Subject: Control with no hand Date: Wed, 11 Mar 1998 23:55:27 GMT From: Daniel DuBois Everyone and their mother is working on Bottomless Pit/Ensnaring Bridge decks. So I've put one together as well. This is a concept deck: I've done little playtesting, and right now am just trying to predict what would give a deck like this trouble. What's good/interesting about this deck: 1) The creatures are low (1) power so under the Ensnaring Bridge lock, can allow you to draw, attack, and play back down to zero cards. The creatures all provide some function more important than their ability to do damage. 2) The deck is completely permanents that provide resource control, since it depends on empty hands. Daring Apprentice, Auras, Tradewinds, Bottle Gnomes all perform their primary function from a state of in-play-ness. The situational needs for casting them are low (compared to counter magic, or other spells you wouldn't cast without a good target). When you cast them isn't as important as them being around later when you need them. (Man-O-War's break this mold a little bit, and probably will have to go. Playtesting will show whether the slowdown effect they provide is worthwhile. On the plus side for them, with a opponent having an empty hand, and a B.Pit out, bounce becomes removal. More Tradewinds and Suq'Ata Firewalkers would probably be superior.) 3) Volrath's Stronghold recycles these mentioned creatures that control the board (or my life) from in-play. (Too bad there's no Volrath Land for Artifacts heh heh.) 4) An uncontroled Bottomless Pit shuts down control, prison-wannabe Gerrard's decks, most creature weenie than don't have an answer for artifacts. What could be bad for the deck: 1) Burn/Sligh. Burn/Sligh gives every deck trouble. However, once you've emptied your hand sligh creatures can no longer attack under Ensnaring Bridge. This takes about 4 turns to do. Also, Bottle Gnomes and Tradewind Riders are good blockers, and recursing Bottle Gnomes with Volrath's Stronghold should win you the game (Corpse Dance/Bottle Gnomes is clearly better since you're not losing a draw phase, but buyback is not a combo with Bottomless Pit. This may be a deck where Fool's Tome is actually a good card). 2) Control that counters/stops the B. Pits. Most control deck should have trouble with 3 Cursed Scrolls and 3 Scaling Tongs anyway (see PTLA). Also, there's too many things to Disenchant in the deck. 3) Disk. My pre-playtesting answer of the moment: 3 Auras and 3 Impulse + 1 Enlightened to go get them. 4) Other handemptying decks that have Cursed Scrolls and Scalding Tongs. My pre-playtesting answer of the moment: Steal Artifacts in sideboard. 5) Wrath. It's probably fairly safe to say I won't be able to hold off everything recursing a Daring Apprentice. On the other hand, any deck that might want to Wrath protected with countermagic will probably be screwed over by the Bottomless Pit. My pre-playtesting answer of the moment: Recycle creatures with Volrath's Stronghold. It's possible I won't be strong enough against true control. If this is the case, Ensnaring Bridges and Man-O-wars can come out pretty easily for things to force the B. Pit through: Like ManaWeb and more hand destruction. I'm probably erring by bothering to list Wrath/Disk separately. In truth, these are just instances of what hurts all hand-dumping strategies: Reset buttons. Shatterstorm would be just as bad. Armageddon would be just as bad. Yet, Sligh and JPox both are competitive, tournament-winning decks, and they work on an empty hand strategy. Is this an indication that resets buttons just aren't powerful enough? Or are too slow/expensive? Anyways... It's a very intersting deck, and intersting to think about. Yet Another Hand-Dumping Deck: 4 Bottomless Pit 4 Stupor 3 Aura of Silence 1 Enlightened Tutor 3 Tradewind Rider 3 Daring Apprentice 2 Man-o'-War 3 Impulse 3 Cursed Scroll 4 Bottle Gnomes 3 Ensnaring Bridge 3 Scalding Tongs 1 Fool's Tome 2 Volrath's Stronghold 2 Underground River 2 Adarkar Wastes 2 Salt Flats 4 Gemstone Mine 5 Island 5 Swamp 2 Reflecting Pool (double CC in three colors) Lotus Vale may actually work better than Reflecting Pool in this deck, as it helps with Winter Orb and the mana curve is hugely lopsided towards 3cc plays. I've seen extremely few Wastelands in my local T2 play or on Apprentice32. Dark Rituals should find room in here somehow to force out first turn plays against counter decks, and to empty hand faster, but being forced to have a particular color on the first turn does funny things to the mana ratios of the deck. ----- Daniel DuBois (650) 842-6540 AdKnowledge, Inc. ddubois@pobox.com