May 20th...

[jakjakman]

I started playing vintage a bit ago, and I noticed most of the restriction/banning decisions happen on May 20th.  Is there any cards/deck types I should avoid dropping major $$$ on before the 20th?  I'd hate to throw down for 3 grim tutors or something and then see them get restricted.

[Nydaeli]

Future Sight becomes legal on May 20th.  Bannings and restrictions are announced on June 1st.  As far as Vintage goes, restrictions are unlikely.  Gifts Ungiven is probably the only possible contender, and its chances of being restricted are very slim.  Maybe the cries to ban Yawgmoth's Will will finally be heard, but probably not.

If you're also concerned about Legacy, the banning of Flash is almost a certainty.

[Nefarias]

In that regard, you may want to avoid buying Flashes for Type 1 as well, as they will no doubt drop in price when and if they get banned in Legacy.

FYI, Banning announcements are made every three months and take place immediately. They happen on March 1, June 1, September 1, and December 1. New sets become legal on the 20th of the month after release, and they update some Oracle entries every time a new set is released.

[jakjakman]

Sweet guys, thanks for the info.

So flash is gonna get it, huh?  Must be because the artwork is so freakin awesome... 

[jakjakman]

Oh, another question.  When future Sight becomes legal, will it replace another set in Standard (i.e., will a set get banned from standard at the same time Future Sight becomes legal)?

[Godder]

Expert Sets are rotated out (not banned as such) in blocks rather than individually, so Future Sight becoming legal won't remove any other sets. Standard consists of the most recent two blocks (at present, Ravnica Block and Time Spiral Block) plus the most recent Core Set (at present, 9th Edition). We also have the anomaly of Coldsnap, which will rotate out with Time Spiral Block at the appropriate time. When the next Expert Set is released, it will be the start of a new block, and it rotating in will see Ravnica Block rotate out.