Subject: ISSUE: The Academy Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1998 11:20:13 -0500 From: Antonio R Fernandez To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com Some time ago, I can't remember where, possibly in the Duelist, I read that WotC guidelines for determining whether a card was considered broken or not was based on the use it saw. That is, when a card dominated the environment in which it was played so thoroughly that all decks in that environment either used the card in question, or were designed to beat decks using the card in question. Well, based on this definition, I believe the Tolarian Academy definitely qualifies as broken. Most of the Standard tourneys are currently split along two ranks: Those people who have all the cards to run the Academy engine, and those people who don't. As anyone who has been keeping up with tournament reports is painfully aware, the Academy deck is so robust and quick that there is currently no deck type suited to shut it down completely. There are ways to slow it down, but that usually means that you won't get Stroked for 10,000 on the fourth turn, instead you will be Stroked for 10,000 on the fifth turn. It all amounts to the same thing, the environment is currently unbalanced, and as long as WotC keeps it head buried in the sand and does nothing to correct the problem, there is no reason why anyone without the ability to build the Academy engine should bother playing Standard. It's now been a while since the Academy decks surfaced, and by now the deck has probably evolved into its most viciously effective form. How much longer is WotC going to wait before they at least restrict the Tolarian Academy? Do we have to wait for the next expansion and some new "mystery mechanic" or hoser card to be introduced that will take care of Academy decks (ala Anvil of Bogarden versus Necropotence)? The WotC development team goofed--plain and simple. For all the play testing and card balancing they supposedly did, they missed one, if not THE most broken combo ever put together (especially for blue, supposedly the slowest color--yeah right!). Fix the mistake guys, suck it up and admit you screwed up. WotC had no problems pulling a bunch of useful, efficient cards from the environment like the Serra Angels and Sengirs because they supposedly unbalanced the environment. Well, you guys just added cards to the environment that have done more damage to the environment in a month, than the Sengir or Serra did in five years. Personally, I don't think most people have the money to invest in the acquisition of all the cards it takes to run the Academy engine. Even if you have a good job and make decent money, it seems ludicrous to spend so much money on a few little pieces of cardboard just so you can go to tourneys and beat up on those who do not have the resources to do the same. So again, as in the "olden days" of Magic, WotC has inadvertently created a power card subset, complete with the elite players (those who can and do get the power cards) and the lower class who either cannot afford to buy the cards, (or like myself, can buy them but refuse to blow money on something so trite). How long will it be before WotC steps in and fixes the Standard environment? Who knows? They have been suspiciously quiet regarding the Academy decks. Perhaps they're huddled together trying to figure out some way to save face after all the ranting and raving they did about keeping the game balanced, right after they released the Fifth edition and gave the environment an unnecessary frontal lobotomy. Or maybe perhaps they're just too busy tracking their profits. A.R.F.