TES Infernal Tutoring #54

Max Carini

This is a tough one to start with because I’m already facing down lethal, and I’m constrained on cards from hitting the first couple of “Force” effects. At such a low total of available mana, I don’t think I beat a third “Force” effect. There just isn’t enough mana to lose any of my cards to counters. I’m going to make considerations like my big move from here will resolve because I’m dead on the spot otherwise. [[Wishclaw Talisman]] can support [[Burning Wish]] by finding [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], but [[Burning Wish]] can’t really help [[Wishclaw Talisman]] at all. With my limited mana, this game-deciding turn is going to be about how I use the [[Burning Wish]].

Interestingly enough, this version of The EPIC Storm and the matchup coincides really well for this scenario because I have an extra option to evaluate in [[Pulverize]]. With the opponent having such a high life total, [[Tendrils of Agony]] isn’t going to get me anywhere, and [[Empty the Warrens]] isn’t much better against a strapped-up [[Construct Token]] with Lifelink (also, assuming the opponent isn’t holding another [[Force of Will]], they likely have artifacts, so the [[Construct Token]]s are only getting bigger and Lifelink-ier). On top of the “kill cards”, [[Burning Wish]] into a card advantage engine isn’t looking too good either. All my mana only adds up to six ([[Wishclaw Talisman]], at most, finds three mana off [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and costs three mana to do that, so it’s a hard limit at six mana). This makes [[Peer into the Abyss]] no good. [[Galvanic Relay]] is in my mana budget, but the limiting factor here is life since I would just die next turn. With that in mind, it looks like I have two options: [[Burning Wish]] for [[Pulverize]] or [[Echo of Eons]].

With [[Dark Ritual]] into [[Wishclaw Talisman]], I can get to Metalcraft, cast [[Burning Wish]] for [[Echo of Eons]], and use the [[Mox Opal]] to search up [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. From there, I’d be wheeling with a [[Lotus Petal]] on board. The alternative path is to play [[Dark Ritual]], [[Burning Wish]] for [[Pulverize]], and then wipe out the opponent’s board (and my own, incidentally), with the remaining allowing me to set up [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and my artifacts for Metalcraft. The choice comes down to a heads-up spin with a land drop possible and a [[Lotus Petal]], or a top-deck war of my [[Wishclaw Talisman]] plus Metalcraft versus an opposing [[Ancient Tomb]].

In the [[Echo of Eons]] path, I’m drawing seven, with a Storm count of seven and a [[Lotus Petal]] up. I would have a land drop, six [[Burning Wish]]/[[Wishclaw Talisman]] effects, and I need to find my way to [[Tendrils of Agony]] (with Storm 11 on account of the Lifelink). On the opponent’s side of the board, they have lethal damage on board and a fresh seven cards, having just shuffled back all their “Force” effects. In total, I’d need an [[Echo of Eons]] that doesn’t fizzle, AND the opponent has to miss on their eight “Force” effects. For [[Pulverize]], I’m not going to be combo-ing off, but I’d have taken away the opponent’s damage and their colored sources to play an [[Emry, Lurker of the Loch]] for card advantage. The opponent’s [[Ancient Tomb]] may let them build back up, and they do have the first draw in the topdeck war, but I at least have the [[Mox Opal]] for myself. I have a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] setup, which is a great card to have to tip the scale in that scenario.

It’s tough to try and compare two highly variable, random-draw paths, but I think the [[Pulverize]] option is just a bit better. The opponent being deprived of reshuffling their blue cards into the deck, as well as me having a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] as my lead card puts me ahead in the top-deck war, which is basically a slow-motion version of both players drawing seven cards. Stranded on just an [[Ancient Tomb]], the opponent has plenty of poor draws in terms of uncastable Blue creatures or random artifacts, whereas I have a lot of good potential draws with a [[Mox Opal]] to enable casting spells while possible lands or Ritual effects feed into my [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. While an opponent could put me in a tough spot if they flop an [[Urza’s Saga]], they can’t top-deck a [[Force of Will]] AND blue card like they could off of [[Echo of Eons]], and I have a lot more potential to draw mana or key cards like [[Veil of Summer]] or [[Brainstorm]] as most of my deck is helpful to draw.

Jordan Karim

As I see it, we have two options available to us. Neither are perfect, and both are susceptible to our opponent’s draws. Either we can cast [[Echo of Eons]] or cast [[Pulverize]]. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of both concepts.

With [[Echo of Eons]], we start by casting [[Dark Ritual]] and [[Wishclaw Talisman]] (floating ), [[Lotus Petal]], and [[Mox Opal]]. Using the floating , we can activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to find a [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. With the remaining untapped land and [[Mox Opal]], use [[Burning Wish]] to find [[Echo of Eons]]. Deploying the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and using it to Flashback the [[Echo of Eons]] will leave us with a [[Lotus Petal]] in play, no floating mana, and a land drop to make. I don’t think that this will serve us well against the deck with eight pitch counters in [[Force of Will]]/[[Force of Negation]]. In my mind, it is too risky to wheel our opponent into a fresh grip while exposing our plan to the possibility of passing the turn.

My preferred line is to cast [[Pulverize]], virtually wiping our opponent of all permanents in play. The sequence would be as follows: tap both lands in play for and cast [[Dark Ritual]]. Use the mana to find [[Pulverize]] with the [[Burning Wish]]. Sacrifice both Mountains for the alternate cost of [[Pulverize]]. From there, we can deploy the [[Wishclaw Talisman]], [[Lotus Petal]], and [[Mox Opal]]. This leaves our opponent with two cards in hand (assuming the last cards in hand are not [[Force of Will]] + Blue card) and an [[Ancient Tomb]] in play. We pass the turn and are in a top-decking war. We have many good draws at this stage: cantrips and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] being the best.

Option “[[Pulverize]] them to the Stone Age” is my preference as it leaves us with the most options after our turn while also giving our opponent the least number of cards to work with. [[Chalice of the Void]] off the top is certainly the worst-case scenario. If we can avoid that, their only land is a virtual [[Shock]] every time they use it and can cut down on our work significantly. This is a risk I would be willing to take. It’s time for the pink elephant to shine!

Bryant Cook

This is a tight spot. We really have two paths to victory:

• Option 1: Tap [[Badlands]] to cast [[Dark Ritual]], tap [[Taiga]] to cast [[Burning Wish]] for [[Pulverize]]. Sacrifice both of our lands, cast [[Pulverize]], with the floating we can play [[Wishclaw Talisman]] followed by [[Lotus Petal]] and [[Mox Opal]]. The goal is to survive long enough to rebuild against the [[Chalice of the Void]] and 8 [[Force of Will]]/[[Force of Negation]] deck. I consider this to be wishful thinking.
• Option 2: Tap [[Badlands]] to cast [[Dark Ritual]], [[Wishclaw Talisman]] floating , [[Lotus Petal]], [[Mox Opal]], tap Mox Opal to cast [[Burning Wish]] using the floating mana for an [[Echo of Eons]]. From here, activate the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and then Flashback [[Echo of Eons]]. The idea here is that we’re not going to win the long game against the deck with more heaving-hitting cards, but we’re now refilling their hand with those “force effects”.

The odds of either decision being successful is fairly slim, but I would take the second option as it plays around [[Chalice of the Void]] being a live draw so that means it’s the slightly better choice.

Alex Poling

I would go for it this turn and play out [[Dark Ritual]], [[Lotus Petal]], [[Mox Opal]], and [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. I would then have four mana floating, and using one mana I would activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. Then, I could search for and cast [[Burning Wish]], finding [[Echo of Eons]]. I would then sacrifice the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to cast [[Echo of Eons]] from the graveyard with one mana floating. Hopefully, my seven cards would consist of a way to win the game or an [[Abrupt Decay]] to survive and try again on the following turn.

Alex McKinley

With this being post-board, it is likely that the opponent has a [[Force of Will]] effect in their hand. With lethal on board, however, waiting another turn is not an option. Looking through our options to win the game; [[Empty the Warrens]] is not an option due to [[Shadowspear]], and [[Echo of Eons]] is terrifying because it gives the opponent access back to all of their eight [[Force of Will]] effects. It is actually possible that there is not a likely way to win this turn, which means that a way to get more turns is the answer. I would [[Burning Wish]] for [[Pulverize]], set both players back to almost zero resources, and hope to draw an artifact to enable Metalcraft before the opponent can reassemble a lethal battlefield.

Greg Sor

The opponent has lethal damage on board. We do have a few alternative lines, and hopefully, our opponent doesn’t have anymore counters. We can set up an [[Echo of Eons]], but we will give a full new hand to our opponent and we cannot pass the turn without dying.

I think I would start the turn with a [[Burning Wish]] for [[Pulverize]]. This is buying us a lot of time while our opponent will have just an [[Ancient Tomb]] left and two cards in hand.

Starting next turn, if we draw any zero-cost artifact, we can start play out our [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and try to build towards an [[Echo of Eons]] line protected by [[Veil of Summer]]. This is not a winning line, but it is giving us some more turns to try and do something.

Max Carini

Ad Nauseam Tendrils, being unable to interact on “turn 0”, is a sitting duck here, and we get to use [[Chain of Vapor]] as the best sort of removal – opponent removal. I would play [[Underground Sea]], the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] (Storm five), and the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] (Storm six, floating). I would tap the [[Underground Sea]] and use [[Chain of Vapor]], sacrificing the land to bounce and replay both the artifacts (Storm nine, or floating). From there, with the [[Underground Sea]], [[Lotus Petal]], and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] I have five mana, nine Storm, and a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] in play – easy [[Tendrils of Agony]].

Jordan Karim

Who doesn’t love a super clean turn one victory on the play?? Let’s start off with playing [[Underground Sea]] and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] (Storm five || ). Using the [[Underground Sea]], cast [[Chain of Vapor]] on [[Lotus Petal]] and copy it to also bounce the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to hand. Redeploy both zero-cost artifacts along with the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] (Storm eight || ).

Use the [[Lotus Petal]] and floating mana to cast [[Burning Wish]] while holding priority. Crack the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for and find [[Tendrils of Agony]]. Cast it to win with no mana floating and no permanents in play, for exactly lethal Storm!

Bryant Cook

If I know anything, it’s that Jordan loves [[Chain of Vapor]] lines. Play [[Underground Sea]], [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], and then cast [[Chain of Vapor]] targeting either artifact. Sacrifice the [[Underground Sea]] to copy it and then return the other artifact to your hand.

At this point, play [[Lotus Petal]] and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], cast [[Burning Wish]], hold priority, sacrifice the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for and then cast [[Tendrils of Agony]].

Alex Poling

I would continue by playing [[Underground Sea]], [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], and [[Wishclaw Talisman]] with floating . Using the last floating , I would activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Mox Opal]] and play it, putting the Storm count to seven. I would then tap the [[Mox Opal]] to cast [[Chain of Vapor]] targeting [[Mox Opal]] and return it to my hand and then immediately play it again. Tapping [[Mox Opal]] once again, along with the [[Underground Sea]], to cast [[Burning Wish]]. With [[Burning Wish]] on the stack, I would sacrifice the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] in response, and with [[Lotus Petal]] I could tutor and cast [[Tendrils of Agony]] with 11 Storm.

Alex McKinley

Technically, this hand does cast [[Ad Nauseam]], but why do that when it also just wins the game?

Play [[Underground Sea]], cast [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], tap [[Underground Sea]] for black mana, cast [[Chain of Vapor]], and bounce the two artifacts. Replay both artifacts, cast [[Wishclaw Talisman]], and tutor up an exactly lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]]!

Greg Sor

Play [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and tap [[Underground Sea]] for , then [[Chain of Vapor]] targetting our [[Lotus Petal]]. Sac the [[Underground Sea]] to copy [[Chain of Vapor]] on our [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], then play out again our zero-mana artifacts (Storm 8 || ).

We now can play our favorite between [[Burning Wish]] and [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for a lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]].

Max Carini

This is a fun and uniquely “TES” situation given how [[Show and Tell]] lets you put in [[Wishclaw Talisman]] or [[Defense Grid]]. With a more standard Sorcery-driven Storm deck, you can only grumble and slide a land onto the table in a lot of cases. With the copies of [[Wishclaw Talisman]] in play, there’s a chance to swindle the game away from the Sneak & Show player while they’re caught out at a low life total. Not even considering the opponent accelerating into [[Sneak Attack]] shenanigans, the opponent untapping to hold up mana for [[Spell Pierce]] or [[Flusterstorm]] as well as gaining seven life points would likely be unbeatable, so I have to make a big move this turn.

With [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and [[Wishclaw Talisman]] representing access to [[Tendrils of Agony]] even through [[Magus of the Moon]], if the opponent uses the [[Griselbrand]], the game basically ends no matter what. From there, if the opponent just has a [[Force of Will]] already and only has to pay down to nine instead of two to react to something, the trick would be about how to cobble together the next three Storm needed to get to a lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]], which would be effectively uncounterable. The scariest cards I have to search up are [[Veil of Summer]] and [[Defense Grid]], with close contenders being [[Echo of Eons]], or perhaps [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. I’m leaning away from the latter two though because the [[Ponder]] (cast off the [[Mox Opal]], my only source of blue or green mana given the [[Magus of the Moon]] and the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] effectively being ear-marked for black mana) is one of the best ways I can extend my Storm count by finding zero-mana artifacts just to raise Storm, or perhaps find a [[Defense Grid]] or [[Burning Wish]] to force the interaction I’m hoping for (I wouldn’t search for [[Burning Wish]] with a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] since the best thing I could do to threaten with [[Burning Wish]] would be to hold priority and crack the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], and I’d only want to go Hellbent after I’d already cast the [[Ponder]]. Therefore, I would accept a [[Burning Wish]] off [[Ponder]], but I don’t think I’d search for one).

Taking all that together, the line I’m thinking starts with [[Ponder]] because I don’t want to take good [[Ponder]] hits out of my deck with [[Wishclaw Talisman]], and the [[Ponder]] looks most innocuous among all my plays, especially without committing the land drop or going Hellbent. I would like whatever I find off [[Ponder]] to resolve because I can’t beat double [[Force of Will]] out of their 6-card hand otherwise. From there, the good [[Ponder]] hits are any mana that isn’t [[Dark Ritual]]/land, [[Burning Wish]], and [[Defense Grid]] (20-of-46 cards). If I miss on everything, which is about 10 percent to happen, then I’m likely sunk because I’m down to seven mana, and my two searches probably can’t beat counters and get sufficient Storm.

If I hit something useful on [[Ponder]], it’s mana, [[Burning Wish]], or [[Defense Grid]]. On mana, it likely looks minor enough to not draw out counters. If it does, I search for another mana effect with a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and the [[Tendrils of Agony]] with another, the Storm count being enough to get me there (likely losing to an astute opponent holding double [[Force of Will]] in their six). If my mana effect found off [[Ponder]] resolves and gets me back to at least eight mana, then my first search goes for [[Defense Grid]] and forces some interaction. If [[Defense Grid]] resolves, I have to search [[Echo of Eons]] and spin with [[Defense Grid]] up due to Storm count. If [[Ponder]] finds [[Defense Grid]], it’s about the same as the opponent has to stop [[Defense Grid]]. If it resolves, I have two searches to find [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and [[Burning Wish]] into [[Tendrils of Agony]]. [[Burning Wish]] off [[Ponder]] is a bit different because I would play the land and [[Burning Wish]] breaking the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for , the important detail being that I have more latitude to search [[Dark Ritual]] at instant speed depending on how the opponent responds to [[Burning Wish]]. An opponent who doesn’t respond to [[Burning Wish]] puts me in an awkward spot, because of Storm count, so I’d have to find [[Echo of Eons]] followed by searching up [[Defense Grid]] and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] with the copies of [[Wishclaw Talisman]] because the Storm count, without some help from the opponent, wouldn’t reach high enough to beat counters.

This one ended up being a bit long, but that’s because there are a bunch of permutations of when the opponent could interact and the key thing is that you’re actually limited on mana and need the opponent to interact before the [[Tendrils of Agony]] is searched, for the sake of Storm count. You can’t overcommit mana because then you can’t search the [[Tendrils of Agony]] (this is why I mentioned a few times that I can’t beat double [[Force of Will]], I wouldn’t have the five mana needed to get to the Tendrils). The turn is about making effects like [[Ponder]] or mana acceleration look unimportant and making the [[Defense Grid]] look as important as possible so the opponent will contribute Storm for [[Tendrils of Agony]].

Jordan Karim

Winning this game is tantalizingly close! It seems like it has already been quite a stressful game thus far. Our opponent has a lot of counterplay available to them. First, let’s put the obvious aside. We only need to cast four spells before finding a [[Tendrils of Agony]]. Additionally, our opponent can draw seven cards with the activation of [[Griselbrand]] at any point they wish. Winning this turn is without question necessary. The amount of power our opponent has with both lifegain and card draw is insurmountable Not to mention they might just kill us with a [[Sneak Attack]]). With that knowledge, I see things leading in two ways for us: both start with [[Ponder]] and lead to either a natural Storm kill with [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] pairing to find the main deck [[Tendrils of Agony]], or moving towards the sideboard [[Echo of Eons]] line from a [[Burning Wish]].

Leading off on the “Mountain” for the turn, followed by a [[Ponder]], we can find a handful of very useful spells. Of note, we can use [[Galvanic Relay]] here for Storm count if we find something useful as we can rotate a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] into another [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and hold priority when casting the [[Galvanic Relay]] to tutor the [[Tendrils of Agony]] before we potentially exile it for later. We are at the mercy of our opponent here as any interaction on our cantrip would force our hand to an unprotected [[Echo of Eons]] line (tutoring for a [[Burning Wish]] using a [[Wishclaw Talisman]]). Luckily, this [[Ponder]] is likely to be unassuming given we have two powerful tutors on the battlefield. Spells we want to find are zero-mana artifacts, [[Burning Wish]], [[Rite of Flame]], and [[Defense Grid]]. [[Dark Ritual]] and any extra lands would not do here. If we find a [[Burning Wish]] or [[Defense Grid]], the sideboard wheel is our best option.

All in all, there are a lot of moving parts to this situation and it mostly hinges on what our [[Ponder]] can find. With the amount of good hits available to us, a natural Storm kill is possible if our opponent does not have two points of interaction. Making our cantrip seem unassuming is key here, and then really selling any follow-up play if baiting interaction is necessary. I think this may actually be easier to play in paper because you can use your body language to bait an opponent into misplaying.

Bryant Cook

Due to the board state, I think it’s safe to that that use used our main deck [[Echo of Eons]] since we have a [[Wishclaw Talisman]] with one counter on it and our opponent has a very small graveyard with no [[Show and Tell]].

After drawing a fresh seven cards off of the [[Echo of Eons]], you have to assume that our opponent has something in hand, even if they don’t they can draw seven more by activating the [[Griselbrand]]. We have exactly enough mana after playing our “[[Mountain]]” to float a by tapping [[Mox Opal]], sacrificing [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for and then activate [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Ad Nauseam]] with [[Veil of Summer]] back up off of the other [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. The fear here is that if our opponent has a pair of [[Force of Will]] or even [[Force of Will]] + [[Daze]] we lose. Given that this is a post-board game, there’s a chance we could’ve seen [[Daze]] in game one to know if we need to play around it or not.

If you start the turn by playing the “[[Mountain]]”, tap the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] with one counter on it, for [[Veil of Summer]] and cast it you do get a little extra information from the opponent. This could just lead to a [[Galvanic Relay]] and pass the turn or even a protected [[Ad Nauseam]].

Casting [[Ponder]] is an interesting line because if it hits a free spell, [[Rite of Flame]], or even [[Burning Wish]] we could potentially force through a lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]] using our pair of [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. It may not seem obvious, but you can get another [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] off of the first [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and then cast [[Galvanic Relay]] just for Storm &ddash; oddly enough if it revealed [[Tendrils of Agony]] that could be a real downer.

I think I would take the line where we just start on [[Veil of Summer]] and then re-evaluate our options due to the opponent being fairly unlikely to win the game on their turn due to the [[Magus of the Moon]] limiting their own acceleration.

Alex Poling

I believe in going for the combo this turn. I don’t think giving the opponent another turn increases our chances of winning this game. I would play the [[Bloodstained Mire]] as a “[[Mountain]]” and then activate one [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Veil of Summer]] and cast it off the [[Mox Opal]]. Whether it was countered or not I would proceed. I would then sacrifice the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for three black mana. I would then activate the second [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to search for and cast [[Ad Nauseam]].

Alex McKinley

Technically, the opponent does not have lethal damage on board. This means the [[Galvanic Relay]] in hand could be live with an attempt to beat a hand full of counterspells from a couple of [[Griselbrand]] activations. I would look for a natural [[Tendrils of Agony]] on this turn. I would start by casting the [[Galvanic Relay]], purely for storm count. I would then float a blue off the [[Mox Opal]] and use one of the copies of [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to find another copy of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. I would then cast [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and then the [[Ponder]] (Storm three), holding priority and cracking both [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]s for blue and black. I would hope to find anything that added two to the storm count with the [[Ponder]] to try to play around one [[Force of Will]]. If the opponent counters the [[Ponder]], I would use the remaining [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to find [[Tendrils of Agony]].

Greg Sor

While our opponent is tapped out, the maximum interaction we will face is [[Force of Will]]. There is just one way to interact with more than one copy. Available lines are [[Echo of Eons]], [[Galvanic Relay]] and natural Storm. If we go for an [[Ad Nauseam]] line, we would be assuming our opponent doesn’t have any counter and will not find any in the next seven cards off of a [[Griselbrand]] activation.

We can try to let [[Echo of Eons]] resolve with a [[Veil of Summer]] as backup, but we die to double counter. If our intention is to pass the turn, we have access to a “free” tutor effect with the last counter of [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. Most importantly though, we will guarantee our opponent another attack and entire new turn. Other than seven life, the possibility to draw 14 gives our opponent the possibility to interact with more pieces of interaction like [[Spell Pierce]] and/or [[Flusterstorm]] in addition to other “Force” effects.

The maximum advantage we can get from [[Galvanic Relay]] is four new cards, which is probably not enough to win the game on the next turn. Considering this, I would opt for the [[Echo of Eons]] line and hope the opponent does not find double pitch counters. I would start with [[Ponder]] to look for any zero-mana artifacts, [[Burning Wish]], or [[Rite of Flame]]. I can cast [[Burning Wish]] with Storm three. If there is no interaction, I can tutor a zero-mana artifact for a lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]] from the sideboard. If [[Burning Wish]] is be countered, I just need to tutor [[Tendrils of Agony]] from the deck for lethal Storm.