N.Y.S.E 4-23-11 First place with Gush Storm.

I have not written a report in a very long time so sorry if it is a bit sloppy.

First place Mox Sapphire.

1st – Brendan Banfield
Jace Storm

3 Island
4 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Imperial Seal
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Tinker
1 Regrowth
1 Fastbond
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Mind’s Desire
1 Memory Jar
1 Timetwister
3 Mana Drain
2 Thoughtseize
4 Force of Will
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
4 Gush
3 Preordain
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
3 Misty Rainforest
2 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand

SB:

2 Sower of Temptation
3 Yixlid Jailer
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Relic of Progenitus
2 Duress
1 Doom Blade
2 Hurkyl’s Recall
2 Nature’s Claim
This is my first place deck from NYSE on 4-23-11. I had several questions from many of the North East players so I'll let you know why I made my choices.

This deck was originally cobra storm. I played cobra storm at several events but there was several issues I had with it. First unless you had fastbond lotus cobra was only going to make you 2 colored mana. Second lotus cobra doesn't win the game against anyone on its own. Third it takes up to many spots because you naturally want to draw it and play it on turn one or two. It just doesn't have the board presence you would hope for in vintage. Cobra has one big advantage though, if you have fastbond lotus cobra makes all the mana of any color you will want for the when combined with gush and yawgmoths will. It did allow for some nice starts but often felt like it did nothing.

This was the list I started with.

4th – Paul Mastriano
Cobra Storm

3 Lotus Cobra
2 Thoughtseize
4 Gush
4 Force of Will
4 Preordain
1 Lotus Petal
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Fastbond
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Voltaic Key
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Ponder
1 Necropotence
1 Imperial Seal
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Tinker
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Time Vault
1 Island
3 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
1 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
4 Misty Rainforest
2 Scalding Tar

When playing this deck it felt it was trying to combo so quickly but didn't have enough focus. Vault/key kind of felt out of place and drawing one piece often felt like a dead draw. Necropotence was difficult to cast without cobra. So I started making changes. Originally I cut necropotence and petal for timetwister and minds disire. Then I felt there wasn't enough natural land and had it happen 2-3 times where I had every real land in play. Once that happened I knew I needed to cut some fetch lands for real islands/duals and soon the lotus cobras became mana drains.

Other choices

No merchant scroll??

Merchant scroll is great right? It tutors for ancestral recall and then either gush or gifts ungiven. I decided to go with the straight swap for imperial seal because I want yawgmoth's will minds disire or tinker more then recall often.

Regrowth

Regrowth hasn't shown up much recently. It is probably the last card in. It allows for the most powerful gifts ungivens when all your tutors find yawgmoths will.

Jace the mind sculptor.

Sticking a Jace against another drain deck can really end the game them. Against the other drain decks Jace is generally there to put you so far ahead you can go off when ever you feel like it and bury them in card advantage. Jace has even done well for me against stax. Just unsummoning a lodestone can really help get out from under the lock pieces to set up hurkyls recall for the winning turn.

Quick recap

Round one vs stax. Peter Ingram
I resolve a turn 2 jace after a turn one force. He resolves a smoke stack and ramps it we sac for a few turns while under tanglewire. He ramped to 3 on the stack and I drain something and then unsummon a lodestone and he loses all his permanents leaving me 1 land and jace. My hand is stacked and win easily from there. Game 2 he wasn't able to do much.

Round 2 vs storm ??
Game 1 I resolve an early memory jar and then go off the next turn.
Game 2 I lose to turn 2 vault key
Game 3 we fight over recalls I get mine he doesn't. I do an early will tinker for blightsteel and timewalk only to get double steel sabotaged. I then resolve jace draw for a few turns then go off.

Round 3 against dredge. Mike Bauer
Game 1 time walk gets me to 3 mana to timewister then I go off the next turn.
Game 2 I land jailer. Game over

Round 4 stax Roland Chang
Game 1 He mulled a 2 times I think I go first drop my moxes resolve jace. Unsummon lodestone for 2 turns then drain it then hurkyls and win.
Game 2 It was my favorite game of the event. I had to get all 3 of my islands. I chain of vapored my mox and sol ring and replayed them minds disire on 6 hitting jar and others. find will but I only have access to one blue. so I hurkels myself returning crypt sol ring sapphire and jet floating mana. I then yawgmoths willed casting hurkels on myself 3 times to get the needed mana and enough black to vamp for tendrils and replay the jar and cast tendrils.

Round 5 draw
Round 6 draw

Top 8 Andrew Brady dredge

Game 1 I get blown out
Game 2 I mull find turn one vamp turn 2 jailer. It stayed on the board
Game 3 I get 2 bombs to slow him down then I combo.

Top 4 David Gans dredge
Game one and 2 go the same way as above
Game 3 was a great game. My spell bomb keeps him from going nuts I remove all his bridges eventually and then disire on 6 hitting jar and decking him.

Finals David Ata Demars control

Game 1 We counter fight during my main phase I resolve a drain then a fastbond and second main I desire for the win.
Game 2 we fight over my Jace on turn 3 or 4 and I drain his force. Next turn I tinker for blightsteel. I force his tinker to get first place.

This is the same deck I played a week before to win a timetwister.

Thanks Nick for running another great event!