Semi-Baseless Prediction #1

Heya,

I'm going to make a prediction about the future metagame:

If Crop Rotation sees an extraordinary amount of play (i.e. decks using it comprise 15% or more of the top 8's) then players will choose to wave good-bye to basic lands. Crop-Strip dis-incentivises using basic lands unlike the current 4 Wasteland/1 Strip Mine package played now. If players choose to drop basics, look for the following cards to begin showing up more and more in decks:

Flooded Strand (as 4 of instead of 1 or 2 like now)
Bloodstained Mire (next most likely choice to fetch black producing lands)
Minamo, School at Water's Edge (nice synergy with Tolarian Academy)
Oboro, Palace in the Clouds (protects itself from Strip Mine)
Seat of the Synod (nice synergy with Tinker, Tezzeret, and Trinket Mage)
Vault of Whispers (see above)

It will be very interesting to see if people move away from using basics. It would strengthen Wasteland and Blood Moon effects, but would also free decks from the design constraint of using them. This is all very hypothetical. I'm not sure Crop Rotation will make much of a difference at all. We'll have to see.

Peace,

-Troy

So what am I doing here?

Thanks to some changes in my life, I was able to return to Vintage magic after a few years away. Now, after being heavily involved in it for some time once again, I've regained my passion for the format. Thanks to some terrific printings, adjustments to the B/R List, and a change at the DCI, I believe Vintage is the most fun format for Magic: The Gathering. I'll be using this space to express my views on the format and to accomplish several important tasks:

1) Examine small scale tournament data

2) Lobby the DCI to remove various cards from the B/R List

3) Lobby the rules committee to change the errata on various cards

4) Comment on new sets as they are released

5) Develop budget decks for the Vintage format

I'm looking forward to working on this project. I hope it proves valuable in some way to the Vintage community.

Peace,

-Troy