Despite some bad weather, traffic, and a PTQ only two hours away, 14 powerful planeswalkers came out to Games and Stuff in Glen Burnie, MD this past Saturday in order to battle in the most powerful of formats.
I had an excellent time and learned a lot about the format while getting to play some very exciting games. I offer this piece to you, dear reader, not as any sort of advice or learning material, as my play and and thought processes are surely far from optimal, but rather as an entertaining journey through the event. I welcome any and all feedback in the comments.
I'm a newcomer to Vintage, but I took advantage of the 15 proxy limit and played Rich Shay's Vintage Super League Night's Whisper Control Slaver (RSVSLNWCS, for short):
2 Goblin Welder
2 Notion Thief
1 Myr Battlesphere
4 Force of Will
4 Mental Misstep
4 Night's Whisper
3 Dack Fayden
2 Mana Drain
2 Lightning Bolt
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Jace the Mind Sculptor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Ponder
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Fire//Ice
1 Mindslaver
4 Scalding Tarn
3 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
1 Badlands
1 Black Lotus
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Polluted Delta
1 Sol Ring
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
SB:
4 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Ignot Chewer
2 Mindbreak Trap
2 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Darkblast
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Pyroblast
1 Mountain
I won't pretend I have anything enlightening to add to Rich's deck; the man is truly a master. If you want to read about it, I suggest Rich's primer:
http://www.themanadrain.com/index.php?topic=15900.0.
Prizes went to the top 4, so with 14 players, that should mean five rounds. Except we're told we're only playing 4. Most players seem to be okay with this. I point out that there may be a 3-1 who doesn't make top 4. My friend Bernie tells me that situation shouldn't happen. *cue foreshadowing music*
Round 1: Bernie with Grixis Control
The pairing gods match me against Bernie in round one. I don't know exactly what he's on, but knowing Bernie I figure it's some sort of blue control deck.
The dice favor me and I open on:
Underground Sea, Volcanic Island, Mox Sapphire, Mana Vault, Tinker, Force of Will, Lightning Bolt
Turn one Tinker is sweet, but I can't imagine it will resolve without Force backup. I decide to wait to try and draw a blue card, so I play a land and pass. Bernie does the same. My draw step yields a Badlands; not exactly what I need. I play another land and pass. Bernie casts Vampiric Tutor. He plays another land and passes. I draw an Island. Assuming Bernie got the Ancestral, I'm in trouble now. I play a third land. Bernie does indeed cast Ancestral, which, with a shrug from me, resolves; I can't imagine pitching my only action gets me anywhere. Bernie plays a Scalding Tarn and passes. I draw a Mox Pearl and decide things just aren't getting better. I play out the Crypt and cast Tinker. Bernie Brainstorms, sighs, and Forces it. He's shocked when the Force resolves. I've got nothing else to do, so I pass.
At this point, Bernie is in control. He plays a Jace and uses it to Brainstorm. I respond with Lightning Bolt which succeeds in taking down Jace. My turn yeilds a Myr Battlesphere, but without my Crypt I'm still two
mana from casting it. Bernie has a Dack Fayden and loots. I finally draw a blue spell, and it's a doozy: Notion Thief. I'm psyched to try and steal a Dack Fayden activation, but Bernie does me one better. On his turn, he slams a Jace and Brainstorms again. He doesn't have an answer for my Thief and I'm able to convert the free Ancestral plus virtual Plow Under into an easy win.
Dack Fayden may be the greatest thief in the multiverse, but Notion Thief certainly stole that game.
I have no idea how to sideboard, so I jam in all 15 and start pulling things out. Here's how things ended up:
IN: Pyroblast, Darkblast, Mountain
OUT: Mana Drain, Mental Misstep, Mox Pearl
Why the Mountain? Because I didn't notice it while pulling out cards. I went through the deck and my brain just saw a land, which, as a Vintage novice, I didn't think to cut. Embarrassing, but it is what it is.
My opening hand in game two is:
Scalding Tarn, Ponder, Mental Misstep, Goblin Welder, Dack Fayden, Dack Fayden, Force of Will.
A little risky, but I decide to keep, especially after Bernie mulligans.
Bernie starts with a Misty Rainforest, finding an Underground Sea, which, along with a Mox Ruby, casts a Dark Confidant. I Force, pitching a Dack Fayden, but Bernie also has a Force, pitching a Jace. Bernie's down to one card, but an active Bob is certainly a threat for Control Slaver.
My Ponder does not find an answer for Bob, but it does find Polluted Delta, a Mox Jet, and an Ancestral Recall, so I decide to keep it, hoping the Ancestral can keep up with Bob. Bernie reveals a Polluted Delta and draws a card, plays the Delta, and passes after attacking me for two. I draw the Recall and cast it, drawing Polluted Delta, Night's Whisper and Force of Will. I play the Welder to stop the Bob beats and pass.
Bob reveals a Mox Sapphire for Bernie. He slams the Mox, a land, and Jace. Good thing I found that Force! Misstep enters the exiled zone and Force gets a "Rats!" from Bernie.
Whisper finds me another Whisper and a Drain. I hold up Drain which answers a Tinker that Bob reveals for Bernie. From here, my second Whisper finds a Notion Thief who teams up with partner-in-crime Dack Fayden to empty Bernie's hand, find a Darkblast for Bob, and beat in for the win.
1-0
The NWCS deck really is excellent at coming back from behind, and this match certainly demonstrated that. I had some very luck draw steps to be sure, but I'm coming to learn that's sort of how Vintage works.
Round 2: David with Oath Control
David is another close friend. What can I say, I'm a popular guy! David is known for his love of Oath decks, so I'm assuming that's what he's on.
He wins the die roll and thinks for a moment before keeping. My opening hand is:
Mox Pearl, Mox Jet, Mox Emerald, Underground Sea, Volcanic Island, Night's Whisper, Dack Fayden.
There's not much I can do about David's best openings, but I should see a lot of cards in the first few turns, so I keep.
David starts on Mox Emerald, Mana Crypt, Oath of Druids, Forbidden Orchard. Well, so much for that plan. Night's Whisper finds a Lightning Bolt which gives me a one turn reprieve, but eventually Griselbrand arrives to ruin my clever plan of hoping my opponent dies to his own Crypt.
Time to board again. This should be an adventure.
IN: 4 Grafdigger's Cage, Mindbreak Trap, Pyroblast
OUT: 2 Lightning Bolt, 2 Goblin Welder, Mental Misstep, Fire//Ice
I decided Welder turning on Oath was a detriment. I wasn't sure how good the Trap would be, so I tried one. Sure, not exactly the best strategy, if you wanted a master's class in the deck, you should have read one of Rich's reports.
This time I open on:
Bloodstained Mire, Underground Sea, Mox Sapphire, Mana Crypt, Demonic Tutor, Mystic Tutor, Notion Thief.
No counter magic again, but I should be able to get a quick Grafdigger's Cage. Let's hope that's enough. David quickly keeps as well.
I open on Bloodstained Mire, fetching Badlands, play Crypt, and Tutor for Cage. Rather than just slam it, though, I play the Mox and Mystical for Mental Misstep. Now's let's just hope David doesn't have Oath, Orchard
and Time Walk.
He doesn't, but he does have Mox Emerald, Sol Ring, Forbidden Orchard and Show and Tell. This could go quite badly. I put in Notion Thief. David puts in Oath of Druids. Whew! I draw the Misstep and play Cage, which resolves. My Crypt bolts me frequently, but Notion Thief deals three damage
every turn and I find a second Cage before David can put anything together.
Four mana three power creatures: the best it gets in Vintage.
I go back to the board.
IN: 4 Grafdigger's Cage, Pyroblast
OUT: 2 Lightning Bolt, Goblin Welder, Mental Misstep, Fire//Ice
It didn't seem like David would activate my Trap, and I realized Welder is a pretty good answer for a Decay on Cage, so I bring one back in as a tutor target.
For our final game I draw:
Mox Ruby, Library of Alexandria, Force of Will, Mana Drain, Vampiric Tutor, Goblin Welder, Mindslaver.
We both keep.
David starts on a Misty and passes. I make fun of him for not having turn one Oath and Orchard. He laughs, fetches a Tropical Island in my upkeep and Recalls himself. Some people! I go deep into the tank and decide Library is my best path to victory, so I let it resolve.
I draw a Tarn for the turn (how lucky!), play the Library and draw into a Lotus. I decide I want to get Mindslaver in the yard right away, so I discard it rather than play out my artifacts.
David plays a land and a Voltaic Key and passes.
I draw a second Mana Drain and Library into a Tinker. Now I have some decisions to make. Getting an active Welder sounds pretty powerful, as does holding up Vampiric Tutor, but I also want to keep up Library if I can. I settle on playing the Scaling Tarn and the Lotus assuring I can still Library even if I need to Drain something.
David starts with a Brainstorm, which I let resolve. He then plays Mana Crypt and casts Show and Tell. I break the Lotus for blue mana and Drain. He Forces back. I consider Forcing, pitching Mana Drain so I can still Vampiric (now that the Library plan is long dead), but just in case he something really nuts, I fetch out an Underground Sea and Drain his Force, which resolves. Yay, eight mana next turn! Or so I thought. David's not done yet; he casts Time Vault. Wow, what a Brainstorm! Fortunately, I have the Force, pitching Tinker.
I think about it and decide I need to get my opponent dead, so I cast Vampiric Tutor in my upkeep and find the Battlesphere, hard casting it with my Drain Mana. I play out the Ruby and the Welder as well, emptying my hand. Now it's time to cross my fingers. I ask David not to draw Yawgmoth's Will.
He doesn't. He does have Decay for my Welder, though. Shucks.
I, on the other hand, do draw Yawgmoth's Will (skill game!). Battlebot rolls out, and after a lost Crypt flip, David falls to three. YawgWill brings back Lotus and Welder and I pass.
David sighs and shows me the Toxic Deluge on top of his deck. It turns out he put it back under the Decay with his Brainstorm. I guess Magic is hard. Better lucky than good!
2-0
Pretty good start! There aren't too many undefeated players left; wonder what I'll play next?
Round 3: Paul Mastriano with Steel City Vault
Well, that answers that question. I don't know Paul personally, but I know him by reputation and I have a ton of respect for his deck. He's the most experienced player in the room, though, so if I want to win this thing I was probably going to have to go through him eventually anyway. Here goes nothing.
I win the die roll and open with:
Mox Sapphire, Mox Emerald, Scalding Tarn, Underground Sea, Yawgmoth's Will, Mental Misstep, Myr Battlesphere.
This hand has plenty of mana and some powerful spells, but it doesn't really do anything, nor can it really stop Paul's deck from doing the powerful things it does. I take my first mulligan of the day and see:
Scalding Tarn, Bloodstained Mire, Black Lotus, Ancestral Recall, Night's Whisper, Jace the Mind Sculptor.
Well. That's a hand.
I start on Scalding Tarn, finding an Underground Sea, play the Lotus and the Jace. Paul has the Force, though. Fortunately, he only has a land and a Mox for his turn and passes back. My Recall resolves and draws me into a Mox Sapphire, a Mental Misstep and Goblin Welder. I fetch a Badlands, play the Mox, and Whisper into another Whisper and Mana Drain. Paul has another land and a Voltaic Key, which I Misstep. He casts Burning Wish, finding Transmute Artifact, and passes the turn. I draw a third Night's Whisper on my turn but decide to keep up Drain for the Transmute. Paul has nothing after the Transmute and passes. I use
my Drain mana to play both Whispers, drawing a Force of Will, Mox Ruby, Dack Fayden and another land. I play out the Welder and pass. Paul has a Time Vault, which I let resolve. Dack comes down and elects to add
Paul's Time Vault to add to his collection, earning a "that's pretty good" from Paul. His main win condition gone, Paul continues to do very little as he floods out. Dack ticks up to two, then I weld one of Paul's Seat of the Synods into his Voltaic Key, steal his Key with Dack Fayden, and proceed to take the rest of the turns.
I don't know why people want to put Vault/Key in this deck. I'd rather just steal them from my opponent.
Time to board!
IN: 3 Ingot Chewer, 2 Mindbreak Trap, Darkblast, Nihil Spellbomb
OUT: 2 Night's Whisper, 2 Lightning Bolt, Fire//Ice, Mox Pearl, Strip Mine
I'm ready to believe boarding out Strip Mine is wrong, but after seeing Paul flood out in game one, coupled with being on the draw, and finally knowing there isn't a Library of Alexandria to worry about, I thought it might be safe. I decide to pare down to one answer for Paul's Welders, so I choose the one that keeps coming back if need be. I worried Whisper might be a little slow, so I shaved there. One Spellbomb seems right, because, you know, of reasons.
Paul has a quick keep. My opener in this game has:
Sol Ring, Mental Misstep, Mana Drain, Jace the Mind Sculptor, Demonic Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Mindslaver.
No lands; no good. Well, mulliganning worked last game! My new six contains:
Bloodstained Mire, Sol Ring, Mental Misstep, Ancestral Recall, Force of Will, Force of Will.
Those are six cards alright!
Paul starts on Mana Confluence, Mox Ruby, Mox Emerald, Wheel of Fortune. I Force, deciding to pitch the Misstep. This will make fighting over my Recall harder, but I want as many Forces as possible. Paul has a Misdirection, though, pitching Fire//Ice, which locks me into Force pitching Ancestral Recall.
Things weren't looking great, but I have to hope my deck can function better in a low resource game. I do immediately regret boarding out those Whispers, though.
My first draw is an Underground Sea. I play it and my Sol Ring.
Paul draws and passes.
I draw a Mental Misstep. Paul has a Vampiric Tutor. Misstepped.
I draw a Mindbreak Trap. Paul has a Demonic Tutor. Exiled.
I draw a Mana Drain. Paul has a Tinker. Drained.
I guess I'm really good at this game guys.
I draw a Vampiric Tutor. Paul finally gets to resolve a spell, Burning Wish, and finds an Imperial Seal. I Vampiric up a Jace, though, assuring his Seal won't be able to accomplish much.
I draw a Welder and a Nihil Spellbomb which join Jace in generating some serious card advantage. Eventually, Jace finds a Dack Fayden and a Mindslaver, and soon I'm set up to take Paul's next few turns. After asking Paul to kindly Seal up an Ancestral Recall and indicating he'll be Recalling me next turn, he calls it quits.
See, even Goblin Welder can get in on the stealing fun.
3-0
At this point it's after three o'clock and I haven't eaten anything all day. I'm hoping to draw into the Top 4 and grab a bite to eat.
Round 4: Mike with Terra Nova
Mike and I are the only 3-0s, so drawing locks up first and second place for us. Mike wants to play, however, to try and sneak his friend in to Top 4. I can't complain about that, so food can wait; it's time to battle.
I roll an 11 and Mike rolls snake eyes. Got 'em! I open on:
Polluted Delta, Badlands, Sol Ring, Mana Crypt, Mental Misstep, Dack Fayden, Mindslaver.
I don't know Mike or what he's playing, but my gut said Shops, and this hand is fine regardless, so I keep. Mike quickly keeps as well.
I open on Badlands, Sol Ring. Mike has Mishra's Workshop, two moxen, and a Lodestone Golem. Shops it is! This looks pretty good for me.
I fetch out an Underground Sea, slam Dack and steal Mike's Golem. I can hardly complain about the Mental Misstep I drew for the turn.
Mike has a Mishra's Factory. He also has a second Lodestone Golem and a Phyrexian Revoker, naming Dack Fayden.
This was an unfortunate turn of events. I draw a Tolarian Academy which, with my Mana Crypt, let's me cast the Mindslaver. I keep back the Lodestone Golem. It doesn't look like Mike has any good attacks; he can get in some damage or take out Dack, but he'll lose a creature in doing so. If he wants to trade Golems then at least he'll have a much slower clock. I thought I was way ahead, but it looks like we have a game on our hands.
Or at least that's what I thought. Mike tapped a Mox for Dismember for my Golem. This may not have put me on tilt normally, but the fact that I had to point out that his spell cost three mana instead of one really put things over the edge. Revoker takes Dack down, Golem hits me, and my "dominating board positon" has crumbled to pieces.
Mana Crypt bolts me to 11 (something something rains, pours). I draw a Night's Whisper and spend three of my seven mana to cast it. I draw a Force of Will (right on time!) and a Goblin Welder. Playing Welder just means I'll have to chump block, so I activate Mindslaver, hoping I'll find something like a second Dismember plus a Wasteland for the Factory.
Now that I'm in control, Mike finally draws a brick, an Ancient Tomb, but his other card is another Lodestone Golem. Aren't these decks supposed to be threat light? I can't do anything but make Mike shock himself and tap out, but I ask to take a peek at his sideboard before ending his turn. Mike is incredulous, but the judge confirms I have access to any information he has access to, so he grudgingly hands it to me. There isn't anything out of the ordinary, but I enjoy making the Shops player uncomfortable. Only fair, after all.
Mana Crypt hits me again, because why not, but I don't draw Time Walk to play Welder, take another turn, and get Mindlsaver going, so I lose.
The salt is very, very real.
IN: 3 Ingot Chewer, Lightning Bolt, Mountain
OUT: 4 Mental Misstep, Night's Whisper
Missteps are dead. Whispers are hard to cast. I brought in the cards that are good against Shops.
This time my opener has:
Underground Sea, Volcanic Island, Goblin Welder, Lightning Bolt, Yawgmoth's Will, Demonic Tutor, Night's Whisper.
It's not a great hand, but I hope that Welder can manage Mike's threats while Whisper draws me some more lands.
Mike has two moxen, Dismember for my Welder, and Wasteland. I draw a Time Walk and play my second land, which also gets Wasteland. Mike also has a Phyrexian Revoker, naming Dack Fayden. By the time I draw a third land, Mike has a Thorn of Amethyst, a Metamorph coping it, and draws a Sphere of Resistance for the turn. I pack it in.
Sometimes, Shops is miserable. After my multiple lucky draws during the event, I don't want to complain too much, but it does suck when the deck with zero manipulation draws stone perfect. At least I'm defeated quickly enough to grab food before the elimination rounds.
3-1
Standings come out. Obviously Mike is in first. I am in second, so at least that loss didn't hurt me too much. Mike's friend Matt makes it in to the top 4 in third, and Paul rounds out the Top 4. Bernie, who rattled off three wins, finishes fifth at 3-1. I love ya, Bernie, but justice was served.
Top 4: Matt with Golden Gun (?) Oath
I'm not sure what Matt is playing, but I though I'd seen him with Oath of Druids in hand at some point. Unfortunately, I got lazy with my notes at this point, so forgive the lack of detail in this match.
The play/draw rule means I get to go first and we both keep our openers. I Force a Show and Tell leaving me without an answer for an Oath, but fortunately Matt must have some monster instead because he just passes the turn back. We both get low on resources but I chain together several Night's Whispers and beat Matt to death with some 1/1 spirits.
As far as I know, Matt is on a traditional Oath control list.
IN: 4 Grafdigger's Cage, Pyroblast
OUT: 2 Lightning Bolt, Goblin Welder, Fire//Ice, Mox Pearl
I decide my plan against David was fine, so I replicate it.
My hand allows for a turn three Mindslaver while holding up Force of Will. On turn three, however, I draw a Mana Drain. I decide to tap out for Mindslaver anyway and am punished when Matt casts Show and Tell. I Force, he Forces back, and I can't Drain, so he puts Emrakul into play. It's possible I could still win this game by taking his next turn...except that his last card is Time Walk, and as Mindslaver makes a terrible lone permanent, I lose.
At the time, my reasoning for casting Mindslaver was that my opponent had a full grip, meaning taking one of his turns could be devastating, and most of his lines are not catastrophic: I'd assumed Oath of Druids only finds Griselbrand which would make Mindslaver awesome. Show and Tell is only a little worse; Matt gets to draw his cards and keep a pretty tame seven, but I can't imagine he plays something like Stifle, so Mindslaver assures he'll "merely" have a few life, a Griselbrand and a full but mediocre hand.
In retrospect, however, holding up Mana Drain seems better. Not only am I much more likely to stop whatever Matt has going on, but the Drain mana might allow me to cast and activate Mindslaver anyway.
Oh well, one game to decide it all, then.
IN: 4 Grafdigger's Cage, Pyroblast
OUT: 2 Lightning Bolt, Goblin Welder, Fire//Ice, Yawgmoth's Will
I decide Grafigger's Cage is such a central part of my plan that I'd rather have an additional piece of fast mana than a likely dead Yawgmoth's Will. Perhaps I'm just very wrong.
In game three, I keep:
Bloodstained Mire, Ponder, Mental Misstep, Time Walk, Dack Fayden, Notion Thief, Notion Thief.
Maybe this hand is greedy, but I like my chances of resolving Ponder and if I'm able to assemble Dack + Notion Thief I should be able to win easily. Matt
keeps as well.
Mire fetches a Volcanic as I assume Dack will find me black mana for Notion Thief. Ponder resolves without a fight and I see Force of Will, Badlands and Myr Battlesphere. Battlebot is a dead draw, but I need the land the permission is welcome, so I keep and draw the Force.
My Misstep hits a Vampiric Tutor and I Force an Oath. I use Time Walk to get past the Battlesphere and attack with my Spirit token. My bonus turn yields Tinker. Unfortunately, Matt has a second Oath. I draw a Mox Pearl (which I am very glad is not a Yawgmoth's Will) and try to Tinker up a Grafdigger's Cage, but Matt has a Force (pitching Stormtide Leviathan. I love Vintage!).
Griselbrand arrives, and soon after Emrakul does as well. I do not win this game.
I was pretty bummed to have lost that one, mostly because I wanted a chance at vengeance; Mike beat Paul on the other side of the bracket. Mike and Matt split the finals.
3-2, 3rd place
For my efforts I received $43.75 in store credit, some of which I spent on a Beta Blue Elemental Blast for my Legacy deck.
And that's a tournament!
Props:
- The thief buddies, Dack and Notion Thief, who stole my most of my wins.
- Games and Stuff for running the event, especially Dylan Cole who stepped up
when our head judge had to leave in round one.
- Rich Shay, not only for building this awesome deck, but for five years of
mentorship, advice, and above all, great friendship.
Slops:
- Bernie for cursing himself to missing top four on X-1.
- Power prices. I wish I could play this deck at Champs, but there's no way
I'll get it all together in time.
Thanks for reading! An remember, in the great words of Daniel Nayeri, "If you don't get caught, you deserve everything you steal."
