[Single Card Discussion] Serum Visions in 7/10.

[GreatCthulhu]

I recently switched from Slavery to 7/10 Split as a metagame decision, but one thing has been bothering me.  Brainstorm can get you out of a tight spot, but sometimes a Brainstorm will give you three mediocre or bad cards that you don't need at all in that situation. Fifth Dawn may have given us a solution: Serum Visions.

I agree that Brainstorm is a very good and effective card, but I'm led to believe that it is better in a deck with 4 or 5 fetchlands to shuffle away unneeded cards.  The build of 7/10 I use (Rico Suave's), however, only runs 2.  This can lead to drawing 3 useless cards when looking for answers.  In this case, Serum Visions may be more favorable despite its Sorcery speed.

I know that Brainstorm is better when the top three cards are all good, or when the top card is bad and the next are good, but Visions helps when only one of the three is good.  The others can simply be tucked away to prevent bad draws for the next one or two turns.

I made the choice of running Visions over Brainstorm simply because a lot of the time I can't find the answers I need with only Brainstorm, and I know the next two draws wont get me them.  With Visions, you can clear away those draws, and the next card is random, probably with a good chance of being a threat, and answer, or more draw.

Here is my proposed list, credit goes to Rico Suave for the base of most everything:

//7/10

//Mana (30)
4 Mishra's Workshop
2 Ancient Tomb
4 Volcanic Island
4 Shivan Reef
1 City of Brass
1 Tolarian Academy
7 SoLoMoxen
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland

//Guys (11)
4 Goblin Welder
3 Sundering Titan
3 Triskelion
1 Platinum Angel

//Card draw(11)
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Tinker
1 Memory Jar
1 Wheel of Fortune
4 Thirst for Knowledge
4 Serum Visions

//Disruption (8)
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Trinisphere

//SB:
3 Red Elemental Blast
3 Rack and Ruin
2 Gorilla Shaman
3 Blood Moon
3 Stifle
1 ?????

Note: I chose to cut one Trinisphere from the maindeck because lately I've been drawing two or three of them, and we all know they don't matter in multiples, except with an active Welder, and even then not too great.  Testing will tell if this is the right choice.

[Gandalf_The_White_1]

Personally, I think force of will is needed in 7/10.  It helps protect you from combo decks or force through key spells against control.  I realize that is not what the thread is about, but I would just like to make that clear .

Avout visions: Because you are not running force of will, and only running 2 fetches, I would say the visions would indeed be the better card in this build, for the reasons you mentioned.  In a build of 7/10 with force of will or a greater number of fetchlands, though, brainstorm is obiously a supeior, more powerful card.

[AngryPheldagrif]

While I can't say much for Serum Visions versus Brainstorm, I do have a separate question about your build. Do you see enough Aggro or Fish-style stuff to justify running 3 Triskelions? I'd think the 3rd slot would be better served by a Duplicant or even a Memnarch. Memnarch is awesome in the mirror and Duplicant is effective against Tog, 4cControl, and even MaskNought (not that anyone plays such a deck anymore ).

Good luck,
-Dan

[TrixR4Kidz]

First off, serum visions is no replacement for brainstorm, brainstorm is just a better card in every way, yes even in this deck.

Second of all, force of will backup is very comforting when casting mr. 7/10 and owning face with him

THIRD of all, Why no gilded lotus's? I think they are KEY in this deck, and avoid shaman eating yet still provide a hefty mana source, and fit perfectly for thirst, wheel, windfall, etc..

Fourth, I believe memnarch/duplicant is a must in this deck, memnarch is usually game over when resolved, and duplicant is a good savior, especially w/ welder in yard, I think you can drop down a Trisk, for they are good, they are mainly good against aggro, i'd go to 2, and side a third.

and Last but not least, wastelands are sort of redundant and not that needed in this deck, sundering titan does a nice job messing around with the opponents mana base, and wastelands will only slow down your tempo, this deck is broken, try to get things out as fast as you can, you don't wanna be in the situation where you waste a land and pass the turn.


thats just my opinion, good luck

[Outlaw]

Serum Visions is a very interesting card to look at for 7/10, although I have one problem with it and it is that it is a sorcery.  That alone allows brainstorm to quickly pull ahead in the race.  Although, I do agree with you that brainstorm is used betterly (great im makin up words) in decks that use fetch lands, its still an also card to use.  7/10 should most definitely include force of will back up, that is a reason brainstorm should be used, but force needs to be included also.  Wastelands seem like they are slowing your deck down to dropping the large body known as 7/10, why drop a wasteland when you can drop a workshop and just build up till you get enough for titan? my 2cs

[cssamerican]

Serums Vision:
I was so excited about this card when it came out; however, after testing with it I began to hate it. First being a sorcery sucks. It is not as bad in this build because you don't run FoW, but it still sucks because you don't know what your opponent is going to do in his/her turn. At least with an instant you can make a much more informed decision about what you need and what you don't need. Secondly, it doesn't put what you need in your hand, and that makes a lot of your sideboard cards very weak like REB's and Stifle. I would look a both Brainstorm and Impulse for deck smoothers before I would even consider this card. And in situtations such as this where you a running all the jewlery and no fetchlands Impulse would likely be the better of the two since it does what you want without the drawback of knowingly drawing dead for the next two turns.

First I think a lot of people are getting this deck (BFD) confused with the 7/10 Split. This deck is not a pure Aggro machine with FoW back up, but rather a Prison/Aggro deck in which Trinisphere acts as your FoW. This is why the deck runs Wastelands. Since the deck doesn't use Gilded Lotus, Memnarch is totally out of the question. And Triskelion is all the removal you should need since casting creatures should be difficult for your opponents. I know the decks creators have been set on [card]Serum Powder[/card] as the proper replacement for Brainstorm because it allows you greater chances of mulling into a turn 1 brokeness such as a turn 1 Trinisphere. Here is a link to that discusion.

[TrixR4Kidz]

I know the decks creators have been set on Serum Powder as the proper replacement for Brainstorm because it allows you greater chances of mulling into a turn 1 brokeness such as a turn 1 Trinisphere.

well that is true, but he is wondering if he should be using serum visions, a much different card, I personally Don't like the idea of serum powder, so I'd first start with serum visions, if you WANT to absolutely try out serum powder, then go ahead, I'd stay with visions, or brainstorm, remember there is no replacement to brainstorm, If it's not broke why fix it?

[GreatCthulhu]

Yeah, sorry about that, it should really be BFD, not 7/10.

[Hyperion]

I was skeptical at first but am coming around to Serum Visions (as a Brainstorm replacement) and if it continues to work well I may make the switch permanently. There are so many cards in Sundering Titan.dec that, in various scenarios, are horrible topdecks - mana clumps, expensive artifacts when you don't have the mana, late game Trinispheres, etc. -  and not having a way to shuffle them away other than Tinker is undesirable.

Neither card will always be strictly superior to the other, so I think it depends what you want out of either in the deck. Brainstorm is much better on turn 1 and following other draw spells, but Serum Visions certainly has a far better downside than Brainstorm, so I am leaning towards Visions at the moment as well.