A very nice article indeed. I think that your analysis is correct in broad views. There are however two points on which I disagree. The first one is about Bomberman. Just to recapture the earlier discussion:
I didn't see a mention of Bomberman, though.
Did you forget it, or do you think that it's not good enough for consideration?
Why would anyone use Auriok Salvagers when Painter's Servant is in print?
Who would ever want to play Painter's Trinket when there is Bomberman? The combo parts of Bomberman are useful by them self (I have won numerous matches against Stax just by recurring Engineered Explosives and moxes) or can be "stored" in the graveyard until it's time to combo off (spellbombs). Grindstone, on the other hand is pretty useless on its own and Painter's Servant is potentially suicide to play without having found Grindstone. My personal belief is that the Painter/Grindstone combo is best included in a Control Slaver frame, much like Time Vault/Fuselage once was.
The second point on which I don't agree is the arguing that the more or less only way to beat Workshop decks is to play Merchant Scroll for a bounce spell. The Swedish meta game is crammed with Stax decks, but I seldom rely on playing a Merchant Scroll for a bounce spell, it is just too expensive. As long as you build your deck having Workshop decks in mind, you will do absolutely fine without four Merchant Scrolls. It's all about acrificing some mana acceleration for more permanent mana and some more answers to artefacts, e.g. Gorilla Shaman or Engineered Explosives. This does of coarse mean that the format will slow down even further than predicted by most, and I think that this strengthen the arguments to why Mana Drain will become viable again.
