Time Vault Combo

[Malkizid]

Dear Soly, 

I understand that Mana Drain fuels things like that.  But unless you draw Black Lotus or Mox Sapphire in your opener,(I know you don't know anything about having Lotus in your opener) then Mana Drain is impossible to cast first turn.  I like having the ability to Negate my opponents first turn Ancestral or Null Rod or Oath of Druids etc... 

Like Meadbert said, I don't care about creatures.  There are only 2 creatures I need to worry about, and one of them doesn't see much play.  Say a deck has to deal me 16 damage before I combo off.  Say they are lucky and have first turn Goyf followed by second turn Bob.  That still gives me at least 4 turns to combo.

I wasn't trying to rip on Ryan.  I'm sure you would agree with me that he is a good player.  And that he has played control decks featuring most of the card he played in his deck last weekend.  I was just trying to make the point that the control matchup is good. 

I know most of the world thinks Reconstruction is garbage, and it probably is, in your deck.  In this deck, I would rather have Reconstruct than Regrowth.

I will be playing this deck at the next ICBM open, and I hope we get to test the matchup again.  And I hope you don't start each game with Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, or Tinker like you have been doing to me in the last 3 tournaments.  Honestly, it would not matter what deck I was playing.  Like you said before, you open with Black Lotus into Tinker, and have Reb for my Force.  What can I do about that? 

All my love, Derek.   

[nether__void]

This is Ryan.  It is definitely true that I was a little rusty going into Saturday's tournament, but I can say that in my games against Derek that didn't really factor in.  I did run into a MisD with my Recall in our first game, which was probably a bad play on my part, but the remaining games it just seemed as though Derek's deck was faster and more consistent.

Derek, you might remember better than me, but I think you had early game wins set up in at least half of the games we played (and through any counter-magic that I was able to throw at you).

I am definitely interested in playtesting the deck. In theory, I tend to agree with Soly that cutting mana drain prevents you from being able to power out spells for free (or at a reduced mana investment), but there may be some practical results behind having the first turn Negate on board.  I was also VERY skeptical about Reconstruction, but in the games we played, it served Derek very well.

I do think that there was a surprise factor at play with this deck as well.  If I don't switch decks for the next tournament, I'd be eager to play some additional games against it and see if using some different strategies would improve the matchup. On Saturday, Derek definitely crushed me...

[Malkizid]

I absolutely agree that I had the surprise factor.  I completely understand the arguments for Mana Drain.  I would love it if it fit into the deck better.  But this is more of a combo deck, where most Time Vault decks using Tezzeret are pure control.  Realisticly, Mana Drain can't be cast until second turn.  This is the turn that, all things in place, you want to be casting Intuition.  Now I can understand how some people might say, why not Mana Drain on your opponents second turn and then cast Intuition on your 3rd turn, with the Drain mana.  This could be the right way to do it.  I decided to try Negate, and it seemed like the right card.  It was a late decision to go with Negate over Mana Drain.(I decided the night before)  I will continue testing both, but for now, I have to go with Negate.  Keep in mind that this deck wants to start winning as soon as it gets to 3 mana. 

[heiner]

Do I ever feel like Keys, Reconstructions, and Tez are dead cards?  Not at all.  Tez is a one of in the deck, and he can win you the game, so he is not dead.  Having a Key or Reconstruction in hand when I cast Intuition is the exact situation the deck is hoping for.  The problem is when you don't have any Reconstructs or combo pieces in hand.  In this situation you have to see what your hand looks like and Intuition from there.  If I have just disruption left in my hand I will Intuition for Reconstruct, Reconstruct, Time Vault.  If I have some Thirsts or Gifts in my hand I will Intuition out Reconstruct, Reconstruct, Key.  Having a Reconstruction or combo peice in hand when I Intuition you just grab Reconstruct, Reconstruct, and the other combo piece.  Or Both combo pieces and reconstruct.  This is why 3 Reconstruction is the right number.

Sure I know all this. If you had read the whole thread you would have seen that I also piloted a very similar dec into T8 2 weeks ago. I was the first advocate for the two color reconstruction build but still I am not convinced that this is the optimal version. The purpose of my questions is not to criticize your dec but to come up with the best version of the dec.

- You give no explanation why 3 reconstruction is the right number as every single example of yours only requires 2.
- If you want to increase the amount of combo pieces, wouldn't it be better to play a third key instead of the third reconstruction? The chances to draw into the combo are the same and the mana investment is one less if you have key+reconstruction in your hand instead of reconstruction x2.
- You give a lot of examples where the cards are not dead but consider an hand with 2 reconstructions and no intuition. If the rest of the hand is mediocre you are basically forced to mull that away. Also, in topdec mode with no combo piece on board or in the graveyard don't you feel horrible when you draw into reconstruction?
- Its a known fact that two card combos where the cards do nothing on their own are bad. (metalworker/staff for example) Reconstruction, tv, key all suck on their own.
- Tez on your starthand without gazilions of mana is DEAD. If he wouldn't, everybody would play 4!
- Drawing Intuition without a combo piece and blindly tutoring for TV, Reconstr, Reconstr is not acceptable for me. In close games you need to go for disruption or even better draw spells to get ahead. (AK is perfect in this case for example) 

The matchup vs. combo.  You say I cannot keep up with combo.  In round 1 of the top 8 I played against U/R/B Grim Long.  I beat him in 2 Games.  Game 1 I probably got lucky.  But post board I have a very good matchup vs. combo.  My deck will contain something like 3 Duress, 1 Thoughtseze, 1 Mind Twist, 4 Force of Will, 3 Negate, 1 Misdirection.  Assuming I get a turn I will probably have some disruption for them.  If I don't get a turn, then I have 4 Force of Will and that is about all any deck can do without getting a turn.

You're right, at least the post board matches should be fine for you.

In the match I won 7 games in a row.  The games went early Intuition leads to the win.  I think once I had first turn Tinker DSC.  Control really can't out-control you when they are using the same draw spells you are.  Plus extra Duress effects can really swing things in your favor.

My testing experience vs. control is the complete opposite. If I tried to combo out early and invested all my mana and tutoring capability into the combo I always got caught pants down because of the card disadvantage I invested to create tempo. If I played the slow game, intuitioning for draw etc. I was doing much better.

You say DSC in not better to pitch to Thirst than any other artifact.  Pitching a DSC to Thirst feels Great because it is Great.  Last time I checked that bad boy costs ELEVEN to cast.  The place for this guy is in my library so I can Tinker him out, not in my hand.  When he is in my hand Thirst for knowlege reads 2U Instant Draw 3 cards.  I don't understand why you would rather hold onto it, and pitch another card, rather than shuffle it back in fear of drawing it again.

C'mon don't talk to me like that. I know what the cc of DSC is. The point I was trying to make was that the primary objective is in 90% to get the TV/key combo down and not DSC. Then, I don't care whether I have 5 cards in hand or 5 cards in hand + DSC. I don't feel the need to get rid of it asap. I just wait until I have 8 cards in hand and discard it from there. In Oath for example the restriction of BS really matters as you NEED your creatures in the library NOW! In this dec I do not care.
When you have a mox in hand TfK also reads 2U draw 3 cards. Staying within your logic would mean that playing bad artifacts increases the value of TfK as they are crap anyway so there is no cost in discarding them.

Bottom line I would not play TfK because it makes DSC better. This does not mean that I think TfK is a bad card or shouldn't be played in the dec. Just that the argument with DSC is irrelevant.

[rilegard]

I know that this can seem useless or a bit silly but I will try:
+ 1  Frantic Search
- 1 Thirst for knowledge
just to check how the deck behaves.

[swawagon]

Intuition and Reconstruction are really the key here. One Intuition often puts both spells in the grave where a card for U can get them to your hand. This deck does not have raw draw power and does not have inevitability, it has speed, card quality, and a low mana curve. Plus a surprisingly large control package.

The mana involved to get all the pieces and control spells effectively stops at 3 mana. TEZ and hardcasting Forces, Misdirection (and Darksteel Colossus) are the only spells over 3.

Does Strategic Planning have any appeal? Probably not enough spells that do anything in the grave. I kept trying to squeeze in a few Deep Analysis, but they never improved Intuition piles in this deck. Derek's is a pretty solid UB list.

[Malkizid]

@ Heiner

You are right, I didn't give you any examples of why 3 Reconstructions is the right number. 

If your hand has 2 Intuitions, no combo pieces and no Reconstructions, you can cast IT for Reconstruct, Reconstruct, Piece.  And then on the next turn again for Reconstruct, Yawg Will, other piece.  I realize this is pretty weak, but it could be relivant if both yours and your opponent's hands are depleated. 

Here are some situations where you might want to have Reconstruction in hand.

Having Reconstruction with either Demonic or Vampiric Tutor is just like having Tutor and a counterspell that costs 1.  Because assuming you Tutor out a combo piece, if they counter it you get it back.

Another thing to consider is Reconstructions interaction with Thirst for Knowledge.  Say you cast Thirst, with no artifacts in hand, and you draw Time Vault, Force of Will, any Blue card.  Having Reconstruction in your hand allows you to pitch the Vault and also have counter backup for when you try to replay your Vault. 

Another interaction is Reconstruction and Black Lotus.  Crack Lotus for 3 mana, Reconstruct it and crack it again.  This could get you a first turn Tez, or any number of other things. 

Some of these things were talked about in Meadberts original post.  Are 3 Reconstructions needed?  NO.  But add the fact that you can pitch your 3rd Reconstruction to Force and not worry about it, and I like it.  I guess it is preferance for the mix of cards you use in your deck.

As far as Tez goes. Say your game goes long, and you can't get your combo through Intuition.  This is when having Tez could win you the game.  You will have the mana, and he will get you the pieces.  He is really just a backup plan, and second win condition.  Plus he can be pitched to Force/Misdirection. 

When you have a mox in hand TfK also reads 2U draw 3 cards. Staying within your logic would mean that playing bad artifacts increases the value of TfK as they are crap anyway so there is no cost in discarding them.

Bottom line I would not play TfK because it makes DSC better. This does not mean that I think TfK is a bad card or shouldn't be played in the dec. Just that the argument with DSC is irrelevant.

As for this whole discussion, I wasn't saying that playing bad artifacts increases the value of TFK.  I was saying that DSC is uncastable in your hand.  Therefore pitching any other artifact and holding onto DSC, even a mox, makes no sense at all.  When you have a mox in hand TFK does not read 2U draw 3 cards.  Because the Mox can be played, and used to create mana.  DSC cannot be played 98% of the time.  Therefore it is a dead card in your hand.  A mox is almost never a dead card. 

I don't play TFK because it makes DSC better.  I make the case for playing TFK better.  Because it gives you a way to get DSC out of your hand, where it is dead, and back into your deck so it can be Tinkered out if need be. 


@ rilegard

Frantic Search seem like it might have something to add to the deck.  Let us know what your testing reveals.

[Grand Inquisitor]

If your hand has 2 Intuitions, no combo pieces and no Reconstructions

Having Reconstruction with either Demonic or Vampiric Tutor is just like having Tutor and a counterspell that costs 1

Not to be harsh, but these are really weak arguments for reconstruction.  In the former I'd argue that the design looks like it has too many intuitions.  In the latter, I'd say you'd be better off running an actual counterspell (since you often want to tutor for things besides combo pieces).

Another interaction is Reconstruction and Black Lotus

This gets my attention.  Not that it's always easy to find lotus, but I can see this leading to very early brokeness.  Can people who have tested this extensively comment about how often this is a factor?  I.e., how often do you either have lotus, or go tutor it up to interact with reconstruction?

[heiner]

Another interaction is Reconstruction and Black Lotus

This gets my attention.  Not that it's always easy to find lotus, but I can see this leading to very early brokeness.  Can people who have tested this extensively comment about how often this is a factor?  I.e., how often do you either have lotus, or go tutor it up to interact with reconstruction?

In the ~50 games I played I once had a lotus+reconstruction and once a reconstructionx2+lotus. Thats pretty busted but having lotus in your starthand is already rare so this doesnt happen very often.

What happened much more frequently was that I had a reconstruction in hand + Yawgwill in hand or I had previously tutored for it. With 4 mana you can then Intuition for Lotus/key/vault. Then reconstruct the lotus, play will, replay lotus, replay a fetch land and win from the spot.

[LordHomerCat]

Reconstruction on Lotus makes me think of Dark Ritual.  And I am in no hurry to run dark rituals in Tezzeret (nor would I if it was a blue ritual).

[swawagon]

I've played about 40 games and even when I had the opportunity it was never the right play to Reconstruct Black Lotus. It is interesting, but has never come up in play.

Reconstructing Tormod's Crypt, as Derek had in tournament play, is good against say Ichorid. I think the SBoard could be adjusted to bust Recon a little more, not sure what though.

Reconstruction brings countered combo pieces back to replay kind of like a blue, sorcery speed, Goblin Welder. And Reconstruction serves to make good Intuitions. I don't see any reason not to run 4 Intuition. There is always something to get. Grab 3 Forces, 3 Fetchies, even Thirsts, and of course most often combo pieces and Reconstructions.

I must say this deck just plays different than many decks. Just cast stuff then all of a sudden you have infi turns. I don't know how else to describe it. The combo comes together faster than any other Time Vault deck by far.

Yawg. Will belongs as another recursion tool. It isn't terribly broken in recasting a large number of spells, but serves it's purpose getting a few strong cards back. Any deck with 4 Intuition benefits from Will.

Really playing the deck I like most of the numbers I don't know what I'd change. I do want 2 Misdirection somehow, but pretty sure these #s are right; 3 Thirst, 4 Intuition, 3 Reconstruction, 3 Negate, 4 Force, 2 Thoughtseize.

[Grand Inquisitor]

Thanks for the feedback on lotus, I'm looking forward to testing this soon.

I am in no hurry to run dark rituals in Tezzeret (nor would I if it was a blue ritual).

Really?  It's sort of hard for me to imagine that much blue acceleration that early.  It's like making Tezzeret as Ad Nauseam.dec, but instead of crappy low cc stuff you get to play good blue cards, all of which pitch to fow/misd.  You're not saying exactly this, but I suspect if they printed a blue ritual we'd see one of the most degenerate formats ever.

[Qube]

So, I had now some time to test this deck again. As your test results with reconstruction were good, I also put them in my current list. First I thought it's a problem, that it's an sorcery but I the huge positive on the manabase with a blue/black list is more important.

Here's my current list:

Vault&Key Januar 09:

//Mana
3 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
3 Underground Sea
4 Island
1 Tolarian Academy

1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby

//Disruption
4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
3 Mana Drain
3 Negate
1 Echoing Truth

//Draw
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
4 Impulse

//Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Gifts Ungiven
4 Intuition

//Win & Brokenness
2 Voltaic Key
1 Time Vault
2 Reconstruction

1 Tinker
1 Darksteel Collossus
1 Tezzeret the Seeker

1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth's Will

//Sideboard
4 Thoughtseize
3 Tormod's Crypt
2 Pithing Needle
2 Yixlid Jailer
2 Rebuild
1 Echoing Truth
1 Darkblast

Thoughts:

Disruption-Box:
I choose the mix between Mana Drain and Negate and put the Thoughtseize in the side, but therefore all 4.
The mana of Drains wins too much games, that they can all be cutted.
So mainboard there are 11 counters and if you full up with the Thoughtseize there are 15 with allows you to win the most counterwar if necessary. And I think Echoing Truth is still the right mainbounce, because of it's flexibility.

Draw:
There is no huge cardadvantage but a very high cardquality. The 4 Impulse have a very synergy with the Negate of the cost  . In comparison with Thirst for Knowledge, the lower cost allows to play the hole deck a bit faster. so with 4 mana, which is very possible at turn 2, you can counter and play Impulse. I'm very confident with the "drawbox" now.

Tezz:
I'm not sure about him, but as like describe above, never every play more than one. It's only a second wincondition. But in lategames and after drains it win such easy.

Tutors:
I cut Mystical Tutor for Imperial Seal, because you can find all cards and it's a very good turn 1 play. Seal was very good for my in several games. But I'm not sure if I should run both.
I also cut the Merchant Scroll because the speed was very slower with it.

With the Impulse you always find the cards you need. And the most important card in this deck is still Intuition.

Sideboard:
Thoughtseize (any fast Combo, Fish, Staxx)
Tormod's Crypt (Ichorid, Welder, Goyfs)
Pithing Needle (Ichorid, Welder, Wasteland but with the 4 Island that is less important)
Yixlid Jailer (Ichorid, and if you need something to win, against jester's cap wich loose my some games)
Rebuild (Staxx, Null Rod)
Darkblast (Fish, Welder)
Echoing Truth (Goyfs, Ichorid, Null Rod)

Cards which are also possible to play in side:

Energy Flux
Extirpate
Sower of Temptation
Threads of Disloyalty
Hurkyl's Recall
...
I would also like to discuss the sideboard of the deck better, and to perfect it against the most bad matchups.

I look forward to discuss this deck and I'm glad to hear your opinions.

At last, I really like this deck and it's funny to play with. Thx again to meadbert!

Peace
-Qube

[meadbert]

Mystical is better than Imperial Seal.  You can Mystical for Tinker to get either combo piece.  The only advantage of Imperial Seal is that it can find Tezzeret in the late game, but I do not think that justifies it at all.

Also, I am pretty sure that Thirst belongs.  Being able to get rid of DSC and unwanted combo pieces is pretty huge.

Given that you are not running Thirsts, Voltaic Key starts to make a lot less sense since extras cannot be pitched to Thirst.  Intuitioning for Key, Key, Vault with Reconstruction in hand is nice but Reconstruction only costs  more.
With Argivian Find you may not want to Intuition for Find, Vault, Key with Find in hand because you now need  to win next turn, but finding  is so much easier for you so the cost of paying for an additional Reconstruction is much less.

Other than that this list looks good.  I like the sideboard.

I am definitely for Tezzeret now.  I am probably over adjusting my thinking based on one game, but I had basically beaten Uba Stax and gotten my combo on line only to rip DSC off the top with Uba Mask out.  The result is that I lost my only win condition.

[Qube]

Also, I am pretty sure that Thirst belongs.  Being able to get rid of DSC and unwanted combo pieces is pretty huge.
Given that you are not running Thirsts, Voltaic Key starts to make a lot less sense since extras cannot be pitched to Thirst.
Other than that this list looks good.  I like the sideboard.
I am definitely for Tezzeret now.  I am probably over adjusting my thinking based on one game, but I had basically beaten Uba Stax and gotten my combo on line only to rip DSC off the top with Uba Mask out.  The result is that I lost my only win condition.

About your argument on TfK and the useless of extra key: Now this deck is alot faster again, so you mostly don't get a second key before you win the game. For my, the lower cost of Impulse vs. TfK is also very important. And if DSC is stucking on your hand, it's not such a huge problem as you will get infinite turns you also can play from hand. And there aren't such alot artifact which you want to discard for TfK. in my testings I never missed the TfK, because of the higher card quality of the digging with Impulse. So you don't will find the Key#2. You allways get the cards you want.

Imperial Seal also let you find one of the combopieces direct, like searching for Key: cost , Vault .
Mystical for Tinker-->piece: allways. and Imperial Seal also find Tinker if needed. The only problem with Seal is the sorcery-part. But played first turn it's a house.

Yes I think the second wincondition is very important. And in problems, mid to lategame, to rip a Tezz is very likely:-)

With this manabase, I loose alot less games against any Wasteland.dec and also the Fishmatchup now much much better. With the 4 Thoughtseize in side you will destroy them easier.

Please test this list out at any time and give my your testresults against decs like Fish, Staxx and also Ichorid or Combo. I would be happy

[honestabe]

This deck is REALLY GOOD

I've played against it in the past, and it's nearly unstoppable

I have a feeling it will dominate for a while, but i think if it continues to be good, as I predict it will, I see some restrictions coming its way

[bluemage55]

I have a feeling it will dominate for a while, but i think if it continues to be good, as I predict it will, I see some restrictions coming its way

Has this deck won any tournaments?  A single Top 4 isn't exactly "dominating".  If anything, Drain Tez is the dominant deck right now, not this.

[Guli]

@ Vault&Key Januar 09: list

I find it very logical that control/combo is going with Impulse (finally) after the restrictions. Same goes for Intuition. I only see 1 removal spell though. Is Echoing T. enough? What are you bouncing most of the time? (artifacts?tokens?)

[Qube]

This deck is REALLY GOOD
I've played against it in the past, and it's nearly unstoppable
I have a feeling it will dominate for a while, but i think if it continues to be good, as I predict it will, I see some restrictions coming its way

Against which sort of this deck you play against? what destroyed you?

@ Vault&Key Januar 09: list

I only see 1 removal spell though. Is Echoing T. enough? What are you bouncing most of the time? (artifacts?tokens?)

It's only 1 removal/bounce spell in the main for game 1 which you allmost should win. more bounce are just dead draws... (just my experience). And in the side there are another 3 bounce. The most bouncetargets are chalice#0 or #1 , Spheres and goyfs, maybe Oath. I never needed to bounce tokens, (only against Ichorid) but alot artifacts.
But I think about to put 1-2 Chain of Vapor into side, as it is the cheapest bouncespell and you mostly don't get something bounces back. And it's the best Null Rod bounce as a Island will allways be in play.

[honestabe]

This deck is REALLY GOOD

I've played against it in the past, and it's nearly unstoppable

I have a feeling it will dominate for a while, but i think if it continues to be good, as I predict it will, I see some restrictions coming its way

This deck is REALLY GOOD
I've played against it in the past, and it's nearly unstoppable
I have a feeling it will dominate for a while, but i think if it continues to be good, as I predict it will, I see some restrictions coming its way

Against which sort of this deck you play against? what destroyed you?

@ Vault&Key Januar 09: list

I only see 1 removal spell though. Is Echoing T. enough? What are you bouncing most of the time? (artifacts?tokens?)

It's only 1 removal/bounce spell in the main for game 1 which you allmost should win. more bounce are just dead draws... (just my experience). And in the side there are another 3 bounce. The most bouncetargets are chalice#0 or #1 , Spheres and goyfs, maybe Oath. I never needed to bounce tokens, (only against Ichorid) but alot artifacts.
But I think about to put 1-2 Chain of Vapor into side, as it is the cheapest bouncespell and you mostly don't get something bounces back. And it's the best Null Rod bounce as a Island will allways be in play.

Well, I myself play more local tournements, and it is very good, and from what I've heard from friends of mine who play serious vintage, this deck will soon be on top.

I played it with an Oath of Druids Deck, and I got demolished.  even though I was able to cast an akroma, it was too late because my opponent locked in the combo the next turn, and won.  Countered my oxidize, and played wipe away to get rid of Akroma.

With Gifts Ungiven and Tezzeret, this deck is REALLY GOOD

[Tha Gunslinga]

This deck plays Echoing Truth maybe, but not Wipe Away.

[honestabe]

This deck plays Echoing Truth maybe, but not Wipe Away.

That's what i meant, sorry

[Malkizid]

I've done it again...  Another top 8 (ICBM Open # 8) with Intuition Vault Combo.  I'll have some observations tomorrow. 

[M.Solymossy]

I've done it again...  Another top 8 (ICBM Open # 8) with Intuition Vault Combo.  I'll have some observations tomorrow. 

I'd like to point out that he lost to me, again.  . 

Blamo.  Still DK why you think this is better than a normal Tezz Build.  I must say, Drain is 100% Correct.  That swamp is still awful though.

[Guli]

If this archetype becomes more and more popular I can see Aven Mindcensor and True Believer making an appearance in the future. There are only 6 cards that Gaddock TeeG stops. Force/Misd/Gifts. And gifts is stopped by Aven and Believer anyway. Reformation.

[heiner]

Hi I played the dec to another T8 finish and came in 2nd place.

The list I played:

Restricted:
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Ponder
1 Brainstorm
1 Merchant Scroll

Draw Engine:
4 Intuition
4 Akumulated Knowledge
2 Impulse

Control:
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
3 Duress
1 Rebuild

Win:
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Voltaic Key
1 Time Vault

Mana:
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Jet
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring

3 Flooded Strand
2 Polluted Delta
2 Underground Sea
4 Island
1 Tropical Island
1 Tolarian Academy

Sideboard:
3 Pithing Needle
2 Yixlid Jailer
1 Duress
1 Thoughtseize
4 Oath of Druids
2 Forbidden Orchard
1 Hellkite Overlord
1 Hurkyl's Recall

1. match: Simon Fassl with Drain Tendrils

1. game: He misdirects my first turn ancestral and plays TfK next turn but he draws a lot of lands and I topdec Duress, Duress, Yawgwill. I rip him apart and Will for the win.
2. game: I start with duress and take his only bomb, while seeing a hand with tendrils, EtW and another dead cards. I intuition for 3 AK, and draw more cards from there on.

2. match: David Harald with Bomberman

1. game: I have a hand with lotus, 2 drains and 2 AK. I draw 3 cards with the AKs and he tries to go off with lotus, salvager at some point which I drain and I drain his FoW as well. I topdec Yawgwill with nothing else good in hand reply the AKs and draw into some juicy stuff. That game the AKs where clearly better then 2 TfK because I couldn#t have played the TfK without breaking the lotus.
2. game: He gets down a canonist which slows me down and two more Trinket Mages for the beatdown.
3. game: He gets down canonist again and the flyer where you can only search the top 4 cards of your library. I counter that with 2 Impulses and brainstorm which let me assemble my combo over the next 2 turns

3. match: Allesandro Ciuchi with TPS

1.   game: He baits with a Dark Ritual which I force but he then drops another land and another ritual and resolves Bargain soon after.
2.   game: I have Land, Crypt, 3 FoW, Tinker and Intuition. He Duresses the Tinker but I intuition for 3 AK, draw lots of cards and have 3 FoW online and win soon after.
3.   game: I duress him first turn taking Bargain. He plays ritual, gifts for lotus, necro, ancestral, demonic. I give him Ancestral and Demonic. Next turn I drain his Ancestral a let him play, cabal rit with threshhold, demonic, yawgwill. Of course, I crapped out this one. First of all I should have given him Necro+Ancestral. Second, I oversaw that he had threshold thinking that he cant do anything with 3 mana + demonic.

4. match: Christian Höchel with Stax:

1.   game: He mulls to 5 and I to six and have an ok hand with mana,  FoW and mana drain. He starts with ancient tomb go, which gives me enough time to build up my mana base and win.
2.   I board in my Oath plan. I have a single island but FoW and Ancestral. He plays sphere, I Fow. I play Ancestral and draw 2 more FoW. He plays two more spheres and I Fow them both. I topdec mana drain. I counter his last thread and play demonic for Oath. I win soon after.

5.   match: Frederick with burn:

1.   game: We draw but I win in two quick games. I have second turn intuition for lotus, key, vault and demonic for yawg will turn 3.
2.   game: I have an early tinker + FoW

Top8:
Fabian Moyschewitz with mono brown stax.

1.   He mulls to four and I have a VERY good hand with, basics, mox sapphire, drain and ancestral.
2.   I board the Oath plan. I take a mulligan and can resolve an early Oath but he can race me with Karn and 2 spheres and my own crypt that hits me twice.
3.   He mulls to 6. I think I have island, sapphire, drain again. I drain his first turn sphere. I topdec Impulse, play it and see Oath. I have the orchard in hand and play the oath with the second drain mana. I win.

Semi Final: Oliver Salten with blue-red gobbos

1.   game: He drops first turn piledriver but I can force his next beaters so he only attacks for 1 and I have a lot of time. At one time we are both in topdec mode and I draw FoF. It reveals, lotus, vault, demonic, mox, tolarian. I take the lotus pile and play my last card which is Yawgwill and win.
2.   game: I board in the Oath plan. I drop an early oath but he ices and bounces my colossus, and I crap out a little bit and have to draw when my library is empty.
3.   game: I fanout a hand which has, mox, orchard, oath, FoW, blue card. I win.

Finals: Alban Lauter with Painter:
1.   game: He goes first. I start with duress and take one of his mana drain, I vamp for mystical in my next upkeep and try to play ancestral with drain backup, but he drew into REB and counters my ancestral. He draws more REBs for my threads and resolves ToK and just outdraws me.
2.   game: He starts with LoA. I cannot keep up and he has too much disruption again. 4 FoW, 3 drain, 4 Duress, 5 REB after boarding is just too much for me.

Thoughts: I had a great time and the dec performed well. AK was good but I think I will try TfK again next time. Basics are very important. I won both games vs. stax with my low mana base. The Oath plan worked really well in the 4 games I played them. The reconstructions are good but I do not see that they improve the critical matchups. The ones where comboing is great are easy ones anyway. The difficult ones: Stax, TPS and Control Mirrors are IMHO not improved by the reconstruction combo.

[Qube]

Gratulation on you 2. place.

Some questions:

- You never mention the Imperial Seal, do you really need it?
- Do you never missed the reconstruction or argivian find? (with oath sideboarded)
- How does Rebuild works?
- Was 13 Lands enough?

[heiner]

- You never mention the Imperial Seal, do you really need it?

I board it out most of the time. My plan was, without the reconstructions, to intuition for lotus, key, vault and then tutor up yawgwill which is what the seal is supposed to do. The problem however is that you intuition in their endstep and then you need another two turns before you draw the card you searched for with the imperial seal. It still isn't too bad, but it is easily cutable.

- Do you never missed the reconstruction or argivian find? (with oath sideboarded)

Actually not but maybe it depends on the matchups. Also maybe I am too much of an oldskool control player but as you can read in my report I never outcomboed my oponents. I had a lot of control matchups and I won all of them by outcontrolling/outdrawing them. It just may be my playstyle but I think that s how you win control mirrors.

- How does Rebuild works?

I m in total love with it. I never had felt the need of tutoring up echoing truth in any of my games. I cannot even think of any threads that I would like to remove which the rebuild can't. Oath and Magus of the Moon are really not worth it. They are rarely played and you can still remove your opponent as a solution. I cycled rebuild twice in the tournament which was important. However, I am thinking about cutting the maindec bounce at all. Most of turn 1 games I win against stax (which aren't a lot) are won through basics, FoW or an early tinker. The bounce spells got significantly worse by the printing of Thorn. That why I like the Oath plan better than a 4 Hurkyl's + 2 basic lands plan.

- Was 13 Lands enough?

It sounds strange but yes. I lost one game against TPS where I didn't draw into black mana while having two duresses, but on the other hand I didn't loose a single game due to beeing mana flooded. My control opponents who played 15 or 16 lands, however, did loose to me due to mana floods. I think that 14 lands are ok, 15 are not. When playing TfK I would recommend adding the 14 th land or the lotus petal.

[Qube]

I really like this list. 

Thoughts: I had a great time and the dec performed well. AK was good but I think I will try TfK again next time. Basics are very important. I won both games vs. stax with my low mana base. The Oath plan worked really well in the 4 games I played them. The reconstructions are good but I do not see that they improve the critical matchups. The ones where comboing is great are easy ones anyway. The difficult ones: Stax, TPS and Control Mirrors are IMHO not improved by the reconstruction combo.

Why not run AK & TfK? then you really can "outdraw" the opponents.
Maybe:
- 1 Seal
- 1 Rebuild
- 2 Impulse
+ 3 TfK
+ 1 Duress or Land#14

The Oath-SB is also very good against the other bad matchup, fish.

[Cyberpunker]

I have tested this build for a while and here are my conclusions:

Intuition is a bomb because its a shitty Gifts Ungiven that tutors for your combo pieces. Without it you are forced to play a long control matchup. If you are running Oath of Druids on the board then you can be fine without Intuition. If not, then I would run Intuition because of the speed it gives you. Also Goblin Welders are like a reusable
Seal of Reconstruction. I recommend running 1 Reconstruction for the speed and 1 Goblin Welder for the reusablilty. Also Goblin Welder can kind of stall Stax (though rarely happens but still does once in a long time). Goblin Welder can also save you from Tinker + Colossus provided that they do not bounce it, which is likely too. Goblin Welder can fight off Mirror or Painter's by welding out their combo piece in response to them casting the 2nd one. Very handy guy. The major downside to him is that he cannot get your Time Vault back if you just Intuition'ed for him or if you have no other artifacts in play. That is why I run 1 Reconstruction and 1 Goblin Welder.

Mind Twist is awesome to have.
Viashino Heretic is a bomb, Trygon Predator is better if you run more green.
Arcane Laboratory really stalls Tendrils.
Stax is your worst nightmare.
Not having Imperial Seal hurts more than you think it does.
You will lose games randomly because opponents topdeck better, have a better starting hand, or simply run Wastelands+Spheres+Tangle Wires+Triskelion+Thorn+Trinisphere+Smokestack+Crucible+Mishra's Workshop+Metal Worker and goes totally crazy and overwelms your counter wall.


It is true also that Intuition is shitty if you don't have another combo piece. But what are you going to do about it? Its just a tutor that gets you combo pieces or if you have Imperial Seal, you can get 3 tutors. It is horrible against Stax so side it out!

Hope this helps.