I finished first with the list below. Normally I'm not a fan of Oath, but I decided to try it for this event since Pyromancer decks have been popular lately. My one loss in the Swiss was to a Pyromancer deck.

I used a list by Kevin McKee (http://morphling.de/top8decks.php?id=1810) with a few changes. Rune-Scarred Demon was sweet... you pretty much never lose after an Oath trigger. In the top 4 I just hard cast it off Lotus on turn 4 as a Demonic Tutor with a 6/6 attached and it was great. I think the deck needs more Duress and Flusterstorm, and I'd definitely cut Gifts. Jace and Orchard seems like a non-bo, but hey, it's still Jace. I also won a surprising number of games with Tezzeret.

Main deck:
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Duress
3 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
1 Gifts Ungiven
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Mana Drain
2 Mental Misstep
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Ponder
1 Repeal
1 Spell Pierce
1 Steel Sabotage
1 Swan Song
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Time Walk
1 Gaea's Blessing
4 Oath of Druids
1 Noxious Revival
1 Ancient Grudge

1 Flooded Strand
4 Forbidden Orchard
1 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Tropical Island
2 Underground Sea
1 Volcanic Island

Sideboard:
1 Abrupt Decay
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Dragon Breath
1 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Forest
1 Hellkite Tyrant
2 Nature's Claim
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Pyroblast
1 Pyroclasm
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Tormod's Crypt

Personally I think the new trigger rules make a lot of sense, and the only reason people think they're bad is because of all the other crappy versions we've had in the past and the endless confusion that caused.  But on to the mini-report.

At the last Eudo event I played BUG fish to a finals split.  The deck was sweet but I wanted to play something more powerful, so I picked up Bob/Jace (2nd place list in initial post).  I moved a Viashino Heretic to the main because I expected a lot of shops.  It never really came up, but in hindsight it's Gorilla Shaman I want in the main.

Round 1 vs Adam (Bob/Jace): Three crazy complicated games that I don't remember many the details of.  In game 3 when he got out Key/Vault, backing it up with Mana Drain and then passed the turn because he was tapped out.  I did not remind him of his Mana Drain trigger in the second main phase -- thanks, new rules!  I almost clawed back into it, but he had two perfect cards on top of his deck.

Round 2 vs Galen (Drain Tendrils): Galen is 0-1 because his car was late for round 1.  Game 1 I make a turn 1 Blightsteel and pass.  He does not find a bounce spell.  Game 2 I don't counter his Fact or Fiction so that I can keep my Library active.  He ends up with a Mox and Intuition, putting one Accumulated Knowledge in the yard.  He Intuitions for AK and I counter the AK.  So far so good, but I have no other action and he continues to draw large numbers of cards.  Eventually he goes for it, Rebuilding his Moxes, then Chain of Vaporing them all, massing up a huge storm count while I just close my eyes and think of England.  Right when I'm about to die he realizes he doesn't have a second black and passes the turn.  I get a Bob out and we draw-go for a while.  Fortunately Bob gives me a Flusterstorm the turn before Galen can kill me for real, buying time for me close out the game.

Round 3 vs Ryan R (Bomberman): Ryan is 1-1 because he was in the car with Galen.  Game one is super tight.  I get blown out early by Aven Mindcensor, but after a lot of grinding I pull out the game.  Game 2 I can search my WHOLE library and it's super-nice.  I set up Vault-Key, but I have a Bob out and only two mana and 11 life.  First three flips are Force, Demonic Tutor, and Force and that's all she wrote.  In game 3 I counter his Yawg Will and play my own, finishing with a Tinker on top of my library and a Key and a spare artifact in play.  He has one turn to topdeck and comes up with an Aven Mindcensor!  Fortunately this time I have a Bolt.

Round 4 vs Ryan D (Shop aggro): I have a crazy good draw in round 1... at one point I have about 8 permanents in play (including Jace) to his board of just 2 Ancient Tombs and 6 life.  Of course I lost that game, not close.  In game two many Ingots are chewed, including one paid for with Mana Drain mana that goes the distance.  More chewing of Ingots in game 3, along with a Blightsteel to seal the deal.

Round 5 vs Sam (Shop aggro): ID

Top 8 vs Heiner (Bob/Jace): Heiner takes some mulligans and I draw pretty well, taking it down in two games.

Top 4 vs Adam (Bob/Jace): A rematch from round 1!  I think I lost the first one, but in games 2 and 3 my mox monkey munches many a mox and I emerge victorious with a flurry of Lightning Bolts to the head.

Top 2 vs Rich (Young Americans): I mulligan an unkeepable 7 into Library, Mox Jet, Bolt, Bolt, Snapcaster, Snapcaster.  I don't like it, but since he doesn't have Tinker I really only care about Bob and Pyromancer and we do have answers.  Unfortunately I don't find a red source and he has a quick Bob into Ancestral into Pyromancer into counter everything.  Game 2 I have a borderline 7, but don't draw anything of note while he has basically the same draw.

So, the day before the tournament I played Young Pyromancer in M14 sealed, and really wanted to make him work in Vintage but couldn't do it.  Huge props to Rich and Steve for pulling it off, and in two different and interesting ways!

No, if it's your own Chalice then you are required to remember the trigger.  If you forget, and you or your opponent notices, then you call a judge and find out what happens.  There's a policy for resolving it, but the key thing here is if they determine it was intentional, it will be considered cheating.

I didn't ask any questions... I just said what I was doing (paying for one copy).  Also, his intention isn't that cut and dried from my point of view.  For example, if he taps out and gets Colossus, then if I'm holding Jace or Steel Sabotage he will be stuck with Colossus in hand.  So if he has, say, a REB, he might prefer to not pay and hold that up for a turn and do something more broken on another turn (e.g., Yawg Will).

Regarding the top 8 pairings in your first post, I was paired against Sam and Tuan was paired against Ochoa.  At one point I came over and Web was staring down Vault/Key, Emrakul, and Blightsteel Colossus.  He remained stoic and did not scoop until the end came two turns later.

Thanks for typing up the lists!

---
Just saw aahz's reply -- no offense taken.  I *was* trying to mislead in exactly one sense: I was trying to stay confident when in fact I was in real trouble.  The reason for this is maybe he then assumes I have the bounce spell and goes for a slower line like Time Vault (or not paying and trying later as mentioned above).  It's a long shot, but it was all I could do.

Here's my mini-report for a finals split with BUG.  Can't find my life total sheets, so this is from memory; sorry if I got any details wrong.

I haven't played Vintage in quite a while, so once I got a hall pass for this event I set about scanning top 8 lists for something sweet.  The BUG deck played by Mark Hornung in Lancaster (and others before in Europe) caught my eye.  Can Deathrite Shaman and Abrupt Decay actually be good in Vintage?  Only one way to find out...

The main changes I made (relative to Hornung's list) were adding Ponder and Mystical Tutor (both good with Confidant and Snapcaster), adding a Strip and Wasteland, and turning two Lilianas into Thoughtseize.  In the sideboard I swapped the Mountain-based SB cards for on-color artifact answers that I felt were more flexible (e.g., Steel Sabotage vs Colossus or Nature's Claim vs Oath).  Not sure if it's right, but it all seemed fine in theory the night before the tournament.


Round 1 vs David (Webster)

Starting things off in challenge mode versus the one and only David Ochoa.  He's usually on some kind of blue control, so I keep a slowish hand without much disruption.  My land-go is answered by his Mox, Mox, Mox, Shop, Thorn, Thorn.  Hmm, that was unexpected.  Eyeing his signed Japanese Thorns of Amethyst I ask if they'll affect my turn 2 Dark Confidant.  No?  Great.  Nor did they affect my turn 3 Trygon Predator, cast honestly off three lands like God intended.  Say, this Trygon Predator card is quite strong against Stax!  Whoever popularized that card in Vintage (arguably the one and only David Ochoa) was a genius.

Game 2, Web leads off with a Lodestone Golem on turn 1 or 2.  I cast a Trygon Predator (maybe turn 3 off Deathrite?) but a Duplicant eats it and I can't come back in time.

Game 3 I keep a hand with thee land but too many three drops.  I can buy a couple of turns to draw a Mox, Deathrite, or another land in order to wipe the board with Energy Flux, but as it is, Wasteland into Smokestack plus Lodestone locks me out.  Almost got there anyways due to him losing every single Mana Crypt flip, but a turn before lethality he fed it to his Smokestack in disgust.  Ah well, poor mulligan choice on my part.

0-1


Round 2 vs Michael (Bomberman)

Not a great matchup, but in game 1 my draw is just much better and I'm able to lock him out under Liliana -- killing Salvagers and stripping all his countermagic.

Game 2 I get a decent start, but eventually he gets a Jace down.  I gamely attack Jace with a Deathrite while my other creatures are killed or countered, and actually feel kind of in it as he somehow bricks turn after turn with Jace/fetch/Sensei's Top running.  At some point I probably should have started draining for 2 instead, but before I can switch plans he gets a Pithing Needle on my Shaman.  Then comes a Salvagers to stop my attacks.  Earlier I had Surgically Extracted his Lotus -- mainly for information so I could Snapcaster/Surgical his last card in hand (Force of Will).  So he can't combo with Salvagers, but the enormous 2/4 body stops my beats and his Jace goes ultimate.

It turns out that a zillion Jace/Top activations can really take a toll on the clock, so game 3 is a draw.

0-1-1

Yeah, so this is the point in the tournament where I start wondering if I should really be playing a Vintage deck where literally the most powerful thing I can do is attack for 2.  People kept stopping by my matches, looking at the cards in play, and asking if I misread the announcement and brought Legacy deck.  Still, Vintage opportunities have been rare of late for me, so better try to make it count...


Round 3 vs Landstill

Got paired against someone in his first Vintage tournament.  He played well, but I managed to take it down 2-1.  Flusterstorm for his Ancestral was pretty key.  Might have had a turn 2 Jace (via Deathrite) in there somewhere.

1-1-1


R4 vs Eric (Campee) with Jace Control

I won game 1, I think via Bob advantage.  Game 2 we both get stuck on one mana, and he gets out of it first.  We get to the point where I have Underground Sea, Deathrite Shaman, Strip Mine versus his three lands and a Voltaic Key.  I cast Thoughtseize and he Ancestrals in response, revealing: Mana Crypt, Tinker, Force of Will, Yawmoth's Will, Demonic Tutor, Snapcaster Mage.  Geeeeze, is that good?  The thing is, I'm holding two Abrupt Decays, so if I can stop him for just one turn, I'll actually be OK even through his Force.  I take Mana Crypt and Strip a land and pass for my one turn without Decay mana.  Obviously he peels another land.  He goes for Snapcaster/Ancestral and of course hits Lotus to be able to Will/DT/Vault the same turn.  I may or may not be on life tilt at this point.

Game 3 he counters my Bob and plays a Bob of his own.  Then he plays another Bob.  Things are looking real bad, but then he flips a Jace and Time Vault with only two land in play.  LIfe total is low -- time for aggro mode.  I make a Vendilion Clique and see that among his many cards, the only relevant one is Vampiric Tutor.  But if I Strip Mine his tapped Underground Sea, he can't even cast that, and figure that by the time he finds another black source his life total will be too low.  I leave his hand pat and start racing my Clique and his Bob flips vs his Bob attacks.  It works.

2-1-1


R5 vs Jeff/Lotushead (Stax)

One more win to make top 8.  I lose the die roll, but Jeff takes a mulligan.  I have Force of Will for his Sphere, enabling my turn 1 of land, Mox, Mox, Trygon Predator.  It eats everything.

Game two my Trygon Predator was a little slower coming out, but just as hungry when he got there.

3-1-1

Made the top 8.  There is brief discussion of a split, but several players are enthusiastically against it.  Battle!


Top 8 vs Sam (RDW)

Looks like I'm not the only one playing a "Legacy deck"-- Sam has some kind of Jackal Pup, burn, and Red Blast concoction.  Knowing this I keep a somewhat loose hand: Sea, Sea, fetch, Mox, Lotus, Deathrite Shaman, Deathrite Shaman on the draw.  OK, maybe it's really loose, but at least I won't get Wastelanded out.  He leads with Mountain, I lead with Sea into Shaman.  With great satisfaction he bolts the Shaman and Wastes my Sea, so I run back the exact same play on turn 2.  He Wastelands again, but the second Shaman lasts the whole game, gaining me about 10 life and dealing almost all the damage.

Game 2 I live dangerously with the double Bob beatdowns, but fortunately I had double Nature's Claim (a.k.a. inverse Fireblast) for emergencies.


Top 4 vs Danny with Tezz

Danny is new to the area (at least on a Vintage time scale).  Nice guy with a really nice deck -- altered art Japanese cards and the whole nine yards.  There were a lot of nice decks at this event actually; I guess people wanted a chance to bring their bling.

I lose the die roll but have the perfect opening of turn 1 Mox Jet, Thoughtseize, land, Mox, Bob.  I then get out a Trygon Predator, though all it can do is make him replay his Sensei's Top.  At one point I Steel Sabotage the Top and he Flusterstorms.  I figure I can just Flusterstorm back, but after some analysis I realize that won't work out since he had more mana up at the time.  Nevertheless, with the Bob draws I'm able to stop anything bad from happening.

Game 2 is going reasonably well until he runs out a Demonic Tutor for Tinker (I think) and Tinkers with two mana up.  I have 1 blue and 1 green mana available and relevant spells are Spell Pierce, Flusterstorm, and Nature's Claim.  Spell Pierce doesn't do it, and Nature's Claim to increase storm won't really accomplish anything.  So I run out the Flusterstorm.  He Flusterstorms back, saying that they all target my Flusterstorm, pointing to the original.  That doesn't make any sense, so I ask for clarification and he says that he's distributing his copies over my copies.  I think it over and at this point all I can really do is pay for 1 copy to make him tap out and hope for no Colossus (or a Steel Sabotage or Liliana off the top).  He tells me I can't just pay 1 because he has more copies, so I explain that he has one Flusterstorm on each of my Flusterstorm, except for one that has two Flusterstorms on it.  So I'm paying for one of the copies with one Flusterstorm.  He thinks about this and says "OK, yeah, I guess that works," thinks some more, and bins his Tinker.  Well... it is a legal option for him to not pay for the copy I paid for.  I feel a little dirty at this point, but I don't think I said anything misleading and I wasn't even expecting this outcome.  But I guess I'll take it... confusing card is confusing.  From this point he's out of gas and I get to do what my deck does -- attack for 2 until it's over.


Finals vs BC (Stax)

BC offers the split since he wants to go for dinner.  Fine by me.  One of us has to drop though... BC suggests playing a one game match, but considering I'm going to sideboard 8 cards and he'll probably sideboard about 1, I'm not sure that's really in my favor.  We're at an impasse so I take the fall and he gets to be the nominal winner.

Thanks to Eudemonia for a smoothly run tournament!

Whoops, sorry about the top 4 mixup.  And thanks for taking down those dredge decks... my sideboard was underprepared for them. 

4 Jace is the tech.  Might have to start running some little Jaces now, just to win the inevitable Jace wars...

There were 18 players for 5 rounds with a cut to top 8.  I don't know if there was a single Lodestone Golem in attendance... the field was like 50% ochoa.dec (Trygon Tezz), with some Fish, dredge, storm, goblins, and jund.  I played a UR deck similar to this list, but with vault-key and lots of sweet random cards.  The first place Emerald was in poor condition, so we split the store credit in the semis:

Brett Allen - UR Remora/Jace
Eric Campusano - BUG Fish
Charles Gordon - Sower Jacerator
?? - Dredge Ryan Devine - Trygon Jacerator

Hopefully top 8 lists will be posted at some point.

I went 4-0 in the swiss against various flavors of Tezz which are all a blur.  This game was pretty memorable, though:

Opponent turn 1: Land, Mox, Dark Confidant
My turn 1: Ruby, Lightning Bolt the Confidant, Strip Mine his land
Opponent turn 2: Land, Mox, Time Vault, Voltaic Key
My turn 2: rrrrip Lotus, play Land, Lotus, Gorilla Shaman, eat Key, eat Mox, beat for 20

Had it, etc.

In the top 8 I played against Zach with TPS and had a pretty sweet opener:

My turn 1: Island, Mystic Remora (opponent Forces), Pearl, Lotus, Tinker into Inkwell, Relic of Progenitus
I attack him down to 4, then his Bob reveals Tendrils.

Game 2 he has a nice one:

Opponent turn 1: Land, Mox, Cabal Ritual, Necropotence
My turn 1: Remora

My opponent slow-draws with Necro and makes land drops until my I can't pay for Remora on turn 4.  I'm pretty sure it's over when he casts Tendrils for 10 life and Time Walk in the same turn with Necro out.  Somehow I survive that despite having only Relic and Spell Pierce as disruption, though I'm on the verge of dying to my own Mana Crypt.  I Merchant Scroll for Mindbreak Trap, and after much agonizing he decides he has to Necro down to 2 life.  I have the Lightning Bolt.

Sucks for me too... Jul 25 and Aug 8 are pretty much the only two Sundays that I can't make it.  Guess I lose a free entry and two byes. 

The missing card in my (Brett's) deck is Mox Pearl.

The event finished at around 8:30.  I think that's a little later than normal, because some matches went long and the finals are often not played.  I wanted to split because second place was just $25 store credit... but it wasn't to be.  

And Jeff, you definitely did not lose the die roll in the finals, and I don't think you mulliganed either.  I mulled twice and had unreal terrible draws... every card (and I drew a lot of them) was a pure dagger.  All the same, I could have played better in game 2.  Still a harsh way to lose $400.

I was going to play storm, but as usual by the time I registered it had morphed back into Tezz.  The optional cards: 2 Remora, 2 Bob, 1 Tendrils, 1 Dark Ritual, 2 Jace.  I did end up killing a bunch of people with Tendrils (sometimes as early as turn 2), but every time I did I had to wonder if I could have just as easily made Key/Vault...

I think Iona came out on turn 7 or 8.  That game I kept a hand of 2 Orchard, Tropical Island, Oath, Krosan Reclamation, Merchant Scroll, Misdirection.  It's not a great hand, but it seems ok on the play.  Obviously you go turn 1 Lotus, Sol Ring, Wasteland, Thorn of Amethyst, Myr Servitor.  Then you played two more Wastelands and a Sword of Fire and Ice.  I drew more land, but couldn't get a third mana.  I had to tap out for Sol Ring to play Oath on the following turn.  Obviously that's the turn I draw Hellkite.  Pretty must the only way I lose that game is four land denial effects in the first three turns plus me drawing Hellkite.  Ah well.  I still think it's a good matchup for me even after boarding, but I misplayed game 2 by dropping my Needle too early.  Still, if I had ever drawn a green source I probably would have been fine that game too.

As it turns out, we totally could have taken the draw.  However, we had no way to know that until Jeff finished his match, because if Patrick doesn't lose then one of us would have been knocked with a draw.

To fill out the metagame coverage, Thomas was playing GWB fish.

Luis and I split in the finals.  I wanted to get food and he had an article to write...

Extra-mini report:

I almost skipped this one because of the Bay Bridge falling apart, but fortunately Campee agreed to drive us the long way around.

I haven't been a big fan of Oath decks in Vintage, but after reading Matt Elias's article I was convinced that Iona is the real deal.  And I was tired of Tezz, so I ran the last-minute audible.

Round 1 vs Tezz: 2-1
Round 2 vs Tezz: 1-2
Round 3 vs TPS: 2-1
Round 4 vs mono-R: 2-1
Round 5 vs Tezz: ID
Top 8 vs Remora: 2-0
Top 4 vs Tezz: 2-0
Finals: split

My changes to the list were mostly terrible, but I had some pretty lucky draws.

Looking forward to potato's top 8 coverage!

Great report!  One other rules thing for the future... Necro has this often-overlooked line, "Whenever you discard a card, exile that card from your graveyard."  Hard to see how the Belcher could have been available for welding.

Super-mini report:

Threw together a random Tezz deck with an assortment of creatures and a last-minute Library of Alexandria as the 61st card.

Round 1 vs Cory (Steel City Vault)

Cory scoops both games when I play Yawgmoth's Will with a very stacked graveyard.

1-0

Round 2 vs Patrick (BUG fish)

Patrick's hand was crazy good in game 1... I kept thinking I could take control, but he always had the answer.  Then he didn't have the answer to Sower on his Tarmogoyf.  In game 2 I Repealed his Null Rod, had a crazy Will turn, and bashed with Inkwell.

2-0

Round 3 vs Alex (crushing chamber)

Alex vomits his entire hand on the table turn 1, including Thorn of Amethyst, Skullclamp, Cranial Plating, and dudes.  I can buy time with Fire and Hurkyl's Recall, but don't draw anything.  Game 2 I mull to six and draw only land, while he drops a million dudes.

2-1

Round 4 vs Eric (Tezz)

Eric starts with a Time Walk and plays a ton of mana.  When I finally get a turn, I start with Island, Lotus, Duress, planning to follow up with Dark Confidant.  But when I see his hand of Darkblast, Tezz, and more mana, I have to go with a new plan.  Fortunately, I have Thirst for Knowledge and I can edge ahead in card advantage in spite of his double Top and eventually combo out.  Game 2 is back and forth a bit.  He's beating down with Bob, but he's down to 6 life.  I play an Empty the Warrens for six dudes (could have been eight if I'd played correctly).  He counters one copy and Darkblast/blocks the rest away.  With Eric at one life, I'm drawing to many outs, but the one I end up with is the funniest: Viashino Heretic!  His Soul Ring kills him, though I suppose attacking would have also worked.

3-1

Round 5 vs Charles (Tezz)

We ID and do an Alara Reborn Winston draft.  My deck sucks and I am summarily crushed by triple Breath of Malfegor.

3-1-1

Top 8 vs Charles (Tezz)

Time for revenge for that Winston draft.  I'm in a deep hole early in game one, with my hand reduced to just Sower and Vampiric Tutor.  However, Charles is tapped out, so I vamp up a YawgWill and play it for value (getting Ancestral and some other stuff).  I Tinker for Inkwell and find the error of not playing Darksteel Colossus when he bounces it after two swings.  Fortunately a Fire finishes him off.  Game 2 I play turn 1 Library of Alexandria.  It is good.

In another quarterfinals match, Cory is in rough shape.  His Dredge opponent only has two cards left, but it will be enough.  However, Cory uses the little-known Helm of Obedience + Voltaic Key combo (no Leyline) to mill the last two cards for victory!

Top 4 vs Christiaan (Tezz)

Christiaan mulls to 5 and I have a turn 1 Ancestral.  I don't draw any action, but I can counter anything for many many turns.  Eventually I play Tezz and win.  Game 2 I play turn 1 Library.  Did I mention it is good?

Finals vs Cory (Steel City Vault)

A rematch from round 1!  However, Cory can use the Pearl so we split.

Props to Eudemonia for another great event.

I played URGb Tezz.  I basically wanted to test out the Inuition engine, which is really strong with Accumulated Knowledge, Goblin Welders, Regrowth, and Ancient Grudge.  Our meta is very Tezz- and Fish-heavy, so I figured this build would help in these matchups, while making me weaker only to TPS and Dredge.  The details of my list are kind of embarrassing (61 cards = definitely wrong), so I'll just wait for Superstars to post the lists.


@LotusHead, I think the cash prizes were the main thing that bumped attendance up.  Personally, I much prefer Sunday to Saturday and I didn't even think I could make it until the day before the tournament.  The metagame was a huge number of Fish and Tezzeret decks, with a smattering of everything else.


Here's my mini-report, from memory:


Round 1 vs Josh Silvestri (Dredge)

Game 1 he has a strong start but doesn't hit any Narcomoebas or Ichorids, giving me a couple of turns to breathe.  Unfortunately, my draw clunks out and I have to cast Yawgmoth's Will just for a land drop (and Ancestral).  This puts me one turn off from comboing, but it's one turn I don't get.

Game 2 I start with land, Mox, Mox, Pithing Needle on Bazaar and Tormod's Crypt.  Seems strong, except that he has the Ancient Grudge and the Chain of Vapor.  A Breakthrough for 0 seals it while my Tormod's Crypt is in my hand.

Matches: 0-1; Games: 0-2


Round 2 vs Marco (Stax)

We both start off with a bunch of Moxes and a Welder each, and I wonder if it's some kind of mirror match until he plays a basic Mountain on turn 3.  I cast Intuition for AKs, and then later draw another AK, so I'm up a lot of cards.  Eventually I combo off through his Welder by virtue of having no artifacts in my yard.

Again we start off with dueling Welders.  He has a Smokestack that is entering and leaving play quite often.  I get out a Goyf, but he comes over the top with a Duplicant.  He takes out my Welder, which means that I can drop the Pithing Needle that was in my opening hand and shut down his Welder.  Then we race my 3/4 Tarmogoyf vs his two 1/1s.  This is a race I win, especially with a Time Walk and an Echoing Truth.

Matches: 1-1; Games: 2-2


Round 3 vs Matt Nass (Affinity)

Apparently Matt was promised a "good" deck, but was left stuck playing Affinity, old-type-2 style with Cranial Plating, Ravagers, Aether Vial, etc.  In game 1 he gets double Disciple, but I can just Intution for the combo and play Yawgmoth's Will.

In game 2 I Ancient Grudge his first two lands.  He has more lands, but he's never really in it.

Matches: 2-1; Games: 4-2


Round 4 vs Dylan (Stax)

Dylan covered this match, above.  Go Mana Crypt!

Matches: 3-1; Games: 6-2


Round 5 vs Brent (Tezz)

I have terrible tiebreakers, and so I have to play this round.  Game 1 is a very back and forth until I have the lucky Misdirection for his Ancestral Recall.  Then it's mostly me.

In game 2, I cast Intuition for AK and try to draw three.  He Forces.  Then I cast AK for four, which he also forces.  That's seven cards I failed to draw, but on the up side his hand is now empty.  This gives me several turns to set up Vault + Tezz + Drain for his Ancient Grudge in the yard.

Matches: 4-1; Games: 8-2


Top 8 vs Michael Klemic (Oath)

In game 1 on the play I can cast turn 1 Tinker, turn 2 Time Walk.  Sadly, I'm playing Sundering Titan instead of Colossus, so against Oath it's just not worth it.  I counter an Oath or two, but Michael finally sticks one with no cards left in his hand, and no Orchard in play.  I play out Time Vault and Tinker for Voltaic Key, but I don't have any mana left to untap.  I think he'd have to hit a draw spell plus several runners to pull this one out, and he doesn't.

In game 2 This time he has Oath plus Orchard, but I have Drain plus REB.  My Orchard token attacks for twelve turns, while Michael proceeds to draw pretty much every card an Oath deck doesn't want to draw.  Finally I combo and put him out of his misery.

Matches: 5-1; Games: 10-2


Top 4 vs Dave Petterson (BUG Faeries)

In game 1 Dave mulliganed and basically played only a Tarmogoyf, giving me a few turns to get things together.  I played a Welder and followed it up with a Fact or Fiction, which whiffed into five mana sources.  The next turn I cast Regrowth on my Fact or Fiction and it's a little better, giving me a Mana Drain and two mana sources.  Finally I drew Intution, which let me search for the combo and weld it in.

Game 2 I have replayed in my mind several times, trying to figure out how I lost.  Dave had a sick start with turn 1 Dark Confidant and Null Rod off Lotus.  I played a Mana Vault and passed.  On turn 2 I played a Merchant Scroll for Ancestral.  However, Dave's Dark Confidant revealed a Force of Will so that plan was on hold.   On turn 3 I drew Brainstorm and cast it, finding a Tinker but no fourth land.  I figure that I can bait with Ancestral and then cast Tinker, so I leave Tinker on top of my library so that it can't be Duressed.  Unfortunately, Dave draws a Wasteland, keeping me off Tinker mana.  My backup plan is to protect Ancestral, so I cast Mystical Tutor to put a Misdirection on top of my library.  During my upkeep, Dave casts his own Ancestral, and with Misdirection awkwardly on top of my library, I'm forced to let it resolve.  On my main phase I cast my own Ancestral, drawing out his Force of Will and defending with my Misdirection.  I draw three cards and get a third land.  I'm actually holding Flametongue Kavu (!), so I figure at this point my best bet is to use my last two mana to Demonic Tutor for a fourth land.  This works out well because Dave draws a Duress and can't take anything relevant (note that if I had kept Tinker in my hand, I would have lost it here).  On my turn, onlookers are blown away to see FtK take down his dude like it's the year 2000.  I relish the moment and then comment that my 4/2 will soon be outclassed by a stupid two-mana 5/6 from the future.  Right on cue, Dave's Tarmogoyf comes down.  I draw several blanks in a row and die.

It's all good though, because I think this is a fine matchup and now I'm on the play.  Unfortunately, my first hand is unkeepable, and my 6-card hand has no mana sources.  My 5-card hand is poor but I keep it.  My hand fails to improve, while Dave starts off with some sick Bitterblossom and Tarmogoyf beats, and I lose.  Probably I should have gone to 4 cards.

Matches: 5-2, Games: 11-4

I think my main mistake was in sideboarding.  First of all, in deck construction I clearly should have had Sower of Temptation in my board instead of FtK.  For some reason I was worried about Pyroblast, but no fish decks around here play red.  Secondly, I boarded out the Intuition/AK package in order to have some creatures of my own, which was a big mistake.  I should have kept my starting configuration and just drawn lots of cards and ignored his creatures.  A lot of my mistakes came from not knowing the exact configuration of Dave's deck (did he have Daze? Trygon Predator?), so props to him for a rogue strategy.


Big ups to Superstars for a well-run event!

Here's the list for the 3rd/4th place Kobold Nauseum deck.  James doesn't really follow Type 1, and he came up with the list himself.  It's a little... loose.  But it's a powerful idea.  I can't really explain the mana base, except to say that Eric and I did manage to make him cut his green cards at the last minute.  But not the Bayous.

James Cabot
Kobolds

5 Moxen
1 Lotus
1 Petal
4 Dark Ritual
4 Pact of Negation
4 Crimson Kobolds
4 Kobolds of Kher Keep
1 Crookshank Kobolds
3 Skullclamp
3 Culling the Weak
3 Ad Nauseum
1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Mana Crypt
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
2 Chrome Mox
4 Forbidden Orchard
4 City of Brass
3 Bayou
1 Underground Sea
2 Tendrils of Agony

Sideboard:
4 Cabal Therapy
2 Pithing Needle
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Echoing Truth
2 Chain of Vapor
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Angel's Grace
1 Brain Freeze

A summary of James's tournament games (approximate):
  Turn 1 wins: 4
  Turn 2 wins: 2
  Later wins: 2
  Losses to LSV: 3
  Other losses: 1

Actually, I played TPS, very similar to Mastriano's championship list.

I squeaked out a tight match against Stax in top 8, despite having the bare minimum of anti-shop cards in my board (I swapped in more anti-fish hate because of the local meta... forgetting that the SoCal influx would bring in a lot more shops).  Fortunately I had Rebuild in the main so I could storm out in game 1, and an unopposed Negator took game 2.  Then I lost to Eric in the semis... mulled to 4 in game 1, and double-Duress, double-Grunt in game 3 took away my action and left me on a short clock.

My other loss was in the Swiss against shops again... affinity shops.  He wins the roll and plays turn 1 Strip Mine, Mox Pearl, Mana Crypt, Genesis Chamber, Ornithopter - make a guy, Frogmite - make a guy, Myr Enforcer - make a guy.  I play a Polluted Delta and pass it back, taking 9.  On my next turn, I'm a mana short of going off, so I have to pass it back at 10 life.  He draws Skullclamp, sticks it on Enforcer and kills me. 

Major props to Eudemonia for another great tournament series!

I think the three missing cards are Bloodstained Mire, Swamp, and Badlands.  Sometimes Wasteland gets popular around here (and Stifle), so I switched a fetch to a Swamp relative to Menendian's list.

I've always been in favor of starting off any decklist with four Force of Wills and four Brainstorms.  On rare occasions I've played shops or Grim Tutors, even making top 8s, but it never felt right.  However, after my first tournament with the new restrictions, I have come to the conclusion that the new king of Vintage is Duress.  Without Brainstorm protection, it's so good.

The next logical step from there is that it's better to have a good card on top of your deck than a good card in your hand.  And so, after Web's victory with Grim Long at the last Eudemonia event, I too decided to join the dark side and play Grim Long.  I waffled between Becker's and Menendian's list, eventually choosing the latter.  Partly for the variety, and partly because I'm just not a fan of Street Wraith.  As usual, I took a perfectly good list and janked it up by adding some random crap.  I also added in a small anti-fish component to the sideboard, since Fish is pretty popular in these parts.


Round 1 vs Eric (Bomberman)

Eric and I usually carpool together, so this is an unfortunate round 1 pairing.

On game 1, I lose the die roll and mulligan to 6.  I turn 1 him anyways.

On game 2, I again mulligan.  We play draw-go for several turns.  At one point I cast Duress, and he casts Orim's Chant in response, then shows a hand of Orim's Chant, Mana Drain, Force of Will, Auriok Salvagers.  Also, he has a Lotus in play and Spellbomb in the yard.  Bad times.  Eric asks, "Onto game 3?" and I shrug and take one of his counterspells.  With the win in hand, Eric makes extra-sure by casting a main phase Chant on his turn.  I respond with... Extirpate!  Without a spellbomb, Eric "just" has infinite mana and I'm still in it.  He also drew a Trinket Mage, getting Tormod's Crypt, so my yard is gone every turn.

On my turn, I play a Timetwister, which Eric counters.  He attacks for 6 and passes it back.  Now I can resolve Yawgmoth's Bargain.  I draw nine cards, putting me to 1 life, but I don't get enough mana to win.  I cast Tendrils for four and draw three more cards, including Black Lotus and Chain of Vapor.  I bounce all my artifacts and his Tormod's Crypt, which takes my Tendrils away.  My Time Walk is also gone, so the best I can do is make twenty-four Empty the Warrens tokens and pass the turn.  Eric shows me the Echoing Truth and Engineered Explosives... from his sideboard.

1-0


Round 2 vs LSV (Grim Long)

I don't remember much about game one, except that I lost the die roll and somehow still won.

On game two, I double mulligan.  Some Duresses fly around and I'm at least I haven't lost, even if I'm not winning.  Luis plays a Vampiric Tutor and then cycles Street Wraith, his last card, to draw the tutored card.  In response I cast Extirpate on his Duresses for the shuffle effect, losing my Lotus Petal in the process.  Luis gets a random card from the cycling and ships the turn.  This was perhaps the most masterful play of the day.  I figured that if he had drawn something gassy like a draw-7, he would have played it right away and won.  If it had been a close call, he probably would have had to think a little.  Thinking a little could also indicate a bluff, but in fact he just passed the turn right away.  So I concluded that his one card must be a blank or a minor spell like a Mox, and didn't cast Duress on my turn.  It turns out he drew Grim Tutor, and when he drew Ritual on his next turn it was all over.

Facing down a player of superior skill, I did the only thing I could and killed him on turn 1 in game three.  It started with a turn 1 Time Walk off Lotus Petal.  Luis commented that it wasn't as good as the turn 1 Time Walk off a Mox that he had last game.  But in fact the Lotus Petal was better, because I played Yawgmoth's Will on my extra turn.

2-0


Round 3 vs Phil (Fish)

I loaned Phil a bunch of cards for his deck.  His hateful, hateful, anti-combo deck.

In game one I had to go for an early Memory Jar with BR floating and some artifact mana available.  The only spells I could cast off the Jar were Duress and Pyroblast.  Fail.

In game two I mulliganed down to four cards: Mox Jet, Cabal Ritual, Necro, Mana Crypt.  I passed the first turn without playing anything.  Then I ripped an Island and landed the Necro.  I'm back in it, baby!  My first hit of nine cards or so kind of sucked, and there was now a Null Rod to contend with.  I cast Duress and had to take his counterspell, leaving Echoing Truth.  Which sucked because I was holding Empty the Warrens.  I think I got a Timetwister off, and I'm one black mana off from the win.  Though it turns out that even if I had the mana, he twistered into Stifle with Force backup.

2-1


Round 4 vs Cory (5C Bazaar aggro)

I keep a hand of Ritual, Ritual, Land, Lotus, Duress, Thoughtseize, Vamp Tutor.  I'm not sure what he's playing, so after a lot of consideration, I lead off with a seemingly safe Ritual, Duress, Thoughseize, Vamp for Timetwister.  However, it turns out that his hand is irrelevant.  What is relevant is the Duress he peels off the top, taking the Lotus that I greedily kept in my hand.  So I have to draw the Twister and pass, and then I draw a draw another Dark Ritual.  He Duresses me again and takes a Ritual instead of the twister!  That gives me four or five more turns to draw any blue source and be ok, but I do not.  He got very lucky, but it was my own misplay that cost it.

Game 2 I kill him on turn 1.  This deck is not fair.

In game 3, I thought I was all clever, having my one Tendrils in my opening hand so that he can't Hide/Seek it.  Unfortunately he has double Duress plus Leyline.  However, he chose not to take the Tendrils or my Yawgmoth's Will.  I had Thoughtseized away his Goyf, so he doesn't really have any pressure.  Eventually I draw Chain of Vapor and win.  Cory said afterward that he figured I had more than one Tendrils, so there was no point in taking it.  I did have Empty the Warrens, so I wouldn't have been cold to the lost Tendrils, but it probably would have hurt.

3-1


Round 5 vs Web (Grim Long)

ID, 3-1-1


Top 8 vs Phil (Fish)

Aha, a rematch!  This time I don't mulligan and victory is mine.  The only play I remember is in game two.  He has an Isamaru and Savannah Lions out, and I cast Massacre for free.  He Forces.  That means I'm free to resolve Yawg Will and Massacre again.  I can't quite go off that turn, but I draw a bunch of cards and set up to Tinker out Colossus.


Top 4 vs Web

I cannot, offhand, recall a situation where Web has not made the finals of a power tournament.  This is going to be a tough one.

I won the die roll, and then mulliganed to 4 (seeing no on-color mana in my first three hands).  I kept Sea, Duress, Thoughtseize, Mana Crypt.  I Duressed his only mana source (a Mox), and he had no plays on his turn.  Then I Thoughseize and for some reason took Ritual over Timetwister.  Somehow I thought he wouldn't have enough mana for a good Twister, but that was absurd because I obviously had no pressure on with my crappy hand.  So that was a colossus punt.  I was must have been on tilt from the mulligans.

In game 2 I mulliganed once and had a very quick kill.

Game three I kept a sketchy hand (three lands), but we just ripped up each others hands in the early game.  We get to the point where he has lots of mana and a Mana Crypt in hand.  I have three land in play, and a hand of land, land, Dark ritual, Dark Ritual, and Grim Tutor.  My yard has only a Time Walk, Duresses, and land.  He's at 16.  I can rit-rit-grim-yawg will, replay land, rit-rit-grim, but that leaves me two mana short of killing him.  I can also rit-rit-grim-necro.  That's probably the best play, but I was worried about going too low on life, since even a small tendrils could kill me or stop me from replaying grim tutor.  My hand would have been completely spent, so I'd have to Necro for a bunch.  Instead I play rit-grim for Ancestral and play it.  I draw Academy and two artifact sources, so I just play a land and pass the turn.

Top-deck mode.  Web peels a Brainstorm; how broken.  He puts two cards back and then casts Tendrils for four life.  Hmm, well, that's either really good for me, or really bad.  I can make a ton of mana, so I'm basically drawing to any kind of gas.  I savagely rip the gassiest gas of them all, Yawgmoth's Will.  I tip over my hand and Web just runs the stare-down, attempting to make me lose using only the power of his mind.  It almost works, but I manage to make the fairly elementary plays required for victory.

And yes, Web apparently did have the kill next turn, with a Timetwister on top of his library.


Finals vs LSV

I know Luis must be thirsting for revenge from round 2, but he offers the split.  The mirror is very coin-flip-oriented anyways.


So yeah, this deck is the nuts.  I mulliganed twelve times in six played rounds, and it was ok.  I was definitely very lucky, but the deck really does have the sickest rips in the format.  It sure seems to be dominating here.  Grim is harder to play than Flash, but is it better for the format?  I don't know.

Well, the original date is no good because there's a prerelease on that date.  In any event, I doubt they'd move it again so close to the event.

Presumably the tournament on August 23rd was moved because of the PTQ on that same day.  These things (prereleases/PTQs) weren't really within Eudemonia's control when they first came up with the schedule.

I played Control Slaver.  It really wasn't my day.  A mini-report.

I sign up for the tournament.  I'm 90% sure the store has my store credit recorded wrong, but I let it slide.

Ownage: 0-1

Round 1 my opponent presents a decks entirely in top-loaders.  Ten to one it's Belcher.  He wins the flip, I mulligan into a crappy hand.  He floats a bunch of mana and casts Wheel of Fortune.  I shuffle in my hand and hope to get a Force on the 7.  Oh wait, that's not how Wheel of Fortune works.  Game lossed!

Ownage: 0-2

I win the next two games, but it's seriously painful.  The match almost goes to time.  Round 2 I'm paired against Painter (Dan Messineo).  I resolve a turn 1 Welder and I'm feeling good.  Then he resolves an Ancestral and I get stuck on two land.  Game two I literally draw only mana and Darksteel Colossus.

Ownage: 0-3

I go for lunch; the clerk shorts me a dollar when giving change.  I let it slide.

Ownage: 0-4

I play against Oath.  I wreck him every way possible, but then drop my Force of Will guard by playing my only blue spell, Trinket Mage, to get a Top.  He rips Oath, I Top and see three lands (no shufflers).  Whatever.  I kill Razia with Trike/Welder (stacking so as to avoid the damage redirection).  After drawing through the three lands, I find that my next three cards are all mana artifacts.  I'm still set to race Akroma when he, empty-handed again, rips the case Pernicious Deed from his deck.  OK.  Game two balances the ownage slightly when I Mindslaver him and he draws Merchant Scroll.  Thanks for the three cards.  That left him just enough mana to counter his own Echoing Truth.  Game 3 I mulligan and he obv has the nuts again with turn one Orchard+Oath.  He forgets to give me a creature for one turn and ends up one turn short of killing me.  Still, a draw against Oath, blech.

Ownage: 0-5

Needing to win out, I get paired up against Web.  In the entire match, every draw step yielded mana and Darksteel Colossus.  My one big play was when I could dig for a Mana Drain with Sensei's Top.  I consider whether to try and counter Sol Ring to MAYBE keep him off a suspected Mind's Desire, but I figure I'm better off trying to counter the most relevant Desire spell, since it would just be for four.  He flips Ponder, Imperial Seal, Night's Whisper, Ancestral Recall.  Game 2 I mulligan to 4, he casts Ancestral, etc.

Ownage: 0-6

Round 4 I'm paired against a friend who I loaned a bunch of cards to.  It's his first Vintage tournament.  I crushed him utterly, who knows, maybe putting him off Vintage for life.

Ownage: 0-7

On the way home I was short change for the bridge toll because of the lunch fiasco.  I paid with 10 and was rewarded with six one dollar bills.

Ownage: 0-8

In conclusion, I want Brainstorm back.  What's the deal with this thing they call "mana screw"?  This whole uncontrolled draw step business is no good at all.

OK, let me expand on this one... I happened to be sitting next to Mr Acidic and saw this go down.

Slivers guy wins the coin flip and leads off with... Wanderwine Hub (tapped).  Acidic lays a Bazaar of Baghdad.  There's some card reading, some explanation, and then Slivers goes to take his turn.  Acidic stops him with a "Whoa, whoa, I'm not done" and activates the Bazaar, pitching Golgari Thug, Bridge from Below and something else.  Slivers guy goes to take his turn, but is stopped again so that Lotus Petal can enter play and be sacrificed for an Ancestral Recall.  Golgari Thug comes back to the hand to the great consternation of Slivers guy.  What shenanigans is this; Ancestral Recall lets your draw three cards as everybody knows!  Acidic smiles and says "Yes, but... OK, you'd better read this," and slides over the Thug.  A turn later and it's all over.  Meanwhile, back at my match, my opponent has finally finished resolving his turn 1 Brainstorm.

I saw Slivers guy again in round 2.  He was tragically matched up once again against dredge.  His opponent flashes back a Cabal Therapy, naming Echoing Truth.  Slivers guy reveals a hand of Winged Sliver and four copies of Tribal Unity.  What a terrible mis-read on the Therapy.  Dredge guy attacks for 33.

As I waited out my intentional draws, I talked with Slivers guy, who was regretting his choice not to play Goblins deck, or his Spells deck.  I never found out what the deal is with the Spells deck, but I battled his Goblins deck with my type 2 deck.  He won the flip and played turn 1 Lackey, turn 2 Raging Golbin and Lackey'ed out like a Goblin Grappler or something.  I cast Firespout on turn 3 and Chameleon Colossus and Tarmogoyf cleaned up.

Keep at it, Slivers guy.  You'll get there.

I agree 100%... unfortunately I did 100% of my testing at the event rather than beforehand and showed up with Painter without so much as shuffling it up.  As a result I was out-Duressed and out-played by Luis in the top eight.  Game 1 I've been triple Duressed and my hand is Island, Vamp Tutor.  I have three lands and a Painter in play.  Luis has just loaded up with Necro and is in his end step.  Having no real plays, I Vampiric Tutor for Grindstone, go to my turn, and play it.  It resolves.  Luis, always the sly one, asks "Grind me?"  I shrug in assent and he flips his library, skips his draw step, and shows the Will in hand.  Owned.

I guess if I were a better player I would have held back on grinding and seen if he could go off without playing a draw spell, while trying to race my 1/3 dude vs his Necro?  Seems sketchy, since he also had the Tendrils in hand.


Holy crap, that card needs to be restricted. 

Too bad I didn't know it was the last huzzah for the insane Brainstorm/Gush/Ponder engine or I would have played TTS as well.  There really is no better deck right now.

Yeah, I tested a little with a Memory Jar/Tinker list and then switched for the tournament when I saw Eirik's list.  I found Tinker/Jar kind of clunky... you never want to draw the Jar, and the Tinker is a little hard to cast with the lowish artifact count.  Like, I'd find myself asking if I really want to tap three lands and sac my Lotus to tinker for Jar, and the answer is usually no.  Merchant Scroll, on the other hand, is pure awesomeness.

Empty is fine, though in this format I think maybe it's better to go for the immediate kill.  Another nice thing about this build is the mana... you're solidly on two colors + Fastbond.  Adding red is certainly doable, but you'd lose some stability.


I think the Bobs are mainly for Stax, but they're great against GAT as well.  Against Stax, I actually sided out all but one of my Gushes and Fastbond for them.  Maybe that's crazy, but my opponent had Orb of Dreams and stuff like that; I just didn't see it happening.  Bob is a better draw engine in that match and gets under Thorns, and after that I don't want a million fives in my deck.  The Snuff Out is just pure randomness on my part... thinking that sometimes you just want to kill a man.

Web has much more experience with the deck, so he's probably the one to listen to. 


Yeah, weirdly two colorless mana isn't a whole lot better than one in this deck, and the damage does hurt.  Usually when Will is involved you end up with plenty of mana.  I think Tinker is what pushes it over the edge; with Tinker I would totally want Crypt, but without it I could see going either way.

Just saw LSV's post... it's true, instead of draw-7s you have Gush into Brainstorm into fetch-land plus another Ponder or Brainstorm.  It's better than a draw-7.

I'm sure Eudemonia will have the lists will be up soon, but since I can basically copy and paste from Eirik's deck a couple of weeks ago, here it is:

3 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
3 Underground Sea
1 Tropical Island
3 Island
3 Duress
1 Thoughtseize
4 Ponder
4 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
4 Gush
4 Dark Ritual
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Lotus Petal
1 Black Lotus
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
2 Merchant Scroll
1 Fastbond
1 Timetwister
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Misdirection
1 Echoing Truth
1 Necropotence
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Time Walk
1 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Tendrils of Agony
SB:
4 Dark Confidant
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Hydroblast
1 Swamp
1 Hurkyls Recall
1 Snuff Out
1 Extirpate

Here's a little report.  Working mostly from memory, so the details may be off.

Round 1 vs Shane (Manaless Ichorid)

I win the die roll and consider my hand of Flood Strand, Duress, Merchant Scroll, double Force, double Gush.  Seems OK, because the disruption can give me time to get more mana.  When I Duress, he shows Chalice, Ichorid, Narcomoeba, Thug, Dryad Arbor, Bazaar.  Crap.

On turn 2 I draw a Jet and Merchant Scroll for Ancestral.

On turn 3 he Cabal Therapies me, getting three zombies.  I FoW, pitching Gush.  He decides to not go for the kill and just Dread Returns a Platinum Angel.  On my turn, I Ancestral into no lands, but I do have Petal, Time Walk, and Brainstorm.  I decide just Walking isn't good enough, so I Petal into Brainstorm, which finds me another land to cast the Walk.  On my Walk turn, I Tendrils him out and Echoing Truth his Angel.

Game 2 he mulligans to two cards.  I mulligan once and play a Leyline.  My draw is slow, but against the mull to two I have plenty of time.

win 2-0; 1-0 matches


Round 2 vs Walter (Manaless Ichorid)

I know what I'm up against because I sold him Unmasks before the event.  Unfortunately, he wins the die roll and uses said Unmask to ensure a quick victory in game 1.

In game two I open up a hand with triple Leyline, Ancestral Recall, and no mana.  I mulligan that into a single-Leyline hand with mana.  On turn 2 or 3 he Reverent Silences my Leyline.   I untap, use a Gush to replay my Underground Sea, drop a Jet and play Necro.  I thank him for the life from Reverent Silence, Necro for 10 and win shortly after.

Game 3, Walter mulligans once and I draw the nuts.

Win 2-1; 2-0 matches


Round 3 vs Scott (Shop Aggro)

I win the die roll, and Duress seeing: Thron of Amethyst, Tangle Wire, Chalice, Cap, Wasteland, Wasteland, City of Traitors.  I take the Thorn and develop my mana.  He plays a turn 3 Cap and I think about Forcing it, but I realize I can just untap and play a sick Yawg Will.  The only dicey part is that my only tutor can't get Tendrils, because I'll be short storm/mana.  So I get Fastbond and play a bunch of Gushes and Brainstorms.  After looking at about 10 blanks, I finally find Tendrils or a tutor.

Game 2 I mulligan and get stuck on one land.  Scott draws a lot of disruptive elements, but no beats.  Against my board of Underground Sea and Mox Emerald, he finally drops a Juggernaut to accompany his Tangle Wire, Trinisphere, Sphere of Resistance, Strip Mine, Wasteland, and many mana sources.  OK, ya got me.

Game 3 I set up a neat situation where I can Hurkyl's Recall most of his entire board on his turn, leaving Timetwister as my only card in hand.  I draw Demonic Tutor and punt by tutoring for the wrong card (should have been Lotus for +1 mana/+2 storm), but it doesn't matter too much.  I Duress his post-twister hand and whiff seeing Platinum Angel, Platinum Angel, Karn, and Juggernaut.  I'm in control, but can't quite assemble a win.  After about 7 Brainstorms, Ponders, and Gushes, I find double Tendrils plus Confidant in the third extra turn after time is called.

Win 2-1; 3-0 matches


Round 4 vs Michael (Flash) - ID
Round 5 vs Dan (Flash) - ID


Top 8 vs Walter (Manaless Ichorid)

We meet again.  This time I lose the die roll.  Then I double mulligan.  I joke about how the early game (die roll) and mid game (mulligans) haven't gone so well, so the late game (turn 1) had better be really good.  Walter starts off with a Bazaar, pitching Grave Troll, Stinkweed, and Ichorid.  Scary.  On my turn 1, I killed him.

It came down to a point where I had a blue and black in my mana pool, Brainstorm, Tendrils, and Ritual as the only relevant cards in my hand, and a storm of 7.  If I just cast Tendrils, he'll still be at 2 life.  I'll have a bit of a life cushion, but against Dredge it won't last long.  I figure I'll Brainstorm, hoping to hit any Mox or Petal for the win.  Instead I hit Yawgmoth's Will... that'll do it.

In game 2, I mulligan and keep a hand of Extirpate, Brainstorm, Ponder, and 3 mana sources.  Unfortunately he has another one of my Unmasks to make that hand less awesome.  However, Walter goes through a third of his deck without finding any dredgers (even making great use of Emerald Charm to untap a Bazaar).  This gives me enough time to find Necro and go off.


Top 4 vs LSV (Tyrant Oath)

I keep a kind of loose hand that has Brainstorm, Ritual, Ritual, Yawgmoth's Will and 3 mana sources.  LSV wins the roll and Duresses my Brainstorm, following up with a Thoughtseize on Will.  Ouch.  We play draw-go for a couple of turns.  Luis DTs and passes with one mana up.  I figure he must have something good, so it's best to start a fight now.  On his end step, I Vamp for Ancestral and try to play it on my main phase.  Luis responds with his own Ancestral.  I Gush and Brainstorm in response but I don't find a Force.  Luis's Ancestral resolves, and mine gets forced.  However, I've found a Demonic Tutor off the Brainstorm.  With double Ritual still in my hand and the large number of spells we've played, I can Tendrils him out on the spot.

In game 2, Luis mulligans and then passes his first turn without playing anything.  (Turns out he kept double-Mox, double-Force hand.)  He draws an Island on turn 2.  After a couple of turns, Luis has pretty much recovered from his rocky start, and then I once again ripped Demonic Tutor to win immediately.


Finals vs Web (Tyrant Oath)

Web and I split in the finals.  As he mentioned, it was getting late.


This was my first time playing TTS (my last Vintage event was last summer) and it seems pretty solid.  Flash and Oath seem like the top decks right now; TTS fits between the two speed-wise, but isn't as targeted with hate cards.  I was definitely pretty lucky to pull off such absurd turn 1 wins, which is not what this deck is about, but it's nice to have that possibility.  The Gush/Brainstorm/Ponder engine is awesome... it's a good time to be a blue deck.

To fill out some details:

 - it was the Pearl tournament, not the Emerald
 - Walter played manaless Ichorid.  Flash and Ichorid were fully rampant at this tournament
 - Brett (that's me) played TTS (Gush Tendrils)
 - the semis were LSV vs me, and Michael vs Web
 - Web and I split in the finals

Props to Eudemonia for another well-run event!

Oh man, I had no idea this was going on... why didn't they announce it here on TMD?  I guess it's my own fault... ever since the NorCal Magic board went password-only, I've been too lazy to log in (your announcement link is broken, BTW).

Great pictures and report as usual.

Well, if you hadn't forced the Lotus, I wouldn't have lost my Spellbomb and therefore I would have had infinite draw, so the Trinket Mage would have been unnecessary.  Maybe you're right about the Duresss... there was definitely a point in the tournament where I drew Trinket Mage right after someone Meddled it, but it may not have been that game.  That whole report was just from memory and life totals.

And pyr0ma5ta, Crypt doesn't do much other than force you to spend 1W again.  So it is the win... even if he has double Force and Crypt, I have WWWW4.  Even if he can counter 3 times, I can just not sacrifice after the third counter (or not play it... but since I know he has another Meddling Mage, that's slightly risky).  But instead, my first mistake was to use the Wasteland, which left me short on mana, and my second mistake was to use the Spellbomb first, which makes no sense.  I think I was focused on getting infinite Explosives, which is almost as good as infinite cards in that matchup.  Except that nothing's as good as infinite cards... mmm... cards...

Nice pics as usual, Lotushead.  Though enough with the 4s already.   Here's my report.
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On the Saturday before Eudemonia’s Time Walk tournament, I check the SCG reports and see that Smmemen has a new deck that’s the awesome technology.  I figure that will probably be my deck.  Then at the end of the day I find out it’s TPS.  So tired of TPS.  I notice that Bomberman had also done pretty well and decide it’s high time I tried that deck.  I put it together and goldfish a few hands.  My god is it terrible.  How does this deck ever win?  Meh, let's run it anyways and see what the fuss is about.

As part of my time-tested process of screwing up perfectly good decks, I decide to add random cards… some Wastelands, Stifles, maybe a Daze?  (Flash is in full force out here.)  A lone Jotun Grunt looks up mournfully from my disassembled fish deck... OK, you’re in.

Round 1 vs Galen (Hulk Flash)

I lead with a land and Lotus, and he plays an Underground Sea and passes.  I end step pop out an Aven Mindcensor.  He Brainstorms in response and I return my land to Daze his Brainstorm (I don’t have a second land in hand anyways).  I brain fart and forget to float mana, so it turns out he can Daze my Daze.  His Brainstorm and my Mindcensor resolve.   A couple of turns later, he casts a Chain of Vapor on my Mindcensor, casts Summoners Pact for an Elvish Spirit Guide, and Flashes.  However, I have one Island up and a Stifle, so his Hulk does nothing.  I considered waiting to Stifle the Karmic Guide, which would be a little better in general, but hitting the Hulk seemed safest given that he couldn’t pay for his Pact anyways.  Pact takes it down.

In game 2 Galen runs out a turn 1 Venomous Sliver.  I take two poison counters before nerfing it with Engineered Explosives.  Feeling my shields were down, Galen Pacts up a Hulk and Flashes, but I have enough counters to stop him, and the Pact Police come for Galen again.

1-0 matches, 2-0 games

Round 2 vs Robert (UB?)

In game 1 Robert played a lot of Wastelands, a Strip Mine, a Crucible of Worlds (countered), and a lot of artifact mana.  My Trinket Mage went all the way.  I figure he’s Stax and bring in Energy Fluxes.  How awkward when he leads with several basic Islands in game 2.  At least the Flux killed some of his Moxes.  Again Trinket Mage goes all the way.  That guy's a monster.

2-0 matches, 4-0 games

Round 3 vs Web (Drain/Confidant Tendrils)

This is Web’s first played match, since he got paired against friends the previous 2 rounds.  In game 1, my Mindcensor is great.  Web is struggles to find black mana (I think I drew some Wastelands).  He fires off a fetchland and misses in the top four cards, and that’s that.  In game 2, I Wasteland and Strip, but he has two Bobs out.  They give him Force of Will and Tendrils.  I only have two mana sources and a grip full of Trinket Mages and countermagic.  However, his Bobs have put each of us to 7.  Web taps out to cast his Tendrils with a single storm copy.  I Force one copy, and Daze the other.  He Forces my Daze, I Misdirect, and he Forces again.  So I go to 4 and he goes to 6.  I draw another blank and his Bobs reveal Old Man of the Sea and… Force of Will.  Lucky…

3-0 matches, 6-0 games

Round 4 vs John (Grim Long)

It’s a 5 round event, so I can take a draw here, but I get paired down.  My hand is not that great, but it has a turn 1 Force/Misdirection.  I lose the roll and end up having to use the Force on some outrageous sequence of plays.  This leaves me with lands, Mox, and Jotun Grunt.  The Grunt comes down and attacks twice.  I draw more lands.  He starts to go off with a Timetwister, but his tutors and Cities of Brass, and the Grunt have left him at 1 life.  The Twister finds me a Mindcensor to finish it.  In game 2 he gets a turn 1 Necro and pulls up thirteen cards.  He sets up the win on turn two, casting Yawgmoth’s Will and sacrificing Lion’s Eye Diamond in response.  Looks pretty good until a bystander points out that Necro/LED don’t play well together.  With his tutor removed from the game, he cannot go off and mana burns to death.  John was a nice guy and drove a long way to play, so I offer the draw anyways; I’ll be guaranteed to be paired against another 3-0-1 in the last round.

3-0-1 matches, 8-0 games

Round 5 vs Dan (UWB fish)

ID

3-0-2 matches, 8-0 games

Top 8 vs Christiaan (Hulk Flash)

The first action of the game is when Christiaan casts Vampiric Tutor and I respond with Mindcensor.  Christiaan has the Force and I think it’s over.  However, he still has to spend next turn Merchant Scrolling for Flash.  This gives me time to cast Trinket Mage for Tormod’s Crypt.  He casts Flash and by now I have Mana Drain mana up.  I think and I think about how he can win through Tormod’s Crypt and decide he can’t, so I let it resolve.  He gets Carrion Feeder and Body Snatcher, pitching Kiki-Jiki.  Then he plays his last card: Imperial Seal.  I draw an Echoing Truth and use it on his Body Snatcher (Crypting when he sacrifices it to Carrion Feeder) to be safe, although the only card I can think of that would wreck me here is Wipe Away.  It becomes a race between Trinket Mage and his 2/2 Carrion Feeder, though I have a substantial head start.  When he gets to 3 life, he can hard-cast a Protean Hulk, but I have Mana Drain.

Game 2 is a lot closer.  I can stop any combo action, but he hard-casts Sundering Titan, destroying both of my lands.  I draw Trinket Mage and play it off my Mox and Sol Ring, finding Aether Spellbomb.  He Massacres my Trinket Mage and Mindcensor and attacks for 5.  I bounce the Titan and rebuild my mana, eventually getting another Trinket Mage down.  When he gets to 5 he casts a desperation Flash.  I figure he’ll get Karmic Guide, in which case I can Tormod’s Crypt and Swords to Plowshares before blockers.  But instead he gets double Elvish Spirit Guide!  I lose my Mage and end up having to Swords his other Grey Ogre.  About a million turns go by before I draw another creature, but it gets it done.

4-0-2 matches, 10 games

Top 4 vs Dan (UWB Fish)

Dan gets a turn 1 Confidant, and turn 2 Duress and another creature.  However, I turn 1 Brainstorm, Mox, Aether Spellbomb, and turn 2 Trinket Mage for Lotus.  He Duresses, seeing my only card (Auriok Salvagers), then triumphantly drops Tormod’s Crypt, and plays Meddling Mage on Trinket Mage (?).  I draw a Trinket Mage and play the Salvagers.  On my next turn he has five mana up, so I wait a bit in case he has double Force of Will.  Though looking back at the board in Lotushead's picture, I was probably fine.  Anyways, eventually I start to go off; he tries to stop me with one Force of Will and Tormod’s Crypt, but they do nothing.  Except that I embarrassingly miscalculate and lose my Spellbomb by bouncing his Meddling Mage too early.  No matter; I can still play my Trinket Mage in hand for Engineered Explosives and destroy all of his non-land permanents for the short remainder of the game.

Game 2 is anti-climactic as Dan mulligans and I mise into the combo again.  Dan asks for my win condition.  In case infinite mana and card draw isn't enough, Jotun Grunt gives me infinite turns, too.

5-0-2 matches, 12-0 games

Finals vs Web (Drain/Confidant Tendrils)

I’m kind of tempted to play out the finals, but my ride needs to go, and Web and his friends have a restaurant to get to.  So we decide to split the prize as store credit and play a single game to see who gets the bye and free entry for the Lotus tournament (which is tied to second place).  Web wins the die roll and resolves turn 1 Ancestral.  Ah well, it was a good run.

5-1-2 matches, 12-1 games


Props to Eudemonia for another fine event!

 - Brett Allen.