An incredibly tough-to-play spell that can make or break a game all on its own. Brainstorm can often fix hands needing two specific types of cards and finding them both at once or simply putting a few situational cards back on top of the library. An important feature of this card is that in matchups with discard, it is very relevant to preserve these and use them to protect the best cards in hand.

When playing TES, sequencing cantrips is extremely important, but there are also games where one card means winning on turn one. Some players scoff at casting a Brainstorm in the main phase on the first turn, but TES is an explosive deck! It certainly can be the correct play given the context and breaking gameplay norms in combo decks is nothing new.

Collaborating Brainstorm with a shuffle effect is generally the way to go to avoid drawing dead spells, access lands, or too many copies of Chrome Mox or Mox Opal. There are times when sitting on Brainstorm for multiple turns while continuing to draw spells just to put back worse ones is the correct thing to do.

“Where did Ponder go?” It’s been replaced by a card with more synergy within The EPIC Storm! While it may seem lackluster in comparison, Mishra’s Bauble is the glue that has pushed TES into a new era.

The most obvious level up is how well it enables Metalcraft for Mox Opal to assist with additional mana stability, but there’s so much more to Mishra’s Bauble than that. An underrated aspect of the card is the free information in a very explosive deck, being able to look at the top card of the opponent’s library can often let the storm pilot know if the coast is clear to combo-off. A more common scenario is looking at the top card of your own library in conjunction with a fetchland such as Bloodstained Mire to provide card selection on if the top of the deck should be drawn or not. If this is the line, when is it right to activate Mishra’s Bauble?

It’s context-based, but activating the zero mana artifact on your opponent’s turn delays the draw until the next turn. This means that the extra card was protected from opposing discard or safe from being shuffled back by someone else’s Echo of Eons. Speaking of Echo of Eons, using these free enablers means additional card advantage on turns with a quick draw 7 as there wasn’t mana spent on casting these, unlike Ponder. Allowing the Storm deck to increase speed, create card advantage, and play to the table.

The card that may have benefited even more than Mox Opal would be Galvanic Relay, a card advantage engine that rewards the Storm deck for having more spells to cast on the set-up turn and Mishra’s Bauble does that while helping create mana to cast even more spells. Mishra’s Bauble likely should’ve been included long ago.

When The EPIC Storm made the switch from Infernal Tutor to Wishclaw Talisman it raised the artifact count high enough to support Mox Opal, which created a fundamental shift in deck construction.

A common play pattern is to cast Wishclaw Talisman on the first turn using Mox Opal or Chrome Mox. This allows a six-mana line on the second turn to cast Ad Nauseam, where previously it would’ve required seven mana for Infernal Tutor. Unlike Infernal Tutor, the search on Wishclaw Talisman isn’t tied to a stipulation. This means being able to search for anything, such as a sided in copy of Chain of Vapor. Because of this, TES is incentivized to run powerful singleton copies of cards to search for such as Echo of Eons.

One of the truly fantastic aspects of Wishclaw Talisman is that its activated ability isn’t sorcery speed, it’s on your turn. This means that when Ad Nauseam is on the stack, when it’s met with a Force of Will, activating Wishclaw Talisman for an instant is something that’s possible. It’s also uncounterable, which allows for sneaky situations to build up Storm count and then just activating Wishclaw Talisman into a lethal Tendrils of Agony.

One of the defining features of The EPIC Storm (TES). An incredibly powerful and resourceful element that is quite diverse in what it can do. Burning Wish allows TES to not play answers for problematic cards by either providing a solution or an alternative route to victory. One of the greatest things Burning Wish does for this deck is it allows for game one answers to permanent-based disruption as well as the flexibility of beating cards such as Veil of Summer. That’s the true beauty of Burning Wish — it can be a number of different things.

The “wish board” is comprised of Storm engines, win conditions, protection, and a few solution-based cards. The entire sideboard is not full of Burning Wish targets as it doesn’t create the greatest value out of the available slots. Generally, try to have no more than 6-7 Burning Wish targets.

Lastly, having included Burning Wish into the deck, threat density is very high in comparison to other Storm decks meaning that less time is spent finding threats with cantrips which leads to a faster kill.

As a Storm engine, Galvanic Relay fills the role in an odd way. By casting the spell, it signals that most of the current combo turn is over. Resolving the card is an investment in a future turn, which means that one has to live and not get locked out of the game during that turn. The most effective Galvanic Relays tend to be against slower blue decks where “drawing” 4-5 cards next turn is plenty to win the game. It is especially good with artifact acceleration such as Lotus Petal and Chrome Mox to generate Storm while leaving cards in play as opposed to ritual effects, which become more of a rummaging effect. Playing at least one copy in the sideboard makes Burning Wish a much bigger threat compared to only being able to find Echo of Eons or Thoughtseize.

Especially when blue decks are loading up on Hullbreacher style effects, having an engine that goes around anti-draw effects and is able to be found with Burning Wish is important. Because Galvanic Relay exiles the cards, it plays well with Lion’s Eye Diamond. Lion’s Eye Diamond kind of becomes an initial mana source.

Recently, we’ve moved Galvanic Relay into the main deck for Wishclaw Talisman to find as a cheap, uncounterable way to create card advantage. The benefits of having access to Galvanic Relay in the first game will often outweigh having to hand the opponent a Wishclaw Talisman as opposing cards in fair-blue matchups are rarely as powerful.

The EPIC Storm is the best Ad Nauseam deck in Legacy. Between Chrome Mox and Mox Opal to act as additional copies of Lotus Petal as well as a lower average converted mana cost, Ad Nauseam has an increased power level here. Our primary Storm engine and game plan, we’ve catered our deck to maximize its potential.

Something to keep in mind is that Ad Nauseam is an instant, you can cast the spell in response to a Brainstorm or on an end step. There’s also the “Chrome Mox trick” — which is to cast Chrome Mox, in response cast Ad Nauseam, and in response to Ad Nauseam activate Lion’s Eye Diamond! You do this to be able to imprint after Ad Nauseam has resolved and is only viable if you didn’t have a card you could imprint before casting Ad Nauseam.

There are other instant-speed tricks involving Mishra’s Bauble and Lion’s Eye Diamond as well, where using the triggers on Mishra’s Bauble to allow Lion’s Eye Diamond mana to cast Ad Nauseam on the opponent’s upkeep to play around Force of Negation.

Previously, Echo of Eons was only a Burning Wish target. That changed when The EPIC Storm added Wishclaw Talisman to the deck. There’s more reason than ever to play two copies in the 75. The difference-maker was Wishclaw Talisman’s ability to consistently find Lion’s Eye Diamond to pair with the copy of Echo of Eons (either naturally drawn or retrieved by Burning Wish).

Echo of Eons works very well with Lion’s Eye Diamond, which is why Wishclaw Talisman’s ability to find it is so important. First, play Burning Wish to retrieve Echo of Eons, then play Lion’s Eye Diamond (this plays around artifact disruption), discard the hand and add three blue to flashback your pseudo-Timetwister. Another way of getting Echo of Eons into the graveyard is to Thoughtseize yourself. While not ideal, it is a “build your a Diminishing Returns!”. Something to keep in mind, Echo of Eons is symmetrical, meaning the opponent will also draw a fresh seven-card hand. This is an issue against blue decks. To offset this, cards such as Orim’s Chant / Silence, Defense Grid, and even sideboard options such as Hope of Ghirapur or Xantid Swarm are recommended over discard spells opening up another engine versus counterspell archetypes.

Echo of Eons is the first three-mana storm engine legal in Legacy that’s playable in quite some time. This helps quite a bit against Prison strategies or decks trying to lock TES out of the game such as Maverick or Death & Taxes.

The primary reason this card is played is the strength of Prismatic Ending, that said, Orim’s Chant has brought some new life to The EPIC Storm. Ever since the switch to Veil of Summer, TES has had some difficulty with Mindbreak Trap and Stifle. With Orim’s Chant, those issues have been greatly reduced especially with the ability to search for it off of Wishclaw Talisman. Something that may not be obvious about Orim’s Chant is its flexibility, in combo match-ups, it’s an ace in the hole for blowing the opponent out of the water in a crucial spot.

In situations against aggro decks, Orim’s Chant can be used as a figurative “Time Walk” to buy yourself some time. What this means is casting Orim’s Chant in the opponent’s upkeep to stop them from casting spells, if needed, you can use the Kicker ability as well.

“Why split Orim’s Chant and Silence?” In today’s age, Leyline of Sanctity has never been less popular — only appearing in Oops! All Spells and Dredge.

The primary reason for the split is Surgical Extraction effects followed by cards that name a card such as Cabal Therapy, Anointed Peacekeeper, or Meddling Mage. The difference between Silence and Orim’s Chant is very unlikely to matter in a large volume of games which means that splitting them for Surgical Extraction purposes is ideal.

A defining characteristic of The EPIC Storm, this card is one of the reasons this deck is blazing fast. It costing one mana is important for two reasons — first, it’s easier to cast in comparison to other “Ritual” effects available that cost two, and second, its converted mana cost’s impact on Ad Nauseam.

Something that is often overlooked when viewing Rite of Flame and is the ability to make two red mana which is important because it generates just enough to meet the red mana requirement for both Burning Wish and Empty the Warrens in a single turn. Two Rite of Flame is also the perfect amount of mana to cast Empty the Warrens! Things become a little more interesting when more than two copies of Rite of Flame are available (see below).

Mana Generated by Rite of Flame
Cast off a single red mana source, in one turn.

• 1 Rite of Flame – Two red mana.
• 2 Rite of Flame – Four red mana.
• 3 Rite of Flame – Seven red mana.
• 4 Rite of Flame – Eleven red mana.

One of the most powerful cards in this deck and Legacy as a whole. If multiple “Ritual” effects are in hand, including a Rite of Flame, cast Dark Ritual second as it is an instant. This is incredibly helpful when it comes to playing around Daze, Spell Pierce, and sometimes Flusterstorm.

Mana Generated by Dark Ritual
Cast off a single black mana source, in one turn.

• 1 Dark Ritual – Three black mana.
• 2 Dark Ritual – Five black mana.
• 3 Dark Ritual – Seven black mana.
• 4 Dark Ritual – Nine black mana.

The card is responsible for most turn one wins and is a total game-changer. When using Lion’s Eye Diamond it’s crucial to maintain priority and activate it in response to other spells before passing priority/checking to see if there are any responses.

With the inclusion of Galvanic Relay into The EPIC Storm, Lion’s Eye Diamond has become even better than it was in the past. The drawback of discarding our hand when there are 8 to 10 cards in exile that are castable means that it’s the closest to Black Lotus that this card has ever felt like!

Try to cast Lion’s Eye Diamond at opportune times, Lion’s Eye Diamond can be played very differently depending on the matchup. Letting Lion’s Eye Diamond sit on the table and threaten the opponent in some situations can be correct while hiding it in hand or on top of the deck can be better in other scenarios. Playing Lion’s Eye Diamond right before Wishclaw Talisman or Burning Wish is often the right play pattern so that the artifact cannot be destroyed by effects such as Abrupt Decay or Force of Vigor.

Initial mana sources with no drawback that are almost always a pleasure to see — especially off of Ad Nauseam. They, like Chrome Mox, enable speedy early turn combos and generate Storm for free. Lotus Petal can also fix our mana, especially in post-board games for Prismatic Ending!

The EPIC Storm finally has enough artifacts to support Mox Opal! This change happened when TES realized it was able to swap Infernal Tutor for Wishclaw Talisman. With this swap, it brought the total number of artifacts up to 18-22 (this number fluctuates on if running Mishra’s Bauble over Ponder).

With over a third of The EPIC Storm being artifacts, Mox Opal can be active on the first turn. This helps significantly when trying to cast a first turn Wishclaw Talisman and then passing the turn. A cool trick with Mox Opal is to cast Brainstorm AND THEN shuffle your deck with Bloodstained Mire or Polluted Delta on turn one. This allows another spell to be cast such as an additional cantrip or a business spell.

Another fancy play with Mox Opal and Chrome Mox is to play Mox Opal first, cast Chrome Mox, with the imprint ability on the stack cast Brainstorm (or even Ad Nauseam!) and then imprint onto Chrome Mox after gaining new information/cards. While on the topic of Chrome Mox, even playing it for no-imprint cost now adds extra value with Mox Opal, which is something that should be mentioned for newer Storm pilots.

A card that divides TES from ANT. Chrome Mox provides additional early mana to allow for Ad Nauseam, Echo of Eons, Galvanic Relay, or Empty the Warrens. A huge part of why TES has such an incredibly high success rate post-Ad Nauseam is Chrome Mox acts as an initial mana source to continue “combo-ing” out for the turn.

One of the better uses of Chrome Mox is to allow a first turn Wishlcaw Talisman meaning that the second turn combo-ing often only needs six mana. Chrome Mox also helps to enable Mox Opal very early. Lists have recently bounced back and forth on the number of Chrome Mox in the main deck. At the moment, three copies are being played — this is because the format has sped up a bit with the decline in popularity of “true” control decks in the format.

Notice there are four copies of Bloodstained Mire and less of the deck’s secondary “fetchlands” — Scalding Tarn and Marsh Flats.

The difference between Bloodstained Mire and Marsh Flats may not be noticeable at a quick glance, but it’s there. Every fetchland in the current iteration of TES cannot get one land, except for Bloodstained Mire which can get every single land with the switch from Tundra to Scrubland. This change makes Bloodstained Mire the best fetchland in the deck and the reason that there are four copies. Pithing Needle could be a concern, but in the average use case of the card the opponent would be naming Wishclaw Talisman.

There’s more to Bloodstained Mire and the other fetchlands as well. They provide shuffle effects for cards like Brainstorm or Mishra’s Bauble which help with the quality of draws. Fetchlands protect TES’s mana from effects like Wasteland or Rishadan Port, which is key considering TES is a four-color deck with plenty of non-basic lands.

Notice there are two copies of Scalding Tarn and a single copy of the deck’s tertiary “fetchland” — Marsh Flats.

The difference between Scalding Tarn and Marsh Flats may not be noticeable at a quick glance, but it’s there. Every non-Bloodstained Mire fetchland in the current iteration of TES cannot get one land, for Scalding Tarn it cannot search out Scrubland. If a white source was desired, it would have to be a copy of Plateau. The main decision for this split over running a copy of Flooded Strand is that at its core, The EPIC Storm is a Rakdos deck. Scalding Tarn being able to search for Badlands is very important.

There’s more to Scalding Tarn and the other fetchlands as well. They provide shuffle effects for cards like Brainstorm or Mishra’s Bauble which help with the quality of draws. Fetchlands protect TES’s mana from effects like Wasteland or Rishadan Port, which is key considering TES is a four-color deck with plenty of non-basic lands.

Notice there are four copies of Bloodstained Mire and less of the deck’s secondary “fetchlands” — Scalding Tarn and Marsh Flats.

The difference between Bloodstained Mire and Marsh Flats may not be noticeable at a quick glance, but it’s there. Every non-Bloodstained Mire fetchland in the current iteration of TES cannot get one land, for Marsh Flats it cannot search out Volcanic Island. If a blue source was desired, it would have to be a copy of Underground Sea.

There’s more to Marsh Flats and the other fetchlands as well. They provide shuffle effects for cards like Brainstorm or Mishra’s Bauble which help with the quality of draws. Fetchlands protect TES’s mana from effects like Wasteland or Rishadan Port, which is key considering TES is a four-color deck with plenty of non-basic lands.

A searchable land that provides two of the deck’s primary colors without any drawbacks. In this list, Underground Sea tends to be the primary fetchland target.

This means that it’s best to pair Underground Sea with its complement which would be Taiga &dmash; a prominent secondary land. When having both lands in play, all four colors are available which makes gameplay much easier.

A searchable land that provides two of the deck’s primary colors without any drawbacks. With the return of Scrubland, Volcanic Island has a natural pairing although it’s less desirable than Underground Sea paired with Plateau.

In the right metagame, Pulverize can be found in the sideboard. TES would need more than a couple of Mountains in the deck. Volcanic Island is currently one of three Mountains for this purpose.

A trick for playing with red “dual lands” is to sit back on “fetchlands” and make sure they don’t get hit by Wasteland if in a position where casting Pulverize is necessary.

A searchable land that provides two of the deck’s primary colors without any drawbacks.

Badlands is one of three Mountains in the deck for Pulverize in the sideboard — previously if a Wasteland were to hit a Mountain, Pulverize would be shut off. Not anymore! A trick for playing with red “dual lands” is to sit back on “fetchlands” and make sure they don’t get hit by Wasteland if in a position where casting Pulverize is necessary.

With no copies of Tundra in the decklist, Badlands is left without a natural pairing. Which is fine in some circumstances, when only having a single land having an option that provides both combo colors can be very crucial.

A searchable land that provides two of the deck’s primary colors without any drawbacks.

Scrubland can be played as an additional white source while helping balance the mana in the deck, the issue is its complement is Volcanic Island. This shouldn’t be a big deal, especially with the absence of Abrupt Decay.

A problematic situation is that scrubland provides black and white mana which represents our protection mana AND our primary combo colored mana, what does this leave Volcanic Island doing? It creates a natural tension on the mana base which is why the recommended land pairing is Underground Sea and Plateau.

A searchable land that provides two of the deck’s primary colors without any drawbacks.

Plateau (much like Scrubland) is here to primarily be a white source while helping balance the mana in the deck. Currently, there are three black sources, three red sources, two blue sources, and two white sources. Plateau is fairly critical to this by allowing a single Wasteland on the other white mana generator to not cause Orim’s Chant / Silence or Prismatic Ending to be shut off.

When pairing Plateau with Underground Sea all four colors are available which makes gameplay much easier, this is something many players look to accomplish in the early game. A perfect example would be that Prismatic Ending can be cast off of this dynamic duo on the end step, untap, and then being able to win the game while having all of the necessary resources.