Do you want to play against a highlander field or a typical T1 field?  They should be based on different priciples in deckbuilding.

I think that there is a difference in how we view the burden of proof.  There is no rule stating that people must share their lists ( unless a organizer makes one and warns people ahead of time ).  The question shouldn't be "Are people justified in hiding decklists?", but instead "Is anyone justified to post a DL without permission?"  The obvious answer is "no - only the owner has that right"

Yes, I wish I knew that tog list that won 3 times in Europe that Dr. Sylvan can't get his hands on- but I have no right to that information. Yes, I wish I knew the recipe for Coke, they'd pay me millions to not publish it.  I think that it needs to be recognized that decklists are intellectual property in some sense.

Why no volcanic islands?  You seem to have acces to any card you need (p9).  Is there a tactical / SB element of 7/10  I'm missing?

A local shop had a vanguard tourney.  The format is quite unhealthy, because there seems to be only 2 options:

1 Play mishra sligh (mishra makes your creatures deal double damage)

2 Play combo with a vanguard that makes you land tap for 2 mana

It doesn't seem very fun to play.

EBA was named for Tool's Eon Blue Apocalype.  The Keeper/Germbus/4C Control use of exalteds is still quite different from the aggro-control and 3 color EBA.

A resolved early angel is pretty much game over for tog (your main contol opposition).  I think the angel gets you a faster kill VS combo, too.  So, no I don't think they hurt any of your matchups except maybe standstill decks.

Type one is very healthy right now.   There are a wide variety of competitive decks and innovation out there.  If we ignore nostalgia and card appreciation, now may be the best time to play T1.

Nice report, Jeff.

Hanna's was pretty cool, and I don't want to gripe too much- but there were some bogus rulings handed out.

1   The chief offender was the null-ruds not stopping the moxes and artifact lands.  Turn 1 and 2 null rods are pretty good VS affinity- except in St.Louis.

2   Mana drain gave X mana at the cost paid instead of X=0.

3.  LED can't pay madness cost.  I wish you would have drawn your non-functioning LED against me!

I'm glad that Hanna's will have more type 1, but these are rulings that shouldn't have to be looked up in T1.

I think the environment was light on combo, and heavy on aggro.  This lead to the aggro-smashing aggro (FCG and madness) on top.


That prize split wasn't the best.  I was wrong about it.  And as for being on your slops list, I finished half of my sub before yours was unwrapped.

Well you have 3 choices:

1 Continue losing with your current build.  Tweaking just won't work - your too far gone.
2 Play landstill
3 Play a workshop prison deck

If you play a traditional landstill, you might get a better appreciation for what it takes to make it work.  After that, go back to the drawingboard with "workstill", if you want.

You might also be in a deckbuilding rutt.  try something you wouldn't ordinarily play.

On 3/7/04 there was a T1 in  Kansas City.  I was one of about 30 players.  RavagerAffinity bumped me out of the top 8 and took 2 or 3 of the T8 spots.  I wasn't able to stick around, so I can't give final standings, but the conclusion I reached was this:  ravager was the dominant aggro and the hottest deck there.

caveats:

1 There was a noticable lack of dragon.  Only one; was suboptimal build, piloted by an inexperienced player.  I'd expect dragon to slap-around ravager, pre sideboard.

2 It was a surprise. The new-ness of the deck lead to my mistake against it.  As we become more accustomed to it, we will make fewer mistakes, and will have better sideboards.

Is energy flux the best SB card against this? Thats my guess.

My fault about the scepters, I saw them in the Eternal Keeper Josh Rynolsds build, not yours.

Have you considered some graveyard hate? Keeper usualy uses some.  Since you can't puke in a coffin, how about Tormod?

Interesting build.    

1 ) How can you be confident VS landstill or fish?  Your 3 prayers are dustbowl and 2DoJ. If you get either of these, it doesn't necessarily solidify victory.

2) You have the 2 Damping Matrices, but at least 4 maindeck cards that are shut-off by matrix(shaman + scepter).  If the matrices are going in- then you seem to be cutting-off central plans to your deck (scepter economy and mana-denial).

3) The mana seems quite solid.  You have only 5 plains(1 true +4 tundra)If you draw/fetch 3 plains in the course of a game, it would seem like the dragon's ability is compromised when topdecked because he can only be used twice. Is there a way to get more out of him?

Thats rough.  There is only one questionable move.  In game 2 VS The Atog Lord, dumping the 0cc artifacts ASAP would have been worse for the tendrils, but helped you for the possibility of chalices that you knew he sided-in.  It sounds like you played flawlessly other than that- if that was even a mistake(?).   Even though your finish was disappointing,  you chose a strong deck and played nearly flawlessly- which is all you can ever do.

Have you considered Mishra's Workshop?  You certainly have enough artifacts to justify thier use.  I could see it getting you to win a full turn sooner.

Scullclamp isn't viable because:

1 In a deck with useful creatures, you want to prevent thier death, usualy, because that would be a setback.  If thier death  isn't a setback, they usualy arn't useful creatures.  Math:  Savanah lions+ scullclamp is 3 mana used, -2 cards+2 cards for a net of 0 cards.  You have spent your time/turns/mana and have nothing to show for it except a scullclamp that might be usuable in the future.  If you invest another creature (tolal 3 cards and at least 5 mana spent as a sorcery) just to have a net gain of 2 cards for 5 mana isn't a bargain.  Concentrate is better than that.  :(

2 Having creautes just to sac to scullclamp is too conditional.   With only one half, the other half is useless.

3 It isn't worthwhile to have an equipment that just adds one to a creatures's power. If it was useful, people would just play that battleaxe that adds two power: Bonesplitter.

If you want to draw cards over and over, there are many better strategies.  Isochoron scepter is one of many.

We can vote for our own answer now, before the trinishpere is even legal- but that isn't what is important.  Bueler and Co. will wait to see if there is any real evidence of trinisphere imbalancing the game and making it distorted.  If they arn't going to make-up their minds early, why should we?

3 Pyroblasts in the side with only Lotus and Ruby for red mana sources?  Did you mean Hydroblast?

Consider using Tainted Wood instead of Llanowar Wastes.  I prefer the wood.  There are not a signifiacnt amount cards in the environment that can keep you from having a swamp in play. Since the more woods you have then the less swamps, it not a 4-of thing, just use 2.

The Bloodstained Mire is superior to Polluted Delta because opponents may mistake this deck for bloody suicide.  Bloodstained mire is definately better than Llanowar Wastes, so up the fetchlands to 4. One time pain is just better than repeated pain.

The void itself often is a weak card: hitting the board too late to make a difference.  This flaw in the heart of the deck is the the void and i'm not sure how to fix it.

Landstill has stolen void's niche as the budget-frienldly aggro-control deck of choice.  Anyway, having a 4 wasteland (5th strip effect) puts you in good shape vs. landstill, plus dragon and others.  Its pretty good if you keep voids in your deck, or so I hear.

Despite having 3 wretches in the main, I think that some additional graveyard hate is in order.  It takes 3 mana open and a wretch in play to stop a burried alive/intuition.  I'd use 2 planar voids in the side.  This can stop the " flood the grave in 1 turn" strategy.

In Kerz's  article about the viable deck in T1, sligh is no longer on the list.  In fact, there are no weenie decks, except possibly fish/gayR.  The masticores may need to go, depending on your environment.  The 3 deeds you already have are pretty good at clearing the board.

Also, against artifact prison, a 1 CC solution is superior to a 2 or 3CC solution.  Having 1 naturalize [bad joke] turn into a oxidize just may just be your ticket out of jail [/bad joke].

My applogies to any readers and mods- I'm a little drunk at time of posting.

edit: updated crumble to oxidize

@ gimbles : I think you know how to help memoryjarvis IRL.  Could be better than TMD.

@ Memoryjarvis07:
The higher casting cost spells in keeper are playable because of the acceleration of 4-5 moxes, without those, a lot of the spells arn't as good.

Masitcore and the mishra's factories don't like moat.  Don't play the $50 card just cause you own it.

Cursed scroll is'n too cool in a control deck that likes to have cards in-hand.

20 mana sources is at leas 5 too few.

I don't think that we are suppesed to post declists when they arn't requested, but in this case it might be easier to understand than a giant list of substitutions.  It isn't perfect, but it's definately an improvement.

Uwb

Counters: =10
4 Force of Will
4 Counterspell
1 Manadrain
1 Duress

Restricted: =5
Fact or Fiction
Demonic Tutor
Yawgmoths Will
Mind Twist
Balance

Removal: =6
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Disenchant

Misc: =10
2 Cunning Wish
1 Skeletal Scrying
3 Isochron Scepter
4 Brainstorm/Impulse

Kill: 3
2 Decree of Justice
1 Morphling

Mana 26
4 Underground Sea
4 Tundra
5 Blue Fetchlands
1 Sol ring
5 Strip/Waste
6 Islands

SB:
1 StP
1 Coffin Purge
3 Morning Tide
2 Misdirection
3 Duress
2 Stifles
1 Stroke of Genius
1 Cop Red
1 Humility

A wonderful job, Kerz.  I hope that this can be done every month.   This might be better-off stickied (stuck?) or as an article on the main page.  Your efforts should not be overshadowd by a few minor complaints.

The lightning greaves has these disadvantages
1 not good in multiples
2 only good when you successfully have 1 of your 6 creatures in play.

Since control wants to stop the mask more than the dreadnought,  the super shinguards makes you stronger against aggro and weaker against control (because you have less disruption).   Your kill is sped-up, but you have less disruption- probably meaning you even-out against combo.   Since mask probably needs more help vs. control than aggro,  I wouldn't use 3 greaves.
I'm no mask expert, this was just my guess.

My first  impression is that this is a deck that reflects a lot of 1997ish thinking and meta. That wasn't intended to be a put-down- just observation.

1 Like plainswalker said, aggro decks work fine on 1 or 2 colors, the third just makes you bloodmoon bait and less consistant.

2 Adding burn is an improvement.  I know pump is cool with 4 berserks- but  it won't help you out as much as burn.  Burn gives you a back-up against effects that shut down all creatures (moat, swords on a scepter).  You don't have to wait to get an attacking creature.  Lastly, killing opposing creatures can win games- ie welders or lavamancers.

3 Using duress gives you a prayer against combo decks that can out-race you.