Subject: Wakefield school of rant (?)
Date: Tue, 03 Nov 1998 14:25:34 +0100
From: sroselier@mmm.com (Stephane)
Newsgroups: rec.games.trading-cards.magic.strategy

Greetings all,

After the Wakefield School of Magic, I declare open the Wakefield School
of rant.

Hear! Hear! People, hear what he says! He's not ranting just for the fun
of the it. Though yes, he's post are often funny, there is the too sad
truth behind it.

I don't know for you, but I'm sick to death of the "killer-deck"
introduced by the new cards.

Just when I thought we were at last freed of the damn Prosperous-Bloom (
who said prosperous sleight of hand?) deck, we got a new one... Academy.
Whoohoo, a great deck that takes soooo much reflexion and strategy!
Artefact, artefact, artefact, MoMa, mana, mana, mana... Bam! You're
dead.
That takes a lot of skill. You need, hmm, let's see... Draw the good
cards, play them in the good order... Damn difficult strategy that.

Enough about that deck.

Let's talk about, say... Hatred.
Now, that's a strategic deck type. Oh, I got my creature... Attack. You
don't block? Tap, Tap, Tap, Ritual. Hatred. Bam you're dead.
That takes a lot of skill. You need, hmm, let's see... Draw the good
cards, play them in the good order... Damn difficult strategy that.

But enough about that deck too.

Enough because there is the summum of incredibly irritating cards to
talk about:

Survival of the fittest, and recurring nightmare. To all those who play
that kind of deck, I have something to say:
I know this will be a shock to some people out there, but, well, how to
say that...
The little symbols and numbers on creatures, on the upper right
corner... The c-a-s-t-i-n-g c-o-s-t. Yes, that. I will tell you that
there was a time when a big cc was to prohibit a too fast use of the
card, because you had to summon it. Yes, I know it's hard to believe,
but people did actually summon creature with a cc superior to 3.

Now, you have Recurring Nightmare.

Need a Verdant Force? No problem, recur it out. A great whale? Recur it
out. A blasted spike?Recur it... A whatever whose cost's over 3 or that
can be sacced for some effect? ...

This is sick.

And gets even worse with Survival of the Fittest.

There was a time when creatures where ennoying because you could never
draw them when you needed them. You know, the "what am I going to do
with those 3 Serra in my drawing hand?" or the "Yes, Savannah lion is a
good card... But not after the 12th turn of play!".
Now, with Survival of the Fittest, we have the Ultimate Shapechanging
Turoring Card ever.
Oh I drew a <whatever>... Hmm, I don't need it, I need a <whatever>.
Hmm, let's pay G and go fetch it. And it goes sooo well with the above
Recurring Nightmare.

This is wrong.

I long for a time when playing a Serra Angel or a Mahamotti Djinn was a
danger to the opponent. Now, actually summoning them is the signal for
the opponent to cast his combo because you're tapped out (or as good
as).

I long for a time where counterspell was not the only possible answer to
some card... ( Recurring nightmare...)

I long for a time when playing Red did not mean playing Sligh/ SRB.

I long for a time when playing white did not mean playing WW armor/
Cataclysm.

I long for a time when playing green meant something.

I long for a time when 5th turn was the middle of the game, and not
either "you're dead" or "you're locked".

OK, that was longer than needed. May be not.

Stephane.
Scrub since Legends.
King of Amrou Kithkin.
Longs for a time when Magic in tournament was fun.
Has not been hatreded as much as J. Wakefield but not far.

Opinions expressed herein are my own and may not represent those of my employer.