Subject: Reply to Vampires & Klingons
Date: Wed, 10 Jun 1998 09:25:12 -0700
From: sophist@grid.wizards.com (Rob Hahn)
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com

One of the more difficult aspects of my new job is having to defend that
which I really want to criticize.  Andrew Wills wrote an eloquent and
passionate post requesting changes in the Duelist.  Let me say this to
Andrew (and to others who have echoed his views):  I'D LIKE NOTHING
BETTER!!!!

Maybe I chose not to be on the Pro-Tour for personal reasons, but I have
always been a competitive Magic player -- and you know what?  I couldn't
care less if a card was called Nekrataal or Black 12 or Top Litigator.  I
just want to know what effect it has in the game.  I don't collect, I
don't follow the backstory (who the fuck is Gerrard anyway and why should
I care about him?), and I don't read Magic fiction.  I play the game, I
write about the game, and I think about the game.  So believe me -- I know
exactly where the majority of you are coming from.

What I know, however, that the rest of you do not know is the internal
realities of running a magazine.  I don't know that I could get into the
nitty gritty of print runs, cost per page, ad count v. edit count, etc.
etc. and I don't think anyone else would be interested in any case.  But
the reality is that unless the Duelist receives word from up-on-high that
we are to be a free newsletter for DCI members (which wouldn't be a bad
idea, by the way) we have to run a magazine that does not consistently
dwell in the red.  We want to be Necro, not Sligh in our financial
performance.  Otherwise, there will be no Duelist to change.

So the reality for me is that I am here on the inside, and maybe I came on
feeling like a crusader.  But crusaders make poor managers and poor
editors.  I need to compromise some of my personal preferences for the
good of the magazine and hope for things to improve such that we might at
some point spin off parts of the magazine which are not relevant to Magic.
 Would such a day come?  I don't know -- no one does....

No, we Magic players (and I still count myself among that number) are not
vampires or klingons or role players.  We are intellectual sportsmen --
I'd like to believe that anyhow.  And the Duelist should be doing more to
support the sport of Magic, if not the game of Magic.  But you all have a
responsibility as well to promote the sport as well as the game.

It occurred to me while reading through the volumes of email that some of
the writers were completely juvenile if not in age then in mentality.  And
these same juvenile people are asking me to make the Duelist more serious?
 And I know that the vast majority of Magic players do conduct themselves
in a manner befitting a sportsman -- with courtesy, fierce but friendly
competition, and a love of the game.  But we all know when people fall
short -- maybe we ourselves fall short.  Well, let me tell you this.

The Duelist cannot change without our readership changing.

If our readers think of Magic as just a game, we can't help but treat it
as just a game.  If our readers think of Magic as a serious intellectual
sport on par with Chess or Go, then we can start to do more and more.  Am
I going to be trying my best to make the Duelist a more fitting vehicle
for coverage of the sport of Magic?  You can bet your deck on that.  But I
realize that I need your help as well.  When you see individuals who bring
dishonor to this sport, you need to speak up and do something about that.
And when you see something you don't like in The Duelist or in WotC or in
any other area relevant to our sport, you need to speak up and send me
email as a Letter to the Editor.  Believe me, we'll run 'em (sans
profanities, I suppose).

As for the idea of running of Duelist-sponsored tournament... it's a good
one.  And I'll broach it with the others here.  What we are planning,
however, may be slightly more satisfying to the vast majority of players.
(See my other post for information on that).

Anyhow, duty calls over here, but I did want to continue this
unprecedented (as far as I know) dialogue between you, our readers, and
us.  I am grateful to Andrew for his criticism and his request, as I am
grateful to all of you who have read these emails and who have sent me
your considered opinions.

Thanks!

-The Sophist