Manaless Ichorid Versus Meandeck Gifts – A Matchup Analysis

As promised, in this article I am going to present an analysis of the Manaless Ichorid versus Meandeck Gifts matchup, game 1. I know many of you are dying to talk about the sideboard and even maindeck card choices in more detail, but I promise I will exhaustively discuss that subject next week. I wanted to show you the deck in action against one of the premier decks in Vintage and discuss some of the nuances of in-game play.

In this round of testing, I will be running virtually the same the Ichorid list that I presented last week. The only difference is that I will be running 4 Shambling Shell over the 4 Gigapede.

The Meandeck Gifts variant I will be playing is the one that Michael Heatherington piloted to the finals of the last major SCG Tour^® nament. This deck differs from traditional Meandeck Gifts by three maindeck cards (-1 Misdirection, -1 Gifts Ungiven, -1 Chain of Vapor; +2 Repeal, +1 Dark Ritual). I am selecting this list for several reasons. First, this is the highest-placing Gifts list in recent tournaments. Second, Heatherington ran two Repeals, which would give his list a slight advantage over traditional Meandeck Gifts due to his ability to easily bounce Chalice with Repeals.

Because these games are all pre-board, sideboards are irrelevant. I admit that the post-board games will necessarily advantage any opposing deck more than they advantage Ichorid, but this article is a necessary foundation for further analysis.

Before beginning, I would suggest that you review last week’s article for a brief overview of how Ichorid operates.

Off we go!

Ichorid won the die roll and elected to play first. We will alternate playing first as a way of ensuring that both decks have equal opportunity to play first.

Note that I will organize the opening hands so that they are more-reader friendly.

Game 1 – Ichorid on the Play

Ichorid’s opening hand:

Bazaar of Baghdad
Petrified Field
Ichorid
Nether Shadow
Shambling Shell
Shambling Shell
Golgari Grave-Troll

Ichorid has Bazaar. Keep.

Gifts drew the following hand:

Underground Sea
Polluted Delta
Flooded Strand
Mox Ruby
Mana Vault
Mana Drain
Force of Will

This is a clear mulligan into:

Polluted Delta
Lotus Petal
Brainstorm
Repeal
Force of Will
Force of Will

Keep.

Turn 1:

Now pay attention. These games won’t have many turns, but they will be packed with plays.

Ichorid plays Bazaar of Baghdad and activates it, drawing:

Shambling Shell
Chalice of the Void

There aren’t many decisions to be made with Ichorid, but those that you do have to make are rather important.

It may seem like a good idea to discard Nether Shadow here, but I think that is the wrong play.

What to discard?

Since the primarily play on turn 2 will be to dredge, clearly the first and most important card to discard is going to be Golgari Grave-Troll.

In the eventuality that our first dredge on turn 2 reveals no more dredgers, we will want another dredger in the graveyard so that we can dredge more. Thus, we will also want to discard the only other dredger in hand: Shambling Shell.

Now comes the difficult decision: what should the third card we discard be? Unless we anticipate Wasteland, we should discard Ichorid since we want to have an opportunity to flashback a Cabal Therapy next turn.

Playing a Cabal Therapy on turn 2 is a key way that Ichorid can interact on turn 2. Observe what happens:

Discarding:

Golgari Grave-Troll
Shambling Shell
Ichorid

Play Chalice of the Void at zero.

This is a tough decision for the Gifts player: to Force of Will or no?

Here are the basic considerations:

• There are very few genuine Force of Will targets in any given game. Generally, Manaless Ichorid will play only Unmask and or Chalice of the Void on turn 1 in terms of actual spells.
• Although Ichorid will want to eventually play Dread Return, it generally has no trouble stripping out all opposing countermagic beforehand with Cabal Therapy.
• By holding back the Force of Wills now, it will force the Ichorid player to remove them before it can combo out with Dread Return or else walk into Force of Will. In this particular instance, since Gifts has two Force of Will, Gifts can Force a Cabal Therapy, making Ichorid slow down even more.

Since Ichorid has Repeal in hand, it can bounce the Chalice quite easily.

A minor consideration but Gifts won’t be able to make the sweet play of: Brainstorm → break fetchland to shuffle.

Normally, I would just counter the Chalice. However, since Repeal is in the opening hand, it naturally makes sense to use Repeal for its intended purpose. Repeal may have no utility outside of bouncing Chalice here.

Chalice resolves.

Pass.

Gifts:

Gifts draws Merchant Scroll on the turn.

Gifts plays Polluted Delta.

Already, Gifts faces a second crucial decision. Should it Repeal now and then play Brainstorm, or wait until Ichorid’s end-step? Here are the major considerations:

• If we Repeal now, we can play Brainstorm now off Petal. Since Ichorid is so fast, Gifts best chance is to combo out. There is a chance that we’ll draw some really sick cards that will help us do that.
• If we Repeal now and our Brainstorm doesn’t find the goods, then the Chalice will be replayed next turn and we could be stuck under it.
• If we wait to Repeal, we’ll be able to untap, see an additional card, and then Brainstorm.
• It is very unlikely that if Ichorid plays Cabal Therapy that they will name Repeal. Thus, we will probably have the Repeal to play next turn.

I opt to wait until Ichorid’s end-step to bounce the Chalice.

Turn 2:

Ichorid:

On Ichorids upkeep, Ichorid triggers. In response to the trigger, Ichorid activates Bazaar and dredges Golgari Grave-Troll, revealing:

Stinkweed Imp
Ichorid
Leyline of the Void
Sutured Ghoul
Unmask
Shambling Shell

For the second draw off of Bazaar, Ichorid elects to dredge Stinkweed Imp, dredging:

Stinkweed Imp
Cabal Therapy
Unmask
Stinkweed Imp
Dragon Breath

For the discard to Bazaar, Ichorid discards:

Nether Shadow
Golgari Grave Troll
Stinkweed Imp

Ichorid trigger resolves and we remove Shambling Shell to put Ichorid into play.

Draw Step:

Ichorid dredges Golgari Grave-Troll revealing:

Ichorid
Serum Powder
Strip Mine
Unmask
Petrified Field
Leyline of the Void

Note that although the Nether Shadow will not trigger next turn, three Ichorids will.

This will give Ichorid enough creatures to flashback Dread Return on turn 3 and win, if it can clear the way this turn.

Attack Step:

Ichorid swings in for three! Gifts goes to seventeen life.

Ichorid flashes back the Cabal Therapy.

Since Ichorid is interested in winning next turn, it will name Force of Will to clear the Gifts player’s hand of countermagic.

Therapy resolves and we see two Force of Wills.

Ichorid plays Petrified Field.

On Ichorid’s end-step, Gifts breaks the Fetchland for Underground Sea. Since this Ichorid list doesn’t run Wasteland, there is no reason to get a basic land. Gifts is at sixteen life.

Gifts plays Repeal on the Chalice of the Void, drawing Time Walk!

Gifts:

On Gifts turn, it draws: Mox Ruby!

Gifts plays Mox Ruby.

Recall that Gifts hand is now:

Merchant Scroll
Lotus Petal
Brainstorm
Time Walk

This gives Gifts quite a few options.

We can:

Play Brainstorm right now
Play Time Walk right now
Merchant Scroll right now, for Ancestral Recall or Mystical Tutor

I am not sure what the best play is. Most decks that Gifts would normally play would have a clear correct play here. Ichorid is a very unusual deck in that it doesn’t interact with the opponent on the stack or in the way that most decks do. It isn’t stopped by countermagic, and thus traditional game plans tend to fall flat.

Whatever our plan is, the play that we should pursue must help us combo out as quickly as possible. It seems to me that we should probably Time Walk and Brainstorm this turn.

The problem with playing Time Walk and then Brainstorm on my Time Walk turn is that I will miss a land drop. The other problem with playing Time Walk and then Brainstorming in the same turn is that I will Time Walk into a card I’ve already seen unless I see a fetchland or an instant speed tutor.

I really don’t think I have a choice. I elect to Brainstorm first into:

Recoup
Mox Jet
Polluted Delta

I don’t think this could have been better for me. The problem, however, is that I have to put two cards back.

My hand is:

Recoup
Mox Jet
Polluted Delta
Time Walk
Merchant Scroll
Lotus Petal

Ideally, I would just Scroll for the Tutor and Time Walk, and then upkeep Mystical Tutor for Tinker. However, I have to put two cards back on top of my deck.

As I stand now, I can play the Fetchland, Merchant Scroll for Mystical Tutor, pass the turn, Tinker, and then even Time Walk the following turn.

Of course, this plan is completely undone by two facts:

The Ichorid player may just win next turn.
Even if they don’t win, they will surely be able to strip out the Time Walk from my hand and then win the next turn, even with Darksteel Colossus on the table.

There are no good options here, at least that I see.

I put back Lotus Petal (which pains me since it is awesome with Yawgmoth’s Will) and Recoup (which pains me since I could Recoup Time Walk).

I play Polluted Delta and break it, going to fifteen (for Underground Sea).

I play Mox Jet and then Time Walk.

Time Walk Turn:

I draw another Merchant Scroll.

I don’t really have any good options. I Scroll for Ancestral Recall and play it.

I draw:

Gifts Ungiven
Island
Volcanic Island

I play Volcanic Island and tap it and my Mox Jet for Merchant Scroll.

My best strategy here is to get one more turn so that I can Gifts and win. This strategy banks on the assumption that if I get Force of Will with Scroll, he’ll have to Cabal Therapy me before winning, which means I’ll get another turn.

I Scroll for Force of Will.

However, if he sees two Cabal Therapies next turn, he can strip out both cards.

Turn 3:

On Ichorid’s upkeep, the Ichorids trigger. With those triggers on the stack, Bazaar of Baghdad is activated so that Ichorid may dredge.

Since the Golgari Grave-Troll is in hand, we have to dredge the Stinkweed Imps.

Revealing:

Stinkweed Imp
Bazaar of Baghdad
Chalice of the Void
Petrified Field
Leyline of the Void

Dredge the second Stinkweed Imp, revealing:

Golgari Grave-Troll
Dread Return
Serum Powder
Chalice of the Void
Maze of Ith

Discard:

Golgari Grave-Troll
Stinkweed Imp
Stinkweed Imp

The Ichorid triggers resolve removing two Stinkweed Imps and a Shambling Shell. A Nether Shadow also returned to play.

Draw Step:

Dredge the Troll, revealing:

Golgari Thug
Dragon Breath
Golgari Grave Troll
Chalice of the Void
Cabal Therapy
Cabal Therapy

This was important that two Therapies were revealed, since that effectively kills Gifts chances.

Also note that the Petrified Field here is Ichorid’s trump card.

You’ll see why in a moment.

Flashback a Cabal Therapy, sacrificing Nether Shadow, naming Force of Will.

Under normal circumstances, I would flashback the second Therapy naming Gifts. However, we already have the win.

Remember the steps to winning;

Step 1: Mulligan into Bazaar. Done
Step 2: Dredge. Done
Step 3: Reanimate Ichorids and Nether Shadows. Did it.
Step 4: Clear the Way with Cabal Therapies. Done.
Step 5: Dread Return Sutured Ghoul and swing for lethal damage.

Since Ichorid sees the Gifts, Ichorid flashes back the second Therapy naming Gifts Ungiven.

For good measure, Ichorid plays Chalice of the Void at zero again.

Now, the question is: What should Ichorid return with Petrified Fields?

Here are the options:

Strip Mine
Maze of Ith
Bazaar of Baghdad

This question is a key recurring question in the matchup. However, it is all moot by the fact that we have lethal Sutured Ghoul ready to spring forth.

I return Bazaar because it will fill my graveyard up with more creatures to feed to the Ghoul.

I flashback Dread Return, sacrificing my three Ichorids.

Sutured Ghoul comes into play with twenty-plus power and a Dragon Breath for haste. I swing and Gifts dies.

Ichorid won on turn 3.

Game Summary:
Ichorid won on turn 3 with turn 1 Chalice and turn 2 Cabal Therapy.

Analysis:
Normally, the Chalice would have been absolutely critical, but Gifts opened with Repeal, mooting it. This would have shut down traditional Meandeck Gifts a lot more since it would have generally had to tutor up a bounce spell or Force the Chalice. The former play would have taken at least two turns. By that point, the Gifts player’s hand would have been stripped clean.

I think one important key to this game was the fact that Ichorid got to return an Ichorid on turn 2. This enabled a key Cabal Therapy play that made Gifts subsequent Brainstorm much weaker because the Gifts player didn’t have the cards to put back. Remember that Gifts had to put back Lotus Petal and Recoup. If this play had not occurred, Gifts could have theoretically had this sequence of plays on turn 2:

Brainstorm, Time Walk, Merchant Scroll for Mystical Tutor
Upkeep Mystical Tutor for Tinker, Tinker

Turn 3:
Recoup Time Walk

That is not to say that those plays would have actually occurred, or that the turn 2 Colossus would have mattered (It wouldn’t have, since Ichorid had Maze of Ith to recur via Field), but it would have made for a closer game.

Game 2 – Gifts on the Play

Gifts opening hand:

Island
Underground Sea
Underground Sea
Brainstorm
Brainstorm
Brainstorm
Mana Drain

This is a very unusual hand, but I can’t think of a reason to throw it back. Brainstorm is an insanely strong card.

Ichorid’s opening hand:

Bazaar of Baghdad
Petrified Field
Unmask
Unmask
Chalice of the Void
Cabal Therapy
Nether Shadow

The key weakness in this hand is that it has no dredgers (and there are sixteen in the deck!). However, since Ichorid is on the draw, it will see three more cards before it has to discard to Bazaar.

Turn 1:

Underground Sea, Brainstorm drawing into:

Force of Will
Merchant Scroll
Volcanic Island

Putting back:
Island
Merchant Scroll (on top so that I’ll draw it next turn)

Ichorid:

Ichorid draws Strip Mine on the turn (insane!)

Although I could Strip Mine, Unmask, and Chalice right now, I see little reason to deviate from the script. Strip Mine is a stronger tempo play when made after Bazaar so that I am applying pressure. The only reason to Strip Mine now is that it could force the Gifts player to draw the two cards he Brainstormed back.

I play Bazaar of Baghdad and draw:

Ichorid
Stinkweed Imp

The trick here, once again, is deciding what to discard.

We cannot decide what to discard until we have decided on our course of action for the turn.

Here are our options:

I can play double Unmask (pitching Nether Shadow and Therapy).
I can play one Unmask and turn 2 Therapy returning Nether Shadow into play on turn 3.

To play double Unmask, I would have to discard Stinkweed Imp, Ichorid, and the unnecessary Petrified Field. In order to Therapy next turn, I would have to dredge deeply enough to find another, not a guarantee with a single dredger in my graveyard. But not unlikely either, as I am going to dig at least eleven cards deeper at the very least.

On the other hand, if I discard Nether Shadow, Ichorid, and Imp, I’ll have another creature to return in the form of Nether Shadow on turn 3. This may be better since I have turn 2 Strip Mine as well as Chalice of the Void to hamper his development. This would mean that I only get to Unmask once this turn.

I decide to discard:

Nether Shadow
Ichorid
Stinkweed Imp

I play Unmask, pitching Unmask.

The Gifts player has a dilemma. Part of the value of Unmask is the information that helps the Ichorid player use Cabal Therapy.

The real complication is that my plan next turn was to play Merchant Scroll. Whatever I Scroll up, he’ll know what it is so that he can Therapy it out.

Thus, if I Force of Will, I’ll have to Scroll up something he’ll strip out anyway with Therapy. However, he’ll at most be able to play one Therapy next turn. Force of Willing now will protect the information that I have two Brainstorms.

If I don’t Force of Will, he’ll probably take Force of Will and then know that I have two Brainstorms. If I Scroll up Ancestral, that’s probably the card he’ll take. Thus, it makes sense not to Force of Will.

Unmask resolves and he takes Force of Will.

Then he plays Chalice of the Void set at zero.

Turn 2:

Gifts:

Gifts draws the Scroll, plays Volcanic Island, and plays Merchant Scroll.

The problem is, what to get:

Force of Will
Ancestral Recall

If I get Force of Will, I can Force of Will next turn on the Therapy, I’ll then have both Mana Drain and Brainstorm up the following turn (which is pretty weak). However, he would probably name Force of Will anyway.

If I get Ancestral, and he strips it out with Therapy, I’ll be happy to have it in my graveyard if I ever get to play Yawgmoth’s Will.

There are no good options here. I decide to just get Ancestral Recall.

Ichorid:

Upkeep, Ichorid trigger on the stack. In response, activate Bazaar and dredge Stinkweed Imp, revealing:

Shambling Shell
Nether Shadow
Shambling Shell
Cabal Therapy
Bazaar of Baghdad

(Note that you can put the Shadow at the bottom of these five cards in the graveyard.)

For the second draw, I dredge Shell, revealing:

Golgari Thug
Dread Return
Leyline of the Void

Discarding:

Cabal Therapy
Stinkweed Imp
Shambling Shell

Ichorid resolves, removing Shambling Shell.

Draw Step: Dredge Stinkweed Imp, revealing:

Petrified Field
Golgari Grave Troll
Chalice of the Void
Nether Shadow
Shambling Shell

Attack with Ichorid.

Gifts goes to seventeen.

Flashback Cabal Therapy, naming Ancestral Recall.

Play Strip Mine, and Strip Mine the Underground Sea.

Turn 3:

Gifts untaps and draws Volcanic Island.

Gifts has no good options:

Hold up Mana Drain and get overwhelmed almost for sure
Brainstorm and pray (an exercise in futility since Chalice at zero will prevent Gifts from doing anything)

Looking at Ichorid’s graveyard, it will be returning two Nether Shadows and one Ichorid, and very likely will be able to Dread Return and just win. Holding Mana Drain up will prevent Ichorid from winning next turn and buy me one more turn.

Ichorid:

Upkeep. Nether Shadow and Ichorid triggers on the stack, activate Bazaar, dredging Golgari Grave-Troll, revealing:

Sutured Ghoul
Golgari Thug
Bazaar of Baghdad
Serum Powder
Shambling Shell
Petrified Field

Dredge Thug, revealing:

Ichorid
Stinkweed Imp
Dragon Breath
Golgari Grave-Troll

Discard:

Imp
Troll
Thug

Resolve the Nether Shadows and Ichorid (removing Golgari Thug, not Shambling Shells (since these power Sutured Ghoul)).

Draw Step:

Dredge a Troll, revealing:

Bazaar
Dragon Breath
Unmask
Leyline
Chalice
Unmask

Ichorid attacks Gifts for five, sending Gifts to twelve.

Although there are only 21 cards left in Ichorid’s deck, it has only revealed two Cabal Therapies, which means that I can only play one this turn.

I sacrifice Ichorid and announce Cabal Therapy. This is Gifts opportunity.

Gifts plays Mana Drain.

Ichorid plays Petrified Field and passes the turn.

Turn 4:

Gifts draws Tolarian Academy on the turn.

Gifts taps Volcanic Island and plays Brainstorm, drawing:

Darksteel Colossus
Mana Crypt
Tendrils of Agony

And that signals the end of the game…

I have no choice but to Brainstorm again, but that will likely lock me out of the game due to Chalice of the Void.

I Brainstorm again, and my top card that I haven’t seen yet is Merchant Scroll.

Ichorid has a clear turn 4 kill, so I scoop.

Game Summary:
Gifts was on the play. Ichorid won on turn 4. Ichorid had turn 1 Unmask and Chalice, with turn 2 Cabal Therapy and Strip Mine.

Analysis:
Ichorid has a turn 4 kill with plenty of early disruption. Importantly, Ichorid had two disruption spells on turn 1 and turn 2. It is uncommon that Manaless Ichorid interacts on turn 2. Most of the time it simply dredges. The fact that it got to play a Cabal Therapy and Strip Mine helps explain why this was such a blowout. Gifts simply doesn’t have the resources to develop its game plan in the time allotted by the Ichorid clock.

This game illustrates how powerful Strip Mine is, to those who are unconvinced.

Game 3 – Ichorid on the Play

Ichorid’s opening hand:

Serum Powder
Bazaar of Baghdad
Golgari Grave-Troll
Golgari Grave-Troll
Chalice of the Void
Unmask
Ichorid

This hand has many of the components you want to see: Dredgers (the best ones), Ichorid (so that you can turn two flashback Therapy), Chalice, and Unmask.

It is a very good hand. The only part that sucks about it is that in order to really maximize it, we’ll need to see a Black card and a Black creature off the Bazaar.

Gifts opening hand:

Polluted Delta
Sol Ring
Black Lotus
Dark Ritual
Brainstorm
Gifts Ungiven
Gifts Ungiven

Comments:

This is the kind of hand that could win on turn 1:

Delta → Ritual, Sol Ring, Blotus, Gifts for mana and then Gifts again for broken cards for turn 2 Will.

And that’s just off the top of my head.

Nonetheless, being on the draw and playing against such a highly disruptive deck almost assures that this hand will not punch through as it was intended. The question is, how much of the punch will it retain?

Turn 1:

Ichorid drops Bazaar and draws:

Ichorid
Petrified Field

Well, we saw half of what we wanted.

Unfortunately, the correct discard is:

Ichorid
Troll
Troll

Ichorid plays Unmask pitching Ichorid.

Normally, Ichorid should take Black Lotus here. But since we have Chalice of the Void, the correct play is either Dark Ritual, Sol Ring, or Brainstorm.

Assuming that Gifts doesn’t draw something game changing, like Repeal, then Gifts will either play Sol Ring or Brainstorm on turn 1. Therefore, we should probably take one of those. The reason to take Sol Ring is that it powers out early Tinker. But I think that even turn 2 Tinker is too slow in this game. I have dub Troll to dredge up, which means I’ll see nearly half my deck by turn 2 (isn’t that ridiculous?). I decide to take the Brainstorm.

I drop Chalice and pass.

Gifts:

Draws Rebuild.

Breaks Polluted Delta for Underground Sea and plays Sol Ring. Pass.

Turn 2:

On Ichorid’s upkeep, Ichorid goes on the stack. Activate Bazaar and dredge the Trolls with Bazaar, revealing:

Troll 1:

Golgari Thug
Sutured Ghoul
Unmask
Chalice of the Void
Sutured Ghoul
Cabal Therapy

Troll 2:

Cabal Therapy
Golgari Grave-Troll
Golgari Thug
Dread Return
Petrified Field
Stinkweed Imp

Discard:

Two Trolls and Serum Powder

Remove a Thug from game to put Ichorid into play.

Draw Step: Dredge a Troll, revealing:

Leyline of the Void
Shambling Shell
Stinkweed Imp
Stinkweed Imp
Dread Return
Golgari Grave-Troll

This is unfortunate. Although there are only 33 cards left in my library, I haven’t seen one Nether Shadow and have only seen two Ichorids (one of which I removed from game).

Attach with Ichorid. Gifts goes to sixteen.

Since we’ve seen Gifts hand, we flashback Therapy naming Gifts Ungiven. Gifts loses two Gifts. It’s hand is now:

Rebuild
Dark Ritual
Black Lotus

Gifts:

Gifts draws Mana Drain.

Now, Gifts can Rebuild here just to play Black Lotus. That’s pretty weak.

Turn 3:

Upkeep, Ichorid triggers. In response, dredge, revealing:

Maze of Ith
Dragon Breath
Serum Powder
Petrified Field
Stinkweed Imp
Shambling Shell

Dredge Troll 2, revealing

Nether Shadow
Nether Shadow
Golgari Thug
Unmask
Shambling Shell
Unmask

Discarding Troll, Troll, and Troll.

Resolve Ichorid, removing Golgari Thug.

Draw step: dredge revealing:

Ichorid
Chalice of the Void
Cabal Therapy
Golgari Thug
Dragon Breath
Serum Powder

Although there are only fifteen cards left in my library, the Strip Mine has not yet been flipped. That means I can’t Petrified Field it into play in order to completely ruin the Gifts player right now.

Worse, I don’t even have a Bazaar in my graveyard. Somehow the remaining three Bazaars became lodged in my last fifteen cards. What a bummer.

I suppose I’ll just put a Maze of Ith into play, which is what I do, thanks to Petrified Field.

I attack Gifts for three, sending them to thirteen.

I flashback Cabal Therapy. In response, Gifts cycles Rebuild into Mana Drain.

Gifts:

Gifts draws Mox Sapphire. Pretty weak.

Ichorid has another turn 4 kill with a solid amount of disruption.

Game Summary:
Ichorid was on the play. Ichorid won on turn 4 with turn 1 Unmask and Chalice of the Void and turn 2 Cabal Therapy.

Analysis:
Gifts almost definitely would have won this game if it had been on the play. It was fortunately for Ichorid that Gifts was on the draw.

Game 4 – Gifts is on the play.

Gifts opener:

Repeal
Mox Jet
Yawgmoth’s Will
Rebuild
Gifts Ungiven
Force of Will
Mana Drain

Mulligan into:

Polluted Delta
Volcanic Island
Darksteel Colossus
Island
Recoup
Black Lotus

Awful.

Mulligan into:

Mox Pearl
Volcanic Island
Ancestral Recall
Tinker
Force of Will

Wow! What a great hand of five!

Ichorid’s hand:

Bazaar of Baghdad
Petrified Field
Chalice of the Void
Cabal Therapy
Cabal Therapy
Nether Shadow
Shambling Shell

Turn 1:

Gifts plays Volcanic Island, Ancestral Recall drawing:

Volcanic Island
Polluted Delta
Island

Plays Mox Pearl and passes.

Ichorid:

Draws Ichorid.

Plays Bazaar, activates it and draws:

Golgari Thug
Cabal Therapy

Discarding:
Thug, Shell, and Ichorid

Play Chalice for zero, pass

Turn 2:

Gifts draws Underground Sea.

It plays the Sea and Tinkers up Darksteel Colossus.

Pass.

Ichorid:

Upkeep, Ichorid trigger on the stack, response, activate Bazaar and dredge Thug, revealing:

Cabal Therapy
Nether Shadow
Bazaar
Dragon Breath

Dredge Shell, revealing:

Stinkweed Imp
Nether Shadow
Petrified Field

Discard:

Nether Shadow
Shell
Thug

Return Ichorid removing a Shambling Shell.

Draw step:

Dredge the Stinkweed Imp, revealing:

Chalice
Golgari Grave-Troll
Shambling Shell
Stinkweed Imp
Stinkweed Imp

Attack for three and then Cabal Therapy naming Time Walk.

Play Petrified Field and pass.

Turn 3:

Draw Tolarian Academy.

Attack for eleven. Ichorid is at nine.

Play Volcanic Island, pass.

Ichorid:

Upkeep, three Nether Shadows and one Ichorid trigger goes on the stack.

In response, dredge with Bazaar, revealing:

Dredge Troll:

Chalice
Nether Shadow
Dragon Breath
Golgari Grave-Troll
Unmask
Serum Powder

Troll 2:

Bazaar
Serum Powder
Dread Return
Sutured Ghoul
Leyline of the Void
Bazaar

Discarding:

Imp
Troll
Troll

Remove Golgari Thug to bring in Ichorid.

Draw Step, dredge Troll, revealing:

Golgari Thug
Leyline of the Void
Serum Powder
Unmask
Leyline of the Void
Ichorid

The fact that I haven’t revealed the Maze despite the fact that there are only twenty cards left in my deck doesn’t trouble me because I should be able to just win here.

I sacrifice Nether Shadow to flashback Cabal Therapy, naming Force of Will.

I sacrifice Petrified Field to return a Bazaar to my hand. I play Bazaar and dredge a Troll, revealing:

Sutured Ghoul
Shambling Shell
Golgari Thug
Serum Powder
Golgari Grave-Troll
Ichorid

Dredge Troll 2:

Maze of Ith
Petrified Field
Unmask
Ichorid
Strip Mine
Shambling Shell

Discarding:

Troll
Troll
Cabal Therapy

Flashback Dread Return sacrificing two Shadows and Ichorid.

Put Sutured Ghoul in play with Dragon Breath.

Remove the three Shambling Shells, three Ichorids, two Nether Shadow, and four Stinkweed Imp to feed the Ghoul and swing for well above lethal dosage.

Game Summary:
Gifts was on the play and had turn 2 Tinker. Ichorid won on turn 3 with turn 1 Chalice that was irrelevant and turn 2 Therapy that was irrelevant. The important card was Petrified Field in fueling lethal Sutured Ghoul on turn 3.

Analysis:
This goes to show you just how fast this deck is compared to old Ichorid, and how weak Tinker for Colossus has become as a counter strategy. None of Ichorid’s disruption mattered this game, and yet Ichorid still won because of the clock. Notably, Gifts mulligan was relevant although the Ancestral compensated somewhat.

Game 5 – Ichorid on the Play

Ichorid’s opening grip:

Serum Powder
Bazaar of Baghdad
Unmask
Cabal Therapy
Cabal Therapy
Shambling Shell
Sutured Ghoul

Keep.

Gift’s opener:

Volcanic Island
Flooded Strand
Mana Vault
Brainstorm
Repeal
Merchant Scroll
Gifts Ungiven

Keep.

Turn 1:

Ichorid:

Play Bazaar.

Activate it.

Draw:

Dread Return
Petrified Field

Discard:

Shambling Shell
Sutured Ghoul
Serum Powder

The tricky part now is what to pitch to Unmask.

Here are our options:

Cabal Therapy. This could make sense since we already have two in hand. However, since we are light on dredgers, we may need all of these to clear the way.
Dread Return. There are two in the deck. This is a key card, however, and if the other Dread Return is near the bottom, we may sacrifice early stability by not pitching this in exchange for a better end game.
Sutured Ghoul (which I already discarded, but we could theoretically have not done so). It makes less sense to pitch this card than Dread Return since they have a similar effect on the game. The only reason not to pitch this over Dread Return is that this can feed Ichorid.

Thus, three is eliminated since it is strictly inferior to two. That leaves one and two. Here’s my deciding factor: since we are light on dredgers, I assume that I’m not going to win before turn 5. Therefore, I’m going to pitch the card that has the long-game effect to keep my mid-game disruption in Cabal Therapy. Goodbye Dread Return.

Do you agree or disagree? Although Ichorid may be mechanical, no one said it was simple to play.

Now, what to take with Unmask?

Options:

Brainstorm
Mana Vault
Merchant Scroll
Gifts
Repeal

We can eliminate Repeal since we don’t have Chalice of the Void. There is no reason to take that.

I can’t see a clear Unmask target once we have eliminated Repeal. This is one of the hardest plays I’ve encountered so far in this article.

The Gifts player will play turn 1 Brainstorm or Mana Vault. With Mana Vault, turn 2 Gifts is possible. If I don’t see some dredgers off Shell I could be getting comboed out by turn 3, but more likely on turn 4. Both Scroll and Gifts reveal the card he’ll get, and hopefully by that time I’ll have Therapies on line.

If I take Brainstorm, however, that will make his turn 1 play obvious: Vault.

It seems to me that the play is probably to take Mana Vault.

Mana Vault slows down, dramatically, his ability to fuel Gifts and makes his line of play pretty clear:

T1: Brainstorm
T2: Scroll
T3: Ancestral?
T4: Gifts and win or win on turn 5.

Thus, I think the play is to take either Brainstorm or Vault, and I’m leaning towards taking Vault. What seals the deal for me is that I don’t have access to Therapy until turn three. If I had turn 2 Therapy, I may be more inclined to take the Brainstorm.

I take the Vault.

Agree or disagree?

Pass.

Gifts:

Gifts draws Demonic Tutor!

Gifts plays Volcanic Island and Brainstorm, drawing:

Merchant Scroll
Rebuild
Brainstorm

From the Gifts perspective, there is a slight chance that Ichorid may not find Dredgers next turn and will be forced to draw. In that eventuality, there is a very low chance that they may find a Chalice. That suggests that perhaps I should keep Repeal. Repeal also can help me combo out and dig. Either way, I probably won’t need three Merchant Scrolls. Thus, I will put back one Merchant Scroll

It doesn’t matter what I put on top of the Scroll since he can’t Therapy me next turn and I will draw the card on top.

What fun-filled turns!

Turn 2:

On upkeep, Bazaar dredging Shell revealing:

Unmask
Serum Powder
Nether Shadow

Awful.

Draw Nether Shadow.

Discard:

Nether Shadow
Cabal Therapy
Shambling Shell

Draw Step:

Dredge Shell revealing:

Strip Mine
Bazaar of Baghdad
Golgari Thug

Since I have a Petrified Field, it is good for the Ichorid player’s third turn that we have revealed both Strip Mine and Bazaar.

Also, it is good that it revealed Thug. That should help get the Dredge engine back online.

Play Petrified Field.

Gifts:

Draw the card we put on top.

Play Flooded Strand and crack it for Underground Sea. Nineteen life.

Realistic options at this point:

Merchant Scroll
Demonic Tutor
Brainstorm

I have no idea what the correct play is. However, it seems to me that Demonic Tutor for Black Lotus to Scroll up Ancestral isn’t bad.

The alternative is to Scroll up Ancestral and then pass the turn. This doesn’t seem bad either. That way I can turn 3 Ancestral, Brainstorm, and possibly even DT.

I will go with that play.

I play Merchant Scroll for Ancestral Recall.

Pass.

Turn 3:

Usually this would be close to the end game, but the Ichorid player has had a poor time establishing its dredge engine this game.

That’s all going to change with the Petrified Field.

Upkeep, activate Bazaar and dredge Golgari Thug (no Nether Shadows trigger), revealing:

Golgari Thug
Serum Powder
Stinkweed Imp
Leyline of the Void

Dredge the Imp, revealing:

Shambling Shell
Chalice of the Void
Bazaar
Golgari Grave-Troll
Unmask

Discard:

Stinkweed Imp
Thug
Shell

Draw Step: Dredge the Troll, revealing:

Shell
Troll
Troll
Chalice
Ichorid
Petrified Field

I now have 29 cards left in my library and will be able to dredge at least eighteen on turn 4, setting up a virtual win.

Unfortunately, I will only be able to return one Ichorid and two Shadows to Therapy thrice.

This information is critical to help us decide the next big question: To Field for the Strip Mine or Bazaar?

Here’s my thinking:

If we field up the Bazaar, we will guarantee a win next turn. I’ll be able to dredge twelve cards right now, leaving seventeen cards in my library. If for some reason I can’t then Therapy at least twice and Dread Return for a lethal Ghoul, I can always dredge up the remainder of my library on my upkeep so that I can do that. The danger, of course is that he’ll just win next turn if undisrupted.

He’ll be able to Ancestral and who knows what else?

The problem is that if I Strip Mine, despite the fact that I’ll be able to ream him with Cabal Therapies next turn, he will still have one extra turn. He may not be able to do much unless he can get a critical mass of mana to Recoup Yawgmoth’s Will, but it is still dangerous to give any Vintage deck an extra turn.

The two options, therefore are quite close in net effect. Either I disrupt him a little now and delay my ultimate kill, but disrupt him a lot next turn so that I get close to a virtual kill; or I put all my eggs in the next turn basket and win next turn with plenty of disruption to clear the way, but hope he doesn’t win next turn first.

If he had seen a Mox off his turn 1 Brainstorm, presumably he would have played it last turn so he could Scroll and then Ancestral in the same turn, so I’m going to assume the Gifts player isn’t sandbagging acceleration that he intends to just drop onto the table next turn.

Remember that the Gifts board is just Volcanic Island, Underground Sea, and a six-card hand, which we know Ancestral, at the least, is in.

After further consideration, I’m pretty sure that it doesn’t really matter which play we make. I think Gifts is going to lose the game. The math is on the Ichorid player’s side. However, there is a chance, however slight, that Gifts could just win next turn. Therefore, I will go for the Strip Mine play.

I Strip Mine the Underground Sea.

Gifts:

Draw Mystical Tutor for the turn.

Tap Volcanic Island for Ancestral Recall drawing:

Underground Sea
Force of Will
Force of Will

I think this demonstrates the fundamental weakness of Mana Drain decks against Ichorid. Most of your cards are irrelevant or become irrelevant as a natural result of the course of the Ichorid game plan.

Play Underground Sea and Brainstorm drawing:

Dark Ritual
Brainstorm
Polluted Delta

One thing is certain: I can set up an easy turn 4 kill with Mystical for Yawgmoth’s Will, Dark Ritual, Demonic Tutor for Black Lotus, then Yawgmoth’s Will to replay the Blotus, Ritual, and Mana Vault and then DT for Tendrils.

However, my hand is going to get completely stripped and I have no more mana this turn.

The Gifts player’s only chance is to stall with the two Force of Wills so that I can protect my combo. Thus, I put back Polluted Delta and Rebuild.

I now believe the Gifts player is going to win the game. Here’s why: Gifts can Force of Will the first two Therapies, and the third Therapy will be blind and won’t hit any of the key tutors that Gifts will use to combo out.

Gifts has to discard Brainstorm and pass.

Turn 4:

Upkeep, return two Nether Shadows to play and Ichorid removing Golgari Thug.

Activate Bazaar and dredge two Trolls revealing:

Shambling Shell
Petrified Field
Golgari Thug
Nether Shadow
Dragon Breath
Sutured Ghoul

Nether Shadow
Stinkweed Imp
Chalice of the Void
Ichorid
Cabal Therapy
Unmask

Discard two Golgari Grave-Trolls and a Cabal Therapy.

Draw Step:

Dredge a Troll revealing:

Serum Powder
Stinkweed Imp
Dragon Breath
Maze of Ith
Golgari Grave Troll
Petrified Field

Attack for five.

Gifts is at fourteen.

Note that we have not yet revealed the second Dread Return and that the first Return was removed via Unmask. This involves an additional complexity, but it is not too hard to navigate. It just means that your final dredges have to be precise. There are only eleven cards left in the deck, so you will want to use Shells and Thugs to finish dredging the library.

Flashback the first Cabal Therapy sacrificing a Nether Shadow.

Force of Will pitching Repeal.

Flasbhack the second Therapy sacrificing Ichorid.

Force of Will pitching Brainstorm.

Flashback third Therapy naming Yawgmoth’s Will. That is what I would name in circumstances like this.

Miss.

After seeing the Gifts player’s hand, it is clear that he is going to win.

Gifts:

Untap, upkeep Mystical Tutor for Yawgmoth’s Will.

Draw Will.

First main-phase. Play Dark Ritual and Demonic Tutor for Black Lotus.

Play Black Lotus. Play Yawgmoth’s Will with B floating.

Replay the Black Lotus, Dark Ritual, and Mana Vault.

Demonic Tutor for Tendrils of Agony and play it. That’s game.

Comments:

This game illustrates something important: I articulated an inchoate fear of giving Gifts extra turns, despite what I assumed would be a strong amount of pressure from three Therapies. Double Force of Will with tremendous card advantage and absolutely no disruption until turn 4 aside from Strip Mine gave Gifts enough time to shield its combo.

If Ichorid had played Bazaar instead of Strip Mine, Ichorid would have won.

I couldn’t decide which play was better, but in retrospect, I clearly should have gone for the former play and not the latter. Why? Because Gifts had obviously seen no acceleration up until that point (remember I Unmasked the Vault). It would have been hard for Gifts to combo out on turn 3, harder than it would have been for Gifts to set up an easy turn 4 kill. Think about it: Vampiric Tutor, Mystical Tutor, any number of those cards make Yawgmoth’s Will impervious to Cabal Therapy.

I made the incorrect play and paid the price.

I’m glad this game is recorded for you to read. The lesson is very important. This is something that will come up for you. You will face a decision where you will have the option of returning Bazaar or a Strip Mine. In many circumstances similar to this one, Strip Mine will be the correct play. The problem, and the reason why it was not, was because I had such a stunted early game. I needed to play turn 3 Therapies and was unable. If I had been dredging more aggressively on turn 2, then I would have been dug in deep enough to Therapy on turn 3 and then win on turn 4. Because of my weak early game, this was not possible.

The lesson is important: Interacting is not always the correct play. Sometimes, winning sooner and giving your opponent an early window – especially on turn 3, when Gifts appears to have no acceleration (remember that I Unmasked the Mana Vault) – is sometimes the correct play, because if they don’t win in that window, you win for sure.

Remember, if I had played Bazaar instead of Strip Mine and Gifts did not win on turn 3, I would have won for sure on turn 4. I would have been able to Therapy twice and Dread Return for the kill.

In retrospect, I think that taking Mana Vault was the correct play.

Here’s the key I’m observing: both decks are racing as quickly as possible to win. Taking acceleration dramatically slows Gifts ability to do that. Draw helps find more acceleration, but is not acceleration in and of itself. Thus, taking Mana Vault over Brainstorm was correct, I contend.

Game 6 – Gifts is on the play

Gifts hand:

Mox Jet
Tolarian Academy
Vampiric Tutor
Brainstorm
Force of Will
2 Gifts Ungiven

Keep.

Ichorid’s opening hand:

2 Golgari Grave Troll
2 Leyline of the Void
Cabal Therapy
Petrified Field
Strip Mine

Mulligan into:

Bazaar of Baghdad
Leyline of the Void
Chalice of the Void
Strip Mine
Stinkweed Imp
Shambling Shell

Keep.

Turn 0:

Put Leyline into play.

Turn 1:

Gifts:

Clearly, it seems to me, Gifts only game plan this game has to be to find and resolve Tinker as quickly as possible. The only question is whether Vampiric Tutor or Brainstorm is the correct opening play.

Brainstorm followed by Vampiric Tutor would see us more cards now. Therefore, that’s the play I make.

Mox Jet
Tolarian Academy
Tap Academy and Brainstorm into: Mana Crypt, Mox Pearl, Mana Drain. I put back Mana Drain and a Gifts Ungiven.
Play Mox Pearl
Play Mana Crypt

Pass the turn.

Ichorid:

Draw Nether Shadow for the turn.

Now the debate, again. This is the same debate that occurred last game: Bazaar or Strip Mine?

Unbeknownst to the Ichorid player, Strip Mine here will take Gifts out of the game. If Gifts had played Vampiric Tutor already, then it would be obvious that the card Gifts was tutoring up was Tinker. In that case, Strip Mine would seem like an obvious play.

As it stands, the Ichorid player has no knowledge of the Gifts player’s hand or potential plays. The question is: given the fact that Academy will tap for three in concern with the color mana from the Moxen and Mana Crypt, is it worthwhile to use Strip Mine to try to cut Gifts mana down from seven to presumably five next turn, especially when that will cut Gifts out of two Blue (assuming that Gifts has another land)?

I honestly don’t know.

However, there are two reasons that I’m going to play Bazaar here.

First, playing Strip Mine here would tell us nothing about the match, as Ichorid will clearly blow out Gifts.

Second, I would probably be inclined to play the Bazaar if this were a real match and I had no knowledge of the Gifts player’s hand. If Ichorid loses this game, then that will tell us to make the Strip Mine play in the future in situations resembling this.

Play Bazaar.

Activate it and draw Bazaar of Baghdad and Golgari Thug, discarding Nether Shadow, Stinkweed Imp, Golgari Thug.

Play Chalice for zero.

Pass.

On Ichorid’s end-step, Gifts plays Vampiric Tutor (eighteen life) for Tinker.

Turn 2:

Upkeep: Gifts loses the coin toss on Mana Crypt and goes to fifteen life.

Gifts draws Tinker, taps Academy for UUU and plays Tinker off Mana Crypt, sacrificing Mana Crypt. Darksteel Colossus hits the table.

Gifts taps the two Moxen and announces Gifts Ungiven for:

Merchant Scroll
Demonic Tutor
Brainstorm
Ancestral Recall

The goal here is to find a Merchant Scroll so Gifts can Mystical Tutor for Time Walk and try to win the game.

In light of this knowledge, Ichorid gives Gifts Brainstorm and Merchant Scroll.

Pass.

Ichorid:

On Ichorid’s upkeep, Dredge by activating Bazaar. Dredge Imp revealing:

Sutured Ghoul
Bazaar
Leyline
Petrified Field
Stinkweed Imp

Dredge the second Imp revealing:

Dread Return
Dragon Breath
Bazaar
Petrified Field
Serum Powder

Discard: Imp, Imp, Shell

Draw step: Dredge Imp, revealing:

Therapy
Thug
Therapy
Maze of Ith
Petrified Field

Main Phase:

Play Bazaar of Baghdad. Activate it dredging Imp, revealing:

Shell
Cabal Therapy
Unmask
Grave-Troll
Serum Powder

Dredge Troll, revealing:

Golgari Grave-Troll
Ichorid
Ichorid
Petrified Field
Stinkweed Imp
Shambling Shell

Discard Imp, Imp, Troll.

There are 25 cards left in Ichorid’s library.

At this point, it becomes clear that Ichorid loses.

Why? Ichorid got unlucky. It has seen 35 cards, but only three of its eight reanimating creatures.

Pass.

Turn 3:

Gifts draws Polluted Delta.

Gifts attacks with Darksteel Colossus. Ichorid goes to nine life.

Gifts plays Brainstorm and draws:

Dark Ritual
Lotus Petal
Merchant Scroll

Since Chalice is on the table, we’ll put back Petal and Scroll.

Play Delta and break it for Underground Sea.

Fourteen life.

Scroll for Brainstorm seeing:

Mox Ruby
Merchant Scroll
Mana Drain

The other option was to Scroll for Mystical Tutor and then Mystical with only Jet and Sea untapped. At least one more Blue mana was needed to play the find the Time Walk so we could play it. In retrospect, Tinkering away the Mana Crypt was probably a mistake, but one that I don’t think changed any of my basic options here.

Ichorid:

Untaps, returns one Nether Shadows and two Ichorids into play.

Ichorid dredges the vast remainder of its library, flashes back Dread Return in an attempt to make a 34-power Sutured Ghoul, but Force of Will is waiting.

Ichorid would have easily won this game if it had 4 creatures to reanimate in its top 35 cards, as it generally should and because it had double Bazaar.

The real dilemma this game was whether to Bazaar or Strip on turn 1. In retrospect, I think that Strip Mine becomes the clear play. Both Leyline and Chalice can make Yawgmoth’s Will negligible this game, even with Chalice on the draw. Strip Mining the Tolarian means that no matter what, Tinker can’t come down until turn 3 at the earliest (unless the Gifts player already has Tinker), a turn after I’ve already begun to dredge. Thus, in this situation, you Time Walk against the only threat to your deck.

Put another way: given the game state, the only real threat to Ichorid’s dominance is Tinker → Colossus. The only way that this is a threat is if it online the turn after Bazaar hits the table. If I Strip Mine the Academy, we can be sure that Tinker won’t be played until at least the turn after Bazaar hits the table. In other words, Strip Mine here is a truly tempo-neutral play because of Leyline and Chalice. In many other situations, it would be a tempo loss play unless I have Bazaar on the table. Because of that, it is clear that there was no reason not to play the Strip Mine because there was an off chance that I’d just cut him out of the insane gobs of mana he would need to win the game.

Game 7 – Ichorid On the Play

Ichorid’s hand:

Bazaar of Baghdad
Leyline of the Void
Chalice of the Void
Nether Shadow
Nether Shadow
Sutured Ghoul
Golgari Thug

Gifts Hand:

Mox Ruby
Brainstorm
Underground Sea
Underground Sea
Yawgmoth’s Will
Underground Sea
Volcanic Island

Under normal circumstances I would keep this hand, but being on the draw, there is no guarantee that I’ll even get to do anything this game.

Mulligan into:

Force of Will
Gifts Ungiven
Black Lotus
Force of Will
Polluted Delta
Underground Sea

This hand is about the same quality as the last hand: trash, against Ichorid.

Nonetheless, I’ll keep it.

Turn 0:

Leyline of the Void

Turn 1:

Ichorid plays Bazaar and activates it, drawing Bazaar and Ichorid. Discard: Ichorid, Thug, Shadow.

Chalice for zero.

Force of Will pitching Force of Will.

Gifts draws Brainstorm and plays it off U. Sea drawing Mox Jet, Darksteel Colossus, and Dark Ritual, putting back Colossus and Polluted Delta.

I could Gifts here with two mana floating. Is it worth it? I can’t think of anything worth getting since Leyline is in play.

I pass.

Turn 2:

Ichorid dredges on upkeep, revealing:

Bazaar, Unmask, Unmask, Unmask

Drawing: Golgari Grave-Troll

Discarding: Thug, Troll, Nether Shadow

Returning Ichorid into play, removing a Thug.

Draw step: Dredge Troll, revealing:

Golgari Troll
Unmask
Petrified Field
Stinkweed Imp
Goglari Thug
Golgari Grave-Troll

Attack with Ichorid. Gifts is at sixteen.

Play second Bazaar. Activate it, dredging Troll, revealing:

Maze of Ith
Cabal Therapy
Bazaar
Ichorid
Troll
Stinkweed Imp

Dredge another Troll, revealing:

Thug
Petrified Field
Petrified Field
Dread Return
Serum Powder
Cabal Therapy

Discard: Troll, Troll, Ghoul

Second main phase: flashback Cabal Therapy naming Merchant Scroll, miss.

Gifts:

Untaps and realizes its all over.

Even if Gifts could somehow Tinker and Time Walk this turn, that still wouldn’t be enough to win the game. Ichorid will easily win next turn, with a Cabal Therapy to clear the way. The Leyline takes out some tactical maneuvers that might have enabled Gifts to stay afloat by playing a weak Yawgmoth’s Will, or by trying to use Time Walk in a Gifts pile. It’s all moot, however.

Game 8 – Gifts on the Play

Gifts opening hand:

Island
Mox Pearl
Mana Vault
Tolarian Academy
Darksteel Colossus
Tinker
Repeal

How frustrating to have access to Turn 1 Tinker only to have it denied because the Colossus is in hand.

I am not sure whether to keep this hand or not, but since Gifts is on the play, I’m thinking it probably should not. It will only see two more cards before Tinker is too late.

Mulligan into:

Mox Jet
Mana Vault
Dark Ritual
Time Walk
Mystical Tutor
Yawgmoth’s Will

Mulligan into:

Black Lotus
Polluted Delta
Force of Will
Merchant Scroll
Mana Drain

Keep.

Ichorid:

Bazaar of Baghdad
Leyline of the Void
Petrified Field
Shambling Shell
Shambling Shell
Sutured Ghoul
Golgari Thug

Turn Zero:

Leyline of the Void

Turn 1:

Gifts:

Black Lotus
Scroll for Ancestral
Ancestral into: Mana Vault, Tendrils of Agony, and Misdirection.
Play Delta → Sea, Mana Vault

Ichorid draws Serum Powder.

Ichorid plays Bazaar and activates it, drawing Maze of Ith and Leyline of the Void. Discarding: Golgari Thug, Shell, Shell.

Pass.

Turn 2:

Gifts draws a Gifts. Remember that Leyline is on the board…

I consider several Gifts piles… like these:

Mox Jet
Mox Sapphire
Brainstorm
Vampiric Tutor

Or:

Mox Sapphire
Mana Crypt
Mystical Tutor
Vampiric Tutor

All of these piles are, once again, too slow.

Turn 3 Tinker is not going to cut it, as the Ichorid player will win by turn 4 at the latest.

Add to this fact the knowledge that the Ichorid player has of Maze of Ith and this game is long over.

Scoop.

Game 9 – Ichorid on the Play

Ichorid’s opening hand:

Serum Powder
Cabal Therapy
Ichorid
Chalice of the Void
Golgari Grave-Troll
Leyline of the Void
Sutured Ghoul

Use Serum Powder to see:

Serum Powder
Cabal Therapy
Shambling Shell
Cabal Therapy
Serum Powder
Unmask
Leyline of the Void

Use Serum Powder to see:

Bazaar
Bazaar
Leyline of the Void
Petrified Field
Nether Shadow
Nether Shadow
Golgari Thug

Gifts hand:

Island
Volcanic Island
Black Lotus
Brainstorm
Merchant Scroll
Force of Will
Mana Drain

This is an amazing hand against any other deck in the format. Nonetheless, it still too good to throw back.

Turn 0:

Leyline into play

Turn 1:

Ichorid:

Bazaar into Unmask and Dragon Breath

Discard Shadow, Thug, and Dragon Breath.

Play Unmask, pitching Shadow.

Force of Will pitching Mana Drain.

Gifts is protecting the Black Lotus here.

Gifts: draws Recoup on the turn.

Plays Black Lotus, Merchant Scroll for Ancestral, and Ancestral into: Force of Will, Gifts Ungiven, Volcanic Island.

Play Volcanic Island and Brainstorm into: Tinker, Fact or Fiction, Repeal.

Put back Recoup and Tinker.

Turn 2:

Ichorid upkeep dredges Thug revealing:

Bazaar
Ichorid
Sutured Ghoul
Ichorid

Draw Golgari Grave-Troll discarding Troll, Thug, and Field.

Draw step: dredge the Troll revealing:

Dread Return
Stinkweed Imp
Nether Shadow
Leyline of the Void
Maze of Ith
Stinkweed Imp

Play Bazaar and pass.

Gifts:

Draws Tinker. Plays Island and passes. It can’t play any spells.

End of turn, Ichorid uses Bazaar to dredge up:

Field
Troll
Troll
Chalice
Thug

Shell
Unmask
Field
Bazaar
Powder
Imp

Turn 3:

Ichorid untaps, returns four men into play and attacks with a lethal Sutured Ghoul, shortly after clearing the way with Cabal Therapy.

Game 10 – Gifts on the Play

Gifts hand:

Yawgmoth’s Will
Underground Sea
Gifts Ungiven
Polluted Delta
Mana Vault
Mana Drain
Merchant Scroll

Another solid Gifts hand… against any other deck. This hand is slow, and probably too slow. At this point, mulliganing will probably put us back where we were last game. But we’ll keep it just to see what happens.

Ichorid’s hand:

Bazaar
Chalice of the Void
Unmask
Ichorid
Golgari Grave Troll
Stinkweed Imp
Dragon Breath

You don’t throw hands like that back.

Keep.

Gifts:

Sea, Vault, pass

Ichorid:

Draw Troll for the turn.

Play Bazaar and draw Cabal Therapy and Shell, discarding Troll, Troll, Ichorid.

Play Unmask pitching Stinkweed Imp, taking Gifts Ungiven.

Play Chalice of the Void for 0.

Pass.

Turn 2:

Gifts draw Lotus Petal.

Gifts plays Delta and has two options:

Do nothing and Drain the first Cabal Therapy
Waste Mana Vault to Scroll for Ancestral and Ancestral now.

I decide to make play 1.

Ichorid’s upkeep, dredge:

Bazaar
Shell
Troll
Thug
Thug
Dread Return

Ghoul
Shadow
Serum Powder
Chalice
Shell
Ghoul

Return Ichorid to play, removing a Thug.

Discard Troll number two and Therapy.

Draw step:

Dredge Troll revealing:

Powder
Field
Imp
Chalice
Shell
Bazaar

Attack with Ichorid.

Play Cabal Therapy. Mana Drain!

Turn 3:

Gifts:

Gifts draws Rebuild for the turn!

Gifts can make the following plays:

Tap Vault and Land to play Rebuild
Replay Vault with one of two colorless floating
Play Lotus Petal
Use Land and other colorless to play Merchant Scoll for Gifts Ungiven
Use Mana Vault and last source of Blue to play Gifts Ungiven

You can Gifts for cards like: Black Lotus, Mana Crypt, Dark Ritual, and Mox Jet, but so long as they give you Dark Ritual and Mana Crypt, you can’t play the Yawgmoth’s Will that they know that you have.

Gifts loses.

Ichorid strips out the Yawgmoth’s Will and then wins on turn 4.

Analysis

Before giving this matchup (game 1) a close analysis, let’s provide a basic chart breakdown of what happened:

Game #	Played First	Leyline?	Chalice?	Unmask?	T2 Therapy?	Tinker?	Winner
Game 1	Ichorid	No	Yes	No	Yes	No	Ichorid: T3
Game 2	Gifts	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Ichorid: T4
Game 3	Ichorid	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Ichorid: T4
Game 4	Gifts	No	Yes	No	Yes	T2	Ichorid: T3
Game 5	Ichorid	No	No	Yes	No	No	Gifts: T5 with Tendrils
Game 6	Gifts	Yes	Yes	No	No	T2	Gifts: T4
Game 7	Ichorid	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	No	Ichorid: T3
Game 8	Gifts	Yes	No	No	No	No	Ichorid: T4
Game 9	Ichorid	Yes	No	Yes	No	No	Ichorid: T3
Game 10	Gifts	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Ichorid: T4

Ten games all represented above.

These games run the gamut.

What can we conclude?

Objective Analysis

• Ichorid won half of the games it won on turn 3 and the other on turn 3 for an average of turn 3.5.
• There is no clear relationship between going first and winning.
• Gifts lost half the games in which it had turn 2 Tinker and was on the play! Note that Ichorid would have won game 6 if there were four reanimating creatures in the top 35 cards of the Ichorid player’s library. It was simply bad luck that Ichorid didn’t beat turn 2 Tinker in game 6. Thus, we can almost say that turn 2 Tinker is too slow. Only Turn 1 Tinker is fast enough to beat Ichorid. This begs the question of whether Maze belongs in the deck.
• Gifts won, in the games it won, through a combination of Leyline, Chalice, and Unmask. Thus, it was not that Gifts won because of no disruption.
• The item that most clearly correlates to wins that is revealed by this chart is this: Turn 2 Cabal Therapy. Both games that Ichorid lost it did not have turn 2 Cabal Therapy.

Now, for the subjective analysis:

• The matchup, game one, is heavily in favor of Ichorid. I would say that the matchup is about 85% in favor of Ichorid game one. The games I just played support the view that Ichorid will win at least 80% of the game 1s. The matchup might even be as high as 90% in favor of Ichorid, with 5-10% of games in which Gifts just goes nuts that are unwinnable for Ichorid. The clutch games are the games like games 5 and 6 above, where very close decisions have to be made and the incorrect decision will result in a Gifts victory. But the correct decision will guarantee Ichorids win.
• Only turn 1 Tinker and a really broken Gifts hand (like the one Gifts had in game 3) are fast enough to really challenge Ichorid in the match.
• The most powerful disruption card, in my view, is Unmask. Chalice of the Void is a close second, but it loses a lot of its power on the draw. Part of the reason that Unmask is so crucial is that it greatly aids your Therapies. Another is that it directly cuts into your opponent and takes there best card in the game.
• The most important decision that will decide close games, by far, is whether to Strip Mine or Bazaar. The two games that Ichorid lost were directly attributable to wrongly deciding this question. If Ichorid had used Bazaar in game 5 and Strip Mine in game 6 it would have won both of those games, making a clean sweep of the series.
• The second most important decision the Ichorid player must make is deciding what to Unmask. In various game states the correct card to take was either a mana accelerant (like Mana Vault) or other times a card like Brainstorm. It all depends on the situation.
• The most important reason that this deck is so much better than old Ichorids is the clock. This deck puts its opponent on a serious clock, and Gifts just isn’t fast enough to dig its way out. In a sense, this deck reminds me of the old MaskNaught decks that went turn 1 Dark Ritual, Illusionary Mask, Phyrexian Dreadnaught. This deck is highly disruptive and extremely fast.

This week and last week were the set up. Next week we will examine the Ichorid archetype from a wider perspective. We’ll take a look at the sideboard and think about Ichorid and its various matchups in the search to build the optimal Ichorid list.

Until then,

Stephen Menendian