We said we want to goldfish as fast as possible, but it doesn't seem like we can cast the Ad Nauseam because the LEDs don't make mana to cast spells from our hand. The other cards available to you are Gitaxian Probe and Brainstorm. You have Ad Nauseam in hand, but you only have two Lion's Eye Diamonds and Underground Sea as your mana available. The less you have to think about the less draining the deck is, and the fewer amount of warnings you will get for slow play. This math might seem easy, but if you memorize it that is one less thing you will have to think about.
Just for reference, Dark Ritual is +2, Cabal Ritual is either +1 or the more used +3, Lion's Eye Diamond is also +3, but can't help you cast spells in your hand, and Lotus Petal is +1.
Learning how to do that fast is just one of the shortcuts that you will need to know in order to play the deck in a timely fashion. This will also get you used to the ritual math. All you are trying to accomplish is a feel for the deck.
Try and go off as early as possible, and if it doesn't work out, try and set things back to the beginning of your turn to see if there is something you could have done differently, or whether you would have had to wait a turn. This is my first word of advice for the deck- goldfish extensively. I believe you can learn a lot about Storm through repetitions. I know more than a few Storm players that might have trouble giving you correct change. If you can honestly say that you know how to stay focused and keep your play sharp throughout a whole tournament, then Storm is a deck that you can learn to pilot.Ī lot of people think that you need to be a math genius to play Storm, and while it does help it's not a hard prerequisite. This is something that might be hard for some players, as self evaluation is something that many struggle with. While games and rounds can be short, the math and sequences can be very taxing. If making a play based on percentages is something that is far outside of your comfort zone, then this deck just isn't for you.Īnother question you have to ask yourself is "How sharp can I stay during a tournament?" Are you a player that can play great all the way through a tournament? This might sound weird, because you want to stay sharp with every deck, right? The difference with storm is that it is very unforgiving if you mess up. Maybe you got to see their hand last turn and they drew a card or two, or you have to try and kill them using Ad Nauseam as the set up card, or you have to play a Past in Flames and use some of the draw spells to try and get a lethal Tendrils of Agony. There are going to be so many times where you don't really know if you have everything you need to kill your opponent. The first thing you have to ask yourself is whether you are a risk adverse person.