TES Infernal Tutoring #42

Christopher Virula

The first thing to look for here is if we actually can kill our opponent with a [[Tendrils of Agony]]. The problem is we lose to a [[Veil of Summer]], meaning we need to take a defensive play using the black mana floating to [[Thoughtseize]] the opponent to either take out that [[Veil of Summer]] or take a card in order to not die on their turn! Cast [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint [[Burning Wish]]) and cast [[Wishclaw Talisman]] because if you are able to combo on the following turn, you will be in a spot where you can search for [[Ad Nauseam]] with [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and cast it!

Josh Hughes

I think in this scenario, I would just risk it and go for a [[Tendrils of Agony]] line. There is a very big chance that our opponent has the [[Veil of Summer]], but this is one I am willing to risk.

Bryant Cook

There are two options:

• Cast [[Dark Ritual]], [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint: [[Thoughtseize]]), [[Mox Opal]], [[Burning Wish]], and then [[Tendrils of Agony]] for lethal.
• Cast [[Dark Ritual]], [[Wishclaw Talisman]], activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprint: [[Thoughtseize]]), [[Burning Wish]] for [[Echo of Eons]], sacrifice your hand to [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and then Flashback [[Echo of Eons]].

Each line has their own downside, the first line just flat out loses to [[Veil of Summer]] and the second option is an [[Echo of Eons]] with a single mana floating that would need to find a way to win from there.

Alex Poling

Using the floating black mana, I would cast [[Dark Ritual]] to have three black mana. I would then use two of that black mana to cast [[Wishclaw Talisman]], [[Mox Opal]], and [[Chrome Mox]] imprinting [[Thoughtseize]]. Using the last floating black mana, I would activate the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to tutor for [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. I now have access to six mana with the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Badlands]], [[Mox Opal]], and [[Chrome Mox]], so I can now [[Burning Wish]] for [[Tendrils of Agony]].

Alex McKinley

Our opponent has us in a virtual checkmate due to having more than six mana and a [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. Passing the turn or casting [[Thoughtseize]] do not lead to winning positions. Our opponent may have a [[Veil of Summer]], but taking that chance leads to the most winning games. I would start by casting [[Chrome Mox]] (imprint [[Thoughtseize]]), then casting [[Mox Opal]]. [[Dark Ritual]] gives enough mana to cast [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and activate it to find [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. This gives us Metalcraft to be able to [[Burning Wish]] for [[Tendrils of Agony]].

Landon Sworts

To be honest, I think I’m just going to take the simple route to fetch the sideboard copy of [[Tendrils of Agony]]. The opponent could have [[Veil of Summer]], but I’m fine with forcing them to have it. [[Thoughtseize]] exiles to [[Chrome Mox]], [[Dark Ritual]] gets out [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to turn on Metalcraft. We can search for [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] culminating in our opponent scooping to a lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]] trigger on the stack.

Theo Andresier

Using a hypergeometric calculator (Which I have probably gotten wrong), we can determine that there is a 40 percent chance that they would have drawn one of the four-of [[Veil of Summer]], and therefore a 60 percent chance they haven’t!. I would be inclined to play the following: cast [[Chrome Mox]] and imprint the [[Thoughtseize]], cast [[Dark Ritual]] off the [[Chrome Mox]] and play out the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and [[Mox Opal]] (sacrificing the tapped [[Mox Opal]]). I would use the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to find a [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and play it. We end up with a possible three mana, a [[Burning Wish]], a [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and a storm count of 10 – which is enough to grab the [[Tendrils of Agony]] from the sideboard and go for 12 copies.

Christopher Virula

There are two available lines:

• Cast [[Ad Nauseam]], but we are low on life and that means we need to get a little lucky to kill the opponent.
• Pass the turn, and on the next turn search for [[Echo of Eons]] and cast it (with a new freshly drawn card in hand). We have the risk that our opponent draws something to interact with us on their turn.

I would side with the [[Echo of Eons]] line because we are more likely to see more cards with [[Echo of Eons]] to win the game than we are with [[Ad Nauseam]] due to our life-total.

Josh Hughes

While the wild man in me is tempted to grab [[Ad Nauseam]] with the one mana floating in our mana pool, and then cast [[Ad Nauseam]] in my second main phase with the extra mana from [[Carpet of Flowers]], I think the more mature play would be to grab [[Abrupt Decay]] from my library with the one mana floating and then kill our opponent’s [[Delver of Secrets]] with green mana from [[Carpet of Flowers]] in the second main phase.

Bryant Cook

This is an interesting spot. We can move to second main phase and then cast [[Ad Nauseam]] from six life, which is admittedly very risky but is it better than the alternative? We can also just pass the turn and hard cast [[Echo of Eons]] next turn, there are two downsides to this line. The first being we’ll be unable to Flashback [[Echo of Eons]] due to [[Grafdigger’s Cage]] and that our opponent will also draw seven cards. I believe that the six life line is too risky, especially when you’ve sided out two [[Chrome Mox]] and two [[Mox Opal]]. Because of this, I’d roll the dice on [[Echo of Eons]] being powerful enough to win the game on the following turn.

Alex Poling

I would just pass the turn here. On my next turn, my plan would be to use make six blue mana from the [[Carpet of Flowers]]. If I drew a mana source, I would have 10 mana and can use [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to tutor for [[Echo of Eons]]. The extra nine mana would allow me to cast it and then flash it back if it were to get countered.

Alex McKinley

This situation leaves two options: pass the turn and then hard cast [[Echo of Eons]] or cast [[Ad Nauseam]] this turn. Our opponent only has one card in hand and is tapped out, which means that the only card they could have to interact with is [[Daze]]. Despite being at six life, I think that the best play is to just cast [[Ad Nauseam]] this turn. The amount of interaction the opponent can have goes up next turn, and I’d rather take the risk this turn. I’d activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] using the floating black mana to find [[Ad Nauseam]], then I’d move to my second main phase and cast [[Ad Nauseam]] and hope it works out.

Landon Sworts

If I’m understanding this correctly we can still make mana with our second copy of [[Carpet of Flowers]]. Let’s use our floating mana to active [[Wishclaw Talisman]], retrieve [[Ad Nauseam]]. Let’s move to our secondary main phase and use our second copy of everyone’s favorite green enchantment to cast the only card in our hand for a “hail mary” from six life. #yolo

Theo Andresier

I would use the floating black mana to activate the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and get [[Burning Wish]], pass to my second main-phase, and cast it with the mana off of the second [[Carpet of Flowers]]. From the [[Burning Wish]], I would get [[Grapeshot]] cast it to deal two damage to the [[Delver of Secrets]] and two damage to them. We could have gone for an [[Ad Nauseam]] instead, but from six life it would be a struggle and that doesn’t play around a [[Daze]].

Christopher Virula

The first thing to note is that at this point the opponent has seen six cards with the [[Brainstorm]] ability of [[Jace, the Mind Sculptor]] and one of them is a land that was played on their turn. We know that they have at least [[Snapcaster Mage]] for [[Dovin’s Veto]] available, and in the worst case scenario 2-3 more free counterspells such as [[Force of Will]] or [[Force of Negation]]. Wwe can’t pass the turn again because our time is running out due to the card advantage engine.

I would play first both copies of [[Dark Ritual]] to make then search for [[Dark Ritual]] with one [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and then cast the new [[Dark Ritual]]. Now cast [[Mox Opal]] and then [[Veil of Summer]] from hand! They must counter it with the [[Snapcaster Mage]] into [[Dovin’s Veto]] because if they don’t, then we search another [[Veil of Summer]] with the second [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and then cast it! If they counter that copy of [[Veil of Summer]], we can activate our [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Tendrils of Agony]] to kill our opponent even through another free counterspell effect!

It is possible that the opponent doesn’t use [[Snapcaster Mage]] into [[Dovin’s Veto]] and that would put us in a position where they can can counter the original copy of [[Tendrils of Agony]] with [[Dovin’s Veto]], but I think we need to rake the risk.

Josh Hughes

I think this scenario is one where your next moves will rely heavily on what your opponent does. With that said, I would start by playing out my [[Mox Opal]], then both copies of [[Dark Ritual]] with the [[Swamp]]. If our opponent tried to counter those, I would most likely attempt to [[Veil of Summer]]. I think the goal of my turn would be to land a [[Veil of Summer]] and [[Echo of Eons]].

Bryant Cook

This was a cool submission. I’d lead off on [[Mox Opal]] as it’s unlikely to be countered and can help provide mana for casting multiple copies of [[Veil of Summer]]. From here, attempt to resolve the pair of [[Dark Ritual]] off of [[Swamp]]. The tricky part here is a smart opponent will fight at this spot since it’s where we’re the weakest. You have two copies of [[Veil of Summer]] available, but I don’t suspect it will be enough. Hypothetically, once the two copies of [[Dark Ritual]] resolve, cast [[Veil of Summer]] in [[Silence]] mode. This will likely draw out a [[Snapcaster Mage]] for [[Dovin’s Veto]]. We can now activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for another copy of [[Veil of Summer]] which should be stopped by the known [[Force of Will]]. We can now use our last [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Tendrils of Agony]]. This situation is a lot of, “what ifs” that need to go right.

Alex Poling

I would tap the [[Swamp]] and cast both copies of [[Dark Ritual]]. I would then play out the [Mox Opal]] and tap it and use two of the floating black mana to activate all of the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to get [[Veil of Summer]], [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Echo of Eons]]. I now have two copies of [[Veil of Summer]], [[Echo of Eons]], and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] with three black floating mana, an untapped [[Taiga]], and an untapped [[Tropical Island]]. Use both green sources to cast both copies of [[Veil of Summer]]. These will get countered by the [[Force of Will]] and the [[Snapcaster Mage]] casting the [[Dovin’s Veto]]. From there, I would play and sacrifice the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to put [[Echo of Eons]] in the graveyard and flash it back. Hopefully they don’t have a third counterspell.

Alex McKinley

My goal in this situation is to lead my opponent into a spot where natural [[Tendrils of Agony]] will win the game. I would start by tapping [[Tropical Island]] to activate the first [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and find [[Lotus Petal]]. This is because I need the Storm later on, and I need a card the opponent is unlikely to counter. I would then cast all of the mana in my hand, starting with the [[Lotus Petal]] and the [[Mox Opal]] (Storm 4). If the opponent tries to interact with any of the spells or once all of the mana resolves, I would cast the [[Veil of Summer]] that is in hand already (Storm 6). I would assume that our opponent has many counter spells and would interact with the [[Veil of Summer]]. Once they do so, I would use one of the floating mana to activate the first [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and find another [[Veil of Summer]] (Storm 8). Even if neither of the copies of [[Veil of Summer]] resolve, this still leaves enough mana to activate the last [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and cast a lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]]. Hopefully the opponent does not have four pieces of interaction as that would beat this line, but this line beats at least three counter spells.

Landon Sworts

I would probably just start casting spells waiting for the right moments to respond with [[Veil of Summer]] from our hand and retrieved copies with [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. The unknown cards in the opponents hand add variables so I would try to stay loose, avoid tunnel vision, and watch for an opportunity to take a combo line with a remaining [[Wishclaw Talisman]].

Theo Andresier

We can assume with quiet confidence that our opponent has at least two counterspells here, but luckily we have the answers to this! With three [[Wishclaw Talisman]]s out on the field, I believe our opponent is less likely to counter our [[Dark Ritual]] and will be aiming for a buisness card such as [[Burning Wish]]. I would start by playing the [[Mox Opal]] out (I am not expecting them to try and counter that), and then look to cast the [[Dark Ritual]]s. With five black mana, one opal, and two lands, I would activate a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] using a black and find a [[Veil of Summer]] and another to find a [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. I would then start the fight by casting the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] I tutored for and cast a [[Veil of Summer]] both if they try and counter it and if not. I would use the second [[Veil of Summer]] if they attempted to counter that one. Using the three black mana and the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], I would activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and find [[Ad Nauseam]] to go from there!