10 year anniversary of TMD?

[jeek]

TheManaDrain.com was registered on 10 Jun 2002 19:45:00. I'm not sure if the IRC channel predates or postdates that, but we have to be coming up on the 10 year anniversary soon.

All I remember is that Cividel invited me to #themanadrain IRC the first day it existed.

[Twaun007]

My god, 10 years of pure dojo domination. It seems like yesterday when I first registered for TMD.

Thanks TMD for letting me hang out all these years.

-Twaun007

[GrandpaBelcher]

As your "Most Time Online" leader, I have spent more time here than was actually necessary.

Happy anniversary, TMD.

[Zherbus]

It was a much different time. I have a lot of good memories from back when I created this place and for years to follow. I have no regrets moving forward with it upon the inpending death of Beyond Dominia.

[jeek]

TMD's first post. (June 18, 2002) -from a milestone thread I found while looking around my old posts.

[Godder]

I've really enjoyed watching this place over the last 10 years. I know I don't say much, but when TMD is good, it can be truly awesome.

[Shock Wave]

I still haven't forgotten the ABM threads and that Ed guy (I forgot his handle, but he was the SuiBlack/Sligh guy). Man, were his posts ever funny. Overall, this site has been pretty awesome. Thanks to everyone that has been involved in TMD over the past 10 years for keeping it alive and fun.

[Ozymandias]

I think that was Legend?

[Prospero]

Maybe some of the other site members remember the debate that arose after the unrestriction of Berserk.  I specifically remember getting into a debate about how the unrestriction of Berserk didn't mean that we were going to follow 'Combo Winter' with 'Aggro Summer'.  God help me if I was asked to find the thread...

That being said, this site has been responsible for some really, really great things in the last 10 years.  Mostly for getting people together to play a format that we all enjoy.  There has been some drama, but TMD has been an incredibly positive experience for me, overall.

And my vote for the best post in the last 10 years has to go to D.A., for this:

Travis, the problem with your terms is this.  In the spirit of reciprocity, I would want to take on your duties and functions for a day if I won.  And honestly, I am genuinely concerned that I might not be up to the task.  And I fear for the fate of the world if it should turn out that I'm not.

Your busy schedule is packed full of vital functions and important services upon which our community depends.  I'm not entirely sure what a day in the life of Travis LaPlante is really like, but I'll paint as vivid a mental picture of my efforts to follow in your footsteps as possible:

I awaken at the bottom of a pile of refuse, empty beer cans, dirty clothes, old pizza boxes, and sticky, soiled Kleenex at the crack of noon.  Dazed, I squint as my vision focuses on the ceiling, the events of the previous evening not quite coming into focus.  I stumble out of bed, and immediately I'm face to face with one of the dozens of calendars posted on the walls throughout the residence.  They're all from the year 2005.  The year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Five.  Philosophers say that death and uncertainty are vital parts of the human condition-- they ensure that we all approach each day with a renewed sense of anticipation and eagerness, because none of us can ever know when the best moment in our lives will come.  Well, dear readers, in taking on the role of Travis LaPlante, I am not most people.  I am not a mere man.  No.  I'm the Juggernaut, bitch.  I know exactly when my life peaked-- it peaked at Waterbury VII.

I allow myself to hold my gaze on the calendar for a wistful second before turning away, the pangs of memory tugging at my heartstrings as like the photograph of a loved one.  The memory of that solitary moment of triumph is the only thing that keeps me going these days.  It's enveloped me like the warm embrace of the summer breeze, as I've made many, many, many a drive home from countless other tournaments, after going 0-2 drop. 

I sigh and set myself to my day's labors.  I tenderly exchange my Girls Gone Wild cap for a tinfoil hat, protecting myself from the sinister machinations of the TMD moderation staff.  Their autocratic plot to overmoderate the website must not be allowed to succeed.  The day an adult conversation can take place on TMD will be the day they pry my keyboard out of my cold, dead hands.  I download the software for another proxy server, whilst scouring my mind for the latest alias that will provide cover for my struggle for freedom against the staff.  ZHERBUSLICKSBALLS?  feinsteinsupportscheaters?  Thirty seconds later, having exhausted my vocabulary, I exclaim, "YOUREEK-HA!" and triumphantly don a disguise that would thwart the acumen of Sherlock Holmes himself-- DASWEATYBALLSLULZ.  I hurl myself upon the gears, upon the levers of the TMD moderation machine.  Smmenen's mother fucked Richard Nixon!  Jeek is a dirty fucker!  And on and on, until the trembles of rage and passion leave my fleshy hands.   

Satisfied that I've fought the good fight against decency and civility for another day, I replace my Girls Gone Wild cap atop my head and choose my wardrobe for the day from the pile of unwashed clothes in the corner.  "Sarcasm is one of the my services I offer"?  "Keep honking, I'm reloading"?  Or the wolf picture?  Hot Topic provides me with so many options.  I elect for the shirt least covered in stains and smudges, and, after much effort, don my sweat pants.  It's off to school.

Along the way, I produce a CD from the fetid pile of half-eaten takeout containers and soda cans in the backseat, looking forward to the latest masterpiece of Dr. Seuss as read on tape.  However, my spirits fall as I remember that my car stereo was long ago jacked in the parking lot of the Hadley Mall.  The CD disappears in the dark gap in the center console where the stereo should have been, along with so many before it.   

As I enter the campus, I catch the eye of a nubile co-ed and lumber over to her, working my romantic magic.  "Hey baby, you see this hat?  If you want some of this, you know what you have to do!"  The acrid kiss of pepper spray is always the same.  She only screams "Help!  HELP!" a few times as she flees for the safety of campus police.  I consider this first meeting a success, and make a note to approach her again in the future.  I clear my eyes and resume my trek to the classroom.

Special education isn't as difficult as the name might suggest.  I have a straight-A average, and teacher tells me that if I behave myself this whole week, a gold star will be added to my chart.  I briefly envision my chart, adorned with a gold star, and smile.  Maybe it would be as sweet as my 1st place finish at Waterbury VII, my reward after a brutal struggle against the unsleeved decks, Landstill control engines, and Sui Black offense of the casual players that pushed attendance at that tournament to record highs.   

How dare Demonic Attorney attempt to compare results with me.  He only has, like, several dozen wins and high finishes in a row.  But those are inferior tournaments.  Hosted only by TO's like Myriad Games.  And ELD.  And Centreville Games.  And Double Midnight.  And The Beanie Exchange, Pandemonium, Hadley, Waterbury, Travis LaPlante, Dave Feinstein, BatterUp, Mykeatog, and Andystok.  How could they possibly compare?  And I'm going to get a gold sta-- wait a second.  That other kid in the football helmet looks like Kowal.  Kowal!  How did he get into the special class?  He used to be a TMD Mod!  Fuck this.  There's a trash barrel on hand, this shit is on! 

It seems my lapse in judgment cost me more than my gold star.  School security escorted me to the edge of campus, telling me I can come back when I can behave myself.  I've heard that before.  Jacob Orlove used that line, and then I came back as ZHERBUSLICKSBALLS and no one was the wiser!  Well, I'll apply my cunning ability for disguise to real life!  They'll never suspect a thing!






...My attempt to sneak back into class was not as successful as I hoped.  Apparently a fake moustache is not as effective a disguise as a TMD alias.  Now I have to take these pills three times a day.  "Behavioral modification," they said.  "Modification"?  "Mod"?!  Fuck, no!  I hurl the pills out the window of the car on my way home, the bottle vanishing among the shadows that creep longer and larger as the twilight hour creeps closer, the advent of nightfall hanging in the air.

I return home and pause on my front lawn, looking up at my girlfriend's bedroom window.  She's walking into the room from the shower-- what luck!  I think to ring her doorbell and say hello, but she's been reticent the last few times we've interacted.  I've decided to fulfill her need for space and my need for, well... with a pair a binoculars.  I sit on my hood, the suspension system of my car creaking out another feeble groan of protest and fix my gaze on her window.  She changes into a tank top, the one she was wearing before we met and she invested in a rape whistle.  She looks down into my driveway, and our eyes meet for a charged instant, my unfettered desire surprising her.  Her jaw drops.  She throws the blinds closed. 

The police arrived soon thereafter.  I'm given another court date.  I smile self-assuredly.  That DA thinks he's so smart.  I've already seen more court time than him, and I haven't even gone to law school!  Well, not as a student.  These "probation fees" are starting to add up, though, and my investment income has been tied up lately.  That nice man from Nigeria told me he'd be able to move a million dollars into my bank account if I just gave him my PIN number.  My balance dropped unexpectedly soon thereafter, but I'm sure he's just covering regulatory costs.  But I need to do something. 

I head down to Foxwoods and empty my pockets.  $516, a condom I bought in 1994, a pack of chewing gum, and a walkman.  I put it all on #2005 in Roulette-- my lucky number.  I'm told the numbers don't go up that high.  Another game that can't keep up with me.  Very well.  Number 25.  I close my eyes and put down my life savings.  The balls rolls slowly onto 25, providing once again that the maxim is true, and Providence protects children and idiots.

[Prospero]

Speaking of things I never expected to see again, check this out:

For starters...

    DON'T OVERREACT...

    Yes, Berserk is a good card - a very good card that breaks games very, very well.  However - it is a card that is dependant on creatures.  Creatures that can be removed or countered. Berserk will be best in Gro and GroATog, but, the creatures that it will have the most powerful effects with - Psychatog and Quirion Dryad are both groundpounders and cheap cc wise (hello Moat, Abyss, Powder Keg.)  How to stop Berserk, let me count the ways:

1. Swords in response
2. Diabolic Edict you
3. Wish for Edict, Edict you
4. Mana Drain
5. Force of Will
6.  Misdirection (and when isn't that fun?)
7.  The Abyss
8.  Moat
9.  Block with my random dork
10. Blood Moon.  (Gro and GroATog - I woud imagine - would have a horrible time with this on the board.  If red can't burn out their creatures, screw with their mana and aim the burn at their dome.)

    That leaves an answer of some sort for every color - and for the blue player, resolve a keg, keep it on 2 or 3, and see what happens then if you can't counter their threats.

    We are currently playing in an environment that is more aggro focused.  This usually means one of two things:

1.  You're playing aggro yourself.
2.  You're playing a deck geared againt aggro.

    If anything, the unrestriction of Berserk means that the decks that can't handle aggro stay in the loser's bracket.  As a Keeper/BBS player (I already lose to Gro with BBS, why complain more?)  I don't think its going to really change my matchups all that much - other than that I'm going to be playing Keeper for awhile, until the metagame settles down.

    Get control of yourselves.  This is Type One.  Broken things happen.  And don't take anything I've said personally...

Later,

Prospero

[Shock Wave]

And my vote for the best post in the last 10 years has to go to D.A., for this:

That was good, but my vote goes to the "Berserk Murdolont" poster. Hands down.

[Klep]

My favorite memory is the SuiBlack forum, and the attendant discovery of Orlove's time travel abilities.

[Chill79]

My favorite memory is the SuiBlack forum, and the attendant discovery of Orlove's time travel abilities.

Don't forget:
 

[nataz]

My favorite thread of all time was when DanDan auctioned off his vintage collection on TMD for charity. Even back then that was a considerable chunk of change to give up.

[Jacob Orlove]

My favorite memory is the SuiBlack forum, and the attendant discovery of Orlove's time travel abilities.

Yeah, that will be a good day.

[Diakonov]

Speaking of things I never expected to see again, check this out:

For starters...

    DON'T OVERREACT...

    Yes, Berserk is a good card - a very good card that breaks games very, very well.  However - it is a card that is dependant on creatures.  Creatures that can be removed or countered. Berserk will be best in Gro and GroATog, but, the creatures that it will have the most powerful effects with - Psychatog and Quirion Dryad are both groundpounders and cheap cc wise (hello Moat, Abyss, Powder Keg.)  How to stop Berserk, let me count the ways:

1. Swords in response
2. Diabolic Edict you
3. Wish for Edict, Edict you
4. Mana Drain
5. Force of Will
6.  Misdirection (and when isn't that fun?)
7.  The Abyss
8.  Moat
9.  Block with my random dork
10. Blood Moon.  (Gro and GroATog - I woud imagine - would have a horrible time with this on the board.  If red can't burn out their creatures, screw with their mana and aim the burn at their dome.)

    That leaves an answer of some sort for every color - and for the blue player, resolve a keg, keep it on 2 or 3, and see what happens then if you can't counter their threats.

    We are currently playing in an environment that is more aggro focused.  This usually means one of two things:

1.  You're playing aggro yourself.
2.  You're playing a deck geared againt aggro.

    If anything, the unrestriction of Berserk means that the decks that can't handle aggro stay in the loser's bracket.  As a Keeper/BBS player (I already lose to Gro with BBS, why complain more?)  I don't think its going to really change my matchups all that much - other than that I'm going to be playing Keeper for awhile, until the metagame settles down.

    Get control of yourselves.  This is Type One.  Broken things happen.  And don't take anything I've said personally...

Later,

Prospero

BERSERK GIVES TRAMPLE NICK C'MON

[Prospero]

BERSERK GIVES TRAMPLE NICK C'MON

I laughed out loud when I read that.  Good man...

[jeek]

TODAY IS THE 10-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF TMD GETTING REGISTERED! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[shrewarmies]

I cant't remember whose signature has it but whoever has the "TMD Quotes" should re post that here

[Nefarias]

I cant't remember whose signature has it but whoever has the "TMD Quotes" should re post that here

That would be Dr. Sylvan:

https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/prstanto/www/tmdquotes.html

[Klep]

I stopped playing Magic in 2000.  I had never really had many people to play with, but I had always enjoyed thinking about the game and looking at new cards.  Still, between the death of The Duelist and going to college, I stopped having both good resources and the money to keep up.  My roommate my Sophomore year was actually a minor pro and on the beta test of MODO, but I had other things going on and figured that my Magic days were behind me.

Still, hang out at a game store enough and eventually people are going to be playing Magic.  The store I go to changed hands in 2002, and the new owner was big into Magic, and started holding drafts and proxy Type 1 tournaments.  It brought in a new crop of people, including our own Katzby.  At first I just watched people play, but eventually I couldn't resist and I got my own cards out of storage.  It was around this time that I started hearing about The Mana Drain as a great Vintage website (Katzby was actually on the Paragons, for those of you who know of that part of Vintage history).  I checked it out, and while I certainly found a great information resource, I more importantly found a community I wanted to be a part of.  I soon started hanging out in the IRC channel and that was that.

In the years since then, I have gone to a bunch of tournaments, attended a couple conventions, and been welcomed to a couple of JoshParties.  The people who have made up this community have changed as time has gone by; some have joined, others have left.  But what remains constant is the connections I've made.  I treasure the friendships that I've found through The Mana Drain, and they will last for years to come.  Because of TMD I have friends across the country - across the world - and the warmth and welcome I've felt every time I've shown up to a Vintage event - not to mention the repeated selfless efforts of the community to help each other out - stand as a firm testament to the quality of its members.

Looking up The Mana Drain was one of the best decisions I ever made, though I never would have guessed it at the time.  This community has been a huge influence on my life, and I cannot express how much it means to me to be able to help shepherd it.  Whatever the future may bring, I will always be incredibly proud and deeply grateful of my ability to participate in The Mana Drain for so long and to share it with all of you.

[Shock Wave]

I stopped playing Magic in 2000.  I had never really had many people to play with, but I had always enjoyed thinking about the game and looking at new cards.  Still, between the death of The Duelist and going to college, I stopped having both good resources and the money to keep up.  My roommate my Sophomore year was actually a minor pro and on the beta test of MODO, but I had other things going on and figured that my Magic days were behind me.

Still, hang out at a game store enough and eventually people are going to be playing Magic.  The store I go to changed hands in 2002, and the new owner was big into Magic, and started holding drafts and proxy Type 1 tournaments.  It brought in a new crop of people, including our own Katzby.  At first I just watched people play, but eventually I couldn't resist and I got my own cards out of storage.  It was around this time that I started hearing about The Mana Drain as a great Vintage website (Katzby was actually on the Paragons, for those of you who know of that part of Vintage history).  I checked it out, and while I certainly found a great information resource, I more importantly found a community I wanted to be a part of.  I soon started hanging out in the IRC channel and that was that.

In the years since then, I have gone to a bunch of tournaments, attended a couple conventions, and been welcomed to a couple of JoshParties.  The people who have made up this community have changed as time has gone by; some have joined, others have left.  But what remains constant is the connections I've made.  I treasure the friendships that I've found through The Mana Drain, and they will last for years to come.  Because of TMD I have friends across the country - across the world - and the warmth and welcome I've felt every time I've shown up to a Vintage event - not to mention the repeated selfless efforts of the community to help each other out - stand as a firm testament to the quality of its members.

Looking up The Mana Drain was one of the best decisions I ever made, though I never would have guessed it at the time.  This community has been a huge influence on my life, and I cannot express how much it means to me to be able to help shepherd it.  Whatever the future may bring, I will always be incredibly proud and deeply grateful of my ability to participate in The Mana Drain for so long and to share it with all of you.

+1

[Solaran_X]

I cant't remember whose signature has it but whoever has the "TMD Quotes" should re post that here

That would be Dr. Sylvan:

https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/prstanto/www/tmdquotes.html

All my priceless IRC quotes, and I only got one entry in that page. Oh well...that's better than a lot of people.

[Pyromaniac]

Been forever since I posted here but I definitely remember the "good old days"

It was heaps of fun on IRC for certain, between Smmenenenemenemen, Legend, Solaran and the other regulars. Oh and Bram modifying every picture he could find