After the last Dülmen (the results of which can be found
here), I want to add some substance to the discussion of 4cControl and Fifth Dawn, taken from our team's performance at the tournament (which was mediocre at best, but hey - you can't have everything).
First things first: We did not play Shackles, because we found Flametongue Kavu to be superior. FTK has proven himself during a lot of games over the 7 rounds, in situations where at least I could not have effectively used Vedalken Shackles. Keep in mind that FTK is immune to Null Rod, which is a huge advantage, especially against Madness.
Crucible has proven it's weight, as many already have said. We used it as a one-of in the sideboard. It was really good in the control mirror, helping to win the Wasteland wars, and against Workshop decks it practically spelt game unless they got out one of their own Crucibles. I, personally, ending up at 5-2 (that reminds me, I'll have to post a report soon), did not use Crucible once, because my matchups weren't favoring Crucible and when I sided it in, I did not draw it. The others made good use of it, though, so it stays in the board.
The real sleeper tech was (apart from Orim's Thunder, which was GREAT) Engineered Explosives. Carsten, Womprax and I both played it maindeck, and we agreed totally on its usefulness. Me and Kim have added the Emerald back into the mainboard in place of the fourth Tundra (or for you 60-card-junkies, as the 61st card), and it enabled both Explosives and speed Angels with success.
Anyway, if you you play Emerald or not, you really should test the Explosives. I got multiple 2-for-1's or 3-for-1's during the tournament. Against Sligh, which was astonishingly prevalent at Dülmen, it caught 2-3 2cc Goblins, and against Madness, I was able to both nail Mongrels and Rootwallas in my games. Since 4cControl does continuously struggle to have 3-4 colors of mana on the table, casting Explosives for the amount needed was never a problem.
The good thing about Explosives is its generel usefulness. It works in every matchup, and unlike StoP and Shaman, always finds a use even if your opponent is playing unpowered or without creatures. It is most effective at 0, 1 and 2, and makes good Blood Moon protection at three, slowing Tog down in the process.
At 0, it destroys Moxen, Chalice, opposing Explosives, Angel Morphs and all kinds of token creatures.
At 1, it kills Sol Ring (your own included, which I usually tapped to pay the activation cost anyway), Gorilla Shamans, the first Sligh brigade, Goblin Welder, O-Stompy and Rootwallas. I got two Welders with it once, and killed 3 Rootwallas another time. If you can afford to lose your Sol Ring, it's often card advantage.
At 2, it kills Fish if dropped before Null Rod, Wild Mongrel, Survival, Pyrostatic Pillar and the second Sligh brigade.
At 3, Tangle Wire, Crucible, Tog, Blood Moon are nice targets. Dropping it for three never happened to me, though.
As seen from the above listing, Explosives is best against aggro decks, but don't underestimate the possibility of killing Soldier and Angel token with Explosves for 0, which drops under most opponents' radar and, more importantly, counter backup. Also, if you play appropriately, blowing up Moxen can significantly screw your opponent. Explosives is so good that Kim and me have decided to test with a second one maindeck, although that might eventually result in overkill.
Before I continue to the weaknesses of Enginieered Explosives, I want to draw a short comparison to Powder Keg. Where Powder Keg was good in the slow days of Accelerated Blue (oh, the irony), today its restriction in use against a higher cc than 0 makes it a threat that can easily be played around. Explosives are more surprising here, since you can let a player build a board position and then react on it immediately without him getting to prepare before the blow-up. Also, Explosives are more flexible in getting higher cc permanents.
The other thing is that Explosives is simply faster in terms of casting cost, since dropping it for 1 or 0 is going to be one of the most common plays. Either immediately blowing up the board or doing its deed as a deterrent, it does not stifle your mana development as much as Powder Keg did, which offsets the higher activation cost.
Building up excitement, I leave the reason you all thought of as the last one: Explosives does kill Enchantments, which Powder Keg does not. I consider that important, since enchantment hate is rare in 4cControl, and Explosives lets you add that without losing something.
Explosives has two glaring weaknesses, though. a) It is vulnerable against Null Rod, where you have to blow it in response to them playing the Rod. If you don't have an Explosives by then, be prepared for it being a dead card until you find the artifact kill. b) Stifle is the other angle of attack. I've had Explosives stifled, which really hurts when you rely on it at that time. If they do have (or represent) a MD Stifle, though, your Explosives will act like a permanent Hatchling Drake.
Both against Null Rod and Stifle, the timing when you play the Explosives must be precise. If you manage that, it is a very disruptive tool. It is a most flexible maindeck removal spell which helps you in the first game and can be sided out for specified removal in games 2 and 3 (and also gives you a shot against enchantments first game!).
Now I'm going back to my nightly work,
Dozer
/edit: I had Manlands listed as targets listed which Explosives for 0 would also destroy. Explosives does say "nonland permanents". The misconception that it destroys Manlands, too, is a treacherous but common one. Even if Explosives do not kill Manlands, they are still very good. Just remember that they cannot, and don't rely on the Explosives to kill Mishra's Factory et al. (Thanks to morphon for pointing it out to me.)
