The odd man out: 9th place at Blue Bell 13 with Gush Tendrils

Hey guys, I know it’s not a top 8 list, but it’s the best of the worst, and that’s gotta count for something. Normally I don’t write a ton on the drain but I felt like typing up this report, for a few reasons.

1. Nick Coss is the man, and everyone should know how sick these tournaments are
2. I had an awesome time, good matches, and didn’t do too many embarrassing things
3. I love this deck, and I think that players in the US would rather an easy deck with less decisions, and don’t ever get to realize the absolute most fun you can have playing vintage

So here’s the beef

Vito Picozzo- “Ten Drills”

1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Mind’s Desire
2 Empty the Warrens
1 Mox opal
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt
1 Lotus Petal
1 Sol Ring
3 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
2 Volcanic Island
1 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Island
1 Snow-Covered Island
4 Force of Will
4 Gush
3 Repeal
3 Preordain
2 Duress
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Rebuild
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Brainstorm
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Timetwister
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Fastbond
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Spell Pierce

Sideboard

4 nihil spellbomb
1 mountain
1 pyroclasm
3 ingot chewer
3 ancient grudge
1 pyroclasm
1 pyroblast
1 Red elemental blast

Why this Deck?
I’ve been playing decks with Tendrils in it at every tournament for the past year, since I started playing Vintage (best format ever). I owe all of my vintage knowledge to Jeremy Beaver, Joe Pace, Chris Materewicz, Nate Thompson, Joe Brown, Matt Rine, and everyone else that play tests up in Clarkes Summit PA at my store with me. If it wasn’t for their constant encouraging words such as “WRONG”, or “Goddamit Vito” I would have never developed into the vintage player I am today.

Even in a Workshop Heavy Meta?

Yes, even in a workshop heavy meta. The worst matchup this deck has, by far, is MUD. The problem I always had with this matchup was that I either committed too much main board and lost matches against other blue decks, or that I loaded up my sideboard to combat it and lost when they were on the play in game and locked me out. It’s difficult to find the right balance between sideboard, main deck, and the current metagame, but I guarantee that if you get it right, and play tight, the deck is an absolute blast.

So let’s get to the report, let’s see what happened. A lot of this is from memory, so if we played, and you want to correct me on something, please feel free.

I lose every die roll today, so just assume that they’re on the play game 1.

Round 1 Vs Jerry Yang - Tezzeret 2-1

Game 1. I keep a solid 7 including tarn, brainstorm, repeal, sapphire, mystical tutor, merchant scroll, and underground sea. Jerry leads with lotus, land, mana vault, dt, voltaic Key, time vault, infinite turns. He shows his wincon as blight steel colossus and we quickly move onto game 2.

I “assume” he’s on tezzeret, and pull out hurkyl’s , rebuild, and 1 repeal for 1 pyroblast, 1 Reb, 1 ancient grudge. Tezzeret is not normally as explosive as my deck, and I don’t have much of a sideboard since I don’t consider it to be a bad matchup

Game 2.

There’s a couple of counters back and forth, and we hit a few rounds of “draw go”. I keep the moxen I draw in hand, and eventually draw an empty the warrens, I have an emerald on board, and add a jet, an opal, and a mana vault to the mix. I rebuild for storm 4, float some mana, and replay all of the moxen at storm 8, play empty at storm 9, getting 18 1/1 goblin tokens onto my side of the field. He’s got a pretty full grip, but just can’t manage to make the plays he needs to in order to survive the assault, and he scoops to game 3

Game 3.

We both resolve ancestral recalls in this game, though I don’t remember who got theirs first. The turn I’m ready to go off, I’ve got a pretty sweet hand including a few moxen, tendrils, pyroblast, preordain, and gush. He’s currently at 17, and I don’t have enough for a lethal on my own. However, I figure he’s gotta have a counter spell or two and figure that I can use his counters to leverage my storm count. I’m pretty sure I lead with a gush, and he attempts to counter it, to which I pyroblast, and draw two. I don’t remember the cards being relevant, but I remember casting another spell I believe he counters, playing a few moxen, and casting the in-hand tendrils. This was a tight game, and the only way I really get out from underneath all of his card advantage, and double counters, is if I’m playing with storm cards. Real nice guy, drove a long way to come play (something like 6 hours?)

Round 2 Vs Paul Mastriano - MUD 2-0

Paul and I have played a couple of times, and he usually plays blue decks. I keep an opening that’s rather risky against blue decks, but it has a turn 1 empty the warrens for 8 guys. It‘s something like land, lotus petal, mox sapphire, mox emerald, brainstorm, land. I figure that it’s a decent start as any, and we proceed from there. Paul leads off with a land, and a phyrexian revoker naming time vault. Fortunately for me, he assumes I play with good cards. On my turn I draw hurkyl’s recall, and empty for 8 guys with the hand that I opened with. Next turn he resolves a lodestone golem,. And passes the turn back to me. End of turn I Hurky’ls him, returning the golem and the revoker. I draw rebuild on my turn (like a boss) , swing in for 8, lay a land, and pass the turn back. Paul replays some stuff, and passes back to me. I end of turn rebuild, and get in there on my turn for another 8, bringing him to 4 life. I pass the turn back, and he just doesn’t have enough mana to generate the blocking he needed to escape a nasty death by goblins, and we go to game 2

I board out 1 mind’s desire, 3 repeal, 2 duress, 1 empty, and 1 gush for 1 mountain, 3 ingot chewer, and 3 ancient grudge. I’m not totally sure that’s exactly what I boarded out, but that’s the notes I suggested to myself the night before, so you can assume it’s something close to that

Game 2 I don’t remember a lot about, I didn’t write a lot of notes since I was really focused. I do remember a sphere of resistance, and a revoker naming one of my moxen (which I, up until that point, did not know worked). I think at some point or another I resolve a fast bond, since my notes show a bunch of losses of life in increments of 1, as well as floating double blue in my pool. All I have written on my paper is “tendrils”, and 14 tally marks. That usually means I got there.

Round 3 vs. Jason Koresko Oxid Ridge Boros 1-2

Game 1 I’ve got a decent hand, but he leads with a turn 1 magus of the moon, which I have a hard time recovering from with only 2 islands in the deck. He hits me with the magus, resolves another creature, and eventually resolves a hero of oxid ridge, and hits me down to 4. I manage to get down fast bond and gush up a mind’s desire up to 6, leaving me at 1 life, and flip over 3 land, vamp, force, and empty. I play vamp, and force it for no life loss, and empty for 18 goblin tokens. I pass the turn back to him, confident in my army of blockers who have done good for me all day. He swings at me with hero of oxid ridge, and I attempt to block. After reading the standard card, I discover that I cannot in fact block a hero of oxid ridge with creatures who have power of 1 or less (which include my goblins) and I die.

I board in a pyroclasm. It doesn’t seem like enough, but who predicted this matchup?

I start the game with a fetch land, a basic land, and pyroclasm in hand. I figure I can get there. He resolves about 4 creatures bringing me down to some low number, and I pyroclasm the board, into “draw-go”. He resolves a creature and starts beating me down, and when I’m at two life I rip yaw moth’s will like a boss, and tendrils him for 10, since the mana crypt he had on board did some of the work for me.

Game 3. I have 2 fetches and a trop, a brainstorm, a preordain, a tendrils, and some other card. I decide it’s a decent keeper as any and we start. He plays a turn 1 leonine arbiter, making me a sad panda. I play a tropical island and brainstorm, finding not a whole lot. I pass the turn back, and my trop meets his strip mine, and he basically beats me down from there, as I can’t fetch with the leonine arbiter on the field. To add insult to injury, I get finished off with a lightning bolt.

Round 4 vs. Chris Materewicz playing Fish 1-2

Chris (lemonlyman)and I are teammates, kinda sucks that it means only one of us are going to make it in, but such are these tournaments.

These games were almost all 3 identical mirrors of each other. He leads off with a land and passes, spell pierces my attempt to play a lotus, and then plays a meddling mage naming tinker (yay!). I think I win game 1, but I’m not totally sure. I remember him resolving a selkie in one game and me winning through it, but I think he resolved them all of the games we played.

I board in the pyroclasm again, taking out rebuild, and we go at it again

Game 2 starts a lot like the same, and he leads off by spell piercing something I do, and dropping Gaddock Teeg. Teeg is the bomb against my deck. The only outs I have to teeg (I know now) are chain of vapor and pyroclasm. Like the good player I am, I see a combo in my hand using mystical tutor and repeal, and figure I DT for repeal and bounce gaddock teeg. So I DT for repeal instaed of pyroclasm, and then attempt to repeal teeeg. Turns out repeal has X in its cost and Teeg says no to that. Epic punt.

Game 3 Is a lot like game 2. I can’t beat that Gaddock Teeg, but I’m pretty sure he drowns me under card advantage with a cold eyed selkie and some exhalted creatures anyway. I don’t remember doing much at all these games. Both games Chris won, my paper shows the only life he lost was off his cracked fetches.

So from here, I know unless someone good makes a mistake, I’m probably not in. But hey, I didn’t drive 2.5 hours to sit and watch games, I came to play! Keep on truckin

Game 4 vs. Matt Elias w/ Keyvault Gushtendrils 2-1?

It’s always a ton of fun playing Matt. He’s very chill, and I like a match where there’s some degree of banter back and forth. Call me old fashioned, but I like to play in a relaxed environment, and this match with Matt was a refresher. He also got a giant cake/trophy for his player of the year accomplishment, which everyone seemed to really enjoy. It made me really resent my current diet.

Also, go check out his articles. He’s an awesome writer, and has given more valuable material to the players of this format than any other person that comes to mind, in my humble opinion.

Matt’s deck seemed to be a key vault deck with a tendrils splash, whereas I usually build combo decks with lucksack wins into key vault. I could be wrong, but it seemed like his lines of play were more geared toward the vault plan.

I honestly wish I had more to write about these games, because they were all pretty dang good. We definitely played 3 times because I remember mulling to 6 all three of them.

Maybe Matt can refresh my memory as to this first game,which I’m pretty sure he won. Tinker into key vault maybe? One thing I can remember is that he was playing multiple mox opals, which trumped my one with the legend rule. If this card starts becoming popular, it may wind up being like Jace was back a couple months ago; whoever has more of them wins

I board like a I’m playing a tezz deck. It wasn’t until after the match I discovered he was also playing the ten drills of agony. If I knew that beforehand, I probably would’ve played a tighter game with my life. In that sense, I got lucky that it seemed to be more of a side plan for him.

Game 2 I mull to 6 and get the nuts with a turn 1 twister with at least 3 moxen on board, and then get to cast recall off my twister hand and basically win off card and mana advantage from there, eventually getting to the ten drills. There was definitely a point in the game where I had a full grip consisting of like 5-6 lands and 1 other business card, and Matt could’ve just gone for it and won, but decided to play safe, and I wound up drawing into advantage and pulling the game away. I’m pretty sure in this game I hit a desire for 7 as well, but it didn’t get me there right away.

Game 3 I feel like I’m cheating a little, because when I mull to 6, it’s land, lotus, twister, ___, ___, ___. So he plays a land and maybe a mox, and passes, and I get to play a land and twister. It goes a lot like game one, but there’s way more countering in this one, I remember having a hand with 5 lands and one other card, and just eventually getting there.

Game 5 vs. Shawn Griffiths w/ Turbo Tezz (I think) 2-1
Shawn is another dude you guys need to get to know. He’s the TO for the bloomsburg vintage events, and each one he has is bigger and better than the last. The next one he’s having is on April 2nd, and is a double mox event. Come support the community.

Game 1 Shawn attempts to resolve an early tezzeret, which I Force I’m pretty sure. He winds up getting there with tinker for Battlesphere and beats my face in silly. The only resistance I put up is an empty for like 6 guys, but the battle sphere had put way too much damage through, and the direct damage to my life from the tapped tokens deals with me pretty easily.

I board in the reb, the pyroblast, and 1 nature’s claim. Shawn Usually plays oath, I just assume he’s on oath.

Games 2 and 3 are kind of a blur, I remember a ton of “draw-go” until in game 2 I mind’s desire for 11 cards, which barely get me there with a merchant scroll for repeal, vamp tutor for tendrils, and draw off repeal with enough mana to get the job done

Game 3 I play a fetch land with brainstorm, vamp, and pyroblast in my hand. He attempts to get a tezzeret out there and I fetch a volcanic to pyroblast, and the game goes in my direction from there. I eventually get to desire for 5, and it’s the nuts desire. It’s like one land, recall, mystical, and enough mana/storm to lethal tendrils.

Overall, my breakers put me in 9th with 12 points. 1-8 all had 12 points or more going into the final round and most drew into the top 8 so it was kind of irrelevant to play other than the experience. All of the games were awesome though

Observations for the day:

Lots of Fish/Aggro/Hatebears. If I ever play this deck again, I might put another pyroclasm in the board. One of the lists I developed this from and that I play tested with ran 2 main board fire/ice. That probably would’ve been really good, and they probably see more Fish in Europe. I hadn’t really tested for fish all that much because I didn’t expect a lot of it. Gaddock teeg is insane against my deck, Magus of the moon makes me want to up my basic land count. You can’t block Hero of Oxid ridge with empty tokens

No dredge that I saw: Seems to be a low amount of dredge players right now. I think they get scared off by the hate, and maybe ratchet bomb, but they’re definitely going to come back strong when people like me lose to them because of an undedicated dredge sideboard.

Key/Vault: This deck took a little break back when nature’s claims and trygon predators were running around. But Steel Hellkite scared the predators away, and it looks like Tezzeret is good to go again. When John Jones won the last event with a tezz deck it actually made me pretty happy since I personally feel like a I have a favorable matchup to it, and people would most likely gravitate toward a similar list if they were building blue decks. Turned out this was an ok call on my part for this tournament.

Very little combo: Pretty much expected. Nate, Beaver, and I usually make up a majority of the combo at tournaments, and workshops scare more and more people away. I wasn’t really surprised to not see a lot of it, but I was almost looking forward to trying out the nihil spell bombs against some sort of graveyard deck.

Mox Opal: I didn’t really believe in this card, but it was sooo good to me all day. I think that including a second one wouldn’t be terrible, especially if more people are using the thing. It’s free storm, works with the bounce spells, and potentially bombs their opal.

Repeal: decent. It worked for me all day as a cantrip, which is nice, it didn’t bounce a whole lot on my opponent’s board (especially gaddock teeg). It netted me positive mana with vault a few times, and it did win me the game where I desired for 11, and had to scroll for it since the ancestral was already in the graveyard . I can’t really think of anything else I’d want to put over it though. It cantrips, builds storm, bounces, it has potential.

Mind’s desire: Awesome against other blue decks, since it plays around counters pretty well. Downside is that the deck just flips craptons of mana over and you have to hope for a business spell or two. Small desires won’t get there like the decks that we used to run that had jaces and bargains and gifts ungiven.

2 empty/ 1 tendrils package. - This deck has a ton of card draw, and I never found myself really regretting drawing an empty. They’re pretty easy to fire off for small amounts with a couple of moxen or cantrips, and they do a lot of work for you. It’s a shame I couldn’t find them early in the fish games. If you time walk and empty, the game usually ends. Tendrils is still the “end the game now” card.

That’s pretty much everything I remember from the event. 44 players if I remember correctly.

Props to Nick Coss for hosting these events. If you love vintage, get to these and support the format.
Thanks to Abe for judging, it's a long day, and the work isn't easy
Thanks to everyone else that came. It's nice to win once in a while, instead of just being beat on by everyone back home