[Article] JP on designing for Vintage

[Dozer]

Today on SCG, JP starts a series of articles that lay the foundation for designing Vintage cards:

What I have come to discover is that once you automatically exclude cards which are simply too expensive for the effect, the color breakdown in the casting cost is actually much trickier than it might first appear. This arises due to the unique effect of fetchlands, rainbow lands, and artifact mana in Vintage mana bases.

This first installment (if it is indeed to become a series) is extremely well thought out. Analyzing what goes into Vintage cards, or rather what cards go into Vintage, is not only important for design, but also for deckbuilding. I am really looking forward to the follow-ups. This one already had some very solid insights that I haven't seen expressed as clearly anywhere yet. Good job, JP, keep it up!

This analysis of mana bases and mana requirements mirrors the "new" fetchland heavy mana bases JP already proposed a while ago but which didn't really catch on. Now I'm wondering if there are cards so powerful that they actually reward a higher commitment to one color because of a double- or triple-colored mana cost. One of them is Future Sight, which might have deserved a special mention as the exception to the rule -- even though it can win games, it remains an awkward card.

Dozer

[b-tings]

It's good to see JP writing again. Now if only he dropped the actual content for hijinx and hilarity.

[[FtN|FH] Negator]

Good Article. Very interesing  thoughts about manabase and the attributes of casting costs. Go on! :top:

[Komatteru]

I liked it.  Vintage players get made fun of too much for not playing an atrociously high number of lands (i.e., mana, cause they're the same thing to most people).  It's good to have an article written by a respected member of the community that basically says "Hey, we really do play enough mana, take a better look.  And our manabase takes a lot of thought; it's not just 'how many forests do I put in this deck?'"

[jpmeyer]

There are two more of these in the pipeline.  One deals with Type 1's non-rotating nature and the other deals with block mechanics.

[sa17dk]

I enjoyed the article a lot. It refreshed my mind on the subject of Vintage and reminded me of crucial things to think about when building decks. I look forward to the two other articles.

[defector]

Good read, looking forward to the next ones.  Can you please keep them non-premium, as I don't have access to that.
defector

[OutsideAngelX]

I definitely enjoyed this article a lot. It laid out something that players can easily take for granted: the unique, yet at points precarious nature of the Vintage mana-base. I'm especially looking forward to the article on non-rotations, too. Great writing, JP!

[rvs]

It's good to see JP writing again. Now if only he dropped the actual content for hijinx and hilarity.

Normally I would 2nd that immediately. But this series is actually interesting. I can't wait for the other parts!

[b-tings]

I was mostly kidding. It's good to see JP in fine form, but with Carl falling off the face of the earth, and JP running a serious series, our hilarious vintage writing has run dry, which is a crying shame, because these guys are gooood.

Anyway, keep up the good work JP, and if you do end up writing something in a less serious vein, try to keep it non-premium for us poor shmucks .