U/R Storm players: When do we mulligan?
Modern forum
Posted on Sept. 16, 2013, 6:36 p.m. by sylvannos
So I played in a tournament yesterday and didn't do as well as I would have liked with my U/R Storm deck.
Jon Finkel's version is probably the most popular variant. The key innovations Johnny Magic made was the inclusion of Increasing Vengeance and Desperate Ravings .
I've been toying around with an experimental version that uses Young Pyromancer .
The question for all of these variations is: when do you take a mulligan? It's absolutely critical to go off on turn four vs. aggro, sometimes you need turn three. Against control, you have to win whenever they tap out, so you must be ready to go off at any moment.
In hindsight of the last tournament, I think that's where my problem was most games, on top of not having the best sideboard. Do we mulligan until we see either Goblin Electomancer, Pyromancer Ascension , or Grapeshot ? Is it safe to just keep hands full of rituals and draw spells and hope we draw into a win condition?
fluffybunnypants says... #3
example: you Gitaxian Probe and I'm sitting on Scapeshift with my last land needed to combo out in hand or on the way via Search for Tomorrow .
September 16, 2013 8:13 p.m.
The key is not whiffing. Having a bunch of rituals and cantrips puts you in top deck mode, which can be really bad if you need to go off on turn three or four (like if your opponent has Unburial Rites with Iona, Shield of Emeria in the graveyard or Karn Liberated on turn three).
I've noticed that hands with Past in Flames and a ton of rituals/draw spells are pretty safe, because of how much mana you can generate.
fluffybunnypants says... #2
Personally (though I don't play storm), I would think you would keep a hand full of rituals and draw spells because you can still get out without ascension. You also may not have a choice as to when you're going depending on the deck your playing against and may have to force it.
September 16, 2013 8:12 p.m.