Help with UG selkie strike?

[serracollector]

Hello, my name is John Knight, and I am a "renewed" magic player, having quit shortly after Mirrodin, and now back.  I had heard about a t1 in Columbus Ohio, thanks to Smmenen, and decided to take a, commonly known as, selkie strike or fish deck.  My original decklist can be seen here: http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=39746.0 as the number 6 deck in top 8.  I quite surprised myself, for a few reasons:

1.  Not playing magic for like 5-6 years and making top 8.

2. Not playtesting much, maybe 5 games, on MWS and some against some random jank.

3. That I could still build a deck on my own that was competitive.

I promise I did not net deck, but I did like the idea of selkie/noble.  If I had netdecked my deck would of had white in it lol.

Anyways, I did well at the tournament, but some games, yes, I just got lucky.  I decided to tweak, and playtest a LOT more after the tournament, so I could try to "really" get back into Vintage.

This is my current and most recent build.

Land (24)
4 Misty Rainforest
3 island
1 forest
4 tropical Island
4 Breeding Pool
1 wasteland
1 strip mine
1 blue mox
1 green mox
1 black mox
1 mana crypt
1 lotus petal
1 black lotus

Critters(16)
4 Noble
4 Selkie
3 trygon predator
2 sower of tempt
3 Lorescale Coatl

Counter Back up (10)
4 Force of will
2 daze
3 spell pierce
1 Misdirection

Toys (10)
Ancestral Recall
Sylvan Library
Regrowth
Time Walk
Tinker
Inkwell Leviathan
Brainstorm
2 x Sword of Fire/Ice
1 x Umezawa's Jitte

Sideboard (15)
4 Pithing Needle (bazaar, welder, tezz, vampire hexmage)
2 Sower of Temptation (fish, random goyf/confidant aggro)
1 dominate (against fish with meddling mage, they mage for sower, I dominate EOT, costs same as sower for welders, and only 1 more for confidants, goyf, and UWG fish targets)
3 Nature's Claim (its a 1 mana disenchant, and can randomly save you from a rampant mana crypt    )
2 Energy Flux (stax is bad matchup unless I got first turn force/pierce/daze with something to back it up)
1 Misdirection (pyroblast, thoughtseize, ancestral)
2 Echoing Truth (2 goyfs or 2 magus 2 confidant etc, otherwise good bounce)

So there is the deck.  

Some cards I did not choose and why:

Thada....tested her, and most ppl were right, she's not all that.  I would rather have a trygon or selkie or fatty lorescale 99.9% of the time.

Favor of the Overbeing...this card was amazing in my other deck, but now I have no heretics, and Fire/ice can be reused, and tinkered.

Null Rod....bad synergy with equips, and I like my jewelry.
Cards I chose and why:

Sword of F/I and Jitte -  once again the meddling mage/extirptate thing.  This way I have 2 different pumpers/critter kill, I chose 2 SofI over 2 jitte simply cuz jitte is legendary.  Many a time have I double equipped SoFI ftw.

Sylvan Library - it's still a beast?  Against stax and Control, pay the 8 life, use it as your green Confidant, WHEN you want, also even if you put the cards back, the  draws count towards Lorescales growth (this is my latest understanding of this, if I am wrong someone correct me, but even then its amazing).  Also helps immensely when you steal a confidant with a Sower or Dominate.

Daze/Pierce - I am expecting to see a lot more stax in my meta with the release of Lodestone Golem.  These are to stop those first turn key plays such as Lodestone or Crucible/Tangle/Smokestack turn 1.  Along with the 4 forces etc.

So suggestions, comments idea's?  Also I would like to somehow fit another Trygon in the sideboard, but what to take out? 1 sower and go 3 sower 1 dominate?  Anyways, thanks for any help much appreciated, and wish me luck, hopefully we will have another t1 in March.  Til then I will continue testing.

[madmanmike25]

Run Mystical Tutor.  Finding Time Walk is important in these types of decks.  Or finding Recall or protection or Tinker, yeah its too good not to run.  For those random times ink is in your hand, finding Brainstorm is good too.

Ponder?

Sword seems a bit expensive here, but if you are consistently able to use it rock on.  Just peeking at the list I would say that MyTutor and Ponder could go in those slots since both those cards are good on their own and do not require any other stipulations.  I like Jitte and Selkie, i think that the fact that it costs 1 less than Swords to cast and equip makes a surprisingly huge difference.

Good luck,
Mike

[honestabe]

I tried Sylvan library in the Grow list and didn't like it a bit.  I'd suggest cutting it for a 2nd misdirection.  Tutoring for Recall is more common now than ever and misdirecting it is the bee's knees

[serracollector]

ty for the replies. 

Sword is not going anywhere atm.  When on selkie it reads "draw 4 cards, kill target confidant/welder/fish target, oh and I can't be bolted, REB'd, or blocked by welders, mages, and fish", for the same equip cost as jitte.
Plus it works well as the deck plays, think very common mox, land, or land, noble, or mox land noble.  Sword is why I decided to go with Mana Crypt and the extra Mox.  Also remember you can tinker for it.  I once tinkered for the 2nd Sword instead of Leviathan, equipping it to a selkie and swinging for 11 with some nobles and the fire abilities.

Sylvan Library is a keeper also.  I don't look at it as a "sensei's diving top for free" like most would think, its more of a green confidant, or 2 ancestrals.  Against the majority of tezz decks and Shop and Oath, their damage sources are usualy far and few between, so I will gladly sack the 8 life for the Ancestral.  Once I take control it doesn't matter if I have 1 life.  Also its just ridiculous with Lorescale.  I am starting to love when ppl go first turn Goyf and I go first turn Lorescale.  Lets see who's get the biggest lol.

Mystical tutor is a good idea.  Ponder I am not too keen on, with Confidant I totally understand, but I would rather just have an answer in it's place, like spell pierce.  But what to drop for a mystical?  The one random mox? Sometimes it has done wonders.  I don't know.