[FREE Article] So Many Insane Plays - The NEW Metagame Uncovered!!

[Smmenen]

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/15991.html

Monday, June 9th - Last week saw the DCI blow the scorching Winds of Change through the Vintage metagame with a sweeping cascade of disputed restrictions. Predictably, for some the sky is falling. However, Stephen Menendian is made of sterner stuff, and today’s So Many Insane Plays breaks down the decks and strategies likely to inform the Vintage metagame for the coming months. He makes some startling predictions… do you agree with his assessments?

This is really an article in three parts.  First, I lay out the new metagame.  Second, I talk about how the restrictions may or may not have accomplished its goals.  Third, I talk about what I would have done differently, including a slew of unrestrictions.

[Puinsai]

Hi,
Only 56 cards for The Vintage Painter, No AKA ? No Bounces ?

Thks U.

[Vegeta2711]

Thought the article was pretty good, although the Balance comment had me rolling. If you have one land and one card, by 'recover quickly' I'm sure you meant 'Rip Ancestral Recall now' and that I can get behind. Because I have been at one land and one card after being balanced before and it's hardly the wonderiffic cavalcade of fun time you make it out to be.

Also if I was going to play Balance, you damn well better believe I'm playing it's 9/7 chum with it and you'll actually have 0 lands left after Balance. 

[Smmenen]

FYI:

Control Slaver
By Stephen Menendian

3 Island
2 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta
2 Underground Sea
4 Volcanic Island
1 Tolarian Academy 
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Lotus Petal
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
4 Force Of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Thirst For Knowledge
1 Ancestral Recall 
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Demonic Tutor 
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mystical Tutor 
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Time Walk 
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Tinker 
1 Yawgmoth's Will 
1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Darksteel Colossus
2 Mindslaver
1 Triskelion
4 Goblin Welder
1 Echoing Truth
1 Fire / Ice
1 Rack And Ruin

Sideboard:
4 Leyline
1 Tormod's Crypt
2 Extirpate
1 Sundering Titan
2 Pyroclasm
2 Rack and Ruin
1 Pyroblast
2 Red Elemental Blast

I'm looking to include two Sensei's Divining Tops.

[Shock Wave]

I enjoyed the article and agreed with everything except the proposed unrestrictions. Just as I feel that a "wait and see" approach should be utilized for restrictions, I feel the same should be done with unrestrictions. I don't see any good reason for broad, sweeping changes in either direction.

[StarOrc]

Steve,

If you wanted to try to include 2 Tops, the first card I would look for a possible cut would be Rack and Ruin. Control Slaver traditionally had very good matches vs Shop based decks so I see the Rack and Ruin as a little unneeded main.

Also couldn't 4 big artifacts be a bit more of an issue with only the single Brainstorm?

Corey

[Smmenen]

Well, they are castable (and I have a full panoply of accelleration), except for DSC, and I do run 4 Thirst For Knowledge. 

[Brapp]

Is Library of Alexandria considered for CS builds as it once was?

[LordHomerCat]

It would definitely be something I tried out in my build, altho if Steve is right and the metagame goes back to the speed of the Gifts - Pitchlong meta, then I would not run it there.  His slaver build is supposed to be pretty fast and aggressive, which may be why Steve doesn't have Library.

[Nehptis]

Based on some early testing in MWS of Control Slaver I'm skeptical of its viability, as is.  I really was shocked at how much the lack of Brainstorms as a 4 of truely affets the speed / consistency of a deck.  My build is very close to Steve's list and does include 2 Tops.  But, I was shocked in the gap between the effectiveness of BS's vs. Tops.  I didn't think I'd feel as slowed as I was. 

Slowness is going to be a huge problem for Blue sans 4 BSs, IMO.  I got rolled by Storm simply because I couldn't keep up.  Although both Slaver and Storm lost BS it feels like Controllish decks went from 5th gear to 3rd while Combo dropped down only 1 gear.  And technically decks like Ich didn't lose any momentum.

Slaver or Painter or even Oath have potential to be successful.  But, I think they need a new draw engine.  Just like with Steve's Oath 2.0, on paper Bazaar paired with DAs or something else similar seems to be where we evolve to post Restrictions.  If those decks don't go down that more aggresssive draw path then I fear that they won't be able to keep up with the more pure combo decks.  The alternative to keeping pace with combo is to go the very controllish / disruption route like ICBM's new Oath.  It's going to be interesting!

[IthilanorStPete]

Now that this article is free...

Comments, other then the obvious that TPS/Long was underrated?

[Smmenen]

on the SCG forums, Eric Becker said:

Great article Steve. Your article will be the starting point for almost all discussions on the post restriction format.

As predictions go, especially ones where there is so much unknowables, I think I hit alot of nails on the head.  Although I definitely missed a few critical things. 

* I believe my analysis of how the Ichorid and Workshop decks would fare was dead-on, and for the reasons I laid out.   

* I was surprised by the lack of Drain Tendrils in the metagame.  Aside from a brief appearance in the Vintage Worlds Top 8, and some European tournaments, I thought that more people would pick up that deck. 

The Painter list in that article that looks pretty close to the lists that eventually emerged! 

I also definitely underestimated the possible return of TPS.   I knew that Pitch Long couldn't exist as it had before, but I didn't see that building TPS was still a viable option.  I also thought that Vroman style Uba Stax might return.