Subject: [MISC] Re: "Stop Printing Decklists!", Jason Tackett
Date: Thu, 25 Jun 1998 15:17:41 EDT
From: MRJ1483414@aol.com
To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com

     In general, the following article is directed toward Dorian Anders, or
anyone else in his delusional state of thought.

     For all of those reading who believe the "Dojo" to be contributing to a
lack of creativity among players of M:tG, QUIT YOUR WHINING!  Of course, as a

consequence of such a comprehensive list of decklists and strategy being
available to the majority of players, the number of "sheep" will grow.  These 
"sheep", those who mindlessly copy decklists, adding little or no innovations 
of their own, will be those who tend to lose in major tourneys, due to their 
lack of metagame knowledge or mistakes during gameplay.  In the end, the better 
players usually win tournaments.


     However, I am aware that the "Dojo effect" is also contributing to the
outbreak of the number of chumlys beating good players in the last couple 
years.  How can good players avoid losing to "Dojo sheep?"  Simply put, the 
successful player must research the metagame in order to avoid losing to 
"sheep."  It's not exactly brain surgery to take a cake walk through the 
"Magic Dojo", taking note of the most played decks, or those which appear to 
be either most popular or most effective in utilizing the current card pool.  
Proper sideboard adjustments and deck-tech can only result from hours of 
dedicated playtesting and research, the mark of a truly talented player.

     Please, don't misinterpret my own insight concerning the aforementioned
sensitive topic.  Occasionally, the good player will lose to the "Dojo sheep,"
but that's acceptable.  The good player will lose to "Dojo sheep" in the same
manner he or she has lost to mana screw or horrible draws in prior years.  As players,
we must relize we're not competing against the "Magic Dojo", but rather, we are
competing against popular deck archetypes.

     In the same manner in which "Magic Dojo" has subtracted from the value of
deck building skills, in has helped establish a keen sense for the metagame as an
attribute among good players.  The "Dojo" can't be viewed for it's face value,
but rather, it must be seen as a valuable research tool to see into the minds of
sheep.

---Jason Tackett

If you have any comments or questions, e-mail me at MRJ1483414@aol.com