[Deck] Fetchland Tendrils

[kicks_422]

I don't see how Doomsday slows the deck down. By itself, it's an option to stack the deck into whatever you want to squeeze out from it.

[Shriekmaw]

I don't see how Doomsday slows the deck down. By itself, it's an option to stack the deck into whatever you want to squeeze out from it.

When I'm casting a triple BBB spell, I want to win the game and this card does not do that. You have to wait a full turn to win and I don't like giving my opponent additional turns when playing combo.

The only triple BBB spell in the deck should be a draw 4, thats it.

[jjjoness']

When I'm casting a triple BBB spell, I want to win the game and this card does not do that. You have to wait a full turn to win and I don't like giving my opponent additional turns when playing combo.

The only triple BBB spell in the deck should be a draw 4, thats it.

With some acceleration and either SDT in play or Ponder/Brainstorm in hand Doomsday wins immediately. I wouldn't cast DD if I wasn't able to win right now, unless there was no other way to do it, and then DD is just perfect to set up a safe kill.

[Dark_Cynic87]

I've non-lethal tendrils'ed before to get out of range of their kill, doomsdayed that turn after the tendrils, and passed. I got enough storm out of it to go lethal with the second Tendrils the next turn. I couldn't gas enough to get lethal the first time, but it got me close enough to feel comfortable both in life and in card advantage to pass and still win. I didn't have a Tutor in hand. Doomsday and ToA were in my hand. Went off for non-lethal tendrils on turn 3, won turn 4.

Otherwise, Doomsday is a Win-now card. Draw-4's are only useful to reload your hand or in conjunction with Doomsday. Stringing them sux for consistancy...

Pce,

--DC

[kicks_422]

You have to wait a full turn to win and I don't like giving my opponent additional turns when playing combo.

Then you're not playing the card right. I never cast Doomsday unless I can win that same turn, or am sure of winning next turn (e.g. Chant on their upkeep against aggro, no pressure at all from a Sui- Black style deck, etc.)

BTW, is Krosan Grip really needed? The older versions refused to splash green only for it, why did that change?

[ACME_Myst]

Probably the increased Extirpate count, so you can now destroy and get rid of Counterbalance for good.

[Mental]

To the FT adepts: about how many matches does it take to start to be able to see multiple paths to the win and identify the optimal choice? From messing around with this deck I've gotten decidedly better at it, but I'm almost positive that I'm frequently missing 1 or 2 routes to the win and probably the optimal way to get there. Is this something that can be learned through increased familiarity with the deck?

It really depends on your intelligence. No joke, it takes a different amount of matches for each person. However, if you goldfish an hour a day against disruption x and clock y, you should get it in a few days.

On Krosan Grip - It seems like a strong sideboard option. This deck isn't as scared of Counterbalance as a lot of other combo decks, but it's still hard to beat when backed by a strong clock. I'm going to plug my sideboard as a good option in most metas:

1 Tropical Island
2 KGrip
4 Serenity
2 Echoing Truth
1 Rushing River
1 Massacre
2 Extirpate
1 Infernal Contract
1 Wipe Away

Doomsday is a powerful option in this deck but should only be played as a one of because it is a highly situational wincon - you need to top of BStorm to make it work.

Here's the routes I take when playing this deck:
Against aggro -
IGG/Brainstorm + Doomsday
Against aggro - control like Threshold
Doomsday/Double Tendrils
Against blue based control like Landstill
Resolved Orim's Chant + IGG. Extirpate is really helpful here.
Against discard
IGG/Doomsday. Top is really helpful here.

I haven't had time to test my alternative sideboard idea: control tendrils to a more traditional FT list to a doomsday list postboard, or visa versa.

[Jaiminho]

I've non-lethal tendrils'ed before to get out of range of their kill, doomsdayed that turn after the tendrils, and passed.

Just want to point out that casting Doomsday first and then Tendrils makes you have more life points, since you are not losing half of a bunch, but half of a bit and then winning a bunch.

[rsaunder]

That, and +1 storm from doomsday is always nice.

[dlevsApiJ]

My latest list, I want to play 17 (maybe 16) lands, but I really dont know that to cut..

This is my list:

// Lands
1 [A] Tundra
1 [B] Underground Sea
1 [MM] Swamp
1 [ST] Plains
1 [U] Scrubland
2 [PT] Island
4 [ON] Flooded Strand
4 [ON] Polluted Delta

// Spells
1 [PT] Cruel Bargain
1 [AL] Lim-Dul's Vault
1 [TSP] Wipe Away
1 [TE] Lotus Petal
1 [PLC] Extirpate
1 [WL] Doomsday
2 [US] Ill-Gotten Gains*
2 [SC] Tendrils of Agony
3 [LRW] Ponder
4 [DIS] Infernal Tutor
4 [MI] Mystical Tutor
4 [MM] Dark Ritual
4 [CHK] Sensei's Divining Top
4 [MI] Lion's Eye Diamond
4 [PS] Orim's Chant
4 [TO] Cabal Ritual
4 [5E] Brainstorm

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [A] Tropical Island
SB: 1 [UL] Rebuild
SB: 1 [DS] Echoing Truth
SB: 1 [PS] Rushing River
SB: 2 [TSP] Krosan Grip
SB: 2 [WL] Abeyance
SB: 1 [SC] Brain Freeze**
SB: 2 [PLC] Extirpate
SB: 4 [WL] Serenity

* Still play 2, because you can't go: (when you have 2 mana) 2x Led (2 Storm) -> I Tutor (3) -> IGG (4) (take back 2x Led and Tutor) -> 2x Led (6) -> I Tutor (7) -> I Tutor (8) -> Tendrils (9), with only 1 Igg. Against any non-blue deck, I really like this kill, and with only 1 Igg you can only make 9 Storm
** Play it in SB instead of D Wish, against M Mage and Extirpate.. But I dont know if there is a better alt. win condition..

So what do you guys think I can cut the best.. (I think it will be 1 Igg and 1 LDV..)

Jip

[GreenOne]

2 [US] Ill-Gotten Gains*
* Still play 2, because you can't go: (when you have 2 mana) 2x Led (2 Storm) -> I Tutor (3) -> IGG (4) (take back 2x Led and Tutor) -> 2x Led (6) -> I Tutor (7) -> I Tutor (8) -> Tendrils (9), with only 1 Igg. Against any non-blue deck, I really like this kill, and with only 1 Igg you can only make 9 Storm

Against non-blue decks you just need another accelerator (D.Ritual, LED, Petal or Cabal), a Ponder that draws a dark ritual or a Lotus petal, a mystical during upkeep for a Dark Ritual, a sensei played on turn 1 (go for Doomsday, tendrils for 20). The opponent could have fetched/thoughtseized or whatever takes 2 life from him. The only instance when somehow I'd want a second IGG is when the first get discarded, which is unlikely.

As you see, there are lots of roads to the kill in that situation, that requires just 1 card more out of your hand OR a sensei played the turn before. That's why I suggest cutting the second IGG for the 16th land, if not, just cut LDV.

[dlevsApiJ]

I Think I go:

MB
-1 IGG
-1 M Tutor*
+1 Tropical Island
+1 Tundra

SB:
-1 Trop. Island
+1 Massacre

*I dont want to cut the LDV, because when you really! need a LED/Serenity, you can go M Tutor -> LDV, search for it. Ok its great card-disadvantage, but sometimes you really need 1 of those cards, and with cantrips/TOP it goes faster to draw those cards..

[Dark_Cynic87]

Just want to point out that casting Doomsday first and then Tendrils makes you have more life points, since you are not losing half of a bunch, but half of a bit and then winning a bunch.

I would normally do this, but the situation was a bit different. I was playing against burn. I couldn't risk dropping down 8 life (@ 16 from a couple fetches and a SW) when he had RR open with a few cards in his hand (easy enough to go Bolt Bolt Blast). I didn't have chant backup (sometimes you just don't). Against burn you have exactly 4 turns (without Chant-walking, not that it matters a whole lot as they have quite a few instants), and I wanted to go off quick. Went off with 5x stormed Tendrils (from 16 life to 28) and stayed at 14 after Doomsdaying, pretty much out of reach, winning the next turn with chant protection (via Doomsday). He responded to chant with a bolt and a blast, but it didn't matter. I had more than 2 life left, so I won.

Pce,

--DC

[GreenOne]

I'm having some problems in siding in the SDT version. With the Wraith version you usually just side out the Wraiths and you're done, but how do you guys side versus common matchups like thresh, landstill, ichorid...?

I'm also missing the confidants in the board. They helped a lot in the control/aggrocontrol matchup, expecially against black threshold (it has no removal for confi).
I'm currently running them because people nowadays think that FT doesn't play creatures, so they side their removal out anyway.

Here's the list I'm testing ATM:
// Lands
1 [A] Underground Sea
1 [ST] Swamp (1)
4 [ON] Polluted Delta
4 [ON] Flooded Strand
2 [MM] Island (3)
1 [U] Scrubland
1 [U] Tundra
1 [P3] Plains (1)
1 [B] Tropical Island

// Spells
4 [5E] Brainstorm
1 [US] Ill-Gotten Gains
2 [SC] Tendrils of Agony
4 [MI] Lion's Eye Diamond
4 [DIS] Infernal Tutor
4 [A] Dark Ritual
4 [TO] Cabal Ritual
3 [TE] Lotus Petal
4 [MI] Mystical Tutor
4 [PS] Orim's Chant
1 [TSP] Wipe Away
3 [LRW] Ponder
1 [PT] Cruel Bargain
1 [6E] Doomsday
4 [CHK] Sensei's Divining Top

// Sideboard
SB: 1 [DS] Echoing Truth
SB: 4 [RAV] Dark Confidant
SB: 1 [OV] Abeyance
SB: 3 [WL] Serenity
SB: 1 [PLC] Extirpate
SB: 1 [SC] Brain Freeze
SB: 2 [TSP] Krosan Grip
SB: 1 [PS] Rushing River
SB: 1 free slot.

[Mental]

Ok, so here's a small tournament report:

6 People show up.

I'm playing an old FT list:
8 Fetches
2 Island
1 Sea
1 Tundra
1 Scrubland
1 Plains
1 Swamp

4 Lotus Petal
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Dark Ritual
4 LED

4 Infernal Tutor
4 Mystical Tutor

4 Street Wraith
4 Brainstorm
3 Ponder

2 Tendrils of Agony
1 Ill-Gotten Gains
1 Infernal Contract

4 Orim's Chant
1 Extirpate
1 Wipe Away

SB
4 Serenity
2 Echoing Truth
1 Trop
2 KGrip
2 Extirpate
1 Wipe Away
1 Rushing River
1 Massacre
1 Infernal Contract

Match 1, Game 1 vs. Bwg Homebrew.
I have the turn one win, but he's on the play. Great. He leads with Dark Rit -> Thoughtseize my Infernal Tutor -> Dark Confidant. I draw gas the next few turns and he Hymns me twice. At some point Goyf comes down and I'm forced to Tendrils him to 3. He Swords Confidant and kills me in a few turns.
Game 2 I take out a Wipe Away and bring in an Infernal Contract.
I go first, but I don't have the win. He leads with a Thoughtseize, taking my Infernal Tutor again, but I Mystical for another one EOT. I still can't win, and he Verdicts + Hymns me. I pull of Infernal Contract, but I don't draw the win and it's too late.
0-1

Match 2, Game 1 vs. Burn
He Bolt me. I win.
Game 2 I board in nothing.
He Bolts me. I draw. He bolts me twice. I win.

Match 3, Game 1 vs. Rgb Goblins with Maindeck Thorn of Amethyst
I keep a one land hand that can win on turn 2 if Brainstorm hits anything relevant. He wastes and it doesn't, so I lose to Lackey + Thorn and 2 Turns of dead draws.
Game 2 I take out Extirpate, Wipe Away, and 4 Street Wraiths for 4 Serenity and 2 Echoing Truth.
I fetch basics incase he plays Blood Moon. He drops Thorn and starts beating down, and I can't draw anything relevant -- not even an out.

Was this bad luck, or some fundamental problem with the way I'm playing the deck?

[nodahero]

From personal expericne with this deck and every version leading up to it I would say your homebrew matchup was just a case of bad luck. I did get it worse once though. I had literally a perfect 7 card hand one time. 2 Petal, Chant, Plains, 2 LED, and Infernal tutor. Only problem. He went first going. Fetch into scrub into rit rit Hymm Hymm, Yea I didnt do to hot after that. He had one advantage in that game. He knew my deck inside and out since we had been testing against it the day before with a homebrewed sneak attack deck.

The second game was fairly typical. Although generally we are not quite that efficent in our combo turns... or at least I am not. Generally I win that match at around 11 life. Not counting my self inflicted damage which I try to avoid in that matchup.

The third game the jury is out on mainly due to a lack of information. For example what would be considered relevant in that game where you needed to find something of relevance off of Brainstorm? As for the second game I dont think I would have brought in the Serenities personally although Ace is a better person on that topic. I do know brining in the Echoing was a decent idea. Breaking the fetch for a basic was prolly a decent idea although again it depends on whats going on. i.e. had you taken a fetch what plays would that have given you in addition to what you got for plays off the basic. Overall given typical scenarios however it sounds like in this match they also got the god openings although it is impossible to know since you didnt say what he brought in off his lacky.

[GreenOne]

Was this bad luck, or some fundamental problem with the way I'm playing the deck?

It's not all that bad luck on your side, but a lot of luck on the other side of the table.
However, in that meta you could do some changes to the deck, cause I noticed you played against blue a grand total of zero times.
- I'd consider dropping the wraiths for SDT. Tops are good in any discard matchup and this was your worst mathup of the day.
- I'd consider dropping the maindeck Extirpate for Ponder: you faced only discard and permanent based hate, extirpate is not that great here.
- The only permanent based hate you faced is Thorn of Amethist. Krosan Grip is useless in this spot. I'd go with -2 Krosan Grip -1 Tropical +3 Dark Confidant.


And next time I play vs Burn I'd go with -1 Wipe Away, -1 Extirpate +2 Echoing Truth.

Your meta is possibly the best one to bring a deck like FT, but it's even better for TES, given the lack of blue and the "sorcery speed" of anything problematic you could encounter.
It's also lovely to see that you didn't face graveyard hate at all.
Next time, just go there and rape everyone in the room.

[jegger]

I'm having some problems in siding in the SDT version. With the Wraith version you usually just side out the Wraiths and you're done, but how do you guys side versus common matchups like thresh, landstill, ichorid...?

Yeah with the SDT-version it's more difficult to side in/out, but it's not impossibile.

For example against Angel Stax & Dragon Stompy I side out easily (like all people) the 4 Chants and Wipe Away (if I am in a blue heavy meta). Then I side out also a ToA: you never win with double ToA plan and your opponent usually gives you an hand decreasing his lifes with Ancient Tomb and mana burn. Also I side out Ponder that is the less relevant spell at CC1: if you keep an hand with more than one drop at CC1 usually you play before the other drop at CC1 instead of Ponder. I put some examples:
Do you prefer to play before a Sensei or Ponder if you are on the play against Angel Stax? Sure SDT that can help you both to search lands and to draw no cards at CC1 if opponent plays a Chalice at 1.
Do you prefer to play first a Ponder or keep mana open to play a Mystical in response to Chalice at 1 if you are on the play against Dragon Stompy? Sure Mystcal.
And so on....
So you can cut against these matchups Orim, Ponder, ToA and Wipe Away for others 9 cards: Serenity, Rushing River, E.Truth and Confidant (against Dragon Stompy I prefer Dark Confidant respect to Krosan Grip you can't play with a Moon effect into play). Ah you don't play the tutorable Rebuild, ahi ahi ahi.

Against Ichorid it's easy: you cut Wipe Away, a ToA and a SDT for E.Truth, the Extirpate and Abeyance. Why in this case SDT and no Ponder?
Because Ichorid it's a combo deck and Ponder allows to look the top 3 cards at a minor cost than SDT. You need speed in this matchup.
Same side in/out against TES. Someone side in Dark Confidant in this matchup (and mirror) because in this mode you can play more defensively: you can beat your opponent with DC while your opponent search a manner to round on your Orim. I'm not sure this is the right movement, usually you can't play fast DC because you need a W open also for bluff so usually you can play DC only in the third turn (or second with Petal) and you already have SDT that can give you a qualitative draw if you play defensively. Well I'm not sure about this my thought: I never test against TES in real, I don't know many TES players in my area (except me).

Against Threshold the side in/out depends from the color build of Threshold.

Against UGR, your opponent doesn't use Extirpate, Meddling Mage and Counterbalance so you don't need Wipe Away, Brain Freeze and Krosan Grip. You can't side in many cards against this matchup: only an Abeyance and an Extirpate (but I'm not sure these cards are really effective: Abeyance goes under Spell Snare build and often you haven't the time to play Extirpate: first Orim (often FoWwed), Extirpate on FoW, second Orim, bla bla bla 10 storm counts.
You can cut the bouncer and a Ponder or a SDT in this matchup, but these changes don't alter the percentages of win. I don't side in DC against a deck with many burn effects if I'm not sure that my opponent side out at least all Bolt (at least).

Against UGW there is more hate against combo in the form of Meddling Mage and Counterbalance.
In this case you can side in a Brain Freeze (or Massacre) if you know that your opponent plays Mage, the Grp if you know that your opponent plays Counterbalance, the Abeyance and Extirpate. Here I prefer to side out Ponder instead of SDT because UGW is more control than UGR. You can try to use DC, but if my opponent uses Snare, StP and Explosives I don't side in them.

Against UGB it's more difficult. It's a nightmare matchup like Dreadstill and others TrinketTopSolution matchups. Usually your opponent has both Counterbalance and Thoughtseize maindeck plus noisy cards like Extirpate, Wasteland & Spell Snare. In this case I'm not sure about the right side in/out. You can side too many cards, but I think that side in Dark Confidant is right, your opponent has only Smother and Spell Snare plus sometime Explosives against it.
In addition you can side in Krosan Grip, Abeyance and Extirpate. Perhaps too many cards? Yeah this is the other reason (beyond a weaker manabase) because I don't use Krosan Grip: a card that don't change too many the percentages of win and you can't side out too many cards because you risk to distort the deck. You can cut a ToA, Ponders and then? some Petal? a ToA? and then? You risk to distort too much your deck.
An example I do 3 games against Dreadstill. I do 1-2, 0-2, 2-0 and all the times my opponent plays Counterbalance, he wins. I don' try to improver a so bad matchup, instead I prefer to improve more balanced matchup (for example Rebuild against Stax or another Extirpate against Ichorid).

Landstill: too many various decklists.
Usually I side in Abeyance and Extirpate sure. Then I side in Brain Freeze if I know (or doubt) that my opponent plays Mage or Extirpate. I side out all Ponder beacuse SDT is too much strong in this matchup and usually the second ToA because with this build I see that it's more difficult to win with double ToA. ah usually I keep maindeck Wipe Away (other solution to Mage, surpreise fucking cards like Arcane Laboratory,....). Time ago I side out 1 LED, but with decklist I presume you need all the LED because of Doomsday.
About DC, well I'm not sure I need them in this matchup: usually at least there are 6 removals (StP and Explosives at least), plus with this decklist now we has SDT that can take partially the role of Confidant, so usually I don't side in but it's a choice that depends from many factors, so we can't decide pre-emptively.

I hope this is enough......

@Mental: I think you can change your decklist if you play in a meta like that.
Really you don't need cards like Extirpate, Wipe Away, Krosan Grip.
When I play with my friends I use E.truth maindeck because I know that nobody uses Counterbalance in my playtest group; instead when I go to tournaments I value the possibility to put Wipe Away maindeck.
Again (like I wrote some posts ago), there isn't a definitive FT-decklist, but a good decklist in the right metagame. Anyway in that meta I bring TES (maybe with Wheel of Fate tech in SB).

[Illissius]

Given that both Wraith and Top can be Needled, and both can be sided out; and that opponents like Needling Top but not Wraith, and you like siding out Wraith but not Top; is that evidence for Top being the stronger choice, or is there something wrong with this sort of logic?

[Iranon]

I'm rather convinced Empty the Warrens should exist as a one-of at least. With Mystical Tutor, Street Wraith and LED as well as a bunch of cantrips, I have found myself in otherwise bad positions where I could get a bunch of goblins very easily.

LED, cycle Wraith, crack LED in response and play a medium-sized EtW after some minor junk isn't impressive but the play demands very few resources; it is often possible after an opponent countered something, easily castable after a chant early on and can blindside opponents completely.

I hate to rely on EtW as a main win condition, but it's a decent out against many things and this deck actually has more synergy with it than most.