Next Level Vintage: November Edition

[shrewarmies]

One week after champs and people down under are excited to get their Vintage back on. We have had a couple of poor months (with good reason though) but bounced back to a record equaling 14 players last Sunday (10/11/13). We had a couple of new players but the room was mostly armed to the teeth with their latest lists ready to battle it out for a Shiny new Commander deck of the players choice (e.g. Grixis).

With 4 rounds and a cut to top 4, there was plenty of Vintage to be had. Most people also stayed around for games of Vintage and Australian Rules Highlander till quite late in the evening.

The final standings were:

1) James "Jimbo" Dowing - URg GushStill
2) Zac Crowley - Lab Man Dredge
3) Andy Horne - Golden Gun Oath
4) Zac Crowley - RG Belcher

5) Joshua Butler - TPS
6) Luke McCandless - Metalworker Shops
7) Graham King - Minus Six
8) Sack Williams - "Get outta ma way" Cat Stax
9) Daniel Spivak - Speed Dredge
10) Christine May - BUG Fish
11) Tim Dophin - Golden Gun Oath
12) Chris Bourke - UR Storm
13) Zacc Brandt - RUG Delver
14) Brett Hughes - Grixis Control

In our top 4

James "Jimbo" Dowling (URg GushStill) defeated Andy Horne (GG Oath) 2-0

Zac Crowley (Lab Man Dredge) Defeated Tye Soens (RG Belcher) 2-0

And in our finals

James "Jimbo" Dowling (URg Gushstill) Defeated Zac Crowley (Lab Man Dredge) 2 - 0

Decklists

1) James "Jimbo" Dowling - URg Gushstill

Lands (24)
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Wasteland
3 Volcanic Island
2 Tropical Island
2 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Mountain
1 Barbarian Ring
1 Strip Mine

Artifacts (4)
2 Engineered Explosives
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus

Creatures (3)
1 Gorillla Shaman
2 Snapcaster Mage

Enchantments (5)
1 Fastbond
4 Standstill

Planeswalkers (4)
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Instants (21)
4 Force of Will
3 Gush
3 Mana Drain
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Ancestral Recall
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Spell Pierce
1 Flusterstorm
2 Spell Snare
2 Steel Sabotage

Sideboard (15)
4 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Flusterstorm
1 Dismember
1 Firespout
1 Surgical Extraction
3 Ingot Chewer
1 Pyroblast
1 Mental Misstep
1 Tormod's Crypt

2) Zac Crowley - Lab Man Dredge
Lands (10)
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
4 Dakmoor Salvage
4 City of Brass
1 Riftstone Portal
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth

Artifacts (7)
4 Serum Powder
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet

Creatures (23)
4 Bloodghast
4 Narcomoeba
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
2 Fatestitcher
2 Laboratory Maniac
2 Griselbrand
1 Sun Titian

Enchantment (2)
2 Bridge from Below

Sorceries (7)
4 Dread Return
3 Cabal Therapy

Instants (7)
2 Darkblast
4 Mental Misstep
1 Ancestral Recall

Sideboard (15)
4 Cavern of Souls
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
4 Divining Witch
4 Mayor of Avabruck
1 Dark Confidant
1 Vampiric Tutor


3) Andy Horne - Golden Gun Oath
Lands (16)
4 Forbidden Orchard
2 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
2 Island
2 Polluted Delta
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Flooded Strand
1 Tolarian Academy

Artifacts ()
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt

1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Voltaic Key
1 Time Vault

Creatures (2)
1 Emrakul, the Æons Torn
1 Blightsteel Colossus

Enchantments (5)
4 Oath of Druids
1 Dragon's Breath

Planeswalkers (2)
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Sorceries (7)
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Show and Tell
1 Tinker
1 Time Walk
1 Thoughtseize
1 Ponder

Instants (16)
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Vampiric Tutor
4 Force of Will
1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
3 Mental Misstep
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Swan Song
1 Steel Sabotage
1 Flusterstorm

4) Tye Soens - RG Belcher
Lands (1)
1 Taiga

Artifacts (21)
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt
1 Lion's Eye Diamond
1 Sol Ring
1 Lotus Petal
1 Chrome Mox

4 Goblin Charbelcher
4 Chromatic Star
1 Memory Jar

Creatures (12)
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
4 Simian Spirit Guide
4 Tinder Wall

Sorceries (22)
4 Rite of Flame
3 Seething Song
4 Land Grant
4 Gitaxian Probe
4 Empty the Warrens
1 Channel
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Living Wish

Instants (4)
4 Pyroblast


Sideboard (15)
1 Blood Moon
1 Bazaar of baghdad
2 Ancient Grudge
2 Shattering Spree
1 Taiga
1 Stingscourger
1 Tin Street Hooligan
4 Xantid Swarm
2 Jace, thew Mind Sculptor

Thanks to everyone who came along. It was awesome to see  us reach our record of 14 players. Lets keep going and break it next month.

EDIT: Lists updated

[ecky]

I'd like to note that my sideboard was literally the best 15 cards I could find in my folder in the 5 minutes I had before the event started - I was borrowing the deck from Josh and he hadn't put a sideboard together for it.

The tournament was great fun, looking forward to hopefully seeing the photos taken of the Top 4 uploaded as there was definitely some crazy board states!

[Ten-Ten]

Any chance we can get the TPS and UR Storm lists?

[shrewarmies]

I do not have the U/R Storm deck but I will try and source it for you. It was a very modern-esque port with Goblin Electromancer, Manamorphose and cheap draw spells.

I was running 75/75 of Reid Duke's TPS deck from champs. As it was only a week after champs I figured it was better just running with it rather than trying to test any changes I would have made.

[Ten-Ten]

Cool, thank you.

Would you run Reid's version agian or just another list completely?

Thanks again

[The Atog Lord]

Thanks for posting these decklists, shrewarmies.

Congrats on the win, James. I just want to point out that the deck looks really cool. Gush and Standstill are two very powerful draw engines, and seeing them combined together looks like a lot of fun. James, did you find that the Factories and Wastelands made being able to cast Gush difficult?

[ecky]

Thanks for posting these decklists, shrewarmies.

Congrats on the win, James. I just want to point out that the deck looks really cool. Gush and Standstill are two very powerful draw engines, and seeing them combined together looks like a lot of fun. James, did you find that the Factories and Wastelands made being able to cast Gush difficult?

Thanks, it was a refreshing change from my usual style of decks
I actually mentioned a couple of times during the day that Mana Drain was difficult to cast in the deck - Gush I guess falls into the same category. It's a minor issue most of the time, just a matter of sequencing your land drops and deciding between holding up Gush/Drain, or getting the Factory beats in a turn earlier.
The lack of Crucible was noticeable too - I'd probably change the Gorilla Shaman to a Crucible at least, or change out the Barbarian Ring to another Island of some variety.

[shrewarmies]

Sorry ten ten. I totally missed your reply.


I would run Reids lists again but possibly changing some things. It played out quite well for me on the day. I had a round 1 loss to shops which could have easily been turned around in both game 1 and 2 where I l was looking for a non artifact mana source and just didnt hit it in time. Game 2 I had 4 active draws to get a lethal hurkyls off but Karn Exiled a land a turn faster than I could draw land #2.

Round 2 I was paired against the U/r storm player and easily took 2 games. I was dead to a bolt in game 2 but managed to dodge that bullet.

Round 3 I was paired vs Bug Fish and had 3 epic games which unfortunately ended in a tie. Game 1 I took pretty quickly with a duress into combo. Game 2 I set off an early Necro and chose the tinker -BSC line through 2 uresses and a misstep but unfortunately my opponent ripped the dt for snapcaster for SS. I couldbt crawl back into it. Game 3 was sick. The game was:

Imperial seal meets flusterstorm
DT Meets spell pierce
Wheel meets flusterstorm
Vt finally resolves  after a turn and I get tinker but she lands lilliana so BSC is out of the equasion. I am forced with a couple of lines but I know her hand was empty so I tinker for lotus, play grim tutor and get will knowing that I just lose to any counterspell or snapcaster as I can only go off next turn. She doesnt draw it and I will , tinker for lotus Petal (for R) and land 12 goblins. But between multiple lillianas and creatures she is left on 2 to my 6 goblins when turns are up. It was epic but that was the dagger for my top 4 hopes.

Round 4 I won 2-1 vs oath. Not much happebed except his deck exploding

The deck was odd. It's either running 1 too many or 2-3 too few lands. I think  the number of probes is too high also and should probably be a 1-2 of with better cantrips taking that slot... maybe. i have been working on a slightly different list but I am on my phone so that is in the too hard basket for now.