TES Infernal Tutoring #66

Martin Nielsen

I am actually quite torn about this. It seems clear that it’s between going for an [[Echo of Eons]] line that floats no mana or passing with [[Veil of Summer]] up. A while back, Rakdos Reanimator decks were always on four [[Chancellor of the Annex]]. If that were still the case, I would certainly argue for going for the turn-one [[Echo of Eons]] line as the likelihood of them ending their second turn with a [[Chancellor of the Annex]] in play would have been fairly high. But as it stands, I think it’s reasonable to wait a turn. We can assume that they will almost certainly animate at least [[Griselbrand]] next turn and quite possibly also the [[Archon of Cruelty]]. We can even wait with firing off the [[Veil of Summer]] until they have animated the [[Archon of Cruelty]] with it’s trigger on the stack to draw a card and protect our hand. At this point, I feel it’s reasonable to expect them to not be able to bring a third monster into play. I would also have played out the Mishra’s Bauble in order to cycle it for another draw on my second turn. This has the disadvantage of raising a potential red flag that we are playing The EPIC Storm — therefore tipping our hand of [[Veil of Summer]] — but I think only a minority of players would have that read. Even if our opponent does, I think it’s unlikely that they will play around it.

A bonus here is our opponent will likely be at a low life total, so we don’t need to work very hard next to turn as a [[Tendrils of Agony]] with Storm count of 4-5 is likely to be good enough.

It’s very tempting to cast the [[Echo of Eons]] as even if it doesn’t lead to the same turn win, we have just cancelled their entire first turn by emptying their graveyard. In waiting a turn, we basically get to do this from a much stronger position on turn two.

I would play [[Bloodstained Mire]] and [[Mishra’s Bauble]] and pass the turn, banking on my opponent not being able to bring a [[Chancellor of the Annex]], [[Iona, Shield of Emeria]] or a [[Sire of Insanity]] into play on their next turn. I’d trust that my [[Veil of Summer]] will carry me unscathed into my next turn and hopefully a win.

Jordan Karim

As tempting as it is to just jam here, there are a few things to consider. With the current builds of Rakdos Reanimator not playing as much hate for combo decks — no [[Chancellor of the Annex]] for example — the likelihood that we untap with more chances to win is pretty high. [[Echo of Eons]] functions as graveyard hate here, but I think trying to shut off that aspect of our opponent’s strategy is playing too much into a controlling roll — a roll that we don’t need to be in.

The [[Veil of Summer]] in our hand will give us all of the protection that we need for their discard. It actually stops the targeting ability on [[Archon of Cruelty]] too, so we don’t have to worry about that creature being reanimated.

Lastly, a possible scenario that plays out is our opponent brings back their [[Griselbrand]] and pays enough life that we find a lethal line with a natural Storm kill. With all of that being said, let’s play this turn out by casting [[Mishra’s Bauble]] and sacrificing it targeting ourselves. Playing [[Bloodstained Mire]], we can find [[Bayou]] if we don’t like the top card or we can draw it and still have [[Veil of Summer]] up. In the likely scenario of us surviving the turn and executing our combo, the extra draw from [[Mishra’s Bauble]] could bring us that much closer to victory.

Bryant Cook

I would just play [[Bloodstained Mire]] and [[Mishra’s Bauble]]. I would activate the [[Mishra’s Bauble]] immediately targeting ourselves to see if we want the top card or not. If we don’t, we can use the [[Bloodstained Mire]] to shuffle. If you wait to do this on the opponent’s turn and then are forced to cast [[Veil of Summer]], you lose that pseudo-Scry equity.

By taking this line, you have the potential to see three additional cards between [[Mishra’s Bauble]], [[Veil of Summer]], and the draw step. This could mean the mana to cast [[Peer into the Abyss]] or at the very least, additional mana on our [[Echo of Eons]] turn.

Alex McKinley

The most aggressive option would just be to cast [[Echo of Eons]]. Most Reanimator decks are not playing [[Chancellor of the Annex]] at this point, so [[Veil of Summer]] should guarantee another clean untap step. I would play out a land and the [[Mishra’s Bauble]], likely cracking on their end step and hoping to filter with the fetch land.

Alex Poling

I would just play out the [[Mishra’s Bauble]] and the [[Bloodstained Mire]] and pass the turn. The opponent doesn’t know what deck we are on, and by just playing these two cards, it doesn’t necessarily reveal that we are a Storm deck. If I play out the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], that will be a dead giveaway and tell the opponent we don’t have any counterspells. I want the opponent to think I may have some counterspells and just play a discard spell like a [[Thoughtseize]] on their second turn. My plan would be to use a [[Veil of Summer]] for any discard spells and the [[Mishra’s Bauble]] on their end step to try and win on my third turn. If they go for a [[Reanimate]] on [[Griselbrand]] on their second turn, I think I lose anyway even if I played out the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]].

Caleb Scherer

Since we will be almost assuredly facing down a [[Griselbrand]] and also a lot of discard the next turn, we must try to win this turn or set up a win on our next turn that is insulated from this. In this situation, I would choose to just play out a [[Bloodstained Mire]] and [[Mishra’s Bauble]] with the intention to use the [[Mishra’s Bauble]] on our opponent’s upkeep and [[Veil of Summer]] to protect us from any discard as that is their only real interaction for us. This gives us the ability to try and go off the next turn seeing three more cards and have the “fail” case of using [[Burning Wish]] to get [[Echo of Eons]] if we do not draw a way to fully win.

Oliver Everhard

I think this is a no brainer — play the [[Bloodstained Mire]] and [[Mishra’s Bauble]], then pass. Unless they’re running something exceedingly spicy maindeck (hello, [[Sire of Insanity]]), [[Veil of Summer]] is basically [[Time Walk]] here. It’ll blank their hand disruption and force them to pass the turn, where you’ll have three fresh cards (Veil, Bauble, and draw step) and a guaranteed land drop.

Martin Nielsen

I think I will go ahead and give them the extra turn and go for a [[Peer into the Abyss]] line on my subsequent turn. The only question then becomes whether it’s better to have a spare [[Burning Wish]] or a spare [[Infernal Tutor]] in hand. I think the answer in [[Burning Wish]] as this potentially lets us get out from under a hate bear if they draw one.

My plan is to put back both copies of [[Infernal Tutor]] and go to my turn, drawing one of them again. Next, I’ll cast [[Mishra’s Bauble]] and check what they’re drawing. If it’s not [[Wasteland]], [[Rishadan Port]], or a relevant hate bear, I feel comfortable they don’t have anything meaningful in hand. I’ll play [[Misty Rainforest]] and use it to find a [[Taiga]], cast my [[Infernal Tutor]] and get another copy of [[Dark Ritual]]. Then, I’ll pass the turn and hope to get an untap step and go for [[Peer into the Abyss]] with one mana floating. We even have the chance to draw a land or a [[Lotus Petal]] to play around [[Wasteland]] or [[Rishadan Port]] off of our [[Mishra’s Bauble]] and draw step, so this feels somewhat good!

Jordan Karim

This show of weakness from our opponent on a key turn in their game plan gives me hope. If the only thing they could accomplish was deploying [[Umezawa’s Jitte]] — not even [[Wasteland]] — I think that we can use our next turn as a planning turn. If we put back both copies of [[Burning Wish]] and draw one for our draw step, we can cast it to get a [[Peer into the Abyss]]. Playing out the [[Mishra’s Bauble]] allows us to draw an additional card for our combo attempt on turn three.

Bryant Cook

We untap, draw [[Burning Wish]] and then play [[Misty Rainforest]] for [[Taiga]]. We’ll then cast [[Dark Ritual]] (Storm 1 — ), [[Dark Ritual]] (Storm 2 — ), [[Infernal Tutor]] revealing another [[Dark Ritual]] (Storm 3 — ), [[Dark Ritual]] (Storm 4 — ), [[Dark Ritual]] (Storm 5 — ), [[Infernal Tutor]] revealing [[Mishra’s Bauble]] (Storm 6 — ), [[Mishra’s Bauble]] (Storm 7 — ), [[Mishra’s Bauble]] (Storm 8 — ), tap the [[Taiga]] for [[Burning Wish]] (Storm 9 — ), and then cast [[Tendrils of Agony]] (Storm 10).

Alex McKinley

Given this is game one, there is nothing to play around from the opponent. I would put back one of the copies of [[Burning Wish]], then any other card. Unfortunately, all the permutations of this [[Brainstorm]] leave us one Storm short of winning the game. The opponent likely will just use [[Recruiter of the Guard]] to find a hate bear. This leaves two options: [[Burning Wish]] for [[Peer into the Abyss]] or just passing, using the [[Misty Rainforest]] to shuffle, and hoping to draw any card that generates a Storm. I lean towards casting [[Burning Wish]] for [[Peer into the Abyss]].

Alex Poling

I would start by putting back both copies of [[Burning Wish]]. Taking my turn, I would draw the first one again. I would begin the turn by playing out the [[Misty Rainforest]] and the [[Mishra’s Bauble]]. To get better information, I would use the [[Mishra’s Bauble]] to see the top of the opponent’s library now. We know they don’t have any hate bear creatures like [[Thalia, Guardian of Thraben]] in hand, so finding out if they will have one for next turn is important. If the top of their library is a creature like [[Thalia, Guardian of Thraben]], I would play the [[Burning Wish]] for [[Grapeshot]]. Otherwise, I am just sacrificing the [[Misty Rainforest]] to draw a different card and passing the turn. I would hope my next two draws would allow me to combo on my third turn.

Caleb Scherer

I would put back both copies of [[Burning Wish]] so I would only have a single copy in hand on our turn after drawing. Then I would cast two copies of [[Dark Ritual]] to get to five mana. Next, I would cast both copies of [[Infernal Tutor]] to get the last copy of [[Dark Ritual]] and another [[Mishra’s Bauble]]. Next, I would then cast the two remaining copies of [[Dark Ritual]] in hand, both copies of [[Mishra’s Bauble]] and play out [[Misty Rainforest]] to get us a [[Taiga]] into play. After all of this, we will have available with a Storm count of eight. This let’s us easily cast [[Burning Wish]] getting [[Tendrils of Agony]] for exactly 20.

Oliver Everhard

While [[Umezawa’s Jitte]] pretty clearly telegraphs that my opponent doesn’t have anything to meaningfully interact with me this turn, your boy isn’t losing to a top-decked [[Thalia, Guardian of Thraben]]. Put both copies of [[Burning Wish]] back on top of the deck, then draw one on your turn. Your hand is now:

• 3x [[Dark Ritual]]
• 2x [[Infernal Tutor]]
• 1x [[Mishra’s Bauble]]
• 1x [[Misty Rainforest]]
• 1x [[Burning Wish]]

I see a deterministic kill here!

• Cast two of your [[Dark Ritual]] off of the [[Underground Sea]]. (Storm 2 | )
• Cast both copies of [[Infernal Tutor]] getting your fourth [[Dark Ritual]] with one, and another [[Mishra’s Bauble]] with the other. (Storm 4 | )
• Cast your remaining copies of [[Dark Ritual]] off of the floating , then cast both copies of [[Mishra’s Bauble]]. (Storm 8 | )
• Crack the [[Misty Rainforest]] for a [[Taiga]], tap it to cast [[Burning Wish]] getting [[Tendrils of Agony]]. Put your 10 copies of [[Tendrils of Agony]] on the stack and hope they don’t have two copies of [[Solitude]] in hand.

Martin Nielsen

This one is tough. I can’t work out a way where we can deterministically win. I do think we have to ignore their [[Force of Negation]] though. The only alternative is to [[Burning Wish]] for [[Thoughtseize]] and that leaves us with just the two copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and an [[Infernal Tutor]]. All we can do from there would be to put a non-lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]] on the stack which doesn’t seem where we want to be.

There’s also a line where we cast [[Burning Wish]], crack one copy of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for and cast [[Echo of Eons]]. This has to ignore the [[Force of Negation]] and then we are giving the deck with playsets of pitch counters seven fresh cards.

In either case, like I said, I think we have to ignore their [[Force of Negation]]. I don’t see any meaningful way we can play around it.

Instead, I think this is what I would do: Tap my [[Mox Opal]] for and sack both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for and cast [[Infernal Tutor]] ( floating | Storm 5). Assuming it resolves I would go get [[Tendrils of Agony]] and cast it leaving in the pool. Storm is six, and we put 12 damage on our opponent who goes down to seven life and we gain 12 going up to 20. Now, we can tap our two lands and cast [[Galvanic Relay]] from exile, and we have a do-over next turn.

This all hinges on opponent not having a blue card to pair with their [[Force of Negation]] which obviously feels less than optimal.

Jordan Karim

If I’ve done all of the decision trees correctly (not an assumption we should make), I think we have the opportunity to put a protected [[Echo of Eons]] onto the stack with mana floating.

It all starts with putting [[Burning Wish]] onto the stack, so let’s start there and take each branch as they come.

1. Our opponent counters the [[Burning Wish]]. If that happens, we have seven total mana available with a Hellbent opponent. At eight life, I’m tempted to put [[Ad Nauseam]] on the stack. Even though it’s a low life total, two copies of [[Galvanic Relay]] are out of the deck. I’ve had good luck with [[Ad Nauseam]] recently, thanks to no main-deck [[Echo of Eons]]. If [[Burning Wish]] doesn’t resolve, that’s where I’m headed.
2. Our opponent allows [[Burning Wish]] to resolve. [[Echo of Eons]] is the take here, with the goal of using it as our engine to combo this turn. Tapping [[Mox Opal]] for and sacrificing both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for
allows us to cast [[Infernal Tutor]] from our [[Galvanic Relay]] exile pile. It can find [[Veil of Summer]] (if it resolves) that will be cast with the floating mana. [[Echo of Eons]] can then be cast with Flashback giving us a new hand and a chance to win the game with our floating mana (Storm 8 | ).

Bryant Cook

It’s important to note that we cannot become Hellbent since we’re in our opponent’s endstep — no matter what, we have to untap and draw at least one of these cards. By putting back a pair of [[Burning Wish]], we can create a line for exact mana and Storm!

We should start by tapping the [[Mox Opal]] and then cast [[Burning Wish]] holding priority and then sacrificing the pair of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for . If they cast [[Force of Negation]], we can then play [[Infernal Tutor]] for [[Ad Nauseam]]. if they allow [[Burning Wish]] to resolve, we can then cast [[Tendrils of Agony]] for exactly enough to stay alive in the face of [[Force of Negation]]. Then follow up with a [[Galvanic Relay]] for seven cards.

Alex McKinley

The first thing that comes to mind is to cast [[Burning Wish]] for [[Thoughtseize]] to clear the way, but that means that there is not enough mana for [[Infernal Tutor]] to do anything. One option would be to put [[Burning Wish]] on the stack and then float all of the mana, find [[Tendrils of Agony]] cast it, gain all of the life and then have a [[Galvanic Relay]] for seven the next turn. Unfortunately, that line is not great because it requires casting an [[Echo of Eons]] to get the [[Tendrils of Agony]] back into the deck. I think the best line is to just get [[Peer into the Abyss]] and hope that they do not have the blue card.

Alex Poling

I would plan on the opponent having a Blue card here and casting [[Burning Wish]] for [[Thoughtseize]] and then casting it. From there, I would sacrifice one [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] and cast [[Infernal Tutor]] for [[Echo of Eons]]. I would then sacrifice the second [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to flash it back. I now have floating and a land drop remaining. This would give me a good chance of winning this turn.

Caleb Scherer

Given that there is only one card in hand and one in their library that we do not know, there is still a blue card that could be in their hand. Thus, I would then use [[Mishra’s Bauble]] to check the top card of their library and see if the [[Shardless Agent]] is there. If it is, I would choose to ignore the [[Force of Negation]] in their hand and just tap [[Mox Opal]] and sacrifice both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] while I have Burning Wish on the stack to be able to cast [[Peer into the Abyss]] that I would grab. If the [[Shardless Agent]] is not on top, however, I would play around the [[Force of Negation]] by using [[Burning Wish]] to get [[Thoughtseize]] and then be able to sacrifice a [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for Black to cast [[Infernal Tutor]] for [[Echo of Eons]] to try and go off from there.

Oliver Everhard

This is a fun one. We have nine mana for [[Peer into the Abyss]] off our [[Burning Wish]] — if we jam and they don’t have it, we win. We know all but three of the cards in their 60 at this point:

HAND

• [[Force of Negation]]
• Unknown card

DECK

• 13 lands
• 7 [[Force of Will]] effects
• 4 [[Simian Spirit Guide]]/[[Elvish Spirit Guide]]
• 4 [[Fire // Ice]]
• 4 [[Force of Vigor]]
• 4 [[Mystical Dispute]]
• 3 [[Shardless Agent]]
• 3 [[Sea Gate Restoration]]
• 2 [[Crashing Footfalls]]
• 2 [[Violent Outburst]]
• 2 Unknown card

PLAY/YARD/EXILE

• 3 lands
• 3 [[Simian Spirit Guide]]/[[Elvish Spirit Guide]]
• 2 [[Crashing Footfalls]]
• 2 [[Violent Outburst]]

So ask yourself: How likely is one of those cards to be blue? Given that only 16 lands have been revealed (and most Rhinos lists run 18-19, on top of 3-4 copies of [[Sea Gate Restoration]]), I think it is exceptionally likely that the final card is a regular land (or less likely but possible, the fourth copy of [[Sea Gate Restoration]]).

This preamble notwithstanding — given that we know there IS a possibility that they don’t have it (either 1/3 or 2/3, and I’d bet 2/3), I think we should just jam for [[Peer into the Abyss]] and make them have it. We’re dead next turn if we do nothing, [[Goblin Token]]s from [[Empty the Warrens]] don’t really save us here at the amount of Storm we’d be able to generate. We’re also too low on life to cast [[Ad Nauseam]] safely.

There is one potentially safer line in casting the [[Burning Wish]] without cracking the copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. If this doesn’t eat the [[Force of Negation]], we can get the [[Echo of Eons]], tap our [[Mox Opal]] for , crack the copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for , cast [[Infernal Tutor]] getting [[Veil of Summer]], then wheel with a layer of protection and floating. Unfortunately, if the [[Veil of Summer]] is countered (I think a far more likely possibility against a smart opponent), we’re wheeling them back into their mountains of [[Force of Will]] effects. Even if it doesn’t, we’re still dead on board and on a build of the deck that can struggle to create a same-turn win off of the [[Echo of Eons]].

If the [[Burning Wish]] does eat a [[Force of Negation]], I’d probably use the [[Infernal Tutor]] to get [[Ad Nauseam]], cross my fingers, and hope for mana rocks and a payoff off the top. Overall though, I’d take the 50-50 shot at the win right now over that decision tree.