Subject: Re: Kiddie Series Tourney Report @ PTLA
Date: 11 Mar 98 16:04:02 GMT
From: hbmus017@huey.csun.edu (scott johns)
Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.misc

> Between rounds of the tourney, I go downstairs to check on my friends
> Casey MacCarrel and Ben Rubin in the pro tour.  Casey loses his chance at
> the top 8 because of an extremely unsportsmalike incident instigated by
> Scott Johns.  I'm not going to discuss it, because I wasn't there when it
> happens.

        So you weren't there, dont really know the facts, won't discuss
it, but felt ok about posting such a horrible comment about me anyway?

        For those who care, here's what happenned:

        While preparing for game 1, casey shuffles my deck and flips over
a red card that pretty much shows what deck I am playing. (I think it was
a mogg raider, but not sure anymore) I call a judge over and point out
that this has happenned to me 3 times at PTLA so far, and that maybe they
could make an announcement at the next player meeting that would say that
such an offence can gice the opponent an advantage (however accidentally)
and will accordingly result in some kind of warning, etc. The judge
confers with BethMo, and a notice is assigned, which means it is written
on his player card, but no other action is warranted at this time. In my
past experience, I have never seen a notice actually result in any kind of
penalty.
        We chat amiably during the match, as the red on red match can be
somewhat silly to take seriously. I point out that I dont think he did it
on purpose, but that it seems like such an error would be easy to stop if
people took it seriously and were more careful, which he agrees on. (How
many times have people flipped their own cards vs an opponent's, I
wonder..its not that people are cheating I think, its just that they are
more careless when it isnt their own deck.)
        We get to game three, at which point I sideboard in my 4 Giant
Strengths. He did not see them game 1, and I took them out game 2 to bring
in some other things, as I had found that the Strengths were much better
when going first. So far, he has been opening with conscripts, not
fanatics, so I dont think he is ready for a second turn GS pup, mogg, etc.
Game 3 I bring all 4 GS in, and feel good about my chances, until he
shuffles my deck and flips _another_ card over. And of course, it is a
giant strength.
        I get upset, call a judge over, and make my case. He is relatively
unresponsive, so I appeal, at which point Donais hears the case and then
confers with Bethmo, who was familiar with the original incident. Having
found that he had flipped cards twice in the same match, he ruled that
this was a game loss, a full warning, and said that this should not happen
twice in one match. particularly since he was given a notice for it
already in game 1.
        To be honest, I did not expect a game loss (which amounted to a
match loss) but, in retrospect, I still think this was the correct ruling.
The guy gained an advantage _twice_ that I did not have, and was
adequately warned for it the first time. When you are competing at that
level, it is not riddiculous to expect someone to shuffle your deck
without flipping cards over.
        I should also point out that I am leaving the pro tour as soon as
I run out of invites from making top 32, as grad school is much more
imporatnt to me now than magic is. With this in mind, I decided to be much
more "sportsmanlike" at the tour, and made a real effort to be friendly
and more forgiving of errors. I let a number of people take back small
mistakes which I could have gained huge advantages from, but didnt. I
always wished my oppenent good luck, shook their hand, and played in as
convivial a manner as possible, though my temper got away from me a bit
when I lost my last 3 matches in a row, dropping me from 5th to 32nd. (Im
still human :)

        As a closing thought, I think this kind of ruling is good, as
people should do everything they can to ensure that they do not
inadvertently gain an advantage through sheer carelessness. However, it
begs the question regarding punishment of more serious infractions, such
as the question of whether Tommi Hovi had intentionally marked cards.
(That issue is very hazy right now...anyone have more reliable info?)
If carelessness is going to be punished, outright cheating needs to
recieve even harsher penalties.

Scott Johns

p.s. Those who know me on the net know that I have always strived to
respond to these types of allegations in as fair and informative a manner
as possible in the past. At the current time however, I am completely
swamped at school and may not be able to respond except on weekends. :)