A guide to grindclock.
Standard forum
Posted on July 1, 2014, 10:41 a.m. by KingSorin
With Grindclock coming back so standard, i'm sure some people will want to try to build around it in limited or maybe even constructed, but one of the problems with this sort of card is that people can charge it to the incorrect number of counters for an inefficient kill. Well fear no more. I have made a table that tells the optimum time to start milling away with the clock, and when to keep charging. Note: This does not account for extra card-draw, graveyard re-cycling or multiple clocks in play, however for the basic situation of slamming down an uncharged clock this guide should be accurate. If someone could help to make alterations for the above situation it could be used to make the guide more complete, but this will give you an idea how potent the card can be if used efficiently. A couple of things to say first though: 1.) Do all of your charging at the start, then start grinding (you mill more cards this way). 2.) You are allowed to know how many cards are left in the opponents library, and this is very useful when using the clock properly, as a 40 card deck is going to need 1 less charge than a 41 card deck, for example. So, without further adieu, i present the Grindclock guide. This is accounting for their draws each turn. Hopefully it's accurate. If you have any problems, comment below. Not sure what forum to put this in. Maybe it should've gone in the articles, but since the card is back in standard i thought it was appropriate here. Enjoy :)
0 cards left in their library | 0 turns left for them to live | Doesn't matter how you charge the clock.
1-2 Cards left | They have 1 turn to live | Charge the clock once before milling.
3-4 left | 2 turns to live | Charge once.
5-7 | 3 | Twice
8-10 | 4 | Twice
11-14 | 5 | Thrice
15-18 | 6 | Thrice
19-23 | 7 | 4 times
24-28 | 8 | 4 times
29-34 | 9 | 5 times
35-40 | 10 | 5 times
41-47 | 11 | 6 times
48-54 | 12 | 6 times
GoldGhost012 says... #3
It's official: I love M15. Thanks for the guide KingSorin!
July 1, 2014 11:18 a.m.
Dalektable says... #4
I almost want to use this in my Esper Control build just for that super grind-y match up...lol
July 1, 2014 noon
No problem. Be careful about Banishing Light s and other shenanigans, but thankfully there's no extra mana investment after the initial 2, so it's easy to protect. This guide is not only supposed to be used for people who know they want to use the clock, but also for those who are asking "how good actually is this card?". Well, a turn 2 clock with no support will mean they have drawn 8 or 9 cards out of their deck, in the last category, so it's a 12 turn "clock" (see what i did there?). Some people may think well that's not worth it, and move on, but that's fine. At least they are judging the card when it's at full potential, rather than if they charged it to 8 counters, where it'd take i think a turn longer. I realise in retrospect that i forgot an EDH guide, but anyone insane enough to put this in EDH is probably gonna have it die to something in the format, so I don't think it's necessary.
Servo_Token says... #2
GoldGhost012
Welp, found our Codex Shredder replacement.
This guide is quite useful for those of us that have never used the clock before. Thanks!
July 1, 2014 11:04 a.m.