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.
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.
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.
Just one deck with Karns (a blue one) in the the top16 of the latest challenge. Lots of Dredge, BUG and Xerox instead.
https://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/mtgo-standings/vintage-challenge-2019-06-09
We have results with Xerox performing the best but still a wide variety of decks in the top16:
I like Goblin Cratermaker as a flexible solution against many threats in the format.
I tried it out in a pure UB Outcome build and it has been great so far. Divining Top is now even more central for the deck (I thought about adding the fourth copy), topdeck tutors became much stronger and Tinker is the go-to-card in the deck with Outcome and draw sevens as backup. Feels pretty consistant. Narset and Lavinia might be a reason to add red, but I don‘t see it absolutly needed as stuff like Chain of Vapor and Karakas might be enough and I really like the stable manabase.
Very true, thanks for clearing this up. To complete the picture we have to add that Kess doesn't have synergy with other graveyards based spells (Snapcaster, Yawgmoth's Will, the delve ones ...), but you are right: It is easier to use the Kess effect.
@theactualsaturn said in [WAR] God-Eternal Kefnet:
Kefnet + JTMS + Ancestral / Time Walk.
Sounds like three wishes already resolved 
Kefnet reminds me a bit of Kess. But it has the better mana requirements, a bigger body, the cost reduction part and it doesn't remove the used spells . Both just function under certain conditions (instant/sorcery on top/graveyard). So Kefnet seem to be a clear improvement. And while Kess just randomly saw play, I could see this appear a bit more often.
@vaughnbros said in Teferi, Time Raveler:
This card is broken. Removes Stony/Rod and stops all counterspells.
I think, this is one reason that makes it a good choice for PO, probably better than for other decks. You can remove problematic permanents- Lavinia as well - AND draw a card, stop counterspells during the turn you are going off, play broken stuff like Demonic Tutor, Walk, Tinker (into Bolas‘ Citadel) and even Preordain and Night‘ Whisper during end step and bounce it with PO. Very flexible tool for this setting.
I definitely play some Pithing Needles in the board in the moment, as they work quite effectively against Dredge and Survivial. Shutting down Bazaar has become more powerful against Dredge since they play Hollow Ones und Anglers out of the board as well. And the abbility to hit both, Surivival and Bazaar, make them a good choice against Survival as well. I would then combine them with a mix of answers depending on when they can effect the game state (from turn 0 to turn 2).
I think you could easily go with white as well. You loose the instant speed of Claim, but Fragmentize does more less the same. Ancient Grudge can be exchanged with Shattering Spree which has ups and downs. Additionally you get Mentor, Lavinia and Rest in Peace.
@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.