I'd like to see something like Sulfuric Vortex in a control deck. Standstill opponents won't let you sit there. They break it immediately or have an advantage. If you don't have Drains, Counterspells are required. You need an unconditional "NO" at a minimum of x7 since you don't have a draw engine. Your only disruption is counterspells and mana denial. Null Rod, Force, Drain, Wasteland make it hard to play fast. I'd rather see mox monkey at the R slot if you aren't doing tricks with Standstill. Delver flies but is not a Factory. You need to be able to block a Jugg or Golem and kill it.

I really like how you fit the creature base into a landstill shell. Ninja is in this list: http://www.morphling.de/top8decks.php?id=1541&highlight=3#place3. Each creature is one less counterspell.

Laboratory Maniac is your best best. After casting the enchantment you can find, draw, and cast him. Using Gush as the free draw 2, you'll require 2 lands and a lotus. The order of Gush/Maniac doesn't matter, but the Lotus does. You can't exile it before you find either of the other two or you'll need a difference way. The the ritual cards don't make the the right color mana. You could use extra LED's, but it just makes the combo more clunky.

It's really closer to Demonic Consultation in that the wrong order of the Lotus/LED makes you have to pass the turn. Kind of reminds me of figuring out a Doomsday pile.

Do not run Deed. That is the card I would most like to see against your deck!

If you test this a bit you might find that Night's Whisper is a better draw engine than Necro as you don't have the free mana to support it.

Another cheap ($) card is Fast Bond. If you want to stick to this list, definitely add the Fast Bond and make room for at least 2 Edicts. Sad Sac is awesome, but you probably don't need 4.

-1 Sad Sac
-1 Deed
- 1 Darkblast

+ 2 Edict
+ 1 Fast Bond

Off topic quite a bit, but I'm a bit drunk:


My Bob is seldom late
I drop spheres like I got eight
Stax is my contreception--
barbed wires in duodenum.

Search a lands cuz you got none.
Out think like Menendian.
Ask about rules like a noob.
My monkey eats mox like food.

EDIT: Wow, I was really drunk.

After play testing the deck, there isn't much synergy involved with it's game plan. If you resolve a Magus off fast mana you lock your opponent. You can still hard cast a Selkie for a beater. Inkwell is a tinker target. You could run 3 bounce, but the architect decided to run a Hurkyl, Tinker, and a target. This was a solution that worked for a ub fish deck before Tarmogoyf that I developed with my team a long time ago as an answer to oppenent's Tinker.

This deck has 16 land with a lot of 3cc UU creatures. You have a huge bomb in Magus as you are 2 color.

The strangest card (perhaps in vintage) is Vendilion Clique.

I'm really impressed with the winner's decklist. I love every creature he runs. I've always had a big place in my heart for rogue decks.

He has 61 cards. Is Sigil of Distinction really in his list?

I was thinking about Prospector and War Marshal. He gets you +1 R if Skirk is in play. This doesn't cast black spells, but it's still a mana also he is very good with Therapy and Bitter Ordeal. Goblin Guide is another consideration at 1cc letting you see the draw for Therapy. I don't really know about SSG, but he's probably better than more fetch lands. Phyrexian Tower enables 2nd turn prowl off any attacker. So what about this:

25 creatures
4 Lackey
4 Prospector
2 Mogg War Marshall
4 Frogtosser Banneret
4 Goblin Matron
4 Earwig Squad
3 Mogg Fanatic

11 Spells:
4 Therapy
3 Thoughtsieze
2 Bitter Ordeal
1 Warren Weirding
1 Demonic Consultation

24 Mana:
3 Simian Spirit Guide
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Bloodstained Mire
4 Badlands
1 Mountain
1 Taiga
1 Phyrexian Tower (T: 1. T, sac a creature: BB)
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth


Sideboard:
4 Ancient Grudge
4 Seal of Primordium
3 sharpshooter
4 Vexing Shusher

Some other Rogues that prowl:

Nightshade Stinger  B
Creature — Faerie Rogue (1/1)
Flying
Nightshade Stinger can't block.

Orcish Spy  R
Creature — Orc Rogue (1/1)
Tap: Look at the top three cards of target player's library.

Perhaps with the Therapies and shuffle effects?

Merrow Bonegnawer  B
Creature — Merfolk Rogue (1/1)
Tap: Target player exiles a card from his or her graveyard.
Whenever you cast a black spell, you may untap Merrow Bonegnawer.

or

Rag Dealer  B
Creature — Human Rogue (1/1)
2B, Tap: Exile up to three target cards from a single graveyard.

or

Nezumi Graverobber  1B
Creature — Rat Rogue (2/1)
1B: Exile target card from an opponent's graveyard. If no cards are in that graveyard, flip Nezumi Graverobber.

For Graveyard hate

also, this guy is a rogue

Nezumi Shortfang  1B
Creature — Rat Rogue (1/1)
1B, Tap: Target opponent discards a card. Then if that player has no cards in hand, flip Nezumi Shortfang.

Hey this dude would be awesome against that wall deck:
Ali Baba  R
Creature — Human Rogue (1/1)
R: Tap target Wall.

I don't mean to rain on your parade. But, there is more going on in this tournament than you imply. Both goblin decklist are the same MD and piloted by teammates returning to vintage from hiatus. If you actually look at the Top 8 you see that main deck Jester's Cap effects look very, very strong. The more constructive dialogue would be on the player's card choices or, to a lesser extent, if B/R would have been better than G/R.

You are off topic again, but this time with irrelevant information for 3 reasons:
1. You describe the European metagame (which I understand to be very wasteland heavy ATM)
2. You give no information at all on why Duncan makes this choice or what he sides in.
3. You are, again, discussing a different deck/archetype than the thread title while your point has been analyzed, discussed, and rebuted earlier in the thread.

Now, onto constructive thoughts...
The meta looks pretty diverse and mabye slightly Tezz light. Top 8 is 2 Oath, 2 Tezz, and Red Shops (non-aggro). This seems very good for the B/R decks that have been discussed. I find the MD artifact mutations to be strange, but an instant answer to Timevault is needed. This is a more old school list with Warchiefs and Siege Gang without any combo stuff. This list should power through Fish decks. This is 3 color goblins! Both sideboards are rather light on dredge answers: 1 Jailer plus 4x utility GY cards. 3x Hull Breach/Krosan Grip were not enough (apparently) to win the Oath match up.

I've always like Chalice or Null Rod in my gobs list, but it might not be needed. The exclusion improves Fish matchups which is needed game 1.

If Earwig is going to be a priority, 9 1cc goblins are a must. After 4 Lackeys that leaves 5 slots.
Goblin Vandal - Great against Stax, ok as mana denial
Skirk Prospector - Auto include in combo goblins, good with Earwig and some sideboard options
Mogg Fanatic - Great against Fish and Bob and Bridge from Below
random aggro guys - Classic goblin beats

At least 1 Prospector is a must as an accelerant and combo-enabler with some of the sideboard plans discussed. The other slots go to Fanatic as he is relevant against at least 3 archtypes. Vandal is tempting with the lack of Chalice or Null Rod, but he doesn't really help against multiple artifact mana early.
What is the correct number of Warren Weirding? Since it's tutorable, I think 1-4 depending on the meta game.

I'm leaning toward Sharpshooter main with the 3x Frogtosser / 1x Warchief suggestion. This helps Fish and gives a pretty good chance of pushing 10 damage or to an opponent.

// Lands 21
    4  Badlands
    1  Taiga
    4  Bloodstained Mire
    4  Wasteland
    1  Strip Mine
    1  Swamp
    2  Mountain
    4  Wooded Foothills

// Creatures 30
    1  Wort, Boggart Auntie
    4  Earwig Squad
    4  Mogg Fanatic
    4  Goblin Piledriver
    4  Goblin Matron
    3  Frogtosser Banneret
    1  Goblin Warchief / Frogtosser Banneret
    4  Goblin Lackey
    1  Skirk Prospector
    1  Goblin Sharpshooter / Goblin Ringleader
    1  Kiki-Jiki Mirror Breaker / Goblin Ringleader
    2  Vexing Shusher / Goblin Ringleader

// Spells 9
    2  Warren Weirding
    1  Demonic Consultation
    1  Mox Ruby
    1  Mox Jet
    1  Mox Emerald
    1  Black Lotus
    1  Mana Crypt
    1  Lotus Petal

SB:
    4 Thoughtsieze / Crypt, Relic, Extirpate, Faerie Macabre
    4 Cabal Therapy
    4 Seal of Primordium
    1 Artifact Mutation
    2 Warren Weirding

This sideboard is crap. I would really like to see Sol Ring main if there is no Null Rod in the deck as it makes Ring Leader really good. Can the deck afford 1 Taiga? Seal is really good against Oath and helps out with Stax and Vault decks. I don't think we can rely on it for the latter two. I like the idea of Goon against Fish and possibly Stax.

I think that chalice @ 2 would have been better.  A blind Chalice should have been set at 0. Everytime. He could have gone Tanglewire, Chalice 0, pass. If I was the Stax player, I would have done this. At most, Stax's opponent gets a land and maybe a 1cc permanent. Stax follows with Smokestax. Opponent scoops them up. The question is, "Does Chalice at 1 shut down your deck?" I believe the answer is no. I do hate getting Chains and Stifle shut off, but we have more important cards. Remember, we don't have to play any spells to win.

Also, would Echoing Truth or whatever be better in the slot? Well, you can't run 1 Truth and expect to find it. It doesn't have the same impact as a 1 of Crucible (where it makes your opponent scoop). Now you could replace all of the Chains with Truth which helps to randomly bounce multiple permanents. I believe it's worth the risk against Stax, confirmed with this tier 3 example, to play a 1cc spell vs a 2cc spell.

As a bonus, you can do tricks with Glen Elendra (if she ever makes the cut) or Ingot Chewer (...again) to make this spell much better. You can also save your Nullrod or Crucible from opponent's removal. Yes, Echoing Truth is much better against dredge or other token decks than Chains of Vapor. I just can't see us winning that match.

MaxxMatt are you available for testing for the dredge match up? I really feel like we could make some progress on the sideboard. I feel like we have 4 slots because the control match ups are so easy. I would like to hope that the Leyline makes the difference.

EDIT:
Hey, there is a spoiler card here that is very interesting at the 4cc slot:


Jace, the Mindsculptor  
Planeswalker - Jace  
[+2]: Look at the top card of target player's library. You may put that card at the bottom of his or her library.
[-0]: Draw 3 cards, then put 2 cards from your hand on the top of your library in any order.
[-1]: Return target creature to its owner's hand.
[-12]: Exile all cards from target player's library. That player then shuffles their hand into their library.

Loyalty 3

Seems rather good as you can bounce creatures for cheap and control opponent's draw. Graveyard removal is much too slow, but multiple Brainstorms for 1 card seem hot. The last ability can win you the game. Activate it against an opponent and you win.

You would probably look every turn unless it's after a counter battle. In that case, you can Brainstorm instead, finding the Standstill or counters you need. Best part is that all of this happens under Standstill.

Would this be worth a slot?

EDIT Updated with card picture and corrected text.

I'm interested to see how Mindbreak Trap works out for you. I can see it working a lot like Misdirection but I don't know if it should really replace it. Let us know how testing goes.

The reason why Chalice @ 2 scares me the most is because it stops Null Rod, Drain, Standstill, and Fire/Ice. Those spells are the bulk of Landstill's game plan. I'm not trying to sound argumentative, but I'll ask anyway. Isn't that somewhat obvious? Now, on to more productive things. Almost immediately after my post, I played against a MUD Stax deck that led Chalice @ 1. It made my 2x Spell Pierce, Stifle, Chain hand look pretty bad. He got a Stax in play next turn, but I drained the Tangle Wire and dropped 2 Null Rods. Drained his Crucible and played my own. It wasn't too long before the Chalice was sacced and my Stifle sacced his board. He did the same play game 3, but Ingot Chewer (which I wished was Rack and Ruin) and Drains went the distance. So, in that particular deck without Welders it could have been a good play, but Chalice on 2 would have been better. I believe he was running 9 sphere so he didn't want to stop his own spells while Chalice @ 1 only stops some of his artifact mana.

After testing 2, 3, and 4 Spell Pierce I decided to go with 3, cutting a Misdirection. Combo Oath is much tougher than I thought but winnable. The toughest deck is Mean Deck beats. A typical deck list can be found on the link in the first post played by Dave into the top 8. The problem is that they run 20+ creatures--many more than a typical fish deck. Chalice @ 2 is a potent weapon, but they will usually bring in extra artifact removal so you can't count on it. Threads on Tarmogoyf is still the game plan, but they tend to swarm you much more. This deck makes me want Spell Snare more as a 1cc counter.

I'm still waiting to find a dredge play for 10 or so SB games, so I can't really comment on that.

Cryptic Command should have been good as you can replace a bounce spell with a counter spell. I wasn't ever happy to see it early and it was unimpressive late. You almost never get the bounce and counter mode. Usually it's one or the other with a draw.

I had trouble casting Glen Elendra many games. A flying creature that will counter 2 spells is great. I wasn't really happy seeing her in my opening hand, I still feel like she might be a perfect fit for this deck. Maybe out of the sideboard against Oath...

I apoligize that I still don't have the tournament report up. I lost to some misplays so it's not that relevant or exciting. I promise I'll get it up by Saturday morning.
EDIT: I couldn't find my notes. I won't be able to give the detailed report.

It doesn't stop creature spells. I can't imagine running 4 of this with Dark Confidant draw engines all over the place. Also, where do I find room for 4 of them (or maybe 2 more from my testing list)? Losing the Misdirections would be wrong. Maybe go down to 2 bounce spells or 2 Misdirections and 3 Fire/Ice for the other 2. You mana denial is not immediate like a Stax deck where you have Chalice @ 0 and Null Rod turn 1. Tapping out for a Null Rod on turn 2 is pretty dangerous even with a FOW. Ideally you want to drop the Null Rod off Drain mana around turn 3 where you have a Waste effect and some mana open.

He doesn't counter, bounce, or lock the opponent. Main deck he would cycle my extra Nullrod I guess. If you can find room for 1 or even 2 of these guys, wouldn't you rather just have a counter spell? Maybe you could SB him for fishes, but don't cut the Threads.

@waikiki
I agree with God_Cambell with wishes being too slow. Even wishing up a Foil (?) as a free counter is 3 mana. Getting a Leak is 5, etc. You are not playing a silver bullet deck.  You're also going to wish Repeal was Chain of Vapor. You want it to be cheap. You really don't have a Mono Blue Control mana base where you will drop a land every turn. Compare bouncing a Smokestacks EOT with Chain or Repeal. I've also ran 1 each of Chain, Echoing Truth, and Wipe Away to avoid Chalice locking me out. I found that Split Second is not really needed and would rather get a Rushing River from the board for the same mana cost. If you really want to change up from the 3-4 Chains then try 1 Echoing Truth as it's almost as good while giving you a bit more game against tokens and creatures. Sower is going to be too slow. Threads of Disloyalty gets all of the 2cc creatures in Fish. It just wins you the game. You might think Sower can steal a DSC, but most of the huge creatures are Titan, Inkwell, or Iona. Sower won't do anything to these decks and you were probably better boarding the REBs to stop the Tinker anyway.


I'd like to check with some more accomplished Stax players, but this seems highly unlikely. I would never cast a CotV at 1 blind unless I already had a Welder and Chalice @ 0 down or thought/knew I was playing against Dark Ritual based deck. In addition, this is a very risky play as I could lock myself out of Welder to a STP in response or other removal spell.  On the play, Chalice @ 0 is much stronger as you want to keep opponent's Moxes in hand and mana screw them. On the play, Chalice @ 2 is much stronger as it stops many creatures and Drains. Chalice @ 1 does happen, but I wouldn't care much in Landstill. Chalice at 2 is what I'm more worried about. Actually, a resolved Smokestacks is probably the toughest early play. I mean, I don't care much about losing access to the 1cc spells, as Drain, FOW, Nullrod, Standstill, and to a lesser extent Fire/Ice are what wins me the game. Out of the SB you get Rack and Ruin or Ingot Chewer which makes this a non-issue. Against any other deck they just locked themselves out of Mystical, Vampric, A. Recall, Ponder, Brainstorm, REB's, and other possible cards. Seems really good for us.

Also check this out from Shockwave:



Dredge is looking for a turn 2 or 3 kill usually. This won't happen until after the turn they generate a mass of zombies or on the turn they successfully Dread Return the Zealot. I think it's irrelevant to discuss sorcery or instant spells as their hand destruction is so difficult to play around. Either you counter the Dread Return or you lose. An instant Pyroclasm won't stop the alternate cost of the spell as you don't have priority until it's on the stack. Ingot Chewer removes bridges from turn 1 on, while Pyroclasm manages their critters. I mean, this match up is currently an auto-loss. I don't see Leyline of Singularity winning this for us. Even packing 15 SB hate cards, I think Dredge would still be about 50:50 while you lose your SB matches against the rest of the field. If Leyline is good against any other deck than I might consider it. I would do the same for Relic of Progenitus or Tormond's Crypt, but they don't do much in other matchups.

EDIT:
@ sean1i0
I think I've already addressed points 1, 3, 4 but I'll let Feyd hit 4 again:

Also, 7 man-lands means you have 2 more than they have (possible) waste effects. A smart opponent saves the Wastelands for you man-lands as that is your only win condition.

As for #2, you don't have any tutors, and, as I pointed out before, this is not a silver bullet deck. The card choices in The Deck work because their game plan is to answer any problem. We are trying to stop the opponent from doing anything relevant. I would never want to see Mindbreak Trap in my hand. Why not just counter that draw spell? I toyed with the idea of Extract as it's cheap and functions a lot like a counter spell, i.e. remove that Tinker, Yawg's Will, etc before you get a chance to cast it. You lose card advantage playing those spells which is what keeps it as a 3rd tier choice.

Well, after a hiatus of 2 years from the vintage scene, I came back playing a rogue deck. Here is the tournament report:

http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=39416.0

I was impressed overall with the deck's performance in this "fast" environment. I only decided on the deck the night before when I found out that most of the cards had escaped Ebay two years ago. I choose to run Mattiuzzo's decklist from GenCon 07 as it was proven and very consistent. I only changed a few cards in the sideboard for my expected metagame.

LAND (25)
2 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
3 Faerie Conclave
2 Island
2 Steam Vents
4 Volcanic Island
1 Library of Alexandria
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
ARTIFACTS (7)
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Crucible of Worlds
4 Null Rod
SPELLS (24)
1 Ancestral Recall
3 Chain of Vapor
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
3 Misdirection
4 Stifle
1 Time Walk
4 Fire/Ice
ENCHANTMENTS (4)
4 Standstill

SB
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Pyroblast
2 Spell Pierce
2 Red Elemental Blast
3 Threads of Disloyalty
1 Crucible of Worlds
1 Ingot Chewer
1 Rack and Ruin

The detailed tournament report is in the comments on the link above, but I'll give some impressions here. Against the Counter/Combo decks I won ever counter war and felt like I was controlling the game from my second turn on. The Misdirections were huge stealing my opponents Ancestral Recall more than I cast it myself and winning the counter wars. The current Fish decks don't run man-lands and are 3 colors which makes fighting them much easier. Meddling Mage is out of style, but Gaddock Teeg can blank 7 spells in the deck. Stax decks are not using the 9-sphere game plan, making that fight easier too. I didn't see Dredge, but it probably would have been hated out of the top 8 which was really my only game plan (I do have a possible SB strategy later on in the post).

There were some problems. I felt very vulnerable on my turn one. Stifle was big when I had it, but that is really all you have. I dropped a match to an opponent completing a Vault/Key on his turn 2 via Tolarian, Tinker, and FOW; then, next game, getting Painter/Grindstone after my turn 2 not finding a blue source. Well that happens. You can get blown out and I believe proper mulliganning would have got me to game 3.

Before I go on to discuss improving and tweaking the deck, please check out the link here:

http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=35289.0

Mattiuzzo/Shockwave provides precious insight into the design and game plan of the deck.

The deck performed just fine, but there is an interesting addition in the new 1cc counter, Spell Pierce. Unfortunately it isn't a hard counter which is usually a problem for Landstill. It can become irrelevant mid to late game which means it doesn't make the cut. For instance, compare Spell Snare to Spell Pierce:
Spell Snare                                     Spell Pierce
1cc counter                                    1cc counter
2cc spells                                       non-creature
hard counter                                  opponent can pay 2

Both seem limited, but far better that Abjure, Force Spike, Nix, or the other type-specific counters. Both give you an option on turn 1. The current crop of Combo/Control decks love Spell Pierce because the long game doesn't matter as much. These decks are trying to resolve game-winning spells during mid-game while Landstill is trying to stop the opponent from doing anything relevant until well into late-game.

Testing has shown that Spell Snare is good in the sideboard (I swapped them for some REB's). It comes in against Fish and Drain decks where it is always good. Spell Pierce is a main deck card because it always has the same limitations. It won't be better in some matchups and actually worse against creature decks. But, it gives Landstill a boost in the early game against fast decks. Countering a turn 1 Tinker, draw spell, tutor, or artifact is huge. So, this is what I'm testing right now:

    1 Library of Alexandria
    1 Strip Mine
    4 Wasteland
    1 Polluted Delta
    2 Flooded Strand
    1 Scalding Tarn
    2 Island
    4 Volcanic Island
    3 Faerie Conclave
    4 Mishra's Factory
    1 Steam Vents
    
    4 Force of Will
    4 Mana Drain
    2 Spell Pierce
    3 Misdirection
    3 Stifle
    4 Standstill
    1 Ancestral Recall
    1 Crucible of Worlds
    4 Null Rod
    4 Fire/Ice
    1 Time Walk
    3 Chain of Vapor
    1 Black Lotus
    1 Mox Sapphire
SB:    
2 Threads of Disloyalty
4 Ingot Chewer
4 Pyroclasm
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Crucible of Worlds

The sideboard looks crazy, but I trying to see if you can beat Dredge with cards that matter.  Ingot Chewer is good against Stax off a Drain, but it doesn't get you out of locks like Rack and Ruin does. The second Crucible wins the mana denial game. You lose all the REB's against drain decks, but I always have trouble finding room for the Chalices I wanted and the REB's. So, the interesting thing is Dredge.  So you SB like this on the play:

-1 Crucible             +4 Ingot Chewer
-4 Mana Drain         +4 Pyroclasm
-4 Null Rod            +4 Chalice of the Void
-3 Spell Pierce

The theory is that you have Ingot Chewer invoked to remove bridges, Pyroclasm for tokens, and Chalice for the 1cc spells they tend to run. You want to keep Misdirection for their Dread Return and Cabal Therapies. Force of Will is free of course and the best counter you can get as the game will be over quickly. The game plan is to deck your opponent via Standstill and/or Ancestral Recall. I don't know if this actually gives you a chance, but considering that game 1 is about 90/10, you might be able to get back toward 50/50 after sideboarding without doing something like 4x Leyline of Singularity and 4x Ravenous Trap. Perhaps we can keep the the sideboard versatile against the field and still get some game against Dredge.

What do you guys think about the following 4cc cards:

Cryptic Command
1UUU
Instant
Choose two — Counter target spell; or return target permanent to its owner's hand; or tap all creatures your opponents control; or draw a card.

Glen Elendra Archmage
3U
2/2 Flying
U, Sacrifice Glen Elendra Archmage: Counter target noncreature spell.
Persist

It sounds like you are moving closer to a mono blue control or fish than land still which is fine.  Can you post your latest test list?

This is the plan I used before there were some other options.  Ideally landstill doesn't want to SB 4 or more cards. Your deck should be tuned to go 50:50 with the field. SB just gives you a few silver bullets to get the SB games over the 50 percent mark. That's how the concept works.

It's just that Dredge broke that. I don't think throwing 8 pieces or dredge hate in your sb is going to get you a top 8. You'll end up dropping matches to other decks that you should have had a favorable match up.

If you are sitting with open mana then you are winning the game. Landstill is a lot like stax--you stop your opponent from being able to do anything with superior counters and mana denial. Usually I won't even activate a factory if I can't cast EVERY card in my hand. That's the point you want to get to. That's why you only run 1 crucible. You only need it late game and you will get down to the last 20 or so cards if your opponent doesn't scoop to you.

Tinker, tutors, and random creatures are going to be stuck in your hand. Also Tinker and Mystical tutor cost you card advantage. This is probably why you are losing games to Fish.  That match up isn't that bad.  They really have to get a nuts hand with 2 FOW and a Goyf to put any pressure on you.  Relic of the Pro Gamer (I'm borrowing this term, Twaun) and a control magic effect is enough to win, unless you have a bunch of chaff instead of counter spells.

That is why Spell Snare is probably better. It stops a lot of the threats you are worried about: Spheres, Fish creatures, Timevault, Oath, D. Tutor, Mana Drain.  I would definitely test Spell Pierce but losing the ability to stop 2cc creatures is a huge disadvantage. I never ran more than 3 and usually only 2 because I never wanted to see both in hand.

Last thing on tinker. Adding a Hurkyl's Recall for Inkwell or whatever is a bad plan. If you let them oath or tinker a huge shourded creature then you lost. Adding potentially dead cards to "fix" your mistake of not having a counter spell is not the way to go. If they turn 1 tinker, do you really think you can find a 1 of in your deck to bounce it? Stopping a tinker or oath is much less difficult than battling something like Control Slaver or MUD where they are throwing huge artifacts into play every turn. Look to your main deck. Maybe you should have mulliganed.

You have piqued my interest in Bomberman again.

Glen Elendra Archmage might be worth considering. Casting cost of 3U makes it easy to play off drain mana. She beats for two in the air and will counter 2 spells. Seems very efficient as a 2-of or so.

I don't have any tournament experience with this deck but have play tested with it. It's a lot of fun to play. I'm not enjoying Tez or Vroman Oath so I might give this a try.  Can you help with ideas on sideboarding for these two matchups?

This draw engine seems really good.  I was wondering about win conditions. It seems like a slower stronger combo could be used if not something classic like psychatog.

Would any of the Words of X cards be good?

Words of Wilding  2G
Enchantment
1: The next time you would draw a card this turn, put a 2/2 green Bear creature token onto the battlefield instead.

Words of Waste  2B
Enchantment
1: The next time you would draw a card this turn, each opponent discards a card instead.
   
Words of War 2R
Enchantment
1: The next time you would draw a card this turn, Words of War deals 2 damage to target creature or player instead.

Words of Wind  2B
Enchantment
1: The next time you would draw a card this turn, each player returns a permanent he or she controls to its owner's hand instead.

Words of Worship  2W
Enchantment
1: The next time you would draw a card this turn, you gain 5 life instead.

There is also Solitary Confinement to give you tons of time to find a combo piece.
2W
Enchantment
At the beginning of your upkeep, sacrifice Solitary Confinement unless you discard a card.
Skip your draw step.
You have shroud. (You can't be the target of spells or abilities.)
Prevent all damage that would be dealt to you.

Zvi taught me about vintage:

Force vs Shop vs Tendrils

The restricted list pushes the power level toward one of the archetypes. Steven's article seems to show that fetch lands and Mirrodin had the biggest impact on Vintage. It's enough to divide vintage into pre and post fetch land eras.

I really enjoyed the primer Twaun. Rocking!

The only thing you didn't cover was the Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth. I understand needing the fetch and the Cabal Pit (instead of more Barbarian Rings) to smooth the mana base, but giving your opponent a black source seems bad. I guess the easy answer is "Then don't put it into play."

The benefit of Bazaar and Workshops giving B doesn't seem of much use. I mean if you have one black producing land, isn't that enough? Shouldn't this be another fetch, dual, or utility land?

Check this link for some ideas:

http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=37514.msg522213#msg522213

You want null rod as it is a staple for landstill. You should be slowing and controlling the game. You should probably cut the ruby in that case as well as brainstorm and merchant scroll since you aren't trying to find anything. Misdirection's are incredible in this deck. Consider running 1-3 depending on the meta. They stop removal and will usually net you the opponent's recall during the game. Spell Pierce is an intriguing addition to the deck. It's not really a hard counter, but cheaper than Mana Leak.

Be aware that you auto-lose to dredge. The traps might help but the match will never be 50:50 even using all 15 sideboard slots.

Chain of vapor is probably the best bounce spell for this deck. You can't afford something like hurkyl's which will be dead against some decks. Echoing Truth and others are good to splash to avoid chalice on 1, though.

Commandeer wasn't very good for me ever.

I was actually thinking about playing this again, but I worry about all the creatures. I would probably do something like this:

5 Fetch
4 Island
4 Volcanic Island
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Barbarian Ring
1 Library of Alexandria

Spells
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
2 Misdirection
3 Spell Pierce
4 Stifle
4 Standstill
4 Fire/Ice
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
3 Chain of Vapor

Artifacts
1Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
4 Null Rod
1 Crucible of Worlds

Sideboard:
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Pyroblast
4 Threads of Disloyalty
2 Rack and Ruin
4 Ravenous Trap
1 Crucible of Worlds

I left the traps in the SB as I haven't really tested them. You auto lose to dredge, anyway, so the slots are better to shore up you other match-ups. Something like 2-3 Pyroclasm, 1 more REB, and another anti-artifact would be better. 

I don't know about 23 lands. Sometimes I drop the sapphire for a land or add the ruby for a fetch.

Mattiuzzo has written a lot about the concept as well as playing landstill. Do a search about U/R landstill to read about the concept and theory behind the deck.

There haven't been many posts in a while so I thought I'd get discussion going again.

I agree that 1 crucible is enough maindeck and also like 2 chalices.  The numbers are perfect for what you want.  As discussed much earlier in this thread, chalice at 0 is not what this deck wants.  Chalices at 1-2 late game are what you're looking for.  Crucible is not required at all.  It is a luxury or a late game lock mostly.  That's why you run the extra copies in the sideboard.

Is Ichorid really an auto-loss. Game 1 is really bad, but I did manage to win 2 of 3 matches against a competent player.  Echoing Truth and Pyroclasm were huge in these victories as was Threads.  It is important to note that my game plan was to deck my opponent via Standstills.  I only once actually attacked him for the win.  Two matches he scooped with an empty board and (mostly) hand.

I don't think the normal Leyline, Tormond's Crypt / Relic of Progenisis plan is what we are looking for.  I was trying to find a 2x sb card and may have succeeded:

Mogg War Marshall

He removes bridges because he self-destructs and gives you blockers.  Plus he's cheap and on-color.  The deck I'm running is from Col_Impact:

    1 Library of Alexandria
    1 Strip Mine
    4 Wasteland
    2 Polluted Delta
    3 Flooded Strand
    2 Island
    4 Volcanic Island
    3 Faerie Conclave
    1 Mishra's Factory
    1 Mishra's Factory
    1 Mishra's Factory
    1 Mishra's Factory
    1 Black Lotus
    1 Mox Ruby
    1 Mox Sapphire
    4 Force of Will
    4 Mana Drain
    1 Ancestral Recall
    1 Time Walk
    1 Misdirection
    4 Stifle
    1 Pyroblast
    1 Crucible of Worlds
    4 Standstill
    2 Chalice of the Void
    3 Null Rod
    1 Chain of Vapor
    2 Echoing Truth
    4 Fire/Ice

SB: 2 Pyroblast
SB: 1 Crucible of Worlds
SB: 2 Chalice of the Void
SB: 2 Red Elemental Blast
SB: 3 Threads of Disloyalty
SB: 1 Rack and Ruin
SB: 2 Pyroclasm
SB: 2 Ingot Chewer

The extra chalices are mainly against combo, but I'm great against tez and pretty good against tendrils decks already.  So the goblin would go there.

Wouldn't Spirit of the Night be better than than Akroma if we are using rits?

I was just looking at bitterblossum the other day.  I believe the biggest problem is going to be the extremely slow clock.  If you cast it turn 1, you only get 1 creature and 0 dmg turn 2.  Through turn 5 it's 4 creautres and a total of 6 dmg. This deck has to slow the game down.

We are off-color for many of the enchantment, multi-creature, or token bonuses like convoke mechanic, enchtress-like abilities, enchantment bonuses, sterling grove, or enlightened tutor.  There are a few on-color cards though.  All the black tutors(including upto 4x Diabolic Intent), Copy Enchantment (I can't see less than 2 of these), the engine cards Guli proposed, opposition and static orb, and null rods; plus the 'sacrifice a creature abilities': Read the Runes (for a draw X), ashnod's altar, blood funeral, cabal therapy, contamination, dark triumph, Gate to Phyrexia (A black card that kills artifacts), Goblin Bombardment, Jinxed Idol, Phyrexian Tower, and Shivan Harvest.

These all require resolving one of the enchantments to be any good.  A heavy discard / counter base should give plenty of time to find our engine cards, but we don't really have a combo win.  I see the deck playing more like stax or land still working toward inevitability.

Spellsputter Sprite is good with bitterblossum, but it's a creature.

If we go a slow control deck there is Obliterate and friends that reset without killing enchantments.