[Article]Eternal Europe: A Vintage Excursion

[Mon,Goblin Chief]

Well, writing about Vintage this time but thought I'd post it here anyway for completeness sake. If you like Goblin Welder or are interested in the impressions of a recent returnee, check it out and let me know what you think:

http://www.starcitygames.com/article/27644_A-Vintage-Excursion.html

[Lemnear]

I don't see why Izzet Charm is any superior to "Land, Mox, Strategic Planning! Dump Robot, take FoW/nut card". Izzet Charm is card disadvantage unlike SP and the argument that you can kill a DRS or Bob with it's shock-mode is imo a minor upside considering the color-restriction

[Koby]

First off, thank you for writing on the subject of Vintage and Control Slaver specifically.

I have had the same Control Slaver fascination since 2005, back when Thirst for Knowledge unrestricted, and just around the time that Gifts Ungiven became restricted. That said, Izzet Charm is a big liability for a deck trying to have a lot of powerful spells, and you rarely want to use it to Careful Study.

I played a somewhat similar take on the Grixis Control in BOM @ Annecy. It was an evolution from Slaverless Slaver to a more grindy deck, but the core card remained (Welder). One thing that was very apparent was the need to run creature removal, either in the form of Lightning Bolt or in this deck's case, Izzet Charm. Likewise, all the Vintage decks that are not playing outright combo (Dredge, TPS, Oath) are going to have meaningful ways to interact with the deck's most important creature - Goblin Welder. Even Mental Misstep weakens this card sufficiently that you're left with a shell of a deck that is fighting to recoup card advantage in the worst ways possible. I have not tested Fact or Fiction in large quantities, so perhaps this is the key to that rebuilding step that I lacked earlier this year.

As with all Vintage decks, the nut draws are broken, and it makes you feel like the deck is powerful. On the obverse, how the decks behave in mediocre games really determines its strengths.

Keep up the good work Carsten! Looking forward to a more Vintaged 2014.