Serious Vintage Episode 19: Tales from the Drinking Bracket

For episode 19, Geoff Moes (@ThallidTosser on Twitter), Nat Moes (@GrandpaBelcher), and Josh Chapple (@joshchapple) recount their exploits at and after the most recent Team Serious Open in Columbus Ohio. As a preview, our combined record was 6-9.


Here’s the timestamped table of contents for your listening ease and enjoyment:
00:26 – The March Team Serious Open
32:58 – Josh and Nat Eat Columbus
52:50 – Outro
Total runtime – 53:23

Answer Everything

The Sullivan Solution 2014, by Nat Moes

Business (38)
Force of Will
Stifle
Steel Sabotage
Thoughtseize
Surgical Extraction
Darkblast
Annul
Spell Snare
Shadow of Doubt
Diabolic Edict
Engineered Explosives
Pithing Needle
Tormod’s Crypt
Vampiric Tutor
Demonic Tutor
Sensei’s Divining Top
Brainstorm
Ancestral Recall
Time Walk
Erayo, Soratami Ascendant
Dark Confidant
Dimir Cutpurse
Snapcaster Mage

Mana Sources (22)
Black Lotus
Mox Emerald
Mox Jet
Mox Pearl
Mox Ruby
Mox Sapphire
Polluted Delta
Misty Rainforest
Underground Sea
Island
Swamp
Strip Mine
Wasteland
Sideboard (14)
Mindbreak Trap
Energy Flux
Diabolic Edict
Dismember
Yixlid Jailer
Ravenous Trap
Annul
Notion Thief

In the podcast, we said the Sullivan Solution deck was developed in 2008. It was actually developed in 2006, as outlined by Adrian Sullivan (in conjunction with I@n DeGraff) at StarCity Games. Even if you’re not interested in the deck, consider reading the article as a primer on how to attack a metagame. The deck is a lot of fun, but I don’t have much to add here that wasn’t in the podcast.

Meet the Staff

Forgemaster Staves, by Geoff Moes

Business (35)
Chalice of the Void
Thorn of Amethyst
Phyrexian Revoker
Lightning Greaves
Metalworker
Staff of Dominion
Lodestone Golem
Phyrexian Metamorph
Kuldotha Forgemaster
Memory Jar
Karn, Silver Golem
Duplicant
Triskelion
Wurmcoil Engine
Sundering Titan

Mana Sources (25)
Black Lotus
Mox Emerald
Mox Jet
Mox Pearl
Mox Ruby
Mox Sapphire
Mana Crypt
Sol Ring
Mana Vault
Tolarian Academy
Mishra’s Workshop
Ancient Tomb
City of Traitors
Buried Ruin
Sideboard (15)
Shimmer Myr
Wurmcoil Engine
Razormane Masticore
Ratchet Bomb
Witchbane Orb
Platinum Angel
Nihil Spellbomb
Tormod’s Crypt

Geoff took a page out of Nat’s playbook and tried out the Forgemaster Staves Workshop combo deck. It should be a solid list, but the list Geoff took hasn’t been updated in several months, including several key cards like Blightsteel Colossus. Still, I guess you can’t go too wrong once you own a playset of Mishra’s Workshops.

The Colorado Kid

Welder Control, by Josh Chapple

Business (35)
Force of Will
Mental Misstep
Thoughtseize
Mana Drain
Abrupt Decay
Tinker
Intuition
Gifts Ungiven
Bazaar of Baghdad
Sensei’s Divining Top
Brainstorm
Ancestral Recall
Time Walk
Thirst for Knowledge
Fact or Fiction
Jace, the Mind Sculptor
Demonic Tutor
Vampiric Tutor
Yawgmoth’s Will
Goblin Welder
Sundering Titan
Tezzeret, the Seeker
Time Vault
Voltaic Key

Mana Sources (25)
Black Lotus
Mox Emerald
Mox Jet
Mox Ruby
Mox Sapphire
Mana Crypt
Sol Ring
Mana Vault
Tolarian Academy
City of Brass
Polluted Delta
Flooded Strand
Misty Rainforest
Underground Sea
Volcanic Island
Tropical Island
Island
Sideboard (15)
Spell Pierce
Abrupt Decay
Ingot Chewer
Toxic Deluge
Yixlid Jailer
Nihil Spellbomb
Thoughtseize
Ancient Grudge

Josh Chapple brought this deck from Colorado and had a mediocre finish. Lots of fun cards and, again, answers to plenty of Vintage’s biggest threats. He had a fun day, but he lost to Burn. Again, most of the discussion is going to be in the podcast.

Touring Columbus Food

The restaurants we ate at over the weekend are some of my favorites in Columbus. If you’re in town for an SCG Open or whatever, consider checking them out.

Northstar Café has several locations in various trendy areas of the city, including just north of the Convention Center. They have great breakfast and light lunches and dinners.

Harvest Pizzeria (which is next to cocktail bar) has tasty gourmet pizzas with fresh, local ingredients. This has become our go-to place when people are visiting.

The Easy Street Café has greek and American food, including burgers and gyros and some appetizer that they set on fire. It’s a great fallback if Thurman’s is ever too crowded to wait.

Upcoming Events

Lastly, a few upcoming Vintage tournaments. I’d like to mention all of them (you can find more on the tournament boards at The Mana Drain), but I like to cover areas that are new or don’t otherwise get a lot of attention. If you have an event you want a particular mention of, let us know with plenty of time in advance!

March 21-23
Durham, North Carolina (near Chicago), Atomic Empire, Friday through Sunday, March 21-23.
Lindenhurst, Illinois (near Chicago), Xtreme Games, Saturday, March 22.

March 29-30
Glen Burnie, Maryland (near Baltimore), Games and Stuff, Saturday, March 29.
Sandusky, Ohio (between Cleveland and Toledo), The Hero Zone, Saturday, March 29.
Livonia, Michigan (near Detroit), RIW Hobbies, Sunday, March 30.

I should also mention that there’s weekly Vintage in Minneapolis at Monster Den (Tuesday), in Parkville, Maryland, at Brewport Games (Wednesday), and in Columbus at Fog of Dusk (Monday). If you have other meetups or are looking to start one, let us know!

Conclusion

Thanks for listening! We’ll look forward to any questions or comments here or on Twitter. You can also email us at seriousvintagepodcast@gmail.com.