Dies to Removal

That makes much more sense.

Wait, if you died T1, how did you get an Eidolon out?

He was getting taken out T1. Only Trap saves you from that.

I swear, you run into storm so much more than you should.

It has some minor uses against OmniTell and, if you want to go REALLY deep, Elves. Primarily Storm, though.

Bitchslapping Emrakul is indeed a joy. As I said, it is worth testing. For now I will stick with my Bridges until otherwise convinced.

I suppose it is at least worth testing. We need to find something to give us an edge against our bad matchups.

Vald: You forgot Infect on that list. However, do you really think it is worth it to play the one Plateau for that? I suppose the risk is minor since few decks that you would bring it in against play Wasteland.

Khaos: I agree with MDU on the 4x Fireblast. The card is just too valuable as a finisher. Unless you think Storm is going to be a real force in the side events, I think you can shave Mindbreak traps for things like more Rifts, Smashes, or Bridges.

@BlakLanner: will you be posting more legacy videos in the future? I plan on picking up magic again soon (in a few months) but I kinda forgot how to recognized decks for effective boarding.

I probably should do a few more sets of both Standard and Legacy. I will see what I can do.

They are equivalent. You are never getting to 6 mana to flash it back.

And I will not look down on anyone who chooses to play them over GP ones. It is personal preference. If I wasn't on break during Zendikar, I would probably have acquired them at that time and be using them.

I will stick with my GP ones, I like them. The only upgrade really left for me is to get original printing foil Lavamancers and I don't think I like Lavaman enough to drop the cash on it.

Ok, Kait.

Pics damnit PICS

Fine, fine. I can't get decent lighting with everything closed up for the cold but here you go.

Also PDS chains and prices are ghetto as fuck

Another reason to stick with the originals. I think I will do so. This deck is also a story of my history in Magic. I should do it the honor it deserves and keep the originals.

I am a judge. I know all too well how varied their decisions on such things can be. The fact that I double sleeve will provide some insulation from the problem. I probably won't change them out anyway since I have had those Chain Lightnings since I started playing Magic back in the Ice Age era.

On a side note from last weekend: Judge Bolts acquired. I am seriously considering breaking my rule on foil vs old card frame for the Chain Lightning and Price of Progress as well. I am honestly starting to worry about getting game losses for the only non-foil cards I have being in my sideboard though.

Burn doesn't need any ramp. We tend to empty our hand after 3 turns as it is. I can understand your desire for graveyard hate if Reanimator is strong but you already have Macabre in the sideboard and have options like Tormod's Crypt or Relic of Progenitus. By all means feel free to test it but I think you will find it lacking compared to a more traditional configuration.

While DRS is better at hitting players, Lavamancer's ability to hit creatures without costing cards is its real benefit.

I would advise against splashing in this deck, especially now that Wasteland is showing up in large numbers again. I do not believe that the benefits of DRS and Tyrant's Choice make up for the extra vulnerability.

BlakLanner, first off we want you to know we love you very much.

You actually had me laughing hard enough that the people at work thought I was having a seizure with this one.

you need to stop suddenly doing jazz hands
It's becoming an issue

I don't want to point fingers here... you're a problem.

I have been told that pretty much constantly since I was born.

This is the intervention.

Do those ever work?

I will likely make the change eventually. I am just a stubborn bastard.

Those are valid points. I will go back to testing after Regionals.

It is more that, for me, Lavamancer just dies without doing anything so damn often. At least Swiftspear gets a hit in. I also played 19 Mountains back then to Stifle-proof myself so had not a lot of food for him. If Elves stays this popular (Indy is a hotbed for it), I might have to just swallow my pride and put at least two in.

Perhaps it looks odd to me because I have tried to get away from Lavaman for as long as I have been playing the deck. First fetchless with Devils, now with Swiftspears.

One Burn deck in the Top8 this Open:

[deck]
Creatures (11)
4 Goblin Guide
3 Grim Lavamancer
4 Eidolon of the Great Revel

Spells (29)
2 Sulfuric Vortex
4 Fireblast
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Price of Progress
3 Searing Blaze
4 Chain Lightning
4 Lava Spike
4 Rift Bolt

Lands (20)
11 Mountain
1 Arid Mesa
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Wooded Foothills

Sideboard
3 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Tormod's Crypt
1 Sulfuric Vortex
2 Pyroblast
3 Searing Blood
3 Smash to Smithereens [/deck]

3 Lavamancers main feels like a lot but there was a lot of Elves there. Maybe it was the right call. The lack of Swiftspears is also notable but something had to go to make room for Lavaman.

I only pimp out my Legacy deck. I feel safer doing that one because, theoretically, I shouldn't need to change cards all that often. I don't buy foils of cards that I am testing, only ones that I am sure I want to use. The foil Cruises will probably go into my Standard deck since I have them.

Perhaps. It just disgusts me that I spent all that and never got to use the deck. LM said I should turn the Volcs into Judge Bolts and I am honestly considering it.

Well, the point is moot now. Banning Treasure Cruise just takes us back to the old meta again. I didn't see it coming honestly. There goes $1000.

I have been having that debate internally myself. I think it came down to wanting to play Burn with a chance to reload my hand and not caring about counters. Brainstorm just seemed obvious once I started playing blue.

I have been doing some experimenting since the disaster in NJ and am actually starting to like a list with Treasure Cruise. The purist in me wants to vomit but I have had success in the limited testing I have done.

[deck]Cruise Burn[/deck]

I have been pretty impressed with Swiftspear in this list to the point where I might cut the Guides to put some Lava Spikes back into the deck. Being able to reload with Cruise or pitch bad cards with Brainstorm has proven surprisingly useful as well.

Then again, I may have hit my head too hard and too often recently and have lost what little of a mind I had left.

I feel the same way about Lavaman. That is why I replaced him with Swiftspears for now.

His list is an excellent base and it would be hard to fault anyone who runs it card for card.

Vortex is definitely a love it or hate it card. I like it for shutting down general lifegain like Swords, Firewalker and Grislebrand as well.

You aren't the first to suggest Simian. They were getting at T1 Eidolons though.

I feel that, with 7 Searing effects, we already have enough for that. Also, I have found that my Lavamancers simply get cast and then die before they do anything. Swiftspears at least get an attack or two in before dying.

I would probably play the one I showed in the picture. I still feel pretty good about the list. Graveyard hate is still up in the air. I don't like Rifts against Delver, personally.

There was significant hate out there. Almost all the hate for UR Delver hits us as well. Burn fares poorly in a meta full of Kor Firewalkers and Dredge. UR Delver fared nearly as poorly. I am going to experiment with UR and UWR versions of Burn as well.

Getting those signed was definitely the height of my trip. I came with one foil just to be sure I could get it done and consider myself lucky to get 7 more signed on top of that. I did not see anyone else getting foil Unhinged signed. A lot of Riptide Labs, Cephalid Colosseums, Supreme Verdicts, foil Zendikar, and sets of regular Unhinged.

Now that I am home, bathed and a little less tilted I will go over my rounds. I played the deck in the photo above with +1 Tarn, -1 Swiftspear.

Round 1: Jeskai Delverblade (0-2)
Game 1: He Stoneforges into Batterskull. I kill the Mystic and he Dazes my Eidolon. Vortex eats a Force. I hit him once or twice, he hardcasts Batterskull. PoP on his end step gets Forced. I Vortex, he Council Judgements it and the game ends shortly after.
Game 2: 2x Stoneforge. One dies, the other Blaze gets Pierced. TNN comes down, then cast/equip Jitte. One Smash gets Forced, second gets Dazed. I die shortly after.

Round 2: Miracles (2-0)
Practically a bye. He never saw a Top either game, Counterbalance didn't land until turn 4+. I slowplay only because he wasn't manipulating and I figured he had counters. He didn't but used Brainstorms to get a few spells but put up little other resistance.

Round 3: Veteran Explorer (2-0)
Practically a bye. I had 6 Mountains in play (4 from deck) after turn 2. I vomit my hand. He does cast Titania, Protector of Argoth the turn before he dies. Game 2 he mulled to 4 and kept zero land. I cast T1 Spear, T2 Spear, Spike, T3 Guide, Guide, Fireblast for exact.

Round 4: Dredge (0-2)
Fuck Dredge. Both games on T1 he went Gemstone Mine, LED, Looting - crack LED in response, Flashback Looting. 20+ cards in graveyard. Crypt might have saved me in game 2 if I had it in my opener but I had cut the graveyard hate for the GP in favor of more Elves/D&T/Delver hate.

Round 5: Infect (0-2)
G1: Inkmoth into triple Invigorate.
G2: Glistener Elf, Daze your Bolt, Force your Blaze, Invigorate, Berserk.


I don't have detailed notes of the GPT or Win a Box but will recall from memory.
GPT
Round 1: Tezzeret (2-1)
Game 1: Chalice on 1 to start. Drops Strix, Tezzeret, finds Batterskull. I die.
Game 2: Price of Progress + Smash to Smithereens > Tezzeret
Game 3: Price of Progress + Sulfuric Vortex > Tezzeret

Round 2: Lands (2-1)
Price of Progress + Sulfuric Vortex > Lands + Zuran Orb
He did get the Chasm loop going Game 2 due to an opening Chalice on 1.

Round 3: TES (2-0)
I was insanely lucky. He Therapies my Eidolon both games, goes off, and dies.
Game 1: T2 Empty for 10 tokens, I volley him before his second attack.
Game 2: T2 Ad Nauseam at 16 life (Storm 7). He bricks.

Round 4: UR Delver (1-2)
I blitz him down game 1, he shows me Jitte and a ton of counters game 2. Game 3 I kept a one lander with 2 Spears and 2 Bolts. Died turn 6 not seeing land 2. 4 more cards until second land. Holding double Blaze for the one creature he was beating me down with.


Win a Box
Beat UW Stoneblade in 3 close fights. Kor Firewalker is a real pain to deal with if you don't have Vortex.

Beat UR Stasis in a marathon match. I won game 1 in 2 minutes. The other two games took 2 hours (rounds untimed). Game 3, I had him at one life for 14 turns while he countered my burn and bounced my Eidolon with Jace. He just couldn't get the final piece to keep Stasis around and lock me out for good.

Split the finals because opponent had to leave.