GP Melbourne Side Event - 43 Players

[shrewarmies]

On Sunday March 2nd, a whopping 43 players made their way down for the GP Melbourne Vintage side event. 43 players for a sanctioned side event is absolutely huge and it just reinforces Australia’s position as the place to be for Vintage Mages in the southern hemisphere.  Breaking the previous record of 35 players, Vintage is only getting bigger and better down under.

Overall the event was a huge success. We had players from nearly every state of Australia, New Zealand, and Malaysia playing. It was fantastic seeing so many new players playing also. I spoke to many of you and it means a lot to our community to see you there and we hope to see you all again.  

This event was certainly a re-emergence of Dredge in Australia. Only a few weeks ago it was mentioned that dredge was not a popular deck in Australia, only to see a LOT of Dredge this time in the field, two made top 8 and the final winner was Gabriel Rabin. Well done to everyone who made top 8, it was a tremendous effort. It was great to see so many interstaters make the trip. Of note, 4 of the top 8 spots were taken by players from the Brisbane community! Well done also to James McKay for making the finals in two large events in a row. It’s great to see you come out and play.
It was absolutely fantastic to see so many people playing; I hope to see you all and more at future events. Let’s continue to break records and make 2014 the biggest year for Eternal events in Australia.
At the end of the day, our final standings were

1   Gabriel Rabin     Cagebreaker Dredge
2    James Mckay     Aggro Shops
3    Scott Lennon     Grixis Control
4    Jacob Dunn     Grixis Control
5    Charlie Donaldson     BG Hexdepths
6    Timothy Tai     Survival Mask
7    Nicholas Chmielewski     Turbo Tezz
8    Justin Robb     Dredge
      
9    Joshua Butler     Remora gush
10    Blake Dannoun     BUG Fish
11    William Wong     Grixis control
12    William lou     Pitch Burning Oath
13    Kevin Nguyen     BUG Fish
14    Shamsul Kamal     Noble Fish
15    Dan Dowse     Mono R Shops
16    Keith Franks     Metalworker
17    David Brotchie     UR Landstill
18    Dylan Brown     Always Sunny in philadelphia
19      Aloysius Landrigan Grixis Control
20    Glenn Shanley     The wheel
21    Ben Hawke     Hegemann Dredge
22      Matt Matthew Pohlen     White Trash
23    Thomas ribet     Salvagers oath
24    Socrates stavropoulos     Happy snappy
25      Robert Bartlett    Espresso shops
26    Ben kearney    Rb Goblins
27   Yunus Yuksel    Martello Shops
28   Graham King   Espresso Stax
29   Andy Horne           RUG Delver
30   Graham Croucher   UR Delver
31   Luke McCandless   GHOGH Shops (Metalworker)
32   Christopher Turner   UR Delver
33   Boyd Fernicola   Merfolk
34   Laura Ellis           Hegemann Dredge
35   Stephen Meade   Accumulated Faeries
36   Tinghoi Yeo           RUG Delver
37   Jeffery Chan   GG Oath
38-43   James Griggs   GW Bears
38-43   Andrew Vance   Grixis Control
38-43   Lee Greaves   Artificer Shops
38-43   Francis Lam           Espresso Stax
38-43   Tyler Visser           Rogue Hermit
38-43   Luke McCoy           Dredge



Top 16 Decklists
1) Gabriel Rabin – Cagebreaker Dredge
Lands
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
4 Undiscovered Paradise
3 City of Brass
1 Dakmoor Salvage

Artifacts
4 Serum Powder

Creatures
4 Bloodghast
4 Narcomoeba
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
2 Golgari Thug
2 Fatestitcher
1 Ichorid
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
1 Sun Titan

Enchantment
4 Bridge from Below

Sorceries
4 Cabal Therapy
3 Dread Return

Instants
4 Mental Misstep
4 Nature’s Claim
2 Darkblast

Sideboard
4 Chain of Vapour
3 Serenity
2 Ingot Chewer
2 Ichorid
1 Elesh Norn
1 City of Brass
1 Gemstone Mine
1 Darkblast

2) James Mckay – Aggro Shops
Lands
4 Mishra’s Workshop
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Mishra’s Factory
4 Wasteland
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Strip Mine
1 Mutavault


Artifacts
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt

4 Thorn of Amethyst
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Tangle Wire
1 Trinisphere
1 Batterskull

Creatures
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Porcelain Legionnaire
2 Wurmcoil Engine
2 Karn, Silver Golem


Sideboard
3 Crucible of Worlds
3 Grafdigger’s Cage
3 Ratchet Bomb
2 Dismember
2 Precursor Golem
2 Tormod’s Crypt

3) Scott Lennon – Grixis Control
Lands
4 Polluted Delta
3 Scalding Tarn
2 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
2 Island
1 Swamp
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Tolarian Academy

Artifacts
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
1 Sensei’s Divining Top

Creatures
4 Dark Confidant
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Blightsteel Colossus

Planeswalkers
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Sorceries
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Tinker
1 Time Walk
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Dreadbore
1 Merchant Scroll

Instants
4 Fore of Will
2 Mana Drain
2 Lightning Bolt
2 Spell Pierce
2 Mental Misstep
1 Brainstorm
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Vampiric Tutor

Sideboard
4 Grafdigger’s Cage
3 Ingot Chewer
3 Yixlid Jailer
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Mountain
1 Strip Mine
1 Vandalblast
1 Lightning Bolt

4) Jacob Dunn – Grixis Control
Lands
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Polluted Delta
3 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Tolarian Academy

Artifacts
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key

 Creatures
4 Dark Confidant
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Myr Battlesphere

Planeswalkers
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Sorceries
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll

Instants
4 Force of Will
2 Mental Misstep
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Brainstorm
2 Mana Drain
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
2 Spell Pierce
3 Lightning Bolt
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Ancestral Recall

Sideboard
4 Ingot Chewer
3 Grafdigger’s Cage
3 Yixlid Jailer
2 Surgical Extraction
1 Toxic Deluge
1 Strip Mine
1 Mountain

5) Charlie Donaldson – BG Dark Times
Lands
4 Swamp
4 Wasteland
3 Dark Depths
2 Bloodstained Mire
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Verdant Catacombs
2 Bayou
1 Strip Mine
1 Thespians Stage
1 Forest

Artifacts
1 Mox Jet
1 Crucible of Worlds

Creatures
4 Dark Confidant
4 Vampire Hexmage
4 Deathrite Shaman

Enchantments
1 Sylvan Library
1 Necropotence
1 Pernicious Deed

Planeswalkers
1 Lilliana of the Veil

Sorceries
1 Grim Discovery
4 Thoughtseize
2 Duress
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Demonic Tutor

Instants
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Extirpate
3 Abrupt Decay
1 Diabolic Edict
1 Demonic Consultation
4 Dark Ritual

Sideboard
2 Dismember
2 Relic of Progenitus
2 Yixlid Jailer
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Nature’s Calim
1 Extirpate
1 Lilliana of the Veil
1 Sadistic Sacrament
1 Bitterblossom
1 Pernicious Deed
1 Null Rod
1 Krosan Grip

6) Timothy Tai – Survival Mask
Lands
3 Gemstone Mine
3 Verdant Catacombs
2 Bayou
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Dark Depths
1 Tropical Island
1 Taiga
1 Forest

Artifacts

1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby

2 Illusionary Mask

Creatures
4 Phyrexian Dreadnaught
4 Dark Confidant
3 Vampire Hexmage
2 Varolz, the Scar Striped
2 Deathrite Shaman
2 Vengevine
1 Basking Rootwalla
1 Trygon Predator

Enchantments
4 Survival of the Fittest

Sorceries
4 Thoughtseize
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Time Walk

Instants
3 Mental Misstep
2 Abrupt Decay
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Ancestral Recall

Sideboard
4 Nature’s Claim
4 Atrifact Mutation
3 Grafdiggers Cage
3 Nihil Spllbomb
1 Yixlid Jailer

7) Nicholas Chmielewski – TurboTezz
Lands
4 Polluted Delta
2 Underground Sea
1 Scalding Tarn
1 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
5 Island
1 Tolarian Academy

Artifacts
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
3 Grim Monolith

1 Time Vault
4 Voltaic Key
3 Sensei’s Divinng Top

Creatures
1 Myr Battlesphere

Planeswalkers
4 Tezzeret the Seeker

Sorceries
2 Thoughtseize
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Tinker
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Time Walk

Instants
4 Force of Will
2 Mana Drain
2 Misdirection
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Brainstorm
1 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Ancestral Recall

Sideboard
3 Hurkyl’s Recall
3 Yixlid Jailer
3 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Thoughtseize
1 Misdirection
2 Sower of Temptation
1 Trinisphere

8) Justin Robb – Dredge
Lands
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
4 Petrified Field
4 Undiscovered Paradise
3 City of Brass
1 Darkmoor Salvage

Artifacts
4 Serum Powder

Creatures
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Narcomoeba
4 Bloodghast
3 Ichorid
3 Street Wraith
2 Fatestitcher
1 Sun Titan
1 Flame-Kin Zealot

Enchantments
4 Bridge from Below

Sorceries
4 Cabal Therapy
2 Dread Return

Instants
4 Mental Misstep

Sidebord
4 Leyline of the Void
4 Chain of Vapour
4 Ingot Chewer
3 Natures Claim

9) Joshua Butler – Remora Gush
Lands
2 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
1 Volcanic Island
1 Island
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Misty Rainforest

Artifacts
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt

Creatures
2 Trygon Predator
1 Blightsteel Colossus

Enchantments
4 Mystic Remora
1 Fastbond

Planeswalkers
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Instants
4 Gush
4 Force of Will
4 Mental Misstep
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Brainstorm
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Flusterstorm

Sorceries
3 Preordain
1 Ponder
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Tinker

Sideboard
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Yixlid Jailer
2 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Mountain
1 Ancient Grudge
1 Nature’s Claim
2 Ingot Chewer

10)Blake Dannoun – BUG Fish
Lands
4 Polluted Delta
4 Verdant Catacombs
3 Tropical Island
1 Bayou
3 Underground Sea
1 Swamp
3 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine

Creatures
4 Deathrite Shaman
3 True Name Nemesis
4 Dark Confidant
4 Tarmogoyf
2 Snapcaster Mage

Planeswalkers
3 Liliana of the Veil
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Instants
4 Abrupt Decay
1 Brainstorm
4 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce

Sorceries
4 Thoughtseize
4 Inquisition of Kozilek

Sideboard
2 Life from the Loam
1 Dismember
1 Island
1 Edric, Spymaster of Trest
3 Golgari Charm
3 Yixlid Jiler
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Flusterstorm
1 Annul

11)William Wong – Grixis Control
Lands
4 Polluted Delta
3 Underground Sea
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Volcanic Island
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Tolarian Academy

Artifacts

1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Voltaic Key
1 Time Vault
1 Sensei’s Divining Top

Creatures
4 Dark Confidant
2 Snapcaster Mage
2 True Name Nemesis
1 Myr Battlesphere

Planeswalkers
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Instants
1 Brainstorm
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Force of Will
2 Mental Misstep
2 Mana Drain
1 Mystical Tutor
2 Steel Sabotage

Sorceries
1 Time Walk
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Yawmoth’s Will
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Tinker

Sideboard
1 Rack and Ruin
1 Vandalblast
3 Ingot Chewer
2 Flusterstorm
1 Mountain
4 Grafdigger’s Cage
3 Pithing Needle

12) William Lou – Burning Oath
Lands
4 Forbidden Orchanrd
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Gemstone Mine
4 City of Brass

Artifacts
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Opal
1 Mana Vault
1 Lotus Petal

1 Memory Jar

Creatures
2 Griselbrand

Enchantments
1 Yawgmoth’s Bargain
1 Necropotence
4 Oath of Druids

Instants
1 Brainstorm
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
2 Misdirection
2 Mental Misstep
2 Hurkyl’s Recall
4 Dark Ritual
4 Force of Will
1 Ancestral Recall

Sorceries
1 Ponder
1 Tinker
1 Windfall
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Timetwister
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Time Walk
4 Burning Wish

Sideboard
1 Diminishing Returns
1 Thoughtseize
2 Chain of Vapour
3 Ancient Tomb
1 Nature’s Caim
1 Laboratory Maniac
2 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Show and Tell
1 Shattering Spree
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Yawgmoth’s Will


13) Kevin Nguyen – BUG Fish
Lands
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Polluted Delta
1 Verdant Catacombs
3 Misty Rainforest
1 Cavern of Souls
2 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
1 Bayou
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine

Artifacts
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet

1 Null Rod

Creatures
3 Snapcaster Mage
2 Vendillion Clique
4 Dark Confidant
4 Deathrite Shaman
2 True Name Nemesis
1 Trygon Predator

Planeswalkers
2 Liliana of the Veil

Instants
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Force of Will
4 Abrupt Decay
2 Mental Misstep
1 Brainstorm
1 Vampiric Tutor
2 Spell Pierce
1 Steel Sabotage

Sorceries
1 Time Walk
1 Demonic Tutor

Sideboard
2 Nature’s Claim
1 Mental Misstep
1 Flusterstorm
1 Spell Snare
3 Yixlid Jailer
2 Grafdigger’s Cage
2 Nul Rod
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Forest
1 Spell Pierce

14) Shamsul Kamal – Junk Fish
Lands
1 Verdant Catacombs
1 Tropical Island
1 Bayou
2 Savannah
1 Scrubland
1 Forest
1 Karakas
2 Cavern of Souls
2 Horizon Canopy
1 Strip Mine
1 Windswept Heath
4 Wasteland

Artifacts
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Lotus Petal

Creatures
4 Dark Confidant
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Knight of the Reliquary
3 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Qasali Pridemage
2 Aven Mindsencor
4 Noble Hierarch

Instants
4 Swords to Plowshares
3 Mental Misstep
2 Abrupt Decay

Sorceries
1 Time Walk

Sideboard
2 Rest in Peace
2 Path to Exile
2 Serenity
1 Notion Thief
1 Ethersworn Cannonist
1 Gaddock Teeg
3 Kataki, Wars Wage
2 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Yixlid Jailer

15)Dan Dowse-  Mono R Stax
Lands
4 Mishra’s Workshop
4 Wasteland
3 Ancient Tomb
3 Barbarian Ring
3 Mountain
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Bazaar of Baghdad

Artifacts

1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault

4 Smokestack
4 Tangle Wire
4 Sphere of Resistance
4 Chalice of the Void
1 Trinisphere
3 Crucible of Worlds

Creatures
4 Goblin Welder
4 Lodestone Golem
2 Karn, Silver Golem

Sideboard
4 Ensnaring Bridges
4 Grafdigger’s Cage
1 Crucible of Worlds
2 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Null Rod
2 Phyrexian Revoker

16)Keith Franks – Metalworker
Lands
4 Mishra’s Workshop
4 Ancient Tomb
2 Cavern of Souls
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
1 City of Traitors

Artifacts

1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt

1 Time Vault
1 Trinisphere
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Lightning Greaves
2 Voltaic Key
1 Staff of Domination


Cretures
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Kudotha Forgemster
4 Metalworker
1 Triskellion
2 Wurmcoil Engine
1 Duplicant
1 Sundering Titan
1 Steel Hellkite
1 Blightsteel Colossus

Sideboard
4 Grafdigger’s Cage
3 Crucible of Worlds
1 Duplicant
2 Pithing Needle
3 Surgical Extraction
2 Dismember

[tribet]

[Prospero]

I love the pictures, thanks for posting them!

[mr.grim]

Sweet report and pics!  I really the the altered key.

[Ten-Ten]

Basking rootwalla, the most broken first turn play

Nice pics. Thank you for the report.

[shrewarmies]

Updated for Decklists 9-16

[Soly]

I just love the fact that Vintage is starting to get HUGE worldwide.  

For those of us that are not familiar with the geography of that region, please point this out on the map provided:

[mr.grim]

I love sharks with frickin' lasers!

[A.-1.]

Is that huge counter war over a measly Ancestral or the Fastbond?

Love the pics!

[shrewarmies]

It was over the Ancestral.

My opponent Thomas Ribet was on Salvager's Oath and we were both in serious top deck mode and I had managed to draw 4 Missteps over 5 turns. I only had one Force as real protection but nothing else to disrupt an Oath if it hit the table or Salvagers from just winning as Lotus and the Spellbomb were in his graveyard. As such I figured that my missteps were basically blanks except for a very select few cards. I would not have fought as hard had I had multiple Forces/Drains etc.

Tom: Ancestral
Josh: misstep a call
Tom: hardcast Force misstep
Josh: misstep a call
Tom: force misstep
Josh: misstep acall
Tom: mindbreak trap
Josh: hardcast force

[tribet]

I just realised now that a better play would have been to Hardcast my Mindbreak Trap (instead of hardcasting FOW) in order to keep U open for my Flusterstorm (meaning that my FOW#1 should have been cast by rfg-ing my FOW#2).

This was the typical Control VS Control scenario:
- Josh's Remora had left the board that turn and it gave me a window at EOT to be proactive and to unleash a threat
- I didn't know Josh's counter-package and mine felt strong. My main mistake here was clearly to not play around Mental Misstep (he played 4!). Anything but ACall and I would have won the fight.
- Once I started the fight, I felt that I had no choice but to keep going. That's probably a bad play too.

I was naked after that but I was still confident that my odds to top deck something relevant were greater than Josh's: an Oath, Auriok, Thirst, Fact, Gift, DT, Tez,... would have most probably done the trick. Again this window was narrow and, the longer the game goes, a TopDeck Remora from Josh would have been devastating for me.

[tribet]

I ran quick numbers to see if my perceived "confidence in better top decking than Josh" could be somewhat backed up by some rough numbers. That's what I ended up with:

             Josh         Tom
Mana         25           25
Kills            6             7
Draws       23           18
Disrupt     14            18


So I reckon, I had no chance and I was doomed to die.


I thought I had more business than Josh but I'm clearly relying on drawing the proper disrupt at the right time which is not the greatest MTG strategy ever.


PS: These numbers are absolutely subjective. It's the way I see the decks, this matchup, the current board-state, etc... (I certainly don't want to start arguing about semantic, theory, justifications, etc... and also, I didn't take into account the Sideboard!)

[KIP_NZ]

For those of us that are not familiar with the geography of that region, please point this out on the map provided:

That maps needs more convicts!