[Free Article] Third Place with the Perfect Storm:A Vintage Tournament Report

[Smmenen]

http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/19160_So_Many_Insane_Plays_Third_Place_With_The_Perfect_Storm_A_Vintage_Tournament_Report.html

Wednesday, April 14th - Vintage maestro Stephen Menendian recently took his favorite deck – The Perfect Storm – to a local Vintage tournament. He put up a strong finish, and today he takes us through the highs and lows of each card drawn and thought made in his customary exacting style.

Lots of intriguing issues, and a few good Gifts questions.   I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[theLastGnu]

You missed Grim Tutor in the decklist somewhere.

EDIT: It seems like there's actually quite a bit of contradiction between the posted decklist and the sideboarding choices discussed in the article.

[personalbackfire]

@ Steve: You said you sided in Slaughter  Pact to have a black answer for Iona, but shouldn't the Oath player be naming Black against you the majority of the time anyways? It's not like most oath decks are playing the more combo versions which need to resolve Krosan Rec and win, so I would think assuming they know you are on TPS, black would be the better call as it shuts down the deck.

[pierce]

the turn when you let him drain your gifts so that you could cast fact or fiction, i would have baited with fact so that i could resolve gifts OR i would have forced his drain. then again, i have very strong opinions about the card gifts ungiven.

the hand of:
Mox Jet
Dark Ritual
Dark Ritual
Force of Will
Tinker
Merchant Scroll
Yawgmoth’s Will

i would not have kept, because you usually will need a blue source to win this game. with 13 sources left in 53 cards, you are less than 25% likely to draw it in the next draw step. pretty sure it's a statistical mistake to run with this. even with the list of bomb cards you name, your percentage only upticks to roughly 33%. with a 67% chance to blank on the next draw step--which with a hand like this, is probably the most critcal one, i could never run with it.

in your t8 bout, i'd have vamped for tinker. that card is insane when you know it'll resolve unmolested.

in the t4, g1 gifts scenario i would have made the pile of: tolarian academy, hurkyls recall, time walk, mystical tutor
he cant give you hurkyls. if you gives you tolarian and mystical, you can use upkeep for chain and play it. he'd probably give you time walk and tolarian, but then you have a turn to draw outs and the most mana possible. sword of fire and ice really complicates the whole scenario.

g2, i'd have mulliganed. i'm really starting to feel like a nit. but i guess i'm less greedy. i'm nearly certain that there is no correct gifts pile. no combination of 4 cards just wins the game. i'd have cast fact or fiction. you really played yourself into a corner here. there are a lot of great bluffs off gifts, several of which involve you acting like you have a U source in your hand you haven't dropped yet. my final four is: black lotus, demonic tutor, sapphire, tinker. demonic + tinker is obviously really bad for you, so you have to cross your fingers and hope he doesn't see that combination. if he does, demonic for tolarian, then try to set up a tinker win i guess.

dark rituals are so much fun. unsure why i've avoided them recently.

[Smmenen]

@ Steve: You said you sided in Slaughter  Pact to have a black answer for Iona, but shouldn't the Oath player be naming Black against you the majority of the time anyways? It's not like most oath decks are playing the more combo versions which need to resolve Krosan Rec and win, so I would think assuming they know you are on TPS, black would be the better call as it shuts down the deck.

Yes, but because I have two chain of vapors, I have enough blue answers.  I bring in the Slaughter pact just in case they name blue. 

the turn when you let him drain your gifts so that you could cast fact or fiction, i would have baited with fact so that i could resolve gifts OR i would have forced his drain. then again, i have very strong opinions about the card gifts ungiven.

the hand of:
Mox Jet
Dark Ritual
Dark Ritual
Force of Will
Tinker
Merchant Scroll
Yawgmoth’s Will

i would not have kept, because you usually will need a blue source to win this game. with 13 sources left in 53 cards, you are less than 25% likely to draw it in the next draw step. pretty sure it's a statistical mistake to run with this. even with the list of bomb cards you name, your percentage only upticks to roughly 33%. with a 67% chance to blank on the next draw step--which with a hand like this, is probably the most critcal one, i could never run with it.

I could topdecks like DT, Vamp, Imperial Seal, Force, and Duress as good enough topdecks.

[Smmenen]

You missed Grim Tutor in the decklist somewhere.

EDIT: It seems like there's actually quite a bit of contradiction between the posted decklist and the sideboarding choices discussed in the article.

Yeah, the list in the article is wrong, slightly.  Its supposed to have Grim Tutor maindeck, not Top.  Sorry for the error.   

[saspook]

in the t4, g1 gifts scenario i would have made the pile of: tolarian academy, hurkyls recall, time walk, mystical tutor
he cant give you hurkyls. if you gives you tolarian and mystical, you can use upkeep for chain and play it. he'd probably give you time walk and tolarian, but then you have a turn to draw outs and the most mana possible. sword of fire and ice really complicates the whole scenario.

Mystical and Time Walk is terrible here.

[Evenpence]

3rd Place: Stephen Menendian
2 Underground Sea
4 Polluted Delta
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Island
2 Swamp
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Jet
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
4 Dark Ritual
2 Cabal Ritual
 
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Merchant Scroll
4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Tinker
1 Timetwister
1 Mind's Desire
1 Memory Jar
4 Duress
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Grim Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Yawgmoth's Bargain
1 Necropotence
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Inkwell Leviathan
 
Sideboard:
4 Leyline of the Void
1 Yixlid Jailer
2 Sadistic Sacrament
2 Bojuka Bog
1 Slaughter Pact
2 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Rebuild
1 Island
1 Chain of Vapor

^ taken from the tournament report boards.

Hey Steve!

I have a few questions about your decklist, I wanna get a deeper understanding of some of your choices.

1)  Was 12 land too few?  Did you have to mulligan on account of no starting mana often?
2)  How was Fact or Fiction for you?
3)  Were 19 blue cards enough for 4 Force / 1 MisD?  Also, what do you believe the cutoff is for pitch spells on blue cards?  I personally don't like to drop below 21.
4)  Speaking of MisD, how was it?

I apologize if this is the wrong place to ask this, or if you went over this in-detail in the article.  
If my questions are inappropriate, someone please tell me.

[Smmenen]

Not a problem.  I suggest you read the three part primer I linked in the article.  That will give you a basis for answering most of those questions.   

[Evenpence]

Not a problem.  I suggest you read the three part primer I linked in the article.  That will give you a basis for answering most of those questions.   

Ahh, that would be a problem as I don't have premium. 

[Smmenen]

Not a problem.  I suggest you read the three part primer I linked in the article.  That will give you a basis for answering most of those questions.   

Ahh, that would be a problem as I don't have premium. 

Those articles are free:

Part 1: http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/16270_So_Many_Insane_Plays_The_Perfect_Storm.html

Part 2: http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/16298_So_Many_Insane_Plays_Playing_The_Perfect_Storm.html

Part 3: http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/16330_So_Many_Insane_Plays_Winning_With_TPS.html

Advanced Master Class Follow-Up: http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/17250_So_Many_Insane_Plays_Mastering_The_Perfect_Storm_HighLevel_Tips_for_Winning_With_TPS.html

[Evenpence]

Not a problem.  I suggest you read the three part primer I linked in the article.  That will give you a basis for answering most of those questions.   

Ahh, that would be a problem as I don't have premium. 

Those articles are free:

Part 1: http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/16270_So_Many_Insane_Plays_The_Perfect_Storm.html

Part 2: http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/16298_So_Many_Insane_Plays_Playing_The_Perfect_Storm.html

Part 3: http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/16330_So_Many_Insane_Plays_Winning_With_TPS.html

Advanced Master Class Follow-Up: http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/17250_So_Many_Insane_Plays_Mastering_The_Perfect_Storm_HighLevel_Tips_for_Winning_With_TPS.html

Thanks Steve!

Those are exceptionally well-written, I'll recommend them to some friends as well.

[saspook]

3)  Were 19 blue cards enough for 4 Force / 1 MisD?  Also, what do you believe the cutoff is for pitch spells on blue cards?  I personally don't like to drop below 21.

Steve, what are your thoughts on Cutting 1 or more Duress for a Spell Pierce?  It can't be cast off ritual mana, but it does hit the same cards, and it does pitch to a force.

One benefit is if you are stringing together a Draw 7 with another engine - it can be detrimental to have to use the 1 black mana against a control deck, where if they don't have the counter, you don't have to cast Spell Pierce.

It would have also helped you out when he was floating Mindbreak trap with the Top.

[pierce]

in the t4, g1 gifts scenario i would have made the pile of: tolarian academy, hurkyls recall, time walk, mystical tutor
he cant give you hurkyls. if you gives you tolarian and mystical, you can use upkeep for chain and play it. he'd probably give you time walk and tolarian, but then you have a turn to draw outs and the most mana possible. sword of fire and ice really complicates the whole scenario.

Mystical and Time Walk is terrible here.

that is true. my gifts pile is clearly suboptimal then. but given the life totals and severe gamestate, this may be another example where you have to just bluff with gifts and hope the guy splits them wrong.

@ steve-- yes all those cards are awesome. but i counted those in my math too. it only rises to 33%, which means that 2/3rds of the time you'll blank on your first draw. so if you expect to have 3 turns to find the card that makes this hand work, then the keep is statistically viable.
otherwise, just take the six.

not really looking to argue further on this one, you and I just look at it differently.

aside from an error or two (such as saying you drew time walk for your turn after already listing the card in your opener), the article was excellent, and the questions asked thought provoking.

[dragonstout83]

You missed Grim Tutor in the decklist somewhere.

EDIT: It seems like there's actually quite a bit of contradiction between the posted decklist and the sideboarding choices discussed in the article.

Yeah, the list in the article is wrong, slightly.  Its supposed to have Grim Tutor maindeck, not Top.  Sorry for the error.   

You also refer to siding out Rebuild after the first game, when Rebuild isn't in your maindeck in the decklist in the article.  What was supposed to be out of there for Rebuild?

[Smmenen]

Article is now free, FYI

[saspook]

Steve, what are your thoughts on Cutting 1 or more Duress for a Spell Pierce?  It can't be cast off ritual mana, but it does hit the same cards, and it does pitch to a force.

One benefit is if you are stringing together a Draw 7 with another engine - it can be detrimental to have to use the 1 black mana against a control deck, where if they don't have the counter, you don't have to cast Spell Pierce.

It would have also helped you out when he was floating Mindbreak trap with the Top.

Now that this article is free, I will ask this question again.