WIZARDS!...A deck by Elias Vaisberg

[SonataOfTheCathedral]

So...that Elemental deck that placed in the Top 8 recently in Canada really reinspired my thinking for Vintage. I have been dabbling with ideas here and there, but I figured to play with some Tribal Themes. Wizards was a strategy in Extended that was known, but never really played. It was a generally accepted strategy that played the tempo roll to beat decks with a quick Patron Wizard lockdown.  It works in Vintage too! Get some crappy guys that do crap and then Patron Wizard them out. There are Extended lists for initial inspiration as well. I took U/W/B as my core since Aven Mindscensor is a pro and as is Meddling Mage. If you can figure out a strong list to run Magus Of The Moon and Grim Lavamancer, you probably as well will have a strong core, but my manabase building is garbage. Basic plan is to curve out with one drop, two drop, Patron Wizard. Force Of Will and Thoughseize are basic protection package, and even Matyr Of Frost is excellent at an early defense since his ability is uncounterable.

Guys:

1cc
2x Stormscape Apprentice
3x Martyr Of Frost
1x Sage Of Epityr (I just can't drop them all)

2cc
3x Meddling Mage
4x Dark Confidant
2x Voidmage Prodigy

3cc
4x Patron Wizard
3x Aven Mindscensor

Spells
4x Brainstorm
4x FoW
3x Thoughtseize
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Ancestral
1x Time Walk

How to Stop Dreadnought, Goyf, and Dryad since you lose to them otherwise
2x Sower Of Temptation

Manas
4x Lotus, Pearl, Jet, Sapphire
3x Underground Sea
3x Tundra
4x Flooded Strand
3x Polluted Delta
4x Island
1x Strip Mine

That's the main core. It looks like a pile, but it's solid as hell. Your control matches are excellent, as you can just stall the early game with crappy dudes like Matryr of Frost until you can drop Patron Wizard to gain some control in the later game. I'm only playing two Voidmage since I find them extremely mana intensive. But they are late game bombs when the game is drawn out and you have your crappy Wizards stacked up, it can basicaly end it all. If I expect a ton of GAT and other weird flavors of Gush, I'd give a nod to three of them.

Sower Vs Threads Of Disloyalty

One is a Wizard, the other is less mana, which makes a huge difference. I just can't decide. Usually you need to take their guy and you will have enough mana. Sometimes your opponent is too fast and Threads would have saved you. I go back and forth everytime I play the deck. See which fits you better.

Why I feel this is is better than fish:
Turning guys sideways won't cut it right now. You play the good guys fish has, and you add them into a new engine. It just gives you a new strategy to act upon which rewards the deck a lot more than it used to. The only card I don't like seeing go is Jotun Grunt, but that's ok. You have Bob, Mindscensor, and Meddling Mage playing the same disruptive rolls they used to but become game enders when teamed with Patron Wizard.

The bad matches:
Ichorid and Workshop Aggro.
Ichorid is helpless, the only cool thing you have is counters that can't be removed via discard which is Matyr of Frost, that can do a little bit, but usually not enough. There isn't enough Ichorid around for me to really go nuts right now.

Workshop Aggro. Game 1 if you are on the play you can hope to out tempo them. And it can be done. The problem is, if Jugz and friends hit the table, it's over, nothing you can do. You need to FoW the big guy in their opening hand, and steal a Welder via Threads. That's the way the game plays. If something doesn't work the right way you lose. So I propose this sideboard if you feel there will be Workshops Present...

3x Swords To Plowshares
3x Hurkyl's Recall
3x Energy Flux
3x Umezawa's Jitte
2x Threads Of Disloyalty
1x Meddling Mage

That's what I have been playing. Workshops in mind and other aggro matches basically. If I fear Empty The Warrens you'd see some other tricks. But my group hasn't been discussing that threat much really. But I certainly wouldn't dismiss it at all, that would be foolish. When a big tournament comes around I think I'd have to retune it for that card if I play this deck. I love Hurkyl's because it lets me bounce Shop Aggro's board and just completely slow them down by building a Patron Wizard army to lock them out of the game completely. But this is a SB I prepared for a Northeast Meta. I haven't taken Oath into account just yet and it seems like it might be worth a nod at the moment.

So where to go from here...the deck is fun and can be restrategized with different roles. If you feel Trinket Mage is that great(which I didn't in initial deckbuilding) you may be able to squeeze him in. Like I mentioned earlier, Magus Of The Moon brings forth interesting prospects too. The other worthy mention I feel is Meloku. He can probably solve my Workshop Aggro troubles, it's just he's five mana. So with some retinkering you maybe have something there. Also Venser can possibly be crafted into something useful, but his mana cost and ability don't seem that appealing.

I'm known to crafting bizarre decks and doing well with them. I'm a huge fan of Patron Wizard and he can be dismissed as crap if you'd like, but he is no joke to me. I felt this is a deck that's differrent and might be more cool to try out than another flavor of Workshop or whatever card you want to throw into your Gush deck.

[meadbert]

Have you considered Trinket Mage + Toolbox instead of Sower of Temptation and some other utility guys?

Trinket Mage actually has strong synergy with Patron Wizard because you can play turn 2 Trinket Mage off a mox and get Lotus.  Then Lotus allows you to cast Patron Wizard.

This play is not super broken, but having Patron Wizard with a second Wizard on turn 2 is really good.  If you also played a Wizard on turn 3 you now have 3 Wizards out!

Trinket Mage gives you access to Needle, Crypt and Aether Spellbomb to deal with DSC, Dreadnaught and Ichorid.

[Everrid1234]

The Trinket idea is good.

My opinion about the deck:

-where is the artifact mana denial? Where are the Wastelands? --> You need so many blue mana for the Patron that you can't play them.
-you only play 4 counters. That is not enough. Yes, you have the creatures. But they need open mana. This slows you down.
-you play Confidant and lots of expensive cards. Have fun with the lategame against Control.
-You play some crappy Wizards to bring some "bomb" later (what Patron Wizard really is) which turns the game around. I want to say: You play a few central and important spells. This makes you vulnerable and if these spell are countered you sit there with (some) crappy (and some good) permanents.
-Massacre/Pyroclasm wipes your board away. There is no Grunt, no Chalice and no Null Rod left on the table afterwards.
-The deck is too slow against faster Combo.
-Hurkylls Recall is crap in Fish's SB
-Leyline is good
-since Meddling MAge is nearly always good, he is a wasted slot in the SB


Sorry, I would say normal Fish is just much better. The less needed synergies you have, the better.
It could be a funny deck, but not too competitive.

[ErkBek]

Elias, ever see this thread?

http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=34694.0

Gush was really good in the deck. Voidmage as a 4-of seems like a must too.

[Everrid1234]

How is Gush good in a deck without lots of Tutors and Fastbond? I see a probem with the activated abilities here (concerning Voidmage). Gush slows down here.
I know everyone likes  Gush so it MUST be cool in each deck

[ErkBek]

How is Gush good in a deck without lots of Tutors and Fastbond? I see a probem with the activated abilities here (concerning Voidmage). Gush slows down here.
I know everyone likes  Gush so it MUST be cool in each deck

Did you read like any of that thread?

Gush ~= Standstill for that deck. Basically fish needs a way to actually net cards since Brainstorm by itself isn't going to get it done. Gush is far better than Brainstorm in that deck.

[Everrid1234]

I don't think so. Brainstorm gives early answers and enhances card quality. Gush slows you down 2 turns concerning the lands. If there are Gush tricks bouncing 2 lands in the 3rd turn and replay 1 for the 3rd mana that's nothing really overwhelming. You have now 1 land in play. Wow.

With Aether Vials it's a different discussion, but still the Voidmages suffer here. But I wouldn't include Gushes in his deck.

[Malhavoc]

How is Gush good in a deck without lots of Tutors and Fastbond? I see a probem with the activated abilities here (concerning Voidmage). Gush slows down here.
I know everyone likes  Gush so it MUST be cool in each deck

Did you read like any of that thread?

Gush ~= Standstill for that deck. Basically fish needs a way to actually net cards since Brainstorm by itself isn't going to get it done. Gush is far better than Brainstorm in that deck.

..but hasn't got gush a terrible anti-sinergy with voidmage? Sure, you can tap UU and THEN gush, but you are going back in mana development anyway; I've played voidmage in the past, and what's incredible with him is having a handful of wizards in play and a BIG amount of UU to stop any possible thread and still be able to cast things. Going back in lands development doesn't seem to improve that.

Gush, however, is still good with wizards and vials, since you can draw voidmage or other wizards and put them into play at instant speed and counter things.

[ErkBek]

Gush slows you down 2 turns concerning the lands.....If there are Gush tricks bouncing 2 lands in the 3rd turn and replay 1 for the 3rd mana that's nothing really overwhelming. You have now 1 land in play. Wow.

Gush accelerates you to 3 mana if you missed your 3rd land drop, allowing you to cast stuff like Mindcensor and Patron Wizard off 2 mana sources.

A deck like this operates on so few mana as it is, what does it matter if you cast Gush on turn 3 or 4 losing 2 land drops? Not much, because you don't have to invest any mana in casting Gush.

Gush can be good without Fastbond.

I don't think so. Brainstorm gives early answers and enhances card quality.

Brainstorm for early answers? Really? So you're telling me a turn 1-2 Brainstorm is remotely close to what a deck like this wants to do?

Brainstorm sucks without shuffle effects. Gush doesn't. Brainstorm costs 1 mana, Gush is free. Brainstorm doesn't net cards, Gush does.

Gush is good with Brainstorm. Bonus.

[SonataOfTheCathedral]

Heh, wow Eric I guess you beat me to it. What stopped you from still working on the deck? This is my initial run on the deck, we have similar ideas here about what we want to get done as well.

But heres where I disagree...

I wouldn't venture into Gush terroritory because that's iffy business with Confidant, and in the long run a deck like this really just does more powerful stuff with Dark Confidant not Gush. But in a U/R build you might have something going there, if Voidmage wasn't so mana intensive it'd get my nod for sure. But that makes me give Patron Wizard another nod since his ability is manaless.

I've played Aether Vial in here before and I just feel meh on it. Turn four Patron Wizard isn't as impressive as turn 3. Even if instant speed, it could just be too slow.

@Everrid
Hurkyl's Recall is excellent in this deck because it lets you set up a turn to overwhelm the shop player with a Patron Wizard lock. I found it to be much better than Kataki.
Confidant and expensive cards? It's pretty spread out. I bet if Threads of Disloyalty was there instead of Sower, you wouldn't even make that comment.  And making Confidant into Voidmage fodder is as well an option. And no, the deck is not too slow vs Combo I find it to be just fine since I've played the match several times.

[Anusien]

I really think you need Lotus Petal in here.  You have very little to do on the first turn, and being able to lead out with something more impressive than Sage of Epityr seems important.

By the way, I'd up the Thoughtseize and Duress count in here.  I'm worried that it's too easy for GAT to go turn 1 Thoughtseize your only answer, turn 2 Dryad and go off all over your face.

[uwfish2000]

sideboard options.

vs ichorid : yixlid jailer
vs oath(or maybe stax): stern proctor

[hauntedechos]

My first reaction to this list was "Fish with more dudes and less spells"  The second reaction to this list was, omg this deck is slow and my third reaction was good for the people out there that try to forge thier own way in Vintage.

Why would I play this over traditional U/W/B Fish? because it's not a netdeck.  This deck seems like it would require intense game skill to net wins and also a large amount of luck as well.  I know that the creator will say that it doesn't and what naught, but c'mon you know it does.

I can see how this deck would play very differently from U/W/B Fish and I think the same differences (more dudes less spells) is also it's weakness.  Board sweepers were already mentioned, faster decks as well.  I think that this deck is screaming for Daze.  Fish has a love hate relationship with it due to it's threat density turns 1-3 where this deck only has 3(wish it was 4) Thoughtsieze and 4Forces on top of the Frost martyr.  Daze would fit in perfectly here I think.

Due to the high casting costs and the lack of Null Rods/Kataki, more accelerants are badly needed I think.  If you aren't going to try and disrupt the mana development of your opponent, accelerating your wizard counterwall is paramount I would think.  As it was already said, at least Petal

I'd also like to see Aven 3 turn into Mage 4.  I fully understand everyones love of Aven, including the ability to fly, but a Mage name can literally buy you turns that Aven cannot if the opponent has the card they need in thier hand anyways.  Sage is a fancy Sensi's and his cute slot needs to be put to Martyr 4

Really though, I think that while I do not think I would venture to play this deck over traditional Fish, it definatly gets a thumbs up from me in concerns to trying new things and working on them.  This deck feels like it wants to be prison in nature, and I think that further refinement of it could see it get there.  Just cut the cute stuff out and put the nails to your opponent with appropriate creature choices.

Keep up the good work

P.S.  you really should study Erics starting lists and talk to him on why he chose the rogue things he did.