I am writing this as my article for the day after the Pro Tour. Regardless, I am currently on the Amtrak from LA to San Diego, listening to Killa Cam, “Get ‘Em Girl.” As I am currently wearing a full three-piece suit and it is 100 degrees out, I think it is fair to say I am overdressed. It is a three-hour ride, so I finally have time to slow down and meditate on all that has happened during these whirlwind past couple of weeks.
How in the world did I end up here? In the past fourteen days, I have partied with Mark Herberholz (no small feat), drafted 2^DI Two-Headed Giant drafts with players like The Rich Hoaen, scored 108 lines in my first game of Tetris in 15 years, skinny-dipped with a model and with a stripper (same time, obv), flew to California (my first time leaving the state without help in five years), and hung out with Cypress Hill in the recording studio (where Sen Dog used two of my lines in a song he recorded while I was there). And somehow, I am now listening to Paperboy, “Ditty.”
That entire paragraph is actually true, assuming we are using the term DI loosely.
My oh my, life can change in a year.
So, I am on to the airport to grab the Holz and then on to the Ramada, by the San Diego Convention Center. I have literally no idea what the next 48 will bring, though I have no doubt it will be a blast. This is my first Pro Tour in five years. I am psyched. For those who have never been, it is truly an experience and it is worth working hard for the day you eventually qualify and are a part of the, well, Magic. Simply put, playing in the Pro Tour is really fun, and the adventures that go along with it are priceless.
The thing is, this Pro Tour is Limited, and I don’t really do Limited articles. I mean, I could do a tournament report, but I wrote an article on a Two-Headed Giant Draft. To be frank, I hated it, so it will never see the light of day. Besides, that draft was the one where Herberholz and I opened Teferi, Chronicler, Magus of the Future, and 2 Damnations (one was foil, and let’s just say it is a good thing you get two picks, lol). Yeah, we won that one.
I am confident that I could fill this article with interesting adventures, both off and on the court, as it were. Still, my market research says that people like decklists. Who am I to argue with the Marketing Department?
How about Vintage? I haven’t done anything with the broken cards recently. Now is a fairly exciting time in Vintage, with the return of Flash, Gush, Vise, and Mind Twist, during the last days of Bazaar and Merchant Scroll, and with the introduction of Aven Mindcensor.
Here is a concept I came up with last night.
Creatures (11)
Lands (12)
Spells (37)
- 1 Sensei's Divining Top
- 4 Brainstorm
- 1 Vampiric Tutor
- 1 Yawgmoth's Will
- 4 Duress
- 1 Necropotence
- 1 Mana Vault
- 1 Sol Ring
- 4 Mind Twist
- 1 Demonic Tutor
- 1 Time Walk
- 4 Dark Ritual
- 1 Ancestral Recall
- 1 Mana Crypt
- 1 Aether Spellbomb
- 1 Black Lotus
- 1 Lotus Petal
- 1 Mox Emerald
- 1 Mox Jet
- 1 Mox Pearl
- 1 Mox Ruby
- 1 Mox Sapphire
- 1 Tormod's Crypt
- 1 Chalice of the Void
- 1 Engineered Explosives
Now keep in mind that this is a very rough draft, but the basic idea is threefold. First of all, you have a bit of a Fish shell, with powerful card advantage creatures that cause serious problems for the opponent.
The next angle of attack is the Mind Twist. This deck has the ability to just win games with a quick turn 2 Mind Twist for four. The disruption works well with Duress, though I fear there may not be enough good uses for the Dark Rituals when you don’t have a Mind Twist.
The final angle is the Bomberman kill. It is very possible for this deck to win without the combo, it is just a nice feature that you can leverage temporary advantages yielded by Mind Twist, Necro, or Dark Confidant into an auto win.
The thing I wonder is: would it be better to cut the Mind Twists, Duresses, Dark Rituals, Necro, and Swamp for four Force of Wills, three Counterbalance, a Trinket Mage, two Lim-Dul’s Vault, Mystical Tutor, Echoing Truth, a Flooded Strand, and another Island? I don’t know. So many ideas.
You know what I’d like to see? An extended Highlander tournament. You know… Extended, but you can’t use more than one of any card except basic land. That would be great. I mean, Highlander is about as mainstream as Two-Headed Giant, and what better format to utilize the additional restriction than Extended? With such an incredibly deep pool of cards to work with, I think it would be fascinating to see what people create.
Creatures (9)
- 1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror
- 1 Psychatog
- 1 Keiga, the Tide Star
- 1 Shadowmage Infiltrator
- 1 Dimir House Guard
- 1 Drift of Phantasms
- 1 Simic Sky Swallower
- 1 Teferi, Mage of Zhalfir
- 1 Aeon Chronicler
Lands (24)
- 1 Llanowar Wastes
- 1 Underground River
- 1 City of Brass
- 1 Swamp
- 1 Island
- 1 Minamo, School at Water's Edge
- 1 Polluted Delta
- 1 Flooded Strand
- 1 Bloodstained Mire
- 1 Salt Marsh
- 1 Yavimaya Coast
- 1 Blinkmoth Nexus
- 1 Oboro, Palace in the Clouds
- 1 Dimir Aqueduct
- 1 Overgrown Tomb
- 1 Watery Grave
- 1 Breeding Pool
- 1 Simic Growth Chamber
- 1 Frost Marsh
- 1 Terramorphic Expanse
- 1 Urza's Factory
- 1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
- 1 River of Tears
- 1 Tolaria West
Spells (29)
- 1 Counterspell
- 1 Chainer's Edict
- 1 Whispers of the Muse
- 1 Sleight of Hand
- 1 Smother
- 1 Rewind
- 1 Memory Lapse
- 1 Mana Leak
- 1 Force Spike
- 1 Serum Visions
- 1 Gifts Ungiven
- 1 Circular Logic
- 1 Condescend
- 1 Pernicious Deed
- 1 Opt
- 1 Fact or Fiction
- 1 Deep Analysis
- 1 Clutch of the Undercity
- 1 Compulsive Research
- 1 Muddle the Mixture
- 1 Remand
- 1
- 1 Spell Snare
- 1 Careful Consideration
- 1 Mystical Teachings
- 1 Think Twice
- 1 Damnation
- 1 Pact of Negation
- 1 Slaughter Pact
The possibilities are very interesting. There are so many versions of whatever effect you may want that I think just about any basic strategy you may be inclined to play would be viable. The field would likely be incredibly diverse, and people would be able to play with so many of their favorite cards that might not normally make the cut.
How about regular Extended?
I suppose it is not too much to ask to put together a list for the Extended that people actually play…
Creatures (19)
Lands (21)
Spells (20)
This is a hybrid of Levy’s Gaea’s Might Get There and my Four-Color Dark Zoo that helped Herberholz hit Top 8 in GP: Dallas, updated to include Tarmogoyf. This deck is packed to the brim with over-powered, undercosted cards, ranging from monsters far too cheap for their size to ultra-efficient spells like Stonewood Invocation for a single G, or Beacon of Destruction for 1R, or Desert Twister for 1BW.
Aside from the ultra aggressive nature of the creature selection and the possibility to win blowout games on the back of Boros Swiftblade, you will simply overpower many opponents on the strength of your card quality. While this may very well not be the best deck in the format, you will be hard pressed to find a deck with better overall card quality.
It may be that it is better to simply run a Gaea’s Might base, dropping the Dark Confidants, Tops, and Vindicates in favor of more cards like Watchwolf and Might of Old Krosa. I am not sure, but I have a hunch that some sort of Tribal Flames strategy is the deck to beat in this format.
You know what I want to do? I’ve got to find a court. I am trying to hoop it up. I remember the old days when no Pro Tour would be complete without an afternoon or evening of Basketball. Jon Finkel is to basketball with Magic players what Jon Finkel is to Magic with Magic players. He told me he’ll be here this weekend. I am excited, as Jon and I used to be able to hang out every Pro Tour, and I haven’t seen him in five years. (What? Flores hasn’t mentioned how good a friend he is with Jonny Magic in weeks, and someone has to do it.)
I need to spend more time in Southern California. This place is so beautiful and the weather is literally insane. It kind of sucks that there is such a surplus of liberal garbage, but at the end of the day, us fascists still have the power, so it’s all good.
“Back with another one of them Block Rocking Beats!”
Okay, so that line isn’t mine, but speaking of Block…
Creatures (17)
Lands (22)
Spells (21)
Sideboard
The fundamental plan is to bash with huge monsters, but this deck has more end-game than most Tarmogoyf decks.
First of all, this deck’s Tarmogoyfs are pumped by the cantrips and quickly reach 5/6. However, unlike many Tarmogoyf decks, this one takes full advantage of Kavu Predator. While the Grove of the Burnwillows Kavu Predator combo is already seeing play, Fiery Justice is a powerful addition that can sweep Mono-R or U/g’s board, or just go to the face. Why would you go to the face with Fiery Justice? Your Kavu Predator is a 7/7 on turn 3!
In addition, this deck features the Gargadon plan, the Boom/Bust plan, Word of Seizing plus Gargadon, and most of all, Riddle of freaking Lightning. Yes, the possibility of a Riddle for ten is the main incentive behind packing it, but Boom/Bust is still eight and Word of Seizing, Street Wraith, and another Riddle all hit for five, which combined with the library manipulation, is very respectable.
In my testing, this deck absolutely punishes Mono-R, beats Korlash, beats Teferi, but has some trouble with Mono-Blue Morph. I haven’t tested the G/W Tarmogoyf match-up yet, nor the Wild Pair or Reanimator.
I definitely think this is an exciting concept that should be further explored. Riddle is really freaking powerful. Tarmogoyf is really freaking powerful. Kavu Predator is really freaking powerful. Word of Seizing plus Gargadon is really freaking powerful. This deck uses them all.
Fast-forward…
It is now the night before the Pro Tour. Sam Gomersall met up with Herberholz and I. They just left to go drink all night. Mark says that is how the Pros do it these days. I don’t know about all that. I am just going to bed. One of us has to be sober tomorrow.
I have already run into so many old friends, from Randy Buehler to Aaron Forsythe, from Ben Rubin to Jon Finkel, this weekend is going to be a blast. I have also gotten a chance to make many new friends too. Hi, Kenji! Hie!
I even got the classic negative 1% split with Ffej. Partnering with Heezy has its advantages!
Let’s see, I still have 69 words left before I have earned my crust for this article. Do you like to dance? I used to be big into pop-n-locking, liquid, and some breaking. Ah, the rave parties…
Well, as it turns out, sometimes, when you don’t go out for… oh, I don’t know… say, five years, you lose your touch.
But I kept dancing! (And let me just tell you, where I was dancing, not a lot of other people danced.)
All the dancing pays off. Yesterday, I got into a dance battle with Pakelika of the Kotton Mouth Kings, who is a professional dancer of sorts. He was impressed. And I was in a suit at the time!
Okay, I’m out. Boy, does it feel good to be back!
Patrick Chapin
“The Innovator”