Thank you for the complement. What I don't like about TfK is that there is a small chance it will allow you to dump an artifact good enough to welder up. Gifts will (no pun intended).


I don't run Bazaar. Maybe I could fit in, for something like Library of Alexandria. Thoughts?

UU is the king of all control, but I can get it fairly reliably by turn 2. And this deck relies on Mana Drain the least of all control decks, so there! ! You cant dredge up crucible if they don't give it to you, so it sux with gifts.

The problem here is that we are discussing the wrong thing. This deck plays more like CS than like Gifts. You win, but not as explosively as Gifts. The deck should be called Strange Slaver. Life from the Loam is actually insane with Yawg's Will, as once you have half your deck in your yard the will is an ez win. To discuss this deck, we need to think of it as Slaver, not Gifts.

I would not agree. The deck revolves araound using Gifts to set up a LftL engine. Drawing an LftL without the proper lands isn't going to help at all. While LftL is the card that defines the engine, let me set myself straight: Gifts is the card that creates the engine. You need them both, but one is just so much more important than the other.

No it's not. The original post has been updated.

@Moxlotus: I have cut the forest. But this deck revolves around LftL. Of course it's essential. If it isn't, I might as well play Meandeck Gifts.

Hello everybody,

I am relatively new to TMD, but I have played Vintage for 9 years now. I have been working a hybrid version of Gifts for some time now, however there has been too little testing to have accurate results. I'm going to post the list anyway, for help and critique. Here it is:

Strange Gifts
Win: 8
4x Goblin Welder
1x Gorilla Shaman
1x Sundering Titan
1x Mindslaver
1x Triskellion*

Card Choices:
Goblin Welder: I wouldn't consider going below 4 because Goblin Welder is the way you win, and sometimes I need to go for the throat quickly.
Gorilla Shaman: Pawns Vs. Moxen and Chalice, an overall ver usefall card. One will do, though.
Sundering Titan: My fatty of choice. Mad Beatz, and wrecks a lot of decks out there.
Mindslaver: You win if this gets going. This deck can really break the card, as shown later.
No DSColossus: I havnt tested, but htis card seems so unsynergistic with the rest of the deck. It is only good with Tinker, and you can't abuse that as badly as Gifts can. Besides, Sundering Titan and Mindslaver are good also.
*I would run 2 Mindslavers and A Sundering Titan instead of Trike, but then when you Gifts them up you won't nessacerrily get one n the G-Yard. Which is important.

Control: 11
4x Mana Drain
4x FoW
1x Tormod's Crypt
1x Echoing Truth

Card Choices:
Tormod's Crypt: This own's everything in the format. Ask Rich Shay.
Echoing Truth: Anti Oath, Anti Tinker. Nothing more to say.

Draw/Engine: 11
4x Gifts Ungiven
4x Brainstorm
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Life from the Loam

This will all be explained later. I am running one green card and can't think of any others that make the cut. But if you do, please tell me.
On Fact of Fiction: This card is great and all, but I can't decide what to cut for it. Any help?

Tutor: 3
1x Burning Wish
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Mystical Tutor

Card Choices:
Burning Wish: Allows you to go broke with Yawg's Will, and can fetch some hate if needed
Mystical Tutor: Finds Gifts and LftL. It's just an opinion, but I like it more than Merchant Scroll.

Br0k3n: 3
1x Yawgmoth's Will
1x Tinker
1x Time Walk

No Explanation, don't ask.

Mana: 26
5 Moxen
1x Black Lotus
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mana Vault
1x Strip Mine
1x Tolarian Academy
1x Library of Alexandria
4x Volcanic Island
2x Tropical Island
2x Underground Sea
2x Island
3x Polluted Delta
1x Flooded Strand

Okay, so that's the overview. Heres how it actually works. You build up defense early on, and eventaually kill them CS style. Gifts can make you win very fast though, dumping a ton of artifacts in the grave by turn 3. You eventually cast Gifts for other purposes though. Here are a few:

Average Gifts:
1x Life from the Loam
1x Tolarian Academy
1x Strip Mine
1x Library of Alexandria

Now you have a lock, or you can just go nuts with Academy. You just wait until LftL dredges some fatties in the yard, Weld them up and win.

Anti-Wasteland Gifts:
1x Island
1x Gifts Ungiven
1x Life from the Loam
1x Wild Card (suit the situation)

Yawg's Will Gifts:
1x Burning Wish
1x Black Lotus
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Saphire

When you go broke with Yawgmoth's Will, you do it in much the same way gifts does. However, you usually cant build up to lethal, but an extra 16 life should give you time to win.

Those are just a few examples. This deck is built to abuse the synergy between LftL and Gifts. It is looking powerful so far, but at the moment not as powerful as CS or Gifts. Heres the list, not broken up:


Strange Gifts
Win: 8
4x Goblin Welder
1x Gorilla Shaman
1x Sundering Titan
1x Mindslaver
1x Triskellion

Control: 11
4x Mana Drain
4x FoW
1x Tormod's Crypt
1x Echoing Truth

Draw/Engine: 11
4x Gifts Ungiven
4x Brainstorm
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Life from the Loam

Tutor: 3
1x Burning Wish
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Mystical Tutor

Br0k3n: 3
1x Yawgmoth's Will
1x Tinker
1x Time Walk

Mana: 26
5 Moxen
1x Black Lotus
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mana Vault
1x Strip Mine
1x Tolarian Academy
1x Library of Alexandria
4x Volcanic Island
2x Underground Sea
2x Island
3x Polluted Delta
1x Flooded Strand
2x Tropical Island

Sideboard:*
1x Tendrils of Agony
1x REB
1x Pyroblast (Because with 2 REBs you cant Gift enough up)
2x Rack or Riun
3x Duress
2x Tormod's Crypt
4x Extract (I'm in a Oath heavy meta)
1x Lava Dart

*Chalice for 0 is a problem. I need to tutor up Mox Monkey to kill it, or post board Rack and Ruin. It can be a long enough set back to allow them to win. Help on this? Suggestion? Also this is a very rough board, it is probably very far from what it will end up looking like.

Problems:
Pithing Needle on LftL: Granted, whats the chance they name it, but if they do it isn't good.
G-Y hate: Doesn't Everything have this problem?
Aggro: Very, very dedicated aggro like goblins is hard. Sure, you can get a turn 2 Titan but when you don't things look bad. The good new is who plays dedicated Aggro?
The Mana Base: It is okay, but I always have trouble supporting 4 colors. Fish doesn't help that matter, but there isn't much were I play. Also, you can just go for the quick trike against them, which requires only 2 colors.

Thanks for Listening, and Please post comments and help.

Edit:
-1 Forest
-2 Wooded Foothills
+2 Tropical Island
+1 Volcanic Island

Edit:
I play this deck above gifts and CS because:
1) I dislike playing with decks a feel are totally un original
2) LftL gives the deck added resistance, increasing the STAX match up. Were I come from Stax and Oath are big, and this deck is good against them. LftL is the nuts against Stax.
3) I feel this deck has a stronger engine than CS, since you get quality over quantity. I feel this deck has more resistant engine against gifts, though not as explosive.

Edit:
Rebuild is being considered, as it allows lethal Yawg's Will and crushes Stax. Probably in the board, though. Other cards that are being considered are Barbarian Ring as an alternate win and Anti-Welder tech, Cephalid Colliseum as repeating recalls, and Duskmantle, House of Shadow to deal with Brainstorm and Vampiric/Mystical Tutor. However, these are all silver bullets and I don't know what to replace for them. Some of them seem pretty crappy, too.

Can I see a list? Also, I assume this plays like friggorid in extended, and I'm not sold on combo being a split. Can you really race them? Please explain.

First of all, the list is here. Second, the forum rules are here: http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=18027.0

-Jacob