[Premium Articles] The 2006 Vintage Year In Review

[Smmenen]

Part One: Jan- Jun (Waterbury through SCG Rochester)

http://www.starcitygames.com/php/news/article/13368.html

Part Two: July - December (Waterbury through SCG Roanoke)

http://www.starcitygames.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=296782

Teaser:

From Part One:
2006 flung open the door to the boundless possibilities of Vintage magic, giving us a peek at the formats inherent potential. The trifecta of Gifts, Stax, and Control Slaver defined the 2005 Tier 1. In 2006 that balloon popped. The Vintage Tier 1 exploded into a proliferation of competitive archetypes. Vintage, at its highest echelon, is the most diverse that it has ever appeared.

Let's take a moment to reminisce over 2006 and see how far we've come.

From Part Two:
Rochester represented the bubbling up of possible futures, the Vintage Champs the consolidation of those futures and the tournaments since have been picking up the shattered glass. The old trio of Control Slaver, Stax, and Gifts was permanently shattered. And although not all of the possibilities that were gleamed have been carried through, these possibilities are not closed off and they may once again play out in 2007.   

The real breakout story of the year has been the new players. 2006 was a breakout year for a new generation of Vintage players who have not simply joined the ranks of Vintage all-stars, but broke through with amazing force.

2006 Rookie Honor Roll:

Want to see whose on my honor roll?  You'll have to check out the article!

[dicemanx]

This has been a pretty amazing year in terms of new decks and new faces. It will certainly make it more difficult to win events in the coming year given the inherent strength of certain popular archetypes (Gifts particularly), and the fact that the average playskill seems to be on the rise. It would be my wish for 2007 that we see more people take up decks like Bomberman, WGD, (Uba)Stax, and especially Drain Tendrils, a deck that cetainly looks very good on paper and has a major victory under its belt. It would be interesting to see if these decks, perhaps along with Ichorid, can put a dent in Gifts' and Long's dominance, or if Gifts and Long are just that much better than everything else.

[Zarathustra]

Great articles Steve!  I'm anxious to see where '07 will take us.  I wonder if Gifts and Long will still be dominate or will something come out of the woodwork that gives them a run for their money.  I guess only time will tell.

-DShell

[GexxX]

I think much of what the guys before me mentioned depends on the next block and the cards printed in 'timespiral'.
The addition of Portal and the Kamigawablock formed the two Decks Grim and Gifts. (lol... the cards where in the Set's mentioned xD)

I believe we all hope for some nice vintage card's in '07 to build, test and PLAY some nice Decks, dominating Gifts and Grim! (or at least it's worth a try )

[Mith]

Sigh, I'd love to read your articles, Steve...I just can't fathom paying to do so
Thank you for making the effort to write about Vintage, we need more writers focusing on our format.

[Smmenen]

Sigh, I'd love to read your articles, Steve...I just can't fathom paying to do so
Thank you for making the effort to write about Vintage, we need more writers focusing on our format.

After three months, which is not a very long time in Vintage, all of my articles become free.    In short, you can read my articles without paying for it.