GenCon Top8 with commentary from Knut

[Moxlotus]

(I added bolded stuff, noteworthy material)

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=mtgevent/vintage05/welcome

Top 8 Decklists
   
 Brian Demars - Control Slaver
2005 Vintage Championship
 
 
Main Deck
60 cards  Sideboard
1  Tolarian Academy
2  Flooded Strand
2  Polluted Delta
4  Volcanic Island
2  Underground Sea
1  Darksteel Citadel
4  Island

1  Gorilla Shaman
4  Goblin Welder
1  Triskelion
1  Pentavus
2  Mindslaver
4  Force of Will
4  Thirst for Knowledge
4  Mana Drain
4  Brainstorm
1  Ancestral Recall
1  Time Walk
1  Tinker
1  Yawgmoth's Will
1  Demonic Tutor
1  Fact or Fiction
1  Echoing Truth
1  Fire/Ice
1  Mystical Tutor
1  Rack and Ruin
1  Mox Sapphire
1  Mox Pearl
1  Mox Emerald
1  Mox Ruby
1  Mox Jet
1  Black Lotus
1  Sol Ring
1  Mana Vault
1  Mana Crypt

SB:
1  Lava Dart
1  Rack and Ruin
1  Gorilla Shaman
1  Echoing Truth
3  Red Elemental Blast
2  Tormod's Crypt
2  Pyroclasm
2  Blue Elemental Blast
2  Stifle
   

   
 Roland Chang - Stax
2005 Vintage Championship Top 8
 
 
Main Deck
60 cards  Sideboard
1  Barbarian Ring
1  Strip Mine
1  Tolarian Academy
3  Gemstone Mine
4  City of Brass
4  Mishra's Workshop
4  Wasteland

1  Karn, Silver Golem
1  Triskelion
1  Sundering Titan
1  Gorilla Shaman
4  Goblin Welder

1  Mox Sapphire
1  Mox Pearl
1  Mox Emerald
1  Mox Ruby
1  Mox Jet
1  Black Lotus
1  Mana Crypt
1  Mana Vault
1  Sol Ring
3  Sphere of Resistance
3  Crucible of Worlds
1  Trinisphere
4  Tangle Wire
4  Smokestack
1  Vampiric Tutor
1  Demonic Tutor
1  Ancestral Recall
1  Tinker
3  Thirst for Knowledge
1  Crop Rotation
1  Swords to Plowshares
1  Balance

SB:
3  Chalice of the Void
2  Choke
1  Jester's Cap
3  Red Elemental Blast
2  Seal of Cleansing
2  Tormod's Crypt
2  Viashino Heretic

   
 Joshua Frankelin – Three-Color Psychatog
2005 Vintage Championship Top 8
 
 
Main Deck
60 cards  Sideboard
4  Underground Sea
4  Island
4  Tropical Island
4  Polluted Delta
1  Swamp
1  Flooded Strand

3  Psychatog

1  Mox Sapphire
1  Mox Pearl
1  Mox Emerald
1  Mox Ruby
1  Mox Jet
1  Black Lotus
1  Mana Crypt
4  Brainstorm
4  Force of Will
4  Mana Drain
4  Merchant Scroll
4  Accumulated Knowledge
2  Cunning Wish
2  Intuition
1  Echoing Truth
1  Mystical Tutor
1  Demonic Tutor
1  Gush
1  Ancestral Recall
1  Fact or Fiction
1  Time Walk
1  Yawgmoth's Will

SB:
2  Naturalize
2  Pernicious Deed
2  Ground Seal
2  Energy Flux
3  Duress
1  Blue Elemental Blast
1  Hurkyl's Recall
1  Berserk
1  Skeletal Scrying

   
 Matt Endress – Oath of Druids
2005 Vintage Championship Top 8
 
 
Main Deck
60 cards  Sideboard
3  Polluted Delta
1  Flooded Strand
1  Underground Sea
1  Tropical Island
2  Island
4  Forbidden Orchard
4  Wasteland
2  City of Brass
1  Strip Mine

1  Akroma, Angel of Wrath
1  Spirit of the Night

0  Mana Drain
0  Mana Leak
4  Brainstorm
4  Force of Will
3  Impulse
3  Thirst for Knowledge
1  Rushing River
1  Ancestral Recall
1  Mystical Tutor
1  Time Walk
4  Oath of Druids
4  Duress
1  Vampiric Tutor
1  Demonic Tutor
4  Chalice of the Void
1  Gaea's Blessing
1  Mox Sapphire
1  Mox Pearl
1  Mox Emerald
1  Mox Ruby
1  Mox Jet
1  Black Lotus

SB:
2  Triskelion
2  Ground Seal
2  Choke
4  Oxidize
1  Hurkyl's Recall
1  Rushing River
1  Balance
1  Tinker
1  Darksteel Colossus

   
 Kurt Walli - Controlicore
2005 Vintage Championship Top 8
 
 
Main Deck
60 cards  Sideboard
1  Tolarian Academy
1  Strip Mine
3  Bloodstained Mire
4  Polluted Delta
4  Underground Sea
4  Volcanic Island
0  Island

1  Platinum Angel
3  Masticore
4  Goblin Welder

1  Mind Twist
1  Mana Vault
1  Demonic Tutor
1  Black Lotus
1  Mana Crypt
1  Sol Ring
1  Mox Sapphire
1  Fact or Fiction
1  Ancestral Recall
1  Mox Jet
1  Mox Emerald
1  Mox Pearl
1  Mindslaver
1  Mox Ruby
1  Lotus Petal
1  Time Walk
1  Tinker
1  Yawgmoth's Will
1  Memory Jar
4  Thirst for Knowledge
4  Brainstorm
4  Mana Drain
4  Force of Will

SB:
3  Rushing River
4  Wasteland
4  Red Elemental Blast
4  Rack and Ruin 
   

   
 Hale Simon – Dragon Combo
2005 Vintage Championship Top 8
 
 
Main Deck
60 cards  Sideboard
4  Bazaar of Baghdad
3  City of Brass
4  Forbidden Orchard
4  Gemstone Mine
2  Glimmervoid

4  Worldgorger Dragon
3  Xantid Swarm
1  Sliver Queen
4  Squee, Goblin Nabob
1  Shivan Hellkite

4  Force of Will
3  Intuition
3  Animate Dead
3  Necromancy
3  Lim-Dul's Vault
2  Compulsion
1  Echoing Truth
1  Demonic Tutor
1  Vampiric Tutor
1  Ancestral Recall
1  Mox Sapphire
1  Mox Pearl
1  Mox Emerald
1  Mox Ruby
1  Mox Jet
1  Black Lotus
1  Sol Ring
1  Mana Crypt

SB:
3  Null Rod
2  Verdant Force
2  Pernicious Deed
2  Ray of Revelation
2  Swords to Plowshares
2  Rack and Ruin
2  Sacred Ground



   
 Ashok Chitturi - Stax
2005 Vintage Championship Top 8
 
 
Main Deck
60 cards  Sideboard
1  Barbarian Ring
1  Tolarian Academy
1  Strip Mine
4  Wasteland
4  Gemstone Mine
4  Mishra's Workshop
4  City of Brass


2  Gorilla Shaman
2  Goblin Welder
1  Triskelion
1  Karn, Silver Golem

4  Smokestack
3  Sphere of Resistance
3  Crucible of Worlds
3  Chalice of the Void
1  Trinisphere
2  Seal of Cleansing
1  Yawgmoth's Will
1  Balance
1  Ancestral Recall
1  Tinker
1  Demonic Tutor
1  VampiricTutor
1  Crop Rotation
1  Nether Void
1  Engineered Explosives
1  Mox Sapphire
1  Mox Diamond
1  Mox Pearl
1  Mox Emerald
1  Mox Ruby
1  Mox Jet
1  Black Lotus
1  Sol Ring
1  Mana Vault
1  Mana Crypt
0  Chains of Meph
0  In the Eye of Chaos

SB:
2  Choke
2  In the Eye of Chaos
2  Seal of Cleansing
2  Red Elemental Blast
2  Viashino Heretic
2  Ground Seal
2  Old Man of the Sea
1  Hurkyl's Recall

   
 Andrew Probasco - Gifts Control
2005 Vintage Championship Top 8
 
 
Main Deck
60 cards  Sideboard
2  Underground Sea
1  Tolarian Academy
2  Polluted Delta
2  Flooded Strand
2  Volcanic Island
1  Library of Alexandria
2  Island
1  Snow-Covered Island
1  Tundra

1  Darksteel Colossus

4  Mana Drain
4  Force of Will
4  Brainstorm
1  Yawgmoth's Will
1  Time Walk
1  Ancestral Recall
1  Demonic Tutor
1  Mystical Tutor
1  Recoup
1  Burning Wish
4  Thirst for Knowledge
2  Merchant Scroll
1  Engineered Explosives
2  Gifts Ungiven
2  Duress
2  Pithing Needle
1  Goblin Charbelcher
1  Tinker
1  Fact or Fiction
1  Mox Sapphire
1  Mox Pearl
1  Mox Emerald
1  Mox Ruby
1  Mox Jet
1  Black Lotus
1  Mana Crypt
1  Sol Ring
1  Mana Vault
1  Lotus Petal
0  Mana Severance

SB:
1  Mana Severance
2  Red Elemental Blast
1  Pyroblast
1  Rack and Ruin
2  Pyroclasm
1  Hurkyl's Recall
3  Sacred Ground
1  Engineered Explosives
1  Rushing River
1  Duress
1  Balance[/b

[islanderboi10]

I read that article. I'd like to congradulate Chang on his win!! CONGRATS DUDE!!!

Also, the decklists have some odd choices. Oath w/o drains?? Controlicore? Do you think that the meta is changing again?

That Controlicore is an odd deck idea...I like it.

[Moxlotus]

If you think about it, Oath without Drains shouldn't be that much of a surprise.  The last time an Oath deck made top 8 at a large event(according to deck database at SCG) was the SCG Richmond in '04, when it took half the slots.  Since then, Oath hasn't performed-it needed to change with the environment.

[Purple Hat]

it kinda sucks how little coverage they give our "world championships" given the support for other formats.  then again, this was mostly the "people who went to gencon" championships anyway.

Hale

[Disburden]

it kinda sucks how little coverage they give our "world championships" given the support for other formats.  then again, this was mostly the "people who went to gencon" championships anyway.

Hale

 A total lack of video coverage was rather dissapointing.

[kirdape3]

It's half as big as a Grand Prix, and those don't get much better coverage.  Chill out, 'foos.

[Komatteru]

It's half as big as a Grand Prix, and those don't get much better coverage.  Chill out, 'foos.

More like one third.  Maybe even one fourth.

[PacmanXSA]

It's half as big as a Grand Prix, and those don't get much better coverage.  Chill out, 'foos.

More like one third.  Maybe even one fourth.

Even still, the community is growing and everyone knows that GenCon was a blast

Pac

[Purple Hat]

if they're gonna persist in calling it the world championships, then they should treat it as such. and that means significantly more coverage.

[Disburden]

I'm not complaining, all I'm saying is that if Wizards can afford to stay in business and support all these events, make more cards, etc; then they can have video cameras tape the "Vintage World Championship". They've done it before with other events, why can't we get ours?

[coop]

Because vintage is a small part of the magic community that wizards doesn't profit much from, and the event was much smaller than any other event that recieved coverage,

[prosbloom225]

Its been said before, wizards barely gives a damn about vintage.  But what is suprising is that they didn't cover the legacy tournaments more.  They have said that they are going to support legacy more, but when there are large sanctioned tournaments that they are holding they don't give much coverage to it.  I'm not a legacy player but the lack of coverage for the legacy portions were interesting.

[Klep]

Its been said before, wizards barely gives a damn about vintage.  But what is suprising is that they didn't cover the legacy tournaments more.  They have said that they are going to support legacy more, but when there are large sanctioned tournaments that they are holding they don't give much coverage to it.  I'm not a legacy player but the lack of coverage for the legacy portions were interesting.

The big Legacy event got coverage period.  That is more than what it's gotten in the past.  You can bet there will be full event coverage at the two Legacy GP's as well.

[forests failed you]

I thought Wizards did a fine job.  The event was run really well for the most part, and it got an article on the Wizards page.  If you really think about it, the Vintage community is kind of a small sect of the overall MTG populous and it is cool that Wizards continued to do the sweet painting prize and everything. 

The only thing that kind of bummed me out about the whole Vintage worlds was that the playing out of the top eight was kind of scrubby.  Last year they had special tables with table cloths set up, and it looked much more professional.  this year it was kind of like, sit down and play.  Also, there was less match coverage than last year.  But, in general it was a blast to play in, and it is cool to see they had a nice write up about it on the homepage.

[doylehancock]

it kinda sucks how little coverage they give our "world championships" given the support for other formats.  then again, this was mostly the "people who went to gencon" championships anyway.

Hale

 A total lack of video coverage was rather dissapointing.

I agree with you both.

Another thing, I wish Knut would have had more of an indepth tourney report.  It seemed very short and I was hoping for a big ass one.

They should have had pictures of the finals, videos, and other great stuff.

Oh well it just further proves Wizards couldn't care less about type 1.

[Dozer]

Another thing, I wish Knut would have had more of an indepth tourney report.  It seemed very short and I was hoping for a big ass one.

They should have had pictures of the finals, videos, and other great stuff.

Oh well it just further proves Wizards couldn't care less about type 1.

As I see it, Knut covered Vintage and Zvi covered Legacy (while even playing). If, as I suspect, both of these were single-person coverages, they did more than you could ever expect. After my Nationals experience, I know how hard it is to do single-man coverage, and I salute Knut for what he has done.

If you want more detailed coverage, you need more people. Also, look at all the reports we got here on TMD, which add a lot to the official coverage.

Dozer

[jpmeyer]

As I see it, Knut covered Vintage and Zvi covered Legacy (while even playing). If, as I suspect, both of these were single-person coverages, they did more than you could ever expect. After my Nationals experience, I know how hard it is to do single-man coverage, and I salute Knut for what he has done.

If you want more detailed coverage, you need more people. Also, look at all the reports we got here on TMD, which add a lot to the official coverage.

Dozer

For SCG's coverage, we usually have three people.  You can't do any kind of realtime coverage with just one person, and moreso if people want things like video coverage or decklists.

[Purple Hat]

I thought for 1 person coverage it was great...but why was it only 1 person coverage?

also, about pictures: they definately took our pictures for top 8 and in game pictures for top 4, so those should be around somewhere.

Hale

[ReAnimator]

Some Regionals and Champs get well over 150 people and some as much as 300+

Some PTQ's have over 100 people in them.

Even a lot of the really big European Grand Prix's with 1000's of people dont get anything more than single person Blog coverage.

I think its a little greedy to expect anything more than what we got considering that this isnt really the World Championships so much as the GenCon Champs with 1 cool prize and otherwise OK prize support.
Also think about how much money and time Wizards puts in to all their other things happening at GenCon its just nice that they are doing this on top of all the other things they do.

StarCity puts in A++ effort because it wants thier next events to be well attended and to drum up hype ect. (which is a very cool thing that we are fortunate to have.)

[sampling_percus]

More like one third.  Maybe even one fourth.

I reckon about a quarter..........sorry