Vintage: The Unfoiling

So, if you follow along with me on Twitter (all ~20 of you!) then you probably already noticed... But I decided, after much deep thought, to go ahead and move away from foils in my constructed decks.  I'm going to use the extra influx of cash to upgrade to pretty things with black borders.  For now that means FBB duals, and Beta everything else.

Here's where I started:

(The only card I'll really miss, and might possibly hang onto regardless, are my old frame promo Bobs.  I just don't know if I can make myself part with them.)

Although I am going to build something that isn't Bob/Jace control; as I need a change.  I have a few slightly off-kilter brews that might fit the bill.

Vintage is awesome because you can play whatever you want.

All the Windfalls. For value. (Yes! Trendy terminology!)

So, it's been a while since I bothered writing to my legion of followers. (e.g. Maybe my cat? Who can't read.)

I love weird, convoluted, and generally do nothing EDH decks with bizarre combos and synergies.  Things that are either tiny and incremental in value; or take forever to set up.  You might say that basically means I'm doing the format wrong.  But I'm cool with that.  And sometimes I even get to have my moments.

UB is where my heart is.  But I've never really had a Legend in those colors I was truly happy with.  Yeah, there are competitive choices for combo/control... But I like to stay away from the "gimmes".  And then the others are just terribad.  Lazav, Dimir Mastermind, however... Is just where I like it.

Doesn't enable anything on his own, but he synergizes with dumb mill cards, and let's me use my opponents stuff in fun ways.  Now, he just needs to get a visual upgrade with my favorite trappings.  Some rk post art, and an old card frame.

There, that's better.  Now I just need to find the local guy that can print things on foil card-stock.

Drawing cards, and dumping cards in graveyards (#ForValue) are a couple of my favorite things to do.  This deck was already doing that for various reasons.  But with just a few new additions from Gatecrash as incentive, I think I'll be making it the central theme.

Lazav, Dimir Mastermind

1 Dimir Signet
1 Dimir Machinations
1 Dimir Doppelganger
1 Call to Mind
1 Relearn
1 Windfall
1 Damnation
1 Evacuation
1 Cyclonic Rift
1 Sol Ring
1 Talisman of Dominance
1 Cavern of Souls
1 Jace's Archivist
1 Mindcrank
1 Muddle the Mixture
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Jace, Memory Adept
1 Liliana Vess
1 Academy Ruins
1 Volrath's Stronghold
1 Phyrexian Metamorph
1 Geth, Lord of the Vault
1 Decree of Pain
1 Underground River
1 Underground Sea
1 Watery Grave
1 Polluted Delta
1 Dimir Aqueduct
1 Creeping Tar Pit
1 Wasteland
1 Strip Mine
1 Dust Bowl
5 Island
5 Swamp
1 Sorin Markov
1 Leyline of Anticipation
1 Oblivion Stone
1 Wheel and Deal
1 Riddlekeeper
1 Traumatize
1 Psychic Spiral
1 Undead Alchemist
1 Bloodchief Ascension
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Nephalia Drownyard
1 Trinket Mage
1 Darksteel Plate
1 Ring of Xathrid
1 Lightning Greaves
1 Swiftfoot Boots
1 Sunken Ruins
1 Relic of Progenitus
1 Reliquary Tower
1 Memory Erosion
1 Nemesis of Reason
1 Tezzeret the Seeker
1 Shred Memory
1 Life's Finale
1 Duskmantle Guildmage
1 Increasing Ambition
1 Sepulchral Primordial
1 Diluvian Primordial
1 Chancellor of the Spires
1 Whispering Madness
1 Stolen Identity
1 Whispersilk Cloak
1 Mind Grind
1 Consuming Aberration
1 Phyrexian Arena
1 Dauthi Embrace
1 Deadeye Navigator
1 Plague Wind
1 Sanguine Bond
1 Subversion
1 Polluted Bonds
1 Exquisite Blood
1 Mana Crypt
1 Darkwater Catacombs
1 Darkslick Shores
1 Dimir Guildgate
1 Drowned Catacomb
1 River of Tears
1 Tainted Isle
1 Jwar Isle Refuge
1 Tolaria West
1 Venser's Journal
1 Crystal Shard
1 Erratic Portal
1 Bojuka Bog
1 Animate Dead
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Spine of Ish Sah
1 Yawgmoth's Will
1 Command Tower
1 Rhystic Study
1 Solemn Simulacrum
1 Evil Twin
1 Phyrexia's Core
1 Psychosis Crawler
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Vault of Whispers


That's about a dozen cards too many at the moment.  And there are some "staples" that are really obvious missing from the pile too.  But I'm at that point where I need to just play a few games, and see what I miss and what I make a sad face when drawing it.

Man, is this really how little motivation I have to write pointlessly about MTG right now?  Time for a break, then I'll come back to some of the actual interactions, I guess.

**Intermission time.**

Some Vintage in Grand Rapids

A little last minute announcement, we're having a small casual Vintage get-together this Friday night.

Proxies are fine of course, and anyone looking to try out the format for the first time and have some fun is absolutely more than welcome.

We're trying to grow a group locally that can get together on a regular basis; and hopefully take it from there.

Feel free to e-mail or message me if you have any questions, and I'll get back to you ASAP.


This Friday night at ~6pm, we'll be meeting up at Grand Lan Gaming Center in downtown Grand Rapids.

http://www.grandlan.info/directions

56 N. Division Ave, Grand Rapids, MI

Standard Brewery

Not typically my format of choice, but RtR really seems like it has potential.  And anything that draws and filters lots of cards in interesting ways... Especially in BUG colors, is gonna make me curious at least.

This seems like a real deck, mostly hinging on the amount of GY hate people decide they want to play.  And most of the SB is constructed with the idea that I can at least do something about the likely cards of choice if they do.


2 Jarad, Golgari Lich Lord
4 Gravecrawler
4 Arbor Elf
4 Lotleth Troll
4 Splinterfright
3 Dreg Mangler
3 Ghoultree

2 Rancor

4 Grisly Salvage
3 Mulch
3 Tracker's Instincts
2 Gnaw to the Bone

4 Overgrown Tomb
4 Woodland Cemetery
4 Hinterland Harbor
6 Forest
4 Swamp

SB: 3 Golgari Charm
SB: 2 Memory's Journey
SB: 4 Duress
SB: 3 Pithing Needle
SB: 3 Naturalize / Abrupt Decay

It really feels like actual fun (as opposed to the normal boring turn dudes sideways "fun" of current design philosophy) swinging with a team of fatties, then pulling Jarad from the yard, casting him, casting a Ghoultree for 1 or 2 mana, and then sacrificing it to drain them for 10.

Rancor is a sweet bonus when it happens, and giving a Ghoultree trample makes it a lot harder to stop.  But a lot of the time they just end up as misses on my filter spells.  They might be just as good getting replaced by Ghoultree and Dreg Mangler #4.

I think I'd probably like a couple Vraska in the SB for another angle of attack if the anti-GY stuff sees heavy play.  Since this is all still just online testing so far, it's too soon to say for sure.

Desktop Wallpapers

In case you didn't notice, I like messing around with MTG artwork.  Here are a few stylized wallpapers (in 1440x900 cause that's what I'm on) that I was playing around with recently.  If anyone out there has any special requests, and happens to have stumbled upon my dark corner of the interweb, I'd be happy to accommodate.

RJMcanBLOG?

Well, most likely at no one in particular.  But that doesn't mean I can't have fun doing it.

I'm a  long time Magic player and gamer, primarily invested in eternal formats where MTG is concerned.  I'm also an artist and miniature painter by trade.  Those interest sometimes overlap with my Magic hobby.

I don't get to make it to many official big events these days, although I'm working on changing little by little.  I do play a LOT online, as competitive as I can find.  And I would consider myself competent to above average.  My major weakness likely that I always try and jam at least 1 or 2 pet cards into a deck, even if I know better for the current meta.  What can I say, I'm a sentimental guy!

What I envision the general purpose or mission statement of sorts here to be:

-Share my thoughts on deck building and strategy.

Yeah, there are a million and one other people that already do this, and that you likely have more reason to listen to than me.  But I'm a bit of an obsessive brewer and tinkerer, so who knows, you could be inspired by accident or something.

-Collecting: pimpness, rarities, altered art, etc.

This part of Magic, the collectible aspect ...is very much an addiction for me.  I love ultra rare cards, super expensive foils, and clever altered art cards.  I've even started carrying over some of my own miniature painting into trying my hand at some simple stuff.  I imagine that will get filtered through here at some point.  Everyone likes pretty pictures, right?

-Get some networking going for Eternal formats in the Grand Rapids & West Michigan area!

Since moving back up here from Florida about a year ago, it's been seriously hard for me to connect with any of the guys I used to know that played Vintage & Legacy in the past.  Seems like most of them have moved away or disappeared.

Finding and organizing new players has been even more difficult.  Seems like Standard and EDH are the name of the game here in GRR, and that's about it.

Despite my stubborn evasion of internet social networking (I'm one of the weirdos still not on or into Facebook), I have conceded to start playing around with Twitter.  If by getting this blog out there catches the eye of just one or two local players that want to get some events organized...  I'll consider that a success.

Push me hard enough, and maybe I'll even end up on Facebook.  (Probably not.)

Anyway, I think that's probably enough rambling for ye olde generic introductory blog post.  Hit me up on here, and follow along if you feel like it.  Tell your friends, invite your cat too!  Whatever you're in to.  Follow me on Twitter, if you think I might not totally suck @RJMcanMTG.  Hell, follow me even if you think I do suck and tell me about it there.

-Ryan