What is Old Frame Vintage?

MTG Old Frame started as a Facebook Group for fellow lovers of the old design of Magic the Gathering cards before Eighth Edition brought the Modern Frame.

However, most of us collectors are former players. We have good memories of using those cards 20 years ago. And there was no format where we could enjoy all the powerful and iconic cards printed between Limited Edition Alpha and Scourge in the same deck.

Seeing how Old School and Premodern were already quite popular formats, we thought it was time to try Old Frame Vintage, a format that would combine both card pools and bring us back to something very similar to what Vintage was when Scourge had just been released.

This also makes Old Frame Vintage different from other Old Frame formats, as this is very similar to a format that existed in the past and was the protagonist of some of the biggest tournaments of those days.

In Old Frame Vintage not only can we play the Power Nine in the same deck where a Psychatog, Phyrexian Dreadnought or Goblin Welder lives. We can also play very iconic and powerful spells that are banned in Premodern, like Yawgmoth’s Will, Tolarian Academy or Memory Jar.

Deck Construction Rules

  • Cards per deck: At least 60 cards, plus a 15 cards sideboard.
  • Allowed sets: Alpha, Beta, Arabian Nights, Antiquities, Legends, The Dark, Fallen Empires, Harper Prism Book Promos, Ice Age, Homelands, Alliances, Mirage, Visions, Weatherlight, Portal, Tempest, Stronghold, Exodus, Portal Second Age, Urza’s Saga, Urza’s Legacy, Urza’s Destiny, Portal Three Kingdoms, Starter 1999, Mercadian Masques, Nemesis, Prophecy, Invasion, Planeshift, Apocalypse, Odyssey, Torment, Judgment, Onslaught, Legions, and Scourge (every Old Frame set except Unglued).
  • Reprint rules: All regular-sized reprints done by Wizards of the Coast with art that existed by Scourge and that use the Old Frame (Alpha to Scourge) are allowed, including those that were not originally tournament-legal (Collectors’ Edition, International Edition, 30th Anniversary Edition, and gold-bordered Pro Tour and World Championship cards). Organizers may at their discretion also allow the use of Modern frame cards and Old Frame reprints with art that did not exist by Scourge.
Vedast Sanxis’ winning deck at the Liga Madrileña de Old Frame 2.6

Banned and Restricted List

From the beginning, our aim with the Old Frame Vintage format has been to keep things as close to where they were back in 2003. For this reason, when we first published our banned and restricted list for the newly created format, we looked no further than the status of said official list already 20 years ago.

With time, that list has been slightly modified, to accommodate changes needed to the format that runs a relatively different rule set. But do not worry, if you left Magic the Gathering around the time Scourge was released, you will find very few differences.

  • Banned cards: Amulet of Quoz, Bronze Tablet, Chaos Orb, Contract from Below, Darkpact, Demonic Attorney, Falling Star, Jeweled Bird, Rebirth, Tempest Efreet, Timmerian Fiends.
  • Restricted cards: Ancestral Recall, Balance, Black Lotus, Brainstorm, Channel, Demonic Consultation, Demonic Tutor, Enlightened Tutor, Fact or Fiction, Fastbond, Flash, Frantic Search, Grim Monolith, Gush, Imperial Seal, Lion’s Eye Diamond, Lotus Petal, Library of Alexandria, Mana Crypt, Mana Vault, Memory Jar, Merchant Scroll, Mind Twist, Mind’s Desire, Mox Diamond, Mox Emerald, Mox Jet, Mox Pearl, Mox Ruby, Mox Sapphire, Mystical Tutor, Necropotence, Regrowth, Sol Ring, Strip Mine, Time Spiral, Time Vault, Time Walk, Timetwister, Tinker, Tolarian Academy, Vampiric Tutor, Voltaic Key, Wheel of Fortune, Windfall, Yawgmoth’s Bargain, Yawgmoth’s Will.

Changes in the Banned and Restricted Lists

Since the official creation of the Old Frame Vintage format back in early 2020, there have been changes in the Banned and Restricted lists.

In order to understand the evolution of the format and keep track of different archetypes, it is a good idea to have a log of the changes and when they were performed. So here it is:

  • October 20, 2020Black ViseBraingeyserCrop RotationDoomsdayDream HallsEarthcraftEntombForkMind over Matter and Stroke of Genius are unrestricted.
  • January 17, 2021Merchant Scroll enters the restricted list.
  • August 28, 2021. Cards from PortalPortal Second AgePortal Three Kingdoms and Starter 1999 are now legal.
  • September 25, 2023. Brainstorm enters the restricted list.

Media

What was originally proposed in the Facebook Group as a crazy idea immediately got several people interested. So shortly after we started our Online Old Frame League, which is still running, and we created this website. Several live tournaments have taken place. In our Resources section, you will find decklists and articles that will help you prepare for the next event.

Next Events

Check our Events Calendar to find out when is the next Old Frame Vintage tournament taking place.