I also played at the 4-11 event mentioned above. (Hello!) I ran a Shops list heavily based off BC's 2014 Vintage Champs deck that I expected to position me well in the mirror. It worked out against another player on what appeared to be a Martello list. Then Lizardking1545 defeated me in the first elimination round.

Between Metalworker, Forgemaster, and artifact mana, my Revokers were stretched thin. I named the wrong card several times through the match. A failed soul-read during the final game had me pondering the utility of Gitaxian Probe for much of the drive home. The conclusion I came to on the road was that I would only want them in the mirror. (I see a thread for that exact discussion, but I'll keep the anecdote here instead of repeating myself across several threads.)

Metalworker mana also helped go over the top of a field of spheres. I don't know if Metalworker is always the correct choice, but it seems like a fine one right now. Especially strong if you expect the mirror.

Is there local interest enough for a sanctioned event to fire?

I'll be in Kalamazoo for the beginning of April. Lafayette looks to be a bit of a drive. Doable, but on the long side to show up and find not enough people.