Steve, it looks like you swapped out the mana crypt for another wraith in comparison to your SSG article.  So it seems that you really like the wraiths in this deck then.  I was wondering if you could give a little input into how you use them.  Do you cycle them immediately?  Or do you prefer to wait and use them in conjunction with your topdeck tutors?  Thanks.

Way to go man!   Yikes, opening hands with Lotus and recall--that's tough.  Do you happen to have Paul's decklist that you could post up for us?  Thanks.

Great report and good job at the tourney!   Do you happen to have the final top 8 results?

Like Merchant Scroll?

Kick-A!!  This is what I've been waiting to see!   And it looks like the deck is walking the walk with both Paul and Brian making top 8.  I'm interested in your comment about the deck no longer being the best deck because of Gush (I assume GAT?).  Will your article go over the viability of this deck post June 20th?

Sweet deck and nice report. 

Couple of questions: 1) How many times did you get the Platinum Angel out that really helped you? Overall do you really like her in your deck?  2) How do you think your deck will change with Gush?  Do you really think Gush will be better than the Skeletal Skryings?

Kyle, you've been awesome in this thread.  Thanks for the consistent responses and replys.

I'd love to get a bit more feel for how the deck is played.  Could you talk a bit more about the strategic and tactical goals of the deck?  I get the impression the general strategic goal is to start in a control mode until you bring your combo components online (Fastbond and Will) and then storm out.  I could use a bit more information on your tactical plays.  For example, do you hoard artifact mana in your hand as much as possible waiting for the turn you plan to storm out?  Or does it help to get more artifact mana down so returning islands to your hand doesn't slow you down as much?  Do you scroll for ancestral first or scroll and chain tutors for Fastbond?  Do you hold back Gushs until you get Fastbond?  As a pattern do you try to get Fastbond online first always before Will?  Do you use your disruption offensively or defensively (offensive for a strict control mode or defensive just to protect your combo and ignore everything else)?

It seems that you took a lot of good notes from the tournament you were in.  It would be awesome if you could post a report from a couple of the more interesting matches you had to highlight how the deck works.

Thanks man.

I want to thank you Steve for the time and effort you've put into your article and rebuttal posts.  You are an incredible force for good in the vintage community and hope you keep it up.

I think the restriction of Gifts was very, very bad for vintage.  I think Steve's article makes that clear.  The restriction breaks with all consistency the DCI has shown in the past and now leaves us with a very unstable foundation with an unclear future.  I certainly don't want to play in a format where cards are restricted on a whim.  And I really do feel like the restriction of Gifts at this point was a whim.  I cannot acknowledge the argument that Gifts is broken/insane/WMD and as such deserves restriction.  Many cards have fit into the same mold in the past, but each time erring on the side of conservation proved the correct path.  What I do want is stability and consistency in the way in which cards are restricted.  I would be very pleased if the DCI announced tomorrow that they made a mistake with Gifts and revoked their restriction and then followed up with a solid set of guidelines by which all further cards would be restricted.  The guidelines in Steve's article are great and as mentioned have produced a rich and vibrant community up until now.  And now... I really don't know what to think.  At any rate, I'm excited to see your new deck Steve, and wish you the best when tourny time rolls around.

Congrats at the tourney!  I'm really liking the look of your deck, I think my Gifts deck will morph into something just like it.  I think it's awesome that it has so little reliance on the graveyard, especially since every deck comes prepared with massive graveyard hate these days.  A couple of questions:  1) How well did Mind's Desire work?  It seems that you have an equal amount of chance to desire into disruption as you do gas, so you may stall a lot more than in some of the Long variants.  2) Is  Fastbond a choke point in the deck? i.e. How bad are you hurt if they win a counter war over it or you don't ever find it?

ELD--Great job at the tournament!

Have you been able to play GAT against flash yet?  If so, how was the match up?

Sweet article man.  A question though.  Do you think that with the rise of Ichorid and Flash that control is dead?

Maybe with Wizards losing their minds they'll take Lion's Eye Diamond and Burning Wish off the list too.

^^ I agree with Zeus.

For the last few weeks I've been testing a Ritual Gifts deck against Grim Long and Pitch Long (and I'm mad as hell about what they did to Gifts).  Ritual Gifts runs almost the same disruption package: 4 FoW, 4 Duress, and 2 Misdir on top of 4 Merchant Scroll.  Being able to scroll for FoW and Misdir on top of the Duresses does a very good job of taking the gas out of the Long combo types.

I don't buy into your arguments.  If a deck built around a certain 'broken/undercosted' card is not dominating the format anymore, then the card really isn't a problem.  Just being 'powerful' or 'undercosted' should not be a reason to restrict a card.  Big deal if Fact or Fiction is on the list; if Gifts Ungiven is not causing problems, then why the hell does it need to be fixed?  There is a third option to the 'take off Fact or Fiction or restrict Gifts Ungiven' dilemma: simply do nothing.  As far as Gifts Ungiven being splashed into other decks besides the Meandeck Gifts architecture, only one or two copies of Gifts are being put into those decks anyway--again, restricting it is not fixing anything.

Have magic players ever staged a formal protest of restriction/unrestriction choices?  Putting Gifts on the list just disgusts me. 

Emerald Charm is the biggest attack hoser ever.  I hate it. >:^(  He attacked with platz, emerald charm takes away her flying, and the zombies eat her brains.

I can't see how it would pose any more of a problem to a combo type deck than Medaling Mage, Null Rod, Trinisphere, or Chalice (to a lesser degree) would.  In my mind those are cards that need to be bounced before the combo player can start working; being an artifact it's vulnerable to the mass artifact bounce as well as single target bounce.  Fish also has Swords and Echoing Truth.  Seems like it would be great against Ichorid because Ichorid's hate is geared at removing enchantments like Layline of the Void.  Hulk decks run a bit of bounce don't they?

Best few buck I've ever spent.  Steve's stuff is gold, and there are a lot of other great writers there too.

Btw Steve, you're still writing about vintage?  Thought you'd switched over to Legacy on us. :p

That is seriously freaking rad, I was wondering how you got the mana symbols like that.  Thanks for the info.

Wow, Webster's proxy lands are amazing!  Did he do them himself?  Does he have a TMD account here?

Cool deck, man.  Could you post the sideboard you used?

Oh also, I noticed you used duresses in the slot that most people use for misdirection.  Did you ever find yourself lacking a blue card to pitch to Force?

@Diopter,

I really like the looks of your deck--it seems very clean.  I have one suggestion: swap a Grim Tutor for a Personal Tutor.  With the Street Wraiths your top-deck tutors are just as powerful and cost less.  I'd be interested to hear how this deck does during testing.

Yo goobafish, good luck tomorrow.  I'd love to hear a report of how you do with the deck.

I'm curious as to the general strategy of the deck.  As you indicate, it is very interactive--Force of Will, PoN, Duress, and Unmask.  Therefore, do you focus these cards on disrupting your opponent's game play to buy time to build your combo, or is the deck fast enough that you can use the disruption strictly for protecting your Doomsday pile and execution?  In testing the deck, on average what turn do you cast Doomsday?

Here's a good article that goes through several games of the PLong vs. Gifts match.  Just like Moxlotus describes, Pitch Long has a slightly uphill battle.

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/print.php?Article=13473

Oh, another question.  When future Sight becomes legal, will it replace another set in Standard (i.e., will a set get banned from standard at the same time Future Sight becomes legal)?

Sweet guys, thanks for the info.

So flash is gonna get it, huh?  Must be because the artwork is so freakin awesome... 

I started playing vintage a bit ago, and I noticed most of the restriction/banning decisions happen on May 20th.  Is there any cards/deck types I should avoid dropping major $$$ on before the 20th?  I'd hate to throw down for 3 grim tutors or something and then see them get restricted.

Ah, now I see.  Thanks!

Hey there, yes it's my first post.  I've been away from Magic for several years, and I'm now getting back into Vintage. Yay!  So after reading up on all the new tech out there, I still don't know why some decks run a single snow-covered land.  What does the snow-covered land do for you?