Vintage is back in Virginia!
A few weeks ago, Abe Corson alerted the few of us Vintage players in Northern Virginia to a tournament at Richmond Comix in Midlothian, VA. As an attempt to revitalize the format, th e tournament was expected to be small, and even up to the day before the tournament nobody was sure what the prize support would be, but that didn’t matter. It was a Vintage tournament two hours away.
So we made plans to head out and support a burgeoning local Vintage scene. Abe, Ryan, and I would be playing, and Abe’s wife filled in the all-important fourth as chauffeur, runner, and cheerleader. On the way, we learned from Abe the history of Magic in Virginia as the one-time hotbed of Vintage activity. We also did the usual metagame discussion and our expectations for the success of the tournament.
Richmond Comix had a really good setup—clean, lots of light, plenty of space, good prize support, and a great group of local players. At 12 players, turnout was a little low, but it was a lot of fun. The store is planning on holding events at least quarterly in the future, and I expect with a little more notice and better defined prize support, they could easily draw more than 20 gamers from Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Virginia Beach. As it was, they still gave out a box of M10 to first, an Unlimited Berserk to second, and some FNM Foils to third and fourth.
All in all, a great tournament, so I’m definitely looking forward to the next one. If you have the opportunity, definitely try to make it out.
Richmond Comix14249 Midlothian Turnpike
Midlothian, VA 23113
(804)594-2845
richmix@richmondcomix.comHere’s what I packed:
RUGBurn 4-Color, 0-Land Belcher4x Goblin Charbelcher
1x Timetwister
1x Windfall
1x Wheel of Fortune
1x Memory Jar
1x Necropotence
1x Tinker
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Demonic Consultation
4x Street Wraith
4x Elvish Spirit Guide
4x Simian Spirit Guide
3x Tinder Wall
3x Goblin Welder
2x Wild Cantor
4x Manamorphose
4x Rite of Flame
4x Dark Ritual
4x Chrome Mox
1x Mox Emerald
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Pearl
1x Mox Ruby
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Black Lotus
1x Lion’s Eye Diamond
1x Lotus Petal
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mana Vault
1x Channel
Sideboard
3x Empty the Warrens
3x Pyroblast
3x Tormod’s Crypt
2x Cabal Ritual
1x Goblin Welder
1x Inkwell Leviathan
1x Gaea’s Blessing
1x Vampiric Tutor
I had played a RUGBurn list at a
previous tournament in Baltimore earlier this year. That list was also explosively fast, but it lacked a certain amount of resiliency. The card I wanted most and sided in for almost every round in Baltimore was Goblin Welder, so I wanted to run those maindeck.
I also ran Windfall maindeck. It’s a good card in the opening hand and helps recover from mulligans. Plus it gained modicum of respectability after having shown up in the Steel City Vault deck. I boarded it out in every match against Force of Wills, but I also used it on the way to a first-turn win.
The list played well, had little trouble getting the right colors, and, except from some poor sideboarding decisions, I never felt like there were cards I wanted and didn’t have. Having the extra mana-fixing capabilities of Wild Cantor was key.
Part of the color fixing included a last minute change of three Cabal Rituals for three Tinder Walls in the maindeck. Cabal Ritual definitely wins games, especially after a draw-seven has filled my graveyard, but it’s much harder to cast. Tinder Wall actually facilitates other colors, being castable off Elvish Spirit Guide and providing convenient Manamorphose mana. Not to mention that Tinder Wall blocks and can be cast on one turn and used later.
The tournament was well run, including starting on time.
Round 1 – Abe Corson – Steel City VaultSo Abe and I drove two hours to play against each other in round one. Abe would also play Ryan in round two—seems like a successful tournament for him!
I mulliganed to five in game one and had an understandably slow start, while Abe played a bunch of artifact mana, several draw spells, and Tolarian Academy. Lucky for me that was the only land he had for a looong time. So we played draw-go for several turns. Finally I had mana make some plays, but he countered my initial Tinder Wall. I passed and he tutored for Ancestral but also passed. I topdecked Lotus and used that to play and activate Belcher.
I boarded out Welders for Pyroblasts, and learned something new: Don’t ever board out all your answers to Pithing Needle and Null Rod. I don’t know what I was thinking.
Anyway, Abe played Pithing Needle on turn one, and my Demonic Tutor hand went from amazing to terrible. I tried to figure out how to play a Street Wraith, but was one mana short and had to go with Wild Cantor instead. Still the little druid that could got in for five damage. Abe Fired us both (me and the Cantor), but I had Twister and Tinker for Jar on the next turn to get a Street Wraith and Simian Spirit Guide into play. Unfortunately my draw sevens gave him the means to complete the Time Vault combo.
I boarded Welders back in.
Abe mulliganed to five but had a Force of Will for my turn-one Belcher and an Ancestral Recall to refill his hand. “That was a good mulligan,” I said. It was not enough, however, as my in-play mana was very stable and I topdecked and played another Belcher on turn two, activating for the win on turn three.
Match – 1-0; Games – 2-1I was happy to start out with a match win and stay out of the losers’ bracket. Abe successfully managed Operation Clean Sweep and ended up in the top four as well.
Round 2 – Nathan Groves – BG Aggro
This was a fun match. Nathan was playing in his first Vintage tournament and was very friendly. I hope he'll continue to be interested in the format.
I was on the play in game one, led with Necropotence, drew 10 cards and left myself a solid hand with a few redundancies. Nathan Duressed me, taking a Charbelcher. I played Welder on turn two and Welded for the win on turn three, after receiving a warning for looking at extra cards when I drew with Necropotence in play.
I boarded in Empty the Warrens for Windfall, Twister, and Necropotence. The goblin tokens can be a quick path to victory, serve as blockers, and provide a win-condition that gets around Null Rod.
Nathan mulliganed to five for game two and made me mull to four by opening with Dark Ritual, Duress, and Hymn to Tourach. We both played draw-go until he found a second land and played Tarmogoyf. I took two attacks from a 5/6 Goofus until I played Empty the Warrens for eight tokens. I think I could have won with just that, but I topdecked Belcher two turns after and cratered him instead to save time.
Match – 2-0; Games – 4-1
Nathan must have had an okay time at the tournament, because I know he was still in the store watching the finals.
Round 3 – Chris Adcock – Manaless IchoridThis match finished up awkwardly, but was actually a pretty good back and forth competition. Chris was a good sport and a nice guy.
We both shuffled up, and started mulliganing for game one. I was happy to keep on seven with a turn one Belcher with activation in play. Chris mulliganed to oblivion. It wasn’t much of a game. He did draw Bazaar on his first and only turn, though.
I boarded in Tormod’s Crypts and two Empty the Warrens for Windfall, Wheel of Fortune, Memory Jar, a Goblin Welder, and a Manamorphose, I think. The idea is to stay fast, not let him use my draw-7s to his advantage, and to have Welder in case of early Chalice of the Void. Ichorid is a surprisingly difficult matchup, especially against a good player.
My game-two opening hand would have been a turn-one goldfish, but Chris was no goldfish, opening with Chalice of the Void at zero, which shut off a Mox Jet and a pair of Dark Rituals in my hand. Fortunately he didn’t have a Bazaar, so I had some time to draw out of it. Unfortunately, Chris discarded dredgers and started doing stuff. Like Winning. I faced a couple of Cabal Therapies, and an Ichorid and a Zombie token took me down.
We both mulliganed to six for game three, and I opened with a Mox Ruby and Tormod’s Crypt and cycled Street Wraith, hoping to draw one more mana. That plan didn’t work out, however, and I was forced to pass. Chris played a Chalice and whiffed with a Therapy, but had no Bazaar. I played Twister and drew awesome cards like Lotus, Lion’s Eye Diamond, and Mox Jet, which of course were useless with Chalice in play. A few more turns and this happened:
Chris tapped City of Brass and said “Red.” Then he tried to flashback Ancient Grudge.
“You just added red mana to your pool.”
“Oh, come on. I obviously meant to cast Ancient Grudge.”
“I'm sorry, but you very clearly said red mana.”
I felt like an ass, especially because he admitted he hadn’t played with Ancient Grudge much before, but I held my ground. If he had just tapped City of Brass and tried to flashback Ancient Grudge, no problem. But he undeniably added red to his pool.
The next turn I topdecked a Spirit Guide and used that and my Mox Ruby to cast Manamorphose into Channel into Belcher for the win.
Match – 3-0; Games 6-2
Afterward, I apologized again, and Chris said he would have Grudged the Tormod’s Crypt anyway so I still would have won. It wasn’t a fun way to win, and I usually think of Vintage as a fairly casual, friendly format. Oh well. He’ll never try to flashback Ancient Grudge with red again.
Round 4 – Eric Debrosky – Ad NauseamEric and I have been in contact by email for a few months now about trying to get Vintage restarted in Virginia. There are Magic communities in Richmond, Virginia Beach, and Northern Virginia that are clustered enough to organize some pretty large tournaments. Hopefully we get that done. Eric was definitely excited about getting to play Vintage and was a great unofficial for the tournament, even joining us for drinks afterward.
Plus, the Ad Nauseam versus Belcher matchup is one of the dumber and funner in Vintage. Not quite a complete coin-flip, but it’s definitely a race.
We both kept seven in game one, and he Duressed me on the play taking Dark Ritual. Next turn he Thoughtseized my Tinker. Then he Duressed my Manamorphose. I was crippled. He played Demonic Consultation for a Dark Ritual and launched Ad Nauseam. He drew, in order, Ad Nauseam, Cabal Ritual, Ad Nauseam, Mox Diamond, and Tendrils of Agony, sending himself to one life. With no available mana, he passed the turn. I attacked with Wild Cantor for the win.
He probably should have just kept drawing off Ad Nauseam.
On the play in game two, he mulliganed to six and won on turn one with Ad Nauseam. Yay, Vintage!
Game three, Eric mulliganed to six, and I went to five on the play. His action came first, though, as he played Necropotence and drew a bunch of cards. I did not draw the win in the meantime. Eric won by chaining Necropotence to his hand, playing Mystical Tutor for Ad Nauseam, and winning with Yawgmoth’s Will. That’s a lot of heat.
Match – 3-1; Games – 7-4
I vowed that someday I’d get my revenge. That day ended up being in the top 4.
Top 4 – Eric Debrosky – Ad NauseamOkay, this time I was ready. For real.
He mulliganed to five on the play and passed the turn. I played Twister with three Moxes in play but couldn’t put anything together. Instead, he got seven new cards that included an Ad Nauseam win.
Oops! Okay, seriously now.
On the play in game two, I used Demonic Tutor to play Windfall with Black Lotus in play. I found Belcher and had plenty of mana to play and activate without his doing anything about it.
We both kept seven for game three, and when he Duressed my Charbelcher instead of allowing me to play and win with it on turn one it seemed like it would be an actual game. Instead after drawing my card for turn and cycling two Street Wraiths, I found another Charbelcher and won with that instead.
Zzzt!
It was real good.
Match – 4-1; Games – 9-5
Eric, of course, was a good sport about everything. Playing Ad Nauseam means he’s well used to the sometimes turn-one nature of the format. Plus he got some FNM foils for his top-four performance.
Finals – Daniel Sale – GW AggroDaniel was the last remaining of six or so GWx Beats, and clearly had what it took to make it to the finals. I think he was surprised to be there, but I knew I couldn’t take him for granted.
I opened with a turn one Belcher on the play in game one, and the spectators figured that was the end of game one. Unfortunately, I had removed six of eight Spirit Guides to Demonic Consultation to find Belcer. I did not draw activation mana, and Daniel played Null Rod on turn three to shut me down. Ethersworn Canonist, Kataki, and Qasali Pridemage teamed up to win the game.
For game two, I mulled to four and kept a hand of Elvish Spirit Guide, Tinder Wall, and two Street Wraiths. I didn’t draw anything useful, and lost again to Null Rod and some 2/2 guys.
Match – 4-2; Games – 9-7
I guess the luck had to run out sooner or later.
I still got to take home an Unlimited Berserk for my troubles—pretty good second-place prize for a 12-man tournament.
Afterward we headed to a nearby Capital Ale House, for an excellent post-tournament meal. Some initial slow service earned us a free appetizer, and the food (and beer selection) were excellent. I had the bacon grilled-cheese burger on a dare. It was essentially a burger built into a grilled-cheese sandwich, with bacon. Niiiiice… No Thurmanburger, of course, but still really good, and not nearly as heavy as I would have expected.
Next time, I’ll play even better, so I can enjoy my dinner even more.
