I was shocked when I was told Gush was back. The DCI has a long history of taking my decks from me, not giving them back. I started playing competitive Magic by Drafting during Invasion block. Once Odessy rolled around, I started to get into competitve Type 1. I ported an extended UWG Super Gro deck into Type 1 and won countless events. Things got better for me when Fetchlands enabled GAT. I couldn't imagine playing a deck without 4 Gush, 4 Brainstorm and 4 Force of Will. Those cards allowed me to have game vs anything. I felt I could leverage my skill better with GAT than any deck I had ever played. I went out and Foiled GAT, feeling that no matter what they print, I'll still be able to play this deck and do well. It did not turn out that way.
Many players weren't around back when Gush was running wild. Someone at Myriad asked me, "So, how did people beat Gush back in the day?" to which I responded "They restricted it."
...And so the restriction of Gush forced me to move on. It was time to identify the next best deck. I ran The Shining (Burning Wish Keeper) for a while, and the restriction of Burning Wish forced me to switch to Tog. Tog gave way to Slaver which finally gave way to Gifts. I played exlusively with
Gifts since last year, feeling it was basically in the same place that GAT used to be. I felt it gave me the best chance to win, and it had game when things weren't running perfectly. I guess I was onto something, as the DCI finally killed another of my decks.
I'm not upset about constantly losing my decks to Restrictions, quite the opposite. I simply try and find the best deck in the format. When the DCI restricts a card I've been using, it's a reaffimation that the card was the best available to me. I look at Vintage as a huge draft, where I can pick any cards I want. Part of the skill is figuring out which cards are the best. In a draft, No one is going to give me a prize for "being creative" and creating an unusual deck. In the end, I want to have the strongest deck, and I want to learn how to play it better than anyone else. I might not get there, but that's my goal. Even if I don't win every event, trying to stills get some good results.
I never would have expected Wizards to give Gush back. For now, I think it is the best card available for abuse. I have hundreds of tournament games under my belt with GAT, so it's a welcome return for me. I'm really looking foward to seeing how things play out in the next few months. Now on to the report.
Myriad had another large turn out with 39 players. I took my list from circa 2003 and made some slight updates.
Street Wraith proved to be a suitable replacement for Sleight of Hand. The viewing of one extra card is not really worth the mana in such a mana light deck.
Imperial Seal is a no-brainer, as it gets Fastbond, or anything else you need. With all the free card draw, you can usually get the card into your hand if you need it. I went with
4x Merchant Scroll, which didn't feel like too many. With so many targets, it's extremely strong. I went down to
1 Cunning Wish and 1 Echoing Truth main. My logic there was I can fetch the Echoing Truth with Scroll if needed, and if I'm in a tight spot, the extra mana for Scroll>Wish>Bounce Spell would not always be possible.
I cut back on the Togs, as they are not as necessary for holding down a groud war as they were. With the current aggro decks swarming so quickly, Tog is really just as a finisher in case of emergency. With the extra tutor power, he isn't hard to find if necessary.
GAT// Lands
1 Library of Alexandria
4 Tropical Island
4 Underground Sea
2 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
1 Strip Mine
// Creatures
4 Quirion Dryad
3 Street Wraith
1 Psychatog
// Spells
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
3 Misdirection
4 Force of Will
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
4 Brainstorm
1 Fastbond
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
4 Merchant Scroll
1 Regrowth
4 Gush
4 Duress
1 Imperial Seal
1 Echoing Truth
1 Cunning Wish
SB
3 Yixlid Jailer
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Pithing Needle
3 Energy Flux
2 Massacre
1 Stifle
1 Berserk
1 Hurkly's Recall
Having not played the deck in over 4 years, I needed to make sure I played carefully. There are lots of little choices with GAT that can make the difference between winning and losing. I didn't have a SB for other GAT players, but I had to hope they'd have literally no experience running the deck, so that alone would be advantage enough. The Ichorid match required 7 cards, and the rest of the board was not used. I wanted to run Threads of Disloyalty, but I didn't have enough proxies.
Round 1 Justin Yang with U/B/R Fish 2-0
Game 1 Justin was the unfortunate first victim of Gush. Game one I open with Ancestral with Force of Will back up. The Force is not needed, and I drop Mox Jet -> Imperial Seal for Fastbond. My hand contains Force, Gush and Merchant Scroll at this point, so I'm expecting a huge turn 2. On his turn he drops an Underground Sea and passes. I make the assumption he's playing UB Fish/SS. On my turn, I drop a Tropical Island instead of a fetch, as I sense Stifle. I cast Fastbond, He forces pitching a one drop creature. This tells me he's playing some UB fish for certain. The 1/1 must be a Ninja of the Deep hours enabler. The fact that he didn't cast it turn one means he must have Stifle. I cycle Street Wraith, hoping to pull the stifle out, leaving him less likely to be able to force my force. He does stifle, and I respond with Gush. I let stifle resolve, and then force his force. Fastbond resolves, and I merchant scroll into Gush. I end up with 5 lands in hand, with a Demonic Tutor. I drop the lands, cast Demonic Tutor, get Yawgmoth's Will and Gush again. I draw into Dryad and drop it. I continue to draw cards with Gush, Scroll and Ancestral. Dryad gets big, and I swing a couple times for victory. This game was basically over on turn 2. My hand ended up being insane, and I was able to neuter his hand with multiple Duresses.
Game 2 I get Gushbond online and get a couple small Dyrads. I run out of draw after a Gush or two, but my Dryads are still a threat. I basically drew all land, so I have 9 mana sources in play. I get a duress in there, and in no immediate danger. I brainstorm into two lands, so I'm stuck, but with some smallish dryads. He is off Black mana, with a hand containing two duress and a Dark Confidant. He rips a fetch, and drops Confidant. I Echoing Truth it EOT. Swing for a chunk of life. He drops it again. I Regrowth the Echoing Truth and bounce him again. I have 5 lands open and pass. He attempts an Ancestral, my last card in hand is Misdirection. I hard cast it and he scoops. This game is the exact reason why I prefer GAT right now over any other Gush deck. The fact that I petered out and still won is key. If I were playing a tendrils deck, I would have easily lost. By playing with Dryads, I was able to take full advantage of the card advantage I generated, and still be in a good spot when the deck isn't clicking on all cylinders.
We're the first ones finished, so I get up and look around the room. It looks like a varied Metagame. There are some GAT players in the room. In countless mirror matches, I had only lost once. I was hoping to improve that record.
Round 2 Craig Dupre with GrowATog 2-0Game 1Craig also jumped at the chance to play 4 Gush GAT, but he didn't play it back in the day. Craig Force of Willed some cards that did not cripple me, and I eventually won when coast was clear. He scooped in the middle of a huge chain of spells.
Game 2This game I let him get out a Dryad and counter some of my less relevant stuff. I resolved Ancestral and then get down a Dryad and grow it much faster than him. He gets down a Tog, which I let resolve. He casts Time Walk, which I let resolve. He can't kill me if he swings, so he has to pass. I swing with my huge Dryad and he has to block. I drop a Tog. He can't swing on his turn, and my hand is very good at this point. He scoops when my Dryad starts to make Darksteel Collosus look like a Mon's Goblin Raider.
Round 3 Ryan Marek with Flashy Bomberman 2-1I've know Ryan for quite a few years. He used to plays in North Dartmouth, and I used to live nearby. I still get out there occasionally. He's playing a hybrid of Rector Flash and Bomberman, which he had spoken to me about online. I had advised him to go another route, but he is 2-0 so far, so it might not be as bad as it seemed to me.
Game 1I expected Bomberman to be a good match up for me, and this match may indicate that to be true. He gets down some Proxy Islands, which is good for me as they don't tap for W. Engineered Explosives takes out some of my Moxen, but I get a Dryad down shortly after. I took a ton of damage to Gushbond and Street Wraith and the Dryad. He gets down a Trinket Mage for Lotus and casts Salvagers. Luckily, he doesn't have the W mana to start the combo. If he had waited, I would have been able to hardcast Force. I Hardcast Force on a Brainstorm as he has no other cards in hand. I swing, Tinket Mage chumps. The next turn I attack with Dryad who is nearly lethal. He blocks fearing another spell. He draws nothing next turn and it's on to Game 2
Game 2I keep a horrible hand of Tormod's x2, Sapphire, Emerald, Demonic and Dryad. He resolves a first turn Ancestral Recall. I go with a first turn Crypt, Moxen Dryad, and he forces. He drops an He gets down Engineered Explosives and clears my board. Shortly after he flashes and gets Bargain. I'm forced to scoop it up, as I feel it will take a considerable amount of time for him to combo out and we have 11 minutes left.
Game 3I keep a much better hand with a first turn Dryad that sticks. I draw a ton of cards and gro her to a dangerous size. I Force of Will a Trinket mage, which could have fetched Engineered Explosives. He gets down Aven Mindcensor, but it was way too late to impact the game.
Round 4 Kyle Leith with Gush Combo 2-1Kyle comments on how he really didn't want this match up. He's right to hope to avoid it. Duress, Force of Will and Misdirection are a nightmare for combo decks when backed up with Dryads. Despite the bad match up, Kyle comments that it is in our interest to play quickly, as whoever wins will be in the Top 8, and a draw means that both of us could miss out. I'm on the same page, so we try and move the games along at a fast pace.
Game 1I'm in complete control this game, and I draw tons of cards to keep way ahead. It's over pretty quickly
Game 2Looks like a repeat of Game 1. I duress his hand into garbage and counter some top decks. My hand is Duress, Mis'Dx2. I shuffled a Dryad away as I was digging for a Force. I'm beating down with a 8/8 Dryad, and he draws his final card. It's Threads of Disloyalty. I don't have another Dryad to Misdirect to, so I lose to my own Dryad. Kyle comments that he had no business winning that game. I was disappointed, but I consider that loss avoidable if I had played better.
Game 3I was not going to let Threads happen again. I get a fast start, and resolve Ancestral and Fastbond along with Gushes and a Dryad. Kyle is forced to Gush in response to one of my threats, and I am holding Strip Mine. He cannot build up to 3 mana fast enough to cast threads, and I take it down in a quick match.
Round 5 Brian Rozzero with Drainless Drain Tendrils - ID
Round 6 Arik Pogrebinsky with Bomberman - IDTop 8 - Dan Perovich with Ichorid - 2-1Game 1Ichorid just runs over me completely. He mulls to 6 and has a bazaar/multiple Street Wraith hand. I get out a turn 2 Dryad. He unmasks me, and proceeds to dredge a ton of cards on turn 2. Dread Returns brings in a Whirlpool Drake, and he proceeds to kill me on his turn 2. Un-phased, I move to Game 2. I've seen his entire maindeck at this point, so at least I gained some information. I have no chance of winning Game 1 unless he gets unlucky or I draw insane. That can certainly happen, but I felt post board it was very much in my favor.
Game 2I lead with Pithing Needle naming Bazaar and Crypt. Jailer follows soon after and he teams with Dryad to take it down.
Game 3He double Unmasks me, taking Jailer and Pithing Needle. He bazaars, but doens't have any dredge. I get my draw engine online and get a Jailer down. It is followed by a Strip Mine for Bazaar. Dryad hits, and I Gushbond for some cards. I pass with Stifle and force back up. He activates Bazaar and I stifle. That seals the deal and I swing in for the win.
The Top 4 wants a Split of 182 each. I really want to win the whole event, but the rest of the Top 4 buys me a Bag of Zombies and I agree to stop abusing Gush for the rest of the day.
Overall I was very happy with how the deck preformed. I didn't end up needing Tog, or Wish all day, but that doesn't mean they're not worth running. It will be interesting to see how things play out after a month of testing. My I'm running a double header with Myriad this month, so my event is
June 30th and
Myriads is the next day. Props:Dan and Myriad Games for running another great event
The Top 4, for buying me the Bag of Zombies
New England Vintage players - for actually showing up to play in tournaments and not just talking about it
The DCI for giving me Gush back - What were they thinking?
Slops:The DCI for giving me Gush back - What were they thinking?
