{"ops":[{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"General Strategy"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"The plan is: stack as many \"deal exactly 1 damage per noncreature spell trigger\" sources as possible ("},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Guttersnipe"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" actually deals 2 by default, so Ghyrson doesn't touch it, but "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Electrostatic Field"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Thermo-Alchemist"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Kessig Flamebreather"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Firebrand Archer"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Coruscation Mage"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Firespitter Whelp"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Unruly Catapult"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Razorkin Needlehead"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":", and "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Vivi Ornitier"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" all deal exactly 1, and with Ghyrson on board that becomes 3 total damage per trigger, per pinger, per spell: the 1 from the pinger plus 2 more from Ghyrson), then hide behind a dense wall of cheap cantrips (Ponder, Preordain, Serum Visions, Consider, Gitaxian Probe) to maximize the number of noncreature spells I resolve each turn. Every 1-mana cantrip I play isn't just filtering: it's a trigger on every pinger on the table, and if I have two or three pingers assembled, that's already 6-9 damage of incidental value just from digging through my own deck."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"The central tension of the deck is: I want to play as many cheap spells as possible (which pushes the curve down and reduces my raw one-shot power), but I also want trigger-doubling pieces ("},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Veyran, Voice of Duality"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Ral, Storm Conduit"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":", "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Storm-Kiln Artist"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":") that reward having spells in hand to copy triggers off of, except those doubling pieces compete for slots with more pingers and more cantrips. Every card I add in one category is a card I don't get in the other, and the final list is my compromise between \"pinger density\" and \"spell density to pull triggers.\" Playing it feels like an incremental snowball: on turn 3 you're digging one mana at a time and barely anything seems to happen; by turn 6, with two pingers and a Veyran in play, resolving a single "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Expressive Iteration"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" is suddenly 4 free damage, and the opponent who was ignoring your 0/3s and 0/4s now has to respect them as real threats, because they are."},{"insert":"\n\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"You shouldn't play this deck if..."},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"You like decks with a single, decisive \"flip the switch\" plan: there's no clean infinite combo here, it's incidental damage stacking turn after turn."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"You get frustrated by hands that don't visibly do anything in the early turns: Electrostatic Field and Thermo-Alchemist sitting on the board look useless until you have enough spell volume to actually fire them."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"You prefer proactive decks that close games early. This is clearly a mid-to-late-game deck that needs time to assemble its engine."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"You don't like holding up Counterspell/Negate instead of developing: protecting the engine (Veyran, both Niv-Mizzets, Ghyrson himself) is part of the gameplan."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"You SHOULD play this deck if..."},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"You enjoy counting up incidental damage line by line and feeling the \"click\" when a pinger squad starts running."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"You like spellslinger decks where every 1-mana cantrip is a real sequencing decision (which pinger fires first, in what order I play my cantrips to maximize Veyran triggers)."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"You don't mind being a politically awkward but non-obvious target: nobody's afraid of a lone Thermo-Alchemist, but any experienced table should be afraid of three of them plus Ghyrson Starn on board."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"You like decks with plenty of cheap blue interaction (Counterspell, Negate, Narset's Reversal) to protect a long-game plan instead of leaning on big creature boards."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"MVP Cards"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Ghyrson Starn, Kelermorph"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": obvious, but the detail that actually makes him an MVP is the Ward {2}. At a 4-player table, nobody wants to spend an expensive removal spell just to pay the tax and still risk running into my counterspells (Counterspell/Negate in hand). He survives far longer than a 3/2 commander with no protection has any right to."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Thermo-Alchemist"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" and "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Electrostatic Field"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": both have Defender and \"whenever you cast an instant or sorcery spell, this creature deals 1 damage to each opponent\" (Thermo-Alchemist also untaps itself when you cast, so it fires again next turn for free). With Ghyrson on board, each one turns into 3 total damage per cheap blue/red spell I cast (1 from the creature, 2 more from Ghyrson), and since they're 0/X with Defender, they survive combat removal and small creature wipes, making them the most resilient core of the deck."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Storm-Kiln Artist"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": Magecraft generates a Treasure for every instant/sorcery cast or copied, meaning it pays for itself in mana while still swinging as a relevant body (it grows +1/+0 per artifact I control, including its own Treasures). It's the piece that turns \"I dumped my hand of cantrips\" into \"I have mana again to keep going.\""},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Veyran, Voice of Duality"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": literally doubles every pinger trigger on the board whenever I cast or copy an instant/sorcery. With two pingers running, a single "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Narset's Reversal"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" turns into four damage triggers instead of two (two from the original spell, two from the copy)."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Mystic Remora"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": at tables where nobody wants to pay the extra 4, it single-handedly nets me 3-4 free cards in the early turns, exactly the fuel this deck needs to reach critical mass of spells before I run out of gas."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Vivi Ornitier"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": {1}{U}{R}, Legendary Creature Wizard, 0/3. \"{0}: Add X mana in any combination of {U} and/or {R}, where X is Vivi Ornitier's power. Activate only during your turn and only once each turn. Whenever you cast a noncreature spell, put a +1/+1 counter on Vivi Ornitier and it deals 1 damage to each opponent.\" This is the only pinger in the deck that does two jobs at once. Its trigger is \"cast a noncreature spell,\" not just instant or sorcery, so it also fires off artifacts, enchantments, and planeswalkers I play, catching spells that Thermo-Alchemist and Electrostatic Field simply ignore. Every trigger also grows its own power with a +1/+1 counter, and since its mana ability scales with that same power, Vivi turns into an ever-growing mana rock while pinging for 3 total damage with Ghyrson on the stack. No other pinger in the list ramps me while dealing damage, which makes it the piece that keeps the whole plan from running out of gas in the mid-game."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"Win Conditions"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"I prefer closing games by focusing one opponent down with direct damage (Ghyrson Starn turning every 1-point ping into 3 total damage) rather than leaning on "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Grapeshot"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" or "},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Blazing Volley"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":" as plan A. Symmetric mass damage between opponents is great for \"bringing everyone low\" but rarely kills anyone outright at a 4-player table, and I have better directed-damage tools here:"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Niv-Mizzet, Parun"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": can't be countered, and \"whenever you draw a card, deal 1 damage to any target\" combined with \"whenever a player casts an instant or sorcery spell, you draw a card\" creates a directed damage loop: I choose the target on every draw, so I can burn down a specific opponent instead of spreading damage around."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": the cheaper version of the same text (\"whenever you draw a card, deal 1 damage to any target\"), except without the automatic draw trigger. I have to activate {T}: draw a card manually, but it's still directed damage that scales with any extra draw engine at the table."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Chandra's Incinerator"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": gets cheaper as noncombat damage dealt that turn goes up (and with two pingers each bumped to 3 total damage by Ghyrson, that climbs fast), comes down as a 6/6 trample, and redirects noncombat damage straight into an opponent's creatures/planeswalkers: it's a finisher and a blocker-removal tool at the same time."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Grapeshot"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": I keep it in the deck, but I treat it as a plan B/table-wide finisher rather than the main line. In games where I've stacked up a lot of cheap spells in one turn it closes things out, but it's not the backbone of the plan, because it's symmetric between opponents and I'd rather decide who dies first."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"Coolest Plays"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Frantic Search + Storm-Kiln Artist + Electrostatic Field"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": I cast Frantic Search (effectively free, since it untaps 3 lands), Storm-Kiln Artist nets me a Treasure, Electrostatic Field hits for 1 (or 3 total with Ghyrson: the original 1 plus 2 more from his trigger) on the opponent, and I still walk away with my mana intact to keep chaining spells the same turn."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Narset's Reversal in response to my own Preordain, with Veyran and two pingers on board"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": I copy the Preordain, return the original to hand. The copy triggers the pingers once each (doubled by Veyran into two triggers each), and I still get the Preordain back in hand to cast again later. A 1-mana cantrip just turned into 4 pinger triggers and I haven't even spent the card."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Windfall with Archmage Emeritus and Storm-Kiln Artist on board, resolving the discard/draw reset"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": Windfall makes everyone discard their hand and draw back up to the size of the largest discard at the table. The cards drawn don't trigger Magecraft (Magecraft is casting/copying a spell, not drawing), but refilling my hand with cheap instants/sorceries sets up the entire next turn's sequence at once, a \"reload\" that syncs perfectly with a table full of pingers already assembled."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Basilisk Collar on Ghyrson Starn"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": he becomes a 3/2 with deathtouch and lifelink. Any combat he wins (or even just blocking damage) is already relevant life gain, and his Ward {2} means he sticks around long enough for that to matter: he turns into a real combat threat on top of being the engine piece, not just a support body."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Vivi Ornitier plus Arcane Signet or Swiftfoot Boots"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": dropping a cheap artifact triggers Vivi even though it's neither an instant nor a sorcery, since her ability cares about any noncreature spell. That's 3 total damage with Ghyrson on board and a +1/+1 counter on Vivi from a card that Thermo-Alchemist and Electrostatic Field would completely ignore, and it means my ramp turns also double as damage turns."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":"Weak Points & What to Watch For"},{"attributes":{"header":2},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Small-creature board wipes"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": nearly all of my damage engine is 0/X, 1/X, or 2/2 creatures (Thermo-Alchemist, Electrostatic Field, Coruscation Mage, Firebrand Archer, Kessig Flamebreather). A generic wrath clears the whole engine at once and I'm left holding cantrips with nothing to fire them off of."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Losing Ghyrson Starn early"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": without him, my pingers go back to dealing just 1 damage each, still functional, but much slower. Ward {2} helps, but it doesn't stop targetless exile/bounce effects (Swords to Plowshares, Rapid Hybridization against me), so it's worth holding up Counterspell/Negate specifically for those situations."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"The \"nobody cares until they should really care\" political dynamic"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": the deck is deceptively unthreatening-looking (0/4 walls don't look like much), so I often fly under the radar on turns 3-5. The moment two pingers plus Ghyrson are assembled, though, I instantly become a priority target for removal and counterspells, because any experienced table recognizes the pattern fast."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Dependency on cheap spell volume"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": if I get stuck with a hand full of expensive cards (Niv-Mizzet, Parun costs {U}{U}{U}{R}{R}{R}) and no cantrips to pull triggers, the engine stalls. I need a steady flow of 1-2 mana instants/sorceries to function, not isolated bombs."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf","bold":true},"insert":"Lack of artifact/enchantment removal"},{"attributes":{"color":"#bbbebf"},"insert":": the list is weak against an opponent's Repercussion, Basilisk Collar, or anything that punishes my own damage triggers. I don't have a good answer beyond proactively holding Counterspell/Negate."},{"attributes":{"list":"bullet"},"insert":"\n"},{"insert":"\n"}]}