[Results, Lists & Breakdown] Grand Prix Chicago Side-Event, March 8th

[Duncan]

Because Pastimes was not going to post the results I offered to take the results and decklists and type them out, so here they are!

81 players attended to fight for the Beta Sapphire.
The tournament type was Swiss + 1, so there were 8 rounds to be played.

Final standings:
1. Brett Piazza, 22 pts
2. Duncan Keijzer, 21 pts
3. Frank Emmert, 19 pts
4. Jaime Cano 18, pts
5. Jamison Bryant, 18 pts
6. Robert Vroman, 18 pts.
7. Blaine Christiansen, 18 pts
8. Lou Christopher, 16 pts

The lists:

1. Brett Piazza - Ichorid

4 Bazaar of Baghdad
3 Petrified Field
2 Dryad Arbor
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Windswept Heath

1 Emerald Charm
4 Unmask
4 Serum Powder
4 Bridge from Below
2 Flame-Kin Zealot
2 Cephalid Sage
4 Ichorid
4 Dread Return
4 Golgari Thug
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Narcomoeba
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Cabal Therapy

Sideboard:
4 Contagion
4 Oxidize
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Windswept Heath
2 Bayou
3 Emerald Charm

2. Duncan Keijzer - Mono R Workshop Aggro

4 Mishra's Workshop
7 Mountain
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Ancient Tomb
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring

4 Thorn of Amethyst
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Trinisphere
4 Goblin Welder
4 Magus of the Moon
3 Gorilla Shaman
3 Solemn Simulacrum
4 Triskelion
2 Sword of Fire and Ice
2 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Memory Jar

Sideboard:
4 Tormod's Crypt
4 Sphere of Resistance
2 Rack and Ruin
2 Viashino Heretic
3 Flametongue Kavu

3. Frank Emmert - Affinity

4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
4 Ancient Tomb
2 City of Traitors
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald

4 Myr Servitor
4 Metalworker
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Myr Retriever
3 Triskelion
4 Tangle Wire
1 Memory Jar
4 Thorn of Amethyst
4 Skullclamp
3 Staff of Domination

Sideboard:
3 Chalice of the Void
1 Sundering Titan
1 Sphere of Resistance
2 Jester's Cap
3 Razormane Masticore
4 Tormod's Crypt
1 Trinisphere

4. Jaime Cano - Tezzeret

1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Library of Alexandria
2 Underground Sea
3 Tropical Island
3 Island
3 Flooded Strand
3 Polluted Delta

4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Thirst for Knowledge
2 Spell Snare
2 Repeal
1 Ponder
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Echoing Truth
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Tinker
1 Rebuild
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Regrowth
1 Darksteel Colossus
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key

Sideboard:
2 Tormod's Crypt
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Yixlid Jailer
4 Oath of Druids
3 Oxidize
1 Gaea's Blessing
2 Negate
1 Empyrial Archangel

5. Jamison Bryant - Mana Ichorid

4 Bazaar of Baghdad
4 City of Brass
3 Gemstone Mine
3 Cephalid Coliseum
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus

3 Golgari Thug
2 Dread Return
4 Narcomoeba
3 Careful Study
3 Breakthrough
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Ichorid
4 Bridge from Below
4 Cabal Therapy
2 Darkblast
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Ancient Grudge

Sideboard:
2 Darkblast
4 Chain of Vapor
2 Ancient Grudge
4 Wispmare
3 Tormod's Crypt

6. Robert Vroman - Uba Stax

4 Mishra's Workshop
3 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
4 Mountain
4 Barbarian Ring
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt

3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Null Rod
4 Uba Mask
4 Tangle Wire
4 Smokestack
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Goblin Welder
2 Duplicant
1 Trinisphere

Sideboard:
4 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Rack and Ruin
3 Mogg Fanatic
2 Tormod's Crypt
3 Pithing Needle

7. Blaine Christiansen - Uba Stax

4 Mishra's Workshop
3 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
4 Mountain
4 Barbarian Ring
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt

3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Null Rod
4 Uba Mask
4 Tangle Wire
4 Smokestack
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Goblin Welder
2 Duplicant
1 Trinisphere

Sideboard:
2 Ensnaring Bridge
2 Rack and Ruin
4 Mogg Fanatic
2 Tormod's Crypt
2 Pithing Needle
3 Pyrostatic Pillar

8. Lou Christopher - Ichorid

4 Bazaar of Baghdad
4 Dryad Arbor
2 Petrified Field

4 Ichorid
4 Serum Powder
2 Leyline of the Void
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
3 Golgari Thug
3 Street Wraith
3 Dread Return
4 Unmask
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Bridge from Below
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
2 River Kelpie
4 Narcomoeba

Sideboard:
2 Bayou
2 Windswept Heath
4 Contagion
3 Emerald Charm
3 Oxidize
1 Ancient Grudge

Because I got all 81 decklists I can compose a metagame breakdown when I get the time if people are interested in that.

[The Atog Lord]

Thanks for typing those up Duncan. Great meeting you at the Grand Prix.

[Smmenen]

Duncan,

It was very nice to meet you as well.    I hope you enjoyed our hilarious match where Brian DeMars and I bickered on every play about how to play against your deck with TPS.   

More importantly, I am very impressed that you took the time to ask Pastimes for the decklists.   Vintage players everywhere should take note of your courage.   

A lazy TO doesn't mean that the Vintage community should be deprived of helpful tournament data, but rather it is up to Vintage players to make sure that that information is not lost.   

Also, for everyone complaining about the prize payout, please make sure to remind Pasttimes that EIGHTY people signed up to play Vintage, and even more would have signed up if there had been a top 8.   The point is that while we should be critical of their miserly prize support, it should be paired with a reminder that Vintage remains a format with a dedicated player base. 

[BC]

Because I got all 81 decklists I can compose a metagame breakdown when I get the time if people are interested in that.

Personally, I would like to see a metagame breakdown.  Thanks for taking responsibility for writing up the tournament results, Duncan.

[LordHomerCat]

Not only did 80 sign up, but I know at least 10 Vintage players who were in Day 2 of Legacy and even more who just refused to play Swiss+1.  Turnout could easily have topped 100.

Thanks for typing up the lists and it was good meeting you Duncan.

[Negator13]

Well that proves it, Mana Drain is the most dominant card of the metagame.

[marriedwithchildren]

Well that proves it, Mana Drain is the most dominant card of the metagame.

Actually I see 20 Bazaars, 16 Workshops and only 4 drains.  20 Bazaar of Baghdad's That's 5 of 8 decks!  I would love to see a meta breakdown though.  Thanks for hooking up the decklists!

[Isaac85]

I'm just amazed that many people attended and the top 8 is pretty interesting as well. Tezz didn't rule and staxx and ichorid was pretty dominate. Can anyone tell me the prize breakdown. I'm guessing they were packs but I can only assume. Also maybe with these numbers maybe we will see bigger vintage events in the future.

[chief]

Thanks for the write up, Duncan.  Glad you could make it out for the GP.

[OwenTheEnchanter]

That is alot of ichorid, wow.

[Twaun007]

I know at least 10 Vintage players who were in Day 2 of Legacy and even more who just refused to play Swiss+1.  Turnout could easily have topped 100.

True statement. I was one of the people who refused to play since Pastimes refused to cut to top 8 after multiple vintage players asked them.

My favorite part was when someone came up to me and stated "You should have registered Twaun. There are 80 people who signed up so they are handing out prizes to the top 8!"

Sweet guru land prize support.

To my understanding, the reasoning behind the swiss+1 had to do with the judging staffs time constraints. I don't know all the details, but apparently the judging staff didn't want to have to stay to help the Vintage event grind through the top 8.

[Smmenen]

Every single Vintage Swiss + 1 tournament I've ever played in has been won by Ichorid.

As a side note, I faced Brett in round 4.

Mini-Round 4 Report (aka a Cautionary Tale):

Game 1:

I pretty much know that Brett is on Ichorid, as he always plays it :p

I was disappointed to lose the die roll.   However, fortune smiled upon me.  

He used Serum Powder in his first opener and removed Cephalid Sage, Flame Kin-Zealot, Dread Return, Serum Powder, Emerald Charm (Wow, main deck!), Bridge From Below, and Unmask (isn't it insane that I remember what he removed to Serum Powder LOL).

However, he mulliganed to 6.   And then 5.   And then 4.     At this point, I was getting pretty excited, but I wanted to make sure I contained myself, since I've lost to Ichorid mulliganing to 3 before.

Then he mulliganed to three and said "Keep."   Darnit, I thought.    At this point, we were probably 10 minutes into the match.    As part of our table talk, he mentioned that he played an opponent earlier where he mulliganed very low, and he still won only because his opponent kept a terrible hand.

He opened with Bazaar and activated it, discarding no Dredgers!  

Our table talk conversation started to weigh on me, because my only play was turn three Jar.    My opening hand has Mox, Lotus Petal, lands, and Memory Jar, and not much else.   Pretty slow.  I kept it only because he mulliganed to 3 and because I am a dog to Ichorid in game 1.  

On his upkeep, he activated Bazaar and finally revealed a dredger, a Golgari Thug, which he discarded.    He was able to dredge that into a Golgari Grave-Troll on his draw step, which didn't reveal anything yet.

On my turn, I drew a Cabal Ritual because I was able to play Jar without having to play a second land by tapping two lands, the two Moxen, and using Cabal Ritual.  I left Lotus Petal unused.    At this point, I debated whether to play Underground Sea or whether to wait to see what I drew with Jar.   I decided to play Underground Sea and then broke Jar.

However, before drawing our hands, I requested that Brett not draw his hands with Jar (or dredge) because of time.    We had already spent nearly 16-17 minutes in the match and we hadn't even finished game 1.   If he jarred, he would presumably dredge his whole deck.    Brett is very methodical about every draw, every dredge, and every shuffle, which eats up a ton of time.   I basically told him that unless I can Twister or Time Walk, I would just scoop at the end of the turn, so there was no need for him to spend 5 minutes dredging 40 cards with Jar.    

In my Jar, I drew: Mana Crypt, Tinker, Yawgmoth's Will, Tolarian Academy,  two other lands, and a completely irrelevant card, like Force of Will.  

I looked at my hand and told him that it was a good one.  He said something that conveyed his disappointment.  

I played Mana Crypt and sacrificed Lotus Petal to cast Tinker for Black Lotus.  I sacrificed Black Lotus to play Yawgmoth's Will.  

I replayed Mana Crypt, Black Lotus, and Lotus Petal.  

I must have tapped Mana Crypt and sacrificed Lotus Petal to play Cabal Ritual again.   I then sacrificed Black Lotus for UUU to play Memory Jar with UB floating.  What I really needed to draw was some Dark Rituals.  

I broke the Jar again, and I drew Mana Vault, Mind's Desire, and cards I don't remember, but no other mana.   I think I was able to Demonic Tutor, but there was nothing I could do to get out of the mess, and I scooped after playing Brainstorm.  

If I had NOT played my Underground Sea, I would have easily been able to win once I found the Academy.   When playing original Long.dec and Grim Long, I learned the lesson to NEVER play a land in a turn where I could find Academy, but I thought the rule was different with TPS.  The danger in not playing the Sea is that I won't draw into a land in my Jar hand.   The danger of playing the sea is exactly what happened: I can't win because I need Academy mana.   Given three key facts, I think that I should have waited for Academy.   First, I am a dog to Dredge in game one, so in order to win, I need to take risks.  Secondly, I had a bunch of artifacts already, so the Academy would have been explosive.   Third, if I am able to Will, I can replay the Fetchland I played on turn one even if I don't draw a land in the Jar.  

At this point, we have only 26 minutes left in the round, and I remind him that there is a VERY good chance we'll go to time, especially if he has to mulligan a bunch.  I don't think he believes me.

Game Two:

I sideboard in 4 Leyline of the Void and 4 Yixlid Jailer.   I sideboard out a Cabal Ritual, Mox Pearl, Bloodstained Mire, Misdirection, a Duress, Fact or Fiction, Gifts Ungiven, and a card I don't remember.  

I mulligan my opening hand because it has no anti-ichorid cards.  I have to mulligan my hand of 6 because it has no mana.    I go to 5 and find the perfect hand.  It has Leyline, Underground Sea, Mox, Duress, and something else irrellevant.  

I play Leyline on turn zero, and he is pretty surprised.  

I play Sea, Duress.   It's difficult to imagine a better  defensive sequence of plays.   I see:
Bazaar of Baghdad
Dread Return
Stinkweed Imp
Chalice of the Void
Flame Kin Zealot
Oxidize
Serum Powder

I take Chalice, and pass.  

Brett activates Bazaar on his turn, clearly looking for something.

I untap, and I believe I Imperial Seal.   I play Mox Jet and Seal for Yixlid Jailer, although I convey the impression that I'm getting Tinker.

I pass the turn and realize my error in playing that Jet.  I know my opponent has Oxidize in hand.

He taps Bazaar, discards some junk, and play a land and casts Oxizide on my Mox Jet.   This actually makes me nervous.

I untap and draw Yixlid Jailer and pass.   On his turn, he activates Bazaar and passes, but he's thinking the whole time, trying to figure out how to beat my Leyline.

Then, I draw *another* Jailer, and am very uneasy.

On his turn he finds a second land.  He plays it and is able to hard cast Cabal Therapy.  He names Tinker, and when he sees my two Jailers his eyes bulge.   Thank god I topdeck a land, and I play both Jailers in consecutive turns.   I attack him to 6 and then play Mox, Dark Ritual Tendrils and win the game.

At this point, there are less than 9 minutes left in the round.

We shuffle up and he keeps and I keep.  My opening hand is:

Lotus Petal
Land,
Land,
Yixlid Jailer
Force of Will
Force of Will
Mind's Desire

Brett plays Chalice and Bazaar on turn one, and I'm not quite sure how or why, but I don't think I Forced it.   And again, I'm not quite sure how or why, but I know that I play turn two Yixlid Jailer.   In those two turns I drew Mana Crypt and then Demonic Tutor.

Brett plays a Fetchland.

On turn three I play Demonic Tutor and debate between Hurkyl's Recall or Ancestral Recall.   I look at the time, and we have only about 25 seconds until time is called so I get flustered because I want to quickly pass the turn to Brett so that I'll have 3 turns in time.   I quickly dig out Ancestral Recall and put it in my hand.

So my hand is:

Ancestral Recall
Mind's Desire
Force of Will
Force of Will
Mana Crypt
Lotus Petal

My board is two lands and a Yixlid Jailer.

I quickly attack with Jailer, thoughtlessly, and as soon as I announce the attack I realize my error.  He breaks the fetchland and time is called.   He finds Dryad Arbor and blocks.    

He is doubtlessly going to win on his turn.  

I didn't even make him play it out.   I told him that even if I could, I didn't deserve to win this match.

I scooped and dropped from the tournament, disgusted with myself.  

But I was right about one thing: we definitely went to time.   I don't think Brett realized just how much hate i have for Ichorid.  My entire sideboard with TPS is 8 anti ichorid cards, 6 anti stax/fish cards (3 basic lands and 3 blue bounce spells), and then 1 Massacre.    The field could not have been better composed for me.  

But this match was merely a microcosm of my entire weekend.  I had the right deck, the most powerful cards, but bungled it at every critical turn.  

[Troy_Costisick]

Also, for everyone complaining about the prize payout, please make sure to remind Pasttimes that EIGHTY people signed up to play Vintage, and even more would have signed up if there had been a top 8.   The point is that while we should be critical of their miserly prize support, it should be paired with a reminder that Vintage remains a format with a dedicated player base. 

I second this.  I played in their Vintage side event at GP Indy last year.  There was no prize support beyond first and the only way to know ahead of time it was Swiss +1 was to look on their website.  In the listing, it didn't say one way or the other.  There were a ton of people upset when we got three rounds into the tournament and the TO annouced that it was Swiss +1.

[Razvan]

To my understanding, the reasoning behind the swiss+1 had to do with the judging staffs time constraints. I don't know all the details, but apparently the judging staff didn't want to have to stay to help the Vintage event grind through the top 8.

This is really unfortunate, but wouldn't a simpler idea is to ask for volunteers from the players that get eliminated from either this or legacy to "judge" this? Or just self-moderate the top-8. It's not sanctioned, and every player probably (in the this particular top-8) knows how to judge properly.

I am not saying this is how it should be done, but in situations like this, wouldn't it be a viable working solution?

[BC]

To my understanding, the reasoning behind the swiss+1 had to do with the judging staffs time constraints. I don't know all the details, but apparently the judging staff didn't want to have to stay to help the Vintage event grind through the top 8.

This is really unfortunate, but wouldn't a simpler idea is to ask for volunteers from the players that get eliminated from either this or legacy to "judge" this? Or just self-moderate the top-8. It's not sanctioned, and every player probably knows how to judge properly.

I am not saying this is how it should be done, but in situations like this, wouldn't it be a viable working solution?

Another solution would be to schedule the start time an hour or two earlier.  It didn't start until 1 PM.  I think it was probably scheduled this way so players who scrub out of day 2 of the GP could participate, but only a small percentage of players in this event would have been affected.

[DoubleDrain]

Wow fu&K yeah, way to go Brett! also, mad props to Vroman for his return with Uba Stax (man that deck is a beating!). brett is one of the slowest players I know... even when we are doing a fun draft at his house he still takes like 4 min a turn LOL! I still love the guy, and he remains one of the best players i've have had the pleasure of loosing to. Also, props to Lou and Duncan for the top 8... way to rep CO guys!

[Duncan]

Also, props to Lou and Duncan for the top 8... way to rep CO guys!

CO is Colorado I suppose? Sorry to disappoint you, but I represented either Europe, the Netherlands or Amsterdam in this tournament Thanks for the props though

[DoubleDrain]

Also, props to Lou and Duncan for the top 8... way to rep CO guys!

CO is Colorado I suppose? Sorry to disappoint you, but I represented either Europe, the Netherlands or Amsterdam in this tournament Thanks for the props though

Wow, I totally thought you were the duncan from CO! My bad, but congrats anyways (Go Amsterdam )

[ashiXIII]

To my understanding, the reasoning behind the swiss+1 had to do with the judging staffs time constraints. I don't know all the details, but apparently the judging staff didn't want to have to stay to help the Vintage event grind through the top 8.

This is really unfortunate, but wouldn't a simpler idea is to ask for volunteers from the players that get eliminated from either this or legacy to "judge" this? Or just self-moderate the top-8. It's not sanctioned, and every player probably knows how to judge properly.

I am not saying this is how it should be done, but in situations like this, wouldn't it be a viable working solution?

lol @ every player knowing how to judge

[Smmenen]

Rich Shay came up to me Saturday and asked me to talk to the pasttimes folks about the swiss+1.   He also approached LSV who disagreed with the structure.   I talked with Alan who runs pasttimes and he basically explained that if they ran a top 8, even Swiss minus 1 + Top 8, then the tournament would go too long.  Essentially, they had judges that had to travel home, and he didn't want them to have to stay around until 10pm, which is likely when the tournament would have concluded.

The alternative, which we discussed, was to cap the tournament as 64 players so it would only have to be 6 rounds + top 8, but that would be unfair to people who wanted to sign up for the tournament.   Since they advertised the tournament as swiss +1 with a 1pm start time, that seemed to be the most sensible choice. 

In short, there were no good solutions, and in the end, despite not liking Swiss + 1, I think their reasoning was sound.    What was unsound, however, was the pitiful prize payout.  There is no excuse for that. 

[Duncan]

So I made a metagame breakdown. I only have 79 decklists, while the dci reporter master list they used for indicating who got a gameloss, which they also gave me, states 81 players. 9 people earned a gameloss for misregistering their decklist! That shocks me.

On to the actual breakdown:

27 Mana Drain decks ( 34% )

• 13 Tezzeret (1 MUC version)
• 5 Painter (2 also running Vault+Key)
• 3 Slaver (2 Strategic)
• 3 Meditate Remora
• 2 UR Landstill
• 1 Tezzeretless Tezzeret

13 Workshop decks ( 16% )

• 6 Mono Red WS Aggro (1 with Taiga for Grudge)
• 3 Mono Brown running Metalworker (1 being Affinity)
• 2 Uba Stax
• 1 5-Color Stax
• 1 Master Transmuter Slaver

9 Blue Aggro ( 11% )

• 5 Dreadnought (3 Mask/1 Dreadstill/1 Goyf)
• 3 UB Fish (1 being Faeries)
• 1 Affinity with Force of Will

7 Oath of Druids ( 9% )

• 4 Akroma&Overlord
• 3 Progenitus

7 Ritual Combo ( 9% )

• 5 TPS
• 2 Ad Nauseam

6 Ichorid ( 8% )

• 5 Manaless
• 1 Mana'd

10 Other ( 13% )

• 3 Hate (BGR, RGW, WB ManPrison)
• 3 Other Combo (Lich's Mirror, Dream Halls, Combo Elves)
• 1 Turboland
• 1 Pox
• 1 Survival Slivers
• 1 5-color-stax without Workshop

I think it is quite a good representation of where Vintage is nowadays. I'm interested in your opinions!

[Xyre]

Also, props to Lou and Duncan for the top 8... way to rep CO guys!

CO is Colorado I suppose? Sorry to disappoint you, but I represented either Europe, the Netherlands or Amsterdam in this tournament Thanks for the props though

Wow, I totally thought you were the duncan from CO! My bad, but congrats anyways (Go Amsterdam )

That got a major chuckle out of me.

Regardless, congratulations to Brett.

[BC]

I think it is quite a good representation of where Vintage is nowadays. I'm interested in your opinions!

It looks pretty close to the current Vintage metagame.  I expected Tendrils combo to be more strongly represented.  I also thought there would be more Drain decks in the top 8.  Ichorid was pretty efficient, however, with 3 out of 6 Ichorid decks making top 8. 

[OwenTheEnchanter]

They could have also started the tourmanet before 1pm like the PTQ, which was in round 4 before the vintage tournament even started.

Also it was very nice to meet you Duncan and thanks for posting the t8 decklists.

[Nehptis]

Thanks for the meta game break down.  Those #'s seem to further validate the top heavy Mana Drain meta that we are in.  Not to mention the fact that 16 of those Drain decks were also running Key+Vault.  Which is my favorite Vintage abomination to highlight at the moment.

[Mantis]

Grats Duncan way to represent A'dam!

Hope the meta breakdown +t8 proves that Vintage is a healthy format right now! 

[neverlookback]

So I made a metagame breakdown. I only have 79 decklists, while the dci reporter master list they used for indicating who got a gameloss, which they also gave me, states 81 players. 9 people earned a gameloss for misregistering their decklist! That shocks me.

On to the actual breakdown:

27 Mana Drain decks ( 34% )

• 13 Tezzeret (1 MUC version)
• 5 Painter (2 also running Vault+Key)
• 3 Slaver (2 Strategic)
• 3 Meditate Remora
• 2 UR Landstill
• 1 Tezzeretless Tezzeret

13 Workshop decks ( 16% )

• 6 Mono Red WS Aggro (1 with Taiga for Grudge)
• 3 Mono Brown running Metalworker (1 being Affinity)
• 2 Uba Stax
• 1 5-Color Stax
• 1 Master Transmuter Slaver

9 Blue Aggro ( 11% )

• 5 Dreadnought (3 Mask/1 Dreadstill/1 Goyf)
• 3 UB Fish (1 being Faeries)
• 1 Affinity with Force of Will

7 Oath of Druids ( 9% )

• 4 Akroma&Overlord
• 3 Progenitus

7 Ritual Combo ( 9% )

• 5 TPS
• 2 Ad Nauseam

6 Ichorid ( 8% )

• 5 Manaless
• 1 Mana'd

10 Other ( 13% )

• 3 Hate (BGR, RGW, WB ManPrison)
• 3 Other Combo (Lich's Mirror, Dream Halls, Combo Elves)
• 1 Turboland
• 1 Pox
• 1 Survival Slivers
• 1 5-color-stax without Workshop

I think it is quite a good representation of where Vintage is nowadays. I'm interested in your opinions!

It looks like a lot of players just tweaked there legacy decks for this side event lol

[Odd mutation]

So Duncan, you took something of a holiday?

Congratulations with your performance! Even overseas you're doing great! Seems I better get a lot more practice before I challenge you again...

Robrecht.

[nataz]

thank you duncan for taking the time to put the lists and the breakdown up.

[DameonHv]

The views and opinions expressed in this post are strictly those of the post author. The contents of this post have not been reviewed or approved by Pastimes Inc.

People don't seem to understand how scheduling at these larger events works.  The Vintage tournament could not be started earlier.  With the staff required to maintain the GP and to start the PTQ (checking 200+ decklists consumes a great deal of manpower), there wasn't a large enough staff available to start the Vintage any sooner.  Maybe by an hour, but that still leaves the concern about being able to be completely rapped up and out of the venue by midnight.  If we were unable to leave by that time we would have been charged for another day's worth of rent.  As for the suggestion to have players from the event stay to judge the event, that is not an option for many reasons.  Not the least of which is that a player registered for an event is not allowed by the DCI to judge in said event.  I can go into greater detail if anyone really cares to hear it.  I spoke with Alan at length about changing the event to Top8 and it was determined conclusively that there were too many concerns surrounding the start time, end time, and staffing availability to realistically be able to do this.  Say what you will about other aspects of the tournament, but this was the only real option available.

Considering the lack of support for the format, I'm a bit surprised that there is such an outcry over the format of the event.  The rest of the weekend had already been planned and I asked for a Vintage event.  Alan scheduled one.  We should be grateful there was Vintage to be played at all, not complaining bitterly that the swiss+1 format was omgwtf the end of the world.

-Josh Rayden