Editor’s Introduction: In this week’s Magic Oddica the author will respond to some user’s and do a brief roundup of some basics. Check out Chapter X of Keith Adams‘ Magic Oddica to learn all about these unique collectibles.

This week is pretty direct. You, the viewer and reader, have asked me some wonderful questions. I need to pause now and again to address them. Given the fact that this is week ten, and it is also a new year, I think now is a great time to do so, so sit back and enjoy, and hopefully learn a bit too.

I think the best way to explain and elaborate is to show you some very specific examples of some of the misprints I have covered in the past, and the best way to do so is by video. There are many examples shown here, so give it a watch, and as always I look forward to hearing from you. I’ll have some brand new subjects starting next week which will undoubtedly keep the great questions coming!

I’ve had a spectacular run since July, making 6 consecutive Top 8′s, until I placed 9th in the Sandusky, Ohio Team Serious open in December. I decided to rectify that failing at the Meandeck Open, but fell short once again. Check out all the details in full technicolor after the jump!

Meandeck Gush Control, 2012, by Stephen Menendian

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Business (39) 4 Force of Will 4 Mental Misstep 2 Misdirection 1 Mindbreak Trap 1 Hurkyl’s Recall 4 Gush 4 Preordain 1 Ponder 1 Brainstorm 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Time Walk 3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 1 Mystical Tutor 1 Vampiric Tutor 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Merchant Scroll 1 Fastbond 1 Tinker 1 Blightsteel Colossus 1 Yawgmoth’s Will 1 Time Vault 1 Voltaic Key 2 Trygon Predator Mana Sources (21) 1 Black Lotus 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mana Crypt 2 Scalding Tarn 2 Polluted Delta 2 Flooded Strand 2 Misty Rainforest 1 Volcanic Island 2 Tropical Island 2 Underground Sea 1 Island Sideboard (15) 2 Lightning Bolt 2 Ingot Chewer 1 Trygon Predator 4 Leyline of the Void 1 Tormod’s Crypt 1 Yixlid Jailer 1 Volcanic Island 2 Red Elemental Blast 1 Pyroblast

Some Notes on the Deck

• The core synergy of the deck is the same as East Coast Wins: Gush + Jace. I built this deck to be able to survive the new aggro element by emphasizing Time Vault combo.
• The main technology for this tournament was Misdirection, which was here to combat the Snapcaster menace. Misdirection punishes the aggressive use of Ancestral Recall.
• My sideboard is geared for the typical 6 cards for Dredge, 6 cards for Workshops, then 3 cards for Blue strategies.

Sideboarding planning is fluid, but generally boils down like this against Workshops:
-4 Mental Misstep
-2 Misdirection
+1 Trygon Predator
+2 Lightning Bolt
+1 Volcanic Island
+2 Ingot Chewer

I firmly believed that the key to my tournament was going to be my technical play. This was one of those tournaments were I wasn’t running a new deck. I had technology, but little else would catch opponent’s by surprise. In the week before the tournament, I focused all of my playtesting sessions around tight, careful play.

Round One vs. Mark Trogdon playing Snapcaster/Confidant Control

Mark usually plays his own brews, and is fond of Workshops, but has been seen playing mono Red hate, mono Blue Landstill (unless it’s popular), and other innovative decks.

Game One:
My opening hand looks like:
Mindbreak Trap
Mental Misstep
Mental Misstep
Hurkyl’s Recall
Land
Land

This was a greedy keep, but I didn’t feel like a mulligan was a safer play. I soon regretted it.

He played turn two Dark Confidant, and I Mindbreak Trapped another. He eventually was able to force through a Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas, and that put the nail in my grave. I was able to Hurkyl’s him once, but then it finished me soon after. This game was far more complicated than my brief recounting, but I don’t remember all of the details at this point.

Game Two:
We had spent over 35 minutes on the first game. I boarded in Red Blasts for lord knows what at this point, and opened this hand:
Mox Ruby
Flooded Strand
Mox Sapphire
Preordain
Mental Misstep
Red Elemental Blast
Hurkyl’s Recall

I kept, and led with Ruby, Sapphire, Preordain, and saw: Blightsteel Colossus and Mox Jet, and bottomed both, drawing Merchant Scroll.

I played Strand into Underground Sea into Merchant Scroll, and I walked right into his trap; his Mindbreak Trap, that is. I regretted that play. Had I waited a turn, I could have shielded Scroll with REB.

He played Underground Sea, Mana Crypt, Voltaic Key, which I didn’t hesitate to Misstep, and then cast Dark Confidant. He lost 4 of the next 6 rolls to Mana Crypt, and flipped Thirst for Knowledge. We played back and forth a few turns. I finally drew a real spell in Demonic Tutor, and I cast it for Ancestral Recall. My hand had Force, Misdirection, and 2 Mental Misstep.

On the penultimate turn, he played a Sensei’s Divining Top, and Topped, he flipped Sol Ring, falling to 1 life. He then tapped his Mana Vault to play Thirst. He only had two lands and a Mox in play. If I can stop the Sol Ring, then I win the game. I decided to go all in on this play.

He played Sol Ring. I Mental Misstepped it. He Misstepped me back, playing mana for it. I Misdirected his Mental Misstep to the Sol Ring, and that was game. I ended the game with Force and another Misstep in hand. Apparently, he had two Forces on top of his library.

Game Three:
After two long games to start the match we run out of time, and draw the match.

Round Two vs. Dredge

Game One:
My opening hand was:
Land
Black Lotus
Mystical Tutor
Preordain
Ponder
Misdirection
Yawgmoth’s Will

I played land, Black Lotus, go. He played turn one Bazaar. I cast Mystical for Ancestral, and then Ponder and saw Vampiric Tutor and Fastbond, and I needed both to win, and couldn’t get both. I played Yawgmoth’s Will, and drew a billion cards, but couldn’t get there. He won the next turn.

Game Two:
My opening hand was Land, Land, Vamp, Force, Gush, Mental Misstep, Blightsteel Colossus.

My plan was simple: turn one Vamp for turn two Yixlid Jailer, which worked like a charm. He played Bazaar on turn one, and discarded Darkblast and two Bloodghast. I drew turn three Tormod’s Crypt. I was able to protect the Jailer long enough to get down more Leylines and win from there.

Game Three:
I mulled into:
Leyline of the Void
Mox
Land
Land
Ancestral Recall
Preordain

I dropped turn zero Leyline, and he played a land and passed the turn. At the right moment, I fired off Ancestral, drawing Force and Misstep, and took over the game. He cast a Meddling Mage on something other than Jace, which I played, and then was able to Vamp for Tinker, and win the game.

Round Three: Jonathan Medina (@MTGMedina) playing Salvagers

Game One:
I mulliganed into:
Tropical Island
Tropical Island
Preordain
Preordain
Gush
Trygon Predator

I played Trop into Preordain, seeing Jet and Polluted Delta, and bottomed both, drawing a land. He played turn one Library of Alexandria, and that card annihilated me. He played turn two Sea, Nihil Spellbomb. I tried to resolve turn three Trygon Predator, which he Forced, and I Forced back, leaving me with nothing but 4 lands in hand (post-Gush).

I drew Time Walk and Demonic Tutor, but was afraid to play them until I could protect them because he had Mana Drain mana up. The turn before I was going to try something he resolved Auriok Salvagers and went infinite with Black Lotus.

Game Two:
He mulliganed to 6. My opening hand was Pyroblast, Land, Merchant Scroll, Scroll, Force of Will, Gush, Preordain, Hurkyl’s Recall.

I cast Preordain, saw a land, and took it.

He played Plains, Sol Ring. I played a second land, after drawing yet another.

He drew a fetchland, and played it, and cast Trinket Mage, which I Red Blasted. The following turn he played Auriok Salvgers, and I Forced it pitching Gush. In the meantime, I Scrolled for Ancestral, and it resolved, but drew more lands. I Pondered into Mindbreak Trap and double Misstep. He played Mystical for Tinker. I let it resolve, then Hurkyl’s his BSC, and then Mindbreak Trapped a post-Tinker Salvagers. Finally, I drew Mystical Tutor, and won with my own Tinker into Blightsteel.

Game Three:
I fan open the following seven: Black Lotus, Mox Ruby, Land, Red Elemental Blast, Mystical Tutor, Vampiric Tutor, Mental Misstep, and kept.

He played turn one Land, Lotus.

I drew Gush, and played, Land, Ruby, Lotus.

He played end of turn Vampiric Tutor, then drew something, played a land, and passed the turn. Then I played end of turn Vamp for Ancestral. We had almost identical opening sequences.

I played a second land, and with some circumspection, cast Ancestral, which he let it resolve. I then played Gush, he Drain it, which I REB. I played DT, and he responded with Brainstorm, which I Misstepped. Demonic resolved, and I found Fastbond, and went bonkers. I cast Yawg Will and replayed all the goods. I was able to Demonic again for Tinker, and Vamp for Time Walk, and win right there.

Round 4 vs. Nat Moes playing Wizards

Game One:
I played turn one Fetchland, Mox Ruby, Preordain, and I see Mox and a land, and I put the Mox on the bottom. He played turn one land, Aether Vial, Chalice of the Void at zero. Unfortunately, I draw another Mox on my second turn. I Preordain again, and see Black Lotus and Yawgmoth’s Will, and because of Chalice I bottom them both.

I Mystical for Tinker, and he Vials in Stormscape Apprentice, and he plays Flooded Strand, and taps my Colossus until he wins the game. I couldn’t ever find a Jace.

Game Two:
My opening hand was:
Fastbond, Mox Emerald, Land, Land, Land, Trygon Predator, Tinker

I cast turn one Fastbond, and he Forced my Trygon Predator.

He played Flooded Strand, and I drew turn two Lightning Bolt, and cast Tinker, which won the game.

Game Three:
He played turn one land, I played fetchland, go. He played Wasteland, Dark Confidant. My hand had Ancestral Recall, Red Elemental Blast, Mental Misstep, Time Walk, Gush, and Lightning Bolt. I broke the fetchland and Bolted his Bob, and my Bolt resolved. I played Tropical Island, and Time Walk, which resolved. Then I untapped and cast Ancestral with Red Elemental Blast protection. A turn or two later I Preordained into Fastbond with two Gush in hand, and just went bonkers. I was able to Tinker + Time Walk within a Yawgmoth’s Will to win the game.

Round 5 vs. Gilberto Rivera playing Dredge

Game One:
In the first game, Dredge does what Dredge does. I lose promptly.

In the second game, I mulligan into: Leyline, Leyline, Mox Jet, Gush, and Force of Will. I deploy two Leylines. Unfortunately, I don’t see mana sources for many turns. He plays turn two Black Lotus, Nether Shadow, and turn three Bloodghast, and turn four attempts to cast Flame-Kin Zealot, which I Force, pitching a Mental Misstep instead of Gush. I’m very upset with myself because my plan is Tinker, and when I got to Tinker, he is just able to find one of his only two Chain of Vapors after a Cabal Therapy on my new Force in hand. This was a stupid blunder, and I lose my first round of the day.

I had been pleased with my play all day, but now the train was coming off the tracks.

Round 6 vs. Doug Linn playing Remora Grow

Doug is playing the Meandeck version of this deck (which means no Dark Confidant).

Game One:
I play turn one land, Preordain, Mox, Voltaic Key. Doug has turn one Mystic Remora, which I Mental Misstep, but that only causes him to play another on turn two. He pays for his Remora, and I cast turn three Jace, which to my astonishment resolves. I decide to Fateseal him rather than Brainstorm because he missed his second land drop. I should have known that my Jace would draw him the land he needed. I put a Sol Ring on the bottom. He played a Tropical Island, and cast Tarmogoyf. I untapped, and bounced the Tarmogoyf. He paid for the Remora. I Jacestormed, and my hand becomes: Trygon Predator, Jace, Mana Crypt, Mox Pearl, Fastbond, Time Vault, and Yawg Will.

What would you do? I decide the safest play is just to cast Predator and pass. Of course, I could not only play Predator, but I could cast Mox Pearl, Mana Crypt, and Time Vault here. He’d draw a bunch of cards. The Predator resolved, and I pass the turn. My cowardice is punished when he Gushes, finds Fastbond, Gushes twice more, and then wins with Yawgmoth’s Will.

Game Two:
I mulliganed into:
Fetchland
Fetchland
Preordain
Preordain
Red Elemental Blast
Gush

In what was surely a moment of incredible stupidity, I played Fetchland, Preordain. My rationale at the time was that I wanted to play Preordain now, and then another next turn. Yet, that prevented me from having Red Elemental Blast up. My Preordain saw Mindbreak Trap and Lotus, and I put Lotus on the bottom.

Doug played turn one Ancestral, and I was almost out of this game before it had begun. He was also on the draw, so that meant he was +5 cards on me already after my mulligan.

He played turn two Goyf, and I cast Gush + Brainstorm. I tried to cast Jace the following turn, and he Forced it. Had Mindbreak Trap been Misdirection or Flusterstorm, I probably win this game. After this loss I am knocked out.

Top 8 decklists can be seen here, including Gilberto and Doug’s decks.

Conclusion

I can think of few things more frustrating than falling short in the areas in one works hardest. If you are a football coach, and you emphasize defense, then it would be most frustrating to fall short on defense.

The most devastating aspect of this tournament was falling short in the one area I had worked hardest: playing tightly. I played well up until the fifth round, and then I made a major blunder, and then compounded the mistake by making more in the following round.

There is little I would have changed about my deck. The only thing I can think of is cutting the Mindbreak Trap for a Flusterstorm. Since I no longer run Remora, Mindbreak Trap isn’t as good. But the thing that concerns me about Flusterstorm is that I’ll have too many cards to sideboard out in the Workshop matchup. Mindbreak Trap is at least a playable tactic in that matchup, especially if it is in your opening hand.

In my experience, the one place where people – including myself – are most likely to make play mistakes is in late rounds, and especially at the climactic moment of a match. I have excellent focus, but no longer have the same stamina. Since I don’t practice as much I used to be able to do nor play as much Magic as I used to be able to play, I no longer have the same capacity to keep a heightened focus for round after round. The exception is leading up to major tournaments, but I didn’t expect to have to play a full six rounds of Swiss at the Meandeck Open.

Recently, I’ve been brewing and testing a bunch of Cage decks. I’m working on a lengthy primer for Vintage Aggro decks in the post-Dark Ascension metagame. Look for it soon!

Until next time,
Stephen Menendian

Editor’s Introduction: Have you ever seen a card that looks extremely dark, or like it had way too much ink on it? These rarities happen when the ink levels are not layed down as intended by the printer. Check out Chapter IX of Keith Adams‘ Magic Oddica to learn all about these unique collectibles.

This week I wanted to focus on dark cards. And no, I am not referring to the old set called The Dark, I am actually talking about cards that have an excessive amount of inking on them. If you’ve been playing long enough, you’ve probably seen two copies of the same card in which one may be a bit lighter/ darker than the other, but not given it much thought. It’s not until things get extremely different that it may catch your attention.

Mistakes happen, and one that was annoyingly common to find around Mirage block was finding cards that were overinked. Those brown artifacts looked like a black card. Green, same thing. Land… ditto. You could play a three color deck, and the casual observer would swear you were playing a mono deck. Now, Mirage-age cards were not the only cards with this issue, it still happens today. It just seems like they were great at perfecting this defect to a tee back in the late 90′s.

Flash forward to now, and most players can’t claim they’ve ever opened a box of Mirage. These overinked cards look like bad proxies your younger brother made with a bad printer. However, I assure you that these are real cards I have to show you. They still happen today, but are much less frequent. Even the Mirage-era cards are popular now, because many players threw theirs out. Speaking from experience, they are tournament legal, but you may have to spend some time convincing a skeptical judge. At a glance, you will have some stiff accusations by anyone sitting across from you who is more than happy to disqualify you, so make sure you call this to a judge’s attention before you start using them in any tournament.

So that is all for now. Inking issues are somewhat common, and come in many fun and strange forms. But I have to cover the basics before I start branching out to the absolutely crazy stuff. Stay tuned for more Magic Oddica…

Vintage author Stephen Menendian takes an in-depth look at Dark Ascension with this 42 page set review. He comprehensively examines every card from Dark Ascension in his characteristically detailed style. In addition, Stephen updates the Ultimate Vintage Checklist, a must-have for every serious Vintage player and traders everywhere!

After the jump we’ll share a long excerpt from the review for FREE, so check it out after the jump!

[Begin Free Excerpt From The Dark Ascension Vintage Set Review & Updated Vintage Checklist]

Greetings Vintage adept! Welcome to my Dark Ascension Vintage Set Review. This will be the most comprehensive review of Dark Ascension for Vintage play available anywhere. I will carefully analyze every card in Dark Ascension for potential Vintage format applications. I will bring to bear not only my expertise, but unmatched experience in evaluating new cards for Vintage play. Not only do I have a proven track record of accurately forecasting new cards for Vintage play, my careful and detailed analysis snares cards that other reviewers overlooked or dismiss. I hope you find this set review enlightening and practical as you decide which cards you will acquire from Dark Ascension, and how you might approach the set from a deck construction perspective.

In addition, I have carefully updated the Ultimate Vintage Checklist, with Innistrad playables included and other cards that have appeared in Vintage Top 8’s since Innistrad. I have removed cards that no longer see play in Vintage. The Ultimate Vintage Checklist is intended for serious Vintage players to track their card needs and manage their collection, and provide a resource for deck construction, since each of the cards in the Checklist have been proven Vintage playable. In that role, it’s also invaluable for dealers and traders who may wish to use that resource in their transactions and to stock up on needed playables.

* * *

Dark Ascension is very much the heir to Innistrad. Innistrad set Vintage on the crash course it is currently veering uncontrollably along. In particular, Innistrad introduced three creatures that have contributed to a more creature-centric metagame. Beyond Innistrad, the rise of Landstill as a metagame predator and the strength of Mystic Remora are two additional factors that have pushed Vintage onto a creature trajectory.

By the close of 2011, the critical question for the future of the format was whether Vintage would continue on the same course or whether creature-centric strategies would prove unsustainable, a flash in the pan footnote on the overreaction to Landstill and Mystic Remora. Powerful counter-measures like Oath of Druids seemed poised to return, and their resurgence could end the spell of Tarmogoyf & Company’s brief reign over the Vintage landscape. Cards like Time Vault seemed positioned to combat the creature infestation. Misdirection was moving in to punish overreliance on cards like Snapcaster Mage.

A month ago I predicted for early 2012 that the salience of creatures as both strategic and tactical options would continue unabated, and offered many of the cards just described, and others, as innovative tactics and strategic solutions. Dark Ascension was the missing puzzle piece.

Other than restrictions, there is no force more powerful than the introduction of new sets to disrupt the flow of metagame currents. New printings interface the entire evolving metagame system simultaneously, cajoling it into new directions and spinning out new evolutions. The overarching question for the format was whether the trend toward creatures would continue, abruptly end or taper out, and Dark Ascension would provide most important set of clues to answer that question.

Would Dark Ascension promote a course correction? Would it provide tools to answer the variety of creature threats Innistrad introduced and the metagame advanced? Or would Dark Ascension be a mixture, providing answers and new threats, stirring the metagame pot into unpredictable directions? Would it be a steady influence, abstaining from the major questions of the moment, serving mostly as a flying buttress, allowing the metagame to evolve along a natural course? Or would it accelerate the trends set forward by Innistrad and the metagame factors already mentioned?

All of these possibilities loomed, and now that Dark Ascension is before us, the answer is clear. Dark Ascension is the heir to Innistrad. Whereas Innistrad brought into Vintage a few key playables, it gently nudged the metagame system in the direction of creature-based strategies. Not only did Snapcaster Mage, Delver of Secrets, and Laboratory Maniac all see significant play, but Stony Silence provided another tool for Aggro-Control decks, and Witchbane Orb another Oath solution for Workshop Aggro decks. Innistrad was the rudder for the Titanic. Innistrad wasn’t an engine, powering the metagame forward, but it set the metagame on an ineluctable course. The speed and force of change would be decided by us.

What distinguishes Dark Ascension from Innistrad is that this set puts the foot to the pedal. The answer as to what effect Dark Ascension might have on Vintage is abundantly clear. Dark Ascension firmly accentuates…

[End Free Excerpt]

So Many Insane Plays - The Dark Ascension Vintage Set Review & Updated Vintage Checklist

Vintage author Stephen Menendian takes an in-depth look at Dark Ascension with this 42 page set review. He comprehensively examines every card from Dark Ascension in his characteristically detailed style. In addition, Stephen updates the Ultimate Vintage Checklist, a must-have for every serious Vintage player and traders everywhere!

As the metagame shifts in late 2011 and splinters into new directions heading into 2012, author Stephen Menendian shares his thoughts on the trends and predicts cards and strategies that will likely be popular in early 2012. He also shares a detailed tournament report piloting Remora Gush with Tarmogoyf, including his trademark in depth turn-by-turn analysis.

Please check out a free excerpt from this article after the jump!

[Editor's Note: Below is a free extended excerpt from the article for your viewing pleasure]

Game 2:

My opening hand is:

Would you keep this hand? Yes/No (Circle one)

Any hand with Blightsteel Colossus is automatically worthy of mulligan consideration, even if the hand would not otherwise be a mulligan because it features a healthy mix of mana and spells. A Blightsteel Colossus in hand with a decent six card hand is arguably worse than a slightly worse 6 card hand without it, simply because it prevents you from using Tinker in the near term. Of course, a hand with Brainstorm is an exception to this rule.

This hand is not an automatic mulligan because it features mana and spells. With Mox Ruby and Volcanic Island, I can play both Preordain and Red Elemental Blast on the first turn. The Mindbreak Trap also offers some measures of security against a broken opening, or an early counterwar. The Goyf is a threat that can be deployed early in the game should I dig up another land, and an answer to opposing Jaces. The main concern with this hand is the awkward combination of mana and spells. Goyf can’t be played immediately, although Preordain offers a good chance of finding a Tropical Island or fetchland.

I tried to envision whether another six card hand would be as strong, and decided that what I had would be comparable to any other random six card hand I could draw. At least this hand offered the possibility of immediate interaction. A Force of Will would eat up two spells in hand. I decided to keep this hand, but not without some reservations. The fact that I was up a game probably inclined me to keeping this hand, as illogical as that may seem.

Turn 1:

My opponent did not begin the game with a broken start, but instead initiated a sequence that resembled the previous game. He merely played a land, and passed the turn.

On my turn, I drew Black Lotus. Based upon this draw, what is your plan? What is your preferred line of play? Make a note of your preferred line of play here: ________________________________________.

Black Lotus reconfigures the possibilities offered by this hand. I can now hard cast Red Elemental Blast and Mindbreak Trap to maximize my hand’s counterpower. Alternatively, I could use the Lotus to deploy Goyf, while incidentally powering up Goyf. These aren’t the only options available. They do, however, demarcate the two extremes offered by the role metaphor.

In my book Understanding Gush, I spent a good deal of time discussing the importance of “Role” in Magic. “Role” is a metaphor that refers to the strategic and tactical orientation a player has to any given game or situation. Traditionally, we define the role metaphor – or its basic elaboration – in terms of “beatdown” or “control.” If you are ‘the beatdown’ your role is to play Goyf, and execute a tempo game. If you are playing the ‘control role,’ your game plan here is to play Lotus, and hold up Red Blast and Mindbreak Trap.

In my Gush book, I develop a new “role” metaphor in terms of transmission: high and low gear. High gear refers to decisions made to advance your strategic objectives (playing Goyf here). Low gear refers to decisions made to maximize your ability to thwart the opponent’s strategic objectives (holding up Red Blast and Mindbreak Trap here). High gear correlates to the beatdown role, and low gear to the control role. I prefer the transmission metaphor because it brings into focus the question of when you shift gears. The traditional “Who’s the Beatdown?” framework is too rigid and static, in that each player is assigned a role and then maintains that role throughout the game. In reality, both players compete for roles, and shift roles from turn to turn and even play to play. The transition metaphor better maps and represents this dynamic.

In my book I also assert that the most important skill a Gush player can develop is learning to navigate between gears (i.e. learning when and how to switch roles). This hand directly poses just such a question. In Understanding Gush, I assert that moving from low to high gear requires you to ask two questions: 1) Do you have the resources and capacity to achieve a strategic objective? 2) Does pursing a strategic objective impair your to stop your opponent from achieving their strategic objectives? If the answer to the first question is yes, and the answer to the second question is no, then I maintain that the player should move into a higher gear.

The answer to the first question here is: yes. The answer to the second question here is: yes or possibly, depending on what you do. This is easy to see: If you sacrifice the Lotus to play Tarmogoyf, you will not be able to hardcast Mindbreak Trap. Similarly, if you tap your land to play Preordain, you will be cutting yourself off from being able to hardcast both REB and Mindbreak Trap this turn.

That’s not the end of the discussion, however. Sometimes maximizing your ability to stop your opponent long term requires moving into a higher gear in the near term. This is typically known as development. Not playing Preordain here will impair your own game plan development. However, you could wait until next turn to Preordain, since if you see another land, you can play it, and maintain maximum counterspell protection.

Which line of play do you prefer (circle or check one):

1) Play Volcanic Island, play Mox Ruby, play Black Lotus, pass the turn.
2) Play Volcanic Island, play Mox Ruby, play Black Lotus, cast Tarmogoyf & Preordain this turn.
3) Play Volcanic Island, play Mox Ruby, play Black Lotus, cast Preordain, then decide what to do, but do NOT play Tarmogoyf this turn.
4) Other (Insert: ___________________________________________________________________).

These options are basically a choice among gears. Option 1 is the lowest gear play. Option 2 is the highest gear play. Option 3 is a higher gear than option 1 (since you can’t hardcast both counters), but not quite as aggressive as playing Goyf.

If you tap the Volcanic Island to play Preordain, you will not be cutting yourself off from Red Elemental Blast, but you won’t be able to hardcast Mindbreak Trap. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t cast Mindbreak Trap. If your opponent plays Mana Crypt or Mox and then Tinker, your REB will counter their Tinker, and then your Mindbreak Trap will counter whatevery they use to stop your REB. Mindbreak Trap should be playable if they do anything broken this turn.

On balance, I don’t know if there is a definitive ‘correct’ play here. You have to a balance competing concerns: the need to maximize counterspell protection while maximizing your game development. The cost of playing Preordain is small, and the benefit is potentially large. I think the correct play here, then, is to play Preordain, and then decide what to do next based upon what is revealed with Preordain.

There is also some question as to whether you should even play Black Lotus before Preordain, since it could expose the Preordain to a Mindbreak Trap, but that is a relatively minor consideration here. I raise it just to be comprehensive.

I led with Volcanic Island, Mox Ruby, and Black Lotus. I then played Preordain, and saw: Time Walk and Mental Misstep.

What should you do? (Circle or check one)

1) Put Mental Misstep in hand, and keep Time Walk on top of your library.
2) Put Time Walk into hand, and keep Mental Misstep on top of your library.
3) Put Mental Misstep in hand, and put Time Walk on the bottom of your library.
4) Put Time Walk in hand, and put Mental Misstep on the bottom of your library.
5) Put both Time Walk and Mental Misstep on the bottom of your library, and draw an unknown card.

The Preordain question is a microcosm of the initial issue posed in this turn: high or low gear?

Putting Mental Misstep into hand would give you maximum counter protection. But is Mental Misstep the best card to put into hand? The answer to that question depends on what you plan to do next, and what you plan to do with Time Walk.

This question also brings into focus the question of what to do with Time Walk. What advantage is there to keeping Time Walk on top of your library or putting it into your hand? After all, doesn’t Time Walk largely replace itself? The downside to keeping Time Walk on top is that it becomes a potential Mana Drain target. You can get to the next card by simply putting Walk onto the bottom. But the upsides are more important. If you keep Time Walk on top, you can 1) gain an additional attack step with Tarmogoyf, 2) potentially gain an additional land drop, and 3) will have Time Walk in your graveyard for Yawgmoth’s Will.

Keeping with the spirit of maximizing my ability to win on the stack, I put Mental Misstep in my hand, and kept Time Walk on top of my library. Now I am confronted with one more choice: 1) play Tarmogoyf or 2) simply pass the turn. What would you do? (circle one).

If I play Goyf, I can Time Walk next turn and attack for at least 2 damage each turn, but possibly more if I can play Red Blast, Mindbreak Trap, or Mental Misstep. It’s also possible that he (or I) will break a fetchland, making Goyf even larger. If I don’t play Goyf, I can hardcast Mindbreak Trap with Lotus. Now that I have already tapped my Volcanic Island, I cannot cannot hardcast both Red Elemental Blast and Mindbreak Trap. If I don’t play Goyf and am not forced to hardcast MBT, I can sacrifice Lotus next turn to play both Goyf and Lotus with maximum counter protection, overwhelming any Mana Drain he may have rather than simply dodging it by playing Goyf now.

This is not a cut and dried decision, but I decided to move into high gear, given the tempo situation. I sacrificed Lotus to cast Goyf, which resolved, and then passed the turn.

Turn 2:

My opponent played another land, and passed the turn.

I drew Time Walk for the turn. Should I play it?

What would you do? (circle or check one)

1) Play Time Walk
2) Wait a turn to try to draw another land, then play Time Walk – especially when Goyf is larger.

Both plays have merit. If I play Time Walk now, I dig deeper into my deck now, and gain small advantages. If I don’t play Time Walk, I can play Red Blast. Continuing with my high gear plan, I elect to play Time Walk. My opponent makes a costly decision to break his fetchlands and play Mana Drain. My Goyf rises to 4 power, and I attack.

Turn 3:

My opponent untaps, and taps one of his lands to cast Merchant Scroll, drawing from his Mana Drain mana. Predictably, he tutors up Ancestral Recall. He taps his other land to cast it. I respond with Mental Misstep. He plays Red Elemental Blast on my Mental Misstep. This brings my Mindbreak Trap online. I cast Mindbreak Trap targeting his Ancestral Recall and his Red Elemental Blast, exiling them both. He passes the turn.

I draw Yawgmoth’s Will in my draw step. My hand is now Blightsteel Colossus, Red Elemental Blast, and Yawgmoth’s Will. I attack him for 4, and pass the turn.

Turn 4:

My opponent plays a land and a Mox, and casts Jace, the Mind Sculptor. I respond to Jace with Red Elemental Blast (growing Tarmogoyf to 5/6 in the process).

On my turn, I draw Flooded Strand. I attack him for 5, sending him to 6 life. I play Yawgmoth’s Will, which resolves, and replay Lotus and Time Walk. I untap and attack, sending him to 1 life.

Turn 5:

He draws a card, and then scoops. Fascinating.

This game was full of daring plays, and calculated risks. The decisions I faced: whether to play turn one Goyf, whether to play turn one Preordain, how to Preordain (which cards to keep), whether to play Time Walk, and whether to keep my hand in the first place, all proved decisive.

It’s arguable that I could have waited to play Time Walk until Goyf was larger or more threatening without losing much of anything in the process. However, forgoing playing Time Walk in Vintage is a huge risk indeed. Your opponent could very well win the next turn!

It’s also arguable that I should have waited to play Goyf until turn two, and then engaged a massive battle on the stack then, rather than later. He would have Drained my Walk or Goyf, and I would have Red Blasted it. I think the of play I made was superior at stopping him. The lesson here is that sometimes picking a fight isn’t the best move. By playing Goyf on turn one, I dodged Drain. This question was a role question, and it helped resolve all of my subsequent decisions: once I committed to moving into high gear (beatdown role), most of the decisions I made afterward followed from that initial commitment.

This match, broken down into its constituent parts, is a good example of how complex Vintage can be even in simple games, and how nuanced the decision making must be even under ordinary circumstances. Vintage players must confront and resolve a variety of related high-impact decisions every turn. It is this fact which makes Vintage so exciting, but also so challenging.

[End Excerpt]

So Many Insane Plays – Trends & Predictions for 2012 & A Vintage Tournament Report

As the metagame shifts in late 2011 and splinters into new directions heading into 2012, author Stephen Menendian shares his thoughts on the trends and predicts cards and strategies that will likely be popular in early 2012. He also shares a detailed tournament report piloting Remora Gush with Tarmogoyf, including his trademark in depth turn-by-turn analysis.

Vintage in 2011 was simply amazing. Each new printing, deck, and idea – each new development – formed a chain of dominoes that led to one incredible story after another. I feel sorry for you if you missed it. The good news is that I’ll tell you all about it. For those of you who played Vintage in 2011, you can relive it again. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the moment. The year’s end is a time for perspective, to reflect on events and to find meaning in them.

For Vintage, 2009 was the Year of the Monster. 2010 was the Year of Worldwake, Vintage defined by the competing forces of Jace and Lodestone Golem. What about 2011? 2011 was a year of many storylines: the re-emergence of Gush at the Vintage Championship, the rise of Landstill, the printing of Snapcaster Mage, and the return of creature decks. But the biggest story of 2011 was the emergence of Dredge as a tier one deck, capped off by winning the Vintage Championship. The performance of Dredge was not only unprecedented, it was precipitated by a dare – a gauntlet thrown down by one of Vintage’s most prominent voices.

January – MUD Dominant

At the close of 2010, Mishra’s Workshop fueled artifact MUD decks – which had dominated since the printing of Lodestone Golem – retooled and re-emerged following Scars of Mirrodin, a new artifact block, which gave MUD decks more toys, answers, and monsters than ever before.

In early January, MUD re-asserted its dominance once more, this time staking a claim to 2011. Sam Berse won a 90 player tournament at Brother’s Grimm in New York just outside the first week of the year.

MUD, by Sam Berse

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Business (34) 4 Chalice of the Void 4 Sphere of Resistance 4 Thorn of Amethyst 4 Tangle Wire 1 Trinisphere 1 Crucible of Worlds 4 Metalworker 4 Lodestone Golem 2 Karn, Silver Golem 1 Memory Jar 2 Duplicant 3 Steel Hellkite Mana Sources (26) 1 Black Lotus 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mana Crypt 1 Sol Ring 1 Tolarian Academy 4 Mishra’s Workshop 4 Ancient Tomb 1 Strip Mine 4 Wasteland 2 Rishadan Port 2 Mishra’s Factory Sideboard (15) 1 Crucible of Worlds 2 Duplicant 2 Eon Hub 1 Karn, Silver Golem 4 Relic of Progenitus 3 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale 2 Wurmcoil Engine

This deck fuels one monster beater after another while locking you out of the game. The biggest monster of all is Steel Hellkite, which can answer Trygon Predator and Oath of Druids. Sam smashed a star-studded field of players from Boston to Washington DC.

February – Mirrodin is Besieged

Like nanotech machines, Mirrodin Besieged crawled out of boosters and infiltrated Vintage decks everywhere at the beginning of February. Mirrodin Besieged contributed a bunch of Vintage playables such as Steel Sabotage, Leonin Relic-Warder, Phyrexian Revoker, and perhaps none more devastating or format defining than the reviled Blightsteel Colossus.

But the solution to the MUD metagame would not come from Mirrodin Besieged. Instead, it would come from players pushing the envelope with a notable Shards of Alara bomb, Tezzeret the Seeker. Developed seemingly independently in different corners of the world, the TurboTezz archetype was born, focusing on pushing out Tezzeret at turbo speeds on the back of tons of fast artifact mana and multiple Voltaic Keys. While Gregoire Vienne and Omar Rohner were perfecting their builds in Europe, John Jones took the eastern US by storm with his own innovations.

Within the space of two weeks, John Jones won a 44 man tournament and then a 45 player tournament with this deck:

Turbo Tezz, by John Jones

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Business (36) 4 Force of Will 3 Spell Pierce 2 Mana Drain 1 Echoing Truth 1 Rebuild 3 Sensei’s Divining Top 1 Ponder 2 Preordain 1 Brainstorm 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Time Walk 2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 1 Mystical Tutor 1 Vampiric Tutor 1 Merchant Scroll 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Tinker 3 Tezzeret the Seeker 1 Time Vault 2 Voltaic Key 1 Myr Battlesphere 1 Yawgmoth’s Will 1 Memory Jar Mana Sources (24) 2 Grim Monolith 2 Mox Opal 1 Black Lotus 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mana Crypt 1 Sol Ring 1 Mana Vault 1 Tolarian Academy 2 Flooded Strand 3 Misty Rainforest 4 Island 1 Underground Sea Sideboard (15) 1 Echoing Truth 3 Hurkyl’s Recall 2 Ravenous Trap 3 Red Elemental Blast 3 Relic of Progenitus 2 Sower of Temptation 1 Volcanic Island

Why was this deck such a brilliant metagame innovation? With Mishra’s Workshop decks ruling the format, this was a strategy that could easily defeat them. By maxing out on artifact acceleration – even lesser played artifacts such as Mox Opal and Grim Monolith, the deck could play right through a Lodestone Golem, and accelerate out a game-winning Tezzeret. The Tezzeret tutors up Time Vault, which can either by immediately activated with Voltaic Key, or next turn with Tezzeret. There is almost nothing the MUD player can do about it.

This archetype runs more than the usual singleton Voltaic Key, which synergizes with both Grim Monolith and Sensei’s Divining Top. The deck also has enough card advantage and Blue disruption to compete on the stack. The suite of counterspells are often enough to protect a game-winning Tezzeret against most opponents.

This was an ingenious innovation, and an unexpected one. It illustrates the point that often solutions to the metagame come from the existing card pool, rather than new printings.

March – An Ancient Grudge

In mid-March, 182 players gathered in Florence, Italy for the annual Italian sponsored “Doomsday” tournament. The top 8 can be viewed here. The event was featured a diverse Top 8, including two Dredge decks in the top 4, one of which was the ascending Fatesticher build.

In the United States, the rise of MUD and Turbo Tezzeret to the top of the metagame opened the door for a tactic that Brian Demars would heavily promote (although was not the first to suggest): Ancient Grudge as a maindeck tactic.

Ancient Grudge was a metagame silver bullet that punished the bloated MUD deck’s emphasis on the big monster and Turbo Tezzeret’s hard crutch of Time Vault. As Brian explained Ancient Grudge’s position in Vintage as follows:

“I know that I probably sound like a broken record continuing to harp on how amazing Ancient Grudge is—but there is a reason, and that reason is that it’s probably the best positioned card in the current Vintage metagame that for some reason nobody wants to play with.

Secondly, against a MUD deck, there isn’t actually a better card to have at one’s disposal than Ancient Grudge; it is Vindicate with flashback.”

Brian’s observation would swing open the metagame door for a new threat…

April – Foreshadowing

…And that new threat would shape Vintage the rest of the year. One of the larger tournaments of April was a 58 player tournament in Spain. But what was notable about this tournament was that Dredge won! A perennial top 8 contender, Dredge would rarely close the deal in the elimination rounds – a trend that would begin to change here.

Sun Titan/Fatestitcher Dredge, by Victor Rodriguez

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Business (51) 4 Bazaar of Baghdad 4 Serum Powder 4 Bloodghast 4 Bridge from Below 4 Cabal Therapy 4 Dread Return 3 Golgari Thug 2 Ichorid 4 Stinkweed Imp 4 Narcomoeba 4 Golgari Grave-Troll 4 Fatestitcher 3 Sun Titan 1 Iona, Shield of Emeria 1 Flame-Kin Zealot 1 Altar of Dementia Mana Sources (9) 1 Black Lotus 1 Lion’s Eye Diamond 1 Lotus Petal 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Dakmor Salvage 4 Undiscovered Paradise Sideboard (15) 2 Ancient Grudge 2 Darkblast 4 Leyline of Sanctity 4 Nature’s Claim 1 Petrified Field 2 Unmask

Victor ditched the disruptive Chalice of the Void package for a faster kill with Fatestitcher, fueled by maximum Blue mana acceleration, and the Sun Titan combo. This version of Dredge is much faster than the more disruptive variants, and also contains more mana maindeck to support post-board answers. Notably, Victor bested a revised version of Turbo Tezzeret piloted by Ricardo Sanz in the finals, sporting both Tezzeret the Seeker and Tezzeret, Agent of Bolas.

May – New Phyrexia Arrives

The popularity of TurboTezz would reach a crescendo in May at the annual Bazaar of Moxen, the largest Vintage tournaments in the world, held in Annecy, France.

Two different TurboTezz variants would meet in the finals of the largest Vintage tournamnent of the year, when 383 players came to battle in Vintage at the Bazaar of Moxen (BoM) 2011. Omar Rohner’s streamlined TurboTezz build below bested Lorenzo Fedeli’s 6 Tezzeret build in a pseudo-mirror match.

TurboTezz, by Omar Rohner

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Business (33) 4 Force of Will 4 Tezzeret, the Seeker 1 Imperial Seal 1 Vampiric Tutor 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Yawgmoth’s Will 1 Time Walk 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Brainstorm 1 Tinker 1 Steel Sabotage 1 Thirst for Knowledge 1 Time Vault 1 Blightsteel Colossus 4 Voltaic Key 3 Sensei’s Divining Top 2 Hurkyl’s Recall 4 Thoughtseize Mana Sources (27) 3 Grim Monolith 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Emerald 1 Black Lotus 1 Mana Crypt 1 Sol Ring 1 Mana Vault 1 Tolarian Academy 1 Flooded Strand 2 Misty Rainforest 2 Polluted Delta 2 Scalding Tarn 2 Underground Sea 5 Island Sideboard (15) 1 Trinisphere 1 Tormod’s Crypt 1 Hurkyl’s Recall 2 Sower of Temptation 3 Steel Sabotage 3 Relic of Progenitus 2 Dismember 2 Mental Misstep

After being coy, Wizards finally released the final set of Scars of Mirrodin block in the second week of May, and revealed its name: New Phyrexia. With it came a new way to play spells for free: Phyrexian mana. Phyrexian mana is the best mana you can play for Vintage. Phyrexian mana gave us such Vintage hits as Mental Misstep, Phyrexian Metamorph, Gitaxian Probe, Dismember, Surgical Extraction, and the late blooming Slash Panther.

Phyrexian Metamorph, like its Mirrodin Besieged predecessor, Phyrexian Revoker, was swiftly plugged into existing MUD decks. Revoker was like a 2/2 Stone Rain, taking out a Mox or turning off Time Vault. But Metamorph is a versatile, all-purpose answer. It may replicate an opposing Blightsteel Colossus, your own turn one Lodestone Golem, or merely double down on Sphere of Resistance or Tangle Wire. As a powerful and versatile upgrade to Sculpting Steel, it saw immediate play.

June – So Many Insane Plays

Bazaar of Moxen champion Omar Rohner was the first to win a Vintage tournament abusing 4 Mental Misstep. Creating what is arguably the coolest deck of the year, I present to you Omar Rohner’s Show and Tell/Oath:

Show and Oath, by Omar Rohner

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Business (36) 4 Force of Will 1 Misdirection 4 Mental Misstep 3 Duress 1 Brainstorm 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Time Walk 4 Show and Tell 1 Mystical Tutor 1 Imperial Seal 1 Vampiric Tutor 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Tinker 1 Channel 4 Oath of Druids 2 Dragon Breath 1 Blightsteel Colossus 4 Emrakul, the Aeons Torn Mana Sources (24) 1 Black Lotus 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mana Crypt 1 Sol Ring 4 Forbidden Orchard 4 Misty Rainforest 1 Polluted Delta 3 Tropical Island 2 Underground Sea 1 Bayou 1 Volcanic Island Sideboard (15) 2 Ancient Grudge 1 Forest 4 Leyline of the Void 4 Nature’s Claim 2 Pithing Needle 1 Pyroblast 1 Red Elemental Blast

Omar’s deck has three ways to get Emrakul onto the battlefield: he can do what is done in Legacy, and cast Show and Tell, but he can also use Oath of Druids to summon it into play, or, more intriguingly, cast Channel! While this deck falls into the “Danger of Doing Cool Things” category, it is undeniably lethal.

In other news, Wizards of the Coast released five 100-card singleton decks for the EDH/Commander format, featuring 51 new cards. In our inaugural So Many Insane Plays Podcast, Kevin Cron and I gush over the printing of Flusterstorm in Commander, and hail it as a Vintage staple.

July – East Coast Wins

In the United States, a new archetype was breaking through. For the first half of the year, the most successful Blue deck in the United States was the traditional Bob/Jace Control, very much like the ones that had won the Vintage Championship the year before.

Shawn Anthony and his cohorts were generating steam with a renovated Gush shell, merging Gush and Jace, the Mind Sculptor into a conventional control shell. What was innovative, however, about this deck, was the presence of so many new tempo counters. Shawn Anthony Top 8′ed six Vintage tournaments from June through July with versions of this deck:

East Coast Wins, by Shawn Anthony

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Business (37) 4 Force of Will 3 Mental Misstep 3 Mana Drain 1 Steel Sabotage 1 Ancient Grudge 1 Ponder 4 Gush 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Brainstorm 2 Preordain 1 Sensei’s Divining Top 1 Time Walk 3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 1 Imperial Seal 1 Vampiric Tutor 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Merchant Scroll 1 Tinker 1 Gifts Ungiven 1 Fastbond 1 Blightsteel Colossus 1 Time Vault 1 Voltaic Key 1 Yawgmoth’s Will Mana Sources (23) 1 Black Lotus 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mana Crypt 1 Sol Ring 3 Misty Rainforest 4 Scalding Tarn 2 Tropical Island 2 Underground Sea 2 Volcanic Island 2 Island Sideboard (15) 1 Hurkyl’s Recall 2 Ingot Chewer 1 Island 4 Leyline of the Void 1 Mountain 2 Nature’s Claim 1 Perish 1 Pyroclasm 2 Red Elemental Blast

Shawn’s deck uses Gush to fuel and protect Jace, and then creates overwhelming card advantage with which to combo out using Time Vault or Tinker or Yawgmoth’s Will. He borrowed the Demarsian technology of Ancient Grudge to protect himself from Workshops, and then utilized Mental Misstep to win tempo battles. Gush had finally surfaced from behind the shadow of Dark Confidant/Jace decks.

Meanwhile, Kevin Cron and I were intrigued by the attempts to fit Slash Panther into Workshop Aggro decks. However, we felt that those lists were not well tuned, and in the 4th episode of the So Many Insane Plays Podcast, we created this version of Cat Stax, which was smashing all of our Blue decks:

Cat Stax, by Stephen Menendian

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Business (34) 4 Chalice of the Void 2 Null Rod 4 Sphere of Resistance 4 Thorn of Amethyst 1 Trinisphere 4 Tangle Wire 4 Phyrexian Revoker 4 Lodestone Golem 3 Phyrexian Metamorph 4 Slash Panther Mana Sources (26) 1 Black Lotus 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mana Crypt 1 Sol Ring 1 Mana Vault 1 Tolarian Academy 4 Mishra’s Workshop 4 Ancient Tomb 3 City of Traitors 1 Strip Mine 4 Wasteland

Slash Panther was the emerging Workshop solution to Jace (in addition to Revoker), which, by now, had dominated both wings of the blue metagame. Cat Stax was featured in this vignette on the Wizards homepage.

August – Challenge Accepted: The Vintage Championship

The biggest North American Vintage event of the year, and the largest crowd since the 2004 Vintage Championship, signed up to compete for this original painting, a Time Walk redux:

151 players registered to compete, and after 8 rounds of Swiss and the Top 8 playoffs, a winner was declared. For the first time, a Bazaar of Baghdad deck – Dredge – had conquered the Vintage Championship!

Sun Titan/Fatestitcher Dredge, by Mark Hornung

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Business (47) 4 Bazaar of Baghdad 4 Serum Powder 4 Golgari Grave-Troll 4 Stinkweed Imp 2 Golgari Thug 4 Narcomoeba 2 Ichorid 4 Bloodghast 3 Fatestitcher 1 Flame-Kin Zealot 3 Sun Titan 4 Bridge from Below 4 Cabal Therapy 3 Dread Return 1 Ancestral Recall Mana Sources (13) 1 Black Lotus 1 Lion’s Eye Diamond 1 Lotus Petal 1 Mox Sapphire 3 City of Brass 2 Dakmor Salvage 4 Undiscovered Paradise Sideboard (15) 2 Ancient Grudge 4 Chain of Vapor 2 Darkblast 1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite 2 Firestorm 4 Nature’s Claim

Dredge’s victory at this event was historic, but what made it so dramatic was the story behind the victory. In his Vintage Championship Player’s Guide, Brian Demars proclaimed that Dredge would never win the Vintage Championship. Brian wrote:

“Of all the major Vintage archetypes that exist and have existed for a significant period of time, Oath of Druids is basically the only one that has never won Vintage Championships and never will (the other being Dredge, which will never win either).

Since neither of these decks can possibly win I am sure this won’t actually matter, but in the near-impossible event that Oath or Dredge does win, I reserve the right to cite extreme variance.”

Brian’s hyperbolic prediction partly motivated Mark to play Dredge at the Vintage Champs. You can read Mark’s tournament report here.

But perhaps the biggest innovation coming out of the tournament was my Team Meandeck’s successful fusion of Dark Confidant and Gush into the same shell. Wizards profiled my deck here in their GenCon coverage. The Confidant/Gush deck put myself and Paul Mastriano into the Top 3. Unfortunately, Paul beat me in the semifinals, and then lost to Mark Hornung in an exciting showdown in the finals.

You can follow Wizards’ coverage of the Vintage Championship (including Top 8 decklists) here, and watch all of the archived video coverage right here on Eternal Central. Below is a teaser to get you started if you haven’t yet seen the videos.

The finals was one of the most dramatic in the history of the event, and it’s well worth watching (as are the others), if you haven’t already, or if you just want the view it once more for entertainment value or posterity. You can find video from the finals below and check the rest of them out here!

Like the Dredge victory, the Confidant/Gush mold was created, and then revealed that day, and would impact the Vintage scene in the weeks and months to come. Just weeks later, Chris Pikula won the 82 player Top Deck Games Summer Open tournament with a revised (and updated) version of Confidant/Gush sporting the natural inclusion of Jace. But Chris’ deck wasn’t the only Confidant/Gush deck in the room that day, as a whopping 13 out of 82 players (15.85% of the field) would pick up some version of the deck and play it that day!

However, Paul and I had already decided on a different Gush shell. Dark Confidant offered a potent secondary draw engine with Gush, but severely constrained the array of spells that could be included in the deck. We decided that a Lotus Cobra deck would compensate the loss of Dark Confidant by generating virtual card advantage (mini-Lotus Petals), and by allowing the pilot to include overwhelming bombs (like Necropotence and Yawgmoth’s Bargain). I won a tournament in Sandusky with Cobra Gush just a few weeks after the Vintage Championship. You can read my 40 page Cobra Gush primer and tournament report here.

September – Innistrad Invades

After weeks of spoilers, Wizards of the Coast finally released Innistrad in late September, a 264 card gothic horror themed expansion that was uniquely designed “top-down,” meaning that the set design proceeded to link mechanics and card design to the horror theme. Cards “transformed” by flipping over when certain conditions were satisfied, much in the way that a werewolves transform from ordinary humans in horror films.

Innistrad introduced many noteworthy playables into Vintage. Some spells were transformations/reprints of older effects (like Stony Silence from Null Rod, or Witchbane Orb from Ivory Mask). But the most impressive new printings were three Blue creatures, each of which would see play over the next few months. Innistrad would shake up the Vintage metagame, and set it on a new course for the rest of the year.

Also in September, after much cajoling, the DCI finally unrestricted Fact or Fiction.

After a ten year stay on the Restricted List, Fact or Fiction has returned to Vintage as a potential Blue draw engine. The DCI explained its decision in the interest of promoting metagame diversity. Would Fact or Fiction have an impact?

October – The Waterbury, OvinoGeddon, and Eternal Weekend

Aside from the Vintage Championship, the semi-annual “Waterbury” (aka TheManaDrain.com Open) is the most prestigious Vintage tournament in North America. Known for abundant prizes and considerable community support, the Waterbury typically draws the largest crowds, but also the fiercest competition. Held early in October, Anthony Scalzo did his best Mark Hornung impression by winning the second marquis Vintage event in North America with Sun Titan/Fatestitcher Dredge. The entire Top 8 can be found here.

Dredge winning major back to back Vintage tournaments was not the only story of the tournament, however. Two Blue creatures from Innistrad had an immediate impact.

Utilizing Laboratory Maniac, I designed a Doomsday combo deck with unparalleled resilience. Historically, the Doomsday stack was vulnerable to the slightest disruption. With Laboratory Maniac, far more stable and lethal Doomsday piles can be constructed. Doomsday serves both to tutor for the Maniac, but also to set up the conditions for winning the game.

With Laboratory Maniac and Gush in hand, you can set up a Doomsday pile that wins the game immediately:

Gush into Black Lotus and Ancestral Recall, and then cast Ancestral to draw Lotus Petal, Laboratory Maniac, and Yawgmoth’s Will. You then cast Yawgmoth’s Will to replay the Lotuses, then cast Maniac and Ancestral Recall targeting yourself to win the game.

Otherwise, you can construct the simple but lethal Doomsday pile of:

You Ancestral Recall into Gush, Black Lotus, and Laboratory Maniac. You can then cast Lotus into Maniac, and Gush for the win. If you have been disrupted for some reason, Yawgmoth’s Will is your insurance card.

With this powerful combo in hand, I Top 8′ed the Waterbury. Both my primer on Doomsday and my Top 8 Report with revised decklist and changes can be purchased together here.

The other Blue creature from Innistrad to make a splash at the Waterbury was Tiago Chan’s Invitational card, Snapcaster Mage. Arguably the best Blue creature ever printed, Snapcaster Mage proved that it is not only Vintage playable, but a top tier staple. Kevin Cron piloted a Snapcaster list to the Top 8 that has proven the basis for an enduring Snapcaster shell.

Snapcaster Control, by Kevin Cron

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Business (38) 4 Force of Will 3 Mental Misstep 1 Red Elemental Blast 1 Flusterstorm 3 Mana Drain 1 Ancient Grudge 1 Echoing Truth 1 Fire Ice 2 Nihil Spellbomb 1 Ponder 1 Brainstorm 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Time Walk 2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 1 Vampiric Tutor 1 Mystical Tutor 1 Merchant Scroll 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Tinker 1 Gifts Ungiven 4 Snapcaster Mage 1 Blightsteel Colossus 1 Voltaic Key 1 Time Vault 1 Yawgmoth’s Will Mana Sources (23) 1 Black Lotus 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mana Crypt 1 Sol Ring 1 Tolarian Academy 1 Riptide Laboratory 1 City of Brass 4 Misty Rainforest 2 Scalding Tarn 2 Underground Sea 2 Volcanic Island 1 Tropical Island 1 Island Sideboard (15) 4 Surgical Extraction 1 Tormod’s Crypt 1 Forest 2 Nature’s Claim 1 Ancient Grudge 3 Lightning Bolt 2 Flusterstorm 1 Red Elemental Blast

I would be negligent if I didn’t mention the fact that just as Dredge had won two major Vintage tournaments in the US, Kuldotha-MUD had won two of the largest annual European Vintage tournaments (as well as placing 4th at Bazaar of Moxen), including the annual Italian OvinoGeddon tournament, which featured over two hundred players competing.

Kuldotha MUD, by Iuri Piazzalunga

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Business (34) 4 Chalice of the Void 3 Sphere of Resistance 4 Thorn of Amethyst 1 Trinisphere 4 Tangle Wire 4 Metalworker 4 Lodestone Golem 4 Kuldotha Forgemaster 1 Karn, Silver Golem 1 Duplicant 1 Steel Hellkite 1 Myr Battlesphere 1 Sundering Titan 1 Blightsteel Colossus Mana Sources (26) 1 Black Lotus 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Mana Crypt 1 Sol Ring 1 Mana Vault 1 Tolarian Academy 4 Mishra’s Workshop 4 Ancient Tomb 3 City of Traitors 1 Strip Mine 4 Wasteland Sideboard (15) 2 Crucible of Worlds 2 Duplicant 1 Jester’s Cap 2 Phyrexian Metamorph 2 Pithing Needle 1 Platinum Angel 3 Relic of Progenitus 1 Steel Hellkite 1 Wurmcoil Engine

The biggest tournament of the year in Spain also took place in early October, called Eternal Weekend. Complete coverage of the event can be found here courtesy of our friends at Mana Infinito, and the Top 8 decklists can be found here. Eternal Weekend was also won by a Kuldotha MUD deck, this time piloted by Israel Muñoz.

November – Landstill

By winning the Blue Bell tournament in late October, Josh Potucek had won three consecutive Vintage tournaments with this:

Landstill, by Josh Potucek

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Business (37) 4 Standstill 4 Force of Will 2 Misdirection 2 Mindbreak Trap 2 Mental Misstep 1 Red Elemental Blast 4 Mana Drain 1 Steel Sabotage 1 Hurkyl’s Recall 1 Echoing Truth 3 Fire Ice 4 Null Rod 2 Crucible of Worlds 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Time Walk 3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor /Mana Sources (18) P P Sideboard 1 Red Elemental Blast 3 Energy Flux 2 Underground Sea 2 Yixlid Jailer 4 Leyline of the Void 2 Ingot Chewer 1 Steel Sabotage

Landstill turned out to be a metagame solution to the field, and caught on like wildfire. Landstill was won multiple Vintage tournaments worldwide in November, certifying the deck as a top tier deck rather than a fluke. A crushingly slow Control deck, Landstill would reconfigure the Vintage metagame as Winter approached.

In the wake of the Waterbury, Brian Demars jolted the Vintage community by asserting that Vintage had become “too fast.” My commentary and rebuttal to his assertion can be found here. Perhaps he came to his own conclusions too quickly, because no sooner had his article seen print than the glacially slow Landstill began its quick ascent to the top of the metagame.

December – Delver Beatings

With Landstill now firmly entrenched in the top tier, after winning a slate of Vintage tournaments from continent to continent, the question became: what could defeat Landstill? Various answers began to surface, but almost all of them involved Tarmogoyf.

My Remora Gush deck or Matt Elias/Paul Mastriano’s Remora Tarmogoyf decks looked increasingly attractive for battling both Landstill on the one hand, and the rest of the metagame on the other. Rich Shay had another solution in mind.

Rich designed a deck that Jimmy McCarthy would pilot to victory at the December 2011 Team Serious Open in Sandusky (Ohio, USA), featuring Delver of Secrets, the third Blue creature from Innistrad to make a splash (and a creature that I talked about extensively in my Innistrad Set Review. Here’s what Jimmy played:

Delver Tempo, by Jimmy McCarthy

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Business (37) 4 Force of Will 3 Mental Misstep 2 Flusterstorm 1 Hurkyl’s recall 4 Gush 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Brainstorm 1 Time Walk 2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor 1 Vampiric Tutor 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Merchant Scroll 1 Fastbond 1 Yawgmoth’s Will 4 Delver of Secrets 4 Tarmogoyf 2 Snapcaster Mage 2 Trygon Predator 1 Vendilion Clique Mana Sources (23) 1 Sol Ring 1 Black Lotus 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Sapphire 1 Strip Mine 2 Wasteland 3 Underground Sea 2 Island 3 Tropical Island 4 Flooded Strand 1 Polluted Delta Sideboard (15) 4 Leyline of the Void 1 Yixlid Jailer 1 Nihil Spellbomb 3 Steel Sabotage 1 Maelstrom Pulse 1 Hurkyl’s Recall 1 Dismember 2 Mindbreak Trap 1 Life from the Loam

Shay’s Delver decklist is tempo oriented and disruptive, and trumps not only the popular Landstill deck, but also my and others attempt to utilize Mystic Remora as a metagame anchor and draw engine. Snapcaster Mage and company have made creatures a force to be reckoned with in Vintage. Landstill accelerated this trend, opening the door for creature decks everywhere.

Conclusion

Vintage has come a long way since MUD was lighting up tournaments in January. As we close the books on 2011, we can look back on a year in Vintage that has traveled far and wide, reaching new heights. New printings pushed Vintage into new terrain. But the natural rhythms of the metagame produced their own evolutionary shifts. The new archetypes that surfaced in 2011, such as Turbo Tezzeret, Show and Tell/Oath, Kuldotha MUD, Bob/Gush, Maniac-Doomsday, Snapcaster Control, Delver Grow, and the old archetypes renovated for the future, like Fatestitcher Dredge, Landstill, (Remora) Grow, are not simply evidence of a dynamic format, but an incredibly fun format.

Who wouldn’t want to play a format this interesting? One can only hope that 2012 offers the same degree of Vintage dynamism.

Until Next Time,

Stephen Menendian

Post Script

If you are interested in reading more about Vintage history, be sure to read these Year in Review articles:
2004 Vintage Year in Review
2005 Vintage Year in Review, Part 1
2005 Vintage Year in Review, Part 2
2006 Vintage Year in Review, Part 1
2006 Vintage Year in Review, Part 2
2007 Vintage Year in Review
2008 Vintage Year in Review
2009 Vintage Year in Review
2010 Vintage Year in Review

PPS:
If you are interested in a complete list of Vintage playables, you can purchase the updated Vintage Checklist here for only $1.99!

Editor’s introduction: What’s more bizarre than one mistake on a card? Easy: Two mistakes. WRONG! How about three mistakes on one single card? Check out Chapter VIII of Keith Adams‘ Magic Oddica to learn more about cards with multiple mistakes.

In my previous segments, I have shown you some Magic: the Gathering cards that have a misprint- the one thing that would set it apart from a “normal” card. However, there is nothing that prohibits a card from having more than one thing wrong with it. Very few cards are made with one mistake on it, but a much, much more select amount of cards can be printed with a multitude of mistakes. And that is what I am going to cover this week.

Many of the topics I have covered in the past, and will cover in the future, will only focus on one subject. But I do want to show the ability to have a combination of mistakes. Usually this means a combination of two errors, but why not show you just how bad things can get? I recently covered square cornered cards, as well as cards with an upside down back for a reason. Here are some foil cards that have square corners, with a back that is upside down AND miscut- a full THREE mistakes on one card. These cards all came from one sheet, with the same exact mistake on each card.

Don’t expect to see this very often, however. It’s rare enough to find a misprinted card, even harder to find something with more than one thing wrong with it. Of all the misprints I’ve seen, easily more than 95% of them have only one thing wrong with them. However, those other 5% of cards do stand out as the ultimate meaning of “misprint.” Wizards is far from perfect, just like all of us…. but I just wanted to show you how strange things can get. If it’s theoretically possible to make the mistake, chances are it has happened at some point.

So just keep this in mind when I showcase something. I will most certainly show you some examples of combined misprints in the future, as they are without a doubt some of my favorites. They always make me stop and think… how could they have screwed up so badly?

As I mentioned before, cards with square corners are not tournament legal. And with miscut cards, there will be a full sheet that has the same mistake on it, well over 100 cards exist like these foil commons I am showing you. I’ve only seen seven of these, so I know there are more out there somewhere! And as always, here is a video where I showcase more copies of these cards. Enjoy.

Ǝpıʇoɹ’s ıuʇɹopnɔʇıou: Iu ʍǝǝʞ sǝʌǝu oɟ ʞǝıʇɥ ∀pɐɯs, Wɐƃıɔ Oppıɔɐ ɥǝ ʇnɹus ǝʌǝɹʎʇɥıuƃ ndsıpǝ poʍu¡ Ɔlıɔʞ ou ʇɥǝ ,,ɯoɹǝ,, qnʇʇou ʇo ʞuoʍ ɯoɹǝ¡

This week’s misprint is pretty straight forward- when a Magic card is printed, we expect that the front will be facing the same direction as the back. Seems like it is not too much to ask, right? Well, every once and a while this is not the case.

This issue is a combination of both a printing error, and human error. The majority of upside down reverse cards are foil- and the older set foils at that- and are a result of the old printing process. The back is printed first, then the front. When the foil layer is added, it has been mistakenly added upside down. If quality control does not catch it, these cards will be released and put into packs.

This error does not happen very often, but it has occurred in the past. I own about 100,000 Magic cards. I’ve probably bought and sold another 1,000,000. Of those cards, I have found 12 cards- yes only TWELVE cards- that have the back of the cards upside down on the back. And in every case, I had to go out of my way to purchase these, so I would not encourage you to go looking at every card you own hoping to find some. However, if you find one, you will find several. Since cards are printed on large sheets of over 100 cards, if this mistake happens, it will affect an entire sheet, not just one card. If you pull one from a pack, go back to the source and purchase more, as you will find several cards from the same cut sheet with this mistake.

This mistake is a very simple one, but I covered it for a very good and fun reason- it needed to be covered before I show you something more crazy & involved next week! Stay tuned, as this subject will only build upon itself. And as always, I have included a video where I show you a few of these. Anyone can turn a back upside down & scan it, but I make sure to show you the real thing.

Editor’s introduction: Our sixth chapter from Keith Adams, aka TheMisprint Guy, Magic Oddica talks about the Squared Cornered Cards. Don’t get me wrong, we ain’t talking about Collectors or International Edition. We are talking about cards that got cut the wrong way. Why? Keep reading after the bump.

TheMisprintGuy Magic Oddica – Chapter VI: Square Cornered Cards.

Those of us familiar with Magic cards know that a few years back Wizards of the Coast reprinted their Beta set in special Collector’s Editions. To set them apart, these cards had gold borders on the reverse, and also had square corners. Even though this was the first time they intentionally made them using square corners, there are plenty of cards that mistakenly were printed like this.

During the cutting process, a Magic card is typically cut with more rounded corners, giving it that playing card feel. This is very practical when it comes to shuffling. However, on occasion a card is not cut properly, resulting in square corners. In this case one, two, or all four corners are left untouched, giving it more of a baseball card feel.

While somewhat rare, square cornered cards are still one of the most common misprints found in the Magic community. It can run in streaks, resulting in several cards like this- or sometimes it just happens randomly. The oldest set I have seen so far is Revised, and from that set forward I have seen at least half the sets be afflicted with this issue.

Due to the fact that Wizards has intentionally made square cornered cards in special occasions, it is stated in their official tournament rules that they are not tournament legal. Reason being only to cover unofficial cards like International or Collectors Edition, but these misprinted square cornered cards are not tournament legal because of this. This is fine, however, because depending on how you shuffle they can be easily damaged. One afternoon of playing can easily result in ruining your strange & interesting misprints.

As always, I have some interesting examples to show you in this video. Foil, nonfoil, and several variations. Even a card where only the foil layer is square cornered, but the rest of the card is not!

On November 21 2011 at Xtreme Games in Lindenhurst, IL (USA), a Vintage showdown was held. A car full of players from the Ohio chapter of Team Serious drove out, and a number of local players from throughout Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana all made the trek, giving us 26 players in all, duking it out for the cash money.

Thanks go out to Xtreme Games owners Eric and Shannon for hosting yet another great Vintage tournament, and continuing to support the community when few others do. Props also go out to Jimmy Lord of the Cats McCarthy for awesome audio-video coverage. Check out the Top 8 results and decklists, a metagame breakdown, and a video roundup after the jump!

Metagame Report

Workshop Variants
1 Null MUD
1 Slash Panther MUD
1 Smokestack MUD

Bazaar Variants
1 Minus Six (Worldgorger combo with transformational Tezzeret-Key Vault Sideboard)
2 Sun Titan Dredge

Straight Aggro Variants
1 RG Beats (Null Rod, Magus of the Moon, Chalice of the Void, etc.)
1 Goblins (with Magus of the Moon)

Oath of Druids Variants
1 Rune Scarred Oath
1 Tidespout Tyrant Oath

Gush Variants
1 Remora Gush Tendrils
1 Cobra Gush Tendrils
1 Snapcaster Dryad Gush (could also be classified as a Snapcaster deck)
1 Doomsday Maniac Gush

Snapcaster Decks
1 Snapcaster or Fiction
1 Snapcaster Confidant Control UB
1 Snapcaster Confidant Control UBR
1 Snapcaster Confidant Control UBG

Other Decks
1 Tezzeret Key Vault
1 Bomberman
1 5C Charbelcher

Landstill Variants
1 UR Firefish/Landstill
1 UBR Confidant Landstill
1 UBR Landstill
1 Artifact Aggro Infect Landstill (w/ Necropede, Chalice, Ravager, Inkmoth Nexus, etc.)

For those keeping score at home, that was 25 unique decks out of 26 players in the room. BOOM.

Top 8 Results

Quarter-Finals
Ben Carp (Rune Scarred Oath) defeats Danny Friedman (Snapcaster or Fiction Control UBR) 2-1
Joel Wood (Snapcaster Confidant Control UBR) defeats Jason Jaco (NULL MUD) 2-1
Travis Heipp (Firefish/Landstill UR) defeats Jimmy McCarthy (Serious Salvagers)
Chris Nighbor (Sun Titan Dredge) defeats James King (Remora Gush)

Semi-Finals
Ben Carp (Rune Scarred Oath) defeats Joel Wood (Snapcaster Confidant Control UBR)
Chris Nighbor (Sun Titan Dredge) defeats Travis Heipp (Firefish/Landstill UR)

Finals
Chris Nighbor (Sun Titan Dredge) defeats Ben Carp (Rune Scarred Oath)

Top 8 Decklists

Chris Nighbor, 1st place
Sun Titan Dredge
Business (46)
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
4 Serum Powder
4 Narcomoeba
4 Stinkweed Imp
2 Golgari Thug
4 Golgari Grave Troll
2 Ichorid
4 Bloodghast
2 Fatestitcher
3 Sun Titan
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
3 Dread Return
4 Bridge from Below
4 Cabal Therapy
1 Ancestral Recall

Mana Sources (14)
1 Black Lotus
1 Lion’s Eye Diamond
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Dakmor Salvage
2 Cephalid Coliseum
4 Undiscovered Paradise
3 City of Brass

Sideboard (15)
4 Chain of Vapor
4 Nature’s Claim
2 Darkblast
2 Firestorm
2 Ancient Grudge
1 Elesh Norn, Grand Cenobite

Ben Carp, 2nd place
Rune Scarred Oath
Business (36)
4 Force of Will
2 Mental Misstep
2 Flusterstorm
3 Mana Drain
1 Sensei’s Divining Top
3 Preordain
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Gaea’s Blessing
4 Oath of Druids
3 Rune-Scarred Demon
1 Time Vault
1 Voltaic Key
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Noxious Revival

Mana Sources (24)
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Forbidden Orchard
4 Misty Rainforest
3 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
2 Island

Sideboard (15)
2 Nihil Spellbomb
3 Tormod’s Crypt
2 Extirpate
1 Pithing Needle
1 Tinker
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Steel Sabotage
2 Nature’s Claim
1 Forest

Joel Wood, 3rd place
Snapcaster Confidant Control UB
Business (36)
4 Force of Will
3 Mental Misstep
2 Flusterstorm
3 Mana Drain
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Fire/Ice
3 Snapcaster Mage
4 Dark Confidant
1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Thirst for Knowledge
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Tinker
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Voltaic Key
1 Time Vault

Mana Sources (24)
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Polluted Delta
1 Flooded Strand
2 Scalding Tarn
2 Misty Rainforest
4 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
3 Island

Sideboard (15)
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Yixlid Jailer
1 Tormod’s Crypt
4 Energy Flux
2 Red Elemental Blast
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Hurkyl’s Recall

Travis Heipp, 4th place
Firefish/Landstill UR
Business (37)
4 Force of Will
2 Misdirection
1 Mindbreak Trap
2 Mental Misstep
2 Flusterstorm
1 Red Elemental Blast
3 Spell Snare
1 Steel Sabotage
1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
4 Standstill
3 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Grim Lavamancer
2 Ninja of the Deep Hours
1 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
2 Vendilion Clique
2 Crucible of Worlds
3 Null Rod

Mana Sources (24)
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
4 Mishra’s Factory
1 Polluted Delta
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Volcanic Island
2 Island
1 Mountain

Sideboard (15)
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 Pithing Needle
3 Energy Flux
1 Red Elemental Blast
3 Pyroclasm
2 Sower of Temptation
1 Steel Sabotage

Jason Jaco, 5th place
NULL MUD
Business (34)
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Null Rod
4 Sphere of Resistance
4 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Trinisphere
3 Tangle Wire
1 Smokestack
4 Phyrexian Metamorph
4 Lodestone Golem
2 Precursor Golem
3 Duplicant

Mana Sources (26)
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Mishra’s Workshop
4 Ancient Tomb
1 City of Traitors
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
3 Ghost Quarter

Sideboard (15)
1 Duplicant
3 Steel Hellkite
2 Precursor Golem
4 Leyline of the Void
3 Relic of Progenitus
2 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale

Jimmy McCarthy, 6th place
Serious Salvagers
Business (36)
4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection
2 Flusterstorm
4 Mana Drain
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Time Walk
1 Thirst for Knowledge
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Tinker
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Snapcaster Mage
2 Auriok Salvagers
4 Trinket Mage
1 Pithing Needle
1 Nihil Spellbomb
1 Engineered Explosives
1 Aether Spellbomb

Mana Sources (24)
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Flooded Strand
1 Polluted Delta
3 Tundra
2 Underground Sea
2 Island
1 Snow Covered Island
1 Plains

Sideboard (15)
1 Swords to Plowshares
1 Seal of Cleansing
1 Pithing Needle
1 Mindbreak Trap
2 Steel Sabotage
1 Balance
2 Honor the Fallen
1 Nihil Spellbomb
2 Energy Flux
1 Disenchant
2 Yixlid Jailer

Danny Friedman, 7th place
Snapcaster or Fiction Control UBR
Business (36)
4 Force of Will
2 Mental Misstep
2 Flusterstorm
1 Red Elemental Blast
4 Mana Drain
1 Chain of Vapor
1 Rebuild
1 Fire/Ice
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Sensei’s Divining Top
1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Thirst for Knowledge
3 Fact or Fiction
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Tinker
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Voltaic Key
1 Time Vault

Mana Sources (24)
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Misty Rainforest
3 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
4 Island

Sideboard (15)
2 Relic of Progenitus
3 Yixlid Jailer
2 Tormod’s Crypt
1 Pyroblast
2 Lightning Bolt
3 Ingot Chewer
1 Viashino Heretix
1 Mountain

James King, 8th place
Remora Gush
Business (39)
4 Force of Will
4 Mental Misstep
1 Flusterstorm
2 Mana Drain
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
4 Gush
4 Mystic Remora
3 Preordain
1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Tinker
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Fastbond
1 Tendrils of Agony

Mana Sources (21)
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mana Crypt
1 Sol Ring
4 Polluted Delta
3 Misty Rainforest
2 Underground Sea
2 Tropical Island
2 Island

Sideboard (15)
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Yixlid Jailer
1 Extirpate
2 Duress
1 Flusterstorm
2 Nature’s Claim
3 Hurkyl’s Recall

Video Roundup

Team Serious Open 11-21-2011 – Finals – Chris Nighbor (Sun Titan Dredge) vs Ben Carp (Rune Scarred Demon Oath)

Team Serious Open 11-21-2011 – Semi-Finals – Chris Nighbor (Sun Titan Dredge) vs Travis Heipp (UR Firefish/Landstill)

Team Serious Open 11-21-2011 – Quarter-Finals – Ben Carp (Rune Scarred Demon Oath) vs Danny Friedman (Fact or Snapcaster)

Team Serious Open 11-21-2011 – Round 5 Feature Match – Brandon Adams (Maniac Doomsday) vs Joel Wood (Snapcaster Confidant Control UBR)

Team Serious Open 11-21-2011 – Round 4 Feature Match – Geoff Moes (UBR Landstill) vs James King (Remora Gush)

Team Serious Open 11-21-2011 – Round 3 Feature Match – Justin Eveland (Goblins) vs Mike Solymossy (Tyrant Oath)

Team Serious Open 11-21-2011 – Round 2 Feature Match – Jerry Yang (Snapcaster Confidant Control UB) vs Richard Hanning (Snapcaster Confidant Control UBG)

Team Serious Open 11-21-2011 – Round 1 Feature Match – Jason Jaco (NULL MUD) vs Mike Solymossy (Tyrant Oath)
NOTE: Jaco wins match 2-1, but third game won by Jaco not recorded/unseen due to technical issues