[Free Article] The Anatomy of Vintage Tezzeret

[zeus-online]

I don't think restriction anything other the force or drain would really change anything....only things that can change things are bans or unrestrictions at this point imo.

Unlike gifts Tez is filled with 1-of's.
Thirst is the single best draw card because the rest is all restricted.

What happens if we unrestrict trinisphere? Workshops gets really good again, probably not dominant just better and (my subjective opinion) more annoying.

What if we unrestricted FoF and Gifts?

Tez would shift to FoF i think, bomberman, slaver and painter would probably still use Thirst....Gifts would create some new deck (likely a deck similiar to meandeck gifts, but not nearly as good without scrolls and BS)

As for combo decks, i wouldn't WANT them to unrestrict anything to help combo decks, dominant combo decks are way more unfun then any other dominant archetype (my subjective opinion).

Or howabout a ban or two...Say Will and Vault just for the sake of argument, this would remove arguably the two best win-conditions from T1....Leaving Oath, Painter, Slaver and bomberman as the remaining control strategies.

Just to be clear: I'm not really advocating any of this as i don't really see a problem yet and rather like this meta-game. Although i do like the idea of unrestricting fact and gifts as i do hate these singleton lists.

/Zeus

[nineisnoone]

Trinisphere wouldn't be that bad against Tezzeret though.  It would definitely be better, but I don't think I'd effect Tezzeret's percentage, only the percentage of the remainder.  It might spawn something new, but realistically speaking going from 9-12 spheres isn't going to fundamentally change bad match-ups to good match-ups.  I'm a fan of the idea, but I don't think it solves the "dilemma."

Similarly, I don't think that unrestricting FoF or Gifts would change anything either.  Either Tezzeret picks them up, or it doesn't.  Whatever FoF/Gifts falls into is likely going to win on the same terms as any other deck.

To be honest, I think something dramatic would need to happen to create serious meta changes, on par with "unerrata on Flash."  Something that says "something new and broken will happen because of this."  Something that makes you wonder "is this going to horribly backfire on us?"  Like unrestricting Crop Rotation, or Entomb, or even Wheel of Fortune.  Because, realistically speaking, if the change isn't a temptation of that degree, there it's not going to change people's opinion on what they are going to play.

[M.Solymossy]

Or howabout a ban or two...Say Will and Vault just for the sake of argument, this would remove arguably the two best win-conditions from T1....Leaving us legacy plus ancestral recall.

Fixed that for you.

[John Jones]

Why not just unrestrict Recall. That would be so fun.

[Mantis]

Let's just leave the format as it is for once. Tez is entirely beatable. The reason Tez is doing so well is that all the best players pick it up. It's by no means unbeatable I just don't see the problem. Thirst for Knowledge costs 3 frigging mana and often just cantrips and is used as card selection, how is that too broken for this format? Painter, TPS, Shops, Dredge and even Fish all have a fair game against Tez, but they reason Tez wins tourneys is because the best players play Tezzeret. Skill is an enormous factor in Vintage and people tend to underestimate that, moreso than in any other format.

In short: I say don't ban anything, Tez is fine it only wins because of the player behind the deck, not because the deck is too busted. The best players can win with anything from Shop to Dredge to Fish to Tez, for me that's a sign of a healthy format. If you prefer random games where anyone can win go play craps or Sealed. I know I prefer a format where the crown goes to the player who was the best player (or in some cases; the best tech).

[Suicideking]

Or howabout a ban or two...Say Will and Vault just for the sake of argument, this would remove arguably the two best win-conditions from T1....Leaving us legacy plus ancestral recall.

Fixed that for you.

Yeah except it would be nothing like legacy, but its good to see you're checking the format out before the GP.

People have wanted will banned for a while.  It would make vintage a lot different and would make the graveyard something besides a temporary card holder.

[bluemage55]

The problem with Tez isn't that it's too strong.  It's that other blue archetypes became too weak, so all the blue players (among which are many of best players) play Tez.

Whereas before blue players were split between decks that relied on the Gush engine and the Thirst engine, now all of the players are concentrated on the TfK engine.  It just so happens that Tez is the best build for a TfK engine.

If you want to make a more diverse Vintage, the right place to start is to unrestrict cards, not restrict more.  As others have pointed out, you could restrict every single blue card and blue would still be the dominant color.  Clearly, restricting more is not the way to go.  The way to diversify the metagame is not by attempting to bring down Tez; it's to raise everyone else up, whether by unrestrictions or printing new cards.

[Smmenen]

This article is now free.

Is there any interest in me continuing to take a look at composite Tezzeret decklists, or is that a waste of your premium money?   

[voltron00x]

This article is now free.

Is there any interest in me continuing to take a look at composite Tezzeret decklists, or is that a waste of your premium money?   

I think it would make for an interesting piece of writing, simply because if anything the Tezzeret decklists have grown further apart, rather than closer together.

Mastriano's list from the Philly Open ran 0 Mana Drain, 0 TFK, and 4 Remora.

Beaver's list from Blue Bell ran 2 Tezzerets, Dark Rituals, and Tendrils.

Reading about how you would make a composite list out of all of these could be enjoyable...

[nataz]

I vote a look at a different deck type.

[voltron00x]

I vote a look at a different deck type.

The problem is, what deck? 

Maybe something involving Shops?  I wouldn't mind seeing, say, a composite 5C Stax or something similar.

[Smmenen]

I'm already planning one on Ichorid, which is of interest to players who play Ichorid and those who need to prepare to face it (i.e. everyone), but I am curious if there is interest in another update on Tezzeret. 

[nataz]

Not on tezz, but maybe remora decks?

[Beralt]

Preference for a vote on Ichorid (the innovations with Force and new and interesting critters like Sadistic Hypnotist, Fatesticher etc).

[Troy_Costisick]

I'd like to vote for Elves! if that's a possibility.  Ichorid would be great too.

[voltron00x]

I think the problem with Ichorid, as far as composite deckbuilding exercise, is the best lists have come into existence very recently with the printing and use of Fatestitcher and the use of Sadistic Hypnotist.  Many of the more recent and best-performing Ichorid decks are already quite similar to each other.  At least locally, I copied my list (which Chas Hinkle more or less generated) from the list Nick Coss used at Princeton NJ, which was itself built on the deck from the Waterbury.  Anything prior to that is going to be a mish-mash of old and new technology.  Not saying that an article about Ichorid isn't interesting (since I just wrote one, I obviously do find it interesting), but if you're looking to do a composite piece I don't think I'd choose Ichorid, since it seems most people have evolved it into a similar list.  

Steve Silverman's decision to use FoW over, say, Unmask, is interesting, but seems a little loose to me personally and I'd like to see someone generate results using that plan (although he is very high on the idea and even upped his count at Blue Bell).

Tezzeret, on the other hand, seems to be evolving in completely different directions.  To me, that is much more interesting, although I'm sure people are just burnt out on the deck.

Besides, I like the prevailing view on Ichorid - that it is as dumb deck played by bad players, and other people will hate it out.  Smmenen, please don't change people's minds, I think it's perfect the way it is!  

[Smmenen]

I would be looking at recent tournament results, and certainly none before the beginning of the year.   Depending on how big the data set is, I will start with March, April, and May data. 

Force of Will Ichorid is not a new concept; I recall someone winning a European tournament with Force Ichorid last year.   

[nineisnoone]

Being that it is so common of a deck choice, why not just have small updates on Tezzeret while doing the majority of the article on a different topic?  In the past you have had short glimpses of other decks or ideas at the end of articles, sort of mini-articles I suppose.  Basically, I'm not really interested in seeing an entire article on Tezzeret, but being a relevant deck I'd like to be up to date with it.

As far as subjects goes, you've mentioned Elves! in the past and I'd be really interested in reading about them.  Ichorid would be my second choice. 

And while I enjoy building aggro decks and feel you've written some good ones (from what I have read), to be honest I'm not really interested in reading about them.  They just aren't intricate enough to really substantiate a great deal of thought.  It is a deck tinkerer's dream because it's impossible to make decks optimal.  But as a reading goes aggro, decks have never been great reading subject matter in my opinion. 

What I'm personally looking for in articles are sort of "the architect's mad dream" sort of articles.  The kind of thing where you are walking on the stairs and you suddenly realize your standing on the ceiling and you go WTF, how did you do that?  And while it's basically always been a somewhat irrelevant archetype, my favorite articles of yours have always been about Doomsday. 

Not saying I want a Doomsday article, but my preference to Elves and Ichorid are for that reason.

[Smmenen]

What I'm personally looking for in articles are sort of "the architect's mad dream" sort of articles.  The kind of thing where you are walking on the stairs and you suddenly realize your standing on the ceiling and you go WTF, how did you do that?  And while it's basically always been a somewhat irrelevant archetype, my favorite articles of yours have always been about Doomsday. 

Not saying I want a Doomsday article, but my preference to Elves and Ichorid are for that reason.

There is a very obscure card that I believe is broken that I haven't been able to break, but if i do, you'll see such an article. 

[Stormanimagus]

What I'm personally looking for in articles are sort of "the architect's mad dream" sort of articles.  The kind of thing where you are walking on the stairs and you suddenly realize your standing on the ceiling and you go WTF, how did you do that?  And while it's basically always been a somewhat irrelevant archetype, my favorite articles of yours have always been about Doomsday. 

Not saying I want a Doomsday article, but my preference to Elves and Ichorid are for that reason.

There is a very obscure card that I believe is broken that I haven't been able to break, but if i do, you'll see such an article. 

Possibly Wargate Stephen? Muuuuhahahahhaha!

[Guli]

Nope he means Aether Vial.

There is a very obscure card that I believe is broken that I haven't been able to break, but if i do, you'll see such an article.

Not trying to be annoying, I genuinely would like to know when a person* can say he/she* broke a card. (criteria)

[FlyFlySideOfFry]

Nope he means Aether Vial.

There is a very obscure card that I believe is broken that I haven't been able to break, but if i do, you'll see such an article.

Not trying to be annoying, I genuinely would like to know when you can say you broke a card.

I'm pretty sure nobody was really running Merchant Scroll until Smmenen suggested 4x in Gifts. 4xMerchant Scroll->Ancestral was more or less the standard play until Gush came along. It deserves to be restricted regardless of Gush just because of that.