allows you to alter your sideboard a little in order to get those instants that you might need in game one. Taking this out is quick easy. You just de-sleeve it. However, remember that if you do so, you might want to change your sideboard accordingly. I simply play it for the security.

Swords vs. Vindicate
The rise of more creature efficient decks like EBA, The BigO, Landstill, and others cause more want for Swords to Plowshares over Vindicate. Many EBA's variations play 2 Swords and 2 Vindicates, but I feel as though that 3rd Swords will be not only easier to cast, but will come in handy more often. The insanst vs. sorcery battle must also be taken into consideration. Vindicate: "Destroy target anything, but on your turn."

Where's the Library!!
In Andy Stok's hands now. But I needed cash! So why not proxy it? Right now, I'd rather have the City. Some might say that City of Brass is bad because of the ping and a Fire/Ice on a stick can be hell to you with a city. But remember that you're playing Exalted Angel!!! Gaining life is the mizor. Other than that, I often find myself with less than 7 cards in almost all of my games. How so with 3 maindecked Ophidians? EBA, remember, is an Aggro-Control deck and it likes to play things. It has many an answer for opponents' spells and has many a win condition to drop.

Sideboard issues

Ebony Charm vs. Coffin Purge
The never ending battle! MixingMike posted a for/against on this topic a little while ago and I decided that I like both. So I use both. It's as simple as that.

Balance
Why is this not in the maindeck? Notice that EBA plays many creatures and the ideal board position is an Angel, at least one Ophidian, and 1-2 Meddling Mages. Balance is no doubt one of the most powerful cards in magic, and I would love to flash my FBB pimpness in the maindeck, but it would kill my main draw engine and my Meddling Mages which are a permanent counterspell.

Circle of Protection: Red
The one thing I hate is Sligh, in any form. Other than that, at my tournaments there is normally one or two jank speed decks that like to drop a Rancor on a Gorilla Shaman. Wha?? It hurts, trust me.

Circle of Protection: Green
The BigO + Madness. That's it really. I fear those decks, even with an Exalted angel and 3 Meddling Mages. They are quite fast and hard to stop.

I think the rest of my sideboard is self explanatory, but if you have a question about something that I should have addressed, feel free to ask.

AS ALWAYS:
Please keep your comments and questions clean, unprofanitized, and helpfull.

Tell me what you think!!!

I think Ebony Charm is better. If you're using these cards as sideboard tech than you obviously have a Cunning Wish in your deck, and many players play two, even 3. Therefore:

Coffin Purge:
Advantage:
Play it, then flash it back. That's two cards. If you mize a lot than you can Wish for it again, and flash it back again getting 4 total cards.
Disadvantage:
By the time you pull that second wish, it may be too late. Plus, then you've used up both your wishes and can't go for something else like an STP or Berserk or something else techy. Also, doing all that wishing and flashing back is almost too many heavy.

Ebony Charm:
Advantage:
This card is an immediate answer that gets rid of three cards right away. You only have to use one Cunning Wish and therefore you've surpassed Purge already on wish #1
Disadvantage:
If you do mize a lot and get that Wish #2 than you remove one less card.

However, consider this too. Why would someone need to remove four cards out of somebody's graveyard?
Targets (off the top of my head):
AK
Squee
Dragon
Laquatos
In the case you're playing agianst dragon then yes, removing 4 card is "wickit" good. But in the other cases. Bazaar will still have a hard time functioning with 1 squee. And as for AK, removing three is the best you can ever do. I mean, why remove the fourth?  

If you've got a third Cunning Wish than play both so that you have many an option  

So that's my opinion but my favorite thing ever is getting proved wrong so do it up!

Just a few comments. For starters, you might want to browse the Type 1 Vintage forum and just peek at some of those Keeper deck lists. They should be able to help you on your basic build. As for my issues with your deck:

-1 Braingeyser;  As a sorcerey, it is too slow and costs too much (UU).
-1 Misdireciton; Though this card may be good in the control matchup, you will most likely end up siding it out for a REB and therefore will not need it. Besides that, there are better cards that can be put in that spot.
-1 Balance; Although you may be playing against a lot of Agrro decks, Balance can be more helpful on the sideboard. This card is quite broken, and if you were not trying to fit in 2 main-decked humility than I would suggest leaving it in.
+3 Brainstrom; This card is good for so many reasons that I need not explain them all. This card is not only "sick" when imprinted on a scepter, but it will end up being one of your best sifters in that it will find you mana...quickly.
-1 Zuron Orb, +1 Scepter; Scepter is more versitile and the life gain is really not that necissary. Keeper, as a control deck, should be able to keep most threats from landing and there damage is normally self inflicted.
-1 Decree of Justice, +1 Fire/Ice. I think of it this way: You're playing with scpeters and maindecked humility. There should be more Fire/Ice in your maindeck in order to destroy everything. Humility + Fire/Ice on a Stick will win you a game or six. Besides that, 2 Decree's and a Monkey are plenty of win condition. Don't forget your other win condition: Fire/Ice on a stick. You can A) draw a card every turn, or B) Do two damage every turn. Note: options A and B are interchangeable.
-1 Undiscovered Paradise, +1 Wasteland; U. Paradise will not be too helpful in fueling your deck. You're bouncing a land to your hand every turn. That does not work well when you're "saving up" for a Decree or for Monkey Ownage. In addition, a lot of decks now a days are heavily non-basic land based. Having 5 strip effects will help you keep their mana under control; especially with two MD'd stifle (stifle those fetchies!).

Sideboard issues:
I would like you to comment on which combo decks are played at your tournaments.Once I know that I can make different comments on your SB but these suggestions are on a non-meta considered basis:

-1 Misdirection, +1 Fire/Ice; Again, this card is not going to help you as much as a Fire/Ice will. It may seem redundant to play 2 MD Fire/Ice as well as one on your SB, but remember that you're playing Cunning Wish, and with testing you will see why Fire/Ice will be tech/ownage!
-1 Stroke of Genius, +1 Skeletal Scrying; Though Stroke is better than Geyser, Scrying is better than Stroke. Both cards can be wished for, but scrying is going to be more of a bomb. Also, Scrying cannot be misdirected. That is a big plus.

Well, that's my opinion. I Played a deck similar to yours, though without the humilities. My builds were based on Zherb and Kerz builds becaues they are just too darn good. However, the only way to figure out what is going to work for you is going to be testing in your meta. I would love for you to list some of the decks that you see at you tournament, and if they don't have an official "name", maybe just the concept behind them, or their main win condition. Further comments can then follow.

Case and point: Future Sight is too slow for today's meta. Almost every aggressive deck now plays 5 strip effects. It's pretty hard to land a 5cc spell with UUU in the cost. However, I realize that you are playing 9 islands. Not having p9 bites. A lot. So keep Future Sight in there for now but honestly, look into the skeletal scrying and other bombs for better results. X in the casting cost can be a blessing sometimes. (ex: Keeper with Jet on the board under blood moon  :lol: )

Anyways. The slow kill is not the best idea. Fool around with it as you will, but I would play at least one official "Kill Card" such as an angel or a Morphling.



My pet deck (EBA) is not always that friendly. As I agree that you're first/second turn play should be just that, but it's going to be extremely tough without p9.