A Farewell to Arms Thirst for Knowledge, by Demonic AttorneyBack in 2004, I was introduced to competitive Vintage for the first time by my friend Rich Shay, aka The Atog Lord. He told me about this website called The Mana Drain on which he'd read about a new kind of Vintage deck used by some team in Europe, one that used Goblin Welder in conjunction with a card from the most recent set, Mindslaver. He told me he thought the concept had real potential, especially with the release of another new card, Thirst for Knowledge. As I look back five years later, TFK proved itself to all that we expected it would be, serving as a staple engine component in three different decks that each defined an era of Vintage-- Slaver, Gifts, and Tezzeret.
But now we've come to the end of the road. After so many months of putting up near-historic results, the DCI's effort to weaken Tezzeret didn't really come as much of a surprise. But all the same, it's disappointing to have to go back to the drawing board after so many tournaments with the same list. This week, I wanted take advantage of the last chances to stick with my old favorite, and made room in my schedule for Scholars' Weekly Vintage and ELD's Ancestral.
Scholars'The trip to Bridgewater was rushed as usual, since I need to commute via subway, train, and car from Boston to Norwood to Bridgewater starting at 5:00. Luckily, I didn't need to worry about making any last-minute major revisions to my list.
Round 1 vs. Chris Roberts, Illegal Ichorid
Game 1. I've seen Chris playing TPS over the last few months, and mulligan into a hand with Force of Will, Time Walk, Night's Whisper, and mana. I open with Night's Whisper which finds Demonic Tutor, and I'm feeling confident in my ability to put this one away quickly. Chris then surprises me by opening not with Underground Sea, but with Bazaar of Baghdad. Crap. I didn't bring a whole lot of sideboard hate for Ichorid. On my turn, I drop Voltaic Key and Time Walk, and from there DT -> Time Vault.
SB: -1 Fact or Fiction, -3 Duress, +2 Pithing Needle, +1 Yixlid Jailer, +1 Relic of Progenitus
Game 2. I mulligan very low and keep a bad hand that has mana and things to do. He opens with Cabal Therapy on Yixlid Jailer and takes out my one chance of winning this game. From there the nail is put into the coffin with Crop Rotation into Bazaar into several dredgers, which themselves quickly produce multiple Bridge from Below. I try to hang on by wiping his board with Balance, but he recovers quickly and I have nothing else.
Game 3. I mull to 4 and start wondering if I can finish in the money at all with a first round loss. Then he mulls to 2 and I feel much more at ease. I quickly get Yixlid Jailer down and follow it up with Relic of Progenitus. In a moment of contrapasso that I think would make Dante proud, Ichorid dies to a zombie.
After the match we discover that his deck had multiple Crop Rotations in it, because there was some confusion about whether or not the B/R changes were going to be in effect for this event (they weren't). Oh well. All's well that ends well.
Round 2 vs. Nick Vallas, G/W Tezzeret Hate
I've seen Nick play this deck for week after week at Scholars', and I'd long since decided I never wanted to play against it. It's a pile of Tezzeret hate cards, including Qasali Pridemage, Aven Mindcensor, Null Rod, Gaddock Teeg, Heartwood Storyteller, and other disruptive cards. He won TMC 3 if you're interested in his exact list. With retreat not an option, we're off to the races.
Game 1. I keep a hand with 3 or 4 lands and Force + Drain, hoping this will keep him from destroying my manabase. He opens with a couple of Strip effects, which I'm able to recover from, and counter his Null Rod. He stalls on mana and I'm able to put this one away quickly.
SB: -1 Fact or Fiction, -3 Duress, -1 Tezzeret, -1 Thirst for Knowledge +2 Seal of Cleansing, +1 Massacre, +1 Mystical Tutor, +2 Pithing Needle
Game 2. Both our manabases work and again I'm able to stop his early threats, which include Gaddock Teeg turn 2 (which would have been disastrous) and Null Rod turn 3. Qasali Pridemage turn 4 sticks, and I have a hard time winning even with Vault, Key, and Tezzeret all together. I force him to use the first Pridemage, setting up Will for next turn, only to have him drop another Pridemage. I go for Tinker instead, and my DSC soon walks the Path to Exile. Crap.
I dig with Night's Whisper, which between fetches, Forces, and his attacks, brings my life total pretty low. I find Will, but wait another turn for the mana to capitalize. In the interim, he drops another Pridemage. O RLY? YA RLY. Srsly? Srsly. Damn. I have to force him to use it, because my life total is so low that, even as an attacker, it poses a threat. From there I get Tezzeret and a bunch of artifacts online plus Time Walk, and finish him with a horde of attacking Moxes.
Round 3 vs. Andy Farias, Ubastax
Game 1. I don't have high hopes for this matchup preboard but my hand is solid enough, with Force, Drain, and fetches. I'm able to set up a strong manabase and stop dire threats for a while, plus get a Time Vault in play. A drops Tangle Wire and later Welder and Smokestack. I've had Key in my hand for a while but not the resources to play and use it. At the last possible juncture, I draw into the land I need to put me over the top and into Key/Vault win.
SB: +2 Serenity, +2 Psychatog, +2 Pithing Needle, -3 Duress, -1 Fact or Fiction, -1 Tezzeret, -1 Thirst for Knowledge
Game 2. I mull to 6 and keep a shaky hand with 2 lands. One of those disappears and none show up to replace it. I have Serenity in hand, so I stick with this game for a while, but Smokestack soon shows up to finish off my underwhelming board.
Game 3. I lead off with Pithing Needle on Welder, and he leads off with Mountain, Welder. Can't ask for more than that. I stop some threats and get Psychatog onto the board, which he Needles. Fair enough. Tog and Welder each chip away at our respective life totals for a while, and he plays Null Rod. I let it hit, since I have Serenity in hand if I really need to get rid of it, which itself seems doubtful since I have a ton of lands.
My plan is to wait until Serenity can get rid of Needle on his side and make Tog lethal in conjunction with the artifacts on my side that will wind up in my graveyard. He tries to keep me pinned down with Tangle Wires, so I just play Moxes that now serve a purpose under Null Rod. Then I draw into Tinker and getting rid of the Pithing Needles seems like less of an exciting idea. DSC wins this one for me.
Round 4 vs. Jesse Martin, TPS
We're the only undefeated players, and he asks to split. I agree but we then play it out for fun, despite the negative feedback from nearby players.
Maybe it was the fact that nothing was really on the line, or maybe it just getting to be too late in the evening, but in either case, my memory of this match isn't very good.
Game 1. The critical turn happens about midway into the game, where I have Force online, and have the option of playing Duress or Aven Mindcensor. I opt for the former, since I figure it will give me more information about his hand that will let me know if I can block a later tutor effect with the Mindcensor. His hand is Grim Tutor, mana, and Bargain. I take the Bargain, and he punches through the Grim Tutor for Will.
SB: -1 Fact or Fiction, -1 Tezzeret, -1 Thirst for Knowledge, -1 Tezzeret, +2 Ethersworn Canonist, +2 Aura of Silence
Game 2. I honestly don't remember much about the rest of the match. Duress on both sides was a factor but as so often happens these days in the combo vs. drain matchup, I think Ethersworn Canonist was the defining factor.
Game 3. Same story; instead of Canonist however, it was 2x Aura of Silence that locked his acceleration out of the game until I could put together an impenetrable defense. My 4-0 finish definitely increased my confidence level for the bigger stakes tournament on Saturday.
ELD's MoxThe turnout is lower than anticipated, due at least in part to Origins. It's getting tougher and tougher to schedule events that don't run into each other these days, especially during the summer. I'm running the same list, pretty much card for card, as I did at Scholar's, substituting Seal of Cleansing for Aura of Silence since it has a more manageable mana cost, and an extra Pithing Needle.
Round 1 vs. Jeff Carpenter, Selkie Strike Fish
Game 1. I face a tough decision right off the bat. My hand is fetch, Sea, Emerald, Tinker, Brainstorm, Force, blue card, Duress. I can go all-in on a turn 2 Tinker and hope to avoid Swords, Daze, Force, and artifact bounce, or I can try to set up Brainstorm/Fetch to filter into followup plays, or extra protection. The latter plan is only thwarted by Stifle + Force, so I went with that. Shouldn't have, though. Stifle + Force appears on the other side of the table and from there I can't get my mana together.
SB: -1 Tezzeret, -3 Duress, -1 Fact of Fiction, -1 Thirst, -2 Drain, +1 Massacre, +1 Mystical Tutor, +3 Pithing Needle, +2 Psychatog
Game 2. I play more conservatively, and this one goes on for a while. My first offensive lunge is Tinker -> DSC, but he has Hurkyl's for it. That's alright, I was just getting warmed up. The end begins when I Thirst into Massacre, Will, Pithing Needle. I play the Massacre and knock out a Selkie that never got the chance to attack, and a Pridgemage that would have proved annoying.
I drop Psychatog and the board positions change dramatically. Jeff drops Noble Hierarch and a Trygon Predator. I attack him, and he blocks with Predator, playing 2 Stifles on both Tog activations. I let Tog die and, now that Jeff is tapped out with 1 card in hand, go crazy with Will, replaying Massacre to knock out both his other creatures, and setting up Vault/Key with protection. Jeff doesn't get there on his one last turn before I go infinite.
Game 3. This is not a reprise of my last conservative strategy. I have Island, Crypt, Tinker, Force, blue card and decide to go for it. Tinker resolves and DSC finishes this one in short order.
Round 2 vs. Matt LeBlanc, Remora/Confidant Tezzeret
The last time we played, I got some nutty draws against him with Remoratog. I decide to bluff that I'm playing the same deck in the early turns.
Game 1. He opens with Lotus, and I play along by pretending to agonize over whether to Commandeer it. It resolves, and I Duress him to find Mystical, Drain, Force, Hurkyl's in his hand. Without any counters, I take the Mystical to avoid a quick Mystical -> Tinker plus protection. I'm thereafter in a position to chain draw spells, running out Night's Whisper, Thirst, Night's Whisper, Ancestral in quick succession. From there, I put together Vault/Key, making sure to Drain his Force in my first mainphase for the mana needed to go infinite.
SB: -1 VT, -1 FOF, +2 Seal of Cleansing
Game 2. In the relatively early turns, I play Mana Crypt to power out Aven Mindcensor. Unfortunately, this does not pay the dividends I was hoping it would since the game drags on for quite some time and he's able to get a Confidant onto the board while my Mana Crypt starts killing me. I make a last-ditch effort with Tinker/Key, but he's way too far ahead and I lose to his attackers with him at 3 life.
Game 3. He drops an early Confidant, and I know I don't have long before I get buried in card disadvantage. Fortunately, my deck is able to rise to the occasion and chains Night's Whispers and Thirsts together in time for me to get there with Tezzeret.
Round 3 vs. John Longo, Tezzeret
As with all our matches, John and I have an intense, technical control battle.
Game 1. I run out an early Night's Whisper, which finds me counters to go with TFK's, and from there I'm ahead for the rest of the game. John Drains a draw spell and tries to sink that mana into a big Skeletal Scrying, which I've saved a counter for, and I later get there with Vault/Key.
Game 2. I open with Library of Alexandria and enjoy a commanding advantage from there on out. My followup draws off LoA are extremely strong, always giving me the flexibility to expand my mana base, make followup plays, and stay in the 6/7 card range. The turn after LoA gets online, I have Mox/Duress, and then Drain comes online. There's really no way this can go badly for me. And to think I was considering running an extra Island in place of LoA...
I draw my last two matches and enter Top 8 as a comfortable first seed.
Top 8 vs. Jeremiah Rudolph, SS Tezzeret
Game 1. Duress showed a hand that included Tezzeret, so I made sure to get Mindcensor onto the board ASAP. Wow, was this ever devastating. Jer wound up pitching his Tez, which no longer did much, and whiffing on a desperation Tinker, which Mindcensor chipped away at his life total.
In the interim, I reinforced my control defenses. Even Jer's fetchlands weren't their usual helpful selves. I added Mindcensor to the deck on the theory that's decent in the control vs. combo matchup, and more importantly, that it shuts off Tez's two main conditions while evading most removal in blue-based control. Mindcensor did those jobs better than I could have hoped.
SB: -1 Drain, -1 VT, +2 Seal of Cleansing
Game 2. I play around Spell Snare during most of the matchup, but thankfully there are lots of opportunities to run out Night's Whisper without worrying about getting tempo'ed by SS. I Duress his Time Vault early, and play a controlling role for a while. Jer pulled ahead with a 6 card hand to my 3, tapping out on my combat step to play Thirst for Knowledge.
I moved into my second mainphase and played Balance, and Drained Jer's Force. His hand is obliterated, going down to a single Threads of Disloyalty which I saw from an earlier Duress. After the match, Jer told me he was so afraid of Mindcensor that he boarded in the Threads and couldn't part with it after the Balance. I quickly pull ahead with my stronger draw engine and this match goes the way of all the others.
Top 4 vs. Clark, TPS
Game 1. This match gets off to an inauspicious start as I mull to 5 and keep a hand that has turn 1 FOF. As you might expect, FOF doesn't get me there. He opens with Necro and stalls for a while, but I'm too far behind to catch up. I try Forcing an endgame Will, but I don't have nearly the resources that he does.
SB: -1 FOF, -1 Tez, +2 Ethersworn Canonist
Game 2. I mull to 5 again and start thinking about whether I want an Antiquities Mishra's Factory or a French third edition Balance for my efforts on the day. My hand is 2x Night's Whisper, land, mox, miscellaneous. He mulls into a slow hand and miraculously, I come back to win this one. I draw into Duress and later find Canonist, which keeps him pinned down long enough for me to set up my defenses and erode his life.
Game 3. I keep my opening 7, which aren't amazing, but I'm not going to risk mulling to another unkeepable 6. I Tinker around turn 3, and Clark gets ready to bounce my DSC. Fortunately for me, I Tinker out a Canonist instead and he announces how much he hates that card. He drops Bob, which on its own would be a big issue for me. Fortunately, I have a followup Mindcensor at the end of his next turn, which starts chipping away at his life total.
I play a Duress later on to see a hand of 4 Moxes, 2 rituals and a Vamp. Well, away goes the VT. He Confidants into Tendrils and I drop a second Canonist, which blocks his Bob which would have attacked me into lethal Tendrils range. He plays Tendrils anyway, getting me to 2 and himself back to 20, but now has lost his onboard advantage. I can hardcast my 2 Forces off an Academy, and have Drain to fill in any gaps. Eventually Time Walk gets countered, giving him one more turn, but I still have what I need to stop him.
Finals, ELD. Eric offers me $160 on the Ancestral if we split and draft. Since it's an occasion to get the last bit of mileage out of old faithfuls in Magic, I agree to the draft, hoping to get a few more drafts of Alara block in before M2010 replaces it as the Limited set of choice.
The draft goes pretty badly for me in Shards. I first-pick a Naya Charm, which I've never really been crazy about because of the colors it commits you to, but other players have all but gone crazy over before. I figure I'll give Naya a shot. I get some solid big guys, a couple of quick white Exalted creatures, 2x Topan Ascetic, and white removal, but find
none of the 5-power trigger guys in a 7-man draft. There have been multiples of those in 4-mans before, so I'm unhappy with how things have turned out, but not in a position to complain given my Vintage success.
Conflux gives me more of the same, with a Path to Exile and quick on-color creatures. No Naya guys, though. I also take this opportunity to invest in a couple of fixers, waiting for the Borderposts in Reborn to really fill in that role. By this time, I realize the horrible mistake I've made in not implementing my usual plan of forcing Grixis/Jund; the person next to me has an absolutely nutty Black/Red deck. After Alara Reborn, my deck has shifted to a weenie strategy, including 2 of the 2/1 guys that become 3/2's with abilities, 3 Cerodon Yearling, and a Knight of the Skyward Eye in my low creature curve. My "bomb" is a Knight of New Alara, which I hope can turn my early game weenies into late game threats, since so many are multi-colored.
Round 1 sees me paired against a Jund player, who seems relatively new to Magic. He makes some unfavorable attacking decisions and my creatures quickly overwhelm him.
Round 2 sees me paired against a slow Bant deck (I never knew there was such a thing) and I got some amazing draws, like turn 2 Yearling, turn 3 Yearling, turn 4 Topan Ascetic, turn 5 Knight of New Alara.
The last round has me and the crazy Black/Red deck paired as the only undefeateds. Part of my cunning strategy in shipping him the absolute nuts is that I know what to expect. This includes 4 Terminates, 2 Slave of Bolas, Magister Sphinix, Bone Shards, Necrogenesis (most underrated card in the entire block), and other stupid cards that no one should ever have all once in draft.
In our first game, I again lead off with Borderpost, Bant Sureblade, Yearling, and hear the magic words, "Maybe this was a bad keep." His draw is too slow and I quickly overwhelm him before his removal really gets online.
In our second game, I keep a handful of white cards with only G/R sources, since I have more white sources than any other color in my deck, I'm on the draw, and I won't need white until turn 3. Well, you can guess how this pans out; this time it was me who had the bad keep.
In the last game, I open with Naya Hushblade, Topan Ascetic, Knight of New Alara. The Knight dies before long, but he doesn't get much board position until his life total is pretty low. He hits me with Voices from the Wind, and I respond with my Naya Charm to tap his team. I rip a Ceredon Yearling for the win, with the most unlikely of decks, in the most unlikely of matchups. I guess today was my day.
Edit: It's not all that relevant since there aren't any more events it's legal for, but for those who are curious, this was my list:
4x Force of Will
4x Mana Drain
4x Night's Whisper
4x Thirst for Knowledge
3x Duress
2x Tezzeret, the Seeker
1x Darksteel Colossus
1x Sensei's Divining Top
1x Voltaic Key
1x Aven Mindcensor
Ancestral Recall
Time Walk
Time Vault
Demonic Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Yawgmoth's Will
Tinker
Merchant Scroll
Fact or Fiction
Brainstorm
Balance
3x Polluted Delta
3x Flooded Strand
3x Underground Sea
2x Tundra
2x Island
Library of Alexandria
Tolarian Academy
5x Mox
Lotus
Crypt
Vault
Ring
SB:
3x Pithing Needle
2x Ethersworn Canonist
2x Serenity
2x Seal of Cleansing
2x Psychatog
1x Yixlid Jailer
1x Relic of Progenitus
1x Massacre
Mystical Tutor
In Memoriam, Thirst for Knowledge: October 2003 - June 2009.
