Serious Vintage

Serious Vintage Episode 12 highlights a special event in the Vintage Magic the Gathering realm: the TwaunSerious Invitational. Unfortunately Twaun himself (@Twaun007 on Twitter) couldn’t join us because his apartment is from the 1850s and doesn’t include Internet (does include diphtheria!), but we did get de facto second-in-command Jerry Yang (@yangtrolls) to help us talk about the event and the mighty rivers of scotch that flowed there. Also, Geoff (@ThallidTosser) got interviews with each player of the TwaunSerious event, so enjoy listening to those.

Twaun’s Inaugural Address:

Yes, the TwaunSerious Invitational (TSI) was a ton of fun for everyone involved. We ate, we drank, we joked around, and we played several fun hours of the queen of MtG formats, Vintage. Twaun gave out more than he took in on prizes, thanks mostly to his generosity. (He did purchase much of the prize support years ago at a lower cost, but that doesn’t make it worth any less now.) There are plans in the works now for TSI:II, and we’re already looking forward to making the second installment even more serious.

It’s important to have events like these, where it’s possible and when the time is right. Especially with the loss or movement of the Vintage Championships from GenCon this year (which we knew about when we recorded but deliberately avoided as the dust settles), Vintage needs marquee events. Playing at the TSI brought several players out of retirement, as well as enfranchising some new ones in the Vintage community. It’s important to build this sense of community, since that’s what keeps many people in the format. After all, there are better prizes and more players elsewhere, so what else does Vintage have?

We touched on some strategies for hosting similar events and for making Vintage an experience, more than just a Magic tournament, moving beyond the $20-entry-for-cash-prize events that are common.

The TSI was created by Twaun, but there was a lot of encouragement and support from the rest of Team Serious as well. In the future, we would look to spread some of the burden around, pooling money for prizes, food, and beverages and so forth. Also in the future, I think we can look forward to hosting more players. This first event was capped at 24, which would have made Twaun’s apartment cramped, but that doesn’t mean we won’t expand.

Other events are starting to pop up (especially in light of the Vintage Champs situation) that could have a similar feel, and we look forward to encouraging, watching, and playing in those. If you aren’t aware of Nick Detwiler’s NYSE Open Power 8 tournament, for example, definitely check that out.

After the tournament, everyone adjourned to Bar Cento in Ohio City for dinner. The original plan was to visit Market Garden Brewery, but it was packed—a good sign for the quality of the restaurant, but not for getting 13 hungry gamers seated in a timely fashion. Bar Cento served the pizzas and the drinks for the rest of the evening. The duck prosciutto and sunny-side-up pizza were especially well received.

As for drinks during the event, the Glenlivet 15 and the Ransom Old Tom Gin were very well received. Cardhu, Glenmorangie, and Johnnie Walker also provided courage for many a Vintage player.

Geoff recorded interviews with each player during the event when he was able to catch them between rounds. As such, the interviews provide individual slices of the TwaunSerious Invitational as it was experienced. Some of the audio isn’t great, since recordings were made in the echoing stairwell, but everything should be listenable. They are ordered by finish, from last to first.

These results and the ensuing commentary are also available on The Mana Drain, but the top eight played out as such:

Mike Solmossy (Burning Long) vs. Jacob Hilty (Garbage Aggro) – Solymossy wins

Solymossy vs. Krohlow – Solymossy wins

Solymossy vs. McCarthy – Solymossy takes it

So that’s it for this week. Follow up with us on Twitter or at [email protected] if you need more food and drink recommendations, or to let us know that our taste in whisky is terrible or to laugh at us for doing poorly at a serious Vintage event. We’ll look forward to hearing from you. Thanks!

The top four: Jimmy McCarthy, a very drunk Sam Krohlow, Mike Solymossy, and Charles Rolko.

The mood lighting in Twaun’s underground bunker makes Vintage look super classy.

Twaun provided his guests with this delicious spread of meats and cheeses after round three.

Players brought beverages to share, and Twaun graciously provided prize support.

Episode 11 of #SeriousVintage puts together our normal crew of myself (@GrandpaBelcher at Twitter), Geoff Moes (@ThallidTosser), and Josh Chapple (@joshchapple), with two people helping build a Vintage scene in Las Vegas, Joe McKellar (@JoeyMac399) and Heather Meek (@Revisedangel). We talk about this process as well as hitting on the You Make the Card results, some previews from Dragon’s Maze, and the all-important food and drink reviews from Las Vegas, in preparation for the Modern Masters Grand Prix in June.

At the time of recording, You Make the Card voters had chosen to make a black enchantment, and within a few hours we learned they would be making a global enchantment, rather than an aura. This seems fine. Some of Vintage’s favorite enchantments are black global enchantments: Necropotence, Yawgmoth’s Bargain, Leyline of the Void, even some lesser-used hosers like Planar Void and Engineered Plague. Whether the YMTC card is good enough for Vintage still depends on its being printed with a unique effect or a powerful effect for a reasonable (i.e. cheap) casting cost.

I don’t really think there’s a conspiracy going on for the #YMTC voting…but there could be.

The final chapter in the Return to Ravnica, Dragon’s Maze, has presented some interesting possibilities for Vintage. I’m not sure anything is a certainty, yet. The two cards with the most Vintage buzz at this point are Ral Zarek, which we got to talk about, and Notion Thief, which wasn’t yet spoiled. Here, we talk about Wear//Tear, Beck//Call (or just Beck), Render Silent, Blood Scrivener, and planeswalker Ral Zarek. These cards, as well as others, will take some building and testing to see whether they make it to the big leagues or remain benchwarmers.

Building a new Vintage scene is, as probably many of you have experienced at one time or another, difficult. Vintage has a negative reputation at times—too fast, too expensive, too swingy, elitist, too small (which, of course, is self-fulfilling)—so there are some Magic players who are prejudiced against giving the format a try.

However, as we discuss with Joe and Heather, there are many players who are prime candidates to play Vintage. Legacy players already have many of the more expensive necessities like dual lands, Force of Wills, and Tarmogoyves; Commander players may enjoy the highlander aspect of the decks as well as own some of the powerful restricted cards; and some players, as they get older, might enjoy the more laid-back nature of a format that doesn’t have major shifts like some of the younger formats do. Even pimp cards and classic arts can be a way to get people into Vintage.

It’s been interesting observing the development of a Vintage community from outside, as I have done watching Joe and Heather build a scene in Las Vegas. We’re doing something similar in Columbus now and did something similar a few years ago when I moved to D.C. It can be done. You’ll have to listen to the podcast to glean many of their strategies for making Vintage alluring and accessible, but here are a few:

1. Make proxies attractive and easy. It would be nice to have an environment where everyone owns the cards, but most new players inevitably don’t. Don’t exclude them because of it.

I also mentioned that this discussion would give me an opportunity to post one of my favorite images, comparing the size of Europe, where Vintage is more widespread, to the size of Texas, which has little Vintage because people and places are so spread out.

The U.S. Northeast has a great scene because Boston, Philadelphia, and New York City are a few hours for each other and are part of a huge, interconnected megalopolis between Maine and Washington, D.C. Outside of that, population centers in the U.S. are fewer and farther between. Europe has reasonable rail travel; in the U.S., players are limited to car or plane, which isn’t worth it for smaller tournaments.

It’s a question of population density: Europe has more people per square mile, so they have more Magic players per square mile, so they have more Vintage players per square mile. U.S. Vintage scenes are generally going to struggle to round up players.

There is a lot of excitement surrounding the Modern Masters Grand Prix, scheduled for June 22 and 23 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Modern Masters format sounds like a lot of fun, especially if the marquee cards work together for a powerful format. For Serious Vintage players, though, this event will be all about the food.

Heather previously wrote a sweet guide to Las Vegas, which you can read, but we thought we’d get some additional tips as well.

• Insert Coins – A video game bar not too far from the Cashman Center where the GP is being held.

For listeners and readers in the Ohio area, there are Vintage tournaments coming up where you can hang out and game with the Serious Vintage crew. Who knows? If you’re there, maybe you’ll even end up on the show!

Team Serious Open May 26 (Memorial Day Sunday) – Columbus (Ohio, USA)

In Episode 10 of our #SeriousVintage Magic the Gathering podcast we welcome Josh Chapple (@joshchapple on Twitter) back from his Internet-free hiatus, when he convinced Wizards of the Coast to sponsor a new You Make the Card event. Then he, Geoff Moes (@ThallidTosser), and I (@GrandpaBelcher) discuss the prospects of playing white in Vintage. Finally, we get right back to the gin.

You Make the Card events have been fun, community-oriented opportunities for Magic the Gathering players at large to have an influence in the design of a card. From a Vintage perspective, the three previous cards—Forgotten Ancient, Crucible of Worlds, and Vanish into Memory in 2002, 2003, and 2005, respectively—were a mixed bag for Vintage. Crucible of Worlds has found a longtime home in Stax and MUD decks at the intersection of Workshop playability and Wasteland recursion. Forgotten Ancient and Vanish into Memory have largely lived up to their names and are unplayable.

When we recorded this episode, the initial card type had not yet been chosen, so things were wide open. Now, knowing that the voters have chosen to make an enchantment, most of what we said still stands.

The Vintage community is very small and specialized compared to those of other formats. For a card to make a splash in Vintage it will need to be powerful enough to compete with the printings of 20 previous years and have a unique and useful ability. Of course there are also questions of cost effectiveness and how easily (and worthwhile) it would be to cheat into play. I’m sure Oath of Druids would be less popular if it cost four, unless it was black, maybe, and could be accelerated out by Dark Ritual and friends. That sort of thing.

So we’re looking for something cheap or something worth putting into play with Academy Rector or Show and Tell. If it somehow gets the Leyline ability, that should work too. There’s plenty of opportunity for a game changer or new archetype to come out of this; however, because the number of people voting for Vintage interests is so small and because Wizards will undoubtedly rein in the power level somewhat, I think we’re more likely to see something playable in Commander and Type 4. Prove me wrong!

White has become an attractive option in Vintage, especially as a support color, since it recently has some very powerful Vintage-level hosers. Rest in Peace and Stony Silence have recently (within the past two years) joined cards like Swords to Plowshares, Serenity, and Disenchant as powerful answers to Dredge, Time Vault, Tinker and Tarmogoyf, Workshops, and Oath. Other white playables include Balance, Aven Mindcensor, Auriok Salvagers, Enlightened Tutor, Thalia, Leonin Relic Warder, and True Believer. And, white also has a respectable finisher in Stoneforge Mystic and her buddy Batterskull.

So there are lots of ways to use white, but we’re going to look mostly at some blue-white lists for now. Add or subtract colors as you enjoy them.

Bomberman is probably the best known UWx list. Usually it plays as a control or aggro-control list, using Trinket Mages to find critical lock pieces and attack, backed up by counterspells. However, it can also go straight into combo mode and recur Black Lotus with Auriok Salvagers to make infinite mana, clear the board with Engineered Explosives, draw the deck with Aether Spellbomb, and establish a dominant position from there, usually just Time Walking and attacking for the win.

David Beall recently made top four of an Ohio Vintage tournament with this list, adding Mystic Remoras to Bomberman to stay ahead of combo decks.

Sam Krohlow (@sillysam71) recently made Top 8 of an Ohio Vintage tournament with this list:

For players coming out of Legacy and Standard, a Stoneblade deck might be a familiar sight. Being able to control the board with Stoneforge Mystic, counterspells, and removal is a powerful option, and having access to a Vintage manabase of Moxes makes it easy to play your backbreaking Kor artificer on turn one.

Eric Butler (@ButlersTweets) took fifth at that same Ohio tournament with the following Stoneblade list. You’ll see he also played main deck Rest in Peace and Helm of Obedience, Time Vault and Voltaic Key, and an Enlightened Tutor to find any of his missing pieces (or potentially devastate a Dredge player game one).

Finally, a deck I’ve been working on with good results known as Vintage Restored. This list tries to maximize Snapcaster Mage and Vendilion Clique by playing Restoration Angels. Even as just a 3/4 flyer with flash, Resto has been a formidable force, blocking Delvers and opposing Cliques, trading with Lodestones, and dodging Lightning Bolts. Getting an extra use out of Snapcaster to recur Ancestral Recall or Time Walk is just gross. The deck can hold most of its cards until end of turn to maintain control at instant speed.

I was too ill to play at the aforementioned Ohio tournament, but you can be sure I would have done well with this list.

We also talked a little about being able to run a bunch of basic lands in these UW lists. You can see most of them have plenty (at least three), which can be critically important when facing down Wastelands from Workshops or Fish.

Since Josh returned, we once again have a gin aficionado on the crew, and he highly recommends Ransom Old Tom Gin. Rather than a clear, pine-scented gin like Tanqueray, Old Tom is golden-colored and has a malted flavor alongside the usual gin botanicals. It sounds like an intriguing change, and the historical recreation angle is something you can use to impress people. (Or just bask in your own superiority as you fall asleep alone.)

Trattoria Roma was some Serious Eating for my wife and me. We went there as part of Dine Originals Week in Columbus, which is a regular event that encourages Columbus residents to try some of the local independent restaurants with discounts or special offers. Trattoria Roma is a classy bistro in the Grandview area, so it would be great for a date, though maybe not for a post-tournament meal. The food was delicious, though, and I talk about it in great detail.

So that’s it for this week. Follow up with us on Twitter or at [email protected] if you need more food and drink recommendations or to tell us your favorite basic land or to tell us you’ll never play white ever because it’s the color of weakness. Thanks!

Episode 9 of #SeriousVintage, Vintage newcomer Eric Butler (@ButlersTweets) joins us to talk about some recent tournaments in Ohio and the “Ohio-style” decks that get played in them. Geoff (@ThallidTosser) and I (@GrandpaBelcher) also find out what it’s like coming from Standard and Modern into Vintage: the pros and cons of the format and what Vintage tournament organizers and aficionados can do to attract new players. Then we talk tournament snacks, including oatmeal creme pies and nut bars.

Ohio-style, adj. describing decks that are pretty much only playable in Ohio, a magical land of Workshops, revamped second-tier strategies, and experimental decklists.

Ex. My Zur’s Weirding-Words of Worship combo deck was definitely Ohio-style, but I managed to get paired against non-blue aggro all day and made top eight. I made $20!

Vintage tournament attendance is recently the rise in the Buckeye State as the holidays have wound down. And since our player recruitment efforts are increasing, we’re looking forward to some good events this spring and summer. Playing in Ohio requires players to take this into account; there is a metagame, but it’s unlike the rock-paper-scissors balance that exists in New England and Europe.

The February 9 tournament in Sandusky, Ohio, for example had a top eight that consisted of the following: Forgemaster Aggro, Enchantress (really!), Espresso Stax, RUG Delver, Doomsday, Forgemaster Combo, Stoneforge Control, and Elves! Of those, there are probably four decks that would be found in another area’s top eight, but there’s a ton of novel ideas that merit consideration. We talk about some of the technology and our experiences in the podcast, and the lists and results are here.

A few weeks later, Eric and I played in a local Vintage eight-man tournament where Standard superstar Restoration Angel and the new Rogue Hermit list made the finals. Again, a little Ohio-style but, again, results worth looking at.

Growing the player base seems to be of foremost concern in Vintage, and since Eric is a relatively new addition to the Ohio Vintage scene, we thought it might be interesting to get his perspective on the format. Vintage has several things that make it attractive: spell-based interaction on the stack, decks like those based on Mishra’s Workshop and Gush that aren’t found elsewhere, and access to the largest card pool in Magic. However, as Eric points out, the Vintage player base is also generally older than that in other formats, so it’s generally more mature. Vintage players are still competitive but are often a bit more relaxed and realistic about the stakes.

Of course, Eric also pointed out that Vintage has a (somewhat rightly earned) reputation for being more swingy than other formats. Players who make broken early plays fueled by Ancestral Recall and Black Lotus can end up with an insurmountable lead, and even though that can happen from either side of the table – especially in a proxy environment – some players aren’t quite as excited by the insanity.

Speaking of proxies, they’re probably still a necessity to attract new players. Some players do enjoy playing a hate-deck strategy against Powered decks, but that’s not what Vintage is about. Attracting new players will often mean letting them experience the power of the format as well.

Everyone has their favorite snacks while gaming. Apparently Eric has an obsession for Little Debbie Oatmeal Creme Pies, Geoff likes Nature Valley Sweet and Salty Nut Bars, and I like Planters Big Nut Bars. This section is rife with innuendo.

Really though there are plenty of options for staying fed and watered at a tournament, and we talk about all of them. We even talk about the prospect of supplying Vintage tournaments with fresh baked goods. Who knows how to attract new Vintage players? We do!

Let us know your thoughts on Ohio-style strategies, how to grow the Vintage player base, and your favorite in-tourney snacks at our new email address, [email protected], or on Twitter: @ThallidTosser and @GrandpaBelcher.

Speaking of Ohio-style, and lest we forget, here’s that Diet Pepsi “Brown and Bubbly” commercial. #NeverForget

For listeners and readers in the Ohio area, there are Vintage tournaments coming up where you can hang out and game with the Serious Vintage crew. Who knows? If you’re there, maybe you’ll even end up on the show!

Team Serious Open March 24 (Sunday) – Columbus (Ohio, USA)

In Episode 8 of the #SeriousVintage podcast we invite Jake Hilty (@TuringTested) to join us and talk a little about non-blue aggro-control in Vintage. Jake is an aggro aficionado, and recently wrote an article for Mana Deprived on the transfer of Jund to Legacy, along with the banning of Bloodbraid Elf in Modern. Geoff Moes (@ThallidTosser) and I (@GrandpaBelcher) will be tossing out questions about non-blue dudesweats. We’ll also talk about the January Banned and Restricted List update, the upcoming Team Serious Open, and cocktails!

The January Banned and Restricted List update came and went, and, as is the course with Vintage recently, nothing happened. No cards on; no cards off.

All in all this is a positive sign for Vintage. Wizards of the Coast is unperturbed by the current state of the format and saw no reason to restrict or unrestrict anything. We tend to agree with that; Vintage is healthy. Many decks are viable currently: Workshops and blue decks are well balanced; Dredge is a beatable threat; Landstill is playable as a pure control deck; RUG Delver and several aggro-control lists represent; and Burning Oath Long has brought combo back into the light. No matter what kind of decks you enjoy playing, the Vintage world is your oyster.

We also talked a little about the frequent calls for restriction of Workshop staples, usually Lodestone Golem or Chalice of the Void. These two cards together limit the options of opposing decks, increasing the cost of non-artifacts, locking out artifact mana that would help pay for other spells, and putting opponents on a four-turn clock. The best ways out of this are Force of Will or one-drop removal for Lodestone such as Lightning Bolt and Swords to Plowshares, assuming, of course, that MUD doesn’t bury you under more lock pieces. It’s a frightening prospect, no doubt.

However, this really just seems to put Workshops on the same level as blue decks. Perhaps, rather than clamoring for restriction, blue decks should start having multiple maindeck anti-artifact cards rather than the one-of tutorable answer. It’s long been accepted practice to play multiple maindeck anti-blue cards, and recent additions like Flusterstorm and Mental Misstep are no help against Workshops. Vintage has a large cardpool, so there are multiple ways to deal with imminent threats, even on turn one and before.

Also, for anyone arguing for a return to the zero-proxy standard, realize that restricting Chalice of the Void also removes that from the arsenals of non-Workshop decks. If you’re looking forward to budget aggro-control decks being played in a Sanctioned Vintage metagame, it’s almost imperative that those decks have access to Chalice to level the playing field against powered blue and Workshops.

Jake, known as “garbageaggro” on Internet forums, has a penchant for putting together decks that ignore Vintage’s favorite color. His strategies are well thought out and have earned him several top-eight spots in the Ohio Vintage circuit, most recently on December 1, 2012, using this list:

The references we make in the podcast are to this list, though Jake does talk a little about what all the colors have to offer and what some of the better cards in each color are.

Like most metagamed aggro-control lists, this one plans on shutting down its opponents’ routes to victory with targeted hate cards: Swords, Bolts, and Legionnaires against creatures; Pridemage, Torch Fiend, Welder, and Mox Monkey against artifacts; and Needle, Revoker, and Cage against blue’s Mind Sculptors, Time Vaults, and Yawgmoth’s Wills. The deck limits the unfair options available to other Vintage decks, buying enough time for its 21 creatures (including Spirit Guides) to finish things off.

Vintage Magic: the Gathering often calls for Vintage beverages as well. Here are three Vintage cocktails to get you started.

Tom Collins

Place ample ice in tall Collins or high-ball glass. Add gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup. Top with soda water and stir well. Serve with lemon slice, cherry and a straw.

(Whiskey) Old Fashioned

Gently muddle sugar, lemon peel, and bitters in an old fashioned/rocks glass. Add whiskey and ice; top with seltzer. Stir gently and serve with the spoon. Alternatively, you can use simple syrup in the place of sugar and water.

Dark and Stormy

Add the ingredients in order to a Collins or high-ball glass, give it a stir, and enjoy.

If you have other favorite drinks, let us hear about them on Twitter or in the comments. It’s important.

For listeners and readers in the Ohio area, there are Vintage tournaments coming up where you can hang out and game with the Serious Vintage crew. We mentioned the February 9 event in Sandusky and what we expect to appear there in this episode. Who knows? If you’re there, maybe you’ll even end up on the show!