I'm in NYC, expect me to become very active as soon as I am done with college as my final semester is my death toll.

Somebody put me in their hotel room, it's always a good time as I won't remember the whole weekend guranteed.

Drop the hammer

My big question for all you guys playing "bomberman" Why is Tezz not better than Auriok Salvagers anymore? I think it fits the theme of the deck so much better than the clunky 2/4. Now I don't want to be put under the charge of not picking this deck up in over a year, but the 2/4 was one of the worst and best cards ever. What made him so miserable his misfortune of doing nothing too often.

Tezzeret really doesn't change the fundamentals of what this deck "wants" to do. The decks competitive advantage was always to hold the game down with Trinket Mage disruption, I think playing Tezz makes your strategy a lot more broad for sure, unless your meta so is soooo saturated with Tezz your dropping Needles like hotcakes than you have sold me.

Convince me why Auriok Salvagers is a better fit for the deck because I would love to play them again but right now I'm just not convinced.

Looking GlattKosher for me.

Somebody give me a deck, and I will be there for good 'ol times. Outlaw and T00L you guys MUST come. YOU HEAR THAT?

Eastman I live in NYC, I missed this event due to being laid off, no ride and just a general disinterest. I used to be really on top of this game, and this is the first time I checked out these boards in the last six months. It's sad that the turnout was so low. I hope to see a lot of my friends I met over the years again soon though.

I believe it's time to dust off some of my cards.

Excellent facelift opportunity. Gives a fresh look at everything for sure.

Yeah, it's the one that has been taking placings in the last 6 months. Almost a carbon copy actually.

What happened to Aether Vial in the mess of all this? It's pretty important to have that reach against, oh hmm I dunno Oath. To instant speed Stingscourger a Tyrant on their upkeep to get a strong win set up on the next turn.

If you are playing it as a "combo cap deck" you need to be playing Ancient Tomb so you can consistently "Jester's Cap" the opponent. But I wouldn't go down that road since Bitter Ordeal doesn't seem impressive at all to me.

I would favor a list like the one from Waterbury where I made finals in August of last year. I think Leyline is a very fine choice at the moment, since Ichorid and Flash are at numbers from last year. It's just you need to tune the deck better against Oath. Earwig Squad is an excellent start.

If were talking about Shusher, what happened to plain 'ol REB? It'll force your Earwig Squad through for sure. If you play REB you'd need to play Prospector too though, but it allows you to force through Squad pretty often since you have Prospector for extra mana. In this case you probably can't play Fanatic though, which probably isn't a big deal. He's not that strong against all that much in this meta, but squeezing in Aether Vial is the tricky part.

I think this sounds great you should probably have eight big tourny winners in there and the other eight should be significant/unique contributions. Best deck builder, most unique deckbuilder, rabble rouser, etc.

Wake and Bake, I'm in.

I think the deck loves Ravager, cutting Karn seems understandable. But Ravager is what gives you so much more reach.

Feinstein doesn't want to get caught sleeping with his wallet again.

Wow, this is a huge dilemma for me. The PTQ is cheaper on the budget and I have little to no cards for Vintage. Real tough decision for me at least, and I would imagine other players as well.

Sneaky-Go concepts are completely untested I bet.

Counterbalance Top is probably the most successful in other formats but never made a dent in Vintage.

Cephalid Illusionist has never been done yet. It's fairly stable.

Aluren has a ton of potential imo. Since it is a combo that is focussed around creatures.

Dragonstorm...lol

That Flash deck needs a ton of cards...

Heh, wow Eric I guess you beat me to it. What stopped you from still working on the deck? This is my initial run on the deck, we have similar ideas here about what we want to get done as well.

But heres where I disagree...

I wouldn't venture into Gush terroritory because that's iffy business with Confidant, and in the long run a deck like this really just does more powerful stuff with Dark Confidant not Gush. But in a U/R build you might have something going there, if Voidmage wasn't so mana intensive it'd get my nod for sure. But that makes me give Patron Wizard another nod since his ability is manaless.

I've played Aether Vial in here before and I just feel meh on it. Turn four Patron Wizard isn't as impressive as turn 3. Even if instant speed, it could just be too slow.

@Everrid
Hurkyl's Recall is excellent in this deck because it lets you set up a turn to overwhelm the shop player with a Patron Wizard lock. I found it to be much better than Kataki.
Confidant and expensive cards? It's pretty spread out. I bet if Threads of Disloyalty was there instead of Sower, you wouldn't even make that comment.  And making Confidant into Voidmage fodder is as well an option. And no, the deck is not too slow vs Combo I find it to be just fine since I've played the match several times.

So...that Elemental deck that placed in the Top 8 recently in Canada really reinspired my thinking for Vintage. I have been dabbling with ideas here and there, but I figured to play with some Tribal Themes. Wizards was a strategy in Extended that was known, but never really played. It was a generally accepted strategy that played the tempo roll to beat decks with a quick Patron Wizard lockdown.  It works in Vintage too! Get some crappy guys that do crap and then Patron Wizard them out. There are Extended lists for initial inspiration as well. I took U/W/B as my core since Aven Mindscensor is a pro and as is Meddling Mage. If you can figure out a strong list to run Magus Of The Moon and Grim Lavamancer, you probably as well will have a strong core, but my manabase building is garbage. Basic plan is to curve out with one drop, two drop, Patron Wizard. Force Of Will and Thoughseize are basic protection package, and even Matyr Of Frost is excellent at an early defense since his ability is uncounterable.

Guys:

1cc
2x Stormscape Apprentice
3x Martyr Of Frost
1x Sage Of Epityr (I just can't drop them all)

2cc
3x Meddling Mage
4x Dark Confidant
2x Voidmage Prodigy

3cc
4x Patron Wizard
3x Aven Mindscensor

Spells
4x Brainstorm
4x FoW
3x Thoughtseize
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Ancestral
1x Time Walk

How to Stop Dreadnought, Goyf, and Dryad since you lose to them otherwise
2x Sower Of Temptation

Manas
4x Lotus, Pearl, Jet, Sapphire
3x Underground Sea
3x Tundra
4x Flooded Strand
3x Polluted Delta
4x Island
1x Strip Mine

That's the main core. It looks like a pile, but it's solid as hell. Your control matches are excellent, as you can just stall the early game with crappy dudes like Matryr of Frost until you can drop Patron Wizard to gain some control in the later game. I'm only playing two Voidmage since I find them extremely mana intensive. But they are late game bombs when the game is drawn out and you have your crappy Wizards stacked up, it can basicaly end it all. If I expect a ton of GAT and other weird flavors of Gush, I'd give a nod to three of them.

Sower Vs Threads Of Disloyalty

One is a Wizard, the other is less mana, which makes a huge difference. I just can't decide. Usually you need to take their guy and you will have enough mana. Sometimes your opponent is too fast and Threads would have saved you. I go back and forth everytime I play the deck. See which fits you better.

Why I feel this is is better than fish:
Turning guys sideways won't cut it right now. You play the good guys fish has, and you add them into a new engine. It just gives you a new strategy to act upon which rewards the deck a lot more than it used to. The only card I don't like seeing go is Jotun Grunt, but that's ok. You have Bob, Mindscensor, and Meddling Mage playing the same disruptive rolls they used to but become game enders when teamed with Patron Wizard.

The bad matches:
Ichorid and Workshop Aggro.
Ichorid is helpless, the only cool thing you have is counters that can't be removed via discard which is Matyr of Frost, that can do a little bit, but usually not enough. There isn't enough Ichorid around for me to really go nuts right now.

Workshop Aggro. Game 1 if you are on the play you can hope to out tempo them. And it can be done. The problem is, if Jugz and friends hit the table, it's over, nothing you can do. You need to FoW the big guy in their opening hand, and steal a Welder via Threads. That's the way the game plays. If something doesn't work the right way you lose. So I propose this sideboard if you feel there will be Workshops Present...

3x Swords To Plowshares
3x Hurkyl's Recall
3x Energy Flux
3x Umezawa's Jitte
2x Threads Of Disloyalty
1x Meddling Mage

That's what I have been playing. Workshops in mind and other aggro matches basically. If I fear Empty The Warrens you'd see some other tricks. But my group hasn't been discussing that threat much really. But I certainly wouldn't dismiss it at all, that would be foolish. When a big tournament comes around I think I'd have to retune it for that card if I play this deck. I love Hurkyl's because it lets me bounce Shop Aggro's board and just completely slow them down by building a Patron Wizard army to lock them out of the game completely. But this is a SB I prepared for a Northeast Meta. I haven't taken Oath into account just yet and it seems like it might be worth a nod at the moment.

So where to go from here...the deck is fun and can be restrategized with different roles. If you feel Trinket Mage is that great(which I didn't in initial deckbuilding) you may be able to squeeze him in. Like I mentioned earlier, Magus Of The Moon brings forth interesting prospects too. The other worthy mention I feel is Meloku. He can probably solve my Workshop Aggro troubles, it's just he's five mana. So with some retinkering you maybe have something there. Also Venser can possibly be crafted into something useful, but his mana cost and ability don't seem that appealing.

I'm known to crafting bizarre decks and doing well with them. I'm a huge fan of Patron Wizard and he can be dismissed as crap if you'd like, but he is no joke to me. I felt this is a deck that's differrent and might be more cool to try out than another flavor of Workshop or whatever card you want to throw into your Gush deck.

The 5/3 Goblin is good. But heres the problem. Goblins is clogged up with three slots as it is usually. Very often you rather set up an alpha Strike with Matron or Warchief and take a gamble on the next turn. Turn four is Goblins most important turn. Vial is set at the cost for the win and your Gobbos are stacked up. It's that simple. If you are Jester's Capping someone, good luck.

But if you have a mediocore draw, and you swing with your turn one Mogg Fanatic. The card is a lot better on those draws.

I basically figured this logic with fetches to be sound on the basic fact that lands are useless game one, I'm not that interested in casting Cabal Therapy in g1 I'd imagine. Dryad Arbor isn't much better, but he turns sideways and is fodder to Therapy.
Every good Ichorid list in ever other format has at least 11 sources postboard to put up a defense. If you'd like to play four Tropical Islands g2 and 3 that is sound as well. It gives you ten sources to play Chain Of Vapor safely. and 12 for silence.

The other reason I like Chain Of Vapor and frown upon the ones not playing it is because, as Brassman told me, it's the catchall tempo when you just have no idea what your opponent is bringing in. I am actually cutting down the Leylines for lands in the maindeck. I go back and forth between Chalice and Leyline, but I think Leyline is only slightly better than Chalice v GAT, but Chalice is better against everything else. Unmask is a necessary evil, so that's going nowhere.

@Nataz, do you really feel the odds of dredging away the trops are likely before I break a fetch for one? Most likely I would draw a fetch and probably pop it after the first Bazaar activation, if pieces of hate come down, I think I'd take a fetch on the first turn for a Tropical Island.

I'm working on Ichorid right now as well, but here is what I found interesting, game one you don't need lands. That's why Dryad Arbor is good. It becomes some stupid dude. Game 2 and three, he can be useful. I also feel the reason Ichorid looses consistently is because it just can't draw lands to answer hate. I think you need 12 or 11 (thats what successful builds in other formats used) colored mana sources postboard to be able to do something relevant consistently.

So game 1 I think having a mana base of the following would be good.

2 Dryad Arbor
3 Windswept Heath
3 Wooded Foothills

Your lands always turn into a dork game 1. Which is fine. Like we all know, mana is basically useless.

Postboard you bring in three Tropical Islands and Chain Of Vapors, Reverant Silence (multiple enchantments are bad) and Contagions in some matches. I'm also currently not playing Leyline of The Void. It's just not doing anything for me. I accept an Ichorid mirror loss because I am just not that worried about it personally.

Also I am content with two Cephalid Sages and a Flam Kin Zealot as my Dread Returns pieces. Sometimes I think of Ghoul, but it hasn't backfire enough yet. I really haven't tried Ancestors Chosen, but I see a problem by not winning, if my opponent can start playing relevant cards I can simply lose by decking myself. Lets admit after a Dread Return, my deck is pretty thin there.

Chalice on the draw should go out in a lot of matches. I disagree with that as well.

There were times Mana Leak was optimal in Mono Blue, and I still find it to be a worthy mention in Bomberman depending on the metagame since that deck was highly dependant on setting up a decent turn one defense, since the rest of the deck was too slow to do much else turn one.

I can't find the GAT matchup really winnable at all for Bomberman. You can tweak the hell out of it to crush Workshop, I know I have done that before. But a good GAT player can crush me in every way imaginable. Bombermans tempo plays are underwhelming for a beast like GAT. They have the better draw engine and more powerful spells to just stay ahead of all your plays. And Trinket Mage very often to get my Tormod's Crypt's and Aether Spellbombs, to set GAT back are just too little, too late.

I just see these cards being a bit too slow. I can see the pump Dryad *possibly* being a one of. But I think I rather play Goblin Pyromancer as a one of before him, since he allows you put you into more "oops my crappy guys got there" type of situation. Especially vs. GAT I find myself wishing I had more relevant Goblins since my team very often consists of a Matron, Fanatic, and a Ringleader, with the really good guys getting countered or killed.

Maybe taking a page out of the Legacy decks might be helpful,they have a bit more of a range of creatures in their "threshold" type decks.Iinstead of playing a Grizzly Bear, since the odds of him connecting are lower than ever. You can go balls to the wall with something like Tombstalker even. Or maindeck Trygon Predator could be solid as well since it can be a powerful play that can rack in the advantage.

You play four Tarmogoyf, if you don't draw that beatstick and disrupt the hell out of a powerful deck like GAT, you will be in a bad place alone very quickly with pure hand disruption elements, especially since we are discussing chopping down the number of Zombie Infestations.

Instead of Terravore, did anyone try Doran, The Siege Tower in here. Hes a bit lighter on your manabase for starters then Terravore. Also what are the thoughts on Aven Mindscensor in this deck? He is still insanely powerful, and should fit the tempo in this sort of deck rather well...granted he isn't a big beefy guy sadly. I really want another guy to put on the beats besides Tarmogoyf. It seems like I want just another guy to make sure the job gets done quickly, after I duress them to death.

Hey Rich,

I'm not too sure how necessary Pyroclasm is against Goblins. From what I have come to understand, the most relevant cards that come out of that deck, are Goblin Lackey, and Aether Vial. Occasionally Leyline Of The Void may make a difference. I have come to understand the rest of the deck is too slow and clunky without those cards to really make an impact on the game state. Vial sets up the key plays to get around countermagic, and it's instant speed ability may put Pyroclasm in the "too late" situation. This may sound silly, but being a frequent Goblins player, I think a card like Propaganda would be more threatening actually packed with a Tarmogoyf on the side, I can't really imagine winning through that.

Just some thoughts for our rematch. Good job buddy.

-Elias