Something is wrong about Chalice...

[DeMarki]

I really like this card, but I cannot understand why everybody is playing it right now, even if it ruins some of their own spells.
I'm a fan of Brainstorm, I can hardly play Blue without it, but how can I manage to run 4 Chalices, usually set for 1, and still run my 4 Brainstorms main? Is it a good idea to keep running them main or should I make a desperate move and replace them with Impulses instead???
I really despise Impulse and I can't stand it's mana cost, but what can I do with those Chalices main?
Please give me a reasonable advice, because a local tournament is coming up and I think I'm gonna get crazy...

[vroman]

what are you playing? bstorms and chalice in the same deck is not inherantly bad. cutting off bstorms is fine if you deny your opponent a welder. bstorms will still pitch to force or thirst. besides, the main goal with chalice is to lay them turn 1 on the play for 0.

[Dante]

In addition to the Chalice for 0 going first, in Workshop decks, it's fairly easy to go Workshop, artifact mana -> Chalice for 2, which is strong against Meandeck Gifts (hits time walk, Merchant Scroll, and Drain), Oath, and various versions of Fish.  Also in Welderless versions of Stax, setting for 1 is usually safe.  If you're running a mono-blue deck that uses merchant scroll or impulse instead of brainstorm, Chalice for 1 can be strong.

There are also some situations where even if it hurts you, it will hurt your opponent more, that it is worth playing.

But workshops decks will always get more traction out of Chalice because it's much easier for them to set X = 2 or 3.

Bill

[DeMarki]

I'm playing MUC and Oath, running Brainstorms in both decks. I really tried to give Impulse a second chance but it doesn't get even close to the superiority of Brainstorm.   

[Revvik]

I ran neither Brainstorm or Impulse in MonoBlue, giving me the freedom to set Chalice of the Void at almost anything and still have draw spells at 3cc.  There is nothing wrong about Chalice other than it takes advantage of players who rely on an opening hand full of artifact mana and little to no actual mana sources.

For instance, with MonoBlue:

Chalice of the Void
Polluted Delta
Island
Mox Ruby
Mana Leak
Thirst for Knowledge
Back to Basics

On the play game 2 against 5c Stax, you would use the Chalice set at Zero to force them to be susceptible to your Mana Leak by not being able to play enough accelerants to get around it - and then you untap and play Back to Basics and leverage that advantage into a win.

If you're playing against, say, Lam Phan's Bird Shit, an aggro-control threshold deck with sufficiently large beaters, and you're on the play with a similar hand and knowledge of your opponent's deck, you should try to set the Chalice of the Void at one - negating all of the threshold enablers (Brainstorm / Mental Note), a third of the creature base (Nimble Mongoose), and removal for your Ophidians (Swords to Plowshares).
This hand is decent against them even if they have the Force of Will for your Chalice because now they will likely untap and do nothing - Nimble Mongoose is their only one-drop, and odds are low it would come down this early.  So your next turn can consist of draw / go, bait at their EOT with Thirst for Knowledge (or Leak their threat), untap and lock them down under Back to Basics.

In either of those hands, Chalice of the Void is an early, powerful play that can determine how the game will proceed.  I'm not saying resolving it is game over, or that it needs to be a first turn play (although even setting it for zero on the draw against Stax isn't unreasonable simply to up your permanent count), but I do feel the need to point it out.

[warble]

There are a few reasons, but I would suggest just the following two as the main reasons:

1) Chalice for 0 cuts off almost all acceleration.  On the play, resolving chalice for 0 will almost always modify the game in your favor.  See articles about change of game state for the entire reason why this is so important (especially for a workshop deck)

2) Versatility.  Chalice is a card that is almost never dead.  This is type 1, a game where versatility and answers are at their peak.  Having one card hit up to a quarter of the opposing deck's cards is amazing, and for the casting cost (zero?!?!) that type of defensive utility is unique to Chalice of the Void.  There is only one other card that can so significantly alter the game state on turn one, aside from winning, and that is null rod.  When you have a deck that cannot win on turn 1, you would like to "hit" as many of the cards in your opponent's hand as possible.  Duress can hit one almost 100% of the time.  Chalice can hit anywhere from zero to four, and hits a good percentage of the cards to be drawn as well.  The fact that chalice is weldable, a late-game answer, and good in multiples only make it even more necessary to both the metagame and type 1 in the wake of a major restriction like Trinisphere.

On a side note, null rod is amazing as well and the combination of null rod+chalice gives the early game a strength that is, in my opinion, at least equivalent to the early game of dragon and TPS but still not as strong as workshop+4 Trinisphere.

[Moxlotus]

I'm playing MUC and Oath, running Brainstorms in both decks. I really tried to give Impulse a second chance but it doesn't get even close to the superiority of Brainstorm.   

So it shuts off 4 cards in your deck.  Big deal.  If it shuts down more cards in your opponent's deck it is worth it.

[forests failed you]

You absolutely cannot cut Brainstorm from Oath.  It is quite possibly the most important card in the deck because it puts your guys and your blessings back on top of your deck if you draw them.  (Plus it helps find your combo)  Chalice is only in that deck to shut off your opponents mana sources so that they cannot find answers to your threats fast enough.  Chalice for zero is the only Chalice play that Oath cares about, and after that it is there to pitch to Thirst for Knowledge.  In most Mana Drain matchups Oath is not the control deck, it is the aggro, therefore you should focus on winning via beatdown and not stopping your opponent from Brainstorming.

[prosbloom225]

Chalice versus oath I go for 2 if possible and before oath drops.  Also takes out echoing and drain, course it usually gets hit with the big fow