TES Infernal Tutoring #58

Dougal Warby

First, let’s assess the board state and look at some of the things that stand out. Our Storm count is already at seven and therefore we only need three additional spells (including [[Tendrils of Agony]]) to finish off our opponent with 20 life. Although this is a postboard game, I wouldn’t expect any countermagic or interaction from our opponent based on typical TEG lists. After we exile a card under the [[Chrome Mox]], we’ll have access to two mana on board. Playing the [[Mox Opal]] out will give us access to three mana thanks to Metalcraft and that’s where I first got stuck. Three mana doesn’t do a whole lot here to the untrained eye. Use it all to cast and fetch with [[Wishclaw Talisman]]? Try to [[Brainstorm]] into the unguaranteed mana and spells to win?

Hold up. Let’s read [[Chain of Vapor]]

If I want to return my own permanents that cost nothing to replay (other than exiling another card to [[Chrome Mox]]), I can effectively get two additional copies of [[Chain of Vapor]] (that don’t count towards Storm) thanks to the two lands in play. Alright let’s go for this!

I will exile a copy of [[Brainstorm]] under [[Chrome Mox]] then play [[Mox Opal]] (Storm 8). I’ll tap both copies of [[Chrome Mox]] for then cast [[Chain of Vapor]] targeting [[Mox Opal]] (Storm 9 | ). I’ll copy [[Chain of Vapor]] once sacrificing the [[Badlands]] to return [[Chrome Mox]], then copy it again sacrificing the [[Underground Sea]] to return the [[Lotus Petal]]. Now we can replay [[Mox Opal]], replay the [[Lotus Petal]], and replay [[Chrome Mox]] (Storm 12 | ) to add and cast [[Tendrils of Agony]]. You don’t need to return the [[Lotus Petal]] as the Storm count would still be lethal without, but what sort of Storm player doesn’t like additional copies of spells?

Jordan Karim

Someone already did most of the work for us! With such a high Storm count, the only thing left is to find out how best to put this [[Tendrils of Agony]] on the stack. If there is a prompt to find a cleaner line to victory, odds are there is one — I should know, I wrote the prompt.

In this case, the key card is the handy [[Chain of Vapor]]. With the ability to bounce and replay our zero-mana artifacts, this will net one additional mana for the [[Tendrils of Agony]] we almost missed out on. Start by imprinting a [[Brainstorm]] under the [[Chrome Mox]] and play [[Mox Opal]]. Tap for . Next is chaining the [[Chain of Vapor]] targeting [[Chrome Mox]] and copying to target [[Mox Opal]]. Replaying these artifacts (Imprint any non-[[Tendrils of Agony]] card) and the game is ours!

Since it’s close to Halloween, the alternative line is to also bounce the [[Lotus Petal]] and replay it. This line doesn’t add any additional mana, but it does make the Storm count the extra spooky number thirteen.

Bryant Cook

Is it even an Infernal Tutoring without a [[Chain of Vapor]] trick? Imprint [[Brainstorm]] to the [[Chrome Mox]], play [[Mox Opal]], and then tap it for . Now cast [[Chain of Vapor]] targeting [[Mox Opal]], sacrifice a land to copy it, and then return [[Chrome Mox]]. Replay both artifacts and then cast [[Tendrils of Agony]].

Alex McKinley

Imprint [[Brainstorm]], cast [[Mox Opal]], float a Black mana, cast [[Chain of Vapor]] targeting [[Chrome Mox]], sacrifice lands to pick up the rest of the mana rocks, replay everything and then cast [[Tendrils of Agony]].

If [[Crash]] was in the deck, the [[Ad Nauseam]] would likely have drawn significantly fewer cards given that some of these copies of [[Veil of Summer]] would have been a [[Crash]].

Alex Poling

We haven’t hit that many artifact mana or rituals, so I would imprint a [[Brainstorm]] and cast the other copy of [[Brainstorm]]. If I find two mana then I can [[Tendrils of Agony]] or if it’s [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] then [[Burning Wish]] for [[Tendrils of Agony]]. If I don’t find enough mana, then I would [[Chain of Vapor]] the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] so the opponent couldn’t use it to assemble their combo.

Grant Johnson

[[Chrome Mox]] imprints a copy of [[Brainstorm]], and from there our [[Mox Opal]] is live and well. We can leverage the [[Chain of Vapor]] trick here to sacrifice our lands to generate mana with our [[Chrome Mox]] and [[Mox Opal]]. After tapping out to generate (do NOT sacrifice [[Lotus Petal]] yet) we can replay our [[Chrome Mox]] and [[Mox Opal]] again after using the for the [[Chain of Vapor]]. This increases our Storm by three and gives us access to the floating , any color mana from the [[Chrome Mox]], mana from the [[Mox Opal]] and a fourth mana from [[Lotus Petal]] to play [[Tendrils of Agony]] for a dozen.

Dougal Warby

When I think of a typical [[Doomsday]] list, I know they play some amount of countermagic and hand disruption. If I have a moment to go off, I’ll most likely take it as soon as possible (within reason) because as the longer the game goes, the more disruption they can draw into. As typically a GWx player, I would assume this matchup would be a race of who can go off first, with potentially more disruption along the way from the [[Doomsday]] side. The opponent has kept seven in a postboard game. This could mean many things. It could be a quick combo hand or it could be a slow hand with disruption. It doesn’t give too much away other than they know they can either most likely win the game with it, or stop me from winning before they can. Because of this, I feel if we have the shot to cast [[Echo of Eons]] into a line, we should just go for it. Here’s my line:

Play [[Bloodstained Mire]], fetch for [[Badlands]] and cast [[Rite of Flame]]. Fetch for [[Underground Sea]] off [[Misty Rainforest]] and cast [[Wishclaw Talisman]] using . Use the last floating to fetch for [[Echo of Eons]]. Cast [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. This might cause our opponent to cast a [[Force of Will]] which gives us an opportunity to blow them out with [[Veil of Summer]]. I think this encourages your opponent to counter [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] more than the line of castint [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] before you search with [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. Now you get to wheel using the [[Echo of Eons]]. The other option is leading on [[Veil of Summer]], which if it resolves is huge. If it doesn’t, it’s still one less piece of interaction your opponent has (and most likely would prompt me to still go off this turn).

Jordan Karim

Do you sometimes wish you could yell at your past self for playing dumb lines? That sums up where I am right now. Previously, I had attempted to resolve a [[Veil of Summer]]-protected [[Echo of Eons]] at this stage. Sometimes patience, even in one of the worst matchups The EPIC Storm has, is key. An [[Echo of Eons]], even a protected one, leaves a lot to chance at this stage. Giving up a copy of [[Wishclaw Talisman]] if our line doesn’t win can spell certain defeat against a deck as powerful as [[Doomsday]]. There is no room for slip ups like that. One note here is The EPIC Storm is not a deck that wants to go off as early as possible. While we are certainly capable of early wins, and indeed often thrive on them, there is a balance to wontonly casting the first engine card that comes across your hand. I definitely lost sight of that while playing this scenario

Instead of trying to be the first one out of the gate, we can spend this turn setting up. Playing out the [[Bloodstained Mire]] and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] will allow us to fetch and cast the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] from hand — likely using an [[Underground Sea]] and [[Taiga]]. If at any point our opponent wants to interact with countermagic, either against the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] or the [[Wishclaw Talisman]], we will happily use the [[Lotus Petal]] to protect with a [[Veil of Summer]]. If that doesn’t happen, we can attempt a protected [[Ad Nauseam]] on our next turn. The key takeaway is knowing the fine line between needing aggression and restraint in a given game or turn cycle.

Bryant Cook

I don’t think this decision is terribly difficult. I would simply play the [[Bloodstained Mire]], activate both fetchlands, play [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], and then [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. If they play either [[Force of Will]] or [[Force of Negation]], we should cast [[Veil of Summer]]. Playing [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] out not only stops discard, but theoretically could allow us to play around fringe sideboard options such as [[Spell Pierce]]. I would not push the envelope, handing the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] over to [[Doomsday]] is just asking to lose the game. Especially against a deck that is as compact as them, but also due to the amount of interactive spells they have.

Alex McKinley

Unfortunately, the best card that the opponent could have here is an [[Opposition Agent]] off of a [[Dark Ritual]]. With these cards in hand, [[Opposition Agent]] is unbeatable, so we have to treat it as if it does not exist. I would just play out my cards here to play around discard spells and have a [[Veil of Summer]] protected [[Ad Nauseam]] next turn. If they [[Force of Will]] the [[Wishclaw Talisman]], I would protect it. This line mostly hopes that they do not have a way to win the game next turn.

Alex Poling

I see no reason to go for anything this turn. I would use this turn as a setup and try to win with a more deterministic combo than [[Galvanic Relay]]. I would play out the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and just pass leaving up [[Veil of Summer]] or cast it against a counterspell. This protects against discard and counterspells and wins on turn three. If the opponent has a turn two win then so be it.

Grant Johnson

I think in this case, we need to play out our permanents. Here, I would play our [[Bloodstained Mire]] and crack it along with our [[Misty Rainforest]] to get [[Underground Sea]] and [[Taiga]]. Another land combination you could choose is [[Bayou]] and [[Volcanic Island]]. Either way, you are still giving yourself access to your four colors of mana. I would then cast our [[Wishclaw Talisman]] and hold up the [[Lotus Petal]] to cast [[Veil of Summer]] if needed, to assure the resolution of [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. If we do have to spend our [[Veil of Summer]] to resolve our [[Wishclaw Talisman]], it will be best to play our [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] from our hand so we can avoid a [[Thoughtseize]] effect from taking it away on their turn. In this case, the follow-up turn highly depends on our draw step. Ideally, we would want to put an [[Ad Nauseam]] on the stack. This can be accomplished if we get to keep our [[Rite of Flame]] through the turn cycle.

Dougal Warby

This is a tricky one as I really want to start with [[Abrupt Decay]] on [[Counterbalance]]. That, however, takes two out of our three available mana (including our only available green mana). By starting with [[Abrupt Decay]], it leaves us very vulnerable to the [[Daze]] in hand. I was tunnel-versioned at first into ‘losing our hand to [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]’ but then realized the cards we care about are in exile. Thankfully, we don’t care about [[Echo of Eons]] being discarded, so I like this line using the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] in play to find another [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. I don’t have a winning line as it depends on what we find off the [[Echo of Eons]], but here’s my best line:

We [[Abrupt Decay]] the [[Counterbalance]] leaving [[Badlands]] open. Using our last mana we [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] which we can presume gets hit by [[Daze]]. We can then cast our [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] from exile as our opponent no longer has a blue card to pitch to [[Force of Will]]), then casting [[Echo of Eons]] into seven fresh cards. This does give our opponent a chance to also draw into further interaction, but we haven’t played a land yet and with just a land and another [[Chrome Mox]] or [[Lotus Petal]] we can most likely go off with [[Veil of Summer]] protection. I feel this line puts us in the best position to win.

Jordan Karim

Oh boy. Somewhere out there is a flowchart on how to properly play this turn out. Hopefully we can follow it in a way that leads to victory. [[Counterbalance]] is the key unknown here. I want to do different things depending on if there is a zero- or one-mana value card on top of their library (if there’s a two-drop there, this is a non-issue). Let’s think about it a little deeper. We have 18 minutes on the clock and using up some of it to be careful can be a good thing. If there is a one-mana value spell on top of the library, we can cast [[Abrupt Decay]] and we only need to worry about a single point of interaction. One that we have covered with [[Veil of Summer]]. Things get more interesting if there is a zero-mana value card on top. The only way to find out without major losses to our strategy is by casting [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. One of three things happen:

1. NEITHER ZERO- OR ONE-DROP REVEALED: This is the easiest of the three options. Just cast our mana-producing spells into a protected [[Ad Nauseam]] or [[Echo of Eons]]. We even have the option to protect our [[Veil of Summer]] with another copy using the on-board [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. It’s like stealing candy from a baby.

2. ZERO-DROP REVEALED: Things get a little harder here. Our [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] was countered. Thankfully, we can cast [[Dark Ritual]] to power out an [[Abrupt Decay]] on the [[Counterbalance]]. Then cast [[Rite of Flame]] (it makes ) and use the on-board [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to get the [[Bayou]] from the deck in an effort to resolve the [[Veil of Summer]] in exile. Assuming it meets with a [[Force of Will]], we know our opponent is out of gas. This frees us to play the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] from exile, use it to tutor another copy of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], and Flashback the [[Echo of Eons]] in our hand (of note, we are only ONE Storm away from lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]] if our opponent casts a spell).

3. ONE-DROP REVEALED: Our [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] will either resolve or be met with the [[Force of Will]] from our opponent’s hand once they see their [[Counterbalance]] trigger did not counter the artifact. Either way, we can then spend two mana from [[Underground Sea]] and [[Taiga]] to cast [[Abrupt Decay]] on the pesky enchantment. With only one land available, we have a choice of [[Dark Ritual]] or [[Rite of Flame]]. Because [[Rite of Flame]] is obviously a better card, we can cast it and use some of the floating mana to tutor another copy of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] with our [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. From there, the turn proceeds like before with the Flashback of [[Echo of Eons]].

Bryant Cook

Finally, a good one! I would start on [[Abrupt Decay]] destroying the [[Counterbalance]]. After this, I would activate the [[Wishclaw Talisman]] for [[Bayou]] at this point. Play the [[Bayou]] and then play [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], assuming that it resolves, we’ll cast [[Veil of Summer]]. At this point, we’ll add using the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. Cast [[Dark Ritual]], use [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to search for [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and then play it. Cast and then sacrifice [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for . At this point, cast [[Echo of Eons]] floating .

Alex McKinley

Casting this [[Abrupt Decay]] is rather tempting, but doing so limits the mana options significantly. I would start by casting [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] with the hope that they would reveal their top card. Depending on what that card is, it changes my plays a lot. If it is zero, I would start casting the rituals and then the exiled [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. If the opponent uses their [[Force of Will]], I would cast [[Veil of Summer]] and then use one of the copies of [[Wishclaw Talisman]] to find another copy of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] in order to cast [[Echo of Eons]] with the [[Tendrils of Agony]] still floating in exile. If there is a one-mana value card on top of their deck, I would cast the [[Abrupt Decay]] with the [[Badlands]] and the [[Taiga]]. I would then crack the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for Green and cast [[Echo of Eons]]. This lets us cast the [[Veil of Summer]] if they try to counter the [[Echo of Eons]] or just cast it after to protect the rituals that we draw for the [[Tendrils of Agony]] that is still floating in exile.

Alex Poling

I would lead off with the [[Abrupt Decay]] on [[Counterbalance]]. I think if we play another card and the opponent reveals a one then we will be too pinched on resources, so to guarantee there’s not a one mana card on top I would cast [[Abrupt Decay]]. I would then cast [[Dark Ritual]]. If that resolved I could play out [[Wishclaw Talisman]]. If either of those two are countered then I could use [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] with [[Echo of Eons]] in hand. Even if they weren’t countered I would still do this to get the [[Force of Will]] and [[Daze]] out of hand since there is a [[Pyroblast]] for the future turns anyway. This gives me more resources to work with than the opponent over the next several turns to try and find a win.

Grant Johnson

This turn can start in many different ways but rather than test the [[Counterbalance]], I lean more towards removing it immediately with [[Abrupt Decay]] with our [[Taiga]] and [[Badlands]]. We then cast the [[Dark Ritual]] from exile with our remaining land. If they choose to counter this we can freely spin the wheel on [[Echo of Eons]] without losing our stacked exile zone. If they don’t counter the [[Dark Ritual]], we can play our second [[Wishclaw Talisman]] into the [[Force of Will]] and still have [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and [[Echo of Eons]] available. If the second [[Wishclaw Talisman]] resolves, it’s a “choose your own adventure” type of turn into the exiled [[Tendrils of Agony]] for lethal.