Grislebrand's Birthday.dec

[MaximumCDawg]

This is a thread to talk about Surprise Deployment, a card no one knows or cares about.  It's a 3W instant that puts a creature from your hand into play until the end of the turn, and can only be cast during someone's combat step.  It's a one-sided Show and Tell that only costs 1 more mana, which is amazing -- but the creature only shows up to wave, can't attack even if it has haste, and then pops back into your hand.  Even so, there are some creatures who only need to peek out of your hand for a moment to make an impact.  For example:

Grislebrand (3w: Pay 7-14 life, draw 7-14 cards.)
Sundering Titan (3w: Destroy two lands of each type)
Angel of Despair / Ashen Rider  (3w: vindicate)
Craterhoof (3w: make your other attacking dorks bigger)
Runescar (3w: demonic tutor, lol)
Terrastadon (3w: kill 3 things)
Myrball (3w: Get 4 myr)

If you have Sundial of the Infinite, congrats, your cheatyface creature gets to stick around! Also note that if you have some way of blinking or sacrificing the creature you Deployed, then you can avoid the returns-to-hand trigger. 

And, of course, you can always use Deployment for its intended purpose (boooring) of flashing in a blocker.  Doing that with Grislebrand is actually pretty awesome, since he'll gain you back the 7 life you paid by dealing damage to whatever hatebear is coming after your life total.

With that in mind, here's a suggestion for a way to abuse this bad boy:

Deployment Prison

Unfair Stuff (12)
4 Surprise Deployment
4 Grislebrand
3 Sundering Titan
1 Myrball

Support Stuff (6)
4 Sundial of the Infinite (Full playset so you are very likely to find one off Grislebrand trigger and keep him)
2 Goblin Welder

Disruption (15)
3 Cabal Therapy (sac the titan you deployed so it's available for welder later)
4 Duress (Since you want to draw lots of cards off Grislebrand, dont run thoughtseize)
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Smokestack (plays so nice with Sundial)

Mana (27)
4 City of Brass
4 Gemstone Mine
4 Wasteland
2 B-W Non-basic land type (dunno which ones)
1 R-W Non-basic land type (dunno which ones)
1 Strip Mine
5 Moxen
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt

The concept here would be to lead with removal and discard, then eventually deploy a threat.  If you've got a cabal therapy or if your deploying grislebrand, do it during your own attack step so you can either bin the Titan for reanimation later or dig into a Sundail to save grislebrand.  Otherwise, deploying during your opponent's attack step is fine. 

Anyone else tried this card out?

[Craft]

Interesting. Ashen Rider is a nonbo though as he is white, but that's a small nitpick. I like Gilded Drake with this card.

[TheWhiteDragon]

I've always liked surprise deployment, but there are several issues with the card:

1) It costs more than oath of druids or show and tell which put the card directly in play for good.
2) It doesn't leave the critter in play by itself.
3) It requires you to run several copies of otherwise uncastable critters unlike oath.
4) It is a 4 mana, 2 card combo that doesn't end the game on the spot.

Also, doesn't sundial cause an "end step" by ending the turn?

[Craft]

Also, doesn't sundial cause an "end step" by ending the turn?

No, it just ends the turn. Ending the turn is merely a function of the end step.

[MaximumCDawg]

Even so, you gotta wait for end step triggers to go on the stack before Sundail'n.  If you do not, then the end step never occurs and "beginning of the next end step" triggers will hit at the end of the NEXT turn.

Also: good call catching Ashen Rider's white-ness.

I've always liked surprise deployment, but there are several issues with the card:

1) It costs more than oath of druids or show and tell which put the card directly in play for good.
2) It doesn't leave the critter in play by itself.
3) It requires you to run several copies of otherwise uncastable critters unlike oath.
4) It is a 4 mana, 2 card combo that doesn't end the game on the spot.

I agree with all of that, especially no. 4.  Still, this card is unplayed and unknown, so I bet you'd steal a game or two as your opponent tries to figure out what the hell is going on.  And, with Titan, not staying in play is actually just fine - you want him to croak.   

[xouman]

If i'd play Surprise deployment, why don't play show and tell too???

I'd not play sundial, it's a dead card. If you can play griselbrand against a non-creature deck, you can activate it twice and have 14 extra cards for the price of 2. If you play against a creature deck and can block one... wow!

Still, it's different but probably inferior to oath, although oath hate does not affect this deck. A sb card for 5c oath, maybe?

[zimagic]

I'd not play sundial, it's a dead card. If you can play griselbrand against a non-creature deck, you can activate it twice and have 14 extra cards for the price of 2. If you play against a creature deck and can block one... wow!

Though that may be unimpressive in itself it's still a free 7 cards....

[xouman]

I'd not play sundial, it's a dead card. If you can play griselbrand against a non-creature deck, you can activate it twice and have 14 extra cards for the price of 2. If you play against a creature deck and can block one... wow!

Though that may be unimpressive in itself it's still a free 7 cards....

Maybe I didn't explain myself properly, but I tried to say that block a creature is a great deal! Maybe you are not at >14 lives, but killing a creature and gaining 7 lives PLUS 1 or 2 GB activations should seal the deal.

[quicksilvervii]

Is this card better than Sneak Attack at 4 mana?

I personally would rather cast this on my turn, and just, win.

[Aaron Patten]

This is great

[MaximumCDawg]

Is this card better than Sneak Attack at 4 mana?

I personally would rather cast this on my turn, and just, win.

Well Sneak Attack costs RR3 to pop out your fattie, and this costs 3W, so there is that. 

[xouman]

Is this card better than Sneak Attack at 4 mana?

I personally would rather cast this on my turn, and just, win.

Well Sneak Attack costs RR3 to pop out your fattie, and this costs 3W, so there is that. 

AND it's an instant. It won't break vintage, but it's a viable way to put GB into play. Both Deployment and Sneak are affected by counterspells; Deployment is affected by fluster and sneak isn't; sneak is affected by revoker, pithing, claim and other enchantment hate.

[Cthulhu1975]

but the creature only shows up to wave, can't attack even if it has haste, and then pops back into your hand

If you play Personal Deployment during your beginning of combat step (before declare attackers), it should be possible to attack with the creature if it has haste.

This might not be that relevant, though, since there aren't that many interesting creatures with haste.

[TheWhiteDragon]

Not to burst a bubble, but "stealing a win on surprise" is hardly viable enough for competitive Vintage play.  If the deck were otherwise solid and not just running a bunch of overcosted or otherwise useless cards, then the surprise factor has value.  When there are SO many better strategies to just win more reliably and faster and in a better color, not relying on 1 of a 4-of for 4 mana to "win", this seems like it belongs in the creative forum, not Vintage strategies.  If ever this were to win a vintage tourney, then I'll eat crow...but as for now, this is just such a clunky way to win with loading your deck up worth worthless cards that it hardly seems worth the effort.  Tell me, how in the world this could even hope to compete against Mud, dredge, burning oath, gushbond, etc?

[Bill Copes]

Not to burst a bubble, but "stealing a win on surprise" is hardly viable enough for competitive Vintage play.  If the deck were otherwise solid and not just running a bunch of overcosted or otherwise useless cards, then the surprise factor has value.  When there are SO many better strategies to just win more reliably and faster and in a better color, not relying on 1 of a 4-of for 4 mana to "win", this seems like it belongs in the creative forum, not Vintage strategies.  If ever this were to win a vintage tourney, then I'll eat crow...but as for now, this is just such a clunky way to win with loading your deck up worth worthless cards that it hardly seems worth the effort.  Tell me, how in the world this could even hope to compete against Mud, dredge, burning oath, gushbond, etc?

What he said.  This deck is trying to be Flash, which won because of speed and was also packed to the brim with free disruption.  This is neither fast nor incredibly disruptive.