From the way you describe each of the various cards, many of them sound like items that should be in the sideboard, not mainboard.

How do you deal with Predator Ooze/High Priest of Penance?  Simple, Tragic Slip.  Mind you, it can  deal with Falkenrath Aristocrat too.

There's a definite trade-off between Magmaquake and Murder.  On the one hand, Magmaquake will let you damage your guys, wipe out plenty of creatures in one move and hit a bunch of triggers at once; but, on the other, it's a sorcery AND could end up hurting you by taking out your blockers (nevermind the weakness to flyers).  Murder, conversely, gives you instant speed removal for their Thundermaw Hellkite/Resto Angel/etc.  So what's the solution?  I say to run two of each - there's seldom a case when you're going to complain that you have too much removal.

Esper Tokens - if this is a problem at your LGS/local meta, they printed Illness in the Ranks in Gatecrash which single-handedly destroys all spirit tokens (at least until they play Intangible Virtue) and would similarly shut Sorin, Lord of Innistrad down completely.  Put 2-3 in your sideboard if it's a matchup you envision seeing frequently.  Similarly, if you prefer more of a spot solution, Electrickery overloaded will deal with all those tokens.

Ultimately you're going to be more familiar with your local meta than I could be and playtesting will provide the best answers to what is and is not working.  But again, most of the oddball pieces strike me as being things for the SB.

A few thoughts:

First, why not include some more board-based damage spells?  You have Blasphemous Act, but not much beyond that.  I can see where Rolling Temblor or Magmaquake could prove quite useful - as they both can deal with hexproof threats like Invisible Stalker and Geist of Saint Traft while hitting your Reckoners and Dolls AND triggering your Blood Artists.

Second, there are a few cards in here that don't really look like they belong.  For instance, Dark Impostor is in here to do what?   Why only one of Searing Spear and Murder?  Both spells are good, but only one of each?  You have Boros Charm in as a 2x, but what're you using it for?  You're not likely going to use the double-strike option, other burn spells like Searing Spear might do less damage, but are far more versatile (and easier to cast), and you really won't need to make anything indestructible (the doll already is and you want your stuff to die to trigger Blood Artist).  Entreat and Lingering Souls?  I get that tokens are there to help you trigger Blasphemous Act, but why not aim high for something like Assemble the Legion which would help you set off the act and then replace all those tokens the very next turn.  Why Lili?  I'm not seeing where she's really helping much.

Third, Inquisitor's Flail is hilarious with Reckoner/Doll type effects.

Lastly, why only one Stuffy Doll?  At that count you're unlikely to pull it.

Anyway I hope some of this helps.  Good luck.

Annnnd the Grumpy Cat impersonator has left the building.  Thanks for the interest guys!

On the Lightning Bolt front, thanks for the heads up.  I have a ton of them from my old Revised playing days and just assumed they stopped reprinting them long before the start of the blocks covered by modern.

I can see the definite appeal of Vines of Vastwood to provide cover from removal and potentially removal for the elves and myrs.  Groundswell also seems like a better Giant Growth essentially every time, so another good call.

I'm actually leaning toward either removing Wild Defiance outright or dropping it down to a 1x as I can see where it'd be useful in some circumstances, but there are two issues - 1) It would essentially be without any benefit on my T3 play, when, to be honest, I hope to be finishing them off; and 2) Bloodrush wouldn't trigger it, which definitely sucks.  Sure it protects against some burn, but I'm thinking that just some regular run of the mill Rancors might be more effective to provide the trample damage.

From what I observed during my fact-finding expedition this past FNM (it was modern), games were lasting quite a few turns despite people running fetches (I can only think of two decks I saw that weren't running them, one being a TRON build and the other being some sort of mono-white thing).  In either event, if I can pull T3 kills consistently, I would imagine I'll be in pretty good shape.

Thanks for the heads up.  It's a totally new format for me to even think about running into, but I'll dig into the decklists you just suggested and will see what I can figure out.

So after playing at the GTC pre-releases all weekend, it became frighteningly apparent to me that out of the new mechanics, bloodrush is the most useful (and has the most promise for constructed play).  I'm currently working on a build for standard, but given that my LGS has decided to hold at least one modern FNM per month (there went one of my standard outlets), I should give building a modern deck a go that would capitalize on bloodrush and, wouldn't ya know, infect is still a thing in modern - and it can be abused when paired with bloodrush, as bloodrush cannot be countered.

Thus, here's my first crack at this:  http://deckbox.org/sets/303121

What I'm looking for is someone who's familiar with modern who can tell me what I would realistically run into.  There were numerous mentions of people running "Death and Taxes" and a few other stereotypical builds but, as I took a 15 year sabbatical from the game from 1997-2012, I'm just not up to speed with the combos and threats that are available in modern.

With this build I see a LOT of easy, but devastating plays.

T1: Glistener Elf
T2: Madcap Skills/Giant Growth/Bloodrush either Slaughterhorn or Ghor-Clan Rampager/or, best case scenario, Giant Growth and Assault Strobe
(note that any of these plays will result in somewhere between 4 and 8 poison counters)
T3: Alpha Authority (when paired with Madcap, it's unblockable and hexproof)/Insert bloodrush or pump spell here - attack for the win.

Obviously that's the ideal play and I certainly can see where someone could end up burning or unsummoning the elf, but I'm not really sure how common those plays are in modern.  Note that for good or bad, it appears as though most of the players at my LGS go with the established builds rather than thinking up new ones on their own ( sad ), so with any luck that should help with the critiques.

Thoughts?

yikes... that far down already, surely somebody wants the seer... anyone?

I actually have a pretty similar build that I've had a considerable amount of success with.  You can see it at: http://deckbox.org/sets/279257 - note that the SB is still up in the air, but rest of the deck is pretty solid. 

The biggest differences I'm seeing between our builds is in the removal.  It might seem absurd to be running 15 pieces of burn/removal, but I've actually found it to be quite effective in maintaining control of the board (especially with Blood Artists having their fun).

Aside from that, Rakish Heir might be good in increasing the size of your creatures, but it doesn't really help out much beyond that.  At the three drop you really want to be making a stronger play, whether that be a Stromkirk Captain or a Vampire Nighthawk.  Similarly, I can see where Vampire Nocturnus could be huge, but on the other hand, I can also realistically see where he's telegraphing your plays to the opponent in exchange for the bonus.

Third, I know there's a considerable appeal behind Exquisite Blood, but you're better playing 2-3 cards for 5 mana than playing just one enchantment that doesn't even guarantee any effect.  I would actually suggest dropping them for some Sign in Bloods to help replenish your hand (and at the cost of one nighthawk hit).

Lastly, I can see where both our decks would benefit from Falkenrath Aristocrats, but speaking at least for myself, I don't know that the deck is strong enough as a whole to really justify dropping the cash on them.

Anyway, I hope some of this can be useful.  Good luck!

The title is pretty self-explanatory.  I scored a Duskmantle Seer (sitting at $15) and am looking to pick up some combination of the following (and other pieces to make it fit)

1x Jace, Memory Adept
1x Rakdos, Lord of Riots
3x Signal the Clans
2x Borborygmos Enraged
2x Domri Rade
Or any of the gatecrash shocks (with the exception of Sacred Foundry)

Update: I almost forgot that I'd be interested in 2x High Priest of Penance

860

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

I know you're trying to remove cards, not add them, but you could further enhance the kitty with Holy Mantle - it would take a few more turns, but then they can't block it or kill it via creature-based damage.

861

(15 replies, posted in Announcements)

To add to the flood of moderators, welcome aboard!

862

(6 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

As an addition to what HikingStick said, a Rancored Trained Caracal is funny, but even funnier with Ethereal Armor on it - a 5/3 lifelink, first strike... going to town on turn 2.

My GF and I are headed to our local pre-release... I'm rocking Gruul and Dimir and she's trying Simic and Orzhov.  We'll get pretty solid coverage and with any luck can pull some decent stuff.

I'm a firm believer that Bloodrush has a TON of potential to win games, but will frequently be used wrong and could easily cost people games.  But if you're looking to win your games, Dimir's promo is a BOMB any way you look at it and will single-handedly win games.

Dibsies on being a squirrel token! smile

So with Gatecrash right around the corner, I've been intrigued by the evolve mechanic that Simic is bringing to the table.  The new shocklands also make it easy to run a three color deck, as such, I noticed the potential for evolve to pair with Corpsejack Menace to have a bit of fun.  Further, splashing black lets one include Golgari Charm which can be a hilarious response to someone's Supreme Verdict.

The deck can be seen here:  http://deckbox.org/sets/299659

The basic idea here is to really capitalize on the +1/+1 counters.  I'm most concerned with the problems on the front end of the curve, as the 4-6 range practically built itself - 4 drops are Master Biomancers and Corpsejacks, 5 drops include Thragtusks and Conjurer's Closets (flickering things with evolve is epic), and six drops include Deadeye Navigators (more flickering is good) and 2x Prime Speaker Zeganas (flicker her and she guarantees the rest of your board evolves while also letting you draw a bunch of cards - toss in the Corpsejack and you're guaranteed to draw at least 10 cards).

On the front end I have a variety of plays available.

Cloudfin Raptor - potentially the next Delver?  In either event it offers a one-drop flyer with evolve - never a bad thing.

Faerie Impostor - offers another one drop flyer, but, more importantly returns creatures to my hand to allow for more evolve triggers.

Shambleshark - the key here is flash, which I also capitalize on with Alchemist's Refuge.  This turns any creature card in your hand into a combat trick - take that Gruul and bloodrush!

Elusive Krasis - really this is for the evolve trigger but also to provide a four-toughness three drop to ensure I keep hitting those triggers.

Simic Fluxmage and Simic Manipulator - little known fact, but the way Corpsejack is worded, simply moving those +1/+1 counters results in them doubling.  The most useful target being Simic Manipulator - if you flicker the Corpsejack, putting two counters on both the fluxmage and manipulator, then you pay two to move a counter to the manipulator, resulting in him having four counters and making it possible to take anything with power four or less for only two mana (yes plz).

I have seven removal spells in Rapid Hybridization, Abrupt Decay, and Murder - these should cover my arse for a while until my creatures evolve into bigger threats.

Farseek is pretty self explanatory.

In the board I have answers for Hexproof decks, token decks (Illness in the Ranks will totally wreck Esper tokens), board wipes, major threats that come back, aggro decks (imagine Tree of Redemption flickering - you keep evolving things and can't go below 13 life as it'll revert back to normal each time), and enchantments/artifacts.

So what are your thoughts?  I can imagine there are several weaknesses here.  I'm not really picturing this as a tier 1 deck by any stretch of the imagination, but it certainly looks like fun to play.

866

(4 replies, posted in Decks and Deckbuilding)

So I just wanted to add a few thoughts (HikingStick has hit on some pretty good ones already).

First, I'd be weary of the Roaring Primadox combos.  They look good on paper, but it's so easy for them to take out your Elvish Visionary and then you're left returning the primadox back to your hand.  When you get them to work they can be great, but that's not the common outcome in my experence.

Second, I would say you should definitely run 3-4x Loxodon Smiter in here.  They're only like $2-3 per and would give you a potentially HUGE T2 play if you hit a mana dork on T1.  They're also convenient targets for the Rancors as a T3 6/4 trample is always good fun.

Third, I'd advise having 3-4x Rootborn Defenses in the SB to protect against the Supreme Verdict heavy control decks out there.

Fourth, what's your strategy for combating flyers?  Obviously Restoration Angels would be ideal, but I wouldn't tell someone to go pick up $10 cards for FNMs.  But perhaps you could find some flyers that fit into your curve or at least a way to deal with them (I'm thinking Silklash Spider).

Fifth, and this is a way to improve your drawing without Elvish Visionary, look into Triumph of Ferocity odds are if you have a smiter, 'tusk, or the wurms on the field, you're drawing cards from it.  You can imagine a T2 Smiter leads to a T3 Triumph and you're already replenishing your hand.

Thus, I would suggest the following changes:

-1 Elvish Visionary
-2 Roaring Primadox (or at least -1)
-2 Acidic Slime (move them to SB in case enchantments or artifacts are a pain)
-2 Geist Honored Monk
-1 Forest
-1 Plains (with 8 mana dorks and 4 Farseeks, you can run a lower count)

+4 Loxodon Smiter
+2 Rancor
+3 Triumph of Ferocity

Then add Plummet or something like that to your SB for flyers and Rootborn Defenses for board wipes.

Anyway, I hope some of this has been useful.  Good luck!

A few quick points:

albonation wrote:

When it comes to guaranteed damage I think the Tormented Soul is a great idea, and another one I had was Stab Wound, but there just doesn't seem to be room for this.  It could help trigger morbid abilities by decreasing the toughness of my enemies creatures.

I had thought this too for a little while, but Stab Wound does the damage during their turn, not yours - so that's a no go for getting Rakdos out.

albonation wrote:

I would like for a Rakdos deck to get some love, and I think there may be better options out there within Gatecrash.

This depends.  Do you mean a Rakdos deck as in R/B aggro? Or do you mean Rakdos, Lord of Riots himself?  The former is already a pretty established deck that's making noise on the pro-tour - although you would need to drop a LOT more cash to pick up the 4x Falkenrath Aristocrats and whatnot to pull that build off (and I don't like using other peoples' builds anyway). 

The demon himself, well, the real issue is that any deck build around him would need to ensure he hits the field first and stays put long enough to make your stuff cheaper.  My first thought would be to take the deck to B/R/G (aka Jund) to then bring in some other options.  That offers the opportunity for more mana-fixing via Farseek and Ranger's Path some tutor effects to ensure Rakdos makes it into play via Jarad's Orders and some BIG creatures with high colorless mana costs via Giant Adaphage, Thragtusk, Worldspine Wurm and even Borborgymos Enraged.  Lastly, the green would help ensure that you can survive board wipes as Golgari Charm could slide into the sideboard - the catch is, the deck we're discussing now is by no means aggro, rather, some sort of a Jund mid-range.  It's worth a go though...

First off, don't forget to link to the deck you're referencing.  For any interested parties, I believe this is it:  http://deckbox.org/sets/292646.

That aside, I've been trying to figure out how to make Rakdos aggro work in the current meta and have quite a few thoughts, so please excuse my long-windedness, as hopefully some of this will help.

1) Drop the Cryptborn Horrors.  I know you had been thinking this already, but they're really just not likely to come in as anything sizable, and even then, they're vulnerable to even simple stuff like Unsummon which can reduce them to a much smaller size.

2) This is a matter of personal preference, but I normally don't see much sense in having more than 2x of any legendary creature in a deck unless you expect (or benefit from) them leaving the field.  Think about it, having 2x Rakdos in your hand would likely result in you just sitting on a dead card.  Sure, the first one could be killed and then you have a backup, but for the rest of the time, that's just a dead card.  Further, you really don't want to clog up the four-drop spot, which, conveniently can fit things like Desecration Demon or Olivia Voldaren without straying beyond your colors.  The Demon would also help ensure you hit morbid triggers quite a bit.

3) If you have a third Thundermaw, definitely put it in.

4) Burn is good, but I'd put the Pillar of Flames in the sideboard and possibly even 1-2 Searing Spears.  The most useful of the burn spells are the Brimstone Volleys because of their added damage from morbid triggers.  But perhaps more importantly, use the black spells that are more hard forms of removal, i.e., Murder, Tribute to Hunger, Ultimate Price, etc.

5) I'd make sure you have a guaranteed source of damage to your opponent so you don't end up missing playing Rakdos because they have a solid defense - a few options here, Tormented Soul or just Rogue's Passage.  Neither would disrupt you a ton as a 2x of, but potentially guaranteeing you can play Rakdos is important.

6) Slaughter Games and Rolling Temblor are HUGE pieces to fit into your sideboard.  Both offer ways to deal with threats that, on average, a B/R aggro build would struggle with.  More pointedly I'm referring to Geist of Saint Traft and Invisible Stalker for the Temblors and Sphinx's Revelation and Sigarda, Host of Herons for the Games.  Those four cards are essentially immune to what you're doing and, in many cases, will totally wreck your plans so having these options in the SB can go a long way.

7) If you're going to run Mark of Mutiny in the SB, you should probably toss in a sack engine in the SB as well.  It's no good to take their Tusk only to give it back even stronger.  If you can take it, then sack it, you get the damage AND get rid of the creature.

8) You need some sort of a draw engine to help once you get to top-deck mode.  Sign in Blood is a great option.  Alternately, with Rakdos helping out, Griselbrand becomes much more affordable to cast and offers an option to draw cards.

9) Flying defense is HUGE as Restoration Angel is a hair out of range for pretty much every burn spell out there.  Vampire Nighthawks are great for this as they offer both flying defense and lifelink, which conveniently can erase the cost of Sign in Blood or even help outpace your opponent.

10) I'd consider looking at creatures with higher colorless mana costs to really capitalize off Rakdos' ability.  I know the card's designer actually stated he was put together with EDH artifacts in mind, but there are some options available in standard.  Balefire Dragon is definitely a good option and one I doubt most would be expecting - although one that would likely need Lightning Maulers to make effective.

11) I don't have a good answer for you on this one, but you need to think about how you will alter your play style or cards you might want to add to deal with Supreme Verdict, as it's never any good to be laying into the opponent aggro style only to have a wipe happen and be left with an empty board and an empty hand.

12) This is the last one, I swear.  If you're going this route, you should definitely pre-order 4x Skullcracks from Gatecrash as the current issue for aggro builds is to get enough damage in before their tusks and revelations start hitting the field.

*Phew* that was a lot to go through... take or leave what you like and best luck with it.

The size of the deck might seem a bit daunting, but it's made up for with the variety of tutor/draw effects in the deck.  Nightscape Familiar already cuts the cost of your red and blue spells, but Demonic Tutor, Diabolic Tutor, and Bringer of the Black Dawn can all ensure you end up drawing the pieces you want.  Pair that with the draw engines in Shrine of Piercing Vision and Bringer of the Blue Dawn, which are both further enhanced by having a Paradox Haze in play.

With regard to the Mortars, at least the list I'm sitting on has 17 red mana symbols between the lands and artifacts.  Mind you, you could balance it even better if you were to toss in the RTR/Gatecrash shocks, i.e., Steam Vents, Blood Crypt and Watery Grave could help, in addition to the Innistrad/Core duals... suffice to say, getting to 6 wouldn't be much of a problem.  Cyclonic Rift could also fit the one sided board hit spot too.

In either event, best of luck with it.  I can honestly say I haven't updated this build in several months and can probably think of a few ways to improve it, but if you're down to spend the cash, I say run with it.  (Side note, Defiler of Souls could also be fun in there too!)

By all means, all suggestions are optional... take em, leave em, ultimately playtesting gets the final word there.

My thought behind potentially SB'ing Rootborn and including Frontline Medic in the mainboard is to let you save those Boros Charms for when they drop Supreme Verdict.  Don't forget that Boros Charm can, and will, be countered a LOT as people are going to be expecting it and, at instant speed, it opens the door for Dispel.  To to that end, a bit of added redundancy wouldn't hurt  especially for free in the case of the medic.

The haste is good, but can you guarantee they'll be dead by turn 4-5?  If not, you're going to run into a big wall of Thragtusk and Restoration Angel more often than not, and with nothing all that large on your end, what happens once they put a larger presence on the board?  Blind Obedience would deal with this in a significant way, as their blockers come in tapped (no flash resto blockers).   As the other option Aurelia might be a high cost, but realistically, she gives you that finisher that you're lacking at the moment - you don't even need to get through if you're triggering Hellrider for two attack phases - and I'd wager you'll be able to play her twice for every time she's stuck in your hand, so not that much of a risk there as a 1-2 of.

I know a token boros is going to be sick and you're not going that way, but I don't think any of these would slow you down that much and they give you a bit more consistent protection for your creatures.

With regard to the Paradox Haze build, you would end up having to drop a pretty substantial amount of cash to put that together as the deck then revolves around Jhoira of the Ghitu and using her ability to suspend all your big creatures/spells.  This does open the door for some rather amusing combos and some abuse of effects that occur in your upkeep, i.e., Venser's Journal.  I actually have a build put together centering on this exact idea at: http://deckbox.org/sets/190751

Aside from that, Counterspell is easily the most cost-effective countermagic out there (in terms of dollars spent for a great, versatile card), just be careful not to rely too much on countermagic as I stated earlier, as one of your buddies scoring a few Caverns will totally ruin your plan.

A few thoughts based on the spoiled cards.

One, you're totally whiffing on the battalion mechanic - I don't think I see anything in that actually has it in there.  It might seem underwhelming, but I'd imagine it can be huge in a lot of scenarios.  I'm thinking specifically about Frontline Medic and Legion Loyalist.  The loyalist gives you another option at the one-drop and will offer first strike and trample when the battalion triggers.  Frontline medic also works beautifully with Hellrider as you can attack into their defenses completely without any fear of losing your creatures - something that should be quite convenient. 

Two, I'd also keep an open mind toward Hellraiser Goblin for the haste and Blind Obedience to ensure that you outrun them.  Lastly, from the new stuff, why not toss in Aurelia as a one-off?  Worst case scenario you hit her and are able to log two turns worth of Hellrider triggers to victory.

Three, I see you don't have a sideboard listed (that's fine) but I would definitely add Rootborn Defenses as a second option to protect against board-wipes.  To that end, any tokens you can run with would be cool (I'm thinking Lingering Souls/Midnight Haunting - with the Haunting actually being the better option).

I know that Boros is going to be crazy... so good luck with it.

A few thoughts.

First off, given that they're for casual play, you probably don't have to worry about a lot of the higher end standard cards, but keep in mind that most the counter-magic can be dealt with via a single Cavern of Souls

Gem of Becoming might seem pricey, but it will guarantee your land drops beyond turn four - a big part of getting Bolas out in a reasonable time-frame.

I'd also look at picking up some sort of board wipe to deal with opposing creatures.  This could be done in any of your colors with black (Mutilate and Killing Wave are likely the cheapest options), blue (Devastation Tide and Cyclonic Rift are fun options), and red (Mizzium Mortars, Blasphemous Act, or even Electrickery for small enough targets).  If Bolas is the real plan, you have to plan on clearing the board at least once in turn 5-7, less you will likely be overrun.

For the deathtouch stalling build, if you're just looking to put stuff in the way to stall, Typhoid Rats or even Giant Scorpion would be good options - they're cheap AND they offer more deathtouch.  I would swap Pyroclasm for Rolling Temblor as it will clear the ground targets, i.e., the goblins, while leaving your Baleful Strix alive (AND it can be flashed back).  Also, how are you not running Vampire NighthawkHanweir Lancer would be another cheap option to help enhance your blockers as deathtouch paired with first strike is a pretty solid wall to deal with.

For the zombie build, it'd be worth it to pick up the Diregraf Ghouls to give you something at the one-drop.  As strange as it seems, a 2/2 on turn one can make all the difference, even in the late game.  I would also look to more concrete removal options, i.e., Terror/Doom Blade/Go For the Throat/Murder as you can then deal with creatures that stretch beyond the initial 3 toughness that you're often limited to with your Brimstone Volleys (I know the morbid trigger helps, but it's often a bad idea to end up relying on them).  Lastly, if you're running zombies, any of the lords could be huge (they're pricey, but dropping $10 for a few Undead Warchiefs or Zombie Masters can help immensely).

In either build I can see where you might have some issues with anything that is flyer-centric, so you need to be sure to have the removal options at your disposal.

Anyway, best luck with them.

Looking at this I'm not really seeing that many effects that would be putting your stuff in the graveyard.  I know the auntie only nets you one back per turn, but perhaps Arms Dealer would make sense over Goblin Fireslinger.  Also, Goblin Arsonist strikes me as being particularly useful, as he can do his poking when you sack him.  Also, some Altar's Reaps could help once your hand is depleted.

Having said that much, I've just added cards to the list... but as a thought, do you really need 24 lands?  With the curve topping out at four, wouldn't you be able to drop down to 22?

I could also see you maybe dropping one Mortars and a Knucklebone Witch.  Maybe aim for 65 rather than 60?...

There's definitely a trade-off between Murder and Tragic Slip.  Personally I'm a fan of keeping some number of both as both could easily come in handy in various scenarios.  For instance, you said you ran into a more polished vampire deck.  In said deck I'm guessing you encountered Falkenrath Aristocrats in some quantity.  In this scenario, Murder is useless.  You cast it, they sack a creature and make it indestructible, well, that's that.  However, Tragic Slip is totally different.  You cast it to kill the aristocrat and even if they sack something for the indestructibility, the FA still dies, because Morbid triggers are looked at when a spell resolves as opposed to when it's cast, meaning it would get -13/-13 and still be placed in the 'yard.

That aside, if you're looking to dump anything for the added slips, I'd go with Ultimate Price.  Sure, it's one less CMC than Murder; BUT, given the multi-colored emphasis of the current block, it'll be useless in a pretty large number of scenarios.