[TO Report] Blue Bell Game Day #2 - 58 players - T8 lists, metagame, etc

[Iron_Chef]

Thank you everyone who came out to play Vintage this past Saturday.  It was a long day, and seemed to be a lot of fun for everyone.  I'd like to extend a special thank you to Nick DiPasquale (my Head Judge), Mike Coyle (the owner of AU), and Craig Berry (fetcher of lunch) for all of their help all day.  I can't say enough how much I appreciate (and all of you SHOULD appreciate) Mike having us in his store for these monthly events.  If you ever attend any of my events at Alternate Universes, please support the store, because he makes it all possible.

With fifty eight players present, we had another great showing in the Philadelphia area.  You never know, maybe my last three events will make Smemmen's metagame overview for Jan/Feb/March as well as European ones.  Below is the metagame breakdown, followed by the top 8 results and top 8 deck lists.

Archtype	Total	Pct.
Tezzeret	13	22.4%
Noble Fish	11	19.0%	3 in T8
Oath	6	10.3%
TPS	6	10.3%	1 in T8
MUD	4	6.9%	2 in T8
Dredge	4	6.9%
Drain Tendrils	2	3.4%	1 in T8
Workshop Aggro	2	3.4%
Rogue Decks	2	3.4%
Stax	2	3.4%	1 in T8
Dark Times	1	1.7%
Faeries	1	1.7%
Goblins	1	1.7%
Painter	1	1.7%
The Deck	1	1.7%
Two Card Monte	1	1.7%

Total                 58     100%

Top 8 Results

Karl Kress (Noble Fish) defeated Matt Elias (MUD)
Jeremy Beaver (Drain Tendrils) defeated Mike Motyka (Noble Fish)
Shawn Anthony (TPS) defeated Ashok Chitturi (Stax)
Brian Carey (Noble Fish) defeated Mike Eisenhauer (MUD)

Top 4 Results

Karl Kress defeated Brian Carey
Jeremy Beaver defeated Shawn Anthony

Finals

Karl Kress defeated Jeremy Beaver

Congratulations Karl, the Blue Bell Game Day #2 Champion, taking home an Ancestral Recall.

As of right now, I'm heading out to Fogo De Chao, to cap off a great weekend with a glorious meat and alcohol induced coma. Top 8 Decklists will be posted tomorrow, along with the summary of my day.  To hold you over, here's this interesting link to a video of a drunken Prospero.

Top 8 Decklists

1st Place – Karl Kress – Noble Fish

Maindeck:
3 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Flooded Strand
3 Tropical Island
2 Tundra
1 Savannah
1 Island
1 Forest
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Black Lotus
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Cold-Eyed Selkie
3 Tarmogoyf
2 Trygon Predator
1 Vendilion Clique
1 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
4 Meddling Mage
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Force of Will
3 Spell Pierce
3 Daze
3 Stifle
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
4 Null Rod

Sideboard:
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Pithing Needle
1 Sower of Temptation
1 Kataki, War’s Wage
1 Trygon Predator
3 Swords to Plowshares
2 Serum Powder

2nd Place – Jeremy Beaver – Drain Tendrils

Maindeck:
2 Island
1 Swamp
1 Library of Alexandria
3 Polluted Delta
2 Scalding Tarn
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Sol Ring
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Chain of Vapor
3 Dark Ritual
1 Fact or Fiction
4 Force of Will
2 Impulse
3 Mana Drain
1 Misdirection
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Rebuild
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Demonic Tutor
3 Duress
1 Empty the Warrens
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mind’s Desire
1 Ponder
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
1 Vampiric tutor
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Necropotence
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Sideboard:
1 Island
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Tinker
3 Yixlid Jailer
1 Ravenous Trap
1 Massacre
2 Red Elemental Blast
2 Greater Gargadon
2 Pithing Needle

3rd Place – Brian Carey - Noble Fish
Brian Carey’s decklist is being withheld due to idiocy… I made a photocopy of it and left it in the copier at the store.  I’ll get it posted soon.

4th Place – Shawn Anthony – TPS

Maindeck:
4 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
3 Underground Sea
2 Island
2 Swamp
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
5 Moxen
4 Force of Will
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Rebuild
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Time Walk
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Timetwister
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mind’s desire
1 Tinker
1 Inkwell Leviathan
1 Misdirection
1 Frantic Search
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Duress
4 Dark Ritual
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Yawgmoth’s Bargain
1 Necropotence
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Sensei’s Divining Top

Sideboard:
4 Leyline of the Void
3 Repeal
3 Spell Pierce
2 Island
2 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Rushing River

5th Place – Matt Elias – MUD

Maindeck:
4 Mishra’s Workshop
3 Mishra’s Factory
2 Rishadan Port
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
4 Ancient Tomb
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
5 Moxen
1 Black Lotus
4 Sphere of Resistance
4 Thorn of Amethyst
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Trinisphere
2 Powder Keg
2 Crucible of Worlds
4 Lodestone Golem
3 Juggernaut
2 Karn, Silver Golem
1 Metalworker
2 Duplicant
4 Tangle Wire

Sideboard:
3 Eon Hub
2 Triskelion
3 Pithing Needle
2 Relic of Progenitus
1 Duplicant
4 Tormod’s Crypt

6th Place – Ashok Chitturi – Stax

Maindeck:
4 Mishra’s Workshop
4 Wasteland
4 Barbarian Ring
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
3 Mountain
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Black Lotus
5 Moxen
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Smokestack
4 Tangle Wire
4 Crucible of Worlds
3 Sphere of Resistance
1 Trinisphere
1 Memory Jar
2 Grafted Skullcap
4 Goblin Welder
3 Bloodghast

Sideboard:
4 Tormod’s Crypt
4 Powder Keg
4 Ensnaring Bridge
3 Shattering Spree

7th Place – Michael Eisenhauer – Meandeck Murderball (listed in the meta as MUD)

Maindeck:
4 Mishra’s Workshop
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra’s Factory
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Strip Mine
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Juggernaut
2 Razormane Masticore
4 Sphere of Resistance
4 Tangle Wire
4 Thorn of Amethyst
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Crucible of Worlds
2 Sculpting Steel
1 Trinisphere
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
5 Moxen
1 Mana Vault ***Originally left out***

Sideboard:
4 Duplicant
1 Razormane Masticore
4 Relic of Progenitus
4 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Ghost Quarter

8th Place – Michael Matyka – Noble Fish

Maindeck:
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Tundra
3 Tropical Island
3 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Flooded Strand
1 Island
1 Forest
1 Karakas
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Black Lotus
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
3 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
2 Trygon Predator
2 Aven Mindcensor
2 Meddling Mage
4 Tarmogoyf
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Noble Hierarch
1 Vendilion Clique
4 Force of Will
2 Swords to Plowshares
3 Null Rod
1 Daze
1 Dispel
3 Spell Pierce

Sideboard:
1 Tormod’s Crypt
3 Ravenous Trap
2 Arcane Laboratory
2 Kataki, War’s Wage
1 Null Rod
2 Pithing Needle
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Krosan Grip
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Tormod’s Crypt

[Yare]

Does this mean that Time Vault did not appear in the Top 8?

[voltron00x]

Does this mean that Time Vault did not appear in the Top 8?

From what I understand, Beaver didn't have Key/Vault, so yes, all the Tezz and Oath players missed T8, and it was Vault-free.  Pretty amazing turnaround from 2009.

I'm glad to see something's changed in people's minds regarding Noble Fish, the increase in that deck's popularity has been dramatic. 

One minor clarification, Ashok was running Mono-Red Stax, not MUD; he won our Swiss match G1 on the back of double-Welder.

Thanks for another great tournament Nick!

[Cunningbeaver]

First off. Congratulations go to Karl for avenging his loss to me in the swiss and getting it done in the finals. After our 3rd rd (?) match he made the comment "hopefully I'll see you later, perhaps in the top 2", going to be one of those great "remember that time" stories for him.

Secondly, the philly/nj/ny (plus everyone else thats makes a pretty good trek to get to these events) area is pretty monstrous 82 players at the Philly open and now 58 at Blue Bell, hopefully this trend continues as it seems that a variety of decks are now seemingly viable and competitive.

Lastly, Matt you would be correct in saying that I didn't have key/vault , but who needs it when you have the Mind Sculptor.


As always big thanks to Nick Coss for continuing the blue bell tournaments and to AU games for hosting them.

I'd try to write up a report but I never remember many specifics of the games over the course of the day as I don't take notes.

[Stormanimagus]

decklists are where?

[voltron00x]

"As of right now, I'm heading out to Fogo De Chao, to cap off a great weekend with a glorious meat and alcohol induced coma. Top 8 Decklists will be posted tomorrow, along with the summary of my day.  To hold you over, here's this interesting link to a video of a drunken Prospero."

PS Beaver - you're the man.  I'm upset I couldn't face you again in the finals.

[Cruel Ultimatum]

Mr. Detwiler should consider himself lucky that they did not serve shots at Phils tavern.

[MIZEnhauer]

I'd like to mention that the deck Ashok and I have run recently that other people have begun to adopt is called Meandeck Murderball easily recognized by the presence of razormane masticore.

[Smmenen]

With fifty eight players present, we had another great showing in the Philadelphia area.  You never know, maybe my last three events will make Smemmen's metagame overview for Jan/Feb/March as well as European ones.  

I can guarantee that    As long you post top 8 lists, they will be counted

[KingSquee]

Mr. Detwiler should consider himself lucky that they did not serve shots at Phils tavern.

Wow, he got that hammered without a single shot!

(Actually rumor has it I got pretty sauced at the last NYSE without taking a single shot, but it remains rumor because the videotaped evidence is stuck on a particular person's iPhone and ain't going anywhere...)

See! I told you guys you'd like Phil's Tavern! Too bad I didn't get to join you because Chas, Silverman, et al. abducted me and made me do dinner (Burger King) and a movie (She's Out of My League) with them.

Actually if I had gone along I probably would have been a major buzzkill, as 1) I had work the next day so no not that much drinking for me, and 2) I found out the girl I was kinda starting to like was playing me like a Stradivarius. Over Facebook no less, God I love technology! Which now that I think of it would have led to much drinking, so maybe I'd have been OK after all. Shall we do Phil's again April 3rd?

[2nd_lawl]

Ballin' Tournament, Ballin' Afterparty, Nick Coss you rock!

[Womba]

I am just amazed that this top 8 didn't feature a dredge or a vault/key deck. It was unfortunate that I was unable to attend this one, but next tournament I fully expect Dredge to be in the top 8 again.....

[Ravager Sam]

I am just amazed that this top 8 didn't feature a dredge or a vault/key deck. It was unfortunate that I was unable to attend this one, but next tournament I fully expect Dredge to be in the top 8 again.....

Cheers to that! 

[Iron_Chef]

Original Post updated with Decklists, also of note how there was no top 8 penetration of Time Vault...

RANT

Stop complaining about the best deck, it gets old...

/RANT

[Stormanimagus]

The first place list of Karl Kress's looks very interesting. I'm especially intrigued by the exclusion of Mystical and the 1-of Selkie, Thada Adel, and Clique.

It is certainly a very interesting approach, and I'd like to hear from the champ why he chose it. Thanks!

Peace,

 Storm

[KingSquee]

The first place list of Karl Kress's looks very interesting. I'm especially intrigued by the exclusion of Mystical and the 1-of Selkie, Thada Adel, and Clique.

It is certainly a very interesting approach, and I'd like to hear from the champ why he chose it. Thanks!

As would I. The assortment of 1-of's without an extensive tutor package seems kind of random, but obviously it worked pretty well! Did it help against opposing Meddling Mages in the mirror?

I myself piloted Noble Fish to a nondescript 3-3 record on Saturday. I tried a more aggressive build with no Null Rods or Stifles, and 3 maindeck StPs. This decision proved bad in my round 1 matchup against Mike Egan and his wolf shirt, playing TPS. My card choices, some questionable plays, and his wolf shirt quickly sent me to the 0-1 bracket.

[Cruel Ultimatum]

The first place list of Karl Kress's looks very interesting. I'm especially intrigued by the exclusion of Mystical and the 1-of Selkie, Thada Adel, and Clique.

It is certainly a very interesting approach, and I'd like to hear from the champ why he chose it. Thanks!

As would I. The assortment of 1-of's without an extensive tutor package seems kind of random, but obviously it worked pretty well! Did it help against opposing Meddling Mages in the mirror?

I myself piloted Noble Fish to a nondescript 3-3 record on Saturday. I tried a more aggressive build with no Null Rods or Stifles, and 3 maindeck StPs. This decision proved bad in my round 1 matchup against Mike Egan and his wolf shirt, playing TPS. My card choices, some questionable plays, and his wolf shirt quickly sent me to the 0-1 bracket.

Lucky for me you were not able to sacrifice any children against me.

[2nd_lawl]

The first place list of Karl Kress's looks very interesting. I'm especially intrigued by the exclusion of Mystical and the 1-of Selkie, Thada Adel, and Clique.

It is certainly a very interesting approach, and I'd like to hear from the champ why he chose it. Thanks!

As would I. The assortment of 1-of's without an extensive tutor package seems kind of random, but obviously it worked pretty well! Did it help against opposing Meddling Mages in the mirror?

I myself piloted Noble Fish to a nondescript 3-3 record on Saturday. I tried a more aggressive build with no Null Rods or Stifles, and 3 maindeck StPs. This decision proved bad in my round 1 matchup against Mike Egan and his wolf shirt, playing TPS. My card choices, some questionable plays, and his wolf shirt quickly sent me to the 0-1 bracket.

Lucky for me you were not able to sacrifice any children against me.

[voltron00x]

The first place list of Karl Kress's looks very interesting. I'm especially intrigued by the exclusion of Mystical and the 1-of Selkie, Thada Adel, and Clique.

It is certainly a very interesting approach, and I'd like to hear from the champ why he chose it. Thanks!

As would I. The assortment of 1-of's without an extensive tutor package seems kind of random, but obviously it worked pretty well! Did it help against opposing Meddling Mages in the mirror?

I myself piloted Noble Fish to a nondescript 3-3 record on Saturday. I tried a more aggressive build with no Null Rods or Stifles, and 3 maindeck StPs. This decision proved bad in my round 1 matchup against Mike Egan and his wolf shirt, playing TPS. My card choices, some questionable plays, and his wolf shirt quickly sent me to the 0-1 bracket.

Lucky for me you were not able to sacrifice any children against me.

Matt Elias likes this

[desolutionist]

I only came to this because I was behind on bills lol and now I think I'm going to start going regularly again.  I also heard from Colby Evenpence that he wants to start playing again as well.

[Tobi]

Thanks for the lists!

Michael Eisenhauer's list misses one card.

--> http://www.morphling.de/top8decks.php?id=1239

[Evenpence]

I only came to this because I was behind on bills lol and now I think I'm going to start going regularly again.  I also heard from Colby Evenpence that he wants to start playing again as well.

This is true.  I'm back in Pennsylvania and would love to catch up with old friends, if anyone I know from back in the day still plays.

EDIT:  Vintage has changed so much in three years!

[AmbivalentDuck]

I'm obligated to ask...  RBu goblins with strong tutoring and 4x Earwig Squad or a badly ported legacy build?