[FreeArticle] Post-6/20 Drain Tendrils: Staying Ahead of the Curve by Cody Vinci

[RaleighNCTourneys]

Post-6/20 Drain Tendrils: Staying Ahead of the Curve
By Cody Vinci

With the recent restriction of Brainstorm, Ponder, Merchant Scroll, Flash and Gush, Drain Tendrils (DT) survived and was only affected by Brainstorm’s restriction. But what kind of changes in strategy and card selection have to be introduced in order for it to remain competitive? I’d like to examine DT in the post-6/20 metagame and suggest a list for what I believe to be the most powerful Drain deck in the format. Additionally, I will present two other viable DT forms and my 10 principles of DT. Finally, I played 5 games 1s on MWS to give people a taste for what my deck of choice is like.

For some background on the deck, checkout the TMD thread here: http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=35275.0

At first I was unsure if the loss of three Brainstorm would be as simple of a fix as adding 3 more good blue cards. Would I need more lands in the deck with the loss of Brainstorm? I only run 14 lands as it is. This was not an easy question to answer theoretically, but my guess was that post-6/20 DT would not be as simple as -3x Brainstorm, +3x good blue cards.

The three possible iterations of Drain Tendrils kill conditions are a) 2x Tendrils, b) 1x Tendrils, 1x Tinker, 1x Darksteel Colossus or c) 1x Tendrils, 1x Empty the Warrens. If you’re playing with any other kill conditions, you’re not playing DT. So, from these options, the 2x Tendrils kill seemed the weakest to me because the loss of Brainstorm should mean that the purest combo form of DT should be the weakest. I started testing the 1x Tendrils, 1x Tinker, 1x Darksteel Colossus version that I’ve played many times in the past. The problem with this version of the deck was that it was just too slow. It didn’t explode like DT decks of the past. The Tinker/Colossus kill was too weak against Control Slaver due to Goblin Welder and way too slow against Long without 4x Brainstorm. The combo/control aspect of DT had shifted too much to control, and the explosive combo kills just weren’t there. However, I did notice that I did not need to add any more mana sources to the deck. The mana base was still strong and smooth. If I were to play with this kill today, the main deck would look like this:

3 Flooded Strand
4 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 Mana Vault

1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Frantic Search
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Fact or Fiction
4 Accumulated Knowledge

2 Intuition
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll

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

For another excellent main deck boasting the Tinker/DSC/Tendrils plan, take a look at Mike Solymossy’s recent top 8 Drain Tendrils list from Vintage Champs. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgevent/usnat08/vintage2

After experimenting with this first list and moving forward, I saw Jordi Amat’s list which used Gifts Ungiven, Recoup and Empty the Warrens in addition to Tendrils of Agony. Although I’ve never played with Gifts Ungiven and Recoup in DT (I have played with Empty the Warrens), it seemed like something worth trying. I was much happier with this list over the first one, since this was more combo-oriented and could put together Will kills with all of the tutors, Gifts Ungiven and the 2 Intuitions (through Recoup). After piloting the deck in one tournament with moderate success, I saw that my inexperience with Gifts Ungiven was a big problem, so I tested more and more with this list to get practice with playing the card. All of this testing to get better with Gifts Ungiven led me to the same place I was at with the first list: the deck still felt too slow and didn’t have that explosiveness from pre-6/20. Sure, Gifts and Recoup make the deck more combo-oriented. But the mana investment needed to make that plan work is tremendous, and DT is not very well-equipped to take advantage of such cards. Don’t get me wrong—the first two lists are very powerful and did well in my testing. I just felt like the deck was missing something and not playing out like I had hoped. Here is the list I would play if I were to play this version of the deck:

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

4 Accumulated Knowledge
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Fact or Fiction
3 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Ponder
1 Frantic Search

1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
2 Intuition
1 Merchant Scroll

1 Chain of Vapor
1 Rebuild
1 Hurkyl's Recall

4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain

1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Recoup
1 Empty the Warrens

Basically, the problem I was having was that all of my kills were being setup. That might seem strange, but DT was never designed to setup kills like Long or Gifts decks do with tutors. I’ve always wanted the deck to “setup” its kills through massive amounts of draw spells so that the opponent never knew when he was going to lose and any of the draw spells could end the game. I like to think of the draw spells in the deck as “probability tutors.” They find the cards you need to win while drawing through the deck and building up card advantage to support the counter base. It’s only a matter of time before you find what you need with so many draw spells in the deck, so winning is only just a probability function of how many cards you’ve been through and a function of time. The best way to abuse this approach to Drain Tendrils is by running 2x Tendrils of Agony as the kill. Doing this often eliminates the need to use a tutor for Tendrils of Agony during a kill turn and thus frees up mana and a tutor to use toward getting to 10 storm and 2BB. But my initial supposition was that this version of the deck would not be possible without 4x Brainstorm. But, it was just a supposition. I was entirely wrong. The following list is what I believe to be the most powerful Mana Drain deck in the format. In the end, the list I concluded was similar to my first successful tournament appearance with the deck, which can be found here: http://sales.starcitygames.com//deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=20188. I took out the 3x Brainstorm and Library of Alexandria for an additional Thirst for Knowledge, Skeletal Scrying, Ponder and Merchant Scroll. I also cut a Gush because the original list was 61 cards (back when I thought that was funny). The resulting list had a very similar feel, and the loss of Brainstorm was actually felt the least to me playing this version. The kills were once again exploding out when my opponents least expected it. I can finally rest easy as I’ve found a DT list I’m happy with. Here it is:

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

4 Accumulated Knowledge
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Fact or Fiction
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Ponder
1 Frantic Search
1 Skeletal Scrying

1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
2 Intuition
1 Merchant Scroll

1 Chain of Vapor
1 Rebuild
1 Hurkyl's Recall

4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain

2 Tendrils of Agony
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth's Will

I would like to point out that this is a list that is similar to Galen Lamei (Aardshark)’s, which he got first place at an Adventure Lotus Tourney: http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=36206.0

As for a sideboard, here is what I am currently using and recommend:

4x Leyline of the Void
2x Pithing Needle
1x Yixlid Jailer
1x Tormod’s Crypt
1x Tinker
1x Darksteel Colossus
2x Duress
2x Thoughtseize
1x Darkblast

For the post-6/20 metagame, here are my 10 principles of DT (in no specific order):

1) Frantic Search is an auto-include

I’ve always been a fan of Frantic Search, but this is not bias speaking. Frantic Search is an auto-include in all builds of Drain Tendrils. DT wins 5% or less of its games on turn 2 or before. That means Frantic Search needs to be in the deck (read: untaps 3 lands). You’re always going to have at least one card that you don’t need, so Frantic Search is always going to be amazing. The card is restricted for a reason, and if any deck out there is made to abuse Frantic Search, it’s DT. I used to think Gush was slightly better than Frantic Search in DT, but with Brainstorm gone, I’ve been able to appreciate Frantic Search so much more. You can literally pull wins out of your ass with this card. Trust me, it belongs here.

2) Accepting an Ichorid match loss is unacceptable

Ichorid and DT. Oh what fun! It’s a terrible matchup game 1, but you simply can’t accept it as an auto-loss for the match. If it takes 15 cards in the board to beat it, then so be it. Luckily, 8-9 anti-Ichorid cards is the right number. The key to keeping the board strong is to use very effective anti-Ichorid cards that can also be used in other matchups. For instance, Pithing Needle is amazing against Ichorid, but also can come in against certain Workshop builds, Landstill and Control Slaver. Tormod’s Crypt can also be used against Long and Slaver.

3) Maximize the number of blue instants and draw spells in the deck

Although some people have had success with main deck Duress effects, I really recommend against it. The key to winning consistently with DT is to have a consistent main deck with a focused plan. It doesn’t get much more focused than a massive amount of draw spells, 8x counters and 2x Tendrils. The beauty of the DT list I presented is being able to fetch out Island after Island and only get an Underground Sea when it’s time to win. Keeping the number of blue instants and draw spells as high as possible allow for DT to abuse the end step and make the opponent fear every card you play since they may never have another turn.

4) Keep your main deck as general as possible and adjust post-board

Unless you absolutely know the metagame will be all Combo or all Workshop, don’t try to tailor the main deck. Keep it general. Draw spells are good against everything because they allow you to win against everything. Playing with a main deck filled with draw spells and combo-enablers will allow you to have good game against the whole field. You can make adjustments post-board.

5) Know the deck's limits

This comes with testing and experience. There are certain things the deck can and can't do. Don't expect more from the deck than what you know it can do from testing.

6) Three bounce spells is the minimum main deck

Chain of Vapor doesn’t deal with multiple Sphere of Resistance or Thorns. It gets rid of the random stuff that will show up, bounces that creature to buy you a turn and is the decks’ best combo-enabler. So, you need two return-all artifact spells in the maindeck so that you don’t have to feel that you must counter that Sphere of Resistance. Three really is the minimum. These are great combo-enablers in the deck, and their different casting costs making them even more versatile.

7) The sideboard builds itself

If you refuse to accept Ichorid as an auto-loss, the board builds itself. You need Duress effects to be competitive post-board with other Control decks and Long. You also need Tinker/Colossus in order to compensate for the slower nature of post-board DT. That leaves, let’s see, one slot. Make it a Darkblast. It’s too versatile not to run it.

8) Be able to write down all 75 cards in your deck without any trouble

You need to be able to know all of the cards in your deck at any given time. This is because, as I explained before, the draw spells act as “probability tutors.” Knowing and getting a feel for the cards you will hit off a draw spell requires you to have knowledge of your entire deck. Further, with 4 tutors and 2 Intuition in the deck, it helps tremendously to know everything in your deck before you decide if you want to cast that Intuition for the win.

9) Play control as long as possible

If the kill isn’t there, don’t force it. The deck can play control until it needs to win, so don’t try to play the deck like Long if there is no reason to; you will often find yourself with a handful of good spells but no resources to cast them. The deck can definitely be pressed to try to win on turn 3 or later, but if there’s no reason to win, let the deck pilot in control mode until you feel comfortable going for the kill.

10) Don’t be afraid to use your main phase

Just because the deck is full of instants, don’t become attached to your opponents EOT step. If they are tapped out or you’ll still have Drain mana up after you cast a spell, go for it! You might find the win on the spot or force your opponent to use a Force of Will instead of a Drain. Don’t use your main phase if your opponent has UU up and is playing control, but keep in mind that its there as an option. I use my own main phase to cast draw spells all the time.

Next, I played 5 game 1s on MWS with DT just to give people a feel for how the decks play out and how I personally play it (relatively conservative). I quit against decks that were too janky (Kobolds, Birds of Paradisego.dec, etc.) and had some bad experience with the sessions disconnecting, but I finally managed to get 5 games in. I think this goes without saying, but MWS games are no indication of the deck’s ability and shouldn’t be taken very seriously. I played these games under the name “vintage.”

Game 1: ANkh

I keep an opening with Lotus Petal, Yawgmoth’s Will, Underground Sea, Polluted Delta, Accumulated Knowledge, Chain of Vapor and Time Walk. He mulls to 6, keeps and starts.

Turn 1 (ANkh): Bayou, go.

Turn 1 (vintage): Draw Mox Jet. Delta cracks for Island. Play Jet. Time Walk.

Turn 2 (vintage): Draw Vampiric Tutor. Underground Sea, go.

Turn 2 (ANkh): Wasteland, go. At EOT, I cast Accumulated Knowledge for 1 (getting Frantic Search) and Vampiric Tutor for Ancestral Recall. ANkh then Extirpates my Accumulated Knowledges (and shuffles up my Recall).

Turn 3 (vintage): Draw Hurkyl’s Recall. Use my Mox and 2 lands to play Frantic Search. I find Black Lotus and Mystical Tutor and discard Chain of Vapor and Hurkyl’s Recall, then untap my 2 lands. I play Black Lotus and Lotus Petal and crack them, float a black and play Will. I replay Black Lotus and Lotus Petal. I replay a fetchland and get Underground Sea and Vampiric Tutor for Tendrils of Agony. I then Frantic Search into Tendrils (also drawing a Force of Will) then discard Force of Will and Mystical Tutor (only Tendrils left in hand). I Hurkyl’s Recall myself, replay my artifacts and cast Tendrils of Agony for 26.



This was a very quick win for DT and the cards just sort of came together for me. I was impressed the deck won through Extirpated Accumulated Knowledges that also took away an Ancestral Recall. The key to winning this game was using Frantic Search on the main phase to see if I could put the win together while my opponent couldn’t do anything. If he would have used his Wasteland at any point, it would have been harder to win but it shouldn’t have been a problem.

Game 2: JDude

I keep an opening with Force of Will, 2x Underground Sea, Dark Ritual, Flooded Strand, Ancestral Recall and Frantic Search. He keeps his 7, and I begin. 

Turn 1 (vintage): Flooded Strand fetches Island, go.

Turn 1 (JDude): On his upkeep I Ancestral Recall, which resolves and finds Yawgmoth’s Will, Island and Thirst for Knowledge. JDude plays an Island and Ruby for a Strategic Planning. He dumps and Island and Mystical Tutor.

Turn 2 (vintage): I draw Pearl and play it as well as a Strand into and Underground Sea. Since he is tapped out and I will still have UU up after resolution, I cast Frantic Search into Intuition and Island. I discard two Islands and untap. At this point, I can Dark Ritual floating a black and cast Intution. I can get Mana Crypt and Black Lotus, but there isn’t a third card I can get that will guarantee a Yawgmoth’s Will this turn, and it wouldn’t be all that strong anyway, so I pass and to set up the kill for the next turn.

Turn 2 (JDude): He plays an Emerald and Tolarian Academy and casts another Strategic Planning dumping Mana Vault and Thirst for Knowledge. At his EOT, I cast Dark Ritual. He responds with a Thirst for Knowledge (tapping out). I allow this to resolve and he dumps a Crucible of Worlds. I then use my Dark Ritual Mana and Island to cast my own Thirst for Knowledge. I draw Brainstorm, Sol Ring and Chain of Vapor and pitch Sol Ring.

Turn 3 (vintage): I draw an Intuition and cast a Brainstorm on my main phase, which finds Force of Will, Time Walk and Hurkyl’s Recall. I put back Hurkyl’s Recall and my second Intuition, play another Sea and Time Walk.

Turn 4 (vintage): I cast Intuition (with Mox, Sea, Island) on my upkeep for Black Lotus, Mana Crypt and Mox Sapphire. At this point, I only have an Underground Sea open and a Chain of Vapor in hand. I get the Sapphire and use it to cast Chain of Vapor, bounce my 2 Moxen. I replay them both and use my third land to cast Yawgmoth’s Will with counter backup, but it resolves anyway. I replay Lotus, Mana Crypt and Sol Ring as well as a fetchland for Underground Sea. Lotus goes for UUU and I use 2U to cast Intuition. I find Vampiric Tutor, Mystical Tutor and Demonic Tutor and get to keep the Vamp. I cast Vamp for Tendrils and Chain of Vapor my 4 artifacts. I replay my artifacts, Ancestral Recall into Tendrils and use Dark Ritual to cast it for lethal off my last Underground Sea. 

This game I was lucky enough to start with Ancestral Recall, so its not too impressive that I won. The key to winning here was the Dark Ritual into Thirst for Knowledge at EOT. Although it may be tempting to save Dark Ritual for the Will next turn, the benefit of seeing three new cards outweighed a not-so-impressive Will and allowed me to kill my opponent the next turn.

Game 3: pierce

I keep an opening of Mana Drain, Tendrils of Agony, Ponder, Flooded Strand, Brainstorm, Hurkyl’s Recall and Intuition. He keeps and starts.

Turn 1 (pierce): Underground Sea into a Duress, which takes Brainstorm.

Turn 1 (vintage): Draw Time Walk. Use Strand to get Island and Ponder. Draw a land off Ponder and stack Chain of Vapor and Fact or Fiction, go.

Turn 2 (pierce): He plays Pearl, Vault, Petal, Delta into a Sea and casts Yawgmoth’s Bargain. It resolves, and he wins on his next turn with a non-Will Tendrils for 20.

Not much I could have done here other than mulliganed. Long is one of the more difficult game 1s for DT and stuff like this will happen.

Game 4: Your Mom

I keep a hand with Ponder, Skeletal Scrying, Ancestral Recall, Vampiric Tutor, Underground Sea, Mana Drain and Mox Ruby. He keeps and starts.

Turn 1 (Your Mom): Underground Sea for a Duress taking Ancestral.

Turn 1 (vintage): Draw a Time Walk. Play Ruby and Sea to Time Walk.

Turn 2 (vintage): Draw a Mox Jet. Play it and Scrying for 2 removing Recall and Time Walk (probably should have Pondered and played Vampiric Tutor, not sure why I didn’t). Anyway, he Forces my Scrying.

Turn 2 (Your Mom): Duress on Vampiric Tutor, go.

Turn 3 (vintage): Draw Accumulated Knowledge. Cast it main phase into a Mox Pearl and pass.

Turn 3 (Your Mom): Draw go.

Turn 4 (vintage): Draw Underground Sea and play it, go.

Turn 4 (Your Mom): Main phase Impulse, go.

Turn 5 (vintage): I draw Strand and play it then Ponder. I see Thirst for Knowledge, Mana Crypt and Underground Sea and draw Thirst. I pass, and he casts Impulse at EOT.

Turn 5 (Your Mom): Fetchland for a Sea, go. EOT, I fetch and Thirst for Knowledge. He Ancestral Recalls, which resolves. I hit Scroll, Lotus and Sol Ring and pitch Pearl.

Turn 6 (vintage): Draw Hurkyl’s Recall. I play Sol Ring, Black Lotus and Scroll for Intuition and then Accumulated Knowledge for 4 (drawing Thirst for Knowledge, Force of Will, Mana Drain and Island). I play an Island, keep Drain open and pass.

Turn 6 (Your Mom): He draws, plays a land and passes.

Turn 7 (vintage): Draw Fact or Fiction, go.

Turn 7 (Your Mom): Go. EOT I cast Thirst and get Force of Will, Island and Demonic Tutor. I pitch Tendrils of Agony and an Island. I cast another Thirst for an Underground Sea, Tendrils of Agony and Mana Drain. I pitch the land and Tendrils.

Turn 8 (vintage): I draw a sapphire and pass. I could win now but decide to play it safe with all my counters and Fact or Fiction.

Turn 8 (Your Mom): He plays Serra Sphinx and Time Walk. I let both resolve.

Turn 9 (Your Mom): He plays a Delta and attacks. He drops Panoptic Mirror and it resolves. He plays Tinker and I Drain that. He Forces my Drain and I Drain his Force. He has no cards left in hand and I have 8 mana coming and a Demonic Tutor in hand for Yawgmoth’s Will. Game over… wow that was a boring one. My apologies.

My deck was more efficient since it didn’t play Serra Sphinx so winning was inevitable.

Game 5: Sider

I keep a hand with 2x Drain, 2x Island, Hurkyl’s Recall, Dark Ritual and Thirst for Knowledge. He keeps and starts.

Turn 1 (Sider): Strand, Ruby, go.

Turn 1 (vintage): I draw Thirst for Knowledge. Island, go.

Turn 2 (Sider): Island, go.

Turn 2 (vintage): I draw Emerald and play it along with an Island. Pass.

Turn 3 (Sider): Volcanic Island, go. At EOT, I cast Thirst. He Cunning Wishes for Pyroblast and counters it.

Turn 3 (vintage): I draw Mana Drain and pass.

Turn 4 (Sider): Strand, go. At his EOT, I cast Thirst for Knowledge and he Drains it.

Turn 4 (vintage): Draw Tendrils of Agony, pass.

Turn 5 (Sider): He plays Delta and uses his Drain mana to Merchant Scroll into Ancestral Recall and cast it. I Mana Drain. He hardcasts Force of Will with Drain mana and draws 3. He gets an Underground Sea and Thoughtseizes me taking a Mana Drain and leaving me with one more. He plays Mox Pearl and passes.

Turn 5 (vintage): Draw Strand. Play it and pass.

Turn 6 (Sider): He plays Trinket Mage and gets Sensei’s Top. I allow both to resolve.

Turn 6 (vintage): I draw Fact or Fiction and pass. He Tops EOT.

Turn 7 (Sider): He attacks and passes.

Turn 7 (vintage): I draw a Jet, play it and pass. He casts Vampiric Tutor then Tops.

Turn 8 (Sider): He attacks and passes. EOT I Dark Ritual with Jet and use an Island to cast Fact or Fiction. He Mana Drains and I Mana Drain back. He draws with his Top and then casts Gifts Ungiven (Volcanic Island still open) finding Force of Will, Pyroblast, Brainstorm and Mystical Tutor. I give him Mystical and Brainstorm. He Brainstorms, draws three and then scoops. Just for fun, the top 5 cards of my library were Force of Will, Thirst for Knowledge, Tolarian Academy, Black Lotus and Mystical Tutor. I would have taken any pile with Mystical and gotten Will and won next turn.

The key to this last game was waiting for one more blue or black source (which I hit when I drew Mox Jet) so that I could Dark Ritual into Fact or Fiction with Mana Drain backup. Since this was my last draw spell in my hand, its resolution meant me winning or losing the game.

That’s all I have for now. Thanks for reading!

Cody Vinci
RaleighNCTourneys on forums
Arsenal
jcvinci@ncsu.edu

[KnowmaD]

Solid, detailed post.  Much oblige.

I'm not sure why people started taking out Frantic Search out of lists in the first place.  I know there was more limited space before post brainstorm, still.., but after there was/is no excuse.  Whats with the Skeletal Scrying over gifts.  Two Intuitions?  I always want to play it.  There just seems to always be that one better card for me.       
                                                                     
                                                                                                                               Knowmad

[The Atog Lord]

Thank you, Cody. That was a very informative read.

[islanderboi10]

Thanks Cody,
that was very informative.

[Vintar]

Great thread, a strong help to anyone trying the deck.

I played it a little (version with 1 Tendril + 1 Empty and Recoup) and often found that when I combo, I want to win right now, which is done better by your last list with 2 tendrils.
I had only moderate success with it, but I can tell it's definitely because I have to get used to it.
Drain Tendrils surprised me, as I never expected to kill without Will, which happens regularly when you draw enough.

Btw, what do you side out against Long / TPS to get your duresses in with your last list ?

Thanks for the nice work !

[RaleighNCTourneys]

Solid, detailed post.  Much oblige.

I'm not sure why people started taking out Frantic Search out of lists in the first place.  I know there was more limited space before post brainstorm, still.., but after there was/is no excuse.  Whats with the Skeletal Scrying over gifts.  Two Intuitions?  I always want to play it.  There just seems to always be that one better card for me.       
                                                                     
                                                                                                                               Knowmad

I really like having one huge bomb in the deck other than Yawgmoth's Will. Scrying makes the non-Will kill so much easier because if it resolves for like 4 or 5, you're going to win the game the next turn. Gifts resolving doesn't usually equal a win the next turn for DT, which is why I don't run it. Also, if the AK plan gets stopped or it works and then you find yourself without the win (it happens), Scrying is that last boost the deck needs sometimes to pull out the victory. As for Gifts, what are you going to find without the Recoup support? You can find all tutors (Intuiton can do that already, and I'd rather have a 3rd Intuition over Gifts). If you want to get draw spells, you might as well just make Gifts a draw spell and draw cards instead of casting Gifts. I know it's not that simple and there are situations where it will end the game, but most of the time I'd just rather be casting a draw spell than tutoring and diluting the deck. There are times when I'd want Gifts and times when I'd want Scrying. When you're testing the deck and draw Scrying or (Gifts), just make a note if you'd rather it be Scrying or Gifts Ungiven. That's probably the best way to determine which you want in the deck.

Great thread, a strong help to anyone trying the deck.

I played it a little (version with 1 Tendril + 1 Empty and Recoup) and often found that when I combo, I want to win right now, which is done better by your last list with 2 tendrils.
I had only moderate success with it, but I can tell it's definitely because I have to get used to it.
Drain Tendrils surprised me, as I never expected to kill without Will, which happens regularly when you draw enough.

Btw, what do you side out against Long / TPS to get your duresses in with your last list ?

Thanks for the nice work !

For Long, I go: -1 Tendrils, -1 Dark Ritual, -1 Rebuild, -1 Hurkyl's Recall, -1 Frantic Search, -1 Scrying, -1 Ponder
                       +2 Duress, +2 Thoughtseize, +1 Tormod's Crypt, +1 Tinker, +1 DSC

[Anusien]

This is a deck that interests me, so let me ask the inevitable question: what makes this better than Long?
Or I should say, since they're two somewhat different decks: in what metagame would you recommend this deck over Long?  It seems to have a better game against Stax; what other matchups does this outperform Long?

[Implacable]

Thanks for the read, Cody. 

[M.Solymossy]

I posted something over on Star City about the deck, so I will copy it over here.

I will post a couple things, as I feel somewhat qualified to do so Wink

I played in a small tournament with Recoup and Empty, and didn't like it. The recoup and empty clog up your hand way too many times, and overall, against most decks, tinker-DSC is a no-assembly-required win.

I think 3 duress is the correct number. They give you a turn 1 play without moxen, and disrupt long (as we know, the best deck in the format, hands down, is TPS/long). Less than three gives you inconsistancy with actually having the card, whereas in my opinion (take it or leave it) 4 dilute the deck too much.

The deck cannot afford the card loss from Frantic Search. I played it before and I actually liked it, until I came into a control mirror and the card loss was huge. Against combo in testing, it also mattered a LOT (although, It did dig me into a drain AND let me cast it one game in testing, so I suggest trying it for yoursefl).

Ponder was never good for me in that small tournament, and I don't even play it anymore. This deck has way too much hot sauce. Ponder is better served by another Thirst for knowledge, especially in my list, as I run duress to keep my turn 1 play value.


I do feel my list is slower than the tendrils build, but is less "all in". My list feels very similar to gifts decks, except instead of tutoring, you just draw a sh!t-ton of cards.

I personally *HATE* the red splash. It never really casts anything useful. I only played 1 volcanic in my small-tournament list, and 0 in my Champs build that I top8ed with. The red cards out of the sideboard are aweful too, because Rack And Ruin will cost about 70 by the time you get 3 mana sources up, thanks to chalices, thorns, and spheres. Even without a kill, Hurkyls' them on End Step is MUCH better. You hurkyls them, have 1 turn unmolested, and then drain their biggest threat. IT sets them back much more than a rack and ruin ever will.


With that said, I must say a few things.

This deck is very easy to play. However, it's very hard to play well enough to win a big tournament.

This deck is the most busted 60 card pile I've ever picked up, post-restriction. People will argue about long, but I really don't like how 7 card dependent it is. It really is like a much more stable Belcher, relying on it's opener + topdecks.

This deck can be modified many different ways. Play frequently and you will find the list that suits you best.

[HuntedWumpus]

Lots of great info, and a perfect length.

Though I'm still running my duress effects in the main I really like the comment about being able to fetch Island after Island with a Blue heavy build.

Thanks for the insights.

[RaleighNCTourneys]

This is a deck that interests me, so let me ask the inevitable question: what makes this better than Long?
Or I should say, since they're two somewhat different decks: in what metagame would you recommend this deck over Long?  It seems to have a better game against Stax; what other matchups does this outperform Long?

Hey, Kevin. I've sort of lived in a DT bubble for the last 2-3 years, so I don't know all of Long's strengths and weaknesses against the main archetypes. DT has always had a very strong game against other control decks. In the Gifts era, I never lost to Gifts in tournament play out of some 10-15 matches. Control Slaver has always been favorable and still is one of the better (and more fun) matchups for me to play with DT. While DT doesn't have the best Long matchup, game 1 is winnable and post-board is better. Stax, like you said, is usually favorable. The reason I play the deck is because I feel like I'm very competetive against the whole field (and if not, I make sure I am like with Ichorid). I think the main reason to play this over long would be personal preference of playing with Mana Drains. Both decks have good game against most decks.

[Anusien]

How do you feel against, say, UW Fish/Bomberman or Oath?  Do you feel like you're still fast enough against those decks (especially with some number of Massacres sideboard to beat on the aggro decks)?  Basically I have a metagame that is likely to be devoid of Ichorid so I have a number of slots to play with, and I think DT might be a strong choice for the field.

[RaleighNCTourneys]

If you are confident that there will be no Ichorid, then you should do very well. That frees up 7 slots. You can add another bounce spell, another Duress effect or 2, Massacres, Diabolic Edicts, whatever. Oath and Fish are already strong matchups  for DT and should be amazing with 7 new slots.

[M.Solymossy]

I love the oath matchup.  I 2-0ed Gunslinga, and have been tearing it apart in testing.  Duress is a huge part of that, as well as Chalice doing virtually nothing to you.  Just don't get caught playing aggressively...  My testing has shown you are the control in the matchup (a ridiculous draw engine + the same control they have).

[Anusien]

Do you not find a need for a Basic Swamp?  Seems good to guarantee your black mana through the rise of Tangle Wire in MUD that seems to be going on.

[gabbalost]

Hello from a spanish vintage player.

Thanks for your article Cody. There is only one problem with your playtest games. You didn't play any second game and we don't see your sideboard in action.

You show us this sideboard:

4x Leyline of the Void
2x Pithing Needle
1x Yixlid Jailer
1x Tormod’s Crypt
1x Tinker
1x Darksteel Colossus
2x Duress
2x Thoughtseize
1x Darkblast

I have a few questions about it:

1. Why do you chose darkblast over lava dart?
2. Did you forget extirpate?
3.  It's not too much dedicating 4 slots for discard spells? And about that, why not play any maindeck duress and/or thoughtseize?
4. Which is your response to an early Empty the warrens? I do not see any echoing truth or engineered explosives.

regards,

Gabbalost

[gabbalost]

How do you feel against, say, UW Fish/Bomberman or Oath?  Do you feel like you're still fast enough against those decks (especially with some number of Massacres sideboard to beat on the aggro decks)?  Basically I have a metagame that is likely to be devoid of Ichorid so I have a number of slots to play with, and I think DT might be a strong choice for the field.

UW Fish: The only thing that I fear from this deck is an outrage of creatures on the early turns or developing a mana base hard on artifacts and be castigated with a null rod.  Null rod may be is the true key of this match.

Bomberman is too easy in my opinion. Take care of the aurioks with counters and use the information that gives you your oponent with trinkets. My experience says that if an oponent search for lotus is because he is keeping an auriok in his hand. If he search for the spellbomb there is two options: he has a defensive view of the match waiting tinker+colossus or he don't include any sensei's divining top, on those two cases probably he don't have a good hand, that is no FoW or drain.
I think the best option for a bomberman player, the card that damages a lot the drain tendrils, is aven mindcensor. It can't be countered and disable your fetchlands, tutors, intuition and gifts.

Ichorid: The jailer is god. It's replayable in the early turns if you get it chained. Leyline not. I prefer to sideboard any ratio of jailers and extirpates against 4 leylines. You can use extirpate to battle against anothers archetips and I could play also tormod's crypt for the same reason as extirpate.

regards.

gabbalost

[RaleighNCTourneys]

Hi gabbalost. I didn't play any matches because I just wanted to give players a feel for how the deck plays game 1. I could have written a lot more, but this is what I wanted to do with this article. Besides, recording matches with sideboarding on MWS would have been way too much work and really wouldn't mean all that much since MWS games are usually not like tournament matches at all.

1) The deck has no red in it.
2) No I didn't forget about it. I like how this Ichorid board is working out although there are many other options, including Extirpates. I'm guessing Team Pataners has had success with Extirpates against Ichorid?
3) 4 Duress effects are the minimum I want to bring in against Long and Control. I'd add more if it weren't for Ichorid slots. I don't play maindeck Duress effects because I like to play game 1 by fetching out Islands and casting as many draw spells as possible. Just personal preference and how I play the deck.
4) First, ETW is not a real threat right now in the US. Not that many people are playing it. The deck should still be able to race an early ETW unless its on turn 1 for some insane number.

[gabbalost]

Hi again,

Hi gabbalost. I didn't play any matches because I just wanted to give players a feel for how the deck plays game 1. I could have written a lot more, but this is what I wanted to do with this article. Besides, recording matches with sideboarding on MWS would have been way too much work and really wouldn't mean all that much since MWS games are usually not like tournament matches at all.

1) The deck has no red in it.
2) No I didn't forget about it. I like how this Ichorid board is working out although there are many other options, including Extirpates. I'm guessing Team Pataners has had success with Extirpates against Ichorid?
3) 4 Duress effects are the minimum I want to bring in against Long and Control. I'd add more if it weren't for Ichorid slots. I don't play maindeck Duress effects because I like to play game 1 by fetching out Islands and casting as many draw spells as possible. Just personal preference and how I play the deck.
4) First, ETW is not a real threat right now in the US. Not that many people are playing it. The deck should still be able to race an early ETW unless its on turn 1 for some insane number.

Thanks for your answer. Now I understand more the goal of your article. But I have a few things to contribute:


1) Sorry, I assumed that you were playing with red but that you never got the empty. We here like a lot the red option. With the new metagame there're a few players playing WU fish and to battle meddling mage with a single chain of vapor is scaring. Well, for me less dangerous 'cause I play echoing truth over hurkyl's recall. Red gives you access to ***blast, rack and ruin and pyroclasm and of course, EtW. For those who says that rack and ruin will cost too much against stax 'cause the sphere and thorns, forget that it has the same cost as rebuild, and forget that is a powerhouse against slavers and painters.

2) I've talked a lot with guys from Team Pataners, particularly PiZZero, about the plan to play against Ichorid and we assumed that the best is a minimum of 2/3 extirpate plus a few copies of jailer. On the last tournament we played, Pizzero borrowed me 3 jailers and they let me win two rounds against Ichorid. In the other hand PiZZero told me at the end of this tournament that jailers sucks :,D. Well, I lost in semifinals and Pizzero won the tournament. If you're interested on this tournament you can search the Top8 deck list on www.team-pataners.com. It is the July LCV tournament at Mataró.

3) May be I consider too much because I played 2 duress maindeck. I like to play a minimum  of two at the sideboard. I consider thoughtseize a very important element because in determinated matches, decks like bomberman, you need the option of taking a creature. I remember the quarterfinal at the July LCV. My oponent searched a lotus via trinket and I assumed that he was keeping an auriok in his hand. I tutored for thoughtseize and then pulled out an auriok of his hand.
Other aspect of duress/thoughtseize. I try to not play it on the few turns, I always try to keep it until I'll go on combo. You have to play duress as information dealer. It's evidently that if your oponent scrolls for an ancestral and gives you turn staying tapped you will play duress to make him  discar the ancestral.

4) Here at LCV is the same case as the States. Maybe my personal experience turns me onto a cautious player and I fear too the Empty. But... I lost too much matches against this anoying sorcery! PiZZero jokes with my main deck echoing truth calling me "flojo" (lazy person). In any case I don't like hurky's recall maindeck. May be you see a lot of stax. Honestly I think that stax is like a bye. Only stax' god hands can beat drain tendrils (much more if you're playing EtW). In any case here people are playing aggro red/brown, those poor decks with juggy, swords and magus of the moon. Only the magus is a real threat against drain tendrils (well against my version, not yours).



I wish my words could be useful for all of you. Regards,

F.co Ávalos aka Gabbalost

[pierce]

Good post. It's rare these days for someone to go into such detail on an archetype here on the drain.

If you ever want to play games two and three, let me know. Mostly I just beat donks on MWS, and don't get actual 'testing' in.

[SnoopTrog]

Cody this was a very good article. Thank you for all your insight. Your point #8 is a very insightful gem.((((8) Be able to write down all 75 cards in your deck without any trouble))))))   The great players such as Steve ,Rich, Brian, Jimmy and Paul adhere to this concept religiously.

PS: This list was not exclusive , there are many others that can be added in!!

[SnoopTrog]

I couldn't reply to your email.

Hi Cody ,How have you been? The Serra is in there because she the only blue creature that works with savor the moment. I go to every event that I have a chance to. I will be attending Pittsburg on Aug. 30Th with Jerry and the Ohio crew and maybe RIW in Detroit on the Aug. 31st. Also we are trying to do a back to back tourney between Cleveland and Sandusky in Sept.. I hope to see you at one of these events soon. Keep smashing the south with DT, it's such a sweet deck!

PS: next time I will attack with welder!!!

[RaleighNCTourneys]

The Serra and Co. looks sweet. I'm not sure who got your list, but I was playing someone on MWS with it a few days ago (as seen in this article) under the name "Your Mom." Anyway, I didn't get to see the deck work at all since all they did was play Serra and Mirror with nothing on it, so I just kinda wrote it off as a random jank deck until I saw your list... but it looks awesome.

I actually moved to Buffalo, NY so I won't be smashing the south with DT... But.. I am a relatively short drive from Cleveland AND Pittsburg... so expect me to show up sometime in September or after. I really hope there is another Cleveland event soon!

[SnoopTrog]

It would be so cool if you could make the Pittsburg tourny on Aug. 30Th.  Three reason for you to show up   1) None of us get the chance to play against DT   2) None of us had the chance to play against the play skill of you with DT and  3)You are only three hours away.  I think you would add another dimension for the Ohio crew and Meandeck crew to test against. I can say for all of us it would be a blast .

 PS :Primanti Brothers for dinner after .SOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!

[LordHomerCat]

It would be so cool if you could make the Pittsburg tourny on Aug. 30Th.  Three reason for you to show up   1) None of us get the chance to play against DT   2) None of us had the chance to play against the play skill of you with DT and  3)You are only three hours away.  I think you would add another dimension for the Ohio crew and Meandeck crew to test against. I can say for all of us it would be a blast .

 PS :Primanti Brothers for dinner after .SOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!

I hope Cody shows up and Twaun then decides to play Dredge.

[DoubleDrain]

thanks for the informative read. I have a few questions for you:

1)  how has skeletal scrying been for you? seems great in the mid-late game and also like a good mana drain sink, but i wonder if there might be a better card for the early game.

2) fact over gifts... really? fact is great but if i could only play one of the two i would rather just find the cards i need, rather than leave it up to probability. running less than 2 intuition seems kinda bad, so you can't cut that either. maybe cut the skeletal scrying for gifts?

I guess other than -1 scrying, +1 gifts the list looks great. i will have to get some games under my belt.

thanks!


EDIT: after re-reading this thread a little closer, i see you have basically already responded to my post, but i wish to point out that while scrying can be better than gifts in terms of card drawing (a scrying for 3 already gets you +1 card vs. gifts), scrying requires a setup, i.e. you need to have progressed the game to the point where the cards are already in your yard to remove. turn 2 gifts off turn 1 drain is waaay better than skeletal scrying. I guess i just dont like cards that aren't (usually) very useful in the first 1-3 turns.

[FadeToBlack]

Any chance you can give us some basic sideboard strategies, or more specifically, what can be taken out?

Also, what decks do you side in the Tinker/DSC combo against?

Sorry if these seem like silly questions, fairly new to the Vintage scene and have never really played a Tendrils based deck before.

[RaleighNCTourneys]

Any chance you can give us some basic sideboard strategies, or more specifically, what can be taken out?

Also, what decks do you side in the Tinker/DSC combo against?

Sorry if these seem like silly questions, fairly new to the Vintage scene and have never really played a Tendrils based deck before.

Here's something I posted on the SCG boards:

Slaver: -1 Tendrils, -1 Dark Ritual, -1 Rebuild, -1 Hurkyl's Recall, -1 Frantic Search, -1 Scrying, -1 Ponder, -1 Vamp, +2 Duress, +2 Thoughtseize, +1 Tinker, +1 DSC, +1 Darkblast, +1 Pithing Needle

Long: 1 Tendrils, -1 Dark Ritual, -1 Rebuild, -1 Hurkyl's Recall, -1 Frantic Search, -1 Scrying, -1 Ponder, +2 Duress, +2 Thoughtseize, +1 Tormod's Crypt, +1 Tinker, +1 DSC

Manaless Ichorid: -8x Counters, -1x Tendrils, -1x Dark Ritual, +8 Anti-Ichorid cards, +1 Tinker, +1 DSC (you could also consider keeping in the FOWs)

Basically you will always board in Tinker/DSC. This is because you need to board out combo-enablers (Dark Ritual, Bounce, Frantic Search, etc) to make room for board cards. This makes the deck slow enough that the 2x Tendrils plan just isn't going to cut it and you need the DSC support.

The deck would ideally like to run 1 more Duress effect and 1 Hurykl's Recall or Echoing Truth on the board... but with Ichorid around it's hard to find room.

thanks for the informative read. I have a few questions for you:

1)  how has skeletal scrying been for you? seems great in the mid-late game and also like a good mana drain sink, but i wonder if there might be a better card for the early game.

2) fact over gifts... really? fact is great but if i could only play one of the two i would rather just find the cards i need, rather than leave it up to probability. running less than 2 intuition seems kinda bad, so you can't cut that either. maybe cut the skeletal scrying for gifts?

I guess other than -1 scrying, +1 gifts the list looks great. i will have to get some games under my belt.

thanks!


EDIT: after re-reading this thread a little closer, i see you have basically already responded to my post, but i wish to point out that while scrying can be better than gifts in terms of card drawing (a scrying for 3 already gets you +1 card vs. gifts), scrying requires a setup, i.e. you need to have progressed the game to the point where the cards are already in your yard to remove. turn 2 gifts off turn 1 drain is waaay better than skeletal scrying. I guess i just dont like cards that aren't (usually) very useful in the first 1-3 turns.

I'm still testing Gifts vs. Scrying and have not come to a conclusion either way but am favoring Scrying. I've still only been testing with Gifts for about a month now... so I'm still learning how to play with it. If you do end up testing this deck, you should make a note of some Gifts piles you make with the deck and post them (and also note if you'd rather have Scrying). I often have trouble coming up with strong Gifts piles with DT. It seems like if I can't get the 3x tutors + Lotus (or Recall in the pile somewhere) and just win the next turn, then I'd rather be casting Scrying. For example, if I have used any of my tutors to find Recall and then cast Gifts... finding a strong Gifts pile is pretty hard for me. Let's assume I mystical for Recall and then turn 2 or 3 I cast Gifts EOT and it resolves. What am I going to find? Let's say I have 2 moxen in play (for Tolarian purposes).

I can get Lotus, DT, Vamp, 4th card. The 4th card here is the problem. What am I going to get? What ever it is, it's not going to be that strong and will have to be a draw spell. My opponent gives me Lotus and a draw spell and then I paid 4 mana to find a draw spell while leaving no tutors left for Will. This seems horrible compared to drawing 3+ from Scrying.

So, what other piles can I make? I can make a pile with TFK, Intuition, FoF and Merchant Scroll. This is also pretty bad compared with Scrying b/c I will get a Merchant Scroll and let's say TFK. Scroll can't find Recall and then I have to spend more mana (and tutor twice) to finally get that third card, which is just another mediocre draw spell. It would have been so much better to free up mana and draw cards on the spot with Scrying at EOT. Also, Fact or Fiction would be better as well (imo) b/c if you hit any of your tutors or Will you also win the game.

Does anyone have any better ideas of what to Gifts for if Recall and a tutor is gone? This also isn't the only scenario I feel that Gifts isn't very strong. Even if one tutor is gone and Recall is still in the deck, I'm pretty sure I'd rather be Scrying.

I could be just playing Gifts absolutely horribly, in which case someone please help me. Of course there are Gifts piles that win the game, but I feel like drawing 3+ with Scrying is always good and leads to victory for DT, while Giftsing sometimes wins the game and sometimes is just terrible.

[zeus-online]

Well if you have a tutor, it's easy

But really, in the old gifts days i often just found mana, since eventually that's what you're going to need to further your game plan or simply just kill your opponent.

I could see that as a viable target in DT aswell, since you are likely to be able to chain even more card-draw together with a little extra mana, or just simply kill your opponent.

It also makes a future will much stronger.

Just a suggestion

/Zeus

[breed]

Excellent article, thanks Mr Vinci.