Team Vintage Super League: Semifinals Round 2 - The Academy vs Team (LSV) CFB!

Joseph Dyer II • July 17, 2018

Howdy folks, it's Joe again and we're here with more sweet sweet Team Vintage Super League recap!

This week is the other half of the Top Four Semifinal Matches, featuring none other than The Academy (Rich Shay, Brian Kelly, Andy Markiton) vs Team Channel Fireball (Luis Scott-Vargas, Josh Utter-Leyton, Matt Nass, Sam Pardee). The winner of this past week will progress to the TEAM VINTAGE SUPER LEAGUE FINALS! ARE YOU READY FOR SOME VINTAGE?!

As always, you can find this week's decklists right over here.

This week found Matt Nass and Sam Pardee unavailable to play, with Team CFB subbing in some new talent in the form of Andy Baeckstrom.

The decks that were banned this week were Dredge on both sides of the fence (apparently neither team wanted to deal with the graveyard menace).

Semifinals Round 1 Recap - The Academy vs Team CFB

 
You can watch the vod for this week here:

Right off the bat we have Brian Kelly (on HATE STILL) versus Luis Scott-Vargas (on Esper Outcome)!

On the play, Brian makes a Turn 1 Time Walk

which does resolve, despite LSV having triple Force of Will
 in hand. He leads on Standstill
 which does get Forced. LSV drops a Time Vault
 off some Moxen, and passes back to Brian. Brian attempts to jam a Stony Silence
, which gets Force of Will
'ed. LSV tries to resolve Sensei's Divining Top
 but it meets the great limiter Mental Misstep
, before passing back to Brian. Brian makes a Standstill
 and passes turn. LSV draws a Night's Whisper
 but passes back under the Standstill
. Both players play draw go for quite some time as Brian builds up his bevy of countermagic and LSV skips a turn with Time Vault
 to untap it. This continues for several turns until LSV tries to break the Standstill with Paradoxical Outcome
 on Brian's end step, allowing Brian to draw 3 cards. Brian Brainstorm
's in response, tucking back some things. Brian flashes in Sulfur Elemental
 and then Flusterstorm
's LSV's Paradoxical. LSV casts Night's Whisper
 and filters a bit, taking an extra turn with Time Vault
. He finds a Library of Alexandria
 before going to his extra turn and goes on that plan quickly with the Time Vault
 turn. Brian draws a Wasteland
 and uses it on LSV's Tolarian Academy
. LSV goes for Paradoxical Outcome
, getting hit by Mana Drain
. LSV flashes in Snapcaster Mage
 in response, targeting a Paradoxical Outcome
 in the graveyard, putting one on the stack. Brian responds with Force of Will
 and slams through to his main phase to ETERNALIZE Champion of Wits
! He passes a turn and LSV casts Snapcaster Mage
 on his main phase. Snapcaster targets Night's Whisper
 in order to get some draw action going, finding his fourth Paradoxical Outcome
. Brian swings in and snaps back Time Walk
, and then casts Demonic Tutor
 to find Dig Through Time
. He draws Gush
 on his extra turn, casting it by floating a blue and a red. He casts Dig Through Time
, locating another Force of Will
 and Ancestral Recall
. He deploys Chalice of the Void
 on 1 counter. LSV tries to go for the Paradoxical Outcome
, getting it Force of Will
'ed and conceding to Brian Kelly.

LSV kicks things off with a Turn 1 land, resolving an Ancestral Recall

on Brian's upkeep. Brian starts off with a Gitaxian Probe
, casting two Moxen and passes turn. LSV plays a Mox Pearl
 and passes, going for Snapcaster Mage
 into flashing back Ancestral, getting it Flusterstorm
'ed by Brian. Brian Demonic Tutor
's for Black Lotus
 and Snapcaster's into Gitaxian Probe
 to cast Standstill
. LSV cracks the Standstill
, giving Brian 3 cards but also casting Time Walk
. On his extra turn LSV finds a Paradoxical Outcome
, drawing a bunch of cards and going for Snapcaster into Time Walk
. On his extra turn LSV goes to the races and finds a second Paradoxical Outcome
, forcing the concession from Brian.

Brian kicks things off in Game 3 with a Standstill

on Turn 1 forcing the game into a very draw-go style, making LSV crack it on his end step with a Brainstorm
. LSV draws into some better action with Night's Whisper
 before passing the turn. Brian plays a Strip Mine
, passing to end step to LSV attempting to Paradoxical Outcome
 on his end step. It gets Flusterstorm
'ed and LSV untaps to go for a second Paradoxical Outcome
. Brian tries to Pyroblast
 it, but LSV Mental Misstep
's it and goes to the races, earning the concession.

Team CFB up 1-0!

Rich Shay kicks things up a notch on Esper Xerox! LSV opens a on Library of Alexandria

, passing turn. Rich starts with Gitaxian Probe
, going on a Duress
 to take LSV off the Library plan. LSV doesn't play anything, getting his Library Strip Mine
'ed by Rich. LSV finds a Mystic Remora
 trying to force it through which Rich allows to resolve. He then throws out Ancestral Recall
 which Rich tries to Force of Will
, getting Force of Will
ed back. LSV draws into Time Vault
 / Voltaic Key
 combo off Black Lotus
 with enough mana to make it happen, earning the concession from Rich.

Rich goes for a Turn 1 Demonic Tutor

, getting Ancestral Recall
. LSV plays Library on the draw and passes. Rich plays Cavern of Souls
 and jams Kambal, Consul of Allocation
 uncounterable. LSV counters Rich's Ancestral, and Rich follows up with Fragmentize
 on a Mox Opal
. LSV jams the Vault/Key combo, and gets in with a Snapcaster Mage
 to earn a concession from Rich.

Team CFB on the map at 2-0 under the capable hands of LSV.

Andy Markiton jumps into the fray with his Stax list! On the play, Andy drops a Turn 1 Sphere of Resistance

off two Moxen. LSV does nothing but draws a Mana Crypt
 and passes turn. Andy drops a Phyrexian Revoker
 naming Black Lotus
 and goes to the races. His second Revoker names Sol Ring
. The THIRD Revoker names Mana Crypt
, shutting LSV off of his biggest artifact mana sources. LSV continues to not find a land and passes turn. Another Sphere of Resistance
 pushes through the concession from LSV.

LSV kicks things off with a Sleight of Hand

, passing turn. Andy tries to go for a Trinisphere
, getting it Forced. LSV runs out a Mana Vault
 and heads back to Andy. Andy tries to run out a Tangle Wire
, getting it Steel Sabotage
'd by LSV. Andy plays a Wasteland
 and hits LSV's Underground Sea
. LSV does nothing and passes back to Andy playing out a Smokestack
. He manages to run out a second Smokestack
. LSV dumps the Library, and Demonic Tutor
's for Ancestral Recall
. He finds some mana sources and passes back to Andy. Andy sacs one Smokestack
, ramps the other to two counters, and then drops Karn, Scion of Urza
 to create a construct. LSV drops Snapcaster into Ancestral finding a Paradoxical Outcome
 and a Tolarian Academy
 on his draw. He rips the first Outcome, and draws into Snapcaster flashing back the Outcome. He finds a THIRD Outcome, and draws into a Fragmentize
 on the Construct token. Andy drops two permanents to Smokestack
, playing Strip Mine
 to hit Tolarian Academy
. LSV skips his turn to Time Vault
, forcing Andy to take another turn with Smokestack
 set to 2. He sacs the Stack, playing Bazaar of Baghdad
 to try to draw some gas. He tries to cast Crucible of Worlds
, but it meets Steel Sabotage
. LSV Snapcaster's into another Paradoxical Outcome
. Andy concedes to Game 3.

Andy goes on the play with a Leyline of Sanctity

pregame, casting Chalice of the Void
 on 0 counters. Andy drops a Sphere of Resistance
 and passes turn. LSV draws Black Lotus
 and passes turn. LSV Repeal
's the Chalice to go to his turn to be able to cast the Lotus to be able to cast Monastery Mentor
 through the Sphere. Andy runs back out the Chalice on 0 and tries to resolve Thorn of Amethyst
 which gets Force of Will
'ed by LSV. LSV swings for the fences with the Monks, passing turn. Andy plays a Revoker naming Sensei's Divining Top
. LSV gets to Ancestral Recall
 into Dig Through Time
, finding a Time Walk
 and earning the concession from Andy.

LSV ON FIRE AT 3-0! TEAM LSV!

Rich Shay back on the docket with Ravager Shops! Rich leads on a Foundry Inspector

off an Ancient Tomb
 and Mox Ruby
 on the draw. LSV Forces it, drawing Ancestral Recall
. LSV casts Monastery Mentor
, which gets promptly copied by Rich's Phyrexian Metamorph
. He runs out a Sphere of Resistance
 and passes turn. Rich runs out a Foundry Inspector
 and Arcbound Ravager
 and passes. LSV plays a land and passes, while Rich runs out a Trinisphere
 which gets hit by Steel Sabotage
. The game progresses as Rich goes to combat, while LSV casts Dig Through Time
 to pump and try to get ahead, trading with the opposing Mentor. Rich runs out two Revokers naming Time Vault
 and Sensei's Divining Top
 specifically. LSV goes to the races trying to get board presence with his own Mentor. LSV just continues to keep going bigger and wider, drawing Hurkyl's Recall
 to seal Game 1.

Rich mulligans to 6, dumping a Turn 1 Foundry Inspector

into play. LSV goes into Sleight of Hand
 on Turn 1, finding a Black Lotus
. Rich tries for a Lodestone Golem
, getting it Force of Will
'ed by LSV. Rich finds another Foundry Inspector
, casting a Phyrexian Revoker
 naming Black Lotus
. LSV casts Hurkyl's Recall
 to windmill slam Snapcaster Mage
 into Sleight of Hand
 to find another artifact mana source. Rich re-deploys, bringing the pain to LSV with a small army of dudes, which LSV takes and goes to 4 life. End step he Hurkyl's Recall
's and is able to Snapcaster Mage
 for Paradoxical Outcome
, finding a Time Walk
 to keep moving forward. Rich re-deploys, getting his Ravager countered by Steel Sabotage
. Rich tries to run out Chalice of the Void
 for 2, but LSV uses Steel Sabotage
 on flashback to put Phyrexian Revoker
 back into Rich's hand. LSV brings the Snapcaster beats and takes the team series!

LSV SCREAMS INTO THE TEAM VINTAGE SUPER LEAGUE FINALS AT AN AMAZING 4-0!

Notable Decklists - The Academy

 
The Academy brought some serious spice to the table this week, especially with the inclusion of Brian Kelly's Hate-Still deck. Let's take a look at their lists.

Brian Kelly's Hate-Still | Team Vintage Super League

 

2 Dack Fayden
1 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
1 Gurmag Angler
1 Sulfur Elemental
1 Champion of Wits
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Tasigur, the Golden Fang
1 Time Walk
1 Ponder
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Gush
1 Fire // Ice
1 Brainstorm
1 Mana Drain
3 Mental Misstep
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Mindbreak Trap
2 Flusterstorm
4 Force of Will
1 Dig Through Time
1 Pyroblast
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Jet
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Mox Emerald
4 Standstill
1 Stony Silence
1 Island
2 Tundra
1 Wasteland
3 Flooded Strand
2 Misty Rainforest
3 Polluted Delta
1 Library of Alexandria
2 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
1 Strip Mine

1 Mindbreak Trap
3 Tormod's Crypt
1 Rest in Peace
3 Containment Priest
1 Steel Sabotage
1 Peacekeeper
1 Pyroclasm
1 Sudden Shock
1 Firespout
2 Hurkyl's Recall

Hate-Still is a pretty powerful name for this deck, and it shows. Maindeck hate cards like Sulfur Elemental

combined with an Eternalize dude in the form of Champion of Wits
 under Standstill
 is great.

Andy Markiton's Stax | Team Vintage Super League

 

4 Phyrexian Revoker
1 Lodestone Golem
4 Sphere of Resistance
1 Chalice of the Void
3 Null Rod
3 Ensnaring Bridge
1 Trinisphere
3 Crucible of Worlds
1 Thorn of Amethyst
3 Smokestack
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
2 Tangle Wire
1 Sol Ring
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
1 The Immortal Sun
1 Urborg, Tomb of Yawgmoth
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Strip Mine
4 Mishra's Workshop
4 Ancient Tomb
1 Ghost Quarter
4 Wasteland
3 Mishra's Factory
2 Bazaar of Baghdad
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Buried Ruin
2 Karn, Scion of Urza

1 Null Rod
1 Ensnaring Bridge
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
4 Leyline of the Void
1 Dismember
2 Silent Arbiter
1 Grafdigger's Cage
4 Leyline of Sanctity

Stax is a sweet archetype in Vintage, thanks to the sheer power of Mishra's Workshop

making it a severely viable deck. What I love about this list is the singleton copy of The Immortal Sun
. Super spicy.

Notable Decklists - Team CFB

 

Even though Team LSV submitted multiple decklists, we only really got to see one of them played, so lets look at a list we saw (well, the only list we saw) and one we didn't (so, all of them).

Luis Scott-Vargas's Esper Outcome | Team Vintage Super League

 

1 Monastery Mentor
2 Snapcaster Mage
1 Demonic Tutor
3 Night's Whisper
4 Sleight of Hand
1 Treasure Cruise
1 Time Walk
1 Dig Through Time
2 Repeal
1 Hurkyl's Recall
4 Paradoxical Outcome
4 Force of Will
1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Gush
1 Steel Sabotage
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
3 Mox Opal
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mana Crypt
2 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Black Lotus
1 Time Vault
2 Voltaic Key
1 Mystic Remora
3 Underground Sea
1 Tundra
1 Tolarian Academy
1 Polluted Delta
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Flooded Strand
2 Snow-Covered Island
1 Misty Rainforest
2 Scalding Tarn

3 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Snow-Covered Island
1 Mystic Remora
1 Steel Sabotage
1 Karakas
2 Flusterstorm
2 Mental Misstep
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Massacre
1 Fragmentize

It was insane to see LSV 4-0 with this deck, but it definitely worked well and he played it to a very solid tee.

Team LSV's Jeskai Cheons | Team Vintage Super League

 

2 Jace, the Mind Sculptor
2 Dack Fayden
1 Monastery Mentor
1 Snapcaster Mage
2 Jace, Vryn's Prodigy
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Ponder
3 Preordain
1 Treasure Cruise
1 Time Walk
1 Dig Through Time
1 Gush
4 Mental Misstep
2 Pyroblast
1 Mana Drain
2 Lightning Bolt
4 Force of Will
2 Flusterstorm
1 Brainstorm
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Fire // Ice
1 Opt
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Pearl
1 Black Lotus
1 Search for Azcanta
2 Stony Silence
4 Volcanic Island
2 Tundra
1 Strip Mine
1 Polluted Delta
1 Library of Alexandria
1 Island
1 Flooded Strand
1 Misty Rainforest
4 Scalding Tarn
1 Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

1 Pyroblast
1 Mindbreak Trap
2 Scab-Clan Berserker
2 By Force
1 Mountain
1 Null Rod
4 Shattering Spree
1 Wasteland
2 Simian Spirit Guide

Affectionately named Jeskai Cheons (for LSV's long-time love of his life), this deck is very powerful. Between Teferi, Hero of Dominaria

and Monastery Mentor
 this deck is pretty indicative of the strength of Jeskai in the current Vintage metagame.

Wrapping Up

 
team-vsl

Alright folks, next week is the big week! THE TEAM VINTAGE SUPER LEAGUE FINALS! And we're right here with our coverage with TEAM SNAPCARDSTER VS TEAM LSV (CFB)!

The action will be super hype, so be sure to stay tuned, and as always... until next time, may all your Magic be ETERNAL!