The Mountains Win Again

[Myriad Games]

Here's a new thread for discussion of The Mountains Win Again development, optimization, and results. If you've enjoyed playing The Mountains Win Again, please post here with your thoughts.

Also, if you've placed well in a tournament playing The Mountains Win Again, please post your tournament result here including: your name, date of the event, number of players, and your final place and prize.

Here's my recent, detailed tournament report from the three most recent tournaments in which I've played TMWA including my latest build, version 16.4.

For reference and comparison, the old thread (September - November 2005) for The Mountains Win Again can be found here.

I'm always glad to hear from so many people who enjoy playing The Mountains Win Again, so keep the feedback coming.

[seer]

I have actually NEVER seen anyone play this deck in my meta. From reading your tournament reports it seems like you win all your games of pyrostatic pillars. Perhaps you should run 4 of those.

What I don't like about the deck is you have infinite 2ofs and 3ofs. It seems like you're just trying to get lucky and draw what you need when you need it.

[Myriad Games]

It is true that TMWA is not widely played and that therefore many people will never have seen it in their local metagame. That said, the deck has a wide variety of threats that also function as answers to many cards in the format. Pyrostatic Pillar is very good; we have experimented with 1-4 of them in the maindeck.

[49 Cents]

Have you ever played with cheap Dorks like Isamaru or Savannah Lions, that don't really do anything but beat?

And have you ever tried Kataki? We made a similar deck (called The Lion Wins Again ) that features these cards. It also features Shattering Spree, the MVP of the deck as it takes care of Chalice, big Artifacts and simply Moxes. Have you ever tried it?

Oh, and that was a very good report. Thx for writing it!

[Myriad Games]

Thanks again for the feedback.  We have tried "just" creatures where their sole purpose is to beat down, and these types of strategies lend more to aggro than control. Being that it's an aggro control deck, it can go either way. I've seen a similar deck called Ruby Red that runs more white and beats. I've tried Shattering Spree, but found that it's not effective often enough.

[Odd mutation]

Hi all,

Since the day I noticed this deck -it had gotten 11th in Richmond, Virginia, United States on 2006-03-19- I knew I had to play it. Not only did it look like fun but I was certain it could do some damage on a budget. I just got complete power this week (actually I still need a Timetwister) so I was playing some budget decks in type I before. It was in my second Type I tournement that I got 2nd place, winning me a beat Swords to Plowshares.

It was in Eindhoven, Holland, where they host a type I tournement every first sunday of the month. I tried the exact build (Chad Behre's) the first time and then fiddled with the main deck. The deck looked to have a good matchup against Oath but I lost 5 straight games during the tournament (I only played one Oath opponent but we played some extra games because I was so convinced I got win it). That's why I included 4 Maze of Ith. They have bene doing well, keeping annoying threats at bay like Hypnotic Specter and Nantuko Shade as well as Akroma's and friends.

Short report of my 2nd place in Eindhoven (11-06-06, 16 people in attendance):

I have some notes but as i'm at work I don't have them with me. So sorry to all the players that I don't remember your names by heart. I'll post my exact build with comments later, when I get home.

My first opponent is Oath! As we shuffle I count his cards and there is missing one. So my opponent calls the judge and he gets a game loss. I don't like to do this to him but as it's a serious tournement (although not too many people showing because of good weather and their national team playing WC soccer) I want him to have  a correct list. I asked the judge to not give him the game loss but... As we go through the procedures of the second game he gets me locked out of it completely and goes Oathing to find Akroma to be his last card in the deck... and he has Gaea's Blessing AND Razia in hand. So after this increadible luck on my part I still don't know if my Mazes would have changed this matchup around. Generally I agree with MyriadGames, you have to keep Oath off the table or get lucky with your Swords to Plowshares. As there is some Black Suicide (Shade, Specter, discard) in this meta the Mazes may still be worth the sideboard slots... read on.

Second opponent is a player from our club in Mol (Magic Club Mol, MCM), Dennis Gabriëls, and he's playing the Suicide Black Discard deck. This is all about the creatures and I have a lot of removal in my main deck so I win first game. The only thing that scares me is Nantuko Shade and a little bit of Specter. In come the Mazes and I manage to deck him game two (he Swords his own, very big Shades to stall on losing to his Dark Confidants).

Then I play another guy from our club, Ilja Berukov, who plays Control Slaver and he is capable of playing this deck. I fall victim to some bad plays on my part and some good on his part and loose in two short games. A shame because this deck can actually win this matchup... read on.

Then it's my favourite matchup, I play my friend Steve van den Bulck who's piloting Uba Stax. We play a lot together and since I win about 5 games out of 6 against his deck he's not excited to play me in top 8. I win two games in short order and proceed to play top 4! In my opinion he made a big mistake in game two, he keeps a hand with only one Mishra's Workshop whicg of course gets wasted. He played a Chalice of the void on one of it but I could deal with it easily. Chalice for one is obviously a strong play against this deck but he should have mulliganed his hand. He's a good player but just not that time... I don't enjoy knocking my friends out of top 4...

Then it's up to my worst matchup, TPS piloted by level 3 judge Richard. I get extremely lucky: in two games where he's able to play a first or second turn Yawgmoth's Bargain he doesn't draw ANYTHING and I can't believe I just win. He killed me on second turn game 1 'though... but who cares after winning.

So I'm playing my first Type I final against, again: Ilja Berukov with Control Slaver. He's really confidant as he has won our previous games but after I beat him game one he becomes a little bit less confidant. Game two I deplete his hand after 3 Thirst for Knowledge and 1 Ancestral Recall and am close to winning as he casts Yawgmoth's Will to replay all that draw! I again succeed in emptying his hand, this shows what this deck can do, and cast Magma Jet for the final two damage and he show me his topdecked Mana Drain! He doesn't take mana burn the turn afterwards and proceeds to win thanks to Welder and Pentavus. Too bad, I didn't draw any creature kill to get rid of the Welder over 5 turns or I probably would have won. So game three! I start with 3 Wastelands and ruin his moxen but he's able to draw a lot of cards thanks to Library of Alexandria, before it gets wasted, and an Ancestral Recalll and a Thirst or two. Too bad... So I don't lock him out but still manage to deplete his hand until it's Yawgmoth's Will to the rescue again. I don't recover from this brutal surge of cards to his hand and settle for second place and a Beta Swords to Plowshares.

It was a good tournement in which I played well, got lucky, and learned a lot. My list certainly wasn't optimal as you'll see in my post to come.The deck is a lot of fun to play, if not only to see the frustration on the faces of my fully powered opponents, and can hold its own against the field except for TPS. The tournements in Eindhoven are always fun, there's a good atmosphere, good players (Tom Van de Loght and friends) with good and fully powered decks, decent prices and usually, if Holland doesn't have to play soccer, some 25 attendants.

The deck really can do some damage to the established, fully powered decks and the only really difficult matchup is combo. There is actually a lot of playskill involved in playing this deck. It looks simple but to win games against good players with the good decks you need to think a lot. I got a severe headache after the tournement.

Greetings,

Odd Mute.

EDIT:

I agree with MyriadGames, you don't need Shattering Spree. Gorilla Shaman, Goblin Vandal are MVP's in dealing with artifacts. They get backep up with Hearth Kami and the Disenchant effects (especially against Chalice at 1). I'll post more on this when I post my list from the tournement and comments on what I (think I) learned.

[policehq]

I have some questions regarding your decklist, and then I will post my list that has served well after I built it on theoretical grounds:

1) Why do you only run 1 basic Mountain now? It seems that Goblin Vandal's efficiency is cut off entirely once your Plateau is Wasted, and Genju of the Spires also becomes more susceptible to destruction.

2) Since you are running Tormod's Crypt as hate and therefore Null Rod is not an option, why not play more Moxen? Genju of the Spires, Gorilla Shaman, and Mishra's Factory eat up a lot of mana.

3) How do you justify Goblin Welder purely as a defensive tool? I know that he and Gorilla Shaman act as a house against Stax and Workshop Aggro, but Goblin Vandal, Hearth Kami, and Disenchant do the same thing.

4) What are you normally targeting with Hearth Kami?

5) Why do you not take more advantage of the fact that most of the cards you play aren't restricted?

That said, here is my list:

mana: (26)
4 mishra's factory
4 mountain
4 plateau
1 strip mine
4 wasteland
4 wooded foothills
5 mox

creatures: (13)
3 genju of the spires
3 goblin vandal
3 gorilla shaman
4 grim lavamancer

instants: (11)
1 enlightened tutor
3 lightning helix
4 magma jet
3 swords to plowshares

enchantments: (7)
4 pyrostatic pillar
3 seal of cleansing

artifacts: (3)
3 tormod's crypt

-hq

[orgcandman]

1) Why do you only run 1 basic Mountain now? It seems that Goblin Vandal's efficiency is cut off entirely once your Plateau is Wasted, and Genju of the Spires also becomes more susceptible to destruction.

Actually, around here, wasteland has been popping up less and less. As well, we've added a bit more white than older builds, so mana consistency is > inconsistency.

2) Since you are running Tormod's Crypt as hate and therefore Null Rod is not an option, why not play more Moxen? Genju of the Spires, Gorilla Shaman, and Mishra's Factory eat up a lot of mana.

Actually, this is one deck where I'm actually going to say, the addition of power (specifically off-color moxen and lotus) is actually a detriment. After the first 2 turns, you want your mana to start to curve off. You should be drawing threats, answers, or cards that get you to them. The odd mana source here and there is obviously a boon, but since the clock is slow and the deck can't really go broken, you need to go for consistency here. Having a constant stream of threats means that while other decks are busy finding their threat, we're busy clocking them.

3) How do you justify Goblin Welder purely as a defensive tool? I know that he and Gorilla Shaman act as a house against Stax and Workshop Aggro, but Goblin Vandal, Hearth Kami, and Disenchant do the same thing.

Actually, welder is an amazing offensive tool as well. We're running the numero-uno hate card (we believe) right now in Tormod's crypt. Welder lets us recycle crypts through factories. It also acts as a proactive answer to tinker (which is very important) and allows us to potentially color screw opponents running thirst. (Go ahead, thirst eot and bin your emerald...I dare you)

The reasons for welder are very strong. We've tested him for the past 2 to 3 months now.

4) What are you normally targeting with Hearth Kami?

All manner of things, but generally chalices, moxen, etc. He's an answer to welder on wheels, and he can replace himself in response to removal (well, at least, not be card disadvantage)

5) Why do you not take more advantage of the fact that most of the cards you play aren't restricted?

Well, the truth is, we've tried builds with 4x a lot of stuff. And while our game 1 was very strong against particular matchups, it sucked going into many matchups with obviously dead cards or suboptimal choices. So, Dan worked very hard designing and testing and diversified the game 1 threat base.

Here's his response direct from our team boards when we discussed this topic:

While diversifying the threat / answer base makes for a weaker game one against certain matchups, it makes for a more stable deck for the metagame in general. Since we don't know exactly what to run to in a larger tournament like this, I'd rather err on the side of caution than over focus on one or two particular archetypes.

As for matchup analysis / board options, I'll again quote our team boards for version 16.4, so that people can at least understand our thoughts / reasoning:

The Mountains Win Again is a metagame deck, so the field you're playing in does determine a lot of its choices when deck building. Based on the sideboard from version 16.4, here are my general sideboard options:

Slaver / Gifts : +4 REB, +1 Goblin Welder, +1 STP, +1 Null Rod, +1 Tormod's Crypt
-3 Grim Lavamancer, -3 Lightning Bolt, -1 Disenchant, -1 Seal of Cleansing

If they're playing Tendrils, then you bring in the extra Pillar for another Lavamancer.

TPS/IT: +1 Pyrostatic Pillar, +4 REB, +1 Null Rod, +1 Tormod's Crypt, +1 Goblin Vandal
-3 STP, -3 Welder, -1 Disenchant, -1 Seal of Cleansing

The plan here is mana erosion and maintaining a solid threat base without having to worry about DSC.

Oath: +3 Disenchant, +1 Seal of C, +4 REB, +1 STP, +1 Sacred Ground, +1 Pillar
-3 Goblin Welder, -3 Goblin Vandal, -2 Grim Lavamancer, -3 T'Crypt

This matchup isn't as strong as I would like since all too often they'll get Oath on board early and nullify your answer (either with Duress or a counter). It's certainly not a terrible matchup, but it does have the opportunity for them to explosively win with Oath before you can answer it - especially with the new Simic Sky Swallower builds after sideboard. Maze may be something to consider but it still doesn't answer SSS and it's not tutorable. We've even considered using Tariff, but they'll just recycle the creature from their graveyard using Blessing unless you can Crypt them. It definitely bears some consideration, but the most effective way to win this seems to be to just make sure they never get to Oath which means more enchantment removal.

Stax: +1 Sacred Ground, +1 Welder, +1 Vandal, +1 Seal of C, +2 Disenchant, +1 STP, +1 Null Rod, +1 T'Crypt
-3 Pyroblast, -2 Pyrostatic Pillar, -1 Genju of the Spires, -3 Grim Lavamancer

I've tried Kataki as well, but haven't liked him as much since I prefer to rely on the more stable red elements of the deck. Also, as you said, TMWA has a great Stax matchup (provided the pilot doesn't make egregious play errors) so I didn't feel that Kataki had enough game against other decks to make it worthwhile. Most combo decks can simply hold their artifact mana until they need it to go off.

Thanks,
Aaron

[Zeke]

I always throught this deck should splash black for Dark Confidant as it is the most insane draw engine possible for the deck.  I don't know if that's been tested or not, so if it is feel free to ignore me

[policehq]

Actually, this is one deck where I'm actually going to say, the addition of power (specifically off-color moxen and lotus) is actually a detriment. After the first 2 turns, you want your mana to start to curve off. You should be drawing threats, answers, or cards that get you to them. The odd mana source here and there is obviously a boon, but since the clock is slow and the deck can't really go broken, you need to go for consistency here. Having a constant stream of threats means that while other decks are busy finding their threat, we're busy clocking them.

I've found that the deck uses some of the most innovative tempo and hate cards in the format right now (excepting possibly Sullivan Solution's 4x Stifle and Erayo's Essence), and they require mana. On top of answering your opponent's threats, they're going to be finding more or finding answers to your threats. A lot of mana is quite necessary to be able to cast your answers (Lightning Bolt, Disenchant, Magma Jet, Swords to Plowshares), activate Goblin Vandal, activate Mishra's Factory, and activate Genju of the Spires. That alone, without casting a removal spell, is 4 mana, only 1 of it being red.

My good performance with a full set of Moxen may be due to the fact that I try to put Genju of the Spires out there and slow them down while the Mountain wrecks their life total.

In addition, it allows for more first turn plays of Kataki, War's Wage(EDIT: Scratch that; full set of Moxen + Kataki is poor deck design), Pyrostatic Pillar, Magma Jet, Seal of Cleansing, Hearth Kami, Kami of Ancient Law (some of these are possibilities and not absolute deck picks).

I'm testing 2 Goblin Welder now, and his ability to recur Tormod's Crypt is even more effective with the full set of Moxen.

I've tested the deck with and without Moxen, and without Moxen, I had a choice between attacking the opponent's life or attacking their board position. With Moxen, I have the wherewithal to attack both.

EDIT: I also have to add that my metagame sees plenty of Wastelands, so I have to play more basic Mountains and complement them with the Moxen for the spell-casting and activated abilities.

-hq

[Nastaboi]

With black, you can also replace Disenchants with Hide/Seek and MD blasts with Duress for more combo hate. That's what I am trying right now.

[Myriad Games]

Good suggestions and questions all around. Keep them coming. I've tested Dark Confidant in R/B builds and three color builds, but don't like the sacrifice of consistency for either. I think if you run black instead of white, he should definitely go in along with Planar Void instead of Crypt and Duress. The mana base of this deck is very specific. Having extra mana sources like Moxen opens up the decks vulnerability to inconsistent mana, so be very careful about adjusting the base. Having a heavy threat/answer ratio is very important to the deck's success. Post sideboard, you should only be drawing relevant cards to that matchup.

Keep the thoughts and ideas coming!

[misslehead3]

This might of already been thought of and I'm very sorry that I'm saying this if it has already been thought of. But has anyone thought of Lightning Greaves. Maybe just in the sideboard and maybe only like 2, but it could be helpful to be put on a lavamancer, shaman, or vandal. It really could help against the stax matchup because they bring in granite shards and have the maindeck Barbarian ring. Also, Control Slaver could be hurt a little bit. With them having trike. I think they would be better in the lists that are RW or RB. Because with just one of these in the deck you could still tutor for them. I hope that I don't just get shot down because no one has seen my name on TMD before.

[Myriad Games]

Lightning Greaves is certainly an interesting suggestion. It would help with the creature removal vulnerability issue. Since it's an artifact it would be relatively easy to remove in the format, but I think the major impediment to including it is the casting cost. Something that costs 3 is a bit much for the deck.

[netherspirit]

It costs 2, not 3.

[misslehead3]

Lightning Greaves is certainly an interesting suggestion. It would help with the creature removal vulnerability issue. Since it's an artifact it would be relatively easy to remove in the format, but I think the major impediment to including it is the casting cost. Something that costs 3 is a bit much for the deck.

The thing is, who is really gonnahave artifact destruction. Ya that did sound wrong. I meant who is gonna bring in artifact destruction just to deal with what they think are moxen. No one would expect Lightning Greves to come in. Then, after the 2nd game if you suspect them bringing stuff in, side out greaves again. It kinda bothers me that all these pro's sideboard for the second game and then dont for the third. It kinda gives away wat you sided in if you don't side again. I dunno, i guess a SB can only be so many cards right. Back on my topic, ya no one will bring artifact destruction in  against you because you aren't a deck that really does anything with artifacts besides a few moxen.

It costs 2, not 3.

Ya it does cost 2.

[Myriad Games]

My mistake. At two it certainly is a more viable option. I may try one in my new build and see how it goes.

Any thoughts on changes to the deck post-SCG. As the results come in, keep the ideas coming.

Thanks!

[Yamin]

I've been very interested in TMWA lately and I've been doing my research looking at all the SCG builds and those on TMD.  I would love to play this deck, its just that I don't know how viable it really is.  Looking at Myriadgames' tournament report it looks like it is viable but I still have my doubts.

I want to know if all you guys think that this is a viable build and worth playing over a netdeck like CS.  What does TMWA offer that a drain based deck doesnt?  On more level terms, why should I play this deck?

[Myriad Games]

You should play this deck to have fun. 

It's not as explosive as most Vintage decks, so it requires careful piloting to play, but it is consistent and competitive.

[Odd mutation]

I agree with Myriadgames: it is a viable deck. Certainly fun to play but it'll give you a headache if you're trying to win a tournement. You really have to know your matchups but that's the case with all decks...

MyriadGames: I've been testing your build and I like it better then mine! I love the maindeck Pyrostatic Pillars and the maindeck Pyroblasts. Also the Welders have been great. I dropped the number of Genjus to 1 allready and your list confirms my decision. I'll be testing it some more, I recently acquired power so let's see what that brings...

Greetings,

Odd Mute.

[TopSecret]

You should play this deck to have fun. 

It's not as explosive as most Vintage decks, so it requires careful piloting to play, but it is consistent and competitive.

     In addition, TMWA is very inexpensive to build, expecially in a 10 proxie environment.
     It is also easier for type 2 players to pick up, play, and understand; at least when compared to other type 1 decks
  like Grim Long, Control Slaver, Gifts, etc. (Generally speaking).

[Yamin]

Well there is this Mox Pearl tourney at my shop, the Pearl is from an individual outside the shop who is sponsoring the tourney.  Now you guys might not know, but if you play T1 in my area (Mt. Pleasant, SC (by the coast)) they you dont want to miss this.  There are barely any T1 events around here, only 1 this year so far.

Playing the right deck is a big choice for me and I am considering playing this, but of course, I dont have a good deal of the cards for it.  Would you recommend this deck in a scrubby meta.  I dont think the T1 guys at my shop play the major builds like CS, Gifts, or Long.  Last time I played someone there I was playing Ghetto Dragon and he was playing T1 Ravager.  I owned his socks after he came out with 3 p9 first turn.  I could be wrong about this of course.

[Myriad Games]

TMWA is certainly a more straightforward choice for some players in that it's an aggro control deck as opposed to a control deck or a combo deck. Some players find that style of play easier. I find that the deck does well against a wide variety of decks, scrubs and pros with the major obvious differentiator being play skill which is huge. This deck does not allow for too many major play mistakes because it cannot explosively recover from them. And yes, it's always a pleasure to play against Affinity. 

[Odd mutation]

So I took MiriadGames' list to a tournement last sunday. I'll post a short report:

Eindhoven, 09-07-06, 35 people:

First matchup: Gifts

I've just started testing Gifts so I'm beginning to realise its strengths and weaknesses (it must be the hardest deck to play in Vintage). Game one he wins thnaks to the 'big man', Darksteel Colossus. Second game I board in all the Pyroblasts (I have 4 Pyroblasts in the side and play with 3 Red Elementak Blasts main), the extra Tormod's Crypt, the Welder, the Null Rod and the Goblin Vandal for the Bolts, the Lavamancers and the Disenchant effects. My opponent doesn't stand a chance in the following games and I'm at 1-0. Good and fun opponent but I like this matchup. Gifts seems slow, but that's probably because of my still uncapable hands.

Second Matchup: TPS

I feel confident because I've won 4-2 against TPS the week before. First game though is hard and my opponent proves it by winning in short order. Almost the same sideboard plan as with gifts but you'll want the extra copy of Pyrostatic Pillar! I drop Pyrostatic Pillar and I continue to win. Third game draws out a bit but I resolve two Pillars and a Null Rod and he draws nothing from a Timetwister when I'm tapped out.

2-0

Third matchup: Tog

It see a cycling land and I start thinking what I'm playing against (should have been obvious, but I'm quite new to vintage). Once he gets Life fromthe Loam going  it's game over, especially since I dropped Pillar too quickly and I hurt myself a lot. I bring in all the Pyroblasts, the extra Sword, the Null Rod and the extra Tormod's Crypt. I feel like I have a lot against Tog now, I need to resolve at least 3 Swords because of Genesis and beware of a board Sweeping Deed. I'm doing rather well with Mishra's until Deed resets the board and he gets Life from the Loam going. The game lasts long and I'm hoping for the draw now but the Loam engine proves too tough (I don't see a Crypt in neither game).

2-1

Fourth matchup: 5c Stax

Finally my favourite matchup but alas I'm beginning to feel the lack of sufficient sleep and start doing stupid stuff like keeping a hand with 'formidable' cards but just one none basic land. Game one it's ok, he scoops against all my  pressure. Game two 'though I do the one land thing and lose to a lot of Tangle Wires and Trinisphere because of a fast start on his part: Ancestral -> Tinker -> Sundering Titan. Third game I lose again because of Ancestral -> Trinisphere -> 3 Wasteland. I feel sad and have no cahnce of top 8 now.

Fifth matchup : Aggro Stax

I decide to go for the honour but I'm done for, my mind has left the body. Game one I recover from first turn Smokestack followed by another fourth turn Smokestack. But Tangle Wire does me in again. Man I'm not proud of losing this. Game two i do the one nonbasic land in opening hand thing agian and lose. It got close in the end but Trinisphere and Wasteland friends had locked me out of the game for too long. My welder was great  until he had to chump 1 of 3 Metalworkers coming in for the kill.

2-3, badly played except for the two first games where I dominated because of my knowledge of the matchup. The loss  against tog was because of a good playing opponent and the deciding losses against stax should not have happened. It wasn't my deck failing on me, it was me failing on the deck. All said and done, I feel it's time for me to start playing something different, more powerful. I have some power screeming for a deck!

Note: Coolest thing was realizing Goblin Welder can act as a counterspell against 0 mana cost spells. I was welding my opponents Chalice of the Void in and out to get rid of his 2 Spheres of Resistance and Trinisphere. One time he wants to play Lotus and I want to weld in his Chalice. It has 0 counters so the Lotus gets countered! I checked with the judge and he said I was right.

Note: I'm done with seeing all those Mishra's Workshops everywhere, time to restrict the damn thing! As a bonus, that way I'll only have to pay for one copy when I'm done paying for my power!

Greetings,

Odd Mute

[LordHomerCat]

FYI, welding in Chalice after lotus is on the stack will not do you any good.  Chalice has to be in play when he announces Lotus in order for it to get countered.  Chalice checks when you play the spell, not when it resolves, so from the sound of it your judge was incorrect.  From SCG Ask the Judge:

"Q: If I have a Chalice of the Void in play with two counters, a Power Conduit, and some counters on a creature, when a spell with converted mana cost of three is put on the stack can I remove a counter from a creature and put it on the Chalice in response to counter that spell?

A: No, because the Chalice looks at the number of counters that are on it when the spell is played. If it's not equal at that point, the ability won't trigger. And it doesn't re-check when the ability resolves. "

Basically the same situation, just putting it into play instead of changing the number of counters.

[Odd mutation]

Damn! There you go level 3 judge!!!

That was my question to him, does it check when announcing the spell or not... I'll inform him when I see him again. Thank you for the information.

Odd Mute.

[Myriad Games]

Thanks for the report, Odd Mute. Sounds like with some more testing and a good night's sleep before the tournament, you'll continue to improve your game.

[Dominik]

Pyrostatic Pillar is crazy against most decks, I really liked it every time I got it out. Here's the game I liked most:

It is now turn 4 (ixxiiixxi)
It is now the Beginning Phase, Untap Step
ixxiiixxi untaps his/her permanents
It is now the Beginning Phase, Upkeep Step
It is now the Beginning Phase, Draw Step
ixxiiixxi draws a card
It is now the Precombat Main Phase
ixxiiixxi plays Mox Pearl from Hand
ixxiiixxi taps Mox Pearl
ixxiiixxi taps Mox Jet
ixxiiixxi taps Darkwater Egg
<Dominik> Ok
ixxiiixxi puts Darkwater Egg to Graveyard from Play
ixxiiixxi draws a card
ixxiiixxi plays Ancestral Recall from Hand
Dominik taps Plateau
Dominik plays Red Elemental Blast from Hand
ixxiiixxi puts Ancestral Recall to Graveyard from Play
Dominik sacrifices Red Elemental Blast
ixxiiixxi's life total is now 19 (-1)
It is now the End Phase, End Of Turn Step
<ixxiiixxi> End my turn
It is now turn 5 (Dominik)
It is now the Beginning Phase, Untap Step
Dominik untaps his/her permanents
It is now the Beginning Phase, Upkeep Step
It is now the Beginning Phase, Draw Step
Dominik draws a card
It is now the Precombat Main Phase
Dominik plays Mountain from Hand
Dominik taps Plateau
Dominik taps Mountain
Dominik plays Pyrostatic Pillar from Hand
It is now the End Phase, Cleanup Step
<Dominik> Pass
<ixxiiixxi> Ok
It is now turn 6 (ixxiiixxi)
It is now the Beginning Phase, Untap Step
ixxiiixxi untaps his/her permanents
It is now the Beginning Phase, Upkeep Step
It is now the Beginning Phase, Draw Step
ixxiiixxi draws a card
It is now the Precombat Main Phase
<ixxiiixxi> Thinking
Dominik rearranges cards in Dominik's Hand
ixxiiixxi taps Mox Pearl
ixxiiixxi taps Mox Jet
ixxiiixxi plays Cabal Ritual from Hand
<Dominik> Ok
ixxiiixxi puts Cabal Ritual to Graveyard from Play
ixxiiixxi plays Infernal Contract from Hand
ixxiiixxi's life total is now 17 (-2)
ixxiiixxi's life total is now 15 (-2)
ixxiiixxi's life total is now 7 (-8)
<Dominik> Ok
ixxiiixxi puts Infernal Contract to Graveyard from Play
ixxiiixxi draws a card
ixxiiixxi draws a card
ixxiiixxi draws a card
ixxiiixxi draws a card
<ixxiiixxi> OMG
<Dominik> lol
<ixxiiixxi> pillar is so good
<Dominik> I know
<ixxiiixxi> Thinking
<ixxiiixxi> i need to cast 4 spells to win
<ixxiiixxi> lol
<ixxiiixxi> but i cannot
<Dominik> lol


Later on:
ixxiiixxi taps Mox Jet
ixxiiixxi plays Dark Ritual from Hand
<Dominik> Thinking
ixxiiixxi's life total is now 1 (-2)
Dominik taps Plateau
Dominik taps Mountain
Dominik plays Magma Jet from Hand
<ixxiiixxi> nice
<Dominik>


This deck is actually pretty fun to play. Unlike most other red-based hate (or aggro-control) decks I've seen, it doesn't fold to stax and it has a pretty good matchup against most decks (however it dies to darkblast unless you remove it from the game somehow). I think that I'm actually going to up the Pillar count to 3, or even 4 now.

[Myriad Games]

Pillar is indeed very good against a lot of decks as they have to cast a lot of spells to achieve their win conditions. Be careful against aggro type decks however, including decks like Fish and Salvagers.

[Kapu]

Has anyone tried to play True Believer? Now that Intuition says "target opponent", this little guy may be playable. He shuts down: Tendrils, Gifts, Intuition, and Duress and can be good against dragon, too. And it's a 2 mana 2/2. However the 2 white mana may be a problem. What do you think? Could he be in the sideboard?

And another question: Why not playin' Orims chant in the SB? Seems like a great card against all storm-based combo decks.
Is it really too bad? Chant can counter all rituals (and forcing burn), can be cast in resp. to the 9th spell, in resp. to desire, will, activation of memory jar. Seems pretty hot, put i havent played that deck, just some thoughts.