TrinketPainter Still Viable?

Xanthophobia · Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 32

In a Tier 1 environment of Zoo, Merfolk, and Ad Nauseum/Ichorid is a UBR(x?) painter deck viable or was it just a fad?

Heres the list:

4 Dark Confidant
4 Trinket Mage
4 Painter's Servant

4 Counterbalance
4 Sensei's Divining Top
2 Grindstone
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Relic of Progenitus

4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
3 Spell Snare
3 Pyroblast
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Meekstone

4 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Underground Sea
3 Volcanic Island
2 Island
1 Swamp
1 Mountain
1 Academy Ruins

SB
3 Hydroblast
2 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Pyroclasm
3 Duress
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Pithing Needle
1 Zuran Orb
2 Extirpate

So Ill leave most of the discussion open-ended and by no means is this the ideal build. A few points to consider:

How many blasts is correct?
Should we be running thoughtsieze in the main?
Is Llawan, Cephalid Empress too cute or is she powerful?
How can this deck be geared to be a meta deck?
Is a fourth color nessesary? If so white or green?

Spyx · Joined: 31 Oct 2004 Posts: 1009

It's okay in such a metagame I guess. Regular countertop gets eaten by merfolk but you have blasts which can help.
Counterbalance is ace against zoo and ANT as well but without ponder i'm not sure how consistently you will be able to find it. Without it combo will race you and zoo will just bolt your painter leaving you with dead blasts.

I'd play firespout over clasm side. It's gonna kill your dudes anyway so might as well have something that's good against both merfolk and zoo.

Xanthophobia · Joined: 30 Sep 2006 Posts: 32

Good points spyx,

Ponder was in the original list i pulled from a T8 as a 3 of, I dropped it.
-3 Ponder
+1 Counterbalance
+1 Sensei's Divining Top
+1 Relic of Progenitus

I didnt want to roll over game 1 to dredge and relic is good against the thresh "mirror" cuz i dont use the grave that much

As for CB and top im a strong believer in 4 each, you are VERY happy to pitch extra to force or just play another after they spend their 1 spell that can get rid of it on it (really they think they are such a champ when they get their druegar hedge-mage or vindicate to resolve lols) And as for top its like a ponder +1 in my book but maybe im wrong and shuffling away extras isnt hard.

Ok, ill conside that maybe top should be 3, but what else would you cut for ponder? 5 blasts is "agreed opon"... maybe a trinket mage? seems counterintuitive though.

Give me your thoughts on that plz