(Deck) Judo Top [vers 2.0]

[policehq]

New decklist below original one.

After two months of testing with the older list I made from Sensei, Sensei (as seen in my Artificer's Intuition thread), here is what I have come up with:

Land:
3 City of Brass
2 Gemstone Mine
2 Polluted Delta
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Underground Sea

Mana:
1 Black Lotus
1 Lion's Eye Diamond
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring

Combo:
1 Brain Freeze
1 Burning Wish
1 Future Sight
2 Helm of Awakening
3 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Get it:
1 Ancestral Recall
2 Artificer's Intuition
1 Crop Rotation
4 Dark Confidant
1 Demonic Tutor
3 Diabolic Intent
1 Imperial Seal
3 Trinket Mage
1 Vampiric Tutor

Disrupt:
3 Cabal Therapy
3 Duress
1 Echoing Truth
2 Gorilla Shaman
1 Rebuild
2 Xantid Swarm

The Bin:
0 Seat of the Synod
0 Vault of Whispers
0 Darkblast
0 Chain of Vapor

Sideboard:
3 Arcane Laboratory
1 Echoing Ruin
1 Extract
4 Illusionary Mask
1 Massacre
2 Phyrexian Dreadnought
1 Pithing Needle
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Tormod's Crypt

[/size]

New decklist:

Land:
4 City of Brass
2 Gemstone Mine
2 Polluted Delta
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Underground Sea

More Mana:
1 Black Lotus
1 Lion's Eye Diamond
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring

Kill:
1 Brain Freeze
1 Burning Wish
1 Cunning Wish
4 Helm of Awakening
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Creatures:
4 Dark Confidant
4 Trinket Mage

Draw/Tutor:
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Crop Rotation
1 Demonic Tutor
3 Diabolic Intent
2 Future Sight
3 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Tinker
1 Vampiric Tutor

Disruption:
2 Duress
1 Echoing Truth
4 Force of Will
1 Rebuild

Sideboard:
1 Balance
1 Brain Freeze
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Echoing Ruin
1 Extract
1 Island
2 Massacre
1 Mind's Desire
1 Shattering Spree
1 Snuff Out
1 Stifle
1 Tendrils of Agony
2 Xantid Swarm

[/size]

Most of the below is related to the oldest decklist and therefore obsolete.

Okay, first response to this is obviously that it dies to Null Rod and/or Chalice. Of course these are problem cards, but not many decks particularly like to see either of them played against them. The game isn't over once either of these resolve by any means, and I have 2 maindeck win conditions (Brain Freeze requiring Artifact activated abilities and Tendrils not) and 7 pro-active means of playing around these and getting rid of these cards:
2 Cabal Therapy
3 Duress
2 Gorilla Shaman

If an opponent plays Null Rod, I can still get a storm count between 7 and 9 (depending on whether Wizards have hit them or not) for Tendrils of Agony or destroy it with Burning Wish -> Echoing Ruin. Echoing Ruin is even more effective against Chalice of the Void @ 0 and 1.

The opponent would be hard-pressed to lock me down long with a single Chalice of the Void. Gorilla Shaman eats the ones @  0 and 2, Burning Wish takes care of Chalice @ 1.

The engine behind this deck is Artificer's Intuition and Sensei's Divining Top. Originally Artificer's Intuition was a replacement for Future Sight, but then the discard cost became too prohibitive in the early game. Getting 2 Tops, Helm, and Brain Freeze in hand was rather tricky.

Thankfully, though, Artificer's Intuition also grabs Black Lotus, making the casting of Future Sight a breeze.

Trinket Mage was another addition to the deck once it became apparent that discarding my mana base was problematic. He can grab a Top or Lotus as well, and then he, Gorilla Shaman, Dark Confidant, and Xantid Swarm can be pitched to Diabolic Intent for another combo piece or to flashback Cabal Therapy (some tech from "The Man Plan" except without Culling the Weak).

Against Oath game 1, my only play used to be to cast Ancestral Recall in response to Gaea's Blessing's trigger. Now I can do that or win with Tendrils of Agony. I play 3 Forbidden Orchard in an attempt to prevent them from getting Oath of Druids online consistently early in the game, to bide more time. Game 2 depends on what kind of Oath they are playing, but you can adjust your speed as necessary and race them with dXm (another combo that works well with Artificer's Intuition and Trinket Mage). Coffin Purge will take out any Gaea's Blessings that need not be in their graveyard/library.

This deck has a really solid game against Mana Drain decks. I have too much search and disruption, even recurring disruption, against them. Xantid Swarms, Storm, and Cabal Therapies are all obviously very nice here, and Darkblast does an amazing job with their Welders.

I'm really glad that this deck has a great game against Ichorid.

I'll stop here to point out that the above two match-ups are made tremendously better by the inclusion of Gorilla Shaman, who is amazing in combo decks for getting around Chalice of the Void, Pithing Needle, and, with Tolarian Academy, Null Rod.

Against Ichorid I have-
The ability to race them
Gorilla Shaman + Tormod's Crypt + Morningtide (against their Chalice of the Void and Pithing Needle)
Chump-blockers if needed

Null Rod Stax, U/W Fish, and some versions of Oath are the hardest match-ups for this deck to face. Echoing Ruin is a god-send against Stax, and Pyroclasm is the closest I can get to Massacre. Against Stax and in some cases Oath and Fish I have to bring in the Dreadnought/Mask combo to race their ability to stabilize.

Goldfishing, if it means anything, usually means that I'm going off (as in, rushing through my entire deck) on turns 3 and 4, while grabbing Therapy, Xantid Swarm, Duress, etc. along the way.

This engine:
3 Dark Confidant
1 Darkblast
3 Sensei's Divining Top

While not being nearly as nice as Artificer's Intuition and Top, is worth mentioning. Getting to see 3 new cards every turn is very nice, especially when that Darkblast is going somewhere like opposing Goblin Welders, Gorilla Shamans, Dark Confidants, etc.

I hope some of you will test the deck and like it. It's a lot of fun to play, and very quickly stumbles into infinite combos enough times to be note-worthy. So far it's the best combo deck I've been able to play as far as early, mid, and late-game go.

-hq

[Moxlotus]

The deck looks like it would have a rough time against decks running Rod and Chalice.  Chalice @1 or Rod reduces you to a single Burning Wish or the aggro route.  I see how you can still find Wish with your 3 tutors, it just looks like that will be really hard, especially if Rod is taking out half your lands. 

I'm also not sure how you can reliably try to go off with Tendrils if a Rod is on the table.  You have no draw 7s, no way to load the yard for Will, no necro/bargain.

I question the Orchards.  If a plan is to beatdown, even for a few points, Orchards seem really bad.

WTF is up with 4 Mask/2 Dreadnought side?

It looks like a nice deck to play, but not in any Oath & Stax heavy meta.

[AngryPheldagrif]

This has got to be the worst deck versus Null Rod I've seen in my life. You have 6 useable mana sources through it and a third of them die. Gorilla Shaman probably isn't going to be eating it very often.

Otherwise it looks incredibly inconsistent. Everything is in 2's and 3's and the list lacks Force of Will.

I would like to know before I comment on anything else why you think a combo that goldfishs turn 3-4 and has only moderate disruption sans Force of Will is supposed to be even remotely viable.

[policehq]

The deck looks like it would have a rough time against decks running Rod and Chalice.  Chalice @1 or Rod reduces you to a single Burning Wish or the aggro route.  I see how you can still find Wish with your 3 tutors, it just looks like that will be really hard, especially if Rod is taking out half your lands. 

Fortunately the deck can see a lot of action before Chalice and Null Rod are factors (playing against Fish). Playing against Stax with these two components is very different, though, and requires a crapload of answers. I just took out Rebuild, but it may go back in.

I'm also not sure how you can reliably try to go off with Tendrils if a Rod is on the table.  You have no draw 7s, no way to load the yard for Will, no necro/bargain.

Artificer's Intuition fills the graveyard with Moxen that are useless or will be countered. Actually, the harder part is getting BB (or BBB).

I question the Orchards.  If a plan is to beatdown, even for a few points, Orchards seem really bad.

There is no beatdown plan until:

WTF is up with 4 Mask/2 Dreadnought side?

these come in. This is mainly to race Stax before there is a permanent-count war: the same concept that Oath keeps to beat Stax. The configuration grabs the 2 12/12's (1cc - tutorable from Artificer's Intuition and Trinket Mage) after Swords to Plowshares and the like are gone and swings next turn against Stax, *some* Oath, and *some* Fish. 

It looks like a nice deck to play, but not in any Oath & Stax heavy meta.

We don't prepare for Oath much here because the versions played are not piloted by competent players and/or are outdated. I play in sanctioned tournaments which keeps the Stax count low and Uba count non-existent. I live three hours from Charlotte, though, and I'm needing to test this a lot against Oath and Stax. I've played this heavily against Ichorid, Control Slaver, Meandeck Gifts, Oath, 5c Stax, Dragon, Dredge-centric decks like Wild Zombies etc, and mono-Black storm.

I would like to know before I comment on anything else why you think a combo that goldfishs turn 3-4 and has only moderate disruption sans Force of Will is supposed to be even remotely viable.

A good game against other combo decks, Mana Drain decks, and Aggro decks, including the best aggro deck in the format = viable.

I mean, I could tout that I've gotten turn 1 and turn 2 kills, but then people would argue that I have no backing (which, at the very least, would make the both of us), but honesty is more important. The inevitability falls at turn 3.

Again, Null Rod outside of Stax gives me some time to set up or pick it from their hand. Perhaps, though, I'd make the change to 4 Cabal Therapy since I do have some early creatures to play.

You wouldn't honestly run 4 Force of Will as the last 14 blue cards in a deck, would you?

Regarding the 2's and 3's, these numbers came out of the past two months of testing.

-hq

[spindrift]

Your disruption seems a bit slow to me. You have to have a creature in play for most of your disruption. By that time you are in a losing position.

If you were to focus on adding in Force of Will, I think the deck could become more consistent as will as provide a first turn counter.

Here are some Changes I would suggest.

Lands (12)
3 Polluted Delta (These work well with the early game Top)
4 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Island
1 Swamp

Artifact Mana (11)
1 Black Lotus
1 Lion's Eye Diamond
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
5 Moxen
1 Sol ring

The Win (12)
2 Future Sight
4 Sensei's divining Top
4 Helm of Awakening
2 Tendrils of Agony/Brain Freeze (Take your pick on your win condition)

Search (16)
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Dark Confident (Wow! This guy works well in this deck!)
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Consultation
1 Imperial Seal
4 Impulse (I found this to work better than Brainstorm with the Tops. It gets the unwanted cards off the top of your deck)
1 Artificer's Intuition
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Bargin (Once this hits play, you win)

Disruption/Protection (9)
4 Force of Will (first turn Disruption)
1 Echoing Truth (Gets rid of Null Rod and Chalice)
1 Rebuild/Hurky's Recall (Gets rid of Null Rod and Chalice)
1 Cunning Wish
1 Burning Wish
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Side
1 Tendrils/Brain Freeze
1 Rushing River
13 ????

[policehq]

You completely axed all my chances into drawing or getting at the combo pieces for the inclusion of Force of Will, which is reactive by nature.

The creatures I'm playing that are disruptive are proactive and thus faster. I'm not sure what you mean by needing them in play to get around bounce.

However, I think these changes will improve the deck significantly:
Maindeck-
-1 Helm of Awakening
-1 Darkblast
-2 Vault of Whispers
-2 Seat of the Synod

+1 Chain of Vapor
+1 Rebuild
+2 Polluted Delta
+2 Underground Sea

Sideboard-
-1 Coffin Purge
+1 Massacre

Now all of my lands operate under Chalice of the Void and Null Rod, and I have Chain of Vapor @ 1, Burning Wish/Echoing Ruin @ 2, and Rebuild @ 3, plus the tutor package I already had. Chain of Vapor and Rebuild can also serve as combo pieces with either of my Storm game-plans.

Polluted Deltas do add to early Top-spinning, and Underground Sea lets me play the best anti-Meddling Mage card sideboard tech of late: Massacre.

EDIT: I may actually play Echoing Truth over Chain of Vapor; even though it doesn't help my early-game combo, returning multiple Chalices and especially multiple Meddling Mages at the same time is amazing, and Chain of Vapor's 1cc slot is taken with Gorilla Shaman already.

Your disruption seems a bit slow to me. You have to have a creature in play for most of your disruption. By that time you are in a losing position.

First turn Xantid Swarm, Gorilla Shaman = losing position? No, Xantids get around Force of Will during the early stages of my turn while I'm setting up, and Gorilla Shaman is still my main man against other combo decks, Chalice of the Void, and Null Rod.

Cabal Therapy and Diabolic Intent just happen to take advantage of the early creatures. Diabolic Intent works for this deck in the same way that Culling the Weak and Grim Tutor work for The Man Plan: with Trinket Mage. Earlier in this thread I mentioned wanting more Cabal Therapies to get rid of Null Rod, but they might not prove necessary after the changes above are made.

Now that bounce has been added back in, and the land configuration doesn't auto-lose to Null Rod or prevent me from getting the mana needed to win or activate Gorilla Shaman, the deck will be much more consistent and faster. More resilience to hate = faster since I don't have to find an answer.

I question the Orchards. If a plan is to beatdown, even for a few points, Orchards seem really bad.

This is a good point, since being able to cast a mini-storm Tendrils of Agony is faster and easier to count on. Thus:
-3 Forbidden Orchard
+3 City of Brass

Current full decklist is shown at the top.

-hq

[spindrift]

How do your early shaman and swarm work for you if you are sacing them for cabal therapy or diabolic intent? You need to keep those creatures in play.

[policehq]

One attack is, at the most, all I need from Xantid Swarm. One activation, at the most, is usually (barring Chalice @ 0 and Chalice @ 2) all I need from Gorilla Shaman. Sometimes I don't even need to tutor for a win condition or flashback Cabal Therapy, but the fact that these creatures are early plays complements the idea behind it. Why do I need to have them in play except right before I go off?

Bounce suits better than a Force of Will package of all the necessary blue cards because my engine is already set in place, and again, I only need one disruption-free turn to go off.

-hq

[Moxlotus]

If you're going to run Masknought in the SB, it is crazy to run anything besides 4 of each.

[zeus-online]

Why should i run this deck over Sensei, Sensei?

You dont have FoW, and artificers intuiton is pretty bad.

Also running artifact lands is a huuuuge liability in my eyes.

/Zeus

[policehq]

Why should i run this deck over Sensei, Sensei?

You dont have FoW, and artificers intuiton is pretty bad.

Also running artifact lands is a huuuuge liability in my eyes.

/Zeus

Quick note: I edited the original decklist only with the mana-base, but I'm no longer running artifact lands. I may have mentioned them somewhere else within the thread, though.

Artificer's Intuition turns any artifact into Black Lotus, Lion's Eye Diamond, Mox Sapphire, Mana Crypt, or Sensei's Divining Top. It sets up my graveyard for a busted Yawgmoth's Will into Tendrils of Agony or Brain Freeze.

This deck doesn't have the blue count to support Force of Will, and I prefer the disruption and tutor engine over the counter and draw-spells of Sensei, Sensei.

If you're going to run Masknought in the SB, it is crazy to run anything besides 4 of each.

Artificer's Intuition and Trinket Mage make for 8 practical copies of Phyrexian Dreadnought, which is dead until I get Illusionary Mask. I'm not sure if the transformation is necessary with the maindeck bounce and better mana-base, yet, though. I may play specific anti-Oath/Stax cards instead.

To answer the ever-important question "Why should I run this deck over Sensei, Sensei?" I could go on about how this is faster, how their draw-spells can see no action except more draw spells, how they have few answers to hate, but I won't. I'll just ask this:

Why would you want to lose every game 1 to Oath?

-hq

[AngryPheldagrif]

You really think this is going to beat Oath any better? You still die to Chalice for 1, Null Rod, counterspells, heck, they even can race you.

[policehq]

Yeah, I think this is going to beat Oath any better than Sensei, Sensei, taking your question quite literally. It has two outs, one of which completely dodges Chalice for 1, and now it has bounce to get rid of Null Rod and Chalice.

Why exactly would it not beat Oath better than Sensei, Sensei?

This is not to say that Oath is an easy match-up, but the changes I made certainly have made it less unfavorable.

EDIT: And this deck does not auto lose to counterspells... That's a pretty lame accusation to make.

-hq

[spindrift]

I know I have been critical of your deck, but that is how we get a better deck, right?

I can understand wanting to go with black control style rather than the Force of will style. I do have a few cards that just seem to be poor choices. I may not fully understand their function, so if you can go into a little more detail maybe I will understand why they are in the decklist, or maybe we can develop a better card choice to get the desired results.

The cards are:

1) Trinket Mage. This guy seems like a 3cc search card. I know there are better search cards than that.

2) Diabolic Intent. I think it is too dependent on a creature being in play.

3) Crop Rotation. It seems very random.
 
4) Artificer's Intuition. I am only concerned about the number of them. 3 seems to be too many. I would suggest Yawgmoth's Bargin in place of one.

Those are just some thoughts that concern me in your decklist.

[AngryPheldagrif]

Why exactly would it not beat Oath better than Sensei, Sensei?

Original Sensei Sensei has Cunning Wish, actual counters, and didn't activate Oath for me.


What is the point of running all the 3-ofs again? If you want to consistently see the card then you run four of them. If it's a tutor target or utility slot then run 1-2, but there is very rarely a time when you want to run 3-ofs.

You still haven't addressed the issue of Chalice for 1. You don't have Force of Will, therefore you cannot stop it from coming down on turn 1. Chalice eats up every single one of your answers except Rebuild and Burning Wish. Trying to find and resolve one of those with absolutely nothing to back it up is simply not going to happen.

[policehq]

The explanation behind Trinket Mage and Diabolic Intent is that when put together, they make for better search cards.

Example given:
Tap for U2, play Trinket Mage, search for Black Lotus. Sacrifice Black Lotus for BBB, cast Diabolic Intent for Yawgmoth's Will sacrificing Trinket Mage. 2 more mana (another land, a pair of Mox, anything), cast Yawgmoth's Will with 4 Storm. Replay Trinket Mage and get Lion's Eye Diamond, replay Black Lotus, replay Diabolic Intent for Tendrils of Agony, win.

Just one example of how the deck can go off.

Trinket Mage is a card advantage machine, anyway, with the power/toughness to take out a lot of creatures that are in decks this deck doesn't like (UW Fish for example), does not get Darkblasted once and die, and aids cards like Diabolic Intent and Cabal Therapy. Then, once he's sacrificed, replaying him grabs you more artifact brokenness.

Crop Rotation is in here because Tolarian Academy, Artificer's Intuition, and Sensei's Divining Top make for an incredible search engine. All of my lands are vulnerable to Wasteland, too, so Crop Rotation is a good spell in response. I try not to get too excited with Academy, though, which is why I do not have Candelabra of Tawnos (even though it is findable with Trinket Mage and Artificer's Intuition) or Frantic Search.

I think the situations where I could play Yawgmoth's Bargains are ones where I'd already be winning. Artificer's Intuition gets me to a place where I can win by getting 2 Tops, or necessary mana-fixing, or necessary mana acceleration, or simply working with Sensei's Top for an effect that's like:
"U1, discard an artifact: Look at the top three cards in your library. If you like one, draw it. If not, repeat this process with artifacts fetched by Artificer's Intuition."

Original Sensei Sensei has Cunning Wish, actual counters, and didn't activate Oath for me.

You still haven't addressed the issue of Chalice for 1.

Chalice of the Void @ 1 does little to nothing against my ability to go nuts with Tendrils of Agony and the artifact acceleration, but even so, your statement encourages my notion to drop Chain of Vapor for Echoing Truth. Edited decklist above.

Sensei, Sensei can counter all it wants, and any Oath player should know that the ONLY cards that need to be countered are Cunning Wish, Coffin Purge, and/or Ancestral Recall. Last I checked, Oath decks didn't need help activating the enchantment anyway. They shouldn't ever be able to win with Brain Freeze during the match.

EDIT: Sidenote I forgot to mention - Burning Wish can now grab Extract against Oath and snatch Gaea's Blessing before Brain Freeze.

-hq

[b-tings]

I'm curious as to what your plan is against faster combo. It seems like this deck would have an awful time against, say, a competant IT player.

[policehq]

I'm curious as to what your plan is against faster combo. It seems like this deck would have an awful time against, say, a competant IT player.

A very good question, and one that provoked more thought on my part since "I just have to race them" is not enough.

Now the dXm configuration in the sideboard accompanies Arcane Laboratories, which should stall the 1-2 turns needed to play Dreadnought(s) and attacking.

What is the point of running all the 3-ofs again? If you want to consistently see the card then you run four of them. If it's a tutor target or utility slot then run 1-2, but there is very rarely a time when you want to run 3-ofs.

This also got me thinking, and the original answer was that I constructed the deck to have minimal dead cards in hand, but that does not match up with having 3 Artificer's Intuition. 4 Dark Confidant is clearly better since it is never dead, pitches to Cabal Therapy and Diabolic Intent, can fuel cards for up to 2-3 turns, and can attack enough for a 6-7 Storm to kill.

The other 3-of's:
Trinket Mage - His mana cost is often too probitive for turn 1, but I do want to play one as soon as possible.
Cabal Therapy/Duress - Having 4 Duress was too much clutter in my opening hands; 3 just seems like the right number, especially since your rule mostly applies to cards that do different things or serve different purposes. It might as well be a six-card slot filed as "1cc discard."
Diabolic Intent - Again, cost is a bit prohibitive for turn 1 and possibly turn 2. It sets up Yawgmoth's Will amazingly well, though, serving the purpose of The Man Plan's Trinket Mage/Culling the Weak/Grim Long three-card combo with less slots.
Sensei's Divining Top - Too redundant to play 4, and I don't want less than 3 because of opposing counters.

Thanks everyone for the help and constructive criticism!

-hq

[Imsomniac101]

What is the point of running all the 3-ofs again? If you want to consistently see the card then you run four of them. If it's a tutor target or utility slot then run 1-2, but there is very rarely a time when you want to run 3-ofs

So blatantly wrong. Some cards you just don't want to see in your opening hand. But you want enough of them so that you see those cards a couple of turns later. Also allows you to run more tutors which are more flexible.

I won't comment on the decklist cuz I haven't played it. Might not get round to it.

[policehq]

I would first off like to say thanks to everyone for even the harshest criticism of the deck.

The deck is now much more Helm of Awakening-centered Storm.

Helm of Awakening allows for this three card game-winner:
1) First turn 2 mana available - Helm.
(opens the opponent up for a turn of brokenness, but now the deck has Force of Will)
2) U1 available - Trinket Mage for Black Lotus.
Black Lotus sacs for BBB
Diabolic Intent, sacrificing Trinket Mage for Yawgmoth's Will. BB
Yawgmoth's Will.
Black Lotus for UUU.
Trinket Mage for Lion's Eye Diamond. U
Lion's Eye Diamond for BBB. U
Diabolic Intent for Tendrils of Agony. BBU -> Tendrils of Agony w/ 8 storm.
Any other spell makes this lethal.

The Brain Freeze/Future Sight/Sensei's Divining Top/Helm of Awakening combo are still in the deck because:
1) Trinket Mage allows for early Black Lotus to cast Future Sight.
2) Trinket Mage can get the needed Sensei's Divining Top.
3) The kill adds more blue cards to the deck for Force of Will.
4) The kill is more deadly if you're able to draw through your library, thus giving you a midgame and lategame against everything but Stax.

The deck can race and disrupt other combo decks, fight disruption with Force of Will, Duress, and Wishes, and obviously has a lot of other options than the two listed above. Sensei's Divining Top and Dark Confidant have obvious synnergy, and Dark Confidant as an engine alone can help build up permanents against Stax. The deck has almost as many tutors as Grim Long and can thus randomly pull out Tendrils wins through Yawgmoth's Will quite easily, though it's in a more roundabout way than using Dark Rituals.

Some card choice explanations-
Tinker - This had to replace Imperial Seal for my blue count. I added Darksteel Colossus in the sideboard for a potential early beating of Stax, Oath, etc. if needed.
Diabolic Intent - A tutor that has insane synnergy with Trinket Mage and Yawgmoth's Will. If Dark Confidant happens to get you low in life, which he usually doesn't unless you're losing anyway, this can take him out of commission for something better, or even game-winning.
Balance, Massacre, Snuff Out - Allows for either wish to knock out Fish/Meddling mage plans of ruining my combo.
Cunning Wish - to grab Brain Freeze or Stifle against Oath if playing Ancestral Recall in response to Gaea's Blessing is not an option (you cast it early and aren't comboing off Yawgmoth's Will). Also grabs answers and is blue for Force of Will.
Extract - Allows a Burning Wish answer for Gaea's Blessing.
SB Island - Against Wasteland/Stax. I found that an extra SB Swamp was often unhelpful and unneeded.
Shattering Spree/Echoing Ruin - Echoing Ruin is a 2cc slot based on the fact that if you're fetching it, Burning Wish got through Chalice. Shattering Spree plays around Chalice and is gotten with Cunning Wish. Again, an instant and sorcery answer for different problems Duress, Force of Will, and maindeck bounce don't get to fix.
Mind's Desire - easy win if you Rotate or lucksack Tolarian Academy.
Xantid Swarms - Might swap for redblasts, but am liking their synnergy with Diabolic Intent.

Thanks again everyone. The deck is sufficiently tweaked much better. Keep the comments coming, and I'll keep testing.

-hq