[Article] January-February Vintage Gauntlet

[Kerz]

In the past few days I have talked to a few members about starting monthly Gauntlet articles. Everyone seems to like the idea of having close-to-set decklists to test with in the coming weeks, so I figure I'm going to write a little about each deck including a decklist and links to discussion.
    I am going to try and write this on the normal player's level, only including what I personnally would test against (I took other people's opinions on this too). So if you don't see a deck that you belive is able to win a tournament in the current metagame, throw me a PM.

    January-Febuary Vintage Gauntlet

Aggro Decks
Madness
Oshawa Stompy/Big O/GPR
TnT

Control Decks
Hulk/r
B2b Hulk
Keeper (No Secepters)
Scepter Control
Landstill
U/r
Mono Blue


Combo Decks
Dragon
TPS
Neo-Long

Prison Decks
Slavery
Neo-Mud


Aggro-Control
Fish
Gay/R
GAT

Aggro-Combo
Mono Black Mask


AGGRO DECKS

1. Madness
Although losing some punch after the restriction of LED, this deck is still viable after taking a different approach and going less for explosiveness and a more stable manabase and threat base. Its best matchups are most control decks and O. Stompy.

Here is Hyperion (Team Reflection)'s Latest Madness Deck:

Madness by Team Reflection

//Threats
4 Basking Rootwalla
4 Wild Mongrel
4 Arrogant Wurm
3 Roar of the Wurm

//Incarnations
3 Anger
2 Wonder

//Engine
4 Careful Study
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
3 Deep Analysis
1 Ancestral Recall

//Utility
4 Fiery Temper
1 Time Walk

//Mana
4 Wooded Foothills
4 Taiga
4 Tropical Island
2 Volcanic Island
1 Forest
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
1 Lion's Eye Diamond

//Sideboard
4 Red Elemental Blast
4 Artifact Mutation
3 Waterfront Bouncer
2 Krosan Reclamation
2 Ray of Revelation

Discussion Threads on the deck include:
Maddness Primer:
-http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9210

2. Oshawa Stompy
Invented by the Canadians, this deck has recently become very popular in the Northeast because. Its specialty is beating on control with its constant threats due to a solid draw engine.

Here is the most recent published list, by Razor:

Oshawa Stompy by Razor

//Mana
12 Forest
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Emerald

//Draw
4 Survival of the Fittest
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
4 Squee, Goblin Nabob

//Threats
4 Basking Rootwalla
4 Wild Mongrel
4 Troll Ascetic
4 Arrogant Wurm
4 Hidden Gibbons

//Disruption
4 Null Rod

//Sideboard:
4 Ground Seal
3 Tormod's Crypt
4 Naturalize
4 Rootmaze

Discussion Threads:
-http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9119
-http://zherbus.proboards19.com/index.cgi?board=tourny&action=display&num=1072478309

3. TnT
This deck has been around for years in various forms, and the metagame recently included the correct conditions for it to return to the spotlight. As the trend follows, this deck is good at beating control, and has a very solid match against many of the other popular aggro decks.

Here is Toad's TNT list:

TnT by Toad

// Mana base - 28
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
3 Taiga
4 Wooded Foothills
3 Forest
1 Mountain
1 Grim Monolith

// Engine - 10
4 Survival Of The Fittest
4 Goblin Welder
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Anger

// Fat dudes and utility critters - 14
4 Juggernaut
3 Su-Chi
1 Karn, Silver Golem
2 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Triskelion
1 Quirion Ranger
1 Duplicant
1 Platinium Angel

// I've won - 8
3 Blood Moon
4 Pyrostatic Pillar
1 Wheel of Fortune

Deck Discussion is happening here:
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=40


CONTROL DECKS

1. Hulk (with Red)
Tog is another deck that has been around for quite a long time, and has fallen into favor as the "Top" control deck according to many people. Using overwhelming card draw and a 1 turn kill, this deck is really a monster. This deck is very good in the control match because of more card draw than other decks, and REB in the board in addition to 8 hard counters + Duress in the maindeck. The aggro match also is pretty good simply because of the card Psychatog- but Oshawa stompy can give it some trouble. Against combo, Duress is huge, and putting immidiate pressure to win is important, although not the strongest matchup.

This is Smmenen's version of the deck, designed to be more aggressive to help he Oshawa stompy matchup. It is not as streamlined or widely accepted yet, but personnally I belive it is the best list.

Hulk 2k4 by Stephen Menendian

4 Duress
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will

4 Accumulated Knowledge
2 Intuition
4 Brainstorm

3 Tog
3 Cunning Wish

1 Gush
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Deep Analysis
1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mind Twist

1 Pernicious Deed

4 Underground Sea
4 Polluted Delta
2 Volcanic Island
3 Tropical Island
1 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
5 Moxen
1 Mana Crypt
1 Black Lotus

SB:
1 Berserk
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Artifact Mutation
3 Xantid Swarm
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Oxidize
1 Rack and Ruin
1 Pernicious Deed
3 Coffin Purge
1 DA
1 Blue Elemental Blast

This deck is discussed on these threads:
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9264
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9265

2. Ubg Hulk (usually utilizing Back to Basics)
This deck has the same goals as Hulk with red, exept it includes 3-4 Island and 1 Swamp in order to function under blood moon, and use Back to Basics itself.

Here is my own list, which I played to 25th place at the TMD Open:

Tog by Aaron Kerzner

//Counter/Disruption
3 Duress
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will

//Win
3 Psychatog

//Tutor/Search
2 Intuiton
2 Cunning Wish
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor

//Draw
4 Accumulated Knowledge
4 Brainstorm
2 Deep Analysis
1 Ancestral Recall

//Other
1 Time Walk
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Mind Twist

//Land/Mana
3 Underground Sea
4 Polluted Delta
2 Tropical Island
4 Island
1 Swamp
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine

//Sideboard
2 Naturalize
2 Coffin Purge
1 Berserk
1 Vampiric Tutor
2 Back to Basics
3 Xantid Swarm
1 Smother
3 Pernicious Deed

Deck discussion here:
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22

3. Keeper
Keeper is the deck that just molds and changes to suit the metagame. It will ALWAYS be viable, but at the moment Tog has stolen a lot of its limelight as the top control deck.

Here is Zherbus's newest Keeper list:

Zherbus Control by Steve O'Connel

4 Flooded Strand
3 Volcanic Island
3 Tundra
3 Underground Sea
4 Wasteland
1 Island
1 Strip Mine
1 Library of Alexandria

1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl

4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
4 Brainstorm
2 Cunning Wish
2 Stifle

1 Time Walk
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Fact or Fiction
1 Mystical Tutor

1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoths Will
2 Skeletal Scrying
1 Mind Twist

2 Swords to Plowshares
1 Fire/Ice
1 Balance

3 Decree of Justice
2 Gorilla Shaman

SB: 3 Red Elemental Blast
SB: 2 Deep Analysis
SB: 1 Swords to Plowshares
SB: 2 Coffin Purge
SB: 2 Rack and Ruin
SB: 1 Disenchant
SB: 1 Vampiric Tutor
SB: 2 Damping Matrix
SB: 1 Blue Elemental Blast

This deck is mainly discussed on this thread:
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4

4. Scepter Control (Chronic)
This deck utilizes many instants and 4 Isochron Scepters to generate a lot of card advantage over time. It plays out closest to Keeper, with the ability to really win any match, with not many terrible matchups per se. This deck has fallen out of favor a bit lately with 4 color control enthusiasts for Zherbus-like control.

Here is the decklist that I worked on for a bit, and wrote an article on on the older TMD.

Scepter Control by Aaron Kerzner

//Land/Mana Sources
4 Polluted Delta
3 Volcanic Island
3 Tundra
3 Underground Sea
4 Wasteland
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Strip Mine
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Jet  
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl

//Counter/Control
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain

//Draw
3 Brainstorm
4 Accumulated Knowledge
1 Ancestral Recall

//Tutor
2 Cunning Wish
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor

//Utility/Other
4 Isochron Scepter
1 Gorilla Shaman
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Time Walk

//Removal
2 Swords to Plowshares
3 Fire/Ice

//Win
2 Decree of Justice


//Sideboard
4 Red Elemental Blast
3 Rack and Ruin
2 Coffin Purge
2 Deep Analysis
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Skeletal Scrying
1 Disenchant
1 Vampiric Tutor

The archived discussion can be found here:
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4375

5. Landstill
Another Canadian deck, this uses the insane draw engine that includes 4 psudo-ancestrals in addition to the Recall itself. Using Nevinyyral's Disk, Lightning Bolt, and Chain of Vapor to control the board, this deck is a solid choice in this metagame. It has a pretty solid Keeper match due to ability  to outdraw the opponent, and can contend with Hulk. Lower tier aggro decks also die to it (because of Disk) and Dragon can be made a good matchup after SB.

Here is the list as seen in Shock Wave's primer:

Landstill by Shock Wave

// Mana Sources
4 Island
4 Volcanic Island
4 Faerie Conclave
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra's Factory
1 Wooded Foothills
1 Flooded Strand
1 Mountain
1 Strip Mine
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Lotus Petal

// Card Drawing and Utility
4 Standstill
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk

// Removal
4 Lightning Bolt
4 Fire/Ice
4 Nevinyrral's Disk

// Permission
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
3 Misdirection
3 Stifle

// Sideboard
4 Red Elemental Blast
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Tormod's Crypt
3 Maze of Ith

The primer:
http://www.themanadrain.com/landstill.htm

6. U/r Control
This deck is a control deck tailor made to abuse the bomb of Blood Moon. Packing a lot of counters and mana disruption, this deck makes up in utility what it lacks in brokenness. Its better matchups are Dragon, TPS, Long, and Keeper. It can use scepters as draw, but most people agree they are too slow for this deck.

Here is a list that has been circulated and tested around, but never published:

U/r Control by Team RI
//Land/Mana Sources
5 Island
4 Flooded Strand
4 Volcanic Island
7 SoLoMox
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland

//Draw
1 Ancestral Recall
4 Ophidian
4 Accumulated Knowledge

//Counter
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Drain
3 Counterspell

//Win
2 Morphling

//Utility/Other
3 Blood Moon
3 Stifle
2 Gorilla Shaman
1 Time Walk

//Removal
3 Fire/Ice

//Sideboard
3 Rack and Ruin
4 Red Elemental Blast
3 Flametongue Kavu
2 Masticore
3 Tormod's Crypt

Unfortunately, this deck isnt being discussed very much now, aside from IRC or AIM. Maybe someone should start a thread...

7. Mono Blue Control

Another deck that kind of exists in the background is Mono U control. Following suit of older builds,  the deck is packed full of counters and uses the great hoser, b2b.

Here is another never-published decklist:

Mono Blue by Team RI

//Counters
4 Mana Drain
4 Force of Will
4 Mana Leak
4 Counterspell

//Draw
4 Accumulated Knowledge
2 Deep Analysis
1 Ancestral Recall

//Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll

// Utility
3 Nevinyrral?s Disk
1 Capsize
1 Time Walk

//Hoser
3 Back to Basics

//Win
2 Morphling

//Land/Mana Sources
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
14 Island

//Sideboard
3 Energy Flux
3 Control Magic
4 Chalice of the Void
3 Stifle
2 Powder Keg

Although there is no discussion at the moment, that doesn't mean that the deck is bad. I recommend this deck is in everyone's testing gauntlet.

COMBO DECKS

1. Dragon
This deck has been around for a long time, constantly rejuvinating itself in differnt forms. This deck has been largely hated, but still popular and able to win through the hate. With a good player behind it, this deck can beat control and aggro, but Storm combo usually races it to victory.

Here is Shock Wave  and DicemanX's Dragon as seen in their primer:

Dragon by DicemanX

Combo pieces:
4x Worldgorger Dragon
1x Ambassador Laquatus
4x Squee

3x Animate Dead
2x Dance of the Dead
3x Necromancy

4x Intuition
4x Bazaar of Baghdad
3x Compulsion

Disruption/Tutoring/Other

4x Force of Will
3x Duress
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Time Walk
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Vampiric Tutor

Mana

1x Black Lotus
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Mox Pearl
1x Mox Emerald
1x Mox Ruby
1x Sol Ring
1x Mana Crypt
4x Underground Sea
4x Polluted Delta
2x Bayou
1x Tropical Island
1x Gemstone Mine
1x Swamp

SB:

4x Xantid Swarm
4x Pernicious Deed
3x Verdant Force
4x Stifle

The primer and discussion can be found here:
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=29

2. TPS
This deck is close to Long.dec, but instead of using Death Wish, it plays many staples maindeck. This deck can beat control with its use of 4 Xantid Swarms, race Aggro (barring a Null Rod), and also has a solid match versus other combo.

Here is Bram's list that he used in the PT Amsterdan side event:

TPS by Bram

4 Xantid Swarm
1 Mind's Desire
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Memory Jar
1 Tinker
1 Necropotence
1 Yawgmoth's Bargain
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Frantic Search
1 Windfall
1 Diminishing Returns
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Timetwister
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Burning Wish
2 Tendrils of Agony
4 Brainstorm
1 Lion's Eye Diamond
1 Chrome Mox
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
4 Dark Ritual
4 Elvish Spirit Guide
1 Tolarian Academy
2 Underground Sea
4 City of Brass
4 Gemstone Mine

SB: 4 Seal of Cleansing
SB: 1 Simplify
SB: 1 Hull Breach
SB: 1 Balance
SB: 3 Meltdown
SB: 1 Tendrils of Agony
SB: 1 Diminishing Returns
SB: 3 Pyroblast

Again, no discussion on this deck. This should change by the next article once the new TMD gets rolling more.

3. Neo-Long
This once immensely powerful deck is now significantly neutered, but it still retains many of its old properties.

Here is the decklist in Bram's "salvaging Long.dec" thread:

So-Long.dec by Bram

4 City of Brass
4 Gemstone Mine
2 Archeological Dig
4 Dark Ritual
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt
1 Lotus Petal
1 Lion?s Eye Diamond
3 Cabal Ritual

1 Burning Wish
3 Death Wish
4 Xantid Swarm
1 Duress
4 Brainstorm
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Timetwister
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Tinker
1 Memory Jar
1 Windfall
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Bargain
1 Mind's Desire
4 Chromatic Sphere
1 Demonic Consultation
1 Chain of Vapor

Sideboard:

1 Yawgmoth?s Will
1 Diminishing Returns
1 Tendrils of Agony

Discussion can be found here:
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6421


PRISON DECKS

1. Slavery
This is a realitively new deck on the scene, but it showed its power recently getting 8th place at the TMD Open. This deck can contend with control, and aggro pretty well, but combo may be able to race it befoe it can set up slaver recusrion.

Here is the list found in Toad's article:

Slavery by Team Mean-Deck

// Mana Sources  29
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Seat of the Synod
4 Volcanic Island
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Mishra?s Workshop
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt
1 Grim Monolith
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus
3 Gilded Lotus

 // Keys to the Kingdom  19
3 Blood Moon
4 Force of Will
4 Goblin Welder
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Mindslaver

 // Draw engine and tutors 11
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Windfall
1 Timetwister
1 Tinker
1 Wheel of Fortune
4 Thirst for Knowledge

 // Win condition  1

1 Karn/Bosh/Pentavaus

Article and discussion found here:
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28

2. Neo-Mud
Mud had fallen out of favor when Darksteel brought it a new bomb in the form of Trinisphere. Many versions are simply cutting the old Sphere of Resistance for it. Mud is very good against control, and can slow any deck down enough for it to get complete board advantage.

Here is a recent list:

MUD by Various

Creatures (11)
4 Metalworker
4 Goblin Welder
2 Karn, Silver Golem

Lockdown (19):
4 Smokestack
4 Tangle Wire
4 Trinisphere
4 Chalice of the Void

Draw Engines (5):
3 Mind?s Eye
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Memory Jar

Mana-base (25):
7 Mountain
3 Ancient Tomb
4 Mishra?s Workshop
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Ruby
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault

Deck Discussion here:
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=9323


AGGRO-CONTROL DECKS

1. Fish
Fish is designed to have many threats (too many for control to deal with), while backing them up with Mana Disruption and a few counterspells. This deck is very synergestic and uses the draw engine of standstill. This deck has lost some of its popularity in favor of Landstill or Gay/R.

Here is an older decklist I dug up,  because this deck hasn't been talked about in a while:

Fish by Max Joseph

4 Cloud of Faeries
4 Lord of Atlantis
4 Roothingyer Thief
3 Manta Riders
4 Curiosity
4 Standstill
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
3 Stifle
3 Null Rod
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Faerie Conclave
9 Island

SB:
4 Maze of Ith
4 Energy Flux
2 Hurkyl's Recall
2 BEB
1 Stifle
1 Disrupt
1 Null Rod

2. Gay/R
An evolution from the Fish deck, this is largely used by budget players. It also uses the Standstill engine, but uses creatures such as Voidmage Prodigy.

Gay/r by Phantom Tape Worm

// Lands
4 Volcanic Island
4 Island
1 Strip Mine
3 Faerie Conclave
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Flooded Strand
4 Wasteland

// Creatures
4 Grim Lavamancer
4 Spiketail Hatchling
4 Cloud of Faeries
3 Voidmage Prodigy

// Spells
4 Standstill
4 Force of Will
4 Curiosity
2 Misdirection
3 Null Rod
4 Daze

// Sideboard
SB: 3 Tormod's Crypt
SB: 3 Hydroblast
SB: 3 Fire/Ice
SB: 3 Rack and Ruin
SB: 3 Pyroblast0

Deck Discussion here:
http://zherbus.proboards19.com/index.cgi?board=T1&action=display&num=1072310715

3. Grow-a-Tog
Even after Gush's restriction, GAT has emerged as more of a controlling deck. After WINNING the TMD open, this deck has shown how good it really is, able to play the control or the beatdown easily, and put a lot of pressure on early.

Scott Limoges's Winning Decklist:

Grow-a-Tog by Scott Limoges

1 Gush
4 Accumulated Knowledge
4 Quirion Dryad
2 Psychatog
4 Mana Drain
4 Brainstorm
1 Mind Twist
2 Duress
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampric Tutor
1 Mystical Tuto
1 Yawgmoth's Will
2 Cunning Wish
4 Force of Will
2 Misdirection
1 Merchant Scroll

5 Moxen
4 Island
1 Black Lotus
1 Strip Mine
3 Polluted Delta
2 Flooded Strand
3 Tropical Island
4 Underground Sea

SB:
2 Diabolic Edict
3 Naturalize
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Berserk
4 Tormod's Crypt
1 Blue Elemental Blast
2 Pernicious Deed
1 Fact or Fiction

Discussion can be found here:
http://www.themanadrain.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=42


AGGRO-COMBO DECKS

1. Spoils Mask
This deck is blazingly fast and very disruptive, able to disrupt control long enough to win, and beating most aggro simply because it plays 12/12s for 1 mana.

Here is a decklist, as found in Smmenen's article:

Spoils Mask by Stephen Menendian

Road To Victory:
4 Illusionary Mask
4 Phyrexian Dreadnought
4 Phyrexian Negator

Roadmap To Victory:
4 Spoils of the Vault
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Consultation
1 Necropotence

Ways to Deal With Speed Bumps:
4 Duress
4 Unmask
4 Hymn to Tourach
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Accelerators:
4 Dark Ritual
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Crypt
1 Black Lotus

Sightseeing:
15 Swamps

Sideboard:
3 Chalice of the Void
3 Tormod's Crypt
3 Lightning Greaves
3 Chains of Mephistopheles
3 Metagame Slots

Smmenen's article can be found here:
http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/expandnews.php?Article=6144


    In Conclusion, the metagame is realitively heathy with many viable decks. This makes it more difficult to test and effectively break the format- but I hope this article helps.

Aaron Kerzner

EDIT: Thankyou to everyone for the positive feedback(IRC/AIM). Keep it coming- I want to know how I can improve for the next article, due out Feb 26.

[Ric_Flair]

This is EXACTLY the kind of gauntlet thread we need.  Thanks Kerz.  

Also, as a metagame note, I think is this the most balanced metagame I have seen since I restarted a year and half ago.  The only potential problem, so far as I can see, is the one that everyone is worried about: Trinisphere.  We'll see.  

Good job everyone on the decks and thanks for the gauntlet.

[Dr. Sylvan]

I deliberately avoided reading your explanatory paragraphs because I've spent the last week working on a very similar topic for publication at PlayOrDraw.com. =-O

Luckily I think we're going for different topics, since you're explaining a playtesting gauntlet and I'm just telling people new to the format what the current decks are and pointing out the key cards. I'll read this after I've submitted my own writing, in hopes of avoiding overlap, so any that does show up when it's posted on Friday is unintentional. (And thank goodness the week after that I'll get to write a non-beginner article.)

[Zherbus]

Ugh, playordraw.com.

Kerz, excellent post. I think that once a month one of these threads should be put out there. In fact, if you'd like to pretty it up and maybe give it some flesh, it would be a good addition to the mainsite content.

[Kerz]

What additions/changes do people think I should make for next month?

Here are some that I already thought of:

1. Budget Section
2. Linking to a decks tournament preformences
3. More insight to deck's inner workings (I will be contacting deck creators for decks I am less familiar with)

[Kowal]

Much as I like to strike from the shadows, adding Ninja Mask looks like it's necessary since people actually read my enormous pile of boring last month and played it at Waterbury.

[Mon, Goblin Chief]

The idea for this thread is great, IMO!
The only suggestion for change so far I'd really like to see is incorporating Sligh and Suicide into the Gauntlet. These deck may not be tier 1 (quite probably not), but these are decks that new players or budget players will probably play like forever. Because of this you can be quite sure to get paired against them on a regular basis, so a complete gauntlet has to incorperate them so that your testing is complete.

[Kerz]

Well, as I said from the beginning, I am writing this for the players, and only including what I would test against and what you can see winning a tournament. Honestly, Suicide, Sligh, R/G, Parfait, Goblins, and other Budget decks arn't #1 concern on competitive non-budget Vintage player's minds.

Next month, I am aiming to include a separate peice on Budget decks- but It won't be a monthly thing. The reasoning behind this is that classic budget decks don't change a whole lot over a month, nor do they shift positions in the metagame. Perhaps I will do a separate article on budget decks in the metagame, and then give smaller updates in my Gauntlet articles from month to month.

Does that sound like a good idea?

Also, I am compiling a list of (top-tier) decks to include in my next article (that wern't in this one).
So Far:
1. Ninja/Vanguir Mask

Please refrain from posting decks you know arn't top-tier.

And for the Budget/Non-top-tier-deck article:
1. Sligh
2. Sui
3. BG Unbazzared Bragon
4. Slax
5. Parfait (sorry K-Run)
6. Goblins
7. R/g Beats
8. Budget O. Stompy

This article is going to be rather brief, because honestly I want to focus on what decks are winning the big tournaments out there- with no offense to budget players.

[MuzzonoAmi]

I don'lt speak for everyone, but one taken here. I know my place

[dandan]

Although not Tier 1, it is reasonable to expect at least 10% of the field will be running Sligh, Suicide or similar budget decks. If you are serious about testing you need to be prepared for round 1. Being prepared to face control and combo with Disenchant effects to handle aggro like TnT is asking for scrubs like me to take your finely tuned decks down.

It's not like you need to spend a lot of time playing a few games vs. Sligh.

[carl]

Next month, I am aiming to include a separate peice on Budget decks.

Does that sound like a good idea?

Yes.

Also, I am compiling a list of (top-tier) decks to include in my next article (that wern't in this one).
So Far:
1. Ninja/Vanguir Mask

Since when is Survival Mask top-tier? ;)

If you include it, please spell it right:
Vengeur Masqué

Otherwise, nice initiative.

[Triple_S]

Kowal beat me to it, but I would suggest that Ninja/Vengeur Masque should really be added to such a gauntlet since its tool box approach and diversity of threats makes it a possible force in most metagames.  The largest drawback to the deck is the need to be skilled in the rules of the game and the various interactions in the deck.

[Westredale]

soo many not updated lists . nice job kerz.

[Kerz]

@Westredale: yeah some of the decklists arn't 100% up-to-the-second but in the next article they will- I have already emailed a lot of people/teams to keep me updated.

@ Everyone else: I continute to appreciate the support. Next month's is gonna be the best article by a 16 year old EVAR. And I mean it.

[ctthespian]

Great idea for a thread.  I think this is what’s needed to help people start playtesting deck ideas.  It’s a great idea to keep this list updated with the more common archtypes.


I'm just interested if anyone out there would be interested in a dozen proxied gauntlet decks. I made a gauntlet deck set that fits in tournament pack starter boxes and I use the starter box case as a holder. I'm considering making more.

They are made on card stock paper and are of pretty good quality. They are more like paper playing cards than magic cards. Thus they are easily rifle-shuffled and the like. They take up much less space than paper inserts into sleeves and are more easily understood than writing on magic cards.

I'm just wondering if there's any interest in this.

-Keith

[Kerz]

I'd gladly buy some at a reasonable price.

[Matt]

(Madness') best matchups are most control decks and O. Stompy

You might want to add all budget aggro (sligh/stompy/suicide) and Fish. They just can't cope.

[MolotDET]

Kerz I think linking the deck titles to the discussions might be better than making this already longer then it has to be.

I mean there is nothing wrong with being complete but damn...


BTW very nice.

[Kerz]

Thanks-

Listing the decklists is pretty essential to achieve the goal of the article. I just want type one players and testers to have a handbook for the next month or so. If I did what you suggested, my "article" would be a pile of links. Next month's will be easier on the eyes.

Also, this may not really be 100% realevant for this article, but for next months I am keeping in touch with deck designers and people who work with their deck almost exclusively- posting decklists that havnt been published yet. (linking to a discussion isn't possible).

I'm only doing this for the decks I don't know myself, which conists mostly of many buget decks, aggro decks, and 1 or 2 other miscellaneous.

[ctthespian]

I mentioned a gauntlet of proxy decks that I made earlier in this post.  I'm going to try to get a picture of one up sometime soon as someone asked about it.  I see that there is some interest in these.  My question is what do people think that they are worth?  I have a sort of figure for Time/labor, paper, ink for the printer and such.  I'm just trying to get a feel for what poeple think they are worth before coming up with a price.

PM me with your thoughts.  I don't really want to pull the focus of this thread.  I only mentioned it because the topics are pretty related.

-Keith

[Vegeta2711]

Food Chain Goblins should be listed in the budget piece, since it's currently one of the best budget decks available.

Other than that, nice post, everything looks pretty good.

[Kerz]

Future Inclusions:

Top Tier(ish) article:
1. Ninja/Vanguir Mask


And for the Budget/Non-top-tier-deck article:
1. Sligh
2. Sui
3. BG Unbazzared Bragon
4. Slax
5. Parfait (sorry K-Run)
6. Goblins
7. R/g Beats
8. Budget O. Stompy
9. Food Chain Goblins
10. Vineyard TnT

should I merge Goblins/FCG?

[jpmeyer]

I would.  I think it's pretty commonly accepted that the Food Chain version  is the better one.

[bebe]

I think that thee are a few decks that need inclusion and a few that are just sub par in your budget list.

3. BG Unbazzared Bragon
Really tough to win with this. I would rather play Survival Dragon over this any day. At least the survival build had a toolbox and can go off turn two or three with a good draw.
5. Parfait (sorry K-Run)
Sorry. This deck is done these days. I have not seen a version place well in quite a while and those are powered versions.
6. Goblins
Either Gobvantage or FCG will be competitive. Red Stompy as is falls short.
8. Budget O. Stompy
When Ray designed the deck it was predacated with Bazaars in mind. We had been toying with Bazaars for a long time and this deck needs them to be at all competitive.

Noticible ommisions
Fish
One of the best budget choices. Although I currently run Electric Ave. over this, I have not established my build yet so Fish belongs near the top.
G/w Stompy
R/g beats is usually played over this but G/w Stompy is quite competitive still. I've top foured with this deck a few times.

Now, there are a slew of budget rogue decks we have tested but for now we will leave them out. But it might be worth mentioning that budget players should think about Hermit Druid, Oath and SotF as cards bearing investigation when building a budget deck. Also most budget builds are aggressive ( not all) and pack hate to slow down their powered cousins. Taking an arch type and adding Lotus Petal, ESGs, Ancient Tombs and a Chrome Mox for budget acceleration helps but only a few arch types  get away with the loss of power, notably r/g beatz, fish, sui and sligh. The other decks need more of an overhaul to succeed and some will never cut it.

[Grand Inquisitor]

5. Parfait (sorry K-Run)
Sorry. This deck is done these days. I have not seen a version place well in quite a while and those are powered versions.

I've never had a soft spot for parfait, and I haven't seen it played in Hadley for over a year.  However, I played a version in round 7 of the recent Waterbury tourney that was rather impressive.  I was playing GAT (and was 3-1-2 at the time) and ended up drawing the match.  Game 1 he got two early land taxes going, and eventually forced through a scroll rack with multiple chants and argivian finds.  I scooped to scepter imprinting chant.  Game 2 I won due to a well set up pernicious deed, and future sight craziness.

The build was similar to what morefling posted a while back.  Lots of artifact acceleration, and scepters for chants, finds, or whatever else he had in there.  He also ran mountains for bloodmoon (maindeck i think).  I'm not saying this necessarily deserves a slot at all.  I'm just making sure its not dismissed out of hand just because no one is playing it.

[Dante]

5sure its not dismissed out of hand just because no one is playing it.

actually, that's a pretty good reason to dismiss it from a test gauntlet.

Dante

[Kerz]

Fish is a top-tier deck, so I am including it in the main article.

My updated list:
Budget/Non-top-tier-deck article:
1. Sligh
2. Sui
3. Survival Dragon
4. Parfait (sorry K-Run)
5. R/g Beats
6. Budget O. Stompy
7. Food Chain Goblins
8. Vineyard TnT

I cut out Slax because it is played so little that it isnt worth testing against. Budget O. Stompy is decently competitive just because it has a ton of threats, but not the solid draw engine as its bazzar'd cousin.

[MolotDET]

Thanks-

Listing the decklists is pretty essential to achieve the goal of the article. I just want type one players and testers to have a handbook for the next month or so. If I did what you suggested, my "article" would be a pile of links. Next month's will be easier on the eyes.

I'm not saying cut the decklist, I ment you could link the deck titles to the relatent discussions (if there is one).

not heving deck lists would turn this into "Kerz says so,"  which wouldn't be as useful...

[Smmenen]

You really should add EBA.  I'm not joking - it is another aggro control deck with Exhaulted Angel.


Steve

[MuzzonoAmi]

I'd have to agree with Steve there. Especially because it just made a strong showing at a huge tournament.