Subject: Decklists are not the problem Date: Fri, 26 Jun 1998 13:41:35 -0700 From: Raj Seshadri To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Simply put, the "Decks to Beat" label is the problem. Don't get me wrong, the first time I took a trip to the Dojo, I was thrilled to see some free analysis of what to expect at a TII tourney... and I admit once going to a T2 tourney, with little understanding of a copied deck, hoping to "make it big", since this was obviously THE deck to beat. My big mistake. I got my ass whooped. Okay, so I had given up magic for a year or so... but I still didn't fully understand the deck I copied (or the local metagame, for that matter). I never did that again. Anyway, I think that posting decks is great, as long as the dojo doesn't "spin" it in some way... like implying that it is a "deck to beat". That way, at least the "good" players can filter through all the decks and try ones that appeal to them. The ones that they think have a decent chance of winning, and... *god forbid* ...be fun to play. This is why I like prereleases... the Dojo puts up all the decks, but doesn't comment, one way or another, about which ones are "winners". Okay, some decks will look alike, but this just means that the concept behind those decks are similar (archetype). Another thing: Dojo "decks to beat" are bad because the top playas keep in practice and discuss with each other what's good, and what's not, etc. and they LOVE the Dojo decks... 'cause the "dojo scrubs" play the dojo decks, and these guys clean up. Just another rant -Raj -------------------------------------------------------------------- Name: vcard.vcf Part 1.2 Type: text/x-vcard Encoding: 7bit Description: Card for Raj Seshadri