In my last set review, Zendikar, I advised people to pick up the following cards.
Here is your Vintage checklist for Zendikar:
4 Misty Rainforest
4 Scalding Tarn
4 Verdant Catacombs
4 Marsh Flats
4 Arid Mesa
4 Spell Pierce
1 Iona, Shield of Emeria
1 Sphinx of Lost Truths
4 Mindbreak Trap
4 Ravenous Trap
4 Bloodghast
And if you haven’t spent your whole budget, pick up 4 Sadistic Sacrament as well.
For once, my predictions were almost 100% accurate. I hope you are all caught up because Worldwake has some Vintage cards you’ll want to pick up.
This card will replace Llanowar Elf in most combo Elves decks, or at least joins it.
This card will probably be regarded as the strongest Vintage addition by most people. There is no doubt that this card is unbelievably powerful, and it will see play in a host of decks and sideboards. While I don’t regard it as the most impactful Worldwake card for Vintage, this card is awesome and will see plenty of play.
Its most immediate target is Dredge. Dredge typically addresses graveyard hate with a mix of disruption (like Unmask, Chalice of the Void, and Cabal Therapy) and bounce/removal (like Emerald Charm, Contagion on Yixlid Jailer, or Chain of Vapor). None of those things work on this card. This card will clean out a Dredge pilot’s graveyard and, aside from a Stifle, there is nothing that Dredge can say about it. It can’t be Unmasked, Chain of Vapored, or countered. Unlike Tormod’s Crypt, Chalice of the Void does nothing.
But that’s just the beginning of its applications. This card will change a lot more than Dredge.
Yawgmoth’s Will is central to the Vintage format. This card is an uncounterable way to neuter Yawgmoth’s Will. The fact that it actually can be used for mana means that this can be a utility inclusion in sideboards for a wide range of matchups.
Consider, for example, the Stax matchup. There are two tactical wars: Goblin Welder and Crucible of Worlds. Welder superiority is generally considered to be critical to winning the Stax mirror. Also, Crucible of Worlds wars generally involve both players replaying Wasteland and keeping each other stunted until one player finds Tolarian Academy and breaks the cycle. This card singlehandedly wins both battles. It wipes out the opponent’s graveyard, stopping Welder shenanigans and Crucible recursion. The player who gets this card going first will have a distinct advantage in the Stax mirror.
In general, I could see a few decks playing a couple of copies of this card maindeck, but for the rest of us, this card will be in sideboards for years to come. My TPS list will have 1-2 copies of this card in the sideboard. Pick up four copies of this card.
Wizards has been on a binge with printing at the “U” mana slot recently. In the last few years we’ve seen an explosion of great cards printed at this slot, most recently Spell Pierce, and now this. Spell Pierce has proven itself as strong in Vintage. It’s a Vintage staple. People have asked me: is this card better than Spell Pierce? I’m afraid not. This card may well be Vintage playable, but it’s much more of a bit player, like Annul.
This card could replace Dryad Arbor in Vintage Dredge. The disadvantage is serious (entering the battlefield tapped), but Dryad Arbor can’t be used either on turn 1. There are three relevant differences between the two cards. The main difference is that this token can be sacrificed to Cabal Therapy without losing the land. That’s a huge advantage over Dryad Arbor. The second difference is marginal: this token can’t ping the opponent for once a turn. That’s an almost irrelevant difference. The third difference is the fact that you can’t fetch it out with a Fetchland. I don’t know whether this card will replace Dryad Arbor, but it’s certain good enough to do so. This card’s advantage is easily enough to outweigh its disadvantages.
Lodestone Golem was obviously custom made for Vintage. And that’s awesome. Juggernaut is a card that used to see quite a bit of play once Mishra’s Workshop was unrestricted in the late 1990s. Juggernaut has enjoyed more than its fair share of success in Vintage. When Trinisphere was printed, Juggernaut was a fearsome force. Turn 1 Trinisphere, turn 2 Juggernaut was a recipe for winning games, and it showed as that’s precisely what most Workshop pilots in 2004 did. Take a look at the 2004 Vintage Championship Top 8. Three of the top 8 decklists had 4 Juggernauts. Then, when Eric Miller went on a power binge with his enigmatic Workshop Aggro deck, Juggernaut was always there. Trinisphere was restricted, and Workshop pilots eschewed Juggernaut in favor of Stax approaches.
A few years later, the DCI went and unrestricted Gush. A few months after that, they printed Thorn of Amethyst. The two events converged and Workshop Aggro decks stated winning big tournaments again. MUD was back, and I wrote an article publishing my own take on the decklist, which you can read here.
The problem with Juggernaut has always been the simple fact that he doesn’t disrupt your opponent’s mana or affect any other zone other than their life total. And, for a pure beater, he’s just a little too slow. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t see a Top 8 from time to time. He does. He’s Vintage playable, but he’s just not as good as he was in the Trinisphere era, or the second Gush era. He’s a marginal player, a bit part.
This guy is everything Juggernaut wants to be in Vintage. He solves Juggernaut’s fundamental problem: the fact that he doesn’t disrupt your opponent. This guy does. He’s not simply a 5/3 beater; he’s another Sphere. Golem is unlike any other Sphere effect printed so far. It’s completely asymmetrical since every card in your deck is an artifact.
Juggernaut sees play in Vintage, and, for all intents and purposes, this guy is strictly superior. The question isn’t whether he’ll see play, but how much and just how good he’ll make Workshop Aggro decks (i.e. darn good or awesome).
I see three potential methods of implementation: 1) Mono Brown Workshop Aggro (a.k.a. MUD), 2) Mono Red Workshop Aggro, 3) Mono Red Stax with 4 Lodestone Golems.
Here is my MUD list:
Creatures (10)
Lands (17)
Spells (33)
The emphasis in this list is clear: lock your opponent out of the game, at least long enough to win it first. Sword of Fire and Ice is huge. It draws cards and deals tremendous amounts of damage. The pro Blue means that not even an Inkwell Leviathan can block a creature equipped with SOFI. To effectuate a lock, we run all of the Sphere effects: 1 Trinisphere, 4 Sphere of Resistance, 4 Thorn of Amethyst, 4 Chalice of the Void, and now 4 Lodestone Golem. Turn 1 Golem with Chalice at 0 is going to be as game-breaking as Trinisphere was in the old days.
The sideboard would need some mix of anti-Oath cards, like Pit or Eon Hub, and anti-Dredge cards like Ensnaring Bridge.
Expect to see this deck at a Vintage tournament near you. Pick up four.
It’s a little bit shocking to me that Wizards would print this card. The life gain is mostly irrelevant in Vintage. This card is just better than Naturalize, which was already quite playable. This card gives you the efficiency to hit Time Vault or Oath of Druids or Smokestack or whatever with minimal time and mana. Excellent card, and incredibly playable in Vintage.
One-mana Red spell to Misdirect an Ancestral Recall, Mana Drain, or a Force of Will. Seems like a potential sideboard card. The difference is that this card can’t stop Tinker or destroy/counter a Tezzeret. It also won’t stop something like Fact or Gifts. In that way it’s worse than Red Blast. Still, for every game that someone draws Ancestral and you Trap them, you will likely win. That has to be weighed against the fact that you’ll lose some number of games from not being able to counter Tinker.
Given its limitations, I think that the natural home for this card is in a very aggressive deck like TPS or Belcher. I could also see it in a Stax or Workshop Aggro sideboard, for a similar reason (although it can’t counter Rebuild, even though it can redirect Hurkyl’s Recall). In contrast to those archetypes, it’s less useful in a control deck sideboard for the mirror. The chance of nabbing an Ancestral is probably not worth the inability to counter Blue draw spells.
Slavering Null
I’m actually a little bit surprised by the power of this card. Its color requirements are a bit constraining for current Vintage, but if a B/R/X based Aggro deck were to emerge, this guy would have a place. He’s Vintage playable.
Terrastodon
This guy possibly replaces Angel of Despair in Vintage Dredge for destroying multiple permanents.
Ken Nagle twittered that I was excited about a particular Worldwake Merfolk Legend. Guess who that was? As someone correctly observed on another website, this card is ‘bonkers’ in Vintage.
Some people say that this card is too slow for Vintage. I disagree. This card fits perfectly into one of the best performing decks in Vintage: Selkie Slam (UGW Fish). Power this guy up with turn 1 Noble Hierarch or even Qasali Pridemage and not only will he beat Time Vault decks, he can also win you Fish mirrors.
In terms of being too slow, the key to this card is this: it races Tinker. The key threat that Fish decks face in Vintage is Tinker. This card can not only exile the Tinker target, but even if Tinker has resolved, this card can race it by assembling Time Vault and Voltaic Key out of your opponent’s library and taking infinite turns. This card’s evasion is the best you can get for doing this: Islandwalk. Their big dumb robot will sit there, unused and defunct for the rest of the game. Yet another reason that Sphinx is a bad Tezzeret Tinker target (it’s too slow).
Consider:
Creatures (16)
Lands (18)
Spells (26)
Another point of comparison is Rootwater Thief. Here’s the thing: 2 power is a huge step up for 1 power in Vintage. You can actually attack for two a turn and expect to win with disruption and mana denial. You can’t expect the same with a one-power creature. This guy, with Noble Hierarch, can deal three a turn and disrupt the hell out of your opponent, taking away tactical and strategic options.
In fact, that’s the definition of how you win in Vintage: take away tactical and eventually strategic options until you win.
This card’s power is no doubt a function of the fact that Time Vault is so central to Vintage. But it’s powerful even beyond Time Vault. You can take Black Lotus against Combo (or just use it to play your own spells) or Crucible of Worlds against Stax.
This card is so powerful I would definitely consider him either maindeck or sideboard in my Tezzeret list. I can imagine having half of the combo, and stealing the other half from my opponent. I recommend picking up at least two copies of this guy. He could see play as a three-of in some decks though.
Vintage decks have fewer lands than decks in any other format. Standard Blue control decks run 15 lands, generally. The math just doesn’t support this card in Vintage.
Your Worldwake Checklist:
4 Bojuka Bog
4 Dispel
4 Khalni Garden
4 Lodestone Golem
4 Nature’s Claim
4 Ricochet Trap
1 Terrastodon
3 Thada Adel, Acquisitor
All in all, a pretty exciting bunch of cards for Magic’s oldest format. Excellent work Wizards!
The Complete Vintage Checklist, February, 2010, Updated with Zendikar
Key: ** Commonly Played/Format Staples * Niche/ Less Commonly Played
Vintage Checklist by Type:
Land:
4 Ancient Tomb *
4 Arid Mesa *
4 Bazaar of Baghdad **
4 Badlands *
4 Barbarian Ring *
4 Bayou *
4 Blinkmoth Nexus *
4 Bloodstained Mire **
3 Boseiju, Who Shelters All *
3 Cabal Pit *
4 Cephalid Coliseum *
4 City of Brass **
4 City of Traitors *
3 Crystal Vein *
4 Dark Depths *
2 Darksteel Citadel *
4 Dryad Arbor *
4 Flooded Strand **
4 Forest *
4 Forbidden Orchard *
4 Gemstone Mine **
1 Glimmervoid *
2 Horizon Canopy *
10 Island **
2 Karakas *
1 Library of Alexandria **
4 Marsh Flats *
4 Maze of Ith *
4 Mishra’s Factory *
4 Mishra’s Workshop **
4 Misty Rainforest **
4 Mountain *
4 Petrified Field *
4 Plains *
4 Plateau *
4 Polluted Delta **
4 Savannah *
4 Scalding Tarn **
4 Scrubland[/author]“][author name="Scrubland"]Scrubland[/author] *
4 Seat of Synod *
2 Snow-Covered Island **
2 Snow-Covered Forest *
2 Snow-Covered Mountain *
2 Snow-Covered Plains *
2 Snow-Covered Swamp *
1 Strip Mine **
4 Swamp *
1 Tendo Ice Bridge *
4 Taiga *
1 Tolarian Academy **
2 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale *
4 Tropical Island **
4 Tundra **
4 Underground Sea **
4 Undiscovered Paradise *
2 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth *
4 Verdant Catacombs *
4 Volcanic Island **
4 Wasteland **
4 Windswept Heath **
4 Wooded Foothills *
Artifact:
1 Aether Spellbomb *
4 Aether Vial *
1 Alter of Dementia *
4 Arcbound Crusher *
4 Arcbound Ravager *
1 Black Lotus **
1 Candelabra of Tawnos *
4 Chalice of the Void **
4 Chromatic Sphere *
4 Chromatic Star *
4 Chrome Mox *
4 Cranial Plating *
4 Crucible of Worlds **
1 Coalition Relic *
2 Culling Scales *
2 Cursed Totem *
3 Damping Matrix *
1 Darksteel Colossus **
4 Defense Grid *
4 Duplicant *
3 Engineered Explosives *
4 Ensnaring Bridge *
4 Frogmite *
4 Goblin Charbelcher *
4 Grindstone *
4 Grim Monolith *
1 Helm of Obedience *
1 Inkwell Leviathan **
4 Jester’s Cap *
4 Juggernaut *
3 Karn, Silver Golem **
1 Lion’s Eye Diamond *
1 Lotus Petal **
1 Mana Crypt **
1 Mana Vault **
4 Master of Etherium *
3 Masticore *
1 Memory Jar **
4 Metalworker *
4 Mindlock Orb *
2 Mindslaver *
4 Mox Diamond *
1 Mox Emerald **
1 Mox Jet **
1 Mox Pearl **
1 Mox Ruby **
1 Mox Sapphire **
4 Null Rod **
4 Orb of Dreams *
4 Painter’s Servant *
4 Phyrexian Dreadnaught *
4 Pithing Needle **
2 Platinum Angel *
1 Possessed Portal *
4 Powder Keg *
1 Pyrite Spellbomb *
3 Razormane Masticore *
4 Relic of Progenitus **
1 Sculpting Steel *
4 Serum Powder *
3 Sensei’s Divining Top **
4 Skullclamp *
4 Solemn Simulacrum *
4 Smokestack *
1 Sol Ring **
4 Sphere of Resistance **
4 Staff of Domination *
4 Su-Chi *
1 Sundering Titan **
4 Sword of Fire and Ice *
4 Tangle Wire **
1 Time Vault **
4 Thorn of Amethyst **
4 Tormod’s Crypt **
1 Trinisphere **
4 Triskelion *
4 Uba Mask *
3 Umezawa’s Jitte *
4 Voltaic Key **
Blue:
4 Accumulated Knowledge *
1 Ancestral Recall **
4 Annul **
3 Arcane Laboratory **
4 Back to Basics *
4 Blue Elemental Blast *
1 Brainstorm **
3 Brain Freeze
4 Breakthrough *
4 Careful Study *
2 Cephalid Sage *
4 Chain of Vapor **
4 Commandeer *
4 Compulsive Research *
4 Control Magic *
4 Counterbalance *
4 Courier’s Capsule *
4 Cunning Wish *
4 Cursecatcher *
4 Daze *
4 Deep Analysis *
4 Diminishing Returns *
3 Echoing Truth **
4 Energy Flux *
4 Erayo, Soratami Ascendant *
1 Eye of Nowhere *
1 Fact or Fiction **
4 Fatestitcher *
1 Flash *
1 Flash of Insight *
4 Force of Will **
1 Frantic Search *
1 Gifts Ungiven **
1 Gush *
4 Glen Elendra Archmage *
4 Hurkyl’s Recall **
4 Hydroblast *
3 In The Eye of Chaos *
4 Impulse **
4 Intuition *
1 Inkwell Leviathan **
2 Jace Beleren *
2 Magus of the Unseen *
4 Mana Drain **
4 Mana Leak *
4 Master of Etherium *
4 Master Transmuter *
4 Meditate *
1 Meloku the Clouded Mirror *
1 Merchant Scroll **
4 Mindlock Orb *
4 Mindbreak Trap *
1 Mind’s Desire **
4 Misdirection **
1 Mystical Tutor **
4 Mystic Remora **
4 Narcomoeba *
4 Ninja of the Deep Hours *
4 Negate *
4 Old Man of the Sea *
4 Ophidian *
4 Pact of Negation *
1 Ponder **
4 Propaganda *
4 Rebuild **
4 Read the Runes *
4 Remand *
4 Repeal **
4 Sage of Epityr *
4 Sea Drake *
4 Sower of Temptation **
4 Spell Pierce **
4 Spell Snare *
4 Spellstutter Sprite *
2 Sphinx of Lost Truths *
4 Standstill *
4 Stifle **
4 Strategic Planning *
3 Teferi’s Realm *
4 Tezzeret the Seeker **
1 Thirst For Knowledge **
4 Thoughtcast *
2 Tidespout Tyrant *
1 Time Walk **
4 Time Spiral *
1 Timetwister **
1 Tinker **
4 Transmute Artifact *
4 Trickbind *
4 Trinket Mage *
3 Vendilion Clique *
4 Waterfront Bouncer *
1 Windfall **
2 Wipe Away *
Black:
4 Ad Nauseam *
4 Animate Dead *
4 Bloodghast *
4 Bridge From Below *
4 Cabal Ritual **
4 Cabal Therapy **
4 Contagion *
4 Dance of the Dead *
3 Darkblast **
4 Dark Confidant **
4 Dark Ritual **
1 Demonic Consultation *
1 Demonic Tutor **
4 Diabolic Edict **
4 Disciple of the Vault *
4 Doomsday *
4 Dread Return *
4 Duress **
4 Earwig Squad *
4 Entomb *
4 Extirpate **
4 Faerie Macabre *
4 Golgari Thug *
4 Grim Tutor *
4 Ichorid *
1 Imperial Seal **
1 Infernal Contract *
4 Leyline of the Void **
3 Massacre *
4 Mind Twist *
1 Necropotence **
4 Necromancy *
4 Night’s Whisper **
4 Phyrexian Negator *
4 Planar Void *
2 Perish *
4 Putrid Imp *
4 Ravenous Trap *
4 Sadistic Sacrament **
3 Sadistic Hypnotist *
4 Skeletal Scrying *
3 Smother *
4 Stinkweed Imp *
4 Street Wraith *
4 Tendrils of Agony **
1 The Abyss *
4 Thoughtseize **
4 Unmask *
4 Vampire Hexmage *
1 Vampiric Tutor **
4 Warren Weirding *
1 Yawgmoth’s Bargain **
1 Yawgmoth’s Will **
4 Yixlid Jailer **
Red:
4 Ancient Grudge **
1 Beacon of Destruction *
1 Burning Wish *
4 Desperate Ritual *
4 Empty the Warrens **
3 Flametongue Kavu *
1 Firestorm *
4 Goblin Lackey *
4 Goblin Matron *
4 Goblin Piledriver *
4 Goblin Recruiter *
4 Goblin Ringleader *
1 Goblin Sharpshooter *
4 Goblin Vandal *
4 Goblin Welder **
4 Goblin Warchief *
4 Gorilla Shaman **
1 Grapeshot *
4 Grim Lavamancer *
4 Ingot Chewer **
4 Magus of the Moon *
2 Lava Dart *
1 Primitive Justice *
4 Pyroblast **
4 Pyroclasm **
4 Pyrokinesis *
4 Pyrostatic Pillar *
4 Rack and Ruin **
1 Recoup *
4 Red Elemental Blast **
4 Rite of Flame *
1 Rolling Earthquake *
4 Seething Song *
4 Shattering Spree *
3 Siege-Gang Commander *
4 Simian Spirit Guide **
4 Stingscourger *
4 Tin-Street Hooligan *
4 Viashino Heretic *
1 Wheel of Fortune **
4 Worldgorger Dragon *
Green:
4 Birchlore Ranger *
1 Channel *
4 Choke *
4 Crop Rotation *
2 Drop of Honey *
4 Elvish Spirit Guide **
4 Emerald Charm *
1 Eternal Witness *
1 Fastbond *
4 Fyndhorn Elf *
1 Gaea’s Blessing *
4 Glimpse of Nature *
4 Golgari Grave-Troll *
4 Heritage Druid *
4 Krosan Grip *
2 Krosan Reclamation *
4 Land Grant *
4 Llanowar Elves *
4 Life From the Loam *
2 Living Wish *
4 Mold Adder *
4 Naturalize *
4 Nettle Sentinel *
4 Noble Hierarch *
4 Oath of Druids **
4 Oxidize *
1 Regal Force *
1 Regrowth **
4 Reverent Silence *
4 Root Maze *
4 Seeds of Innocence *
4 Seal of Primordium *
4 Summoner’s Pact *
4 Tarmogoyf **
4 Tinder Wall *
2 Uktabi Orangutan *
1 Viridian Shaman *
4 Wirewood Symbiote *
4 Xantid Swarm **
White:
4 Academy Rector *
1 Akroma, Angel of Wrath *
1 Aura Fracture *
4 Auriok Salvagers *
4 Aven Mindcensor **
1 Balance **
4 Children of Korlis *
4 Enlightened Tutor *
4 Ethersworn Canonist *
4 Ghostly Prison *
4 Jotun Grunt *
4 Kataki, War’s Wage *
2 Iona, Shield of Emeria **
4 Orim’s Chant *
4 Ray of Revelation *
3 Rule of Law *
4 Seal of Cleansing *
4 Serenity *
4 Swords to Plowshares *
4 Tariff *
4 Wispmare *
Multi-Color:
1 Angel of Despair *
4 Cold-Eye Selkie *
4 Dimir Cutpurse *
2 Empyrial Archangel *
3 Fire/Ice **
2 Flame-Kin Zealot *
4 Firespout *
4 Gaddock Teeg *
4 Guttural Response *
2 Hellkite Overlord *
4 Hide/Seek *
1 Hull Breach *
4 Lorescale Coatl *
4 Manamorphose *
4 Meddling Mage *
1 Oona, Queen of the Fae *
3 Pernicious Deed *
4 Psychatog *
4 Qasali Pridemage **
4 Sharuum the Hegemon *
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind **
4 Tidehollow Sculler *
3 Trygon Predator *
4 Vexing Shusher *
Changes:
This checklist is something that will evolve over time. I changed the number of stars on a number of cards. I also changed card numbers on a few cards.
I cut Helm of Awakening, Raven’s Crime, Quirion Dryad and Seasinger from the list. At the same time, I added: Compulsive Research, Breakthrough, Wispmare, Emerald Charm, a bunch of Elves, Flame-Kin Zealot, Master Transmuter, Undiscovered Paradise, Sharuum the Hegemon, Alter of Dementia, Possessed Portal, Dark Depths and Cephalid Sage. These are some cards I just missed in the last one, and others that have since shown up in Top 8s enough to justify inclusion.
And from Zendikar, I added: Spell Pierce, Iona, Shield of Emeria, Sadistic Sacrament, Sphinx of Lost Truths, Bloodghast, Hexmage, the 5 enemy fetchlands, and Mindbreak Trap and Ravenous Trap.
Last time I took some criticism for not being clear about my criteria for this list. My goal is to create a list that is inclusive, that captures every option that you’d want for modern Vintage to build any competitive deck you want. The idea is that if you own every card on this list, you could build just about every deck in Vintage. Also, it is a repository for you to reference to consider deck building options.
I will continue to update this with every Vintage set review, including all of the cards from the previous set that have wound their way into Vintage, and any others besides. Also, as cards fall out of the format or become superceded, I will continue to drop those cards from the list, just as I did with a few cards from this list.
And, as always, your feedback is appreciated. It’s thanks to some feedback from my last article that I realized I missed a few cards I would have included.
Until next time…