@ P-E: Null Rod is better than Stony Silence, mainly because you can play Null Rod on turn 1 via Ancient Tomb. The most important reason to play Null Rod in the side is ANT/TES/Charbeltcher and against those decks you want to have a shot at playing it on turn 1.
I just saw that the thread got stickied. I will update the opening post (to adapt it to the post-Misstep meta) as soon as I got time.
For my part I was playing today in a local tournament (26 players). I made top 8 and won the 2 first games in the top 8 but lost the final to Reanimator.
This matchup is so hard, especialy against main deck Elesh Norn... The fact that Reanimator is among the best decks of the format right now (it was the most played deck on day 1 at Amsterdam) make me think that we perhaps need more grave hate. Most of the time, Scavenging Ooze is just to slow against them. So I may put some Leyline, Faerie Macabre or Extirpate in the side, I'm not sure yet.
Nice report Erik, but I don't understand why you say you finish 5-4: I read you won rounds 1, 2, 3, 6, 7 and 9 - that's a 6-3 record, right?
I clearly use sideboard more aggressively than you. I always bring 2 Xantid Swarm with my Carpets against blue decks and always bring 4 Slaughter Pact against GWx decks that could bring Gaddock Teeg. I also almost always bring Pridemage against non-combo decks that can bring grave hate. Remember you can cut more mana when you bring Carpets and you can cut few sac outlet when you bring S. Pact. You can also cut 2 to 4 Probe to make place for sideboard cards.
Against Reanimator, I finaly decided to try 2 Faerie Macabre in the side. I like your proposition of Coffin Purge, but against reanimator you'll need to have BB open to be able to use it at the crucial moment if they have a counter. Faerie Macabre is uncounterable, do not cost mana and can still remove 2 creatures in one shot if opponent play, let say an Exhume. Also, it cannot be discarded by Duress and can be fetched by Fauna Shaman (I know this is very corner case, but it can be an awesome play).
Against Reanimator, I finaly decided to try 2 Faerie Macabre in the side. I like your proposition of Coffin Purge, but against reanimator you'll need to have BB open to be able to use it at the crucial moment if they have a counter. Faerie Macabre is uncounterable, do not cost mana and can still remove 2 creatures in one shot if opponent play, let say an Exhume. Also, it cannot be discarded by Duress and can be fetched by Fauna Shaman (I know this is very corner case, but it can be an awesome play).
Well, it CAN be Stifled, but I don't think Reanimator plays that card anyway.
One warning about using Faerie Macabre in response to a card like Exhume, the can respond after you exile two cards with the Macabre by Entombing for another creature. It's not a catch-all card, but you can use it when tapped out (and the look on people's faces when you use it against a graveyard deck is PRICELESS).
I've also used it against a deck similar as this one to stop the chain. Granted, it wasn't as fine tuned as yours was, but it worked.
Be sure I'm always happy to read your posts Wildchild. I'm still playing the deck every week and got realy good results, especialy since the banning of Misstep. My results against various UWx Blade Control decks are simply amazing (11-1-1 in 13 matches since Misstep is gone).
I have the ambition of updating opening post since sometime now but I miss time to do it and I'm still unsure about my sideboard. My biggest problem are actualy Storm decks and Reanimator. I'm able to beat everything else, but those matchup always feel like auto-lose. And when I put Faerie Macabres and Leyline of the Void in my side, I got paired against Storm, and when I put Null Rod, I got paired against Reanimator...
This bring me to the crazy idea of trying an Enlighten Tutor sideboard. I got this idea long time ago but never put it to real test. Yesterday, as I went 3-1, losing only to storm and complaining about my 3 useless Leyline in the side, somebody suggest it, making me reconsider the idea.
I'll play in a tournament for a playset of Force of Will this coming weekend. I'm pretty sure this is the sideboard I'll try:
3 Slaughter Pact
3 Carpet of Flowers
3 Enlighten Tutor
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Null Rod
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Seal of Doom
Enlighten Tutor seem good simply because it can always get Pattern of Rebirth. I also already run 1 Sylvan Library main, that can be a good target for Enlighten Tutor (especialy to anwser, at instant speed, let say an Hymn to Tourach). Against blue decks, Carpet is also an awesome target for it. Against Gadock Teeg and Aven Mindcencor, running 3 cards that can put Seal of Doom on the top at instant speed, in addition to 3 Slaughter Pacts, seem nice. Against Storm, entering 1 Null Rod + 1 Canonist + 3 Tutor that can dodge discard seem good. Against graveyard decks, Tormod's Crypt could buy me just enough time to be able to get an active Ooze or the combo off.
Sure, I'll raise my Savannah count to 2 to allow this to work.
Anyway, I'll told you how this strange sideboard go for me.
I have the ambition of updating opening post since sometime now but I miss time to do it and I'm still unsure about my sideboard. My biggest problem are actualy Storm decks and Reanimator. I'm able to beat everything else, but those matchup always feel like auto-lose. And when I put Faerie Macabres and Leyline of the Void in my side, I got paired against Storm, and when I put Null Rod, I got paired against Reanimator...
This bring me to the crazy idea of trying an Enlighten Tutor sideboard. I got this idea long time ago but never put it to real test.
I started Magic with Dredge and was going to move onto Reanimator, but everyone seems to be doing it now with Graveborn released- so it's time to man up, and move onto Hulk instead!
There is a lot of information in a mere 5 pages of thread, and updating the OP sounds like an awesome idea. Don't worry too much about sideboarding in the OP, as it is meta dependant anyways, and there is still a lot of info in the rest of the thread. I try and pack Leyline of the Void anyways, cos hosing graveyard strats is just too good to miss (again, especially with the release of Graveborn).
I'll play in a tournament for a playset of Force of Will this coming weekend. I'm pretty sure this is the sideboard I'll try:
3 Slaughter Pact
3 Carpet of Flowers
3 Enlighten Tutor
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Null Rod
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Seal of Doom
Enlighten Tutor seem good simply because it can always get Pattern of Rebirth. I also already run 1 Sylvan Library main, that can be a good target for Enlighten Tutor (especialy to anwser, at instant speed, let say an Hymn to Tourach). Against blue decks, Carpet is also an awesome target for it. Against Gadock Teeg and Aven Mindcencor, running 3 cards that can put Seal of Doom on the top at instant speed, in addition to 3 Slaughter Pacts, seem nice. Against Storm, entering 1 Null Rod + 1 Canonist + 3 Tutor that can dodge discard seem good. Against graveyard decks, Tormod's Crypt could buy me just enough time to be able to get an active Ooze or the combo off.
Sure, I'll raise my Savannah count to 2 to allow this to work.
Anyway, I'll told you how this strange sideboard go for me.
Do update us on your comp results, and how your sideboard strategy worked out! (or didn't work out, if that is the case). I'm interested how the Enlightened Tutor works out for you in the different matchups.
@aka Dredge: I promise I will update the opening post as soon as I got time but now between job, kids and Magic tournaments, it's simply not possible. Also, if this Enlighten Tutor sideboard work, I will have to change the mana base on the main deck list. For now, I will recommand you to try the list of the opening post with the following changes: +1 Forest, -1 fetchland, +1 Sylvan Library, -1 Pattern of Rebirth. If there is a lot of reanimator in your local meta, put at least 3 or 4 Leyline of the Void or Faerie Macabre in your side to have a chance.
@Wildchild: As much as I like your side of 2 Null Rod / 2 Faerie Macabre, giving you a chance against both Reanimator and Storm, Sylvan Library is simply too good to pass and essential to beat Hymn to Tourach decks. Give it a try, you'll see: resolving Library always win the game in few turns. I run 1 Library main + 1 in the side since 2 months and half now. I probably got an active Library in 12 to 15 games and won each of those games except 1 against Reanimator.
I know that Enlighten Tutor is card disadvantage. It's the reason I didn't try it until now. Also, I don't like to be obliged to run 2 Savannah and fetch one early game. But Enlighten Tutor perhaps worth this trouble. My hope is that it will help against Storm, graveyard decks and discards without affecting the good blue matchups. I will see and report my results.
@David Orb: going 3-0 and then finish 4-3 is certanly a deception but it's still not bad for your first try with the deck. Zoo is definitly a good matchup. First, you will sometime cast NO on turn 2, meaning easy win. When you can't win on turn 2, the key against Zoo is to get Wall of Roots in play as fast as possible. Another solution, with NO in hand, 4 mana + a fetchland, is to fetch for Dryad Arbor and, without passing priority to play NO sacking Arbor. That say, I know Zoo can sometime beat us if they got amazing hand.
Maverick is also favorable in my opinion, especialy post-side with 4 Slaughter Pact. I generaly try to use GSZ to get Fauna Shaman in that matchup before Teeg came into play. This way, you can use Fauna Shaman to get Rector that you can play around Teeg.
I don't think that Pernicious Deed is the way to go for this deck. With our Dryad Arbor and all our 1-drop creatures, Deed will be unusable most of the time. Also, Deed can't kill Hulk most of the time. And do not forgot we are a combo deck: taking the control role against aggro is certanly not the way to go, we must go for the fast kill!
If you give a shot to Enlighten Tutor, I can't think of a better target than Seal of Doom: not an awesome card but at least it can kill Teeg / Mindcensor or other anoying hatebear while it can also kill Hulk or a creature enchanted with Pattern. That said, I would not try to run this Tutor package main deck.
Finaly, RUG Tempo / Canadian Threshold is only a bad matchup when they play turn 1 Delver. On the play, if you cast a blind Cabal Therapy on turn 1, always name Delver of Secret. We can easily block Snapcaster and Mongoose (if they play it) and Goyf is not that scary as it's slow and a Wall of Roots can often block it. If the game go long enough, you generaly have enough gas for their disruption. Game 2 and 3, Carpet of Flowers is really nuts in that matchup (another reason to try Enlighten Tutor). Just be sure to not walk into Daze or Spell Pierce with them. Sure, Stifle on Pattern or Hulk trigger can be a problem but do not forget that NO for Progenitus is Stifle-proof.
you say to only get like two or three creatures out with hulk why? u can like get out whole deck with like a turn two hulk and swing with everything next turn.
you say to only get like two or three creatures out with hulk why? u can like get out whole deck with like a turn two hulk and swing with everything next turn.
Pretty hard to get everyone out with Protean Hulk when the beast will only let you get creatures with a total converted mana cost of 6 or less. So if you get a Body Double (5 cmc) and a Mogg Fanatic (1 cmc), all your slots have been taken.
I played the deck, testing for the 1st time this Enlighten Tutor sideboard yesterday. Only 19 players, meaning 5 swiss rounds. I won my first three rounds, against Spiral Tide, Esperblade (UWb Stone Blade) and UW Stoneblade. At 3-0, I was able to draw the next two round into top 8.
Unfortunatly I lost the quarterfinal match against UW Stoneblade (same player that I beat on round 3). Since october that was only my second loss to UWx Stoneblade in 16 matches.
In 4 played rounds, I casted only 1 Enlighten Tutor, despite the fact I sided all 3 in every rounds. I used this Tutor to get Sylvan Library against Esperblade, and the Library won me the game 2 turns latter. That said, the fact that I only run 1 Swarm in my 75 came against me at some point against UW Stoneblade, as I wanted to Zenith for Swarm and was unable because my only 1 Swarm was dead.
That still not enough test to decide if Enlighten Tutor worth it. Even if it's probably not stellar against blue control deck I think it worth to side-in them in those matchups. That said, I may lower the count to 2 and get back 1 Xantid Swarm in my side.
@David Orb: Do not cut any Tinder Wall as you need both of them in your deck to be able to hardcast Reveillark or Body Double from your hand when you go off. You need to get 2 Tinder Wall + Wild Cantor from Hulk's trigger to do it.
About Veteran Explorer: Tinder Wall compete for the same spot and is better in the context of this deck, as it's a better target for Pattern of Rebirth.
About Sylvan Safekeeper: Most of the time, it will not worth it to sac a land to save a mana creature. I don't think it worth a spot.
About Diabolic Intent: I tested this card very long time ago. Unfortunatly, before combo we realy need our creatures and cannot spend them at will. In my opinion, Diabolic Intent simply cost too much to be playable.
About Eureka: If you decide to test this, be sure to run a full playset of Pattern of Rebirth. The card certanly look playable in this deck and deserve a try. At very least, it will probably get opponent to play his Force of Will, clearing the way for your next winning spell. My only concern is deck space: how do you find place for it?
About 1 Swamp: Just be sure to not lower the count of green sources usable on turn 1. For me 14 is minimal to avoid too much mulligan. If you bring a Swamp, you probably need to cut a Tomb or the Cradle.
Feel free to make your own testing. I'll be happy if you find a way to improve the deck.
This deck is a lot of fun, is there a reason there's so many lands? 21 seems like too much and I found myself getting flooded in a lot of my testing. I ended up cutting a fetch and could even see another land being cut over another one drop.
This deck is a lot of fun, is there a reason there's so many lands? 21 seems like too much and I found myself getting flooded in a lot of my testing. I ended up cutting a fetch and could even see another land being cut over another one drop.
Are you testing alone on your kitchen table or do you talk about testing against real opponent playing Wasteland + Stifle and removal for your mana creatures? Test this against RUG Tempo and I garanty you that 21 lands is not too much. Without Carpet of Flowers, reaching 4 mana is sometime not so easy.
But the truth is this deck never really "flood" as reaching 7 or 8 mana is also great, allowing you to hardcast Hulk or GSZ for Hulk.
Are you testing alone on your kitchen table or do you talk about testing against real opponent playing Wasteland + Stifle and removal for your mana creatures? Test this against RUG Tempo and I garanty you that 21 lands is not too much. Without Carpet of Flowers, reaching 4 mana is sometime not so easy.
But the truth is this deck never really "flood" as reaching 7 or 8 mana is also great, allowing you to hardcast Hulk or GSZ for Hulk.
Yeah, so far I have tested again stoneblade, Rock splashed blue, NO elves, and various combo. Haven't tested vs stifle but against wasteland numerous times. It is a pain but I still haven't had much of a problem, I'll often even hold duals or tombs/cradle until I need to play them. I could definitely see 21 lands if misstep was still in the format (which I thought was the original reason why it was 21 lands) but since that's gone I just don't think it's necessary. But I'll keep testing, if it gets bad I'll go back to 21.
Wow, Wildchild, you got an amazing winning streak. 14-1 in 4 events is very impressive. Congratulation!
If you continue to win as much as that, you'll probably soon reach the point where local players will adjust their decks to you. Where I play, a UW Stoneforge player run some Aven Mindcensor main deck to have a chance at beating me.
Keep your Null Rod and Faerie Macabre unless nobody play storm or Reanimator in your local meta. You'll need those cards the day you'll be paired against those combo decks and you seem already able to beat anything else anyway.
Ok, I played with my Enlighten Tutor sideboard for the second time today, and conclude that the card do not worth it. Not being able to run 4 Carpet + at least 1 Swarm in the board definitivly hurt blue matchups too much. Using E. Tutor to get Carpet or Library is clunky as the card disadvantage is a real cost. So I'll go back with my last sideboard and I do not recommand you to run Enlighten Tutor.
Mmm if you like Shriekmaw, can just put in a Slaughter Pact in the main instead of the Sylvan Library or something else. Slaughter Pact costs a bit more and stalls yourself a turn, but if you have a must-kill creature, it can do the job. It also has practical applications in providing a T2 win scenario, so since neither of these are searchable (shriekmaw is, but if you can rector/pattern for it, gaddock/aven probably isn't in play) I think pact > shriekmaw.
100% agreed with Dresden, Slaughter Pact is better than Shriekmaw and you can put 1 main. If you want a 5th Pact for your sideboard, you can try Deathmark (kill Teeg, Aven, Meddling Mage and also Protean Hulk).
Lol David, I had the same idea but Xantid said that he'd rather run an extra pattern instead so I didn't actually put it in the deck. Lately I've been running a more combo-ish version of the deck, last week at a local tiny event I took out both ANT and Doomsday with the deck, it's pretty lucky on my part, but if they don't win on T2, you can race em Also, if you mulligan for cabal therapy aggressively and hit their quick mana (i.e. LED, cabal ritual for ANT) you can slow them down enough to win.
Sorry, not a fan of alterations on old cards that are in limited supply. They represent a part of the game's history, and in my opinion altering them shows scant regard for that.
@kingofethanol: The opening post is not up to date. I plan to update it soon. For now, I would recommand you to play the same decklist with following changes: +1 Forest, -1 fetchland, +1 Sylvan Library, -1 Pattern of Rebirth. My actual sidebord is this: 4 Carpet of Flowers, 4 Slaughter Pact, 1 Sylvan Library, 1 Xantid Swarm, 1 Qasali Pridemage, 1 Scavenging Ooze, 1 Null Rod, 1 Ethersworn Canonist, 1 Faerie Macabre, but other options exist.
Also, somebody running the deck on The Source reported excellent results with a blue splash for Brainstorm so a few persons, including me, are actually testing this idea and it's look very promising. For those interested in trying Brainstorm, this is the list I play for now with the blue splash:
Sorry, not a fan of alterations on old cards that are in limited supply. They represent a part of the game's history, and in my opinion altering them shows scant regard for that.
There is definitly pro and con about running Brainstorm in this deck. For me it's still experimental and I'm not sure I'll keep the blue splash.
Pro:
With this deck, we almost always have 1-2 useless card in hand like Progenitus, Hulk, Reveillark, Body Double, Fanatic, excess mana or excess combo cards, so it's easy to ship back two after resolving Brainstorm. Sometime you are even happy to get those cards back in Library. Fetchlands + playset of GSZ give you really good chance of being able to shuffle after it so Brainstorm often feel like Ancestral Recall. Brainstorm help a lot to find combo piece or mana when needed and can permit to dodge discard spells. By running 4 Brainstorm + 4 Probe, chance of getting Cabal Therapy + Natural Order, the best way to seal the game, raise significantly.
Con:
Splashing a fourth color in the deck fragilise the mana base. Also, depending on what you cut, you can lose some option. By exemple, as I cut Fauna Shaman and Starved Rusalka, my GSZ can now only get mana creature + occasional Xantid Swarm and Protean Hulk.
I think that sum up the main points.
Private Mod Note
():
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I just saw that the thread got stickied. I will update the opening post (to adapt it to the post-Misstep meta) as soon as I got time.
For my part I was playing today in a local tournament (26 players). I made top 8 and won the 2 first games in the top 8 but lost the final to Reanimator.
This matchup is so hard, especialy against main deck Elesh Norn... The fact that Reanimator is among the best decks of the format right now (it was the most played deck on day 1 at Amsterdam) make me think that we perhaps need more grave hate. Most of the time, Scavenging Ooze is just to slow against them. So I may put some Leyline, Faerie Macabre or Extirpate in the side, I'm not sure yet.
I clearly use sideboard more aggressively than you. I always bring 2 Xantid Swarm with my Carpets against blue decks and always bring 4 Slaughter Pact against GWx decks that could bring Gaddock Teeg. I also almost always bring Pridemage against non-combo decks that can bring grave hate. Remember you can cut more mana when you bring Carpets and you can cut few sac outlet when you bring S. Pact. You can also cut 2 to 4 Probe to make place for sideboard cards.
Against Reanimator, I finaly decided to try 2 Faerie Macabre in the side. I like your proposition of Coffin Purge, but against reanimator you'll need to have BB open to be able to use it at the crucial moment if they have a counter. Faerie Macabre is uncounterable, do not cost mana and can still remove 2 creatures in one shot if opponent play, let say an Exhume. Also, it cannot be discarded by Duress and can be fetched by Fauna Shaman (I know this is very corner case, but it can be an awesome play).
Well, it CAN be Stifled, but I don't think Reanimator plays that card anyway.
One warning about using Faerie Macabre in response to a card like Exhume, the can respond after you exile two cards with the Macabre by Entombing for another creature. It's not a catch-all card, but you can use it when tapped out (and the look on people's faces when you use it against a graveyard deck is PRICELESS).
I've also used it against a deck similar as this one to stop the chain. Granted, it wasn't as fine tuned as yours was, but it worked.
I have the ambition of updating opening post since sometime now but I miss time to do it and I'm still unsure about my sideboard. My biggest problem are actualy Storm decks and Reanimator. I'm able to beat everything else, but those matchup always feel like auto-lose. And when I put Faerie Macabres and Leyline of the Void in my side, I got paired against Storm, and when I put Null Rod, I got paired against Reanimator...
This bring me to the crazy idea of trying an Enlighten Tutor sideboard. I got this idea long time ago but never put it to real test. Yesterday, as I went 3-1, losing only to storm and complaining about my 3 useless Leyline in the side, somebody suggest it, making me reconsider the idea.
I'll play in a tournament for a playset of Force of Will this coming weekend. I'm pretty sure this is the sideboard I'll try:
3 Slaughter Pact
3 Carpet of Flowers
3 Enlighten Tutor
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Scavenging Ooze
1 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Null Rod
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Seal of Doom
Enlighten Tutor seem good simply because it can always get Pattern of Rebirth. I also already run 1 Sylvan Library main, that can be a good target for Enlighten Tutor (especialy to anwser, at instant speed, let say an Hymn to Tourach). Against blue decks, Carpet is also an awesome target for it. Against Gadock Teeg and Aven Mindcencor, running 3 cards that can put Seal of Doom on the top at instant speed, in addition to 3 Slaughter Pacts, seem nice. Against Storm, entering 1 Null Rod + 1 Canonist + 3 Tutor that can dodge discard seem good. Against graveyard decks, Tormod's Crypt could buy me just enough time to be able to get an active Ooze or the combo off.
Sure, I'll raise my Savannah count to 2 to allow this to work.
Anyway, I'll told you how this strange sideboard go for me.
I started Magic with Dredge and was going to move onto Reanimator, but everyone seems to be doing it now with Graveborn released- so it's time to man up, and move onto Hulk instead!
There is a lot of information in a mere 5 pages of thread, and updating the OP sounds like an awesome idea. Don't worry too much about sideboarding in the OP, as it is meta dependant anyways, and there is still a lot of info in the rest of the thread. I try and pack Leyline of the Void anyways, cos hosing graveyard strats is just too good to miss (again, especially with the release of Graveborn).
Do update us on your comp results, and how your sideboard strategy worked out! (or didn't work out, if that is the case). I'm interested how the Enlightened Tutor works out for you in the different matchups.
@Wildchild: As much as I like your side of 2 Null Rod / 2 Faerie Macabre, giving you a chance against both Reanimator and Storm, Sylvan Library is simply too good to pass and essential to beat Hymn to Tourach decks. Give it a try, you'll see: resolving Library always win the game in few turns. I run 1 Library main + 1 in the side since 2 months and half now. I probably got an active Library in 12 to 15 games and won each of those games except 1 against Reanimator.
I know that Enlighten Tutor is card disadvantage. It's the reason I didn't try it until now. Also, I don't like to be obliged to run 2 Savannah and fetch one early game. But Enlighten Tutor perhaps worth this trouble. My hope is that it will help against Storm, graveyard decks and discards without affecting the good blue matchups. I will see and report my results.
@David Orb: going 3-0 and then finish 4-3 is certanly a deception but it's still not bad for your first try with the deck. Zoo is definitly a good matchup. First, you will sometime cast NO on turn 2, meaning easy win. When you can't win on turn 2, the key against Zoo is to get Wall of Roots in play as fast as possible. Another solution, with NO in hand, 4 mana + a fetchland, is to fetch for Dryad Arbor and, without passing priority to play NO sacking Arbor. That say, I know Zoo can sometime beat us if they got amazing hand.
Maverick is also favorable in my opinion, especialy post-side with 4 Slaughter Pact. I generaly try to use GSZ to get Fauna Shaman in that matchup before Teeg came into play. This way, you can use Fauna Shaman to get Rector that you can play around Teeg.
I don't think that Pernicious Deed is the way to go for this deck. With our Dryad Arbor and all our 1-drop creatures, Deed will be unusable most of the time. Also, Deed can't kill Hulk most of the time. And do not forgot we are a combo deck: taking the control role against aggro is certanly not the way to go, we must go for the fast kill!
If you give a shot to Enlighten Tutor, I can't think of a better target than Seal of Doom: not an awesome card but at least it can kill Teeg / Mindcensor or other anoying hatebear while it can also kill Hulk or a creature enchanted with Pattern. That said, I would not try to run this Tutor package main deck.
Finaly, RUG Tempo / Canadian Threshold is only a bad matchup when they play turn 1 Delver. On the play, if you cast a blind Cabal Therapy on turn 1, always name Delver of Secret. We can easily block Snapcaster and Mongoose (if they play it) and Goyf is not that scary as it's slow and a Wall of Roots can often block it. If the game go long enough, you generaly have enough gas for their disruption. Game 2 and 3, Carpet of Flowers is really nuts in that matchup (another reason to try Enlighten Tutor). Just be sure to not walk into Daze or Spell Pierce with them. Sure, Stifle on Pattern or Hulk trigger can be a problem but do not forget that NO for Progenitus is Stifle-proof.
Pretty hard to get everyone out with Protean Hulk when the beast will only let you get creatures with a total converted mana cost of 6 or less. So if you get a Body Double (5 cmc) and a Mogg Fanatic (1 cmc), all your slots have been taken.
Unfortunatly I lost the quarterfinal match against UW Stoneblade (same player that I beat on round 3). Since october that was only my second loss to UWx Stoneblade in 16 matches.
In 4 played rounds, I casted only 1 Enlighten Tutor, despite the fact I sided all 3 in every rounds. I used this Tutor to get Sylvan Library against Esperblade, and the Library won me the game 2 turns latter. That said, the fact that I only run 1 Swarm in my 75 came against me at some point against UW Stoneblade, as I wanted to Zenith for Swarm and was unable because my only 1 Swarm was dead.
That still not enough test to decide if Enlighten Tutor worth it. Even if it's probably not stellar against blue control deck I think it worth to side-in them in those matchups. That said, I may lower the count to 2 and get back 1 Xantid Swarm in my side.
@David Orb: Do not cut any Tinder Wall as you need both of them in your deck to be able to hardcast Reveillark or Body Double from your hand when you go off. You need to get 2 Tinder Wall + Wild Cantor from Hulk's trigger to do it.
About Veteran Explorer: Tinder Wall compete for the same spot and is better in the context of this deck, as it's a better target for Pattern of Rebirth.
About Sylvan Safekeeper: Most of the time, it will not worth it to sac a land to save a mana creature. I don't think it worth a spot.
About Diabolic Intent: I tested this card very long time ago. Unfortunatly, before combo we realy need our creatures and cannot spend them at will. In my opinion, Diabolic Intent simply cost too much to be playable.
About Eureka: If you decide to test this, be sure to run a full playset of Pattern of Rebirth. The card certanly look playable in this deck and deserve a try. At very least, it will probably get opponent to play his Force of Will, clearing the way for your next winning spell. My only concern is deck space: how do you find place for it?
About 1 Swamp: Just be sure to not lower the count of green sources usable on turn 1. For me 14 is minimal to avoid too much mulligan. If you bring a Swamp, you probably need to cut a Tomb or the Cradle.
Feel free to make your own testing. I'll be happy if you find a way to improve the deck.
Are you testing alone on your kitchen table or do you talk about testing against real opponent playing Wasteland + Stifle and removal for your mana creatures? Test this against RUG Tempo and I garanty you that 21 lands is not too much. Without Carpet of Flowers, reaching 4 mana is sometime not so easy.
But the truth is this deck never really "flood" as reaching 7 or 8 mana is also great, allowing you to hardcast Hulk or GSZ for Hulk.
Yeah, so far I have tested again stoneblade, Rock splashed blue, NO elves, and various combo. Haven't tested vs stifle but against wasteland numerous times. It is a pain but I still haven't had much of a problem, I'll often even hold duals or tombs/cradle until I need to play them. I could definitely see 21 lands if misstep was still in the format (which I thought was the original reason why it was 21 lands) but since that's gone I just don't think it's necessary. But I'll keep testing, if it gets bad I'll go back to 21.
If you continue to win as much as that, you'll probably soon reach the point where local players will adjust their decks to you. Where I play, a UW Stoneforge player run some Aven Mindcensor main deck to have a chance at beating me.
Keep your Null Rod and Faerie Macabre unless nobody play storm or Reanimator in your local meta. You'll need those cards the day you'll be paired against those combo decks and you seem already able to beat anything else anyway.
Is the decklist on page one up-to-date?
I'm building this deck next.
Also, somebody running the deck on The Source reported excellent results with a blue splash for Brainstorm so a few persons, including me, are actually testing this idea and it's look very promising. For those interested in trying Brainstorm, this is the list I play for now with the blue splash:
2 Tinder Wall
1 Carrion Feeder
1 Viscera Seer
1 Wild Cantor
1 Xantid Swarm
1 Mogg Fanatic
1 Wall of Roots
1 Academy Rector
1 Body Double
1 Reveillark
2 Protean Hulk
1 Progenitus
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Cabal Therapy
3 Pattern of Rebirth
4 Natural Order
4 Green Sun’s Zenith
4 Brainstorm
2 Wooded Foothills
2 Windswept Heath
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Verdant Catacombs
2 Bayou
2 Tropical Island
1 Savannah
2 Dryad Arbor
1 Forest
3 Ancient Tomb
1 Phyrexian Tower
So I cut Fauna Shaman, Starved Rusalka, Sylvan Library, Gaea's Cradle, 1 Bayou and 1 Forest to include 4 Brainstorm + 2 Tropical Island.
Pro:
With this deck, we almost always have 1-2 useless card in hand like Progenitus, Hulk, Reveillark, Body Double, Fanatic, excess mana or excess combo cards, so it's easy to ship back two after resolving Brainstorm. Sometime you are even happy to get those cards back in Library. Fetchlands + playset of GSZ give you really good chance of being able to shuffle after it so Brainstorm often feel like Ancestral Recall. Brainstorm help a lot to find combo piece or mana when needed and can permit to dodge discard spells. By running 4 Brainstorm + 4 Probe, chance of getting Cabal Therapy + Natural Order, the best way to seal the game, raise significantly.
Con:
Splashing a fourth color in the deck fragilise the mana base. Also, depending on what you cut, you can lose some option. By exemple, as I cut Fauna Shaman and Starved Rusalka, my GSZ can now only get mana creature + occasional Xantid Swarm and Protean Hulk.
I think that sum up the main points.