We have results with Xerox performing the best but still a wide variety of decks in the top16:

http://www.starcitygames.com/decks/results/format/4/start_date/07-06-2019/end_date/09-06-2019/w_perc/0/g_perc/0/r_perc/0/b_perc/0/u_perc/0/a_perc/0/order_1/finish/limit/25/start_num/0/

I really like this approach and the deck looked sweet in stream-action. But it suffers from the same problem all fair blue decks but BUG do in the moment: Your first games against Shops and Dredge are nearly unwinnable and the hate out of the board is not enough and not good enough. I so hope for some regulating moves on Monday to free great innovation like that.

True, but why do the people not play the best deck in the format? Anyway, after the sky has fallen a few times the last couple of weeks with first Narset and then Karn dominating the format is it now Pitch Dredge? I for my part wait and see how the format will adjust.

Mystic Remora is pretty good against any kind of Gush and cantrip based deck (and storm btw), if you have a way to end the game fast. Remora does nothing against Mentor himself but can lead you to a game state where you can outplay the deck.

They already answered Rich on Twitter that there will be no changes to Vintage to not shake up the Eternal Weekend preparation.

I disagree, Xerox won't play that much removal and especially not that much white creature removal. And imo Pyroblast will stay where it is. It is still the most efficient answer to PO, Oko, FoW and the whole restricted blue package.

In the actual meta (see the last vintage challenge) it could make sense to maindeck Containment Priests. Dredge and Oath are stronger than ever and the Ambush Viper mode of the Priests make them even usefull in almost any matchup but Storm and Paradoxical.

First of all: Thank you for the write-up, Joe! I appreciate a lot that you offer so much vintage content so frequently.

@smmenen said in November 26 Banned & Restricted Announcement:

... and like 4-8 decks capable of winning any tournament (Survival, PO, Dredge, Oath, BUG(r), Xerox, Shops, WEldrazi).

I agree with smmenen too, alone the quoted diversity of deck types is something we didn't have for a long time, without dominance of one of them and with a broad strategic diversity.

Maybe we can develop the meta a bit further by unrestrictions to establish additional deck types. Fastbond comes to my mind, which could boost Lands/Depth/Loam style decks, but there might be other possibilities.

Seems like a pretty diverse meta. I would probably differentiate between Delver Xerox and Control Xerox (just with Pyromancers and/or Mentor) as the first one plays a more aggressive role.

I disagree, Xerox won't play that much removal and especially not that much white creature removal. And imo Pyroblast will stay where it is. It is still the most efficient answer to PO, Oko, FoW and the whole restricted blue package.

They already answered Rich on Twitter that there will be no changes to Vintage to not shake up the Eternal Weekend preparation.

We used to have a nice little tournament series here in Hesse, Germany, but appearance went down with job and family business, so the organizers finally quit it and sold their power. It’s a totally understandable move but still sad. Others quit as they didn’t like Vintage becoming more powerful with new cards like Paradoxical which I understand less as the format is still diverse and really challenging. But that’s how it is in the moment with almost no real tournaments around.

I really like this approach and the deck looked sweet in stream-action. But it suffers from the same problem all fair blue decks but BUG do in the moment: Your first games against Shops and Dredge are nearly unwinnable and the hate out of the board is not enough and not good enough. I so hope for some regulating moves on Monday to free great innovation like that.

I have tested URw Arcanist Xerox quite a bit as well. Arcanist definately pushes this archetype on a new level, offering constant and costfree card advantage it didn't have before. It has games against almost all of the major archetypes in the moment, Karn, BUG, Survival, but still struggles with Dredge. I am working on a more hatefull version with maindeck Wastelands and/or Containment Priest/Pithing Needle, but didn't find the perfect constellation yet. Another option would be to add black, as Matt did in one Challenge. But Mentor and Swords to Plowshares are probably too much of a loss.

Probably nice with W+S.

And the Fuse mechanism?

I am interested in that as well. And what about Wear / Tear?

It is true to better compare this card with Bob. But at least Arcanist seems to be good enough to replace Snapcasters or JVPs in the lists I have seen far as all of them use the graveyard as a resource. People did even cut Treasure Cruise. This might have something to do with Narset but is still worth mentioning (restricted, totally overpowered Treasure Cruise! In a cantrip deck!). On a sidenote: Plague Engineer is pretty good against Arcanist (and a nice card in general).

So, is Arcanist the new hot stuff and even better than Snapcaster? Seems so if I see the latest Legacy (and Vintage) results.