Some Magic decks build a battlefield over several turns. Frantic Storm spends those turns preparing for one very busy flurry of spellcasting.

This blue Premodern combo deck combines cost reduction, card draw, and effects that untap your lands. It rewards players who enjoy sequencing, keeping track of resources, and figuring out how far a hand can take them.

How Frantic Storm wins

[[Brain Freeze]] puts cards from a player’s library into their graveyard. Its storm ability copies it for each spell cast before it that turn. Build a large enough spell count and you can empty an opponent’s library in a single turn, usually setting up a win when they next try to draw from it.

The work happens before that finishing spell. [[Sapphire Medallion]] reduces the generic cost of your blue spells, while [[Helm of Awakening]] reduces the generic cost of all spells. Helm helps your opponent too, so consider what you are giving them.

With a mana reducer in play, spells that draw cards or untap lands become easier to chain together and get that storm count up.

The cards that keep you moving

[[Frantic Search]] draws two cards, makes you discard two, and untaps up to three lands. [[Cloud of Faeries]] untaps up to two lands when it enters. [[Snap]] returns a creature to its owner’s hand and untaps up to two lands.

Those untap effects let you use your lands again during the turn. [[Merchant Scroll]] can find a blue instant, while [[Accumulated Knowledge]] and [[Meditate]] help keep your hand supplied.

Meditate has an important drawback: you skip your next turn. Make sure the extra cards support a realistic plan before accepting that cost. Ideally, it's not a drawback at all since you don't plan on taking another turn anyway!

Your first game

Look for mana, a path to a cost reducer, and ways to find more cards. An opening hand full of finishers can be less useful than one that sets up your engine.

Before starting a big sequence, count your available mana and think about which lands your next spell can untap. Keep a clear record of the spells cast during the turn. Storm counts spells from both players, not just your own.

Remember that a cost reducer removes generic mana from a cost. It does not remove colored mana requirements, so your Islands still have important work to do.

Snap also needs a legal creature target. You cannot cast it just to untap lands when there is nothing to target, and losing its only target before it resolves can stop the untap effect too.

There will be hands that do not quite get there. Learning when to keep setting up is part of learning the deck. Give yourself time to practice its sequence before relying on speed.

Sideboard options

[[Annul]] can counter artifact and enchantment spells. [[Arcane Denial]] and [[Divert]] offer interaction, while [[Chain of Vapor]] and [[Hurkyl's Recall]] can help clear certain obstacles.

Every card you bring in takes a slot from the engine, so sideboard with a specific problem in mind.

Gamelandia’s Frantic Storm decklist

[deck title="Frantic Storm | Gamelandia Premodern Loaner"]

Main deck
4 Accumulated Knowledge
4 Brain Freeze
4 Cloud of Faeries
4 Frantic Search
4 Helm of Awakening
20 Island
2 Lotus Petal
4 Meditate
4 Merchant Scroll
1 Repulse
4 Sapphire Medallion
4 Snap
1 Words of Wisdom

Sideboard
2 Annul
3 Arcane Denial
1 Chain of Vapor
3 Deep Analysis
1 Divert
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Mana Short
1 Prohibit
1 Rushing River
1 Unsummon

[/deck]

Find your big turn

Try Frantic Storm at Gamelandia’s Wednesday Premodern events in Palo Alto. Ask about loaner availability before attending if you would like to explore this more involved combo deck.

See upcoming events and register.