Bringing a car full of dumb-dumbs from Maryland!

Tried to preregister, got "There was a problem with the information you provided. Please check your email and membership number again."

My DCI number, email, and credit card information is all correct. Entering my DCI number triggers a "DCI number valid" tool tip.

Help?

EDIT: All set now. Thanks Nick!

Oh sure, I give you hope for making top 8 and you pay me back by edging me out

Just kidding buddy. Awesome performance. I think you're selling yourself short in your game one against Will; you played masterfully against an opponent who gave you no room for error. I'm pretty sure I would have lost that game taking over at nearly any point. Thanks for writing this up!

Any idea who the judge for this event will be yet?

Man, not only did this event happen 11 months ago, but May 16th was a Friday!

Perhaps you mean 2015?

Hyped for this! Should be bringing a car full of wizards from Baltimore!

Not sure if I can make the event, but I absolutely want a mat.

Awesome report! Any changes you'd make? What was/wasn't good out of the board?

Just a quick note: you can either get Young Pyromancer and Delver OR the tokens. The tokens are Elementals and the Pyromancer and Delver are Humans (Shaman and Wizard/Insect, respectively.) I love Engineered Plague, but it's better against Mentor and a bunch of tokens than pyromancer and a bunch of tokens.

Slice and Dice was not Vintage playable before Young Pyromancer became a concern.

New threats require new answers. Though I haven't tested it, I doubt Surgical Extraction, a counterable 1 cmc spell that doesn't affect the board and requires two other cards to function fully, is the answer OP was looking for.

One option I haven't seen listed is Sulfur Elemental. Doesn't answer the Mentor (it actually makes it worse!) but it does wipe all the tokens, uncounterably at instant speed while leaving behind a decent body that even trades with the Mentor unless they've played three spells.

On the calendar!

Hello. My name is EyeOfTheStorm. And I'm a comboholic.

I play a lot of Legacy. When I play Legacy, I play to win. My goal going into every tournament is to win. I'll play whatever deck I think gives me the best chance of winning. In Vintage, on the other hand, I just want to make crazy things happen.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to play in two great events. The first was my first trip to The Player's Guild where Shawn Griffiths made me feel quite welcome. I sleeved up my take on Samoht's four color Gush PyroBond deck:

Winning the game (5):
3 Young Pyromancer
1 Fastbond
1 Tendrils of Agony

Interaction (12):
4 Force of Will
3 Mental Misstep
2 Flusterstorm
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Fire // Ice
1 Toxic Deluge

Drawing cards (22):
4 Gush
4 Preordain
3 Dack Fayden
3 Dig Through Time
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Ponder
1 Time Walk
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Making mana (21):
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Volcanic Island
2 Polluted Delta
2 Underground Sea
1 Black Lotus
1 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Lotus Petal
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Tropical Island

Sideboard (15):
4 Ingot Chewer
2 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Pyroblast
2 Yixlid Jailer
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Nature's Claim
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Mountain

The weakest card in this list is the Toxic Deluge. I wanted an answer to Mentor decks, but this deck is pretty greedy with life and the one time I needed Deluge I'd boarded it out. Lotus Petal is way better than Mox Pearl, by the way; this deck can't really use one colorless mana particularly well and Lotus Petal counts double for Dig Through Time and Yawgmoth's Will.

14 players came out, so we played five rounds and cut to top four.

Round 1: Rob on Show & Oath
In game one, Rob keeps a hand without Oath. I have a Fastbond and a Recall, but I start with turn two Pyromancer. Rob has Mental Missteps for my Fastbond and
Recall, but I decide not to fight back. Young Peezy and Dylan Donegan finish Rob off while my hand becomes Force, Force, Flusterstorm. This game really
highlights the power of Young Pyromancer in the build.

I take out Toxic Deluge, Fire//Ice, Ancient Grudge, Preordain and Dack Fayden for 2 Cages, 2 Pyroblast and Nature's Claim.

In game two, we trade resources early but this time I do not have Pyromancer. I Demonic for Lotus so I can hold up Dig Through Time plus Flusterstorm, but Rob
has Decay to make me look silly. I Dig and take a Nature's Claim and a green source, even though I have a Cage in play, passing up on much more powerful
spells. Because I don't have Flusterstorm up, I let Rob's Recall resolve. The result of playing too carefully is that Rob finds two Show and Tells, Iona,
Shield of Emeria, and Flusterstorm. He ends up with Iona in play to my board of Cage, lands, and Nature's Claim in hand. I draw a Vampiric Tutor, but the Deluge
is in my board, and I'm dead.

I put Deluge back in my deck. We both mulligan for game three. I keep four lands, Mox, Cage, but Rob's hand is way better and he quickly Shows me a
Griselbrand. Unsurprisingly, my Deluge is countered and I lose a game in which I never really had a shot. Should have won game two, I guess.

(0-1, 1-2)

Round 2: Keith on U/W Mentor Bomberman (BomentorMan?)
Game one is relatively straight forward: Young Pyromancer and friends get in some damage, I resolve Fastbond and go nuts.

Game two, however, is very interesting. After trading resources early, I establish Pyromancer but Keith has Swords. We both find Library and work towards
getting it active. When Keith gets to six cards, I Dig, which he lets resolve. Keith gets to seven cards first and deploys Mentor. I untap, draw, Gush to seven
cards, and activate Library. Keith Forces my Gush. I Pyroblast his Force. He Missteps. I Flusterstorm. Keith now has Mentor and a handful of disciples, but
my Gush and Library activation resolve and I'm able to Gush again, play Sapphire and Lotus, Scroll for Dig and Dig for Tendrils. I don't find it, but I do find
Jet and Ponder, and since I have a black source up I crack Lotus for blue and Ponder...into Tendrils! Better lucky than good!

(1-1, 3-2)

Round 3: Shawn on Control Oath
Shawn mulligans and keeps a hand that doesn't do much. I establish an early Fastbond. I have Force for Shawn's first Oath but merely Flusterstorm and
Misstep for his second, and suddenly I'm in trouble. I Merchant Scroll for Gush and then Vamp. I should have gotten Will and tried to get there with Gush, Will,
Will back Gush and Scroll for Gush, but instead I Vamp for a second Gush and miss. Shawn's Oath finds Progenitus, but I don't have ten life for Deluge and I
lose another game against Oath I probably should have won.

In game two, Shawn misses on land forever, allowing me to crawl back into a game where I flooded. At one point, I hard cast Gush while Shawn only had one land. Eventually he resolves Oath and then plays Orchard, but I have Tendrils in hand. I Brainstorm, Gush and Dig, but can't get to a lethal storm. I offer Explosives as a Decay target, which Shawn takes. I Scroll for Recall, locking me out of casting Tendrils unless I find Lotus, which I don't, but I do find Time Walk. On my Time Walk turn I DT for Will and win easily. Escaped a close one! Let's hope I can tighten up and get game three. (Spoiler: I won't.)

I keep a very sketchy hand of Mox Sapphire, Mox Ruby, Preordain, Cage, Lotus, Vampiric, Gush. Shawn has Mox, Orchard, Oath, but at least my Cage resolves. I
find a Force, but not until after Shawn DT's for what I assume is Decay. Shawn has a brainfart, though, and activates Oath with my Cage in play. I get greedy,
though, and rather than break Lotus for Vampiric for the second Cage, I just draw. I finally find a land, Vamp for Cage, spend Lotus on Gush and draw the
Cage, but I'm now out of mana and can't cast it. Shawn Decays Cage, the second Griselbrand is not in the bottom two cards of his library, and I die to
Vault/Key on turn four of turns.

This loss really stung. Based on Shawn's hand (Decay, Griselbrand, Yawgmoth's Will, Force), had I Vamped for the second Cage I probably could have just
attacked with my Spirit token eighteen times.

(1-2, 4-4)

Round 4: Nathan on Some Kind of Shops Deck
This deck really doesn't want to lose to Shops. In game one, Nathan has double Mox, Chalice for one on the play, but no other land, so my land, Mox, Time Walk,
land, Dack Fayden steal your Mox effectively ends the game. Then I bring in 4 Chewers, a second Grudge, a Nature's Claim and an Engineered Explosives and
destroy or steal every artifact Nathan puts into play.

(2-2, 6-4)

Round 5: Bill on Landstill
The top 4 happens to be locked, but we play it out anyway. In game 1 Bill mulligans and I resolve an early Fastbond. I take some Factory beats but counter
a Jace and GushBound him to death. Then in game two I have Library on the draw and Bill has...three Factories and a Pearl. Rest in Peace and Stony Silence are
annoying, but without blue mana there's not much Bill can do. Library provides approximately a million cards and soon I have two Pyrmancers and a literal dozen
friends.

(3-2, 8-4)

I finish 7th. My only losses on the day were to Oath, and in three of those four games I think I probably should have won, or at least been much better
positioned, with optimal play. I love this deck and intend to keep working on it moving forward.

But that's not all!

On Sunday, I made my way out to 5D's for their Vintage event, this time sleeving up my take on KanaKaishou's Tasigur Bomberman list:

Humans (9):
3 Trinket Mage
2 Auriok Salvagers
2 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Notion Thief

Interaction (16):
4 Force of Will
3 Mental Misstep
2 Mana Drain
2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Disenchant
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Flusterstorm
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Steel Sabotage

Drawing cards (9):
3 Gifts Ungiven
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Time Walk
1 Treasure Cruise

Bad cards (2):
1 Noxious Revival
1 Unburial Rites

Making Mana (24):
4 Flooded Strand
3 Tundra
2 Polluted Delta
2 Underground Sea
1 Black Lotus
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Plains
1 Sol Ring
1 Tolarian Academy

Sideboard (15):
4 Containment Priest
2 Disenchant
2 Devout Witness
2 True-Name Nemesis
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Path to Exile
1 Rest in Peace
1 Swords to Plowshares

Hey, did you know Tasigur is a Human? It turns out Monastery Mentor may only be the second best Human in Fate Reforged. A quick explanation of what Tasigur does in this deck:

Once you establish Black Lotus + Auriok Salvagers, activate Tasigur until you've milled your entire deck. Then continue activating him until your opponent has
given you every non-land card in your deck. Now target your opponent with Ancestral Recall (make sure Notion Thief isn't in play!). Rebuy the Recall with
Tasigur (it's your opponent's only choice) and continue until they die. Should they try to cast a spell, counter it six times and then rebuy all of your
counterspells. Should you find your Recall exiled, cast Time Walk a million times, play out a Tasigur, two Salvagers, 3 Trinket Mages and a Notion Thief,
Swords all of their creatures, and then use Noxious Revival to return Walk to your deck. On your next turn, draw Walk, re-establish
Bomberman combo, Tasigur back both Noxious Revival and Walk, recast Walk and then Revival it on top of your deck again. Attack your opponent to death.

Of course, the rest of the time Tasigur is "just" a one mana 4/5 with Treasure Trove attached.

Only six people made it out, so we decided to play round robin.

Round 1: Brian Kelly on Brian Kelly TasiGush (Tasigur Gush with Talrand. Plus a white splash in the board for Containment Priest. Look, I don't know either
man.)
In game one I mulligan to five on the draw. I have a Library, but by the time I can get it active I'm too far behind. In game two I have a reasonable hand and
Brian has turn one Jace.

(0-1, 0-2)

Yay Vintage!

Round 2: Sean with Mono White Human ScrollTax Prison
I have Library on the draw. I misstep Sean's Land Tax and his Scroll Rack does not find him a third mana source, so Gifts for Gifts, Treasure Cruise, Recall,
Snapcaster puts him too far behind.

In game 2 I have Misstep for Land Tax again and proceed to destroy or exile everything he plays, including Engineering my Explosives to take out both his
Scroll Rack and his Thalia for four mana total. Oh, and I had Library again, but not until after he Strip Mined my Island. Skill game.

(1-1, 2-2)

Round 3: Tom Dixon on the ~70 card mirror
Tom doesn't have Cavern or Cruise, but he has an extra Tasigur and more countermagic. He's also way better at this format.

In game one I bait Tom with Brainstorm, which eats a Misstep, allowing me to draw Recall. I establish Tasigur first and Force Tom's Swords. Tom has Trinket
Maged for Top, though, so I need to close out this game before his card quality buries me. I activate Tasigur and am given a Sol Ring. I have Academy and Mox
Ruby in play and Mana Drain in hand, but one of Tom's last three cards is Misstep and another is Tasigur and suddenly we're even on board and he has Top.
I find a Swords, but he has double Force (both hardcast) to beat my Swords + Drain. He finds Bomberman and I lose.

I wish I'd kept better notes because I feel like I should have been able to win this game with tighter play.

In game two I choose to play and Tom has Library. My hand is mediocre, but has Revival, Salvagers and Tasigur. On my third turn I draw Lotus because I am a
champion. Tom tries to pretend like he has some kind of interaction but SCREW YOU TOM DIXON SNAP CALL, so I jam Bomberman and it resolves and Tom dies and I feel like the girl whose dream guy just asked her to prom.

In game three Tom puts me on the play, but I have True-Name plus Noxious Revival. Unfortunately, Tom has two counterspells and there is no miracle
Bomberman to save me and my prom date ditched me and hooked up with Sarah and she's so much prettier and than me and now I'm going to die alone.

(1-2, 3-4)

Round 4: Keith (of TPG fame!) still on BomentorMan
Keith is out for vengeance, but once again I ignore Keith's Mentor, protect my spells with Cavern and Force and combo off to kill Keith.

In game 2 I open a hand with Lotus, Salvagers, Crypt, Library and Gifts, but no counter magic. Keith has turn one Mentor and I don't care. My plan is to sit
back on Library until I find countermagic. I run out an Engineered Explosives to dissuade Keith from going all in, and it works, but soon I am at fifteen and
still have not found countermagic. I decide to give it one more turn. Keith's answer to that is to draw Brainstorm into Time Walk into untap, Swords my guy,
Misstep my Swords, kill you. Well don't I feel silly.

Game three is my favorite of the weekend. I keep a reasonable hand of Recall, True-Name, Force, Tundra, Cavern, Sapphire, Academy. Unfortunately, I flood
out, drawing lands for five of my first six draw steps. Keith also has a Cavern and resolves a Trinket Mage to find Sensei's Divining Top but fortunately he
does not apply too much pressure.

I end up playing Cavern on Human despite the True-Name in my hand in order to resolve a Salvagers (that gets sent Plowing by Swords).

Eventually, though, Keith plays Ethersworn Canonist and this is where I screw up. At this point my hand is Recall, Drain, and Force with the mana to cast
all three, but the Canonist was cast with Cavern mana, so I can't counter it. I should finally go for Recall in response, but I totally forget how
Canonist works, so I let it resolve thinking my end of turn Recall will be safe. Obviously Canonist is an artifact, so Keith counters my Recall and I fall
way behind.

I draw another Force because my decks love irony as much as I do and fortunately resolve True-Name to stop the beatdown. We both find Salvagers but Keith
finda another Trinket Mage to establish Bomberman and then Top finda him Mentor. He uses Bomberman to make a million dudes and passes.

I declare my only out is Tasigur (through Cavern) into something amazing off his activation, but draw Trinket Mage, who it turns out is much better.
Uncounterable Trinket Mage finds Engineered Explosives, which Keith calmly Forces, assuming the game is over, but I activate Salvagers, rebuying
Explosives, and played it on zero again. Locked under his own Canonist, Keith has to let it resolve. Explosives kills millions of faithful Monks. Keith makes
another million, but True-Name blocks the Mentor and suddenly we are stalemated again. Keith goes for a Dig Through Time, but I have Drain and he
can't fight back because of Canonist.

I draw DT for turn but am unable to protect it under Canonist, so with eight Drain mana, I clear out the tokens and then EE for three, not
realizing that takes out my True-Name in addition to Keith's Mentor (doh!). Keith draws, plays out a land and goes down to one card in hand.

Time is called in the round.

I draw for my turn...Trinket Mage! I Mage for Lotus, establish my own Bomberman combo, detonate Explosives at two, and then DT with Force backup.
I managed to pull out this game!

Or so I thought. Keith's last card is Flusterstorm.

We pause. How does this work? I have infinite mana...but I've also played infinite spells. Okay, time to work this out.

Trinket Mage is storm one. Black Lotus is storm two. Then I sacrifice Black Lotus getting three mana, return it with Salvagers for two mana, and replay it.
That's plus one storm and plus one mana, and I did it, oh, let's say n times. So now storm is n+2 and I have n mana floating. Returning EE costs two, playing it
costs two and bumps up storm, activating it costs two, and playing DT costs two and bumps up storm. All said, I have n-8 mana floating and storm is n+4, plus
the original copy of Flusterstorm, so I have to pay 13 mana for Flusterstorm. Bomberman combo is sorcery speed only, and I only have 10 mana available, so
Demonic Tutor is countered and I pass back with a Force in hand.

Keith spins Top, draws for turn, then draws with Top, uses Bomberman for infinite mana, and plays Pithing Needle. Now this is an interesting one: I'm
thinking Keith is going to name Salvagers, keeping us both off infinite mana, meaning the game will likely draw unless his last card kills me. If he'd found a
Spellbomb or a Tasigur or some other Human or trinket that killed me, I'd already be dead, so I figure I might have to save my Force. Needle resolves and
Keith names Engineered Explosives, then plays a Mentor with Cavern and makes a million guys.

Oops. Hadn't considered that, even though it was the most likely outcome given what I'd seen of Keith's deck.

I am only turn three, so I get one draw step to win the game or I will lose to Pithing Needle with Force in my hand.

I draw card face down. Everyone else, matches finished, is watching us now.

"Bomberman combo. Infinite mana. And..."

I slam the facedown card.

"Snapcaster Mage!"

With a lucky topdeck, I flashback DT for Tasigur and kill Keith.

Neither my misplays nor my slaughter of millions of innocent Monks was punished and Keith's vengeance will have to wait for another day.

(2-2, 5-5)

One round to go.

Keith (different one this time) on GiftRit Storm
I keep a hand with Force and Drain, plus Trinket Mage, a land and some Moxen. Keith Probes me and passes. I Mage up a Sapphire so I will have Drain mana up
next turn. Keith plays a Dark Ritual. My gut says it's bait, but I bite anyway and Force pitching a second Mage. Trinket Mage beats down for a few turns, but I
don't draw any more protection so when Keith goes for Will and I Drain, his Force is good to go. His Will replays a Time Walk and a Wheel of Fortune. My
Wheel hand is useless. Keith's is not and I die.

In game two I keep two Forces, two Missteps, Steel Sabotage, Tasigur and land. I get greedy and don't Sabotage a Jet which comes back to bite me when my Misstep on Keiths Thoughtseize is met with Flusterstorm. Thoughtseize takes a Force. I find a fetch and pass. I don't repeat my mistake and Sabotage Keith's Misstep a Pithing Needle, but Keith Missteps back and names Tasigur, which I untap and play.

Keith goes for Timetwister and I Force. Attack with Tasigur.

Keith goes for Deluge. I've drawn another Force. Attack with Tasigur.

Keith needs a good one...and draws it. Recall into Seal, Mox, Tendrils to stave off death for a turn.

Attack with Tasigur.

Time to see what Keith Sealed for. He draws and plays...Yawgmoth's Will. What have I drawn for the turn? Flusterstorm, you say? Deal! Flusterstorm taps Keith
out, but he still has land, Recall. Fortunately he doesn't hit and we get to play one more game.

Apparently, Keith's other option was to Seal for Tinker for Sphinx of the Steel Wind. With my removal in the board, that probably would have been game over for
me.

My opener in game three had Lotus and Salvagers but Keith's Duress took my Force, so when my draw step yielded Crypt, I opted to Time Walk, Noxious Revival
Force, and then establish Bomberman even though I had nothing to do with the mana. That went as planned without needing the Force and I attacked for two.

Keith passes. He knows about Force and Drain in my hand.

I draw a second Force. Attack for two and pass.

Keith passes again. I draw Recall, but Recall into two lands and an Explosives. Explosives is nice because it means I won't die to Crypt, but it still isn't a
win. I blow up Keith's Mox Jet and replay my Lotus and Crypt, keeping up hardcast Force + Drain, with another Force in hand, but no blue card.

Keith plays Dark Ritual. Not falling for that again; it resolves. He plays two more spells and then Tendrils for eight, putting me to six, but I have Explosives so I'm not scared of Crypt.

My draw step yields a third Force of Will. Take note, dear reader: this is how to be good at this game.

Keith's draw doesn't help, but I draw Top. By tapping Top and responding by exploding Explosives, I can draw a card without putting the Top on top, so I
draw my deck and put Keith out of his misery.

It turns out Explosives hitting Mox was crucial. Had Keith had the Mox, he could have cast Ritual, then Will, Forced my Force, let my Drain resolve and then play
Mox, Mox, Tendrils for lethal, but blowing up the Mox left him one mana short.

(3-2, 7-6)

Another 3-2 finish on the weekend, making me 6-4 in matches (60%) and 15-10 in games (also 60%), not awful but certainly improvable.

I really like the Gush PyroBond deck. I've played BUG-colored GushBond lists and really disliked them, but Pyromancer adds a very valuable angle.

The Bomberman deck was very fun, but it definitely needs some work. I respect KanaKaishou's vision of a control-combo deck, but many of the interactive cards
like Disenchant and Steel Sabotage feel underpowered too much of the time. I think I'd like to see the deck sped up a little and try to improve consistency,
maybe by trimming on lands and bad interactive spells and playing Preordain or Night's Whisper.

Anyway, thanks to The Player's Guild, 5D's and all of my opponents for making this weekend so much fun. Thanks to Moxxie for proofreading. Finally, thank you, reader; I love feedback, so please leave your comments below.

And remember, until next time, "Be excellent to each other. And... PARTY ON, DUDES!"

Thoroughly enjoyed the event; well worth the drive. Thanks for running it!

Loved the report, but was less of a fan of getting crushed by this deck in ChubbyRain's hands the next day.

Any thoughts on the list? I'm not sold on the Pearl (vs., say, Sol Ring), I'm intrigued by Merchant Scroll over Mystical Tutor, and I think the Red Elemental Blasts should be Pyroblasts, what with Promancer and Tendrils in the deck.

Congrats on the finish!

I don't know of a primer, but I'd love to read one! I built my deck based on the ideas in the Doomsday thread and some playtesting and my lines are mostly guided by my Legacy Ad Nauseum Tendrils experience.

Alex Bastecki was on Rich Shay's VSL UR Delver list.

The list is missing a Time Walk. He failed to register it and had to play an additional Forest instead.

I was your 9th round opponent in Legacy. I'm now totally jealous that you dropped. I played round 10, won, and still missed top 16 on breakers. Congrats on the Vintage run! I'm glad we battled on Saturday instead of Sunday!

Hello all!

This past weekend I played in my first ever sanctioned Vintage event: Vintage Champs. I'm trying a new format with this report: I'll discuss my deck and my mindset going in, but rather than give complete coverage of every match, I'm going to highlight one match and give summaries of the rest. I hope this balances my goals of creating a readable report with capturing all the excitement and drama of the event's most exciting moments.

Going into this event, my work with The Atog Lord on the Vintage Super League indicated Delver Cruise was the deck to beat. We had difficulty beating it consistently and difficulty getting an edge in the mirror. This was my very first sanctioned event, though, so I decided I'd focus on having fun and play something interesting rather than put my normal emphasis on winning. As an added point of pride, I owned my entire 75. (I would have had to borrow power for the Delver deck.) Here's what I played:

Gush Doomsday
Mana (19):
4 Underground Sea
1 Tropical Island
2 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Dark Ritual
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire

Interaction (13):
4 Force of Will
3 Mental Misstep
2 Flusterstorm
1 Misdirection
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Duress
1 Thoughtsieze

Setup (13):
4 Gush
4 Preordain
2 Dig Through Time
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Sensei's Divining Top

Tutors (7):
4 Doomsday
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor

Stacks (8):
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Laboratory Maniac
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Fastbond
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Sideboard (15):
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Nature's Claim
2 Trygon Predator
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Steel Sabotage
1 Dread of Night
1 Thoughtsieze
1 Yixlid Jailer
1 Xantid Swarm
1 Forest

A few comments:

0 Time Walk: Time Walk opens up a few interesting stacks, but it's actually a mediocre draw. Doomsday doesn't develop any sort of board presence, so Time Walk is usually a 0 mana explore at best. Also, I don't own one yet.

2 Dig Through Time: These were awesome all day. Doomsday does make use of its graveyard, but so few cards actually matter and being able to find, for example, Doomsday + Gush, at instant speed, is incredibly powerful.

0 Necropotence: I tried Necro and was severely disappointed. When I didn't have turn 1 Ritual into Necro, it was awful. I cut it for a Dig Through Time and never looked back.

3 Dark Ritual: I started with 4, but once I cut Necro I realized that drawing these kinda sucks. I'm not quite ready to go down to one because turn 2 Ritual, Doomsday, Gush is such a powerful option, but some of these do get boarded out in slower matchups.

I really, really love this deck. I goldfish with it while watching TV. I cover random sheets of paper with Doomsday stacks when I'm bored. That said, I had low expectations going in. The Delver matchup was even at best, I'm a dog to Shops, and I didn't really have great answers for someone showing up with a pile of hatebears. I told my friends if I started 0-2, I'd find a ratty old piece of cardboard, sharpie "THE END IS NEAR" on it, and use that as my playmat.

My most interesting match of the day actually came in round one.

I go to the pairings board and see "132 Nir, JD 0 Maher, Bob 0".

Bob Maher. Hall of Famer Bob Maher. As in Dark Confidant. As in The Great One. Is my round one opponent.

I sit down at my table. Bob walks up and I introduce myself.

"Hi, I'm JD."

"Hey. I'm Bob."

"Ya, I, uh, well let's just say I believe you."

I mention that I've been playing his side of this week's VSL match against The Atog Lord to help him test and make a joke about our results being skewed as Rich is Rich but I'm no Bob. He laughs. As corny as it sounds, I'm relieved he chuckled at my joke and I settle down a little from my initial jitters.

Game one is awesome.

I won the roll and keep:

Scalding Tarn, Brainstorm, Thoughtsieze, Mental Misstep, Mental Misstep, Flusterstorm, Preordain

I play the Scalding Tarn and pass.

Bob also starts on a Scalding Tarn and then Gitaxian Probes me. He passes without a play.

I draw for my turn, think for a bit, and decide to fetch an Underground Sea and Brainstorm. Bob pauses for a moment before Forcing, pitching Gush. I triumphantly slam the Misty Rainforest I'd drawn, fetch another Underground Sea and Thoughtsieze Bob.

"Oh, very nice!" Bob Maher just complimented me. I grin like an idiot.

Thoughtseize sees:

Treasure Cruise, Lightning Bolt, Time Walk, Volcanic Island, Scalding Tarn

I take the Cruise.

Bob plays his Tarn and fetches, then cycles Time Walk. On his Time Walk turn, he floats UR and Gushes. Gush finds him Treasure Cruise and suddenly I'm way behind. Bob plays a Ponder and I Misstep. He Missteps back, and I Misstep again. Ponder is countered and somehow Bob passes, still without a threat. Unfortunately, I'm down to just a Flusterstorm and Preordain in hand, miles away from going off.

That is, until I draw Ancestral Recall. Recall finds me Gush and Lotus. Gush finds me Yawgmoth's Will. I recast Recall and Brainstorm and draw approximately one million cards. I never have a spot where I can Doomsday into a win, though, and I don't find Demonic Tutor until it's too late, so I can't Tendrils him off this turn. I DT for Gush and pass with a Sapphire and an Underground Sea in play and a hand of:

Force of Will, Flusterstorm, Doomsday, Dark Ritual, Gush, Gush, Underground Sea

Now, it may seem like I'm way ahead, but here's the problem: my Will, Lotus, Recall and Brainstorm are all exiled. I don't know any Doomsday stacks off the top of my head without any of those, so as I pass the turn, I'm desperately trying to come up with a pile on the fly.

I'm barely paying attention to what Bob's doing because I'm trying to figure out a stack, so I accidentally let a Null Rod resolve. Fortunately, I draw Hurkyl's Recall right off the top! I pass and Bob doesn't have another play. I bounce Null Rod, untap, and Ritual (1) Doomsday (2) into a stack I've never built before:

Lotus Petal
Fastbond
Dark Ritual
Tendrils of Agony
Misdirection

I Gush (3), play Lotus Petal (4), Fastbond (5), replay both lands going to four life, float mana, Gush (6), Dark Ritual (7), and Tendrils (8), which is enough to finish Bob off.

My hands are literally shaking. I know I was way ahead after my double Recall/Will turn, but building a brand new pile on the fly is hard enough, let alone doing it against Dark Confidant himself!

I bring in Thoughtseize and Steel Sabotage for Sensei's Divining Top and Hurkyl's Recall.

Bob opens game 2 on a mulligan. I keep:

Island, Underground Sea, Mox Sapphire, Brainstorm, Preordain, Preordain, Doomsday

Bob opens on Misty, fetches Volcanic Island, and plays Lotus, Pyromancer, Ancestral Recall, Gitaxian Probe, Ponder, Ruby. He passes with five power on the board.

I explain to Bob that when players mulligan they are supposed to have slower starts because they have fewer cards to work with. He laughs but says he doesn't want to hear it after my Recall last game.

I draw Recall for my turn (!!) and play a Sapphire into Preordain, which gets Misstepped (making a fourth token) and then Island into Recall, which gets Pyroblasted (making a fifth token).

I pass and get attacked for seven, then Bob plays a second Pyromancer and Bolts me, emptying his hand and putting lethal on board.

I draw a Force of Will. I have a Brainstorm and an Underground Sea in hand, so all I need is a Dark Ritual and I can go Ritual, Doomsday, Brainstorm into Ancestral into Lotus, Maniac, Gush. I tap Sapphire to Preordain, ship two cards and draw...Flusterstorm. Rats. I concede.

Wait.

What would have happened if I had Brainstormed? I peek.

Thoughtsieze. Dark Ritual. Gush. Put back Force and Flusterstorm, play Sea, Ritual, Doomsday, Gush into an easy, well-practiced win.

I would have won. I could have beaten Bob Maher. I am Brian Davis in the finals of PT Chicago '99.

Bob has seen me staring at my top three cards and he knew about the Brainstorm, so I just tell him that I punted. I ask if I should have even looked. Bob says, sagely, "Always look. All else equal, it's better to have more information. Now you won't make that mistake again."

I'm calmed once again and settle in for our third game. Boarding doesn't change.

I keep:

Underground Sea, Island, Thoughtsieze, Flusterstorm, Dig Through Time, Vampiric Tutor, Doomsday

Bob keeps his seven as well. I lead on Thoughtsieze because the chance to take Delver's only threat is worth waiting on Vampiric. Bob shows me Pyroblast, Fire // Ice ... and then stops.

"Oh, I guess I should read my cards. Mental Misstep."

Apparently he'd thought it was a Gitaxian Probe. I laugh and put my Thoughtsieze in the bin. The way I see it, I got to take a card and see half of his hand and he paid the two life instead of me; sounds like a deal!

Bob cracks a Misty for a Volcanic Island, plays a Sapphire and a Young Pyromancer and passes. I draw another Doomsday, play my Island and pass.

Pyromancer attacks me and Bob plays another Volcanic Island and a Preordain before passing. I Vamp for Ancestral. I draw it and pass. Bob bolts me to 13 at the end of my turn.

He untaps and attacks me to nine before passing again. In my upkeep, he casts Ice targeting my Underground Sea, leaving only a Volcanic untapped. Sensing opportunity, I recall off the Sea. Predictably, he Problasts and I Flusterstorm both the blast and the Ice. Recall resolves and I draw Sapphire, Lotus Petal, and Tendrils. My draw step yields Gush. The storm count is already four, so I play Sapphire (5), Lotus Petal (6), Dig Through Time (7) which finds Lotus and something else, Gush (8) into nothing exciting, Underground Sea, Lotus (9), Tendrils.

I guess that was a good Recall.

Bob was extremely friendly, even after I won. While we were talking after the match, a judge came to collect our slip. I stammered, and asked if I could give it to him in a moment.

Bob laughed. "You want to take a picture, don't you?"

"Ya, I'd wanted to wait until you'd left to try and be a little classy, but..."

"Aw, go ahead."



And that's how I started off Vintage Champs 1-0. Thanks so much to Bob Maher for being an excellent opponent and great sport. He even asked me how I was doing a few times throughout the day. I will remember this match (my first ever match of sanctioned Vintage!) for a long time.

Round two saw me paired against Harry. He was playing a powerless Abzan (Junk) disruption deck. He won game one on Lotus Petal, exile Elvish Spirit Guide, Thalia, despite me hitting all of my land drops and him missing his first several. I wish I could say Dread of Night shined, but in reality Harry mulliganned three times to my zero for the rest of the match and I took it down.

In round three I played Antonio who had flown in from Sicily. He was on Terra Nova. Fully expected my short win streak to come to a close. In game one I never find a Force and soon my non-artifact spells cost 6 more to play. In game two I have in my opener the one Thoughtsieze I left in my deck because I'm short a card to bring in. It takes his only mana source. He asks his deck for a land and it delivers...Tolarian Academy. Guess he should have been more specific. He mulligans to five in game three and I keep an opener with Hurkyl's.

Round four brought Fancois, a Montreal native, on a Grixis Pyromancer list with Tinker for Colossus and Vault/Key. Finally, a midrangey blue deck! Both games are pretty textbook; take some beats, counter the must-counters, resolve Doomsday and win.

In round five I played against Ryan on UR Delver. In game one he blew a few Bolts to make sure a Flusterstorm countered my Dig Through Time which was fortunate because I wasn't playing around both of them. I Doomsday'd down to two life but fortunately I have a 0 life, 0 floating mana stack ready: Ancestral, Lotus Petal, Yawgmoth's Will, Black Lotus, Laboratory Maniac. Gush into Petal, Recall, Recall in to the rest. Then Lotus into Will into Lotus, Petal, Maniac, Recall on an empty library. I Force his Misstep on my Recall and win game one at one life. Game two is much easier.

In round six I play my second match against a Bob playing UR Delver. This time it is SCG Edison Legacy Open Champion and close friend Bob Huang. I take game one. In game two he desperation Gushes and finds the Force. I miss that I have a pass-the-turn Doomsday pile and die. This time, however, I'm not lucky enough to win game three anyway. I keep an awful seven and get run over.

I made it to the feature match area in round seven. You can watch coverage here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZQoONFhj2c&list=PL2ouC3y53nl7JsEXJR110QCRPhjBFuecc&index=7

I'm just about ready to go off in game one when I Probe my opponent and see double Force, double blue card. I then offer my opponent a few tempting Force targets but he doesn't bite and I can't find a winning line. My favorite part of the coverage is when the casters say "This Doomsday deck doesn't seem to be doing much" right before I go off through Force, Steel Sabotage and Ravenous Trap. In game three I mulligan to a one-lander with two discard spells and no black source and then Dario has three Mental Missteps.

Going from 5-0 to 5-2 sucks, but I'd already performed way better than I'd expected. I actually relaxed a little now that the pressure was off.

In round eight I played against (then) reigning world champion and friend of many years Joel Lim. We split games one and two when Doomsday does it's think in game one and Merfolk does its thing in game two. In game three, Joel mulligans to four and gets flustered by a judge who sits on our match and rushes us through our game, despite having plenty of time. My draws are pretty mediocre and I actually summon a Laboratory Maniac that takes Joel from 24 (after a Claim takes out a Sapphire) to 6. My hand becomes increasingly powerful, but I'm under no pressure and Joel has a full grip that I assume have to be counter spells. Finally I go off with double Flusterstorm, Force and Misdirection backup and it turns out Joel has just been holding a bunch of UU creatures while stuck on Island, Strip Mine. I Tendrils him for approximately 200.

The final round matches me against Chubby Rain, another friend, on some crazy storm deck. We agree to a split but play it out because the winner might make top 16. However, we're both planning on going to Fogo de Chao (an awesome Brazilian steakhouse) after this round, so neither of our heads are in it. I strip his hand and win game one easily. My hand for game two is bonkers, but Matt lets a Xantid Swarm resolve when his hand is literally counters and lands so I cover my friend in bees and get the easiest turn two win of the day.

We head out for Fogo and it is delicious. Someone checks final standings while we're at the restaurant; I'm in 17th by 0.23% on tiebreakers. I drown my sorrow in steak and all is well.

Props:
Bob Maher. I can't say enough how appreciative I am.
Joel, Bob and Matt. Playing friends in events sucks, but you guys are awesome.
The rest of my friends in the vintage community. You guys make this all worth it.

Slops:
17th place as a concept

Thanks for reading! And remember, judgement day is upon us. Repent! The End is Near!

I'm strongly considering attending this event. I blame Samoht.

Not a very good Pirate if he dies to Pirate Ship....

I was bummed to have missed this one (grumble grumble GP Orlando) but I'll glad to hear I'll have another shot in January!

Thanks for posting the lists! I posted my report here: http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=46782.0

Despite some bad weather, traffic, and a PTQ only two hours away, 14 powerful planeswalkers came out to Games and Stuff in Glen Burnie, MD this past Saturday in order to battle in the most powerful of formats.

I had an excellent time and learned a lot about the format while getting to play some very exciting games. I offer this piece to you, dear reader, not as any sort of advice or learning material, as my play and and thought processes are surely far from optimal, but rather as an entertaining journey through the event. I welcome any and all feedback in the comments.

I'm a newcomer to Vintage, but I took advantage of the 15 proxy limit and played Rich Shay's Vintage Super League Night's Whisper Control Slaver (RSVSLNWCS, for short):

2 Goblin Welder
2 Notion Thief
1 Myr Battlesphere

4 Force of Will
4 Mental Misstep
4 Night's Whisper
3 Dack Fayden
2 Mana Drain
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Jace the Mind Sculptor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Ponder
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Fire//Ice
1 Mindslaver

4 Scalding Tarn
3 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
1 Badlands
1 Black Lotus
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Polluted Delta
1 Sol Ring
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy

SB:
4 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Ignot Chewer
2 Mindbreak Trap
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Darkblast
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Pyroblast
1 Mountain

I won't pretend I have anything enlightening to add to Rich's deck; the man is truly a master. If you want to read about it, I suggest Rich's primer: http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=15900.0.

Prizes went to the top 4, so with 14 players, that should mean five rounds. Except we're told we're only playing 4. Most players seem to be okay with this. I point out that there may be a 3-1 who doesn't make top 4. My friend Bernie tells me that situation shouldn't happen. *cue foreshadowing music*

Round 1: Bernie with Grixis Control

The pairing gods match me against Bernie in round one. I don't know exactly what he's on, but knowing Bernie I figure it's some sort of blue control deck.

The dice favor me and I open on:

Underground Sea, Volcanic Island, Mox Sapphire, Mana Vault, Tinker, Force of Will, Lightning Bolt

Turn one Tinker is sweet, but I can't imagine it will resolve without Force backup. I decide to wait to try and draw a blue card, so I play a land and pass. Bernie does the same. My draw step yields a Badlands; not exactly what I need. I play another land and pass. Bernie casts Vampiric Tutor. He plays another land and passes. I draw an Island. Assuming Bernie got the Ancestral, I'm in trouble now. I play a third land. Bernie does indeed cast Ancestral, which, with a shrug from me, resolves; I can't imagine pitching my only action gets me anywhere. Bernie plays a Scalding Tarn and passes. I draw a Mox Pearl and decide things just aren't getting better. I play out the Crypt and cast Tinker. Bernie Brainstorms, sighs, and Forces it. He's shocked when the Force resolves. I've got nothing else to do, so I pass.

At this point, Bernie is in control. He plays a Jace and uses it to Brainstorm. I respond with Lightning Bolt which succeeds in taking down Jace. My turn yeilds a Myr Battlesphere, but without my Crypt I'm still two
mana from casting it. Bernie has a Dack Fayden and loots. I finally draw a blue spell, and it's a doozy: Notion Thief. I'm psyched to try and steal a Dack Fayden activation, but Bernie does me one better. On his turn, he slams a Jace and Brainstorms again. He doesn't have an answer for my Thief and I'm able to convert the free Ancestral plus virtual Plow Under into an easy win.

Dack Fayden may be the greatest thief in the multiverse, but Notion Thief certainly stole that game.

I have no idea how to sideboard, so I jam in all 15 and start pulling things out. Here's how things ended up:

IN: Pyroblast, Darkblast, Mountain
OUT: Mana Drain, Mental Misstep, Mox Pearl

Why the Mountain? Because I didn't notice it while pulling out cards. I went through the deck and my brain just saw a land, which, as a Vintage novice, I didn't think to cut. Embarrassing, but it is what it is.

My opening hand in game two is:

Scalding Tarn, Ponder, Mental Misstep, Goblin Welder, Dack Fayden, Dack Fayden, Force of Will.

A little risky, but I decide to keep, especially after Bernie mulligans.

Bernie starts with a Misty Rainforest, finding an Underground Sea, which, along with a Mox Ruby, casts a Dark Confidant. I Force, pitching a Dack Fayden, but Bernie also has a Force, pitching a Jace. Bernie's down to one card, but an active Bob is certainly a threat for Control Slaver.

My Ponder does not find an answer for Bob, but it does find Polluted Delta, a Mox Jet, and an Ancestral Recall, so I decide to keep it, hoping the Ancestral can keep up with Bob. Bernie reveals a Polluted Delta and draws a card, plays the Delta, and passes after attacking me for two. I draw the Recall and cast it, drawing Polluted Delta, Night's Whisper and Force of Will. I play the Welder to stop the Bob beats and pass.

Bob reveals a Mox Sapphire for Bernie. He slams the Mox, a land, and Jace. Good thing I found that Force! Misstep enters the exiled zone and Force gets a "Rats!" from Bernie.

Whisper finds me another Whisper and a Drain. I hold up Drain which answers a Tinker that Bob reveals for Bernie. From here, my second Whisper finds a Notion Thief who teams up with partner-in-crime Dack Fayden to empty Bernie's hand, find a Darkblast for Bob, and beat in for the win.

1-0

The NWCS deck really is excellent at coming back from behind, and this match certainly demonstrated that. I had some very luck draw steps to be sure, but I'm coming to learn that's sort of how Vintage works.

Round 2: David with Oath Control

David is another close friend. What can I say, I'm a popular guy! David is known for his love of Oath decks, so I'm assuming that's what he's on.

He wins the die roll and thinks for a moment before keeping. My opening hand is:

Mox Pearl, Mox Jet, Mox Emerald, Underground Sea, Volcanic Island, Night's Whisper, Dack Fayden.

There's not much I can do about David's best openings, but I should see a lot of cards in the first few turns, so I keep.

David starts on Mox Emerald, Mana Crypt, Oath of Druids, Forbidden Orchard. Well, so much for that plan. Night's Whisper finds a Lightning Bolt which gives me a one turn reprieve, but eventually Griselbrand arrives to ruin my clever plan of hoping my opponent dies to his own Crypt.

Time to board again. This should be an adventure.

IN: 4 Grafdigger's Cage, Mindbreak Trap, Pyroblast
OUT: 2 Lightning Bolt, 2 Goblin Welder, Mental Misstep, Fire//Ice

I decided Welder turning on Oath was a detriment. I wasn't sure how good the Trap would be, so I tried one. Sure, not exactly the best strategy, if you wanted a master's class in the deck, you should have read one of Rich's reports.

This time I open on:

Bloodstained Mire, Underground Sea, Mox Sapphire, Mana Crypt, Demonic Tutor, Mystic Tutor, Notion Thief.

No counter magic again, but I should be able to get a quick Grafdigger's Cage. Let's hope that's enough. David quickly keeps as well.

I open on Bloodstained Mire, fetching Badlands, play Crypt, and Tutor for Cage. Rather than just slam it, though, I play the Mox and Mystical for Mental Misstep. Now's let's just hope David doesn't have Oath, Orchard and Time Walk.

He doesn't, but he does have Mox Emerald, Sol Ring, Forbidden Orchard and Show and Tell. This could go quite badly. I put in Notion Thief. David puts in Oath of Druids. Whew! I draw the Misstep and play Cage, which resolves. My Crypt bolts me frequently, but Notion Thief deals three damage every turn and I find a second Cage before David can put anything together.

Four mana three power creatures: the best it gets in Vintage.

I go back to the board.

IN: 4 Grafdigger's Cage, Pyroblast
OUT: 2 Lightning Bolt, Goblin Welder, Mental Misstep, Fire//Ice

It didn't seem like David would activate my Trap, and I realized Welder is a pretty good answer for a Decay on Cage, so I bring one back in as a tutor target.

For our final game I draw:

Mox Ruby, Library of Alexandria, Force of Will, Mana Drain, Vampiric Tutor, Goblin Welder, Mindslaver.

We both keep.

David starts on a Misty and passes. I make fun of him for not having turn one Oath and Orchard. He laughs, fetches a Tropical Island in my upkeep and Recalls himself. Some people! I go deep into the tank and decide Library is my best path to victory, so I let it resolve.

I draw a Tarn for the turn (how lucky!), play the Library and draw into a Lotus. I decide I want to get Mindslaver in the yard right away, so I discard it rather than play out my artifacts.

David plays a land and a Voltaic Key and passes.

I draw a second Mana Drain and Library into a Tinker. Now I have some decisions to make. Getting an active Welder sounds pretty powerful, as does holding up Vampiric Tutor, but I also want to keep up Library if I can. I settle on playing the Scaling Tarn and the Lotus assuring I can still Library even if I need to Drain something.

David starts with a Brainstorm, which I let resolve. He then plays Mana Crypt and casts Show and Tell. I break the Lotus for blue mana and Drain. He Forces back. I consider Forcing, pitching Mana Drain so I can still Vampiric (now that the Library plan is long dead), but just in case he something really nuts, I fetch out an Underground Sea and Drain his Force, which resolves. Yay, eight mana next turn! Or so I thought. David's not done yet; he casts Time Vault. Wow, what a Brainstorm! Fortunately, I have the Force, pitching Tinker.

I think about it and decide I need to get my opponent dead, so I cast Vampiric Tutor in my upkeep and find the Battlesphere, hard casting it with my Drain Mana. I play out the Ruby and the Welder as well, emptying my hand. Now it's time to cross my fingers. I ask David not to draw Yawgmoth's Will.

He doesn't. He does have Decay for my Welder, though. Shucks.

I, on the other hand, do draw Yawgmoth's Will (skill game!). Battlebot rolls out, and after a lost Crypt flip, David falls to three. YawgWill brings back Lotus and Welder and I pass.

David sighs and shows me the Toxic Deluge on top of his deck. It turns out he put it back under the Decay with his Brainstorm. I guess Magic is hard. Better lucky than good!

2-0

Pretty good start! There aren't too many undefeated players left; wonder what I'll play next?

Round 3: Paul Mastriano with Steel City Vault

Well, that answers that question. I don't know Paul personally, but I know him by reputation and I have a ton of respect for his deck. He's the most experienced player in the room, though, so if I want to win this thing I was probably going to have to go through him eventually anyway. Here goes nothing.

I win the die roll and open with:

Mox Sapphire, Mox Emerald, Scalding Tarn, Underground Sea, Yawgmoth's Will, Mental Misstep, Myr Battlesphere.

This hand has plenty of mana and some powerful spells, but it doesn't really do anything, nor can it really stop Paul's deck from doing the powerful things it does. I take my first mulligan of the day and see:

Scalding Tarn, Bloodstained Mire, Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Night's Whisper, Jace the Mind Sculptor.

Well. That's a hand.

I start on Scalding Tarn, finding an Underground Sea, play the Lotus and the Jace. Paul has the Force, though. Fortunately, he only has a land and a Mox for his turn and passes back. My Recall resolves and draws me into a Mox Sapphire, a Mental Misstep and Goblin Welder. I fetch a Badlands, play the Mox, and Whisper into another Whisper and Mana Drain. Paul has another land and a Voltaic Key, which I Misstep. He casts Burning Wish, finding Transmute Artifact, and passes the turn. I draw a third Night's Whisper on my turn but decide to keep up Drain for the Transmute. Paul has nothing after the Transmute and passes. I use
my Drain mana to play both Whispers, drawing a Force of Will, Mox Ruby, Dack Fayden and another land. I play out the Welder and pass. Paul has a Time Vault, which I let resolve. Dack comes down and elects to add
Paul's Time Vault to add to his collection, earning a "that's pretty good" from Paul. His main win condition gone, Paul continues to do very little as he floods out. Dack ticks up to two, then I weld one of Paul's Seat of the Synods into his Voltaic Key, steal his Key with Dack Fayden, and proceed to take the rest of the turns.

I don't know why people want to put Vault/Key in this deck. I'd rather just steal them from my opponent.

Time to board!

IN: 3 Ingot Chewer, 2 Mindbreak Trap, Darkblast, Nihil Spellbomb
OUT: 2 Night's Whisper, 2 Lightning Bolt, Fire//Ice, Mox Pearl, Strip Mine

I'm ready to believe boarding out Strip Mine is wrong, but after seeing Paul flood out in game one, coupled with being on the draw, and finally knowing there isn't a Library of Alexandria to worry about, I thought it might be safe. I decide to pare down to one answer for Paul's Welders, so I choose the one that keeps coming back if need be. I worried Whisper might be a little slow, so I shaved there. One Spellbomb seems right, because, you know, of reasons.

Paul has a quick keep. My opener in this game has:

Sol Ring, Mental Misstep, Mana Drain, Jace the Mind Sculptor, Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Mindslaver.

No lands; no good. Well, mulliganning worked last game! My new six contains:

Bloodstained Mire, Sol Ring, Mental Misstep, Ancestral Recall, Force of Will, Force of Will.

Those are six cards alright!

Paul starts on Mana Confluence, Mox Ruby, Mox Emerald, Wheel of Fortune. I Force, deciding to pitch the Misstep. This will make fighting over my Recall harder, but I want as many Forces as possible. Paul has a Misdirection, though, pitching Fire//Ice, which locks me into Force pitching Ancestral Recall.

Things weren't looking great, but I have to hope my deck can function better in a low resource game. I do immediately regret boarding out those Whispers, though.

My first draw is an Underground Sea. I play it and my Sol Ring.

Paul draws and passes.

I draw a Mental Misstep. Paul has a Vampiric Tutor. Misstepped.

I draw a Mindbreak Trap. Paul has a Demonic Tutor. Exiled.

I draw a Mana Drain. Paul has a Tinker. Drained.

I guess I'm really good at this game guys.

I draw a Vampiric Tutor. Paul finally gets to resolve a spell, Burning Wish, and finds an Imperial Seal. I Vampiric up a Jace, though, assuring his Seal won't be able to accomplish much.

I draw a Welder and a Nihil Spellbomb which join Jace in generating some serious card advantage. Eventually, Jace finds a Dack Fayden and a Mindslaver, and soon I'm set up to take Paul's next few turns. After asking Paul to kindly Seal up an Ancestral Recall and indicating he'll be Recalling me next turn, he calls it quits.

See, even Goblin Welder can get in on the stealing fun.

3-0

At this point it's after three o'clock and I haven't eaten anything all day. I'm hoping to draw into the Top 4 and grab a bite to eat.

Round 4: Mike with Terra Nova

Mike and I are the only 3-0s, so drawing locks up first and second place for us. Mike wants to play, however, to try and sneak his friend in to Top 4. I can't complain about that, so food can wait; it's time to battle.

I roll an 11 and Mike rolls snake eyes. Got 'em! I open on:

Polluted Delta, Badlands, Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, Mental Misstep, Dack Fayden, Mindslaver.

I don't know Mike or what he's playing, but my gut said Shops, and this hand is fine regardless, so I keep. Mike quickly keeps as well.

I open on Badlands, Sol Ring. Mike has Mishra's Workshop, two moxen, and a Lodestone Golem. Shops it is! This looks pretty good for me.

I fetch out an Underground Sea, slam Dack and steal Mike's Golem. I can hardly complain about the Mental Misstep I drew for the turn.

Mike has a Mishra's Factory. He also has a second Lodestone Golem and a Phyrexian Revoker, naming Dack Fayden.

This was an unfortunate turn of events. I draw a Tolarian Academy which, with my Mana Crypt, let's me cast the Mindslaver. I keep back the Lodestone Golem. It doesn't look like Mike has any good attacks; he can get in some damage or take out Dack, but he'll lose a creature in doing so. If he wants to trade Golems then at least he'll have a much slower clock. I thought I was way ahead, but it looks like we have a game on our hands.

Or at least that's what I thought. Mike tapped a Mox for Dismember for my Golem. This may not have put me on tilt normally, but the fact that I had to point out that his spell cost three mana instead of one really put things over the edge. Revoker takes Dack down, Golem hits me, and my "dominating board positon" has crumbled to pieces.

Mana Crypt bolts me to 11 (something something rains, pours). I draw a Night's Whisper and spend three of my seven mana to cast it. I draw a Force of Will (right on time!) and a Goblin Welder. Playing Welder just means I'll have to chump block, so I activate Mindslaver, hoping I'll find something like a second Dismember plus a Wasteland for the Factory.

Now that I'm in control, Mike finally draws a brick, an Ancient Tomb, but his other card is another Lodestone Golem. Aren't these decks supposed to be threat light? I can't do anything but make Mike shock himself and tap out, but I ask to take a peek at his sideboard before ending his turn. Mike is incredulous, but the judge confirms I have access to any information he has access to, so he grudgingly hands it to me. There isn't anything out of the ordinary, but I enjoy making the Shops player uncomfortable. Only fair, after all.

Mana Crypt hits me again, because why not, but I don't draw Time Walk to play Welder, take another turn, and get Mindlsaver going, so I lose.

The salt is very, very real.

IN: 3 Ingot Chewer, Lightning Bolt, Mountain
OUT: 4 Mental Misstep, Night's Whisper

Missteps are dead. Whispers are hard to cast. I brought in the cards that are good against Shops.

This time my opener has:

Underground Sea, Volcanic Island, Goblin Welder, Lightning Bolt, Yawgmoth's Will, Demonic Tutor, Night's Whisper.

It's not a great hand, but I hope that Welder can manage Mike's threats while Whisper draws me some more lands.

Mike has two moxen, Dismember for my Welder, and Wasteland. I draw a Time Walk and play my second land, which also gets Wasteland. Mike also has a Phyrexian Revoker, naming Dack Fayden. By the time I draw a third land, Mike has a Thorn of Amethyst, a Metamorph coping it, and draws a Sphere of Resistance for the turn. I pack it in.

Sometimes, Shops is miserable. After my multiple lucky draws during the event, I don't want to complain too much, but it does suck when the deck with zero manipulation draws stone perfect. At least I'm defeated quickly enough to grab food before the elimination rounds.

3-1

Standings come out. Obviously Mike is in first. I am in second, so at least that loss didn't hurt me too much. Mike's friend Matt makes it in to the top 4 in third, and Paul rounds out the Top 4. Bernie, who rattled off three wins, finishes fifth at 3-1. I love ya, Bernie, but justice was served.

Top 4: Matt with Golden Gun (?) Oath

I'm not sure what Matt is playing, but I though I'd seen him with Oath of Druids in hand at some point. Unfortunately, I got lazy with my notes at this point, so forgive the lack of detail in this match.

The play/draw rule means I get to go first and we both keep our openers. I Force a Show and Tell leaving me without an answer for an Oath, but fortunately Matt must have some monster instead because he just passes the turn back. We both get low on resources but I chain together several Night's Whispers and beat Matt to death with some 1/1 spirits.

As far as I know, Matt is on a traditional Oath control list.

IN: 4 Grafdigger's Cage, Pyroblast
OUT: 2 Lightning Bolt, Goblin Welder, Fire//Ice, Mox Pearl

I decide my plan against David was fine, so I replicate it.

My hand allows for a turn three Mindslaver while holding up Force of Will. On turn three, however, I draw a Mana Drain. I decide to tap out for Mindslaver anyway and am punished when Matt casts Show and Tell. I Force, he Forces back, and I can't Drain, so he puts Emrakul into play. It's possible I could still win this game by taking his next turn...except that his last card is Time Walk, and as Mindslaver makes a terrible lone permanent, I lose.

At the time, my reasoning for casting Mindslaver was that my opponent had a full grip, meaning taking one of his turns could be devastating, and most of his lines are not catastrophic: I'd assumed Oath of Druids only finds Griselbrand which would make Mindslaver awesome. Show and Tell is only a little worse; Matt gets to draw his cards and keep a pretty tame seven, but I can't imagine he plays something like Stifle, so Mindslaver assures he'll "merely" have a few life, a Griselbrand and a full but mediocre hand.

In retrospect, however, holding up Mana Drain seems better. Not only am I much more likely to stop whatever Matt has going on, but the Drain mana might allow me to cast and activate Mindslaver anyway.

Oh well, one game to decide it all, then.

IN: 4 Grafdigger's Cage, Pyroblast
OUT: 2 Lightning Bolt, Goblin Welder, Fire//Ice, Yawgmoth's Will

I decide Grafigger's Cage is such a central part of my plan that I'd rather have an additional piece of fast mana than a likely dead Yawgmoth's Will. Perhaps I'm just very wrong.

In game three, I keep:

Bloodstained Mire, Ponder, Mental Misstep, Time Walk, Dack Fayden, Notion Thief, Notion Thief.

Maybe this hand is greedy, but I like my chances of resolving Ponder and if I'm able to assemble Dack + Notion Thief I should be able to win easily. Matt
keeps as well.

Mire fetches a Volcanic as I assume Dack will find me black mana for Notion Thief. Ponder resolves without a fight and I see Force of Will, Badlands and Myr Battlesphere. Battlebot is a dead draw, but I need the land the permission is welcome, so I keep and draw the Force.

My Misstep hits a Vampiric Tutor and I Force an Oath. I use Time Walk to get past the Battlesphere and attack with my Spirit token. My bonus turn yields Tinker. Unfortunately, Matt has a second Oath. I draw a Mox Pearl (which I am very glad is not a Yawgmoth's Will) and try to Tinker up a Grafdigger's Cage, but Matt has a Force (pitching Stormtide Leviathan. I love Vintage!).
Griselbrand arrives, and soon after Emrakul does as well. I do not win this game.

I was pretty bummed to have lost that one, mostly because I wanted a chance at vengeance; Mike beat Paul on the other side of the bracket. Mike and Matt split the finals.

3-2, 3rd place

For my efforts I received $43.75 in store credit, some of which I spent on a Beta Blue Elemental Blast for my Legacy deck.

And that's a tournament!

Props:
 - The thief buddies, Dack and Notion Thief, who stole my most of my wins.
 - Games and Stuff for running the event, especially Dylan Cole who stepped up
   when our head judge had to leave in round one.
 - Rich Shay, not only for building this awesome deck, but for five years of
   mentorship, advice, and above all, great friendship.

Slops:
 - Bernie for cursing himself to missing top four on X-1.
 - Power prices. I wish I could play this deck at Champs, but there's no way
   I'll get it all together in time.

Thanks for reading! An remember, in the great words of Daniel Nayeri, "If you don't get caught, you deserve everything you steal."

Well done man. Congrats on both finishes. I have to step up my Vintage game if I ever make the ride up to Pittsburgh to battle at the Ron's.

Normally I go by JD Nir, but I'm not opposed to countering 0 mana spells.

We'll be bringing a car from Baltimore. Looking forward to it.