Subject: TE Burning Tongs Date: Mon, 9 Feb 1998 15:33:00 -0500 (EST) From: "Bradley J. Baker" To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Feb. 8 Columbus, OH 16 players showed up for the first Tempest Constructed event at Comic Town on Morse Road. I had been trying to build an Auratog deck. Everyone says it sucks and I was unable to prove them wrong. I decided on a deck I call burning tongs which is a fast red deck that maintains damage dealing with scalding tongs and of course cursed scroll. The deck 4 Scablands 4 Plains 12 Mountains 3 Cursed Scrolls 3 Scalding Tongs 4 Mogg Conscripts 4 Mogg Fanatics 4 Jackal Pups - 12 r casting cost creatures. 2 Fireslingers 2 Oppurtunists - Strong with direct damage to finish creatures off 3 Lightning Elementals 1 Rathi Dragon - not effective 1 Magmasaur - not effective 2 Goblin Bombardments - very strong especially late game when you need one or two more damage 1 Rolling Thunder - not effective 2 Repentance - originally in sideboard but decided to put in to deal with prot red 2 Disenchants - all purpose 4 Kindles 1 Lightning Blast 1 Blood Frenzy - I love this card. Can be used to destroy problem creature like skyshroud vampire Sideboard 2 Disenchants 2 Circles of Protection: Green - great against overrun 2 Warmths - not effective 1 Jinxed Idol - too scared to use but believe it could be huge 2 Boils - too slow 2 Lightning Blast - originally in main deck but 4 mana is not consistent. replaced with 3 mana casting cost repentence 2 Havoc - not effective 2 Pallimuds - Great against blue once I realised how to play it. Cast spells before attacking so oppent thinks twice before casting power sink or dismiss. Some people would call this a sligh deck. It's not the most original design but instead of having a curve it has a bar graph. 12 one casting cost creatures and 6 one or two casting cost artifacts that deal damage means your hand is going to be small fast. The white is there for disenchants to battle propagandas, chills, and circle of protections as well as to fight against grindstones. The repentance is great against prot red creatures. I will have 2 more in side board for future events. The Rathi was there just because I wanted to see if it would work. It really doesn't. The magmasaur was put in to finish of my opponent or to clear the board, but it really wasn't effective either. Round 1 Black/Blue Shadow game 1 First turn conscript. Him - lotus petal dark rit - dauthi horror and maurader Second turn Jackal pup. Attack . Him Attack edict Turn three Scalding tong Conscript attack. Him Dauthi ghoul. Exchange damage till I get a cursed scroll that he can't counter. game 2 same as game one but no cursed scroll. I didn't have shadow storm in my sideboard because why? game 3 two scalding tongs two cursed scrolls and jackal pups are too much. A blood frenzied pup finishes him off. 1-0 2-1 Round 2 Monoblue with manakin mana game 1 First turn jackal pup. him Island Second turn conscript. him nothing Third turn bombardment. him manakin kindled. Game over. It took three minutes of course he got mana screwed on turn two and could never recover. game 2 More of the same except he leger domains my scalding tongs which is the only damage I take. 2-0 4-1 Round 3 Red/White Game 1 Only one land in opening hand. Fortunately next two draws were mountains. He is also playing kindles against my creatures wich I sacrfice to the bombardment. An eigth point kindle wins it. Game 2 A prot red shadow and flickering ward on Avenging angel just too much for me to handle. Havoc not effective. Game 3 I get fast start but he has staunch defenders to gain life. I renpent them with the help of the oppurtunist. Avenging angel follows but I am able to destroy each turn. kindles are cool. Kindle foloed by three creature bombardment wins it 3-0 6-2 Round 4 Blue capsize with Stalking stones Game 1 First turn conscript. Him land Second turn Fireslinger. Him land Third turn Tongs Jackal pup. Him land Fourth turn cursed scroll. Him land >From there on he counters my jackal pup until he tries to capsize buyback my jackal pup? I firesling it so spell fizzles. I doubt that he could have gained control of the board in time any way but psychologically it got him. He capsize buyback the conscripts. I kindle them in response. Game 2 A fair start for me but he gets early chill and then propaganda. My four lands are allowing the jackal pups and fanatics to attack but the tongs are doing nothing. I start kindling him since there are no good targets. Eventually he turns stalking stones into 3/3 artifact creature that I disenchant. I had sideboarded in the two other disenchants sinced I figured I would never get to cast the magmasaur or the Rathi. I then disenchant the propaganda and finish him off. 4-0 8-2 Round 5 Green black Game one My early creatures are nullified with edicts. Pincher Beetles become a problem. He has two beetles. I have a conscript. I cast lightning elemental and attack for 6 bring him to 14. I am at 11. I cast a conscript. He cast overrun and attacks for 12. I block with the conscripts leaving me at 1. I cast jackal pup and attack for 8. I cast blood frenzy on the conscripts to make it twelve. then sac two creatures to the bombardment for the victory. Second Game His second turn he doesn't lay a land. Third turn vineyard. I then cast cursed scroll and that's game. 5-0 10-2 Round 6 Mono white Game one No creatures in opening hand. Too much land. Two staunch defenders fights of my elementals. I lose. Game two I get a good start but he gets a circle of prot red. Then pacifies my creatures. The tongs do damage but he eventually disenchants them. The cursed scroll comes out followed by a disenchant of the COP red. Game three Again a slow start. I cannot keep up with the preists. Wrong card chosen saved him twice. 5-1 11-4 Tied for first The deck is very fast and sustain damage dealing with the artifacts. i never had the courage to play the jinxed idol but it would have been big if it had come up. The deck was competetive against all types of decks. I will probably add one more repentence to the deck and add circles of protection white in the side board. I would like to hear any suggestions on making this deck better. In the recent duelest there are some sample texts from the stronghold release. One says no creature with power greater than the number of cards you have in your hand can attack. With this deck I seldom ever cursed scrolled with more than one card. It is pretty ugly. Please send e-mail to baker.42@osu.edu Thanks, Brad Baker