Welcome to the first Vintage daily series! This week I have been given a platform to rant. I will delve into five topics that I would not normally write about because they aren’t worthy of a full-length article. To begin the week, here is a list of ten things Vintage could really use more of and things that Vintage really does not need (even though we might think we do).
My back is against the wall and I have to win my next three matches to have a shot at the Top 8. Oh well, I like a little pressure. I won eleven straight matches in San Diego to make my first Top 8 so winning just three matches should be nothing. Then I hear my name being called for a feature match vs. the best player of all time, Kai Budde. Whoopee!
So here we are boys and girls, we’ve finally reached the end of this block. We all know what that means… more annoying and completely wrong guesses at what will be good. I feel it’s my duty to try anything like this once though, so I’ll give it a shot and will surely look like an idiot in a few months. Because this is a Vintage review only though, it’d be stupid to cover every card. I’m only reviewing cards that I think may have a place in some decks, a few mockable ones and ones the pique my interest.
Errant coverage writer and dethroned former “King of Gaijin” Eli Kaplan recalls his laptopless birthday weekend on the wacky vacation isle of Shikoku.
The vacationing Romeo delivers not just one, but two possible decks for players on a budget. The Genju Control deck is simply an improved version of a deck he’s worked on before, but what is this “Fork You” deck he speaks of?
To wrap up his week of un-Reweaveable content, Mark would like to address some suggestions that appeared in the forums this week, most of them focusing on Saviors cards.
This is it, folks, the massive conclusion to Zvi’s Saviors of Kamigawa set review. Which Green cards and artifacts are worth playing? What card gets the award for best design? Which cards make Zvi’s Top 10 list for the entire set? The answers to these questions and more are just a click away.
Gadiel wraps up the tale of his Pro Tour victory with the inside scoop on the events of Day 2 right through the finals, including some stark refutations of what the commentators thought he should be doing versus what the right play actually was. This article is worthwhile for the Flores and Buehler beatings alone!
As a quick review of this series’ previous articles, let’s list all of the cards worthy of consideration in the final build of a Mono-Green deck. Beside each of these cards’ names will be notations, each of which will have playability rankings. If a particular build of Mono-Green isn’t mentioned, it’s because the card in question is unsuitable there; for example, although Rhox might have a place in Big Green, it’s definitely not going into Green Weenie. For the purposes of this article, I’ll assume that Elf-based Green Weenie and Medium or Big Green with equipment are bad ideas. This latter point is highly controversial, and you’re free to play whatever form of Mono-Green you like, but it’s key to my understanding of the deck.
Given the results of French Regionals and the Last-Chance Philadelphia qualifiers, it’s probably safe to say mostly-Green (it’s not mono-Green, so stop calling it that) is, if not Tier 1, knocking at the door. I’ve been testing the hell out of Green Party, the deck from my last article, and I’ve made the some discoveries and learned some lessons about the strengths and weaknesses of the deck.
Pity Edd Black. He’s written some very funny articles, and has been in second place every week he’s written…. but somehow he always gets edged out. In this case, he had a darned fine Star Wars-related article on Emperor Multiplayer that was a lock… right up until he got knocked out at the last minute by the “How-did-he-think-of-that” hysteria of using Topsy Turvy to reverse the turn sequence and go infinite in Emperor. Workable? Maybe. Funny enough to be worth $20? Yes.
Don’t worry, Edd. Your day is coming.
Though the entries were few and far between this week, next week oughtta get your blood boiling:
The Most Creative Saviors Of Kamigawa Combo.
That’s right; develop a deck (and an article explaining the deck, of course) based around at least one Saviors of Kamigawa card. It doesn’t have to be an infinite combo – just some weird combination of cards that wins games with style. The more unique the win, the better the prize, as long as it’s within reasonable limits. So send your article into Mail us at https://sales.starcitygames.com/contactus/contactform.php?emailid=2 and you could win $20!
That which is rogue may come to define the format. The idea of a virgin Regionals is intoxicating. It is almost as good as the old meatgrinders used to be. The only reason the meatgrinders were better is because the formats would change every few hours. However, Regionals has the advantage of scale. And with Regionals in mind, I’d like to take a first look at Saviors of Kamigawa with an eye for how it will fit into the new Standard environment.
I’ve been holding back the rogue in me for months…. And I can’t stand it any longer. The release of Saviors of Kamigawa provides an ideal time to reexamine rogue strategies. If they didn’t work before, maybe a new card or two in Saviors will push an old rogue concept over the top. So let’s take a look at 12-land Belcher, Gifts Ungiven Control, and a U/R Fish-style deck.
Today’s bonus game in Zvi’s set review is the color tally where Zvi adds up all the stars for each color and tells you which one comes out on top. In addition to that info, he also tells you which cards from Red (like say… Thoughts of Ruin) earned the Mowshowitz stamp of approval.
Like many people, I am very excited about the editor’s idea of getting the Pros to play Vintage and see if they can dominate in the next big tournament. Being shamefully ignorant of the format, I thought I would have a look at the coverage of the tournament in Richmond this weekend, to see what sort of competition Zvi and the gang would have. I learned all about lots of new concepts such as “Stax”, “TPS”, “Meandeck Tendrils” and “Gifts Belcher”, as well as recognizing some old favorites such as Oath and Fish. So then I thought I’d read the coverage to see which of these decks was coming out on top. And got an odd sense of déjà vu…
