I was playing a Fae-Tez list at Xtreme Games in Chicago yesterday (T4, first time, yay me), and the discussion of the effects of Crop Rotation came up. The overriding agreement was this was better for Shop than Icky. With the changeover coming up in a couple of days, I am already thinking about a list for the following tournaments. Root Maze, combined with Back to Basics, is a strong defense against any Crop Rotation scheme. It locks down 8 ball and gives bazaar the finger. It also locks out fetch lands, so this mana base can be tuned to survive that. Whereas it might be a metagame choice, there is a basis for strength here. The issue I see is that U/G run along different axis of the color wheel, and no Onslaught fetch gets both Islands and Forests unless it goes for a dual. Plus, this allows for a control suite of Glen Elendra Archmages and Spellstutter Sprites, while still allowing beaters like Lorescale Coatyl and Tarmogoyf. In theory, if Icky plays enchantment removal, it powers up Goyf.

4 Root Maze
4 Back to Basics
4 Glen Elendra Archmage
3 SpellStutter Sprite
4 Force of Will
1 Misdirection

3 Tarmogoyf
3 Lorescale Coatyl
1 Inkwell Leviathan

1 Ancestral Recall
1 Gush (bounces useless duals).
1 Brainstorm
1 Ponder
1 windfall (Coatyl, Goyf)
1 Demonic Tutor
1 Vampiric Tutor
1 Mystical Tutor
1 Tinker

1 Sol Ring
5 Mox
1 Black Lotus
1 Mana Crypt

This is a core list, I am still working on some numbers as well as the mana base. This is by no means the end all be all of the new format, but it might be a deck for it's place and time at the first post July 1 tournaments. I eagerly await feedback.

I have had to mulligan over mana in more than half of 25+ test games. I get there in some of those mulilgans, but constantly starting at 6 cards in vintage is a huge disadvantage. I will try going +2 mana and seeing what happens.

One other issue has come up in goldfishing, ans it may be solved by the proverbial "shuffle better." I have mana problems. Not colored mana problems, but problems in shear quantity of mana. I am constantly mulliganing the deck. Granted, in game one testing the mirror (or other fish decks so far) I am winning more than I am losing by a 2-1 margin. However, I am constantly starting the game at 6 or 5. I am asking people to look at this mana base - does it need an increase and / or change?

3 Wasteland
1 Island
1 Strip mine
3 Polluted delta
2 Flooded strand
3 Tundra
3 Tropical island
1 Black lotus
1 Mox sapphire
1 Mox emerald
1 Mox pearl

20 Mana sources feels really light, and I wouldn't know what to cut to increase it, or what to add to it. Thoughts?

I tested Tinker-7/11 over the course of ten games (not a scientific sampling, I know). I had cut a Mis-D and a Daze for those two cards. Every time I had Tinker, it was useless to me. I was playing in a Fish mirror (the Trinket toolbox list that won a mox in recent weeks) and whereas I took the series 7-3 on maindecks, The toolbox deck better abused Tinker, because it ran a tutor suite to abuse it. With no tutors, a random Tinker is random, and doesn't help the slow consistency of this fish build.

And yes, with exalted and Cold-Eyed Selkie it was fun going, "swing, ancestral, swing, meditate, swing, yatzee!"

I need to test vs. Tez, Ichorid, and Tendrils now. Thanks to all.

Many thanks to all. I do have one question. In the nullrod.fish lists, why isn't there a Tinker/DSC or Tinker/Inkwell? To me it seems like an obv include, but I expect I'm missing something. Please continue to advise!

I am a judge/owner at a local store in Milwaukee. I want to start playing more vintage, and realize there are many preconceived ideas I need to banish from my head. This was proved when Lorescale Coatyl/Meditate won the Mox at the tournament this past Saturday, and I saw relevant plays at top tables with Sower of Temptation and Cryptic Command. It feels like dudes with relevant abilities are always good, but can they be a core of a deck in the current Vintage? Fish has the advantage of maindeck answers to most of the field, much like The Rock in extended. The question is can a basic fish deck get there, or does it have to be ultra tuned to the metagame?

My understanding of good fishy creatures depends on color (all u/x creatures found under the x listing).

U
Voidmage Prodigy (for Wizardfish)
Cursecatcher (against combo)
Trinket Mage (Tormod's Crypt, mana drops, slaver locks all seem good, and a wizard)

B
Dark Confidant (card drawing good, plus a wizard)
Yixlid Jailer (Hating Ichorid is necessary, there's always 2-3 running around)
Dimir Cutpurse (solid control card, but feels win more)

G
Lorescale Coatyl (outstanding with Brainstorm, TFK and Ancestral)
Goyf (is it ever bad?)

W
Meddling Mage (solid, but feels very reactionary)
Augury Adept (like cutpurse, but is three mana too much for a guy in vintage - exception being tinker DSC)

Based on the nature of control, anything more than 2 color fish feels like it hinders mana development and slows the game down too much.
Am I right to assume some colors automatically dictate some cards?

U/B seems more focused on the Duress suite and is the most aggro of the options.
U/W is the most control oriented and is the pinnacle of the long game.
U/G feels like the definition of mid range.

Assuming my assumptions above are correct, I would want to play a U/B fish. I will proxy and test, but I am curious, does TMD think this list is viable?

4 Dark Confidant
2 Yixlid Jailer
2 Dimir Cutpurse
4 Voidmage PRodigy
2 Trinket Mage (14)

1 Necropotence (15)

4 Duress
2 Thoughtseize
1 Time Walk (22)

4 Force of Will
1 Ancestral Recall
1 Misdirection
4 Thirst for Knowledge
1 Intuition (33)

1 Tormod's Crypt
1 Sensei's Divining Top
1 Executioner's Capsule (one maindeck answer to goyf, sower, archmage, MM, and others fetchable by Trinket Mage)
1 Sol Ring
1 Mox Jet
1 Mox Sapphire
1 Black Lotus
1 Seat of the Synod
1 Vault of Whispers
4 Wasteland (46)
1 Strip Mine
4 Underground Sea
1 Watery Grave
4 Polluted Delta (56)
1 Swamp
2 Island
1 Snow Covered Island

This is by no means optimal, and is making assumptions about the format based on one tournament.
Please open fire and broadside me, I seek the greater experience of the community. Please help dispel my preconeptions.