Feel the Power!! ~ The Impact of Vintage Master

This past week has been extremely exciting with all the new spoilers for Vintage Master (VMA). Based on the cards that have been revealed, VMA is packed with interesting and powerful cards that overshadows  Modern Master's content. Today's article will be discussing the impact of Vintage Master on Magic Online.

Lowering the Barrier of Entry

Although it is not paper Magic, the staples for Eternal format on Magic Online aren't that cheap either! Other than the infamous Power 9, dual lands and Force of Will may be the biggest barrier of entries for participating in Vintage. WotC has generously given away both dual lands and Force of Wills as MOCs promo while also printing these cards in VMA. 

With so many Vintage must-haves plus the Power 9s in the set, buying a few packs of VMA will give you a good chance to get your money back and more. As the staples become more easily accessible to the players both through VMA and MOC Promos the barrier of entry for Vintage will be lowered for all players.

Vintage Master is fun for Limited Events:

VMA is not just a set loaded with powerful singles, it is also a set specifically tuned to allow players to have fun when using VMA packs for draft or sealed events. From an article released from WotC (http://goo.gl/JatN3u) we can see that there are many interesting types of decks that can be built with the VMA limited card pool. It is important to note that making VMA a desirable format for drafting is essential for the revitalization of Vintage on Magic Online.

The card price in the secondary market is largely affected by the amount of cards in circulation. Making VMA a fun set for drafting means that many packs will be opened during the period of release. More packs opened will lead to more cards added to the secondary market, thus lowering the price on many Vintage staples. With the lowered price on many Vintage staples new players can buy into the format much easier than before.

Wizards of the Coast is Not Punishing Veteran Eternal Players

Many veteran Classic and Legacy Players are complaining that WotC is overly generous with the reprints of high dollar value cards in VMA making their collection depreciate. In my opinion people need to realize that the only reason WotC is introducing older MtG sets on Magic Online is that they intend to revive both Vintage and Legacy in digital format. Without the restrictions of the Reserve List, more players are able to play Vintage and truly appreciate how amazing this format is. Paper Vintage is practically dead due to the Reserve List; if weren't for the continued support of players such as Stephen Menendian and others Vintage would cease to exist as a format for Magic.

WotC has good judgement when comes to reprinting cards. From the reprints of Modern Master, we can clearly see that WotC cares about the secondary market and reprints expensive staples with great caution. WotC may seem to be overly generous with the reprints of Vintage staples in VMA, however it is the step that has to be taken in order to revive a nearly dead format on Magic Online.

What is the use of owning all the Powers and dual lands and yet having no one to play with? Although it is unpleasant to see our investments lose their value; what we gain is the chance to rebuild the Vintage community and bring this amazing format back to life.

All in all, WotC is not trying to punish the veteran Eternal players online; on the contrary, WotC is giving us a chance to restore the glory of Vintage.

The Excitement Continues

In the upcoming weeks we are likely to have the entire VMA spoiled!!  Knowing what is in the set is just the beginning of the excitement. I for one cannot wait to see how Vintage as a format evolves on Magic Online.

Until next time, save your lunch money and get ready to buy some VMA packs!!