In this episode we hit a wide range of topics, focused primarily around SCG Baltimore, where co-hosts Paul Michel and Phillip Braverman top 32ed and top 16ed respectively. Our lists can be found below, along with a spicy new brew (not ours) that popped up in the episode. Enjoy!
Phillip Braverman’s 13th Place Miracles Deck
Paul Michel’s 23rd Place BR Reanimator
Link to Miracle of Science page on The Source
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Welcome back to The Brainstorm Show! This episode we are very pleased to bring you an interview with author of “Magic: the Addiction” and host of the Humans of Magic podcast, James Hsu. We talk about his fresh take on Legacy podcasting, his experience writing a book about Magic, and his thoughts on Legacy past, present, and future.
Check out “Magic: the Addiction” here: https://www.amazon.com/Magic-Addiction-20-Year-Gaming-Journey/dp/1532963874
Check out the Humans of Magic podcast here: https://soundcloud.com/humansofmagic
We hope you enjoy the discussion and James’ fantastic content!
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Welcome back to The Brainstorm Show. This week Paul gives his thoughts on the Miracles Slayer Delver deck he piloted to a Top 8 at the Baltimore Legacy Classic. Wilson updates us on MentorBlade finishes (including his own) and Phil tees us up for a brief rant about Storm. Here are the most recent Brainstorm Show lists for MentorBlade and ANT:
MentorBlade:
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Sensei’s Divining Top
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Counterbalance
4 Force of Will
4 Terminus
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Snapcaster Mage
3 Monastery Mentor
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Batterskull
4 Island
2 Plains
2 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Arid Mesa
SB:
3 Pyroblast
3 Disenchant
2 Blood Moon
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Surgical Extraction
3 Flusterstorm
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
The Brainstorm Show’s ANT:
4 Ponder
4 Brainstorm
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Dark Ritual
4 Cabal Ritual
4 Lotus Petal
4 Lion’s Eye Diamond
4 Duress
3 Cabal Therapy
2 Grim Tutor
4 Infernal Tutor
2 Past in Flames
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Tendrils of Agony
2 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island
2 Island
1 Swamp
4 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Flooded Strand
1 Scalding Tarn
SB:
1 Tropical Island
2 Xantid Swarm
3 Abrupt Decay
2 Chain of Vapor
1 Massacre
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
2 Thoughtseize
1 Inquisition of Kozilek
1 Ad Nauseam
1 Ill-Gotten Gains
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This week we talk about decks we might have played in alternate universes where Legacy bannings actually happened. We also present a brand new list for you to take to battle in THIS universe: MentorBlade, AKA “Bring the Hammer.” Check it out below.
MentorBlade
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Sensei’s Divining Top
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Counterbalance
4 Force of Will
4 Terminus
4 Stoneforge Mystic
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Monastery Mentor
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Batterskull
4 Island
2 Plains
2 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Arid Mesa
SB:
1 Mountain
3 Pyroblast
2 Wear/Tear
2 Blood Moon
1 Vendilion Clique
2 Surgical Extraction
3 Flusterstorm
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
————————————
U/W/R Punishing Mentor
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Sensei’s Divining Top
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Punishing Fire
4 Counterbalance
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Monastery Mentor
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Force of Will
2 Engineered Explosives
2 Island
1 Plains
1 Mountain
2 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Arid Mesa
1 Cascade Bluffs
4 Grove of the Burnwillows
SB
3 Flusterstorm
2 Surgical Extraction
2 Vendilion Clique
3 Pyroblast
2 Pyroclasm
1 Path to Exile
2 Wear / Tear
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Welcome back to The Brainstorm Show, listeners! This week we take the ceaseless chatter about Miracles bans head on by showing you how you can take a common archetype and rethink it to be more competitive against the “best deck in the format.” We built a BUG tempo deck, and in this episode we walk through the card choices and some of the popular matchups. Take a look at the list below and the sideboard plan for the common decks in the current metagame. Enjoy!
Maindeck
4 Delver of Secrets
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Nimble Mongoose
2 Vendilion Clique
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
4 Daze
4 Force of Will
4 Stifle
4 Abrupt Decay
2 Dismember
2 Spell Pierce
4 Wasteland
3 Underground Sea
3 Tropical Island
4 Polluted Delta
4 Verdant Catacombs
SB
2 Disfigure
2 Go for the Throat
2 Painful Truths
2 Winter Orb
1 Pithing Needle
1 Flusterstorm
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Thoughtseize
Sideboarding Guide
Miracles:
-2 Dismember, -2 Wasteland, -2 Daze
+2 Winter Orb, +1 Pithing Needle, +1 Flusterstorm, +2 Painful Truths
Shardless BUG:
-4 Force of Will, -2 Spell Pierce
+2 Go for the Throat, +2 Painful Truths, +2 Disfigure
Delver:
-4 Force of Will, -2 Spell Pierce
+2 Go for the Throat, +2 Painful Truths, +2 Disfigure
Eldrazi:
-4 Stifle
+2 Go for the Throat, +2 Thoughtseize
Storm:
-4 Abrupt Decay, -2 Dismember
+3 Surgical Extraction, +2 Thoughtseize, +1 Flusterstorm
Lands:
-4 Daze, -2 Dismember
+3 Surgical Extraction, +2 Winter Orb, +1 Pithing Needle
Death and Taxes:
-4 Stifle, -2 Pierce, -1 FoW
+2 Disfigure, +2 Go for the Throat, +2 Thoughtseize, +1 Pithing Needle
Sneak and Show:
-2 Abrupt Decay, -2 Dismember
+1 Flusterstorm, +2 Thoughtseize, +1 Pithing Needle
Infect:
-4 Force of Will, -2 Spell Pierce
+2 Go for the Throat, +2 Disfigure, +1 Pithing Needle, +1 Flusterstorm
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Welcome back to the show. This week we do a full 2-hour episode on Shardless BUG, running through all the popular matchups from both sides of the table. The list is below, along with a complete sideboarding guide. Enjoy!
The Brainstorm Show’s Shardless BUG:
Main deck (60)
Spells (23)
4 Brainstorm
4 Ancestral Vision
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Force of Will
2 Hymn to Tourach
2 Liliana of the Veil
2 Maelstrom Pulse
1 Umezawa’s Jitte
Creatures (16)
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Baleful Strix
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Shardless Agent
Lands (21)
1 Swamp
1 Forest
3 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
2 Bayou
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Polluted Delta
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Wasteland
SB (15):
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Disfigure
2 Hymn to Tourach
2 Toxic Deluge
2 Duress
1 Pithing Needle
1 Murderous Cut
1 Garruk Relentless
Sideboarding Guide:
Eldrazi Stompy
+2 Toxic Deluge, +1 Murderous Cut
-2 Hymn to Tourach, -1 Ancestral Vision
Grixis Delver
+2 Disfigure, +2 Toxic Deluge, +1 Murderous Cut, +1 Garruk Relentless
-4 Force of Will, -2 Hymn to Tourach
Mirror
+2 Disfigure, +2 Hymn to Tourach, +1 Murderous Cut, +1 Garruk Relentless
-4 Force of Will, -2 Abrupt Decay
Death & Taxes
+2 Disfigure, +2 Toxic Deluge, +1 Pithing Needle, +1 Murderous Cut
-4 Force of Will, -2 Hymn to Tourach
Miracles
+2 Hymn to Tourach, +1 Pithing Needle, +1 Garruk Relentless
-4 Baleful Strix
Maverick
+2 Disfigure, +2 Toxic Deluge, +1 Pithing Needle, +1 Murderous Cut
-4 Force of Will, -2 Hymn to Tourach
Aggro Loam
+4 Leyline of the Void, +2 Disfigure, +1 Murderous Cut
-4 Force of Will, -2 Hymn to Tourach, -1 Umezawa’s Jitte
U/G Infect
+2 Disfigure, +2 Toxic Deluge, +1 Murderous Cut, +1 Pithing Needle
-4 Ancestral Vision, -2 Hymn to Tourach
BUG Delver
+2 Disfigure, +2 Toxic Deluge, +1 Murderous Cut, +1 Garruk Relentless
-4 Force of Will, -2 Hymn to Tourach
Elves
+2 Disfigure, +2 Toxic Deluge, +1 Murderous Cut. +1 Pithing Needle
-2 Liliana of the Veil, -2 Hymn to Tourach, -2 Baleful Strix
DeathBlade
+2 Hymn, +2 Toxic Deluge, +1 Pithing Needle, +1 Garruk Relentless
-4 Force of Will, -2 Baleful Strix
Dredge
+4 Leyline of the Void, +2 Duress
-2 Liliana of the Veil, -2 Hymn to Tourach, -2 Ancestral Vision
UR Delver
+2 Disfigure, +2 Hymn to Tourach
-2 Maelstrom Pulse, -2 Liliana of the Veil
ANT
+4 Leyline of the Void, +2 Hymn to Tourach, +2 Duress
-4 Abrupt Decay, -4 Baleful Strix
TES
+2 Hymn to Tourach, +2 Duress, +2 Toxic Deluge
-4 Abrupt Decay, -2 Baleful Strix
Lands
+4 Leyline of the Void, +1 Pithing Needle
-1 Umezawa’s Jitte, -2 Hymn to Tourach, -2 Liliana of the Veil
RUG Delver
+2 Disfigure, +1 Murderous Cut
-2 Hymn to Tourach, -1 Maelstrom Pulse
Reanimator
+4 Leyline of the Void, +2 Hymn to Tourach, +2 Duress
-2 Maelstrom Pulse, -4 Abrupt Decay, -2 Baleful Strix
Sneak and Show
+2 Duress, +2 Hymn to Tourach, +1 Pithing Needle
-4 Abrupt Decay, -1 Baleful Strix
Burn
+2 Hymn to Tourach, +2 Duress, +2 Disfigure
-2 Maelstrom Pulse, -4 Ancestral Vision
Jund
+2 Disfigure, +2 Toxic Deluge, +1 Murderous Cut, +1 Garruk Relentless
-4 Force of Will, -2 Abrupt Decay
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Welcome back to the Brainstorm Show! This episode is a bit self-indulgent, but I’m sure our listeners will allow us to recompose ourselves after Wilson Hunter grabbed his 2nd Legacy GP Top 8. Next episode we look forward to coming back with a deck tech on Shardless BUG. Stay on the lookout.
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Miracles players rejoice! The Brainstorm Show is back on the deck and this week we are providing you with a lengthy discussion about our approach to building the deck in anticipation of GP Columbus. Wilson and Phillip have worked to produce the leanest, most flexible list they could while still taking advantage of the heavy hitters in many Miracles builds. This is a list designed with the wide-open GP field in mind. We hope you enjoy the analysis and find our sideboarding map useful.
The Miracles discussion starts at about 24:00. Below you will find the decklist, as well as a detailed sideboarding guide:
The Brainstorm Show’s GP Columbus Miracles List
Spells (34)
4 Brainstorm
4 Ponder
1 Preordain
2 Predict
4 Sensei’s Divining Top
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Terminus
1 Counterspell
4 Counterbalance
4 Force of Will
2 Engineered Explosives
Creatures (7)
4 Monastery Mentor
3 Snapcaster Mage
Lands (19)
4 Island
2 Plains
2 Tundra
2 Volcanic Island
4 Flooded Strand
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Arid Mesa
SB
1 Mountain
4 Pyroblast
2 Disenchant
2 Blood Moon
1 Entreat the Angels
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
1 Spell Pierce
Sideboard Map
Mirror:
+1 Mountain
+4 Pyroblast
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Spell Pierce
+1 Vendilion Clique
-4 Swords to Plowshares
-4 Terminus
-1 Plains
Grixis/RUG Delver:
+1 Mountain
+4 Pyroblast
-4 Force of Will
-1 Counterspell
BUG Delver:
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Spell Pierce
+1 Vendilion Clique
-4 Force of Will
Death & Taxes:
+2 Disenchant
+1 Entreat the Angels
+1 Vendilion Clique
-4 Counterbalance
(On the play, board in Spell Pierce over single Counterspell)
Eldrazi:
+2 Blood Moon
+2 Disenchant
+1 Spell Pierce
-4 Counterbalance
-1 Counterspell
Storm:
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Spell Pierce
+1 Surgical Extraction
+4 Pyroblast
+1 Vendilion Clique
+1 Mountain
-4 Swords to Plowshares
-4 Terminus
-2 Plains
Sneak and Show:
+4 Pyroblast
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Spell Pierce
+2 Disenchant
+1 Vendilion Clique
+1 Mountain
-4 Swords to Plowshares
-4 Terminus
-2 Engineered Explosives
-1 Plains
Lands:
+2 Blood Moon
+1 Vendilion Clique
+1 Surgical Extraction
+1 Entreat the Angels
+2 Disenchant
-4 Terminus
-1 Counterspell
-2 Predict
Elves:
+2 Disenchant
+2 Flusterstorm
+1 Entreat the Angels
-4 Force of Will
-1 Counterspell
(Judgment call here: might keep Force of Will vs. an inexperienced opponent because they could go all in the Natural Order plan)
Shardless BUG:
+4 Pyroblast
+1 Spell Pierce
+2 Blood Moon
+1 Entreat the Angels
+1 Vendilion Clique
+1 Mountain
-4 Force of Will
-4 Counterbalance
-2 Engineered Explosives
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In this episode, we:
1) Catch up with listener questions
2) Talk about Wilson’s SCG Philly experience and the Eldrazi metagame
3) Discuss the DeMentor deck and lessons learned from testing
4) Unveil our newest creation: ShardStill. Decklist below:
Creatures (18)
4 Deathrite Shaman
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Baleful Strix
4 Shardless Agent
2 Vendilion Clique
Spells (18)
4 Brainstorm
4 Abrupt Decay
4 Standstill
4 Force of Will
2 Umezawa’s Jitte
Lands (24)
4 Mishra’s Factory
1 Mutavault
2 Creeping Tar Pit
3 Underground Sea
3 Tropical Island
1 Bayou
1 Scrubland
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Polluted Delta
1 Misty Rainforest
Sideboard (15)
4 Meddling Mage
2 Thoughtseize
3 Leyline of the Void
2 Murderous Cut
2 Disfigure
2 Toxic Deluge
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In this episode, the cast talks Phil’s pro tour success, Eternal Masters, and the newest Tier 1 deck in Legacy, Eldrazi Aggro.
Feast your eyes on this beauty and tune in to SCG this weekend to see it in action in Philly.
Creatures (22)
4 Eldrazi Mimic
4 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Endless One
4 Thought-Knot Seer
4 Reality Smasher
2 Endbringer
Spells (14)
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Trinisphere
3 Warping Wail
2 Dismember
2 Umezawa’s Jitte
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
Lands (24)
4 Ancient Tomb
3 City of Traitors
4 Eldrazi Temple
3 Eye of Ugin
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Wasteland
2 Mishra’s Factory
SB (15)
1 Dismember
3 Spatial Contortion
2 Ratchet Bomb
3 Winter Orb
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Mindbreak Trap
Small warning: Wilson’s microphone was doing strange things in this episode, so please pardon any sound issues on his end.
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