Five With Flores

Offense? Out of a U/W Control deck?

The U/W ‘Tron deck has such powerful mana production that it can produce some awfully awful threats. This video shows off the ‘Tron offense including Sundering Titan and the Mindslaver lock.

What is the Mindslaver lock? Check out the video already!

You Make the Play returns! This time it is Fae v. ‘Tron in Extended… So are you a metagamer or a savage miser?

It is Game Three.

Your opponent is on the play on account of you savagely destroyed him with Negate and so on in Game Two.

It is game three because even though you savagely destroyed him in game two, he made you look like a child — a child smaller than your Spellstutter Sprites — in Game One, exposing the severe inability of the Herberholz / Nassif-style Faeries / Wizards deck to deal with certain kinds of expensive threats.

Namely Mindslaver.

You conceded to Mindslaver but of course filled your deck with Negate, Annul, and Glen Elendra Archmage for Vedalken Shackles, Threads of Disloyalty, &c.

If you haven’t seen the deck (you have probably seen it because all the guys who have soap boxes to stand on have been saying it’s the bee’s knees, plus you are playing it so how could you not have seen it), here it is:

Nassif-style Faerie Wizards

3 Chrome Mox
3 Engineered Explosives
3 Umezawa’s Jitte
2 Vedalken Shackles

4 Mana Leak
3 Repeal
4 Spell Snare
4 Spellstutter Sprite
1 Stifle
4 Thirst for Knowledge
2 Threads of Disloyalty
3 Vendilion Clique
2 Venser, Shaper Savant

1 Academy Ruins
1 Breeding Pool
1 Hallowed Fountain
10 Island
4 Mutavault
3 Riptide Laboratory
1 River of Tears
1 Steam Vents

sideboard:
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Vedalken Shackles
2 Annul
1 Chain of Vapor
3 Flashfreeze
2 Glen Elendra Archmage
2 Negate
2 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Academy Ruins

Okay, back to Game Three:

It is your opponent’s turn seven. He only has six lands in play even though he has been a savage miser this game because one of his lands — a Ghost Quarter — is in the bin. He plugged your Academy Ruins (not realizing you are also a savage miser and are palming the other Ruins). He has just attacked your face with his Platinum Angel, so life totals are 20-16 in favor of the degenerate mana deck..

This is his board:

This is his graveyard:

(Simic Signet, Ghost Quarter, and Gifts Ungiven)

On turn two you sent Annul at his Simic Signet, his Ghost Quarter “traded” for your Academy Ruins, and his Gifts Ungiven was successfully stifled (not Stifled) by a Mana Leak last turn after he played his Platinum Angel.

Which means, yes. Savage. Miser. He has almost a double ‘Tron, a handy dandy Island, hasn’t missed a land drop, all-natural.

This is your board:

Not too shabby. You even have mana open for your Glen Elendra Archmage… twice if necessary.

Your graveyard is seven cards:

(Annul, Chrome Mox, Chrome Mox, Thirst for Knowledge, Thirst for Knowledge, Academy Ruins, and Mana Leak)

This is your hand:

Mana Leak
Spellstutter Sprite
Spellstutter Sprite
Riptide Laboratory
Riptide Laboratory
Academy Ruins

Tormod’s Crypt is on the stack.

I would do images to show your hand and to indicated Tormod’s Crypt being on the stack but I am tired of looking up hideous background images.

Anyway, the bad guy has two mystery cards in hand.

If I had to draw a picture of this game, in total, it would look, um, EXACTLY like this:

Okay You Make the Play-ers…

He is playing Tormod’s Crypt. Ye olde zero mana spell is on the stack.

… What do you do next?

LOVE
MIKE