Why not use cage in the board?

Now that Chalices restriction has finally sunk in, I can start to heal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChUr2pNKMxI&list=PLF10F656768889511&index=2

You decide

FACT- They have never attended the same tournament.
FACT- They have never been seen in the same location as each other.
FACT- They both started on Workshop decks, with identical Metal Worker builds.
FACT- They both now "seem" to pilot Blue decks.
FACT- Kohler is a family name of German origin. The name was first found in Saxony. It means, "Charcoal                burner"
FACT- Only one of the "Kohlers" was noticed eating a "Charcoal" burger at a Top Deck Games event.
FACT- They are both devourers of planets.......... wait that might be Galactus, the devourer of planets  
FACT- Both require Air and Water
FACT- One works 48 hours without rest, drives 6 hours, and takes down events like a boss.
FACT- One puts together a deck one night before the NYSE and top 8's
FACT- They are both over 3'8'' tall
FACT- They are likely descendants of Homo Erectus
FACT- They are both rumored to have been born in the Scottish Highlands, before being transplanted into American families.

This leads me to believe that, not only are they the same person, but indeed, a Highlander!
                   There can only be ONE!!!!!!
 

 News to me. Would love a few more words on this!

I wish every Friday was the first Friday of the month!

Anything that shines a light on vintage is great, especially articles that bring attention to the decks that have been forged by the Workshop masters of New York.  

The sequencing example in the article is a little off. You used broad strokes to explain it which is fine, but more detail is critical. The heart of what you explained is correct, but the optimal sequence turn one on the play is,

Mana Crypt, Sol Ring - This is important to fire off first, to see if your Sol Ring gets Mental Misstepped.

Thorn of Amethyst - This sequence puts the opponent into a hard place. They know that with one mana still floating, and without having played a land, the shop pilot could have more action on turn one. If you play the Workshop before these cards you are giving away the information that you COULD play a Lodestone Golem, or any other additional first turn lock piece.  

Workshop, Lodestone Golem.

With this sequence you can squeeze out more % points. Lets explain why. If you are playing VS a blue deck, the pilot might have a hand that can handle one sphere, but not two. To keep the example simple, the blue pilot kept, Mox Sapphire/Mox Ruby/Scalding Tarn/Island/Force Of Will/Ancestral Recall/Young Pyromancer.

The blue pilot might think they can beat just a Thorn Of Amethyst, so they let it resolve, also they don't want to pitch the Ancestral to Force. If you play the Workshop first, it telegraphs that you have another lock piece, with the wrong sequencing the blue pilot probably forces, knowing that two 'sphere affects' turn one will make the game very hard to win. These small % points are very important to get, if a Workshop pilot wants to go the distance in a large tournament.

You should point this out to your viewers, so they can understand that it takes skill, and experience to pilot Workshop decks optimally. For example I assume that, Clan Magic Eternal, read the article but didn't pick up on the problems with the sequencing. I guess BUG players have even less than "the 4-5 brain cells it requires to play", (Clan Magic Eternal words not mine) ........................ Welcome to shops.    
      

Workshop decks are deceptively hard to play optimally. The complexities tend to hide behind simple mechanics and deck building, but there are huge % points to be gained from understanding fundamentals and knowing how to pilot the deck.

Know your lines of play, and how they interact with each deck that is in the meta. This is a key skill because, unlike blue decks, once you have decided on the roll you are going to play, it is very hard to change.    

The raw power of the deck comes from a synergy, produced by the cards working in concert. The skill to express this power is in sequence. Knowing how to sequence the lock pieces is paramount to success. Here is a simple example. Sphere/Sphere/Tangle wire/The threat. This is the Left/Left/Dodge/Right Haymaker of Workshops. In this example, even if the opponent plays a land, Force Of Will is shut off.

Know when to mulligan. Here are some basic guidelines to evaluating a hand. Can you get to 4 mana? Am I playing VS a wasteland deck, can it handle a wasteland? Can it handle a Force, can it bait out a Force? Do I already have a dead card, Sundering Titan, so it is already on 6? There is more to it, but I hope that helps at least a little.

Try to develop a solid understanding of lines of play, sequence, and when to mulligan. Good Luck!

Grrrr......

Great report, it was a really nice read! 

Hey for a new pilot, which build would you say is easier to play? (The humans one, or the build you are teching?)

Could you switch out the Ignot Chewer main for Leyline of the Void?

Nice finish! BSC making the cut without boots, and that robot won you a bunch of games! Well played! ^_^

I hope to make it out tonight! What is the proxy limit?

Terra Nova has a tough Delver match up and over boarding does not help enough. Martello Shops has a good chance to win vs Delver, and Oath/Dredge, if you board right and remember your fundamentals. Prospero pointed out, Martello wins by setting up a board position where you can resolve and activate a Forgemaster. If done correctly, one Forgemaster activation usually leads to a win.     

This is the list I am currently running, which is Raffaele Forino's 3rd place list from the N.Y.S.E 20 with a few small changes.  

1 Black Lotus
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Sol Ring
4 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Sphere of Resistance
4 Thorn of Amethyst
4 Tangle Wire
1 Trinisphere
4 Lodestone Golem
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Kuldotha Forgemaster
1 Duplicant
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Sundering Titan
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Wasteland

I exchanged a Phyrexian Metamorph to the board and a Wurmcoil Engine main. I did this because I wanted the option of Wurmcoil in my Forgemaster toolbox game 1.

SB:

2 Dismember
4 Tormod's Crypt
1 Sphere of Resistance
3 Crucible of Worlds
1 Duplicant
1 Ghost Quarter
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
0 Witchabane Orb
0 Wurmcoil Engine

I wanted to have more Dismember in the board but without having consistent life gain, more than two was a liability. The one Sphere Of Resistance was going to get the axe, but it is huge vs Delver. I wish I had room for one more Tabernacle but the SB is tight. I personally like to have a second Steel Hellkite in the board because there are board states, in a few match ups, where if the first Hellkite dies, it becomes almost impossible to win without the second. I completely removed the second Wurmcoil and Witchabane Orb from the board. I took this approach because in testing Wurmcoil was being my Forgemaster target less than 5-10% of the time. It made sense only having 1 because of the 4 other ways to cheat Wurmcoil on the board.  I took out the Witchabane Orb because I wanted to hedge my bets on Delver/Dredge with Tabernacle, instead of on Witchabane for Oath and TPS.

This is how I board vs Delver. I used to board out all my Revokers but because of Dack Fayden, Workshop decks cannot do that any more. Do not take out thorns!!!. Thorn is a necessary evil in this match up because Delver wants to string together spells.  Thorn/Thorn/Forgemaster is good vs Delver. (Or any deck)

-Out-
1 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Duplicant
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Mox Pearl or 1 Mana Crypt

-In-
2 Dismember
1 Sphere of Resistance
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Steel Hellkite

I also double sleeve all my stuff. It helps to protect all the expensive things in a collection and reduce wear from play. When you first double sleeve the cards there will be a little bit of air space, which will make them bulky. After a card has settled in the perfect fit you can change the normal sleeves and have the cards fit snug with little resistance. I would even recommend getting triple sleeves.   

O word, Cruise cant be MissD-ed. =\

I didn't mean that Pryo was better than Gofy VS Oath, just that I was having enough threat density with out more creatures. 

I think my concerns with Oath are spot on. I tried to be as objective as possible. I explained why it is an up hill battle, with the facts. There is more to say here, but it is obvious things like let the Delver resolve and counter the Cage.............  I think it is at least game 1, 65/35 Oath, Delver.

I agree with your opinion on Treasure Cruise and Mental Misstep, and the other cards that you suggested, especially Dack Dack Goose. He helps fuel Gofy and Cruise, yes please.     
I think you could cut Tarmogoyf in a three color non-power build for more control, but if Goyf does the job better than anything else keep it in there. I was finding 4 Delver and some amount of Pyro to be enough threats and would want more control things to trigger Pyro and play protect the queen with Delver. I also would want to find some room for two Spell Snare, which helps across the board and VS the match up I was finding the most difficult, Oath.
After some more testing with this build I agree that stretching to a 4th color with out power is bad VS shops. (Unless you open with DeathRite Shaman, and it does not get Revoked/Dismembered. lol)

Hmmm, well I didnt mean to make it sound like Delver VS Oath was unwinnable for Delver. I agree it can go both ways game one, but that is a very general statement. I will be more clear with why I think it is an up hill battle (Not impossible) for the Delver pilot. These points will apply to a powered or non-power deck.
1-Oath is packing a full set of Mental Misstep, and one Toxic Deluge.
2- The best open you can have is land, Delver, with Lotus Petal for like a Brainstorm, and hope you have Force + blue card. Most of the time you are just happy with a turn one Delver + Force back up. This is exactly what the Oath pilot wants. Now all they have to do is find the Oath.
3- Delver wants to make their opponents life 0 as fast as possible. Getting a 7/7 flying lifelinker, is very hard to get past.  
4- Game 2-3 the hate for Oath is all 1 cmc.
These are some reasons why I think the match up is difficult for any Delver build. There is more nuance in this particular build.

Tarmogoyf I think is a bad choice because it plays poorly with Treasure Cruise. (I would never take out a Delver main, it is part of what makes this deck powerful; Delver is a very strong open)
I agree that it can be hard to stretch to the 4th color in a field with Wasteland. Deathrite Shaman helps to fix this problem. Also DRS fixes problems vs Dredge and Shops

I would suggest that you need Deathrite Shaman and Abrupt Decay in this deck. DRS is going to help you fix so many problems that this deck is going to run into. Abrupt Decay is an important card to include in this build because it will let you have a way to kill Oath. Obvy these two cards do many things, but the Oath match up is a real weakness. GL with brewing !

Tabernacle seems poor in Delver decks. 

I vote for all the same people. 

We have some late votes! 
Not in any order, and not wanting to vote for myself. 

Tom Dixon
JP Kohler
Greg Fenton
Vasu Balakrishnan

I will honorary vote for these players as they cant attend the event,
Nick Detwiler
Vincent Forino
Rafaelle Forino


 

(I have a lot more to say, a whole rant, which I will write up once I get home from work, and I cant watch the video yet)
If this happened to me, as soon as the draw took place, I would call a judge. Explain I had a trigger on the stack, and that my opponent drew a card in the up keep. 100% insta loss of game. There is no other way to rule it.      

Nice work on the finish Vasu!!! Dat Moat tech! I watched you cast it vs a Goblins player at the New York Open and Gee Gee! Watch out for that chalice of the void on 4. hahaha   

Congratulations! Keeping your cool during the event is definitely an important part if you want to go the distance. Another 1st place with shops, which pillar are you going to conquer next? <3  It is cool to see some innovation on shops. I like the exchange of Factories for Caverns. With all those little creatures, 2 Revokers and 4 MetalWorkers, I guess there is enough time to get down a fatty to fight the mid range creature decks. I love the Dismembers to fight Trygon Predator or those pesky Bobs. Also the inclusion of Witchbane Orb in the sideboard. Great list, and from the report and posts it seems the Caverns worked well! Congrats again!     

Hmmmm, (I must be missing some context or history) Why is another tournament/open such a big deal??

I think Soul of New Phyrexia does not do enough at 6 CMC (or 11 mana with an activation) to be in any shop list. Glaring Spotlight for 1 CMC or Eldrazi Monument for 5 CMC are better cards and they have yet to see play. 

*ice Keith, another first place on shops under the belt!

Cool build!

How did the 3 Cavern of Souls fare? Did the Wurmcoil main get work done? With the Forgemasters do you think there is room to squeeze in one Witchbane Orb side board?

Congratulations on the first place, and to all the top 8, lots of friendly names on that list! Many of which hard tapping workshops!  

Thank you to everyone for responding to my post! (JP and Tom) Especially to Prospero for his very detailed explanation. I know that writing an expansive post, which you did not only once but twice, eats up a lot of time. Thank you for your dedication to vintage and to helping other Pilots.

I wanted to keep the identity of the players a secret as to not call anyone out on sub-optimal play, which we all fall prey to from time to time. I was the player who opened Mirsha's Workshop, Crucible Of Worlds. I thought my hand would be strong enough because I had a lot of action and Crucible Of Worlds protects me from waste effects while letting mine become game breaking. The rule I broke here is, "Don't keep a hand that has no clear way to 4 mana". This rule of course has exceptions but as Prospero pointed out, I should have just mulliganed.  

The general consensus from the OP is to wait on the Tangle Wire, because even if the opponent has another Mirsha's Workshop nothing important will be played. Also the chances of having 2 of 4 cards is low. We hold the Tangle Wire, netting more time to draw what is needed.  




Prospero altered the line of play. Among some of the concepts that he demonstrated, like "Protect the Mirsha's Workshop", he found the same type of problem trying to squeeze more value out of a Tangle Wire. We can have general principles to guide play but each game state needs to be analysed to find which apply.    

I ended up winning the game from just finding more lands and playing out my action. I did not win with waste effects. This is what prompted the OP because I felt with better use of Tangle Wire my opponent would have had more time to find a threat or crucible of his own.


Not knowing what deck you are playing vs the only correct open is Ancient Tomb, into Sphere Of Resistance. Without knowing what we draw, there is little else to say, because what matters with this hand, is being able to cast Smokestack while our opponent cannot cast Force Of Will. We want to get to that point as fast as possible.  
With the information given looking at A) It is definitely never correct to play Smokestack turn 2, just to walk into a Force Of Will, even if you only see FetchLand pass. Shops is a threat light deck, to throw away a Smokestack to a Force Of Will when we can Tangle Wire seems poor.

Add in information, if we draw a land, say for instance Mishra's Factory, in scenario A) there would be one correct line of play turn 2. Mishra's Factory into Thorn Of Amethyst. Which might bait out a Force Of Will and puts a lot of pressure onto the opponents game plan if they kept a hand with just one or two lands in it. If on their turn 2 they play no land or tap out, then we slam down Smokestack. If they play land pass, on our turn 3 we Tangle Wire. We now have three permanents to tap to the fad counters on our turn 4, so we don't lose any of our mana and at most they have one untapped land. With two sphere effects on board, now we slam down Smokestack.

In A), if we don't draw a land turn 2 things get spicy. The analysis can go on and on for A) depending on what you draw and they play. (Not to mention analysis for B) and C). )


Here is a pedagogical hypothetical starting 7 which showcases divergent lines of play.  

(I asked this question to a bunch of vintage players at an event recently)  

How would you open this hand on the play, vs an unknown?

Black Lotus
Sol Ring
Ancient Tomb
Mishra's Factory
Lodestone Golem
Sphere of Resistance
Steel HellKite
    

It turns out, that MIndbreak Trap can also be hard cast for 4!