Subject: PTQ Formats
Date: 18 Sep 98 03:55:50 EDT
From: Catherine Nicoloff 

I'd like to point out something that all the pros and non-pros
have been dancing around in this entire thread.

It seems pretty ridiculous to me that a very vocal minority of
players assumes that the PT has *already found* all the good
PT-level players, and everyone else is just a "scrub" trying
to qualify, and therefore they deserve to get pounded in the
head with disadvantages.

This is, in reality, what Pros are saying when they say the
current system is *perfect* because "the pros deserve an
advantage".  Doesn't anyone else think it's ludicrous for".  Doesn't anyone else think it's ludicrous for
these players to make such grandiose assumptions about their
skill levels?

How many times did Dave Price run the PTQ circuit before he
finished high enough to qualify for the next PT?  Is Dave
an inferior player to all of the Pros who have been eternally
qualified since PT I?  By the logic that the current system
is perfect and rightly favors the best players, Dave Price was
a "scrub" who deserved to work harder than everyone else for
the same rewards.

The truth is, there are tons of great players worldwide who have
to qualify and re-qualify using the PTQ's.  In no way at all do
I feel that these players are the slightest bit inferior to
all their pre-qualified brethren.  They have the same skills,
the same drive, the same abilities.

In fact, the only thing these "scrubs" lack in comparison to
the average Pro player is the ability to dedicate an equivalent
amount of time to the relevant PT format.

The current bulk of the pre-qualified Pro environment is composed
of players who (despite their own feelings on the matter) are only
slightly more skilled overall than the above-average "scrub" who
qualifies for every PT the hard way.  The skill advantage they
claim is not about strategy.  It's about playtesting.

Once you're on the gravy train, as Jamie Wakefield pointed out,
it's easier to *stay* on the PT than it is to *get* on the PT.

So, in essence, what the current system asks us to do is to
pt system asks us to do is to
pretend that *all* the best PT players have already been found,
and that therefore they deserve a system in place designed
to keep them on top and everyone else beneath them.

I'm tired of pretending that little piece of fiction.  In reality,
the whole world is full of great Magic players who have the
potential to be every bit as good or better than the current
Pro Tour elite.

But our system hands them a Catch-22:  In order to do well on the
PT, they must first get on the gravy train.  In order to get on the
gravy train, they must first do well on the PT.

You find the best players in the world by taking all of the
competitors and giving them identical problems.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Competitor,

     Congratulations!  You have qualified for the Pro Tour!

     You have three months to build the best deck and practice.
We wish you the best of luck!

                                                Love,
                                                  WotC
---------------------------------------------------------------------

But the reality is this :

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Scrub,

     Congratulations!  You finally qualified!

     You have two weeks to scrape up a deck and somebody to
playtest with.  Everyone else started three months ago.  Good
luck, you'll need it!

               uck, you'll need it!

                                                Love,
                                                   WotC
---------------------------------------------------------------------

This is NOT how you find the best players in the world.

- Cathy Nicoloff
  Team Legion