New York Grudge Match V - Official Tournament Report

[Prospero]

Yesterday’s New York Grudge Match had 48 players duking it out for an Unlimited Black Lotus.  Workshops, strangely, didn’t seem all that popular a call at the event, but at the end of the day a true Shop Master stood on top of the field, as Raffaele Forino won the Grudge Match and qualified for the Northeast Vintage Invitational!


Full Metagame Breakdown:


Drains:

U/W Counterbalance/Top: 1
U/R Landstill: 2
U/B Turbo Tezz: 1
U/B/R Agent of Bolas Control: 1
Emrakul Show and Oath: 1
Griselbrand Oath: 1  
U/B/W Mastery Control: 1
B/U/G Gush: 1
4C Gush: 1
Intuition/AK Tendrils: 1
Bomberman: 1
Keeper: 2
Underworld Dreams Control: 1
Snapcaster/Jace/Bob Control: 1
Slaverless Slaver: 2
Trygon Gush: 1
4C Gush Control: 1
Show and Dragon Breath Oath: 1
Midrange Bant: 1

Workshops:

Martello Shops: 1
Mono Red Shops: 1
Espresso Stax: 2  
MUD Aggro: 1
Master Transmuter Shops: 1

Null Rods:

Jund!: 1
Cavern Goblins: 1
U/B/R Cavern Delver: 1
B/U/G Fish: 1
R/U/G Beats: 1
Jund Control: 1
Noble Fish: 1
Stoneforge Delver: 1
B/W Beats: 1  

Bazaars:

U/B Reanimator: 1
Always Sunny Dredge: 1
Griselbrand Dredge: 1
3 Decks, 1 Box: 1
Cagebreaker Dredge: 1

Rituals:

Forino Sui Black: 1
T.P.S.: 3
Ad Nauseum: 1
Doomsday Gush: 1

If that metagame isn’t diverse enough for you, I don’t know what to tell you.  It’s amazing to see a field with this many singleton copies of decks, and I love it.  Every pillar was represented, with all the major archetypes showing up, all with differing copies of the major historical players.  Ritual Combo was a major player, putting Jesse Martin and Vinnie Forino into the top 16; one played T.P.S., one played Forino Sui Black.  Dredge showed up, with everything from Cagebreaker Dredge, to Titan Dredge, to Griselbrand Dredge.  Espresso Stax showed up, but so did Martello Shops, MUD Aggro, Brian Carey’s Master Transmuter deck and Mono Red Shops.  And then we come to the blue decks, where you could find just about every major player from the last few years represented, including Keeper!  

I’d love to see this metagame last for a little while longer, as it really is great to walk into a field and not have a firm idea as to what you’re going to play.  Great work, guys!


Top Eight Pairings and Results:


Raffaele Forino vs. John Lessard – Forino wins

John Jones vs. Michael Kaynes – Jones wins

Mike Hajduk vs. Scott Hughes – Hajduk wins

Andrew Farias vs. Rob Edwards – Farias wins


Top Four Pairings and Results:


Raffaele Forino vs. John Jones – Forino wins

Mike Hajduk vs. Andrew Farias – Hajduk wins


Finals:


Raffaele Forino vs. Mike Hajduk – Forino wins


My sincere congratulations go out to my good friend, Raf Forino, along with Mike Hajduk, and all of my top eight competitors!


Top Eight Decklists:


1st – Raffaele Forino
Martello Shops

4 Mishra’s Workshop
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra’s Factory
1 City of Traitors
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Sphere of Resistance
1 Trinisphere
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
4 Tangle Wire
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Kuldotha Forgemaster
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
3 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Sundering Titan
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Duplicant

SB:

4 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Crucible of Worlds
2 Duplicant (Dupli-can't?  I think Dupli-can…)
1 Wurmcoil Engine
2 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

2nd – Mike Hajduk
RUG Delver

4 Force of Will
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Fire/Ice
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 Flusterstorm
2 Steeel Sabotage
3 Delver of Secrets
2 Vendilion Clique
3 Tarmogoyf
2 Grim Lavamancer
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Gush
3 Preordain
1 Brainstorm
2 Mental Misstep
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Scalding Tarn
3 Tropical Island
3 Volcanic Island
2 Island
1 Mountain

SB:

2 Ancient Grudge
2 Nature’s Claim
3 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Red Elemental Blast
2 Ingot Chewer
2 Trygon Predator
2 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Forest

3rd – John Jones
Turbo Tezz 2012

2 Mental Misstep
1 Spell Pierce
2 Flusterstorm
3 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Transmute Artifact
1 Tinker
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Echoing Truth
1 Brainstorm
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
4 Gush
1 Ponder
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Blightsteel Colossus
2 Sensei’s Divining Top
2 Voltaic Key
1 Time Vault
1 Mana Vault
2 Grim Monolith
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Lotus Petal
1 Black Lotus
1 Island
3 Snow-Covered Island
3 Misty Rainforest
3 Flooded Strand
3 Underground Sea

SB:

4 Leyline of the Void
1 Perish
1 Echoing Truth
1 Misdirection
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Flusterstorm
3 Dismember
3 Grafdigger’s Cage

4th – Andrew Farias
Midrange Bant

2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Qasali Pridemage
3 Trygon Predator
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
3 Swords to Plowshares
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Flusterstorm
3 Mental Misstep
2 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
3 Tropical Island
3 Tundra
1 Windswept Heath
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Flooded Strand
1 Sol Ring
1 Island
1 Forest
1 Plains

SB:

2 Spell Pierce
2 Surgical Extraction
3 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Relic of Progenitus
3 Nature’s Claim
1 Swords to Plowshares
2 Path to Exile

5th – Scott Hughes
Mono Red Shops

1 Karn, Silver Golem
4 Lodestone Golem
1 Mana Crypt
1 Memory Jar
1 Mox Opal
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Razormane Masticore
2 Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
3 Solemn Simulacrum
2 Sphere of Resistance
1 Sword of Feast and Famine
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
2 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Trinisphere
4 Goblin Welder
4 Magus of the Moon
2 Ancient Tomb
1 City of Traitors
4 Mishra’s Workshop
4 Mountain
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Wasteland

SB:

2 Duplicant
4 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Sphere of Resistance
2 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Triskelion
2 Shattering Spree
2 Viashino Heretic

6th – John Lessard
D3DC

1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
2 Preordain
4 Accumulated Knowledge
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Merchant Scroll
2 Intuition
1 Tinker
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Time Walk
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Echoing Truth
1 Rebuild
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Blightsteel Colossus
2 Mental Misstep
1 Flusterstorm
3 Mana Drain
1 Mindbreak Trap
4 Force of Will
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
4 Underground Sea
5 Island
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta

SB:

3 Steel Sabotage
2 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Flusterstorm
2 Virtue’s Ruin
4 Yixlid Jailer
1 Ravenous Trap
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Pithing Needle

7th – Rob Edwards
Keeper (You meant Vintage Highlander, right, Rob?)

2 Polluted Delta
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
2 Volcanic Island
2 Island
2 City of Brass
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Sower of Temptation
4 Force of Will
2 Mana Drain
2 Mental Misstep
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Flooded Strand
1 Snow-Covered Island
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
1 Tinker
1 Myr Battlesphere
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Balance
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Goblin Welder
1 Trygon Predator
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Fire/Ice
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Brainstorm

SB:

4 Leyline of the Void
2 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Mindbreak Trap
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Ancient Grudge
2 Ingot Chewer
1 Ray of Revelation
1 Pernicious Deed

8th – Michael Kaynes
It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia

4 Bazaar of Baghdad
4 Undiscovered Paradise
4 City of Brass
2 Dakmor Salvage
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Narcomoeba
4 Bloodghast
3 Ichorid
2 Fatestitcher
2 Sun Titan
2 Golgari Thug
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
4 Bridge from below
4 Cabal Therapy
1 Black Lotus
1 Ancestral Recall
3 Dread Return
3 Mental Misstep
3 Nature’s Claim
1 Chain of Vapor

SB:

2 Unmask
2 Petrified Field
1 Nature’s Claim
2 Chain of Vapor
1 Darkblast
3 Ingot Chewer
4 Leyline of the Void


Team Competitions:

Team New England has finally done it.  They escaped the basement and proved that the fifth try was the charm, as they narrowly beat out Team New York to claim their first Grudge Match win!  Great work, guys.  It has been a long time coming, but you deserved this.

Final Standings:

1st - Team New England (Lessard, Martin, Farias): 41 points
2nd - Team New York (R. Forino, J. Gans, Hangley): 39 points
3rd - Team Pennsylvania (Potucek, Griffiths, Edwards): 26 points

For the pay and play team competitions, Team Connecticut won, with an incredible 42 points!  Congrats, guys!  

Final Standings:

1st - Team Connecticut (Hajduk, Robillard, Hughes): 42 points
2nd - Team P.B.J. (Mastriano, Butker, Jones): 37 points
3rd - Team Dead Money (Lim, Bliffert, B. Carey): 32 points
4th - Team R.D.W. (Justin Kohler, Dixon, Kenney): 24 points
5th - Team ? (Bauer, Harris, Eckert): 21 points


9th Place Prize:


After watching one of the tightest games of Vintage that I’ve ever seen, between Vincent Forino and Paul Mastriano, I thought that I’d be calling out Vinnie’s name for a top eight match.  Instead, I was calling out Vinnie’s name for a ninth place prize.  The winner of an oversized container of iodized salt was Vinnie Forino, as Vinnie’s breakers dropped by more than nine percentage points between the end of round five and the end of round six.  Sorry, Vinnie.  Better luck next time (when you will stop accumulating all these ninth place prizes)!


In Conlusion:


My sincere thanks go out to Gil, Frank, Dave, Venes and all the Brothers Grim staff - thank you for providing such an excellent venue for us; to Mike Noble and Nick Coss for providing the prize support, dealing, and being great guys, and to Brian Paskoff, for helping with computer difficulties and more.  

Still, where are we (the tournament organizers) without all of you (the players)?  Cinco De Mayo was a tough date for a lot of guys, but we still have 48 players come out for the Lotus, which was great to see.  Thank you all for coming out, you are what make this format excellent.

I hope to have the Vintage Rankings updated soon, along with a date for the next N.Y. NEV event up.  Keep your eyes peeled, and I hope to see you next time!  

[A.-1.]

I wish you New Englanders better luck this time around.

I think that's the first and last time I wish New England good luck at a Grudge event. Not only did you get your first win, AND Team Connecticut ended up with the most points. Unreal.

Congrats to everyone in the top eight. I very much appreciate all of you agreeing to the split arrangement. If you're not a fan of the diversity of this top eight or the field, like Nick said, I don't know what to tell you.

Yes Nick, I did mean Vintage Highlander. I just wanted to make your job of typing out decklists that much more difficult  .

Thank you thank you thank you to Nick D for hosting, Brothers Grim for providing a great venue, and Mike Noble for filling in (sorry you couldn't make it Nick). I know a lot of people had to miss this one, but it was great seeing/talking to/playing those of you that did make it out.

[voltron00x]

Nick, 4th place deck is DeMars Bant deck, not Noble Fish.  You can tell from the Jaces, Snapcasters, and Scavenging Ooze.  FYI.

[quicksilvervii]

I'll try to recall as much as I can from the event - I didn't take notes and my memory isn't the best.

R1
UB Time Vault/Tinker deck
I took game one pretty handily off delver and beats.  G2 lost to an early timewalk and Jace beating.  Game 3 win with beats off the back of a Clique.
Nothing too noteworthy here.  I can't remember much.

R2
Jake Gans and UW Counterbalance
G1 I won off the back of an early Goyf and drawing 4 Force of Wills.  Sometimes, I'm good at this game.  He sticks a top and digs a bunch but doesn't find anything.
G2 was just me playing dudes and getting there.  Can't remember much other than him going all in on Tinker BSC and me using steel sabo to bounce it.

R3
Another UB (maybe green? Can't remember) deck.
Same as game one.  Won g1, lost g2, won g3 in the same fashion.
Only thing I remember g3 was him landing a Jace and me having a clique.  He wasn't able to bounce it profitably, and I decided to just race.  He was down to 8 life on his turn, so I EOT bolted him.  He forced.  I bolted again, with force on the stack.  He forces again.  I flusterstormed both of the forces for the win.

R4
Ed Carey - Goblins
I keep a hand of Sapphire, Ruby, Bolt, Bolt, Goyf, Walk, Lavamancer.  I walk trying to find a land, finding a delver instead.  I play delver and bolt T1 Goblin Lackey to start it off.  I get a lavamancer to stick around after he earwig squads me, exiling Bolt Bolt Goyf.  He knows I just need a green source, which I eventually get, and win.

G2 I mulligan to oblivion and he gets T1 Lackey.  Happens.

G3 I sit behind lavamancer and Goyf.  Early Goyf blocks a warren instigator, and I gush in response to a cycled Gempalm incinerator to keep him alive.  He sticks around as a 5/6 while I have a lavamancer doing work.  He decides he needs to start attacking, which I take in full.  I EOT Snapcaster mage, hit him with bolt, then attack with snapcaster, goyf, delver, and lavamancer damage for the win.

R5, R6 ID

Top 8

QuarterFinals - Scott Hughes
Unfortunately I had to play against fellow Team Connecticut member, and one of the crew of our car.  At least I got a pack for winning.
I took it in 2.  G1 I won pretty handily with early delver and bolts for removal.  He had a bunch of dudes out but I was able to outrace in the air.
G2 I had bolts, an ancient Grudge, and a lot of early pressure.  Clique taking his Trike (After FOWing his Razormane Masticore) sealed the deal.

SemiFinals - Andy Ferias
This was an interesting game as he was on Bant.
G1 we fought back and forth trying to land dudes and battle through removal.  He eventually exhausted his hand and had only a Trygon Predator left.  I was at 5, and wasn't able to race.  I finally got a Delver to flip, keeping him back.  I got a Clique to resolve, giving me the edge that I needed.  I topdecked a bolt, aimed it at the flying lizard, and was able to swing for the win.
G2 I wasn't able to get any pressure from due to his early PtE, StP, and snapcasters.  It happens.
Several spectators mention it was like watching Legacy.
G3 I won off an early delver, lavamancer, and Goyf.  He trumped Goyf with Scavenging Ooze, and he was at 5 or 6 life.  I had a flipped delver and Clique him at end of draw step to reveal 2 Hierarchs.  There are no more critters left in the yard, so I let him keep them.  He tries to swing at me to get something in the bin, but I don't bite and the game is over.

Finals - Raf Forino
G1 I play a land and fetch for Island in response to his T1 tangle wire.  I steel sabotage it, and land a lavamancer next turn.  He has another Tangle wire, which I have no answer for.  He plays some thorns, and drops metamorph on Tangle wire to keep me tapped down.  Eventually I flash in a clique on my untap step to see Forgemaster and Steel Hellkite.  I take the Hellkite to at least try to race.  Forgemaster would at least have to take some thorns and spheres out of play.  I eventually have him at 3 life, and I'm at 7 while he has a Sundo in play.  I keep lavamancer back to block, but he has a maindeck Dupe that he's able to forgemaster in.  Such is life.
G2 I muls to 3, and chewer and Goyf get there.  Not much to say about this one.
G3 I mull to a shaky 6, while he keeps a really good 7.  Not much I can do to t1 chalice sphere, T2 Wurmcoil Metamorph on Wurmcoil.  I miss a land drop and scoop em up.

Thanks to Nick Detwiler and everyone that was able to make it out, it was a blast, as always.

Team Connecticut, count it.

Further notes, by request:

This is the first time I have played this deck, and it is a brew based off Soly's.
Things I noticed:
I did not like Jace.  Getting up to 4 mana can be tough.  He has been underwhelming (blasphemy, I know).
I did not miss Tinker, Blightsteel, Timevault, Key, whatever.  Never wished I had it.
I also never wanted Fastbond.
Clique was an allstar.  I only lost 1 game where I cast it.  Seriously.  I was debating playing another, if it wasn't for the Legend rule.
Surprisingly, I did not miss tutors or black at all.  The deck seemed to do what it needed to with consistency.
I never sided out bolts.  If I could play 5, I would.
The flusterstorms were awesome all day.
Misstep was never huge, but I was happy I played 2.  I can easily see cutting them for something else though.  Maybe for a Steel Sabotage or something just to deal with Blighty if nothing else.

The deck was a blast to play and I never felt out of any games.  It seems less broken then 'real' blue decks on paper, but I felt like I was cheating when I was hitting for 14+ damage on a backswing.

[Prospero]

Nick, 4th place deck is DeMars Bant deck, not Noble Fish.  You can tell from the Jaces, Snapcasters, and Scavenging Ooze.  FYI.

Corrected.  

I have to admit, if the player didn't name their deck I just called it what I thought it was.  I didn't do any research on numbers to check who's list was what.

[Ufactor]

Congratulations to a true gentleman in our game - Raf Forino!

[Prospero]

Congratulations to a true gentleman in our game - Raf Forino!

Yeah, maybe this means Raf will push off the talk of retirement for a while.  He certainly can't complain about being rusty.

[Commandant]

Was a pleasure playing Raf in T8.

Had a blast at the event despite feeling like garbage all day.

Thanks to Nick and everyone else who makes these events possible!

Go New England, suck it CT.

[quicksilvervii]

Was a pleasure playing Raf in T8.

Had a blast at the event despite feeling like garbage all day.

Thanks to Nick and everyone else who makes these events possible!

Go New England, suck it CT.

You do realize that CT beat New England, right?  (;

[The Atog Lord]

This event looks awesome. Congrats Raf, and the rest of the top eight. Also congratulations New England, for finally taking one down. And for the record, CT is part of New England.

[Smmenen]

Why is Doomsday in the Drains category ?

[Commandant]

The CT comment was a jab at Ray. Yes I can count and yes I know CT is part of NE. Too many Robots in here.

[Prospero]

Why is Doomsday in the Drains category ?

Human error.

[cvarosky80]

First New York event and I had a blast in spite of my terrible performance (Go figure, I build and tune a deck aimed at facing Shops and Fish all day long, and I run into a sea of Blue. Eh, it happens). A big thanks to Nick Detwiler for running a very fine event and I, as well as Team Ramrod, look forward to attending future tourneys here.

[v4ino]

After watching one of the tightest games of Vintage that I’ve ever seen, between Vincent Forino and Paul Mastriano, I thought that I’d be calling out Vinnie’s name for a top eight match.  Instead, I was calling out Vinnie’s name for a ninth place prize.  The winner of an oversized container of iodized salt was Vinnie Forino, as Vinnie’s breakers dropped by more than nine percentage points between the end of round five and the end of round six.  Sorry, Vinnie.  Better luck next time (when you will stop accumulating all these ninth place prizes)!

Yes, it was an intense deciding game - too bad it wasn't recorded to show future generations how to play magic 

Don't worry, I'm stocking up on 9th place finishes as I need plenty of salt to Jar Tomatoes at the end of August.

...Also, some Doomsday deck's don't run rituals, some do (it may be more appropriately called a gush or FOW deck).

[ErtaiAdept]

Out of curiosity were there any recordings of this event?

[Prospero]

Out of curiosity were there any recordings of this event?

Sadly, no.  I wouldn't mind spending a few hundred to own the equipment, but I'm just about the last person in the world you want in charge of said equipment.

[ErtaiAdept]

Out of curiosity were there any recordings of this event?

Sadly, no.  I wouldn't mind spending a few hundred to own the equipment, but I'm just about the last person in the world you want in charge of said equipment.

I know the feeling.  Well no loss, just hoping to see some matches.  Tis my favorite way to spend a lunch break.

[Ten-Ten]

After watching one of the tightest games of Vintage that I’ve ever seen, between Vincent Forino and Paul Mastriano, I thought that I’d be calling out Vinnie’s name for a top eight match.  Instead, I was calling out Vinnie’s name for a ninth place prize.  The winner of an oversized container of iodized salt was Vinnie Forino, as Vinnie’s breakers dropped by more than nine percentage points between the end of round five and the end of round six.  Sorry, Vinnie.  Better luck next time (when you will stop accumulating all these ninth place prizes)!

Yes, it was an intense deciding game - too bad it wasn't recorded to show future generations how to play magic 

Don't worry, I'm stocking up on 9th place finishes as I need plenty of salt to Jar Tomatoes at the end of August.

...Also, some Doomsday deck's don't run rituals, some do (it may be more appropriately called a gush or FOW deck).

..Just curious, what did you run at this event?
thank you in advanced