UW FISH: Teh Primer!

[Dxfiler]

Brainstorm doesn't do anything, your cards all pretty much have the same powerlevel.

In this deck, Brainstorm does everything but get you a date to the prom... and if you ask it nicely, I think  it could even do that.  The key is using it correctly.  You have to be as precise when casting it as you would be playing Gifts or Slaver with it.  It's a key cog in the well oiled machine that is UW fish.  There are times when you want to mainphase cast it, and times when you want to end of turn cast it.  When and why could be a primer on its own.  Common scenarios that come up with Brainstorm: If you have creatures to cast before brainstorm, do so.  If brainstorm is your only turn one play and you have no mox/lotus opening hand, do it at opponent's end step.  If you have moxen or Lotus opening hand, cast it.  If you have two fetchlands, cast it mainphase.  If you're up against duress, wait until opponent's endstep...even if you have multiple fetches.  I mean, there's 100 different scenarios and it just takes practice and knowing what you're up against.  Believe me when I say that in UW fish, if you let it, Brainstorm can do practically anything.

Do you have any comments on the Null Rod issue?

I love Null Rod.  If I could marry it, I would.  It is the backbone of the deck, but why does practically every successful version (at least the ones shown in my primer) only run three?  The simple answer is this: You pretend as though it were legendary.  You never want more than one opening hand, even against a deck that it cripples.  Against some decks you want it more than others, which is why the fourth is in the board.  For the metagame right now, I don't think four is necessary.  It's fantastic against non-dragon combo, solid against control... and terrible against beatdown (fish/goblins/stax/ichorid).  Even against the decks it's great against, it usually does not win the game on its own.  Like any other card in the deck, Null Rod has to be used in conjunction with other threats.  Its importance and when to cast it vary.  Against slaver, I treat casting Null Rod like casting a lethal burn spell.  In that matchup, it's a bomb... so you treat is at so.  Bait them with other things if possible.  If they are tapped out, just run it out there and hope for no FOW.  If you can wait to cast it with counter backup, do so.  Combo is a different story... against long or gifts, run it out there.  It's still a threat, but it probably won't have the same impact.  They have to deal with it, and while it's out there you have time to lay creatures and swing on in.  Against long, naming chain of vapor with meddling mage after dropping rod is a pretty hot play game one. 

Not many scenarios come up where you want two.  The majority of those scenarios are against slaver.  With combo, echoing truth often comes in after board (particularly in gifts), so the number of rods you have out is largely irrelevant.  With that said, I'll still board in the fourth against combo every single time.  Null Rod is one of those cards that the majority of the time will be useful, which is why I consider it the backbone.  Because it doesn't flat out win the game on its own most of the time and is generally not needed in multiples, you still don't need one opening hand every game.  The deck can operate without it.

The way I look at Null Rod is the way I look at virtually every single other non piece of power in the deck: They are all cogs in the machine.  UW Fish, as a whole, works like a car.  The creatures are the wheels, the draw spells are your engine, the stifles/wastes are your fuel... this analogy is terrible :p  You generally can't win the game by just drawing one part of the deck,unlike other versions of fish such as SS.  In UW fish, You need all the pieces to come together.  The majority of the time you will get that right mix of land/spells/creatures, but if it's not there just mulligan aggressively.
 

- Dave Feinstein

[lep]

Fish was my pet deck for quite some time. I started with the mono blue G4Y Fish then the UR, UW, BUW, UG... and so on.  Never did I run Brainstorm and I never looked back. It comes down to this, unless it has legs or disrupts an opponent, dont run it.  Those cards that have legs and cause disruption are the true cards fish relies on.

That being said, brainstorm does nothing.  It lets you dig for another body... so what? It lets you exchange your ninja in hand for the mage 2 cards down... so what? It also ties up your mana when it should be used otherwise to cast legs or disruption.

On the null rod issue; I will not argue about the power of the card. It is obviously very good... not as good as it was though. At this point many decks either have a way around it or just dont care about it.  It does force decks into positions they are not comfortable playing though, like Pitchlong being forced to answer to permanents in play instead of playing solitaire. This may be a reason among itself to run a full compliment of rods.  I play a black splash though in my fish so I cut my rod count down to 2 but I am still running 2 Rod, 3 Stifle, 3 Duress, 4 Mage... more then enough to hinder long for a litle.

[GrandpaBelcher]

Brainstorm does lots of things if you use it right.  It draws you threats and gets rid of chaff and extra lands.  With fetchlands you might never see that chaff again.  Fish has to run answers to a lot of different gameplans in its mainboard, and that sometimes means those answers are wrong (e.g. Stifle is not great against Stax, but it is against GrimLong, and vice versa for Chain of Vapor); Brainstorm helps you find the right answer in a pinch.  It's no good without fetchlands or tutors, but I love seeing it because it means I get to look at my next three cards as well.  Exchanging that Ninja for a Mage two cards down might not seem like a lot, but it can be gigantic if you do that on your mainphase and have the mana to drop the Mage like a rock on your opponent's strategy.

[lep]

It still comes down to removing a MD clock or a MD answer for a card that may help you at some point.  Fish isnt pure control as such the digging for answers is suboptimal to pulling beats.

[TopSecret]

     Thanks a lot, for posting such an awesome primer!

     Do you have a definite stance on how to balance disruption and beatdown in Fish?
I have heard some say that all the creatures must have 'relevant' abilities,
and others protest that a faster clock, with minimal disruption is just as viable.

     Also, I have heard talk that the general viability of fish in Vintage is weakened
from the start, just from the simple inclusion of multiple creatures.
     Do you have an opinion on this?

     TopSecret

PS:     Dave Feinstein once Stifled an opponent drawing three cards from a Brainstorm...
     And then stifled the judge call that followed!

     TO DAVE FEINSTEIN!

[Raakam]

I don't understand why people are coming down on brainstorm. Yes, the overall relative power of the cards is very close - but they don't do the same thing at all. How many times would you have rather had a Grunt/Swords instead of that second Kataki/Nullrod/x card? That is the true power of brainstorm in this deck; the ability to fix your hand so that it retains its "silver-bullet" feeling. Not to mention it's always, always very good against duress. Cutting it just seems to cripple the deck to me.

As far as daze is concerned, I'm in the same boat as the OP. There are times where I simply adore it, and times I want to rip the card to shreds. I took out the dazes and one StP from the deck, adding 3 Misdirections and 1 Gush instead. It's been working out very well, but I may cut back down to 2 MisDs - while it has been truly amazing, there are a handful of times I would've rather had anything else. Gush has been very good for me, and while it can make for a hefty drain target, the ability to draw cards for free in such a redundant deck has been outstanding.
 
I'm considering inserting an enlightened tutor or perhaps a Crucible of worlds into the main deck for the 3rd Misdirection slot currently - one would add another shuffle effect and the ability to find that Nullrod (plus added functionality with Seals of Cleansing/Jitte/Serenity/Flux/etc) or the random protection from waste/strip while giving myself another way of causing some heavy disruption in the mid/late game.

Anyhow, thanks for the primer, it does help define the deck's role and gameplan.

[mongrel12]

Brainstorm is out-of-control good in this deck. Shuffling additional Rods/Mana back into your deck and then shuffling with a fetch is tech.

[Darkenslight]

Nice primer!

But there's something that may or may not come into effect: has anybody thought of running a lone Frantic search?  The only problem would be, what do you cut for it?

[Dxfiler]

Frantic search is not a bad suggestion, but I don't think there's a card I'd want to cut for it.   The thing with Frantic Search is that you're usually low on cards by the time you cast it, so chances are good at whatever you draw may very well be pitched to it.  That's not really what you're aiming for in this deck.  You want to draw cards when possible, but then promptly use them.  Mystical Tutor fits this bill better than FS, but is not techincally card advantage.  It's card selection that leaves you down a card the spell you tutored for is coutnered.  So right now I personally don't think either card is needed, but if you were to fit one in my guess is it would take that one of misdirection spot.

- Dave Feinstein 

[GrandpaBelcher]

I admit, I was skeptical about the removal of Brainstorm from Fish (see above).  My build is UB rather than UW, but I unquestioningly put it in, figuring, oh, right, blue deck and some fetchlands means I should play Brainstorm.  When I talked to a guy I know who plays UW fish, though, he admitted he had cut it and never looked back.  I was intrigued.  Thinking about it, Ninjas and Dark Confidants both provide plenty of card drawing that if I can drop them, I'll get more than a Brainstorm a turn anyway.  I dropped mine for 2 Remand and 2 Shadow of Doubt, and they played pretty well in a few games against Gifts.  I chose those cards A) because I had them with me at the time and B) they're cantrips.  I like the cantrip aspect a lot since, well, that's usually what I get out of Brainstorm anyway.  Other options I'm going to look at for my build are the fourth Stifle and Duress, and Daze.  We'll see how it goes.

Right now:  Mood = optimistic.

Frantic Search is bad because it costs three to get working, so most of the time you can't do it early when the better cards and mana boost are effective.  Plus, there aren't lands in the deck that produce more than one mana.  If you ran Tolarian Academy (which I've tried in a Vial/Chalice build; it's not bad, even if it Wastelands another Academy), maybe it would work better.

[McBain]

What im wondering is why not play a birdshit style of deck like listed above, it has everything and more of what UW fish has, also even more sysnergy with the new best card for fish, grunt. Birdshit allows you to fuel grunt if needed, sometimes i have fallen short in a game where it would mean the difference between winning and lossing. Also as previously stated, with the rise of aggro fish'esk decks, you have much more of an advantage. And seriously....nimble mongoose wins games, i love that little guy, but grunt and mongoose can have fights sometimes about who gets more love.
Anyway, i dont see the strength of uw fish over a wtf/birdshit approach.

[Dante]

The fact that 2/3 of the creatures (mongoose and werebear) don't affect the board probably isn't good with more combo decks in the meta now.  If you're going to add grunts, you'll probably remove one of the threshold creatures, which means that Mental Note just sucks now.  Zero basic lands is a hit or miss call.

[Storm]

How is True Believer, like not the second best card?  It stops Gifts, it stops Duress, it stops Hurkyl's REcall...god.  You say it competes with Orim's Chant?  How do you make that assessment?  He's a bear that stops so much stuff. 

[Keno]

Because True Believer usually comes from the sideboard, when your opponent wil likley brin in Massacre or Pyroclasm.

Since my question got lost in all the posts last time I'll ask it again:

What do you think of replacing Stifle with Stormscape Apprentice?

[Dxfiler]

How is True Believer, like not the second best card?  It stops Gifts, it stops Duress, it stops Hurkyl's REcall...god.  You say it competes with Orim's Chant?  How do you make that assessment?  He's a bear that stops so much stuff. 

The fact of the matter is this: You can go off in the face of A True Believer, or A Meddling Mage... sometimes even A null rod, because those are all permanents that you can easily bounce or remove in the process of comboing out.  If I have multiples of those playing in the sandbox, that's fantastic.    Long usually has issues dealing with more than one of the above at the same time, but in the face of just one of those spells can traditionally win past it. 

Orim's Chant?  Just need one.  It doesn't have to be in the sandbox with any other spells.  You CANNOT combo off the turn I resolve a chant... period. 

The ideal situation is popping one off in the face of a Yawg Will, but Chant is still fine in other scenarios.  Say you brought in Duress, which is common among Long boards... and you Duress me the turn you're going off, just to make sure it's safe for Yawg Will to come out and play.  If I chant you in response, I've just cast Time Walk.  You're not doing anything else that turn, which likely involved casting anywhere between 3-12 spells.  Sure, you're just gonna try for it again the next turn... but now fish has one more turn to swing with those little beaters, to drop another mage, to drop a null rod, to find that key Force of Will... and in some cases to drop a true believer.

I am not anti True Believer, and never have been.  I think it's a great card and as I've said again and again, I can see why people run it.  It 'gets in there' while preventing tendrils, gifts, etc.  I'm 100% aware of that.  For me, it's a space issue... if I have to choose between Orim's Chant or True Believer in the sideboard, my ass is picking Chant.  I'm not going to revolve my ENTIRE gameplan around relying permanents to stick and hope they don't get bounced/massacred. 

I will say this, combo is so big right now that I could see BOTH True Believer and Orim's Chant in the board, playing together happily.  If they are both in the board, your games against combo go from even to blow-out games 2-3.  Just remember, whatever you do, DON'T SIDE OUT SWORDS TO PLOWSHARES.  Too many times I've watched people side out plow only to get owned by a quick Colossus.  If you're bringing in that much hate against combo, pretty much the only way they're going to beat you is off a quick Tinker.  Don't let them have that out.  Keep the plows in.  As for what to board out under a TB + Chant plan, I haven't tried this yet but my gut would say take out the Kataki's for 3 True Believer and the Stifles for 3 chants.  As for what to cut for TB in the board, I'm not sure.  This is a hypothetical board and as I've already stated, in UW fish currently there isn't a card I'd want to take out for it.  You could ship out more anti Stax elements, but then you're just asking to lose an otherwise fine match.

What do you think of replacing Stifle with Stormscape Apprentice?

If you're going to cut something for Stormscape Apprentice, don't let it be Stfile.  In UW Fish, Stifle is one of those key utility spells that lets keep your opponent in fear the entire time you have a blue open.  Fetchlands have the single biggest application for Stifle.  If you're tapped out and the opponent plays a fetch, they're faced with the choice of waiting to pop until they really want to get the correct land, or pop under pressure and play around stifle.  If they play around Stifle, they're walking into strip/wastes.  Usually Wastes.  No one wants to pop an early fetch just to get a basic these days.  That's like trying to win in power with Kird Ape.  :p  Most decks have to rely on duals at all stages in the game, and if they're relying on artifacts for the other colors?  You have cards to disrupt that strategy, namely Null Rod/Kataki.  Basically, Stifle is a cog in the wheel for this deck.  It works to advance your gameplan while slowing down, and in some cases cripping, your opponent's.   As mentioned earlier, I don't think it's so key that you need four, because multiples are usually dead and it does get boarded out alot.  Still, it's a key enough piece for UW fish that I'm pretty sure you don't want it going anywhere.  The synergy it has with all the other cardss in this deck makes it just too good to not to play.

If you're going to include Stormscape Apprentice, you want to be putting some lions to sleep.  I'm personally not in that camp, but if you really want to play with him, lions is definitely the card to cut.

- Dave Feinstein
 

[Harlequin]

If you loose game 1 against combo.  Essentially the best turn 1 play you have is.  Fetchland, holding Orim's Chant and Stifle.  It means if they go combo-crazy without a duress, you have stifle.  If they find a duress and the spell count is high enough just burn the Chant in response.  If they lead with land, rit, duress they basically have to take the orims which means they need at least 1 more duress to win.  Alternatively you might just blow the orim's and now they might not even take the stifle.  they can't go off this turn... they might opt for another peice of disruption you have. 

True believer is in that tough spot between being too narrow (and mana hungery) for the main deck, and just too generic for the sideboard. 

Also as stated before, sideing in creatures game 2 is just asking to be hurt more by Masacre, Pyroclasm, etc... the general "anti-fish" tools.  sideing in enchants and instants is where its at!

[[FtN|FH] Negator]

Hi,
I'm Joachim Freitag and played a UW list very similar to Dave's list. He mentioned this before.
http://www.morphling.de/top8decks.php?id=471

The last months i played 5 color Staxx but without great success. So i wanted to play something else this time.
In the past our meta was dominated by:
- much TPS with Confidant
- UB or UBW Fish Style Decks
- Five Color and Uba staxx / Shop Aggro
- a bit Oath
- some Gifts and Slaver

I discovered Dave's Waterbury List and liked it. I just replaced 1 Isamaru with 1 daze because four are too much if you ask me and Mox Sapphire because i don't own one with a plain. Beside this i replaced the three Blue Elemental Blast from the Sideboard with True Believer because i don't fear much Goblins in you meta and True Believer was my weapon together with Chant vs TPS and Gifts.

Now looking back i must say i really like having both of them in these matchups. I boarded:
-3 Stifle
-1 Kataki
-2 Lions (don't like having Darkblast killing so many of my creatures)
+3 Chant
+3 True Believer

This was my typical boarding plan against TPS and Gifts. Sure, having six sideboardslots for this is heavy. But It worked out for me. True Believer was also useful against other UB or UBW Fishplayers just to have a 2/2 bear more in the deck.
So if you anticipate much Storm combo i can only say good things about True Believer + Chant in one Sideboard.

I'm trying two Jotun Grunts for one Ninja and one Lion right now. I think he has it's place in the deck but i need more experience with him to say more about this.

PS:
Thanks Dave for your work on the list. It's really a good and nice to play deck. I enjoy playing with it

[wethepeople]

Are you guys seriously trying to put up a fight on cutting Brainstorm?

Never will Brainstorm be cut, dont even bother trying, it is just too good.

[Dante]

Are you guys seriously trying to put up a fight on cutting Brainstorm?

Never will Brainstorm be cut, dont even bother trying, it is just too good.

It's this kind of thinking that makes decklists stagnate and become beatable/predictable.  Brainstorm might be an auto-include in control/mana drain decks, but it's not necessarily an auto-include in a deck like Fish.  It's very build dependant and also what other spells/draw/search you have.

Not to say that Brainstorm isn't the one you should choose for this particular build in this particular meta, but not trying out others (such as re-trying Standstill, etc) every 6 months because "it's brainstorm, OMG so insane!" is bad testing.

[never]

I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion on U/W Fish vs. chalice @ 2.

I decided to run true believers maindeck, which pretty much means almost all of my threats are @ 2. And I paid for it, as the first two matches I played against decks who promptly set chalice @ 2.

Obviously seal of cleansing is an answer, but only if it comes down before chalice. Should there be a solution for chalice in the sideboard?

[Liek]

I always activate Aether Vial and put my creatures into play. Chalice of the Void doesn't stop that.

Anyways, a better answer for this deck than Seal of Cleansing would be something that costs less than 2. Seal won't help when they go first and play Shop Mox Chalice2.

Unfortunetly, there aren't many good answers. Chain of Vapor and Dismantling Blow are the only 2 I can think of right now, but there may be others.

[Dxfiler]

Post sideboard...chalice for 2 is pretty much the only way they beat you besides a turn 1 nut draw.  Like, the post bord for UW fish is so good that I just ignore the potential of chalice for two dropping on my head.  If it comes out early, yes you will lose.  The amount of times I've had chalice for two dropped on me early in a tourney: 0

It's been dropped, but not on turns 1-3...that's when it matters most.  Stax players would rather be doing other things then, like laying crucible/trinisphere/sphere/smokestack/juggernaut/welder.  The majority of players tend to run out chalice for 1 before chalice for two.  Why this is, I'm unsure.  My guess is that against traditional fish, chalice at one hurts more.  Against null rod UW fish, chalice at one stops mainly plow. 

So I've been going the *cross my finger route* when up against chalice... if stax players in general do start to run out chalice for 2's quickly when they're able to, then you have to rely on energy flux.  That seems fine to me.  If I start encountering it alot, I'll worry about it then.  At this point in time, I don't think adding something like Devout Witness or Dismanting Blow is worth it.

- Dave Feinstein 

[Raakam]

I've had a hell of a time against Chalice for 1, quite honestly. My brainstorms, plows, stifle, javelineers (dark confidant is huge in my area) and ancestral are all dead cards. If you happen to be running Isamarus or S. Lions, it's even worse. Yes, my meddling mages, jotun grunts and ninjas can still come out to play. The problem is just the draw engine while facing a turn 1/2 Chalice @ 1. I can sometimes squeeze it out and win the game, but it's extremely tough.

So, I ended up fitting in a couple of cards that have made a significant difference: Mystical Tutor, Merchant Scroll and Rebuild. No-one ever plays a Chalice @ 3 against fish, and the number of times where I rebuilt to be able to fix my hand/remove a threat/stifle a tendril's has been significant enough to where I'm really starting to encourage others to try those additions.

I've cut the dazes entirely from my build as well - I had 2 misdirections in there for a while, but ended up cutting 1 for a Gush. I know it sounds weird, but the biggest problem I've had with fish has been keeping my grip full. I thought about running the old staple Curiosity instead of Ninjas, but it didn't work out all that well. The threat density of the deck just dwindled to the point where the mirror match became a pain. So, I've been fiddling with Gush and it's been pretty darn good so far. Any thoughts/comments/help as to how I could keep drawing cards without splashing black for Confidants?

[Nastaboi]

Has anyone considered Abolish? It dodges Chalice, and it's free if you have an extra plains in hand.

[GrandpaBelcher]

Abolish seems really strong.  I'm surprised I haven't seen mention of it before, even in passing.  Lands are easy to save in Fish since everything is so cheap.

I like general bounce against things like Chalice because it works against things like DSC and Angels as well, which are tough for me otherwise.  At my last tournament I ran 3x Chain of Vapor with Chalice2 and the big guys in mind.  When I saw how much my own Chalice1 hurt my combo matchup (no Stifle, Brainstorm, etc.), I'll be running 2x Chain of Vapor, 1x Echoing Truth at the next one.

I'm not a huge fan of tutors in Fish simply because the deck is so redundant.  Given enough time, Brainstorms, and Ninjas, it should find everything it needs.  Why not just play answers in your tutor slots?  That said, I would much sooner play Merchant Scroll and other to-hand tutors over Mystical and its ilk.  If only Scroll wasn't also hit by Chalice2...

Really, though, Chalice is only really bad when it comes down early at 1 or 2, or if they play one for each.  And one of the best things about Fish is being able to laugh off Chalice0.

The majority of players tend to run out chalice for 1 before chalice for two.  Why this is, I'm unsure

It's probably becuase Chalice2 counters Chalice1!

[Pave]

Couldn't Carom be a really good sideboard card for the mirror?

At best it's a Fact or Fiction (3 for 1).  It's cheaper to play than both Threads of Disloyalty (3) and Umezawa's Jitte (2+2=4).  On the other hand it doesn't save a bear from a Grunt, say, and might lie dead in hand without a critter on the board.  Simply bringing in more dudes like Azorius Guildmage, in line with kirdape3's thinking, could be better.  I look forward to trying Carom this weekend, though, at a local tourney - the look on my opponent's face may alone vindicate my experiment.

[Gabethebabe]

Just remember, whatever you do, DON'T SIDE OUT SWORDS TO PLOWSHARES.  Too many times I've watched people side out plow only to get owned by a quick Colossus.  If you're bringing in that much hate against combo, pretty much the only way they're going to beat you is off a quick Tinker.  Don't let them have that out.  Keep the plows in.  

I have said it before and I wil say it again: this is why you should play Stormscape Apprentice in this Colossus infested metagame of today. Apprentice allows you to side out all/some plows against combo and still have a defense against the big man.

If they lead with land, rit, duress they basically have to take the orims which means they need at least 1 more duress to win.  Alternatively you might just blow the orim's and now they might not even take the stifle.  they can't go off this turn... they might opt for another peice of disruption you have. 

If they lead with land-rit and I have Chant, I suppose you cast this 1 mana Undermine right away. I mean, do you really want them to land Necropotence?

[brianpk80]

I've cut the dazes entirely from my build as well - I had 2 misdirections in there for a while, but ended up cutting 1 for a Gush. I know it sounds weird, but the biggest problem I've had with fish has been keeping my grip full. I thought about running the old staple Curiosity instead of Ninjas, but it didn't work out all that well. The threat density of the deck just dwindled to the point where the mirror match became a pain. So, I've been fiddling with Gush and it's been pretty darn good so far. Any thoughts/comments/help as to how I could keep drawing cards without splashing black for Confidants?

Try Windfall, Library of Alexandria, Jushi Apprentice, or maybe even Ophidian.
If you're Wasting away and have a Null Rod on the table, your opponent's hand should be filling up and ripe for a Windfall.  It's fairly disruptive as well when you know your opponent has been actively hand-sculpting.  Library randomly wins games v. Control and the Fish mirror if it's not Wasted.  You can bring it online with Gush as well.  Jushi isn't the greatest drawer, but given that you're presumably maxed out on Ninjas, there's really no other viable card drawing mechanisms in your colors.  He's a permanent that can come down on turn 1 or 2, pitches to FoW, deals damage, and in the mid game when you hit an impasse after losing a Ninja or not drawing one, his "eot, cheaper Jayemdae Tome" effect is pretty decent.  I would just ignore that thing about flipping him, but if it happens, great.  Ophidian is a little slow without Mana Drains but in a Fish heavy environment, he goes a long way.

Good luck,

-BPK

[verduran]

In this deck, Brainstorm does everything but get you a date to the prom... and if you ask it nicely, I think  it could even do that. 
- Dave Feinstein

Getting a date to the prom is the hardest thing in the world? I'm intrigued by this comment and I'd like to hear the entire story of your girl problems. Please? 

Ophidian good in a fish environment? Wouldnt you be better of with a couple of swords of fire and ice?

[brianpk80]

Ophidian good in a fish environment? Wouldnt you be better of with a couple of swords of fire and ice?

The original poster was asking for suggestions on how to draw cards aside from Ninjas which he is already running and Curiosity which didn't pan out for him that well.  Ophidian was the last of my suggestions and it would work decently in a Fish environment because that is probably the the only type of field where his slow nature doesn't detriment him fatally and he doesn't waltz right into Mana Drain.  It also blocks just about any aggressive threat other Fish decks carry, aside from Jotun Grunt.  Finally, Sword of Fire and Ice is overcosted and doesn't combine well with the Null Rods these players are running.

-BPK