Richmond Comix - Split in Finals with Vroath

[KrauserKrauser]

So I haven't played with real cards in about six months so obviously the best way to get the cards ack in my hands is the Vintage Turnament that was run in Richmond Comix on 10/17.

When I first saw Iona it got me really excited for an Oath shell and once I saw that Vroman had won a tournament with it, my deck choice was decided.  not having an Iona or Misty Rainforests was easily solved with the application of sufficient money and I was ready to go.

The night before the tournament I waffled a bit and almost went with the Manaless Ichorid deck that I already had put together but decided in the end to give my newly purchased $71 worth of cards a chance in the spotlight.

This is the list I ran with:

Oath ala Vroman as performed by KrauserKrauser:

4 Misty Rainforest
4 Forbidden Orchard
2 Tropical Island
2 Underground Sea
1 Island
1 Forest
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Library of Alexandria (MVP)

7 SoLoMoxen
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key

4 Oath of Druids
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria

4 Force of Will
4 Spell Pierce
2 Duress

1 Mystical Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll

1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Rebuild
1 Regrowth
1 Reclaim
1 Krosan Reclamation
1 Fire / Ice
1 Time Walk

1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Timetwister
1 Lat Nam's Legacy (Sided out every match)
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Ponder

Sideboard:

3 Mindbreak Trap (Never sided in)
1 Chain of Vapour
1 Echoing Truth
1 Pithing Needle
2 Ravenous Trap (Didn't have Extirpate and didn't bother to proxy any, Never sided in anyway)
1 Strip Mine (Sided in once, never saw it)
1 Repeal
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath
2 Pernicious Deed
1 Hellkite Overlord
1 Karrthus, Tyrant of Jund

Overall there were very few changes made to the list that Vroman had such great results with, the only change being the Extirpate dropped for the 4th Spell Pierce.  I never ran into a situation where that was the wrong call but depending on the meta that might be the right call.  I ended up siding out the 4th Pierce a couple times to get a Deed in the deck post board but I like having all 4 on the first game.

I tried out the other list that had made Top 8 that ran Tezz and drains but even gold fishing I never had the 2 blue when I knew I would want it.  Spell Pierce came through for me again and again during the tournament and I know had they been drains, my day would have been alot harder.

On the report:

Round 1 - Tommy Donavan - W/U Knights

Game 1 - I open with Spell Pierce and Oathx2 plus Orchard and worry till about turn 3 when I am able to Oath using the orchard token I so kindly generated from him and his freshly made White Knight to bring in Iona naming blue.  I make a rookie mistake and Krosan Lotus and Twister while I still have a graveyard but with Yawg Will in hand I win the next turn.

I side in 2 Deeds for Lat Nam's and the Rebuild

Game 2 - Tommy throws down some action first with a Pithing Needle naming Key on Turn 2.  Turn 3 I Timetwister into a Deed and by Turn 4 have deeded away his board and Yawg Will'ed everything back on my side of the table.

I spend the rest of the round reading the Coward - Criminal seris book that I picked up when I first got to the store.

1-0

Round 2 - Ben - Bomberman

Game 1 - I lose the die roll but open with Library that stays active for a while.  On turn 2 I am holding Emerald with enough mana on the table to play Oath and have one remaining for ??? absolutely nothing. He Spell Pierces my Oath and I look the Emerald in my hand, sitting there all smug, like it's better than me, well I'll teach it a lesson!  So I play Emerald and end my turn, I'm obviously great at Magic.  After a couple of turns being whacked by a Spirit token we get in a counter war over his Lotus (He had been mana screwed all game) that I end up winning.  A few turns later Iona gets Oathed out and we're on to game 2.

Having no idea what he is playing I side in both Deeds and a Repeal for the Lat Nam's, 4th Pierce and Rebuild.

Game 2 - I open with Crypt, Mox, Force, Blue Card, Vault, Key and ???.  He opens with Needle on Oath and after scratching my head I land both Vault and Key through his Daze.  After he fails to find an out during his 1 turn window, I proceed to do battle with my own Mana Crypt.  8 or so turns later I find the Repeal for my Crypt and he scoops to infinite turns.

More reading of Coward commences.

2-0

Round 3 - Joe - U/B Tezz

Game 1 - Joe wins the roll but I open with Library on the draw.  A few turns later Joe throws out his own Library but by that time when we have a counter fight over my Duress I come out well ahead.  Turn 4 I go infinite turn mode and begin my battle with my own Mana Crypt again.  Eventually Rebuild shows up and Joe scoops when I show Iona.

After 2 battles with my Own Mana Crypt I decide to leave the Rebuild in and simply sub in Repeal for Lat Nam's

Game 2 - I open with Library on the draw again but this time his Strip Mine limits me to a single extra card.  We both play defensive draw go for a while and when he goes for a Tinker I am able to win the counter war and eventaully strip the Mindbreak Traps from his hand that could have been quite brutal.  His grip is still full of counter magic and after a few more counter wars I am able to get an Oath to stick and Iona him out.

Round 4 - Sorry didn't get our name - Scoop

As the only 3-0 person left in the tournament with a cut to Top 4 after this round I scoop to my opponent and get some Chinese food.  We better worry about China in the upcoming Zombie Apocalypse because if General Tso can fight as well as he can make chicken, we are in for a world of hurt.

3-1

Quarter Finals - Sorry didn't get your name, again, we didn't have slips and I'm really terrible with names - GWB Null Rods

Game 1 - Feeling quite refreshed for not having to face a FoW deck I open with basically nothing but after Firing his Kataki and Rancor-ed Confidant I find Oath, Iona and taken infinite turns.

Out goes Rebuild, Duress x 2, Lat Nam's and In goes Karrthus, Hellkite Overlord and Deed x 2

Game 2 - Black Lotus, Land, Gaddock Teeg and Enlightened Tutor for Seal of Cleansing marks his opener and I decide to poke the bear with first turn Oath.  He obviously destroys it, the next one I top deck and proceeds to beat my face in with Teeg and Spirits (Unicorns).  I refill after my failed Oath attempts with Ancestral and eventually find Key, Vault and infinity land.  I have the Spell Pierce for his Diabolic Edict on my Hellkite Overlord and he scoops me into the finals.

Finals - Guy from Round 4 that I still don't know the name of - Split

I take the loss because... it gets me home faster I guess and we split the box 50/50.  To work out the half of the foil Masticore I let him rummage through my vastly depleted trade binder where he pulls out 3 Engineered Explosives for the Halfticore.

All in all the deck did great, the tournament was fun and I'm currently on the Lawless - Criminal book, second in the series.

Thanks to Richmond Comix for running a smooth tournament and General Tso for his chicken cooking ways.

[M.Solymossy]

Wait wait wait?  You let him take 3 Engineered Explosives for your half of the Foil Masticore? 

You sir... got worked... hard...

[credmond]

I tried out the other list that had made Top 8 that ran Tezz and drains but even gold fishing I never had the 2 blue when I knew I would want it.  Spell Pierce came through for me again and again during the tournament and I know had they been drains, my day would have been alot harder.

I have also found mana drains to not really fit into that deck. I had zero time to test before that tournament and drains + tezz + library + thirst all work out theoretically,but not practically, together. The problem winds up being the orchards that can let the other player slow roll you as you make dudes when you drain.

Without the drains I have become suspect of several cards in the basic list for the deck. Mystical, thirst for knowledge, merchant scroll, and library of alexandria all seem problematic without the drains. I have been testing impulses and negates along the lines of a more classic oath list and it really seems to work nicely. EOT impulse keeps this deck moving nicely. Regrow is slow without drains and is not required for the combo (its only required in the rare scenario where you need to recur timetwister for some win with fire/ice). Library seems only good when you have it in opening hand since without drains the deck generally plays out aggressively.

[vroman]

its interesting to read someone else play the deck. Ive never boarded out latnam. esp when you are bringing in additional oath targets. theres too many situations where cycling for 2 random cards is really good, ie multiple oath in hand, multiple land, pierce when they have like 8 mana, etc. its a big step down from brainstorm, but atleast guaranteed shuffles.

Ive switched from duress to thoughtseize bc qasali has proven a problem. also bant will prob start playing true beleiver again.

[DSale]

Hey there, DSale again, this time reporting from the 3rd place slot in the 2nd Richmond Comix 15 proxy tournament.  I have again decide to run the GW Bears deck, but have splashed black for Diabolic Edict and Thoughtseize.  The obligatory list:

3 Gaddoc Teeg
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Tarmogoyf
1 Ethersworn Canonist
3 Kataki, War's Wage
4 Dark Confidant

1 Rancor
1 Seal of Cleansing
2 Null Rod
2 Enlightened Tutor

4 Thoughtseize
1 Vampiric Tutor
3 Diabolic Edict

3 Elvish Spirit Guide
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
3 Savannah
1 Bayou
1 Scrubland
4 Marsh Flats
3 Verdant Catacombs
1 Forest
1 Swamp
1 Plains

Sideboard:
3 Aven Mindcensor
2 Silence
2 Swords to Plowshares
3 Ethersworn Canonist
1 Planar Void
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Choke
1 Elephant Grass
1 Diabolic Edict

I splashed black this time because I expected a much more beatdown-oriented field this time around.  Diabolic Edict should be amazing against them, and swords should be decent from the board. 
Of course, I was wrong, and only faced a single beatdown deck all day long.  I handled it easily, and should of probably been straight GW the whole time.

Round 1:  Charbelcher

Game 1: He storms for 14 goblin tokens on turn 1 and I have no action.  I lose in short order.
Game 2: I play a lotus for Canonist / Null Rod and he is locked out of the game from there.  He makes multiple mistakes with tinderwall blocks and I still end up stealing the game.  Confidant almost kills me here.
Game 3: I keep 2 land, mox, pridemage, enlightened tutor, Thoughtseize on the mull.  He makes a turn 1 belcher and has no cards in hand.  I draw and don't hit another mana accelerant, so I play a pridemage and tutor for Seal of Cleansing.  He activates belcher the next turn and reveals Emerald Mox and Plateu.  I take 4 and clean the game up from there easily. 

*phew* I've escaped a pretty bad matchup when losing the roll.  Let's hope that luck can continue.

Round 2:  Key-Vault

Game 1: I commence the beatdown with some slow guys that don't matter much.  He uses Brainstorm and Ancestral + Yawgmoth's Will to setup his combo and I die shortly after.
Game 2: He FoW's my Gaddoc Teeg on Turn 1 and I land a Kataki on turn 2.  He reads it several times and is essentially locked out of the game despite having a Sol Ring to pay for 2 of his moxen.  Beatdown kills him in 3 turns.
Game 3: I start the beatdown, but am unable to beat his Timetwister for a bunch of cards and lose to a key-vault that I make him play out.  Yes, I make him play it out because I have Kataki in play, and I was hoping he would make a mistake with the multiple upkeep triggers and key-vault activations.  To his credit, he doesn't miss a single one and eventually resolves a Tezzeret to kill me with.

*sigh*  Key-Vault is not a matchup that I was looking forward to and losing the die roll is that much worse.  I'm not surprised I lost here.

Round 3: R.B Beatdown

Game 1: I win the roll and lay a first turn Enlightened Tutor for Ethersworn Canonist, as I know what he's playing.  We trade beats for a few turns, Goblin Guide actually draws me 2 lands.  He dies to my random bears.
Game 2: I am actually in danger of dying to my own Dark Confidant this game, but I manage to out-race his guys with the card advantage, he is only playing R B guys and no burn spells except Hatred.  He dies while I am at 4 life.

Round 4: Oath with Key-Vault combo

Game 1: I have a turn 1 Lotus, he FoW's my Goyf and I resolve a Qasali Pridemage.  I enlightened tutor on my upkeep for Null Rod and he's all but dead to the 3/3 beater and Null Rod combination.
Game 2: He runs out a turn 1 Oath with an Exotic Orchard, I don't have alot of action against that, I kept a hand with Pridemage and Thoughtseize.  He oaths out an Iona and only has 3 cards in his deck.  I could of flashed out a few Aven Mindcensors to fog him and deck him out, but he made the right call and named WHITE instead of Black. I've boarded out my Yawgmoth's Wills, because I didn't know exactly what he was playing, and lose this one.  /frown.
Game 3: He doesn't take the mulligan and pays for it when I T1 Thoughtseize.  I take his Voltaic Key and he is forced to pay for all his artifact mana for the rest of the game courtesy of Kataki.  The beatdown in this game is quick, I assume on the back on some Qasali Pridemage.

I make the Top 4 with a record of 4-1

Quarterfinals against Krause:
Game 1: I open a hand with double Confidant and little else.  I decided to keep this awful hand despite having no turn 1 plays, and I proceed to get demolished by an Oath of Druids.
Game 2: I keep Gaddoc Teeg, Enlightened Tutor, Pridemage, Lotus, Sac land, Sac land, Wasteland.  Turn 1 I play Teeg and Enlightened Tutor for seal of cleansing.  He lands the turn 1 Oath, forcing my hand to action.  I've got Teeg in play, so he can't force my Seal, and I bash for 2.  He lands a second Oath turn 2, and I simply shrug, play pridemage and attack for 3, then disenchant his Oath.  He gets bashed for a few turns, but assembles Key-Vault on the back of an Ancestrall + Yawg's Will and I'm locked out of the game.

ALl in all, I'm a little disappointed with the way this deck performed this time around.  I splashed black thinking that we would see more beatdown decks than last time, but the field consisted of mostly Oath decks.  I'm heading back to a more straightforward GW beatdown strategy for the next event, which will hopefully be scheduled soon for a weekend in January.  I'm also going to drop the Enlightened Tutors, their impact just wasn't great enough to ever matter, and as I'm learning, Vintage really is a format where 1 turn makes the difference.

Thanks to Richmond Comix and Tommy for their continued support of the Vintage scene.  See you all in a few months!

[Fiend28]

How many showed up for the event?  I was in Williamsburg va, that weekend visiting family but i couldnt catch a ride up there for the tourney

[Valorale]

Round 4: Oath with Key-Vault combo

Game 1: I have a turn 1 Lotus, he FoW's my Goyf and I resolve a Qasali Pridemage.  I enlightened tutor on my upkeep for Null Rod and he's all but dead to the 3/3 beater and Null Rod combination.
Game 2: He runs out a turn 1 Oath with an Exotic Orchard, I don't have alot of action against that, I kept a hand with Pridemage and Thoughtseize.  He oaths out an Iona and only has 3 cards in his deck.  I could of flashed out a few Aven Mindcensors to fog him and deck him out, but he made the right call and named WHITE instead of Black. I've boarded out my Yawgmoth's Wills, because I didn't know exactly what he was playing, and lose this one.  /frown.
Game 3: He doesn't take the mulligan and pays for it when I T1 Thoughtseize.  I take his Voltaic Key and he is forced to pay for all his artifact mana for the rest of the game courtesy of Kataki.  The beatdown in this game is quick, I assume on the back on some Qasali Pridemage.

Dan think you got G3 mixed up with another person. In our game, I pulled a turn 2 Oath. You responded on your turn with a topdeck Thoughtseize which kills me FoW, you then spirit of cleansing the oath. After that I tried to timetwister in an effort to reduce the size of your Goyf, but that strat didnt last long as your draw 7 was better than mine.

I was running almost a mirror deck of Krauser, need to build a better sideboard. BTW the guy you split with is Charles.

[TommyMadProphet]

Thanks to everyone who came out to play some Vintage this weekend. We had twelve for the tournament and while it wasn't the turnout I was expecting we will definitely continue to support the format. We have a big charity event in November and I never schedule much of anything other than FNM in December so that leaves us at January for the next Vintage event. I'll be looking at what else is going on in January and try to make sure we don't conflict with other events.

Thanks again for coming out guys. I plan to build a deck that isn't 100% crap for the next tournament.

[AshThaReaper804]

Hi everybody, I attended this event as well and took my version of Bomberman.
Here's the List:

4 Trinket Mage
4 Auriok Salvagers
4 Silence
5 Moxen
Black Lotus
Lotus Petal
Mana Vault
Sol Ring
Ancestral Recall
Ponder
Brainstorm
4 Spell Pierce
3 Daze
2 Force of Will
Capsize
3 aether spell bomb

1 Tolaria West
1 Boseiju, Who Shelters All
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Misty Rainforest
4 Tundra
6 Island
6 Plains

My Results were pretty poor, 1/1 drop because I had to go to work. My first opponent was Merfolk, he put up a good game, I went 0 -2. Second match , Iona Oath Key combo. Game 2 I name Oath with a Pithing Needle, stupid play I know. Lost 2-0 to him.

Nice turnout for the store, more folks should come, The meta is not like a star city 5K or anything but it's a good random match most of the time it looked like. I saw some Fish Builds, 1 Welder, 1 Goyf, Merfolk, 2 Oath Vault, Knights???, and a guy who said next time Ichorid would show up

[meadbert]

There is a pretty good chance that I will show up with my brother and possibly some more to the next tourney.

We just had kids so we have been out for the past year or so but we are ready to start playing again.

[Valorale]

Nice turnout for the store, more folks should come, The meta is not like a star city 5K or anything but it's a good random match most of the time it looked like. I saw some Fish Builds, 1 Welder, 1 Goyf, Merfolk, 2 Oath Vault, Knights???, and a guy who said next time Ichorid would show up

It is a pretty diverse meta with maybe slightly higher number of beat decks. In addition there was a mono black Chains of Mephistopheles, GWB beat and Painter/Grindstone deck that I can remember off the top of my head. Didnt see any Ichorid, Storm, SCV, Staxx or Tribal.

Tommy, id love to see this tournament run every 6-8 weeks,