Subject: The *real* 2.5 Date: Tue, 09 Jun 1998 10:48:09 -0500 From: Bahamut To: Dear Frank, Denizens of the Dojo, Since I first posted the deck "No More Tears" to the Dojo awhile back, I have recieved a lot of mail from people who said they had built the deck and said that it was working great. Some one has even told me they won 30 player turnout tournament with a perfect match score using this deck. That was very surprising to me, since I do not pretend to be a real tournament compeditor. I think it's time I got cracking. :-) Also, some people illustrated a few important holes in the ship which I thought needed to be plugged. Here is an updated decklist: For those of you who are unfamiliar, the deck uses the StaticOrb/MindGames combo to lock the opponent down, sits behind a few propagandas for about 15 turns, then finishes you with grindstone while countering all your threats. The creaturless nature of the deck, and mana denial/propaganda means that enemy creatures are not usually dangerous, so I can hoard counters. The whole feel of the deck, and the interaction between the different cards has not changed greatly, if at all. This deck should behave slightly more efficiently than old versions, due to portent instead of whispers of the muse, and counter magic wont stop coming back thanks to Feldons Cane. No More Tears v 2.6 3 Static Orb Sideboard: 4 Mind Games 4 Chill 4 Suq'Ata Firewalker 4 Counterspell 3 Phyrexian Furnace 4 Power Sink 4 Mana Leak 3 Teferi's Realm 4 Propaganda 2 Dismiss 1 Rainbow Efreet 2 Portent 4 Impulse 4 Sapphire Medallion 1 Grindstone 1 Feldons Cane 23 Island NOTE: I have not *extensively* playtested the version above, although in the four or five games I have played with it, it did absoultely wonderfully. Dismiss is a great addition, and you may consider adding one more. Portent is more versatile in a grind deck because you can topdeck your opponents stuff before you grind. Also, Teferi's Realm was my best (and I feel, only) solution to Forsaken Wastes and Botomless Pit. If anyone has any better ideas, I would love to hear them, because I've been chewing on this one for a long time. You should notice the addition of Phyrexian Furnace in the sideboard, because I played a few non-sideboard games versus Godzilla and lost them all miserably. Then I decided to try Phyrexian Furnace in the sideboard, and we played 3 matches, two of which I won. You must understand, however, that he won most of the first games.. but the Furnace is very good. If you dont worry about Godzilla, take them out and put in one more Efreet and 2 hydroblasts. Feldons cane is useful to bring all your countermagic back, and if you lose your grindstone, it's your only hope. The addition of Rainbow Efreet to the sideboard is also very important. This is a good trick if you face someone playing a black weenie deck. A deck like Donais5cU or Sligh will try to sideboard in artifact removal, and sideboard out creature removal. This makes REfreet much stronger in the second game. It is important, however, that you do not *always* sideboard in the Efreet in game 2 and 3. Only against the right kind of decks which have targeted removal (black). Feel free to respond. I like hearing peoples ideas, and I have gotten a lot of helpful input from people. I thank you all - you know who you are. :-) - Ryan