July NEV Series Top 8 Decklists and Metagame Breakdown

[Iron_Chef]

My sincere thanks to everybody who showed up to Topdeck Games yesterday to play some Vintage!  We had 37 players yesterday, including a bunch of new faces!

Full Metagame Breakdown:



Top Eight Pairings and Results:

Nick Detwiler vs. Paul Mastriano – Detwiler wins
Ryan Glackin vs. Jack Impink – Glackin wins
Matt Bliffert vs. Justin Kohler – Bliffert wins
Josh Butker vs. Jon Geras – Butker wins

Top Four Pairings and Results:

Nick Detwiler vs. Ryan Glackin – Detwiler wins
Matt Bliffert vs. Josh Butker – Bliffert wins

Finals:

Nick Detwiler vs. Matt Bliffert – Detwiler wins

Congratulations to Nick Detwiler, Matt Bliffert and all my top eight competitors!

Top Eight Decklists

1st – Nick Detwiler
Martello Shops (Martello Shops)

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
3 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Sphere of Resistance
4 Thorn of Amethyst
4 Tangle Wire
1 Trinisphere
4 Lodestone Golem
3 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Kuldotha Forgemaster
1 Duplicant
2 Steel Hellkite
1 Sundering Titan
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Mishra’s Factory
4 Mishra’s Workshop
4 Wasteland

SB:

4 Grafdigger’s Cage
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 Ratchet Bomb
2 Crucible of Worlds
1 Witchbane Orb
1 Batterskull
1 Duplicant
1 Wurmcoil Engine

2nd – Matt Bliffert
Real Man Fish (Merfolk)

1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
3 Null Rod
4 Cursecatcher
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Silvergill Adept
4 Master of the Pearl Trident
3 Merrow Reejerey
2 Cold-Eyed Selkie
2 Waterfront Bouncer
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Force of Will
3 Daze
3 Spell Pierce
2 Mental Misstep
1 Time Walk
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Scalding Tarn
6 Island

SB:

4 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Ravenous Trap
2 Submerge
1 Gilded Drake
2 Energy Flux
4 Steel Sabotage

3rd – Ryan Glackin
RUG Delver (RUG Delver)

1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
4 Delver of Secrets
2 Flusterstorm
4 Force of Will
4 Gush
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
2 Mental Misstep
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Ponder
2 Preordain
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 Steel Sabotage
1 Time Walk
2 Vendilion Clique
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Dead/Gone
4 Lightning Bolt
1 Nature’s Claim
3 Tarmogoyf
1 Trygon Predator
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
2 Island
3 Misty Rainforest
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Tropical Island
3 Volcanic Island

SB:

1 Ancient Grudge
2 Grim Lavamancer
2 Ingot Chewer
1 Nature’s Claim
1 Tarmogoyf
4 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Forest
1 Mountain

4th – Joshua Butker
Doomsday Gush (Doomsday Gush)

1 Polluted Delta
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Flooded Strand
2 Scalding Tarn
4 Underground Sea
1 Tropical Island
2 Island
1 Black Lotus
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Tendrils of Agony
4 Doomsday
1 Laboratory Maniac
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
3 Dark Ritual
1 Time Walk
4 Gush
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Ponder
1 Brainstorm
3 Preordain
4 Force of Will
3 Flusterstorm
3 Mental Misstep
2 Thoughtseize
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Imperial Seal
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Fastbond
1 Rebuild
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Gitaxian Probe

SB:

2 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Xantid Swarm
2 Spell Snare
1 Mental Misstep
2 Island
3 Hurkyl’s Recall
3 Dismember

5th – Jonathan Geras
Ramrod Noble Fish (Noble Fish)

4 Noble Hierarch
4 Meddling Mage
4 Qasali Pridemage
4 Shardless Agent
3 Phyrexian Revoker
2 Tarmogoyf
2 Scavenging Ooze
4 Force of Will
4 Mental Misstep
1 Path to Exile
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
4 Stony Silence
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
3 Tundra
3 Tropical Island
1 Forest
1 Island

SB:

1 Plains
4 Grafdigger’s Cage
3 Ravenous Trap
3 Trygon Predator
1 Swords to Plowshares
2 Flusterstorm
1 Path to Exile

6th – Jack Impink
Gingerballs (Bob/Gush Control)

4 Force of Will
4 Mental Misstep
1 Echoing Truth
4 Dark Confidant
4 Gush
1 Fastbond
4 Preordain
1 Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Tinker
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
3 Trygon Predator
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
4 Scalding Tarn
2 Misty Rainforest
3 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
3 Island

SB:

4 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Island
4 Steel Sabotage
1 Doom Blade
2 Flusterstorm
1 Hurkyl’s Recall

7th – Paul Mastriano
Landstill (Landstill)

1 Time Walk
3 Engineered Explosives
2 Crucible of Worlds
2 Fire/Ice
1 Brainstorm
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Echoing Truth
1 Ancestral Recall
2 Mindbreak Trap
1 Flusterstorm
2 Mental Misstep
4 Mana Drain
2 Misdirection
4 Force of Will
4 Standstill
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
4 Mishra’s Factory
1 Mountain
2 Island
2 Tropical Island
3 Volcanic Island
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Flooded Strand

SB:

3 Ingot Chewer
3 Grafdigger’s Cage
3 Lightning Bolt
2 Ancient Grudge
4 Leyline of the Void

8th – Justin Kohler
Red Deck Wins (Bomberman)

2 Auriok Salvagers
3 Aven Mindcensor
4 Trinket Mage
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Flusterstorm
3 Mental Misstep
3 Spell Snare
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
1 Time Walk
4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Aether Spellbomb
1 Black Lotus
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
2 Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Plains
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Polluted Delta
3 Tundra
4 Flooded Strand
4 Island

SB:

1 Flusterstorm
2 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Tormod’s Crypt
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Kataki, War’s Wage
3 Energy Flux
1 Pithing Needle

Conclusion:

There’s some good news in this for several people; because Nick Detwiler has opted out of the NEV Power tournament all of his points pass down to the next player.  Congratulations to Matt Bliffert, who earns 12 NEV points, Ryan Glackin, who earns 6 NEV points, Jonathan Geras, who earns 4 NEV points, Matt Magda, who earns 3 NEV points and Visna Harris, who earns 2 NEV points!

My sincere thanks go out to Julian Palermo and all my employees, who helped me run a smooth event yesterday, but mostly, my thanks go out to you, the players; you make the format what it is and it’s great to see you all playing.  The next Topdeck Games NEV event is the Summer Open, and I hope to see you, and your friends, there!

Edited to add archetypes in addition to what each of the Top 8 players named their decks, to prevent confusion.

[Thecheese]

I stopped at red deck wins. Looked through the list twice and lol at the name. Very cool.

I have just built m deck and will be playing in my first nag touey at top decks summer open

[Worldslayer]

Bacon, is that you in the top 8? If so congratulations you son of a bitch - and to the rest of the top 8 as well.

Was a great event, though its a shame my list didn't come out to play. Best part of it was strangely not magic related:

"You should probably shoot at the bad guys."

"Working on it."

*shotgun firefight ensues*

...

"You should probably hit them when you shoot at them."

"I'm working on it!"


Can't wait for the next one. I'll even bring a real list that does stuff this time!

[Prospero]

This was an awesome event.  I had a great time, and some great games, including a great game three against Justin Kohler in the Swiss and a long, tough game two against Paul in the top eight.  Thanks for putting on another great show, Nick.

[cvarosky80]

This was an awesome event.  I had a great time, and some great games, including a great game three against Justin Kohler in the Swiss and a long, tough game two against Paul in the top eight.  Thanks for putting on another great show, Nick.

That was the longest game of Vintage I had ever seen! Hahahaha

Great event as always, and glad to see my friend and teammate Jon Top 8 his first NEVS event! Look forward to the next one!

[Vise]

NICE !!! THANKS NICK !!!

[rpf5029]

Nice Top 8!  Congrats to all participants, especially Mr. Detwiler. 

So sad to see not a single Karn in that 75, though.  I figured he'd at least be tucked in the sideboard somewhere...

[boggyb]

So uh Mr. Bliffert. Care to explain yourself? This is Vintage, not Legacy. I'll countenance no mono-colored aggro strategies, thank you.

[psyburat]

Congrats to Jon for another Top 8 and continuation of Shardless Agent's solid metagame position, Matt for the sly joke about fish decks and awesome tech, Josh for team pride and shedding light on that awesome build of Doomsday, and Nick for bringing the whole thing down!

[brokenbacon]

Bacon, is that you in the top 8? If so congratulations you son of a bitch - and to the rest of the top 8 as well.

That would be me in the top 8 with Gingerballs... fucking ridiculous deck name, couldn't think of anything else. Thanks a lot man.
Thanks a lot Mr. Coss for a fantastic tournament... I threw a lot of cardboard at you and walked home with a minty fresh Time Walk signed by Mr. Garfield himself, which still makes me extremely happy. I'll post it on the pimp forum eventually.
Congrats to the top 8, it was a blast. I'll be at the next tourney I can go to for sure.

[ramrodjon]

I had a great time at my first Top Deck event.  It was awesome meeting more folks in the Vintage community and I had a blast with every one of my opponents.  Thanks again to the Nicks for the series and prize support, Vito Piccozo and the rest of Full of Win Games, Chris Varosky and the rest of Team Ramrod, and Mike Noble for continuing to share Fish tech and experience. 

[Prospero]

Nice Top 8!  Congrats to all participants, especially Mr. Detwiler. 

So sad to see not a single Karn in that 75, though.  I figured he'd at least be tucked in the sideboard somewhere...

I would have very much liked to have fit him in, but he didn't have a home in the list.  Que sera sera.  Thanks, though.

[Mr. Type 4]

Another well run event at Coss's place.  I had a great time getting back into some Vintage after being away for a few weeks. 

a long, tough game two against Paul in the top eight.

That was one of the better games of Vintage I've played in a long time - I don't know about you, but it's those kind of games that get me really excited to play these events.  It's really hard to recreate that feeling of two high-level players going head-to-head in the top 8 outside of a tournament.

Congrates to Nick D for winning.  When I saw him in the morning I asked if he was going to play and he said with a sigh, "I guess I am because Coss said I have to."

[forests failed you]

@ Matt Bliffert:  Sweet looking new deck, but couldn't you be a reasonable human being and just call it Merfolk?  Real Man Fish, sigh, gag.

[brokenbacon]

Real Man Fish, sigh, gag.

Oh come on, man... that's not very nice. I liked it... feels Haggis-based. In which case, the "gag" is applicable, but still.

[forests failed you]

I don't understand people's preference for naming and publishing their decks with names that are not easily recognizable and identifiable. 

Yeah, its super cute to call decks goofy names, for instance, he could have called his Merfolk deck:  'Slaughter Smurfs,' or 'Island-Walk This Way,' both of which are equally awful names to call decks.  It is annoying to me when I have to read the entire deck list just to see what archetype people are playing, because it isn't identifiable by its name alone.  It's inefficient and it wastes everybody's time.

[A.-1.]

I can't tell if you're being serious or not.

Anywho, congrats to Bliff, Jack, and Justin. I actually lol'ed at the deck names. Keep up the good work.

[Worldslayer]

...Slaughter Smurfs is officially the name of every vintage deck I play until my next top 8, relevance be damned. That may be the best deck name i've ever heard.

[Samoht]

I don't understand people's preference for naming and publishing their decks with names that are not easily recognizable and identifiable. 

Yeah, its super cute to call decks goofy names, for instance, he could have called his Merfolk deck:  'Slaughter Smurfs,' or 'Island-Walk This Way,' both of which are equally awful names to call decks.  It is annoying to me when I have to read the entire deck list just to see what archetype people are playing, because it isn't identifiable by its name alone.  It's inefficient and it wastes everybody's time.

If you had to read on after 4 Cursecatcher to figure out what he was on, you're probably doing it wrong.

Fish is clearly identifiable in his strategy and name, so really you're mad because instead of writing Merfolk he wrote Real Man - which indicates he's not on Noble Fish with a twist of humor. The best part of this format is the community, and that type of humor is a cornerstone of the community. Also, like Worldslayer I will be deck reg'ing Slaughter Smurfs from now until the end of time.

[thebliff]

So uh Mr. Bliffert. Care to explain yourself? This is Vintage, not Legacy. I'll countenance no mono-colored aggro strategies, thank you.

I don't understand people's preference for naming and publishing their decks with names that are not easily recognizable and identifiable.  

Yeah, its super cute to call decks goofy names, for instance, he could have called his Merfolk deck:  'Slaughter Smurfs,' or 'Island-Walk This Way,' both of which are equally awful names to call decks.  It is annoying to me when I have to read the entire deck list just to see what archetype people are playing, because it isn't identifiable by its name alone.  It's inefficient and it wastes everybody's time.

Sad are the days when calling a Fish deck Fish isn't descriptive enough.  What actually wastes time is posts like this complaining about deck names.  It is excusable because you brought us "Slaughter Smurfs" which is the best piece of text I've read in awhile.

So uh Mr. Bliffert. Care to explain yourself? This is Vintage, not Legacy. I'll countenance no mono-colored aggro strategies, thank you.

This deck was awesome for the event.  With that said I don't know how good it will be going forward, but I'd probably play it in Legacy and just change a few cards

Also apologies to everyone who stayed and watched the finals match where I punted over and over and over again in game 1 and then kept the worst possible hand in game 2 even when Nick told me to mulligan.

Grats to all of the top 8 and Nick on the win.  Next time I'll get you

[Asphyxious]

Honestly, I think the deck's pretty legit, having played against it twice on Saturday (6 total games, i think).  It was very consistent and had a pretty quick clock while maintaining a fair amount of control.

Two of the games, I was forced to try and combo out for the win because I would lose on the following turn, and I was still met with Force, Daze, Flusterstorm, and two Cursecatchers.  Not to mention, the one game I kept a hand with double force double misstep and some other stuff, only to get obliterated by uncounterable dudes with Cavern.

Seems pretty good to me.

Also, congrats to both Nick and Matt.  Well deserved.

[The Atog Lord]

I don't understand people's preference for naming and publishing their decks with names that are not easily recognizable and identifiable. 

Well, I agree that random deck names are pretty bad. But, it's a much, much better practice than the self-aggrandizement and arrogance that is inherent in shoving one's name or one's team's name onto a deck. That's the height of hubris, and far worse than naming something Slaughter Smurfs.

[voltron00x]

When can we expect to see an updated NEV points list?

[Smmenen]

I don't understand people's preference for naming and publishing their decks with names that are not easily recognizable and identifiable.  

Well, I agree that random deck names are pretty bad. But, it's a much, much better practice than the self-aggrandizement and arrogance that is inherent in shoving one's name or one's team's name onto a deck. That's the height of hubris, and far worse than naming something Slaughter Smurfs.

Naming a deck after oneself might be more hubristic, but it's certainly not worse than naming it something that has nothing to do with the deck itself.   I would prefer, for example, Shaymora to Coca-Puffs.   At least the word "Remora" is in the name, whereas Coco-Puffs has nothing to do with the tactics or strategy of a deck.  

I think every Magic deck name should be directly related to what the deck does, and not mystifying or obfuscating.  A deck name that has nothing to do with what the deck does or has it in is the very worst. 

[Prospero]

How about we drop the whole deck name thing and move on?