Six of One, Half Dozen of the Other

[Anusien]

I would move your reports to a month or a half month before the BR announcement comes out. That way you could still have an influence.

[Matt]

http://twitter.com/NorrYtt

Great to meet Stephen, Ben, and Eric! Bleiweiss drafted some Nagle Worldwake specials; Menendian loves a certain WWK legendary Merfolk...

Indeed...

Hehe!!!!

Did you quote yourself just to laugh...at yourself? o_0

[Yare]

Steve,

This is pretty much what I had in mind when I was talking about having a second major sanctioned Vintage event during the year. Sadly for us, of course, it's not in the United States. This does show, however, that it is possible! Perhaps this one will be very successful, leading to others in the future.

[Troy_Costisick]

Doing quarterly results is fine, but I- like the others- would rather it be a month prior to the DCI decision rather than after.

Peace,

-Troy

[Yare]

Upon further reflection, three weeks to a month prior to the DCI announcement might be better, as two weeks may not be enough time. Alternatively, you could just ask them to see how far in advance they would want such reports, if they would be willing to tell you.

[Smmenen]

Vote!

http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/misc/18765_Feature_Article_A_StarCityGamescom_2009_Retrospective.html

[voltron00x]

Some weird choices on there.  I think the Vintage Checklist was a great article but I wouldn't call it an example of your best writing nor the best article you did last year. 

De Mars deserves to win the feature article award by a mile, as it was terrifically written, but that'll require a lot of voting on the part of TMD members I would think.

Sort of sad that my only category is "casual" as that Dredge article was strategically rich for every format where Dredge is legal, at least in my opinion.  Oh well.

[Yare]

Sort of sad that my only category is "casual" as that Dredge article was strategically rich for every format where Dredge is legal, at least in my opinion.  Oh well.

This is pretty much a crime. There was a lot of good information in there. It was hardly casual only.

[Killane]

Some weird choices on there.  I think the Vintage Checklist was a great article but I wouldn't call it an example of your best writing nor the best article you did last year. 

De Mars deserves to win the feature article award by a mile, as it was terrifically written, but that'll require a lot of voting on the part of TMD members I would think.

Sort of sad that my only category is "casual" as that Dredge article was strategically rich for every format where Dredge is legal, at least in my opinion.  Oh well.

seconded thirded. very stange to list under casual. I voted for it anyways.

Also seconded about your article, Steve. I thought the building Tezz article should had received the nod- it was fantastic and gave as an innovative deckbuilding method.

[Smmenen]

Some weird choices on there.  I think the Vintage Checklist was a great article but I wouldn't call it an example of your best writing nor the best article you did last year.  

Yeah, the SCG Editor asked every premium writer what they thought was their best article.   For myself, I suggested the article I wrote in March, Mastering TPS: High Level Tips for Winning with TPS, as I thought it was the best article I wrote and the best written.  

Still, it's not a wasted vote to send SCG the message that people still care about Vintage content.   

[voltron00x]

Some weird choices on there.  I think the Vintage Checklist was a great article but I wouldn't call it an example of your best writing nor the best article you did last year.  

Yeah, the SCG Editor asked every premium writer what they thought was their best article.   For myself, I suggested the article I wrote in March, Mastering TPS: High Level Tips for Winning with TPS, as I thought it was the best article I wrote and the best written.  

Still, it's not a wasted vote to send SCG the message that people still care about Vintage content.   

If I'd known Craig was going to put my article under casual, I'd obviously have submitted this one:  Your Format Sucks

I think your best articles from 2009 were:
http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/17071_So_Many_Insane_Plays_The_Anatomy_of_Vintage_Tezzeret.html
http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/17339_So_Many_Insane_Plays_Reviving_Vintage.html
http://www.starcitygames.com/magic/vintage/17949_So_Many_Insane_Plays_Meandeck_Beats_Revised_Running_Through_the_Champs_Gauntlet.html

The first was hugely relevant to our understanding of Tezzeret as well as a great example of composite deckbuilding.

The second was well-written and thought-provoking for players of the format.

The third was great because it showed actual Vintage decks in action as well as the benefits / drawbacks of minor deck changes in Vintage and the viability of a relatively budget, non-blue deck in Vintage.

[Smmenen]

I'd like to hear people thoughts on this: 

What are the myths, old or new, that people have about Vintage?  What do they say when they dismiss Vintage?   If you can't post here, PM me with your answer, and with what you've heard. 

[zeus-online]

I hear alot of misconceptions about legacy and vintage where people believe that the formats are dominated by combo decks...Now i can see why they might think that vintage is full of combo decks since alot of decks have a combo as their win-condition...But legacy? Really? New players generally don't understand whats going on in a vintage game at all. I've spent alot of time lately trying to explain how vintage works.

[Troy_Costisick]

I'd like to hear people thoughts on this: 

What are the myths, old or new, that people have about Vintage?  What do they say when they dismiss Vintage?   If you can't post here, PM me with your answer, and with what you've heard. 

-Too expensive to get started (specifically, mana bases, blue draw cards, and the Power 9)
-You only get to play blue
-Cards are too hard to find
-Tournaments are too hard to find
-Everybody wins on turn 1
-Everybody wins on turn 2
-There's too many cards restricted
-There's not enough cards restricted
-There's so much countermagic that you don't get to play any "real" spells
-Every deck just has one of a card in it so why not play EDH?
-Vintage playes are snooty (completely false, Vintage players are probably the most low-key players in magic, go to a GP sometime)
-It's all combo and no combat
-The decks never change/new sets don't add anything
-The DCI monkeys around with the B/R list so much that Vintage is too confusing to keep up with

That'll probably od for starters 

Peace,

-Troy

[Yare]

I pretty much concur with Troy's list in its entirety.

Also, on a completely unrelated topic, I know you're a big movie guy, so I thought I would mention that I saw "Downfall" last night, a foreign-language film depicting the last days of Hitler. I thought it was very well done (and after some research, fairly historically accurate). I would recommend adding it to your Netflix queue, if you have one.

[Smmenen]

Thanks for the recommendation, but I saw that movie in the theatres a few years ago. 

[Anusien]

We joke so much about critical mass decks that people think it's already that way. They don't understand how, say, Tez and TPS can play totally differently despite sharing 40 cards or more.

[Smmenen]

Masticore in FTV: Relics?



Linked here: http://community.wizards.com/magicthegathering/blog/2010/02/15/pt_san_diego_and_spoilers!

[Yare]

Seems like a lock for Masticore, though I suppose there is an outside chance it is Razormane Masticore. Also, Masticore is reserved, though we don't really know what this printing implies yet.

[zeus-online]

Hope it's razormane since:
A) Razormane is better today then masticore is.
B) I hate it when they make new pictures for cards that where hugely influential back in the day. (Also, i like the older pictures better to be honest)

[Smmenen]

Seems like a lock for Masticore, though I suppose there is an outside chance it is Razormane Masticore. Also, Masticore is reserved, though we don't really know what this printing implies yet.

Read the blog I linked to:

Hey guys - I just wanted to let you know I’ll be at PT San Diego this weekend. If you’re there, be sure to check out Champion Challenge where we have special guest stars (seriously, they are real celebrities, come by to see who it is!) dueling with the upcoming Duel Decks Phyrexia vs. the Coalition as a preview. Here’s a sneak peek for you folks on Wizards Community: the alt art mythics are Phyrexian Negator and Urza’s Rage.

285c7db6c88f7d180cfb243986ba3 2f7.jpg?v=104286eb831d55c22951dddecf1889a6fbce46.jpg?v=104942

Some of you might be surprised to see Phyrexian Negator. It is true that while we’ve been able to make premium versions of cards on the reserved list, we’ve so far only used them for promotional purposes (Negator was a judge promo, for example). We’ve taken a look at our special products and feel that we can create a better game experience for you by taking this step. How cool would it have been if Sliver Queen was in the Premium Deck Series?? Don’t worry that we’ve lost our minds. When From the Vault: Relics comes out, you won’t see these cards:

Image.ashx?multiverseid=600&type=card

c1b52d5c8643f2d5c505fc4488c7b 885.jpg?v=55676

But you will see this!

e5ce0e2060f5065ea01a8a03f5c45 f18.jpg?v=124533

And, of course, all of the choices that we make will have the long term health of Magic in mind – so enjoy!

[Yare]

Yeah, I saw the actual announcement. Common sense would say that they consider these box sets to not be governed by the Reserve List at all now, though the secondary statement suggests they won't be printing certain cards "for the long term health of Magic," whatever that means. My gut says this means cards over a certain value, but the statement is fairly vague on its face.

Edit: Also, I would mention that with the statement that the power won't be appearing in FTV: Relics, WotC may be saying that they are least likely to reprint the cards that Vintage "needs" reprinted the most, precisely because they are so expensive. Take from that what you will.

[Smmenen]

Hope it's razormane since:
A) Razormane is better today then masticore is.
B) I hate it when they make new pictures for cards that where hugely influential back in the day. (Also, i like the older pictures better to be honest)

it's actually original masticore. 

[Matt]

Yeah, I saw the actual announcement. Common sense would say that they consider these box sets to not be governed by the Reserve List at all now, though the secondary statement suggests they won't be printing certain cards "for the long term health of Magic," whatever that means. My gut says this means cards over a certain value, but the statement is fairly vague on its face.

My take is that it's meaningless PR language.

[ELD]

Would there be so much discussion if the policy was worded to say "foil" instead of "premium." This is exactly the kind of product that would let them reprint Masticore. 

[Anusien]

Premium is fancy Wizards speak for foil.

[ELD]

I know.  That's my point.  It seems like people are not getting the fact that the Reserve List does not prevent them from making foil versions of the cards.  The printing of Negator and Masticore in premium versions is not really news. 

[Anusien]

They intentionally didn't print Reserved cards in FTV:E and were public about it. This interpretation is new to the public.

[Matt]

I know.  That's my point.  It seems like people are not getting the fact that the Reserve List does not prevent them from making foil versions of the cards.  The printing of Negator and Masticore in premium versions is not really news.  

You are right in that they have used the premium loophole before. What is new is that they are using it on a product for sale to the general public, in retail stores, instead of given out as judge foils or as prizes for a tournament. Where you may be a little off is the statement, "This is exactly the kind of product that would let them reprint Masticore."

If you mean that Masticore could ONLY have been reprinted in such a product, I'm afraid it's not so - as you note, the loophole for foils is much broader than people generally realize, and Wizards could have even put Masticore into Zendikar if they wanted, as long as every copy was foil/premium!

If however you meant this as: this is an ideal product for Masticore to be reprinted in, then we are in total agreement. I'm happy to see it come back, and I even would like to own one, which I can't say about any previous FTV product.

@Anusien, this is not a new interpretation, it's a new implementation. The loophole has always been there; only now they're starting to really make use of it. Publicly declining to use an option is not the same thing as the option not being available.

[Anusien]

I feel like publicly declining to use the interpretation in a situation that was perfect for it gave people the notion that the interpretation wasn't valid. I certainly bought it, and many others did as well.