Paradoxical Outcome is one of a few cards in recent memory that have changed how Vintage is played. This is the kind of engine that Storm players dreamed of for many years - a card that can serve as both a draw spell and a ritual all at once. Paradoxical Outcome has been less popular in recent months, since you can struggle against the prison effects of Mishra's Workshop decks, but Kacknub has a plan to circumvent that:

Paradoxical Storm - Vintage | Kacknub, 5-0 Vintage League

• Creatures (3)
• 1 Monastery Mentor
• 2 Baral, Chief of Compliance

• Instants (20)
• 1 Ancestral Recall
• 1 Brainstorm
• 1 Dig Through Time
• 1 Repeal
• 1 Vampiric Tutor
• 2 Flusterstorm
• 2 Mana Drain
• 3 Mental Misstep
• 4 Force of Will
• 4 Paradoxical Outcome

• Sorceries (9)
• 1 Demonic Tutor
• 1 Gitaxian Probe
• 1 Tendrils of Agony
• 1 Time Walk
• 1 Yawgmoth's Will
• 4 Thoughtcast

• Enchantments (2)
• 2 Mystic Remora

• Artifacts (12)
• 1 Black Lotus
• 1 Mana Crypt
• 1 Mana Vault
• 1 Mox Emerald
• 1 Mox Jet
• 1 Mox Opal
• 1 Mox Pearl
• 1 Mox Ruby
• 1 Mox Sapphire
• 1 Sol Ring
• 2 Sensei's Divining Top

• Lands (14)
• 1 Library of Alexandria
• 1 Scalding Tarn
• 1 Tolarian Academy
• 2 Tundra
• 2 Underground Sea
• 3 Seat of the Synod
• 4 Flooded Strand

• Sideboard (15)
• 2 Chain of Vapor
• 1 Echoing Truth
• 1 Nihil Spellbomb
• 1 Ravenous Trap
• 1 Repeal
• 2 Steel Sabotage
• 2 Thoughtseize
• 1 Timetwister
• 4 Tormod's Crypt

Buy This Deck

While this build has many cards in common with other builds of Paradoxical Storm, the flex slots really show that you’re trying to attack Workshop decks and opposing Blue decks. Mana Drain is a particularly punishing spell against Mishra's Workshop decks, and can frequently allow you to combo off with ease on your following turn. Baral, Chief of Compliance is a creature-based ramp spell that helps you fight through the likes of Thorn of Amethyst and Lodestone Golem. A turn one Baral can easily lead into a turn two Paradoxical Outcome and threaten to end the game on the spot. Monastery Mentor hasn’t typically been seen in these types of lists, but its presence gives you a way of playing a more value-oriented deck with a combo finish if your opponents have too much hate for you to actually storm them out. As for opposing Blue decks, both Thoughtcast and Mystic Remora do a great job of ensuring that you stay up on cards and have the raw resources required to force through your key spells.

If you want to play Storm in Vintage, consider giving this variation of Paradoxical Storm a chance. Storm builds featuring Mana Drain and Mystic Remora have been powerful forces in past metagames, and this may be the time for those decks to come back.