Grixis Twin

[Maqi]

After posting the results of our last tourney I got two independent requests for the Grixis Twin list that Seb played. So I thought why not just post his list here.

He told me he came up with the deck just on the morning when the tournament started. So the list is obviously not very refined and should be viewed as a starting point for further deckbuilding.

We even played against each other during the tournament. While playing I was always in fear. This combo can be quite explosive. Without further ado, here's the list:


Grixis Twin

Lim-Dûl's Vault
Fire/Ice
Izzet Signet
Talisman of Indulgence
Talisman of Dominance
Dimir Signet
Coalition Relic
Thopter Foundry
Shadowmage Infiltrator
Demonic Tutor
Damnation
Consuming Vapors
Go for the Throat
Doom Blade
Vampire Nighthawk
Shriekmaw
Tezzeret the Seeker
Jace Beleren
Jace the Mind Sculptor
Mana Leak
Misdirection
Spell Snare
Muddle the Mixture
Back to Basics
Deceiver Exarch
Pestermite
Vendilion Clique
Sea Gate Oracle
Consecrated Sphinx
Phyrexian Metamorph
Glen Elendra Archmage
Gifts Ungiven
Brainstorm
Ponder
Mystical Teachings
Ancestral Vision
Fact or Fiction
Preordain
Bribery
Treachery
Counterspell
Mana Drain
Force of Will
Daze
Arc Trail
Lightning Bolt
Forked Bolt
Slagstorm
Earthquake
Blood Moon
Magus of the Moon
Price of Progress
Grim Lavamancer
Splinter Twin
Flametongue Kavu
Arc Slogger
Sensei's Divining Top
Maze of Ith
Vedalken Shackles
Sword of the Meek
Spellskite
Wurmcoil Engine
Batterskull
Grave Titan
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas
Solemn Simulacrum
Phantasmal Image
Swamp (3x)
Mountain (4x)
Island (8x)
Academy Ruins
Mox Diamond
Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Volrath's Stronghold
Tectonic Edge
Badlands
Underground Sea
Volcanic Island
Wasteland
Reflecting Pool
Watery Grave
Blood Crypt
Steam Vents
Scalding Tarn
Arid Mesa
Polluted Delta
Flooded Strand
Bloodstained Mire
Verdant Catacombs
Wooded Foothills
Misty Rainforest
Marsh Flats
Sorrow's Path ( )

First thing to notice: Sorrow's Path is likely in due to a lost bet...

Second: No Kiki-Jiki. I can only guess here. He might find triple R to hard on the base.

Third: What I really like with this approach is the Moon/B2B/PoP package.

Seb also told me he wasn't sure if the deck wanted the Thopter/Sword combo or just more big men instead (Inferno Titan for example).

So here it is. I'm interested in your thoughts.

[Dreamer]

First thought: "Why the hell do people keep posting these?"
Unsorted decklists, that is. Especially with completely new concepts or just generally open archetypes, it adds a ton of completely unnecessary work to assessing a decklist: That of figuring out what the hell is even being played. Having to sort a list to make any sense out of it just kills a lot of interest, which is why I don't like it. Our community is small and quiet enough as it is, so stifling discussion just seems like a bad plan.

Went through the trouble and sorted it so others don't have to:


//Creatures:

Grim Lavamancer

Phantasmal Image
Spellskite

Shadowmage Infiltrator
Vampire Nighthawk
Deceiver Exarch
Pestermite
Vendilion Clique
Sea Gate Oracle
Magus of the Moon

Solemn Simulacrum
Phyrexian Metamorph
Glen Elendra Archmage
Flametongue Kavu

Arc Slogger
Shriekmaw

Consecrated Sphinx
Wurmcoil Engine
Grave Titan


//Other permaments:

Mox Diamond
Sensei's Divining Top

Talisman of Indulgence
Talisman of Dominance
Izzet Signet
Dimir Signet
Thopter Foundry
Sword of the Meek

Coalition Relic
Vedalken Shackles
Jace Beleren
Back to Basics
Blood Moon

Jace the Mind Sculptor
Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas

Tezzeret the Seeker
Batterskull


//Spells:

Spell Snare
Brainstorm
Ponder
Preordain
Ancestral Vision
Lightning Bolt
Forked Bolt

Lim-Dûl's Vault
Demonic Tutor
Mana Leak
Muddle the Mixture
Counterspell
Mana Drain
Daze
Fire/Ice
Go for the Throat
Doom Blade
Arc Trail
Price of Progress

Slagstorm

Splinter Twin
Gifts Ungiven
Mystical Teachings
Fact or Fiction
Damnation
Consuming Vapors

Bribery
Treachery
Force of Will
Misdirection

Earthquake


//Land:

Swamp (3x)
Mountain (4x)
Island (3x)

Reflecting Pool

Badlands
Underground Sea
Volcanic Island

Watery Grave
Blood Crypt
Steam Vents

Scalding Tarn
Arid Mesa
Polluted Delta
Flooded Strand
Bloodstained Mire
Verdant Catacombs
Wooded Foothills
Misty Rainforest
Marsh Flats

Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
Volrath's Stronghold
Sorrow's Path
Maze of Ith
Wasteland
Tectonic Edge
Academy Ruins


First impressions:
Seems like a rather ordinary control + combo finisher deck to me. The Splinter Twin is cute, but does the deck have enough stuff to really abuse it with? I see Pestermite, Deceiver Exarch, Grave Titan, and perhaps Shriekmaw/FTK. And Pestermite/Exarch aren't really good enough to play by themselves. Two iffy cards for an iffy combo, so I'd rather pass. The Twin might be playable, but I'd go further and put in annoying things like Inferno Titans and stuff, and incorporate Mimic Vat so you can actually count on that repeated tap-effect strat. That, or just go regular UBr control with a Thopter combo kill.

[tonytahiti]

thank you for poting the decklist.
this deck is viable. but this decklist needs some work.

1. kiki jiki - its your second splinter twin, and rather the first splinter twin, since you can tutor for it
2. goblin matron and goblin recruiter
3. drift of phantasms - gets pestermite, deceiver exarch and goblin matron, gets every combo piece
4. imperial recruiter - best card in the deck, gets almost every creature and both combo parts, kiki jiki immediately unlike drift of phantasms
5. faerie harbinger - gets pestermite! and archmage, clique and sower if you play it.
6. intuition - tutor for combo.

if done right, this deck is good. there is so many options for tutoring. this combo is NOT IFFY if done right.
if you go all in on the combo, i'd cut black. it doesnt add much except for demonic tutor and the triple red for kiki jiki is absolutely crucial.

[Tabris]

I´ll have also a deck which runs kiki-jiki-pestermite-splinter twin-deceiver exarch-goblin sharpshooter (he makes combo with splinter twin and a random 1/1 creature). As I realy like Counterburn as an archetype I was realy excited to see a viable kill option for this kind of deck in form of splinter twin etc. With mystical teachings, intuition, body double and noxious revial there is even a good recurring engine viable for blue red. I thin imperial recruiter is crucial for the deck...so thats the only problem for the real life version. I think its not necessary to add treasure mage and wurmcoil and maybe the deck could be build more comboish...but since I love also the simple control version of this, I ve added them.

Lands:

11 Island
7 Mountain
1 Volcanic Island
1 Steam Vents
1 Maze of Ith
1 Academy Ruins
1 Tolaria West
1 Tectonic Edge
1 Wasteland
1 Cascade Bluffs
1 Shivan Reef
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Polluted Delta
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Arid Mesa
1 Flooded Strand
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Bloodstained Mire

Spells:

1 Chrome Mox
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Starstorm
1 Meekstone
1 Ponder
1 Preordain
1 Noxious Revival
1 Stifle
1 Forked Bolt
1 Grim Lavamancer
1 Chain Lightning
1 Brainstorm
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Mental Misstep
1 Ancestral Vision
1 Spell Pierce
1 Spell Snare
1 Pithing Needle
1 Mana Drain
1 Impulse
1 Isochron Scepter
1 Fire // Ice
1 Arc Trail
1 Incinerate
1 Into the Roil
1 Repeal
1 Condescend
1 Logic Knot
1 Mana Leak
1 Counterspell
1 Remand
1 Vedalken Shackles
1 Back to Basics
1 Intuition
1 Misdirection
1 Bribery
1 Force of Will
1 Treachery
1 Pact of Negation
1 Dismiss
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Cryptic Command
1 Mystical Teachings
1 Splinter Twin
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Control Magic

Creatures:

1 Goblin Sharpshooter
1 Pestermite
1 Deceiver Exarch
1 Firespout
1 Blood Moon
1 Slagstorm
1 Treasure Mage
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Compulsive Research
1 Trinket Mage
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Flametongue Kavu
1 Glen Elendra Archmage
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Body Double
1 Consecrated Sphinx
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Imperial Recruiter
1 Spellskite

[tonytahiti]

the body double noxious revival idea is genius! how did you come up with that?

[Tabris]

are you mocking me ?


-.-"

[Tiggupiru]

For the Noxious Revival, he'd better be

Couple of cards I like in this deck:

Intruder Alarm - Just add Kiki/Twin.
Minamo, School at Water's Edge - You have Kiki and Pestermite in play. You attempt to go off, they respond with a removal, you respond with Minamo and combo them out. It might seem expensive and clunky, but I've been impressed by it. Damage is minimal anyway as it replaces an island.

I also play all of the Titans, Wurmcoil and creatures with good "enters the battlefield" -triggers, so that I can take advantage of Kiki when I don't have the time to wait the other piece of the puzzle.

[Tabris]

revival is a blue card for me. It comes hand in hand with gifts ungiven. I highly dislike card-disadvantage (suprise no one likes this) but for this one I make an exception.

Minamo sounds resonable BUT blood moon and back to basic should be reminded.

[Tiggupiru]

Well, a random back to Basics is not too bad as you have talismans and counters. We also play red so Blood Moon isn't even that good. Also talismans.

Price of Progress is kinda bad, but decks that play it, don't really have a way to tutor it (not too many ways anyway). So, if you lose to it, fine. Let's go to game two and the odds are you are not going to draw it for the rest of the match.

[Dreamer]

With all the Titans, Intruder Alarm, Kiki-Jiki, the Body Double/Noxious Revival Gifts-fix, and perhaps Mimic Vat (seriously, if this card ever belonged to a deck that isn't 60-card Elementals, this is it) the deck starts to feel like it's own entity, and a really interesting one at that.

[Tiggupiru]

Noxious Revival Gifts-fix

Sorry, I really need to question this. I do have to give the Revival the fact is good with Gifts Ungiven, but it's otherwise quite horrible. Additionally, couldn't you just get some great value with Gifts and not dilute your deck with subpar cards? GU still finds the combo without the Revival, despite it being slower.

[Dreamer]

How? Thopters, yes, you have the crucible-ruins-foundry-sword stack. But the Splinter Twin combo? Living Death-Kiki-Recurring Nightmare-Pestermite or something?

[Tiggupiru]

How? Thopters, yes, you have the crucible-ruins-foundry-sword stack. But the Splinter Twin combo? Living Death-Kiki-Recurring Nightmare-Pestermite or something?

Tutor, tutor, combo piece, combo piece.

[tonytahiti]

i've been playin this deck for awhile now and in my opinion intruder alarm doesnt cut it.
on the other hand, the body double/revival thing is crucial for the deck, it has been saving me many times.
you play gifts for kiki/revival/body double/exarch..and most likely get body double and kiki jiki. costs 9 mana to go off(without protection that is) next turn but in late game and maybe even more mana thats your win right there. if you play intuition its clunky to play it for exrach/pestermite/body double..most likely you wanna play it for /pestermite/exarch/revival to go off next turn. if you can to combo so it only can be stopped at instant speed, you should always go for that, you dont want your opponent to use his arc trail/skinrender/oblivion ring on your body double, with gifts you must but if you can prevent it you should.

AND: noxious revival is very versatile, i have been using it on opponents in top deck mode situations and put a fetch on their deck..thats a dead card most likely and gets rid of the card disadvantage. plus there is so many two for ones in the deck, to put a dismiss or a cryptic command or kavu end of turn on your library is absolutely fine.

[Tabris]

exactly