March NEV Series @ Top Deck Games TO Report

[Iron_Chef]

Fifty-one players traveled to Top Deck Games this past Saturday to sling some cards for over $1,000 in prizes not to mention NEV points towards the NEV Player's Club!  As always, thank you to everyone who made it out to my store to play; it's because you keep making the trip that these events are what they are.  Also, there were many attendees in the self-proclaimed "disinterested father section" of the store; and I thank you for taking the time out of your day so that your kids could continue to play Vintage in the NEV Series.  Thank you to Rich Stein, who provided the hardware and more importantly, the know-how to provide the dozens in attendance and the "millions of people watching from around the world" with streaming feature matches all day long.

That said, there were a few issues we encountered that I'd like to address before I get down to the details of this tournament report.

1) At 12:00pm (when the tournament was supposed to start) there were only 38 players registered (out of an eventual 51).  PLEASE don't continue to disrespect your fellow players this way.  I'm tired of seeing people kept waiting because other players are habitually late to events.  We open at 10:00am when we have a NEV Series event scheduled, and registration opens at 11:00.  Aim to arrive by 11:00, to give yourself some leeway if something should go awry.  At future NEV Series events that I run, the tournament WILL start at 12:00pm and Anyone who registers after 12:00 will still be permitted to play, but will receive a Round 1 loss (as is the DCI policy).  Moral of this story? Show up eary.

2) Smokers; please smoke in the parking lot outside of our side entrance, and PLEASE throw your butts away in the cigarette tower that I bought so you could do just that!  Sunday rolled around and there were 100+ cigarette butts all over the area that weren't there 24 hours earlier, not to mention a melted bowl of frozen yogurt with a dozen cigarettes put out in it.  Seriously guys, it's not that hard.

3) This is the most important "issue" of all.  Top Deck Games is only half of the formula that creates the Northeast Vintage Series, and there is a monthly event in New York that everyone from PA and NJ seems to have forgotten.  They had 25 players last month.  TWENTY FIVE!  The NEV Series cannot function if players only attend half the events.  Make the effort, drive the extra hour or two in the morning (I drive to every one, it's not a bad drive).  The NY tournaments are completely worth the day spent going up there; it's a great time and there's a diverse group of players that you don't get to see at all of the NJ events.  Vintage is about community, and I don't want to see the community break into two pieces in this area for a lack of effort.  So I extend this one-time offer.  If you haven't played in a NY NEV event this year, and drive a car of at least 4 people to come play, I will personally cover your entry fee into the tournament on March 24th.  Hopefully that motivates some people to make the trip that wouldn't otherwise, and you'll see how much fun the NY NEV events really are.

Whew, that was a long post.  Now, onto why you're really reading this TO Report; the info!

Archtype	# Played	# in Top 8
Noble Fish	5	1
Espresso Stax	5	2
Dredge	5	1
MUD	3	1
Martello Shops	3
TPS	3
"Classic" Stax	3
Cat Stax Fever	2	1
Landstill	2
Demon Oath	2
Remora Gush	2
BUG Gush	2
Show & Oath	1	1
Esper Faeries	1	1
GW Hate Bears	1
UW Stoneforge/Delver	1
Gush Storm	1
ReAneurysm	1
Japanese Fish (Sushi!)	1
TMWA	1
Painter	1
Elves!	1
Bob/Snapcaster Control	1
Welder Control	1
UWG Show and Tell/Trap	1
ANT	1

                  

Top 8 Results
Mickey Mahr (Espresso Stax) defeated Brad Jarman (Faeries)
Matt Elias (Noble Fish) defeated Darrell Hundertmark (Cat Stax Fever)
Chris Pikula (Espresso Stax) defeated Ali Jafri (Show and Oath)
Allen Fulmer (Dredge) defeated Andrew Fleming (MUD)

Top 4
Chris Pikula defeated Allen Fulmer
Mickey Mahr defeated Matt Elias

Finals
Chris Pikula defeated Mickey Mahr

Congratulations to Chris Pikula, the winner of the March 2012 NEV Series event at Top Deck Games!

Top 8 Decklists

1st Place: Chris Pikula playing “Espresso Stax” (Espresso Stax)

Maindeck (60):
1 Black Lotus
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Sol Ring
4 Sphere of Resistance
2 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Tangle Wire
1 Trinisphere
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Smokestack
3 Karn, Silver Golem
1 Rishadan Port
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Wasteland

Sideboard:
3 Dismember
4 Tormod's Crypt
4 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Crucible of Worlds
2 Duplicant
1 Ghost Quarter

2nd Place: Mickey Mahr playing “Espresso Stax” (Espresso Stax)

Maindeck (60):
1 Black Lotus
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Sol Ring
4 Sphere of Resistance
2 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Crucible of Worlds
4 Tangle Wire
1 Trinisphere
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Smokestack
3 Karn, Silver Golem
1 Rishadan Port
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Wasteland

Sideboard:
2 Dismember
4 Tormod's Crypt
4 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Duplicant
3 Maze of Ith

3rd Place: Allen Fulmer playing “Cagebreaker Dredge” (Dredge)

Maindeck (60):
4 Nature’s Claim
1 Sun Titan
2 Dakmar Salvage
3 City of Brass
4 Undiscovered Paradise
4 Bridge from Below
2 Ichorid
4 Bloodghast
4 Cabal Therapy
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
2 Dread Return
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
4 Serum Powder
1 Darkblast
2 Golgari Thug
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Narcomoeba
2 Fatesticher
4 Mental Misstep

Sideboard:
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite
2 Serenity
4 Chain of Vapor
4 Ingot Chewer
2 Petrified Field
1 Ichorid
1 City of Brass

4th Place: Matt Elias playing “IgNoble Fish” (Noble Fish)

Maindeck (60):
4 Noble Hierarch
3 Qasali Pridemage
3 Tarmogoyf
4 Ethersworn Canonist
4 Trygon Predator
2 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
4 Force of Will
4 Mental Misstep
2 Steel Sabotage
3 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Stony Silence
1 Brainstorm
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Black Lotus
3 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
3 Tropical Island
2 Tundra
1 Forest
1 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Flooded Strand

Sideboard:
2 Path to Exile
1 Dismember
1 Tarmogoyf
1 Qasali Pridemage
1 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Seasinger
1 Wasteland
1 Steel Sabotage
3 Ravenous Trap
1 Tropical Island

5th Place: Ali Jafri playing “Show and Oath” (Show and Oath)

Maindeck (60):
1 Blightsteel Colossus
3 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
1 Voltaic Key
1 Time Vault
1 Tinker
1 Channel
2 Show and Tell
4 Oath of Druids
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
4 Force of Will
2 Mana Drain
2 Mental Misstep
1 Flusterstorm
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Preordain
1 Ponder
1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
4 Forbidden Orchard
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Forest

Sideboard:
1 Flusterstorm
1 Mental Misstep
1 Mindbreak Trap
2 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Ancient Grudge
3 Nature’s Claim
2 Ravenous Trap
4 Leyline of the Void

6th Place: Andrew Fleming playing “Forgemaster Beats” (MUD)

Maindeck (60):
1 Duplicant
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Karn, Silver Golem
2 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Metalworker
4 Kuldotha Forgemaster
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Tangle Wire
2 Sphere of Resistance
4 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Mana Vault
1 Sol Ring
1 Trinisphere
1 Mana Crypt
1 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Sundering Titan
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
3 City of Traitors
4 Mishra’s Workshop
4 Ancient Tomb
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland

Sideboard:
4 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Wurmcoil Engine
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 Crucible of Worlds
1 Sundering Titan
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Jester’s Cap
1 Steel Hellkite

7th Place: Darrell Hundertmark playing “Nuclear Umbrella” (Cat Stax Fever)

Maindeck (61):
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
2 Karn, Silver Golem
3 Slash Panter
3 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Sphere of Resistance
4 Thorn of Amethyst
4 Tangle Wire
1 Trinisphere
4 Chalice of the Void
2 Crucible of Worlds
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
4 Misra’s Workshop
2 City of Traitors
2 Mishra’s Factory
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
4 Ancient Tomb

Sideboard:
3 Precursor Golem
3 Wurmcoil Engine
2 Crucible of Worlds
3 Grafdigger’s Cage
4 Leyline of the Void

8th Place: Brad Jarman playing “Thanks for the Love” (Faeries)

Maindeck (60):
4 Snapcaster Mage
1 Sower of Temptation
4 Spellstutter Sprite
3 Vendilion Clique
3 Bitterblossom
2 Spell Pierce
1 Preordain
1 Ponder
1 Sword of Fire and Ice
1 Brainstorm
1 Misdirection
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
4 Force of Will
3 Mental Misstep
2 Skullclamp
3 Swords to Plowshares
3 Stoneforge Mystic
3 Underground Sea
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Island
2 Riptide Laboratory
3 Tundra

Sideboard:
3 Surgical Extraction
4 Leyline of the Void
3 Kataki, War’s Wage
1 Batterskull
3 Dark Confidant
1 Sower of Temptation

Edited to correct a decklist - Prospero <--- I blame Nick D. for providing said incorrect decklist   Thanks for fixing it.

[chrispikula]

Quick report:

Nick Detwiler built my deck and the deck of the other finalist and is a real Shopmaster. 
I won both my game 1s vs dredge, which I had previously thought was extremely unlikely. 
My top 8 opponents were Dredge, Oath, and the mirror.
My one loss of the day was vs an aggro Shop deck that had a lot more creatures than I had. 

[Prospero]

Also, congrats to Chris on the win, Mickey on the finals appearance and my teammates Matt and Allen on their top 4 appearance!

[mr.grim]

Congrats to Allen and Matt on the top 4!

[voltron00x]

East Coast Wins built all of the top 4 decks?  pretty sweet

[brokenbacon]

This tournament was, as per the usual, fucking sweet. Thanks Nick. Maybe next time I won't change to Bob Tendrils 2 days before the tournament like a complete idiot.

[XxtSundaybxX]

This tournament was alot of fun usual. Thanks to Mark for convincing me to play at last call for sign ups.

Congrats to the entire top 8. If only it wasn't for that damn Meddling Mage...

[voltron00x]

My list is wrong, guys.  Should be:

IgNoble Fish

4 Noble Hierarch
3 Qasali Pridemage
3 Tarmogoyf
4 Ethersworn Canonist
4 Trygon Predator
2 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
4 Force of Will
4 Mental Misstep
2 Steel Sabotage
3 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Stony Silence
1 Brainstorm
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Black Lotus
3 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
3 Tropical Island
2 Tundra
1 Forest
1 Island
4 Misty Rainforest
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Flooded Strand


SB: 2 Path to Exile
SB: 1 Dismember
SB: 1 Tarmogoyf
SB: 1 Qasali Pridemage
SB: 1 Grafdigger's Cage
SB: 2 Hurkyl's Recall
SB: 1 Seasinger
SB: 1 Wasteland
SB: 1 Steel Sabotage
SB: 3 Ravenous Trap
SB: 1 Tropical Island

[chrispikula]

Just wanted to once again thank Nick and Nick for running awesome tourneys and putting a huge amount of their time and energy into making the Magic scene great. 

[Samoht]

This tournament was alot of fun usual. Thanks to Mark for convincing me to play at last call for sign ups.

I seem to recall a certain Matt Elias and myself coaxing you as well.

[Pokey]

Excellent tournament despite me scrubbing out.  I am curious though, to know what cards define a shop build as "Martello", since apparently, there were 3 such decks at this event.

[XxtSundaybxX]

Excellent tournament despite me scrubbing out.  I am curious though, to know what cards define a shop build as "Martello", since apparently, there were 3 such decks at this event.

Martello shops is a deck that was designed by Raph Forino. It plays maindeck Phyrexian revokers and Kodultha Forgemaster as well as sundering Titan. I believe there is also a steel hellkite. No smokestacks.

[XxtSundaybxX]

This tournament was alot of fun usual. Thanks to Mark for convincing me to play at last call for sign ups.

I seem to recall a certain Matt Elias and myself coaxing you as well.

Fair enough. I <3 all if you guys.

[Bibendum]

Excellent tournament despite me scrubbing out.  I am curious though, to know what cards define a shop build as "Martello", since apparently, there were 3 such decks at this event.

Forgemaster without Metalworker is the major difference.

[voltron00x]

Can someone please correct my deck?

[Prospero]

Can someone please correct my deck?

Done.

[voltron00x]

thanks Nick

[Kiriyuu]

Random question that seems as good here as anywhere:

What makes a particular workshop deck 'Espresso Stax'? I thought it was the presence of Serum Powder, but obviously that's not the case! Thanks

Anyway, Chris' deck looks pretty brutal! How important is the singleton Rishaden port to the strategy? Is it there mainly as the 19th land, or as a disruption tool?

[Prospero]

Random question that seems as good here as anywhere:

What makes a particular workshop deck 'Espresso Stax'? I thought it was the presence of Serum Powder, but obviously that's not the case! Thanks

Anyway, Chris' deck looks pretty brutal! How important is the singleton Rishaden port to the strategy? Is it there mainly as the 19th land, or as a disruption tool?

Serum Powder was used in the early builds, but the deck needed to be more dense (read: it needed more cards that interacted with the opponent) with the printing of Metamorph.  If you're building a Shop deck right now, you almost have to start with four Lodestone, four Metamorph.

Regarding the Port, don't think of it as a singleton Port so much as it's an effect that's complementary to the other aspects of the deck.  It functions a bit like a Sphere, which is important.  If I knew that the metagame would be as Shop/Dredge heavy as it was, I would have switched the Port to a Ghost Quarter before I gave him the deck.  Chris asked about it beforehand, so credit to him on seeing the metagame better than I did.

[chrispikula]

I actually don't think I asked about the Port until later in the tourney. I think that the primary argument for changing it into a Ghost Quarter is to free up sideboard spots. Also, Port is less effective in the deck that you might think because it is actually not always easy to have enough mana to do things like activate Factories, use Karn, etc...

[Cruel Ultimatum]

Port can be a very powerful card in the espresso mirror. A hand that has shop and crucible can be very good because you are essentially weakening their waste effects. However if you show up with a port, it can completely swing the game in your favor.

[chalywong]

Port is also very useful against blue, most of the time it helps keep them off the big spells on their turn(yawg will, tinker, jace) and helps deal with counterspells by using your combats steps properly.  In a deck that has almost zero instant speed effects, a card like port is very unique in that it allows you to interact with your opponent on their turn.

[Kymagicplayer]

I would LOVE to come to one of these, or wish there was something like this in Chicago. If anyone from the Chicago area is going to be attending, I would love to car pool sometime.