Brainstorm

Instant

Draw three cards, then put two cards from your hand on top of your library in any order.

Discussion (47)

passimo on The Unbidden Invaders

5 days ago

Thanks!

Ah yes the eternal Brainstorm - Ponder - Preordain battle. I want to explain my reasons, but I'm not an english speaker so I hope I will be understandable xD

I didn't choose Brainstorm because it doesn't make you reject unuseful cards you might have on top of your library. I also think that it would be better used in order to find something to answer an opponent's move at instant speed, and not having a lot of instants it would probably be wasted.

On a same note, Ponder gives you intel that gets wasted if you don't like one of the cards you see (and you have to reshuffle all the deck).

Preordain on the other hand makes you individually choose which cards you like, not wasting the intel on your top deck. Ponder Gives 50% more info though, so it could be a good substitute. Now that you make me think about it, I'll probably settle for it, also because I probably have some spare ones laying around, and costs less money on mcm xD

Balaam__ on The Unbidden Invaders

5 days ago

Looks great. Thinking of building this myself; how do you feel about Brainstorm or Ponder over Preordain ?

multimedia on Infinite Kalamax

1 week ago

Hey, nice budget upgrades for the precon. Kalamax is sure fun when playing him with combos in mind.

You cut Twinning Staff from your upgrade? Staff is very good with Kalamax because Kalamax's copy ability triggers it. Staff is busted with Kalamax and a Fork such as Reverberate which is a great upgrade you've made. Kalamax + Reverberate puts infinite counters on Kalamax and if you copied an opponent's spell first such as Cultivate with Reverberate then you can resolve two copies of Cultivate. Adding Twinning Staff takes this interaction to whole other level because you can make as many copies of Cultivate as you want even infinite copies and resolve them.

Twinning Staff has interaction with Narset's Reversal which is another great upgrade you've made. With Staff each time Reversal is copied it makes two more copies and these copies can copy each other on the stack to put infinite counters on Kalamax. Just Reversal + Kalamax is very powerful, but this interaction can't put infinite counters on Kalamax only three counters. It's not infinite with Reversal unless you can make another copy of a copy of Reversal. Staff makes additional copies of Reversal.

Soul's Fire is a good budget win condition after getting infinite counters on Kalamax because it will infinite burn two opponents. With Twinning Staff copying Fire after Kalamax copies it you can infinite burn three different opponents.

Expansion / Explosion is another budget Fork. Consider cutting a few creatures and enchantments to add these three cards?

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Kalamax can take real advantage of instant Forks and also just as much with low CMC instants that draw.

• Brainstorm : draw four new cards for one mana.
• Impulse : look at the top eight cards of your library and put two them into your hand.
• Thrill of Possibility : draw four cards for two mana.
• Shadow Rift : make Kalamax unblockable and draw two cards for one mana.

These instants help to keep your hand full of instants to have more of them to cast on your opponent's turns. Consider cutting a few creatures and enchantments to add these draw spells?

Good luck with your deck.

skibulk on Multiplayer mill seems like a swell plan

1 week ago

Brainstorm combos better with Psychic Corrosion than Ponder does. You can't shuffle, but Hedron Crab , Narset, Parter of Veils , and your fetch lands can get around that.

DemMeowsephs on Double Trouble EDH ⫸PRIMER⫷

1 week ago

Hi_diddly_ho_neighbor,

Ok wow that's actually quite true with regard to the ramp spells- the medallion definitely needs to go that's for sure; I never really noticed that, and I think you're right lotus petal could probably be a better slot as a land, though I do actually like using bloom tender what with Pemmin's Aura and also the after Rafiq's out. But as for the other two that's actually quite true, and I think what I'll do is cut the medallion for a land, and see how Brainstorm works instead of Soothsaying , and then see if lotus petal should also be cut for a land. Then, if I find I need more card draw, I'll try and find a way to either add Ponder (I think that's an excellent idea thank you again) or Preordain ! Thank you very much for your suggestions, and additionally, I'll keep mirris guile in for the moment and maybe test how the other card draw spells work in its place. Thank you again!

multimedia on Cards That Do Nothing

3 weeks ago

Hey, have more confidence in your deck building because this is a good first budget version of Veyran. My advice for the next steps is to reduce the mana curve and add more copying instant or sorcery effects.

Krark, the Thumbless is amazing with Veyran because he's a permanent thus if you win a flip which copies the spell it triggers Veyran to make another copy. When you cast an instant or sorcery Krark triggers twice giving you two flips/chances to copy the instant or sorcery you cast. If you win a flip and copy the spell then you trigger Veyran to copy the spell again. If you win both flips you trigger Veyran two more times since you copy the spell two times. You still cast the instant or sorcery therefore you trigger magecraft even if you lose all flips.

• If you win both flips you make four copies of the spell + resolve the original spell.
• If you win the first flip and lose the second flip you make two copies of the spell and return the spell to your hand.
• If you lose the first flip and win the second flip you make two copies of the spell and return the spell to your hand.
• If you lose both flips then you don't copy the spell instead return the spell to your hand.

With Veyran want to win one flip and lose the other because then you get two copies of the spell as well as return the spell back to your hand to cast again even on the same turn. If you cast a one drop instant or sorcery just cast it again and repeat as long as you lose one flip.

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Budget Forks: Increasing Vengeance , Dual Strike , Teach by Example can copy your own instant or sorcery, more ways to trigger magecraft. Two Forks cast on the same turn can copy each other on the stack making infinite magecraft for Veyran to have infinite power for potential lethal Commander damage to an opponent or win the game with Ral. Can copy a Fork that's cast other ways such as Rootha, Mercurial Artist to make infinite magecraft.

How to get infinite magecraft with a Fork:

• Cast Brainstorm .
• Cast Increasing Vengeance copy Brainstorm.
• Activate Rootha, Mercurial Artist copy Vengeance.
• Copy of Vengeance copies original Vengeance that's still on the stack.
• Resolve Vengeance copy and copy original Vengeance again.
• Repeat to infinite copy original Vengeance with Vengeance copy.
• Break the loop of copying Vengeance by having copy of Vengeance copy Brainstorm.
• End the combo by resolving three Brainstorms (Vengeance copy, original Vengeance, original Brainstorm)

Twinning Staff is a permanent that copies a spell that's been copied which equals more magecraft triggers and it also has an activated ability which can copy an instant or sorcery you cast. Another way to copy a Fork to make infinite magecraft. Staff is really good with Krark, the Thumbless .

Solve the Equation is a budget tutor. Preordain and Opt are one drop draw spells.

Good luck with your deck.

multimedia on

3 weeks ago

Hey, you're right Staff does make a copy of the spell you copied with Reversal. You activate Staff to copy Reversal which makes two copies of Reversal and the two copies copy each other on the stack to make infinite copy combo. Activating Staff can be replaced by any other card that can copy Reversal, but that adds another card to the combo.

• Cast Brainstorm and hold priority.
• Cast Narset's Reversal target Brainstorm and hold priority.
• Activate Twinning Staff target Reversal on the stack, copying Reversal twice.
• Resolve one Reversal copy target the other Reversal copy on the stack, copying it twice, returning original Reversal to your hand.
• Repeat resolve Reversal copy target another Reversal copy on the stack for infinite copy.
• End the combo by having Reversal copy target original Brainstorm on the stack, making a copy of Brainstorm, returning original Brainstorm to your hand.
• Resolve copy of Brainstorm.

The way Narset's Reversal works is the spell that's returned to owner's hand leaves the stack and can't resolve, but any copy of the spell that was made before the spell was returned stays on the stack and can resolve. This lets you return Reversal back to your hand and still resolve/copy a copy of Reversal that's on the stack. The copies don't need the original spell on the stack to copy or resolve.

To make the infinite copy loop you're not copying original Reversal, it's gone from the stack, you're copying a copy of Reversal which is still on the stack. Brainstorm is needed to end the infinite copy loop since you no longer want to copy Reversal. You need another spell on the stack to copy which is Brainstorm.

multimedia on King Of The Storm

4 weeks ago

Hey, well done so far on a budget. What's Troll 2?

Are you upgrading the Kalamax Commander precon? Or are you building from singles? I ask because I can't tell and there's several good budget cards in the precon to consider adding.

• Arcane Signet
• Chaos Warp : instant remove any permanent.
• Kessig Wolf Run : repeatable source of trample for Kalamax that Crop Rotation can tutor for.
• Exotic Orchard
• Yavimaya Coast
• Shivan Reef
• Cinder Glade
• Izzet Boilerworks
• Simic Growth Chamber
• Gruul Turf

Even if you didn't get the precon all these cards would be upgrades especially the lands.

Some other budget cards to consider:

• Brainstorm
• Reiterate : Fork for Kalamax with buyback.
• Reclaim
• Commander's Insight
• Roiling Regrowth : like Harrow , but basic lands you get ETB tapped.

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A more expensive price card to consider is Narset's Reversal . It has great interaction with Kalamax because he makes it a repeatable effect to copy any instant or sorcery an opponent casts. The copy of Reversal that Kalamax makes targets the original Reversal which then sends the original Reversal back to your hand and you resolve a copy of opponent's spell.

Reversal is nice to keep triggering magecraft especially Storm-Kiln Artist since with Kalamax Artist creates two treasures just by casting Reversal and it's returned to your hand. Use those two treasures to then cast Reversal on the next player's turn and repeat each turn an opponent casts an instant or sorcery.

You can do other neat tricks with Narset's Reversal and Kalamax.

• Twinning Staff makes an infinite copy spell combo which equals infinite +1/+1 counters on Kalamax as well as infinite magecraft triggers.
• Can use Reversal on your own sorceries to return Reversal and the sorcery back to your hand to cast again and resolve a copy of the sorcery.

Good luck with your deck.