Pithing Needle doesn't seem too hot as after board if they are playing chalice they will definately cast it on 1. As previously posted chalice at 1 really screws this deck up, this deck needs hurkyls recall. Unlike pithing needle it is blue, doesn't cost 1, good proactive/reactive, and can be tutored for easily. Same goes for rebuild.
   Some play testing I've done that has treated me well is no CoV, 3 D. Rituals, 1 C. Ritual, 1 Hurkyl's Recall. Other than Chalice at 1, it would seem like a good idea. I kinda want to put in TfK's if I am playing 4 needles also 

Oh yea, Forgot to include that. I was second guessing myself LotusHead, sphere I think was the last nail in the coffin. 

Gifts player #2
3-2 drop.
won against

Slaver, he muliganed both games, land screwed...
*
Gifts, Insteresting plays on his side, need not say more. Gifts is difficult to play.
*
Slaver,
Game 1
I capitalized on a misplayed yawg will.
Game 2
Hit with colossus once, crypt hit him twice, tendrils FTW after getting colossus bounced.
*
Lost against Staxless stax(ochoa) 2-1
Game 1
Him: Shop, Ingot, welder(forced)
Me: Land mox go
Him:  Crucible, Crop rotation, strip, mox, seal of cleansing my mox.
I concede.
Game 2
Him: chalice for 2
Me: mox, vault, island, tinker/colossus,
him: welder(forced)
me: beats.
Game 3,
Him Cap, pass
Me: vamp for b. wish (in hopes to maybe topdeck a hurkyls or rebuild, for a possible tendrils, no luck)
got me under a soft lock.

Lost Against Pitch long
Game 1
I ancestral, he responded with ancestral, then misdirected.
Game 2
I won a counter war, leaving the game in my favor(gifts with enough Marna), 1 card in his hand, then he topdecked wheel of fortune for the win.

don't know if this constitutes a tourney report. But It's all I got.
 

This post is basically to try to get some insight on my matchup (Meandeck Gifts, (rebuild and chain main)) versus ubastax, stax, staxless stax. I have pretty much figured out how to play against Grim long, oath, fish, CS, and I know how to board accordingly. Though I always find my matchup against anything with tanglewires pretty difficult. My Question is what should be in my SB, right now I have 3 pihing needle, 1 chain of vapor, 1 hurkyls recall, and 1 rack and ruin. Is that enough? what should be boarded in on the play or draw, is there any sort of tips/tricks on getting the upper hand when having to tap during your upkeep?


Thanks!

FF is a Sorcery.

I agree for the most part with you Gandalf, transreliquat could make you beat with 2 DSC's and copy their slaver. Just seemed like a cool way to win for me.

It's not useless when it's you win condition. With CS I would understand why you would say that, be it that once you mindslave them once or twice its not really necessary to take infinite turns, but in the deck that I am trying to make it is my win condition in other words necessary.

In terms of it being easier to disrupt I really don't see how, Null Rod and Pithing Needle will affect Belcher/Mizzium/Vault rendering the combo useless. You no longer have to worry about getting your Vault bounced in response to Flame, if either Vault or Belcher is in play and you cast Flame/Severance/Mizzium they are all vulnerable to counters. Please elaborate on how it's easier to disrupt.

No comments. Ok, well I will ask for constructive criticism then.

I was thinking of trying out the Mizzium Transreliquat with Time Vault Combo Instead of the **flame/vault**, severance/belcher, b.wish/tendrils in Gifts. Basically it would run tinker/colosus of course, and Time Vault/Mizzium Transreliquat. Mizzium Transreliquat comboing with Vault would setup a pretty cool kill condition (infi-turns), also it could also just randomly copy their colosus or yours for that matter. I look at it this way, yeah flame/vault costs you 1R5C and Mizzium/Vault costs a total of 5C to setup and 3C more to go off, in the end you are paying 3C instead of 1R which goes very well with Drain Mana also letting you go off with basics. I guess it could be a better inclusion in a CS style deck, but I like Gifts which runs many tutors. Let me know what you guys think.

Mizzium Transreliquat
3: Mizzium Transreliquat becomes a copy of target artifact until end of turn.
1UR: Mizzium Transreliquat becomes a copy of target artifact and gains this ability.

Time Vault
Time Vault comes into play tapped.
If Time Vault would become untapped, instead choose one - untap Time Vault and you skip your next turn; or Time Vault remains tapped.
Tap: Take an extra turn after this one.

Thanks for the quick reply, I would have been in trouble if I didnt topdeck Merchant Scroll after he passed. He said .... "you bastard, echoing truth?" YUP!

A ruling question came up recently about targetting yourself with crypt. This is the scenario; he has a crypt in play, he Tinkers for Colosus sacrificing sol ring. EOT I use my Goblin Welder targetting Colosus and Sol Ring, he then responds by crypting himself. Now the question, does the crypt remove itself leaving his yard artifactless heh, or do I get to weld the Colosus for the crypt when I get my Welder back online.


Thanks.

All I am saying is that I agree that LOA > Strip Mine if the conditions are right. At both their optimal conditions LOA is of course better by a landslide. In my experience though using/testing both, the conditions will be right "usable" for Strip Mine more often than Library, my Meta consists of GrimOath, 2 Land Belcher, CS, and errayo control. Again my argument will be skewed based on what im playing in my area.

Examples: (Loa = Bad)
They duress you 1st turn.(no 7 cards, no brainstorm to save your key cards)
They waste/strip it. (maybe you kept a hand depending on it)
Slows Drain mana 1 turn.
FoW + Pitch, then wait to have 7 again.
You Top Deck it with less than 7 cards in hand, no immediate use.

My reasons for liking Strip Mine I have already posted previously. Haha can I least get you to say that its not an auto include in all control decks? :shock:

Would packing 3 annuls help? (thats 11 counters, plus REB's) they will certainly have to gaes blessing their oaths back by that time, and I will just combo0ff. If they want to play the waiting game, with their artifacts so can I, I guess it depends on how good the player is. 3 annuls in the side dont really bother me as they can be useful here and there and also pitch to force, counter chalice, counter null rod. I'd be playing gifts BTW, Thoughts?

I may have gone too far as to say strip mine is "always good", I'll accept that. I will say though that it is useful more often in terms of probability than LOA. Wether ~10% is with or without accuracy(I'll use ~squigglys~ may be a little more or less), LOA becoming active and helping or just being a burden, the latter will happen most often. If it wins you those games then you can also say that ~90% of the time it wont help in winning the game, only become useless. Strip mine on the hand will destroy immediate threats in the flavor of bazaar, workshop, academy, or you can also strategically get rid of one of their colors, that are kept so tight in the major decks today.

Dont get me wrong I think LOA is a very powerful card, but in a gifts pile, strip mine given the right situation(more often than LOA) will be sent to the graveyard, along with needle when you NEED to get rid of their land threats, and that to me means a lot, allowing you to make more aggressive plays, which is how I like to play gifts.

In the control mirror I cant really argue about its strengh, only thing I can say it that if you out tempo them with strip and get in critical spells, play your postSB reb's right you should not need the Power of LOA, which has screwed me in the past.

This all may be a little skewed based on games I've played, but that's what makes magic magic....

I recently made a few changes to my list, taking out vamp and vault for the duress'ses. The problem I have now with the inclusion of 2 duress is needing a steady black source, maybe 3rd Sea or swamp and -1 island would fix that right up. I feel that this build is pretty strong even though lacking LOA. My main reasons for not including it is that when I play moxes, counter a spell, pitch to force or even resolve an unsucessful thirst for knowledge(not pitching an artifact) all library is, is 1 colorless, I like having U open, or even better the strip mine which was the one who took its place, strip mine = always good, LOA = conditional. Like it was mentioned before you want to draw and combo out, but also stopping them from "going off" in turn leaving your hand short of 7.   

Aritfacts:
Rx Black Lotus
Rx Sol Ring
Rx Mana Crypt
5x Moxen
2x Pithing Needle
1x Tormods Crypt
Rx Lotus Petal

Artifact Creatures:
1x Darksteel Colosus

Instants:
4x Force of Will
4x Thirst for Knowledge
4x Mana Drain
4x Brainstorm
3x Gifts Ungiven
1x Rebuild
Rx Mystical Tutor
Rx Ancestral Recall
Rx Fact or Fiction

Sorceries:
Rx Yawgmoth's Will
Rx Burning Wish
Rx Demonic Tutor
Rx Time Walk
Rx Tinker
1x Merchant Scroll
2x Duress

Lands
Rx Tolarian Academy
Rx Strip Mine
3x Island
1x Snow-Covered Island
3x Polluted Delta
2x Flooded Strand
2x Underground Sea
2x Volcanic Island

As towards the topic of this thread, my only utility card preSB is tormods crypt as it is never completely useless as it pitches to TfK, Let me know what you guys think.

      I as well agree with you on that, I have always thought when having these types of discussions it really depends on what the game state is, what will be an amazing card in one situation may not be as impressive in a another. F/I will be more usefull in more situations than darkblast. Now when we are talking about the CS matchup, gamestates, considering control vs. control, and which of the two decks shine at a later game point. I think by the time you get rid of welders after a countered darkblast it will only give the CS player more of an advantage in the matter of advancing his/her manabase. This is something you dont want to happen, so let them counter your F/I one less counter you have to worry about when going savage with gifts, like I said against cs you will want to win before they get a chance to hardcast slaver at which point they will not need welder to begin with. Most of the guys here who play CS will tell you that welder isn't the strongest card in the deck, might even be sided out and then you have REB's to deal with.


my two cents....

      My thoughts of darkblast while it is true about its synergy with YawgWin it's not necesary, a single gifts should already put your graveyard in a game winning state. Therefore, it not being able to be pitched to FoW, tapping a trinisphere, tapping a colosus, killing a 1/1 or 2/2, awesomeness when they have drain online and you EOT tap their 2nd blue(drawing a card!!!), you can even get it with a merchant scroll(some of these have already been mentioned, just to recap). The usefulness of F/I FAR outweighs that of darkblast. IMHO

This will be my very first post here on TMD, with that being said, I figured I'd bring this post back to the top. While I see some of us are still mourning the death of the "super-broken" FlameVault kill, though me myself being one who used it, I'm looking to change my usual BM Style gifts to something which through discussion here and also personal preference, which includes Dark Confidant.

Now that the meta is not only hating on welders/shamans/fishies but also that D. Confidant has been brought under the microscope. Is he still as viable? I know that the deck is not that highly dependant on him boosting your draws, but he is taking up slots that other draw spells would. Would a transformational SB help out in the matter? Something in the ballpark of including (Needles, Tormods Crypt)/TfK in exchange for Bob's?(this of course in being supported by not running B. Wish main).

Thanks for taking the time to read this, any feedback would be appreciated.