[Deck] Drain Tendrils

[hvndr3d y34r h3x]

Could Repeal be a possible replacement for some of the lost cards?

I've tested this and you need a 0cc to make the cost
the same. Even if you have a target to bounce, the vision is only 1 card deep. I wouldn't call
it a replacement.

[zimmerbloke]

I have a question regarding the inclusion of Gush as one of the three Brainstorm replacements (along with Ponder and Merchant Scroll, as mentioned earlier).

It seems that without the Gushbond engine, Gush loses most of it's strength.  DT does not seem lacking in instant speed card draw, and the manabase seems like it's already strong against Wasteland, with the 4-5 basics you're advocating.  It seems to me that either Sensei's Divining Top #2 or Gifts Ungiven act as superior cards in that slot.  Additionally, as is being discussed in the "Bridging the Brainstorm Gap" thread, replacing Gush with another Top gives you another turn 1 play.

In my opinion and testing (all after the June 1 restrictions, which is why I'm asking for more experienced opinions), DT already possesses an excellent draw engine in terms of pure card quantity, and it seems like the card selection provided by either Gifts/Top (especially Top in the early game) would be of greater benefit.  Has anyone else tested this possibility?

[Aardshark]

For reference this is the list that Cody currently recommends.  Basically I agree with him card for card.

2 PollutedDelta
3 FloodedStrand
4 UndergroundSea
4 Island
1 TolarianAcademy
1 BlackLotus
1 LotusPetal
1 MoxRuby
1 MoxJet
1 MoxSapphire
1 MoxEmerald
1 MoxPearl
1 ManaVault
1 SolRing
1 ManaCrypt
1 Sensei'sDiviningTop
1 DarksteelColosus
1 TendrilsOfAgony
1 Yawgmoth'sWill
1 DemonicTutor
1 VampiricTutor
1 Tinker
1 MerchantScroll
1 TimeWalk
1 Ponder
4 ForceOfWill
1 Gush
1 FactOrFiction
2 Intuition
2 Rebuild
4 ThirstForKnowledge
4 AccumulatedKnowledge
4 ManaDrain
1 AncestralRecall
1 Brainstorm
1 ChainOfVapor
1 MysticalTutor
sideboard:
4 PithingNeedle
4 LeylineOfTheVoid
4 Duress/Thoughtseize
1 Darkblast
1 EchoingTruth
1 Hurkyl'sRecall

A couple of questions:

1) is this in fact your current list?

2) Why did you swap scrying for Gush? Seems wrong to me. I understand gush can be situationally good, but scrying seems better in most circumstances, most notably because I can actually cast it turn 2-3 for 2-3 cards.  The only time I want to cast gush is when I'm about to win and no longer care about my mana development.

3) In the thread referenced above (http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=35968.0) LSV questioned the omission of dark confidant.  In thinking about this, I realized the arguments against dark confidant were somewhat stronger before than now.   Notwithstanding the arguments against, any chance some # of bobs might be better than ponder, MS, top, and/or gush (which I don't play, but you do)?  Note 3/4 are, like bob, sorcery.  The big drawback I see is that bob makes you fetch usea turn 1, exposing you to wasteland, but bob is naturally good against both fish and shops, and provides a steady stream of land drops if he stays around (which he should most of the time). Could this be worth testing?

4) Your purported argument (relayed by Meadbert) for dropping Hurklys for 2 Rebuilds to dodge Chalice @ 2 seems specious.  In a build with 1 Chain of Vapor, 1 Hurklys, and 1 Rebuild, I count 8 0cc, 9 1cc, and 8 2cc.  So chalice @ 0-1 seems much more likely than chalice @ 2 (especially considering its so much cheaper to cast).  Chalice @ 0-1 are also more problematic most of the time, as they can either seriously stunt mana or neuter yawg will, respectively.

What's more, your prior argument in favor of 2 Hurkyls and 0 Rebuild in a format with 8 spheres of resistance seems more solid than ever, since I expect tons of shops in the immediate post-restriction meta.

Consequently, I strongly prefer at least 1, if not 2 Hurkyls. Can you convince me otherwise?

[feyd]

Bob is terrible in this list.  I tested him and he is aweful.  Fetching a USEA in some matchups can be aweful, sometimes you just get stiffled or your land is wasted.  The fact that he is sorcery speed is a huge disadvatage in a drain deck as well.  This deck is much more control than combo. You hardly have a shot of winning the game before your draw engine starts working and that might not be until turn 3 or 4.  During that time you're hunting for something to drain and need the mana open.  In other words this deck likes having basic islands on deck so nothing sans a strip+cruciblke assault can stop it from developing its mana, at least in my experience.
     Skeletal scrying is pretty good.  If you like it you should use it.
Rebuild cycles.  That's about the only reason I see for running it.  Also you don't have to bounce artifacts in every match...plus if you have colossus out it is less rewarding to cast.

[RaleighNCTourneys]

There are actually 11 2cc spells, and if you add 2 Hurkyl's thats 13 2cc spells. So, Chalice on 2 is horrible for this deck. Rebuild is much better for its cycling ability with the loss of Brainstorm and for its abilty to go around Chalice on 2, which is even better now without Brainstorm in the deck. I'm considering going to 4 maindeck bounce spells, which may be a Hurkyl's Recall.

Yes, that is my current list. I have not tested DT post-restriction. I'm getting out of magic at the end of this summer, so I'm not too interested in putting time in DT right now. Scrying was swapped for Gush b/c I think Aggro and Spheres will be a lot more polular. Scrying was there to keep up with the Gush decks. I wanted a bomb I could play to get way ahead of them with 1 spell. That's no longer the case. Now, protecting lands and your life total may be more important as well as having a free draw spell. Also, with Sphere effects, Scrying is terrible. You can Gush when you're not about to win. It works out fine and gives you 2 cards

Dark Confidant is not good in DT for the reasons listed in the above post. My argument for 2 Hurkyl's in a 9sphere metagame was with unrestricted BS. I think chalice on 2 will be "the play" against DT if it ran Hurkyl's. I'm not going to lose to Chalice on 2. 1 Hurkyl's may be good to have, but I'm not sure if it should come before 2 Rebuilds.

[meadbert]

I have a question regarding the inclusion of Gush as one of the three Brainstorm replacements (along with Ponder and Merchant Scroll, as mentioned earlier).

Ponder, Scroll and Top are the three Brainstorm replacements.  Gush was swapped in for Skeletal Scrying.  Which is better will be determine by two factors.  First, is there more combo or control.  Second, how common is Wasteland.
I expect Wastelands to be quite command and thus it will be difficult to Scry for high numbers and Gush can dodge a Wasteland.  I also expect that there will be plenty of combo.

If it turns out that Control Slaver is the deck to beat then Skeletal Scrying gets much better since you can counter a Welder activation on your DSC by Scrying away all the artifacts in your yard.

[Ufactor]

Dear Cody,

As far as the Ichorid match up, it's more than obvious that Leyline and Pithing Needle all get sided in for game 2.  Sooo, what, exactly, gets sided OUT?  Am I close with this supposition:

-4 Accumulated Knowledge
-2 Mana Drain
-1 Tendrils of Agony
-1 Lotus Petal

[RaleighNCTourneys]

I side out 4x Mana Drain, 3x Bounce and whatever other 2 cards come to me in a vision when I am looking through my deck.

Then board in the 8 cards + Echoing Truth.

[Ufactor]

::blink, blink:: I'm shocked, seriously.  First, I thought that AK and Tendrils would be the immediate choice because Ichorid will probably not side out their Leylines.  Second, I found that siding out all four Drains were problematic for keeping your enchantments from getting removed.  Am I wrong??

[feyd]

Since most of ichorids answer to this deck are low casting cost or come out turn zero there isn't a good reason to keep drains in.  If ichorid is running emerald charm and city of brass you might not even get a chance to get drain mana up before they blow up your leyline.  Plus, besides emerald charm and possibly reverent silence what other drain target is there?  I am fairly certain they wouldn't risk a dread return knowing you have drain mana up, and even if they did they might even end up with more zombie tokens than they started off with.  Drain is pretty lackluster in the ichorid matchup as well as the black disadvantage tutor.  Basically you want to hurt ichorid the most and keep your own game plan intact as much as possible. 

[RaleighNCTourneys]

My strategy is to find Pithing Needle ASAP after starting with a combination or Leyline and/or Pithing Needle. After that, I want to find more Pithing Needles and/or Leyliness to hardcast.

So, what purpose does Drain really serve? It doesn't help in the early game because the Ichorid player will have a chance to answer your hate before Drain is online (or respond to spells you cast EOT or anytime you don'y have UU up). Further, how many games do you need to mulligan into 6,5,4 or even less in order to find anti-Ichorid cards? Quite a few I'm sure. This makes Drain even worse because finding UU can be a huge problem by the time it even matters.

Your goal should be to find anti-Ichorid cards and keep producing them. The 4 AKs help with this because at worst they cycle.

I'm not really worried about getting my enchantments removed more so than finding more. It is important to protect them (FOW), but Mana Drain just doesn't cut it as being worthwhile IMO.

[wiley]

Glad to know that I use the same strategies for sideboarding as the creator.

The problems with the Ichorid match up are two fold (well, technically more, but two that you must address) 1) your slower and 2) you have irrelevant cards.  These are addressed with pithing needle (slows Ichorid down immensely as they only have chain and slow dredging to answer it) so you want to have these and tutors/draw to find them after sideboarding.  Drains are horribly slow in this match and never relevant so they can go for this.  You also have bounce spells that do nothing here so out they go for something else that can slow Ichorid down, leyline.  This means your left with finding 2 more cards for 1 leyline and 1 truth.  With the most recent list I typically cut mana crypt and scroll, the crypt furthers Ichorid's game plan without giving you an equal bonus and scroll, while being able to fetch some good cards, can't get needle or leyline.

The reasons I leave force in are because a resolved chalice or dread return on titan typically mean I can't combo off.  I have found this relevant until around turn 3 because after that they will often therapy naming force before playing a critical spell so you need to be holding 2 force + 2 blue spells and still have what it takes to combo off.  This is why pithing needle/leyline needs to show up, to cut them off their discard.

[meadbert]

I suggest boarding out 4 Force, 4 Drain and Chain of Vapor and then bringing in the same 9 that Cody recommends.

Basically Drain Tendrils is a combo control deck.  That is what it should remain.  Controlling Ichorid with counterspells is impossible.
The way to defeat Ichorid is to use Needle and Leyline as speed bumps that give you enough time to combo out and win.
If you try to mulligan to Leyline and then use counter magic to protect it then you are asking to lose since Ichorid will draw into more hand disruption and Leyline removal than you can draw into counterspells.

By boarding out 0 business spells you do not slow down your goldfish significantly.  The loss of Drain hurts real life games, but you are also able to use cheaper disruption and the fact that you are not pitching business spells to Force to accelerate your win.

If you start with 0 disruption cards then that means you have a hand full of business and you want to be winning on turn 3.
If you start with Leyline or Needle then you can win on turn 4 and rely on your lone disruptive card to act as a speed bump to slow Ichorid down.
If you are lucky enough to have 2xLeyline or Leyline + Needle then you are looking at perhaps having as many as 6 turns to win.

Anyway, my advice is play post board just like pre board.  You are a combo/control deck with 9 highly disruptive spells and a turn 4ish clock depending on your draws.
Do not attempt to seize control.  You will lose!

[TripleAgent]

I suggest boarding out 4 Force, 4 Drain and Chain of Vapor and then bringing in the same 9 that Cody recommends.

Basically Drain Tendrils is a combo control deck.  That is what it should remain.  Controlling Ichorid with counterspells is impossible.
The way to defeat Ichorid is to use Needle and Leyline as speed bumps that give you enough time to combo out and win.
If you try to mulligan to Leyline and then use counter magic to protect it then you are asking to lose since Ichorid will draw into more hand disruption and Leyline removal than you can draw into counterspells.

By boarding out 0 business spells you do not slow down your goldfish significantly.  The loss of Drain hurts real life games, but you are also able to use cheaper disruption and the fact that you are not pitching business spells to Force to accelerate your win.

If you start with 0 disruption cards then that means you have a hand full of business and you want to be winning on turn 3.
If you start with Leyline or Needle then you can win on turn 4 and rely on your lone disruptive card to act as a speed bump to slow Ichorid down.
If you are lucky enough to have 2xLeyline or Leyline + Needle then you are looking at perhaps having as many as 6 turns to win.

Anyway, my advice is play post board just like pre board.  You are a combo/control deck with 9 highly disruptive spells and a turn 4ish clock depending on your draws.
Do not attempt to seize control.  You will lose!

i like your strategy, but do you really think taking out Chain as the 9th card is the best idea? In case they drop turn 0 Leyline?

[wiley]

I suggest boarding out 4 Force, 4 Drain and Chain of Vapor and then bringing in the same 9 that Cody recommends.
...
By boarding out 0 business spells you do not slow down your goldfish significantly.
...
If you start with 0 disruption cards then that means you have a hand full of business and you want to be winning on turn 3.
...
Anyway, my advice is play post board just like pre board.  You are a combo/control deck with 9 highly disruptive spells and a turn 4ish clock depending on your draws.
Do not attempt to seize control.  You will lose!

I disagree with you here Bert, it isn't like Ichorid has no road block for DT in this match, indeed leyline and chalice both cause havoc for DT.  While you can play around leyline it is very hard to combo with chalice @ 0 on the table.  For this reason I say you should leave in the forces.  It isn't that they're good against Ichorid; it's that they're necessary, not for control but for defense.

Even if you start with 0 disruption cards using your plan it doesn't mean that Ichorid does.  Indeed they have 2-3 turns to dig for their disruption; this is often more than enough time.  Yes you might (probably) have to pitch business spells to force but without doing that you will simply lose games.  I'd rather be slower than dead in the water.

In all three games you have to be aggressive, this is like an aikido master going on the offensive, it’s certainly doable but it isn't how the deck (or style) is designed to operate.

i like your strategy, but do you really think taking out Chain as the 9th card is the best idea? In case they drop turn 0 Leyline?

While it could be ok to leave chain in, truth is simply better against Ichorid.  If you can find a different card to cut then go for it.

[meadbert]

Wiley is right.  Echoing Truth basically replaces Chain of Vapor.  You do not need both.  Chalice@0 is painful, but you still have Echoing Truth and both Rebuilds to answer Chalice@0.

Also, Ichorid generally has room for either Chalice or Leyline but not both.  I use Chalice on the play and Leyline on the draw when I play Ichorid.

[RaleighNCTourneys]

Here's my most recent list after some MWS testing and goldfishing:

I dropped Mana Vault in place of an Island. Mana Vault isn't as important because there are more 1CC artifacts to get around CotV on 0. I also dropped Gush as it has been unimpressive compared to how good Pithing Needle is looking to be in the new metagame.

3 Flooded Strand
5 Island
2 Polluted Delta
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Underground Sea
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring

1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Pithing Needle

1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Merchant Scroll
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Fact or Fiction
4 Accumulated Knowledge

2 Intuition
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor

1 Chain of Vapor
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Rebuild

4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain

1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Tinker
1 Darksteel Colossus

Sideboard

4 Leyline of the Void
3 Pithing Needle
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Echoing Truth
1 Darkblast
4 Thoughtseize
1 Hurkyl's Recall

[Ufactor]

Here's my most recent list after some MWS testing and goldfishing:

I dropped Mana Vault in place of an Island. Mana Vault isn't as important because there are more 1CC artifacts to get around CotV on 0. I also dropped Gush as it has been unimpressive compared to how good Pithing Needle is looking to be in the new metagame.

This is actually quite peculiar, because I've been finding the exact opposite of what you propose.  While I also have 5 fetches + 5 Islands, the cards that I cut were very different.

Mana Vault has been nothing but gold.  The obvious cheat is Tinker.  The busted mana comes from using it in conjunction with Rebuild, Chain of Vapor, et. al.  Even in the absence of those cards, however, while just considering things that occur in multiples, playing Mana Vault on turn one allows the five mana necessary to play Thirst for Knowledge and AK#2 (or Intuition, plus AK#3).

I'm not going to extrapolate on Gush vs. Wastlands, because it is a minor point at best.  Gush, while not necessarily beneficial on the developing turns, is indispensable when "going off".  It allows you to draw whatever was put in the topdeck position with tutors.  It gives you a free spell for storm purposes.  Most importantly, I cannot tell you how many times Gush has allowed me to lucksack into FoW, while the opponent was attempting to counter Bigmouth's Will.

Now onto Pithing Needle - this is the card that we are going to butt heads on the most.  The more I play with this card, the less I like it.  There are several important points to consider:

1) In the Ichorid match, they are less good as the game goes on.  That is, assuming that you are on the play, you stop them cold if you cast it on YOUR first turn.  They get one Bazaar activation if you cast it on your second turn... and then it gets worse from there.

2) The effect of Pithing Needle is not cumulative.  There are no benefits from playing them in multiples, aside from the fact that the second one is harder to remove.  There are also no other targets for Pithing Needle, except for Bazaar.

3) Pithing Needle doesn't do anything by itself.  If Needle is cast first turn, with no other non-mana cards on the board, then Bazaar is nerfed.  The Ichorid player still has several outs in this situation (getting to 8 cards to discard, hardcasting Narcomoeba and Golgari Thug, Chain of Vapor, etc.).  It is only when Pithing Needle accompanies Leyline that it is truly effective.

4) Outside of the Ichorid match, Pithing Needle seems less than optimal.  There are better ways to deal with Goblin Welder, Wasteland, Grindstone, and Salvagers.

So, with those suppositions in mind, I actually cut Pithing Needle from my sideboard all together.  I'm finding that various combinations of Leyline, Jailer, Platz and Tormod's Crypt are much more effective.  This makes Tinker the all star in games two and three.  A less important feature is that cutting Pithing Needle allows you more room in the sideboard to address other matches.

[RaleighNCTourneys]

Pithing Needle

I agree that Pithing Needle on the board can be replaced with a combination of other cards-- but the 1 maindeck Pithing Needle seems very strong to me. You say, "There are better ways to deal with Goblin Welder, Wasteland, Grindstone, and Salvagers." Can you think of a single card that takes care of all of those cards and helps immensely with the Ichorid matchup for 1 colorless (and you can Tinker it out!)? Pithing Needle pitches to TFK, which means it's rare that it will sit in your hand and do nothing during the course of a game. The fact that it is a 1CC artifact means that even if you have no use for it in a game AND you can't find a TFK to pitch it to, you can still cast it for cheap and sac it to Tinker. You are right that it is not cumulative in many matchups, but that is why I am proposing only 1 in the maindeck. The sideboard is debateable and a matter of personal preference, but I really think 1 maindeck Pithing Needle will be money in the new metagame.

Why is Pithing Needle a less than optimal way to deal with Welder, Wasteland, Grindstone, etc.? It seems highly optimal and very efficient to me. I know you were probably reffering to the sideboard, but as a maindeck 1-of it seems like a great way to deal with those cards. Even post-board 1-2 Needles are a good solution. Just because there are 4 for Ichorid, doesn't mean you need to board 4. Then, they would be sub-optimal in some matchups.

Mana Vault

This card has always been less than impressive to me, mainly because DT is a slow combo/control deck that doesn't win the turn Vault is played most of the time. So, it just sits there eating my life and me wishing it was a permanent mana source. Of course it's really helpful sometimes, but I really find myself wanting it to be a permanent source quite often. The reason I was never able to seriously consider cutting it was because I needed artifacts to pitch to TFK and non-0CC artifacts to get around CotV on 0. Now, both of these conditions are met with the inclusion of Top and Needle. Further, with the loss of 3x Brainstorm, finding an early 1st or 2nd Island is going to be even harder. Replacing Vault with Island is going to be help find that blue mana source.

Gush

I never could put a finger on this card. I flip flop back and forth all the time. So, if you can find room for it and are happy with your list, go for it I'll probably have it back in my deck soon enough.

Mind if I see where you are at with the deck right now? If you could bold any differences, I'd greatly appreciate it.

[Ufactor]

OK.. try not to laugh.  It's an awful pile, I know.

//NAME: Untitled Deck
        4 Accumulated Knowledge
        4 Force of Will
        4 Intuition
        4 Mana Drain
        3 Thirst for Knowledge
        1 Chain of Vapor
        1 Darksteel Colossus
        1 Rebuild
        1 Tendrils of Agony
        1 Ancestral Recall
        1 Brainstorm
        1 Demonic Tutor
        1 Gush
        1 Imperial Seal
        1 Merchant Scroll
        1 Mystical Tutor
        1 Ponder
        1 Time Walk
        1 Tinker
        1 Vampiric Tutor
        1 Yawgmoth's Will
        1 Black Lotus
        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
        3 Flooded Strand
        4 Island
        4 Polluted Delta
        1 Tolarian Academy
        3 Underground Sea
SB:  1 Darkblast
SB:  4 Duress
SB:  3 Hurkyl's Recall
SB:  4 Leyline of the Void
SB:  1 Library of Alexandria
SB:  1 Platinum Angel
SB:  1 Tormod's Crypt




The biggest difference come not from the list, but in the way that the deck is played.  For better or worse, I play the deck in an obscenely linear fashion.  Much like Meandeck Gifts, I am looking for only three strategic events: resolving Ancestral Recall, resolving Tinker, or resolving Yawgmoth's Will.  All games with this interpretation of the deck come down to one of these points.  This is why the deck is lop-sided towards the early game, almost detrimentally so.  That is why the deck features an obsessive amount of tutors, at the expense of disregarding utility, flexibility and late game card drawing.  I can clearly see getting chided for bastardizing the deck, but I am confortable sacrificing some skill and merit for raw speed.

[RaleighNCTourneys]

It seems pretty cool... have you considered red for Recoup and more sideboard options?

[Ufactor]

Someone feel free to roast me if I start babbling like Smmenen, but I think I might be onto something here:

I would easily say, that this deck wins >60% of it's games with Yawgmoth's Will, <35% with Tinker, 2% by hardcasting Darksteel Colossus and 2% by lethal Tendrils of Agony by some combination of cantrips, artifacts, and bounce.

That means that this deck is second only to Grim Long in it's reliance on Yawgmoth's Will.  I would also go as far to say that Grim Tutor is the best unrestricted tutor in the format, which means that Intuition is number two.  Four Intuitions are in here to find and support Yawgmoth's Will as quickly as possible.  I am never unhappy topdecking a tutor, especially Intuition.

For this purpose (Yawgmoth's Will and all that good stuff) Intuition is a real half way point between Gifts Ungiven and Doomsday. 
Like Gifts, it allows you to out think an unsuspecting opponent.  You can reveal three situational, yet independently broken cards without giving a tell as to how you're planning on winning the game.  Comparable to Doomsday, Intuition allows you to make up piles on the spot to allow for particular game states.

Maybe I'm trying to shoehorn an idea into a deck that can't exist, but I think that there is a very real shot at this happening.. a Tendrils deck that uses Mana Drain... a combo deck that doesn't need to sideboard in 7 cards against stax, and a control deck that can break the crap of Yawgmoth's Will and win inside of one turn.

[RaleighNCTourneys]

So... Recoup?

Drain Tendrils has always been what you descibed in your last sentence... but isn't that the same as how Gifts was?

[Ufactor]

meh, I'm just not crazy about it.  Recoup<- Intuition is not as snazzy as Recoup<- Gifts Ungiven.  Recoup was still very playable with four Merchant Scroll, but that still largely involved Gifts.

The reason not to include it is that it makes the deck more mana hungry.  Not only for red mana, instead of of black or blue, but also for large quantities.  It exacerbates things more so when you are trying to win with Sphere/Chalice/Null Rod/Wasteland on the table.

EDIT: Also with three less Brainstorm, the amount of inert cards needs to be kept at a minimum.  Recoup was my least favorite thing to see in my opening hand when I was playing it.

[Ufactor]

...This card has always been less than impressive to me, mainly because DT is a slow combo/control deck that doesn't win the turn Vault is played most of the time. So, it just sits there eating my life and me wishing it was a permanent mana source.

MDGifts, or the modern day equivilant, is a control deck, but is not slow.  Think of the way that, by comparison, Control Slaver can grind out games until the cows come home.  The way that this deck can goldfish on turn 3/4 makes it the same speed as Oath or GWSx.

[meadbert]

Drain Tendrils is way less reliant on Yawg than you are implying.  I agree with Tinker being the win around 35% of the time, but I would say that Tendrils wins without Yawg far more often than 2% of the time.  I would say that I win with just Rebuild around 15% of the time.
It is very easy to Rebuild and then cast Tendrils for the win.  When I tested this deck before the addition of Tinker and DSC Yawg would get Duressed on turn 1 all the time and it was never a problem to find a win condition.
You just play Control and then use Rebuild and Tendrils to win.

In one manner, AKs are vulnerable to Tormod's Crypt, but in another sense they can help you in that they force your opponent to activate Crypt before you cast Yawg.  Leyline is the real threat there.

Also, I did not see this mentioned above, but Pithing Needle is solid against Tormod's Crypt so in that sense it would make sense in the main if there is a ton of Control Slaver running 3-4 Welders and 1-2 Crypts.

I doubt I would drop Mana Vault since Tinkering it out pre Yawg is frequently huge and Crypt allows for turn 2 Intuition + AK.

Also Thirsts are better than Intuitions because they dodge graveyard hate so much better and they get DSC out of your hand.  This is more important than ever now that Brainstorm is restricted.

[TripleAgent]

I kinda sorta agree on swapping some Needles out of the board for cards for other matchups. What do you think about 2 Massacre, as I've been having problems against UBW Fish. Any other suggestions for this match? I also kinda like a second Darkblast to increase the odds of finding it and killing multiple creatures.

[RaleighNCTourneys]

With only 4x Leyline, you're going to lose to Ichorid like 80% of the time. You might as well drop the 4x Leyline if you're going to drop Needle and focus on every other matchup.

I don't recommend doing either if you plan on winning tournaments with any sort of consistency.

[RaleighNCTourneys]

Also, Ufactor suggested swapping Needle for other anti-Ichorid cards... not for other matchups like Fish.

[Grand Inquisitor]

       4 Intuition
        1 Chain of Vapor
        1 Rebuild
SB:  3 Hurkyl's Recall

So tell me more about intuition.  I've been seeing lots of MD tormod's crypt.  Game one you can't intuition for bounce.  Do you expect to burn an intuition, your AK's and 5 mana to clear the way to set up intuition>Yawgwill?  This seems linear to a fault.  Especially if they happen to have welder+crypt, which also shuts down your Tinker>DSC plan.  Post board do you side in a 3rd bounce against slaver?  If you've burned AK, but don't have Yawgwill, what is a typical intuition pile?

I love intuition, and I realize the game states I presented are some of the most dire, but I find the real strength of Intuition (and Gifts) are when the deck is designed as multi-faceted as possible (i.e. not linear).