TES Infernal Tutoring #50

PHIL BLECHMAN

Considering that they missed a land drop, we know that their hand is all action. The good news is that since [[Sling-Gang Lieutenant]] was put into play off the [[Goblin Lackey]] that [[Muxus, Goblin Grandee]] is not currently in hand — meaning that the likelihood that we die from a functional 14 life is low.

Considering that our opponent drawing [[Muxus, Goblin Grandee]] is likely the only way we can lose, I would lean on the somewhat conservative side and put back [[Tendrils of Agony]] and [[Burning Wish]], play [[Swamp]], [[Lotus Petal]], [[Lotus Petal]], [[Rite of Flame]], [[Dark Ritual]], [[Abrupt Decay]] the [[Goblin Lackey]], cast [[Galvanic Relay]] for Storm seven, knowing that we’ll reveal the [[Burning Wish]] to play around the [[Pithing Needle]] with four mana on board for our next turn.

Jordan Karim

This is a really interesting position! We can glean a few things from how our opponent’s turns played out. Missing a land drop lets us know that their hand is stocked with goblins and/or interaction. [[Sling-Gang Lieutenant]] is certainly one of the better cards to put in with a [[Goblin Lackey]] to threaten our [[Ad Nauseam]] lines, but it isn’t one of their best cards ([[Muxus, Goblin Grandee]] or [[Goblin Trashmaster]] would be my biggest fears here). In particular, Goblins has been known to play up to three copies of [[Mindbreak Trap]] in their sideboard for combo hate. I think they are strongly representing this card, and my goal is to play around this where possible.

As I see it, we have two different lines available to us. Both with their own strengths and weaknesses, but one is a trap! They are as follows:

Option 1)

• Put back [[Swamp]] and [[Tendrils of Agony]] to resolve the [[Brainstorm]]
• Cast both copies of [[Lotus Petal]] (Storm 3)
• Cast [[Rite of Flame]] followed up by [[Dark Ritual]] from a [[Lotus Petal]] and the [[Badlands]] (Storm 5 | )
• Cast [[Abrupt Decay]] using the remaining [[Lotus Petal]] (Storm 6 | ) destroying the [[Goblin Lackey]]
• Finally, we can [[Galvanic Relay]] from hand for seven cards, five of which are unknown quantities

This avenue lets us remove the threatening [[Goblin Lackey]] that pairs with [[Sling-Gang Lieutenant]] to turn any goblin into instant damage. Unfortunately, this leaves us open to a [[Mindbreak Trap]] on the [[Galvanic Relay]] with little in terms of tools to build back up for another combo. This also feels very reactive, not where we want to be in this matchup. Lets see how the other option works.

Option 2)

• Put back [[Tendrils of Agony]] under the [[Swamp]] to resolve the [[Brainstorm]]
• Cast [[Rite of Flame]] off the [[Badlands]] (Storm 2 | )
• Cast [[Burning Wish]] using and fetch for the sideboard [[Peer into the Abyss]] (typically, opponents are unlikely to [[Mindbreak Trap]] this spell, preferring to get what we grab instead)
• Cast both copies of [[Lotus Petal]] and pass the turn
• Our opponent is currently representing four damage in combat and another four from [[Sling-Gang Lieutenant]], not enough to prevent us from enacting our plan
• On our following turn, we can deploy the [[Swamp]] and [[Dark Ritual]] for exactly seven mana for [[Peer into the Abyss]] while also playing around [[Mindbreak Trap]]. This should be enough to assemble a lethal combo turn

Obviously, this second option sounds much stronger to me. The ability to play around the hate that is obviously represented is key here. Just jamming because you have the cards is not always correct. While we aren’t “just jamming”, our play presents a very serious clock that our opponent must answer. The weakness in this line is if our opponent deploys something worrisome off of the [[Goblin Lackey]] trigger. because they neglected to put in a more powerful threat the previous turn, however, it leads me to believe they don’t have a more powerful goblin.

Bryant Cook

Honestly, I’m little confused why we fetched and then cast [[Brainstorm]] here. As far as the situation goes, I would put back [[Tendrils of Agony]] and [[Burning Wish]] off of the [[Brainstorm]], as we’re likely to reveal a land to [[Galvanic Relay]] anyway. From there, cast [[Lotus Petal]], [[Lotus Petal]], [[Rite of Flame]], [[Dark Ritual]], [[Abrupt Decay]] the [[Goblin Lackey]], and then cast [[Galvanic Relay]].

You could do something like [[Empty the Warrens]] backed by a [[Tendrils of Agony]] later in the game but that’s just asking to lose to the [[Food Chain]] part of their deck.

Another option would be to get [[Peer into the Abyss]] by casting [[Rite of Flame]] into [[Burning Wish]]. The problem that I see with this line is a [[Goblin Lackey]] trigger into the right creature could put your life total low enough to turn off the [[Peer into the Abyss]].

The most obvious play is also the correct play in this circumstance.

Alex Poling

I would put back the [[Rite of Flame]] and the [[Tendrils of Agony]]. Then, I would play the land and [[Lotus Petal]] to cast [[Galvanic Relay]] with three (Storm), exiling the cards I put back plus one unknown. This would set me up on the next turn with an unknown card in exile and an unknown draw step to try to win with a [[Burning Wish]] and [[Tendrils of Agony]] in exile.

Alex McKinley

Goblins is a deck that pilots tend to personalize a lot. They could be playing anything from [[Mindbreak Trap]] to [[Thorn of Amethyst]] as hate pieces. Given that the opponent missed their second land drop, I would be scared of them having some strong reason to keep the hand beyond a turn one [[Goblin Lackey]]. The [[Abrupt Decay]] makes any sort of permanent hate less of a problem so the card to play around is [[Mindbreak Trap]]. I would put back [[Tendrils of Agony]] and [[Abrupt Decay]] with [[Brainstorm]]. Then, I would play all of the rituals and copies of [[Lotus Petal]] and then [[Burning Wish]]. This best baits the [[Mindbreak Trap]]. If the [[Burning Wish]] resolves, I would find [[Peer into the Abyss]] and then cast [[Galvanic Relay]]. Even if the [[Burning Wish]] does not resolve, I would still cast the [[Galvanic Relay]].

Greg Sor

Our worst scenario if we pass the turn is the opponent drawing land, playing [[Skirk Prospector]], sacrificing the tokens for [[Food Chain]] and going off, maybe with [[Goblin Ringleader]] or [[Muxus, Goblin Grandee]]. Let’s be realistic, we almost surely will have another turn after this one. I would put back [[Tendrils of Agony]] and [[Abrupt Decay]]. Next, I would play [[Swamp]], [[Dark Ritual]], [[Rite of Flame]], both copies of [[Lotus Petal]], [[Burning Wish]] for [[Tendrils of Agony]], and cast [[Galvanic Relay]] for seven cards. Next turn, we will have five mana to start, seven cards in exile, plus two cards in hand, one of which will be [[Tendrils of Agony]]. If you want to be safer, you can do the same line using [[Abrupt Decay]] instead of [[Burning Wish]], but you will burn a [[Lotus Petal]] as well and you many not win on the following turn.

PHIL BLECHMAN

Given that our opponent missed a land drop on their previous turn, we know their hand is all gas — similar to situation one. Since they are tapped out, we don’t have to concern ourselves with [[Flusterstorm]] and only have to care about what is likely the other two [[Force of Will]]s and likely two to three [[Force of Negation]] plus blue card in their three-card hand. Playing around [[Mindbreak Trap]] is for weaklings.

The bottleneck appears to be mana. Therefore, I would lead with [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] assuming our opponent knows that is the card with the most potential to kill them this turn. If they don’t fight over it, I assume they are “F6’ing” through the turn, and proceed to play [[Tropical Island]], cast [[Lotus Petal]], [[Rite of Flame]], [[Burning Wish]] for [[Ponder]], cast [[Ponder]] off the [[Tropical Island]]. If we find another [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], [[Dark Ritual]], or [[Rite of Flame]], we can use the second [[Burning Wish]] to get (as Bryant would say) “Chicken Tendies” for the win.

If we whiff off the [[Ponder]], we can still cast two copies of [[Galvanic Relay]] to continue burying our opponent under cards next turn.

In the event that they do have a counterspell in their last three cards and counter the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], it feels correct to play out [[Lotus Petal]], [[Rite of Flame]], [[Burning Wish]] for [[Empty the Warrens]] and put it on the stack for 12 grumpy gobbos to what will be there two cards and a flying snake on their next turn.

Jordan Karim

This is a pretty cool [[Galvanic Relay]]. There is nine mana available to us this turn (with one copy of [[Rite of Flame]]). I can see three distinct lines of play so lets break down each one.

The first is obvious. Nine mana with a [[Burning Wish]] is a clean [[Peer into the Abyss]] from our sideboard. While this would likely end the game on the spot, the spells have to resolve. Our opponent cast a [[Prismatic Ending]] on [[Mox Opal]] and did not develop their board further. With no cantripping or deploying a planeswalker, this suggests either an additional form of zero-mana interaction or absolutely nothing. Because our other options are so strong, I don’t feel the need to risk everything on a [[Peer into the Abyss]] line that folds to everything from [[Force of Will]]/[[Force of Negation]] to a [[Surgical Extraction]] on our [[Rite of Flame]] in the graveyard.

Option two is all-in with a completely different direction being taken. With nine total mana, we can cast all three remaining copies of [[Galvanic Relay]] for a total of fifteen cards. While not the largest [[Galvanic Relay]] we’ve seen from The EPIC Storm, this number should be sufficient to overpower our opponent and win next turn. The benefits to this option over the previous one is redundancy and protection against one-for-one interaction as all of the cards we need are already castable. The only issue that I see is the necessity of passing the turn. While the [[Peer into the Abyss]] line was an aggressive glass canon, the [[Galvanic Relay]] line is powerful in a snowballing way but could fold to a hatebear or lock piece from the opponent ([[Collector Ouphe]], [[Leovold, Emissary of Trest]], or [[Ethersworn Canonist]]).

The last idea is to take a little from Column A and from little of Column B. We have the option to cast the sideboard [[Echo of Eons]] before making any further decisions about [[Galvanic Relay]]. This may force the action on any interaction our opponent has while also leaving the backdoor open for a mid-sized [[Galvanic Relay]] to reload and try again next turn. Because our opponent is showing weakness, we can test the waters with a combo this turn. If our new seven cards are able to further combo, we can do so with the knowledge that our opponent also has a new hand. If we wish to stop, our next turn looks to be a powerful one.

While I think the allure of casting all four copies of [[Galvanic Relay]] in a single game is strong, the practical approach would be to take advantage of our opponent’s weaknesses. Cast [[Echo of Eons]] and see where the turn goes from there before making any other commitments.

Bryant Cook

I believe that I wouldn’t risk losing to an additional “force effect” ([[Force of Will]] or [[Force of Negation]]) on my [[Peer into the Abyss]]. It’s an all in play when you could reduce possible risk just by being disciplined. The best thing they could do on their previous turn was to cast [[Prismatic Ending]] which tells me they don’t have a lot going on.

I’d start by playing the [[Tropical Island]] because it’s free to do so and doesn’t take any brain energy. Tap [[Volcanic Island]] and then [[Rite of Flame]] for , [[Lotus Petal]], [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. We have exactly nine mana which is enough for triple [[Galvanic Relay]] or we can [[Burning Wish]] for either [[Echo of Eons]] or [[Ponder]] with two copies of [[Galvanic Relay]] to still be cast.

I’d likely play [[Burning Wish]] for [[Ponder]] since we’re likely to hit mana to play the third copy of [[Galvanic Relay]] anyway with four [[Dark Ritual]], two [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], and two [[Rite of Flame]] left as good hits. The downside if you miss is very small, while the upside is revealing most of your library.

This entire situation just reeks of a “LOOK AT MY TRIPLE RELAY” brag.

Alex Poling

I would play the land we drew and then cast the [[Rite of Flame]], [[Lotus Petal]], [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], and finally the [[Burning Wish]] for [[Echo of Eons]]. Then sacrifice the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to flashback the [[Echo of Eons]]. This will leave two of our lands untapped and a [[Lotus Petal]] with seven cards to try to win the game with.

Alex McKinley

This is a lot of [[Galvanic Relay]]s! One of the risks of playing against the [[Green Sun’s Zenith]] decks is their ability to consistently put a [[Collector Ouphe]] into play. Given we are this far into the game, I would be less worried about that. There is a total of nine mana available this turn. I would use six of it to cast [[Burning Wish]] to find [[Empty the Warrens]] (Storm 5) and then [[Galvanic Relay]] afterwards for six more cards. Even if the opponent is able to deal with the [[Goblin Token]]s, the six cards from [[Galvanic Relay]] should be able to be winning as well.

Greg Sor

We can develop a total of nine mana which is enough to [[Burning Wish]] into [[Peer into the Abyss]]. We shold be pretty safe with our opponent already using two copies of [[Force of Will]] and they only have three cards in hand. Nevertheless, they still have probably four more “Force effects” still on the board.

PHIL BLECHMAN

With only four cards in hand, it feels safe to assume that they have at least one “Force effect” after keeping off of double [[Ponder]] — meaning that at least two cards in their hand are cards they intentionally put there.

To play around this, I’d open by fetching [[Tropical Island]] off of the [[Verdant Catacombs]] and jamming the [[Carpet of Flowers]] to play around [[Daze]]. If they use a “Force effect” on [[Carpet of Flowers]], that’s excellent. We follow up by fetching [[Badlands]], casting [[Lotus Petal]], [[Mox Opal]], [[Chrome Mox]] imprinting nothing, [[Rite of Flame]] not caring if that resolves, and jamming [[Galvanic Relay]] for a fresh hand to go off again next turn with a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] already in hand — meaning mana and a [[Veil of Summer]] would likely do the job.

Jordan Karim

My goal with this turn is to optimize my mana deployment and eek every ounce of value from this [[Galvanic Relay]] in hand. By deploying our land, fetching [[Underground Sea]] and [[Taiga]], we can start the turn by casting our artifact mana. [[Chrome Mox]] (no Imprint), [[Lotus Petal]], and finally [[Mox Opal]]. Our opponent is unlikely to interact with any of this, but if they do, we are insulated with redundant mana production in [[Carpet of Flowers]] and [[Rite of Flame]].

Next, assuming all of that resolved, we can test our opponent’s hand. Casting [[Carpet of Flowers]] first allows us to either bait countermagic or let it resolve and progress through to our second main phase. The ability to use mana in the same turn [[Carpet of Flowers]] was played certainly is abused in The EPIC Storm.

If we get to our second main phase with [[Carpet of Flowers]], we can cast the remainder of our hand quite easily – saving the [[Galvanic Relay]] for last and getting up to Storm 7. If our opponent interacts with our enchantment, we can still [[Rite of Flame]] into [[Galvanic Relay]] for seven while retaining [[Wishclaw Talisman]] in hand.

Bryant Cook

Play [[Verdant Catacombs]] and then search for [[Taiga]] into [[Carpet of Flowers]]. If our opponent wants to double [[Daze]] us here, I would consider that a win when we’re trying to cast [[Galvanic Relay]]. Switch phases, [[Rite of Flame]] off of the [[Carpet of Flowers]] trigger floating. I would then play [[Mox Opal]], [[Lotus Petal]], and [[Chrome Mox]] in this order hoping that they would [[Force of Will]] the [[Chrome Mox]]. At this point, [[Wishclaw Talisman]] into [[Galvanic Relay]].

Alex Poling

I want to spend this turn trying to resolve as many things as possible to go for [[Galvanic Relay]], while playing around [[Daze]], in order to still have access to three mana. Once the opponent has untapped lands, their range of spells opens up a lot. Now is the turn to be proactive. I would begin by playing out the land, the [[Lotus Petal]], [[Mox Opal]], and [[Chrome Mox]] imprinting [[Rite of Flame]]. I don’t think any of these would be countered. Now with five mana in play, I would cast [[Carpet of Flowers]]. At this point, the opponent may not be trying to keep me off mana as I have so much already. Then I would cast [[Galvanic Relay]] for five storm. I still have one unused mana, so [[Daze]] wouldn’t counter a copy. With those five cards, a [[Carpet of Flowers]] in play, a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] in hand, and a draw step next turn, I should be able to win.

Alex McKinley

Play [[Verdant Catacombs]]. Use both fetchlands to find [[Underground Sea]] and [[Taiga]]. Play [[Lotus Petal]], [[Chrome Mox]] (decline to Imprint), [[Mox Opal]]. Then play the [[Carpet of Flowers]] using the [[Taiga]]. If opponent [[Daze]]s the [[Carpet of Flowers]], decline to pay. If the [[Carpet of Flowers]] resolves, switch phases, add red mana, play [[Rite of Flame]], [[Wishclaw Talisman]], and then [[Galvanic Relay]].

Greg Sor

Play [[Verdant Catacombs]], fetch for [[Tropical Island]], play [[Carpet of Flowers]], if it resolves go to our second main phase. Add with the [[Carpet of Flowers]] ability and play [[Wishclaw Talisman]], fetch for [[Badlands]], play [[Lotus Petal]], [[Mox Opal]], and [[Chrome Mox]] (not imprinting), tap [[Mox Opal]] for , play [[Rite of Flame]], and finally end the turn by casting [[Galvanic Relay]] for seven cards.

If any countermagic is used from our opponent, we can modify our ideal plan. But I would expect them to use it on [[Carpet of Flowers]] or [[Wishclaw Talisman]].