4c Pile Final Hand Answer

Hand 10: (on the play)

» Keep or Mulligan?

Keep Correctly, most people determined this is a keep. However, I think it is’t an immediate decision. What this hand needs is a “tutor effect”, specifically Infernal Tutor since we’re short on initial mana sources. Thankfully there’s three looks with the scry from mulliganing and two copies of Gitaxian Probe, which would allow a second initial mana source and Burning Wish to come online. Imagining a world where all of this goes according to plan, we would also need for our opponent to have not found Force of Will or a sweeper like Izzet Staticaster or Marsh Casualties. If this is the case, we would require an additional initial mana source for Duress. You could in theory draw a land, cast Duress this turn and then go off on the following turn. But with this line of play, you’re down three storm and are more likely to be bricked by a Deathrite Shaman and a piece of removal. You could also cast Dark Ritual, hope it resolves, then cast Duress – which is a bit risky. So… We need a lot of things to go right, why are we keeping this? Because this hand has a lot of potential. While the odds don’t seem incredibly high, I’m a lot more confident in my ability to win with this hand than a random five card hand.

Eldrazi

Pre-board

Hand 1: (on the draw)

» Keep or Mulligan?

Mulligan An obvious mulligan. This hand just doesn’t do anything. It would require a lot of set-up time, using the cantrips and more importantly is light on combo colored mana. Making things very awkward. What’s crucial to consider is that even without our opponent having Chalice of the Void or Thorn of Amethyst, this hand still loses to their “creature draw” of Thought-Knot Seer into Reality Smasher. This hand is simply just bad.

Hand 2: (on the play)

» Keep or Mulligan?

Hand 3: (on the draw)

» Keep or Mulligan?

Either Honestly, it’s very difficult to win game one anyway if they have a Chalice of the Void. In a typical matchup, you would keep this hand, but it’s not great here. I couldn’t fault anyone for keeping it as it has some play to it if they don’t have specifically Chalice of the Void. That said, I would personally ship this hand back for something slightly more explosive.

Hand 4: (on the play)

» Keep or Mulligan?

Hand 5: (on the draw)

» Keep or Mulligan?

Keep I love hands like this, the only thing that would make it better would be a “tutor effect”. What I like about these kinds of hands is their ability to win through a Chalice of the Void by playing all of your artifact mana sources, then a “tutor effect” into Empty the Warrens. While you don’t have the action spell you need, you have a few draw steps and possibly Gitaxian Probe assuming that the opponent doesn’t play a Chalice of the Void on one.

Post-board

Website recommendation for sideboarding

Hand 6: (on the play)

» Keep or Mulligan?

Mulligan “This hand is pretty much the same as #2, how is it not a keep?” Without the initial mana source to stack the top of your deck, you can’t take the chance on something like this. You could argue that your game plan is to use the Gitaxian Probe to find a land and cast Duress, but that’s around a 20% play that doesn’t even win the game if it works. I too have trouble sending back hands with a pair of Lion’s Eye Diamond, but this is unplayable.

Hand 7: (on the draw)

» Keep or Mulligan?

Mulligan I expect this one to be tough for some people to swallow, but this hand is too reactive. While you can answer Chalice of the Void and even a Thorn of Amethyst, then what? You’re lacking fast mana and have a lot of lands. If you draw another land, you can’t become hellbent for Infernal Tutor or what if they only have one piece of permanent based disruption? Now you’re stuck with a second one in hand without a way to get rid of it. Not to mention, by this point, your life total is likely under some serious pressure. I think hands like this look great until you start to consider how the actual games will play out. The way this hand wins is off of the back of a Brainstorm or a Lion’s Eye Diamond after you clear the way.

Hand 8: (on the play)

» Keep or Mulligan?

Keep This hand is a highly probable gamble. You’re lacking an initial mana source to cast either “ritual effect”, meaning a land off of Gitaxian Probe will do the trick, but so will any red or black card, as well as Lotus Petal or Lion’s Eye Diamond. You’re at 42/53 probability, with the remaining three Gitaxian Probes being “re-tries”. You can’t ask for much more.

Hand 9: (on the draw)

» Keep or Mulligan?

Hand 10: (on the play)

» Keep or Mulligan?