For anyone visiting this weekend who doesn't want to bring their Power with them, we'll have the following loaner decks available:

• PO
• Xerox
• Shops
• Dredge
  

In town for GP Austin? Forget sanctioned events and spend your Sunday kicking off the 2020 Vintage season with us!

Location: Barracuda (611 East 7th St)
Entry Fee: $10
Registration: 11:00 registration, 12:00 start time
Payout: 100% of entry fees go to Top 4; unique proxy card and invite to year-end championship for 1st Place
Proxy Limit: Unlimited proxy
Proxy Rules: While we love real cards and beautifully-rendered proxies, it’s more important to us that you’re just here and playing. As such, we’re not instituting any proxy rules or guidelines.
Decklists: We will be collecting decklists to post online after the event.

If y’all could just move this back to next weekend so people actually watch our stream, that’d be great.

Season 2 has wrapped, which brings us to the big event: the year-end Invitational! This Saturday, come watch this year's best performers battle for the title of Season 2 Champion!

Twitch Channel: https://www.twitch.tv/romancingthestones
Start Time: Noon CST
Location: Hotel Vegas in Austin, TX (come hang out if you're in town!)
Format: 4 rounds of swiss with a cut to top 4

Players:

Ethan Kline: White Eldrazi

Maindeck: 
2 Containment Priest
2 Eldrazi Displacer
3 Glowrider
4 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Reality Smasher
4 Thalia, Guardian of Thraben
3 Thalia, Heretic Cathar
4 Thought-Knot Seer
1 Black Lotus
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Sol Ring
1 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Trinisphere
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Cavern of Souls
4 Eldrazi Temple
2 Karakas
4 Plains
1 Strip Mine
4 Wasteland
Sideboard: 
2 Containment Priest
4 Grafdigger's Cage
3 Kataki, War's Wage
2 Null Rod
2 Swords to Plowshares
2 Deafening Silence

Bryan Hockey: PO
 
Maindeck:
5 moxen
1 ancestral recall
1 time walk
1 timetwister
4 paradoxical outcome
1 tinker
1 bolas's citadel
3 mox opal
1 mana crypt
1 mana vault
1 sol ring
2 top
4 force of will
1 ponder
1 brainstorm
1 narset
1 demonic tutor
1 yawg will
1 misstep
1 merchant scroll
1 mentor
1 snapcaster
1 dig through time
1 black lotus
1 chain of vapor
1 vampiric tutor
1 repeal
2 preordain
1 teferi
1 balance
1 gitaxian probe
2 night's whisper
2 island
1 flooded strand
2 polluted delta
1 misty rainforest
2 scalding tarn
1 tolarian academy
1 tundra
2 underground sea
1 volcanic island
 
 
Sideboard:
1 teferi
1 mystic remora
1 defense grid
2 lightning bolt
3 pyroblast
3 tormod's crypt
1 volcanic island
1 containment   priest
1 toxic deluge
1 sphinx of the steel wind

Patrick Vincent: BUG
 
Maindeck: 
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
2 Collector Ouphe
4 Deathrite Shaman
2 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
3 Tarmogoyf
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Sylvan Library
1 Ancestral Recall
3 Assassin's Trophy
1 Brainstorm
1 Dig Through Time
1 Flusterstorm
1 Force of Vigor
4 Force of Will
1 Mental Misstep
1 Spell Pierce
1 Gush
1 Dismember
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Misdirection
1 Strip Mine
3 Tropical Island
3 Underground Sea
3 Wasteland
1 Snow-Covered Forest
3 Verdant Catacombs
3 Misty Rainforest
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
2 Oko, Thief of Crowns
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Time Walk
1 Treasure Cruise
1 Ponder

Sideboard:
2 Grafdigger's Cage
1 Yixlid Jailer
1 Energy Flux
1 Flusterstorm
2 Force of Vigor
2 Ravenous Trap
1 Infernal Reckoning
1 Assassin's Trophy
1 The Tabernacle at Pendrell Vale
1 Wasteland
1 Liliana, the Last Hope
1 Toxic Deluge

Jake Baltz: Karnstruct.dec

Maindeck:
1 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Master of Etherium
1 Lodestone Golem
4 Urza, Lord High Artificer
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
2 Mox Opal
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
1 Mana Vault
1 Ponder
2 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Sol Ring
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Time Walk
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
1 Tinker
1 Trinisphere
4 Karn, Scion of Urza
1 Karn, the Great Creator
1 Mystic Forge
4 Paradoxical Outcome
4 Force of Will
1 Bolas's Citadel
1 Dig Through Time
2 Flooded Strand
6 Island
2 Misty Rainforest
2 Polluted Delta
1 Tolarian Academy
 
Sideboard:
1 Chalice of the Void
4 Tormod's Crypt
2 Flusterstorm
2 Pithing Needle
2 Stubborn Denial
1 Hurkyl's Recall
2 Dismember
1 Mycosynth Lattice

Kai Schafroth: Thieves Storm
 
Maindeck:
2 Flooded Strand
1 Island
1 Mystic Sanctuary
2 Polluted Delta
2 Scalding Tarn
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Underground Sea
2 Volcanic Island
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Black Lotus
1 Blightsteel Colossus
1 Bolas's Citadel
1 Brainstorm
1 Dack Fayden
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Dig Through Time
1 Fatal Push
1 Flusterstorm
1 Force of Negation
4 Force of Will
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Karn, the Great Creator
1 Lightning Bolt
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Drain
1 Mental Misstep
1 Merchant Scroll
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Narset, Parter of Veils
1 Notion Thief
1 Ponder
3 Preordain
2 Pyroblast
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Snapcaster Mage
1 Sol Ring
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Time Walk
1 Timetwister
1 Tinker
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Voltaic Key
1 Yawgmoth's Will

Sideboard:
1 Abrade
2 By Force
1 Hurkyl's Recall
1 Inkwell Leviathan
2 Leyline of the Void
1 Manifold Key
2 Ravenous Trap
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
1 Thoughtseize
1 Time Vault
1 Tormod's Crypt

Nick Lee: Oath

Maindeck:
• 2x Abrade
• 1x Ancestral Recall
• 1x Ancient Grudge
• 1x Brainstorm
• 1x Dig Through Time
• 2x Force of Negation
• 4x Force of Will
• 1x Mental Misstep
• 3x Pyroblast
• 2x Spell Pierce
• 1x Veil of Summer
• 1x Narset, Parter of Veils
• 2x Oko, Thief of Crowns
1 x Dack Fayden
2x Jace the Mind Sculptor
• 4x Oath of Druids
• 2x Flooded Strand
• 4x Forbidden Orchard
• 1x Misty Rainforest
• 1x Polluted Delta
• 1x Scalding Tarn
• 3x Tropical Island
• 3x Volcanic Island
• 1x Black Lotus
• 1x Mox Emerald
• 1x Mox Jet
• 1x Mox Pearl
• 1x Mox Ruby
• 1x Mox Sapphire
• 1x Gaea's Blessing
• 1x Gitaxian Probe
• 1x Ponder
• 4x Preordain
• 1x Time Walk
• 1x Griselbrand
• 1x Niv-Mizzet, Parun
Sideboard:
• 2x Blazing Archon
• 1x Chalice of the Void
• 4x Nature's Claim
• 1x Null Rod
• 1x Pyroblast
• 4x Ravenous Trap
• 2x Tormod's Cryp

Joseph Amaya: PO
 
Maindeck:
Ancestral Recall x1
Brainstorm x1
Chain of Vapor x1
Dig Through Time x1
Flusterstorm x1
Force of Will x4
Hurkyl's Recall x1
Mental Misstep x1
Paradoxical Outcome x4
Pyroblast x1
Repeal x1
Vampiric Tutor x1
Demonic Tutor x1
Gitaxian Probe x1
Merchant Scroll x1
Ponder x1
Preordain x2
Tendrils of Agony x1
Time Walk x1
Tinker x1
Yawgmoth's Will x1
Narset, Parter of the Veil x1
Mystic Remora x1
Black Lotus x1
Bolas's Citadel x1
Mana Crypt x1
Mana Vault x1
Mox Emeral x1
Mox Jet x1
Mox Opal x3
Mox Pearl x1
Mox Ruby x1
Mox Sapphire x1
Sensei's Divining Top x2
Sol Ring x1
Monastery Mentor x1
Sphinx of the Steel Wind x1
Flooded Strand x1
Island x2
Karakas x1
Misty Rainforest x1
Polluted Delta x1
Scalding Tarn x2
Tolarian Academy x1
Tundra x1
Underground Sea x2
Volcanic Sea x1
 
Sideboard:
Chain of Vapor x1
Flusterstorm x1
Force of Negation x1
Hurkyl's Recall x3
Lightning Bolt x2
Mountain x1
Mystic Remora x1
Pyroblast x2
Tormod's Crypt x3

Jack Bellingrath: Ravager Shops
 
Maindeck:
1 Black Lotus
1 Chalice of the Void
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Mystic Forge
1 Sol Ring
4 Sphere of Resistance
1 Thorn of Amethyst
1 Trinisphere
2 Sorcerous Spyglass
4 Arcbound Ravager
4 Foundry Inspector
1 Lodestone Golem
4 Phyrexian Revoker
4 Walking Ballista
4 Stonecoil Serpent
2 Hangarback Walker
1 Scrapyard Recombiner
4 Ancient Tomb
4 Mishra's Factory
4 Mishra's Workshop
1 Strip Mine
1 Tolarian Academy
4 Wasteland

Sideboard:
4 Grafdigger's Cage
2 Null Rod
1 Sorcerous Spyglass
3 Sentinel Totem
2 Wurmcoil Engine
3 Leyline of Sanctity

Shane Rice: DPS
 
Maindeck:
1 Badlands
1 Bloodstained Mire
1 Island
1 Library of Alexandria
4 Polluted Delta
1 Swamp
1 Tolarian Academy
3 Underground Sea
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Brainstorm
2 Cabal Ritual
1 Chain of Vapor
2 Dark Petition
4 Dark Ritual
1 Demonic Tutor
4 Duress
1 Gitaxian Probe
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Ponder
4 Preordain
1 Red Elemental Blast
1 Tendrils of Agony
1 Timetwister
1 Tinker
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Wheel of Fortune
1 Yawgmoth’s Will
1 Black Lotus
1 Bolas’s Citadel
2 Defense Grid
1 Lion’s Eye Diamond
1 Lotus Petal
1 Mana Crypt
1 Mana Vault
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Pearl
1 Mox Ruby
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Necropotence
1 Sol Ring
1 Yawgmoth’s Bargain
 
Sideboard:
2 Chain of Vapor
2 Collective Brutality
2 Energy Flux
1 Hurkyl’s Recall
4 Ravenous Trap
2 Sadistic Sacrament
1 Shattering Spree
1 Sphinx of the Steel Wind

Jeff Lubinski: 4C Survival
 
Maindeck:
2 Bayou
4 Bazaar of Baghdad
1 Forest
2 Misty Rainforest
1 Savannah
3 Tropical Island
1 Verdant Catacombs
2 Windswept Heath
1 Wooded Foothills
4 Basking Rootwalla
3 Collector Ouphe
1 Containment Priest
3 Deathrite Shaman
1 Elvish Spirit Guide
4 Hollow One
1 Lavinia, Azorius Renegade
1 Leovold, Emissary of Trest
1 Noble Hierarch
1 Phantasmal Image
1 Squee, Goblin Nabob
1 Trygon Predator
4 Vengevine
1 Wonder
1 Ancestral Recall
2 Force of Vigor
1 Mental Misstep
1 Time Walk
3 Veil of Summer
1 Black Lotus
1 Mox Emerald
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
4 Survival of the Fittest
 
Sideboard:
2 Assasin’s Trophy
2 Containment Priest
2 Energy Flux
1 Force of Vigor
4 Leyline of the Void
2 Mindbreak Trap
1 Ravenous Trap
1 Yixlid Jailer

Interested, but I said that about the last NYSE and then couldn't attend, so take that with requisite salt.

This sounds awesome! I'm gonna be in CT for the holidays and my wife just gave me the go-ahead, so I might make the drive down to NJ for this.

@john-cox said in The Singleton Argument:

Your post tells me that over the past decade both homogeneous and broken strategies have been viable and right now broken is better. I would assume in the near future a "fair" strategy will emerge and put up low numbers again.

This is my takeaway, too. 2014 is the low point for singletons, and the Top 8 included 4 Delver and 2 Shops. I'm guessing that if 2019 Champs had happened a few months earlier, during the period UWR Xerox was dominating on MTGO, the number of singletons would have been a good deal lower. Surely that could happen in the future (unless, as the argument goes, we've reached a critical mass of powerful restricted/singleton cards, and there isn't a good reason to not max out on those cards).

Cheers guys!

Sorry for the confusion and slow reply, @Thewhitedragon69, but as you were there I think you figured it out

@Ten-Ten we had 17, which was a satisfying end to the season. White Elrazi took it down.

I see people make the argument all the time that restrictions keep pushing us closer to a singleton format, and that maybe we should just go ahead and restrict everything. I'm having a slow Friday at work, so I was curious: are singletons actually trending upwards?

It's not perfect, but I decided an easy way to check would be to tally up the number of singletons in North American Vintage Champs Top 8s. Here's what I found:

Some notes:

• EDIT: I should note that this is only maindecks. I excluded sideboards because I figured by nature they include a lot of 1-ofs.
• I excluded Dredge, because their lists were huge outliers (e.g. 3 singleton cards/list).
• 2019 is 8 decklists. I don't know why I left that field blank.
• For some reason, I couldn't find the 2010 decklists.
• Anecdotally, the years with more singletons tended to feature higher numbers of PO, Oath, and Storm. In years with fewer singletons, we saw decks like Delver as dominant strategies.
• My quick summary is I'm not sure what to conclude. It looks to me as though 2011 - 2018 was fairly stable. 2019 saw a big jump in singletons.

I'm not posting this to make a strong argument for/against restrictions, or anything like that. I just thought some people might find it interesting.

First place this weekend gets to celebrate Austin (Romancing The Stones), San Antonio (Alamo City Old School), and Houston (the Lone Star Lhurgoyfs). Dallas . . . well, we won't talk about Dallas.