Let me first say congrats to Womprax and Carl for winning...

[cssamerican]

Let me first say congrats to Womprax and Carl for winning Duelman in Nov. and Dec. with Vengeur Masqué with white as the third color, and congrats to SummenSaugen for doing well in a tournament with Vengeur Masqué with Black as the third color.
My build has black as the third color. I have posted my decklist below for reference.

Red: (1)
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob

Black: (6)
1 Withered Wretch
1 Phage the Untouchable
1 Demonic Tutor
3 Duress

Green: (11)
1 Sylvan Safekeeper
2 Quirion Ranger
4 Birds of Paradise
4 Survival of the Fittest

Blue: (15)
1 Tradewind Rider
4 Volrath's Shapeshifter
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will

Artifacts: (12)
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Illusionary Mask
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus

Land: (15)
3 Wooded Foothills
3 Windswept Heath
4 Tropical Island
4 Bayou
1 Forest

Sideboard: (15)
4 Stifle
4 Xantid Swarm
2 Gilded Drake
2 Nantuko Vigilante
1 Withered Wretch
2 Naturalize

I think the only questionable card in my decklist is might be Sylvan Safekeeper. But he has been my MVP, his ability to protect me from target removal long enough to get the win has been extremely vaulable.

Now to the purpose of this post...
I have noticed people running Psychatog as their graveyard manipulation tool, and I was wondering in the new metagame is Withered Wretch a better card to run maindecked than Psychatog?
I have also noticed people have removed Tradewind Rider from their builds, and I was wondering what the reasoning behind this was?
I seen people run Sylvan Library in the maindeck, and I am curious to know if people's experience with it has been good.
And I was wondering has anybody ever experimented with Skeletal Scrying as a draw/graveyard manipulator? If so what is your impresions of it in Vengeur Masqué.
If any one would like to give me any advive on my build or share any new tech that I might not be aware of please feel free to do so. Just in case your advice is metagame dependent, my metagame is fully powered.

Edited: SummenSaugen tournament results.

[ineffible]

Hey,
I have been playing Vengeur Masque for a while and there was a thread on it about 4 months ago maybe more now, you might want to check that out. Some of your questions may have been answered already.

I was looking over your build and I too run black as a third color. A couple differences are: 0 Wretchs maindeck. I use 1 sideboard. I have one Vigilante main instead, and 1 sideboard.

I run 3 Shapeshifters instead of 4, but that is a metagame choice. I still run 1 Squee, combo with Survival. It is still the best combo for it. and I run 1 wonder as well. (In my meta there is a lot of non flying protection mainly moat and island sanctuary.

I protect myself with 4 duress and 3 counterspells. (I have tested force of will and 9 out of 10 times I just don't want to discard any of my blue cards to it. and Mana drain and have been burned too much in the past) I use 2 reclaim, yes I know sounds stupid but it seems to work for only 1 mana.  Finally I have 1 fact or fiction.

I think my deck is more about getting to the kill I need quickly rather than manilpulating my grave to get me the combo I want/need. I am sorry if this does not help you at all. I would be willing to answer more specific questions if you have them.

[SummenSaugen]

Thanks for the congrats, but I never actually won.  I was defeated by iLL_DaWg in the top eight, who was my only source of lossage all day.  (And I like to call it Ninja Mask.  I don't know what the whole conflict was months ago when they decided to have a bitchfit over the name, but I remember Bryce's article being hilarious so I'll take his selection   )

[Triple_S]

I am still a fan of Wall of Roots in the deck since it is another way, in addition to Quirion Ranger, to work around Tangle Wire.  It looks janky but is really effective as it shuts down most of the creatures in sligh (if anyone runs it where you play) and also blocks Phid all day long.  I really want to try Tog out as another win condition...I haven't tested with it yet.  Safekeeper looks like it is pure gold though.

[cssamerican]

Triple_S: I never really thought of Wall of Roots as a anti-prison card, I cut them for a Brainstorm and a Shapeshifter in an effort to have a higher blue count, but I might have to rethink that one. To be perfectly honest I do not know how I played without SafeKeeper for so long, he is that damn good.

SummenSaugen: I edited my first post, you no longer came in first at the tournament  I normally call it Ninja Mask, but I seen some people post list as Ninja Mask and someone (I beleive it was Bryce A.K.A. Klown) that said this in not Ninja Mask it is Vengeur Masqué. So in an effort not to upset anyone I figured I would just call it Vengeur Masqué. I noticed though you played with a Psychatog in the tournament...Did you think it was superior to Withered Wretch?

Edited: For Grammar

[Crater Hellion]

I don't want to speak for Ben, but I seem to remember him not being too thrilled with the maindeck 'Tog that day.

[blue_negator]

I personally think withered wretch is much better then tog in this deck.  Sure tog is an alternate win condition but without much card drawing it's hard to get a lethal tog anyways.  I think it's much better to kill your opponents graveyard while you wait for the kill.  Wretch is good against so many decks that i feel it deserves a mainboard slot.  Also how come you don't play akroma?  Akroma/phage just wins the game a lot of times.  I don't know about your experience with the deck but I would rather go akroma/phage and win then dreadnought/phage win next turn.  I think tradewind rider was too slow thats why people took it out.  I actually don't seem much of a use for tradewind rider in the first place, returning land usually isn't that great since it's nearly impossible to put them in a land lock.  Vigilante kills enchantments and artifacts and your creatures can block/kill basically any other creature in the game.  Also, why not just run morphling or gigapede instead of sylvan safekeeper?  Usually you just have to protect your creature for one turn before you win with phage.  You can change the shapeshifter into gigapede/morphling (you can recur gigapede if you need another creature to pitch to survival)  or morphling (morphling flys too) in response to their removal spell and change to phage after their spell fizzles.

[SummenSaugen]

As far as that Tog goes, I friggen hate it.

I had it cut for a Withered Wretch, which I found to be superior in every way.

The deck decided that wasn't cool though, and started handing me crap hands that had nothing to do with either card.

As a peace offering, I replaced the Wretch with the Tog.

It was much more behaved after that.

I'm kinda supersticious.

[cssamerican]

blue_negator: That was kinda my feeling about Withered Wretch. Just kinda wondering why I have seen so many decklist sporting the Tog. Now onto Akroma, Angel of Wrath. Akroma doesn't protect the combo from its worst enemies, Swords to Plowshares and graveyard removal. In my deck the only card dedicated to the Phage combo is Phage himself, and I would like to keep it that way. When I play the deck I plan to beat you down with Dreadnaughts; however, if the opportunity to exploit you with Phage arises I will turn her sideways and say good game. I think if you began to focus on the Phage combo you might be better off playing Full English Breakfast. I do see your point about how slow Trandwind Rider is, and that most things he removes could be handled by Nantuko Vigilante. However, he can remove multiple permanents with a Quirion Ranger in play, his ability can be used more than once a game, and he is pitchable to Force of Will. That is not to say he is optimal, but he sure is versatile. Now on to my MVP. The advantage Sylvan Safekeeper has over the other non-targeting cards is it can protect the Phage combo and the masked out Dreadnaughts. And being able to protect the masked out Dreadnaughts is an awesome ability in this deck.

[TorbinWren]

I've been playing a 2 colour u/g version for the last few monthes with some great success.

First, running a 2 colour version, I run 8 counterspells and brainstorms to back them up.  I never really had a problem with Long (except when I would mulligan aggresively OUT of a winning, non-control hand).

Some of my MVP's would include:

Genesis - against control, he's golden.  Recurring the countered creatures rock.
Akroma - Wins games when you shouldn't.  Especially against Long and Dragon, you can combo out with enough speed.
Wall of Roots - it's a must have creature, simply because he performs so well in conjunction with survival.
Platinum Angel - I'm gonna make honourable mentions to the platinum dudette, because I don't run her in my typical 60 card version of the deck, but do in the 100 card version that I use at a couple of the tourneys around here.  She can win games that you should have lost.

Some cards in the middle of the field:

Nantuko Vigilante - I like him a lot, but feel sometimes that he's just too slow.  Sex monkey is so much quicker.  On the other hand, the vigilante will take out that annoying Worship or Oath.

Some of my naysayers:

Gigapede - I have never, EVER, used him to counter spot removal.  Unless it's against a swords, I would rather just recur the creature.

Issues

I can't handle LandStill with the deck.  5 Ancestrals and 4 disks complete shut me down.  Unfortunate as one of the best LandStill players lives in my meta-game (Shock Wave).  I was thinking of trying out the new Mystic Remora tech as a sideboard possibilty to counteract the card advantage problem.

[SummenSaugen]

I get to be useful.  Go me.

Quote Genesis - against control, he's golden.  Recurring the countered creatures rock.
Akroma - Wins games when you shouldn't.  Especially against Long and Dragon, you can combo out with enough speed.
Wall of Roots - it's a must have creature, simply because he performs so well in conjunction with survival.
Platinum Angel - I'm gonna make honourable mentions to the platinum dudette, because I don't run her in my typical 60 card version of the deck, but do in the 100 card version that I use at a couple of the tourneys around here.  She can win games that you should have lost.

Nantuko Vigilante - I like him a lot, but feel sometimes that he's just too slow.  Sex monkey is so much quicker.  On the other hand, the vigilante will take out that annoying Worship or Oath.

Gigapede - I have never, EVER, used him to counter spot removal.  Unless it's against a swords, I would rather just recur the creature.

I can't handle LandStill with the deck.  5 Ancestrals and 4 disks complete shut me down.  Unfortunate as one of the best LandStill players lives in my meta-game (Shock Wave).  I was thinking of trying out the new Mystic Remora tech as a sideboard possibilty to counteract the card advantage problem

Okay, beginning from the top.

Re Genesis:  Genesis is very strong, there is no doubt.  However, strong enough to make the cut is arguable.  In a two color build, I can see him being a very good choice.  When you begin diluting with a third color however, there are just better alternatives.  Nothing really does the same job, I'll grant, but he still becomes unnecessary.
Re Akroma:  Strictly a matter of taste.  While I have wished to have a hasted creature at times, making room for Akroma focuses the deck much more on the FEB aspect.  Akroma was kept out of my list because I can't hardcast her in a pinch.  (Ask Eastman or iLL_DaWg about Phage in that respect.)
Re Wall of Roots:  Another good FEB selection.  I run three colors thus necessitating the Birds in this slot.  However, in a two color build, I could understand it.  Especially if Phid builds are common in your area.
Re Platinum Angel:  Not a great choice.  There's a better card that wins you the game, and it's called Phage.  I'd sooner run another Phage than a Platinum Angel, despite the similar casting costs.  Someone in the Cape suggested I run four Phages, and I actually considered it though...

Re Vigilante:  I tested him.  He wasn't maindeck material.  I tested him again.  He wasn't sideboard material either.  Running utility guys is great, but the more you do it, the more you rely on Survival.  Already you're paying seven mana to have a naturalize that beats down, and now you need a Survival to hit play to realistically find it?  I've been testing three basic naturalizes and no fetchable removal goons, and it's been great.  I understand others may feel differently, but until such time as I need more than four artifact/enchantment removal slots, Naturalize will be my weapon of choice.  It's even fast enough to help against Dragon!

Re Gigapede:  Gigapede is SOOOOOO good.  Dodging spot removal is great and all, but his better job is beating face hardcast.  No joke.  I live in the center for The Chronic (Hadley), and having a beatstick that can't be answered with Swords or Fire/Ice on a stick is essential.  The fact that he singlehandedly threatens their counterbase every turn is just gravy.

Lastly, Landstill:  Though I don't have a lot of testing with Landstill, I've found it to not be so bad.  Yeah, letting them draw lots of cards sucks, but even with Drain Disk is very slow.  If you can sneak Mask through before Standstill hits, you shouldn't have much of a problem.  I'm going to try to get more testing in with the matchup this week, so I'll get back to you on that one.

[TorbinWren]

"Well, allow me to retort"

I will whole-heartedly agree with you for the most part, as I believe that this deck is so resiliant and adaptable to be played several completely different ways.  I just happen to prefer a more control/combo style of play. (Leaves me with a warm feeling in my tummy, being an ex-keeper player).

Genesis: While it maybe strictly a metagame call for me, with most of the powered players I've seen playing control of some sort, it's been nothing but unbelievable how well this draws out the counterspells from my opponents hands.

The Angel: I didn't mean to impress on running it over other critters, rather I wanted to impress that she is available as a meta-game option if needbe.

I also just want to touch on the graveyard-manipulation briefly.

For the most part, I haven't needed a psychatog or withered wretch to keep things in the yard as they should be.  Even with my playstyle more focussed on the FEB elements then the Masks.  I've generally found that if they are wasting resources nullifying your graveyard stacking skills, then you should be out-drawing the threats and will still win the game.  Again, the deck is just that resiliant that it functions accordingly.

[SummenSaugen]

Well I swapped to Wretch for a while because I wanted maindeck graveyard hate.

This became much less synergistic when I started running Ground Seal in the board.

Psychatog came back in, not merely as a graveyard sorter, but also as a beatstick and a blue card for force.

He seems to enjoy being home again.

[Shivan Knight]

* Tradewind Rider can handle random stuff like Maze of Ith or fatties, which can be useful.

* Sylvan Library is a good card, especially against control, where life doesn't matter. Fetchlands and Survival make it better. However, I prefer Impulse.

* Skeletal Scrying is an excellent card drawer, but it doesn't help the Shifter since it becomes your top graveyard card after resolution.

[cssamerican]

SummenSaugen: When I first used Gigapede I loved him, then the metagame became full of graveyard hate. Coffin Purge, Withered Wretch, and Tormod's Crypt began to run wild, and is getting worse now with Dragon as the premeir combo deck. So what happened to me, is Gigapede was being blocked, and when he went to the graveyard he was being removed from the game. I am sure you have had the same experiences with this as me, but apparently you have found your answer in Ground Seal. Which not only works well with Gigapede, but also works quite well with the Phage combo. I on the other hand, dropped Gigapede and began using the SafeKeeper which protects the masked out Dreadnaughts. Both ways look really solid, and the best approach probably depends on your playstyle.
TorbinWren: To me the ability to manipulate my graveyard was always an added bonus of running the Wretch. Its main purpose was to remove cards from my opponents graveyard. This is why I was questioning why some people were running the Tog over it. In a high powered metagame most decks use the graveyard so some type of hate is usally good. Wether that hate be the Wretch or Ground Seal (And yes this is graveyard hate, just ask Dragon or any Welder based deck).
Shivan Knight: I have had times where I wanted to draw some additional cards, and I thought Skeletal Scrying  would work very well. But I didn't think about Skeletal Scrying becoming the top card so that kinda sucks. But consider most times you would likely use it would be on your opponent's end of turn it is not that bad. It is just not as good as I originally thought it would be.

[SummenSaugen]

Quote Tradewind Rider can handle random stuff like Maze of Ith or fatties, which can be useful.

Gigapede > Maze of Ith
Phage > Fatties

Tradewind Rider is totally sweet, don't get me wrong.  But he's only cool when you're being a jackass for the sake of entertainment.  It's kind of like survivaling up mana dudes to hardcast Phage when you could easily drop a Shifter and just win.  Unnecessary, but damn fun.

[cssamerican]

SummenSaugen: Tradewind Rider is good in a metagame that has a couple of rogue deck. It can get rid of scoop cards like Platinum Angel. I have noticed a couple people running these TnT, and if you can't remove it you lose. Tradewind + Ranger allows you to bounce welders and the Angel. It also allows you to bounce stuff like Tormod' Crypt or Witherd Wretch before you play a Shapshifter combo so it does have its uses. Not to mention its fun to be a jackass every once in a while.

[SummenSaugen]

Being a jackass is usually the purpose for Tradewind Rider.  Much as I enjoy being a jackass, it's more important to be casting stuff that wins me the game.  I've got other answers to Platinum Angel, and so do you.  Things like Naturalize, Sex Monkeys, Nantuko Vigilantes, and of course Force of Will.  I just don't see the desire for wasting a slot with a card that's only there to defend from one other card in the environment that's a rarity to see anyway, especially when you have better answers available.

EDIT:  Just wanted to add I'm impressed with the level of intelligence being shown in this discussion.  It feels like I'm in the vintage section, keep up the good work guys.   \n\n

[centroles]

Would an unpowered version of vengaur masque be viable?

Any chance some one could post a unpowered version of vengear masque here? I know the Masks get expensive but I'm sure there are people out there with a playset of Masks but little or no power.

I'm considering just replacing the power with 4 elvish spirit guide, a lotus petal, and a chrome mox.

Also one question, why so little tutoring? There are so many great tutors out there, vampiric, consultation, spoils etc.

[TorbinWren]

Quote Also one question, why so little tutoring? There are so many great tutors out there, vampiric, consultation, spoils etc.

Is 4 Survivals and Demonic not enough?  Plus, what would you take out to put anything else in?

[Razvan]

Quote Is 4 Survivals and Demonic not enough?  Plus, what would you take out to put anything else in?

63% chance to get one in the opening hand like this.

70% chance to get one in the opening hand, if you include, say 1 Vampiric Tutor.

The 7% is what you need to decide, I guess.

[cssamerican]

TorbinWren: I did some testing this week versus a UrwLandStill deck, and it was a nightmare. This was not a good matchup at all. It would have been a little better if it would have not had a splash of white for Swords to Plowshares, but not so much better that I would consider the matchup favorable. The Disk is the real problem it punish you for overwelming the control aspects of the deck, and against Ninja Mask it destroys your mana base (Birds of Paradise, Quirion Ranger, and Moxes hate the Disk). On top of that they attack your mana base with Stifles and Wastelands. So in essence, you have no late game. In my testing you either win early (First four turns) or you do not win at all.

SummenSaugen: You said earlier that you were going to get more testing against Landstill this week, I was just wondering if your results were as horrible as mine. Also, what do think can be done to possibly improve this matchup. I tried Xantid Swarms, and they were not effective at all (All I can say about them is that they make excellent targets for Fire/Ice). I tried Naturalize to remove the disk, but I never got one to resolve. By the time I could play Gigapede they usally could counter it ever freak'n time, or they just pop that Disk they had on the board. Because of my results with Gigapede being less than expected, I can only assume Genisis would not be that great either except that you might be able to cast Xantid Swarms until one resolved and they didn't have anymore removal. But I would not really call that a solid strategy.

centroles: If you have the Illusionary Mask I would think that replacing the 3 moxen and the two blue power cards with 4 Elvish Spirit Guides and 1 Lotus Petal would take just a little from the the deck's early game. But the deck would still be very competitive.

centroles & Razvan: It might be 63 percent of the time you have Survival or Demonic in hand, but if you don't always need a tutor. For example if you have a Mask and a Dreadnaught in your hand a tutor is a little overrated.

[Razvan]

Quote It might be 63 percent of the time you have Survival or Demonic in hand, but if you don't always need a tutor. For example if you have a Mask and a Dreadnaught in your hand a tutor is a little overrated

Click here Go down to the mask analysis, and you'll see the difference.

[ineffible]

Quote (Razvan @ Dec. 06 2003,09:35)

Quote Is 4 Survivals and Demonic not enough?  Plus, what would you take out to put anything else in?

63% chance to get one in the opening hand like this.

70% chance to get one in the opening hand, if you include, say 1 Vampiric Tutor.

The 7% is what you need to decide, I guess.

what about card sorting. Vengeur Masque has a buttload of sorting- Brainstorm, Fetchlands (yeah while they don't actually sort the cards, they shuffle the deck up so that the cards change position)- this is especially effective after a brainstorm.  

just my humble opinion.

[TorbinWren]

Quote I did some testing this week versus a UrwLandStill deck, and it was a nightmare. This was not a good matchup at all. It would have been a little better if it would have not had a splash of white for Swords to Plowshares, but not so much better that I would consider the matchup favorable. The Disk is the real problem it punish you for overwelming the control aspects of the deck, and against Ninja Mask it destroys your mana base (Birds of Paradise, Quirion Ranger, and Moxes hate the Disk). On top of that they attack your mana base with Stifles and Wastelands. So in essence, you have no late game. In my testing you either win early (First four turns) or you do not win at all.

This is exactly what I found myself and is a problem I've been pondering for over a month now.  Lately my solution whenever I've feared a LandStill matchup has been play another deck, but I don't want to do that.

Random un-tested thought that just popped into my mind:  What about actually swapping the Masks out for Rods and go full FEB in this match-up?

[Moxlotus]

It would probably be a surprise, but stifle would own you even more when you rely on phage/dreadnought and shapeshifter.

[cssamerican]

Razvan: The problem is what to cut, if you cut Brainstorms for tutors you lose blue card count which weakens Force of Will to the point it is no longer playable. If you cut Duress you weaken yourself versus control. If you cut creatures you weaken Survival, and you will probably end up wasting mana and tutors fetching creatures anyway. And I would advise against cutting any land. So, it is not that tutors are bad, it is just that the deck is pretty redundant and the tutors are usally unneeded. Now Spoils Mask wants tutors because the deck is centered around getting the two card combo on the board as fast as possible. Ninja Mask is in more intrested in being able to have a middle game and less dependent on the two card combo. This makes it a little more immune to some of the hate by cards like Rack and Ruin than Spoils Mask.

TorbinWren: I was suprised by how good LandStill is against Ninja Mask, but I guess every deck has an extremely bad match-up. And beleive me, this is an extremely bad match-up. It is a possibilty to go the Full English Breakfast route, but even then you become a bad FEB. Since you will not be running cards like Unearth to speed up your game. Not to mention, they can Stifle the Null Rod and pop the Disk anyway. Plus if you dedicate four sideboard cards to one match-up, then you become weaker against the field. You might be better to just pray that you miss them in the pairings than to weaken your other match-ups. I know this sounds stupid and it is untested, and probably will not work.

Jolrael, Empress of Beasts
Color= Green  
Type= Creature - Spellshaper Legend  
Cost= 3GG
3/3
{G},{Tap},Discard two cards from your hand: Until end of turn, all lands target player controls are 3/3 creatures that are still lands.

But, if anything it sure would be funny to see the look on their faces when they sac the disk, and you drop this in the graveyard and tap the Shapeshifter. All jokes aside, the best defense without dedicating your sideboard to one match-up is probably Stifle, and it is not worth damn. But at least they have to protect the freak'n Disk when they sac it. If you were playing with a white splash Karmic Justice might be worth looking into, while it doesn't help the creatures, it does make them pay for destroying your Survivals, Mask, Mox, and the Justice itself. But I think I am content in just saying the match-up sucks, and I hope I do not have to play LandStill.

Moxlotus: Good point, but the only thing that can hurt worse than the Disk is Phage getting hit by Flicker. This match-up is THAT bad.

Edited: For Grammar

[SummenSaugen]

The Landstill Matchup

I got very, very little testing going on with this, but I've got some feelings about it already.

Fire/Ice is indeed a wrecking ball, just as it is in UrPhid, or Keeper, or whoever else plays it against you.  This is NOT, however, a reason to be worried about the matchup.  Your MVP in this matchup is of course Volrath's Shapeshifter, since it can clean up if a Disk wipes the board, and kill in the 'crucial' four turns.  Also, I run Xantid Swarm, which allows me to play my game without worrying about their stupid crap.  worst case scenerio, it's a flagbearer for Fire/Ice.

If Landstill gets really popular, you can expect to put Uktabi back in the board to answer Disk.  For now, I'm okay with winning with Phage.

EDIT:  I just saw the post above this.  You can NOT stifle a null rod.  On a side note, why would Null Rod even be here?  One deck would shut off its removal, and the other would shut off half the win condition.\n\n

[TorbinWren]

SummenSaugen: It's almost always not just Disk to wipe everything out, but always, Disk, Standstill, Counter anything you try to play.

Bottom line: Nevenyrral's Disk owns our deck.

Xantid Swarm means very little as they are just as succeptable to the Disk as everything else.

I suggested morphing the deck back to fullout FEB swapping Rods for the Masks, thus countering the Disks, and you are correct: Null Rod is a continuous effect, not an activated ability and thus not a legal target for Stifle.

cssamerican: It may just end up turning it into bad FEB, but shutting down the disk may make it a better match-up overall.

I'll try a little testing tonight and report back.

Moxlotus: Sure they can Stifle the Phage trigger, but you CAN swing again or lay the beat-downs with 12/12 Shapeshifters (Yes, susceptable to artifact hate, but what else is there?)

[SummenSaugen]

Artifact hate can be played around.  As annoying as Rack and Ruin can be, it's not enough to stop Survival based Mask (monoblack however, yeah, that's game over)

You've got two bombs to drop before they find and cast a disk to keep them from keeping your stuff off the table.  Turn one Xantid Swarm, or turn one/two Illusionary Mask.  Either of these hitting the table early give you access to the win conditions immediately.

In Ninja, Disk isn't so bad.  You just hold back one of your bombs (survival, shifter, or mask) and keep all your disruption ready for it.  If you can hold back a duress or two and a force of will, you can manage to make something else stick to the board and start working your magic again.