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During Christmas day I was staring at Magic Online and my collection. Out of it I tried to build few different decks. I was trying my best to come up with a BUG Midrange deck with some added graveyard value but it did not work the way I envisioned so I slowly made BUG Midrange out of it. Then I remembered that red exists as well and tried to build a Jund deck. To make something different I started with Scapeshift deck but later started cutting the more expensive cards and ramp so it ended up as Jund midrange. That wasn't interesting enough for me so I added aristocrat subtheme so the deck could have another way to win the game and wouldn't be so similar to the BUG deck. But it seems it will be way more in 'beatdown' mode than the aristocrat mode which is way more fun to play and gives way more options in what to do (but is worse in attacking). I also looked at my previous decks to see if there would be any changes I'd like to make. The last time I actually touched those decks the newest set was Fate Reforged. Here are few cards that came to my mind when looking at my decks.

Torrential Gearhulk Pia and Kiran Nalaar Bedlam Reveler Imprisoned in the Moon Kalitas, Traitor of Ghet Grim Glayer Spell Queller Sylvan Advocate Tireless Tracker Painful Truths new creaturelands Blessed Alliance Thing in the Ice Nahiri, the Harbinger Thalia, Heretic Cathar Recruiter of the Guard

Sanctum Prelate fast lands Leovold, Emmisary of Trest Traverse the Ulvenwald Gideon, Ally of Zendikar Eldritch Evolution Elder Deep-Fiend Dromoka's Command Selfless Spirit Collective Defiance Chandra, Torch of Defiance Goblin Dark-Dwellers Kolaghan's Command Anafenza, Kin-Tree Spirit Duskwatch Recruiter

Looking at the list now even scares me because I could go on. There are many new cards that were printed and are very strong. Strong enough to be added to decks that can play almost any card from Magic's history. I shouldn't be surprised since cards from new sets actually find their place in Vintage decks. This also means that there is room for brewing. Even from the last few blocks one can build a very powerful deck that can compete with decks using older cards that were and still are the staples of the format. There are so many new cards to explore! While thinking about certain cards and their use in different decks I started to regret that I won't probably be able to play in the Chainsaw Massacre event that day.

I haven't played 100C Singleton in quite a while with the exception of few matches in between my Vintage matches. On Christmas Eve there was a Christmas Special Chainsaw Massacre with tripled prize pool. I wanted to join it if the circumstances would allow it because I did not need to go to attend a premier event the next day, I could simply play without worrying about my condition the next day and I actually had the time to play. I asked my parents if they are ok with me playing the tournament. To my surprise they let me play so I joined the event. I did not pick any of the new decks but rather a deck I knew I liked to play. I knew I wouldn't misclick much and I needed to play with something familiar since I was rather tired already. I have to say I had lots of fun playing in the event. What allowed me to enjoy the event so much was my deck choice and so I decided to talk about it - UWb Combo-Control - in my previous article.

I also decided to write a report so I could remember that day. So here it goes! We played 3 rounds of Swiss and top 8.

Round 1 - BUG
My opening seven cards contained one colored source and no cantrip so I decided to mulligan even though the hand wasn't that bad. On the draw I'd keep it most probably. I kept a hand with Island, Sunken Hollow, Muddle the Mixture, Mystical Teachings, Batterskull, Toxic Deluge and kept Hallowed Fountain on top - lands were all I needed to win the game with the combo since I had two tutors in my hand. My opponent started with Thoughtseize but they let me have all my tutors and discarded Toxic Deluge. Obviously I would be facing some creatures. On turn 4 I decided to execute my plan and tutored for Rest in Peace. My opponent was playing creatures and some equipment so I continued with Mystical Teachings next turn. My opponent though played Grave Titan that would kill me next turn so my plan of fetching Helm of Obedience had to be postponed for next turn. Instead I played Moat. Since my Rest in Peace was still in play I felt that Moat would stay where it was. On the other hand there were many possibilities how this game could go wrong for me. My opponent did not seem aware though of what was coming to happen to them. They played Meloku the Clouded Mirror and passed the turn. I was forced to play the Helm and wait for one more turn to activate it. I expected to draw a land out of the four cards out of Ancestral Vision plus draw for the turn to be able to activate the Helm but that did not happen. My opponent just dealt some damage to me and let me play so I exiled their library and checked their deck. I was against some creature heavy BUG deck.

Gideon being indestructible as a creature helps a lot!

In game two I took a mulligan again because the majority of my cards were lands and Restoration Angel did not seem like a card that could help me with anything. Instead I kept Glen Elendra Archmage, Glacial Fortress, Complicate, Plains, Back to Basics and Enlightened Tutor. My opponent played several basic lands so my Back to Basics sideboard plan was wrong. My opponent's first play was on turn 3 so I could cycle my Complicate to counter it and draw a card - Condescend. Draw for the turn was Snapcaster Mage and I had enough lands to play anything. Next turn Condescend countered Jon Finkel (Shadowmage Infiltrator) and I could see that I have Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and Counterspell on top. Since I had Enlightened Tutor in hand I decided to just play the planeswalker and deal with an annoying permanent next turn. My opponent played Bloodgift Demon that I decided to ignore for one turn so I could draw my counterspell. I played Glen Elendra Archmage so I could chump the demon and keep my Gideon. Next turned I played the tutor to fetch for Oblivion Ring and deal with the Demon. My opponent tried to counter it so I played a Counterspell of my own. My opponent went down to 6 life could use their Kiku, Night's Flower on one of my creatures but still had to block Gideon. That is why I did not animate Celestial Colonnade and just attacked with Gideon and Knight Ally token. Next turn Gideon attacked and won the game.

Round 2 - Mono Green Ramp (1-0)
I kept Sunken Hollow, Glacial Fortress, Island, Island, Day of Judgment, True-Name Nemesis, Mystical Teachings. My opponent played Wild Growth on t1 and Birds of Paradise on turn 2. I wasn't happy about seeing a mono green deck. My draws were Rest in Peace and Dissolve so I had a win condition already in my hand. When I just wanted to tutor my Helm I naturally drew it. So I just slammed both cards and activated the Helm for 1. I checked my opponent's ramp deck and did not look forward to the next game. But I was glad the first game ended so quickly. I would need the time for game three.

 

Mono green ramp is tough to beat in a fair way, but the combo is very likely to win the game since green decks lack any kind of disruption and their permanent removal is often a sorcery speed creature.

 

My keep was Trinket Mage, Ojutai's Command, Polluted Delta, Ponder, Council's Judgment, Moat, Scalding Tarn. I played Ponder to see what I could  count with. I found a couple of lands and Preordain. My opponent played Vexing Shusher. Next turn he played Nissa, Vastwood Seeker. I had to get rid of the Vexing Shusher then if I wanted to counter some spells later in the game so I used Council's Judgment on it. I was behind already so that wasn't good at all. But my opponent made it even worse. They played Eldritch Evolution that I couldn't counter and looked for Acidic Slime. One of my lands was destroyed. Another one was destroyed with Wasteland. For the rest of the game I did not draw a land and the lone 2/2 creature killed me. Game two was over quickly so we had quite some time to stare at each other in game 3.

True-Name Nemesis, Trinket Mage, Seat of the Synod, Island, Spell Snare, Hallowed Fountain, Plains was my opener in game 3. I liked my hand because I had True-Name Nemesis in it that could possibly win the game on its own against a Mono Green deck. I just had to play it on turn 3 and hope my opponent wouldn't get too far ahead. That is why I countered his Three Visits and planned to destroy one of his lands if they wouldn't play a real threat to my deck. Unfortunately they played Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary that I had to get rid of. That meant that my opponent had a free turn to do what they wanted - they played Tsunami. My lands got wrecked but True-Name Nemesis was still there facing just Fyndhorn Elves that couldn't race it. Next turn I made a colossal mistake of not countering a mana doubling enchantment. My opponent then played Ohran Viper and Kitchen Finks. I drew Gideon, Ally of Zendikar that could possibly give me enough time to still deal lethal with True-Name Nemesis. Next turn my opponent played Woodland Bellower, ruining my plan - the tutored card was Courser of Kruphix which was a really good choice. On top of the library I saw Whisperwood Elemental and I wasn't really happy about it because it made my Gideon useless. More and more creatures followed and I hoped my opponent wouldn't draw a land. They did though so I couldn't deal lethal damage with my creature with protection from my opponent and I was forced to play Moat and simply hope it wouldn't get destroyed. My opponent had Hornet Queen and some permanent removal as well in his deck, but they decided to concede after few turns when they did not draw either of the cards.

Round 3 - RDW (2-0)
I knew that my opponent played RDW. I kept a hand with Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, Plains, Vindicate, Seat of the Synod, Preordain, Island, Swords to Plowshares. I Preordained into Impulse. My opponent played Stonewright and a turn later paired it with Lightning Mauler. I decided to get rid of the Lightning Mauler that could cause problems later and play True-Name Nemesis on my turn. Then it was time to look for a 4th land so I could play Gideon. I played Brainstorm finding a 4th land and got rid of two cards I couldn't play. I played Impulse and put Portent into my hand. I played my Gideon, created a token and hoped the planeswalker would survive. Either way it would save a big amount of life. My opponent played Forked Bolt on my token and played a kicked Goblin Bushwacker which meant Gideon would die. I could block with True-Name Nemesis and I drew Absorb off Portent. I felt safe since my life total was still high - 17. My opponent was quite flooded, he played Hell's Thunder then. I countered the first part and let myself be dealt damage by the unearthed part. I played Snapcaster Mage to remove Goblin Bushwacker from the game so my opponent could choose whether they wanted to deal with my creature with Ember Hauler or keep it.  They decided to keep it so I swung back for 5. My opponent then played Abbot of Keral Keep and I Memory Lapsed it so I could hit for five next turn and not face an additional card that turn. I played Path to Exile on Ember Hauler, my opponent threw it at me. I cycled my Complicate drawing Helm of Obedience which was rather useless in this match. Abbot of Keral Keep awaited me and I had no means how to get rid of it except running right into it. I hoped the card it would bring wouldn't kill me. The card that followed was Fanatic of Mogis. We were both down to 4 life. My opponent would get down to one, had to trade with Snapcaster Mage and there probably wasn't too many spells that could deal 4 damage to me (4 relevant cards in total left in their deck). My opponent blanked and I won the game next turn with True-Name Nemesis.

 

Top decking for the win. I was afraid I would have to land Elspeth and hope my opponent would draw a blank, not a position control player would want to end up in. I was lucky to top deck Oblivion Ring and keep the game under control.

 

My hand was good - Sunken Hollow, Negate, Anticipate, Impulse, Flooded Strand, Dragon's Claw, Celestial Colonnade. My opponent had a solid hand too though. Turn 1 Stonewright into Stormblood Berserker turn 2 wasn't something I wanted to see. I played Dragon's Claw but knew that even with this card in play I would have difficulties surviving. Fortunately for me I drew Supreme Verdict followed by a fourth land - Karakas. I was down to 9 when I played Supreme Verdict. My opponent then played Fanatic of Mogis. I played Gideon Jura, hoping it would get hit for four and then could get rid of the Fanatic. Demigod of Revenge from my opponent said 'no' though. I was seriously screwed but I had Impulse and Anticipate to help me look for another Wrath effect or spot removal. Impulse brought Dissolve and Anticipate found Elspeth, Sun's Champion. I kept mana open for Negate and hoped I'd somehow survive at 1 life. Next turn I could play Ojutai's Command to make my life total higher. I countered my opponent's only card in hand - Incinerate. I played the Command and I drew a land which meant I could also play True-Name Nemesis dealing with Fanatic of Mogis. I went down to one again because of the flying Demigod. Next turn I could possibly kill both creatures but I wouldn't be able to counter anything. I top-decked Oblivion Ring which solved my situation. I played it targeting the red-black Demigod and passed the turn. My opponent played Sin Prodder asking me if I have no counterspell. I did not answer that question and played Council's Judgment on Sin Prodder that would definitely finish me if left on the battlefield. After our votes I passed the turn again. Next turn I drew a miracle in the form of Vendilion Clique. Since I had Karakas in play it was rather invincible. I played it, my opponent played Searing Blood on it so I returned it to my hand and checked their last card - Lightning Berserker. I let them have it, knowing that I would have to counter it. My opponent would gain me 1 life though which would get me out of Bolt range. For his Ghitu Encampment I had Wasteland ready which I did not want to use but would have to if they decided to animate the land since I couldn't afford to lose a single life. I countered the Berserker. Next turn I finally played Elspeth and created three Soldier tokens. Then I just had to untap and win the game. My opponent's draw was a Mountain. My draw on the other hand was Witchbane Orb. I swung while keeping 3 Soldier tokens and True-Name Nemesis home. The game was over next turn.

Round 4 - White Devotion (3-0)
After midnight I started to slowly fall asleep. I kept a hand I wouldn't have probably normally kept. True-Name Nemesis, Lingering Souls, Toxic Deluge, Jace, the Mind Sculptor, Karakas, Flooded Strand, Logic Knot. My opponent started with Elite Vanguard. They did not follow with creatures but rather Honor of the Pure for which I was grateful. Next turn they followed up with a creature and I was forced to play Toxic Deluge. Next turn I played True-Name Nemesis and all was good. My opponent missed a land drop so I destroyed one of their lands. I played Jace, the Mind Sculptor and started fatesealing. I swung twice with my creatures and won the game easily.

During game two I was half asleep. I kept a hand with global removal and Rest in Peace. I also managed to play Jace, the Mind Sculptor and my opponent did not manage to get rid of it. They played Aegis of the Gods rendering my combo useless for a turn. But I still had my Wrath effects. Well, for some reason I did not play Day of Judgment nor bounced a creature nor waited for my opponent's turn to play Venser and died to a hasty Heliod, God of the Sun.

 

I needed a way to find my Helm of Obedience. Jace, Architect of Thought ultimate ability tutored it for me.

 

I went to drink something and eat some cookies so I would wake up and win this match. Because this was a very embarrassing loss.

In game 3 my opponent ran into two Force Spikes. They had 2 creatures in play but I was dealt only 8 damage before I played Moat stopping their advance. Then I played Jace, Architect of Thought and started using his plus ability so I could reach the ultimate ability and win with the Helm Combo (I had Rest in Peace in my hand). I also had Gideon Jura in play that could buy me a turn if Moat would get destroyed (it would be good for me since my opponent had Heliod in play and could create many tokens in the meantime). My counterspells weren't really hard counters so it could have happened. I drew Glen Elendra Archmage later though so I knew then that my Moat would stay in play no matter what. Jace made it to its ultimate ability, I found the Helm, played Rest in Peace and activated its ability. My opponent asked if it was a glitch so me and one of the spectators explained what the combo does.

Round 5 - Planeswalker ramp (4-0)
I knew that my next round would be tough since Michelle's deck was full of planeswalkers and value in general. She started with Krosan Verge but I needed to play Gideon, Ally of Zendikar before destroying it. On turn 3 she played Kitchen Finks which was an ideal scenario for me. She did not use Krosan Verge and I could exile Kitchen Finks with Swords to Plowshares. On my turn I played Gideon, Ally of Zendikar. My opponent could either try to keep up with my planeswalker and creature token or lose tempo by cracking the land. She ramped with Wood Elves and kept mana open for a white card. I destroyed her Krosan Verge then, getting ahead and I had mana open for Cryptic Command. The white mana open was for Enlightened Tutor that fetched Batterskull and which got countered by my Cryptic Command. I decided that creating tokens is better rather than swinging with Gideon that can get exiled and attacked with everything including my creatureland - Shambling Vent. My tokens died to End Hostilities so it was up to Gideon to attack. My opponent then played Traverse the Ulvenwald. I wouldn't normally counter the card if my opponent would have more cards in hand. She had only one card in hand though and this tutor puts the tutored card in hand. I decided to counter it and Scry with Dissolve. The remaining card in Michelle's hand was Personal Tutor that I didn't care because I would simply counter the tutored card next turn. She used the tutor and found yet another tutor - Bring to Light. I swung with my creatureland and Gideon keeping mana open for counterspell. Michelle would be down to 3 and would draw the tutor so the game was over for her.

 

Seems like Gideon, Ally of Zendikar was as efficient as my Helm combo.

 

In game 2 I kept Hallowed Fountain, Shambling Vent, Wrath of God, Brainstorm, Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Ojutai's Command and Day of Judgment. I knew that I would have time to draw something and I had Brainstorm to draw three cards and get rid of my Wrath effects if needed. Michelle played Kitchen Finks, next turn it was Trinket Mage finding Pithing Needle that I didn't care because I could counter it with Mental Misstep anytime. I expected her to try to 'needle' my Elspeth later in the game. I was drawing only land so I was bound to play a Wrath effect. I honestly hoped Michelle wouldn't start playing planeswalkers from turn 4. She played the first one on turn 5. It was Xenagos, the Reveler which ruined my plan with global removal. I needed to get rid of it but did not have the means yet. I swept the board once taking 4 damage next turn. I played another Wrath effect tapping out and Michelle 'rewarded me' with Jace, the Mind Sculptor. But I was slowly getting to my Elspeth plan. I finally had 6 lands in play and could play her and clog the field a bit. Unfortunately that also meant I wouldn't be able to deal with Jace. When I was fetching, I fetched a wrong land which meant I couldn't animate Shambling Vent. Anyway my plan was to ultimate Elspeth and then deal with all the walkers. To do so I had to trade my creatures with Xenagos tokens. Ajani Vengeant from Michelle ruined my original plan though dealing 3 damage to Elspeth. I played Gideon, Ally of Zendikar and hoped the two of my planeswalkers could beat Michelle's 3 'walkers. She indeed played the Pithing Needle on Elspeth but I countered it with Mental Misstep. Next turn she played Mirri's Guile and Thrun, the Last Troll. Since Elspeth was down to 3 loyalty counters she couldn't deal with it so I had to play Snapcaster Mage on Wrath of God. I hoped it would resolve. I didn't know if Michelle ran counterspells in her deck and I did not have mana for Muddle Mixture to back my spell up. It resolved. I animated Gideon and killed Jace finally. At the end of my turn Michelle tutored Sigarda, Host of Herons. I still needed my Elspeth so I started frantically searching for something to deal with her or chump block her for a turn or two. Michelle would go most probably for my head and leave Elspeth in play. I was rather certain of my judgment and risked the outcome of the game on it. I found Lingering Souls and played them once. I attacked with my remaining tokens and destroyed Xenagos that was the last planeswalker standing on Michelle's side. I chumped all creatures and next turn I used Elspeth to destroy Sigarda. When I activated the ability I noticed that I could have used it already before because it costs 3 loyalty counters and not four as I have mistakenly thought. This is something that could have cost me the game so I should remember to read my cards to refresh my memory of them (especially when playing at 2am in the morning). Honestly I envy those players being able to play at this hour! Nevertheless, I created a Gideon emblem making my creatures bigger because there was also a Celestial Colonnade in play. Since I had nothing to deal with that at instant speed I simply had to try to double block it if Michelle would decide to attack with more creatures in play than just the Colonnade. Luckily for me she did attack with everything which suggested that she drew removal for one of my creatures. I double blocked the Celestial Colonnade a hoped she didn't top deck a Swords to Plowshares or Path to Exile (she certainly did not have it before, because I would be dead already otherwise). Celestial Colonnade died though so I was bound to win the game with my two planeswalkers in play but Magic Online decided to make it easier for me and provide me with my combo pieces. So I played them and milled Michelle.

I quickly went to fetch more cookies because I was seriously exhausted (and hungry).

Round 6 - UW Midrange? (5-0)
I kept a hand with Temple of Enlightenment, Temple of Deceit, Island, Helm of Obedience, Portent, Sunken Hollow, Force Spike. My opponent started with a Temple of Enlightenment as well. Next turn he played Weathered Wayfarer without playing a land prior this so I Force Spiked the card. He then played Celestial Colonnade and passed the turn. It seemed that his deck would be quite blue judging from the lands and not really aggressive. At the end of his fourth turn I decided to play Fact or Fiction hoping to get a counterspell from him but the card resolved. In response though he played Aven Mindcensor. One pile consisted of True-Name Nemesis and the other one had Snapcaster Mage, Brainstorm, Island and Enlightened Tutor in it. So I took the four cards without thinking about it. I played Portent to see if I wouldn't draw a spot removal for the Aven so I could play Enlightened Tutor. I drew Mental Misstep. Next turn I played Toxic Deluge on Aven Mindcensor with a Forbid back up. Forbid countered Jace, the Mind Sculptor on my opponent's turn. Then I could just look for Rest in Peace and find a seventh land so I could play both combo pieces and activate the Helm in one turn. To force my opponent to tap out I played Jace, the Mind Sculptor. He had Banishing Light for that but did not have any counterspell for any of my combo pieces and lost the game. I certainly could have played more safely but I wanted the match to end soon, I did not get punished for it.

 

The finals were certainly anti-climactic. 2-0 for Helm combo.

 

Game 2, I kept a hand full of land, Oblivion Ring and Repeal. My following draws were good though - Moat and Enlightened Tutor. When I drew a first cantrip I found Rest in Peace. All I needed to deal with was Beloved Chaplain with a Sword of Fire and Ice. I bounced the Chaplain once so I wouldn't get hit by the Sword. My opponent played Consecrated Sphinx and I hoped that in those 2 cards he would draw during my turn he wouldn't find an answer to my combo pieces. I missed two land drops and couldn't activate the Helm while he was tapped out. It seemed safer to play the combo and hope he wouldn't draw a Disenchant effect. I expected him to run more counterspells than Disenchant effects. In my draw step I activated Helm of Obedience and expected ML_Berlin's response. The game ended though with my victory.

After the tournament it was time to go to sleep. I felt a bit uneasy because of two things. There is an ongoing discussion about what cards should be banned and what cards should be unbanned. I'm a blue mage obviously and I voted to unban many blue cards and combo cards. The reason for me voting to unban the cards is not to make blue decks stronger or because I'd want to win with Tendrils of Agony but rather to give us more options what we can play and where we can go with our decks. Some players wondered why no one plays a control deck. The reasons were ranging from 'control is not good enough', 'players don't have enough time to finish a match in 25 minutes' to 'no one wants to play control against RDW - matchup being bad'. I tried to reason with those players telling them that none of these reasons are the real reasons why no one shows up with control decks. Actually the field is very favorable for control decks especially for UR control. And we have 15 cards sideboard to help us fight against matchups that are bad and certainly RDW is one of them for this deck. Often my words though get lost since all of us have some kind of opinion and many players do not want to change them or look at things more objectively. This is also one of the reasons why I decided to pick this deck instead of playing a 4c Blood for example or Bant Midrange with permission. I wanted to see how players would approach my deck and where the problem lies.

While I understand that I haven't played against too many players, just six during the event, and few more outside of it I learned one thing - the players struggled to play well against control. This is something that can happen when an archetype is missing from the metagame. The players simply did not have prior experience with this archetype the way I did. I noticed that many problems stem from the fact that players judge cards based on their value rather based on their value in a context. Particularly it could be seen on the way how players were creating two piles out of my Fact or Fiction. For example there was a pile that included True-Name Nemesis, cantrip, land, land and counterspell. My opponent immediately put True-Name Nemesis aside while he was running many cards that can actually deal with the card. He did not need to worry about True-Name Nemesis because it would hardly win me the game. I gladly took the 4 cards. Another case, if you were a creature heavy deck player. How would you divide a pile that contains two Wrath effects? In the situation I was my opponent put one Wrath effect in each of the piles thus letting me choose based on the other cards (there was my win condition there). I was dying the next turn though to my opponent's attack. If I were to take a Wrath effect, play it I could win the next turn when my opponent would be busy playing some creatures. If I would have taken just the win condition I would die to the attack. If I would have taken the 2 Wrath effects I'd have to play them in very unfavorable situation for me and I would have to find a different win condition soon. It is not just the control player making the decisions, the players playing against a control deck needs to find ways how to get cards out of the control player and protect their important cards.

I understand that some players do not have experience playing against my deck, some have never seen Helm of Obedience, some do not know what it does with Rest in Peace in play. When those players get beaten by this combo though they should try to avoid this situation rather than complain that combos are not fair. This combo can get wrecked relatively easily and often I do not even have the possibility to find it. The thing is that most decks actually have means how to deal with it even main deck. The players should do everything to avoid the situation, sometimes it won't work, sometimes it will. But if the players won't proactively help the odds they will lose more games to this 'unfair' combo or control.

I personally think that playing this format is something that makes players grow because it allows them to explore different deck archetypes and cards from the whole Magic history (except the cards on the banlist). 100CS is a complex format that incites creativity and deckbuilding and for that reason I'd be glad if as many cards possible would be unbanned. Some players tend to think that combo is non-interactive and drives new players away. Combo decks are a very little part of the whole metagame and not so many players enjoy playing combo decks. The current banlist does not even allow for combo decks to thrive. But those players that choose to play these decks can teach the other players how to play against them and be prepared for them. Playing against something unfamiliar may seem unfair at first but players should be able to figure out that their point of view on 'unfairness' will change with experience. Just try playing Vintage for a week or two and you will see way faster what I have in mind.

Do not fear control decks running a lot of permission nor combo decks. Instead find a way how to beat them!

But thank you for letting me go 6-0 and I hope it was a good lesson for you guys. Take it easy as Lowman02 would say.

-S'Tsung (you can contact me via Magic Online - stsung - or through twitter - stsungjp)