By Andrew Eaddy
I. Overview/Introduction Hello, my name is Andrew Eaddy and I play Ad Nauseam in Modern. Ad Nauseam is a combo deck in Modern, that wins by casting the cards Angel's Grace and Ad Nauseam in the same turn. Taking advantage of the way in which these cards interact, the pilot of the deck is able to put his/her whole deck into his/her hand. After “drawing” his/her deck, the pilot then removes three Simian Spirit Guides from the deck and casts the card Lightning Storm. With your deck now in your hand, you can discard enough lands to deal lethal damage to your opponent. There are a few advantages that Ad Nauseam has, that separate it from other combo decks in Modern. The primary strength of the deck, is that it can win at instant speed. This allows the pilot of the deck to “go off” on an opponents turn, when they have tapped out. Additionally this perk allows the pilot to win in response to triggers and other effects that would normally be detrimental. From its genesis in 2010 to current day, the deck has remained on the peripheries of Modern's metagame. However it has still put up some impressive results, including a 9th place finish at Pro Tour Valencia (Born of Gods). II. History Ad Nauseam first debuted on the “big stage” in 2010, piloted by Frank Karsten at Pro Tour Amsterdam (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3EOhF9NpaU). Karsten's version of Ad Nauseam took advantage of the current bannings at the time, and played Ponder and Preordain over the current dig spells Sleight of Hand and Serum Visions. In addition, Karsten played Coalition Relic instead of Pentad Prism, and Conflagrate as an alternative to Lightning Storm. Karsten's iteration of the deck is quite different from the list that is currently played, however his list achieved a respectable 47th place finish at the Pro Tour. The deck surfaced again in 2011, piloted by Ruben Snijdewind (another player from the Netherlands) at the World Championships (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSpTlyylP7A). Snijdewind's list differed from Karsten's list primarily because of the bannings that occurred during the interim year: Ponder and Preordain became Sleight of Hand and Serum Visions, Phyrexian Unlife was printed and subsequently added to the deck, and many other crucial cards were added to the deck i.e. Shocklands, Fetchlands, Pentad Prism etc. Snijdewind piloted his updated Ad Nauseam list to a 9th place finish at Worlds 2011, just shy of a Top 8 which could have made Ad Nauseam significantly more popular than it is right now. During the intervening years from 2011 to current day, Ad Nauseam saw very little competitive play. Very occasionally did the deck finish well on online daily MTGO events, and the majority of success that the deck had in paper magic was on the European tournament circuit overseas. Over time the deck evolved into a more similar list to what is commonly played today, making essential changes like Conflagrate to Lightining storm, and refining the mana base. These changes can be mostly be attributed to testing by numerous different players on MTGO. Despite the changes that were made to the deck however, it still saw no real success after that. It was not until Jared Boettcher piloted Ad Nauseam to a 9th place finish at Pro Tour Valencia, that the deck resurfaced yet again (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy8hDAwkL6o). Boettcher and another player named Brian Gotleib both piloted the same 75 at the Pro Tour, however Gotleib's limited results did not allow him to finish well in the event overall. Boettcher however, found great success at the tournament, making monumental changes to the deck that have greatly helped what the deck is today. Between Ad Nauseam player Michael Bonde (who had been piloting the deck for a year before the PT) and Boettcher, the two created a modified list that made use of the temples from Theros (Temple of Deceit and Temple of Enlightenment) as well as added some key misers including Gemstone Caverns and Conjourer's Bauble. This list, being the most recent, has become the most standard shell of Ad Nauseam in competitive play. This is not to say however, that changes are not still in order. Since the Pro Tour, Ad Nauseam has seen little success. The best finish the deck has seen since Boettcher's 9th place finish in Valencia, is Johnathan Benson's 28th place finish at Grand Prix Richmond back in March (http://www.twitch.tv/scglive/b/509548409 minute 5:45:00). While Benson had a very impressive 12-1 record in this feature match, unfortunately he was not able to finish out the day and ended up at 12-3. After the Grand Prix, Ad Nauseam's only real successes were in decent State Championship finishes, and occasional PTQ Top 8s. Despite the demonstrated power of the deck, it still seems to lie on the outskirts of Modern's metagame. Hopefully people will soon embrace the power and potential of this amazing deck. III. Decklists Jared Boettcher's 7-2-1 (9th Place) Pro Tour Valencia Main Deck:MAIN DECK 4 Simian Spirit Guide Creatures [4] 4 Ad Nauseam 4 Angel's Grace 1 Conjurer's Bauble 1 Lightning Storm 4 Lotus Bloom 1 Mystical Teachings 3 Pact of Negation 2 Peer Through Depths 4 Pentad Prism 3 Phyrexian Unlife 4 Serum Visions 1 Slaughter Pact 4 Sleight of Hand Spells [36] 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All 1 Gemstone Caverns 4 Gemstone Mine 1 Hallowed Fountain 1 Island (255) 2 Marsh Flats 1 Plains (250) 2 Scalding Tarn 1 Seachrome Coast 1 Swamp (260) 2 Temple of Deceit 2 Temple of Enlightenment 1 Watery Grave Lands [20] Sideboard: 1 Drown in Sorrow 1 Echoing Truth 3 Hurkyl's Recall 3 Leyline of Sanctity 1 Patrician's Scorn 1 Phyrexian Unlife 1 Silence 1 Slaughter Pact 1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir 1 Tolaria West 1 Tormod's Crypt Michael Ingram 4th Place 2014 Modern State Championships – Arkansas Main Deck: 4 Simian Spirit Guide Creatures [4] 4 Ad Nauseam 4 Angel's Grace 1 Lightning Storm 4 Lotus Bloom 2 Mystical Teachings 2 Pact of Negation 4 Peer Through Depths 4 Pentad Prism 2 Phyrexian Unlife 1 Serum Visions 4 Sleight of Hand Spells [32] 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All 1 City of Brass 1 Darkslick Shores 1 Forbidden Orchard 1 Glacial Fortress 2 Godless Shrine 3 Hallowed Fountain 3 Island 1 Plains 4 Temple of Deceit 2 Temple of Enlightenment 1 Temple of Silence 3 Watery Grave Sideboard: 1 Batterskull 2 Dispel 4 Duress 1 Elixir of Immortality 2 Hushwing Gryff 1 Nevermore 1 Rest in Peace 1 Terminus 2 Thoughtseize My Ad Nauseam List Main Deck: 4 Simian Spirit Guide Creatures [4] 4 Ad Nauseam 4 Angel's Grace 1 Conjurer's Bauble 1 Lightning Storm 4 Lotus Bloom 1 Mystical Teachings 3 Pact of Negation 2 Peer Through Depths 4 Pentad Prism 3 Phyrexian Unlife 4 Serum Visions 1 Slaughter Pact 4 Sleight of Hand Spells [36] 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All 1 Gemstone Caverns 3 Gemstone Mine 1 City of Brass 1 Hallowed Fountain 1 Island (255) 2 Marsh Flats 1 Plains (250) 1 Tolaria West 1 Halimar Depths 1 Seachrome Coast 1 Swamp (260) 2 Temple of Deceit 2 Temple of Enlightenment 1 Watery Grave Lands [20] Sideboard: 2 Silence 1 Echoing Truth 3 Hurkyl's Recall 4 Leyline of Sanctity 1 Gitaxian Probe 1 Laboratory Maniac 2 Thoughtseize 1 Swan Song IV. Card Choices a) Combo Pieces 4 Ad Nauseam - This card is absolutely integral in winning the game. Without this card, you cannot win. All lists will play four copies of this card, and it is highly recommended not to play any less than four. 4 Angel’s Grace - This card is the second, and preferred combo piece in the deck. Similar to Ad Nauseam, this card is always played in four copies, as you need it in order to win the game. In addition to allowing you to win the game, this card nullifies the win condition of many other combo decks in the format such as Scapeshift and Twin. Do not play less than four. 2-3 Phyrexian Unlife - This card can be played as an alternative to Angel’s Grace. Numbers for this card fluctuate between two and three copies. While myself and Boettcher play three copies, Ingram plays two. There is merit to both quantities, however this card is phenomenal against Pod decks as it allows you to win around cards like Eidolon of Rhetoric, or Ethersworn Canonist. Additionally it nearly always provides you with an extra turn to go off. b) Win Condition 4 Simian Spirit Guide - While early lists ran three copies of this card, alongside one copy of Desperate Ritual, having the guide is nearly always better. Both combinations of red mana producers only allow for one Simian Spirit Guide use per game. Additionally it is sometimes relevant to be able to play a body in a squeeze, which the guide provides and the ritual does not. Four copies is highly suggested. 1 Lightning Storm - This is your ultimate win condition. After you have “drawn” your whole deck, and you have exiled your Simian Spirit Guides for three red mana, you cast Lightning Storm. While older lists ran Conflagrate in place of Lightning Storm, Lightning Storm allows for you to combo off at instant speed, which can be extremely helpful and important in many situations. In addition to the fact that Lightning Storm is an instant, it also operates differently from Conflagrate, in that it cannot be completely neutered by spells like Trickbind, nor is its effect nullified by creatures like Spellskite. Because of its charge mechanics, and the way in which its triggers are applied Lightning Storm poses a rather resilient threat to your opponent. c) Fast Mana 4 Lotus Bloom - In regards to combo decks, Modern is known as a turn four format. Essentially, this suggests that the majority of combos that will be executed in Modern can accumulate the pieces and mana necessary to win by turn 4. In order to follow suit, Ad Nauseam plays Lotus Bloom. This card is always played in four copies, because if you hit your land drops, and play this card on turn one, you will have more than the necessary mana to win by turn four. Additionally Lotus Bloom aids in fixing your mana for a turn four win, which can be very helpful when playing this deck. 4 Pentad Prism - This is another card that helps you get to six mana by turn four. If you play this card on turn two, and hit all of your land drops you will have the mana to win on turn four. Additionally, Pentad Prism also helps to fix your mana if it is needed, as well as can have its counters removed at instant speed in order to hold up either Angel’s Grace or an actual win at all times. d) Dig Spells 4 Sleight of Hand - This card gives you the highest probability of casting Lotus Bloom on turn one. If you do not have Lotus Bloom in your hand on turn one, Sleight of Hand allows you to dig two cards deep into your deck and find it. Additionally this card is a very efficient dig spell, and one that all three of the above lists play four copies of. X Serum Visions - While Boettcher and myself play four copies of Serum Visions alongside the aforementioned four copies of Sleight of Hand, Ingram only plays one copy. While I understand his decision in playing more lands, and less Serum Visions in hopes of smoothing out the draws in the deck, Serum Visions is an extremely versatile card that I think is very important to the deck. I think that four copies of this card is vital in being able to find your combo pieces cheaply and quickly. 1-2 Mystical Teachings - This card is absolutely insane. The reason why it is played as such low numbers is because it is quite cost heavy, and requires a full turn of commitment to casting this spell. However, in many match ups this card can simply win the game. Because your deck is filled with answers to many difference questions that your opponent might ask, having a spell that can find a specific answer if priceless. Teachings can find a Pact of Negation if you need protection for going off next turn. It can find a Slaughter Pact to save you from death. It can sometimes just bait out a counter spell if you bluff well enough. The card has so many uses in the deck and it is a very efficient miser in the deck. 2-4 Peer Through Depths - This is another card that varies in quantity in the above lists. While Peer Through Depths is costlier than both Sleight of Hand and Serum Visions, it digs deeper into your deck than both aforementioned spells, and it is because of that, that it is so useful. Peer Through Depths is a great end of turn trick to find a bit more protection before you “go off.” Peer Through Depths also possesses a very high learning curve, as knowing when to cast it on your own turn to bluff/hide a spell, or when to cast it on your opponent’s turn is always very crucial. I think that two is the minimum quantity that this card should be played at, and that four copies is a bit too much. Somewhere in between two and three copies seems correct. e) Combo Protection 2-3 Pact of Negation - This card is actually Force of Will in this deck. It is a better Force of Will in this deck. Essentially you only cast this spell to protect your resolving Ad Nauseam, Lightning Storm, or often Lotus Bloom coming off of suspend. This card is perfect for all in strategies like Ad Nauseam because it counters a spell for zero mana, and allows the deck to operate freely without having to hold mana open to cast more spells. Whats more is that because the deck operates at instead speed, not only can you cast Angel’s Grace in response to the pact trigger to stay alive, but you can simply “combo off” in response to the trigger and win. This card must be played at two copies at least, but no more than three because it is a dead card if you are not going off, but it is essential for when you do. 1 Slaughter Pact - While Ingram runs zero copies of this card in his sixty, this card is very important for beating a plethora of match ups. Slaughter Pact is a main deck answer to deal with cards like Spellskite, Eidolon of Rhetoric, Ethersworn Canonist, Thalia, Guardian of Thraben, Gaddock Teeg and more. While the deck can win around these cards, the process becomes much more tricky and convoluted. If you can simply cast Peer Through Depths or Mystical Teachings and find a copy of this card, it makes your life a whole lot easier. Keep this card at one copy however, because in multiples it becomes worse. 1 Conjurer’s Bauble - Once again, this is a card that Ingram runs zero copies of, but Boettcher and myself run one copy of. This card is only in here for the unfortunate case that Lightning Storm gets discarded. Otherwise it is a can trip of sorts, but generally subpar. This card should stay at one because it is not good on its own, but it needs to be in the deck as an out to a discarded Lightning Storm. f) Lands The land base for Ad Nauseam is extremely complex and difficult to perfect. The deck requires access to three and sometimes four colors of mana. In addition it requires more ways to dig through your deck as well as ways to protect the combo. Because of this I will discuss my land base, and why I am came to the choices I did. 1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All - This card is what beats the control matchup. It allows you to play your combo with no concern of it being countered. A must have in the deck! 1 Gemstone Caverns - This card is very narrow, and often cut from lists, but it relevancy is apparent more often than one might think. I encourage the addition of this card as a miser. 3 Gemstone Mine - This card is vital in providing all the colors of mana needed in the deck. 1 City of Brass - I play one copy of this card because while it allows me a permanent source of all colors of mana, it does detract from my life total which in some match ups is not good. 1 Hallowed Fountain - This card provides fixing as well as much needed sources of blue and white in the early turns of the game. 1 Island (255) - To play around Blood Moon. 1 Polluted Delta - I only play two fetchlands, compared to Boettchers four because I like to keep as many lands in the deck as possible. If you need nine lands to kill I want twelve in case my opponent shoots Lightning Storm back at me. 1 Flooded Strand - Both this and Polluted Delta are changes that have come about post the release of Khans of Tarkir. 1 Plains (250) - To play around Blood Moon. 1 Tolaria West - This card can fetch lands that you need (Boseju) or even pacts such as Pact of Negation or Slaughter Pact. 1 Halimar Depths - This card is a land that has only grown on me since the first time I played it. It has fantastic synergy with scrylands and also with your can trips. It allows you to sculpt your draws in a very unique and efficient way. 1 Seachrome Coast - This card is a land that is a flex spot to be honest. Seachrome coast allows early white and blue mana without the fear of taking damage, however it is not great in the late game at all. 1 Swamp (260) - To play around Blood Moon. 2 Temple of Deceit / 2 Temple of Enlightenment - The temples not only help in fixing mana, but they are more ways to dig through my deck and find what I need. They have great synergy with some aforementioned can trips such as Serum Visions and Sleight of Hand. 1 Watery Grave - This card also provides much needed fixing, as well as not only blue mana for can trips but also black mana for casting Ad Nauseam when it is time. Interesting Lands Choices Forbidden Orchard - This land that Ingram plays has some merit to it. It produces all five colors of mana while giving your opponent a small creature every turn. When piloting Ad Nauseam, you do not really care about your opponent’s board unless it is presenting lethal damage, or an obstacle for your combo. Because of this the 1/1 spirit given to your opponent is almost negligible and therefore makes this choice viable in the deck. Sideboard: 2 Silence - To be brought in against control match ups, and match ups with counter spells. If you cast this, they either counter it or accept defeat. Amazing a a lock pin in the control match ups, and makes the matchup almost unlooseable. In addition, Silence fills a role that other counter magic cannot fill, which is that it deals with the card Counterflux. Because Counterflux cannot be countered, Silence is needed to resolve your combo around this devastating spell. 1 Echoing Truth - This card is very important in dealing with permanents like Blood Moon and also Iona in the gifts decks. You cast this end of your opponents turn, and then “go off” before they can recast their obstacle or threat. 3 Hurkyl's Recall - This is a must have against Affinity. It bounces their board, sometimes killing their Glimmervoid, and it time walks your opponent for a turn, which can often be the deciding factor between a win and a loss with Ad Nauseam. 4 Leyline of Sanctity - This card is very important in the Jund matchup, or any matchup where you are dealing with discard spells or burn. This card protects your hand from being hit with discard spells, and it protects you again a fast burn clock. Also must be played in fours, to increase your chance of drawing it on turn one. 1 Gitaxian Probe / 1 Laboratory Maniac - This is a spicy tech that I like to play in the sideboard. Against match ups like soul sisters, or games where a normal Lightning Storm win seems impossible, boarding in this win condition is great. You go off with Maniac on board, and proceed to cast Gitaxian Probe and win the game. 2 Thoughtseize - Discard is great in the sideboard against decks that have discard, or match ups like Twin or Pod, that need to be slowed down a bit. Some times taking a vital piece of one of those decks, can simply win the game for the Ad Nauseam player. It has many versatile uses. 1 Swan Song - This is simply more add to the counter spell numbers in the deck. If you feel that your Lightning Storm needs more protection after Ad Nauseam resolves, board this card in. 1 Phyrexian Unlife - This is a fourth copy of Unlife that is to be brought in against creature decks, to ensure an extra turn of life to win. Other Sideboard Options: Drown in Sorrow - This card is great against Pod, Affinity, and many of the other smaller decks in the format. Because the sideboard of Ad Nauseam is so meta-dependent, this option comes down to your local meta, or the expected metagame at a larger event. Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir - This card essentially fills the same role as silence, except that it is much clunkier. The only real merit for this card in the board, is simply as a body in the Ad Nauseam mirror, however the above discard spells do a fine job of suring up the matchup for the Ad Nauseam deck. Grave Titan - This card has seen a bit of play in the sideboard of some Ad Nauseam decks. Its purpose is to “next level” your opponent. While they board out their removal because of what they same game one, you board in big creatures to win the game quickly. Especially because you can cast it on turn four. However, this plan seems a bit narrow and I am not sure how effective it will actually be. Gigadrowse - This card acts as silence except that it works against creature decks as well. It can tap an opponents board of creatures, or a control player’s board of lands in order to either gain an extra turn to win, or to ensure a win for the next turn. I like this card a lot, and it can be added or subtracted from a sideboard depending on the metagame you are expecting. Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth - This card is sometimes played in either the sideboard or even occasionally the main board, in order to be able to cast your Ad Nauseam more easily. This can be helpful in match ups such as Blue Moon or Pod, where mana colors are a bottle neck, and you need certain colors to win. Favor of the Mighty - While extremely potent in locking down a Twin deck, there is no way to search for this card in your deck. As a one or two of it is not impactful enough to be played, and it will only be a detriment to your board. If you can find a way to play this card in the board however, by all means go for it! V. Matchups Favorable (Very little side boarding needed): Scapeshift - This deck can only “go off” once. Ad Nauseam can simply Angel’s Grace in response to Valakut triggers and we will eventually win the game. The matchup is very good for Ad Nauseam. UWR Control - Control does nothing for a first few turns of the game except burn our face. When it comes time to go off we have cards like Boseju to make our spells un-counterable, and from there we simply win the game. R/G Tron - This deck is powerful, but has very few way to interact with us. Wurmcoil Engine and Karn, while amazing against some decks are not great against us because we win the turn that they come into play. Burn - Phyrexian Unlife is huge in this matchup. Also, they have no interaction with our combo, so as long as we can survive long enough we will have no trouble winning. Zoo - Phyrexian Unlife, Drown in Sorrow from the board. This match up is easy and they have no interaction with us. Storm - Having access to Angel’s Grace when they try to go off is amazing. They can sit there casting a million spells, but as long as we have plains and Angel’s Grace we are fine. 50/50: Twin - Having Angel’s Grace and Phyrexian Unlife in this matchup is great. Both cards nullify their combo for a turn, and give us a window where they are tapped out to win the game. Board in Silence, because Counterflux out of their board makes the matchup a bit tricky, and makes playing around that counter spell especially important! Pod - Pod can cast things like Reclamation Sage, and mess with our mana, and if we do not have an efficient way of winning Pod can take over. Often times however we can out race a turn one Noble Hierarch, turn two Voice of Resurgence game and just win. Affinity - Against Affinity, Hurkyl’s Recalls are a must. The deck is a solid turn faster than us, so digging to that Recall is crucial. Also, Drown in Sorrow from the board to clear their field can be monumental. Unlife is ok, but their Inkmoth Nexuses can get around it. Jund - Without Leyline of Sanctity, this matchup can be very bad. I have had games where without the Leyline of Sanctity, I have been Thoughseized three times by turn two…back to back games. Ad Nauseam is very fragile to discard but with the right protection the matchup is fine. Unfavorable: Infect - Angel’s Grace is only mediocre, and Phyrexian Unlife does nothing against infect creatures. Additionally they are a turn faster than us. This is the one matchup that we have to concede to loosing to, unless we by some miracle get lucky and just win. Bogles - Another matchup that is very rough. Hexproof prevents Echoing Truth from being of any use, and they are also a very fast deck. It is a race that bogles typically wins, however the deck is not especially popular right now so this may not be a high concern. Additional Information: Interactions - http://www.mtgsalvation.com/forums/the-game/modern/established-modern/221735-ad-nauseam-combo Michael Bonde Article - http://blog.mtgmadness.com/index.php/ad-nauseam-in-modern/michael-bonde Reuben Bresler Deck Tech - http://www.gatheringmagic.com/richardcastle-video-03192014-inside-the-deck-111-modern-ad-nauseam-deck-tech/ Ari Lax playing with a slightly different version of the list - http://www.starcitygames.com/article/27985_Ad-Nauseam-In-Modern.html Boettcher Teaches Rueben Bresler the deck - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gO2NFZpmOVk LSV testing Ad Nauseam - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wuv1QxRzkA |