So Many Insane Plays – Third Place With The Perfect Storm: A Vintage Tournament Report

Oath of Druids featuring Terastodan and Iona, Shield of Emeria has quickly become one of the most popular decks in Vintage since the introduction of Worldwake. It’s also become the deck of choice for many of the format’s master players, including LSV and Rich Shay, and teammate and 2008 Vintage Champion Paul Mastriano. LSV recently wrote a great tournament report with the deck. Here’s the list that Rich Shay ran a little while ago:

The main difference is that most players are now running Jace in the deck. Jace is a perfect fit since it doesn’t interfere with the operation of Oath of Druids and its Brainstorm ability — to put naturally drawn Oath creatures back into your library — is a huge boon to the archetype. It’s also another win condition in case your opponent resolves Sadistic Sacrament or activates Jester’s Cap. Some Oath pilots, including Matt Elias, are running Mana Drains to support Jace.

A few weeks ago I tested The Perfect Storm (TPS) against the Oath deck and was surprised to learn that TPS has a favorable Oath matchup. After testing TPS against Fish and the new breed of Mishra’s Workshop-based Lodestone Golem decks, I was sold. What drove TPS out of the metagame was the Mystic Remora decks that were so popular this time last year. Traditional Tezzeret lists were also tight matchups. The shift to Oath opened the metagame door to TPS once again, I believed. Oath of Druids is excellent against Bob Tez, Fish decks, and Lodestone Golem decks, but it’s weaker against a Storm deck that can win the game before you can Oath up Iona. I wanted to test that theory at a local Vintage tournament.

Here is what I sleeved up:

TPS is one of the most challenging Vintage decks to play, much as Dark Ritual-based Storm decks are in other formats. I wrote a three part primer on TPS (The Perfect Storm, Playing The Perfect Storm, and Winning with TPS), along with First Place: A Post-Shards Vintage Tournament Report, where I demonstrate how to think through real tournament situations. Those articles are very accessible and I recommend you read them if you are interested in playing TPS. I also wrote a follow-up article geared towards the advanced TPS player here.

Round 1: Ben Steiner with Terastodan Oath

Game 1:
My opening hand was:

Duress
Underground Sea
Polluted Delta
Island
Gifts Ungiven
Tinker
Fact or Fiction

I won the die roll, and elected to play.

My opponent is a Legacy regular, and this was his first Vintage tournament. He mulliganed his first hand, and kept a six-card hand on the draw.

I led with Duress and saw:

Mana Drain
Mana Drain
Misty Rainforest
Underground Sea
Darksteel Colossus
Sol Ring

I took one of the Mana Drains and passed the turn.

I drew Force of Will in the next two turns, while he drew blanks. I developed my manabase, and on turn 3, during his endstep, I played Gifts Ungiven, which he Mana Drained. I debated Forcing it, but decided against it. I untapped and played Fact or Fiction seeing:

Ponder
Sol Ring
Memory Jar
Merchant Scroll

Duress

Not knowing my hand, how would you split that pile?

The first thing he did was to split the Merchant Scroll and the Memory Jar. I ended up taking the pile of 3 cards, which including Merchant Scroll, which found me Ancestral Recall which drew me into mostly countermagic. I played Demonic Tutor into a Spell Pierce the following turn, which I let resolve. He topdecked an Oath of Druids, and I decided to Force it.

We played draw-go for a few turns, as I built up a hand with Desire. He found Regrowth, and played it to replay Oath. I decided to go for it. I played Desire for 5, and that found the Tendrils and some other goodies, and won the game.

Game 2:

I sideboarded out Rebuild for a Chain of Vapor, and Grim Tutor and Inkwell Leviathan for two Sadistic Sacrament. I also brought in Slaughter Pact, but I’m not sure what I took out.

My opponent carefully considered his opening hand, and elected to keep.

He opened with two off color Moxen and Tolarian Academy, and passed the turn. I fired off a turn 2 Sadistic Sacrament, and after a simple once-through search, observed that he had all four Oaths and all of his creatures still in his deck. The one card that I could tell was in his hand was Yawgmoth’s Will. I was able to resolve Necropotence a few turns later, and after drawing 10 cards, handily won with a gigantic Mind’s Desire.

Round 2: Preston Cordy with Bob Tez

I played Preston round 2 of my last Vintage tournament, so I knew what to expect.

Game 1:

My opening hand was:

Ancestral Recall
Mystical Tutor
Merchant Scroll
Polluted Delta
Island
Underground Sea
Dark Ritual

I opened with Underground Sea, and he played Island, and then cast Ancestral Recall.

My plan was to Mystical Tutor for Force, and then Ancestral on turn two, to ensure that Ancestral Resolves. With this turn of events I thought about playing my own Ancestral.

It occurred to me that there are basically four permutations of what can happen when both players have Ancestral Recall in their opening hand:

1) Neither player has Force
2&3) One player has Force and the other doesn’t
4) Both players have Force

In three of the four scenarios here, I am fine. The only problem is if he has Force and I don’t. I decided to fire off Ancestral in response. It resolved. I didn’t draw a Force, so his resolved as well.

On turn 2, I played Imperial Seal and passed the turn.

Preston clearly didn’t know what I was playing, because he tapped down to play Tezzeret on turn 2 with a Mana Crypt and a Mox, and tutored up Time Vault.

I untapped, and took him by surprise, when I announced: Dark Ritual, Dark Ritual…

My hand had Demonic Tutor and Time Walk, so I Tutored up Necropotence, played it, and cast Time Walk with 12 fresh cards. I handily won.

Game 2:

My opening hand was:

Polluted Delta
Duress
Vampiric Tutor
Ancestral Recall
Black Lotus
Cabal Ritual
Force of Will

Preston began the game with turn 1 Mox Ruby, Mox Jet, and Island. I was puzzled when he played Dark Confidant off the Jet and the Island, but then realized he must be holding Red Elemental Blast.

I decided to find out. I drew Mox Sapphire on my turn, and played Delta into Sea, Duress. I saw this:

Sensei’s Divining Top
Pyroblast
Mystical Tutor

I took Pyroblast.

I then played Ancestral, and drew three cards: Duress, Memory Jar, and Yawgmoth’s Bargain.

I considered using the Lotus to play Vamp and Duress. I could have taken his Top, and then untapped and played Cabal Ritual, Necropotence (or Yawgmoth’s Will). I decided to just wait one more turn.

That turned out to be a mistake.

Preston untapped and drew two cards. Then he played Top and passed the turn.

I played Vamp on my upkeep, and when I went to Duress him, he played Mystical Tutor for Mindbreak Trap, which he kept on the top of his library with Sensei’s Divining Top. This prevented me from doing anything. My plan was to play Cabal Ritual, Necro next turn. I had Force of Will in hand, but no Blue card to use it.

He manipulated his library so he wouldn’t draw the Trap, revealed a land with Bob, drew another card, and then rearranged his library once again and attacked me for two.

I went to play Necro on the next turn, but he had a Drain for me. From there, I never recovered, nor could I get past the Mindbreak Trap.

Had I played Vamp and Duress on turn 1, post Ancestral, I think I could have resolved turn 2 Necropotence and won this game. Boo me for not being aggressive enough.

Game 3:

Preston announced that he was going to mulligan.

My opening hand was:

Polluted Delta
Mana Crypt
Time Walk
Chain of Vapor
Cabal Ritual
Memory Jar
Yawgmoth’s Bargain

I was on the draw, and I am a ballsy player, so I kept this hand. I had five mana available (if you count Chaining Mana Crypt), and wasn’t far off from being able to cast Bargain either.

He played a land and passed the turn. I drew Duress, which I played, seeing:

Force of Will
Force of Will
Mana Drain
Scalding Tarn
Tolarian Academy

I took the Mana Drain and passed the turn.

His hand was slow, so I was able to build up an effective counterattack. After a few turns of draw go, I was finally able to cast Memory Jar, which he Forced, and then resolve Bargain, which handily won the game.

Record: 2-0

Round 3: Gus Schade with Thoughtcast Tez

Game 1:

We both agreed that this was an incredibly memorable game. It didn’t even feel like Magic, but it was so much fun.

Gus won the die roll, and I drew this:

Mox Jet
Dark Ritual
Dark Ritual
Force of Will
Tinker
Merchant Scroll
Yawgmoth’s Will

This hand is reminiscent of the kinds of hands I discussed the TPS Master Class article. I would not be surprised if well over 50% of you vote to mulligan this hand.

If you voted to mulligan, let me ask you a question: would you answer change if the Mox Jet was a basic Swamp? Suppose you know with a great deal of confidence that your opponent is playing a Mana Drain deck. Does your answer change?

This is precisely the kinds of hands that I like to keep that many players do not. It would be hard to come up with a hypothetical that raises the fundamental issue that is more stacked in favor of keeping it. There are simply too many topdecks that make this hand good. Imagine you topdeck Necropotence. You win the game. But the list is quite long: Imperial Seal, Vampiric Tutor, Demonic Tutor, Necropotence, Grim Tutor, and almost any on-color mana source. Not to mention, draws of Duress or another Force/Misdirection will keep you in the game.

This hand is simply too broken. It’s not just that Yawgmoth’s Will is already in hand, but that Mox Jet supports Tinker, and a single Blue source and you can find Ancestral Recall.

Gus thought carefully about his hand, before deciding he’d keep.

Gus opened the game with Black Lotus. What I perceived to be his hesitancy to keep his hand made me think that I should counter his Lotus. If you read my articles on TPS, I generally advise TPS players not to counter mana sources. Black Lotus is the exception. If a player keeps a hand with just Black Lotus as a mana source, countering it can singlehandedly win the game.

I Forced his Lotus, pitching Tinker. I was disappointed that he then played off color Mox and Sensei’s Divining Top.

I drew Swamp, and played it, and passed the turn.

Gus tapped his Mox to look at the top of his deck. He found a land. He activated Top, and drew the land and played it.

I topdecked Brainstorm, and passed the turn.

Gus played Top, and activated it drawing another land, and then surprised me by casting Mystic Remora.

I topdecked another Swamp, and played it.

Gus paid for Mystic Remora, and cast Sensei’s Divining Top.

I drew Sol Ring, and cursed myself for not playing Jet earlier.

On my endstep he used Top. On his turn he paid for the Remora and played Seat of the Synod.

I drew Yawgmoth’s Bargain and contemplated my options. I could play Ritual, Ritual, Bargain, but what are the chances that he wouldn’t draw or have a Force? I decided to wait to see if I could get him to sacrifice Remora.

He used Top, then he untapped, let his Remora die (yay, I thought, I can play Mox Jet!). But he played Thoughtcast, and the another Remora.

I topdecked Necropotence, and considered just playing Mox Jet, Necro. But he could Drain me at this point too.

Over the next few turns he manipulated Top and kept paying for Remora, fueling it with Moxen and new lands, but he added to this by playing a 6/6 Master of Etherium. I decided that it was do or die.

I played Mox Jet and Necropotence, but he Forced it (after drawing two cards). He swung me to 14 life.

I untapped and playing Sol Ring, Dark Ritual, Dark Ritual, Bargain. He was completely tapped out because of Remora but he drew four cards. He then activated Top. To no avail.

Bargain resolved.

I was astonished. This was going to be awesome. I had one Black mana floating and 14 life. He had Mystic Remora. We were both going to Bargain.

I drew five cards, mostly land. Then I drew a few more, and saw Black Lotus. I played Black Lotus. He drew another card. I sacrificed it for Blue. I played another Dark Ritual, and then I cast Cabal Ritual with threshold. He drew two more cards. I played Duress, and he drew another card. His hand was stacked. He had Spell Pierce, but he was completely tapped down. I took Tinker.

After drawing down to 5, I had Desire in hand, but I wanted to up my storm count as much as possible. I drew down to 3 life to generate a few more storm, and then cast a Desire for 12. He drew more cards, but he couldn’t stop a super-lethal Tendrils, even with Forces.

What a funny game.

Game 2:

My opening hand was:

Black Lotus
Cabal Ritual
Polluted Delta
Yawgmoth’s Will
Dark Ritual
Mana Crypt
Mox Ruby

The opposite of the game 1 hand, in a sense. It’s got all mana, but no business. In some ways, I think this is actually the riskier hand. It has no protection. Still, I kept it. I allow myself to make riskier decisions with greater reward when I am up a game.

Gus plays Land, go on turn 1. He finds Sphinx of the Steel Wind. I topdeck Chain of Vapor. I play land, Chain of Vapor on his Sphinx, but he Forces it. I debate using Yawgmoth’s Will, but decide to wait until I can get more value out of it.

He attacks me for 6, sending me to 13, and himself to 25.

I topdeck Duress, and play it, seeing: Misdirection, Thoughtcast, and Seat of the Synod. I took Misdirection.

He attacks me again, sending me to 7, and himself to 31.

I topdeck Time Walk. I play Time Walk, and draw another land. I decide I can’t wait any longer. I play Yawgmoth’s Will, Chain his Sphinx (and my Mana Crypt), Duress his Thoughtcast, and Time Walk, keeping just a Cabal Ritual in hand. On my Time Walk turn, I draw Tendrils of Agony. He draws dead and passes.

I draw Imperial Seal, but decide to wait to see what I want to tutor for. I’ve already used Yawgmoth’s Will, so I need a big engine to go off. And because I have a low life total, Necro or Bargain won’t work. I really want to set up a Mind’s Desire, but I’m not sure that I can pull it off with just a Cabal Ritual and Mana Crypt for storm count, so I want to wait to see if I can topdeck some more mana sources. Otherwise, I’ll just get Recall or Tinker. When I topdecked Duress, I decided to tutor up the Desire.

On the following turn I played Duress, and he responded with Vampiric Tutor. Then I played Cabal Ritual, Mana Crypt, and Desire for 4, seeing:

Dark Ritual
Necropotence
Land
Force of Will

I played the Dark Ritual to cast Cabal Ritual. Then I played Necropotence, keeping in mind that I was only at 3 life. However, I then cast Tendrils for 18, sending him to 11 life. This sent me up to 21 life.

I had to decide how much to Necro for. I settled on 12 cards. My hand was just nutty. But I had to pitch a bunch of cards, including Grim Tutor, which I didn’t want to lose. You see, I had to Timetwister to recur the Tendrils, my win condition. Grim Tutor is another tutor that can find the Tendrils post-Twister.

He went for Yawgmoth’s Will, which I countered, pitching Gifts over Brainstorm (I figured Brainstorm would be more important post Twister). So, I untapped and contemplated my options. How to set it all up?

I played Memory Jar and cast Timetwister. The Jar gave me insurance. I figured I had about 35 cards between my library and graveyard going into my ‘new library,’ which means that 14 cards deep would give me the tools I needed, but it wouldn’t be easy.

Luckily, in the Twister hand I drew Mystical Tutor. I played Duress to clear the way, then cast Mystical Tutor for Tendrils, and Jarred into it for the win.

Record: 3-0

Round 4 and 5: Intentional Draws into Top 8

Quarter Finals: Matt with Oath

My opening hand:

3 Land
Off color Mox
Vampiric Tutor
Duress
Mind’s Desire

This is precisely the kind of hands I love with TPS without being greedy. It’s got a big engine card, a protection spell, an accelerant, a cheat tutor, and plenty of mana stability. It allows you to seamlessly move your game plan from step to step: mana development, disrupt their hand, tutor for card advantage, and then set up the game winning engine.

Matt mulliganed to 5.

I played turn 1 Duress and saw:

Mox Emerald
Underground Sea
Tropical Island
Timetwister
Jace, the Mind Sculptor

I took Twister.

Matt was hoping that Twister would allow him to reset the game.

Now I had to decide whether to Vamp, and if so, what to vamp for.

I Vamped for Ancestral, and played it. I drew Time Walk, and some mana. Then, I made a miscalculation. Next turn I thought I could play Time Walk and Desire for 5. I played a Mox, and then I realized that I didn’t have the mana to play both Time Walk and Desire. So, having played the Mox, I felt committed to Desire, but it would be a suboptimal Desire. I should have played Time Walk first, then Desired. Instead, my Desire was for 4, not 5.

I was very fortunate to be able to string my Desire for 4 into victory. I don’t remember exactly what happened, but I remember getting lucky at a critical moment.

Game 2:

I sideboarded in Chain of Vapor and Slaughter Pact, and sideboarded out Grim Tutor and Rebuild. Slaughter Pact gives me a Black answer to Iona.

My first mulligan of the day, I mulliganed a no-mana hand into:

Chain of Vapor
Ancestral Recall
Dark Ritual
Bloodstained Mire
Mox Ruby
Tinker

He plays a land, and I play a land.

Then he plays Orchard, and Oath of Druids on his second turn. I respond with Ancestral, and it resolves, drawing me another Ritual. I draw Mox Jet for the turn, and play Mox Jet, Dark Ritual, Dark Ritual, generating BBBBB. I then tap the Ruby and cast Demonic Tutor for Yawgmoth’s Will. I tapped the Underground Sea and played Tinker, sacrificing the Ruby, for Lotus, and cast Yawgmoth’s Will. I win by replaying Lotus, the Rituals, and Tutoring for Tendrils. Classic turn 2 storm combo kill.

Semi-Finals: Randy Hollis with MUD

MUD will try to lock you out of the game with oppressive Sphere effects every turn. Lodestone Golem is the latest implement of pain. This is a matchup that I’d been looking forward to playing all day. As usual, I pack in a bunch of land in the sideboard and Hurkyl’s Recall effects.

I rolled a 9 on a ten-sided die, which gave me confidence for a tough game 1. Unfortunately, he rolled his only out.

Game 1:

I was very pleased to draw:

Force of Will
3 Lands
Mox Jet
Black Lotus
Demonic Tutor

Turn 1:

Predictably, he opened the game with Mishra’s Workshop, Mox, Thorn of Amethyst.

I drew Lotus Petal and considered my options. I can begin to establish my manabase, but I need to settle on a strategic endpoint. Tinker is often an excellent game 1 option against MUD. If I can continue to make land drops, I can resolve Tinker.

I played a basic Island and cast Mox Jet under Thorn. I tapped the Jet to play Black Lotus. Then, after a moment of contemplation, I sacrificed the Black Lotus to play Demonic Tutor. I put Tinker in my hand and confidently passed the turn.

Turn 2:

Randy increased the pressure, and the gravity in the game, by playing Sphere of Resistance and Wasteland.

I untapped and drew Sol Ring. I played another basic land, tapped both lands and Mox Jet — generating three mana — to play Sol Ring. I then tapped the Sol Ring to play Lotus Petal. This would set me up for turn 3 Tinker

Turn 3:

Randy played Ancient Tomb, giving him 7 mana between the Wasteland, the Shop, the Mox, and the Ancient Tomb. He tapped all of his mana sources, generating 7 mana, to play Triskelion, which is only slowed by Sphere. I expected him to play something good, but I was unfazed. My Inkwell would outrace his Trike by a long shot.

I untapped my two basic lands, Mox Jet, and Sol Ring. Then I drew Ancestral Recall on my turn.

I tapped all five mana sources and sacrificed the Lotus Petal to Tinker. I still had Underground Sea in hand. I put Inkwell Leviathan in play and passed the turn.

Turn 4:

Randy couldn’t have sculpted a better hand. He tapped his Shop, Wasteland and Mox and cast Sword of Fire and Ice! He used the Ancient Tomb to equip his Trike with the monstrous equipment. He hesitated, and then decisively attacked with Trike, sending me to 12 life with 8 total damage.

I untapped and drew Gifts Ungiven! This had to be the answer.

I attacked him for 7, sending him to 9. I played my Underground Sea and passed the turn. If he tried to Wasteland me, I could respond with Gifts Ungiven.

Turn 5:

Randy didn’t do any such thing. He attacked me with the equipped Trike, sending me to 4. He tapped the Wasteland, the Shop, and the Mox, and played Lodestone Golem. I thought he was done, but then he correctly reequipped himself. He tapped his Ancient Tomb, sending him to 7 life, and moved SOFI from Trike to the Golem, and passed the turn.

But, in response to Golem, I had to play Gifts. I tapped all three lands, the Sol Ring, and the Mox and cast Gifts Ungiven. This was a tough.

The one card I wanted was Time Walk. Hurkyl’s Recall would also get the job done. I could get Merchant Scroll, but Scroll would cost 5 mana to play! I wouldn’t be near able to cast Hurkyl’s. Thorn, Sphere, and Golem all held me locked down. Here’s what I got:

Time Walk
Tendrils of Agony
Chain of Vapor
Hurkyl’s Recall

Consider the scenario. Hurkyl’s Recall is the most obvious card he won’t give me, so that goes away. If he gives me Time Walk, I can untap, attack with Leviathan, trampling over for 2 damage, then Time Walk, and do it again. He’ll likely survive, but he’ll give me another draw step and another chance to draw outs.

He gave me Chain of Vapor and Tendrils. The problem was SOFI. Sword of Fire and Ice is ridiculously powerful, especially in Vintage. It not only draws cards and creates a lot more damage, but it gives protection. I couldn’t Chain the Golem.

It would cost me four mana to Chain the Sphere or the Thorn. That would leave me only two mana left over to do something, which I couldn’t take advantage of.

Gifts didn’t win me the game. But I wonder? Is there another solution? Can you think of Gifts piles that would win me the game?

In retrospect, I should have considered what my possible Gifts piles might be. Had I thought about it, I would have realized the futility of Gifts, and played Ancestral Recall instead. Recall could have drawn me into outs. For example, had I drawn Hurkyl’s Recall, or Academy and some combination of tutor effects, I could have potentially won the game.

Game 2:

I sideboarded in:

+ 1 Island
+ 2 Bojuka Bog
+ 2 Hurkyl’s Recall
+ 1 Rebuild

For:

– 1 Misdirection
– 4 Duress
– 1 Grim Tutor
– 1 Cabal Ritual

Here was my opening hand:

Bloodstained Mire
Mana Vault
Imperial Seal
Time Walk
Gifts Ungiven
Rebuild
Memory Jar

Here are the problems with this hand:

First, the land is Bloodstained Mire, which is there to find basic Swamp. All but one of the spells in my hand is Blue. Second, this hand has only one land. The key to this matchup is drawing and playing a bunch of lands.

Still, I decided to keep this hand on the strength of Imperial Seal.

Turn 1:

I played turn 1 Mire into Swamp, Imperial Seal for basic Island.

He played turn 1 Mox, Mana Vault, Tolarian Academy, Thorn of Amethyst.

Turn 2:

I played my Island and cast Mana Vault. I drew Time Walk on the turn.

Randy played Wasteland, and turn 2 Chalice of the Void, set at 2.

Turn 3:

I draw Fact or Fiction. I have a number of options.

Without knowing more information, and making no assumptions about what he might play, what would be your line of play?

The upside of playing Gifts or Fact now is that you can make more land drops. Fact will likely reveal more mana to develop the game. Gifts is the same idea, but more targeted. Gifting for something like Island, Swamp, Strand, and an artifact accelerant, like a Mox or Lotus, is an attractive idea.

The key to this matchup, as I said, is development. But the cost of making that play is losing Mana Vault, at least in the short run. It may be a few turns before I can Rebuild.

I elected to go with option 3. My hope was this: I could Rebuild on his endstep, untap, Time Walk, hoping to draw more mana, and then Mana Vault, and Gifts.

I passed the turn.

Randy now had plenty of mana. He played Lodestone Golem, and then Tangle Wire.

On his endstep, I played Rebuild, bouncing my Mana Vault and most of his board.

Turn 4:

I untapped and drew Dark Ritual. I played Time Walk, untapped and drew nothing of significance.

Now I had to make some very difficult Gifts calculations. I took out my pen and started writing on paper I thought about my options. I can play Dark Ritual, Mana Vault, and Gifts with BB floating. What can I get?

The first option I considered was Black Lotus, Mana Crypt, Mox Sapphire, and Yawgmoth’s Will. With these piles, I figured he’d give me Mana Crypt and Mox Sapphire, and I could play Memory Jar, but I also figured I could do better. Recall, the business in my hand was Jar and Fact.

Then I thought about Demonic Tutor. With BB, I could Demonic for Black Lotus, if for some reason he gave me Yawgmoth’s Will. So, I began thinking about a pile that looked like this:

Mana Crypt, Tinker, Yawgmoth’s Will, and Demonic Tutor.

If he’d give me Demonic and either Tinker or Will, I could Demonic for Black Lotus and play either Tinker or Will. The problem is that he wouldn’t give me those. He’d give me Mana Crypt and Tinker, and I’d have no Blue mana to play Tinker.

So I crossed off that option, back to the drawing board. At this point, I was definitely in stalling territory, as I’d probably thought for at least 60 seconds now.

I had the thought of getting Academy in a pile, just to slow him down, taking his Academy out. Academy was his main mana source. This was very frustrating… I just wasn’t sure what to do!

I’d love to know what you think the correct Gift cards are here.

Out of time, I was forced to get:

Demonic Tutor
Yawgmoth’s Will
Mox Sapphire
Mana Crypt

He gave me the Mox and the Mana Crypt. I played them and cast Memory Jar, and passed the turn.

Randy replayed Thorn and cast two Lodestone Golems, and passed the turn.

Turn 5:

I took a damage from Mana Vault, sending me to 17. I believe I had Hurkyl’s Recall in hand, and that’s why I didn’t untap the Mana Vault.

Randy attacked me for ten damage, sending me to 7. Then he played Tangle Wire and Chalice of the Void at 2, and I had to respond with Hurkyl’s Recall. All he could do was replay Golem and Tangle Wire.

Turn 6:

With the Wire trigger on the stack, I did this:

I tapped down entirely to announce Fact or Fiction. Then, in response, I sacrificed Memory Jar. Jar resolved, and I drew:

Polluted Delta
Island
Vampiric Tutor
Black Lotus
Mox Emerald
Brainstorm
Mind’s Desire

Then, Fact or Fiction flipped over:

Underground Sea
Swamp
Polluted Delta
Dark Ritual
Hurkyl’s Recall

He split it: 3 land and everything else. I took the Dark Ritual pile.

Then, on my draw step… I did it: I drew Mox Pearl.

I formulated a game-winning plan, the perfect plan:

Play Lotus, Mox, Mox, and my Delta. Break Delta for Swamp, and play Dark Ritual with the Swamp and a Mox. That would give me 7 mana with Black Lotus and the Mox. Play Vampiric Tutor for Chain of Vapor, going to 5 mana. Play Brainstorm, going to 3 mana, with UUB floating. Play Chain of Vapor, targeting my Mox Sapphire, sacrifice a land, and copy Chain to Mana Crypt, sacrifice a land, copying Chain to Mana Vault, sacrifice my last land and copy Chain to Lodestone Golem.

Then, play Mox Sapphire, Mana Crypt, and Mana Vault, playing Mind’s Desire with exactly enough mana. That would be Mind’s Desire with 11 storm! That would be more than enough to win the game.

Except… Except that I was at 7 life, lost my Mana Crypt roll, took a point with Mana Vault, which put me to 3. I had to sacrifice the Delta for Black, as I didn’t have any other Black sources available. Then, I wouldn’t have enough life to play Vamp. I was one life short.

Instead, I had to Brainstorm, and mise the win. I Brainstormed into Bojuka Bog, Cabal Ritual, and another Island. Nothing. I lose. I would have almost been better off just playing Desire with the seven mana, and hoping I see another artifact mana and a Chain. Desire would have been for 6.

I lose.

Both games were disastrous, and saddening because I felt like I had opportunities to win both. They felt like a maze of confusing events, and I never had a handle on what I should Gifts for in either game, or whether Gifts was even the right play. Both games Gifts piles were open to question.

My sideboarding was bad. In retrospect, I certainly should have sideboarded in the second Chain of Vapor, probably for either Fact or Gifts. Imagine if I had drawn Chain instead of either Fact/Gifts! That was rust.

Game 1 was also very disappointing. I almost wonder if I should have considered getting Jar instead of Tinker. I could have potentially won much sooner. I also wonder if Inkwell Leviathan is just worse than Sphinx in this new Lodestone Golem era. Both cards are Welder-proof, but Inky beats Duplicant. If I had Sphinx instead of Leviathan, I win game 1. Still, I think I could have at least had a shot to win game 1 in other ways.

Game 2 was even more disappointing. I spend all of that mental energy formulating the narrowest of victories, only to be one life short thanks to two bad Mana Crypt rolls. And, I’m pretty sure that my Gifts piles could have easily been much stronger. I’m eager to hear your ideas in the forums.

Still, all in all I felt great playing TPS, and I think it’s an excellent option in the metagame. I was prepared for MUD in terms of my design, I was just rusty in terms execution and sideboarding.

I’m only half way finished tallying the GP: Madrid decklists. I’ve typed up all of the top 64 decklists, though, and I’m table is virtually complete. It will probably take me a few more weeks to wrap that up, as next week will be the Vintage set review of Rise of Eldrazi!

Until next time…

Stephen Menendian