
Special GuestA few words on Michael Clifford (cl1ffy81):
Michael began playing magic with the release of Lorwyn and entered the legacy scene in 2013. From Show and tell to Reanimator to ritual-based combo, he has committed his focus to the dark arts of storm around the start of 2016. Having played almost every iteration of storm decks in every format, he has acquired quite a love for puzzle decks, especially Ruby Storm. A Bay Area local, Michael is a student at liberal arts college Sonoma State University, working towards his undergraduate degrees in Jazz Studies and Applied Math. He is also a member of the competitive rhythm game scene and can be found playing Pump It Up or In The Groove when outside of Magic and his academics.
Deck List
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Main Deck
- 4 Burning Wish
- 4 Infernal Tutor
- 4 Brainstorm
- 4 Ponder
- 4 Thoughtseize
- 3 Duress
- 1 Empty the Warrens
- 1 Ad Nauseam
- 4 Polluted Delta
- 3 Bloodstained Mire
- 2 Badlands
- 1 Volcanic Island
- 1 Underground Sea
- 1 Island
- 1 Swamp
Sideboard
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SITUATION #1 - Grixis Delver
In our first scenario, we are playing against Grixis Delver! Grixis Delver is a tempo deck that looks to put pressure on the opponent by playing an early game creature threat that can be protected with Daze or Force of Will. Grixis Delver also looks to disrupt their opponent by attacking their mana base with Wasteland, and in some builds, they look to rip apart their opponent's hand with Thoughtseize or Inquisition of Kozilek. With all of those disruptive elements combined with a fast clock, this matchup can definitely be troublesome for The EPIC Storm.HOW I SIDEBOARDED:
In this scenario, we are in game two on the draw. The opponent started with a Ponder and decided to shuffle. On our turn, we played out a Chrome Mox (Imprint: Thoughtseize), played Mox Opal, and then played Lion's Eye Diamond. Once all of those spells resolved, I attempted to cast Thoughtseize. Which was countered by a Force of Will, pitching Daze. How would you play out your turn to win, or put yourself in a winning situation?
SITUATION #2 - Death & Taxes
In our second scenario, we are playing against Death & Taxes! Death & Taxes has been making a huge comeback on Magic Online ever since the reprinting of Rishadan Port. While Death & Taxes has traditionally been an easy matchup for The EPIC Storm, they have recently added cards like Ancient Tomb and Chalice of the Void, which has made the matchup way more challenging after game one. Against Death & Taxes traditionally, we would just need to win through creature and land-based hate, where now they are attacking us on a whole different axis with artifact hate cards.HOW I SIDEBOARDED:
In this scenario, our opponent had all of the right hate cards, which really slowed us down. As the game progressed, we were able to grab a Pulverize from our sideboard with a Burning Wish, and then cast Echoing Truth on our opponent's Thalia, Guardian of Thraben on the end of their turn. On our turn, our opponent activated Rishadan Port, tapping down our Underground Sea. We drew a Bloodstained Mire for the turn and played it.
SITUATION #3 - Burn
Our third and final scenario is against Burn! Burn has been a strategy since the very beginning of Magic the Gathering. You are essentially just throwing very efficient damage cards at your opponent and hoping that they don't do something before you can kill them in two to three turns. Besides the fast clock that makes Ad Nauseam much worse, our the biggest haymaker that Burn plays against us is Eidolon of the Great Revel. The majority of my losses to burn have been because I have been locked behind this card at low life.HOW I SIDEBOARDED:
-2 Thoughtseize, -3 Duress, -1 Ponder, -1 Ad Nauseam+2 Echoing Truth +1 Chain of Vapor +2 Empty the Warrens +1 Past in Flames +1 Tendrils of Agony
In this scenario, we find ourselves in a frustrating spot in game two. We had the turn one Thoughtseize, which ended up taking a Volcanic Fallout. Then on our opponent's second turn, they drew an Eidolon of the Great Revel. That put is in a bit of a bind. The opponent's hand is currently two Mountains, so we don't know what to expect on our next turn.