Storms a Comin'

Combo decks in Modern often have the most diametric views for multiple reasons. Those who hate combo decks often complain that the decks are too linear and there is very little interaction. Also, if a player is able to assemble their combo, it often feels too overpowered to actually be legal. On the other hand, Combo players will argue that combo decks are inherently balanced because they are more fragile and there is no better feeling than destroying your opponent in one fell swoop. Recently a new combo deck, Twiddle Storm, has been making waves and might be the new pinnacle of the Storm archetype.

What is Storm? Storm is a mechanic that first appeared in Scourge and only every reprinted in Time Spiral. Storm replicates a spell for each other spell that was cast this turn. However, the mechanic was considered so broken and overpowered, that Mark Rosewater, who created the mechanic, said that it would never be reprinted as a core mechanic. He even named the scale for the likelihood to reprint mechanics "The Storm Scale," with Storm being a #10, meaning that it would never be reprinted. The most common Storm card, and the win condition for many storm decks, is Grapeshot; and yes, Grapeshot is legal in Modern. Grapeshot appears in a variety of tiered decks from the most common Storm deck, Gifts Storm, to more fringe and meme decks such as Cheerios (Puresteel Combo). However, a new, and possibly more powerful and consistent variant of Storm has emerged thanks to Core Set 2020...Twiddle Storm.

So what is Twiddle Storm? Like any Storm deck, it needs a lot of mana and card draw in order to continuously cast spells to charge up Grapeshot or Empty the Warrens, another popular Storm card that usually serves as an alternate win condition. However, instead of casting spells that generate mana such as Manamorphose, Desperate Ritual, or Pyretic Ritual, Twiddle Storm focuses on spells that allow you to untap a permanent...in this case, Lotus Field. Another major difference between the popular Gifts Storm is you are not reliant on spell cost reducing creatures like Baral, Chief of Compliance or Goblin Electromancer. So let's twiddle our thumbs as we dive deeper.

Even though the deck is named after Twiddle, the deck generally only plays 2. However, the deck is replete with spells and abilities that have the same untap effect. Essentially the deck is filled with draw and untap spells, allowing you to generate net positive or neutral mana off of each spell thanks to Lotus Field. Lotus Field allows you to tap for 3 mana of any 1 color, all for the low, low price of sacrificing 2 lands and waiting one turn since it comes into play tapped...or does it? You can combo off fairly consistently on turn 3 by floating 2 blue mana from your Islands, play Lotus Field, and then untap it by either casting Dream's Grip OR casting Reach Through Mists and splicing Psychic Puppetry.(Splicing allows you to add the effects of one spell to another by paying it's Splice Cost) From there, you can generate mana to find more card draw spells, many of which are Arcane spells which you can continue to splice Psychic Puppetry on, allowing you to draw more cards and generate either net neutral or positive mana. If you draw too many lands or run out of arcane spells, you can use the mana you generated to cast Past in Flames, allowing you to reuse all of the spells in your graveyard, including splicing Psychic Puppetry on all those arcane spells. You repeat this process as needed until you find Grapeshot and BAM!...Storm your opponent out of the game.

So what makes this deck better than the more common and popular Gifts Storm? It has a faster clock, which means that instead of needing more time to develop through cost reducers, which essentially forces you to take a turn off by casting them with little or no protection from creature removal, you can finish off your opponent before they can find answers to disrupt your combo. Additionally, the combo is much more resilient and consistent because the spells are much more draw focused, allowing you to consistently find more draw, twiddle effects, or Arcane spells. This ensures that you will almost always find Grapeshot and enough spells to get your Storm count high enough.

So what are your thoughts? Is Twiddle Storm the best Storm deck in Modern? What ways can Storm continue to evolve? Share your comments below!