Have Cards in Hand? I have just the Therapy for that!

Hello Everyone!

I was planning on playing ANT for Legacy this past weekend, but ADB asked to borrow it, so I played Dredge. I can't remember if I went 1-2 or 2-1, but I am certain I lost to Tormod's Crypt + Academy Ruins. Hard. You see, He played the crypt, and played around it as well I could. And when he finally popped it I dropped a dredger, cast Careful Study, whiffed, and then he played Ruins...

Regardless, there was one moment that happened that made me realize that there is a greater barrier of entry to legacy than just $$$. I was against aggro bant game 2 or 3, and I played a Cabal Therapy turn 1. Here, my opponent misplayed really hard without even knowing it, despite putting all his effort into not misplaying - he stopped and thought about it for a moment.

I probably was planning on naming Knight of the Reliquary so I don't get hit by a Bojuka Bog. However, because he took so long to answer I named Force of Will and allow myself to play out my other threats much faster. As it turned out his hand was 3x land, 2x Force of Will, Knight of the Reliquary, Noble Hierarch. I snagged his Forces, and then next turn I was able to get the Knight off flashback, and he couldn't come back.

I think one of the most fascinating thing about Legacy is simply how EVERYTHING matters. Everything down to the land you play on turn 1 has to have serious consideration regarding things like how well your hand can handle a Wasteland. Cards like Cabal Therapy add to the insanity of the format and the complexity of each game! In case you don't know, the way Cabal Therapy works you have to name what card you want to take upon the resolution of the spell before you look at their hand.

Seems like a simple card right? Well lets consider what kind of things can happen... First off, Cabal Therapy can be used in the same way that Thoughtseize can be used; forcing through your own plan, or disrupting your opponent's. Interestingly enough, as more and more magic sets are released and new utility cards are released like Qasali Pridemage, Knight of the Reliquary, and Snapcaster Mage, so taking those cards is like a 2-for-1.

So going back to the example above, my opponent gave me a pretty strong tell as to what he had in his hand. But why is it a tell to think after any spell gets cast? Over the course of the match and my personal experience playing against Brendan, I could tell he had something in his hand. When he doesn't have a counterspell, he tends to never look at his hand, focus on the card on the stack for a second, and then wave it on. Instead he did the opposite on every front, so I knew he had to have at least 1 Force of Will. The best way to counteract this kind of tell is to go through a practiced series of motions whenever any spell is cast in order to better conceal what's in your hand. This is still the case even after your opponent Thoughtseizes you and sees bricks, because they don't know you didn't topdeck it, it happens.

One round I was against TES, and I had one particularly interesting Therapy moment where I knew from a previous Therapy he had a Rite of Flame in hand. So when I cast another Therapy, he responded with a Brainstorm. I figured he had to have put the Rite of Flame on top of his deck, so I went ahead and named the next worst card for me: Infernal Tutor. As it turned out, he had just 2 Rite of Flame in hand and Infernal Tutor was the next card down, and after that was LED. So from his side of the table he was planning on losing the Rites and then winning via LED - Tutor -> Ad Nauseum. As it stood though, he next leveled me and won handily.

So those were 2 examples of interacting with Therapy - counterspells and Brainstorm. Now, let's mix up the pot a little and say you have 2 or 3 Therapies in the hand/yard and you can cast them all. Now how does this change things? Assuming you're against a blue deck, I would start by naming Brainstorm, and then tear apart their hand from there. If you instead take something like Force of Will, he can respond to the second with a Brainstorm and hide what he thinks you would take. However, what if you take Brainstorm, and he just forces the next Therapy you play (if you only have 2)?

Casting Therapy the turn before you combo off is obviously ideal for forcing through your own plan because you can just name Force of Will followed by any other counters he has and just ride it to victory from there. That's easy Therapying, so how do we go about slowing down our opponent? Well now we have opened a whole new can of worms! Honestly, the best thing to do before playing a Therapy deck at a tournament is simply learn about basically every deck you can possibly play against. Yeah, I know it sounds like a lot of work.... and it is. However, if you want to make your opponent discard 3 cards of your choice for your 1 mana, then you should put the time in. Even if you don't know every decklist, which is simply impossible, you need to learn interactions, and popular card combos and choices. For example, if your opponent casts a turn 2 Grim Monolith off of 2 islands, what would you name? I would go ahead and name Hive Mind, because the Monolith accelerates him up to 6 on turn 3, which is Hive Mind mana. But what if that same monolith is played off of an Ancient Tomb turn 1 with no follow-up plays? I would imagine they're playing a MUD deck, and some card choices could include Trinisphere, Chalice of the Void, and Lodestone Golem. I would probably name Lodestone Golem here, because he clearly doesn't have a Trinisphere or Chalice since he passed turn.

Cabal Therapy is a VERY challenging card both to play with and against. To win with/despite it, severe tight play is required. It's cards like this that make legacy awesome and help segregate the best players from the mediocre ones. I'm not calling myself the best player... I'm very far from it! But being able to master cards like this one will forever pay you dividends across all formats, as it makes your mind harder to read, and helps you focus on your opponent's cues more.

Oh hey, check that out! It's the foil set of Cabal Therapy I got 2 weeks ago! =D

Until next time, stay classy!

Ryan Lackie

@ThingsILack

Ryan.Lackie92@gmail.com