Welcome to the third installment of the Serious Vintage Podcast, hosted by Nat Moes (@GrandpaBelcher on Twitter), Geoff Moes (@ThallidTosser on Twitter), and Josh Chapple (@joshchapple on Twitter). This was a special episode as we spent some time with Anthony Michaels @Twaun007 on Twitter), an expert on Mishra’s Workshop prison decks in the Vintage format. He’s also an expert on Sandwich Punch, the gentleman’s game that has swept through the Midwest Vintage scene, so we’ll look at that as well, along with sanctioned Vintage and casual Magic: the Gathering.

In the “Workshoppin’ with Twaun” section we talk about the cards that go into a typical Workshop prison deck like Stax or MUD. Twaun explains some of the auto-includes he uses in these decks and makes note of one auto-exclude, Trinisphere. Make sure you hear the story on that; it makes more sense than you might think.

The following cards are the basis for any Workshop deck, according to Twaun:

Business Spells

Mana Sources

These spells and mana sources give you the best of the best in terms of grinding away at your opponent’s board and ability to play spells. Other cards get added as the metagame dictates.

For example, the list Twaun played at the Team Serious Open in Columbus, Ohio, on October 21 (below) was built to beat the metagame we outlined in that section of the podcast.

Serum Powder helps find the Leylines that beat Dredge, Oath, and Burning Long; the Crucibles that beat opposing Shop decks; and the Mazes and Tabernacles that beat creatures. The lower numbers on Thorn of Amethyst and the inclusions of both Karn and Duplicant are also nods to the creature and Workshop-heavy metagame.

Unfortunately for Twaun, the metagame was different from what any of us predicted, to the point where Goblin Welder was the most played card in the top four and there was no Long combo. Twaun finished at 2-2, beating Dredge and UWB Wizards! and losing to Mono-Red Shops and Oath. Twaun says that Goblin Welder and Gorilla Shaman from the Mono-Red deck made an effective tag team against him and that even his Oath opponent, John Beste, acknowledged ripping his only outs in two hard-fought games.

Twaun is still playing Vintage and still chasing his former glory.

Lastly, for those of you interested in joining the growing ranks of Sandwich Punch players, the rules follow. Be warned that once you know the rules, you are automatically a player for life. If you do not wish to join, tread no further. You have been warned.

1. Once a person knows the main rules to sandwich punch they are a player for life. Never punch a person’s sandwich unless they are playing.

2. The game begins when one has first modified his or her sandwich.

3. Once said sandwich has been bitten, ripped or cut into, the sandwich is open for punching.

4. Once the sandwich is set down it must be covered with an object. Any object is welcome as long as it is an adamant object. Example: you can put a ketchup packet on the sandwich but you can’t just put ketchup on top of the sandwich. Sesame seeds don’t count; don’t be an idiot. Other examples of objects you can use: fries, forks, spoons, knives, salt or pepper packets, napkins, wrappers, A FREAKIN’ OBJECT OF ANY SORT!

5. In the event that a sandwich has been bitten, ripped, or cut into by its owner and set down without an object being placed upon it, that sandwich is legally punchable (Note: the sandwich owner must have his hands off the sandwich as well.).

6. Once punchable that sandwich is punchable until an object is placed upon it, or until it is picked up or touched by the sandwich owner.

7. The object used to cover the sandwich cannot be touched or manipulated by anyone at any time. Example: if someone bumps your table in an attempt to knock off the fry that’s covering your sandwich and the fry falls off, the sandwich cannot be punched because that person has manipulated the object. There is an exception to this rule however. Se Bylaws; Acts of God.

8. In the event that a sandwich is unjustly punched, the person that wrongly punched the sandwich must buy the victim a brand new sandwich.

9. Enjoy! Welcome to the sandwich punch game. You are a player for life, and we look forward to punching your sandwich soon!

Bylaws

Acts of God

The Complete Sandwich

Thanks to Twaun007 for joining us on this podcast, and good luck to you on your future Vintage and Sandwich Punch experiences. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with more Serious Vintage. In the meantime, you can follow us Twitter at the links above! Thanks again for listening and reading.