Post by gabochido on Jan 21, 2012 0:49:48 GMT -5
[Blue Red Storm] Primer
I. Introduction
Storm is an efficient combo deck that can win the game on turn 1 with the right draw. The blue red version is usually based exclusively on "going off" with just enough ramp spells to cast Empty the Warrens with a storm count of 4 and a kicked Goblin Bushwacker to immediately attack for more than 20 damage. It uses red for those key spells and blue to dig for the missing parts of the combo and to protect against disruption after sideboarding.
II. The Deck
Manabase
The deck only needs 2 to 3 lands in play to go off consistently and is capable of going off with a single mana. Any more lands after that are unnecessary. Since we need few lands and have plenty of dig spells, we only need between 13 and 16 lands.
The red mana is vital to start playing its red mana ramp spells, but the deck only needs one single red mana since these spells all give more red mana. On the other hand, the blue dig spells will usually require multiple blue sources, and these are the spells that will be played during build up turns so the deck will generally require more blue than red sources.
Sandstone Needle and Saprazzan Skerry: These depletion lands that give you 2 mana each turn can allow your deck to go off one turn early. However, you'll sometimes want to start going off with no lands in hand and before playing a land when you know you can draw some more cards and only require one more mana. In these case, the fact they come into play tapped is a big liability.
Cycleable lands: since you only need 2 or 3 lands, its very easy to draw into too many lands while having plenty of mana. These can defintely help but just like the depletion lands, coming into play tapped is a big liability in this deck.
Sac lands: Needed to improve the posibilities of getting the right color land. Also a liability due to coming in tapped.
As coming into play tapped is a big liability, you should only play between 4 and 6 of these special lands.
Mana ramp spells
Lotus Petal. 1 mana of any color for 0 mana. In this deck, this is generally better than a land as it ups your storm count and adds a mana regardless of having already played a land or other petals.
Rite of Flame: RR+ for R.
Desperate Ritual: RRR for 1R.
Pyretic Ritual: RRR for 1R
Seething Song: RRRRR for 2R.
These are the red mana ramp spells. Ideally, you get a mix of the spells and that will allow you to go from little mana to a lot. Rite of Flame and Desperate Ritual have additional benefits for using them in multiples.
Finishers
Empty the Warrens. The main kill condition, which puts 2 1/1 goblins for each spell played this turn.
Goblin Bushwhacker. When played with kicker, it gives your goblins +1/+0 and haste meaning that you only need to play 4 spells before the empty the warrens and this to deal 20 damage (and they can even have one blocker).
Grapeshot: Some versions may have this storm spell as an alternative combo option however, it requires a very large number of spells to be played to deal a significant amount of damage and in this deck isnt made for that.
Card diggers
Each of these cards will let you dig into your deck for the missing combo pieces (land, mana ramp, empty the warrens or goblin bushwhacker). They can also help you to cheaply up your storm count once you have enough lands. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Brainstorm: Instant that draws the next 3 cards in your library and makes you return 2 from your hand. This is best when you have 2 useless cards in your hand and the next three cards are very useful. The fact that its instant is only relevant against discard and once you sideboard and add counterspells since you can then stay open and cast it till end of turn. This spells has the disadvantage of not letting you get rid of the bad cards you see so it loses a lot of its power in multiples.
Ponder. Lets you look at the next 3 cards, put them back in order and keep one or shuffle and draw a random card. Of the one mana diggers, this is the one that digs the most as it can let you check up to 4 random cards (the 3 you see plus the card you draw if you shuffle) if you're looking for one particular card.
Preordain: Lets you scry 2, then draw a card. While this one only lets you dig up to 3 card card deep, its the most robust of the diggers as it lets you keep all that you see or get rid of all that you see or anything in between.
Impulse: Instant that lets your look at 4 cards, keep one and discard the others. This is the best digger when looking for one particular piece but has the disadvantage that you don't have the option of keeping the rest if you were to require more than one combo piece. Its also the only one of the recommended digger cards to cost more than one mana, which makes it much worse when using it to increase your storm count.
Storm count cards
These cards don't do much but are basically free to cast and let you draw a card. Don't be afraid to use these before going off when looking for land drops.
Manamorphose. This converts two mana into mana of any color and replaces itself with a card. Aside form upping your storm count this can help when you need to cast your digger cards and only have red mana.
Gitaxian Probe. You always cast this by paying 2 life since life is almost never an issue for this deck. In the early turns use it to find out what kind of disruption they have and how long you can wait before risking a big turn when you don't have all the components yet. In the later turns, once you have more mana, its usually best to save it to just up your storm count.
Playing the deck.
To "go off" you need to play at least 4 spells, end up with 6 mana, then play empty the warrens, goblin bushwacker with kicker and then attack. Its possible to go off in the first turn with the following cards:
1 mountain or lotus petal
1 of each of the three different red mana ramp cards
1 more of any ramp card.
1 empty the warrens
1 goblin bushwacker
You simply play the land or petal and use that to start the ramp until you reach 6 mana, then play the empty the warrens, then kick the bushwacker and attack for 22 or 24. As each turn passes and you play more land, you'll be less dependent on mana ramp spells and can substitute them with storm count spells or diggers.
It is vital to have a land drop each turn in the first 3 turns. Once past 3 lands you're not really gaining that much and past the 3rd turn most decks will have some way to disrupt the combo, specially after sideboarding. Don't be afraid to use up your mana to play your diggers or even your storm count cards to get lands or missing combo pieces. They replace themselves so it doesn't matter if you have one fewer spell to add to your storm count when you do go off, remember you only need 4.
While you ideally want to play the full combo, its often necessary to go half way. Sometimes you don't get the bushwacker or enough mana to cast it or kick it and you just have to make do with unhasted goblins. In the case that you have the bushwaker and can cast it but not kick it, make sure to cast it first if you can to get an extra couple of goblins.
In all of these cases, its usually better to go halfway early and hope they don't have mass removal than to wait, though there may be exceptions.
Mulliganing.
The combo consists of three parts: mana ramp (about 3 mana ramp spells count as a "part of the combo"), empty the warrens and goblin bushwacker. You usually don't want to keep a hand that doesn't have at least two parts of the combo or one part of the combo and at least 2 diggers. At 7 or 6 cards it usually worth mulliganing anything worse than this. You of course shouldn't keep a hand without lands unless you can see the 1 turn combo in there with the lotus petal. A one lander is acceptable if its an island or sac land and you at least 2 digger cards. After 5 cards you can probably accept any hand that has 1 or 2 lands and at least one part of the combo or diggers.
III.The Deck List
5 Island
4 Mountain
1 Sandstone Needle
1 Saprazzan Skerry
4 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Lotus Petal
4 Desperate Ritual
4 Seething Song
4 Rite of Flame
4 Brainstorm
4 Preordain
4 Ponder
4 Empty the Warrens
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Gitaxian Probe
3 Manamorphose
2 Lava Dart
Sideboard
4 Dispel
3 Echoing Truth
2 Lava Dart
2 Hydroblast
2 Deep Analysis
2 Pyroblast
IV. The Matchups
General sideboarding.
For sideboarding you'll usually want to take out some of the dig cards or the manamorphs. These cards work better when you have a mix of cards, so take 1 of each instead of all of one type.
Infect - Even to favorable
Infect is another combo deck that can win out of nowhere. Before sideboarding if either deck has the nut draw they'll just win. However, most games should go on to the 2nd or 3rd turn. At this point the storm player MUST play whatever the deck will do. Just getting a few goblins out there will make a huge difference and possibly give you time to redraw the combo to finish the game. The best strategy is to usually block with everything in order to make the opponent use up their pump. If they don't have creatures or only have one spell and you have full life, attack with everything and start racing.
Sideboarding:
Lava Dart
Dispel
After sideboarding you can use your lava darts to preemptively kill their creatures or at least force them to use their pump, giving you more time to get to your combo. Dispel can also stop their pump spells and more importantly, it can counter their fogs and sandstorms which they will sideboard to foil you. Play with caution. If you are unable to get the combo while they are tapped out, only send half or a third of you team in to make them use up their sandstorms. Never assume you can win on a turn they have mana up and a card in hand. Always assume they can turn it around and win the next turn if you can't block or disrupt.
Affinity
Sideboarding:
Delver Blue
Sideboarding:
Izzet Control
Sideboarding:
MBC Rats - Even
Before sideboarding, its usually more favorable for the storm deck as their only real threat are the discard creatures and you don't need a full hand to get the combo going. If they are maindecking duress, distress or echoing decay, you could be in trouble though.
Sideboarding:
NOTE: Don't take out brainstorms!
Dispel
Deep Analysis
Dispel will help you against the echoing decays, which is their best spell against your strategy. Playing the brainstorms correctly is key in this matchup. When they cast a duress or distress and you have a brainstorm available, use it and "hide" your key spells (warrens and bushwacker in case of distress) at the top of your deck then keep the unimportant cards. Deep Analysis is generally a great sideboard card against MBC and works well in this deck as you its a great discard option that becomes a cheaper way to gain card advantage once its in the graveyard.
I. Introduction
Storm is an efficient combo deck that can win the game on turn 1 with the right draw. The blue red version is usually based exclusively on "going off" with just enough ramp spells to cast Empty the Warrens with a storm count of 4 and a kicked Goblin Bushwacker to immediately attack for more than 20 damage. It uses red for those key spells and blue to dig for the missing parts of the combo and to protect against disruption after sideboarding.
II. The Deck
Manabase
The deck only needs 2 to 3 lands in play to go off consistently and is capable of going off with a single mana. Any more lands after that are unnecessary. Since we need few lands and have plenty of dig spells, we only need between 13 and 16 lands.
The red mana is vital to start playing its red mana ramp spells, but the deck only needs one single red mana since these spells all give more red mana. On the other hand, the blue dig spells will usually require multiple blue sources, and these are the spells that will be played during build up turns so the deck will generally require more blue than red sources.
Sandstone Needle and Saprazzan Skerry: These depletion lands that give you 2 mana each turn can allow your deck to go off one turn early. However, you'll sometimes want to start going off with no lands in hand and before playing a land when you know you can draw some more cards and only require one more mana. In these case, the fact they come into play tapped is a big liability.
Cycleable lands: since you only need 2 or 3 lands, its very easy to draw into too many lands while having plenty of mana. These can defintely help but just like the depletion lands, coming into play tapped is a big liability in this deck.
Sac lands: Needed to improve the posibilities of getting the right color land. Also a liability due to coming in tapped.
As coming into play tapped is a big liability, you should only play between 4 and 6 of these special lands.
Mana ramp spells
Lotus Petal. 1 mana of any color for 0 mana. In this deck, this is generally better than a land as it ups your storm count and adds a mana regardless of having already played a land or other petals.
Rite of Flame: RR+ for R.
Desperate Ritual: RRR for 1R.
Pyretic Ritual: RRR for 1R
Seething Song: RRRRR for 2R.
These are the red mana ramp spells. Ideally, you get a mix of the spells and that will allow you to go from little mana to a lot. Rite of Flame and Desperate Ritual have additional benefits for using them in multiples.
Finishers
Empty the Warrens. The main kill condition, which puts 2 1/1 goblins for each spell played this turn.
Goblin Bushwhacker. When played with kicker, it gives your goblins +1/+0 and haste meaning that you only need to play 4 spells before the empty the warrens and this to deal 20 damage (and they can even have one blocker).
Grapeshot: Some versions may have this storm spell as an alternative combo option however, it requires a very large number of spells to be played to deal a significant amount of damage and in this deck isnt made for that.
Card diggers
Each of these cards will let you dig into your deck for the missing combo pieces (land, mana ramp, empty the warrens or goblin bushwhacker). They can also help you to cheaply up your storm count once you have enough lands. Each has its advantages and disadvantages.
Brainstorm: Instant that draws the next 3 cards in your library and makes you return 2 from your hand. This is best when you have 2 useless cards in your hand and the next three cards are very useful. The fact that its instant is only relevant against discard and once you sideboard and add counterspells since you can then stay open and cast it till end of turn. This spells has the disadvantage of not letting you get rid of the bad cards you see so it loses a lot of its power in multiples.
Ponder. Lets you look at the next 3 cards, put them back in order and keep one or shuffle and draw a random card. Of the one mana diggers, this is the one that digs the most as it can let you check up to 4 random cards (the 3 you see plus the card you draw if you shuffle) if you're looking for one particular card.
Preordain: Lets you scry 2, then draw a card. While this one only lets you dig up to 3 card card deep, its the most robust of the diggers as it lets you keep all that you see or get rid of all that you see or anything in between.
Impulse: Instant that lets your look at 4 cards, keep one and discard the others. This is the best digger when looking for one particular piece but has the disadvantage that you don't have the option of keeping the rest if you were to require more than one combo piece. Its also the only one of the recommended digger cards to cost more than one mana, which makes it much worse when using it to increase your storm count.
Storm count cards
These cards don't do much but are basically free to cast and let you draw a card. Don't be afraid to use these before going off when looking for land drops.
Manamorphose. This converts two mana into mana of any color and replaces itself with a card. Aside form upping your storm count this can help when you need to cast your digger cards and only have red mana.
Gitaxian Probe. You always cast this by paying 2 life since life is almost never an issue for this deck. In the early turns use it to find out what kind of disruption they have and how long you can wait before risking a big turn when you don't have all the components yet. In the later turns, once you have more mana, its usually best to save it to just up your storm count.
Playing the deck.
To "go off" you need to play at least 4 spells, end up with 6 mana, then play empty the warrens, goblin bushwacker with kicker and then attack. Its possible to go off in the first turn with the following cards:
1 mountain or lotus petal
1 of each of the three different red mana ramp cards
1 more of any ramp card.
1 empty the warrens
1 goblin bushwacker
You simply play the land or petal and use that to start the ramp until you reach 6 mana, then play the empty the warrens, then kick the bushwacker and attack for 22 or 24. As each turn passes and you play more land, you'll be less dependent on mana ramp spells and can substitute them with storm count spells or diggers.
It is vital to have a land drop each turn in the first 3 turns. Once past 3 lands you're not really gaining that much and past the 3rd turn most decks will have some way to disrupt the combo, specially after sideboarding. Don't be afraid to use up your mana to play your diggers or even your storm count cards to get lands or missing combo pieces. They replace themselves so it doesn't matter if you have one fewer spell to add to your storm count when you do go off, remember you only need 4.
While you ideally want to play the full combo, its often necessary to go half way. Sometimes you don't get the bushwacker or enough mana to cast it or kick it and you just have to make do with unhasted goblins. In the case that you have the bushwaker and can cast it but not kick it, make sure to cast it first if you can to get an extra couple of goblins.
In all of these cases, its usually better to go halfway early and hope they don't have mass removal than to wait, though there may be exceptions.
Mulliganing.
The combo consists of three parts: mana ramp (about 3 mana ramp spells count as a "part of the combo"), empty the warrens and goblin bushwacker. You usually don't want to keep a hand that doesn't have at least two parts of the combo or one part of the combo and at least 2 diggers. At 7 or 6 cards it usually worth mulliganing anything worse than this. You of course shouldn't keep a hand without lands unless you can see the 1 turn combo in there with the lotus petal. A one lander is acceptable if its an island or sac land and you at least 2 digger cards. After 5 cards you can probably accept any hand that has 1 or 2 lands and at least one part of the combo or diggers.
III.The Deck List
5 Island
4 Mountain
1 Sandstone Needle
1 Saprazzan Skerry
4 Terramorphic Expanse
4 Lotus Petal
4 Desperate Ritual
4 Seething Song
4 Rite of Flame
4 Brainstorm
4 Preordain
4 Ponder
4 Empty the Warrens
4 Goblin Bushwhacker
4 Gitaxian Probe
3 Manamorphose
2 Lava Dart
Sideboard
4 Dispel
3 Echoing Truth
2 Lava Dart
2 Hydroblast
2 Deep Analysis
2 Pyroblast
IV. The Matchups
General sideboarding.
For sideboarding you'll usually want to take out some of the dig cards or the manamorphs. These cards work better when you have a mix of cards, so take 1 of each instead of all of one type.
Infect - Even to favorable
Infect is another combo deck that can win out of nowhere. Before sideboarding if either deck has the nut draw they'll just win. However, most games should go on to the 2nd or 3rd turn. At this point the storm player MUST play whatever the deck will do. Just getting a few goblins out there will make a huge difference and possibly give you time to redraw the combo to finish the game. The best strategy is to usually block with everything in order to make the opponent use up their pump. If they don't have creatures or only have one spell and you have full life, attack with everything and start racing.
Sideboarding:
Lava Dart
Dispel
After sideboarding you can use your lava darts to preemptively kill their creatures or at least force them to use their pump, giving you more time to get to your combo. Dispel can also stop their pump spells and more importantly, it can counter their fogs and sandstorms which they will sideboard to foil you. Play with caution. If you are unable to get the combo while they are tapped out, only send half or a third of you team in to make them use up their sandstorms. Never assume you can win on a turn they have mana up and a card in hand. Always assume they can turn it around and win the next turn if you can't block or disrupt.
Affinity
Sideboarding:
Delver Blue
Sideboarding:
Izzet Control
Sideboarding:
MBC Rats - Even
Before sideboarding, its usually more favorable for the storm deck as their only real threat are the discard creatures and you don't need a full hand to get the combo going. If they are maindecking duress, distress or echoing decay, you could be in trouble though.
Sideboarding:
NOTE: Don't take out brainstorms!
Dispel
Deep Analysis
Dispel will help you against the echoing decays, which is their best spell against your strategy. Playing the brainstorms correctly is key in this matchup. When they cast a duress or distress and you have a brainstorm available, use it and "hide" your key spells (warrens and bushwacker in case of distress) at the top of your deck then keep the unimportant cards. Deep Analysis is generally a great sideboard card against MBC and works well in this deck as you its a great discard option that becomes a cheaper way to gain card advantage once its in the graveyard.