Just yesterday I ended up getting 2nd place at a Blue Bell PA tournament with 40+ people playing a deck I like to call empty vault. It's basically a tezzeret style shell, but without tezz. It treated me well all day while loosing in the finals to poor draws but shit happens...here's the list: 4 force of will 4 mana drain 4 thirst for knowledge 1 fact or fiction 1 gifts ungiven 1 gush 1 brainstorm 1 ancestral recall 3 thoughtseize 1 duress 1 mystical tutor 1 demonic tutor 1 vampiric tutor 1 merchant scroll 1 yawmoth's will 5 moxen 1 black lotus 1 mana crypt 1 mana vault 1 sol ring 1 chain of vapor 1 hurkyl's recall 1 empty the warrens 1 time walk 1 misdirection 1 time vault 1 voltaic key 1 tinker 1 inkwell leviathan 1 ponder 1 library of alexandria 1 tolarian academy 3 polluted delta 2 flooded strand 2 volcanic island 3 underground sea 2 island 1 snow-covered island SB 2 empty the warrens 3 relic of progrenitus 2 extirpate 1 reb 1 pyroblast 1 duress 1 rack and ruin 1 rebuild 1 hurkyl's recall 2 jailer Round 1 vs Fish (Brian Beurgard) Game 1 got off a huge will, ended up with 30 warrens tokens and time walked for the win. Game 2 turn 3 warrens for 12 tokens for the win. Round 2 vs Thoughtcast tezz (forget name) Game 1 He draws a ton of cards. I end up controlling his hand with duress and get off a small warrens for 6 tokens, knowing that his hand is bad. He top decks echoing truth and I loose from there. Game 2 This match was kind of a blur but I beleive he hard casts leviathan, then I procede to tutor up hurkyls as he had cracked lotus to cast. I Get key vault for the win. Game 3 I open up with library which goes all the way drawing alot of cards and forcing out a key vault for the win. At one point in the game my hand was pyro, force, extirpate, drain, fact, X, X....seems pretty good in the drain mirror sitting on library! Round 3 vs Slaver (Marc Frias maybe???) Game 1 He has 2 active welders, im drawing a ton of cards only discarding leviathan to my grave. I set up key vault forcing him to weld leviathan into play for the win. Game 2 I warrens for 12 tokens early for the win. Round 4 vs Tezz w/ green and red (Stephen) Game 1 He duresses me alot and I get smoked like a philly. Game 2 I am sitting on a library, and somehow don't draw any duress effects of mana drains and he forces out a key vault for the win. AT THIS POINT I AM 3-1 AND NEED TO WIN NEXT ROUND!!! Round 5 UR landstill (forget name) Game 1 He gets a turn 3 crucible strip on the table so I think at that point the game is over....Demonic for my black lotus. I end up being able to duress him twice taking force, and mana drain (at this point he has echoing truth and stifle in hand aswell, so its not looking good for a win with warrens). While I keep playing lands to play spells. I end up drawing a couple off color moxen to give me some type of mana. A turn after I duress the second counter out of his hand I resolve will, with tolarian in grave, 2 duress, demonic, etc, etc... I duress truth and stifle, then warrens for 12 or 14 I think it was FOR THE WIN!!!!! THANK YOU WARRENS!!! Game 2 I duress his null rod, and at this point I have 3 force of wills in my hand with 3 blue cards as well. I tinker for leviathan a few turns later sitting on a lot of disruption for the win! Round 6 ID w/ a friend playing tezz (Joe Davis) Top 8 vs Tezz (Stephen from swiss) Game 1 I get smashed by alot of disruption and duress'...he seems to draw EXTREMELY well!!! Game 2 this game is somewhat of a blur, but he gets out a goyf, and I get lucky thirsting into the nuts 2 turns in a row, while I was holding time vault and drew into the key. Game 3 He has a mox monkey out and a goyf out starts beating me down. At one point he only has 3 mana out and I have key vault in hand so I play time vault, then key (thinking he will use monkey and eat my key but I will get another turn anyways from untapping vault in response) But instead he is holding ancient grudge and casts that while I am holding a force for the win! Afterwards I looked at the top card of my deck to see if it would have made a difference if he would have used mox monkey instead of grudge. I had tinker on top to get the leviathan. Although he made a play mistake, I still believe I would have won the game. Top 4 vs Tezz (Joe Davis) Game 1 He keeps a hand with library and no land on the draw hoping to draw into colored moxen or land. While I'm in christmas land and go turn 2 tinker for leviathan, he goes Force, I go Force, he goes Misdirection, I go FORCE!!!! Thats what you call christmas land!!! I proceed to will 2 turns later digging into a force just in case he has an awnser for the leviathan. Game 2 He goes all in on a turn 1 tinker for leviathan. I don't have the force. Leviathan swings once, then I demonic tutor for hurkyls. He swings again, now I'm at 5 life, then I hurkyl's, he has the misdirection, but I have the force. I take the game from there. Finals vs Oath (Matt Elias) Game 1 He gets the nuts while I mulligan to 6. He goes turn 1 duress, Turn 2 oath with force backup too!!! Game 2 I mull again to 6 with a hand of force, drain, thirst, sapphire, land, X... He goes turn 1 duress, strip mine turn 2, then turn 3 or 4 resolves oath and I lose again. I feel this matchup is not as bad as it actually went. I feel I drew poorly and he drew really well. Conclusions: Empty the Warrens treated me well all day long, sometimes I might wish it were a tezz but the majority of the day it was great. Where I feel tezz is weak vs fish and stax. Me playing hurkyl's main and 2 other board sweepers on the sideboard, I feel that empty is really good. And my sideboard is prepared for a drain mirror match! Overall happy with the deck performed extremely well!!!!