Subject: RE: Extended support Date: Fri, 16 Oct 1998 01:24:43 -0600 From: "Neil Ikerd" To: Subj: Extended Thread [Community] Date: 16 October, 98 From: Neil Ikerd To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com I am writing concerning the "Support for Extended" articles. A friend of mine and I were discussing this very idea the other day (just before the pre-release tourney). He and I have both been out of the loop since Mirage, it just got too expensive. This didn’t stop us from playing, just trying to play competetively. We talked about getting back into the competitive environment, but sadly after having bought a box and a half of US boosters, I am still many cards short of any real "power" decks for type 2 (having only bought a combined two boxes of TSE). How pathetic is this that we have 10-15 decks that only see play in friendly and group games when we know these decks are good enough to win against comparable decks. This is the frustration faced by all members of my usuall play circle (8 of us). My wife has two or three decks she plays regularly and which shes very good with, but none of which would be T2 compatible. Expansion of the Extended format and increased support by local retailers would probably bring in many more people than they see in tournaments now. I only play in sealed deck events and no one else in my group plays in tourneys because they simply don’t want to go get beat up that bad in an environment where they are unfamiliar. One more advantage of Extended format is that the deck types are far more variant. The second advantage is that theme decks become far more practical in an environment where you can draw on well over 2000 different cards. Could you imagine trying to build a goblin deck without Goblin Grenades, a discard deck without Hymn to Tourach, Stasis without Serra Angels (we miss you), a vampire deck without Sengirs (akk!)? This is a format that truly offers variety and lets you build some really off the wall decks that wouldn’t be competitive anywhere else. Not to mention the fact that more than 1/3 of your collection is useful that way. Players, encourage local shop owners to offer extended tournaments. Shop owners and operators, advertise Extended tourneys and see what kind of player shows up, it probably wont be your typical T2 players, and there will probably be a lot of new faces. Neil Ikerd Charter Member of the Cyclopean Mummy Fan Club