Thanks, Im proud that you mentionned my deck in your article.

Its my birthday and a nice gift to me.

I think there are is alot of deck that can become competitive for anyone who wish to work hard on it!!

If on the 73 player tournament we would have been 12 Jester's Goblin player, Im sure there would have been more of us in the Top 8!! I wouldnt say we are pure aggro, but I agree with you(not like my teammate AmbivalentDuck) that we have a focus on this.

I think you wrote a nice article since you visit a more mysterious side of vintage. The one that few people who dont play vintage know about since they still think «Vintage is Turn 1 Win» which is clearly wrong. I know lots of people that says «I wont start playing vintage cause we dont wanna copy existing deck to win» well... there is actually a place for innovation!!

Essentially, you lack focus.

Everytime we debate a card me and duck, we always ask each other if we are going to far from the main focus of the deck.

A) Jester's Cap
B) Aggro' With The Gobbo


Just putting quick combo like  Key-Vault will put away the main focus of your deck.

If you wanna be aggro, we think that the best number of creature is around 27. Work around that and youll always be aggro. Then you have to choose how to slow down your opponent. The  Kikki-Settler combo can be a good way to do so to. We only choose earwig because he can be a wincon by himself and we thinkg that RBU goblin is more versatile with all the SB option and broken vintage card.

If you wanna run counterspell suit, I suggest you look into a merfolk-fish deck.

EDIT : I herd that merfolk is a under-worked archetype.

Blue is pretty important in our deck since it enable us fluxes and both blue bomb are really important. We cut brainstorm for a more agressive ringleader, added VT maindeck and added a recruiter taht act like matron #5.

we cut a shusher and a piledriver, which we are not sure thats the best thing to do yet.

I think I inversed the order of Piledriver and Shusher  

Piledriver deal 0 damage and Prowl cant be played in that case!!

Thanks for being my personnal Sherlock Holmes!

JACO :

1)  Sorry I did a little mistake on the list.  I didnt run Sol Ring, it was Mox Sapphire instead.


2)  Null Rod should totally be in the SB and ordeal was useless. We are currently working on adding VT on the MD so it make a spot in the SB for the Rod.  A better list should come up shortly in Duck's Goblin Thread.

I attended a 70-ish man tourney in Québec at l’Imaginaire de Place Laurier. The tourney organizer decided on 6 rounds followed by cut to top 8.  But after we ended up with so many 4-1-1s, they played an elimination round instead of using tie-breakers.
  
The prize structure:  
#1 : 380$ cash
#1 : 220$ store credit
#3 and 4 : 140$ store credit
# 5, 6, 7 and 8 : 100$ store credit
  
The list I played:
  
Jester's Goblins  

Land : 19

4x Badland
3x Bloodstained Mire
4x Wasteland
1x Strip Mine
1x Mountain
2x Wooded Foothill
2x Volcanic Island
2x Scalding Tarn

Creature : 26

1x Wort, Boggart Auntie
4x Earwig Squad
4x Goblin Vandal
4x Goblin Piledriver
4x Goblin Matron
4x Goblin Lackey
2x Mogg Fanatic
3x Vexing Shusher

Spell : 15

3x Warren Werding
1x Demonic Consultation
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Brainstorm
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Time Walk

1x Mox Ruby
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Emerald
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Black Lotus
1x Mana Crypt
1x Lotus Petal


Sideboard : 15

1x Pulverize
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Tormod's Crypt
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Goblin Sharpshooter
1x Gempalm Incinerator
2x Energy Flux
1x Bitter Ordeal
2x Ravenous Trap
4x Lighting bolt
  
  
Here's how my journey went:  
  
Round 1 :  Max  vs  Joel with Oath of Druids  (Score 0-0-0)
  
He wins the die roll
  
Game #1
  
I don't know what Joel is playing even though he's a friend from Trois-Rivières. So, I decide that the best plan is to stick an Earwig ASAP.
  
Me Turn 1 :  Land, Mox, Petal,  Matron for Earwig Squad
Him Turn 1 : Land, go
Me Turn 2 : Attack, Land, Drop Earwig for his win condition  GAME OVER he concede
  
I sideboard in 1x Bitter Ordeal and 1x Vampiric Tutor for 2x Vandal
  
Game #2
  
Him : Land
Me : Land, Goblin Lackey
Him : Land, Oath
Me : Attack with Lackey, Drop Shusher, Waste his land
Him : Oath Iona, pass the turn
Me : Waste his last land, drop Piledriver
Him : Oath into dragon  GAME OVER I concede
  
Game #3
  
Me : Land, Vandal
Him : Land
Me : Attack, Land, Mox, Earwig Squad for 3 out of 4 big creature
Him : Land, Oath
Me : Attack, Land, Matron, Lackey
Him : Oath Obama, King of the dragon
Me : Stare at Obama, play Shusher
Him : Impulse during my EOT, drop a land, Thirst
Me : Drop Pile driver, I now have  Vandal, Earwig, Shusher, Matron, Lackey, Piledriver
Him : GAME OVER he concedes
  
Round 2 : Max vs Christian with Suicide BG  (Score 1-0-0)
  
He wins the die roll
  
Game #1
  
Him : Swamp, Petal, Tarmogoyf
Me : Land, Lackey
Him : Thoughtseize removing Weirding
Me : Land, Mox, Consultation for Weirding, Weirding
Him : Wasteland me
Me : Wasteland him
Him : Do nothing, has around 2 or 3 cards
Me : Ancestral Recall on me,  Land, Time Walk, Mox, Lackey
Me : Attack, Drop Matron with Lackey, Cast Pile driver, Cast Vandal  GAME OVER he concede
  
Sideboarding : 4x Lighting Bolt  1x Gempalm Incinerator  for 4x Vandal and 1x Shusher
  
Game #2
  
Him : Land, Dark Ritual, Hypnotic Specter
Me : Mountain, Lighting Bolt  
Him : Cabal Pit, Withered Wretch
Me : Waste his Cabal Pit, drop Lackey
Him : Mana screwed, Thoughseize my hand of 5 lands
Me : Strip his last land
Him : Mana screwed
Me : Bolt his Wretch, attack with lackey, drop Piledriver, land
Him : Mana screwed
Me : Land, Attack with all, Earwig Squad GAME OVER he concede
  
Round 3 : Max vs Sebas with Painter's Servant (Score 2-0-0)
  
I win the die roll
  
Game #1
  
Me : Wasteland, Mox Jet, Petal, Vandal
Him : Land
Me : Attack, Play Wasteland, Cast Earwig Squad that meets Force of Will
Him : end of my turn Brainstorm, fetch, Sensei's Divining Top
Me : Wasteland him, Demonic Consultation for Black Lotus, cast double Piledriver
Him : Land, Thirst
Me : Attack for 11, waste his land
Him : Nothing relevant.  GAME OVER,  he concedes.
  
Sideboard in : 4x Lighting bolt for 1x Warren Weirding, 1x Wort, 1x Piledriver, 1x Shusher
  
Game #2
  
Him : Land, Ancestral at my upkeep
Me : Land, Mox, Shusher
Him : Land, Mox, Engineered Plague
Me : Attack, Land, Earwig that finds Force of Will
Him : Vamp Tutor during my EOT, drop Grindstone
Me : Attack, Land, drop Piledriver
Him : Land, Demonic Tutor
Me : Attack, Mana Crypt, Drop Earwig for his 3 other Painter's Servant, keeping open
Him : Painter's Servant, activate Grindstone. I respond with Bolt on Servant. GAME OVER he concedes
  
Round 4 : Max vs Simon with TPS  (Score 3-0-0)
  
I win the die roll
  
Game #1
  
Me : Land, Mox, Petal, Matron for Earwig Squad
Him : Land, Mox
Me : Attack, Land, Earwig taking  DSC and both tendrils GAME OVER he concedes
  
Sideboard in : 1x Vamp Tutor, 1x Bitter Ordeal for 2x Mogg Fanatic
  
Game #2
  
Him : Land, Mana Crypt, Tinker for DSC
Me : Land, Vandal
Him : Attack for 11, Time Walk, I'm dead
  
Game #3
  
Me : Land, Vandal
Him : Land
Me : Attack for 1, drop Wasteland and Fanatic
Him : Respond to my waste with Brainstorm, he fetches during his turn
Me : Attack for 2, drop a land
Him : Drop a land, time walk
Him : Drop a land and Engineered Plague, fanatic suicide for 1
Me : Drop Vexing Shusher, wasteland his land
Him : Respond to waste with Thirst for knowledge,  drop a Land, drop a Crypt, cast Memory Jar
Me : I now fear a Yawg Will, I attack, drop Earwig Squad, and then he responds with Jar.  At this point, I have 3 Warren Weirding in my hand. I exile Yawg Will and both Tendrils from his deck.
Him : Tinker for Colossus
Me : Warren Weirding the Colossus GAME OVER he concede
  
Round 5 : ID  (Score 4-0-0)
  
Round 6 : ID  (Score 4-0-1)
  
  
Final Score : 4-0-2.
  
After everything is counted up, I discover that I'm 1st after 6 rounds of swiss and have a bye in the elimination round for the 4-1-1s. The other 12 top8 candidates play while Ian Lampron and I enjoy our bye.
  
  
Top 8 : Max vs Ugo Rivard with Tezz
  
He wins the die roll
  
Game #1
  
Him : Island
Me : Land, Mox, Petal, Matron for Earwig Squad
Him : Fetch
Me : Attack, Drop Earwig that meets Mana Leak
Him : Do nothing
Me : Attack, drop Vandal
Him : Sensei's Divining Top
Me : Attack for 2
Him : Do nothing
Me : Attack for 2
Him : Do nothing
Me : Attack for 2
Him : Do nothing
Me : Attack for 2, drop Earwig Squad that takes Time Vault, Tezz, and Platinum Angel
Him : Land, Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, Triskelion
Me : Warren Weirding the Triskelion, he kills my Earwig Squad, Attack
Him : Lose the flip off mana crypt, do nothing relevant
Me : Attack for 2
Him : Lose the flip off mana crypt and go below 1 life.  I win.
  
Sideboard in : 1x Vamp Tutor, 1x Bitter Ordeal, 1x Gempalm Incinerator, 1x Lighting Bolt for 2x Fanatic, 1x Wort, Boggart Auntie, 1x Warren Werding
  
Game #2
  
Him : Land
Me : Land, Vandal
Him : EOT Mystical tutor for Ancestral
Him : Ancestral Recall, land
Me : Attack, drop Shusher which meet Mana Drain to get 2 mana off him
Him : Mox, Land, DT, Vault-Key GAME OVER I concede
  
I saw no Sower of Temptation so...  I sideboard out 1x Gempalm Incinerator and 1x Lighting bolt for 2x Mogg Fanatic
  
Game #3
  
Me : Land, Lackey which meets Force of Will
Him : Land
Me : Lackey
Him : Land, Pyroclasm
Me : Land, Lackey, Vandal
Him : Land
Me : Attack, Piledriver
Him : End of my turn Thirst for Knowledge, Land, Mox, Mana Crypt, Tinker-Triskelion
Me : Warren Weirding Triskelion, I loose Pile driver and Lackey
Him : Demonic Tutor
Me : Land
Him : Vault-Key GAME OVER I concede
  
That was the end to a great tourney!! I won $100 in store credit.  Turns out we absolutely lack the resources to counter modern Tez in the late game.  Triskelion is solid tech for this meta and our sideboard has nothing for it.  I think this deck is very powerful and needs only minor modifications to beat Tez. I still finished 4-0-2, and first after Swiss.  I think that this is proof that putting my time into honest play-testing and deck design resulted in a very competitive deck.

AmbivalentDuck and I worked together building this over a few months.  I find it interesting that a social game like MTG can make connections between people as geographically separate as we are: Quebec and Chicago!  I'm primarily a French-speaker who learned English in school; he's primarily an English-speaker who learned French in school.  Even though I was the one piloting the deck, this top8 is really the achievement of two people.

- Max

For your concern, this is probably the best «Enchantress» deck and his name is Mister Green.

Mana 15

15 Forest

Artifact 3

1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus

Creatures 10

2 Verduran Enchantress
4 Argothian Enchantress
4 Llanowar Elves

Enchantments 29

1 Goblin Bombardment
4 Earthcraft
4 Squirrel Nest
4 Enchantress Presence
4 Utopia Sprawl
4 Wild Growth
4 Gaea's Touch
4 Elephant Grass
4 Seal of Primordium

Sorcery 3

3 Rofellos Gift


SB

City of Solitude
Carpet of Flower
Pyrostatic Pillar
Pithing Needle
Choke
Artifact-Hate
Graveyard-Hate
So on...

I played this in a 30 man tournament in Quebec City.

To be honest, I was aggro alots of time during that day. My opponent required me to be the beatz.
Every time I needed a card, matron was soooo key to everything! And when you got frogtosser banneret on the board, your in for quick gobo-beat machine.

I went 4 wins - 2 draws into top 8.

I beated :

Weird Blue MUD

Game 1

I went Turn 1 Lackey
He went Turn 1 Titan
He beated me to rubble because blocking 7/10 doesnt give victory and I had no Werding or Tutor.

Game 2

Me : Turn 1 Dual Lackey
Him : Workshop Sphere

Me : Attack, Matron, Piledriver
Him : Stax

Me : Attack for 10, Drop 1 gobo
Him : Play Stax

Me : Kill him.

Game 3

I remember myself casting Black Lotus and ruining his board, then winning slowly with cheftain, fanatic and matron while wasting all his land.

Combo :

Game 1 - Best Start Ever

Turn 1

Me : Lotus, land, mox, Frogtosser Banneret, Attack for 1, Consultation for Earwig, Earwig FTW

Game 2

I remember a quick explosion of creature that made him unable to use his necropotence to get a big advantage out of it. The mana source in this deck is really incredible.

Ichorid :

Game 1

Ichorid win slowly because even a wasted bazaar and fanatic cant win over dredge

Game 2

I won with wasteland and Earwig for 3 Bazaar

Game 3

Leylines take it home. My opponent didnt saw any leyline on game 2 and he have nothing to prevent leyline.

Tezz

Game 1

Turn 1

Him : Mox-Land-Confidant

Me : Mountain-Fanatic


Him : Land, go
Me : Land, Mox, Fanatic, Piledriver

Him : Land, go
Me :  Wasteland, Waste response by thirst for knowledge, Frogtosser, Attack for 7

Him : Land, Tinker, Inkwell
Me : Drop Cheftain, Attack and win since Piledriver is pro blue

Game 2

I remember me dropping Matron early like turn one, and earwig FTW turn 2 with him not having any drain to prevent my earwig victory.

In Top 8 I beated the same Ichorid that I beated in swiss round. In the same ordre and the same way, but game 3 I raced his sideboard with gobo.

In top 4 I lost to MUD

Game 1 : Turn 1 worker, Turn 2 Staff and combo out. My only out would have been a turn 1 Warren Weirding.

Game 2 : I lacked mana and I didnt mulliganed my one land and petal. He had throng of land and crucible-strip mine. Game over.


While playing, you always have the «go for the beat» OR «go for the jester option».
I assure you that your opponent panic when a single gobo touch him since an earwig can be dropped on the table really fast. It sometime leads to misplay, since people can kill or bounce your gobo into your hand, fearing an Earwig.


Finally, sorry for my bad english. Im french from Quebec

Max


EDIT :  Stax is not that easy of a matchup. Tangle Wire and Sphere hurt us if we are not on the play.

Fish has lots of 2/2 body, we have 1/1 and lighting speed. That gobo deck HATE to be blocked and he hate creature removal to... since he dont have any means of drawing card.

Hello,


So if we make a résumé,


You lost round 1 to your worse ennemy : Combo that doesnt use graveyard AKA Useless Leyline of the Void. You were not prepared agaisnt such a deck... maybe think about Pithing Needle in SB ?  It can be good agaisnt Ichorid to, and some other deck who used one card-activation.

You lost round 2 to a mistake you did by revealing your hidden strategy... that could be a win that would have led you playing agaisnt something else then a pox deck.

You lost round 3 to a pox deck... that you will maybe never see again in your life. Nothing to do agaisnt it, but I assure you that Aether Vial should be big in winning that match-up.


So this deck has a futur but still need a fix. I think that there is some MD' goblin that should be reworked to... there are cards that are not synergistic or doesnt fit well... like a lonely Vandal who should be dropped turn 1 on the battlefield since hes not that good after turn 1, that guy should be a 3 of's... the only 1 of' should be a card that have an immediate impact since you will tutor for it.

There is a battle between Thorn of Ametyst, Leyline of the Void, Pyrostatic Pillar, 2x Vandal +1x Gempalm +1x Warren MD and we have to decide which is the best.

Congrat' to your tournament, I miss my old magic cards I may bought back some gobo since they are fun and not so costly...

I found argivian find to be way behind Enlightened Tutor.

I found that Trinisphere was good... but it cant block 7/11 so I remove it and Im happy with the change.

Finally, I will play Silence over Abeyance when M10 will be out since its WAY better with  instead of  ... Its gives you opportunity to first turn silence, second turn drop aura of silence which completely slow your opponent down.

Moat is also a good friend in alots of match-up so with 2 Moat +3 enl. tutor... you always have what you need to prevent walking creature. Exalted Angel nicely support the combat team with her flying ability.

I have Steve initial list

-3 Argivian Find
-1 Trinisphere
-1 Tormod's Crypt

-4 SB Abeyance

+2 Enlightened Tutor
+1 Exalted Angel
+1 Runed Halo
+1 Seal of Cleansing

+4 SB Silence

Rune Halo is trully excellent... you always have the card near your hand with the 3 tutor. Its a tutorable enchantment that prevent Belcher, Tendrils, 7/11, 11/11 or anything that could get you by speed (since you cant tutor balance or Swords)

Im actually toying with adding a fourth enl. tutor in exchange with Exalted or Runed Halo... but they actually are doing the job so I dont know yet.

Here is what I played :

Deck : Landstill

Maindeck (60)

1x Black Lotus*
1x Mox Saphire*
2x Crucible of World

4x Mishra’s Factory
2x Faerie Conclave
4x Wasteland
1x Strip Mine
4x Volcanic Island
2x Island
3x Polluted Delta
2x Flooded Strand
1x Library of Alexandria

4x Standstill
1x Ancestral Recall*
1x Time Walk*

3x Fire/Ice
3x Echoing Truth

4x Mana Drain
3x Spell Snare
4x Force of Will
1xTrickbind
4x Stifle
3x Misdirection*
1x Red Elemantal Blast
1x Pyroblast

Sideboard (15)

4x Chalice of the Void
4x Leyline of the Void
2x Rack and Ruin
2x Shattering Spree
2x Pyroclasm
1x Pithing Needle


If you have any comment to improve it or want to discuss about it, just go ahead.

I finished 2win, 2lost, 1draw and I lost round 5 to briseur de reve, which stole my T8

I made a critical mistake when I was playing agaisnt GAT and he casted Dominate on my Mishra's Factory and Fire//Ice on it, I Force of Willed the Dominate, and I had no Force of Will to deny his Yawgmoth's Will so I lost

Game 1 - Bomberman, Played by a Teammate = Draw

Game 2 - ICBM Oath = Win

Game 3 - GAT = Lost (Mistakes...)

Game 4 - Bomberman = Win

Game 5 - Briseur de rêve = Lost ( Game 1 = Magus of the Moon beat me for 9 turn without me getting an answer, Game 2 = Lotus cast thoughseize and Chains of Mephistopheles that stop me)

Not as good ? Well, it must depend of your point of view.

The goal of this deck is NOT to stall indefinately the game like Landstill do. Landstill usually play some mana-control element /drop standstill asap and win via superior card advantage and counter power. It can be vulnerable to Wasteland and the like.

Man on the Moon on the other side just drop a threat (Phids, Magus of the Moon mainly) then win if nothing can kill the creature.

I was thinking about adding fourth Magus of the Moon... maybe you are right. Im going to give it a good try.

I played agaisnt Landstill in the tournament, which were played by Chiz, and I won 2-0 since Landstill take so much time to set-up that I resolved a Magus of the Moon for the win.

I am running only 3 Magus of the Moon since this deck can always play a pretty good control role without the Magus, and the goal of that Magus is to prevent my opponent from casting his spell- like a lock component, not beating out his face. Having 2 Magus of the Moon on the Table at the same time isnt the best play I can have, I prefer to have one who can sit or beat if my opponent cant deal with him and protect that guy with counter magic or answer.

I though about Tinker - Platinum Angel, but without any tutor effect in the deck I dont think that will be a really good cards to play with, since the only way to bring her is by lucky-draw the Tinker or the Angel with 7 mana. I think that in a deck like this, the goal isnt to tutor-up something. You have to win with the control role, and use lock and the card advantage of phids to win it. Once again, if I can have a better draw engine then Phids, I may consider it.

Gorilla Shaman were not that great in the last tournament, but he work well with Magus and will accompany him in the beats of my opponent, or controling the board to prevent on-color mox.

I still have to play alot with the deck, because there are numerous card I want to try : Chalice of the Void, Merchant Scroll, Mystical Tutor, Tinker-Platinum, Darksteel Colossus, Empty the Warren, Intuition, Recoup, Accumulated Knowledge....

But im convinced that the actual list can be pretty deadly since you can modify it pretty well to your meta.

Combo is answered by Chalice of the Void, Blast
Ichorid by multiple leylines
Aggro by burninator, DSC, Control Magic
Control by lots of REB and Pyro

Well, keep me on track with your testing if you are playing this ;P

Hello, this is my first post here on TheManaDrain.

I would like to say that this deck was a joy to play with, but I did few change after the tournament.

I lost in T8 to GAT, I won first game with Misdi / Ancestral. I lost second game to brokeness and I lost third game because I had no  to cast my Magus of the Moon turn 1 with Misdi back-up.

I also played 3 games out of 5 in the swiss round agaisnt Ichorid, which is suppose to destroy me.

So heres the change :

-1 Island
-1 Fact or Fiction
-1 Mana Leak

+1 Steam Vent
+2 Echoing Truth

Sideboard :

-1 Tinker
-1 Colossus
-1 Angel
-3 Control Magic

+3 Leyline of Singularity
+2 Control Magic Faeries ( Sorry I really dont remember the name of that one )
+1 Pyroblast


Final List :

Man on the Moon

Mana : 24

1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
5 Island
2 Flooded Strand
1 Steam Vent
1 Library of Alexandria
3 Polluted Delta
4 Volcanic Island

Other : 36

1 Ancestral Recall
3 Fire // Ice
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
2 Mana Leak
2 Echoing Truth
1 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Misdirection
4 brainstorm
2 Meloku the Cloud Mirror
4 ophidian
3 Magnus of the Moon
2 Gorilla Shaman
1 Time Walk


Sideboard
2 Control Magic Faerie
3 Leyline of Singularity
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Pyroblast
1 Shatering Spree
2 Rack and Ruin
4 Leyline of the Void


Shaman / Moon are the all star here and if you dont use Meloku, you play a game without cards who can kill your opponent quickly. 4 let you play Meloku even with Moon on the board, and tahts why Morphling isnt played in here. Meloku can also make token who can block Dryad and other's...

The only thing I lack in that deck is a good draw engine, I dont think that Ophidian is the best thing available, but I have yet to find something better.
Also, maybe Powder Keg could be used to blow up Moxes, Token and little creature.

Im going to read what you guy write up here and bring back comment !