No existing decks wants them, but this land has serious combo potential. Not only the mentioned Root Maze, Orb of Dreams and Amulet of Vigor, but there are lots of cards that put lands from the library onto the battlefield tapped like Primeval Titan and Scapeshift.
There probably isn't a combo worthy of vintage yet, but the ability to fetch something that immediately generates mana, brings them closer to "win on the spot" with the right mix of lands. Dark Depths + Thespian's Stage doesn't work, but you get the idea.

Painful Truths
Rare
2B
Sorcery
Converge - Draw X cards and loose X life, where X is the number of colors of mana spent to cast Painful Truths.

from: http://magicblogs.de/news/2015/09/14/exklusive-kampf-um-zendikar-vorschaukarte-schmerzliche-wahrheit/

This card is notable, because other than Ancestral Recall there's no card that unconditionally let's you draw 3 cards for 3 mana without forcing you to discard anything afterwards. I'm aware that this is no Treasure Cruise, but it's serious card advantage.

(And no matter the playability in Vintage, i think this is an interestingly designed card.)

This card looks worse than Thirst for Knowledge, but it could come close to its power level and there aren't any other instants it can be compared to.

So my guess is that it's borderline playable, but i can't see it making an impact.

Recoup is a sorcery that only targets sorceries. Snapcaster Mage wouldn't be a multi-format all-star without flash and instants.

The copy isn't cast, so storm will not trigger.

I know this just makes a vanilla creature that can two for one you, but it's blue and can swing for 5 on turn 2. This sounds really playable to me.
Added Pic.
-MM

There are quite a few more corner cases in which City of Brass is better than Mana Confluence:

- Angel of Jubilation is on the battlefield.
- You control Platinum Emperion.
- You control Phyrexian Unlife, Lich, Lich's Tomb,... (or cast Angel's Grace) and are below 2 life.
- You have a damage prevention effect ready like Urza's Armor or Rune of Protection: Lands.

But..., yes none of these really matter in Vintage.

If only it could target artifacts instead of enchantments, it would have been a solid maindeck card. Like this it's dead against workshops, but should see at least sideboard play at one point or another.

It's a nicely designed card. WotC should develop more cards like this.

No, Phyrexian Metamorph has a replacement effect that replaces the zone change to the battlefield. You don't cast it as Emrakul.

You're welcome to play bolt against this kind of deck. As a starting point for testing:

Restricted stuff + combo parts (21):
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Tinker

Protection (12):
4 Force of Will
3 Mental Misstep
2 Mana Drain
1 Misdirection
1 Echoing Truth
1 Steel Sabotage

Engine (11):
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Jace Beleren
4 Words of Wisdom
4 Notion Thief

Lands (16):
2 Flooded Strand
5 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Mikokoro, Center of the Sea
4 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
2 Underground Sea

I'm surprised that people still talk about using this card in the sideboard or against opponents cards. This is not a hate card. Forget Humans.

This card is an insane draw engine combined with cards that are borderline playable already: Timetwister, Words of Wisdom, Jace Beleren.

I would build a heavy blue control deck with lots of pitch counters, Notion Thief, broken black stuff and said cards.

From here: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=448012



Best dredge hoser ever (casting cost aside)?  

Best pic I could find added.

I think you are underestimating this guy.

The important thing is, that you have lots of options when Terastodon hits th battlefield:

- You can destroy your opponents mana base, which gives him some 3/3 dudes (who make sure you can oath again next turn).
- Or, you can go all out and put 18 points of power on the battlefield to win next turn.
- Or most importantly, you can do something in between and get rid of all non-creature threats they posses like Tezzeret, Time Vault or Tanglewire.

Not including the choice of targets of each player, Terastodon has 10 different options to spread his destruction between you and the opponent!

I'm sure skilled players can always find a way to get a board advantage big enough to seal the deal after Terastodon hits.

New crad from worlwake spoiled here: http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?t=214710

Terastodon 6GG
Creature - Elephant (R)
When Terastodon enters the battlefield, destroy up to three non-creature permanents.
For each permanent destroyed this way, it's controller puts a 3/3 green Elephant token onto the battlefield.
9/9

This might be a possible creature for Oath decks. Great disruption and body, but lacks evasion.

Better than Iona against Workshop decks!

Edit: Fixed the wording. (it is up to three)

A new card from Worldwake was spoiled: http://magic.tcgplayer.com/db/article.asp?ID=8731

Lodestone Golem, 4
Artifact Creature - Golem 5/3 (R)
Non-artifact spells cost 1 more to cast.

If Workshop Aggro is a vintage strategy, it just got better by far!

I can't see any other applications, though.

Nice article marske. It's certainly one of the most interesting topics in Vintage at the moment.

But I have a few questions:

- You have listed Meditate, but you don't mention it afterwards. So what's your verdict on Meditate?

- Since you bother to mention Sleight of Hand, Serum Visions and Strategic Planning, shouldn't you also say something about impulse and telling time? They seem much more useful to me.

Very nice Article JACO!

I only disagree with Covenant of Minds being interesting, in fact it's strictly worse than Brilliant Plan, which is strictly worse than Petals of Insight, which is not very good either...

@ShawnTheDoctor:
Your Idea to kill with stroke of genius is great!

Some suggestions:
- Your manabase will not work, because you only have 13 green mana sources (Chrome mox won't get you green mana), so casting channel is too difficult. 19 Mana sources is too risky anyway.
- Include Tinker! Even without Channel on the board tinkering into the mirror is a strong play, that may keep you alive until you find channel. At least it's better than a fabricate.
- I don't think Misdirection is a necessary card in this deck. Or is there any special purpose?
- Consider including merchant scroll to find another tutor or protection.
- The best bounce spell for this deck would be Repeal, I think, but it's better placed in the SB.


You can't respond to losing the game, but you can kill yourself when your Portal activation is already on the stack.

@credmond:
Since the life payment is part of the effect of Lim-Dul's Vault and not part of it's cost, you die after it resolves, then the Mirror kicks in.

@credmond:
I considered Lim-Dul's Vault, but the effect is useless if Lich's Mirror is in play, since you have to shuffle your library.
Most of the cards I have listed are powerful even without Lich's Mirror in play.
Maybe the pacts and plunge into darkness are too suicidal, but they are not really weak.

@vartemis:
My idea to use Lich's Mirror is to kill yourself to Draw 7 cards, not waiting to be killed by your opponent.
My suggested Deck has 12 cards that can kill you immediately or during your next upkeep.
And the deck doesn't use many permanents, that are meant to stay on the board.

@andrewpate:
The idea to include some permanent stealing effects is good, but I can't think of anything powerful at the moment.

A card that I obviously forgot to include is Tinker.

I'm not a Vintage player, but I thought to show you this card, which was rumored over at MTGSalvation and is considered to be real there:

Lich's Mirror
5
Artifact
Mythic

If you would lose the game, instead shuffle your hand, your graveyard and all permanents you own into your library, then draw seven cards and your life total becomes 20.

This card looks like a new Platinum Angel first, but after second reading this card is much closer to Memory Jar and thus worth trying to be abused.
You obviously need some ways to loose the game whenever you want and a Finish that does not rely on Permanents in play (For example Tendrils of Agony).

Lich's Mirror combos well with all cards which use your life as a ressource, for example:
- Necropotence
- Channel
- Street Wraith
- Thoughtseize
- Vampiric Tutor / Imperial Seal
- Plunge into Darkness
- City of Brass

Lich's Mirror combos well with all cards which say "You loose the game", for example:
- The pacts from future sight
- Final Fortune / Last Chance / Warrior's Oath

Finally I will post a very raw and untested Deck Idea without sideboard (Sorry, I know you don't like it like this):

Engine: 9
4 x Lich's Mirror
1 x Necropotence
1 x Channel
1 x Yawg's Will
2 x Tendrils of Agony

Draw and Search: 12
1 x Ancestral Recall
1 x Demonic Tutor
1 x Vampiric Tutor
1 x Imperial Seal
4 x Plunge into Darkness
4 x Street Wraith

Disruption: 6
4 x Thoughtseize
2 x Pact of Negation

Mana: 33
3 x City of Brass
1 x Black Lotus
1 x Lotus Petal
5 x Moxen
1 x Mana Crypt
1 x Mana Vault
1 x Lions Eye Diamond
4 x Dark Ritual
4 x Elvish Sprit Guide
4 x Simian Sprit Guide
4 x Summoner's Pact
4 x Manamorphose

I know that this deck is quite bad on the draw without FoW, but the number of blue cards won't permit to use it. Any ideas?
I apologize if this post turns out to be redundant (i.e. if the rumored card is a fake).