This was a lot of fun. I'd like to send a big shout-out to my friend Tyler who convinced me not to try to play Dredge, as my deck loved me all day long (giving me 3 turn-two vault/key combos, among other broken hands).
My list was almost card-for-card what Matt Elias wrote about in his article Oath 2: Electric Boogaloo:
http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/19282_The_Long_Winding_Road_Oath_2_Electric_Boogaloo.html I wanted to try Misdirection, so I played 1 less Spell Snare to fit 1 in (results: never got to do anything (at all!) with Misdirection)
Mini-Report:
Round 1: Eric with Belcher
Game 1: He keeps a terrible hand and never really does anything... I get a Jace and fateseal away all of his mana sources.
Sideboard: Out: Jacex2, Misdirection, Sphinx, Tezzeret, something else In: 2x Nature's Claim, 2x Pithing Needle, 2x Mindbreak Trap
Game 2: I play an early pithing needle on belcher, and he goes off on turn 3, playing an Empty The Warrens for like 16 goblins, but I had a Mindbreak Trap to stop it.
Round 2: Nate with Dredge
I chatted with him a little about how we both had the same idea: there had been no dredge here for 3 months, so the time was ripe. Fortunately, I came prepared for just this.
Game 1: In typical dredge fashion, he steamrolls me.
Out: 4x Mana Drain, 1x Spell Snare, 2x Jace, 1x Sphinx, 1x Rebuild
In: 3x Ravenous Trap, 2x Yixlid, 1x Relic, 2x Pithing Needle, 1x Terastodon
Game 2: In typical 9 hate cards fashion, I steamroll him.
Game 3: This one gets funny as he keeps a non-bazaar hand and tries to beat down with creatures. With his men tapped, I play an oath and a time walk, get out a Terastodon, and then play a massive yawg will for vault/key.
Round 3: Dont' remember your name with Elves!
Game 1: I have turn 2 vault/key.
Out: 2x Jace, 1x Spell Snare, 1x Rebuild
In: 2x Mindbreak Trap, 2x Pithing Needle
Game 2: He gets a bunch of elves, but I have turn 1 orchard/oath and turn 2 I get Iona when he's ready to go off.
Round 4: Jeff (LotusHead) with Stax
Game 1: I have a turn 2 vault/key and he doesn't have stuff to stop me.
Out: 2x Jace, 1x Gifts Ungiven, 1x Iona
In: 2x Nature's Claim, 1x Rack and Ruin, 1x Terastodon
Game 2: He can't seem to get anything with his bazaar as he discards colored card after colored card with no mana in sight. I put a tezz win together eventually.
Round 5: Draw with Brent Peterson into top 4
Semifinals: Michael Klemic with Painter Control
Game 1: He mulligans to 6 and I have turn 2 vault/key.
Out: 1x Sphinx, I think
In: 1x Terastodon, I think
Game 2: We both mulligan. This one is pretty sweet. I force an early spell that I should have misdirected, so when he red blast-destroy-mode's my game-winning tezz, I can't misdirect it, and I also can't counter his hardcast Sundering Titan.
Game 3: He mulligans to 4 and never really gets into the game. I had a ton of countermagic in this one.
All in all, an extremely successful day. I made a few mistakes (twice I neglected to draw a card with my Library when I could/should have), but they didn't cost me much (other than the game-loss mistake to Michael). I was very glad I didn't play Dredge, as I would probably not have fared as well, and would probably not have enjoyed the play quite as much. I did miss my Imperial Seal tech that I've played in past Oath lists, and I'd like to find a place to put it (perhaps the Misdirection that never did anything).
With my winnings, I bought the cards I was missing to build the stone-cold Vault deck with Transmute Artifact that I've seen in a few places (though my Transmute Arifacts went missing!
).
