Tendrils of Agony, illustrated by Pete Venters.

The Perfect Storm (TPS)/Tendrils

Best of the combo decks? So good that makes Old Frame Vintage an unplayable format? TPS (short for The Perfect Storm) has been a nightmare for many players since the moment the Storm ability was introduced in Scourge, the last of the Old Frame sets.

David Kaplan’s winning deck at the XIII Online Old Frame League.

The Perfect Storm Decklist

ARTIFACTS

1 Black Lotus
1 Grim Monolith
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Memory Jar
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key

INSTANTS

1 Ancestral Recall
4 Brainstorm
1 Chain of Vapor
4 Dark Ritual
4 Force of Will
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor

SORCERIES

1 Demonic Tutor
4 Duress
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mind’s Desire
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Time Spiral
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
1 Tinker
1 Windfall
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Yawgmoth’s Will

ENCHANTMENTS

1 Necropotence
1 Yawgmoth’s Bargain

LANDS

1 Flooded Strand
1 Island
4 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island

SIDEBOARD

3 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Mind Twist
1 Mystic Remora
3 Phyrexian Negator
1 Pyroclasm
1 Rack and Ruin
3 Red Elemental Blast
1 Tormod’s Crypt
Black Lotus

Tendrils of Agony, the Card of the Deck

Tendrils of Agony, illustrated by Pete Venters.
Tendrils of Agony, illustrated by Pete Venters.

Card Name: Tendrils of Agony.

Mana Cost: 2BB.

Type: Sorcery.

Card Text: Target player loses 2 life and you gain 2 life.

Storm (When you cast this spell, copy it for each spell cast before it this turn. You may choose new targets for the copies.)

Expansion: Scourge.

Rarity: Uncommon.

Artist: Pete Venters.

TPS Deck Tech

The Perfect Storm is, without a doubt, one of the most played and the most successful deck in all the Magic the Gathering Old Frame Vintage format. For that reason, Felipe Guzmán, one of our favourite players and friend and collaborator of the site and project, wrote a wonderful introductory article for those who want to start playing and would like to try a competitive deck.

You can find the article here.

TPS in MTG Old Frame Tournaments

We mentioned earlier that TPS is the most successful deck in the MTG Old Frame Vintage format. Here are the results accounted for so far:

MTG Old Frame League (up to the XIII League)

  • 4 Tournament Wins (III, IV, VIII & XIII MTG Old Frame Leagues).
  • 2 Second Place finishes.
  • 9 Top 4 Finishes.
  • 12 Registered Players accounted for.

Live Tournaments

  • 2 Tournament Wins.
  • 1 Second Place finishes.
  • 7 Top 4 Finishes.
  • 9 Registered Players.

Frequently Asked Questions About TPS

Can you Stifle Storm?

Yes, you can Stifle Storm. Storm is a triggered ability, what makes it subject to be countered by Stifle, which counters an activated or triggered ability.

When you Stifle a card with the Storm ability, the spell on the card will still happen, it just won’t be copied for each spell cast before it this turn. A stifled Tendrils of Agony makes target player lose 2 life and you gain 2 life. That’s it.