So Close I Could Smell The Power | 13th Place at 2026 NYSE Open X w/Doomsday
A week ago, I was resigned to skipping the 2026 NYSE Open X, the final iteration of the high-stakes Vintage tournament. Between a lack of preparation, newborn twins (yeah, they are still here), and the steep $500 entry fee, it did not make sense.
I lamented my situation — if it had been a year earlier, with my success in Italy behind me, I surely would have tried harder to get some practice in and make the entry value (EV) positive.
Then, Friday night, less than 15 hours before the tournament started, I was convinced by a generous patron to drive to Long Island and play. The offer was too good to refuse, so I immediately contacted anyone who would listen, trying to smash together a deck.
{Doomsday} by Adrian Smith
Obviously, I played {Doomsday}. The big evolutions in Vintage over the last few months were the printing of {Flow State} and, to a lesser extent, {Hexing Squelcher}.
I knew Vintage {Doomsday} decks were experimenting with {Flow State}, and hurriedly compared recent top finishes. The theory behind {Flow State} in fast combo decks is that it allows powerful refills after exhausting resources and increases the “finds two cards” density. {Ancestral Recall}, {Dig Through Time}, {Treasure Cruise}, {Gush}, and, to a lesser extent, {Brainstorm} also have this ability.
All of those cards are restricted. To maximize filling the graveyard, many Doomsday decks also play {Consider}, which has strong potential to turn on {Flow State} all by itself.
[u][b] {Doomsday} | 2026 NYSE Open X | Eric Ratkowski
DECKLIST_START
Creatures (6)
2 {Thassa's Oracle} [u][u]
4 {Street Wraith} [3][b][b]
Instants (20)
4 {Force of Will} [3][u][u]
4 {Dark Ritual} [b]
2 {Flusterstorm} [u]
2 {Consider} [u]
1 {Demonic Consultation} [b]
1 {Brainstorm} [u]
1 {Ancestral Recall} [u]
1 {Gitaxian Probe} [up]
1 {Mental Misstep} [up]
1 {Misdirection} [3][u][u]
1 {Gush} [4][u]
1 {Dig Through Time} [6][u][u]
Sorceries (16)
4 {Ponder} [u]
1 {Thoughtseize} [b]
1 {Duress} [b]
3 {Flow State} [1][u]
1 {Time Walk} [1][u]
1 {Demonic Tutor} [1][b]
4 {Doomsday} [b][b][b]
1 {Treasure Cruise} [7][u]
Artifacts (3)
1 {Black Lotus} [0]
1 {Mox Jet} [0]
1 {Mox Sapphire} [0]
Enchantment (1)
1 {Necropotence} [b][b][b]
Lands (14)
4 {Underground Sea}
2 {Scalding Tarn}
2 {Polluted Delta}
2 {Misty Rainforest}
2 {Flooded Strand}
1 {Island}
1 {Undercity Sewers}
Sideboard
4 {Leyline of the Void} [2][b][b]
1 {Consign to Memory} [u]
1 {Force of Negation} [1][u][u]
1 {Long Goodbye} [1][b]
1 {Thoughtseize} [b]
1 {Steel Sabotage} [u]
1 {Hurkyl's Recall} [1][u]
2 {Unable to Scream} [u]
1 {Mindbreak Trap} [2][u][u]
1 {Snap} [1][u]
1 {Null Rod} [2]
DECKLIST_END
{Consider} by Zezhou Chen
Vintage orthodoxy is that discard spells are not effective enough. However, I have consistently had great results with them. {Thoughtseize} and {Duress} are also sorceries for {Flow State}.
I knew there were {Hexing Squelcher} decks running around, and wanted to diversify my disruption away from only countermagic. In Europe in 2025, I replaced one {Street Wraith} with an {Edge of Autumn}, but for this tournament, I expected {Orcish Bowmasters} to be at a minimum, so I swapped back.
The important flex slot differences for my deck were:
1 {Misdirection}
1 {Thoughtseize}
1 {Duress}
2 {Consider}
3 {Flow State}
Notably, I did not play {Vampiric Tutor} or {Mystical Tutor}, but I should have. There are typically three {Flusterstorm}s, but only two here. With the pressure on the graveyard, I may cut {Treasure Cruise} in the future.
The sideboard was a mess. The important decisions were one {Thoughtseize} and one {Snap} — a cheeky nod to a Pauper friend I spoke with on Friday night. {Snap} is indeed “free,” and it answers creatures. Late in the tournament, it ALMOST won a game. With this untuned pile, I went to bed to get some “sleep” before the 2.5-hour drive. Let’s just say that with two infants, sleep is never restful.
{Child of Night} by Ash Wood
It was a pleasant morning drive down to Long Island. I had no idea what to expect, but I quickly saw friendly faces from New York City. Among them were the inimitable Paolo, always bringing the best vibes, the esteemed Dave Kaplan, one of the godfathers of NYC Vintage, and the killer group of Matt Dupuy, Adri, and Bill Li. I recognized many other players, Eternal Weekend nemeses from last year like Hank Zhong and Matt Girardi, as well as some famous luminaries like Justin Gennari, Michael Mapson, and Tony Scapone.
A local friend, Noah, made Top 8 in 2025 and was there again in 2026. I made new friends among several opponents, who were, again, all skilled and professional.
Round One: Esper Lurrus | WW
I played against Jacob, whom I have competed against in Legacy in NYC. In theory, the fair {Lurrus of the Dream-Den} matchups should be challenging, but in my experience, they aren’t awful.
Esper, in particular, has some dead cards. {Psychic Frog} is, strangely, a bit slow, and {Orcish Bowmasters} are not as impactful as in Legacy.
These games often play out with both players exhausting resources. {Doomsday} can close from there much more swiftly than the deck trying to leverage {Lurrus of the Dream-Den}’s long game.
{Lurrus of the Dream-Den} by Slawomir Maniak
In Game One, we were both on low resources after the trading interaction. Importantly, during an early counter fight, I exiled a {Thassa’s Oracle}. My opponent {Wasteland}ed me, but held a {Wasteland} and did not use it, either assuming I had more mana or valuing it to help cast {Lurrus of the Dream-Den}.
In any case, I cast {Flow State} and saw {Thassa’s Oracle}, {Time Walk}, and {Demonic Consultation}. I put the {Thassa's Oracle} on the bottom, cast {Time Walk}, then {Demonic Consultation}ed, naming {Thassa's Oracle}. Notably, my opponent did not bother to look at my exiled deck, a small tournament detail that is often overlooked.
In Game Two, my opponent cast {Nihil Spellbomb} and activated it in my upkeep to keep me off {Flow State}. With the activation on the stack, I cast {Dark Ritual} and {Dig Through Time}, consuming my doomed graveyard. They cast {Flusterstorm} for two storm copies, but another {Dark Ritual} paid for them. This sequence tapped them out so they could not profit from their {Nihil Spellbomb}.
{Nihil Spellbomb} by Franz Vohwinkel
{Thoughtseize} took their relevant interaction and left them with {Swords to Plowshares}. {Doomsday} put me to four life. I win by {Force of Will}ing the {Sword to Plowshares} on my {Thassa's Oracle}.
Round Two: {Flow State} {Doomsday} | WW
I had an excellent conversation with Adam about the philosophy of {Doomsday} and playing paper Vintage. The mirror is largely a coin flip: who draws the better balance of interaction and combo pieces. I believe I have a slight advantage due to my discard suite.
In Game Two, {Thoughtseize} proved its worth when one was countered by {Force of Will} — a 2-for-1 I’m ok with. When I cast the second {Thoughtseize}, the disadvantage proved too much.
Round Three: {Oath of Druids} | LL
Generally, I believe {Oath of Druids} to be a reasonable matchup. They typically aren't fast enough and have dead cards like {Oko, Thief of Crowns}. My opponent had an absolutely nutty hand; however, in Game One, with double interaction to stop my turn-one {Ancestral Recall} on their upkeep, they dropped {Forbidden Orchard}, {Mox Emerald}, and {Oath of Druids}.
{Oath of Druids} by Daren Bader
For some reason, my opponent talked openly about this being the mirror. I did not change their mind, and was hoping this would give me an advantage.
In Game Two, we traded resources until my opponent hardcast {Raph and Mikey, Troublemakers}. I had {Force of Will}, but so did they. In desperation, I cast {Demonic Consultation} for one of my three remaining {Force of Will}s, and did not lose immediately. I drew air until they cast {Stock Up} and revealed {Oath of Druids} and {Time Walk}.
Round Four: [u][b][r] {Tinker} | WW
I sat down in Round Four against Adri, who I know from NYC and was part of the team that put two players in the Top 8. I knew he was on some sort of {Hexing Squelcher} deck, and expected a tough match. I also knew the team had been working hard and grinding leagues, so I figured I’d have to get a little lucky.
I won the die roll and opened a decent hand for Game One. I played land and passed. Adri played {Mox Sapphire}, {Mana Crypt}, and {Thundering Falls}, tapped. If I were more dialed into Vintage, I would have been suspicious of the raw {Mana Crypt} on Turn One.
On my turn, I drew and cast {Ponder}. Adri responded with {Hullbreacher}. I cast {Force of Will}, and Adri cast {Force of Negation}. I cannot stop the {Hullbreacher}. My {Ponder} put a needed land on top, and I passed with two cards in hand.
{Hullbreacher} by Sidharth Chaturvedi
Adri cast {Hexing Squelcher} and {Stock Up}. He tanked for a while on the {Stock Up}, and I know from his recap that he saw three lands, {Mystical Tutor}, and {Flusterstorm}. He took the two [u] cards, assuming that he would untap into a protected {Timetwister} to end the game.
On my turn, I drew the land, fetched twice, and cast {Demonic Consultation}. When it resolved, I named {You Are Already Dead} and cast {Thassa’s Oracle} from hand. Adri’s breakdown of the play is available on his YouTube channel, ValueBeforeVictory, and there’s a good lesson in there.
In Game Two, I {Gitaxian Probe}d and saw lands, {Stock Up}, {Flusterstorm}, and {Pyroblast}. I only had {Duress}, but also saw a line to weave through the interaction.
My {Duress} took {Stock Up}. I cast {Gush}, which was {Pyroblast}ed. My {Dig Through Time} was {Flusterstorm}ed. I cast {Mox Jet}, {Dark Ritual}, and {Doomsday}. I built a safe pile, and Adri revealed a drawn {Tolarian Academy} that did not help.
Round Five: Sphere Shops | WLW
I sat down against a famous Long Island Vintage player, Raffaele Forino. Raffaele and his brother are pillars of the Vintage community, having been featured in a VICE documentary on May 8, 2015.
I was confident I knew what he was on, believing that he was a longtime Prison Shops player. I was on the play.
I {Force of Will} his turn-one play and win on the next turn. In perhaps a bit of gamesmanship, Raffaele seemed sort of confused by the {Doomsday} matchup. After the match, he stated that he had played it many times, and I believed him.
I had a decent number of relevant cards for the matchup, but felt a little bit behind with only a single {Force of Negation}. I countered a {Sphere of Resistance}, but a second one stuck. A turn later, {Scrawling Crawler} arrived and pressured my life total while drawing us extra cards. My life total dropped fast, but I had a few draws that could find my {Hurkyl’s Recall} and swing the game. I never found them, and we went to Game Three.
In Game Three, Raffaele opened on {Ancient Tomb} into {Mana Vault}, which I {Mental Misstep}ped. He followed with {Mox Emerald} and {Sphere of Resistance}. On my turn, I developed an overcosted {Mox Jet}.
{Sphere of Resistance} by Doug Chaffee
On his turn two, he cast another {Sphere of Resistance}. The game slowed to a crawl, even with no {Scrawling Crawler} in play. Over the next few turns, I cast {Black Lotus}, an end-of-turn {Consider}, and played a few lands. Raffaele did not draw a land nor a mana source, with growing frustration. A usually-unplayable basic {Plains} cast his {Null Rod}.
Finally, I drew my {Hurkyl’s Recall} and cast it on his end step. He conceded when I untaped with eight mana. I did not have {Doomsday} in hand, but I had two {Flow State}s and a {Dig Through Time}. He was understandably annoyed after the match, but that emotion was clearly directed at the deck. We discussed for a bit and got to the point where I gently said I didn’t feel that bad about him being locked out by his own {Sphere of Resistances}. He chuckled wryly.
Round Six: {Tinker} {Paradoxical Outcome} | WLL
I was in a good position for big-time stakes. My opponent was Dan Nelson, and I saw that in 2025, he’d played {Doomsday} in the NYSE. Dan reached the semifinals after our match, which was an incredibly hard-fought battle.
In Game One, my discard was excellent, punching a hole and allowing {Doomsday} to resolve after we’d exhausted resources.
{Force of Will} by Matt Stewart
In Game Two, Dan made a heads-up play to {Force of Will} my turn one {Black Lotus}. I had no other lands, and it took quite a while to develop any. Dan found countermagic after countermagic. Some friends watching the game told me later that consecutive {Flow State}s showed him a total of five Force effects. Eventually, a large {Forth Eorlingas!} ended it.
In Game Three, we battled to a stalemate, both at low resources. Dan cast a recently-drawn {Forth Eorlingas!} for a single knight, which hit me to 11 life and claimed the Monarchy. On my turn, I drew and resolved {Necropotence}. I drew seven cards, hoping to {Doomsday} from two life after the next turn’s attack. At eight cards, I discarded a useless fetchland.
It was a poor seven cards, and Dan attacked me to two life. I cast {Consider}, and saw {Snap}. I have a plan! {Snap} bounced the knight and untapped my lands. I {Dig Through Time} with desperation and found nothing. Dan casts {Lurrus of the Dream-Den} and {Time Walk}.
My tournament was over.
Round Seven: [r][b] Hate | WLW
For my final round, I played against Steven, a dedicated [b] Magic cards player I know from NYC. We laughed about our near-misses and set out to determine where we would fall in the also-rans.
In Game One, on the play, I cast {Black Lotus} {Doomsday}, and played a fetchland. In hand, I had {Underground Sea}, {Island}, and a couple of blanks. My pile was the straightforward {Street Wraith}-{Thassa’s Oracle}-{Street Wraith}-{Thassa’s Oracle}-{Underground Sea}. Steven played a land and {Mox Ruby}, betraying my normal expectation of a mono-[b] deck. He passed.
{Thassa's Oracle} by Jesper Ejsing
I cycled into {Thassa’s Oracle}, fetched the {Underground Sea}, and cast it. He casts {Fatal Push}, and we go back to his turn.
He seemed a bit unfamiliar with standard tech and wondered aloud what my outs were. He exclaimed that he has his own sweet winning line. It didn't materialize, however, and he {Wasteland}ed one of my {Underground Sea}s.
I drew {Street Wraith} from my randomized deck, went to zero cards in the deck, and cast {Thassa's Oracle}. After the match, he mentioned that if he had drawn his {Demonic Consultation}, he could have {Reanimate}d my {Thassa's Oracle}, and I agreed that that would have been sick.
In Game Two, he cast some fast mana on his turn one and passed. I went to crack my fetchland, but he cast {Opposition Agent}. I scooped.
{Opposition Agent} by Scott Murphy
I brought in {Leyline of the Void}s, but suspected they were not useful, so I swapped them for {Snap} and {Long Goodbye}. Steven lets it slip that he was playing {Magus of the Moon}, so I was prepared.
Game three was swift. Steven {Mental Misstep}ped my {Dark Ritual}, but I {Mental Misstep}ped back and won the game immediately.
Closing Out
That was a lot of fun. Vintage has a bad reputation, but games can be very intricate, and it is cool to play with such powerful spells. Finishing 13th felt good, given my utter lack of preparation. I feel minor frustration at missing such a close opportunity to win power, but those are the breaks.
{Doomsday} remains a difficult deck to play against. As long as {Lurrus of the Dream-Den} control remains weak, and you dodge {Underworld Breach}, it feels like a strong way to attack Vintage.
My list was rough, but there were things to like about it. I missed {Vampiric Tutor} and {Mystical Tutor}. They should replace at least one {Consider}. I would like to try four {Flow State}. If so, the deck may not be able to support {Treasure Cruise} and {Dig Through Time}. Discard was excellent, and if {Hexing Squelcher} continues to rise, I’m going to want more discard instead of {Flusterstorm}.
There are some excellent meta breakdowns of NYSE X from various sources, including ValueBeforeVictory and IAmActuallyLvl1. There was plenty of {Lurrus of the Dream-Den} control, but it did not do well.
ValueBeforeVictory's [u][b][r] {Tinker} deck did spectacularly well, and is probably going to be a major player in the metagame. There were significant differences between paper and online play, both of which are fun sub-metagames.
Catch you at Eternal Weekend 2026!
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Featured image: {Black Lotus} by Christopher Rush