One of the challenges with MTGO is implementing infinite loops. Much digital ink has been spilled on this topic already, so I won't elaborate any further, however the reality is decks that utilize such loops are underrepresented on MTGO.
With that being said, I think one area that the recent restrictions of Gush and Probe have not been explored is Bomberman. In the last couple years, Bomberman was always on the fringe but never made it to the forefront. Perhaps the Gush-Mentor decks were the cause, but I don't think there is any sense in postulating that here and now. What I want to talk about is the viability going forward, and what such decklists might look like.
It would appear to me that there are 3 approaches that we can take:
- UW Bomberman
- UWb Bomberman
- Salvagers Oath
The next 3 decklists are not meant to be tuned Bomberman lists. Rather they are representative of what these decks might look like today.
Here is what I think a UW Bomberman list might look like today:
Land
2 Cavern of Souls
4 Flooded Strand
3 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
2 Polluted Delta
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Tundra
Creatures
2 Auriok Salvagers
2 Snapcaster Mage
4 Trinket Mage
1 Walking Ballista
Planeswalkers
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Instants/Sorceries/Artifacts
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Black Lotus
1 Brainstorm
1 Dig Through Time
1 Engineered Explosives
4 Force of Will
1 Mana Crypt
4 Mana Drain
4 Mental Misstep
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
2 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
2 Swords to Plowshares
3 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Time Walk
sideboard
1 Plains
2 Monastery Mentor
2 Disenchant
2 Energy Flux
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Mindbreak Trap
1 Pithing Needle
2 Steel Sabotage
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Tormod's Crypt
Here is what I think a UWb Bomberman list might look like today:
Lands
1 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Plains
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
3 Cavern of Souls
3 Flooded Strand
Creatures
2 Auriok Salvagers
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
3 Trinket Mage
1 Walking Ballista
Instants/Sorceries/Artifacts
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Dig Through Time
1 Disenchant
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Flusterstorm
1 Mana Drain
1 Repeal
1 Vampiric Tutor
2 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Mental Misstep
4 Force of Will
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Time Walk
1 Black Lotus
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Sol Ring
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
2 Sensei's Divining Top
sideboard
1 Aegis of the Gods
2 Containment Priest
2 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Grand Abolisher
2 Disenchant
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Pithing Needle
1 Serenity
1 Supreme Verdict
2 Swords to Plowshares
Here is what I think an Salvagers Oath deck might look like today (hat tip to Brian Kelly's most recent list):
Lands
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Tropical Island
1 Tundra
1 Volcanic Island
1 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
3 Mana Confluence
4 Forbidden Orchard
2 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
Creature Package
1 Auriok Salvagers
1 Griselbrand
1 Dragonlord Dromoka
Business
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Black Lotus
1 Brainstorm
2 Dack Fayden
2 Dig Through Time
1 Engineered Explosives
2 Flusterstorm
3 Force of Will
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Mana Drain
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Mana Crypt
3 Mental Misstep
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
4 Oath of Druids
1 Ponder
2 Pyrite Spellbomb
1 Repeal
2 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Sylvan Library
1 Time Walk
Sideboard
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Magus of the Moat
1 Mental Misstep
2 Nature's Claim
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind
2 Steel Sabotage
2 Sudden Shock
3 Tormod's Crypt
Here are some of my thoughts. Cavern of Souls is one of the better reasons to play this deck right now. There are a ton of Fow, Drain, and other counterspells going around.
The UW Bomberman is a little more consistent with the mana, being that it is only 2 colors.
Adding black gives access to Tasigur and Demonic. I also think Yawg Will deserves some consideration, as you can also add things like Gifts.
Salvagers Oath has the flexibility of an Oath deck with the combo finish of bomberman. Unfortunately, Brian Kelly seemed to be the only person who had a ton of success with the deck.
Walking Ballista has really been the largest addition to the deck in the recent months. It basically makes Spellbombs obsolete. This is not the case for Salvagers Oath, since you can't risk Oathing it up.
Some other thoughts/questions for the TMD hive mind that I have on the decks:
Is Monastery Mentor maindeck worthy?
What other toolbox cards do we want in the 75 (Cage, Needle, EE, Tormod's, are the most obvious... anything missing?)?
Are there any other colors we might want to consider?
Why is Tinker not utilized in past Bomberman decks?
Other Humans we might want? Magus of the Future, Dark Confidant, others?