Subject: Death and Resurection Date: Sun, 19 Jul 1998 12:08:38 +0900 From: "Gary Adkison" To: Dear Dojo Writers; I am deeply in your debt. Being somewhat isolated from mainstream Magic (at a remote Camp in South Korea) your comments via the Dojo have been most helpful and entertaining. I have not commented to this forum before but desire to address the death of Magic. First of all Magic is alive and well where ever I have played. It appears that those that feel Magic is somehow fading away point to several factors as responsible. On this forum, alone, the following have been suggested: To many cards to fast subsets: Collectors can't keep up Players can't keep up (unless you dedicate ALL your time) Reprint of old cards vs printing of new concepts Scrye price lists Expense of cards (price hike came with Exodus) Dojo publishing decklists Dojo having an open forum that allowed ideas to be shared Pro Tour/international competition Cheating I propose that all of these, and most others I have ever heard, are symptoms, not the problem. The problem, as I see it, goes back to something my high-school coach used to tell us. "It's not whether you win or loose that counts. It's how you play the game." Most coaches that survive nowadays don't say that anymore. Now it is a "Winning is everything--there isn't any second place." What is the functional difference between these two in the realm of Magic?? That's easy, "tournaments" on the one hand and "having fun" on the other. What is the personality difference between these two?? That's NOT easy. What I say here is using the extremes and there is a continuum from one to the other upon which each of resides (all be it at different locations on different days ). On the one side, If your personality is aggressive and your desire to "win" [in the sense of being declared the victor of a dual/match/tournament] is your driving motivation--trust me ALL the above symptoms will plague you. Now as long as your are winning--you won't even notice them. However, when you are not winning, for whatever reason (some Dojo decks gotya, sheer exhaustion has set in---etc.) you will join the rank of vocal snivelers--because that type of personality usually needs something to blame for failure. On the other side, if playing for the sheer joy of seeing what you can accomplish with 4000+ different options at your disposal, against an unknown deck, with the chance of getting mana screwed, the question of your brainchild combo actually working, not really giving a _____ who's lifepoint total reaches 0 first--you will concern yourself little with the above list. In fact you will use some of these "complaints" to your interest and advantage. I am, as you surmised by now, in the second category. I have never built a deck from a posted list--usually don't even waste my time reading them. I gave up a long time ago keeping up with all the cards that come out. I use the ones I get in my booster packs and if I run up against something really interesting (Whim of Volrath Rocks!!) I trade for it or buy it (or wait till new Dojo decks come out without it on them and then trade for it for less ). A Recommendation: Play real Magic. Make yourself a 40 card deck using the basic deck building rules (4 only and leave out the big expensive guys). Play with people that "enjoy" playing Magic. Don't compete in tournaments unless you objectively realize what you are doing and that that really is the scene you want to make. Try YOUR ideas. "Win" by definition (if I can get an Artifact Possession on his Cursed Scroll and a Warp Artifact on his Ensnareing Bridge--I want to see what he will do). I had the joy, on two occasions, to play with Richard Garfield. The first time I was amazed at the wonderful interrelation of the cards he used. It was like every card could do something to work with every other card. He trounced me by slighting deathgrip and locking me down while his Junum Efreet beat me up. The second time he was experimenting with Eladamri's Vineyard and Cursed Scroll (still new last December) while I was using my all commons red deck--no summoning sickness creatures and direct damage---yes Portal cards, Raging Goblins/Cougars and lightning bolts. I had far to few X cards to take care of the Vineyard but it was a blast. Each duel was a race to see who could do what he was trying to do before the other guy! If I remember right I even "won" a dual or two by classic reference but you can be sure I WON every dual based on enjoyment and, I think, he did too. What I'm trying to say is: It's up to you. You can enjoy Magic if you can enjoy a personal challenge. You can have fun if you let yourself. You can be a great pro player if you want to dedicate what it takes--just like the Olympic gold medal winners--8 hours a day for all your life. The choice is yours. Don't allow what is happening in the industry or the tournament center or the market place to rob you of a good recreational experience playing a great game. In fact, I look fwd to playing with each of your if I ever have the chance. Gary Adkison Thats right, the guy that taught Peter Adkison how to play games---AH Gettysburg, Blitzkrieg and Midway when he was 11 years old.