@thewhitedragon69 I'm pretty sure Narset does much more than Chains. She doesn't "only" impede drawing (which I contend is a bigger impediment than you're presuming,) but she also offers exceptional card selection, sometimes chaining into another Narset.

Narset allows you to see 8 cards into the deck (with two activations,) while at the same time inhibiting the opponent's draws.

I am currently testing this card on MTGO, and it's been fantastic so far! I'm not sure if I should call my deck Storm with Belcher, or Belcher with Storm, but it's both.

It's essentially a storm shell, with no Bargain, and 3-4 Bolas's Citadel. I'm currently using Land Grant, a singleton Bayou, and Tolarian Academy.

I can't post a list because it's been changing multiple times each day, but I will say that the deck (and Bolas's Citadel) have far exceeded my expectations, in every aspect.

@protoaddct No, I don't have a completely transformation sideboard. I bring in 4x Hollow One, 1-3 Mindbreak Trap, and leave in all the Creeping Chill. I usually board out a dredger or two, some number of Unmask (0, 1, or 2 depending,) and the dread return package.

Opponents usually over-board against dredge, so the combination of hollow one and creeping chill is pretty strong. If the opponent blinks early (cracks a tormod's crypt too soon, etc,) I'll dredge for value to get some Bloodghasts on the field (usually hasty due to Hollow swings + creeping chill damage.)

If the opponent is super aggressive with grave hate (crypt, cage in multiples, et. al.,) I don't really mind because I've boarded out the dread return package anyway and eventually I'll just hardcast some narcomoeba or thug, or whatever else.

Edit: Keep in mind that crypt will exile the creeping chill and prevent the trigger from resolving, which can be annoying.

I've been using 4x in my dredge deck. It's great! Yes, a bit disappointing to see in your opening hand, but that's part of the risk of running the card.

I run 4x Hollow One in the board. That in combination with Creeping Chill makes for a very strong post-board game.

My favorite Gifts pile is one I currently use in my Acadmey Rector deck. I run 2 Gifts maindeck. This pile requires omniscience in play:

Gifts, Emrakul, Demonic, X (usually a value card of some sort.)

Omniscience makes it all free. If they don’t give you Emrakul, you can just find it again because it will go to GY and be re-shuffled.

The loop can go forever because if they give you Gifts and X, the other Gifts (the one you just cast) is re-shuffled with Emrakul, and you can just repeat the same pile again.

@moorebrother1 I'll usually Hurkyl's on the opponent's end step, unless of course they're swinging for lethal. I very much dislike casting Hurkyl pre-end step because they usually just re-deploy everything.

If I'm playing a deck with a white splash (or heavy white,) I'll sideboard out all of my missteps and flusters. I'll side in Swords to Plowshares and Disenchants, and I'll bring in any extra Hurkyl's. I also like Energy Flux, but it sometimes feels a bit slow and sometimes it misses the mark (they have enough mana to pay for creatures when presenting lethal, etc.)

@john-cox said in Damping Sphere:

I meant for the land tap mana cost; "Prior" would make more sense.
I could see confusion where the first point of mana would be the normal type and amount, then mana 2+ (other) is just (C).

If a land taps to produce 1+X amount of mana (of any color or colorless), it produces C instead.

If a land does A, instead it does B. The whole A clause is replaced, so “other” can’t apply to part of A (because A no longer exists, it has been replaced by B)

@13nova said in October 17, 2017 Banned & Restricted announcement:

Guys, the sky isn't falling. People were underprepared for Workshops. Yes, something probably needs to be restricted, but in the Article I'll be writing I will be writing a clear argument that it is NOT Mishra's Workshop.

Culprits: Phyrexian Revoker, Foundry Inspector, Walking Ballista, Arcbound Ravager.

Those will all be cards I talk about. Relax though, and have a good sideboard plan, and we'll get through the Shop Dominance.

I don't think anybody is panicking (e.g. "the sky isn't falling.") Shops variants have been a large portion of the meta for years now. Whether or not people are "prepared" to play against workshops is a tangential issue. The main concern, as you alluded to with your culprits, is that Shops decks are improving at a faster pace relative to other pillars of the format.

Cut a head off the hydra (restrict a card), and two more grow in it's place. Newer, better, more aggressive cards continue to be printed. The acceleration of shops is outpacing the restrictions.

I've occasionally played RG Belcher in vintage. It's fun, fast, and fragile.The majority of my wins are from Empty the Warrens. The fun part of playing a belcher deck is that you have to carefully sequence your spells so that you end up with just enough mana for your end goal (either belcher or Emtpy,) while dodging/baiting countermagic.