Unlocking the Vault #57: Restricted Access

Posted on February 11, 2014 by enderfall

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  1. Led is restricted in vintage. So you shouldn’t care if its in Gmail, and it probably won’t be.
    Every one should be looking to sell 3 of there copy within the next two months. Beck at 185 a pop , sell 3 and buy 9 power.

    If I had digital goodness you better believe I would be straight pooping on tournaments wit led bob tendrils.

    Any one with led should be jamming this arch type.

  2. Hey, enjoyed the article. Some comments:

    I could end up being completely wrong, but I’m not as high on Storm as some people seem to be. Certainly, it’s a winner in the sense that it is actually playable. But Workshop is still a four of, and although the total 13-sphere lockdown strategy probably isn’t viable anymore, I am more optimistic than you are, I guess, about a more Aggro-oriented non-Affinity build with stuff like Precursors, Panthers, Wurmcoil, etc. packing 4 Thorn + 4 Chalice + 4 Revoker + Sphere + Lodestone + Trini + 2-3 Null Rod being viable in the right meta (i.e. assuming at least somewhat of a shift away from creature decks that don’t care as much about Thorn and towards Storm and Blue Control) and, although it isn’t as hopeless for Storm as the pre-restriction builds, that’s still quite a beating. Affinity decks could also board in Thorns and Cages, which would be tough as well.

    Also on the Storm topic, even if that strategy doesn’t emerge, the fact that Stax is pretty much dead means there will probably be a lot more Missteps and Flusterstorms mainboard and actual incentive to put Mindbreak Traps in the side, cards that aren’t great for Storm pilots to go up against. I agree that non-white, non-blue decks might have a tough time of it, but realistically how much of the format was that in the first place?

    About Affinity, I agree that Wire is the best card in the deck, but I think losing Lodestone hurts quite a bit, especially against Combo, Oath, preventing the Energy Flux from ruining you, etc. It also makes Null Rod actually good against it again. I hated running Null Rod effects in Fish builds against Affinity because they could just drop a 5/3 and start bashing you. (Null Rod worked in Shops because they had their own Golems + bigger creatures like Precursor and Wurmcoil.) With a Null Rod in play, Affinity is basically just attacking with a bunch of 1/1′s and 2/1′s most of the time. I agree with you that it is still viable, but I think it definitely took a hit (though not as much as Stax, obv).

    I like the Welder deck, but why no Chalices, particularly since you anticipating Storm being a big thing?

    Would have been interesting to hear your thoughts on how the restrictions will affect the other main strategies in the format. Obviously, we know Dredge doesn’t care about much in the meta other than grave hate (though if a fast Storm deck becomes a thing, that could have an effect). However, it would have been interesting to hear your thoughts on Oath and creature decks in the new metagame.

  4. Y uppers. Wish I still had my classic stuff but I’m still around. Been playing mostly paper limited and edu for the past two years though. My progenitus deck has taken over my fever for pumping. Been working on it since Halloween 2011 and I think its pretty. 77 foils of 86 . Still need 9 foil fetches. Geez I hope they are reprinted.

  5. Whiffy – Maybe one day we can sling some digital Power together. Hope you are doing well.

    E-: Thanks for the comments. The Shop Aggro deck with panthers and such just doesn’t seem worthwhile to me unless Jace Control decks take over. It’s 2 toughness is a kick in the groin against the numerous creature decks in the format and usually won’t kill a ‘Goyf too often for my liking. 4 Precursor seems OK, but it really only ever shined in the mirror where removal/hate never mattered.

    I might have overstated my optimism for Storm in the article. I expect it to see some play, heck, Darkleebs has been running it pre-restriction, but there is enough hate around to give it some fits. I think experienced pilots, such as cantripping, would probably do well with it, but those less experienced may struggle.

    Affinity never seemed to me like the type of deck that I really cared about the Lodestone tax. One mana was always manageable, it was chaining 2 or more Spheres in Workshop that was the real problem. Maybe my experience is not the same as everyone else, but I am far more concerned with Skullclamp, Jar, Genesis Chamber, and Ravager… and of course Wire. With Wire, Golem just seemed like a Juggernaut to me since I couldn’t cast a spell anyway. In this way, Cranial Plating and/or another Jar might be more difficult to deal with. We’ll ultimately see, but I think it depends on players willingness to try to test it out. If they just throw their arms up and call it a lost cause, then for sure, it’ll die just like the 13-Shpere Workshop deck.

    As for the other decks in the format, I really haven’t had the time to fully evaluate them. This restriction causes such a dramatic shift in the format. As you point out in your PureMTGO article, people will likely be moving artifact hate back into the sideboard from their maindecks. Until we see the best of what Workshop/Affinity have to offer, the metagame is going to be in a state of constant flux.

    Dredge will continue to do it’s thing and is the least affected by this restriction. Dredge basically ignores what their opponent is doing, so their gameplan won’t change. True, sometimes Workshop could lock them out from ever casting Dread Return, so maybe the Fatestitcher build will become the most popular, though it already was. There were some Dredge decks that would maindeck things like Leyline and Unmask, but for the most part, Fatestitcher was the main gameplan and will be even more so going forward, I think. One change might be fewer Deathrite Shaman’s running around, which would benefit Dredge, since mana dorks aren’t as necessary without the critical mass of Spheres…

    Finally, regarding Chalice in the Welder deck, it’s kind of a non-bo if you don’t manage to draw a Cavern. While playing Chalice on zero would be a thing against Storm, it’s not really Lotus Petal that I’m worried about. Dark Ritual, Brainstorm, and discard are more worrisome. Maybe in the future I can use it as a sideboard option if I struggle against Storm or other 0 or 1 drops….