Taxes taxes taxes at Kafferep

The Cursed Artifact cake is a crucial part of the tournaments “Swedish fika” that is the namesake of Kafferep (the name hails from 18th century when women were not allowed in coffee houses and had their own “Kafferep” at home instead). Coffee and fika (cakes and sweet things) is like a religion in Sweden.

It’s a tradition to take a proper picture when you earn a Rag Man. You can find Sebs other Ram Man pics here.

So I won a Rag Man once again! It’s my fifth one. I am not even trying. Last time around I became a Cosmic Horror due to it being my fourth one. My second one is a “The Fallen” but then the “BSK” old school event claimed it so we went back to Rag Men. It’s a bit of a participation Trophy that says "well, at least you tried”. It seems I have been trying a while now and I wonder what the future Rag Mans have in store for me…

What horrific creature would Rag Man number six be!?

The tournament, is just a small recurring thing “Paddan” got going a few years back. I actually won it last year. I tend to try to brew something spicy and that might be why I keep Rag Manning. Last years brew “Voodoo Geist” consisted of Xentrid Poltergeists animating Mines and picking off Moxen in a Parfait shell. I did not get the pet card “Voodoo Doll” in time for the tournament though. But there are many fun synergies going on: animating and attacking with a Howling Mine, animating an opponents tapped 0> cmc artifact and killing it off with Royal Assassin. I got to Maze of Ith, untapping an animated Winter Orb end of combat also.

I started tinkering with Voodoo Doll and how to make use of it and trying to avoid the downside of having to activate it each turn not to take damage yourself. You have your Relic Barriers as a backup I guess. It’s mostly cute but since it is where I started I kept it in the deck name. The parfait shell is great in so many different color combinations and I keep going back to it.

Sebs winning deck “Voodoo Geist” from Kafferep 2022.

This year I started off with making GW work in some capacity. I have always loved the card Gaea’s Touch and tried fitting it in many different brews. This time around I tried accompany it with Land Tax. Land Tax get you going with all those basic forests you need to make use of it. Pumping out a few Gaea’s Touch also let you sit and wait for your opponent to either let you tax or when you go off the tax you get to put in multiple lands, hopefully getting you ahead a bit. The problem is that you can’t splash other powerful stuff. The main goal of the deck is to draw cards with Sylvan getting some help from Ivory Towers. Then Ifh-Bíff Efreet with a Spirit Link or you having enough life gained let you pull the Hurricane trigger. Swosh!

Sebs “Hurricane Control” earning him a Rag Man at Kafferep 2023

I actually made the January ODOL finals with another Tax deck. It’s way better of course. I started brewing it when I got my second Moat and asked Åland what decks usually make use of two Moats. He sent this Tax Control version he build 2020 (you can see the decklist to the right). It was my baseline for getting the correct mana base that could work for my build. I won’t linger too long on it, it’s basicly The Deck with Land tax and Blood Moons in the SB. Sorry for the bad deck pic btw, was too dark when I took the pic...

Sebs “Pink Taxes”, 2nd Place ODOL January 2023

This is why we love Old School. Just look at that stack! Anti-Magic Aura on the Control Magic under the Djinn.

I’ll end this little blog post with Martin Berlins winning deck! I’ll be sure to test it myself in the future. Berlin has allways been a great Brewer and player and this was his third Kafferep win! Me Myself will have to go back to the drawing board and reset for next year. That’s all kids! Keep on brewin’ in the free world.

Martin Berlins RUG deck 1st place Kafferep 2023

The happy winner Martin Berlin with the winner card Cursed Artifact and a glass of swedish Punsch in his hands.

Slanfan, the runner up of Kafferep 2023 teching some Black Ward against Abyss. His deck consisted of Angels, Eggs and Vampires.

The organizer Paddan contemplating his life choices playing UW control or as Berlin put it: “Spelar du en klassisk blåhora Paddan!?” (will prob be lost in translation so I wont give it a try)

LOST STUFF - Help out a community friend!

Sadly, we got the news that Joen Erik lost his bag with his old school deck on the train home from Uthden Troll Cup. On November 7 It was missing when J.E arrived at schiphol, and he had it at Amersfoort, so it's most likely at one of the stations before schiphol, like Amsterdam Zuid. If you have any information or if you see any of the content below being sold, please reach out to:

kobbelhuus(at)gmail.com

There is a finders fee!

Here is also a spreadsheet with donation info if you want to help out!

This is how the bag looks like.

So the description of the contents is as follows:

1 black ultimate guard quadrow binder with assorted OS cards, the first pages contain nonbasic lands, with the Urza lands first. Thereafter come the artifacts, gold, black, blue, green, red and then white cards.

1 black ultimate guard boulder 80 deck box with and Adun Oakenshield Brawl deck

1 red ultimate guard boulder 80 deck box with sleeves, buttons and stickers on the inside

1 white ultimate guard boulder 80 deck box which contains assorted SWE legal basics, starting with 10+ beta swamps

1 blue ultimate guard deck box, the one for 80 cards with a dice holder. It is decked out with assorted stickers from the old school community and contains my os deck with 4 pieces of power, duals, LoA, Guardian Beast etc.

Nonmagic stuff:

Clothes

Toiletries

BMW car key fob

House keys

1 blue Fjällräven backpack

In addition to this it is all in a black nylon Unit Portables overnight bag. There's also an Iron Maiden Live After Death playmat in there

Unique altered Mind Twist

Photo of card boxes

(left) Joen Erik playing his deck with playmat and pictures in a different angle of the card boxes.

And some of the pictures of the cards and decks that are in the card boxes…

Running BANT in the ODOL gauntlet

“Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”
― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky

In the early beginnings of the lock-down I slapped my knee and told myself and everyone else that would listen to me that when this is over, we shall play again but god damnit if I ever would sit in front of a computer screen and do it. It’s the company that matters! The beer! The socializing.

Then time happened and that little nerve, that little fickle magic nerve you have if you ever learn to play this game, started to prod at me. It told me of deck design ideas, it told me of gamestates, it also said that there are some people out there that actually enjoy each others company playing webcam magic. And I said NO! Shame on you, shame on me and shame on them for violating this beautiful little magical, yes- MAGICAL thing we got going on here. But then you guys kinda know what happened, or not happened.

So I have been playing ODOL during the lockdown. For those of you who dont know what ODOL is, It’s an Online Dutch Oldschool League that the TO “HW” put together after facing facts that me myself did not like to face. They usually play the Swedish ruleset in central European timezone. (if you like to know what ODOL stands for I would recommend you google it)

I have had a good run and tried some different archetypes and decks. This time around I wanted to have a go at BANT or- Arabian Aggro as it sometimes are called. Or Erhnam Geddon. The last times I played Arabian Aggro I went with a Martin Berlin build and I think I had some nice finishes with it. He played it in the Scandinavian Championship and Noobcon and tuned it to a well oiled machine.

Jonas “The Janitor” Stattin played Arabian Aggro at BSK 2018 and won with a Martin Berlin version of the deck.

The problem with Arabian Aggro is the first part of the deck name. If you are playing 11 threats and all of them are from Arabian Nights, there is a clean solution to that problem for some decks namely City in a Bottle. I think that City in a Bottle really made an impact a while back and even put the counterburn decks with Flying Men and Serendib Efreets in the corner. There are of course other variables that are in play here. Atog started to make a big showing in the Top8s instead for instance, but I am trying to make a point here so let us keep moving on.

Anton Glans BANT deck from Noobcon X

Anton Glans winning deck from X-Files invitational #2

I am very lucky to be friends with a lover of the BANT mid range archetype. Anton has a decent solution to the problem that is City in a Bottle. First off, we don’t play all of our creatures from Arabian Nights. Secondly white has Disenchant and that also takes care of another problem that is Abyss. Disenchant is such a good card and way more versatile than its red counterpart Shatter. Not does it only find more targets, it slips around Red Elemental Blast.

Seb Celias Top4 BANT deck in ODOL September 2021

So, I wanted to play Force Spike and Armageddon. I kinda just want to delve into what I would do differently this time around. Talking with Anton I wanted to have a sideboard where I could go for more fliers and have Moat and even Wrath of God as a backup for aggressive nmatchups where Force Spike and Geddon would not be good. That kinda ruled out Svannah Lions. After a bunch of games I can say that not only, did I not take in the Moat or WoG, but I just missed early threats and many times felt that my window started closing and my opponent hadn’t even lost that much life.

What the deck does well though is playing at all cylinders. Usually artifact removal isn’t that good against it and Energy Flux can win you games outright. I will admit that Antons version is way better. He did however convince me not to play two Storm Spirits in the sideboard and in this version I wanted to have them many times. Lions is probably a better solution to that problem and I also kinda like a Sylvan Library in the sideboard. I have a hate-hate-love relationship with Sylvan but with Geddon it’s fine. You can with it, float some lands in the top for an end of the world-rainy day.

Balance should probably be in the mix somewhere in your 75. It is just such a back breaking thing to have and with Demonic Tutor all of your silver bullets are two-fold. If you decide to play four colors as I did, Anton sternly told me that four City of Brass is a must. Which actually makes the deck more susceptible to CiaB but Tutor and Mind Twist are worth it in the end. Also, alongside with the Argothian Pixies, I’d say that Mishra’s Factory are the best threat you can have since they let you go all the way. With those and the other usual suspects (Library of Alexandria and Strip Mine) you are playing six colorless sources in a four color aggresive deck with Geddon. So, four Cities it is.

Anton Glans UW deck from Noobcom 2 that landed him a top8 spot.

I will just leave you with another way of going forward. The UW version above got Anton all the way to the Top8 spot in Noobcom 2. The big difference or evolving factor I’d say are the Mana Vaults. If you compare his BANT version of the deck from Noobcon X to this you can see that this is another way of going bigger that probably makes more sense than playing Birds of Paradise. A turn two Serra? A place where Moat is Actually good? Braingeyser? Recall? Balance? And apparently, even Geddon might be good with these enablers. Flux gets slightly worse though but sometimes those Vaults acts as colorless rituals. Maybe this is where I am venturing next.

Til’ next time!
I am Seb

PS. Here below is why you play Force Spike! DS.

Party Crashing the Ivory Cup VI

Far up, in the northern hemisphere lives a rugged man with great whiskers and a long beard whose colour has started to fade. His intense blue eyes wander between the tomes in his never ending scholarly pursuit for all that men of today might fail to recall. As a great sorcerer he has left it for others to pursue the customary and recognized spells. He lingers between the unknown and the hidden. I once saw, with my very own eyes, how he summoned a great red dragon at the Bazaar on the Al-​Muʿaẓẓam square. His foe sent a beast with a great evil eye upon him, but he deafened it with a blast from a horn and let the skies burn red before the great dragon delivered its final blow.

Looking straight into his small black pupils, that gaze that insisted on my demise. A grin appeared and his eyes turned friendly again. We shook hands and it was all over.

This was the first time I met the sorcerer. I fail to derive any lessons from when we have met then, and the following times, for the beer was flowing. Maybe this is how he keeps his knowledge to himself. As you all know, the studies of the occult and the wizardry have evolved a great deal the last decade.

By happenstance I came upon one of the pages in one of the sorcerers’ notebooks. It intrigued me since I had studied the same spells as of lately. Darkness and light combined in a witches brew named “The Party Crasher” really caught my eye. Today, a few years ago might be something not worth while lingering upon but I was in a real rush. It had the Dark Rituals, Hypnotic Spectres and the Underworld Dreams combined with Swords and Angels. I was transfixed, my mind was set.

(Anyhow, here are the different versions of MGs deck and mine that I won Ivory Cup with (and some minor thoughts on card choices)

//I am Seb.

MG - Undead Party Crasher, Gothenburg Invitational 2015

This is the first version of MGs Party Crasher deck. I stumbled upon it by accident and it caught my eye since it did not play Mishras and I haven’t played with my Hypnotics and Underworld Dreams in a while. I needed a deck for the Ivory Cup and I was already late with submitting because I was at first suppose to commentate the whole shindig. Basically, the funniest thing happened the day prior to the tournament. I had just bought a bunch of #långburk (50cl beers) when I got a phonecall from the preschool. Apparently my youngest kid had thrown up on one of the teachers. When I came home the other one also threw up. So, there I was with a bunch of fun in my bags and no where to (be able) go.

So let us get into the decks and stuff, but before we continue, I should prob point ya’ll to the episode of “Monster of the Week” where I have a chat about the deck and how it evolved. I wrote a summary of the last years Ivory Cup where I finished last and earned me my fourth Rag Man and where I tunred into a Cosmic Horror (jay me!). So I feel it start to be customary for me to write a few words as a report of sorts. Maybe next year I will end up in the middle somewhere but as we are keen on traditions here in the old school community, I will probably write something then also. So here are the links and let us get into other stuff:

EPISODE 20 - MG, THE JANITOR IVORY CUP VI

GOING TO RAG TOWN AT THE IVORY CUP

ALL THE DECKS FROM THE TOURNAMENT

So, with all that said, this version above is rocking a lot of artifact hate. Also more creatures than the later versions. MG will add another Serra going forward and have a completely different sideboard plan. Circle of protections can be nice and all but there are better ways to go about as we soon will see.

MG - Party Crasher, Wexio 2016 (2nd place)

When I found this version more things fell in place for me. Åland berated me for not keeping the Warp Artifacts in the SB. They are a sweet add and give your control opponents even less time to do stuff. Underworld Dreams never really let you draw out of your problems and with the slow drain from the Warps they need even more answers. Notice how the deck is resilient to artifact removal and playing no Juzams or other Arabian Nights cards also (besides some of the usual lands). This makes it tick I think. You can have the answer yourself in City in a Bottle and Moat is such a good card. The Wrath of Gods probably seals the deal in many of the aggressive creature matchups such as ZOO or Mono G. The engine of Ivory Towers, Land Tax and Greed also hits the spot just right where you want it. This is control with the possibility to get your legs swept from underneath by Geddon. An unanswered Hypnotic is also a way to go about of course.

MG - Party Crasher, From Russia With Love (1st place)

This is basically the same deal. MG came and visited us in Stockholm and took down the whole tourney with it. I came 3-4th in it with an UW skies deck and Chambers lost to MG in the finals.

MG - Party Crasher, Fishliver Oil (5-8th place)

MG made top8 at Fishliver Oil with this build. So some nice finishes in just one-ish year with the deck I’d say. It’s sure nice to play some Juzams once in a while. Kind of a non-bo with Moat though but the Spirit Links are winning the race for you in a big way. In the last version that MG built he tried playing 4 Sengirs and 4 Serras but he concluded it was way too clunky. I don’t have a deckpic of it but you have to take my word for the only other cool thing in that version to be a miser Pestilence in the SB. Before we go I will give you my deck that I won Ivory Cup VI with. I went for power and had a very controlly setup in the SB with Tomes and stuff. Going forward I would prob try to fit in some Warp Artifacts in the SB. Maybe consider Greed alongside some Spirit Links but without Land Tax in my version (hard to pull off splashing blue also) the Ivory Towers won’t do their job. It was sure nice to get a win this time around since I came in at the very last place the year before. The whole tournament can probably be found on Wak-Waks Youtube channel in the near future. Otherwise the VOD might still be up on the Twitch channel.

Seb Celia - Party Crasher, Ivory Cup VI (1st place)

Beer – an integral part of the Ivory Cup

Next month it is time for the Ivory Cup VI (more info here), our yearly big tournament here in Stockholm. Usually it is a pretty back to basics tournament except for one thing, the beer. We are very fond of our beer and usually have a bar setup with a lot of nice carefully selected beverages. This will however be hard now when we are doing it all online on Tolaria.app. That’s why we have put together this beer list for all the players.

The idea is that you can go and buy/order these beers and drink one of them ever round for the complete Ivory Cup experience! Also, it gives you something to talk about with your opponent who hopefully is drinking the same beer as you. Do it as a small online beer tasting or something.

It is of course hard to choose beers that we know everyone can get a hold of but we’ve tried to find that middle ground between a good beer you may not have tried and beer that should be available in most countries. They are however all readily available here in Sweden. If one specific beer isn’t available for you, go for another one of the same type is our suggestion.

Any questions? Hit up Gordon on our Discord. And also if you want to play, it is open for anyone! More info here.

Without further ado, here they are:

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Round 1 - Dale's Pale Ale

Brewery: Oskar Blues

Style: American Pale Ale

ABV: 6.5%

Let us start simple with one of the most classic American pale ales. Not too bitter and not too sweet. Not too strong?! If it's not available where you live, well that's simply wrong!

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Round 2 - XX Bitter

Brewery: Brouwerij De Ranke

Style: Belgian Pale/Single

ABV: 6%

We continue the pale ale saga but travel to Belgium. Belgian beer is in general more sweet than bitter, but this one has a serious bitter note and will segue nicely into round 3. XX also reminds us of Recall. If you have too many of these you might not Recall it!

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Round 3 - Sculpin IPA

Brewery: Ballast Point

Style: West Coast IPA

ABV: 7%

Time to take it up a notch, 1% to be exact. This is one of the most classic West Coast IPA:s with a 100/100 score on RateBeer. Unfortunately often lacking some freshness if you get it in Europe, but hopefully you will be able to find a decent batch. And yes, this one brings an even more bitter perspective on Old School Mtg. Also the perfect beer if you play Fish so sleeve up those Pearl Tridents!

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Round 4 - Oude Geuze Mariage Parfait

Brewery: Boon

Style: Gueuze

ABV: 8%

This is the perfect round for something different. Something to reset your taste buds while still bringing you that cozy feeling, it is 8% after all. Geuze is the champagne of Belgium and yes, this beer is sour. And amazing. Try it! Or any other geuze if you can't find this one. Unless you play Parfait, then you should probably get two of the above.

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Round 5 - Kentucky Breakfast Stout

Brewery: Founders

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 12.3%

Having cleansed our palate, we begin anew and what is a better way to start than with breakfast? This one packs a punch so be ready! Kentucky Breakfast Stout might be slightly challenging to find, but after four beers you can probably go for any imperial stout. This one is nevertheless rated 100/100 on RateBeer so should be worth the extra mile.

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Round 6 or top 8 or whatever - Březňák Světlý Ležák 12°

Brewery: Pivovar Velké Březno - Březňák

Style: Czech Pilsener

ABV: 5.1%

Chances are that you are feeling a bit tipsy now, and will enjoy most beer that comes your way. Time to take it easy. Why Březňák? First of all, the brewery is owned by Heineken so it should be readily available in most places. Second, a friend of ours tried every dirt cheap lager in Sweden and this one was crowned the winner! By now it is a staple at his annual Magic Pool Party and it's actually quite good if we Recall things correctly.

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HOWEVER… If you are still sober enough for something peculiar:

Quadruple Lingonberry Maple Pancake Lassi Gose

Brewery: Omnipollo

Style: Style? Yeah sure, it is a gose but with a big BUT

ABV: 6%

Omnipollo is a really good brewery. But they also brew some crazy S#€T sometimes, and this is one of those. Try it out, or any of the other Omnipollo experimental brews. Lingonberries do nevertheless match Swedish Old School the best. You can probably order it here if your local dealer fails you: https://omnipollo.com/