With the release of Conspiracy: Take the Crown, there’s been two printings that heavily influence the EPIC Storm. Unfortunately, neither of these cards are tools for the deck – instead they’re cards that help shut the storm down. I’m talking about Sanctum Prelate and Recruiter of the Guard.

When initially reading the pair of cards, my mind instantly went to, “Well, Death & Taxes just became a whole lot better”. But is that it? I think it’s safe to say that Recruiter of the Guard will only see fringe play outside of the white hatebear deck. But I think Sanctum Prelate is a little more versatile, it could easily see play in the sideboard of Miracles to help fend off the storm or even shut down Show and Tell.

The new white “Imperial Recruiter” will help find tools to weather the storm, including: Phyrexian Revoker, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and even Sanctum Prelate. The “Chalice of the Void” with legs is scarier than one may think, if it chooses two, TES is down to just Empty the Warrens as a win-condition. Which the deck must then must find without any Tutor effects. If Sanctum Prelate is on four, the deck is forced to win with Grapeshot in a difficult match-up. Four is the safest number to name if a Death & Taxes player is unable to differentiate the EPIC Storm from Ad Nauseam Tendrils.

Advice

I’ve spent the last week mulling over what I should do to combat Sanctum Prelate, before coming to a plan, I figured I should ask my trusted advisors what they thought:

Initial Impressions

With their guidance, I hit the ground running trying to come up with a new list. My initial impression was that I thought AJ’s suggestion of moving Thoughtseize to the main deck to combat the hatebears was interesting. The more I think about it, the better it seems due to Eldrazi as well. I’ve always been hesitant of this change when suggested due to the life-loss in an Ad Nauseam based storm deck. But with the ever-growing amount of permanent based disruption – it seems inevitable. This is something I’ll need to test thoroughly to get a better grasp on, but I really like the idea of saving sideboard space.

The next change I thought up on my own as a reaction of Abrupt Decay being converted mana cost two (now less effective against Miracles). I’m recommending bringing back an old favorite of mine – Wipe Away. It fills a very similar role of Abrupt Decay of dealing with Counterbalance, but also answers Sanctum Prelate (unlike Krosan Grip). This should help a lot in the Miracles match-up. Not to mention, it slows the opponent from floating a Flusterstorm on top of their Library with a Sensei’s Divining Top if you cast Wipe Away on their end step!

There was one slot left in my sideboard after this, I’m still not sure what it should be. Here’s what I’ve been considering:

The fourth copy of Abrupt Decay feels excessive due to Sanctum Prelate and the addition of Miracles, I believe it’s simply too many slots dedicated to a similar cause. I’ve traditionally been a fan of a Burning Wish target discard spell, especially when you can bring it in for the combo-mirror. However, slots are somewhat tight and we’re no longer swapping copies of Thoughtseize for Duress. Which leads me to believe that this slot will be used less frequently. Another thought would be to slide Bayou back to the sideboard to smooth out the mana with another Bloodstained Mire, but at that point I feel we’re not getting the best “Bang for our buck”. It’s a wasted slot.

Which leaves me with two real options, Chain of Vapor or Chrome Mox. Caleb Scherer has been championing copies of Chrome Mox in his ANT sideboard since piloting TES a few times, turning his list into a hybrid against faster decks. Well, if the metagame is leaning towards more copies of Death & Taxes and Eldrazi – it might make sense to increase the number of Chrome Mox. Speed is everything in those match-ups! For the more conservative, there’s Chain of Vapor to answer Thalia, Guardian of Thraben easily while providing a different mana cost answer to Sanctum Prelate.

Deck List

Sideboard Plans

Final Thoughts

It might be best to wait and see results before panicking, but as of right now this is the plan. I haven’t tested it much yet, it’s pretty much pure theory crafting at this point. But I’d love to hear thoughts, concerns or suggestions. Thanks!

Until next time, keep storming!