For sure. I get that you want to it out fast, but what I am really asking is this:
Is the only appreciable difference among pitch/gifts/grim the choice of spell (tendrils for damage or brainfreeze for decking) to storm?
I suppose that Empty the Warrens is the creature version of the storm archetype.
The other big T1 decks have way different (or divergent may be a better word) strategies- either lock or meddle or whatever goblins to be effective.
Both Grim Long and Pitch Long run Tendrils as their win condition, Brain Freeze is a poor option because you need much more storm to win. The difference between the decks is Pitch Long runs Force of Will/Misdirection to protect its bombs and Grim Long runs Duress. This results in some minor differences in how the decks play, outside of that they are virtually identical.
Tinker into DSC is a poor choice because combo doesn't want to be waiting 3 turns to win, it wants to win right now by Tinkering up Memory Jar. Memory Jar is also nice because it is pretty easy to hardcast.
Grim Long tends to run Duress to get through an opponents counterwall while Pitch Long runs Force of Will/Misdirection. The two decks are very similar and probably don't need different names. Chang Stax is 5 Color stax, while Uba Stax is mono red and abuses the Uba Mask+Bazaar draw engine. Meandeck is the name of a Vintage team which puts their name in front of the decks they play.
Another question for everyone, what are you running in your sideboard? I am finding it difficult to make a board that answers different Ichorid hate cards, Honor the Fallen, Pithing Needle, Tormod's Crypt, Yixlid Jailer and of course Leyline. One solution I have been considering is running just answers for Jailer and Leyline because they are the only cards that truly stop the deck from functioning.
What advantages does Dragon have over Flash/Hulk or Flash/Rector? Dragon does get to run more of most of its combo pieces but you need 3 cards to win, instead of the 2 that flash needs.
I have been testing Nether Shadow as some of you have suggested and have had mixed results. It can certainly makes it more likely to get creatures besides Narcomoeba into play 2nd turn, but unless its in my opening hand dredging into it and then having to wait a turn sucks. This makes me inclined to run Dryad Arbor, its only good if its in your opening hand like shadow but helps with sideboarding. The issue with Dryad Arbor is then you can't really run Chain of Vapor, which I like over Reverant Silence/Emerald Charm for its versatility.
It seems like the main problem to solve with Ichorid is it's sideboard, if you can make it work with your metagame the deck is very strong.
@jeremybp: 4 Flame Kin is overkill, 1-2 is easily enough.
After testing it for awhile longer I think that Sage is better then Drake. The benefits of getting sometimes getting more draw off Drake don't outweigh the risks of drawing no cards. In short its a win more. The fact that you have to shuffle cards in rather then discard them hasn't been a huge factor for me, usually if you are Dread Returning Drake/Sage you have already won.
I don't understand not running Ichorid and running Nether Shadow instead. They both have the same problem, that you need to wait for an upkeep to use them. Ichorid is just better then Shadow, its bigger and not nearly as conditional.
Some sort of Combo deck involving Infernal Tutor, black and red Rituals Empty the Warrens and Tendrils of Agony could possibly be competitive. Bazaar has also been used as a draw engine in the sideboard of some combo decks in the past so you might be able to work that in as well. Blue also adds strong cards to the Hellbent mechanic with cards like Breakthrough.
I believe they were currently unrestricted so that means people can have more now.
At the moment a 4th edition Hurkyl's goes for $5 - $8, depending on who you talk to. A foil one will probably go for $12 or $15 tops.
'buster
They are unrestricted, but only see normal play as a one of. Vintage does have alternative bounce such as Rebuild, Echoing Truth and Chain of Vapor so I don't think Hurkyl's will go much above foil versions of those.
Vintage like any competitive magic format requires substantial monetary investment. Without proxies an budget unpowered Vintage deck price is comparable to that of a Legacy deck. The main costs of budget decks are Force of Will and the manabase of Fetchlands and Dual Lands. Unlike with other formats though these staple cards don't cycle out or even become obsolete in two years they will continue being played and keep their value. As frog_master mentioned Ravinca Dual lands are a great way to budgetize your mana base. I know I have been guilty of running Watery Grave over Underground Sea for budget reasons.
Proxies on the other hand are something that most events in the U.S allow and make the format much more affordable. I know proxies are what made Vintage more accesible to me and I think they are the great equalizer to the metagame.
Thanks for the all comments. I considered looking at the prices of the decks but prices can vary widely from area to area and I didn't want to get too far into card values.
By covering card choices I hoped that would also cover some individual matchups. There are so many matchups fish can face and how the deck plays and what cards it runs depends entirely on the metagame. This makes it difficult to do a comprehensive list of matchups. I will try to be more in depth in future articles though.
This thread is for the discussion of my latest article, Budget in Vintage. We would be grateful if you would let us know what you think, but please keep your comments on topic.
I could possibly see play in Fish/Stax decks but I really doubt it will. Why play Vise, which is very conditional over other beatsticks (Ismaru Savannah Lions Juggernaut Jotun Grunt) which are very stable and in a format with few creatures always hit for damage. Even in Stasis I doubt I would play it, wouldn't something like Chronatog be better because it is useful outside of being a win condition?
The reason I am running Drake is that their have been many situations where I Dread Return Sage and have not been able to win that turn. This is fairly common to have to pass the turn with Sage because you need to wait to be able to use Ichorid. That said Drake does have some issues, if you have 0 or 1 cards in hand it is clearly worse then Sage. The main way for this to happen is a low mulligan, which can does happen but not enough to discount Sage. I will be testing something sort of split between Sage and Drake which might be optimal.
I really don't like Dryad, it makes you run narrow hate cards and I think Unmask is much better overall. Nether Shadow is something I have been rethinking, its decent post board because it puts more pressure on your opponent to activate Crypt or cast Honor The Fallen. @Demetri X, you might try reading this thread first.
Notable maindeck choices are Whirlpool Drake over Cephalid Sage. Sometimes I feet like Drake is a little bit of a win more because I can usually always win easily with Sage and Drake is terrible if you have 0 or 1 cards in hand. That said I would still keep Drake because having an insufficient Dredge off Sage is more likely then having 0 or 1 cards in hand.
The other notable choice is Unmask over Dryad Arbor. Unmask is solid game 1 and answers all non Leyline graveyard hate and even counters post board. Dryad Arbor is underwhelming G1 and only helps you cast anti Leyline hate post board (Reverant Silence and Emerald Charm). Basically I think Dryad Arbor is too narrow now that people are running hate that isn't Leyline. This was defeinitly true for the tournament, Leylines were around but there was also a fair share of Jailers, Pithing Needles, Honor the Fallens and Tormod's Crypts.
I think Gush will replace Gifts in Control/Combo. I don't see hard core combo being able to support 4 Gush as well as control decks can. In the end I think 4 Gush is better then 4 Gifts. You are still able to tutor up a Gifts to find your last Combo pieces, and Gush is amazing at drawing cards.
Both Grim Long and Pitch Long run Tendrils as their win condition, Brain Freeze is a poor option because you need much more storm to win. The difference between the decks is Pitch Long runs Force of Will/Misdirection to protect its bombs and Grim Long runs Duress. This results in some minor differences in how the decks play, outside of that they are virtually identical.
Tinker into DSC is a poor choice because combo doesn't want to be waiting 3 turns to win, it wants to win right now by Tinkering up Memory Jar. Memory Jar is also nice because it is pretty easy to hardcast.
It seems like the main problem to solve with Ichorid is it's sideboard, if you can make it work with your metagame the deck is very strong.
@jeremybp: 4 Flame Kin is overkill, 1-2 is easily enough.
I don't understand not running Ichorid and running Nether Shadow instead. They both have the same problem, that you need to wait for an upkeep to use them. Ichorid is just better then Shadow, its bigger and not nearly as conditional.
They are unrestricted, but only see normal play as a one of. Vintage does have alternative bounce such as Rebuild, Echoing Truth and Chain of Vapor so I don't think Hurkyl's will go much above foil versions of those.
Proxies on the other hand are something that most events in the U.S allow and make the format much more affordable. I know proxies are what made Vintage more accesible to me and I think they are the great equalizer to the metagame.
By covering card choices I hoped that would also cover some individual matchups. There are so many matchups fish can face and how the deck plays and what cards it runs depends entirely on the metagame. This makes it difficult to do a comprehensive list of matchups. I will try to be more in depth in future articles though.
I really don't like Dryad, it makes you run narrow hate cards and I think Unmask is much better overall. Nether Shadow is something I have been rethinking, its decent post board because it puts more pressure on your opponent to activate Crypt or cast Honor The Fallen. @Demetri X, you might try reading this thread first.
4 Golgari Grave-Troll
4 Golgari Thug
4 Ichorid
4 Narcomoeba
4 Stinkweed Imp
4 Street Wraith
1 Flame-Kin Zealot
3 Whirlpool Drake
4 Chalice of the Void
4 Serum Powder
4 Cabal Therapy
4 Bridge from Below
4 Dread Return
4 Leyline of the Void
4 Unmask
4 Chain of Vapor
4 Emerald Charm
4 City of Brass
3 Gemstone Mine
Notable maindeck choices are Whirlpool Drake over Cephalid Sage. Sometimes I feet like Drake is a little bit of a win more because I can usually always win easily with Sage and Drake is terrible if you have 0 or 1 cards in hand. That said I would still keep Drake because having an insufficient Dredge off Sage is more likely then having 0 or 1 cards in hand.
The other notable choice is Unmask over Dryad Arbor. Unmask is solid game 1 and answers all non Leyline graveyard hate and even counters post board. Dryad Arbor is underwhelming G1 and only helps you cast anti Leyline hate post board (Reverant Silence and Emerald Charm). Basically I think Dryad Arbor is too narrow now that people are running hate that isn't Leyline. This was defeinitly true for the tournament, Leylines were around but there was also a fair share of Jailers, Pithing Needles, Honor the Fallens and Tormod's Crypts.