I've actually been testing a similar list lately that I'm going to be trying out this Sunday.  I think the main difference is that instead of Sculpting Steel I'm running Bottled Cloister and my lands are a bit differentI'm running 3x City and no Factory.  So far I've really liked the Cloister since it helps fuel the Masticores without having to Draw/Pitch/repeat, I can actually still play a card instead of having to always keep it and pitch it next upkeep.  It also lets me justify the single Helm in the sideboard which is mostly brought in to help against Dredge (and potentially other matches where I'd like to win quicker).  Has anyone tested Damping Matrix with Shop decks?  It seems like there's no real reason to use Pithing Needle over it since it will shut down everything I'd want to Needle and then some (I wouldn't even hesitate to include it if it shut down Tezz as well).  In general with the sideboard, Crucibles are only really against oposing Shop decks, which is the main reason why I'm not running them maindeck (don't expect too much Shop at the tournament), Leylines against Dredge/Shop, Cap against Combo/Oath/Tezz, and Needle/Matrix are general cleanup (I can never seem to justify maindeck Needles, yet I always seem to side them in).  I like the Sculpting Steel idea though, it's a great answer to turn one Tinker (which honestly is difficult to deal with no matter what deck you're playing).

// Lands
    1 Strip Mine
    4 Mishra's Workshop
    3 City of Traitors
    4 Wasteland
    4 Ancient Tomb
    1 Tolarian Academy

    1 Mox Pearl
    1 Mox Jet
    1 Mox Sapphire
    1 Mox Ruby
    1 Mox Emerald
    1 Black Lotus
    1 Sol Ring
    1 Mana Crypt
    1 Mana Vault

// Creatures
    4 Lodestone Golem
    4 Juggernaut
    3 Razormane Masticore

// Spells
    1 Trinisphere
    4 Thorn of Amethyst
    4 Sphere of Resistance
    3 Null Rod
    4 Tangle Wire
    4 Chalice of the Void
    3 Bottled Cloister

// Sideboard
SB: 3 Crucible of Worlds
SB: 4 Jester's Cap
SB: 3 Pithing Needle/Damping Matrix
SB: 1 Helm of Obedience
SB: 4 Leyline of the Void

This is the build that I've been tinkering around with.  I kept trying to splash blue but it just wasn't working all that well, though I am still considering an Underground so that I can run Recall and Walk.  The Grim Discoveries are the weakest cards in the deck because they basically assume that your opponent is going to counter or disrupt you in some way, but they are easily the best cards to use when that situation DOES occur.  1B to return the entire combo is just nuts, but like I said I hate how dead they usually are otherwise.  The backup plan here is obviously Waste/Rod/Duress with Tarmo beatz (which does actually make Grim more useful, returning a Strip is incredibly good).  Wish is another card that seems dead most of the time in testing, but it does offer a lot of sideboard answers ranging from removal to things like Glacial Chasm (if you happen to face a lot of aggro in your meta, or even Tabernacle).  Currently, the MB Extirpates are a bit of a filler, I am going to move them to the SB and try Recall/Walk/Etc in their spots instead.

// Lands
    1 [GUR] Forest
    3 [GUR] Swamp
    1  Marsh Flats
    1  Strip Mine
    4  Wasteland
    4  Verdant Catacombs
    1  Bloodstained Mire
    4  Bayou
    1  Dark Depths

// Creatures
    4  Dark Confidant
    4  Tarmogoyf
    3  Vampire Hexmage

// Spells
    3  Null Rod
    1  Mox Emerald
    1  Black Lotus
    1  Mox Jet
    3  Extirpate
    1  Vampiric Tutor
    3  Crop Rotation
    3  Grim Discovery
    1  Yawgmoth's Will
    3  Living Wish
    1  Demonic Tutor
    4  Thoughtseize
    4  Duress

The biggest thing to note is that I don't run Urborg, and only one maindeck Depths.  Obviously, by itself Depths is crap, it doesn't do anything and doesn't produce mana.  With the Wishes and Rotations, I can get to it fast enough that it shouldn't be an issue, without clogging up my hand all the time.  The main reason I opted to run it this way is because I've noticed too much in the past that Urborg is typically more useful to my opponent than it is to me, and I really don't like helping my opponent out.

Response doesn't counter Swords or Path, sadly.

I would also run the full set of Moxen plus Sol Ring since all your enchantments have large colorless costs.  Even though you shut then down with Null Rod, you have a better chance of getting something down turn 1 WITH them, rather then without them.

The only thing that I especially don't like (I dislike no mana burn, but can live with it), is that now if your attacking creature has multiple blockers, you have to line them up and deal leathal damage to one before moving on to the next.  That doesn't make much sense, if Batman is attacking a group of henchmen, he doesn't line them up and finish knocking one down before moving on to the next.  He throws a punch at one, a kick at another, an elbow to the right, then back with a headbutt to the first guy again!

Consider the situation where I have a 6/6, and my opponent blocks with 3 4/4's (fearing what's in my hand, which happens to be a Pyroclasm).  My best bet is to deal 2 damage to each blocker, then during my post combat main phase cast the Pyroclasm and wipe out my opponents creatures.  With the new rules, I have deal 4 damage to the first creature, 2 to the second, then none to the third.  I don't really understand why they would implement it like this (creatures with Deathtouch are the only thing able to split damage as desired according to the article).  It doesn't make sense in any way, other than trying to mimic Trample and honestly complicate damage assignment.

Steve, you're a self centered and egotistical a-hole.....don't change!  XD  You, and many others, have always fought to keep the format strong and interesting, and you've definitely succeeded.  Great job on the article and I'm glad that Wizards published it, hopefully more people will at least get interested in the format and look into it more (instead of just the typical assumtion that it costs too much).  I like that you posted decklists to pique people interest, and good to hear that people on the mtg forums are helping vintage newbies to understand how those decks work.

Regardless of how fair it is, it would have to be no proxy.  Consider City in a Bottle, how does it affect City of Brass proxies, are they assumed to be the latest edition, first edition, other?  If the person actually writes the edition on the proxy, does that count as being from that edition?

In general, I think it's quite doable.  Vintage World Championship proved that there will still be a good turnout in the US for a large scale sanctioned Vintage tournament (specifically in the US since they are already common across the pond).  There is enough hate that it's still possible for budget and hate decks to prosper, as well.  It'd definitely be doable, and I'd love to see it happen (I'm looking into flying out for the Legacy GP, actually).

This is copied from a local NW forum.  Mirkwood Cafe is an establishment in Arlington, Washington, they hold regular events that include Legacy and Vintage, and have an anual Mirkwood Cup for a Lotus event.  This event was to fill the time between cups and had a Unlimited Time Walk for first (Library of Alexandria for second, duals for after).

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As usual it was a great tournament at Mirkwood, though sadly the show out was a bit light. I think there were around 16 people playing, 4 rounds with cut to Top6, the first and second place out of swiss getting byes in the first round of Top6. As usuall, I ended up playing Stax, though that was after I switched Tezz to Slaver for Doogle to borrow (I was considering playing Tezz for a change of pace). Sadly Doogle just didn't have the mojo today, which sucked 'cause if he won I'd have gotten a cut! Mwahaha! Fortunately I ended up winning it, so s'all good. Here's a bit of a tournament report, though I don't remember aaaayones names (I started drinking first round and was well into it by end of the third round).

Round 1 - Playing against combo, lots of basic lands but a combination of what seemed to be bad draws and me playing Resistors/Chalice didn't help much. Both games I ended up locking him out with resistors and chalices and he wasn't able to get out of it before the life points came tumbling down (if I can read my notes at all, he had to mulligan both games too).

Round 2 - Playing against a Tezz (slash Slaver?) build.
Game 1: I get the nutz with resistors, 5 if I recall, and kept him out of the game. I had to keep using my City of Brass to activate Mishra's Factory, but it went the distance.
Game 2: He pulled off the infinite turn combo without too much resistance on my part and won (god I love that combo!).
Game 3: I got a little resistance down and was able to land a Karn after he tapped out. Karn was able to take the team in the for win.

Round 3 - Playing against Tyrant Oath (John Gordon, the only person who's name I remember since he was my ride), we have been practicing for a while now so we know the match up and what to expect.
Game 1: Pretty much a blow out, I am able to lock him out without him finding any answers.
Game 2: More of the same, we actually went back and forth a bit in this game, he even activated Oath and got out a Tyrant, but I was able to land a Smokestack and ramped it up (having to blow Engineered Explosives at Zero to get rid of his extra Moxen so that he had to sac Tyrant itself). After that I was able to keep him out of any permanents and locked him out.

Keep in mind that during round three, he had just ordered two drinks and I had already had a Martini, shot of Patron, beer, and was drinking a Scotch, so we both probably both made mistakes because of beautiful intoxication.

Round 4 - ID, we both draw and get the first and second place out of swiss (both 3-0 at that point), so we both got the byes for the Top6.

Top 4 Semi Finals, against John Gordon again...moving on! Actually, the other finalist was the guy I drew with Round 4, who was playing a straight Tezz build. John doesn't want to face him and knows I have a much better chance so is okay with the 3rd/4th place prize and concedes to me, so I advance to the Finals.

Top 2 Finals, playing against Tezz, sadly the heavy metal band that was playing that night just started to come in and setup, so the drummer was (annoyingly) beating on his drums while we were trying to play. I don't mind heavy metal, but just doing the same note over and over on the drums while we're trying to concentrate was rather frustrating.
Game 1: I'm able to get down a few resistors and (if I recall correctly) a Chalice and kept him out while I beat with my guys.
Game 2: I started out being able to get some resistance down and then was able to (again) land a Karn after he was tapped out and couldn't counter. Karn went in with a friend and was able to go the distance before he found an answer.

All in all a good tournament, not the best show out but the people who did attend were all top notch. Props to Anton and Mirkwood for having a full liquor license now, and for those delicious Chicken Parmesan sandwiches! This is the first time I was able to win a tournament AND win power, so it was definitely a great time to be had. Can't wait for the next one!

Here's my deck list, the only thing I wasn't really happy with was Triskelion and Jester's Cap in the side, I think I want to add Pithing Needle instead (it used to be Ray of Revelation but Energy Flux just doesn't seem prevalent enough to worry about it right now). I brought in Triskelion when I thought I was playing against Slaver, but it turned out to be the Tezz/Slaver hybrid and didn't come across and Welders/Shaman, so I switched out Trike game 3.

// Lands
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra's Workshop
3 Gemstone Mine
4 City of Brass
1 Strip Mine
4 Mishra's Factory
1 Barbarian Ring
1 Academy Ruins
1 Tolarian Academy

// Creatures
2 Gorilla Shaman
4 Dark Confidant
1 Karn, Silver Golem

// Spells
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Trinisphere
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Jet
3 Engineered Explosives
1 Mana Crypt
4 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Smokestack
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
4 Sphere of Resistance
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
3 Crucible of Worlds

// Sideboard
SB: 3 Relic of Progenitus
SB: 1 Jester's Cap
SB: 3 Triskelion
SB: 4 Leyline of the Void
SB: 4 Ancient Grudge

Can you post or point to any recent MUD lists?  There are a lot of ways to go with the deck and I'm curious what's been putting up results.  I'm assuming they're the more aggro oriented builds: Metalworker, Juggs, Trikes, etc?  Why do you think MUD (with or without a Red splash) is better than other Stax lists?

It seems like it's really meta-dependant, since adding other colors can really help out against certain things.  Ancient Grudge against a lot of opposing Shop decks, Ray of Revelation if you're expecting a lot of Oath/Back to Basics/Energy Flux, Swords to Plowshares against a lot of Tinker->Colossi, etcetcetc.  I've done well with a build to begin with, then did horrible with the same build just because the meta shifted a bit.

Nice read, I'm actually suprised MUD is so popular (and not 5c approaches).  One thing I'm curious about, out of the Oath decks, how many of them are Tyrant Oath?  Tyrant and Akroma Oath are two entirely different beasts, I'd be interested in knowing which is more successful overall.

I had a really funny multiplayer game, I was playing Legacy Burn and had 4 Mountains with an almost full grip.  A friend was at 1 life and was targetting another player with Lightning Helix.  In response, I emptied my hand and all my lands (4x bolts and 2x Fireblast) to kill the guy being targetted with Helix.  He dies, Helix fizzles (no legal target) and the third player proceeds to attack and kill the guy at one life.  After that, he scoops up his stuff thinking he'd won!

W00t, I won the game by having no cards in hand and no permanents in play.  He thought I had scooped after that since I had nothing left in play/hand (I was just waiting for my turn to say Draw/Go) so he scooped up himself instead!

I think it's interesting, but I just got back from a 4 day trip to Houston, so my mind is kinda dead.  More later...

Linky?  I assume it's on SCG?

As a Stax player for a few years now, I can honestly say that Crucible rarely ever has an immediate effect.  It's a must counter most of the time in a Stax deck, but because of the POTENTIAL to be good later, but rarely ever for the immediate effect.  Mindlock depends entirely on your opponents deck (though I agree that most of the time it will affect your opponents deck), but it usually seems like the immediate effect will be forcing them to fetch right now instead of later.  The main effect is forcing them to look for real lands instead of fetch lands.  Chalice and Trinispher are permanent immediate effects, FoW/MisD are immediate but temporary (one time only).

Tanglewire can be good in any matchup, but it obviously couldn't just get thrown into this deck just by itself.  Tanglewire is better with Resistors, which is why I suggested both (not just Wires), they prevent your opponent from playing answers while Master can swing in (thus taking advantage of the tempo boost).  It's basically the same concept as ShopAgro decks, just using blue cards and Master instead of Metalworkers and Juggernauts.

Interesting deck, but it seems like it would keep falling short a bit.  You're trying to be aggro while going for the total lock, but it seems like it's missing in the middle.  Smokestack is obviously strong, but takes a whole turn to be active (and potentially more to be useful), the problem with that in this list is that you have nothing to keep the tempo up while Smokestack becomes useful.  Wasting a turn to cast Smokestack (without additional disruption in place or in hand to cast as well) is like giving your opponent a Time Walk since it's not going to affect anything until at least next turn.  This deck seems like it wants to disrupt and take advantage to swing in, which means Tanglewires and Resistors would be more useful than Smokestack and even Mindlock.  Lowering the count of blue cards would invalidate FoW/MisD a bit, but it seems like it could run Mana Drain instead (which can also help to power out more pieces AND to protect itself).  It'd probably require more blue sources (more Mox Diamond perhaps), but it seems viable (along with better card drawing like Thirst).

The biggest problem would be that it's no longer a Mindlock deck, but I just don't think this is the right shell for Mindlock Orb.  It's a harder lock piece when (in this deck) you really just want to disrupt your opponent for long enough to swing a few times (since, like you said, Master should be a good enough size to be a quick clock when you get him down).  In a true Mindlock deck, things like Resistors would help increase the power by forcing opponents to waste their draw spells looking for real lands since their fetches are now useless.  In this deck, Mindlock Orb just seems like a cute trick to annoy the opponent a bit without putting too much pressure on them (since, with GAT gone, manabases are slowly becoming more and more stable again).

Also keep in mind that Ghost Quarter keeps them off their extra colors (typically just getting and Island), plus most decks don't run more than a couple basics to begin with.  If they fetch a dual, they typically need that extra color, keeping them off it can also slow them down.

Amen brother, I've stuck with Stax too for the past few tournaments I've played in, but haven't been faring too well lately.  The biggest problem lately is that Stax is, by nature, not a reactive deck.  Sad are the times when you want to start main decking REBs so that you can make sure things resolve (I was looking into Shusher for a while, even).

To answer your questions Everrid, the real problems for the deck are Drain decks, Oath decks, and an early Tinker->Colossus (whatever the deck that's playing it may be).  Drain decks still have the potential to get Drain online early and use your Shop mana against you.  Oath decks don't need much to win, and early Oaths aren't too difficult to cast.  Tinker->Colossus is just....well, a 11/11 Trampler swinging at you, not much else to say about that.  Tendrils combo shouldn't be too bad for Stax, especially if you're packing 9Sphere and Chalice, though the potential for their early win (or EOT Hurkyls then combo next turn) still does happen.  Agro can be difficult because Stax still tends to die to early creature beats (I always half joke that a first turn Savannah Lions is my Kryptonite), but can be manageable depending on what you have MB/SB.  Stax is a lockdown deck, one piece at a time, slowly stopping them from doing things, everything works together to that end (which usually means that whatever you draw, it's most likely going to be useful, Stax tends to be one of the most topdeck friendly decks around).

Would you really only run Ghost Quarter if you ran a full set of Orbs?  Ghost Quarter is still potentially good by itself (it forces decks into mono-blue typically), and adding Mindlock Orb to the equation just makes it so much better.

My only complaint is that you're not running Ghost Quarter in the Mindlock list!    Other than that, nice read.

It works because when choosing new targets for Misdirection, Misdirection itself is a legal target (a spell can't target itself, but it can make another spell target itself).  Misdirection resolves and redirects the Force of Will to it, but then Force of Will trys to resolve and sees that its target no longer exists (now the Misdirection), so it fizzles.

Good article, really an interesting read, I was actually suprised by the high amount of Fish.  Steve, do you think Alara will change any of these numbers (just looking for a quick answer), or will we have to wait 'till your next article to find out what you think about that? 

As for the aggro part, true, but it's still more aggro oriented than Stax, so I'm not sure what other name better describes it.  The fact that 9 of the guys are smaller is inconsequential, though.  They still swing in the same as any other, and if I'm keeping my opponent from playing spells, then they are able to swing in unobstructed.

In the case of Chalice -vs- Explosives, it's really dependant on what I am going to be playing against.  In the case of decks like Fish (which are common in my area), I'd rather destroy their guys than prevent them from casting them (until they find an answer to Chalice).  They can keep the guys in hand until they find an answer, but they are lost forever if I destroy them.  Engineered also destroys tokens quite well, I can get rid of Ichorid and Empty tokens.  It also lets me get rid of the 1s and 3s (Welder, Shaman, Heretic, Flux, Back to Basics, etc) without hurting myself too much.  Just to note, I like Engineered for it's versatility, but I really don't like cutting the Chalice MB, it's just what I'm trying out currently (Shushers make Chalice even better since I can still play through them for just a R/G extra).

Trike over Juggs I explained already, it's mostly because I am expecting Fish and Slaver (Trike does a much better job against opposing Welders than Juggs, since he just gets turned into a Moxen and destroyed).

Titan isn't in the list in there since Tinker isn't, but I've honestly never been wowed by Tinker.  Every card in the deck is currently a permanent.  Most of the time whatever I draw, I can play (the exceptions of course being the colored spells, but even those aren't too difficult most of the time).  In a deck like this, Tinker would pretty much always get Titan (which isn't a bad thing, btw), but it starts losing consistency by going that route.  Obviously, things like the Shaman are easy to cut and change for Tinker/Titan, but I'm still not sure if it's worth it.  It seems like a win more card most of the time (in this deck, in a deck like Slaver it's nuts, but Slaver also has card drawing and selection).

The problem is finding room for the Crucibles, which is the most difficult part.  I cut them when I went from a Stax deck to an Agro deck, but haven't been able to add any back in (even as a deuce).  Crucible is not an absolute necessity, but can attribute wins to a broken first turn Crucle/Strip (especially when I pump out spheres after that to keep Moxen off the table).  I would like to find a way to fit it back in, though, as it makes Gemstones all that much stronger and can help lock down the game with Wastelands/Strip Mine.

About Lotus, meh, it gives you a little extra oomph turn one, but takes away the staying power of a strong first turn.  I also built the list with consideration towards Worlds which is sanctioned, and the Lotus is the only card in the deck that I don't actually own.

As for Chalice, Chalice at 2 doesn't actually hurt me if I can get out a Shusher (and Shusher itself can't be countered by Chalice).  The biggest difference is the inclusion of the Shusher itself (which takes the place of what is usually Swords).  Shusher lets you power through counters without even caring.  The biggest problem being, with no Crucible, Gemstones are again the weakest land in the deck.

The other difference is the inclusion of Explosives (which is catching on a bit, but still not widely played).  I've long included that card in my 5c Stax builds because of it's versatility, it lets me destroy Goyfs (at the expense of my own cards sadly, but Goyf beat down can be brutal), kills Empty AND Bridge tokens, kills moxen, kills Energy Flux (though Ray does that better), kills many things that can really ruin my day.  The late game recursion through Academy Ruins actually won me a few games before against GAT because if I kept playing it at two, they couldn't do anything to actually win other than relying on Tog (which I could just recur and play it at three instead of two for a turn to get rid of him, as well).

I am also trying Tangle Wires currently, mostly for a bit of added disruption while trying to stall them out with Spheres.  They give me extra time to get the mana to drop more Spheres and ultimately a create to start swinging in with.  Recurring them via Ruins, while not as strong as with Welder, can also add to the late game disruption (and still keep them off the extra mana that they've most likely built up by then).

Here is an aggro deck that I've been tweaking around with lately for an upcoming tournament:

// Lands
    1  Strip Mine
    4  Wasteland
    1  Academy Ruins
    1  Tolarian Academy
    4  Mishra's Workshop
    4  Mishra's Factory
    4  Gemstone Mine
    4  City of Brass

// Creatures
    2  Gorilla Shaman
    3  Vexing Shusher
    4  Dark Confidant
    4  Triskelion
    1  Karn, Silver Golem

// Spells
    1  Trinisphere
    4  Thorn of Amethyst
    4  Sphere of Resistance
    4  Tangle Wire
    3  Engineered Explosives
    1  Mox Emerald
    1  Mox Sapphire
    1  Mox Ruby
    1  Mox Pearl
    1  Mox Jet
    1  Mana Crypt
    1  Sol Ring

// Sideboard
SB: 4  Chalice of the Void
SB: 4  Leyline of the Void
SB: 3  Ray of Revelation
SB: 4  Ancient Grudge

Based on previous tournaments, I can expect some Ichorid (there has always been at least 1 person playing it, though rarely much more than that), and Oath (same as Ichorid, someone usually plays it, but it's not out in force), but a lot of what's hot now.  This means that I can probably expect Slaver to be running around (it's a proxy tournament), but I really dunno what else.  I was trying Juggs in place of the Trike for a while, but if Slaver is popular, I'd rather run the Trikes to be able to get rid of opposing Welders easily (which gives me 7 ways to get rid of them with the Explosives).  Chalice in the SB is mostly against Combo (which always shows up in some form or another), but I'd rather run the 9Sphere MB for stronger openings (Chalice seems a bit subpar now, opening Chalice at 1 just isn't what it used to be).  The SB is still a bit generic, Rays for Back to Basics and Energy Flux, Grudges for the mirror (Shop is pretty popular), and Leyline is just a general SB staple it seems (still really good against Stax, Ichorid, Dragon, etc).

Any thoughts on the deck, improvements, suggestions?

PS: I just noticed that I don't have Lotus on the list (which means I can play this list sanctioned, w00t), I'll have to add it back in somehow (or not, I'll play it out a bit and see).

Good article, btw (forgot to mention that in my other post), sad you couldn't make it to Top8, but still congrats.

I am probably just missing something here, but why wouldn't he be able to counter the Chain copy if he had let the original resolve?

I'm curious why you didn't at least comment on not including Brainstorm/Ponder?  Even as singletons, it can help smooth things out a bit.  As it is, you're primarily just relying on Standstill/Recall (and potentially your Ninjas), but is that enough?  It seems like even adding in those single BS/P, you can still help smooth out the draws.  The other thing is that BS/P are definite, while Standstill/Ninjas are optional; you can't always assume you're going to be able to draw cards off them (though usually you will at least draw some).

Consider the situation of this and Trinisphere out, then sac your lands to something (Zuran Orb, Wasteland your own lands, etc).  Your opponent now can't play any more lands and must pay 3 for all spells, doesn't seem too bad.  I think it would need a new type of deck (you couldn't simply add it to Stax, for instance) to really make use of it, though.  It would have to focus a bit more on cleanup once this is down (getting rid of your and your opponents lands primarily, Dust Bowl perhaps?), but could be quite viable.

At least I don't have to worry about getting Chalice at one out ASAP, but still.  Even as a Stax player, I don't like the potential restriction of Brainstorm and Ponder, I really think it's too far.  It eliminates a host of popular decks for no apparent reason, it's honestly more of a suprise than restricting Gifts or unrestricting Gush.  I think I'll go buy an island and play Magic the way it was meant to be played, with my oppoents playing 4x Brainstorm and 4x Ponder (and me with 4x Trinisphere)!