Subject: Re: Supporting Extended 1008 Date: Thu, 08 Oct 1998 19:46:12 -0600 From: Jeff Kitchen To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com I am writing to the Dojo (for the first time) because I believe that I represent an ever growing percentage of Magic players who would like to see the Extended / Classic Restricted (Type 1.5) tournaments to become more popular. I believe that most Magic players can offer a story similar to mine: I began playing Magic at the very end of the Revised edition. At the same time, several of my friends (about 10 of us) began playing the game. We were fascinated by the endless possibilities that the game seemed to offer. All of us became heavily involved. Within weeks of our introduction to the game, we collected enough cards to construct several decks. Within a few months, we had thousands of cards and about twenty decks that had been fine-tuned and ready for play. During this time, we played only in "current release". We had a lot of fun. I enjoyed the diversity, and I was getting better and better. In an Ice Age tournament, I won the entire tournament. I was thrilled… I had become a Magic addict for life. However, soon thereafter, cycles were taken out of the format and a new cycle was added. Suddenly, all of our decks were no longer type II legal. All of these decks fell apart and new ones had to be drafted. It suddenly occurred to me that I would have to go through this every time a new cycle was introduced. I really did not have the time, nor the enthusiasm to rip all my decks apart and construct new ones. Therefore, we decided to switch over to Classic type I play. We decided we would just play against each other and use proxies until we could decide which cards we needed to purchase for real tournament play. At first, we made all sorts of type I decks. However, we all began to gravitate towards the power cards. Within weeks, all of our decks contained most of the same cards: Black Lotus, Moxes, Time Walk, Ancestral Recall, Demonic Tutor, Fork, Regrowth, Ivory Tower, Library of Alexandria. It was so ridiculous that we could pick any two decks and find that about half of each deck was exactly identical. If any group allows any proxies, they will find that their type 1 decks will start having many of the same cards in them as well. Truly competitive type I decks will always be less than imaginative. Type I also had the additional drawback of being very expensive. If any of us wanted to play seriously in a type I tournament, we knew we would have to shell out at least $1000 to acquire the powerhouse cards. Finally, we switched to type I.5 (Classic Restricted). This has proven to a superb format. No longer do we have to rip apart our decks with each new expansion (unlike the Standard type II tourneys). Yet at the same time, the extended format does change with each new expansion and motivates me to purchase new cards. The extended game is still constantly changing. Obviously strategy for type I changes very little (even when new sets come out), while the strategy for type II changes drastically. As a law school student, I simply do not have the time to constantly discard and redraft new decks with each new cycle. I believe that most people cannot devote the constant sacrifice of time and energy that the type II format demands. Additionally, I abhor the idea of half of my Magic cards becoming worthless when the new cycles are introduced. Type I.5 offers the greatest mix. It allows us to keep our current decks (without just chucking them into a recycle bin), but to constantly improve them and/or make entirely new decks. Type I.5 offers a wide variety of decks. From my experience, there are more competitive deck ideas in the extended format than there are in any other format. Also, in the extended format, some older overlooked cards can sometimes become much more powerful when combined with the newer cards. I strongly support the idea of having extended formats. However, in my area, there are very few type 1.5 tournaments offered. This severely bothers me. Enter any casual Magic playing atmosphere and you will notice that most casual play is done in either type 1 or type 1.5 format. Yet, strangely, type 1.5 tournaments are very scarce. Why is this? The primary answer has to be because it is profitable for the DCI to support type II tournaments (in order to guarantee that new cards will always be bought). The only way for type 1.5 tournaments will become popular is if people begin an out-pouring of opinion demanding that type 1.5 tournaments be introduced. If you are one who wants to play in the extended format, then you must make your voice heard. If we do not pressure the DCI, and local tournament directors, the extended format will never be seriously considered. Extended tournaments need not replace Standard ones. It would just be nice to see extended formats offered as regularly as the Standard ones. With each new cycle introduced, there will be an increasing number of people frustrated with type II formats. It is inevitable that people will become frustrated when half of their cards become worthless in the Standard format. Now is the time for all of us to recognize this fact. As the Mirage cycle phases out, let us phase it back in by demanding that Extended tournaments be offered on a regular basis. --Jeff Kitchen