[Premium Article] So Many Insane PLays -- How to Build Groatog to Win Vintage To

[Smmenen]

Blurb:
Stephen is a firm believer that, with the unrestriction of Gush, the GroAtog deck is the most powerful — and most versatile — deck in the current Vintage metagame. Today's So Many Insane Plays sees the Vintage mastermind take us through an exciting five-step plan of GroAtog deck design, a plan that is designed to optimize your chances at winning any specific Vintage tournament. This is a wonderful article, and the five-step plan is fine advice for Vintage and non-Vintage players alike...

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/14475.html

Decklist:

GroAtog
Stephen Menendian

4 Quirion Dryad
2 Psychatog
4 Force of Will
4 Duress
2 Mana Drain
2 Misdirection
4 Gush
4 Brainstorm
1 Cunning Wish
4 Merchant Scroll
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Time Walk
1 Fastbond
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
3 Opt

1 Library of Alexandria
3 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
1 Island
1 Volcanic Island
3 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus

Sideboard:
1 Berserk
3 Yixlid Jailer
3 Pithing Needle
1 Fire/Ice
1 Oxidize
1 Artifact Mutation
2 Submerge
1 Pyroblast
2 Red Elemental Blast

Explanations are painfully detailed in the article.   

Also, there is a bonus section on the Waterbury.

Please direct any questions to the SCG forum, or, alternatively, look for responses in the thread adjoining this article. 
But as usual, I will read any comments you have here.   

[desolutionist]

This was a really great article/great intro to metagaming in Vintage.  You should follow this up somehow.

[Razvan]

terrible article, can't believe they are paying you.
in all seriousness though, i really enjoyed not only the article, but even the idea behind your way of contructing the GAT deck. i was toying with the same idea ever since phil stanton's card by card analysis of top-8s a few years ago. it really does seem like the best way of constructing the perfect deck of a certain type.
it'd be interesting to see if this can apply to anything but aggro-control decks though. it seems that some decks, like RIP-gifts, CS or something have such a tight core +3-6 metagame cards that it might be useless. same goes for stax.

finally... i cannot seem to be able to post, so i don't know if this will show up at all, so i will keep it short.

[Crankster]

Excellent as always

[Korhil]

I do find it slightly amusing to see you too abandoned Street Wraith now.
The 2nd Tog main is interesting.

---Korhil

[LordHomerCat]

Technically, if you'd read, you'd see that Street Wraith was not abandoned, but rather didn't seem like the best choice given the expected metagame.  If you are expecting a ton of Stax, then Opt is garbage and should be wraith, but against decks where you don't get all your lands killed and your spells Sphered, Opt is better card selection and is worth the extra mana (and the life you don't lose).

[Smmenen]

Just as a footnote, this piece remains my treatise on GAT.    It explains my views on the deck in detail.

The only difference is that the decklist I played then has since been tweaked.   

Here's what I played in the Vintage Champs:

4 Quirion Dryad
1 Psychatog
4 Force of Will
4 Duress
2 Mana Drain
2 Misdirection
1 Red Elemental Blast
4 Gush
4 Brainstorm
1 Cunning Wish
4 Merchant Scroll
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Time Walk
1 Fastbond
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
3 Opt
1 Library of Alexandria
3 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
1 Island
1 Volcanic Island
3 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus

Sideboard:
1 Berserk
2 Pithing Needle
3 Yixlid Jailer
1 Fire/Ice
1 Oxidize
1 Rushing River
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Island
1 Rack and Ruin
2 Pyroblast
1 Red Elemental Blast