[Report] Myriad Games Vintage September 1st, 2007 w/T8 Decks

[Myriad Games]

The Myriad Games Vintage Tournament announcement for September 1st, 2007 can be found here.

Thank you to everyone who attended the eleventh event in our 2007 Vintage Tournament Series here at Myriad Games.

Pictures of the event are available in the Myriad Games Photo Album here.

Thank you to everyone who arrived in a timely fashion with decklists ready. We were able to start right on time and there were no misregistered decks nor game losses during deck checks. The event ran more smoothly thanks to your preparation and everyone had a great time!

Don Belcastro won the Preregistration Prize.

Andrew Fox won the Best Deck Name Contest for "Do not believe what the government tells you about Vintage deck archetypes. The established structure of deck builds and the metagame are lies intended to propagate stagnant innovation and fuel the secondary market MTG economy. Free yourselves from the military merchant scroll complex and join pirates and ninjas in the fight to unrestrict Dream Halls by breaking Voltaic Key. ¡Viva la revolution!"

Our New Player Bonus Booster Pack continued to be appreciated. Each new player received a Free Booster Pack!

Every player that wanted one received one of Sara's famous Myriad Games Magical Mana Cookies!

The Tumblin' Dice Tournament was another enjoyable Free side event. This mini-tournament provides a brief respite between the Swiss rounds and the Top 8, allowing all players to participate. Of the 16 players (4 pods of 4), these were the Top 4:

   1st = Andrew Fox
   2nd = Craig Dupre
   3rd = Sara Yarrington
   4th = Scott Hughes

Congratulations to our Tumblin' Dice Champions!

The Vintage Draft (including cards from The Dark, Legends, Antiquities, and Arabian Nights) was thoroughly enjoyed. Of the eight players who participated, these were the Top 4:
   
   1st = Andrew Fox
   2nd = Sam Best
   3rd = Taylor Pratt
   4th = Don Belcastro

Congratulations to our Vintage Draft Champions!

Special congratulations to Andrew Fox for completing the trifecta by winning the Best Deck Name, Tumblin' Dice, and Vintage Draft!

Our bonus Myriad Magic Memento cards were appreciated by all. Every player had the opportunity to select a card from our special Myriad Magic Memento Binder including some cool Magic singles. These Myriad Magic Memento are designed to serve as a cool keepsake from the event. Feel free to have your opponents sign them, customize them with the date of the event, or just keep them in your binder as a reminder of a good time at a great Vintage event. Cards selected by players from this event included:

Foil Proclamation of Rebirth
Italian Nebuchadnezzar
Portal Ravenous Rats
Russian Seething Song
Revised Demonic Attorney
Foil Atog
Foil Megatog
Gold Bordered Gaea's Cradle
Foil Ancient Hydra
Alpha Blue Ward
Foil Slith Firewalker
Signed Spoils of the Vault
Sheep Token
Legends Rule Cards
Portal Monstrous Growth
Captain Sisay
Foil Gigadrowse
Signed Living Hive
Chinese Pandemonium

Each tournament report posted in the Tournament Announcement section of The Mana Drain by September 8th will receive a prize! Reports must include Myriad Games in the title. Style points will be awarded for catchy titles, amusing anecdotes, and interesting coverage. Super style points will be awarded for good pictures from the event. Prizes will be reserved at Myriad Games and may be picked up at our October 6th Vintage Tournament. As reports are added, we will add handy links to the various tournament reports from the player's names in the final standings below.

As always, if you have any comments or suggestions about our events, please email us at vintage@myriadgames.com

Tournament Results

Top 2   Eric Kerwin -- Ichorid
Top 2   Ray Robillard -- Staxless Stax
3rd   Dan Cunningham -- Bomberman
4th   Sara Yarrington -- Blood Belcher
5th   Nick Rodrigues -- Stax
6th   Demonic Attorney -- GroATog
7th   Ryan Marek -- Flash
8th   Eric Dupuis -- GroATog
9th   Lou Stefanovic -- The Mountains Win Again
10th   Ross Merriam -- GroATog
11th   Don Belcastro -- Bomberman
12th   Dan Perovich -- DraGoNuts
13th   Craig Dupre -- GroATog
14th   Sam Best -- Severance Belcher
15th   Charles Scourbys -- B/G Gro
16th   Scott Hughes -- Staxless Stax
17th   Emery Ames -- Bob Tendrils
18th   Bill Copes -- Staxless Stax
19th   Duncan Devlin -- 4 Color Fish
20th   Andrew Fox -- 4 Color Fish
21st   Oliver Beaumont -- Bomberman
22nd   Taylor Pratt -- Staxless Stax
23rd   Mike Bergeron -- Mono Blue Fish
24th   Micah Greenbaum -- Oath
25th   Travis Laplante -- Stax
26th   John Lessard -- Oath

Top 8 - Quarterfinals

• Eric Kerwin -- Ichorid v. Eric Dupuis -- GroATog
• Ray Robillard -- Staxless Stax v. Ryan Marek -- Flash
• Dan Cunningham -- Bomberman v. Demonic Attorney -- GroATog
• Sara Yarrington -- Blood Belcher v. Nick Rodrigues -- Stax

Top 4 - Semifinals

• Eric Kerwin -- Ichorid v. Dan Cunningham -- Bomberman
• Ray Robillard -- Staxless Stax v. Sara Yarrington -- Blood Belcher

Top 2 - Draw

• Eric Kerwin -- Ichorid and Ray Robillard -- Staxless Stax

Top 8 Decklists


Top 2 Eric Kerwin -- Ichorid
   
4x Bazaar of Baghdad
4x Dryad Arbor
4x Golgari Thug
4x Ichorid
4x Stinkweed Imp
4x Golgari Grave-Troll
4x Narcomoeba
4x Street Wraith
2x Flame-Kin Zealot
2x Cephalid Sage
4x Serum Powder
4x Cabal Therapy
4x Dread Return
4x Chalice of the Void
4x Bridge from Below
4x Leyline of the Void   

Sideboard
2x Wooded Foothills
2x Bayou
4x Reverent Silence
3x Emerald Charm
4x Ancient Grudge

Top 2 Ray Robillard -- Staxless Stax

4x Mishra's Workshop
4x City of Brass
4x Wasteland
2x Gemstone Mine
1x Tolarian Academy
1x Strip Mine
1x Bazaar of Baghdad
1x Barbarian Ring
4x Goblin Welder
4x Sphere of Resistance
3x Crucible of Worlds
2x Gorilla Shaman
2x Sensei's Divining Top
2x Chalice of the Void
2x Coalition Relic
2x Powder Keg
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Mox Pearl
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Ruby
1x Mox Emerald
1x Black Lotus
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Vault
1x Mana Crypt
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Time Walk
1x Tinker
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Crop Rotation
1x Sundering Titan
1x Triskelion
1x Memory Jar
1x Trinisphere
1x Balance
1x Orb of Dreams

Sideboard
1x Shattering Spree
4x Leyline of the Void
2x Eon Hub
2x Red Elemental Blast
1x Darkblast
1x Jester's Cap
1x Triskelion
2x Chalice of the Void
1x Orb of Dreams

3rd Dan Cunningham -- Bomberman

3x Auriok Salvagers
3x Aven Mindcensor
4x Trinket Mage
4x Force of Will
4x Mana Drain
2x Misdirection
2x Thirst for Knowledge
4x Brainstorm
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Time Walk
3x Repeal
2x AEther Spellbomb
1x Engineered Explosives
1x Tormod's Crypt
1x Chalice of the Void
1x Mox Emerald
1x Mox Pearl
1x Mox Ruby
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Black Lotus
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Crypt
4x Tundra
4x Flooded Strand
1x Strip Mine
1x Library of Alexandria
5x Island
1x Plains

Sideboard
4x Spell Snare
4x Swords to Plowshares
3x Energy Flux
2x Kataki, War's Wage
1x Pithing Needle
1x Chalice of the Void

4th Sara Yarrington -- Blood Belcher

2x Taiga
4x Elvish Spirit Guide
4x Tinder Wall
4x Simian Spirit Guide
4x Pyroblast
1x Lion's Eye Diamond
1x Lotus Petal
1x Mana Crypt
4x Land Grant
3x Empty the Warrens
4x Rite of Flame
1x Wheel of Fortune
1x Channel
1x Black Lotus
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Vault
1x Mox Pearl
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Mox Ruby
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Emerald
3x Seething Song
1x Chrome Mox
4x Goblin Charbelcher
3x Magus of the Moon
3x Goblin Welder
4x Pyrokinesis

Sideboard
4x Shattering Spree
3x Pact of Negation
4x Leyline of the Void
2x Pithing Needle
1x Goblin Welder
1x Magus of the Moon

5th Nick Rodrigues -- Stax

4x Goblin Welder
1x Gorilla Shaman
1x Karn Silver Golem
1x Triskelion
1x Platinum Angel
1x Sundering Titan
1x In the Eye of Chaos
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Balance
1x Tinker
1x Black Lotus
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Emerald
1x Mox Ruby
1x Mox Pearl
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mana Vault
1x Sol Ring
3x Crucible of Worlds
4x Sphere of Resistance
3x Smokestack
3x Tangle Wire
2x Powder Keg
1x Trinisphere
1x Memory Jar
4x Gemstone Mine
3x City of Brass
4x Wasteland
1x Strip Mine
1x Barbarian Ring
1x Tolarian Academy
1x Bazaar of Baghdad
4x Mishra's Workshop

Sideboard
2x Seal of Cleansing
3x Chalice of the Void
4x Leyline of the Void
2x Red Elemental Blast
2x Juggernaut
2x Shattering Spree

6th Demonic Attorney -- GroATog

4x Force of Will
4x Brainstorm
4x Merchant Scroll
4x Gush
4x Duress
3x Quirion Dryad
3x Psychatog
2x Mana Drain
2x Opt
2x Night's Whisper
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Time Walk
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Fastbond
1x Regrowth
1x Yawgmoth's Will
1x Cunning Wish
1x Misdirection
1x Rushing River
3x Flooded Strand
3x Polluted Delta
3x Underground Sea
3x Tropical Island
2x Island
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Mox Emerald
1x Black Lotus

Sideboard
4x Tarmogoyf
4x Leyline of the Void
2x Leyline of Singularity
2x Smother
1x Snuff Out
1x Brain Freeze
1x Berserk

7th Ryan Marek -- Flash

4x Brainstorm
4x Force of Will
3x Pact of Negation
3x Summoner's Pact
4x Flash
4x Protean Hulk
4x Virulent Sliver
1x Heart Sliver
4x Merchant Scroll
4x Gush
1x Fastbond
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Chain of Vapor
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Demonic Tutor
3x Polluted Delta
2x Flooded Strand
3x Underground Sea
3x Tropical Island
2x Island
1x Black Lotus
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Emerald
1x Mox Ruby
1x Mox Pearl
1x Elvish Spirit Guide

Sideboard
4x Reverent Silence
2x Smother
3x Oxidize
1x Tinker
1x Darksteel Colossus
4x Leyline of the Void

8th Eric Dupuis -- GroATog

2x Flooded Strand
1x Island
1x Library of Alexandria
2x Polluted Delta
4x Tropical Island
4x Underground Sea
4x Quirion Dryad
1x Psychatog
1x Mox Jet
4x Force of Will
4x Gush
1x Imperial Seal
4x Merchant Scroll
3x Misdirection
1x Mox Emerald
1x Fastbond
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Regrowth
3x Sleight of Hand
1x Time Walk
1x Vampiric Tutor
1x Yawgmoth's Will
1x Echoing Truth
1x Black Lotus
4x Brainstorm
1x Cunning Wish
1x Demonic Tutor
4x Duress
1x Ancestral Recall

Sideboard
1x Berserk
1x Hurkyl's Recall
3x Oxidize
3x Pithing Needle
1x Rushing River
1x Island
1x Snuff Out
2x Yixlid Jailer
2x Smother

Thanks again to everyone for coming. We'll look forward to seeing everyone at the twelfth event in our 2007 Myriad Games Vintage Series on Saturday, October 6th.

[SyntheticAngel]

Props to Ray for rockin' another tourney with Staxless Stax. I wish Scott Hughes would have made Top 8 as well that guy is cool. Mana cookies look delicious I am at work now with no food so that would hit the spot about now.

[TopSecret]

Another tournament, another Waterbury bye for Ray.

PS: I took an English Captain Sisay.

[Madpeep]

Props to Ray for rockin' another tourney with Staxless Stax. I wish Scott Hughes would have made Top 8 as well that guy is cool. Mana cookies look delicious I am at work now with no food so that would hit the spot about now.

Thanks Brennen, unfortunately my "Lose Round 1" streak continues.  Almost drew, Wee Dragonaughts managed to kill me on Turn 5.

Oh, and Dan, Sara didn't make top 4 in Tumbling Dice.  I'm ahead in our competition

[Methuselahn]

Interesting tourney y'all.

So Flash is all but completely hated out.  One deck in the entire tournament aint bad.

I find it interesting that Ichorid decided to split with Staxless Stax in the finals.  If I would have been playing Ichorid, I would've gambled and played it out.

[Myriad Games]

It is notable that the finals were Best of 5. I think it was mostly that both Ray and Eric were happy with the split and they were ready to head out and get food. 

[hulk3rules]

I find it interesting that Ichorid decided to split with Staxless Stax in the finals.  If I would have been playing Ichorid, I would've gambled and played it out.

Does anybody ever actually play it out anymore?  I usually see top4 splits everywhere

[Aardshark]

This is the first time I've seen the gush-fastbond engine in successful flash list. Has this been done before (I know its been mentioned)? Seems like an noteworthy development.

[iamfishman]

Interesting tourney y'all.

So Flash is all but completely hated out.  One deck in the entire tournament aint bad.

I find it interesting that Ichorid decided to split with Staxless Stax in the finals.  If I would have been playing Ichorid, I would've gambled and played it out.

I actually felt the opposite to be true: that if I wasn't so hungry it was to my advantage to play it out.

Why? Keep in mind that the finals at Myriad is best of 5.  Then, consider that I board in 4 Leyline of the Void, 1 Orb of Dreams, 1 Triskellion, 2 Eon Hub, and 1 Darkblast.  That's a whole lot of hate.  Also, even though Eric K did some like a skilled player, Eric D admitted himself that Eric K had little experience with the deck.

[Razvan]

grats on gencon and myriad, ray, good to see you taking some names.
anyhow, a quick question if you may.
i have tried a staxless stax build (well, with some major modifications from your build, but still, the lists are floating around somewhere), and the performance seems random (to me, 1 top8 and 1 being murdered by each and every GAT, and bunch of testing). did you ever get the feeling that you can lock people out better than anyone, but just can't seem to win before they break from the lock?
i have tried 1-3 orb of dreams, and the card seems so strong on paper, but weak in actual performance. it's not even really win-more at all, and can hurt you since you play way more permanents than anything else. i am thinking of making space for 3-4 smokestacks.
anyhow, meh, don't want to clog this with discussion, again, grats to you and the other people.

[ELD]

Why? Keep in mind that the finals at Myriad is best of 5.  Then, consider that I board in 4 Leyline of the Void, 1 Orb of Dreams, 1 Triskellion, 2 Eon Hub, and 1 Darkblast.  That's a whole lot of hate.  Also, even though Eric K did some like a skilled player, Eric D admitted himself that Eric K had little experience with the deck.

IMO Kerwin did a masterful job of tournament management.  I'm not talking about playing the game, but giving himself the highest change to walk away with the most swag.  He managed to put himself in a spot where he was guaranteed the equivalent of a Top 4 split, when faced with back to back match ups vs 2 of New England's best.  He definitely earned the respect necessary to do this by both going undefeated all day.  Dan was happy to split with Kerwin, as he had lost to him earlier in the event.  Ray was happy to split, as a best of 5 finals at that time would have been quite a grind for very little benefit. 

As for the match up, it is difficult to say.  All things being equal, Ichorid ignores a great deal of what Stax tires to do.  Post board, it really depends on how prepared the Ichorid list is, and our list has answers to all of the above cards.  Perhaps we'll find out the answer in one of the many upcoming events. 

[iamfishman]

Why? Keep in mind that the finals at Myriad is best of 5.  Then, consider that I board in 4 Leyline of the Void, 1 Orb of Dreams, 1 Triskellion, 2 Eon Hub, and 1 Darkblast.  That's a whole lot of hate.  Also, even though Eric K did some like a skilled player, Eric D admitted himself that Eric K had little experience with the deck.

IMO Kerwin did a masterful job of tournament management.  I'm not talking about playing the game, but giving himself the highest change to walk away with the most swag.  He managed to put himself in a spot where he was guaranteed the equivalent of a Top 4 split, when faced with back to back match ups vs 2 of New England's best.  He definitely earned the respect necessary to do this by both going undefeated all day.  Dan was happy to split with Kerwin, as he had lost to him earlier in the event.  Ray was happy to split, as a best of 5 finals at that time would have been quite a grind for very little benefit. 

As for the match up, it is difficult to say.  All things being equal, Ichorid ignores a great deal of what Stax tires to do.  Post board, it really depends on how prepared the Ichorid list is, and our list has answers to all of the above cards.  Perhaps we'll find out the answer in one of the many upcoming events. 

I agree that Kerwin did indeed do well in maximizing his winnings.  Extend to him my kudos and I hope to see him in more Vintage events.  We'll just have to settle the matchup in a future top 2 

[iamfishman]

grats on gencon and myriad, ray, good to see you taking some names.
anyhow, a quick question if you may.
i have tried a staxless stax build (well, with some major modifications from your build, but still, the lists are floating around somewhere), and the performance seems random (to me, 1 top8 and 1 being murdered by each and every GAT, and bunch of testing). did you ever get the feeling that you can lock people out better than anyone, but just can't seem to win before they break from the lock?
i have tried 1-3 orb of dreams, and the card seems so strong on paper, but weak in actual performance. it's not even really win-more at all, and can hurt you since you play way more permanents than anything else. i am thinking of making space for 3-4 smokestacks.
anyhow, meh, don't want to clog this with discussion, again, grats to you and the other people.

Thanks.

In regards to your performance, it may have been your playstyle which caused you to have varying results.  I find that my frustratuion with people calling the deck "stax" instead of "staxless stax" is founded in that the two decks play totally differently.  Stax is much more of a hard lock deck while my deck is more of a disruption/combo style.  It's hard to explain until you play it and start going nuts with Memory Jar.  Accordingly, just as I could never play Stax well, typically Stax players have a tough time playing Staxless Stax.

And yes, the deck occasionally locks a player down but can't find a threat and allows them to come out of it.  This happened in my game three against Smennen in the top 8 at Gencon.  I had him locked under 2 Spheres and an Orb of Dreams.  I had three Welders and a Sensei's Top that was netting me extra cards.  Despite this, I could not find a threat in 15 cards and he eventually broke out, coupled with a few unlucky Mana Crypt rolls.

[Cane1024]

Another great event. I'm lookin forward to the next one.
Congrats to Sara for beating me into the top 4. It was a really tough match up for me. If I had won the die roll it may have helped, but still would have been tough.
Congrats to Ray and especially E. Kerwin because Ray top 8's all the time but this would be Kerwins first time and that's always cool.
See ya'll at ELD's.
           
                                       -Nick R.
 

[Marek]

This is the first time I've seen the gush-fastbond engine in successful flash list. Has this been done before (I know its been mentioned)? Seems like an noteworthy development.

Yeah I had been working on development of strange flash builds for a while the whole previous week to this tournament and this was the list I came up with that seemed to work.  Lots of time I'd float mana for gush and walk into the kill, or if i had the kill I'd gush to get more counters/disruption.  Drawing into slivers wasnt a problem either....virulent slivers are easy to cast, and heart sliver gets brainstormed back, and if I can't I just have slivers with summoning sickness.  I really liked the deck, and would like to tweak it slightly, but overall it was pretty good.

Also, I'd like to thank Dan for another wonderful Myriad tourney!

Marek