brianpk80
2015 Vintage World Champion
Adepts
Basic User
Posts: 1333
|
 |
« on: July 22, 2015, 04:57:57 pm » |
|
 http://www.blackmagicgaming.com/dromoka-in-vintage-1st-place-at-bmg-vintage-with-dragonlord-salvagers-oath/In this article for Black Magic Gaming Vintage, I described some attributes of Salvagers Oath and why the deceptively powerful Dragonlord Dromoka soars above and beyond mere novelty status in today's metagame. The article includes a first place tournament report from a 35-person Vintage event on July 18, 2015 in southeastern Pennsylvania. Feel free to comment here, at BMG, or on Facebook. I hope you enjoy! -Brian Kelly |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"It seems like a normal Monk deck with all the normal Monk cards. And then the clouds divide... something is revealed in the skies."
|
|
|
|
Chubby Rain
|
|
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2015, 04:59:33 pm » |
|
Great read and great event.
Props to both Brian and Calvin.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"Why are we making bad decks? I mean, honestly, what is our reason for doing this?"
"Is this a Vintage deck or a Cube deck?" "Is it sad that you have to ask?"
"Is that a draft deck?" "Why do people keep asking that?"
Random conversations...
|
|
|
|
ajfirecracker
|
|
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2015, 05:29:55 pm » |
|
There's some very snappy writing here - everything that comes out of Mishra's Workshop is a violation of labor laws  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
kingneckbeard on MTGO
"I fully believe that if Dredge could play a transformational sideboard it would just win all the tournaments yet it just doesn’t have one because there is just nothing that it can play. It’d be awesome to completely ignore all those very specific hate cards people bring against you but how are you going to do that?" - Paulo Vitor Damo da Rosa
|
|
|
|
vaughnbros
|
|
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2015, 06:40:33 pm » |
|
Nice article. It's very you  . Definitely read the whole thing in your voice. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Space_Stormy
Basic User
Posts: 187
Trinket Mage or bust!
|
|
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2015, 07:16:05 pm » |
|
That is an amazing picture. Good stuff, Brain!
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Islandswamp
Tournament Organizers
Basic User
Posts: 328
MTGGoldfish Writer
|
|
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2015, 08:34:56 pm » |
|
I'm reading it now, but I stopped to mention that I've been siding out a Force of Will in some match-ups. FOW is great when it stops you from losing immediately, but there are many cards that people Force that would be better answered by a card that didn't "Hymn" you. It's interesting to note that the last time that I was playing Legacy regularly, a lot of builds of BUG that I was playing were only running three Force (one in the SB though). They weren't my inventions, but lists other people had played.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
brianpk80
2015 Vintage World Champion
Adepts
Basic User
Posts: 1333
|
|
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2015, 10:59:42 pm » |
|
Thank you for the comments. I'm reading it now, but I stopped to mention that I've been siding out a Force of Will in some match-ups. FOW is great when it stops you from losing immediately, but there are many cards that people Force that would be better answered by a card that didn't "Hymn" you. It's interesting to note that the last time that I was playing Legacy regularly, a lot of builds of BUG that I was playing were only running three Force (one in the SB though). They weren't my inventions, but lists other people had played.
With the decline of Tinker, Time Vault, Tendrils and most of the other Vintage boogeymen, the quantity of things that must be answered by Turn 0 Force has noticeably decreased. In multi spell stack battles, Force is a huge dog to Pyroblast and Flusterstorm. Oath of Druids, a major rationale for other decks to use Force, isn't necessarily a Force-able threat here because in the Oath mirror, it's the Orchard situation that matters, not the enchantment. While we might not want an opponent to resolve Dig Through Time, cards like that are better off Flusterstormed. Moreover, with an Oath deck, the game often ends before it even gets to that point. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"It seems like a normal Monk deck with all the normal Monk cards. And then the clouds divide... something is revealed in the skies."
|
|
|
|
Minkar
|
|
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2015, 11:11:14 pm » |
|
Very enjoyable read, the Workshop banter was amusing as always. Congratulations on the finish, looks like Dromoka was quite benevolent this past weekend!!
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
xouman
|
|
« Reply #8 on: July 23, 2015, 06:19:34 am » |
|
Beautiful reading, enjoyed it a lot. It's true that I tend to side out several fows in some pairings, and lose fows to REBs and flusters is a bit miserable, but it's like a life insurance: you don't want to use it, but sometimes it's really needed.
The deck is really powerful, no perfect by any means (no deck is), but the combo is quite hard to disrupt due to many workarounds, while having a solid control role.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
mmcgeach
|
|
« Reply #9 on: July 23, 2015, 08:03:45 am » |
|
Brian, I really enjoyed the chance to read about your take on Oath and the success you've had with it. Some of your innovations are undeniably valuable. One question I have, tho, is why the Gitaxian Probes? It would seem that more preordains would be the typical include over them, but I could also imagine some of Vamp Tutor, Thoughtseize, StP, Flusterstorm, or the 4th Force.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
jamestosetti
|
|
« Reply #10 on: July 23, 2015, 08:30:40 am » |
|
Congratulations on your win Brian. These card choices are very well thought out and synergistic. This deck can use its cantrips to cycle into something impactful while also keeping the combo live. I normally prefer Mana Drains, but I will not deny the effectiveness of this type of strategy. I have used quite a few decks that search for answers, but none that can bring it all together like this deck can. One card that I am was surprised to see was Sylvan Library which can further penalize an opponent for being aggressive with Force of Will. It is also nice to see this card put to good use in Vintage.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
fendog
|
|
« Reply #11 on: July 24, 2015, 01:11:46 am » |
|
 "I love wearing this belt." |
|
|
|
« Last Edit: July 24, 2015, 01:24:26 am by fendog »
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
brianpk80
2015 Vintage World Champion
Adepts
Basic User
Posts: 1333
|
|
« Reply #12 on: July 25, 2015, 07:28:22 pm » |
|
That picture is awesome, great job!
Thank you for the comments. Regarding Gitaxian Probe, I find the card to be shockingly broken and best exploited by a combo deck. My friend Rich put it best, "Starting game at 18 life and writing down my opponent's hand is a fine way to begin." Thoughtseize requires fetching an Underground (Black being the second least important color in the 75), exposure to Wasteland, or giving an Orchard token. I'd rather pay nothing, find out if the coast is clear for my threat, and if not determine whether I need a Flusterstorm, Force of Will, Misstep, or simply an additional threat to get it through. Vampiric Tutor tested poorly in all but the best of circumstances, namely, when I was quite far ahead already and simply used it to formally seal a won game, by Vamping for Will or Time Walk. A deck without Gush or Standstill gets too punished for losing the attrition battle; the card Oath of Druids can win before it gets to that point or at least Hymn a Force of Will out of their hand. But Vampiric Tutor just leaves you falling behind, and sometimes with the wrong dual land in play. It's a card that should work in theory and shined once in a while but it was outweighed by the instances where it set me too far back. Hope that helps explain,
-B
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"It seems like a normal Monk deck with all the normal Monk cards. And then the clouds divide... something is revealed in the skies."
|
|
|
|
Prospector
|
|
« Reply #13 on: July 26, 2015, 11:25:01 am » |
|
Great tournament report thanks for posting, Brian. I've been a convert of Dromoka in Oath ever since I saw you playing her in a streamed mana drain league match. I'm currently playing her as the only only creature main with a storm combo finish - milling my entire library the turn after she hits play and then using Memory's Journey to put yawgwill on top of the library. The bomber man build sounds far more resilient so hope you don't mind if I take a similar build for a spin. Interesting take on the FoW, I'll start testing with 4 and see if I share your experience of card disadvantage being an issue.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
brianpk80
2015 Vintage World Champion
Adepts
Basic User
Posts: 1333
|
|
« Reply #14 on: July 28, 2015, 12:18:19 am » |
|
Great tournament report thanks for posting, Brian. I've been a convert of Dromoka in Oath ever since I saw you playing her in a streamed mana drain league match. I'm currently playing her as the only only creature main with a storm combo finish - milling my entire library the turn after she hits play and then using Memory's Journey to put yawgwill on top of the library. The bomber man build sounds far more resilient so hope you don't mind if I take a similar build for a spin. Interesting take on the FoW, I'll start testing with 4 and see if I share your experience of card disadvantage being an issue.
Feel free to to modify it as much as you want. I hope it works out for you. Let me know! -B |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"It seems like a normal Monk deck with all the normal Monk cards. And then the clouds divide... something is revealed in the skies."
|
|
|
Aaron Patten
Basic User
Posts: 132
Mox Dragon of the Lotus
|
|
« Reply #15 on: July 28, 2015, 03:23:37 pm » |
|
Nicely done and an excellent article.
|
|
|
|
« Last Edit: July 28, 2015, 05:19:12 pm by Aaron Patten »
|
Logged
|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqvKjsIxT_8University is just another one of those pyramid schemes like chain letters, the Freemason Society, Scientology, and... hmm... what's that really famous one? Oh yeah, Capitalism.
|
|
|
|
