Dark Triad

A vintage deck by Jeremiah Goertz (Dr. J)

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Deck Analysis and Tournament Report

Background

As soon as I read the Dominaria spoilers, I was in love. Teferi, Hero of Dominaria was a planeswalker tailor-made for the style of pure control, pioneered by Weissman's The Deck in the 90's, which had become almost completely absent in Vintage. Combining card drawing, the ability to keep UU always available, pseudo-removal, and a powerful ultimate, Teferi excels in grinding out incremental advantage while keeping a tight reign on your opponent's ability to do anything meaningful. His 5 CMC was somewhat of a concern, however; Jace, TMS is a similar package for one less mana. However, the option to have 2 card-drawing planeswalkers in play simultaneously was another reason I wanted to try him in tandem to Jace. Here's the list I came up with:

Dark Triad

Lands/Mana

3 Polluted Delta
3 Flooded Strand
1 Marsh Flats

3 Underground Sea
3 Tundra
1 Island
1 Swamp
1 Plains

1 LoA
1 Strip Mine

1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Sol Ring
1 Black Lotus

Sorceries/Instants

1 Ancestral Recall
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Enlightened Tutor
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Time Walk
1 Braingeyser
1 Brainstorm
1 Gifts Ungiven
1 Dig Through Time
1 Ponder
4 Preordain

4 Force of Will
3 Mental Misstep
3 Mana Drain
3 Mindbreak Trap

Artifacts/Enchantments

1 Moat
1 Humility
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Serenity
1 Search for Azcanta

Planeswalkers (THE TRIAD)

1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Kaya, Ghost Assassin
1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

SIDEBOARD

1 Tormod's Crypt
2 RIP
2 Containment Priest
1 Hymn to Tourach
1 Serenity
2 Fragmentize
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Humility
1 Energy Field
2 Pithing Needle

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A few words about the reasoning behind my card choices.

Kaya

The Ghost Assassin was chosen because I believed she would dominate the blue mirror. Drawing a card while knocking one out of opp's hand seemed really strong. She is also a finisher, albeit a shitty one, but being a control deck, our space for finishers is limited. Immune to REB's.

Braingeyser, no Treasure Cruise

I wanted a legitimate Drain sink, and playing Yawg's will meant delve cards were less attractive. Since Dig is an instant I chose to keep it over Cruise. I also needed a finisher for the games that go long (this actually became relevant in the tournament).

3 Mindbreak Trap

It seems several current decks are trying to poop out their hand ASAP. It also makes for great plays whereby you "bait" (more often, "force to respond") your opponent with instants in response to their spell.

Serenity

Theoretically, this was supposed to murder Stax and give you an out against Oath. The reality seemed different.

Grafdigger's Cage

Maindecking this bad boy made sense when considering it has a meaningful impact on at least three major archetypes. Dredge and Oath require no further comment. Shutting down Snapcaster is certainly relevant against Blue. The fact it shuts down your own Yawg's Will makes it somewhat situational, so you won't want to jam it down heedlessly.

Gifts Ungiven

No combo here per se, just an instant-speed option for a strong value play.

Yawg's Will, no Snapcaster

Snapcaster can be great, but I like Will better because you don't need Ancestral in your 'yard for Yawg's to be really strong. I'm not running red, so flashing back Bolts isn't an option.

Preordian

Holy god, this card is good. The only reason I mention this is I've seen some blue lists running 3. I would not run less than 4, as it allows you to keep otherwise mulligan-worthy hands. Remember kids, avoiding mulligans is virtual card advantage. I did not mulligan all day (although I paid for it once when it was a 0 mana + Tormod's hand vs. Dredge, which was a bad call).

The Tourney

Sunday morning 5:30 AM came, and I had probably gotten all of 3 hours sleep, if that. Nonetheless, I was making the 3.5 hr drive up to North St. Paul from Ames, Iowa. I hadn't played in a tournament in 2 years, and in a Vintage tournament in at least twice as long. I was feeling the need.

I got to the venue, Hi-Score Games, almost 2 hours early feeling surprisingly alert. I napped in the car for 45, then headed inside, where I met Tony, a store employee I had spoken to on the phone. He's a friendly guy and as the store was practically empty we slung Legacy for a bit. The regulars began trickling in and when noon came, we had 13 players ready to throw down for the glory, honor, and $200 cash.

As I was beginning to feel the effects of sleep deprivation, my recollection isn't full of details, but I believe it is pretty accurate.

Round 1: Nick (Dredge)

Game 1:

I'm on the draw and keep a solid but unspectacular hand, without knowing what Nick is playing. He open with Bazaar. Did I mention my hand contained Grafdigger's Cage? A lucksack win, but we all take 'em.

Game 2:

I keep a 0 mana hand with Tormod's Crypt and RIP. It manages to annoy Nick, but I can't find any mana before he makes a bajillion tokens and swarms me.

Game 3:

First turn land, mox, RIP. Then a Needle on Bazaar. Then a Containment Priest. Poor Nick was really hoping to be able to cast Serenity, but such was not to be.

Matches : 1-0
Games : 2-1

After the games we talk about beekeeping, living in the country, and self-sufficiency, which I totally dig. A cool guy.

Round 2: Peo (Dark Depths homebrew)

Game 1:

I don't know what Peo is playing, but it doesn't matter because I get a first turn Jace, T(MF)MS. Vintage things happen. It turns out he's playing Depths with blue for Ancestral and maybe Walk? He gets out Lilliana of the Veil, but Jace takes it.

Game 2:

On the first or second turn, Peo duresses away my Force, but I topdeck a Drain. He then tries for Necro... Fortune smiled on me. I get out Kaya, who is joined by Jace. Together they control Peo's handsize and mine. He threatens with a Dark Depths but I find a Strip Mine for it.

Matches : 2-0
Games : 4-1

Peo had an interesting deck, and his performance against me probably wasn't indicative of the overall matchup. His draws were suboptimal, or mine were above optimal by comparison.

Round 3: Alex (URw Snapcaster control)

Game 1:

Jeepers, this was drawn-out, back and forth struggle for control. I win a battle over Alex's Ancestral, using Mindbreak Trap as my final counter. He asks me which of his spells I'm targetting with the Mindbreak. For some reason I don't target the Ancestral. Alex then Snaps it back. D'oh! Eventually I somehow get Kaya into play, and she is joined by Teferi. Alex is attacking with Snappy into Teferi, but his +1 keeps him alive until I find the Moat. Alex concedes soon thereafter.

Game 2:

We don't have time to finish, unfortunately.

Matches : 3-0
Games : 5-1-1

Alex said this was his first Vintage tournament. He did really well, and I hope he returns next time Hi-Score runs Type 1.

Round 4: Bill (UW control)

I'm top seed at the only 3-0 going into the final Swiss round, so Bill and I try to figure out whether we can draw in, but apparently the math and tiebreakers are tricky, so we decide to play.

Games 1, 2 and 3: My memory is really blanking here. I believe Bill played Jace but no Teferi (boo), and I was able to get two of my PW's into play against his one Jace in Game 1. On his last turn of Game 1, he tries to do some stuff (memory fuzzy) but I do remember that I Drained both spells, which would have allowed me to Braingeyser him for the win on my turn. Not knowing this, he graciously conceded anyways, although if my opponent had been less sportsmanlike the Geyser would have been relevant. Game 2 Bill crushes me pretty quickly, if memory serves. We begin Game 3 with 4 minutes on the clock, and as two blue control decks are wont to do, we timed out. Bill kindly concedes to me instead of taking the draw, ensuring I get to top 4. You're a mensch dude, I appreciate it.

Matches (counting this as a draw) : 3-0-1
Games : 6-2-2

Top 4

Semi finals : Harrison (BUG land-d with Ramanups, Abrupt Decays, and Deathrites)

Game 1:

I win this one but don't remember how.

Game 2:

He gats my land like a real O.G. I concede when it's clear this game holds a landless future for me.

Game 3:

Harrison gets down a couple Deathrites early on and is eating my graveyard. He attempts to Ancestral while I have Misstep, Teferi, and FoW in hand. I Misstep, he Missteps back. I decide not to FoW, and preserve my Teferi. My turn I land him, and soon follow him with a Jace, which forces Harrison to redirect the attentions of his Deathrites towards the dynamic duo. Teferi's +1 keeps him alive while I draw cards, and at the last possible moment I bounce 1 Deathrite with Jace and "remove" the other with Teferi. My hymn knocks one of the them out of Harrison's hand. I get a Moat and Kaya joins the other superheros (THE TRIAD achievement unlocked) and eats Harrison's life total.

We had some good games, I hope to play again!

Finals : Kirby (Workshop aggro)

Game 1:

I land the Moat, but Kirby gets a Ballista in play with his Ravager, so I decide to reset the board with Serenity. Not a super strong play to kill my own Moat, but it seemed forced. I die anyways.

Game 2:

Oh runzta crunchta crunchy artifact dudes pound my head in.

Despite the violence involved, Kirby was a fun opponent. Congrats! I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!

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Afterthoughts and Assessment

Teferi

I liked Teferi. He seemed solid, and besides the card-drawing, he felt like he "filled in the cracks" as quasi-removal for anything problematic that got through. There were several times I got two planeswalkers into play, which wouldn't have been possible if I only ran Jace. Even against an opponent's Jace (which happened at least once or twice), two against one isn't a fair fight.

Serenity

Against the old style prison Workshop decks, this was gold. Agains the newer aggro style, it's total ass. Would not run again, main or sideboard. Would replace with Energy Flux.

Kaya

This bad bitch owns blue. There were several times in the mid-early game when my opponent and I had around 3-4 cards in hand, and I got her into play (can't be red blasted!). She quickly turned the tide irreversably in my favor.

Braingeyser

Kind of klunky, but I think necessary for another finisher. The fact that we can run Drains again makes it saucy.

Yawg's Will

'Nuff said.

Gifts Ungiven

Was Force-food all day. I think I cast it maybe once. Not really good enough in this deck, and kind of situational.

Mindbreak Trap

Oh hell yes. 3 is the right number for sure. It allows you to beat Flusterstorm in the counterwar, can spank an unsuspecting player trying to jump out of the gate. Exiles the Ancestral so Snapcaster can't get it back (heh). I never felt like I had too many.

General

This deck always felt smooth to operate and rarely was I unable to find a card I needed in time. THE TRIAD was strong against most decks I faced. Running black instead of straight U/W allowed for consistency and flexibility. Seems weak to Shops main; as noted, Gifts and Serenity underperformed and I would replace them with 2x Energy Flux maindeck. I would further replace the Serenity and Energy Field in the sideboard with 2x Energy Flux to completely shore up the Paradoxical and Shops matchups.

Epilogue

"Well chief, all I know is the poor guy was found buried under a mountain of card advantage."

"I read the report, McDaniels. Sounds like another victim of... THE DARK TRIAD."

For the record, I play exclusively Legacy at the moment, because nobody plays Vintage in my area and MTGO leaves me cold.

But I like to watch old coots argue about cardboard rectangles, so I come here.

You know this guy has been around for years, right?

Everything that facilitates the things I don't like, and inhibits the things I do, is unfun, broken and format-warping.

Conversely, everything which facilitates the things I do like, and inhibits the things I don't, is fair, fun, interesting, and helps maintain Vintage MtG as a vibrant and strategically deep format.

Countering your opponent's spells is considered gauche and ungentlemanly. The truly superior player lets the opponent's spells resolve, whilst remarking snidely upon them.

Whoo, what a day. Just got home, it's a 3.5 hr drive each way between North St. Paul from Ames. Took 2nd in the tournament while packing Teferi.

Will post a report and deck analysis soon.

Just wanted to say (if it hasn't been said already) that Citadel sidesteps Narset, unlike PO. As if we need another reason to believe in the power.

@chronatog Soldier of Fortune? The ol' shuffle-your-opponent's-deck-until-they-quit strategy?

So, is Arabian Nights a good set? Should I invest in it?

Ima start a thread about how to beat Ad Nauseum Tendrils on the draw with no FoW when the have a first-turn kill.

I think Greed is "almost there", but the B mana cost per card drawn is what makes it unplayable. If it were like Necropotence and didn't require the mana payment, but otherwise were the same as its actual wording, it would be pretty damn good. I tried running it like 12 years ago and it didn't quite make the grade. 4-mana permanents which draw cards pretty much need to be planeswalkers nowadays.

Oops, sorry, sorry, had 2 more stories to tell:

• Buying 9-10 Power Artifacts, and 3 Transmute Artifacts, out of a store's $2 box circa 2001.
• Passing on a Mint Chains of Meph for $20 around the same time period.

Sorry, just couldn't help myself.

@thewhitedragon69 said in R/G/W Draw Engines?:

Pursuit of knowledge + scroll rack!

I don't think that actually works. Sylvan + Pursuit does, though. It was a Type 2 deck from decades ago.

I'll just (re-)state the obvious about how insane the market has jumped in the past 5 years or so, and share some stories about acquiring the now-multithousand dollar cards as a much younger me, solely for the purpose of annoying people and/or eliciting knowing chuckles and rueful shakes-of-the-head from those who can relate.

I started playing in '95 when a college buddy gave me a Revised starter. One of my rares was a Tundra, which I traded for my friend's Rod of Ruin (I mean, come on, I can play Plains and Islands in my deck without playing this "Tundra", whereas a Rod of Ruin actually does something). After becoming a little wiser in the ways of mana I slowly amassed a collection of good playable Eternal staples, buying Revised duals for around $7-$15 apiece until I had my playset. Fast forward a few years and I had my first real job as a SW Engineer, and I was throwing around all kinds of money on cardboard. A few of my more memorable purchases:

1. Unlimited P9 for around $100 a pop (except Lotus at $300).
2. Beta Pearl and Sapphire at around $150-$200 each.
3. A playset of Bazaars for $12 per.
4. Workshops between $40-$60.
5. Beta duals at $25. This was right after duals rotated out of Extended, and they were considered almost worthless as they were no longer playable in any format that WotC actively supported.

Anyhoo, there's more but I won't irritate you any further with this. I personally love that there are high earners with disposable income to throw around on these cards, as I've slowly been selling off my collection as a means of supporting myself while I pursue self-employment. I'm resigned to the likelihood that I'll never play another game of Vintage again; being able to use my Lotus as a downpayment on a house eases the pain considerably. I'll hold onto my Legacy cards (the only eternal format in my area that anyone seems to play) as long as I can but will probably end up selling them too.

Just the ramblings of an old MtG geezer.

Sylvan pairs nicely with Abundance and Convalescent Care.

@moorebrother1 said in [M21] Teferi, Master of Time:

Looting is different from Brainstorming and doing it at instant speed is a very real difference to the game - consider Snapcaster Mage.

Agreed, looting is different from brainstorming; usually looting is inferior, unless you have some graveyard tricks, because you (often) see fewer cards and don't get card advantage. I think the lack of card advantage is the most important difference, one which is crucial for blue decks.

Phasing a creature out at instant speed allows for interesting combat tricks

Usually not relevant in a vintage blue deck, unless things have changed drastically since I last played.

While JTMS has a game winning ultimate, I have fought against it and won a few times. Taking 3 turns back to back will usually end a game of Vintage.

It sounds like you're presenting an exceptional case (wining versus the Jace ultimate) as a reason against it. The Jace ultimate will usually end a game of Vintage, too. Taking 2 extra turns requires other stuff to win with it. Admittedly, you probably will win if you get to this point, so the difference in value here isn't as great as the other points.

I think I like Teferi over JTMS in the current Vintage meta but that may just be my opinion.

By all means test it out and let us know!

I don't want to rain on anyone's parade, but JTMS seems superior in almost every way.

Brainstorm each turn > Loot twice each turn
Bounce a creature > Phase out a creature
Game-winning ultimate > Take 2 turns

Yes, there are some subtleties that I'm ignoring here, but the new Teferi is pretty much strictly worse.

@desolutionist That's one of the reasons I play Legacy nowadays and have almost no interest in Vintage, except for daily skimming TMD. Legacy actually has a variety of decks and player interaction.

If I'm not mistaken, don't those vintage cards disappear after said Ashiok vs Elspeth event has concluded?

I haven't liked BSC for a long time now, though I don't get much of a chance to play Vintage nowadays, so what do I know. The thing is, he's vulnerable to Dack Fayden, JTMS, and now Oko, three big planeswalkers that other blue decks could reasonably be playing. Not to mention STP.

I've always had good success eschewing Tinker entirely; my playstyle tends more towards hard control. Conversely, I can remember several times my opponent had Vault or Key in play, which I was able to ignore entirely because it did absolutely nothing on its own. But maybe this is just me.

Anyways, a suggestion you could try.