Dies to Removal

I wanna know about your 2-3 foray into Burn. Post in the Burn thread and share! Maybe we can come up with something to help.

Every time I think it's safe to bring Storm out, I realize that Burn is running rampant with 4 main deck Eidolons. And then I go back to Burn or Goblins.

They both do the same thing - "draw 3" with a minor drawback. Voice means you can pitch an extra land or something at the cost of 2 mana (w/out an Electromancer on the field), and Thoughtscour can accidently mill a card you would want to draw, like the Goblin or Ascension.

Haven't tried it, no. But I really love Thoughtscour and its ability to be played for one mana.

In Storm, we have Thought Scour as Ancestral Recall and Desperate Ravings as a 2 CMC Divination with Flashback. Let's not mess with a good thing.

I think I like Ravings over Act. I base this on no testing, only goldfishing. I tried Telling Time for a time. It's solid. It basically goes in the flex slot that started with Peer Through Depths, then Telling Time, then Looting, and now it's Desperate Ravings.

Sadly, I don't think Epic Experiment Storm will be viable again unless Seething Song is unbanned or we get another ritual. Even then, you wouldn't want to take out Ascension completely. Being able to Experiment for 4, copy it and then copy all the spells you cast from the Experiment is just bonkers.

With an Electromancer out, it's just all sorts of awesome. I'm getting a semi-chub just thinking about it.

I'll try it Act when I can get my testing buddies over again. Or I can just goldfish it over and over again . I'll just replace the Ravings with it.

One thing I have definitely learned from playing against Affinity : just because you resolved a Shatterstorm does not mean you've won the game.

Finkel laid out a pretty good sideboard strategy in his article, IMO.


Also, not that I don't think Storm needs to play it, but it seems like Volcanic Fallout may have been what you needed in your match against Merfolk. But overall, I think we're somewhat favored (as long as they're not playing a counter heavy build).

Platypus, do you finally see what I mean about goldfishing and actual interactive games? Big difference. The thing is, you HAVE to goldfish a lot to really get a feel for the deck, but then the next level is to play some live games so you know when to act under pressure. Deciding on when to go all-in is a huge part of piloting Storm right.

Against uber aggressive strategies, like Affinity, I think the Finkel version is better. It's what I switched to after some hardcore testing against Affinity a while back.

It couldn't hurt to try Ideas Unbound, I suppose. I've only played it in the Blistercoil Weird combo deck (that's the real reason why Paradise Mantle shot up to $10, lol).

I played a lot of Game 1's last night against Affinity. I started off with my normal "18-Land, Faithless Looting" build. Maybe I just had some really bad luck, but I was only able to go off about every 4th game. It was terrible.

And then it kind of dawned on me. I had what an alcoholic refers to as a "moment of clarity."

The Looting variant appeals to me so much not because it's "faster," but because it allows you to be patient. It allows you to wait for the right time to go off. If all the maindeck Bolts ever did was to buy you just one extra turn, then that is the turn you're going off.

By contrast, the Finkel version is much more all-in. And this is the faster deck. It's a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants type deck. What makes it so scary is the amount of randomness that's involved with playing Thoughtscour and Desperate Ravings. It doesn't care if it flips over an Ascension on
turn 1 with Thoughtscour. It doesn't care because the deck is going to draw more cards and fill its graveyard up faster.

If it sounds like I'm suddenly converted, I don't mean to be. I played a literal shit ton of games last night against just Affinity. I was able to combo much more consistently than the Looting version. Going back to riding on 16 lands will take some getting used to though.

It's the best ritual in the deck. I have no idea why anyone would want to play less than four.

Shrout, Fennell, and a few others were trying to make room for the 2 Bolts at the expense of the Goblin. Personally, I just cut a land. 17 has been my sweet spot for awhile with this deck.

It's a good thing I had all mine from starting competitive play when Zen dropped.

/bragpost.

Actually, that's not entirely true. I had to pick up a couple Misty Rainforests about a month ago. I spent close to $50 per, and I've been told they've jumped up +$10 since. That's fucking goddamn ridiculous.

One thing I agree with Finkel is about the Electromancer. Play 4. I tried 3 and it's a big difference.

Also, I put Finkel's, Shrout's, and Budde's articles in the primer last night. Though, admittedly, Budde's isn't nearly as informative since it reads as an overall tournament report, but he does go into detail of some of his Storm games, both good and bad.

Maindecking bolt doesn't vibe with me as it's not a win-con, nor a cantrip.

Actually it is.

I didn't mean to sound argumentative or defensive in the Clan thread in regards Finkel's deck. On paper, the deck looks like a work of art. However, I played it enough to know that it doesn't suit the way I would like to play Storm. Much of what I've talked about here in this primer (and thread) was echoed in Shrout's article, which means that I'm not the only one to prefer a different style and disagree with Finkel.

I recommend to everyone: play both kind of Storm decks. Figure out what you like and how you like to play Storm. There's no wrong way
to do this, apparently. Each version has a very strong chance at success until people start packing in extra Rule of Laws, Counterflux, and even Mindbreak Trap.

Yeah! He even prefers the Looting version.

I didn't know he was JohnnyHotSauce on MTGO. I've seen some of his lists.

Great article on Storm on SCG! I'll link when I get home. Crazy how close Andrew Shout is to my assessment of the deck!

Man, I should really finish this primer.

Yeah, I need to be a storm guru in little over a month's time. I have assembled the pieces and will probably play it in our local big Modern tournament with over 1000€ worth of stuff in the price pool...

In the meantime...can anyone link to some really good storm articles, preferably on the modern version of course.

Edit: In addition to that one written by Finkel...

I haven't found any.

In my experience, it's one of those
decks that's really easy to explain, but pretty hard to master. Fortunately, it's one of those decks that you can literally goldfish a hundred times and it's still fun. The amount of decision making and gambling in any one game is staggering. But, like in solitaire, there will be games that you just won't win; however, the more adept you are with the deck, the more often you'll be able to 'see through' what looks to be an obvious losing game and find a way to win. Of course, the next level after goldfishing a million times is to actually play a game - it's one thing to mechanically be able to win with the deck and another to be able to fight through disruption, a quick clock, and dodge counters.

One thing I've learned is this, for me, I prefer the 17-18 land version with Faithless Looting. I feel like I have more control over my choices and my mulligans are more forgiving. Thought Scour is, theoretically, a perfect card for the deck: it cantrips, fills your yard for Past in Flames, and increases
the density of 1-mana draw spells. However, in the few games I've played this week with it, the mill for 2 actually screwed me up and I can't honestly say it actually improved the deck. The same goes for Desperate Ravings - on paper, DR is pure advantage; you can play it with no other cards in hand and still come out ahead. However, I've been bit one too many times in the ass by not having control over what I discard.

The beauty of Storm is that there is no wrong way to build it at the moment. As long as you have your core of Probe, Visions, and Slight for your cantrips, the 2 rituals + Manamorphose for your accelerants, the right amount of Grapeshot, Past in Flames, Ascension, and Electromancer, and the proper land count, you have a deck that is capable of winning. Use the few flex slots you have available when deckbuilding wisely and you can't go wrong.

I updated the Primer a little bit. This may take awhile before it's completely fleshed out.

I just ordered the three Past in Flames (everyone seems to play just three? or will I kick myself for not getting a playset?) I'm missing from UR Storm, before they skyrocket (they will go up...) Well, I'm missing one Manamorphose and three Desperate Rituals as well, but those aren't mythics...

3 is the sweet spot, yes.

Man, I should really finish this primer.

I've spent hours goldfishing Storm. It's literally my favorite way to kill time at the house if I have about 10-15 minutes to spare.

I just reread that last sentence and I realize how much of a nerd I sound like.

But yeah, Val, if you've played U/R Delver for this long, I'd say the next step to take is to play Storm. You've already familiarized yourself with some very complex decision trees from the Delver deck.

Storm is incredibly fun, but also incredibly frustrating when the deck decides it just doesn't want to work. Still, with that said, the amount of decisions you make when piloting Storm is immense and, when you win, it just feels that much better. Finkel made a good point in his article about the decision making process and I, too, still find myself analyzing plays and decisions even from games I had played just a few weeks ago.

Pre ban Seething Song Storm was just nuts. I actually decided to make the deck once I saw Epic Experiment in the lists. Like, holy shit, really? With an active Ascension, you literally dump half your library over and cast EVERYTHING, thanks to Epic Experiment. Sadly, two days after I completed the deck, the madness enabler that is Seething Song was banned.

I need to get some more writing in.

Faithless Looting > Desperate Ravings all day. Like NerdBoy, I too, have been on the bad end of DR.

But, in order to support Faithless Looting, you have to up your land count to 18. This ensures that you can hit your drops, as well have things to pitch as you draw into more gas.

However, I've been finding that the disruption from the B/G/x decks really put a stranglehold on the combo plan. Thoughtseize and DRS can be backbreaking. I need to further update my list, but I've been trying out 17 land and 4 Magma Jet to combat these menaces. Magma Jet helps in that you can kill a Shaman and Scry, which is actually very beneficial when they want to Thoughtseize you. They can't pluck the gas from your hand if its on top of your deck.

I must add, that while Faithless Looting is awesome in helping you go off, you have to understand that in most games you will encounter resistance.
Not every game will be a goldfish game. However, I encourage everyone starting off with Storm to play solitaire with the deck as often as you can so you can really develop a feel for the way each card interacts.

For example, in goldfish games, I find that yes, you can make a billion goblins with Empty the Warrens very early. But once you face off against Jund (as an example), you'll see that its actually beneficial to make 4-6 Goblins to stave off Tarmogoyfs and have sac fodder for when Liliana hits the table. You want to keep your Electromancer from being sacrificed and use those Goblins to pressure Liliana. The few turns Warrens buys you are so valuable for when you need to manipulate the next turn or two. It let's you set up for the big Past in Flames finish.

@Nerdboy- bad ass! I'll use it!

@McDonald's- thanks. I'm going to wrote some more today after work.

@LP- agreed.

I'll get to all that at some point. Weirdly enough, I didn't understand the scope of what I began until I'd already started writing.

This is going to take a lot of writing. I actually should've made a few "reserved posts," but I'm sure a mod can help me with that if it comes to it.

Well since nobody has done it yet, please allow me to start what will be the first Modern Storm Primer.
Okay, so a decklist in a thread does not a Primer make. But allow me to reveal what has currently been the Gold Standard for recent Storm decks:

[deck=Jon Finkel's Storm 9th-
16th GP Portland]
Creatures 4
4 Goblin Electromancer

Enchantment 4
4 Pyromancer Ascension

Win-Cons 3
3 Grapeshot

Gimme Fuel, Gimme Fire... 33
1 Peer Through Depths
2 Increasing Vengeance
3 Past in Flames
3 Desperate Ravings
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Serum Visions
4 Sleight of Hand
4 Manamorphose
4 Pyretic Ritual
4 Desperate Ritual

Land 16
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Steam Vents
3 Island
1 Mountain
1 Cascade Bluffs
3 Shivan Reef

Sideboard 15
1 Dispel
4 Lightning Bolt
3 Empty the Warrens
3 Shatterstorm
2 Defense Grid
2 Leyline of Sanctity
[/deck]

[deck]Pro Tour Born of the Gods Top 8 by Christopher Fennell[/deck]

[deck]Pro Tour Born of the Gods by Jon Finkel[/deck]


The point of Storm is to play all the spells. Make tons of mana, draw tons of cards, and then deliver lethal damage with Grapeshot or with a swarm of Goblins, courtesy of Empty the Warrens. Past in Flames turns your Graveyard into an extra (and gigantic) hand, and an active Pyromancer
Ascension is the equivalent of throwing an ocean of gasoline on an already raging wildfire. Once you're on a roll, it's hard to stop. Eventually, you draw the majority of your deck and play everything you have, killing your opponent in the process.

The neat thing about Storm is that you can actually go off as early as Turn 3, provided you have the extremely helpful Goblin Electromancer (Dobby!) online. In rare cases, it can be Turn 2 unaided.

So how do you “go off?” Well, it's simple. And complicated. The basics involve having enough gas (draw) and fuel (mana) to play all the spells available, culminating in a giant Storm count which will either bury your opponent with direct damage from a Grapeshot or a horde of Goblins from an Empty the Warrens.

However, I'm not going to lie to you. You will have games where you never get a chance to do “all the cool stuff.” Sometimes you'll win by attacking with a few Goblin Electromancers and slinging some Burn (Magma Jet). Sometimes you'll win because
your opponent will burn themselves out from their own manabase, allowing you to Grapeshot for a measly 3-4 damage.

And sometimes you just won't win at all.

The key to winning with Storm is finding your lines of play and sequencing them in just the right order to achieve maximum payoff. You win by playing your deck as perfectly as possible.

Also, a little luck helps also.

A good Storm player will be able to goldfish an opponent in a short amount of time. But a great Storm player will be able to change his gameplan and adapt to his opponent's interactions. Judging when the time is right to deviate from the standard Goldfish plan is what will separate the men from the boys.

But you're probably asking yourself, “What the hell, Khaos? I understand what the deck is going to do, but when are you going to teach me to become a man? Er...play the Perfect Storm???”

Storm is one of those “abstract” decks. There really is no “linear” play to it, aside from wanting an early Electromancer and/or
Pyromancer Ascension. Mulligans will be aggressive, however. What you want is a solid mix of cantrips and library manipulation, a la Scry and Sleight of Hand, and some amount of fuel in the form of your Rituals. What really gives the deck its kick is the Electromancer since it allows you to play your spells at a cheaper cost, allowing you to cast more shenanigans. Pyromancer Ascension, when online, contributes tremendous value by copying your spells-

Wait, you mean, I can pay 2 life for a Gitaxian Probe and draw two cards after I peek at my opponent's hand???

Yes, Virginia. You absolutely can.

Just note that “copied” spells do NOT count for your Storm count.

However, you will rarely get there by going Turn 1 Serum Visions, Turn 2 Pyromancer Ascension, Turn 3 Goblin Electromancer with a double Manamorphose + Serum Visions into infinity.

What will happen, more often than not, is that you'll keep hands based on this “nut” opener, only to be disrupted into oblivion by
your Jund or U/W/R opponent.

And then what will you do?

What I will do for you is explain each card's role in the deck and how you can use them outside the Goldfish scenarios into obtaining a victory, and what makes my adjustments to the "current" Gold Standard better for the archetype.

So put your thinking caps on and be prepared to dive in. I must warn you beforehand – this Primer is not for the lazy minds. And if you can make it past this Primer, then be prepared to rack your brain even further when playing the Goldfish game. If you can make it past that, you just may have the mental fortitude to play against a real opponent that is capable of disrupting, and worse, beating you.

You have been warned.

A Storm Is Brewing...

Storm is a deck that aims to win by sequencing a series of spells to attain a huge 'Storm' count. The final blow is delivered by a Grapeshot pointed at you opponent's head,
making a horde of goblin tokens with Empty the Warrens, or by playing enough Lightning Bolts (via copy effects) aimed at your opponent. This is all made possible by three effects: an engine, fuel, and a win-condition.

Listen to That Kitten Purr...

The two most effective Storm engines in Modern are Goblin Electromancer and [card]Pyromancer's Ascension.[/card] Having either one of these on the battlefield greatly increases your chance of winning by allowing you to effectively gain more mileage out of your fuel cards. Sure, it's possible to Storm out without these, but your game will be so much easier with these two cards on board. The third engine for the deck is Past in Flames, a card that turns your gigantic graveyard into an extension of your hand and allows you to reuse every piece of gas you've already consumed.

[card]Goblin
Electromancer[/card]: This nifty little 2-drop is incredibly fragile, but can almost single-handedly win a game for you by reducing the cast of your Ritual cards by one. Suddenly, your Manamorphoses are netting you mana, and your Desperate Rituals are now Dark Rituals (albeit in Red). With Past in Flames now being able to be cast of a single Ritual, it's pretty feasible to be able to combo out on Turn 3.

[card]Pyromancer's Ascension[/card]: Ideally, this is the card you'd love to have out on turn 2. Pyromancer's Ascension rewards you for playing your spells early and often, and, after accumulating enough tokens to make it active, will allow you to draw cards and make mana like a fiend. With each Ritual essentially adding double the mana and your cantrips drawing you 2+ cards, it's almost impossible to lose. The only downside is that the copied spells themselves don't count towards your Storm count, but who
cares? A Manamorphose that adds 4 mana and draws 2 cards is usually good enough to find you more gas to play more spells anyway.

Past in Flames:After playing out a stream of cantrips and Rituals, sometimes you'll inevitably fizzle out. Past in Flames allows you to reuse everything you've already played, allowing you to continue your Storm. Here's a point to remember: Past in Flames is a 'time stamp' card, meaning that when you cast it, it only sees the cards in your graveyard at the time the spell resolves. Basically, upon resolution, Past in Flames looks at the cards currently in your graveyard and grants them flashback and any new cards that are added don't gain that ability (unless you cast another Past in Flames to grant the new cards Flashback). A nifty thing that Past in Flames allows you to do is a trick to turn on your Pyromancer's Ascension. For example, if you've cast two Gitaxian Probes (or
any other card) and accumulated a counter on your Ascension, you can play Past in Flames to flashback one of the Probes from your graveyard to gain a second counter on your Ascension, which turns it “on.” Flashback the second Probe, copy it, and start going to town.

Gimme Fuel, Gimme Fire, Gimme That Which I Desire!

Fuel for the deck is divided into two categories: cantrips and rituals. Rituals provide mana for you to cast cantrips, which draw you into more cards allowing you to cast more rituals and cantrips.

Cantrips

Here is a list of the most commonly played cantrips in Storm. Typically, a Storm deck wants about 12-16 of these cards.

Gitaxian Probe: A “free” cantrip most of the time. It's especially good in that it allows you gain information about the opponent's gameplan, which can be crucial when timing
your big turn to go off.

Serum Visions: A solid 1 cost spell that can set up the next draw you'll make.

Sleight of Hand: Another 1 cost spell that draws you a card. It can be a tricky deciding on which card to take with it, but for better or for worse, Sleight of Hand lets you dig a little deeper than your average “draw a card” cantrip.

Thoughtscour: A new addition to Modern Storm decks. Not only does it draw you card, but it helps fill up your graveyard for a big Past in Flames play.

Desperate Ravings: Two mana to draw 2 cards is pretty good, even with the 'discard 1 card at random' clause. Hey, you'll be casting Past in Flames later, right? Desperate Ravings even has flashback too!

Faithless Looting: This card requires a higher land count than most Storm decks, but it allows you filter out your draws by chucking your excess lands.
When the card is good, it's great. When you're attempting to Storm with a small hand, be careful, as the card can actually provide a disadvantage, but even so, Past in Flames somewhat allows you to overcome this drawback.


Rituals

Pyretic Ritual: Two mana to make three mana doesn't seem like much, but the deck is very mana hungry. Mana makes the word go 'round, and when you're discounting this spell with an Electromancer or copying it with [card]Pyromancer's Ascension[/card], it adds up real fast.

Desperate Ritual: This is a 'strictly' better Pyretic Ritual when you consider that you can 'splice' it onto another Desperate Ritual to make even more mana. Yay for mo mana!

The Best Of Both Worlds

Manamorphose: This card does it all – it fixes your
mana to cast more blue spells, it draws a card, and when discounted, it actually creates more mana. When copied, this spell does so much work for you. Hands down, it is easily the best source of fuel for your deck. It's usually a good idea to save this card for your big turn, but considering its power level within the deck, there's never a bad time to cast this spell.

Win Conditions

Grapeshot: This is your 'go-to' card for your win. Aim it at the face for damage or split it up to clear your opponent's threats to buy some more time. When the spell is copied, it can get a little confusing, but remember this: if your opponent counters it, the copies are also on the stack, so unless your opponent has a ton of mana and a ton of counterspells, you're going to get value from it. Just be aware that the 'storm' copies don't get copied from an active Ascension.

[card]Empty the Warrens[/
card]: This is your alternate win-condition. Usually relegated to the sideboard to be swapped out in other matches (like when you anticipate an opposing Leyline of Sanctity in Game 2), Empty the Warrens can also be maindecked in a small number to provide some pressure to your opponent. The same 'storm' rules that apply to Grapeshot apply to this little token-making card as well.

Lightning Bolt: Usually found in the sideboard as an answer to fast creature decks, this card can also be maindecked to great success. When copied, it's almost as efficient as Grapeshot when it comes to killing your opponent.

Manabase:

A typical Storm deck needs very little land to operate since it makes most of the mana it needs with Rituals. Sixteen lands is usually the right the number since the deck has access to fetch lands like Scalding Tarn and [card]Misty
Rainforest[/card]. Players that want to run Faithless Looting will generally want to run 17-18 land in order to pitch the excess to the 'discard 2' clause.

Currently, the norm is usually a full set of each blue-based fetchland, a small number of Steam Vents, Shivan Reefs, Islands, and a single Mountain. Other choices to consider are a singleton of Cascade Bluffs or Sulfur Falls.

Words of Wisdom from the Wise Ones:

http://www.channelfireball.com/articles ... -by-storm/

http://www.starcitygames.com/article/28 ... odern.html

http://www.channelfireball.com/articles ... ia-report/

-Primer to be finished at the author's convenience-