In the case of Modern, I can come up with decks that are semi-competitive all the time. For Vintage, I am several levels away from competitive in any way:
1. The first level will be occupied by those who can afford a tier 1 deck.
2. The second level will be occupied by those who have tier 1 Modern decks, say with a playset of Liliana of the Veil.
3. The third level would have been the highest I could go for, and even there, without Power 9, or the Modern super expensive cards, there is zero hope for having any fun! Even now Modern Just for Fun has its bad moments when people with competitive decks decide to use me as a punching bag.
Magic is pay to play, but Vintage Masters is pay and pay a lot more to play!
