Enlightened Tutor in Vintage

[hitman]

It appears that, to ensure consistent levels of success, players should be playing Tezzeret, TPS or Ichorid.  I was talking with a friend tonight about Ichorid in Vintage and he seemed to hold the opinion that something should be done about the deck because it limits "fringe" decks from being viable in the format.  His idea was a component of Ichorid should be restricted.  In general, I oppose restrictions and voiced my opinion that this was both unnecessary and unfair to the deck. 

Our discussion then turned to the restricted list where the subject of Enlightened Tutor came up.  After thinking about the card for a while, I thought it could be strong right now because it can be used to attack all three of the aforementioned decks relevantly and early enough to matter.  Could this card be used in a 3-Color Control deck (UBW)?  Would it be unreasonable to lobby to have this card unrestricted?  Comparatively speaking, Enlightened Tutor isn't more abusable than any other engine in Vintage but it does give a real control deck the flexibility to interact with the top tier and fringe decks in a relevant way.  Some cards that could be used in conjunction with Enlightened Tutor include Tormod's Crypt/Relic of Progenitus, Pithing Needle, Chalice of the Void, Counterbalance/Sensei's Diving Top, Moat for Fish-style decks, Engineered Explosives, Energy Flux for Workshop decks, Sphere of Resistance out of the board for combo, Seal of Cleansing for Oath, Planar Void for Ichorid, etc. 

I've been thinking that if Enlightened Tutor was unrestricted, it could be used as a two-of with a silver bullet package in the main and synergy with cards in the board.  Counterbalance/Sensei's Diving Top as a two-of doesn't clutter early-game hands but can lead to blowouts in the mid-game against TPS and even Tezzeret.  A singleton Moat can simply destroy Fish and singleton Tormod's Crypt becomes much more reliable with a couple Enlightened Tutors in the mainboard. 

The format has gotten kind of stale to me because it seems like the same old matchups are all that keep seeing play and for good reason.  The three top dogs seem to really encapsulate Vintage in general right now and everything else is just trying to keep up with them.  I know I'll get flack for saying that but it honestly seems to be the case.  People are always whining about restricting one card or another or cleaning up cards on the restricted list that no one would play with in a million years.  I think lobbying for the unrestriction of Enlightened Tutor could add a viable control strategy to the format and shake it up in some ways unforeseen but not ridiculously. 

I want to play against a new deck that's viable in Vintage.  A handful of decks that you can rely on to win a tournament with isn't enough to keep my interest.  Let me know what you guys think. 

Also, I just want to point out that I don't think that Vintage is too broken or needs more restrictions.  Please don't add comments about restricting any cards.  Restrictions in Vintage right now are ridiculous.  This thread is about Enlightened Tutor and whether its unrestriction could add a healthy element to the format.  Thanks for reading this post and any insights you may have.

[BruiZar]

I think the best silver bullet in an environment with 4x enlightened tutor would be voltaic key time vault.

[hitman]

I thought of that but realized that Enlightened Tutor isn't better than anything already in Tezzeret lists.  What would you cut for a card that only tutors your combo in Tezzeret decks?  That's not how Tezzeret decks function.  If someone came up with a dedicated Time Vault/Voltaic Key combo deck, I could see potential problems but winning against TPS and Tezzeret with a card disadvantage engine doesn't seem hot. 

I'm more interested in opening up the top tier.  I think unrestricted Enlightened Tutor may help to do that.  Even if it did spawn a good Time Vault/Voltaic Key combo deck, would that be bad?  Would it be better than TPS?  I think the flexibility the tutor could offer a 3 Color Control deck would offset most drawbacks to an unrestriction. 

[Dr.KnowMaD]

I agree with where your coming from on this, and I think it should at least be discussed.

I haven't mulled it over enough, though having a fairly consistent second turn fastbond or 3sphere could prove to be a pain in the.. or at least for others. 

I believe that a few groups have tried a bunch of 4x unrestricted cards to see what would happen.  I do not remember all the results but I will be interested in what comes about.


later,
Dr.KnowMaD

[TopSecret]

I think that much consistency added to a dedicated Time Vault/Key deck
could potentially make a non-interactive, goldfishing machine.
Key isn't even restricted either, so you could have:

4 Keys

4 Enlightened Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Tinker

1 Time Vault

That's only listing the better tutors. I didn't list specialized stuff like Transmute Artifact... etc.
I don't know if such a deck would be broken, but it's definitely something to consider.

[Akuma]

I'm positive Enlightened Tutor could be unrestricted. I just don't think it is strong enough to cause any problems in Vintage. Although there are a lot of good things it could get (Necropotence, Black Lotus), it would not create any unfairness. The fact that it is WHITE means it would be just fine.

[hitman]

Yeah, I definitely think it would be safe to take off.  I initially thought it shouldn't when the subject came up but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of unrestriction. 

The thing is, since the restriction of Brainstorm and, to a much lesser degree, Ponder, decks have lost an element of consistency.  They've made up for it in various ways but against the top tier, it's generally not enough.  Decks have to be so focused at beating a particular strategy that they just lose to other prominent decks in the format, like Ichorid.  I think Enlightened Tutor can enable decks to interact with the top tier and not be forced into a narrow strategy that loses to other strategies it can't reasonably prepare for.  For instance, a fringe deck like Mono-Blue has the potential to beat up on TPS and Tezzeret but will probably be forced to punt to Ichorid.  Adding a level of consistency with Enlightened Tutor may open up another dimension to the metagame.  My thinking is geared toward a 3-Color Control deck but due to the nature of tutors, I'm sure there are several interactions that could see play. 

I think that much consistency added to a dedicated Time Vault/Key deck could potentially make a non-interactive, goldfishing machine.

In a format where Null Rod is as powerful as it is, I doubt Time Vault/Voltaic Key would dominate the format.  The reason Tezzeret decks are so successful now is because a great deal of consistency for competing strategies was removed with the restriction of Brainstorm.  It's not because a two-card combo exists in the format that is completely shut off by Null Rod.  Control Slaver can't filter unusable artifacts in hand into useful relevant cards.  Oath of Druids decks can't Oath up creatures when they're sitting in hand. 

Tezzeret and TPS make up the top tier along with Ichorid because they're the two decks that can disrupt Ichorid and win before Ichorid's back in the game while retaining the disruptive elements to beat opposing strategies that are spell-based.  I'm suggesting an unrestriction that opens up the possibility of interacting with all three decks in the top tier so there's some change in the format.  We've played these matchups a million times and I'm trying to get some discussion going about shaking up the format in a healthy way.

[John Jones]

+1 Moat
+1 Nether Void

[Purple Hat]

Yeah, I definitely think it would be safe to take off.  I initially thought it shouldn't when the subject came up but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of unrestriction. 

The thing is, since the restriction of Brainstorm and, to a much lesser degree, Ponder, decks have lost an element of consistency.  They've made up for it in various ways but against the top tier, it's generally not enough.  Decks have to be so focused at beating a particular strategy that they just lose to other prominent decks in the format, like Ichorid.  I think Enlightened Tutor can enable decks to interact with the top tier and not be forced into a narrow strategy that loses to other strategies it can't reasonably prepare for.  For instance, a fringe deck like Mono-Blue has the potential to beat up on TPS and Tezzeret but will probably be forced to punt to Ichorid.  Adding a level of consistency with Enlightened Tutor may open up another dimension to the metagame.  My thinking is geared toward a 3-Color Control deck but due to the nature of tutors, I'm sure there are several interactions that could see play. 

I think that much consistency added to a dedicated Time Vault/Key deck could potentially make a non-interactive, goldfishing machine.

In a format where Null Rod is as powerful as it is, I doubt Time Vault/Voltaic Key would dominate the format.  The reason Tezzeret decks are so successful now is because a great deal of consistency for competing strategies was removed with the restriction of Brainstorm.  It's not because a two-card combo exists in the format that is completely shut off by Null Rod.  Control Slaver can't filter unusable artifacts in hand into useful relevant cards.  Oath of Druids decks can't Oath up creatures when they're sitting in hand. 

Tezzeret and TPS make up the top tier along with Ichorid because they're the two decks that can disrupt Ichorid and win before Ichorid's back in the game while retaining the disruptive elements to beat opposing strategies that are spell-based.  I'm suggesting an unrestriction that opens up the possibility of interacting with all three decks in the top tier so there's some change in the format.  We've played these matchups a million times and I'm trying to get some discussion going about shaking up the format in a healthy way.

If you're gonna unrestrict something to solve the lack of consistency caused by the restriction of brainstorm I have to question why you're looking beyond brainstorm and ponder.  restricting brainstorm seems to have had about the effect many of us thought it would: games have become a lot more random.

[hitman]

I completely agree with you but realistically speaking, when was the last time the DCI unrestricted something before several years had elapsed?  I would love to have Brainstorm back but I don't see that happening anytime soon.

[BruiZar]

I also think that a potential deck with Skillborrower might become a reality with 4x Enlightened Tutor. 1xVampiric TUtor, 1xImperial Seal, 4x Enlightened Tutor should be enough tutoring cards to powerout a potentiially broken artifact

[scribe888]

And what broken artifact do you suggest?

Apart from Timevault.

I've been eying skill borrower for a while but can't seem to find something good enough.

[TopSecret]

And what broken artifact do you suggest?

Apart from Timevault.

I've been eying skill borrower for a while but can't seem to find something good enough.

Skillborrower + Kiki-Jiki + Worldly Tutor/Sylvan Tutor?

It doesn't kill the same turn, without more shenanigans, unfortunately.

[nineisnoone]

At one point, I agreed with this but in retrospect I'd say no.  5x Black Lotus, 5x Necropotence.  5x Time Vault, 5x Voltaic Key. 9x Seal of Primordium/Cleansing 9x Sphere of Resistance/Thorn of Amythesyt.  You could even play Moat/Oath for the aggro match-up.

And I started running it as a 1x in my RWG zoo deck

Also, if you want to unrestrict something for the purposes of diversifying the format, you should unrestrict something broken in it's own right.  Tutors are inherently force multipliers and non-win conditions.  Even "Grim" Long is a long deck with the Grim Tutors thrown in.  Sometimes they just run the one (I think that's what they do now actually.