TES Infernal Tutoring #70

Our Super Bowls have begun! Eternal Weekend Prague (Europe), Aichi (Japan), and Pittsburg (United States) are the premier Legacy events of the year. Magic players of all kinds will gather to sling the oldest cards of the game’s history in the hopes of walking away with an original Magic painting. What could be cooler?

Cooler than simply playing Eternal Weekend would be winning with The EPIC Storm! Storm is in an interesting position within the Legacy metagame at the moment. There is quite a bit of tension with decks that Storm performs well against and decks that are quite unfavorable. Entering into an event with these things in mind could prepare a Storm pilot for the ultimate success!

Legacy has fair Blue decks like Dimir Scam (recently eschewing [[Death’s Shadow]] for [[Grief]]) and the multicolor [[Up the Beanstalk]] Control decks. These are often decent matchups for The EPIC Storm, but games can be tight if they line up their resource denial plans before we can set them up. [[Galvanic Relay]] overperforms here, allowing for the resources to overwhelm any particular interaction while protecting the cards from discard.

Stompy and Prison-style decks like Boros/Gruul Initiative, Mono-Red Prison, and Orzhov Death & Taxes have seen a surge in popularity. This is, in part, due to their ability to generally ignore [[Orcish Bowmasters]] and dominate the battlefield with their high density of creatures. Hatebears can be problematic in multiples for The EPIC Storm, but our sideboard is prepared to deal with as many as we can. [[Abrupt Decay]] can put in the work while [[Consign // Oblivion]] and [[Grapeshot]] function as [[Burning Wish]] targets for solving anything that ails us.

The latest and greatest Storm lists have begun to include an unlikely card in their lists. [[Song of Creation]] is the premier backup plan for [[Gaea’s Will]] decks now. With [[Beseech the Mirror]] acting as a catch-all tutor and engine, cards that work well within that shell have seen increased playability. [[Song of Creation]] is a Storm engine that does not require the graveyard — something that the team was looking for. After a 5-0 dump was posted with [[Song of Creation]], testing began. The team has been happy with it ever since. One particularly nice thing about the color-intensive mana cost is that the colors of The EPIC Storm are perfectly suited to hard-casting the enchantment if the need arises.

The EPIC Storm has seen updates and improvements over the past several months as [[Beseech the Mirror]] takes its seat as the best engine for Combo players to build around. This Wilds of Eldraine card cannot be stopped and we love it to pieces. Jump into some great puzzles this month with our latest decklist!

Vincente Mahfuz

Special Guest

Vincente Mahfuz

(Twitter: @MahfuzVanGogh | Twitch: TheDredgeGuy)

Hello! I’m Vicente Mahfuz, but you can call me MahfuzVanGogh, also known as ‘The Dredge Guy’. What can I say, I have a soft spot for zombies! I’m from Brazil, and have been playing Magic: The Gathering for 28 years. Legacy is undoubtedly my favorite format. Additionally, I’m an artistic educator, yoga, and meditation teacher. This challenge marks my first attempt at unraveling The EPIC Storm deck, but I’m no scientist — my expertise lies in humanities! Let’s see how I do!

Deck List

the epic Storm

Main Deck

  • 4 [[Mishra’s Bauble]]
  • 4 [[Brainstorm]]
  • 4 [[Veil of Summer]]
  • 4 [[Burning Wish]]
  • 4 [[Beseech the Mirror]]
  • 3 [[Galvanic Relay]]
  • 1 [[Tendrils of Agony]]
  • 1 [[Song of Creation]]
  • 1 [[Gaea’s Will]]
  • 4 [[Rite of Flame]]
  • 4 [[Dark Ritual]]
  • 4 [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]
  • 4 [[Lotus Petal]]
  • 3 [[Chrome Mox]]
  • 3 [[Mox Opal]]
  • 4 [[Bloodstained Mire]]
  • 1 [[Scalding Tarn]]
  • 1 [[Misty Rainforest]]
  • 1 [[Verdant Catacombs]]
  • 1 [[Underground Sea]]
  • 1 [[Volcanic Island]]
  • 1 [[Badlands]]
  • 1 [[Bayou]]
  • 1 [[Taiga]]

Sideboard

  • 3 [[Carpet of Flowers]]
  • 3 [[Thoughtseize]]
  • 2 [[Abrupt Decay]]
  • 1 [[Consign // Oblivion]]
  • 1 [[Grapeshot]]
  • 1 [[Galvanic Relay]]
  • 1 [[Empty the Warrens]]
  • 1 [[Tendrils of Agony]]
  • 1 [[Echo of Eons]]
  • 1 [[Peer into the Abyss]]

SITUATION No. 1 — Death & Taxes

Death & Taxes is among the throng of decks adopting Legacy’s current darling, [[Orcish Bowmasters]]. A deck that was once assumed would wilt under the heat of facing down the card itself, Death & Taxes might have actually grown in popularity. The Orzhov colors of White and Black allow pilots to add cards like [[Thoughtseize]], [[Plague Engineer]], and [[Opposition Agent]] to the mix (the latter two alongside [[Orcish Bowmasters]] being excellent tutor bullets for [[Recruiter of the Guard]]). The recent changes to the deck have shown the resiliency of Death & Taxes to shifts in the Legacy metagame. Adding a whole color has often been seen as gimmicky in years past, but now it is the most competitively viable option!

Our first turn of our first game and things are popping off! We are in the classic mid‐[[Brainstorm]] situation and we need to determine our plan. We have already played our land drop of course. Our opponent has shown us only [[Yorion, Sky Nomad]], and [[Marsh Flats]]. How best can we optimize this turn and subsequent ones to maximize our win chances?

Situation 1

Special Guest

Vincente Mahfuz

Vincente Mahfuz

Considering the opponent might play [[Thalia, Guardian of Thraben]] next turn, I’m inclined to go all-in and create a 14 [[Goblin Token]] army! This hand feels like a nearly guaranteed win, except if the opponent pulls off precisely [[Stoneforge Mystic]] plus [[Batterskull]], has enough lands, and multiple removal spells — which is plausible, but it’s an 80-card deck we’re talking about here. Even if the opponent only has a [[Swords to Plowshares]] or [[Solitude]], and [[Stoneforge Mystic]] plus [[Batterskull]], we’d still secure victory by turn three, given they have a [[Marsh Flats]] in play that will deal one point of damage.

The other option would be searching for [[Echo of Eons]], but I prefer the [[Empty the Warrens]] line. I’ll put [[Bloodstained Mire]] and [[Brainstorm]] back on top, then I’ll play [[Badlands]], [[Lotus Petal]], [[Chrome Mox]] (Imprinting [[Brainstorm]]), and [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]]. Then, I’ll cast [[Burning Wish]], holding priority to activate [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], producing . With [[Burning Wish]], I’ll choose [[Empty the Warrens]] and create the [[Goblin Token]] army.

If the opponent has multiple removal spells and [[Stoneforge Mystic]], maybe the extra [[Brainstorm]] from the top of the deck will be useful in the upcoming turns.

#TEAMTES

Jordan Karim

Jordan Karim

At the face of this puzzle, we can make a 14 [[Goblin Token]]—strong army. That’s a particularly effective strategy against Death & Taxes normally. The EPIC Storm has an excellent table that goes into the number of tokens required to defeat [[Batterskull]] and the life gain from it. A turn-one [[Empty the Warrens]] on the draw needs 14 (yay! we’re done right?). New information about Death & Taxes builds may shift this. [[Ephemerate]] has been seeing an uptick in play with the deck. Bringing a [[Solitude]] into play right now and a [[Stoneforge Mystic]] plus [[Batterskull]] would mean our army is insufficient. Luckily, we can overcome this with our hand!

Let’s start by putting back [[Burning Wish]] and a land. From there, we can deploy all of our artifacts (Storm 5). Using the [[Mox Opal]], we can cast the additional [[Brainstorm]] — holding priority to crack both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for (if we hit another [[Brainstorm]] or [[Ponder]], I want to keep [[Burning Wish]] on top and cantrip into it again for plus-1 Storm). Resolving the second [[Brainstorm]], we keep [[Burning Wish]] in our hand. We have six available mana and a [[Lotus Petal]]. Its quite simple to make a 18 [[Goblin Token]] army that should be sufficient to win!


Bryant Cook

Bryant Cook

We’ll start by putting back our [[Burning Wish]] and then a land on top. After that, we’ll play all four zero mana value artifacts — Storm 5. After that, we’ll cast [[Brainstorm]], holding priority we’ll sacrifice the pair of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for . Now, we resolve each copy of [[Brainstorm]] with our Storm count at 7. Assuming we take the [[Burning Wish]], any spell we can cast off of the other [[Brainstorm]] is a lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]]. If not, we can just [[Empty the Warrens]].


Alex McKinley

Alex McKinley

Given this is a game one, we would not actually know the matchup. [[Marsh Flats]], pass is more common out of Rakdos Reanimator than Death & Taxes. Both of these matchups incentivize doing something quickly. If the matchup is Death & Taxes, making 14 [[Goblin Token]]s is a pretty easy choice. Into Reanimator though, [[Empty the Warrens]] is a riskier choice because a [[Griselbrand]] can race them. Truly in the blind, I would just [[Echo of Eons]] here. It is the best against both [[Thalia, Guardian of Thraben]] and [[Griselbrand]]. Almost no [[Marsh Flats]] deck gives us enough time to pass the turn to play towards a [[Peer into the Abyss]].


Alex Poling

Alex Poling

I would go for [[Empty the Warrens]] here. There’s a few different lines we can take, but I don’t see the appeal to them. [[Empty the Warrens]] for 14 Goblins beats everything, including [[Stoneforge Mystic]] for [[Batterskull]], so I see no point in risking losing with [[Echo of Eons]]. I would put back both copies of [[Brainstorm]] and then play out all of the artifacts and cast [[Burning Wish]], holding priority to sacrifice both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for , and then grabbing and casting [[Empty the Warrens]].


Oliver Everhard

Oliver Everhard

We are unfortunately a mana short of [[Peer into the Abyss]]. We do appear to have a floor of 18 [[Goblin Token]]s by doing the following:

  1. Put back the two lands.
  2. Play out our four artifacts — Storm 5.
  3. We can tap our [[Mox Opal]] for blue to cast one of our [[Brainstorm]]s — Storm 6. This will reveal the two lands that we just put back and a net new card. Put back the [[Burning Wish]] and one of the lands.
  4. Crack the [[Lotus Petal]] for blue, cast the second [[Brainstorm]], hold priority and crack both copies of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for — Storm 7. Take the [[Burning Wish]].
  5. Cast the [[Burning Wish]] for [[Empty the Warrens]] — 18 [[Goblin Token]]s on turn one. Can you beat it?

Notably, if we reveal something useful off of either of the [[Brainstorm]]s — an extra [[Lotus Petal]] off the first one, or a [[Beseech the Mirror]] off the second one, as an example — we can potentially get over the finish line and go for a lethal [[Tendrils of Agony]]. As a baseline, though, I would expect the 18 tokens to get there turn one on the draw, and I’d be more than happy to go for this line over something like an [[Echo of Eons]], which could potentially just whiff and wheel our opponent into a [[Thalia, Guardian of Thraben]].


Tony del Prete

Tony del Prete

I would put the two lands back on top, play out the artifacts and cast another [[Brainstorm]] using the [[Mox Opal]]. If the next unknown card is any free artifact, we actually just have lethal. If it is not, I would put a land and a [[Burning Wish]] back. Now, we can hold priority, use our second [[Brainstorm]], and sacrifice one copy of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for . We can now draw from our [[Brainstorm]] and put the [[Burning Wish]] back into our hand where we can hold priority again so that we can sacrifice our second copy of [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] so that we have enough mana to cast [[Empty the Warrens]] for 18 tokens. If our first [[Brainstorm]] hit a free spell, we could have cast the free spell before the second [[Brainstorm]] and we would have enough Storm to kill them with [[Tendrils of Agony]]. I chose this line as opposed to either passing the turn or going for an [[Echo of Eons]] because our opponent has shown a low chance to have [[Force of Will]] in their deck given the land they played and the Companion they revealed.

SITUATION No. 2 — Grixis Stiflenought

[[Force of Will]], [[Stifle]], and a cheap but effective clock? Is this 2016 Temur Delver?

Nope! It’s actually even worse. Grixis Stiflenought is an anti-combo powerhouse that seeks to win the game by putting a [[Phyrexian Dreadnought]] into play to win the game. It accomplishes this goal by addressing the “ETB” trigger with cards like [[Stifle]] and [[Dress Down]]. Backed by [[Force of Will]], [[Daze]], and [[Wasteland]] means that this deck can present a lethal threat very quickly. It also can use [[Murktide Regent]] and [[Dragon’s Rage Channeler]] as a supporting cast to round out a package that trades some of the brutal efficiency of [[Delver of Secrets]] for raw power and toughness.

As it turns out, a deck with playsets of [[Stifle]], [[Force of Will]], and [[Wasteland]] can be a difficult matchup for The EPIC Storm. This isn’t even considering cards like [[Thoughtseize]], [[Flusterstorm]], [[Spell Pierce]], [[Surgical Extraction]], and [[Null Rod]] that need to be considered in post-board games. The primary skill to combating this deck is “Picking Your Spot”. Knowing when to play into [[Stifle]] on a fetchland so that you can resolve [[Galvanic Relay]]. Learning how your opponent plays with their copies of [[Stifle]] and how aggressive they are in actually countering said fetchland activation.

Non-land mana is of prime importance in the matchup, but the Grixis color pie has some of the best artifact destruction available (namely [[Meltdown]] here). Swapping from artifacts to enchantments in post-board games can really throw a wrench in their mana denial plans.

SIDEBOARDING:

+3 [[Carpet of Flowers]], +2 [[Abrupt Decay]]; -3 [[Mox Opal]], -2 [[Chrome Mox]]

Another situation that finds us in medias res with a [[Brainstorm]] on the stack! Though perhaps this one is less clear-cut than Death & Taxes. In previous turns, we had a [[Galvanic Relay]] Storm trigger countered with [[Stifle]], and our [[Volcanic Island]] was destroyed with a [[Wasteland]]. There is an additional copy of [[Stifle]] known from a [[Mishra’s Bauble]] in our opponent’s hand. An additional point is that our opponent missed their land drop last turn, confirming their handful of spells. Lastly, only one [[Carpet of Flowers]] trigger was used (to cast the [[Brainstorm]]) and there will be one more remaining in the second main phase. How should we resolve this [[Brainstorm]], and what is our plan for this turn and any turns following?

Situation 2

Special Guest

Vincente Mahfuz

Vincente Mahfuz

This one’s quite complex! Let’s break it down:

If our opponent didn’t have [[Stifle]], we would still need five mana to try to cast [[Beseech the Mirror]] with [[Veil of Summer]] available, but we can’t have everything this turn because we need to put cards back on top of the deck. Our opponent could have [[Thoughtseize]] next turn, so I’ll put [[Rite of Flame]] and [[Beseech the Mirror]] back on top. This turn, I won’t play [[Bayou]] to protect it from a possible [[Wasteland]].

If the opponent attempts any discard on their turn, we’ll use [[Veil of Summer]], drawing an additional card, and potentially having six mana available next turn. If the opponent does nothing significant and passes back, we’ll also have five mana due to the [[Lotus Petal]] remaining in our hand.

On our turn, we start by not generating mana from [[Carpet of Flowers]]. We play [[Bayou]], tap [[Chrome Mox]], and cast [[Veil of Summer]]. If it resolves, we’ll go to the second main phase and resolve [[Beseech the Mirror]], bargaining [[Chrome Mox]] to cast… [[Song of Creation]]! We then attempt to win the game with it — we still have a [[Lotus Petal]] in our hand and a [[Rite of Flame]] on the top of our deck.

#TEAMTES

Jordan Karim

Jordan Karim

One thing is certain, we are not winning the game this turn. Two copies of [[Carpet of Flowers]] is great though, it can make up for our lack of additional mana. The plan here needs to shift from [[Gaea’s Will]] to [[Song of Creation]]. We can protect our [[Beseech the Mirror]] with [[Veil of Summer]] and hope for the best.

We don’t need [[Rite of Flame]] right now, that can go onto the bottom of our [[Brainstorm]] restack. On top should be [[Beseech the Mirror]] to protect it from any potential discard spells. Keeping our position protected also means not playing out the [[Bayou]] due to the potential to walk into a [[Wasteland]] again.

Our next turn will be a [[Beseech the Mirror]] (sacrificing the [[Chrome Mox]]) with [[Veil of Summer]] protection. We won’t have the ability to trigger it that turn, but drawing [[Rite of Flame]] will allow several chances at a win two turns from now.


Bryant Cook

Bryant Cook

I would put [[Rite of Flame]] on top with [[Beseech the Mirror]] on top of it. After that, play [[Bayou]] and [[Lotus Petal]] and then pass the turn. We can try something next turn that’s protected by [[Veil of Summer]]. I don’t like selecting an avenue turns in advance when the variables can change.

If our opponent taps out, we could look at a [[Gaea’s Will]] line but assuming they don’t it’s probably [[Song of Creation]]? There are just too many, “What ifs?”


Alex McKinley

Alex McKinley

Given the quantity of spells in the opponent’s hand this turn, I would choose to set up for next turn. The best plan to beat the [[Stifle]] is through [[Song of Creation]]. Put back the [[Rite of Flame]] and then the [[Lotus Petal]] on top. Next turn, we can cast a Bargained [[Beseech the Mirror]] with [[Veil of Summer]] back up to find [[Song of Creation]] to hopefully draw enough cards over the next few turns to win the game.


Alex Poling

Alex Poling

An interesting note here is that [[Veil of Summer]] does not protect against [[Stifle]], but also [[Stifle]] can’t counter Bargain as it is more like Kicker and not a trigger or activated ability. With this in mind, I would put back [[Rite of Flame]] and then [[Veil of Summer]]. My plan would be on my next turn to cast [[Beseech the Mirror]] for [[Song of Creation]] with [[Veil of Summer]] backup. If the opponent plays a second land, I would still have a [[Lotus Petal]] in hand to play post [[Song of Creation]]. If I needed the [[Lotus Petal]] in order to cast [[Beseech the Mirror]], I would need to pass the turn and hope to draw something I could cast to begin the chain.


Oliver Everhard

Oliver Everhard

I’m going to acknowledge the line of putting back the [[Veil of Summer]] and [[Rite of Flame]], playing out your land and [[Lotus Petal]] and firing off [[Beseech the Mirror]] into [[Daze]]. I probably wouldn’t go for this, but do you.

I don’t think there’s a great way to play this hand that doesn’t just set up for a future turn. No three cards in this hand can go off with protection, certainly not through a [[Stifle]]. Notably, the missed land drop absolutely does not mean they don’t have more lands in hand — [[Underground Sea]] ramps us significantly here, and they may choose to leave [[Wasteland]] in hand to bait us into playing our own real estate.

I think I’d go with the following line:

  1. Put back the [[Beseech the Mirror]] under the [[Rite of Flame]].
  2. Play out the [[Lotus Petal]], but leave the [[Bayou]] in hand. We don’t need the mana yet and they can’t be discarded, but they can be destroyed by [[Wasteland]]. We can potentially bait out countermagic to fight over a [[Veil of Summer]] in response to their [[Thoughtseize]] by playing this way, at the cost of being a little softer (but not dead by any means) to [[Meltdown]].
  3. We can now draw into [[Rite of Flame]] and [[Beseech the Mirror]] over the next two turns (ensuring that we don’t draw the [[Beseech the Mirror]] before we need it). Even with no additional Islands from our opponent, with a [[Rite of Flame]] already in the yard this should give us plenty of mana to beat [[Daze]] + [[Force of Will]].

To beat the [[Stifle]], I actually don’t hate going for [[Song of Creation]] here — a single [[Stifle]] isn’t a game winner against this line. It’s very strong against the kinds of hate cards we’ll be expecting ([[Null Rod]] has entered the chat), and I doubt this deck will have much in the way of permanent removal for a CMC 4 enchantment ([[Hydroblast]], maybe?). With two [[Carpet of Flowers]] live, we can even recast it if it ends up getting bounced, and we can even trigger it this turn with the [[Veil of Summer]] if they’re not holding up relevant countermagic.


Tony del Prete

Tony del Prete

I see very little reason to do anything at all. Our opponent has no pressure on board and is missing land drops. There is a chance they will start going to discard while we get to draw additional cards or they might even play out another [[Island]] to prevent themselves from going to discard. I think it would be ill-advised to go any time soon. We have some potential to resolve a [[Song of Creation]] but it just seems like we are walking into a lot of interaction without enough resources and it feels pretty free to just wait until we have more ammo. I would likely hold the [[Bayou]] as well for at least a turn or two. It is worth mentioning we aren’t even necessarily afraid of a card like [[Null Rod]], which is sometimes a reason for Storm decks to act sooner than they want to.

SITUATION No. 3 — Izzet Delver

Previously this was the best deck of the format, bar none. Straight up Izzet Delver is now (again) relegated to the backseat in favor of splashing a third color — Black for [[Orcish Bowmasters]] or Green for [[Questing Druid]]. However, [[Delver of Secrets]] + [[Lightning Bolt]] can still end games without the fuss of more colors. The banning of [[Expressive Iteration]] certainly hurt the power level of the deck of course, regardless of splash colors. Adaption is a key tenant of Izzet Delver though, and the deck has inherent strengths that mean the deck’s floor will always be viable.

Similar to Grixis Stiflenought, this deck functions to disrupt an opponent’s game plan enough to win with cheap and efficient creatures. [[Delver of Secrets]], [[Dragon’s Rage Channeler]], and [[Murktide Regent]] are these creatures. The supporting cast of cantrips, removal, and disruption all serve to get these creatures across the finish line.

To reiterate the sentiment that has been hammered into readers with utter disregard to being repetitive, one key strength of The EPIC Storm against fair Blue decks is [[Galvanic Relay]]. Overwhelming their one-for-one interaction over multiple turns will break their resolve as easily as it breaks their ability to fight back.

This is game one in our third turn of the game. Our previous turn two was full of spells leading into a resolved [[Galvanic Relay]] with seven cards being saved for this moment. Our third turn has started and we drew the [[Bloodstained Mire]]. Our opponent was “tricked” into casting [[Daze]] on an unnecessary [[Brainstorm]], so they are behind on their mana development. The exile pile from this [[Galvanic Relay]] is stacked with good cards. How should we sequence these cards to maximize their strengths? Are there multiple lines that can be taken?

Situation 3

Special Guest

Vincente Mahfuz

Vincente Mahfuz

If I play conservatively, I would probably play [[Taiga]] from exile and cast [[Veil of Summer]] immediately. If it resolves, great! I play [[Mishra’s Bauble]] and [[Mox Opal]], generate with [[Mox Opal]], then crack [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for . Then I cast [[Song of Creation]], keeping in my pool, and then I’ll cast a naked [[Chrome Mox]] without any cards to Imprint, but drawing two cards first with the [[Song of Creation]] draw trigger. Maybe I find spells to Imprint on [[Chrome Mox]] or draw into more free spells. If I succeed, I can cast [[Burning Wish]], draw two more cards, and choose anything that seems suitable to win the game based on what I drew. If [[Veil of Summer]] doesn’t resolve, we can still cast [[Song of Creation]] around [[Daze]].

#TEAMTES

Jordan Karim

Jordan Karim

More [[Song of Creation]]! And this has an [[Empty the Warrens]] backup plan. Just the best of both previous scenarios all rolled into one, huh?

My ideal plan leads on playing the [[Bloodstained Mire]] from hand. It opens our opponent up to having perfect information, but if [[Song of Creation]] resolves, I would like to have [[Taiga]] as a guaranteed second land drop (don’t forget we get those now!). Another key piece is using the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] to get Metalcraft, so that we can use our [[Chrome Mox]] after the [[Song of Creation]] resolves. Let’s start by casting [[Mishra’s Bauble]] and [[Mox Opal]]. We can tap the [[Mox Opal]] for and sacrifice the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for to put [[Veil of Summer]] on the stack. If it resolves, we can cast [[Song of Creation]] using a [[Volcanic Island]]. This would give us an additional land drop and two draws from the cast trigger from [[Chrome Mox]]. I think we would be in pretty good shape!

If the [[Veil of Summer]] doesn’t resolve or if we need to pay for a [[Daze]], the line would be to play [[Burning Wish]] into an [[Empty the Warrens]] in the hopes that our [[Goblin Token]] army would get there. Either would be successful, but I like the plan of putting [[Song of Creation]] on the stack!


Bryant Cook

Bryant Cook

Play [[Bloodstained Mire]] from hand since we can later play the [[Taiga]] off of [[Song of Creation]] Cast [[Mishra’s Bauble]] and then [[Mox Opal]]. At this point, float a using [[Mox Opal]] and then sacrifice [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for and then play [[Veil of Summer]]. You now have all of the requirements to play [[Song of Creation]] followed by [[Chrome Mox]] or [[Burning Wish]] into another [[Galvanic Relay]] depending on your read if they have [[Pyroblast]] or not.


Alex McKinley

Alex McKinley

While there are a lot of options, I would choose a line that gives up the lease information about the plan at each step. First, play the [[Taiga]] from exile and cast [[Veil of Summer]]. If the opponent chooses to [[Daze]] this [[Veil of Summer]], I would pay with the [[Underground Sea]] and use [[Burning Wish]] to end up at an [[Empty the Warrens]] line. If [[Veil of Summer]] resolves, I would put [[Song of Creation]] on the stack, cast [[Chrome Mox]] and hope that that draws enough cards to win. If the opponent forces the [[Veil of Summer]], I’d likely cast the [[Burning Wish]] with the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] mana to play around another [[Daze]].


Alex Poling

Alex Poling

I would lead with [[Bloodstained Mire]] and then casting [[Mishra’s Bauble]] and [[Mox Opal]] from exile. I would then sacrifice [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for and cast [[Song of Creation]] with [[Veil of Summer]] backup. I still have the [[Chrome Mox]] to cast after [[Song of Creation]] resolves and the extra land to play. There is a high chance of winning from this position.


Oliver Everhard

Oliver Everhard

We’ve got two choices here — go for a [[Song of Creation]] line, or go for something off the [[Burning Wish]].

The [[Song of Creation]] line involves us playing out our [[Bloodstained Mire]] from hand, then the [[Mishra’s Bauble]], and the [[Mox Opal]] from exile. We can now cast [[Song of Creation]] off of triple green from the [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]], holding up [[Veil of Summer]] (or a payment for [[Daze]]) off of [[Bayou]]. If we can push it through, we have the extra land drop off the [[Taiga]] in exile, and at least one guaranteed trigger off the [[Chrome Mox]] (two off of the [[Veil of Summer]] if we didn’t need to use it to protect the [[Song of Creation]]). Unless we hit only lands off our triggers, we should also have the mana to cast our [[Burning Wish]] from exile, which worst-case lets us grab [[Echo of Eons]] for a future turn or [[Thoughtseize]] for a peek at their hand.

We can also play more aggressively towards [[Burning Wish]] — our castable spells in exile give us at least Storm 5 with 6 mana to work with. In theory that’s 10 [[Goblin Token]]s — not nothing, but frankly not enough to ensure victory if they start deploying blockers and [[Lightning Bolt]] next turn, especially because we’ll be unable to use our [[Veil of Summer]] for this to work.

Our more reasonable options are a second [[Galvanic Relay]] (likely for something like Storm 6 or 7, depending on if our opponent interacts) or an [[Echo of Eons]] with [[Veil of Summer]] protection.

All that said, I think I’m feeling [[Song of Creation]] — our opponent is very unlikely to have much meaningful interaction for a 4-CMC enchantment game one ([[Brazen Borrower]] or bust, I would assume, and they’ve got to find it soon), so even if we whiff I think it’s very likely to stick around for at least another turn. We also get a guaranteed cast off the [[Chrome Mox]], potentially more if we don’t have to use the [[Veil of Summer]] with [[Song of Creation]] on the stack. Meanwhile, a whiffed [[Echo of Eons]] or [[Galvanic Relay]] might lose us the game on the spot, although I don’t think either is a horrible play.


Tony del Prete

Tony del Prete

I would play [[Taiga]], [[Mishra’s Bauble]], [[Mox Opal]], tap [[Mox Opal]] for , sacrifice [[Lion’s Eye Diamond]] for and cast our [[Burning Wish]]. If it resolves, we can get [[Empty the Warrens]], play [[Chrome Mox]] and make 10 [[Goblin Token]]s. Izzet Delver has a pretty hard time with goblins, especially after casting [[Daze]] the turn before. If our opponent tries to counter the [[Burning Wish]], we can cast [[Veil of Summer]] which might even draw us into more mana or a card that imprints to [[Chrome Mox]], letting us make even more tokens. If we don’t get an imprintable or additional mana source, we can still resolve another [[Galvanic Relay]] for seven. We could go for [[Song of Creation]] but if we play out our artifacts first, we only have a [[Chrome Mox]] to start getting triggers and if we hold our artifacts, we lose to [[Force of Will]] + [[Daze]] or [[Spell Pierce]] + [[Daze]]. The [[Burning Wish]] line has a chance to beat a lot of double interaction by drawing mana or an imprintable from the [[Veil of Summer]].


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