Need your opinion about this cards

[agesga]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here, on the mana drain forum.
An important type 1 (proxy 10) tournament is going to take place in Valencia (Spain).
The most important in the country ever; with 8 black lotus for the 8 firsts classifieds
and 8 mana drains for the next 8 classifieds. And other prices. So, a lot of people expected
(over 300 and a meta unpredictable).

Looking for info about recent t1 tournaments and winning decks, i have decided to
try a gifts deck.

My first decision is which card use as a proxy: I have no p9 nor mana drain or library

The question here is : Is mana drain so critical on this deck ? (let's say compared with counterspell)

I can purchase mana drain (is probable that i will get them sooner or more late).

After this, looking at the main diferences between decks we have many cards like:

dark ritual
fact or fiction
memory jar
repeal
burning wish
duress
library of Alexandria
skeletal scrying
... (any other that you may propose)

I need your opinion about this cards, and a particular one: research/development
(this would imply adding G to the deck). What about balance on the sideboard?

Just a curiousity: Which is the reason many players include one or various snow covered islands on the deck?

Thanks in advance.

[President Skroob]

I do not know a ton about Gifts, but I do know that the reason for including Snow-Covered Islands is so you can pick up both an Island and a Snow-Covered Island in a Gifts usage when in need of lands/mana. Though they are essentially the same in play, the different name means that you can choose both in a single Gifts.

As for card selection, there are others much more qualified than I to discuss that.

[Slack]

I'm not the Gifts Master here, but my 2 cents...

Mana Drain is pretty important.  This can be shown by identifying the differences between Mana Drain and the obvious second choice of Counterspell.

Mana Drain is a threat, Counterspell isn't.  Lets say you have 4 mana on the board and want to cast smokestack.  If your opponent has UU up, it's a lot more dangerous to attempt this if you suspect they are representing Mana Drain than if you suspect they are representing Counterspell.  if they Counterspell your smokestack, you shrug, pass the turn and cast something else next turn.  If they Mana Drain your smokestack you grimace and pass the turn.  Then they get to use that 4 mana to Gifts/Fact or Fiction/Thirst for Knowledge/Yawgmoth's Will and either win the game or put themselves far enough ahead that you will have a serious uphill battle on your hands trying to win.

This example isn't meant to show what a stax player, or a gifts player should do in any of these situations, it's only designed to illustrate the fundamental difference between having your spell countered and having it drained.  Definitely read someone else's (who actually plays gifts) opinion on the difference too.

[agesga]

Slack confirmed what I supposed: additional mana obtained from mana drain helps casting gifts (or any other card)
for "free".
Thanks to Slack and President Skroob.

[Zarathustra]

I'm an avid Gifts fan.  You have many choices as to what to play.  But, the problem is, what to play.  Honestly, you have to make the deck and test, test, test.  I hope this tourney is a ways away, because you need to practice with the deck.  I remember the first time I played Meandeck Gifts, I did terrible.  I had no idea how to play the deck correctly.

Mana Drain is crucial to the deck.  You need them to make Gifts viable.  But, bear in mind, that I feel(and I've heard this from many people), Mana Drain in the weakest card in the deck.  I rarely win off a huge Drain, simply because Gifts is an aggro combo deck.  You want to combo off as fast as possible, and this means that Drains only become important when you must counter something that prevents you from going off.

You need to check out SCG Boston and also, read up on StarCityGames.com, the premium articles about Gifts with Steve Menendian are top notch and give you a lot of knowledge on how to play Gifts correctly.

[sa17dk]

Dont try making a Drain deck without drains.