Can you build anything competitive out of Time Vault + non-power?

[Holmes]

Hello all,

as much as I like vintage, I find playing it without actual vintage cards a waste of a good game. That has kept me away from the format for the past years and basically playing legacy exclusively. As I now have acquired a Time Vault, I'd like to finally craft something competitive for the format.

Is there a way to build a competitive deck around Time Vault only? I have no power nor semi-power, not even Mana Drains, only Time Vault. Everything else imaginable I pretty much own, though. Some sort of Fish with Vault-Key? Or am I doomed to play Null Rods in order to have a fighting chance?

Looking forward for you insight regarding the matter!

[xouman]

I have thought in the past about this and found 2 options:

-UR with intuitions and welders. Not sure if it would be better than a Painters deck, but quite similar at least.

-Monoblack, with 4 confidants and lots of tutors. And some divining tops and keys (work as draw engine)


Neither seems solid, but could work with some work and luck

[ed0]

with semi-power you mean stuff on the restricted list / that is banned in legacy?
Like Tinker, Yawg, Demo Tutor, Vamp Tutor, Gush, ...

i don't think there is a deck, build around time vault, that would not benefit from the power eight.

but i could totally see a creative build working within limits - with jaces, tops, delvers and B (confis + tutors) or G (cobras + gush/bond)
you might even be able to squeeze in temporal mastery if you have so much topdeck manipulation.

[Holmes]

with semi-power you mean stuff on the restricted list / that is banned in legacy?

Workshops, Bazaars and Drains. Aren't those usually referred to as semi-power?

I'd love to try some Oath build. I guess it's just hard work waiting to be done.

[xouman]

I have heard that long time ago Oath was a common unpowered deck. I wasn't playing vintage then, but IIRC it featured chalices and even root mazes. However I won't squeeze time vault in a non-powered oath deck...

[Twaun007]

If you don't have access to any of the Power 9, you could always use Elvish Spirit Guides to help power out your Oath of Druids.

Plus, 3 ESG's, a land, and vault key, in your opener could equate to a turn 1 win.

[median]

If you don't have access to any of the Power 9, you could always use Elvish Spirit Guides to help power out your Oath of Druids.

Plus, 3 ESG's, a land, and vault key, in your opener could equate to a turn 1 win.

ESG is a creature, not good for oath LOL.

[vaughnbros]

Hello all,

as much as I like vintage, I find playing it without actual vintage cards a waste of a good game. That has kept me away from the format for the past years and basically playing legacy exclusively. As I now have acquired a Time Vault, I'd like to finally craft something competitive for the format.

Is there a way to build a competitive deck around Time Vault only? I have no power nor semi-power, not even Mana Drains, only Time Vault. Everything else imaginable I pretty much own, though. Some sort of Fish with Vault-Key? Or am I doomed to play Null Rods in order to have a fighting chance?

Looking forward for you insight regarding the matter!

I don't know if its possible to have a fully optimal list that doesnt use power and focuses on time vault.  The most optimal unpowered deck lists are usually going to be using Bazaar or Null Rod/Stoney Silence or Chalice of the Void.

Since you wont have Ancestral or Time Walk or good access to tinker, without moxen, I wouldn't suggest playing blue in such a list.  That means your going to need to play black in order to tutor the pieces of vault/key.  Maybe something along the lines of Dark Times with vault/key as one of your win cons.

with semi-power you mean stuff on the restricted list / that is banned in legacy?

Workshops, Bazaars and Drains. Aren't those usually referred to as semi-power?

I'd love to try some Oath build. I guess it's just hard work waiting to be done.

If you want to play oath the ritual versions are very good and dont absolutely require power in them although they do benefit from them.

[meadbert]

I have the following old decklist lying around.  (Actually I have this deck sleeved up too)

4 Forbidden Orchard
4 City Of Brass
4 Gemstone Mine
1 Barbarian Ring
1 Nomad Stadium
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
4 Ancient Tomb -> Replace one of these with Mishra's Factory
1 Black Lotus -> Make this a second Factory
4 Crucible Of Worlds
4 Null Rod ->Make these 1 Vault + 3 Key
1 Blightsteel Colossus
2 Dragon Breath
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Time Walk -> Make me a Grafdigger's Cage
4 Intuition
1 Ancestral Recall -> Replace with Brainstorm
4 Oath Of Druids
1 Fastbond
1 Regrowth
1 Memory's Journey
4 Argivian Find
4 Enlightened Tutor



Basically you have a ton of tutors to get Oath out or Vault/Key out or Fastbond/Crucible or get Dragon's Breath when you Oath.

In case it is not obvious, with Fastbond + Crucible out and then Strip + Stadium in yard you get infinite life.
Add Barbarian Ring and you do infinite damage. 
Add 2 Factories and you can make an infinite/infinite size Assembly Worker.

This means that if your first Oath activation fizzles or Blightsteel is in your hand, you can use your Oath activation to empty your library.
Then use Memory's Journey to put either Fastbond, Crucible or both in your library and win this turn or next turn.

The weakness of this deck is the lack of disruption.  Even with a full set of Rods, it was weak in the disruption department, but with the Vault/Key combo subbed in it only gets worse.


Along with the combos Enlightened Tutor and Intuition can find Dragon's Breath.  Basically you can ET just before you Oath to guarantee you get a Dragon Breath in the yard.  Also you can Intuition for 2 Dragon Breath and at least one will end up in the yard.

Also, if you are running maindeck Vault/Key, then adding a token Grafdigger's Cage seems really good.  It does shut off your own Oath, but you can win without Oath and having one main deck cage will make a huge difference vs dredge.

[Blue Lotus]

Someone placed with a sweet merfolk deck that could go off with Merrow Reejeery + time vault a while back. I would 100% play that.

[vaughnbros]

Someone placed with a sweet merfolk deck that could go off with Merrow Reejeery + time vault a while back. I would 100% play that.

Along those lines you could also try pestermite/deciever exarch and splinter twin/kikki-jikki  since that was a pretty powerful deck in other formats and with time vault you can grab extra turns with the twiddle creatures.

[A.-1.]

At the last tourney in Clarks Summit, Beaver was running Splinter Twin combo. Even fully powered, I think he only killed someone once with it all day.

To answer the OP, meadbert's list looks like a lot fun. You'd probably need to cut Imperial Seal though if money is the issue.

[TheWhiteDragon]

Merfolk with 4 caverns and a playset of Reejerey seems just fine and a solid option in a metagame.  Yyou could easily support 4x chalice in such a build and still go nuts with your time vault.  I think this would be a good deck to play, even without the time vault - but it's even better with it.

[AmbivalentDuck]

If you can get a Black Lotus (and an Ancestral), Doomsday suffers relatively little for losing Moxen. The loss of Ancestral is survivable, but it's VERY VERY good.