Mailbag Column for Smmenen

[Tin_Mox5831]

1) If R&D let you print one card to serve the greater good of Vintage, what would your card be?

2) How close do you feel the format is to reaching a critical mass in terms of broken cards?

3) Is Storm exclusively at fault for the degenerate metagame that appears to be taking shape?

4) Xantid Swarm.....Great Disruption, or The Greatest Disruption?  :lol:

Later,
Dave

[darkstar138]

Do you think this format is healthy if it is dominated by control, combo, controlling combo and aggro control.  Was there ever aggro in vintage?

[dandan]

With the recent influx of new tutors, has the concept of 'critical mass' become obsolete?

Do you think Wizards will ever allow proxies in sanctioned events?

Do you call it Vintage or Type 1?

[Darkenslight]

These have probably been asked, but:

1) What would be the main cards on YOUR Banned/Restricted list were you R&D?

2) Are there any defining moments in your Magic-playing career?

3) Should Storm-based combo be hosed?

[twault]

I have some good questions...

1) What do you think about the new Vinelasher Kudzu deck? Is it here to stay or a tournament fluke? Would you play it? What changes would you make to the decklist?

2) Where does Ichorid/Friggorid fall into the current Vintage metagame? Is it still viable? What changes have you thought about making to your original decklist? Some of the European builds have been using Hermit Druid, is this worth trying?

3) Have you been working on any new original "top secret" decks? If so, how about dropping some hints? I realize that you might not want to give too much away, but maybe you could at least divulge a few tidbits, such as: main colors, type (aggro, control, combo, etc.), and a few card choices.  

[netherspirit]

My last question sucked coz I think I put the decklist for my other Stasis deck by accident. So, here's some better questions.

1) Do you think Dream Halls could be used in any storm based combo deck efficiently?
2) Do you think Black Vise would be healthy in today's metagame if unrestricted and why?

[Jacob Orlove]

My last question sucked coz I think I put the decklist for my other Stasis deck by accident.

So change it. He hasn't started writing yet anyway.

[netherspirit]

My last question sucked coz I think I put the decklist for my other Stasis deck by accident.

So change it. He hasn't started writing yet anyway.

Right, if I change the other one I'd appreciate it if you still answer my other 2 though Smmenen, you don't have to but I'd appreciate it loads.

EDIT: I've just changed my post with the decklist so it now has the correct list, sorry about the confusion.

[AmbivalentDuck]

Hypothetically, Wizards could print an N/N artifact creature for one colorless mana, where N is any integer.  What values of N make the card t1 worthy, which break it (it's a 4-of in ~50% of most top 8 decks), and which make fish stronger without enhancing control or combo?

[The_spooky_kid]

Which vintage teams do you think are the most influencial?  Which teams do you think are "tier 1" teams?

[Harlequin]

If Wizards were to ban Dark Steel Colosus (and Not Tinker)...

How would this change the meta game?  Obviously Slaver would not be dramatically affected, but would it basically blow Gifts off the map (or would they opt for a different Giant Robot)? Do you think, Fish would emerge as one of the strongest decks in the format?

How would it change the viability of Storm based Combo? Would it simply go without the alternate win condition?  Would UB (SS style) fish simply be too strong for a deck like Grim Long to exsist without the game 2 and 3 Tinker->DSC?

[Jacob Orlove]

Okay, he's already started writing this, so I'm going to close the thread.

[Smmenen]

Fielding questions I didn't answer in the article:

When is the last time you ancestral recalled an oath player after they resolved brainstorm with oath on the stack?

Never.

This situation recently arose, it was my opponent's first turn. Here's how it was looking:

Me
Life: 19
Hand: Force of Will, Intuition, Brainstorm, Stasis (Main part of deck, only 2 more in library), Island
In play: Tundra
Graveyard: Flooded Strand
Top cards of library: Unknown

Him
Life: 20
Hand: 5 Unknown cards
In play: Island
Graveyard: Mox Emerald (Sacrificed to Tinker)
Just played: Tinker (Most likely target: Darksteel Collossus)

What would you do in this situation?

I would FoW the TInker pitching Intuiton.  IF He FoW backups, then you know your Stasis will resolve. 

Your deck is a pile btw.  Serra angel for the win?  Aren't there a million better win conditions in stasis? 

I am also interested in your opinion of Bomberman. Im beginning to wonder if the deck is alot better after watching people win making tons of mistakes. Also, is it a bad match for IT because I have lost/almost lost to much worse opponents in tournys. (Never tested the match myself.)

******How should I sideboard http://sales.starcitygames.com/deckdatabase/displaydeck.php?DeckID=17579 (IT) against Bomberman and Sullivan Solution. Would c. extraction be a reasonable card to use on Trinket Mage against Bomberman.*****

If you have a hand that can win on turn one if it faces 0 disruption have you found any way to test your opponent to see if he has Force. Type one players are usually easy to read so I figure it might be practical.

A. Did you have a secret Time Vault combo deck developed. B. Did you purchase a ton of them? Or both.

While playing combo sometimes if my first Ritual is countered I will fizzle but upon resolution have guaranteed win. Rarely does it ever get countered. When playing control against combo how should you evaluate what cards to counter.

What have you been toying around with from Coldsnap?

Thanks again.

P.S. I asked alot of questions so if you answer any could it be the one with the **'s. It is the most improtant to me.

Kevin, I didn't publish this because I'm not sure how pertinent it remains. 

1)  How to board Your IT list against SS:

I would be seriously tempted to bring in the Dark Confidants.  SS has NO clock whatsoever.  So this isn't the FIsh matchup where you shoujld be concerned about the life race.   If you were playing Pitch Long, I would not recommend as much, but this decks weakneses are far more easily exploited by SS>  I would, oddly enough, also board in the two Massacre. 

I would only TRY the Confidant plan.  If it doesn't work, then I would merely bring in Massacres.   To support the Confidant plan, you are going to have to make deep cuts.  There are two possible ways to do this: first you cut FoWs out.   Second, you leave the FoWs and you cut cards like Rebuild, Twister, and 1 Grim Tutor (keeping your blue count up to 15 spells, 14 at the lowest). 

2) Against Bomberman: Again, I would go with the COnfidant plan.  This time, however, I'd be more comfortable straight up cutting business.   Bomberman is not that fast at all - it's a curious mix between aggro-control and pure control. 

As for:

A) No - I published it last November in Legacy.

B) Yes.

I wish I had a way to tell whether my opponetns have FoW.   Sometimes you can tell, but most of the time, it's time consuming guesswork. 

[Smmenen]

The rest of your questions will be included in the next article.  If you've got more questions, just save them for a future mailbag article.  In a month or so, I'll publish another one.