Used to play Magic a while back and I'm thinking about getting out and getting my feet wet. I sold all my cards, so probably be playing whatever I can pick up. Anyone from the Michigan area have any good spots (north of Detroit)?

Thanks!

Matt Smith

I knew my ears were burning!

I'm not trying to sound vain, but sometime around 2002 Livonia held a tournament for a Black Lotus I believe.  It was right before GAT was popular.  I took the deck and won a Black Lotus at said tourney. 

I then sold that Lotus to someone from D-town I believe...In fact, a lot of the power from Ann Arbor/Kzoo/Dtown came from me.  I know I've sold at least a few sets to friends down there.  I also known I've won a fair share from the Lansing area down    

It's true, I always felt like I was ahead of the curve and I never got recognition I deserved because I was stuck in the middle of nowhere Michigan. I always felt like Rodney Dangerfield in that aspect I guess.

Steve and myself always good naturedly poked at each other, maybe because I was jealous of the exposure that Steve was getting at the time as a pioneer of the format.  The truth? Steve was (and still is I assume having not read anything for at least 2 years now) a very complete playtester.  He has an ability to truthfully report the results of hundreds of hours of playtesting and do so in an exact and understandable manner. 

I can say that I've disagreed with Steve on occasion, but I'll never tell you I don't respect his opinion--even if it comes off as arrogant at times.  We all have our faults, but in the grand scheme of things Steve has always strived to further the format, as I had, and ultimately that's what we all want.

It's good to come back from time to time and see how the format is evolving.  I'll draft a set here and there, but I haven't picked up my T1 deck since GenCon two years ago.  I hope a lot has changed. 


I'd like to think I could still play a little if I needed to. 

As far as what I did with magic...I can honestly say that I made a little cash, more friends, and many memories. I hope everyone could be as lucky. 

Personally I wouldn't run the black and run Samurai of the Pale Curtain.  You might run Stroke, Impulse, or put Gush in your SB for the Cunning Wishes.  Samurai works against Welder, Oath, and other decks that are popular right now.  I'm working on a deck very similiar to this and our builds are pretty close.  Looks good, keep up the playtesting.

Oh..True Believer in the SB.

I completely agree with Milton's point.  How many attendees do you think SCG will lose if their P9 Series is Premium material?  Think about any business...Pete is hurting his company by not advertising his own event.

I know I check up on Starcity whenever they run an event, and it gets me juiced up to join said event, even so much as to probably try to make it to the Chicago P9 tournament.  

I was given the opportunity once from Brainburst to have free membership if I included them on a weekly project I was writing for Cardshark.  I turned them down because I didn't agree with the idea.

And I still don't.

Sorry Steve, but really, what "tech" have you shared on TMD's boards since the conception of Meandeck? How will this be any different?

Team Meandeck Dropout....



Matt Smith
Bio:   Former writer for ccgprime, cardshark, and starcitygames
         semi-retired (until they restrict workshop and Kevin Cron)



Many, many Michigan tourney wins. Origins T8's/wins and GenCon T8's/Wins Ranked #1 in Rural Michigan, #6 in Michigan (only play sanctioned matches at GenCon) Besides, un-sanctioned pays so much better.  



KZoo - Pearl
Detroit - Lotus
GR - Emerald
GenCon/Origins - Packs galore and $200 event
Uncounted packs/boxes of product
Whatever random power/cards I've won in 11+ years (who can remember?)

Oh, and I told the tournament organizers at GenCon this year they could kiss my ass and keep their crappy prize...



Let Steve suggest a good deck and then play it.



Plaid, Rock Gardens



30-sided dice...

Ummm...I'm from Michigan and the point I made was that you'll be hard pressed to find people within 50 miles of each other. There is land North of Detroit and Kalamazoo...In fact, a portion of the power that is in Kalamazoo and some in Detroit came from me.

When you talk of a Michigan metagame I think you might need to specify...Besides, I've been winning GenCon tournaments before they were the "Championships" so don't think Michigan hasn't always been well represented as far as T1 goes. (Pat Chapin? Eric Taylor?)

The point that was lost (and I chose those states sooo very randomly) was that in most states you aren't going to find a concentrated group of T1 players or power.  Why? Well you aren't going to find many shops that dedicate one night a week to a format that isn't recognized as sanctioned by the DCI.  Think of all the little mom-and-pop stores you know that run FNM's for the kiddies.

Teams are fine...when they remain a cohesive unit with one goal in mind: winning.

If you're on a team and you're bragging about how you run the format...well that's not a team, that's a fraternity for guys who were never "cool" enough to join one in college.

Personally I believe humility and class is always enough to earn respect.

Oh, and on a sidenote, I'd imagine the reason it's hard to find teams in vintage is due to the fact that a lot of people play this format for fun.  You'd be hard pressed to find people in places like Montana, Michigan, or Kansas who own power within a 50 mile radius.  

So:

-Not as accessable
-Format has always held a higher degree of respect (less competitive)
-Card restrictions
-Very little support from the makers of the game.

After playing in GenCon this year I will say this:

Doing well at a tournament and making the "right call" for a sideboard or deck choice requires at least two weeks of consummate playtesting with more than one person.  

Aside from that it's always been my belief that new deck ideas sprout from old deck ideas and wacky multi-player games.  I've seen some very good "tech" come from random dudes playing their combos in multiplayer!

There is no reinventing the wheel, and frankly, why bother?

Okay now that's funny.

When two of the most anal retentive people to grace a message board get into a catfight and one has to revert to "your mom" arguments.  

HA!

Reminds me of a quote from one of the greatest movies of our generation:

White Goodman: Go ahead, make your jokes, Mr. Jokey... Joke-maker. But let me hit you with some knowledge. Quit now. Save yourself the embarrassment of losing with these losers in Las Vegas, La Fleur.
Peter La Fleur: Alliteration aside, I'll take my chances in the tournament.
White Goodman: Yeah, you will take your chances.
Peter La Fleur: I know. I just said that.
White Goodman: I know you just said that.
Peter La Fleur: I'm not sure where you're going with this.
White Goodman: I'm not sure where you're going with this.
Peter La Fleur: That's what I said.
White Goodman: That's what I'm saying to you.
Peter La Fleur: All right.
White Goodman: Touché.



Nobody makes me bleed my own blood. NOBODY.

I simply HAVE to start a thread with some of the papers I get during the school year...with the names removed to protect the innocent of course.

Assuming that you use this card to stop 3cc stuff from prison you lose long-term card advantage.

What costs three in a mono blue or Blue/x deck? Typically the drawing spells like Intuition, Thirst for Knowledge, maybe Cunning Wish (Blue/X variants) and possibly Ophidian.  

I see people trying this card early and then perhaps settling on ONE copy of it in a deck to be cute.

First off I don't think anyone can argue that this should be FoW number 5-9.  Personally I cannot see sacrificing slots 5-9 to this card when you have inherent card disadvantage in Force of Will. This card really only fits in Mono-blue, and even then only the sideboard.  

34-38 spells in your deck, eight of them pitch spells?  

Perhaps this card could replace Misdirection, but I don't believe it is as efficient.  It simply reduces the options you may have.  

What do I pitch to my Force...Brainstorm or Mana Drain? I have a threat on the board and I need to protect it for one more turn, I'll pitch the Brainstorm.

What do I pitch to this new counter...Brainstorm or Mana Drain? Well Diabolic Edict costs two..hope he doesn't draw something good.  Or card X costs three mana, guess I can't counter that.

I just don't see this card being any better than what's available. In fact, I can see people diluting decks to fit the card's requirements.

I'll never forget Pat Chapin's reply to my question of why he ran so few mana sources in his T1 decks.

"My god man, I've got brainstorm, sleight of hand, opt, fetches, and tutors galore...the question is: why am I running so MUCH land?"

I still don't feel safe unless I'm running one more land than I should be...that way I can side it out if I'm frustrated later.  :shock:

Personally if I were going to build a combo version of Oath I would use the White Bringer and Mindslaver.  Oath out the bringer with a slaver in the graveyard and it's a permanent turn 2 lock (provided you have 4 mana).  

I have a deck I'm workin on, should be a neat combo  :lol:

I stand by the notion that I'm always about 1 year ahead of the metagame.

First this:

My attempt at an affordable U/G
http://www.cardshark.com/content/view_article.asp?article_id=1919

Then:
http://www.cardshark.com/content/view_article.asp?article_id=998

The deck would need reworking with Champions new land, but I'd like to include the black for the Deeds...although the emergence of Crucible probably makes that hard.

Cool to see Oath making a comeback. Neat card in Orchard. Makes me wonder if Living Wish is good yet.  

Let's just hope this deck doesn't get popular  

  http://www.cardshark.com/content/view_article.asp?article_id=142

With so many Darksteel Collussus running around, it couldn't hurt to add a few more StP.

Writing a spot-on set review is like posting a "No Pissing" section in a public swimming pool.

When is the Lotus Tourney in Kzoo? Next power tourney in Mich? I need to make some money.  

Return that Michigan shirt; you are not worthy.

Mono Blue became unfashionable with the restriction of Fact or Fiction, then again when a certain green creature for 1G was printed.  TnT also helped a smidgeon.

The theory behind the deck is solid enough, I think, to make it a contender despite what most metagames look like; although it's not a recommended archetype if you expect a solid field of aggro--unless you can properly plan your sb against this aggro, as steve did with control magic/energy flux.  Despite these hosers, a first turn threat every game can only be avoided for so long, including a repeated threat with practically every card thereafter.  Which is why I like Vedalken Shackles as a possible main deck card.  (now if I only had playtested before the actual tournament)

Congratulations.

I'm also having a child (well, not me personally) in February so we're going through the same deal.  (our 3rd, most likely a boy also)

We already have a Nicholas and Noah, we were going to go with the N theme, but we're ready for a change.  

So far we have Brock, Andrew (drew), or Sandbox.  Well, sandbox was Noah's idea.

Good luck, it's neat to see different names thrown around.

I can gaurantee you'll see more Crucibles  at Gencon than you can shake a stick at...yes, a really big stick.

It's Crucible of "Worlds" after all--where is there a better place than the World Championship to see if it really is format defining?

From the dictionary:

cru·ci·ble [ krssəb’l ] (plural cru·ci·bles)
 
noun  
 
4. testing circumstances: a place or set of circumstances where people or things are subjected to forces that test them and often make them change.

Can't argue with that...

C'mon that's been done already  

Same old television, different show.

On a side note, if you wished to purchase power from a dealer's table you might want to invest in sleeveless shirts and a pair of shorts, as you wont need that arm or leg anymore.  I recall the lowest Lotus going for something like 850, with the most expensive easily going at $1500. (I'm sure prices were different, as I saw some stuff priced at $2100 for a single power card).

The moral? Buy your power early!  Don't expect to top off that deck, unless you're willing to shell out some dough, or get real lucky and manage to trade for it.  

Overall, I had a good time. I only played 2 events, one with my pet deck and the other with Zherb's pet deck.  I'm looking forward to Gencon, the meta should be different, although I'll probably only play in the championships.  (Marvel has an intriguing game that pays a $250k purse at Gencon, with a million dollar pro tour).

Until then, someone make me a good deck so I don't have to, and look for me at Gencon, I'm selling my Lotus, and it will be much less than $850!

(Oh yeah, after talking with Pete, Starcity said they may not be doing coverage of the championships this year, as last year was a pain in the rear.  I told him I would help with coverage, but if the T1 community that isn't present want's to hear, I'm sure he needs more help.  Send him an e-mail if you're going and want to help, or at least one to let him know that you appreciated the coverage of last year.)

I have a version of this I've played forever, but I lost it on the meandeck forums.  Used to beat steve-o in the head with it.  :lol:

I like it the deck. But it think it will always be left for people who love it, as Tog is just a better deck in most instances.

BTW, add white--it's huge. (Trust me I've completely tested both options)

If steve, or someone from meandeck, would be so kind to retrieve it and post it here, I'd explain the testing I put into it.

Be happy that Gencon is being referred to as the Pro Tour of T1, and in that regards, that those who make T8 are being thought of as the "Pros" of this format.  Look where we were at two years ago.

I mean, if any one person can do better then take a shot, eh? As far as I knew it was an open invite.

<--------Optimist.

T1....The "peoples" format!

I agree the decks are different.  I wasn't trying to start an argument, just pointing out that maybe SotF might be a good card to try; and that this archetype could've been around a whole lot sooner if people didn't naturally dismiss budget decks. I apologize if it sounded arrogant, or if I sounded like I was taking credit in some way.  This deck has been around in T2 and extended waaaaay to long to do that.

I remember getting reamed for proposing this deck like a year and a half ago...

http://www.cardshark.com/content/view_article.asp?article_id=1919

If I remember right, (we had tested this beast quite extensively and my friend won a mox emerald with it) the deck benefitted more from Survival of the Fittest than it did from Bazaar.  The only drawback being that you had to up the creature count to make the Survival worthwhile, but when you were slinging multiple, untargetable, flying 3/3's at someone's head it didn't matter too much.

It's been absolutely forever since I've looked at this deck, but it has always been good. It just took JP's word to make it so, I guess. I see this deck getting better now of course, and the list I put together wasn't completely optimal at that time. (I think it had changed by like 5 or 6 cards after I had written that article).