To me, the most obvious solution is to require heavy drinking for all participants in all Vintage tournaments. That flattens the skill differential enough that new people and new decks can win.

have you tried hosting

more paper vintage events

just with normal rules

look, why don't y'all come out and say it, you don't like playing against shops.

it's not completely dominant right now and it's certainly not the best deck on MTGO according to the data.

if someone knows of a deck that beats shops most of the time and is >50% against the field, give me that deck and I'll play it. with concrete stats, not BS made up numbers. obviously if you metagame to beat a certain deck you'll compromise other matchups, that's just how magic works.

Team Serious Open - 2/3/18 at the NEW POP! Shop location - Sandusky, Ohio
3104 Milan Rd Sandusky, OH 44870

Entry Fee: $20.00
Registration Opens: 11 AM
Start Time: 12:00 PM

Format: Unsanctioned Vintage

Cash Prizes equal 100% of Entry Fees.

We will play Swiss+1 rounds based on attendance to encourage play and ensure we get to play plenty of vintage.

Notes: Team Serious is hosting this Vintage tournament in conjunction with The Pop Shop. If you need to car pool to Sandusky, please post in this thread for help. Decklists will be collected from the top 4 or 8. If you feel confident you'll make it in, write one up beforehand to save time!

Playtest cards will be permitted. There are several ways of making playtest cards:

Using Basic Land: The first and most basic is taking a basic land card and writing the details of the card on it.
Altering an existing card: PREFERRED! The second method is to use a card that shares some of the characteristics with the card that you want to make as a Playtest Card and remove any characteristics that do not match, replacing them with the correct characteristics. Methods for doing this can be found on Youtube.com.
Printed Slips: the third is to print out all 75 cards, and slip the cuts sheets of paper into each sleeve. If you do this, every card must be printed on the same type of paper and have a basic land backing.
Collector's Edition cards: CE/ICE versions of cards are allowed.
World Championship cards: blank WC cards can be used to make great proxies with your own writing or art.

See you there! BAOM!

What: Unlimited Proxy Vintage Magic
When: Saturday June 29, 2018
Where: Kidforce Collectibles, Berea, OH
Entry Fee: $20.00
Registration Opens: 11 AM
Start Time: 12:00 PM

Format: Unsanctioned Vintage - Unlimited Proxy

Prizes - store credit equal 100% of entry fees, split among the top players. ** PLUS!! ** $50 prize donation from our awesome community!

We will play Swiss+1 rounds based on attendance so everyone gets to play plenty of Vintage. Decklists will be collected from the top players. If you feel confident you'll make it in, write one up beforehand to save time!

Playtest cards will be permitted. There are several ways of making playtest cards:

Using Basic Land: The first and most basic is taking a basic land card and writing the details of the card on it.
Altering an existing card: PREFERRED! The second method is to use a card that shares some of the characteristics with the card that you want to make as a Playtest Card and remove any characteristics that do not match, replacing them with the correct characteristics. Methods for doing this can be found on youtube.
Printed Slips: the third is to print out all 75 cards, and slip the cuts sheets of paper into each sleeve. If you do this, every card must be printed on the same type of paper and have a basic land backing.
Collector's Edition cards: CE/ICE versions of cards are allowed.
World Championship cards: blank WC cards can be used to make great proxies with your own writing or art.

See you there! BAOM!

Sram means "I am shitting" in many Slavic languages.

@chubbyrain said in Workshop is a pillar of vintage -Aaron Forsythe:

Thanks, Aaron...

The death of paper Vintage won't be from a restriction or an unrestriction, but from the secondary market.

paper vintage can and should be free

Team Serious Open - July 14th at the NEW POP! Shop location - Sandusky, Ohio
3104 Milan Rd Sandusky, OH 44870

Entry Fee: $20.00
Registration Opens: 11 AM
Start Time: 12:00 PM

Format: Unsanctioned Vintage - Unlimited Proxy

Cash Prizes equal 100% of Entry Fees.

We will play Swiss+1 rounds based on attendance so everyone gets to play plenty of Vintage.

Notes: Team Serious is hosting this Vintage tournament in conjunction with The Pop Shop. If you need to car pool to Sandusky, please post in this thread for help. Decklists will be collected from the top 4 or 8. If you feel confident you'll make it in, write one up beforehand to save time!

Enjoy casual Old School games between rounds. Some folks might even bring decks from a new "old border" format we're working on (4th-Scourge).

Playtest cards will be permitted. There are several ways of making playtest cards:

Using Basic Land: The first and most basic is taking a basic land card and writing the details of the card on it.
Altering an existing card: PREFERRED! The second method is to use a card that shares some of the characteristics with the card that you want to make as a Playtest Card and remove any characteristics that do not match, replacing them with the correct characteristics. Methods for doing this can be found on Youtube.com.
Printed Slips: the third is to print out all 75 cards, and slip the cuts sheets of paper into each sleeve. If you do this, every card must be printed on the same type of paper and have a basic land backing.
Collector's Edition cards: CE/ICE versions of cards are allowed.
World Championship cards: blank WC cards can be used to make great proxies with your own writing or art.

See you there! BAOM!

This tournament was a blast. Myself and Brian benefited greatly from our opponents not knowing what the flipjace was going on. I only dropped 1 game and that was from Max t1ing me with 7 mana + Tezz + Time Vault. Matchups were vs Dredge, Mentor, Thieves, and a practice match vs TKS Shops.

Shoutout to @Thiim for the original decklist. My edit from the original main deck was: -1 Urborg, +1 Ancient Tomb, -1 Hexmage, +1 Map. IMO Ancient Tomb might even be better than Workshop in this deck, as it activates everything (Map, Stage, Mirror, Fair). I can't imagine not playing 4.

My change from the sideboard was: -1 Dismember, -4 Mindbreak Trap, +2 Razormane, +3 Wurmcoil. This was specifically for the Shops mirror and Eldrazi. There is a magical Christmas land combo with Mirage Mirror and Razormane Masticore where you copy it after the upkeep trigger for an extra 3 damage shot in the draw step.

Rich and Andy should have to change their MTGO avatars to hydras to clearly represent their true nature as an unstoppable multi-headed monstrosity

very strong creature, should see play in multiple pillars of vintage

@john-cox said in TSI Hazard's Birthday 5.0 2/8/2020 Results!:

@Brass-Man This seems to be your event! Didn't you take down the last one with Death's Shadow Survival? Congrats!
Congrats to @JACO for winning this amazing tournament!

There was one in between (won by David Lance), don't remember if Brassy was there or not.

https://www.facebook.com/events/529975057651120/

Team Serious Open - 3/21/2020
Location: The POP! Shop
Sandusky, Ohio
3104 Milan Rd Sandusky, OH 44870

Entry Fee: $20.00
Registration Opens: 11 AM
Start Time: 12:00 PM

Format: Unsanctioned Vintage - Unlimited Proxy

Cash Prizes equal 100% of Entry Fees ** PLUS $50 DONATED BY THE GENEROUS COMMUNITY! **

We will play Swiss+1 rounds based on attendance so everyone gets to play plenty of Vintage. Decklists will be collected from the top players. If you feel confident you'll make it in, write one up beforehand to save time!

** 2020 Update **
I made a few additions to the playtest card instructions. Please read them. It is just additional clarification on legible proxies.

Playtest cards will be permitted. There are several ways of making playtest cards:

Using Basic Land: The first and most basic is taking a basic land card and writing the details of the card on it. Make your cards as legible as possible - a dark Sharpie on Plains works well. Your opponent should be able to distinguish your cards.
Altering an existing card: PREFERRED! The second method is to use a card that shares some of the characteristics with the card that you want to make as a Playtest Card. Remove any characteristics that do not match, replacing them with the correct characteristics. Methods for doing this can be found on youtube.
Printed Slips: the third is to print out all 75 cards, and slip the cuts sheets of paper into each sleeve. If you do this, every card must be printed on the same type of paper and have a basic land backing.
Collector's Edition cards: CE/ICE versions of cards are allowed.
World Championship cards: blank WC cards can be used to make great proxies with your own writing or art. Make sure that the unique backs of these cards cannot be seen through the sleeves.

If you have complicated cards that don't have current Oracle text on them (proxy, foreign, altered, or just very old), you might want to print out the Oracle text ahead of time to make it easier for your opponents.

See you there! BAOM!

https://www.facebook.com/events/183020922903758

What: Unlimited Proxy Vintage Magic
When: Saturday Feb 29, 2020
Where: Kidforce Collectibles, Berea, OH
Entry Fee: $20.00
Registration Opens: 11 AM
Start Time: 12:00 PM

Format: Unsanctioned Vintage - Unlimited Proxy

Prizes - store credit equal 100% of entry fees, split among the top players. ** PLUS!! ** $50 prize donation from our awesome community!

We will play Swiss+1 rounds based on attendance so everyone gets to play plenty of Vintage. Decklists will be collected from the top players. If you feel confident you'll make it in, write one up beforehand to save time!

** 2020 Update **
I made a few additions to the playtest card instructions. Please read them.

Playtest cards will be permitted. There are several ways of making playtest cards:

Using Basic Land: The first and most basic is taking a basic land card and writing the details of the card on it. Make your cards as legible as possible - a dark Sharpie on Plains works well. Your opponent should be able to distinguish your cards.
Altering an existing card: PREFERRED! The second method is to use a card that shares some of the characteristics with the card that you want to make as a Playtest Card. Remove any characteristics that do not match, replacing them with the correct characteristics. Methods for doing this can be found on youtube.
Printed Slips: the third is to print out all 75 cards, and slip the cuts sheets of paper into each sleeve. If you do this, every card must be printed on the same type of paper and have a basic land backing.
Collector's Edition cards: CE/ICE versions of cards are allowed.
World Championship cards: blank WC cards can be used to make great proxies with your own writing or art. Make sure that the unique backs of these cards cannot be seen through the sleeves.

If you have complicated cards that don't have current Oracle text on them (proxy, foreign, altered, or just very old), you might want to print out the Oracle text ahead of time to make it easier for your opponents.

See you there! BAOM!

From a practical standpoint, needing to change your deck every year would be very annoying, unless you ran it as full proxy or something.

As always, whenever someone proposes a new format, I say the same thing: if you want to start something, then do it yourself. Get a playtest group and make some decks and jam some games. Then if it ends up being good, start running tournaments.

You're not going to convert people with just a forum post, you have to build a (small) community first.

All of the above, really. Arcanist is excellent in the blue mirrors, and great against survival to flash back your bolts and plows.

Goblin Engineer plays nice with the grixis tinker strategy. Might be worth a shot.

@jimtosetti said in Tiny Forgebots:

I think it would be better if they just decided not to print this card. There is no point of going into the technical discussion of balance or qualitative values for the format because they are obviously moving away from these things.

too bad, it's getting printed whether you like it or not!

@megantic said in Should all Vintage be 100% proxy?:

If the goal was to increase access to vintage and attendance, why not allow the latest batch of counterfeit cards, appropriately marked, to be used as in local non-sanctioned tournament play? I guess we can either keep our memberships to the exclusive vintage country club or open the course to the masses. Any vintage deck would be available for less than $200 USD, which last time I checked was about the same amount of money as my putter. Proxies can make the board annoyingly confusing- is that a mox jet or mox ruby? is that an underground sea or a volcanic- oh wait, it was a fetchland? I see a easy way to open the format, the cards are distinguishable, and actually makes play easier. Solves the proxy issues Brassman pointed out- legibility and damage, as well as the video coverage, and COST all in one fell swoop.

we shouldn't support counterfeiters. just make nice proxies instead.

legibility isn't just a proxy thing either for what it's worth, I can't tell the difference between most of the expedition lands.

I think Arcanist is more like the red Bob, but whatever.