16 people in attendance.  Really eclectic field (Gobbos x 2, Zoo, GAT, Hide-n-Seek control, Tooth and Nail , Tendrils, Monoblue Slaver, Flash to name a few).  Would have liked to play but I had to go to work  .

Well, I think the issue of the two cards is CotV.  You frequently want to set the Chalice at 1, which renders Duress useless.  That said, I think Duress is the better card in the current meta, but you need to play it to see if you like it.

Here is a question: Has anyone tested Bogarden Hellkite?  It virtually has haste or clears the board of Bob's, Welders, Bouncers, etc...

I recently played in my first Peasant tournament, and it was a blast.  Players that do not normally entered tournaments due to lack of cards or intimidation (only a $3 entry fee) showed up.  While it was a small group, it still ended up grabbing about 75% of the players that were present that night.  If you are looking for an alternative FNM event to get more people palying in a tournament, I strongly recommend trying to get a Peasant tournament going.  For those interested, my report, albeit brief can be found here:

http://www.tappedoutgames.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=198

At my local gaming store, we generally get about 30 magic players on Friday nights.  Only a few are dedicated to competitive Type 1 and a little more towards competitive Type 2.  I find myself playing these same players over and over again because the decks I run (Stax, Oath, Long in Type 1, Gruul, Firemane control in Type 2) offer little pleasure against more casual players.  I decided that I wanted to build some ‘classic’ decks that would be more appropriate for casual games and I am looking for some insight to make them better.  These are decks I have enjoyed playing in the past and thought that giving them a makeover would be fun.  For starters, the decks I am looking at building are:

RecSur
Tooth and Nail
Enchantress
Stasis
U/G Madness
Counter Sliver
Other suggestions

Deck Skeletons (not my lists, but starting points that interested me)

Stasis

U/G:
4x Tropical Island
3x Polluted Delta
3x Flooded Strand
10x Island
2x Lotus Petal

3x Stasis
4x Howling Mine
1x Feldon's Cane
3x Exploration
2x Crucible of Worlds
2x Zuran Orb
4x Force of Will
3x Daze
3x Thwart
3x Chain of Vapors
2x Gaea's Blessing
4x Brainstorm
4x Impulse


Recsur

Mana
6 Forest
4 Windswept Heath
3 Wooded Foothills
3 Bayou
3 Savannah
1 Tropical Island

Creatures
4 Birds of Paradise
3 Wall of Roots
2 Eternal Witness
2 Loxodon Hierarch
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Genesis
1 Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
1 Reya Dawnbringer
1 Kokusho, the Evening Star
1 Viridian Zealot
1 Bone Shredder
1 Spike Weaver
1 Wood Elves
1 Tradewind Rider
1 Keiga

Disruption
4 Duress
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Pernicious Deed

Card Draw :
3 Enlightened Tutor

Engine
4 Survival of the Fittest
2 Recurring Nightmare
2 Oath of Ghouls


Tooth and Nail

4 Sakura-Tribe Elder
3 Vine Trellis
3 Eternal Witness
1 Sundering Titan
1 Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
1 Darksteel Colossus

1 Triskelion
1 Mephidross Vampire
4 Xantid Swarm

4 Tooth And Nail
4 Sylvan Scrying
4 Reap And Sow
2 Moment's Peace
3 Pernicious Deed
2 Sensei's Divining Top

4 Urza's Mine
4 Urza's Tower
4 Urza's Power Plant
2 Forest
4 Bayou
4 Llanawar waste
1 Bosieju


Madness

3x Tropical Island
1x Tundra
1x Savannah
2x Lonely Sandbar
3x Tranquil Thicket
3x Wasteland
1x Island
1x Forest
2x Windswept Heath
3x Flooded Strand
2x Cephalid Coliseum
4x Basking Rootwalla
4x Wild Mongrel
4x Arrogant Wurm
4x Jotun Grunt
2x Wonder
4x Brainstorm
4x Lion's Eye Diamond (LED)
4x Life from the Loam (LftL)
3x Roar of the Wurm (RotW)
1x Mox Diamond
4x Careful Study


Counter Sliver

//Land
4 Tundra
3 Tropical Island
1 Savannah
3 Flooded Strand
3 Windswept Heath
1 Plains
2 Island
1 Forest

//Creatures
4 Crystalline Sliver
4 Muscle Sliver
3 Plated Sliver
3 Telekinetic Slivers
3 Gemhide Slivers
2 Talon Sliver
2 Winged Sliver

//Spells
4 Force of Will
4 Daze
4 Swords to Plowshares
4 Brainstorm
4 Serum Visions
2 Worship


Enchantress

// land
4 Savannah
2 Serra's Sanctum
4 Plains
4 Windswept Heath
8 Forest

// 1cc
3 Elephant Grass
3 Mirri's Guile
4 Exploration

// 2cc
3 Seal of Cleansing
4 Sterling Grove
4 Argothian Enchantress

// 3cc
1 Karmic Justice
1 Ghostly Prison
1 Words of War
2 Solitary Confinement
2 Sacred Mesa
1 Story Circle
4 Enchantress's Presence

// 4cc
1 Parallax Wave
2 Moat
1 Worship
1 Ivory Mask

I welcome your suggestions.  Also, if there are decks you recommend I ’dust’ off, please let me know.

I have been at Ft Leonard Wood in Missouri since May.  I haven't played much Type 1, but have had a chance to play some Type 2.  Anyway, I'm looking forward to coming home and playing in some tournaments.

Whats the status of future tourneys?  I come back to Charleston around 9/23 and might be available for tournaments in October.

BTW Glad to see Team Rust repping Type 1.  Is CJon71 Spires?

First a general question:  I understood RG Beatz to be an aggro deck with versatility.  Isn't a RG 'Tempo' deck really just RG 'Fish'?  I mean, they seem philosophically similar (within the constraints of their colors).

Considering your meta, have tried Bloodmoon (or perhaps Choke)?

It appears that I will be in Missouri for about 19 weeks during the Summer/early Fall.  I am already bummed about missing the P9 tourney in Charlotte (it would have been my first).  Anyway, what are the reasonable playing options from beautiful Ft. Leonardwood?

I recently have been assigned to a new unit in SC near Augusta, Georgia.  Does anyone know if and where there is a place to play on Saturday evenings?

Moderators:  If this was the wrong place to post this I apologize.

Where to begin?  This was a Type 1 10 proxy tournament with:

1st = English ManaDrain
2nd = 4 FoW
3rd = a signed Mana Crypt
4th = $30 store credit

Anyway, I haven't played in a tournament in a while.  I chose to run Oath because it felt strong for the meta and something I have played in the past.  I had difficulty deciding which version to run.  I tried DOA, Meandeck, and Chalice.  After a lot of testing I liked Meandeck the most, but was still unhappy with it and thought about bringing Dragon. 

Eventually I realized that Meandeck was designed for someone like Smmennen.  This isn't a slam, but Steve plays aggressively.  He loves combo, and thats how he plays the deck.  However, I play Oath controllish, as it has historically been played.  I did agree with Smmennen that the AK/Intuition draw engine was clunky.  I felt I needed to change the draw or scrap the deck.  After some tweaking, I developed a list I liked:

Dad's Oath

4 Oath of Druids
1 Gaeas Blessing
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Ancient Hydra
1 Akroma
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Brainstorm

4 Impulse
4 Serum Vision
3 Mana Leak
3 Misdirection
2 Intuition
4 Forbidden Orchard

3 Wasteland
1 Stripmine
4 Polluted Delta
4 Island
1 Tropical Island
1 Volcanic Island
5 Mox
1 Lotus
1 Fact or Fiction


Sideboard:
3 Energy Flux
3 Pyroclasm
1 Crater Hellion
1 Pristine Angel
1 Morphling
2 Tormods Crypt
1 Control Magic
3 Extract
Yes, thats 61 cards.  Normally, I would cut the FoF, but I keep seeing arrogant, know-it-all dic** flame people for 61 cards. 

No Timewalk.  It was the first card I boarded out.  It is good, but my opinion of it is similar to Necropotence and Black Vise.  You can PM me about this, but I don't want a discussion.

Anyway...

Round 1 vs. Logan F.
A nice 10 year old.  He brings about a 75 card u/w deck.  I don't see a rare.  AJ, the Sex Machine, asks me how I can sleep at night.  This goes quickly.  2-0, 1-0
BTW, Logan wins round 2 by twice hitting a DSC with Ray of Revelation!!!

Round 2 vs.Greg Mitchell
Another bye.  He is running his own concoction with Mesmeric Orbs.  I don't see what all it can do because I brought out the broom and swept.  4-0-0, 2-0-0

Round 3 vs. Jon Spires (Gilthanas01)
Jon brings Stax.  I felt this matchup was in my favor.  Game 1 we play a 30 minute marathon.  I win after eventually getting active Oath.  Game 2 he wins, but time expires and we settle for a draw (his 2nd).  1-0-1, 2-0-1

Round 4 vs. Ian Stickles
He is running Parfait with Scepter Chant.  Ugh!!! He wins game 1, then tells me he is probably going to leave after the match.  Game two, I get an early Energy Flux.  He has Tax/Rack, but elects not to activate the Rack and lets it go.  He should have won, but I think he didn't care that much and still needed to learn how to play the deck a little better.  He then scoops game 3 to me because he has to go.  Thank the Lord.  What a terrible matchup.

Round 5 vs. Squeek
We ID into top 8

Top 8
1. WTF- Runyan
2. Meandeck Gifts- George Guanos
3. Dad's Oath
4. Gifts Tog- Jeremy_78
5. Workshop Aggro- Squeek
6. RGB pile- Mr. Beichner
7. Parfait!?- Zombie Shakespeare
8. MonoU Gifts- Chub

Round o' 8 vs. Squeek
Game 1 was a tight match where he had me with Factory beats plus a pair of Disciples.  Eventually I get an active Oath and win, though he had me at 3.

Game 2 I mull and keep a not so good hand.  He goes Workshop, Lotus, break Lotus, Chalice for 2.  I play a couple turns, but scoop.

Game 3.  I go Mox Emerald, Mox Pearl, Wasteland, Oath.  He plays a Workshop and passes.  I Waste his Shop and play a 2nd Wasteland.  He loses another Shop.  I keep drawing counterspells while he starts to beat with a Factory.  Eventually I top an Orchard and win.

Round o'4 vs. Chub

Game 1 he Tinkers early for Collosus and beats my dome.
Game 2 I get a lot of mana and  2 active Oaths.  I have Pristine and Morphling out.  I pump Morphling and double block only taking points from the token.  Occassionally I swing with the Angel until he is in lethal range, then swing for the win.
Game 3 Early Oath after I win the counter war.

Finals with Jeremy_78
I take the 4 FoW's plus a Crucible, Jitte, 4 Sphere of Resistance and 2 TFK.  He takes the Mana Drain.

Props:
To Beowulf and the Green Dragon for hosting the tournament
Jebus for keeping everything running smoothly
Mr. Beichner for top8ing with that pile o'tirds
Stally, Jeremy and George for travelling long distances.
Ian for scooping
Hill Redwine for not showing and being my usual Round 1 opponent
Evil Bill for attempting a comeback.

Slops
to Medievel dickweeds, for killing Ted
Turkish prisons
men in leotards

First, thanks for coming.  I hope we can put on another tournament and get an even bigger crowd.  Sorry I had to split, but my son (10 months, not years) can tire my wife out.

One question about your deck, would it be worth cutting one Wish for Gush?

Just my two cents, but if you insist on Sinkhole + Wastes then Nullrod seems like an autoinclude.  Also, whereas I disagree on your Chains argument, Nullrods inclusion is not situational.  It is a card that a very successful archetype (fish) has been built around for years.

On another note, while Yawg Will and Necro are among the most powerful cards ever built, how often do they see play here?  What broken Will things do you do? None if Nethervoid is out.  I think they are good cards, but I agree with Roland.  I would put Scrying or Whispers in their place and test them.  You lose nothing by trying them out in testing.

Actually, I tried both Pristine and Iridescent, which are good.  In testing, I found Morphling strong because I have tried siding out the Oaths in the mirror.  Also, they have been better for me against Fish, which can't deal with them.

Fish is so strong right now.  Definitely the flavor of the month.  I'm not sure what plays against them best, because their Damping Matrix shuts down both the Pris. Angel and Morphling (as well as Hydra).  Of all the decks, this is the toughest to side for.

Have any of you tested Annul main vs. Mana Leak.  While it is conditional, you are almost assured of being able to use it on turn one.  Also, it is usable in most matchups- Dragon, any Workshop based deck, Belcher.  Against Fish it hits Standstill or Aether Vial.  In todays meta, it seems strong.  Heck, it can take out a mox, which if followed up with a strip effect can devestate.

I just did a search for 'Oath Sideboard' and found the subject to be a bit lacking.  I found lots of lists, but little discussion.  My question is given u/g Oath what is the best sideboard configuration.  I chose u/g because that is the version I prefer, so please keep in mind that this is not for Chalice Oath, or DOA Oath.

I am curious about what to use and why.  If you play the following decks:

Gifts Belcher
Stax
FCG
UW Fish
WTF
Dragon
Workshop Aggro
Oath
Control Slaver

What cards do you least want to see played?

Cards I am experimenting with include:

Crater Hellion for aggro, FCG
Morphling for fish, monoblue, mirror
Duplicant
Damping Matrix for Slaver, Stax, workshop aggro, Belcher (Does this bother fish?)
Energy Flux for Slaver, Stax, workshop aggro, Belcher
Back to Basics for Fish
Arcane Lab for TPS
Tormods Crypt for Dragon

also, please consider that it would be unusual for me to have more than three slots available to side in against any particular matchup.

 

I have played quite a bit of Type 1 highlander.  I usually play u/w and splash black.  That said, these are cards I find useful that are worth a look:

Wrath of God
Nevy Disk
Dominating Licid
Icy Manipulator
Ring of Gix
Blinding Angel
Both Kamagawa Shrines
Maze of Ith
Gilded Drake
Control Magic
Theiving Magpie
Reprisal
Duplicant
Morphling

In Highlander, I find most opponents look to overwhelm with fatties.  They make an oversized draft deck.  When I built my deck I found that you want to be able to contain the earlty rush, draw more answers, then find a suitable finisher.  Also, my decklists were for 100 card Highlander.
Your decklist isn't bad, but the first cards I would consider cutting are:

Tormods Crypt
Annul
Back 2 Basics (how many lands will this affect?)
Prohibit (try Dismiss)

Anyway, just some ideas.  Hope I wasn't too late and good luck because Highlander Rhox!

I used to play this deck a while back.  It won me a pearl and sapphire, so it always has a soft spot in my heart.

A few point:

1. In your meta you must decide which will probably serve you better: the scepter or the phid.  Where I am, there is a ton of artifact hate, so this is important.

2. I would cut Future Sight and Capsize, putting Cap. in the board along with Fact or Fiction. I would put 2 Cunning Wish main.  

3. Have you tested Gilded Drake in the Control Magic slot?  U1 is a good cost.  It may not be better, but it is decent.

4. I like Pyroclasm in the board, it is some good.  

5.  I agree with Ric, because you are playing the moxes (not moxen, a pet peeve of mine) Impulse seems very strong here.[/b]

These are just suggestions:

If you are going multicolor with your Oath deck, I would add red.  Check Kai's Portugal Grand Prix deck as a frame of reference.  Red adds REB, Fire/Ice, and Rack and Ruin.

Reconsider the Oathstill build, as it will probably do better against control then your classic build will.

Another direction would be to maindeck the Null Rods (they are good in Type 1) and perhaps go U/G and maindeck Back to Basics.  B2B is underutilized now, but at one time was the basis of a very successful archetype (this is probably the direction I would take Oath if I were to play it again).

Finally, I would definitely cut Moat (perhaps for Fact or Fiction) and probably Regrowth (for Stifle).

I stopped playing Type 2 when Invasion came out.  It was for the very mundane reason that I moved to a Type 1 town.  I like magic, so the format doesn't matter a whole lot to me.  I won some power and enjoyed it.  Two weeks ago, despite not even knowing the text of several cards, I won a small Type 2 tourney with a borrowed Tooth and Nail deck.  I said this to point out a few things.  

1.  Overall, better players win, regardless of their predominant format, because they usually know the rules and have a little more skill.  

2.  The better Type 2 players are likely to be better than the better Type 1 players (and their worse players are poorer) in large part because their player pool is so much larger.  For example, if we all had a Type 1 state tournament available, how many states would field a quality top 16?  I live in South Carolina, a small state, where over 150 showed up for states.  We would be lucky to get 1/3 of that for a similar Type 1 event.

3.  As for innovation, I see a lot of improvement in Type 1 in the past year.  Many here were denigrated as elitist, but I have seen people like JP and Smmenen (sp?) put their reputation on the line by taking chances.  Also, many of the naysayers are either honest and accurate or nincompoops (does anyone else still use this word?) that spew what they think is the company line.

The best way for any of us to honestly answer the question regarding the quality of Type 1 playskill vs. Type 2 is to play both with equal vigor (if you can't, don't or won't, then I am not sure you have a qualified opinion on the subject anyway).  Only then will will you be able to make a truly informed decision.

Currently, I have been running Type 1 Highlander tournaments, which have been a blast.  I am looking for some other casual tournament format ideas.  Also, does anyone know of some rules for a two-headed giant tournament, we have had some interest expressed in them.

I am curious aboutwhy you chose to play Type 1.

First, I live in Charleston, SC.  I am originally from the Binghamton, NY area (Endicott to be precise).  In Charleston, we once had a healthy Type 1 community.  We had a monthly tournament that would get between 24 to 32 players, and a P9 card was usually offered for first prize.  Unfortunately, a few left due to the Navy and a few more left because of financial woes.  This led to lower quality tournaments, so our guests from Savannah and Atlanta stopped coming.  

We will try to regrow Type 1 here.  Our usual Type 1 organizer (Gilthanas01 on TMD) was so dismayed he stopped running tournaments.  I have tried to bring new players into the fold by running Highlander tournaments (these are more fun for the casual player, and also give players some kind of tournament experience).

What suggestions do you have ?  I ask of new (experienced voices are also welcome) players, because I would like know to why you were willing to overcome some of the much discussed obstacles for Type 1.  What drew you to Type 1?

BTW e will probably start allowing some proxies, so please refrain from offering that singular piece of advice.

I know this may turn out to be an absurd question, but I noticed a debate in GAT, which may not be at all necesary here, since this is Hulk.  Some have argued that Counterspell or even Daze may be preferred in the Mana Drain slot.  What are your opinions on this?

Also, if Counterspell is a consideration, then would Voidmage Prodigy be worth exploring?

This may seem totally contrary to the spirit of your deck, but you may wish to onsider Damping Matrix.  This could:

1. Hurt the mana sources of decks because with Null Rod attacking Mox ,Lotus, etc..., Sinkhole and Wasteland hitting land, and the DM taking away Birds and such you can create problems.

2. Stop Tog, Morphling, and Welder, as well as many other creatures.

It would make you have to reconsider your creatures (maybe bring back Hyppie).

Anyway, it is just a thought, maybe an incredibly stupid and unqualified one, but there you have it.

Queequeg, here is what I am testing.  

Engine: 9
4 Oath of Druids
2 Gaeas Blessing
1 Morphling
1 Spike Weaver
1 Spike Feeder

Counterspells: 11
1 Misdirection
2 Mana leak
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain

Draw: 14
4 Brainstorm
4 Standstill
4 Accumulated Knowledge
1 Intuition
1 Fact or Fiction

Misc.: 3
1 Cunning Wish
2 Back to Basics

Mana/land: 23
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Lotus
1 Stripmine
3 Wastelands
4 Tropical Islands
6 Islands
3 Forests
3 Polluted Deltas

A couple of notes/explanations:

*I know this is not an "optimal" build, but right now it is very early in the testing stages for me.  I realize that it appears mana light, but the extra draw seems to be taking care of that.

*As far as creature build, these are fairly standard.  I think the placement of tokens on Morphling is both underutilized and unappreciated.  I have seen too many Oath players not take advantage of this.  I will test other creatures, but most likely for the sideboard.

*There is very little power because I won't buy it and have difficulty trading for it.  On a positive note, the power I do have, I won, so there is always hope for more.

* I am considering Stifle in the Mana Leak spot. I think it will be more useful, but time will tell. Your thoughts?

* There is no sideboard because I want to solve the maindeck first.  I want to know what I lose to and why before I try come up with solutions.

*I have not yet tested man-lands.  That would require upping the land count, and making cuts.  Your thoughts?

*Once I know how many decks I have trouble with, I can then consider whether to scrap the deck, consider my sideboard for the meta, or explore the Ophidian conversion.  I like snake, as urphidian was once my deck of choice (I predict it will make a small comeback).

* I also will have to consider a 4 color Oath deck, using Kai Budde's Lisbon Grand Prix deck (2001?) as skelton to tweak.

*Finally, some fun tech you may want to play around with is Scroll Rack (awesome with Oath) and 2 Timewarps (or a Walk if you have it) allowing for infinite turns and then beats (like Zvi's old turboland deck, my first foray into Type 1 and a deck near and dear to my heart).

I hope I was constructive.

The original point to the thread seems out of place a little.  TMD is operated by its designer, owner, and people assigned to its maintenance.  Consider this, are there any organizations where rules are in place and enforced by a few (an oligarchy if you will), where those that are not the decision-makers do not complain?

There will always be students that complain about the teachers, motorists that complain about the police, workers that complain about supervisors, etc... The fact is, this is not a utopian site.  Anything manmade is likely to have flaws.  

Questions worth asking:
1. If TMD doesn't meet your needs, is there a better site that does, so that its strong points may be considered and perhaps emulated?

2.  To the Admins:  Obviously, there are a few people who are voicing their discontent about the site.  Some view TMD as a members-only country club and this rubs them the wrong way.  What, if anything, have you done to not make people feel alienated, while maintaining a differentiated stratus to the forums?
Are you considering new ideas for those that feel unjustly confined to the open forum?

Interesting deck.  Are you convinced that your deck will fare better than R/G Beatz in most metas?  If so, what do you base your conclusion on? So far, that deck seems strong for budget and has had some impressive results.

If you are in Atlanta, I suggest hooking up with Hill Redwine and some of his friends.  Hill has extra power (last I knew he had about 5 or 6 sets) but has to travel to Savannah and/or Charleston to find Type 1 tournaments.  I'm sure if he found more players in the area he would be glad to play.
This is off-topic, and should be kept to a PM. Don't do it again.

-Jacob

Queequeg, my current Oath build runs Standstill.  I have found it awesome.  My design is built to beat aggro and have a fair chance against control.  My weakest matchup currently are stax/weldermud.  Have you tested Standstill?  What are your thoughts on the card in the deck?

I think this card will make Workshop decks try to abuse it.  The restriction of Workshop is likely to happen before Trinisphere.  However, if the meta can adjust appropriately, then such drastic action may not be necesary.

The card does seem to be very much in line with recent WotC moves.  Wizards has looked to slow the other formats with varying degrees of success.  Also, they have let it be known that some cards would be printed with Type 1 in mind.  I think the simple reason for this is money.

Type 1 will continue to see increased interest because there are so many players that have the older cards and cannot or will not keep buying new ones.  However, as the popularity increases, the number of players with power remains fairly stable.  That said, to keep these players playing, and buying, Wizards must print cards that may help level the playing field for Type 1.  If nonpowered decks could stand up to powered ones on a regular basis, I think Wizards would rejoice.  For those of us with power, the reaction is likely to be mixed.