Open the Vaults: messing around with good cards

So yesterday at FNM open the vaults went 4-2. I only lost to jund and mono-white. Both games I lost my borderposts were getting hit with pulses and o-rings, and that slowed me down enough to not get my open the vaults online.

Also of note, I successfully traded for two new Jaces. For those of you keeping score at home, Jace > Obelisk of Alara.

So here's how I plan to make changes:

36 spells
4x Everflowing Chalice
4x Tidehollow Sculler
4x pilgrim's eye
2x jace, the mind sculptor
4x day of judgment
4x sphinx of lost truths
4x glassdust hulk
4x open the vaults
4x filigree angel
2x martial coup

24 lands
8 islands
5 plains
2 swamps
2 bojuka bog
3 marsh flats
4 glacial fortress
*I changed the manabase after writing the bottom part--i realized there are some good non-basics to pretty much fix my mana issues. The problem with non-basics is lots of people are using tectonic edge, so before it was a colorless mana and now it actually hits something, but i'm not too worried about that, because by the time i have four lands in play i can cast pilgrim's eye.

sideboard
2 magister sphinx (instead of sanguine bond)
4 hindering light
3 oblivion ring
2 negate
4 spreading seas

this build is going to need some testing. I have 20 artifacts in the maindeck, which seems like enough. Tidehollow may be too inconsistent (with only five black mana sources, two of which come into play tapped) for a turn two, so I'll have to either play him later on, or discard him with the sphinx. Both of those still make him really good maindeck. If I can consistently get a turn 5-6 open the vaults, getting a tidehollow or two into play greatly increases my likelihood of stabilizing. However, it means it is a 2-cost card that I pretty much can't count on till late game. So is it better than spreading seas or hindering light, both of which I want vs jund and vampires? In reality, a turn 2 sculler is pretty much dead as soon as his ability triggers, but a turn seven can get the final piece of removal, putting my opponent into topdeck mode for good. And two or three coming into play all at once on turn six is just brutal. All of that to say I'm not sure he's better than spreading seas--regardless of the island effect, it cantrips--or hindering light--again, cantrip. Sculler is really really good late game, and just ok early game. Testing required, but I think he is good enough to be maindeck. Also, if I take him out for seas or light, i go down to 16 artifacts maindeck, which seems not good.

Jace & coup both work with the synergy of the deck--Jace helps me have a really great topdeck every turn and after I stabilize becomes a win-con. Coup works well with my 4 everlasting chalices to make a bunch of soldiers, but also is an alternate board sweeper. I believe I can consistently cast day on turn 4, but vs jund I will need two more, as well as a way to block or remove raging ravine (spreading seas works nicely). The coup provides me a fifth and sixth board sweeper, very useful for jund.

The problem with the jund matchup is I need Hindering Light (blighting, maindeck, thought hemmhorage & jund charm--gy removal--post sideboard) AND spreading seas (my ONLY way to deal with man-lands, other than playing creatures). So I'm taking out 8 cards for those. I imagine those 8 cards are 4 tidehollow sculler, 4 everflowing chalice--the chalice is great vs fast aggro, not necessary vs mid-range aggro like jund, also it provides a nice maelstrom pulse target. They help out my early game, as well as give me cantrips to help me get to my combo pieces.

So here's my FNM story:



I played vs jund round 4 vs robert forrest.

Game one, I won soundly.

Game two I flashfreezed a turn 3 thirnax, played a pilgirm's eye on my turn three. Turn four he blightning'd me, and I discarded two angels. I played a land and tapped two of them for a chalice with 1, leaving two untapped islands. Next turn I would be able to open the vaults, and get both angels and gain 30 life. He untaps, thinks for a minute, then thought hemmhorages naming open the vaults. I lost three turns later after he pulsed my chalices next turn off a bloodbraid.

Game three, I was holding a sphinx of the lost truths. I had eight lands in play. I was at 4 life. He was at 19. He had no cards in hand at the end of his turn, but he had a bloodwitch in play which was going to kill me next turn. I topdeck an open the vaults. I have 2 pilgrim's eyes and 1 glassdust hulk in the yard. I have enough mana to play open the vaults, or play the sphinx with or without kicker, but not both. I play vaults. He topdecks maelstrom pulse, gets both my fliers, and swings across for four, good game. My top three cards (i looked after the game) were island, angel, negate. If I had casted the sphinx with kicker, i could have played the island and had an angel to play next turn and a negate to protect my sphinx. And since I was playing borderposts I had about four artifacts in play, so I had essentially stabilized.

vs white weanie both games i had decent early game, both games i got my borderpost o-ringed turn three, both games i lost by turn six to elspeth and dread sanctuary. the o-ringing of my borderpost made all the difference.

so i think the new build may be good, but not sure yet
Anyway