I will also be bringing a fun brew. Haven't decided whether I am bringing back Tiny Robots, brewing a Pod list, or refining #brasscityvault. Lots of cool things to work on in Vintage at the moment.

@13nova said in Workshop is a pillar of vintage -Aaron Forsythe:

What I find funny is that it only took the restriction of Lodestone Golem, Chalice of the Void, AND Thorn of Amethyst for Workshops to become the best deck in the format.

Plus the restriction of Treasure Cruise, Dig Through Time, Monastery Mentor, Gush...

Honestly, I'm glad that the Shop prices are rising. As long as it isn't only speculation, an increase in Shop numbers in the meta will reward players that are ready to meta against them. It's a lot easier to justify a suite of maindeck cards against 40% of the metagame than against 20%. Hopefully this will knock the win percentage back down.

Hot damn, I think I can make this one!

@khahan said in Workshop is a pillar of vintage -Aaron Forsythe:

Brainstorm needs to come back. Most xerox decks woudld probably probably cut 4 preordains, add 3 brainstorms and 1 other spell. Gives us the flexibility of turn 1 land, pass. BS at end of your turn. I honestly think this is needed in the format.

I am not going to say that Vintage wouldn't be better with the unrestriction of Brainstorm. I'm not going to say Vintage couldn't handle the unrestriction of Brainstorm. Mostly because this isn't the B/R thread. All I'm going to say is that card is a devastating weapon for any deck that runs the color blue, as demonstrated by the entire Legacy format.

As for the original tweet, it's nice to get some affirmation of what many Vintage aficionados have suspected for a long time but the uncertainty of which has inspired a lot of trepidation. At least I know I'll rest easier brewing and planning for events knowing that the core of my Vintage identity is safe for another few B/R cycles, at least. And, for what it's worth, I agree that Gush should probably have had similar treatment. Mentor was clearly the Lodestone Golem to Gush's MWS.

CHOO CHOO ALL ABOARD THE ROBOT TRAIN

This is an awful topdeck when you're Hellbent but you could warp your lands package to make it less-worse using Inventors' Fair and Buried Ruin. Not sure if it's worth it but those cards aren't terrible by themselves.

That said, it's a powerful card with an interesting 'drawback': if you are flush with spells it basically has Vigilance.

This is a fun card that I am going to have a lovely time testing. It has a bunch of neat effects that (are slightly inferior to Voltaic Key but) are worth parsing:

• combos with Time Vault without requiring non-Workshop mana
• works on Grim Monolith/Mana Vault/etc. end of turn, setting them up to be reusable
• gives Vigilance to one of your dudes for free
• interacts very cutely with Steel Overseer and Hangarback Walker
• untaps Mishra's Factory end of turn before it resets
• is a nice blocker and can swing

Honestly, costing 2 and being a dude is really a win for this effect but it turns it entirely into a Shop card. Going to be interesting to see if we can find a spot for him.

@stuart said in StarCityGames Power 9 Vintage Tournament - 6/8-6/10:

I’ll do the same when flights from Austin aren’t $450.

This. Why the hell is it so expensive to fly to Virginia?

Playing Combo Shops because it's hilarious and I think it's good in the general Shops mirror and against oath.

@chubbyrain said in Article: Vintage Champs 2017 and the State of Vintage:

@cutlex said in Article: Vintage Champs 2017 and the State of Vintage:

@chubbyrain said in Article: Vintage Champs 2017 and the State of Vintage:

This is missing the entire point. Running 5-7 "dead cards" (Missteps/Flusters/Pyros) is a constraint the current metagame.

And this thought process is why Shops will keep winning. If Shops are overperforming their metagame percentage, then the argument of "build for the 70%" doesn't make any sense to me. Obviously then Shops decks are going to populate the top tables and the top8: how are you planning on winning a tournament by not being prepped for them? What does smacking down the other blue decks mean if you can't beat your predator?

A top 8? A X-2 finish at Champs? Like, seriously...this is stupid. What good is beating your predator at the top tables if you never get to the top tables? Even then, Shops is normally ~30% of the field. I am still almost twice as likely to play a Blue deck in that situation. So instead of running 6 anti blue cards and a Shop hate card, the numbers say I run 5 anti-blue cards and 2 anti-Shops cards? Smart. Really ***ing smart... Again, can we please official retire this stupid argument once and for all? It's embarrassing and portrays Vintage players as a bunch of casuals unwilling to articulate reasonable positions. And you wonder why the DCI ignores this crap...

This post doesn't come from a place of logic. Increasing your chances against the best positioned deck in the metagame at the cost of match percentage points against blue is exactly the strategy that rewarded 3 Oath players at Champs with a chance at the title.

The first rounds of a tournament are intensely chaotic and players of all skill levels with decks of all ranges of metagame preparation don't break through to the top tables for a nearly infinite set of reasons. My argument is that prepping for that possibility is more important than worrying about the specifics of your round one and two opponent.