Introductions & Phage/Endless Whispers

[Bronze Tablature]

Hey there,

My name is David Graham, and I've just joined TMD. I'm an 18 year old student at The University of Maine. I've been playing Magic casually for over 10 years, and i figure it's about time to get serious.

One of the reasons why I was intrigued by this forum is that I don't see a whole lot of Vintage play nowadays. I'm playing in a Two-Headed Giant style Vintage tournament in a week, and I've been kicking a deck idea around. It is a deck that I own that is currently Extended legal, but it will certainly need an update if it is going to survive in the big world of Vintage.

This deck focuses around a combo between Phage the Untouchable and Endless Whispers. Some of you may be familiar with this combo. Disposing of Phage when Endless Whispers is in play will cause my opponent to lose the game. I originally got this idea from an article by Mark Gottlieb on the Wizards site back in 2004. It is one of the quicker decks that I've played, and I rarely lost with it, although I've never tried it in a serious Vintage environment. Here is my proposed update:

Lands:
10 Swamp
4 Scrubland
4 Cabal Coffers
2 Lake of the Dead
2 Godless Shrine

Creatures:
4 Phage the Untouchable

Other:
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Endless Whispers
4 Innocent Blood
4 Diabolic Tutor
2 Chainer's Edict
2 Mortify
2 Insidious Dreams
2 Mutilate
2 Wrath of God
2 Orzhov Signet
2 Golgari Signet

There it is. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated  .

[Moxlotus]

Welcome to TMD.  I would suggest looking at the other forums for ideas on what decks are competitive in type 1.  Familiarize yourself with Oath, Control Slaver, Stax, and Gifts.  Also look at the decks to beat at www.starcitygames.com

[UR]

I've had a deck that worked just like yours... don't have a list anymore but mine also had Confusion in the Ranks, Dark Ritual, Howling Mine etc. etc.

I played a casual game at a GP with it and confused the heck out of the entire judging staff (including a level 5 judge) because I asked if my opponent died to Phage if I cast it with Confusion in the Ranks in play and stack the triggers 'in reverse'. I never really got an answer...

Anyway, Grip of Chaos and Confusion in the Ranks don't make the deck better, but it sure is a lot of fun (make sure you add Viashino Sandstalkers).

[Khahan]

I've had a deck that worked just like yours... don't have a list anymore but mine also had Confusion in the Ranks, Dark Ritual, Howling Mine etc. etc.

I played a casual game at a GP with it and confused the heck out of the entire judging staff (including a level 5 judge) because I asked if my opponent died to Phage if I cast it with Confusion in the Ranks in play and stack the triggers 'in reverse'. I never really got an answer...

Anyway, Grip of Chaos and Confusion in the Ranks don't make the deck better, but it sure is a lot of fun (make sure you add Viashino Sandstalkers).

Yes, you will lose. When phage comes into play, both her trigger and confusion trigger go on the stack. At the time they go on the stack, you are the controller of phage. Even if phage changes control before her trigger resolves, you are still 'tied' to her lose game trigger. When it resolves, you lose.

[ROLAND]

After reading your thread, I threw a deck similiar to yours together.

It includes: diabolic edict, chainer's edict, and innocent blood. 

In play testing against most creature based decks, I often got more wins by beating them with their own creatures.  The phage win is more of a secondary condition.

Is this what you have found?  Or am I playing the deck wrong?

Roland

[Bronze Tablature]

After reading your thread, I threw a deck similar to yours together.

It includes: diabolic edict, chainer's edict, and innocent blood. 

In play testing against most creature based decks, I often got more wins by beating them with their own creatures.  The phage win is more of a secondary condition.

Is this what you have found?  Or am I playing the deck wrong?

Roland

Roland,

When playing against creature based decks, you will likely get a number of their creatures. However, I never had trouble getting phage into play for the win. I'm not quite sure what is happening here (I haven't seen your decklist), but once I finish the new version of this deck and playtest, I'll post what I've found.