[Premium Article] Schools of Magic: History of Vintage: 2002

[Smmenen]

As the 10th Chapter in my series, I've completed the first decade in the History of Vintage!

http://www.eternalcentral.com/schools-of-magic-history-of-vintage-2002/



Blurb:

Stephen Menendian completes the first decade of the History of Vintage series with an epic chapter on the tumultuous changes, debates, and dramatic innovations of 2002. Read about the emergence of new strategies like MaskNaught, TnT, and Grow, and read about the heated debates between Patrick Chapin, Oscar Tan, Mark Rosewater and the broader Type I community. Learn about the tournament results that changed the metagame, and the creators and innovators behind them.

***

I hope folks have enjoyed this series because I am taking a hiatus from this series for the foreseeable future.   With this chapter the entire first ten years of the format are readable and available.  That's an accomplishment I'm proud of. This has been an extremely draining/taxing project, and the chapters are extremely time intensive to research, write and edit.   I also feel like I've accomplished my goal of illustrating how the Schools of Magic that emerged in this period continue today.  

I am going to focus now on completing the third edition of my Gush book and preparation for the Vintage Champs.  I plan to return to this series some time next year.  2003 is one of my favorite years in the history of the format, so I have no doubt I will get back to it.  But I need a break to re-charge my batteries.  

If you've been waiting to buy or read this project until more chapters are out, now is the time.   The first ten chapters weigh in well over 250 pages, and are a book-length read.   In a sense, it is a complete narrative on the emergence, rise, fall and re-birth of the format.  In another sense, this a complete history of Type I.  By 2003, the format was re-branded as "Vintage."

http://www.eternalcentral.com/tag/history-of-vintage/

Thanks for supporting this series!

EDIT: I forgot to mention that Interviewed Patrick Chapin for this chapter, in addition to ManaDrain.com founder Steve O'Connell!

Free excerpt:

2001 was defined by dramatic growth in the popularity and visibility of the Type I format. Online communities of interest spawned a player base online and energized the player base offline. The online Beyond Dominia “Tournament of Champions” was a marquee event that brought together the best minds around the globe to compete for glory and notoriety within the community. Tournament scenes such as Origins and GenCon emerged as national hubs, while Type I pockets were popping up across the US and overseas.

Through it all, one card overshadowed others – Fact or Fiction. The DCI’s pat explanation for Fact or Fiction’s restriction emphasized its functionality as a source of “card drawing, tutoring, and graveyard filling,” as well as its one blue mana cost, but neglected to mention the two things that truly set Fact or Fiction apart: it’s efficiency compared to already-restricted spells like Stroke and Braingeyser, and it’s utter domination of Type I tournaments.

Relative to long-feared engines like Necropotence or Tolarian Academy, Fact or Fiction’s tournament dominance was far more empirically evident. Necropotence fueled a broken combo deck, but was not overly represented or dominating (in terms of its performance) on the Magic Invitational. Similarly, Academy decks were by far the most popular choice on the Magic Invitational, but were only average performers. In contrast, Fact or Fiction decks won three straight Tournament of Champions, GenCon’s largest Type I tournament, and most of the large German Dülmen tournaments in 2001, not to mention countless small tournaments reported throughout the year. Fact or Fiction had been dominating Type I tournaments, and the new tournament scene left no doubt about it.

Restricting Fact or Fiction risked rewinding the format to the pre-Invasion metagame, except that Fact arrived one day removed from the day that Necropotence was restricted, the last card restricted in Type I. The restriction of Fact held within it the promise of yet another rebirth – a new format from the ashes of the old, or perhaps more accurately in terms of the aspirations of the player base, the old out of the ashes of the new. Many players hoped that the restriction of Fact or Fiction would return the format to where it was supposed to have been when Necropotence was restricted.

As of January 1 2002, the Type I Restricted List grew to 50 cards, the largest it had been since the creation of the format.
[End Free Excerpt]

[PeAcH]

Very nice read as the rest of the series!

Been following since the beginning and I´m very happy someone has taken the titanic task to collect all this information (decklists, tournaments, people, changes in the banned and restricted list, tendencies, metas and such).

I love the format and I love its history.

If you edit this in a single book once finished, I will definitely buy it.

[Smmenen]

Thank you Peach

I feel like I finally crossed the Rubicon with this chapter.  This chapter completes the first ten years, so there is, for the first time, some narrative closure.

I had intended to write just the first 20 years of the format, but by the time I get to that point, we will be in the 22nd year of the game.  I am honestly not sure how far I want to go.  I'm not sure how open-ended I want to leave it. 

I could just stop here, and let the first ten years function as a complete book.  Or, we could issue this as Volume One. 

If I start this up again next year, and wrap up year 20, it could well be late 2014 (or, more likely, Spring, 2015).   Alternatively, this could be a never-ending project, where, every five years or so, I update it.  So, in 2018, I might write a 5 year update for years 21-25.  If I write the first 20 years, and publish that in one volume, that could be massive (well over 500 pages, and it still wouldn't be 'complete' given that it would be two years out from where it ended). 

I'm just not sure.  I'd like to write up to 2012, as I originally planned, so that I can accomplish my basic goal of having everyone see how these Schools of Magic have remained constant and have evolved close to the present moment.  But I feel like the work here accomplishes most of that.  The final table in this chapter is a table where people can pretty easily extrapolate to the present moment. 

Given the break I intend to take, I'm going to let this work sit and see how it feels in a couple of months.  I welcome feedback on what the readers would like to see. 

[brianpk80]

As for what readers want to see, keep it going after a break.  You'll eventually reach a point where the updates you write are simply on an annual basis and there will be a lot less archaic research to conduct because the year in topic will have been freshly experienced firsthand. 

[Smmenen]

I am sympathetic to that perspective, but I'm not sure that's where I want to be.   From 2004 to 2011, I wrote "Year in Review" articles, and I don't want my series to devolve into that.

Also, I'm concerned that the kind of historical lens I'm using is more a telescope, and requires distance to acquire proper perspective.  I don't want my annual updates, were I to do them, to be swept up in the heat of the moment, but to crystallize and reflect the critical moments of the past from an appropriate historical distance.  

Another goal of my series is to bring non-Vintage players to Vintage, by giving them an appreciation of the format's evolution.   I think it may simply be necessary for me to write the next 10 chapters, and get this book into physical copies, to get to that point...

[PETER FLUGZEUG]

Thanks for another great read.

My advice for a book:

Volume one – the first ten years.

Volume two – the second ten years. (Eventually).

there is no need to pack this all into one huge book, but a physical thing would surely be appreciated, also with the formatting possibiities this offers (no more decklists spread on two pages

As for the last article, the "feud" you described was interesting, but a bit lenghty for my taste, and also, for readers who don't know the scene and people involved at that time, it's a bit confusing and, I don't know how to articulate that, gossipy maybe.

Also, as you enter the story from now on, you'll have to watch out to keep yourself and your accomplishments elegantly at bay, i.e. being humble and not stress your own importance too much . Again, not really sure how to say this, but you understand me. It's always a bit weird when an author – regardless of the topic – stresses his own importance too much. Not that this was the case until now, just something to be aware of.

thank you again for writing this, I really appreciate it.

[warr]

Let me know if/when you decide to do the layout and sell the print version.

[Grand Inquisitor]

2002

The revival that happened after Fof's restriction is the most crucial in terms of understanding the modern game.  If you stop here without further writing you've done a great job of translating a dead language, but you haven't moved onto an important historical bridge of Vintage: from the only format, to a dead format, to a totally new thing.

[Smmenen]

You're off by one year.  Fact was restricted Jan 1,2002.  That's why this chapter provides narrative closure.  It reads very much as the flowering after the rebirth of 2001. It's what happened after Facts restriction.

In doing my research for this chapter, I found your grow/Emeral Alice reports I think you'd enjoy this one. It would bring back many memories.  I interviewed Steve O'Connell as well

[Prospero]

This is the first article from this series that I have purchased.  If you decide to continue this series, I'm likely to purchase articles moving forward.  

This was a walk down memory lane that I enjoyed.  I remember playing the Neutral Ground events, and I remember seeing a lot of the guys that were mentioned playing.  The Keeper crowd at Neutral Ground featured some great players.  Vinny Pau is the only one of those guys whom I know to still be playing.  Mikey Pustilnik was kind enough to watch a few of my games and critique my plays, helping me become  a better Keeper pilot.

There was a small test group of Vintage pilots on Long Island, and Dave Kaplan was the best of us back then.  I played a lot of Sligh vs. Keeper, Sligh vs. BBS, Sligh vs. Landstill against him back in the day.  He hasn't really played Magic much in years, but I see him around once in a while.

I remember when he started testing out Dwarven Miner.  The card was absolutely brutal.  I remember another game where I took the zero card pile off an end of turn Fact or Fiction, just looking to avoid the extra damage from Black Vise.  

Most modern American Vintage pilots whom I know haven't played in metagames where aggressive decks like Sligh (or modern Goblins variants) were present.  Those decks were a terror when I got into the format.  The Sligh deck gave many players fits, and while its modern descendants have occasional success in Europe, I don't see pilots who are willing to run the deck here.  It's a shame.  This is a real part of the metagame that should exist, and doesn't in this end of the world.

[Smmenen]

2002

The revival that happened after Fof's restriction is the most crucial in terms of understanding the modern game.  If you stop here without further writing you've done a great job of translating a dead language, but you haven't moved onto an important historical bridge of Vintage: from the only format, to a dead format, to a totally new thing.

Steve, I forgot that I actually cited to one of your reports in an endnote:

See also, Houdlette, Stephen. "[Emerald Alice] Report 12-08-2002." Type-One.net. Type-One.net.
Website. <http://type-one.net/rep?f=021208gin.txt> Houdlette’s Hadley reports are another good example
of more traditional attempts to port Extended Grow to Type I.

This is the first article from this series that I have purchased.  If you decide to continue this series, I'm likely to purchase articles moving forward.  

This was a walk down memory lane that I enjoyed.  I remember playing the Neutral Ground events, and I remember seeing a lot of the guys that were mentioned playing.  The Keeper crowd at Neutral Ground featured some great players.  Vinny Pau is the only one of those guys whom I know to still be playing.  Mikey Pustilnik was kind enough to watch a few of my games and critique my plays, helping me become  a better Keeper pilot.

There was a small test group of Vintage pilots on Long Island, and Dave Kaplan was the best of us back then.  I played a lot of Sligh vs. Keeper, Sligh vs. BBS, Sligh vs. Landstill against him back in the day.  He hasn't really played Magic much in years, but I see him around once in a while.

I remember when he started testing out Dwarven Miner.  The card was absolutely brutal.  I remember another game where I took the zero card pile off an end of turn Fact or Fiction, just looking to avoid the extra damage from Black Vise.  

Most modern American Vintage pilots whom I know haven't played in metagames where aggressive decks like Sligh (or modern Goblins variants) were present.  Those decks were a terror when I got into the format.  The Sligh deck gave many players fits, and while its modern descendants have occasional success in Europe, I don't see pilots who are willing to run the deck here.  It's a shame.  This is a real part of the metagame that should exist, and doesn't in this end of the world.

One of the great joys of this project is showing how all of the disparate experiences cohere.   The NYC NG metagame was full of interesting characters, people, and decks.  Dave Kaplan, as you noted, was a beast in that environment.   You'll find much more of that in the 2001 Chapter, which talked about Mikey P and others in more detail, as Legend (Ed Paltzek), went on a rampage that year.  

I hope you also enjoy the discussion of the Stacker/Ducktape archetypes.

One thing I encourage folks to do is explore the endnotes, for which I provided copious links and personal anecdotes that aren't appropriate for the body narrative.  It would be a shame if my chapter is the terminus, rather than impetus, for engagement with this history.

[brianpk80]

I just finished up this chapter.  Do you think every current deck fits squarely into a school or can one say that many modern decks successfully hybridize the schools? 

[Smmenen]

I just finished up this chapter.  Do you think every current deck fits squarely into a school

Absolutely not.   I sincerely apologize if I left that impression.    I tried damned hard to make clear that this is not the case.

I pointed out that there are many strategies that have existed that do not adhere to a perennial School: Oath, Flash, Doomsday, and 4 Necro decks are each examples.  As I explained Chapter 5, one of the reason they are not a "School" is because they are defined by a unique card rather than a philosophy (meaning a set of coherent principles).  

The parallels today are clear though:

Chalice School --> Dredge
Restricted List Combo School -->  Burning Tendrils
O'Brien School -->  MUD
Weissman School --> Grixis Control, etc.
Comer School --> Grow (or, perhaps a better example, RUG Delver)
Lestree School -- Dead School?

The point is that these schools can exist even with totally different card pools.  That's not the case for decks built around a unique card like Doomsday, Oath, Flash, and Necro.  

or can one say that many modern decks successfully hybridize the schools?  

One of the things that is difficult is that the idea of disruptive hate bears actually emerges as a School, but it didn't exist in the first decade of the game's existence.  Are you suggesting that this is a School?  I'm open to that argument.  

Another possibility is that I redefine Zoo away from Burn and Tempo threats, although that is a difficult connection to make, and perhaps only works at the highest level of abstraction.  

[brianpk80]

Absolutely not.   I sincerely apologize if I left that impression.    I tried damned hard to make clear that this is not the case.

You didn't leave that impression; I was just asking point blank to be clear. 

Chalice School --> Dredge
Restricted List Combo School -->  Burning Tendrils
O'Brien School -->  MUD
Weissman School --> Grixis Control, etc.
Comer School --> Grow (or, perhaps a better example, RUG Delver)
Lestree School -- Dead School?

Broadly speaking, the last two schools are similar enough that they could be collapsed into one.  They differ in the definition presented only in that one advances its clock by using blue to maintain its tempo advantage while the other uses red/Bolts to accomplish the same goal directly.  RUG Delver seems to blur the line by using both, and while the use of specific cards themselves cannot pigeonhole a deck into a school, the resemblance of Tarmogoyf and Delver of Secrets to Ernham Djinn and Serendib Efreet is uncanny; the purposes served by both pairs are the same.  Rather than having a "dead" school whose principles and gameplan overlap significantly with another, it might be preferable to combine the last two into a school whose defining characteristics are efficient threats and tempo.   

One of the things that is difficult is that the idea of disruptive hate bears actually emerges as a School, but it didn't exist in the first decade of the game's existence.  Are you suggesting that this is a School?  I'm open to that argument.  

I wasn't suggesting that but if using Preordain and pitch counters over Lightning Bolt and Strip Mine is really significant enough to differentiate two entire schools of Magic, it follows that the schools as defined do not account for many of the various creature decks we have. 

Another possibility is that I redefine Zoo away from Burn and Tempo threats, although that is a difficult connection to make, and perhaps only works at the highest level of abstraction.  

I think at only a slightly higher level of abstraction, the Zoo and Comer schools become identical. 

[Smmenen]

The RUG Delver deck does, I agree, resemble the "Djinn and Juice" decks of 1996/97-era with striking parallels.

The design principles of max cantrips that underlie the Comer school are certainly distinctive enough to warrant at least consideration for a separate school from the Lestree School.

I'll put more thought into this in the future.

 

[Katzby]

As of January 1 2002, the Type I Restricted List grew to 50 cards, the largest it had been since the creation of the format.
[End Free Excerpt]

This... is not right.  All Legendary creatures and Legendary lands were at one time Vintage restricted.  That's a total of 65 between Legends and Ice Age before that rule was done away with, which is a number not including the restricted cards you are thinking about.  The largest the restricted list ever got was actually somewhere around 100 cards.

Thanks.


Katzby

[Smmenen]

As of January 1 2002, the Type I Restricted List grew to 50 cards, the largest it had been since the creation of the format.
[End Free Excerpt]

This... is not right.  All Legendary creatures and Legendary lands were at one time Vintage restricted.  That's a total of 65 between Legends and Ice Age before that rule was done away with, which is a number not including the restricted cards you are thinking about.  The largest the restricted list ever got was actually somewhere around 100 cards.

Thanks.


Katzby

This fact is noted in the earlier chapters, so it is an implicit caveat.   Also, the list was never actually published or printed everywhere with every legend on it, and it was only  briefly the case.