From: quiffles@aol.com (Quiffles)
Subject: Re: Black Vise-aphobia
Date: 5 Jul 1997 04:31:35 GMT

>choose from.  This is stright forward and it is logic.  The format with 
>the msot cards has the most viable decks.  It may not be the msot 
>fun.... but it has the most POSSLBE viable decks...

I'm not sure the best way to go about disagreeing with you.  Sure, you can
build more decks in type 1, but as with any format, most of those decks
are better left unbuilt.  I don't consider Khabal Ghoul decks when I think
of the term "viable".  Let's just say that "viable" means "could possibly
win a reasonably advertised and well-attended tournament not held in the
back woods somewhere".

Whenever WotC sets out to build another stand-alone set, what we get is
very thematic.  Possibly some reprints.  Blue gets countermagic.  Black
gets weenies.  Green gets fatties.  Red gets burn.  Etc...  In a limited
environment, say, 2-3 cardsets, the diversity is large (unless a very
dominant card made it into the mix).  When I look back at Ice
Age/Alliances, there were 4-5 popular decks.  

When you start adding *more* cardsets into an environment, the reverse
seems to happen.  The amount of game control adds up (simply because each
expansion has its own new version of some board-controlling scheme).  Sure
there's 45 bajillion creatures, but the environment stagnates in the
direction of control decks.  This is because 30 1/1's don't hold a candle
to one Wrath of God or one Dream Tides.  The more cardsets, the fewer
creatures.  Eventually, an extreme limit is reached and "metagame" decks
(like those in type 1 now) begin to use creatures for the element of
surprise (type 1 has been so creature deficient for so long that
control-style decks have sideboarded the stronger creature-hosers).

Since Weatherlight, Ice Age and Homelands all came back into type 2,
expect to see some random scurrying as people attempt to pin down the most
effective cards and metagame strategies.  Nationals will probably be a
showcase of many different deck types.  Don't let this fool you.  Maybe
one or two of those decks will be truly dominant, and they will set off
the pattern of stagnation until Homelands and Ice Age re-leave the
environment.  With cards like Howling Mine, Winter Orb, Icy Manipulator,
Swords to Plowshares, Wrath of God, Aether Flash, Pendrell Mists, Dream
Tides, Serrated Arrows, Armageddon, etc... the environment is heavily
loaded with game-stalling capacity against even the fastest of decks.  

Cathy Nicoloff