Subject: ISSUE Reply: Nostalgia Revolution Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 03:42:52 -0500 From: Thomas Bergmann To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com CC: bergmnn@cig.mot.com Thomas Bergmann bergmnn@cig.mot.com reply to: "nostalgia revolution" Greetings, I read Austin Shapiro's posting on the "Nostalgia Revolution" and felt I had to respond. As a Magic player for almost 4 years now I think I might be able to lend a little perspective to the issue. I feel there are 2 points that Austin might have been a little off base on. The first is his contention that the interval between sets is just fine. He doesn't seem to understand that the people who complain about the frequency of set releases and wish for a return to the "old days" are people who remember the times when there was only one "type" of Magic. Type 2, 1.5, 1.x, and all the limited formats are something that wasn't around until somewhere in between Ice Age and Homelands, if I'm not mistaken. Up until then all the cards were eligible in all the tournaments. Then people complained you had to be a high roller to compete - without the power nine you were sure to lose - and who could afford those cards even if they could find them! WoTC, in their infinite wisdom, created "type 2" in order to satisfy these people, then stepped up production (remember, this was all happening around the time of the long interval Austin mentioned) to the tune of 3 new expansions per year. Ironic, isn't it, that the same folks that complained about spending $1000.00 for the power nine now regularly shell out $200.-$300. every 4 months for enough of each new expansion to stay competitive in type 2. It's no wonder they're complaining, especially since they know the cards will only be usable (in many cases) for a period no better than 2 years at best (don't forget, the last expansion of a block is only eligible in type 2 for 1 year 4 months). That's a lot of money for something you'll only be able to use for 2 years. And I have to disagree about the other formats. It's only rarely that I see a type 1 or 1.5 or extended tourney. The store I usually play at, Heroes Unlimited in Roselle, Il. hasn't had anything but a type 2 tourney or a sealed deck tourney (around the time of a new release) in a long time. Not many other places do either. I know the P.T. will throw these formats out there once in a while, but most average players don't go to those things. Sometimes it seems like such a waste. I think the second thing Austin might have overlooked is the cumulative effect years of watching the DCI has had. ERRATA! ERRATA! ERRATA! Just how many knee-jerk reactions can we expect from the DCI this week. Oh look, that deck concept I busted my rump putting together, trading for, playtesting, etc. is now illegal. Oh well. Guess I'll just start over. If the card was broken in the first place it should never have been printed, and if it was then why don't they just print a card in the next expansion that makes it less broken (Channel, for example, should never have been banned once Force of Will came out). What's the deal with Black Vise? It took me 2 years to figure out a way to build a deck that could handle it and now it's restricted? In type 1? Whatever for? And Fork? Why is it you can have 4 in your deck in type 2 extended, but it's still restricted in type 1 and banned in 1.5? And how about the stuff no longer restricted in type 1, like Mishra's Workshop, or Copy Artifact? Why are they still banned in type 1.5? Sorry. I got a little carried away there. The point is that consistency is definitely not the DCI's strong point, and things like this can indeed make one yearn for the good old days of Magic, just sitting around the table playing with every card we owned in the decks. You know, back when Library of Leng was THE card to get out first turn. Ah, for the good old days... Tom Bergmann