Hi everyone!

We’re back with the mailbox, here are some more Q&A’s:

You recently went 5-0 with a Grixis list. Does this mean you’re off green again?

Not necessarily, I switch lists a lot online to test different things. I’ll say that the Grixis list felt a lot better to play, it was smoother and more consistent in almost every non-Miracles matchup.

If Crow Storm was legal, would you play it?

Totally! I think it’s actually very good, worse than Empty the Warrens (in most situations – as Empty makes multiples), but very playable. I’d actually play one in both the main deck and the sideboard. What I like most about this card is that it opens up three mana storm lines so you can actually combo faster in a lot of situations, coming down more frequently than combo-hate permanents. Speaking of three mana storm lines, it is castable with Gaddock Teeg in play! Which would be terrific, especially since those decks typically have a very tough time blocking flying creatures. Onto blocking… Crow Storm gets past Deathrite Shaman and Young Pyromancer tokens which is a huge improvement over Goblin tokens. It also isn’t destroyed by Marsh Casualties, Electrickery or Golgari Charm.

I wish this were a real card, we can only hope that maybe one day it will be. I mean, Steamflogger Boss is a real card and in the set. It would just really bother me if they legalized it and I had to play a silver-border English card in my deck.

In the Grixis list you posted, why is there only one sideboard Emtpy the Warrens?

I found myself falling out of love with the multiple Empty the Warrens plan the last month or so. Everyone online is prepared for it, it’s best when they’re unsure if it’s there. I’ve had opponents keep hands on the back of Toxic Deluge and Marsh Casualties. I’d rather punish them with an Ad Nauseam than lean into their removal. I have no doubts in my mind that it’ll be back though!

I purchased most of TES online last month and have been playing a few leagues a week. I lose a lot, do you have any advice?

This is a tough one… I don’t know how much experience you have with the deck. That said, the more you play the better you’ll become. Which is an obvious answer, but it’s true. I’ve noticed my play level has increased a decent amount since getting into magic online. If you expect to have a win-rate of 75%, that’s a bit unrealistic. My personal win-rate fluctuates on the list somewhere around 63%.

If playing more doesn’t help you, I recommend signing up for a TES Tutoring Session or two. If you still don’t find the results you’re looking for, perhaps it’s time to move onto a deck that suits your play-style.

Are you going to start making video content for YouTube anytime soon? I’m very interested.

I don’t plan on it, maybe in the future. My issue is that it’s very time consuming. It would require me to go back to dual-booting my mac instead of playing on my laptop, which isn’t the worst but it’s also not ideal.

I’m a big fan of Defense Grid, have you considered playing it again?

Defense Grid (and similarly, Xantid Swarm) are both very bad in the current metagame in my opinion. When the format is based around hand disruption, these cards seem a bit silly. Like showing up to the basketball game with hockey pads. You’re not preparing in the proper way for how the opponent is going to be attacking you.

How much did you spend on those Polluted Deltas?

I don’t really think this is an appropriate question to ask. It’s very similar to asking, “How much do you make a year?” (I’d be open to hear on what others think about this.)

When are you going to switch to ANT and just win more events?

Classic troll question. If only Magic (and Legacy) worked like that.

At Eternal Weekend you were wearing that sick Sandlot shirt. Where’d do get it?

Enjoy! https://www.rsvlts.com/

Please tell me you’re going to start playing Goblin War Strike. I just bought a foil!

Unfortunately I don’t see myself playing it soon, but I change my deck list so frequently, who knows? It’s very interesting in the lists with three copies of Empty the Warrens in the sideboard. The issue to me is finding room to include it. It really comes down to Telemin Performance or Goblin War Strike.

I thought the “Did you Know: Storm” video was pretty cool. How did this come about? Did you have inside knowledge on Crow Storm?

A member of the Gathering Magic marketing team emailed me asking if I would be interested, shortly after I did a vocal/recording test, received the script and then recorded. Weirdly enough, I recorded both the “Did you Know: Storm“ and my episode of “Leaving a Legacy“ the same week, but there was a delay with Gathering Magic.

I wish I was important enough to have inside knowledge on the game!

How many goblins are more than a number of Eldrazi? What’s more common? Are both different?

Hm. This is a weird question, well technically 1 Goblin is equal to 1 Eldrazi. Are we talking Power/Toughness? Because it would depend on the total, right? But… I’m going to assume you mean how many Goblins do you need to race Eldrazi at the start of a game. The answer is ten on the play (generally) and twelve on the draw.

If you’re interested in asking a question, use the contact form below with the subject line of “TES Mailbox” to submit your question!