Vintage Masters Preview: Jace, the Mind Sculptor

When you think of me, you probably think of a few things:

Commentary for SCGLive!

Apparently I’m very excitable.

Fantastic choice in music!

I’m trying to stay young over here, OK?

And my absolute hatred of blue cards!

Flow Rock

Cedric Phillips

Test deck on 01-27-2008

Extended

Creatures (19)

• 4 Birds of Paradise
• 3 Eternal Witness
• 4 Troll Ascetic
• 4 Dark Confidant
• 4 Tarmogoyf

Lands (19)

• 5 Forest
• 4 Wooded Foothills
• 2 Swamp
• 1 Mountain
• 4 Bloodstained Mire
• 1 Overgrown Tomb
• 1 Stomping Ground
• 1 Blood Crypt

Spells (22)

• 3 Umezawa's Jitte
• 1 Smother
• 4 Cabal Therapy
• 3 Destructive Flow
• 3 Chrome Mox
• 3 Putrefy
• 2 Profane Command
• 3 Thoughtseize

Sideboard

• 3 Smother
• 2 Ravenous Baloth
• 1 Destructive Flow
• 2 Ancient Grudge
• 3 Krosan Grip
• 4 Extirpate

R/W Kithkin

Cedric Phillips

5th Place at Pro Tour on 03-01-2009

Standard

Creatures (20)

• 4 Cloudgoat Ranger
• 4 Goldmeadow Stalwart
• 4 Knight of Meadowgrain
• 4 Wizened Cenn
• 4 Figure of Destiny

Planeswalkers (4)

• 4 Ajani Vengeant

Lands (25)

• 9 Plains
• 4 Battlefield Forge
• 4 Windbrisk Heights
• 2 Mutavault
• 2 Rustic Clachan
• 4 Rugged Prairie

Spells (11)

• 3 Glorious Anthem
• 4 Spectral Procession
• 4 Path to Exile

Sideboard

• 4 Burrenton Forge-Tender
• 4 Reveillark
• 2 Ranger of Eos
• 3 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• 2 Banefire

Jund Aggro

Cedric Phillips

3rd Place at Star City Games Standard Open on 04-21-2013

Standard

Creatures (31)

• 3 Borderland Ranger
• 4 Arbor Elf
• 4 Falkenrath Aristocrat
• 4 Thundermaw Hellkite
• 4 Flinthoof Boar
• 4 Burning-Tree Emissary
• 4 Ghor-Clan Rampager
• 4 Gyre Sage

Lands (23)

• 3 Forest
• 1 Swamp
• 2 Mountain
• 4 Overgrown Tomb
• 4 Stomping Ground
• 4 Blood Crypt
• 1 Dragonskull Summit
• 3 Rootbound Crag
• 1 Kessig Wolf Run

Spells (6)

• 4 Bonfire of the Damned
• 2 Dreadbore

Sideboard

• 2 Ground Seal
• 2 Garruk Relentless
• 1 Zealous Conscripts
• 3 Pillar of Flame
• 2 Thragtusk
• 1 Dreadbore
• 1 Rakdos's Return
• 1 Abrupt Decay
• 2 Domri Rade

I’m stubborn. I like to win my own way. Preferably without Islands in my deck. But every once in a while, a blue card comes along that even I must play.
And I tried pretty hard not to, but once you get a taste, it’s hard not to come back. Besides, we had a lot of fun together:

Mythic

Cedric Phillips

Test deck on 08-29-2010

Standard

Creatures (23)

• 4 Birds of Paradise
• 4 Noble Hierarch
• 4 Knight of the Reliquary
• 4 Sovereigns of Lost Alara
• 3 Dauntless Escort
• 4 Lotus Cobra

Planeswalkers (6)

• 2 Elspeth, Knight-Errant
• 4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Lands (25)

• 4 Forest
• 2 Plains
• 3 Island
• 2 Seaside Citadel
• 1 Marsh Flats
• 4 Misty Rainforest
• 3 Verdant Catacombs
• 4 Celestial Colonnade
• 1 Sejiri Steppe
• 1 Stirring Wildwood

Spells (6)

• 4 Mana Leak
• 2 Eldrazi Conscription

Sideboard

• 2 Jace Beleren
• 3 Telemin Performance
• 2 Deprive
• 4 Linvala, Keeper of Silence
• 4 Obstinate Baloth

Turboland

Cedric Phillips

1st Place at Miscellaneous on 07-03-2010

Standard

Creatures (9)

• 4 Oracle of Mul Daya
• 2 Rampaging Baloths
• 3 Avenger of Zendikar

Planeswalkers (4)

• 4 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

Lands (29)

• 6 Forest
• 6 Island
• 4 Misty Rainforest
• 1 Scalding Tarn
• 4 Halimar Depths
• 4 Khalni Garden
• 4 Tectonic Edge

Spells (18)

• 3 Time Warp
• 4 Rampant Growth
• 3 Ponder
• 2 Mind Spring
• 4 Explore
• 2 All Is Dust

Sideboard

• 3 Fog
• 1 Mind Spring
• 2 Gather Specimens
• 3 Roil Elemental
• 2 Sphinx of Jwar Isle
• 4 Narcolepsy

What do these two decks have in common? Besides being an absolute blast to play, they’re centered around one card:

The boss is back and he’s got some brainstorming to do. Now I have no idea what Vintage Masters is going to be like, as the previews are just now rolling
in, but I can’t imagine passing this card too often.

It’s Jace. You can’t just pass Jace.

Well, I guess you could. But you’ll probably regret it. Because even though that Mox is all shiny and cool, and that Black Lotus is giving you a sweet
boost in mana, Jace is what wins games. And I don’t know about you, but I’m in the business of winning games.

Look at it this way. If Jace could carry me to wins, the most anti-blue mage you know, imagine what it’s capable of in your hands, you
levelheaded, reasonable, blue-playing Magican, you.

Vintage Masters was looking pretty sweet already, but this one just put it over the top.

Welcome back, old friend. You were missed. Even by me.