There have been plenty of debates recently over restricti...

There have been plenty of debates recently over restrictions and one’s vision of what Vintage ought to be. Type Fun is a format where cards like Kird Ape are playable, while Type 1 is a format defined by a few top combo decks.

There is an e e cummings poem, Ever-Ever Land that sums this up very well.

The poem is in contrast to Never-Never land (Peter Pan’s home), which is where most of us actually live, according to cummings. Ever-Ever land is then the ideal.

If one thinks of type Fun as Never-Never land, this is pretty accurate (well, maybe not the part that deals with politics). Granted, cummings is a supporter of Never-Never land (my own bias).

Ever-Ever land is measured and safe and known. There are best decks that are well-defined and tested. Infinity is the enjoyment that people get out of playing decks, regardless of their win/loss rations, in type Fun. But if all that really matters to us is winning, we are down to a zero-sum game, one inch.

People’s dedication to actually attacking with creatures for several turns each game could be religious fuss. To those of us in Never-Never land, heaven and hell are perhaps respectively Keeper (or Zoo or some other deck that inspires nostalgia) and combo (be it Dragon, Long or anything else).

I am sure more comparisons can be drawn and, although the poem does not describe the current state of Vintage perfectly, it should prove useful.

Anyone else find this interesting?

Ever-Ever Land
(of Ever-Ever Land i speak
sweet morons gather roun'
who does not dare to stand or sit
may take it lying down)

down with the human soul
and anything else uncanned
for everyone carries canopeners
in Ever-Ever Land

(for Ever-Ever Land is a place
that's as simple as simple can be
and was built that way on purpose
by simple people like we)

down with hell and heaven
and all the religious fuss
infinity pleased our parents
one inch looks good to us

(and Ever-Ever Land is a place
that's measured and safe and known
where it's lucky to be unlucky
and the hitler lies down with the cohn)

down above all with love
and everything perverse
or which makes some feel more better
when all ought to feel less worse

(but only sameness is normal
in Ever-Ever Land
for a bad cigar is a woman
but a gland is only a gland)