Serious Vintage Episode 14: Vintage BUG and Josh’s Vegas Wrapup,

Josh Chapple (@joshchapple on Twitter) makes his triumphant return from GP Vegas to regale us with tales of woe and whoa in Episode 14. Nat Moes (@GrandpaBelcher) goes over the results of the recent Team Serious Open in Sandusky, including the propagation of BUG decks with Deathrite Shaman and Abrupt Decay. And Geoff Moes (@ThallidTosser) keeps us all in line.

Here’s the timestamped table of contents for your listening ease and enjoyment:


0:00:30 – The Team Serious Open
0:06:42 – BUG Control
0:18:26 – Modern Masters
0:28:08 – Mr. Chapple Goes to Vegas
0:45:56 – Outro
Total time: 46:41

BUG Control at the Team Serious Open

The results from last month’s Team Serious Open, held in Sandusky (OH, USA) at the Hero Zone, are in and available here. It was a small tournament but represents the metagames we’ve been having recently in Ohio where nobody can seem to agree on what kind of metagame we should have. In Columbus in May, three combo decks made Top 8; in Sandusky, there is no combo. Okeydokey.

The two decklists we focus on for this episode are Kevin Cron and Jake Hilty’s BUG Control lists:

BUG Control, by Kevin Cron

Business (38)
Force of Will
Cabal Therapy
Mental Misstep
Spell Pierce
Mindbreak Trap
Snuff Out
Abrupt Decay
Surgical Extraction
Deathrite Shaman
Scavenging Ooze
Dark Confidant
Trygon Predator
Snapcaster Mage
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Ancestral Recall
Brainstorm
Demonic Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Demonic Consultation
Time Walk

Mana Sources (22)
Black Lotus
Mox Jet
Mox Emerald
Mox Sapphire
Lotus Petal
Polluted Delta
Verdant Catacombs
Underground Sea
Bayou
Tropical Island
Swamp
Strip Mine
Wasteland
Sideboard (15)
Leyline of the Void
Surgical Extraction
Steel Sabotage
Wasteland
Null Rod
Snuff Out
Flusterstorm

BUG Control, by Jacob Hilty

Business (39)
Force of Will
Mental Misstep
Spell Pierce
Steel Sabotage
Flusterstorm
Hurkyl’s Recall
Abrupt Decay
Snuff Out
Null Rod
Trygon Predator
Deathrite Shaman
Dark Confidant
Snapcaster Mage
Ancestral Recall
Time Walk
Vampiric Tutor
Demonic Tutor
Brainstorm

Mana Sources (20)
Black Lotus
Mox Emerald
Mox Jet
Mox Sapphire
Polluted Delta
Verdant Catacombs
Swamp
Island
Tropical Island
Underground Sea
Bayou
Strip Mine
Wasteland
Sideboard (15)
Dismember
Mindbreak Trap
Flusterstorm
Yixlid Jailer
Ravenous Trap
Wasteland
Island
Steel Sabotage
Trygon Predator
Vendilion Clique

We talk about many of the card choices in the podcast, touching especially on Deathrite Shaman, who has become a thorn in the side of many a Vintage player recently because he is a know-it-all little jerk who does just about everything well.

Also, one thing I noticed after typing up the lists is that Kevin’s list runs two more straight-up mana sources maindeck (22 versus Jake’s 20), though Jake has an additional Island in the sideboard alongside the extra Wasteland. It seems as though there are a lot of different ways to build this type of deck, aiming not only for a particular expected metagame but also for an individual’s playstyle.

At the Team Serious Open we also brought back the Vintage Achievements list, with an interesting prize pool that contained a pack of Modern Masters (the rare was Arcbound Ravager), an official Magic: the Gathering Encyclopedia (won by yours truly and returned to the pool after the tournament), a copy of Weatherlight Revealed, and a bottle of Dove bodywash for men.

We’ll continue doing these Vintage Achievements at future Ohio tournaments. If you’re interested in starting a similar program, let us know.

Modern Masters

We already talked a bit about Modern Masters when it was first announced and about Vegas when we previewed the GP, so you can hear more of our thoughts there. It will be interesting to see the longer-term effects of the set, not just with regards to card prices as players realize how many reprints were (or were not) added to the purchasing pool, but also now that Wizards has printed a reprint set that everyone seems to be able to get behind, really thrown their weight behind an eternal format, and officially held the largest collectible card game tournament ever.

Mr. Chapple Goes to Vegas

Finally, we close with Josh’s tales of being in, at, and around the Modern Masters GP, which is most importantly a tale of Las Vegas adventure. Hear the strange case of Dr. Chapple and Mr. Frank, or at least what decorum allows him to tell.

Some people had a really good time.

Upcoming Tournaments

Remember, if you have an event you want publicized, let us know. If we record with enough time before the event, we’ll try to give you a shout out. You can send tournament announcements to seriousvintagepodcast@gmail.com.

On that note, there’s an upcoming Ohio tournament in Columbus on July 27 at Comic Town. I highly recommend these tournaments as a great way to get into the format as a casual, though competitive environment. And don’t forget the Vintage Achievements! Details can be found here.

Thanks again for listening! If you have any questions or just want to chat, let us know in the comments, on the Twitter, or at seriousvintagepodcast@gmail.com.