I Stopped Playing Omnitell and Started Playing Ad Nauseam Tendrils

Magic: The Gathering · by Eternal Durdles · January 10, 2026

Written by Bryan V

I began playing Legacy in 2012. My first deck was Grixis Omnitell, a simple A+B combo deck. I owned everything but the creatures and Omniscience from my earlier Magic days. I enjoyed learning the format that year, but over time, it grew monotonous. I wanted something different.

Back then, Star City Games (SCG) hosted Sunday Legacy events across the USA. It was common to tune in to outstanding live coverage nearly every week. It helped me understand how different decks worked. SCG posted the top 16 decklists online after each tournament.

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I competed in an SCG Legacy tournament with Tin Fins — a graveyard-oriented combo deck that abused Griselbrand to draw 14-21 cards. My experience during this tournament, however, was miserable.

Back then, many decks played main deck graveyard hate via Deathrite Shaman, a typical turn-one play, which invalidated my strategy.

In one match, I was paired against Ad Nauseam Tendrils (ANT), which I had never seen before. As most combo matchups go, we were two ships passing in the night. The difference was that I could draw 21 cards and fizzle, which happened, and I lost.

Post-match, my opponent recommended ANT, saying that although it prefers to win via the graveyard, it doesn’t have to. As a result, it is more resilient and fizzles less frequently than Tin Fins.

Shortly thereafter, I went home and bought four Lion’s Eye Diamonds and four Infernal Tutors.

Ad Nauseam Tendrils

Fast Mana (17)

4 Dark Ritual
4 Cabal Ritual
1 Rain of Filth
- A One-shot ritual that builds the graveyard
4 Lion’s Eye Diamond
4 Lotus Petal

Tutors (7)

4 Infernal Tutor
- This card works best with Lion’s Eye Diamond or as the last spell cast in your hand.
2 Demonic Counsel
- This card’s effect only occurs if you have delirium, which is why it only has two slots in my deck.
1 Wishclaw Talisman
- This card is great at finding a missing piece to the combo, or Ad Nauseam, or even winning after casting Ad Nauseam and finding a crucial card left in the deck. This card has no synergy with Past in Flames, which is why I only play one.

Some storm decks play Beseech the Mirror, but I choose not to.

Cantrips (10)

These cards sculpt your hand for the necessary combo pieces.

4 Brainstorm
- Stronger when cast later.
- Can reshape a hand.
4 Ponder
- Sees the most potential cards (four) of any cantrip.
1 Preordain
- Best option after Brainstorm and Ponder.
1 Mishra’s Bauble
- Adds to delirium and threshold.

Protection (7)

3 Thoughtseize
- Catchall against nonland cards, but costs two life.
3 Duress
- Snags potential stack interaction and hate pieces.
1 Veil of Summer
- Phenomenal against blue, but poor against everything non-blue that isn't Thoughtseize.

Engines (3)

2 Past in Flames
- Ideal engine in game one.
- Can be discarded with Lion’s Eye Diamond and cast via flashback.
1 Ad Nauseam
- Effectively draws 20+ cards for five mana at instant speed.
- Higher risk at a lower life total.

Win condition (1)

1 Tendrils of Agony
- Don’t draw this early.
- Tutors, cantrips, and Ad Nauseam provide consistent access to Tendrils of Agony.

Lands (15)

4 Polluted Delta
- Tutors any land.
- Shuffle post Brainstorm.
2 Misty Rainforest
- Tutors every land that isn't basic Swamp.
- Shuffle post Brainstorm.
2 Verdant Catacombs
- Tutors every land that isn't Volcanic Island.
- Shuffle post Brainstorm.
2 Underground Sea
1 Bayou
- Casts Veil of Summer and sideboard cards.
1 Tropical Island
- Casts Veil of Summer and sideboard cards.
1 Volcanic Island
- Casts Past in Flames.
1 Swamp
- Wasteland insulation.
1 Undercity Sewers
- Enhances fetchlands into selection effects.

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Counting to 10

ANT's main win condition is Tendrils of Agony; in my build, it is the only win condition. The deck has three paths to winning with Tendrils of Agony.

Ad Nauseam

Ad Nauseam lines are not deterministic, so it’s typically not the main plan, though it is the preferred storm engine. It is excellent against strategies that don't pressure your life total early, when non- is tight, if access to your graveyard is hindered, or against opposing combo decks.

Past in Flames

Past in Flames is so strong, I play two copies. It gives instants and sorceries in your graveyard flashback until the end of the turn. The common line is casting Dark Ritual, Cabal Ritual, Lotus Petal, and LED, tutoring for Past in Flames, recasting them all to build storm, then tutoring for Tendrils of Agony.

Natural Storm (Tutor Chaining)

Natural storm kills are typically performed late game against control decks or tempo strategies with onboard hate. They are the toughest to execute due to higher mana requirements. They're also the most challenging to defend against.

Often, with eight cards in hand and multiple lands in play against multiple pieces of onboard hate and in-hand interaction, you need the opponent to cast countermagic to help generate requisite storm (storm counts all spells cast by all players in a turn).

Oftentimes, opponents are surprised when a storm kill is achieved without an engine. When you need your opponent to cast spells to feed storm, you must tell a story in your sequencing. The video below features Adam Prosak executing an exceptional example of this in action (game two):

https://youtu.be/XK6cisHrrVE?t=1785

Adam had complete information from a Gitaxian Probe and performed a natural storm line to win. His opponent, Sam, had a lone Surgical Extraction to interact. With Tendrils of Agony in hand, Adam could Infernal Tutor for Cabal Ritual to net storm.

Without access to Past in Flames or Ad Nauseam, Adam needed Sam to cast Surgical Extraction to build sufficient storm for Tendrils of Agony to be lethal (Surgical Extraction was effectively two storm since it cost 2 life to cast).

Adam told the story that threshold for Cabal Ritual was important. By sacrificing two Lotus Petals to put Cabal Ritual on the stack with no mana floating, Sam, knowing about the other Cabal Ritual Adam tutored for, most likely thought Adam had another Infernal Tutor in hand, which could tutor for Tendrils of Agony. Therefore, Sam cast Surgical Extraction by paying 2 life targeting Infernal Tutor. Adam sold the story and Sam bought it.

Most Common Way to Win

A typical game revolves around casting at least one cantrip, one discard spell, fast mana, and a tutor for an engine piece, which leads to more mana and storm before another tutor for Tendrils of Agony.

Defensive Cards To Beat

Against blue strategies, I assume I need to beat at least one Force of Will and/or Force of Negation in game one. Post-sideboard, opponents likely have graveyard hate, additional counterspells, and potentially a creature or permanent that prevents casting multiple spells in a turn.

Game ones against non-blue are races. Games two and three are often slower due to increased interaction. I always expect graveyard hate.

ANT is a combo deck, but you don’t always need to combo early. Sometimes it’s best to wait and develop your mana. The opponent will provide a sense of how much time you have before needing to attempt a win.

Patience is key when learning to pilot ANT. Aim to gather as much information as possible before moving all in for the win, if possible. It’s tempting to fire off cantrips at the earliest convenience, but it isn’t always the optimal play. Sometimes it’s best to wait and develop your mana first.

Knowing how much mana your cards make can help with the mental math:

Lotus Petal = +1 mana of any color
Lion’s Eye Diamond = +3 mana of any one color
Dark Ritual = +
Cabal Ritual = + without threshold or + with threshold

Knowledge of your deck and the format is critical. ANT provides opportunities to outmaneuver multiple pieces of interaction since opponents may not know which card is important to fight over, unlike an A+B combo deck.

There are great videos of Storm online. Below is my favorite from the 2016 Grand Prix Prague. Game three perfectly showcases the patience necessary against control and how important spell sequencing is:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPitPk-qiaA

Why You Should Play ANT

Free game one wins are common against decks that have little or no interaction.
ANT rewards skilled pilots who can maneuver through perilous situations.
Combo strategies typically don't require the full 50 minutes per round in a tournament, so there is more time to rest, recharge, eat/drink, and use the restroom.
There are myriad combinations that can win, so games don't feel redundant.

Why You Shouldn't Play ANT

Mistakes are costly since the game centers on the combo turn. Poor sequencing or using the wrong engine can cost you a game.
Combo strategies have a baked-in fail rate; sometimes you don’t find the pieces you need to win.
The deck requires a ton of practice to play well.
While some matchups are extremely favorable, others are not. For example, before Entomb was banned, Reanimator was a faster, albeit more fragile, combo strategy you hoped to dodge.

When ANT Is Poorly Positioned

ANT’s most challenging matchups are Stompy strategies that utilize Chalice of the Void, Trinisphere, and/or Force of Will, other combo decks with Force of Will, and faster combo decks.

ANT's sideboard has a few slots dedicated to these matchups, but they remain an uphill battle.