Subject: Life in the Real World ( Part One..)
Date: Sun, 12 Jul 1998 04:54:09 EDT
From: DBull19002@aol.com
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com

   A few weeks ago, I posted a small retort to Dorian Anders view on the
printing of decklists.  Although Dorian basically got raked over the coals by
the general populace, I have a great deal of respect for someone who will
still share their views with a rather unforgiving public...cheers to Dorian on
that one.  This actually, in a few nonchalant ways, shares a similar thread
with those posts.  So what's at issue?
  I made a little verbal "Godzilla" tirade on Magic as a competitive sport and
the work it takes to reap the potential rewards.  What it basically comes down
to is a big, fat, white picket fence, tooth fairy, Santa Claus, lose weigt
fast,"Daddy will be back home in an hour Timmy," bold faced lie.  The truth of
the matter is that Reality is the most brutal rapist of all.  And we my
friends, are the ones getting screwed.
  As a competitive community, we long to achieve at least a noteable or
respect spotlight status in our respective sport of gaming.  We go to
tournaments, we compete for a gala of prizes, and when applicable we share our
wins with the community.(Actually we bask in our miniature spotlights, hoping
for someone to drown us with atleast a trickle of attention to feed our
pathetic little egos.)  There are those of us who are either motivated (or
forced as luck would have it) to do our own work in the world of Magic.
Doomed to do our own metagaming, deck testing, and information gathering from
unattached, minimal sources.  We will not get the convenience of "underground
tech" but will still hold some merit on our own.  And in that, we will absorb
what we can from the aforementioned.
  Then we have the most popular and most rampantly growing sect of players.
The opportunists.  These are those who would reap the rewards with minimal
application.  And truth of the matter is...these are your winners folks.
(Bare with me..)
  These are the players who take minimal application and stretch it to an
extreme, and they do so almost totally unhampered.  The mana weavers, the fake
shufflers, the bloom dropping poster children we call Pro Tour players.  How
can they do that to the rest of us?  Cut the corners....flash the hand
play...contrive to confuse and harass the opposing players...how can they do
it?  They do it AND get paid to.
  Have we been duped?  Are we being taken for a ride?  Yes, and no.  More
reality...we are ALL being taken for a ride.  I give you average Joe Chumly.
He loves Magic because it's a fun game and he can get a nice little fantasy
get away in the process of hanging out with a small group of close knit
friends.  Chumly knows Tournament boy.  Tournament boy decktests with Chumly
to make himself feel more secure about his tournament dreams and aspirations.
They both buy heaps of cards, and Wizards is immensely happy.  (Though they
buy a box for different reasons, 1 needs 4 Meditates..the other 3 cards for a
set.)  Tournament boy loves tournaments and has dreams and aspirations of an
eventual Pro Tour.  (Maybe what a dominion was to a medieval knight)
Tournament boy plays and gets occasional spots as a "no name" contender at big
spot tourneys from time to time.  At the big name events, Tournament boy and
Joe Chumly spend more hard earned money on the Wizard God's fake idols.:)
Tournament boy gets his occasional match against the minimalist.  (Boos and
hisses from the crowd. Sneers from the evil black suited Minimalist.)  The
minimalist mana weaves and is set for his easy win.  Tournament boy gets a
load of what happens a quarter way through the match.  Judge man gets called
over.
  Judge man comes to the table and shakes the Minimalist's hand.  (Lets face
it, they are familiar with one another.)  Judge man corrects the problem with
a shuffle and says his good-byes to the Minimalist.  Game three and the
minimalist just changes tactics, slips a few cards to the seat..and
viola.....he wins.  Tournament boy goes home sore with a sizable cashectomy.
The Minimalist wins the tournament and takes home 20,000.  During the day the
false God collects roughly 50-60 grand in cold hard green from the event.
Good pay outs, not bad.
   Tournament and Chumly go home, preach the evils of the real world, and life
resumes the cycle once again.  Chumly buys his cards and Tournament boy has a
deck to test for the next week.  Ahh, life is grand..a perfect Genesis once
again.
  Why does the minimalist act this way?  Why does the Judge react as so?  Did
the corporation know this happened?  Prepare for the rape my children...
  The Minimalist gets paid just like our beloved Hacker noted.  And that's a
fact.  He fears no real punishment.  He collects his check, screws a few more
people, and waits for his next cash inflow.  Why, because DCI will let him and
the False God wants him to.  He is a familiar face.  A walking advertisement
even.  His success (which anyone can assumably achieve) is what they want.  To
let the little people know that its possible to buy their product, play your
little heart out, and get some cash for it.  WOW!  I can ??!  No....it is not
possible.  This is the conspiracy theory lie.
  Magic can now truly be compared to Chess in all reality.  I don't mean
gameplay per se, but mechanics.  Pawns, Kings, and check mates.  As Pawns..the
PT Minimalist collects his check (at what price?  His crediblity? etc?) and
looks shiny for the big boys upstairs.  As Pawns we spend our cash to attend
or see what happens..or for the Love of Pete..even compete.  We get moved
around the board just as they would have us.  (Is that what they teach in
corporate management classes these days?)  The Kings collect their cash at the
minimal price of looking the other way now and then, and letting the little
sheep mill around for a few days at a time.  All in the name of the almighty
dollar, and at what cost?  Ethical ideas, credibility?  The whole time, we
have created a constant check mate of yen and yang and thus ensuring it will
NEVER EVER change.  The end.
  The Minimalists are willing to sacrifice friends and ethics for cash.
Reality.  They cheat and get away with it.  Reality.  The big boys up stairs
turn their heads the other way and collect their cash.  Reality.  And you
spend your money on the following payday.  Reality.  Nothing short of a full
swing reset will fix things.  Reality.  That will never happen, because its
not a financial gain.  Reality.
  SO....every third guy gives up any ethical or moral credibility for a few
bucks and a chance to be Donna Rice for a week.  (Remember Donna Rice..the
Gary Hart thing? NO.....see what they will eventually gain.  10 seconds of
spotlight and a hand full of unanswered mail...and no better off in the future
for it..but boy does the present pay!)  Every other guy pays him and the Big
Boys....and nothing changes..and it wont.

  What can we do?  The Truth once again is that nothing short of a FULL SCALE
REVOLT will ever change Magic.  The Minimalists don't give a rats ass about
you, Wizards doesn't give a damn as long as you have 2.50 for a booster, the
DCI see some numbers and letters and has no other humanly desire to hear you
cough much less talk, and we as a whole are stupid little lab rats...running
preset plans that we'll run til this craze dies out.  (And they all do....God
Bless Atari's soul.....)  We have to knock all the pieces off of the board,
turn it upside down, and start again.  This is the only REAL and feasible
solution.  But that my loved ones...is an impossibility.

A reality.

So...
in closing...

 I have condemned myself to never receiving even a snidbit of underground
tech.

 Condemned the DCI and Wizards to false idol status.

 Labeled half of the PT as "15 second spotlight losers"

 Called us all blatant idiots screwing ourselves.

 And ensured that I will never conceivably see the PT dream I often dare hope
to attain.

  SO what do I get?  Peace of Mind?  My "15 seconds" for my verbal bashings?
Who knows....maybe I just felt I needed that little soul cough...or maybe I
wanted to be a Martyr...who knows.

 The only thing I know is Reality...and that is that I have 2.50 for a
booster, a tournament on Saturday to prepare for....and hopes to someday be on
a Protour.

Welcome to the real world kiddies, ain't it grand?

Dave Bull
Team Island Magic(v2.0)
DBull19002@aol.com