Welcome to the fourth installment of the Serious Vintage Podcast, hosted by Nat Moes (@GrandpaBelcher on Twitter), Geoff Moes (@ThallidTosser on Twitter), and Josh Chapple (@joshchapple on Twitter). Thanks for joining us for our inevitable Belcher show. Team Serious members have played more Belcher than most other players, in both Vintage and Legacy, so we thought we’d give you a little insight into the deck in both formats, when and why it’s a good metagame choice, and some of the tactics that go into playing it. Then we’ll look at some of the food you might be
Podcast (seriousvintage): Download (Duration: 51:22 — 94.2MB)
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Here’s the timestamped table of contents for your listening ease and enjoyment:
00:26 – Belcher – A History
09:02 – A Legacy of Belching
27:45 – Belching in Vintage
45:52 – Eating Chicago; Seriously
Total runtime: 51:22
Charbelching
Nat’s rules for Belching, which Josh references early in the podcast, are as follows. They’re part of a more extensive primer and history of the deck that Nat wrote in 2009, which is available on The Mana Drain here.
1. Mulligan like you mean it
2. Take your time to do things right
3. Have no fear
4. You will draw mana
5. Forget failure
6. Don’t give in
7. Stay fast in sideboard matches
We’ll also reference a few Belcher lists during the podcast.
15-Island Belcher, By Geoff Moes
| Artifacts (15) 4 Chrome Mox 4 Goblin Charbelcher 3 Lion’s Eye Diamond 4 Lotus Petal Creatures (16) 4 Elvish Spirit Guide 4 Simian Spirit Guide 4 Street Wraith 4 Tinder Wall Instants (12) 4 Desperate Ritual 4 Manamorphose 4 Pyretic Ritual Sorceries (16) 4 Empty the Warrens 4 Gitaxian Probe 4 Land Grant 4 Rite of Flame | Lands (1) 1 Taiga Sideboard (15) 15 Island |
You can read Geoff’s SCG Columbus Legacy Open Top 8 tournament report here on Eternal Central. Any extra detail on that list would be covered there, including the meaning behind the 15-Island sideboard.
To contrast with Geoff’s cantrip-based list, here is the more traditional Burning Wish list played by Brian Guess at SCG New Orleans Legacy Open.
Legacy Burning Wish Belcher, by Brian Guess
| Artifacts (16) 4 Chrome Mox 4 Goblin Charbelcher 4 Lion’s Eye Diamond 4 Lotus Petal Creatures (12) 4 Elvish Spirit Guide 4 Simian Spirit Guide 4 Tinder Wall Instants (12) 4 Desperate Ritual 4 Pyretic Ritual 4 Seething Song Sorceries (19) 4 Burning Wish 3 Empty the Warrens 4 Gitaxian Probe 4 Land Grant 4 Rite of Flame | Lands (1) 1 Taiga Sideboard (15) 4 Xantid Swarm 4 Pyroblast 1 Empty the Warrens 1 Goblin War Strike 1 Hull Breach 1 Infernal Tutor 1 Pyroclasm 1 Reverent Silence 1 Shattering Spree |
One thing we had meant to bring up during the podcast was a comment on Brian’s sideboard, and many of the sideboards from Burning Wish lists: the lack of Trash for Treasure. As a one-shot Welder activation, Trash for Treasure off of Burning Wish can be a huge boon if your early Belcher gets countered. It works well with Lion’s Eye Diamond and you have a decent number of artifacts to sacrifice. When I’ve played Burning Wish in Legacy lists in the past, Trash for Treasure is always a one-of in my board.
Lastly, the Vintage Burning Wish list played by Randal Witherell at the Team Serious Open in Columbus on October 21.
Vintage Burning Wish Belcher, by Randal Witherell
| Business (25) 4 Goblin Charbelcher 1 Memory Jar 4 Gitaxian Probe 1 Vampiric Tutor 1 Demonic Tutor 4 Burning Wish 4 Street Wraith 3 Goblin Welder 1 Necropotence 1 Yawgmoth’s Bargain 1 Wheel of Fortune Mana Sources (35) 1 Mox Emerald 1 Mox Jet 1 Mox Pearl 1 Mox Ruby 1 Mox Sapphire 2 Chrome Mox 1 Black Lotus 1 Mana Crypt 1 Mana Vault 1 Sol Ring 1 Lion’s Eye Diamond 1 Lotus Petal 4 Dark Ritual 4 Rite of Flame 4 Land Grant 1 Taiga 1 Bayou 4 Simian Spirit Guide 4 Manamorphose | Sideboard (15) 2 Tendrils of Agony 2 Empty the Warrens 1 Yawgmoth’s Will 3 Smelt 2 Pithing Needle 2 Tormod’s Crypt 3 Vexing Shusher |
Ultimately, Randal doesn’t use Burning Wish to get more than Tendrils, Empty the Warrens, or Yawgmoth’s Will, but the deck was a good choice to beat a field of Workshops and non-blue aggro control. Normally, we wouldn’t recommend Belcher in a sea of blue where you’ll drown in Force of Will, Mental Misstep, Flusterstorm, and Mindbreak Trap, but it sure looked good in Columbus.
Serious Eats Chicago
As for our food and drink report for the upcoming Modern GP in Chicago, here are the relevant links:
Crisp Korean fried chicken
Nhu Lan bahn mi sandwiches
Giordano’s Chicago stuffed pizza
Thanks for listening, and good luck in Chicago if you’re going!