Well I see there has been another thread on Academy put up here
http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=37122.0 but the deck, in my mind, suffers from several fatal flaws.
I thought I'd present my own modern take on Academy...although truly it is much more of a modern Draw 7, but with the all-in Meditate engine and the Academy as the only land. Also uses Storm for the kill as opposed to outmoded mechanisms like infinite mana draw spells.
Here is the list:
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Chrome Mox
4 Meditate
4 Rite of Flame
4 Seething Song
4 Manamorphose
3 Chromatic Star
2 Brain Freeze
1 Cunning Wish
4 Street Wraith
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Tinker
1 Memory Jar
4 Diminishing Returns
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Timetwister
1 Windfall
7 SoLoMoxen
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Lotus Petal
1 Lion's Eye Diamond
1 Tolarian Academy
For pure goldfishing, you'll see the following results:
Turn 1 kills: 35%
Turn 2 kills: 25%
Turn 3 kills: 15%
Turn 4+ kills: 25% (usually the result of a meditate that ends up not getting it done that turn)
You need to mulligan about a quarter of the time.
No, I'm not claiming that this deck is the best thing in Vintage. Just here as food for thought. It is more resilient to discard (duress/thoughtseize) than most decks since as soon as you dig to Draw 7 #2, its like you never lost anything, but also more crippled by the null rods and chalices of the modern scene.
Sideboard to taste, but I'd start with something along these lines:
3 Tormod's Crypt
4 Xantid Swarm
4 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Repeal
1 Brain Freeze
1 Ebony Charm
And you should probably be very hesitant to sideboard out anything but Mediates, Street Wraiths, and the LED.
