Vintage is arguably the most thought provoking format in all of magic. Between power nine and cards like Necropotence there are a potentially endless number of decks that you could build in order to be competitive is this high powered format. I would like to introduce you all to one of the decks that I am currently playing when somebody asks whether or not I want to play in this format.


Omni-Storm (all the things)

Who's got 2 thumbs and likes free stuff?

by Corey Vangel

Lands: 17
2x Ancient Tomb
3x Island
4x Polluted Delta
2x Scalding Tarn
1x Swamp
3x Underground Sea
2x Volcanic Island

Creatures: 3
1x Emrakul, the Aeons Torn
2x Griselbrand

Instants/ Sorceries: 29
1x Ancestral Recall
1x Brainstorm
1x Hurkyl’s Recall
2x Intuition
1x Mystical Tutor
1x Vampiric Tutor
3x Burning Wish
1x Demonic Tutor
1x Imperial Seal
2x Overmaster
1x Ponder
4x Show and Tell
1x Tendrils of Agony
4x Thoughtseize
1x Time Walk
1x Timetwister
1x Windfall
1x Wheel of Fortune
1x Yawgmoth’s Will

Artifacts: 6
1x Black Lotus
1x Mana Crypt
1x Mox Jet
1x Mox Ruby
1x Mox Sapphire
1x Sol Ring

Enchantments: 5
4x Omniscience
1x Yawgmoth’s Bargain

Sideboard: 15
1x Echoing Truth
1x Eye of Nowhere
2x Energy Flux
1x Flusterstorm
4x Grafdigger’s Cage
1x Misdirection
1x Overmaster
1x Petals of Insight
1x Pyroclasm
1x Shattering Spree
1x Tendrils of Agony

For those of you who are not aware as to how this deck works, it goes simply like this. You cast Show and Tell putting Omniscience into play, Omniscience allows you to cast all of the spells from your hand for zero mana, effectively allowing you to play through your deck and either cast Tendrils of Agony for lethal, or cast an Emrakul, the Aeons Torn (taking your extra turn off because you technically cast it) and then beating them to death.

Here are some of the cards that will help you win the game:

Griselbrand:
Griselbrand in this deck are your second and third copies of Yawgmoth’s Bargain, although in certain situations they have the upside of having lifelink. This allows you to draw a massive amount of cards, usually drawing you into a second Show and Tell and Omniscience.

Intuition:
Intuition is one of the toolbox tutors for the deck, it usually allows you to get any combination of cards albeit three Omnisciences, three Show and Tells, three Burning Wishs etc. The goal of using Intuition is to set up at the end of your opponents turn so that when you untap, you can use Show and Tell and then win the game.

Burning Wish:
Burning Wish is the main tutor of the deck. What it effectively does is allows you to run an additional number of cards in your sideboard that can aid in whichever match-up you are in. For example, if you were playing against control you would Burning Wish for Overmaster, allowing you to either bait a counterspell from their hand, or if it resolves, cast a Show and Tell and then win the game.

Thoughtseize:
Thoughtseize is the card that allows you to check to see if the coast is clear in order for you to combo off, simple as that. As long as you have the extra mana up, if you can cast a Thoughtseize, you probably should, if only to take away a card from their hand that could be problematic once Show and Tell resolves and you are looking to put a finishing spell into play.

Match-ups:

Versus Dredge:
When playing against dredge, it is important to realize that they are essentially playing a deck with almost no interaction, so if you can combo out fast, there is often nothing stopping you in doing so. That being said there are instances in which dredge gets insane draws where they can amass an army of dudes and use them to Cabal Therapy your combo away before you can combo off. Post-board you should bring in all four Grafdigger’s Cages and the Echoing Truth.

Versus Workshop:
When playing against workshop, it is often best to be proactive with your spells as they have a very limited amount of interaction that they can use against you. If it is at all possible, Thoughtseize them turn one in order to take away any taxing spells that they have as they can hinder your combo. If you can keep that in mind, then the Workshop match-up is easy, if however they can get a bunch of their taxing artifacts down then you will have an uphill battle on your hands. Post-board you should bring in both of the Energy Fluxs in order to keep their artifact onslaught in check.

Versus Mayor Humans:
When playing against GW/x humans there are only really a few cards that you have to take into account, those being Thalia, Guardian of Thraben and Stony Silence, if you can manage to take away those cards, then you will most likely be able to go off without a hitch game one as they have very little in the way of interaction with your combo. Post-board unless the humans deck is playing Blue you often do not have to sideboard against them as all of the cards that you use to interact with them can be easily found via Burning Wish.

Versus Tropical Storm/ Storm:
When playing against Storm you should do your best to Thoughtseize them often, as they often have cards that can prevent you from comboing off like counterspells or their own disruption spells. Depending on the storm list that they are running, they will have certain cards that it is probably best that they are dealt with before they can come into play, such as Necropotence or Fastbond as they often allow the storm player to generate tremendous advantage and quickly put the game out of range for you. Post-board you should bring in the Flusterstorm for obvious reasons, the Misdirection to redirect certain spells such as Ancestral Recall towards yourself and all four Grafdigger's Cages to prevent any Flashback Shenanigans they could be doing.

Versus Landstill:
When playing against Landstill you should probably do your best to bait their counterspells early or remove them from their hand via Thoughtseize and it will make your life a lot easier, also it is important that if you are going to be using Show and Tell to put something other than Omniscience into play that you should Thoughtseize away the Jace, the Mind Sculptor they most likely have as it can deal with both Griselbrand and Emrakul, the Aeons Torn effectively. Post-board you should bring in the Flusterstorm as a way to deal with their massive amounts of counterspells and the Misdirection in order to redirect key spells and aid in resolving a Show and Tell.

Versus Tezzeret/ Turbo Tezz:
When playing against Tezzeret lists in vintage it is often best to take advantage of the turns in which they are tutoring by tutoring yourself in order to get ahead of them. Also it is important to Thoughtseize them after they have acquired the card that they needed and either force them to burn a counter or have the card they just tutored for stripped from their hand. If you can maintain tempo you will usually be able to combo off after the coast is clear. If however they can get established before you can keep them off of counterspells then this match-up is a difficult one. Post board you should bring in both of the Energy Fluxs in order to deal with all of their artifact shenanigans and the Misdirection to change the path of important spells and counterspells.

When side boarding with this deck it is important to keep in mind what exactly you are going to need in order to deal with the match-up at hand, so only side out what you think is going to be unnecessary in your match.

You should play this deck if:
• You like playing storm
• You like using permission spells
• You like playing commander cards in a constructed format.

You shouldn't play this deck if:
• You don't like storm or playing combo
• You prefer playing aggressive decks
• You like control lists.

This is but a small taste as to how fun vintage can be, if you would like me to clarify something further or would like me to post about a different deck, please feel free in the comment section below.

Corey Vangel
@Zielle47