Subject: Dojo Decks it is still the Skilled verses the Unskilled
Date: Thu, 07 May 1998 03:03:53 -0400
From: Michael Hoffman <kefhoffy@ma.ultranet.com>
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com

     The Dojo provides us the players with a place to exchange ideas, decks
and strategy.  For years this is what the top players in the game have
already been doing, but the information is just shared amoungest themselves.
Have you ever noticed that many of the top players even when the get knocked
out of tournaments stick around to see the top decks in the field?  Is this
just a great love for the game maybe... Quality of competion is awesome in
the top 4 and I gotta see  it well maybe... Scouting the top decks for next
week? Definitely!!!
     Magic goes through phases where decks dominate and power cards are
discovered and used and abused until anti decks are developed to stop cetain
deck types...  The Dojo just speeds this process up.  Back in the type 1
days Balance ran unchecked for months and the best players all slowly moved
to balance decks or antibalance decks.  In present day type 2 probably sligh
or some version of red is the top deck and all decks are designed with
beating Red in mind.  If there was no Dojo then the unskilled players would
most likely be left in the dark and be chump meat for the skilled players
for a few months.  The unskilled players just dont have the time or the
resources for developement decks for metagames and they dont playtest
against the top of the field so they dont get a realistic experience for the
tournaments.  A Dojo deck gives them a fighting chance but honestly not much
of one...
     I live in the Boston area and I have been playing since the days of the
the now Defunct SMK and at every big tournament there are probably 40-50
players in the region that can win it and have won big tourneys
before...probably 15-25 of them show up and 7 will be in the top 8 with
usually one surprise person will make top 8 but usually I know the surprise
person and its not that big of a surprise they just paid their dues and
became a premier player in the region!  I am sure regionals will bear this
out.  Honestly those that copy a Dojo deck that are not as skilled in the
magic tournament scene are always weeded out in the big 130 to 180
tournaments up here in Boston and it usually comes down to the playtesting
of the local groups,friends, or Teams that have been here for years and
honestly if you are not hooked into any of the  top people and what they are
playing and metagaming for a Dojo deck is not gonna save ya!   Not here in
the Boston region...
     Nothing is killing the game folks we are just experiencing a leveling
of the field of sorts.

                         HOFFY

Next report a look at all the top players in the Boston region and what too
expect.  Will the Boston Regionals be a Control orientated Counterfest like
last regionals?  Plus a look at Tom Guevin facial expressions, hand gestures
and wisecracks and what it means during the game.

P.S.  On secound thought I will keep this information to myself and I am
Kidding Tom  you can stop writing that friendly email to me.  Grins;)