[Deck Discussion] Meandeck Ichorid

[Jacob Orlove]

Actually, the number of times you draw and play Entomb is very very low (remember, in an average game you see 7-9 cards before you just start dredging away every draw), but that 10th dredge card is surprisingly important when you're digging through your deck.

[warble]

Putrid Imp, Imperial Seal, Chrome Mox, Underground Sea, Ancestral Recall, Darkblast, and Strip Mine

Sea -> Ancestral
Chrome imprinting Putrid Imp -> Imperial Seal -> Bazaar

10 turn clocks against CS are stupid and don't work.  Bazaar and some mana denial does, however, work.  You need to ancestral before imperial seal to get your bazaar.  You can't out-topdeck CS, but you can force your bazaar to be on top of your deck.  Turn 2 I would Strip if they are underdeveloped or Bazaar if you're already in the hole.  Any way you look at it a 5 card hand if they Force your Ancestral is ugly for CS.  Fun hand, but not ideal against CS.  I'd rather have Bazaar and a Golgari Troll in my opening hand.  Much stronger...

[freakish777]

Actually, the number of times you draw and play Entomb is very very low (remember, in an average game you see 7-9 cards before you just start dredging away every draw),

Hence:

P1 = probability of drawing and playing Entomb (is something low)
B1 = difference in benefit of drawing Entomb over Thug
P2 = probability of dredging Thug (is something high)
B2 = difference in benefit of having dredged Thug instead of Entomb

but that 10th dredge card is surprisingly important when you're digging through your deck.

Again, I'll need to do some testing, but my point remains, if Thug is in your yard, he got their because you discarded him (in which case I'd rather have Entomb) or you dredged him (meaning you have a better dredge target already unless it was Darkblast, and you probably shouldn't be keeping a hand with Darkblast as your only dredge spell in the first place).


EDIT:

Here's some games I've goldfished, where X is either Thug or Entomb:

Game 1: Didn't see X [zero benefit for dredging Thug]

Game 2: Mull to 6 (CoB, Gemstone, Stinkweed, Therapy, X, Chalice)->Ensuing draws no discard outlets [Entomb makes this hand dredgable, maybe or maybe not keepable without Bazaar/Putrid/Careful Study]
mulliganning to 5 gives us (Troll, Troll, Bazaar, BStorm, Putrid) -> Bazaar into Lotus [should be good enough, some benefit to having Entomb as the mull to 5 could be much worse]

Game 3: X Dredged irrelevant on dredge ability and creature card [zero benefit as Thug]

Game 4: Didn't see X [zero benefit as Thug]

Game 5: Mull to 5 (Sea, Gemstone, Therapy, X, Brainstorm)
As Thug: Sea Bstorm->CotV,CoB,Ghoul (This game will result in a loss)
As Entomb: T1: Sea Entomb->Troll 
                 T2: Dredge in draw (relevant cards dredged: Troll, Ichorid, Darkblast, Therapy)
                       Gemstone Therapy, Brainstorm->dredge Troll (Troll, Troll, Stinkweed, Putrid)
                                                                               Troll (Ichorid, Therapy)
                                                                               Troll (Putrid, Putrid, Ghoul, Therapy)
                                                                                putback 2 trolls
                T3: 2 Ichorids, Dredge Troll in draw [no Ichorids or Ghouls, but creature for the 1 Ghoul so we win around turn 5, with 3 Therapies, turns a loss into a potential win against an opponent keeping a somewhat slow hand, on the back of 4 Therapies, large benefit as entomb]

Game 6: Dredged X, irrelevant on dredge and creature [zero benefit as Thug]

Game 7: Dredged X, possibly relevent, but the turn it could have been dredged, the opponent's at 8 with Ghoul on the board and 2 more Ichorids in the yard with other creatures to feed them [ie, revelant if they hold Swords/Darkblast/Lava Dart, little to no benefit as Thug].

Game 8: (Gemstone, Strip, Bazaar, Therapy, CoB, X, Troll)
        As Thug: Bazaar draw Lotus and Chain of Vapor, pitch Thug, Gemstone, Troll), follow with Strip, dredge 10
        As Entomb: Bazaar draw same stuff, pitch Gemstone, Therapy, and Troll), follow with CoB Entomb, dredge 12

[Possibly even, there's a tempo loss from having Entomb (because we don't get strip on turn 2), but we get strip on turn 3, and 2 more dredges which may or may not being the difference in what turn we are able to reach lethal damage, hard to judge unless we replayed the scenario several more times with that starting hand to know when the extra 2 cards a turn dredged will matter for getting lethal as quickly as possible, and when the turn 2 tempo burst is critical over the turn 3 tempo from strip]

Game 9: Dredged X, relevant on creature card, could have killed faster assuming 2 points of self damage on fetches [some benefit as Thug]

Game 10: Dredged X, completely irrelevant on dredge and creature [dredged 49 cards by turn 2, win turn 4 after 3 Therapies on turn 3 and 15 damage, zero benefit as Thug]

Game 11: Dredged X, completely irrelevant on dredge and creature [dredge 47 cards by 3rd upkp, swing with 18 previously nothing in play, zero benefit as Thug]

Game 12: Didn't see X [zero benefit as Thug]

Game 13: Didn't see X [zero benefit as Thug]



Obviously 13 games is by no means sufficient testing, only some preliminary stuff to shuff that of the times that you dredge Thug, there's usually little to no benefit for being able to dredge him.


EDIT #2:

These were the first 13 games I played with the deck.  There is only 1 omission, in which I attempted to play out a hand that wasn't keepable (due to my inexperience with the deck), which was the first hand in game 5.  I then assumed that given a real tournament and a better pilot of the deck, they would have mulliganned, so instead of having noise in my data, I tossed that game out, and mulliganned to 6 automatically to replay that one.

[Brapp]

I feel that I could goldfish .5 to 1 turn faster if I consistently had enough black mana to activate more Ashen Ghouls. Does anyone share this feeling?

Each game, I end up only being able to activate one Ashen Ghoul per turn. If could have activated three Ashen Ghouls instead of one, I'd have been able to push through 6 more damage for the win. Is there anything we can do to account for this? How do you all do with this?

[Smmenen]

The Slaver v. Ichorid article wlill come out early next week.

It is 38 pages in word!  It details 7 games of Ichorid v. Slaver pre-board.   

I still think the community and some of the better players are massively underestaimting how good this deck is.

This is not a fair deck.  It breaks all kinds of rules of magic and is highly disruptive.  I hope that people will read the article closely and observe some of the decision making process as well.

[TurbulentDirge]

What do you think of including Tolarian Winds in the deck? I have found that early in the game, especially when you have 1+ Troll/Imp in your hand, Winds will enable you to dump a massive amount of resources into your yard; in one game versus TPS, the winds resolved as follows.

In Hand: 5
Tolarian Winds (Played)
Troll
Imp
Underground Sea
Ichorid

I cast the winds, recurring both the troll and the imp to dump the following into my yard of relevance.
Ichorid (From Hand)
Ichorid (From Deck)
Ashen Ghoul (From Deck)
Troll (Deck)
Putrid Imp x2 (Enabled a recursion of Ghoul and then removal for Ichorid to enter play)

Furthermore, with the two remaining cards I drew due to winds, I was able to smash face again the following turn.
One was Bazaar, the other was Brainstorm.

Admittedly, I have had difficulty finding slots for Wind. I ended up putting in 2, and removing one CotV, and one Therapy.

What are your thoughts in this card? It has had considerable success for me (with the exception of when Crypt becomes a factor) and enables a quicker win most of the time.

Comments?

-DL

[Smmenen]

Go read the original article on Ichorid - we discussed how bad Tolarian Winds was back then.  It requires you to run alot more mana and is not good.

[Pitlord]

Tolarian winds also means that you get hit harder by hate. By putting so many cards in the yard at once, you are doing the same all-or-nothing way that some builds go for. This CAN be successful, but you have to be extremely fast for it to work. As Smenen stated, Winds is not all that fast because of the mana required to use it. This means that you try to go for an all in stradegy, but fail because it is too slow.

[nataz]

Admittedly, I have had difficulty finding slots for Wind. I ended up putting in 2, and removing one CotV, and one Therapy.

Regardless of TOL WInds itself, I don't think I'd cut a copy of therp for anything. That being said, if you like Tol Winds, try breakthough. It can be just as gassy later in the game (once you have something to dredge in the GY), and it has the added bonus of costing half as much.

[Moxlotus]

GWS came up with almost the exact list MD did, but we had Breakthroughs over Brainstorms.  Breakthrough is infinitely better than Winds.  But Brainstorm is much better than Breakthrough.

[policehq]

Is the turn-long wait for Sylvan Library too limiting for it to be a consideration? Ichorid decks here started with Hermit Druid, and now people are replacing him with Sylvan Library.

I've seen a lot of decks with Library bounce back after Tormod's Crypt a lot more quickly than they otherwise would've been able to.

-hq

[TurbulentDirge]

I tried the Breakthroughs and they do work far better.

I was wondering about using Deep Analysis in the deck. Would that be beneficial in the slightest? I tested it (1 copy only) and in the two games of about ten that I played where it hit the yard it was helpful. I hit a stall in the deck, but flashing back analysis enabled me to dredge my way back into the game.

Any thoughts?
-DL

I will have to test the library as well.

[zREIGNz]

i am taking the board steve has proposed, but i wanted to ask for a general list of what to side in/out versus  oath, cs, stax, gifts and storm combo, or any other deck.

if you could include on the play vs on the draw.

id greatly appriciate your input,
   thanks
          -jason

[policehq]

I found the Sideboard to be ineffective against Control Slaver with maindeck Gorilla Shaman and Tormod's Crypt, which laugh at your Pithing Needles, Null Rods, and Chalice @ 0. I think Darkblast an extra Darkblast is more effective maindeck than the other Golgari Thug, but I haven't understood the use of Golgari Thug beyond the one extra Dredge. I add 1 more Darkblast to the sideboard for Gorilla Shaman, Goblin Welder (which mess with your Chalices, Pithing Needles, and Null Rods), and the likes of Withered Wretch. Even 1 can be used to kill Withered Wretch with a draw step Dredge and then a Bazaar activation.

-hq

[ELD]

I've been testing Ichorid quite a bit.  The card that I'm the least impressed with is lotus petal.  Between chalice coming down for zero, and the fact that it is a one shot, it's almost like dark ritual would be better in that slot, and I'm certainly not advocating that.  This may have to do with the fact that I do not run a underground as listed in the first post.  While I have liked it's explosiveness, I often wish it was another permanent mana source.

Aside from that, Time Walk and Balance are quite strong.  The strong point is if they resolve, it is often game over.  A problem with that is vs control, they haven't had to counter anything all game.  Either you've used cabal therapy on counters (something that you really don't care about) or they're going to have them in hand.  That said, I still support them in my build.  I've been running 4x Leyline of the Void main as well.  I lose some serious flexibility in Thug, Darkblast, Chain of Vapor and an Underground Sea, but it really turns the deck into a serious hate deck.  When you open with Leyline and Chalice for 0, it severely changes the way your opponent must play, and often gives you the added time to seal the deal.

[policehq]

I think the addition of 4 Leyline of the Void also addresses that Ichorid is becoming a popular deck and not a surprise deck for a tournament, and I support that change.

I also love the maindeck must-counter bombs. They mean that your opponent have to counter those instead of your anti-hate.

-hq

[disrupting specter]

1st I'd like to say thanks to everyone who put work into this deck to make it a threat!

I feel that I could goldfish .5 to 1 turn faster if I consistently had enough black mana to activate more Ashen Ghouls. Does anyone share this feeling?

Each game, I end up only being able to activate one Ashen Ghoul per turn. If could have activated three Ashen Ghouls instead of one, I'd have been able to push through 6 more damage for the win. Is there anything we can do to account for this? How do you all do with this?

I'm still experimenting with the possibility of adding more black sources. I'm finding that even when there is B available for Ashen Ghoul, there aren't enough creatures above it to activate it. I still only end up putting out one per turn. I think there is a reason why the deck is called "Ichorid" and not "Ashen Ghoul".

The Slaver v. Ichorid article wlill come out early next week.

It is 38 pages in word!  It details 7 games of Ichorid v. Slaver pre-board.   

I still think the community and some of the better players are massively underestaimting how good this deck is.

This is not a fair deck.  It breaks all kinds of rules of magic and is highly disruptive.  I hope that people will read the article closely and observe some of the decision making process as well.

I'm thinking it is pretty bad ass. It dodges all of the conventional disruption and has brings a swift death.

[BreathWeapon]

This deck is amazing, I put it together for a local tournament and went undefeated in five rounds.

I made the following changes to the MD

+4 Leyline of the Void +1 Time Walk
-1 Golgari Thug -1 Darkblast -1 Careful Study -1 Chain of Vapor -1 Underground Sea

Singletons in this deck are terrible if they don't either win the game, Balance and Time Walk, or tutor for Bazaar of Baghdad, Crop Rotation and Vampiric/Imperial. The Leyline's were a tremendous boon all day long, helping me race against Gifts, Grims, Welders and PWNing the mirror. Even if the cards I removed were included to provide the deck with additional redundancy, the "Time Walk(s)" Leyline provides allows you to draw into what you need more often than not. Underground Sea pissed me off twice in testing when I needed to Balance, so it got the boot for Time Walk.

What I love most about this deck is how aggressive it mulligans, between finding Bazaar, Leyline and Chalice I can go to five and four cards rather consistantly.

My biggest problem was Oath, because Leyline and Chalice are worthless against them and Therapy is only good if it hits an Oath. I'm boarding 4 Ray of Revelation for that match up now, because not only is it good against Oath but Stax decks that side board Engineered Plague (which is an amazing card for 5c Stax considering it nullifies Welders, Tokens and Ichorids).

Other than Oath (which can be dealt with) the only problematic deck I encountered was Fish. Any suggestions for how to improve this match up? All I can think of is SBing 4 Dark Blast for the Leyline of the Void.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I SB 4 Hermit Druid and 1 Darksteel Colossus for decks that aren't affected by Leyline of the Void or Chalice of the Void to increase my threat density, I highly suggest it because you often can't SB out enough cards vs certain decks (it's also one hell of a surprise weapon).

[Smmenen]

This deck is amazing,

Thanks! I put alot of hard work into it before Richmond and I'm proud of the design. 

My current maindeck actuallly looks quite different from the first post in this thread.  But I may have teammates who want to play it at Richmond (including myself), so I've been forbidden from posting my current list. 

My advice is to continue to test and tweak and find cards you find effective.  The key, imo, is finding a design that beats Slaver more and more consistently as that is the most important match. 

[BreathWeapon]

I think the MD is as good as it can get, unless you have some sort of super secret tech I'm unaware of.

I'm not afraid of Control Slaver unless I see Rich Shay sitting across the table, game one I have the advantage if I win the coin flip and a Chalice hits the table, otherwise I can expect a turn zero Leyline to give me the edge. Game two is where things get interesting, because it all comes down to the SB. Usually they board in Bridge (what evil genious came up with this tech?) and Crypt. So I just board in Rod for Chalice, Needle for Therapy (don't hate me, Chalice and Therapy are powerless to stop Tormod's Crypt on the draw) and I'm still looking for a good solution to Bridge.

I'm really worried about Fish more than Slaver, it shows up in greater quantities and I'm more likely to be paired against it in the early rounds. People refuse to stop playing that awful deck, so if you have any suggestions for that match up I'd love to hear it.

Edit: I think this would be my SB for the next P9 in Chicago,

4 Ray of Revelation
3 Darkblast
4 Null Rod
4 Pithing Needle

[Dominik]

I'm really worried about Fish more than Slaver, it shows up in greater quantities and I'm more likely to be paired against it in the early rounds. People refuse to stop playing that awful deck, so if you have any suggestions for that match up I'd love to hear it.

I'm actually curious as to why you're afraid of fish. Fish is an aggro control deck that functions through mana denial, disruption, and a clock. You don't need mana to win. You can even win if they waste your bazaar. Lastly, their clock is useless against you as you should outrace them really easily. Fish builds usually do not pack tormod's crypt as it would be anti-synergetic with null rod and/or chalice (which is usually set at 0, and which you can also set at 0 to stop crypts). However, by fish I'm assuming you mean the traditional UW builds (please clarify, as I see how the Bx builds would be able to defeat you- withered wretch, planar void, etc).

[BreathWeapon]

I'm worried about losing to Fish on account of running out of gas with the Ichorids, sometimes it seems like they have a never ending supply of fishies and I end putting myself in a position where I have no more black creatures to feed Ichorid and my Ashen Ghouls get S2Ped. Also, those Wastelands are surprisingly relevant, because if they can keep me off my black source Ashen is out of the game and I'm going into an attrition war with a ton of fishies on the other side of the table.

Maybe I just suck playing the deck against Fish, or I need to learn to use Therapy/Balance in that match up instead of going on auto pilot with the tutors for Bazaar.

Edit: How few mana sources can this deck reliably run on? I've been considering cutting a couple mana sources, Strip and Sapphire, for additional utility.

[policehq]

Edit: I think this would be my SB for the next P9 in Chicago,

4 Ray of Revelation
3 Darkblast
4 Null Rod
4 Pithing Needle

Way to avoid your problem with Ensnaring Bridge completely.

If you're worried about Fish, Massacre beats most of the current builds, but by the time we have P9 in Chicago I'm sure they will have evolved out of that.

I'll refrain from listing every card that destroys an artifact you could use for your sideboard.

-hq

[mistervader]

I won a tournament using this deck, although since the tournament was non-proxy, I removed the Chalices and replaced them with four other cards (+2 Darkblast, +1 Chain Of Vapor,  +1 other card.).

I liked the board a lot. It was very effective, although Root Maze was never used. I realized that I just didn't have combo decks to deal with, period, as I'm the only one who puts up with playing it.

The maindecked Leylines look interesting. What can it do for the deck? What matchups does it help against? I have a proxy tournament I'm joining this weekend, and I am assuming that I'll be seeing Shops and Drains all day long, which is why I'm running Ichorid instead of a combo deck.

BTW, shouldn't the Chains be turned into Echoing Truths if you have Leyline? You wouldn't want the Leylines going back to your hand, right?

[BreathWeapon]

I replaced Rod with Oxidize after realizing it dealt with all of the cards Null Rod did and more, and I didn't need the disruption against combo (that and Null Rod being 2cc sucks).

Massacre? With this manabase?

Also, to answer my own question, if you cut Balance and Walk than Strip and Sapphire can be cut as well. One of the counter intutive arguments on the manabase is, which accelerant would you cut if you had to cut one of them? My platest partners all said Chrome or Petal, but if you actually play the deck long enough you start to realize how awful Sapphire really is.

Edit: Against MD Gifts their Gifts is neutered and they lose Will, against CS their Welder is neutered and they lose Will and against Combo they lose Will. Also, the most important aspect of Leyline is that it is an uncounterable turn zero card, it is the only way you can disrupt combo if you lose the coin flip; I mulligan for a Leyline on the draw vs combo always.

You shouldn't be using bounce at all in this deck, it's awful. Chain will return Leyline to your hand and Truth is 2cc.

Try this SB,

4 Ray of Revelation
4 Oxidize
4 Pithing Needle
3 Darkblast

It deals with every problem I can think of.

[mistervader]

All right. I might not run Leylines, then. I don't expect combo this Sunday at all, and expect Stax, more than anything else.

[BreathWeapon]

So, I decided to go to our local store for Vintage night and sleave up the deck while I'm there. I forgot I let a friend borrow my Imperial and Rotation so he could play Long at the event after last week, so I replaced them with Gamble at the last minute.

Gamble managed to impress me every game I drew it in our four round tournament. For all intents and purposes it serves as a pseudo Vampirc or Imperial, with a 20 percent chance of losing the Bazaar or discarding a card I wanted in the yard anyway and getting to draw an extra card next turn. My opponent's never FoWed Gamble once, where they would have FoWed Vampiric, Imperial or Rotation every time. n00bs.

One of the other players came over to talk to me about the changes I made to the deck, and he asked me "did you cut Brainstorm for Gamble?" I laughed and replied "no, I just had two of my tutors in another deck." But after we finished discussing the inclusion of Gamble in the deck, I started to think "why not cut Brainstorm for Gamble?"

*Prepares to be stoned by the Vintage community"

I mulligan with this deck based on a single principle, if the hand doesn't include Bazaar, a tutor for Bazaar or an Imp I go to six (unless I see a hand with both a Leyline and Chalice on the play). Brainstorm and a land isn't enough to keep a hand on but Gamble could be. I know it makes the deck more reliant on Bazaar, but its not like you can't Gamble for Putrid Imp if the occassion calls for it. The likelyhood you'll find a card you want with Gamble is twice as good as finding a card you need with Brainstorm, and if either of them fail to find the card you need I think Gamble can recover quicker because it can top deck two fresh cards, unless Brainstorm turned over disruption. Granted, you could argue that you become more reliant on Bazaar, but if you run into the Bazaar, dump dredge, pass, Waste, Brainstorm scenario than Gambling for another Bazaar may be even better (you can even go for Ancestral). If you are sitting across from a Pithing Needle or a Tormod's Crypt, Gamble actually has a real chance of finding an answer as opposed to Brainstorm, turning over nothing, and then top decking two dead cards. Also, I figure if the deck is willing to risk the 40+ percent chance that Crop Rotation for Bazaar of Baghdad gets FoWed, leaving you SOL, the 17+ percent chance Gamble will fail is acceptable, and Gamble for Balance is way more disgusting than Strip Mine could ever be. Gamble also puts the card immediately in your hand, so you can Gamble on the first turn if you are on the play for Chalice against Combo and have a 40+ percent chance he'll discard your outlet.

I know it sounds absolutely mad, and I've already made some risque cuts to the deck, but I think everybody should try swapping Brainstorm for Gamble just to see how much it changes the deck's mulligans and playstyle (it's a really fun card to use if nothing else, seeing the look on your opponent's face when you play Gamble in Vintage is priceless)

[TurbulentDirge]

So I played a number of games with the deck using Gamble. Here are my findings solely in regards to how the deck mulligans and how its turn 1 plays are in regards to Bazaar and Gamble.

Game 1:
Careful Study, CoB, Chalice, Thug, Chalice, Troll, Seal
CoB,Imperial SealBazaar

Game 2:
Ashen Ghoul, CoB, Bazaar, Therapy, Study, Thug, Strip Mine

Game 3:
Therapy, Chalice, Bazaar, Stinky, Stinky, Black Lotus, Gemstone Mine
(Note this one).

Game 4:
Mox Sapphire, Bazaar, Therapy, Troll, Lotus Petal, Chain of Vapor, Stinky

Game 5:
Therapy, Bazaar, CoB, Underground Sea, Troll, Chain of Vapor, Black Lotus

Game 6:
Hand 1: Vampiric Tutor, Gamble, Ichorid, Therapy, Imperial Seal, Therapy, Balance
Hand 2: Lotus, Putrid Imp, Stinky, Time Walk, Ichorid, Therapy
Hand 3: Ichorid, Stinky, Ghoul, Mine, Gamble
Turn 1: Mine, GambleBazaar: Discard Ichorid

Game 7:
Hand 1: CoB, Putrid Imp, Chalice, Putrid Imp, Ichorid, CoB, Troll
Hand 2: Stinky, Lotus Petal, Bazaar, Thug, Imperial Seal, Therapy
Turn 1: Petal, Imperial Seal
(Note this one)

Game 8:
Bazaar, Gamble, Chalice, CoB, Balance, Mine, Ichorid

Game 9:
Hand 1: Mox Jet, Gemstone Mine, Sea, CoB, Chain of Vapor, Chalice, CoB
Hand 2: Gamble, Time Walk, Darkblast, Troll, Chalice, Ichorid
Hand 3: Bazaar, Putrid Imp, Thug, Gemstone Mine, Stinky


Alright, so a few things about these sample hands.
1)   When I did not have Bazaar (Which wasn’t too often), I either mulliganed or waited for Gamble. When I did have Gamble and cast it for Bazaar, there was a high chance of retaining that Bazaar.
Conclusion: If Bazaar is your target card, or your target card is something you have 4 of in the deck, Gamble seems a good choice.
2)   Let us look at ‘Game 3:’ How would you have played that hand? Or would you have mulliganed?
3)   Let us look at ‘Game 7:’ What would you have done/Imperial Sealed for? Or would you have maybe dropped Bazaar first?

Strong deck overall; record for today is 8-2.

Comments and thoughts?
-DL

[BreathWeapon]

Man, I was expecting to get flamed to hell for suggesting Gamble ...

Game 3 is easy

Black Lotus, Bazaar of Baghdad, Chalice of the Void, Active Bazaar, Draw 2 Unkown Cards, Discard 2 Unkown Cards and Imp, Activate Black Lotus, Play Cabal Therapy naming Brainstorm, Play Putrid Imp, Flashback Cabal Therapy for 1 of the opponent's relevant cards leaving City of Brass as my only card in hand for next turn to start activating Ashen Ghouls. I would never Mulligan a hand with Bazaar and Chalice in it on the play.

Game 7 is hard to say,

I think you should go for Lotus Petal, Imperial Seal -> Chalice of the Void, Bazaar of Baghdad, Activate Bazaar of Baghdad, Draw Chalice of the Void and 1 Unkown Card, Discard Thug, Therapy and Imp and hope the Unkown Card is a mana source and Play Chalice of the Void. The trick is finding that mana source, you either get it on the Bazaar card or the draw step next turn if you can.

[zREIGNz]

Breathweapon,
    would you mind posting your deck,
id really like to see how you have changed the md