A couple of weeks back I wrote about how Vintage Masters changed the Magic Online value proposition, and about how playing Vintage constructed was a great way to profit. Since that time, a Vintage Premier has finally fired, meaning the value train is in full swing.

Vintage became popular by the end of V3, including Vintage enthusiasts like Rich Shay vocally praising his experience, notably the fact that he now has quick and easy access to quality Vintage players online. What was once a very niche format has come to the mainstream. Assuming some of the kinks of V4 can be worked out, the future looks bright.

Winning the Vintage Premier Event was Nukesaku, a well-known and successful Eternal grinder, playing BUG Fish:

This deck should look familiar to anyone who plays Legacy, as it’s essentially a port from that format. Deathrite Shaman is particularly great in Vintage, while the graveyard-hating aspect is absolutely excellent against things including Dredge, Goblin Welder and Yawgmoth's Will.

Dark Confidant is better in Vintage than Legacy because the Moxen allow it to consistently come down on turn one. The acceleration and cheap spells mean this deck is also better able to play and take advantage of extra cards. The format is also less aggressive, so the life loss is less relevant in Vintage than other formats. In the same vein, Tarmogoyf is not necessary here.

Trygon Predator is distinguishing itself as one of the premier creatures in Vintage, where it has no lack of excellent targets to destroy. The ability is quite strong against most opponents, and the 2/3 flying body does work in combat. It also pitches to Force of Will.

A piece of tech here is maindeck Null Rod, which hates on a huge portion of the format.

Finishing in second was actually RUG Fish:

This deck is defined by its inclusion of Gush, which makes it considerably different than the Jace, the Mind Sculptor-wielding BUG Fish. RUG fish looks to get an early board presence with a set of Young Pyromancers, then ride free and cheap spells to victory, maybe even drawing Skullclamp along the way to keep the engine going indefinitely. Lightning Bolt is surprisingly strong in Vintage, where larger creatures are more of a rarity than in Legacy.

Tech here includes Dack Fayden maindeck and sideboard, a very powerful tempo and control play against Mishra's Workshop and Time Vault combo decks.

Finishing in third and fourth were two variations of combo-control decks based around abusing Tinker:

This deck is sort of a hybrid with BUG Fish because it includes the Deathrite Shaman-Dark Confidant package. This gives it more fair play and forms of card advantage and acceleration, so this deck looks quite strong to me.

This list is more controlling and includes Mana Drain. This deck also splashes into red for the versatile Lightning Bolt and a sideboard fully-stocked with red artifact removal.

Finishing in fifth place was a player taking a page from Legacy with a fully equipped Deathblade deck:

This takes the Fish core of blue spells, Deathrite Shaman and Dark Confidant and adds white for removal in the form of Swords to Plowshares and, of course, Stoneforge Mystic, though this list plays just two copies. White also allows for the powerful sideboard card Rest in Peace. A pair of Trygon Predators takes advantage of the fact that the deck already plays green lands to accompany Deathrite Shaman.

Standing out from the crowd were two quarterfinalists playing decks revolving around Goblin Welder:

This deck takes the usual core of blue and artifacts but pairs it with Goblin Welder for fun and profit. Of course, Goblin Welder can create powerful synergies and value within the deck, headlined by the Mindslaver lock, but it’s also quite excellent at messing with opposing artifacts, in some cases completely shutting them down.

Also making an appearance is Night's Wisper, an interesting draw spell I hadn’t seen around much before. But it makes sense given the fact that most of the best draw spells in Vintage are restricted. It also works quite well with the artifact acceleration.

A similar take:

Rounding out the top 8 was Forrest Ryan's Affinity deck:

This deck takes a similar core manabase as the Stax MUD deck but replaces most of the prison elements with aggression. The creatures and support spells should look familiar to anyone who has played Modern Affinity, though this deck clocks in much faster. The sideboard is dedicated to hate cards against other strategies.

The top 8 players in this Vintage Premier event collectively raked in 69 Vintage Masters packs with a current retail value of around ~$470, with over $160 spread through the top 16 as consolation.

Join in the action next time and get in on the value!