RUG Stifle/Waste

I played a turney this past saturday. I got a bit unlucky with the draws and I dont think all the cards that got included in the deck was needed. This is how it looked at the time of the turney (I wanted a anti-stax-deck. Thats where the draws failed me):

2 Vendilion Clique
3 Snapcaster Mage
3 Young Pyromancer

4 Spell Pierce
4 Force of Will
3 Spell Snare
4 Stifle

4 Preordain
1 Ponder
1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
2 Repeal

1 Echoing Truth
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Time Walk
1 Ancient Grudge
3 Lightning Bolt

1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Emerald

4 Scalding Tarn
1 Polluted Delta
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Tropical Island
3 Volcanic Island
1 Mountain
1 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine



Lands & artifacts = great.
Cantrips = should have +1 Repeal.
Utility = Echoing Truth and Ancient Grudge does the exact same thing for this deck so ET should go. Mystical Tutor shouldnt really be needed and it felt.. not as good as a cantrip would have been.
Counters & critters = Stifle was great except when Chalice was set at 1. Snapcaster could go -1. Spell Pierce was great with the land destruction and I wouldnt want less than 4. Not sure about Spell Snares.

Dack Fayden would be great too. Not sure what to replace.

Khans!

Quick, small review on the decent cards of Khans.


Dig Through Time - Gets you two out of the seven top cards of the deck for UU + however many cards you wish to exile from you graveyard. 6 cards to delve shouldnt be that much playing two copies. Its an instant so you can play it EOT on the opponents turn and if it was to be countered you can always Mana Drain it for a huge next turn.

Disdainful Stroke could be good if Tarmogoyf type RUG-decks become good (if we get a decent cantrip in instant form).

Treasure Cruise - drawing three cards is always interesting but delve 7.. and a hostile Mana Drain = win. I think Dig Through Time is better. DTT is a 2off and would just be better than TC in the late game (seeing as vintage is full of bombs).

Murderous Cut - Destroy a creature for B and up to 4 cards in the graveyard. Really seems playable in UBx control.

Monastery Swiftspear - Could be decent in a blue-red deck with lots of cantrips. Kiln Fiend & Nivmagus Elemental are friends here.

Savage Punch is DEFINITELY going up on my fridge. Punching bears is my favorite pastime.


Thats it really.. the rest is reprints, shit cards and modern/standard cards.

Riddlesmith is silly

4 Riddlesmith
3 Goblin Welder
1 Myr Battlesphere
1 Inkwell Leviathan
2 Dack Fayden
2 Tezzeret the Seeker

2 Spell Snare
3 Mental Misstep
1 Izzet Charm
4 Force of Will
2 Mana Drain
1 Tinker
1 Thirst for Knowledge

3 Sensei's Divining Top
2 Voltaic Key
1 Time Vault
2 Mox Opal
5 Moxen
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring
1 Mana Vault
1 Mana Crypt

4 Seat of the Synod
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Volcanic Island
1 Island
1 Mountain
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Academy Ruins

So what you want to happen is cast a Riddlesmith on turn one, cast another 0-mana artifact and draw-discard something big. Next turn cast a Welder and just weld the shit out of that match. Or cast a planeswalker because you can draw mana really quick with the Riddlesmith.

Aggro Affinity!

This past saturday there was a vintage turney at my local store. I couldnt play the weekend before but showed up after it had started to talk crap. I saw that there was just one stax and two oath that event so I decided the time was right to play something really aggressive without counters!
So I played:

4 Memnite
4 Signal Pest
4 Phyrexian Revoker
3 Arcbound Ravager
4 Master of Etherium
1 Blightsteel Colossus

1 Trinisphere
1 Time Walk
1 Tinker
3 Skullclamp
4 Cranial Plating

5 Moxen
2 Mox Opal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Black Lotus
1 Sol Ring

4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
4 Underground Sea
3 Ancient Tomb
3 Seat of the Synod
4 Vault of Whispers
1 Tolarian Academy

Id cut Tinker and Blightsteel Colossus. Wasteland and Strip Mine are probably also not aggressive enough in the format for this deck (their better with workshops and giant critters). UB Tezz should be good.
I lost most matches because of well timed HurkRecall and topdeck-modes that opponents were luckier at.

It is a really fun deck to play but it is at a huge casual-tier.

M15 the compleete guide

Guides for new sets from a vintage viewpoint is pretty easy.. sorry about the lack of updates but its summertime and Im not single..

So M15.. We get a new planeswalker, slivers and a heap of worthless cards. Yay!

White

Ajani Steadfast is bad not because of himself. The planeswalkers he can boost are limited. If a new PW gets printed that wants a +1 accelerated he can be the shiznit but with the current printlist we got he just does not cut it.
Dauntless River Marshal is a 3/2 in UW fish that can tap stuff for 4 mana. If it had rebel as creaturetype then yea but as human soldier you cant find it in time consistently.

Blue

Chasm Skulker is one of those cards that kinda look good but needs like a whole arsenal of other better cards to make it good. A casual card at best. Would use as toilet paper if needed.
Chief Engineer I really like. Im thinking a monoblue hate deck that controlls the stack and modifies the battlefield in its favor with artifacts. Grand Architect, Karn, Silver Golem, Treasure Mage, Wurmcoil Engine & Lodestone Golem. (possible even 2 Muzzio, Visionary Architect but its really not amazing on its own)
Meathooks get Diffusion Sliver that can find its way into the SB as a 2-3 off versus any other fish-deck.
Jace, the Living Guildpact is worse than Jace2.0. No eternal value.

Black has no decent or better cards for eternal ;(

Red

Act on Impulse.. I.. want.. to.. break.. it.. (its a Three Wishes with a splashable cost)
Generator Servant decent card. Not really a slot for it anywhere at the moment since it has no lock-mechanism of its own (however it powers unpowered decks to explode R2-> ). It gets a honorable mention.

Green

Nissa, Worldwaker is overcosted for eternal. I dont really think wizards would make such a huge miss again with a cardtype like PWs again tho..

Multicolor/Colorless/Lands

Multicolored cards are also overpriced and ineffective for the manacost.
Soul of New Phyrexia is actually a pretty sweet one-off for Kuldotha Forgemaster-decks. Wurmcoil Engine will most likely not give up their place in the deck for it.

Summary: :(

Thats it for the decent cards. However the set has one card that is one step beyond the rest of the set:
Ensoul Artifact (1U)
Artifact Aura
Enchanted artifact is a creature with base power and toughness 5/5 in addition to its other types.

So what makes this card so good you ask? Because you can play a monoblue stompy / hate-deck in vintage and win games but you have so many dead draws (second/third of lock mechanism) that you kinda dont really know what to do with. Here comes the sollution, throw them in the face of your opponent!
A best case scenario could be like this (you start obviously), Seat of the Synod + Chrome Mox + Chalice of the Void at 1. Next turn you enchant the Chalice (that now isnt affected by summoning sickness) and hit the opponent for 5.
Or you could just enchant your artifact land and kill his planeswalker. Pure porno is enchanting a Darksteel Citadel (but DC is pretty shit as is.. in the perfect deck it is just awsome).
Enchanting Arcbound Ravager makes it a 5/5 with X +1/+1-counters on it.. it gets effing huge.

I will have sooooo much tweaking to do when I get some alone time!

Suicide

Sui is pretty much my favorite deck of all time.
With the printing of Master of the Feast I would run it and Null Rod + Chalice of the Void. A deck without those cards would run at least 12 discard spells.
Gathan Raiders and Porcelain Legionnaire are also great creatures that can fit in. With PL Id up the number of Phyrlactery Lich (and get the black artifact lands).. but I like Master of the Feast too much!

1 Demonic Consultation
1 Kaervek's Spite
1 Necropotence
4 Null Rod
4 Chalice of the Void

2 Phylactery Lich
4 Master of the Feast
4 Priest of Gix
4 Treacherous Pit-Dweller
4 Flesh Reaver
4 Dark Confidant

1 Lotus Petal
4 Dark Ritual
22 Swamp


Kaervek's Spite is an instant and can be cast with a creature on the stack. Apart from that blowout its also pretty decent with Necro and is a sudden punch to the face for an unsuspecting opponent.

Ub Teachings

This deck is probably not that good against dredge and would have a hard time with the first game against stax. Im thinking SB would make the stax MU better. Surgical Extraction vs dredge would be just awsome in this deck after SB.
Apart from those decks I think this deck is a 50/50. You should be able to outplay most opponents. And trade creatures as often as possible to then land a Jace and win.

2 Vendilion Clique
4 Spellstutter Sprite
3 Snapcaster Mage
1 Venser, Shaper Savant
2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor

4 Force of Will
2 Spell Pierce
2 Flusterstorm
2 Mental Misstep
1 Mindbreak Trap
1 Dimir Charm
1 Steel Sabotage
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Visions of Beyond
1 Gush
1 Brainstorm
1 Whispers of the Muse
3 Opt
2 Repeal
3 Mystical Teachings

1 Sol Ring
4 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
7 Island
1 Misty Rainforest
1 Bloodstained Mire
4 Polluted Delta
2 Underground Sea
1 Swamp

I guess Underground Sea can be cut (save the swamp & fetches) as well as Dimir Charm. Add Back to Basics.
One Mana Drain (or two) would greatly improve the speed of the deck.
Theres just one Gush because you do not want to get behind in the land-race seeing as teachings has a flashback that costs loads.