Josh Chapple (@joshchapple on Twitter) makes his triumphant return from GP Vegas to regale us with tales of woe and whoa in Episode 14. Nat Moes (@GrandpaBelcher) goes over the results of the recent Team Serious Open in Sandusky, including the propagation of BUG decks with Deathrite Shaman and Abrupt Decay. And Geoff Moes (@ThallidTosser) keeps us all in line.
Here’s the timestamped table of contents for your listening ease and enjoyment:
Podcast (seriousvintage): Download (Duration: 46:41 — 21.5MB)
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0:00:30 – The Team Serious Open
0:06:42 – BUG Control
0:18:26 – Modern Masters
0:28:08 – Mr. Chapple Goes to Vegas
0:45:56 – Outro
Total time: 46:41
BUG Control at the Team Serious Open
The results from last month’s Team Serious Open, held in Sandusky (OH, USA) at the Hero Zone, are in and available here. It was a small tournament but represents the metagames we’ve been having recently in Ohio where nobody can seem to agree on what kind of metagame we should have. In Columbus in May, three combo decks made Top 8; in Sandusky, there is no combo. Okeydokey.
The two decklists we focus on for this episode are Kevin Cron and Jake Hilty’s BUG Control lists:
BUG Control, by Kevin Cron
BUG Control, by Jacob Hilty
| Business (39) 4 Force of Will 3 Mental Misstep 3 Spell Pierce 2 Steel Sabotage 1 Flusterstorm 1 Hurkyl’s Recall 4 Abrupt Decay 1 Snuff Out 1 Null Rod 2 Trygon Predator 4 Deathrite Shaman 4 Dark Confidant 4 Snapcaster Mage 1 Ancestral Recall 1 Time Walk 1 Vampiric Tutor 1 Demonic Tutor 1 Brainstorm Mana Sources (20) 1 Black Lotus 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Sapphire 4 Polluted Delta 2 Verdant Catacombs 1 Swamp 1 Island 1 Tropical Island 2 Underground Sea 1 Bayou 1 Strip Mine 3 Wasteland | Sideboard (15) 3 Dismember 1 Mindbreak Trap 1 Flusterstorm 2 Yixlid Jailer 2 Ravenous Trap 1 Wasteland 1 Island 1 Steel Sabotage 1 Trygon Predator 2 Vendilion Clique |
We talk about many of the card choices in the podcast, touching especially on Deathrite Shaman, who has become a thorn in the side of many a Vintage player recently because he is a know-it-all little jerk who does just about everything well.
Also, one thing I noticed after typing up the lists is that Kevin’s list runs two more straight-up mana sources maindeck (22 versus Jake’s 20), though Jake has an additional Island in the sideboard alongside the extra Wasteland. It seems as though there are a lot of different ways to build this type of deck, aiming not only for a particular expected metagame but also for an individual’s playstyle.
At the Team Serious Open we also brought back the Vintage Achievements list, with an interesting prize pool that contained a pack of Modern Masters (the rare was Arcbound Ravager), an official Magic: the Gathering Encyclopedia (won by yours truly and returned to the pool after the tournament), a copy of Weatherlight Revealed, and a bottle of Dove bodywash for men.
We’ll continue doing these Vintage Achievements at future Ohio tournaments. If you’re interested in starting a similar program, let us know.
Modern Masters
We already talked a bit about Modern Masters when it was first announced and about Vegas when we previewed the GP, so you can hear more of our thoughts there. It will be interesting to see the longer-term effects of the set, not just with regards to card prices as players realize how many reprints were (or were not) added to the purchasing pool, but also now that Wizards has printed a reprint set that everyone seems to be able to get behind, really thrown their weight behind an eternal format, and officially held the largest collectible card game tournament ever.
Mr. Chapple Goes to Vegas
Finally, we close with Josh’s tales of being in, at, and around the Modern Masters GP, which is most importantly a tale of Las Vegas adventure. Hear the strange case of Dr. Chapple and Mr. Frank, or at least what decorum allows him to tell.
Some people had a really good time.
Upcoming Tournaments
Remember, if you have an event you want publicized, let us know. If we record with enough time before the event, we’ll try to give you a shout out. You can send tournament announcements to seriousvintagepodcast@gmail.com.
On that note, there’s an upcoming Ohio tournament in Columbus on July 27 at Comic Town. I highly recommend these tournaments as a great way to get into the format as a casual, though competitive environment. And don’t forget the Vintage Achievements! Details can be found here.
Thanks again for listening! If you have any questions or just want to chat, let us know in the comments, on the Twitter, or at seriousvintagepodcast@gmail.com.