Have you ever had your Thunder stolen? You know you're hangin' with the buds about to tell a great story about a time when something cool happened. Then somebody else pipes in with the same story or one better. Then you just sitting there looking like you got nothing to add. It's frustrating. I remember a SNL skit where the main character (I think it was Mike Myers) was just two seconds late on every punch line. He was obviously losing the interest of his date when he suddenly was able to go back in time. He reentered the scene with all the right words at the right time.

I wish I had a time machine right now. Last week I debated between writing the numbers article or writing a piece that highlighted a Control killer. Trick likes to see my teaching pieces and hadn't done one in a while so I went that route. Then this week another writer posted almost my exact list. It was Gavin Verhey over at StarCityGames. Thunder stolen. Not intentional mind you. Just coincidental and it was a good piece. My testing shows slightly different numbers but still it was pretty spot on. Add to that fact no one posted any comments on my article last week I became a little bummed.

So this week I'm going to give you a few mini articles. Most of these are ideas that I've started but didn't feel there was enough meet to warrant their own piece. It may seem a little like idle banter but it will have some decklist for you to survey. I love to hear from everyone in the comments and try to respond so feel free to add on.

I guess original isn't the right term but this is the deck I was planning on writing about.

Time Sieve Version X

[cardlist]4 Howling Mine

4 Kaleidostone

4 Prophetic Prism

4 Time Sieve

3 Glassdust Hulk

4 Runed Servitor

3 Jace Beleran

2 Tezzeret The Seeker

4 Open the Vaults

4 Time Warp

4 Fieldmist Borderpost

4 Mistvein Borderpost

7 Island

3 Plains

2 Swamp

4 Marsh Flats[/cardlist]

The significant differences between mine and Gavin lists are the Runed Servitor and the Jace. The Jace is understandable and now that I've read his piece I agree that they can be outed. But the Runed Servitor plays out better than expected. Sure it only generates cards on the backside but we are running Time Sieve. I can't tell you the number of times that I've sac'd a Servitor to Sieve and drawn the Open The Vaults that I was looking for.

Against UW tapout and UWR Superpals this deck just owns. With any kind of thoughtful play you should win every match. Main deck Oblivion Ring and Ajani Vengeant are the only real concerns. Sideboard counters need to be played around but that can be done with little effort. Really. I can boast over 85% win rate against almost every control deck I've tested against. In fact I've probably tested against control to much since it's so fun and easy.

The Jund matchup is not so easy. Truly it's a coin flip. It really seems that whoever goes first wins. That just isn't going to cut it at a big tournament but at FNM's where UW is the latest craze this deck can own the night.

Polymorph and Devastating Red are just a punt in game one and I still haven't found any great solutions. Bringing in Wall of Omens, Silence, and Into the Roil help on the defense but slow the combo down. These decks are why I would not recommend this deck for any upcoming PTQ. Gavin does suggest Thopter Foundry which I hadn't thought of. It sounds good but I'll need to test before I commit.

Pack Wars

Last week was my 40th birthday. For the weekend my wife freed me from all fatherly obligations and I was able to play a lot of cards. (Thanks Dear!) For the first time ever I played a Pack War. It was the best way to open a pack that I've ever experienced. I don't know if there are official rules out there but here is how I did it. First, open a pack face down and remove the land/token cards. Then add 3 of each basic land. Shuffle thoroughly, preferably by stack shuffling so as to not harm the cards. Play best of three with no sideboard.

It's just so random. Tricks and plays that you would never consider come up because that's all you have. The Magic itself is much weaker but I can imagine it would be a great teaching tool for newer players. Every draw you sit there wondering if you'll draw the rare or some uncommon bomb. In one game my opponent played an Evolving Wilds just to see what this deck held. Maybe this won't work as good for other expansions but for Rise I would HIGHLY recommend opening your packs this way.

Foggy Mountain Boys

How serious are you about Two Headed Giant? If you and a friend are really 2HG Spikes I would suggest you build the Foggy Mountain Decks. What are the Foggy Mountains?

Foggy

[cardlist]4 Fog

4 Angelsong

4 Safe Passage

4 Howling Mine

4 Font of Mythos

4 Day of Judgement

3 Naya Charm

3 Pyromancer Ascension

3 Runeflare Trap

4 Rest for the Weary

3 Raging Raving

3 Stirring Wildwood

4 Graypelt Refuge

4 Kazandu Refuge

4 Terramorphic Expanse

2 Forest

2 Plains

1 Mountain[/cardlist]

Mountain

[cardlist]12 Mountain

4 Forest

4 Evolving Wilds

4 Valakut, The Molten Pinnacle

2 Hellkite Charger

2 Caldera Hellion

4 Siege-Gang Commander

3 Oracle of Mul Daya

4 Harrow

3 Growth Spasm

3 Lavaball Trap

4 Rampant Growth

4 Expedition Map

4 Khalni Heart Expedition

3 Volcanic Fallout[/cardlist]

First thing you have to realize is that these decks share 30 life so combo's are easier to come by. Second the Fog deck makes that 30 last forever. Given that kind of time Valakut can't help but win the game. Each play must know their role. Foggy sustains and keeps things active until Mountain go blast off. And trust me it's a blast! For a Valakut deck 30 is as easy as 20.

Dustin and I stumbled into this combo a few weeks ago and never even felt pressure all night. The lowest our life dropped to was 25. Honestly we have actually talked about never teaming the decks up again. He's the store owner and doesn't want anybody avoiding 2HG nights just because we would win. I feel that these decks are to sick for casual 2HG but if you're a Spike then go for it.

Vengevine

If you asked me what my favorite card in Rise is I would resoundingly say Vengevinek. For Green to get access to Haste and Graveyard shenanigans is way cool. If you had just told my Vengevines abilities I would have guess it much higher on the mana cost or have a harder to obtain recursion benefit. But for 4 mana and I have to play creatures to recur it, sign me up. We're talking green here. Green mages love to over commit and play multiple creatures in a turn. Now you give them a way to live past Day of Judgment.

Now how would I play Vengevine? I've seen it posted in Jund decks and that is probably the best fit but the deck that I would run is a little different. In my opinion there are two cards in standard that really play well with Vengevine. Bloodbraid Elf and Ranger of Eos. If Bloodbraid cascades into a critter then you can recur Vengevine and now have 7 extra damage to screw up their combat math. Ranger is a little calmer. At four mana you cast Vengevine and they Doom Blade it. At 5 Mana you play Ranger and one of the one drops he fetched and voila you have a fully potent Vengevine again. By the way that's 8/6 extra power/toughness for just 5 mana with some of it being Hasty.

Jund already uses Bloodbraid but in many situations he would rather hit Blightning or Pulse instead of a Leach even if it recurs a Vengevine. So I went a different route.

The Ally behind Vengevine Street

[cardlist]4 Hada Freeblade

4 Ondu Cleric

4 Kazandu Blademaster

4 Kabira Evangel

4 Akoum Battlesinger

4 Harabaz Druid

2 Talus Paladin

4 Vengevine

4 Bloodbraid Elf

4 Ranger of Eos

4 Jungle Shrine

4 Ancient Ziggurat

3 Terramorphic Expanse

6 Plains

2 Mountain

3 Forest[/cardlist]

Old Man Ramblings

So there it is. Some of my rambling ideas that have been bouncing around this old mans head. Hope you found them entertaining. I would really like to hear what you think about any of them. Comments keep me going during the week and often give me new ideas as well. I can also be found on Twitter @MTGXman.