Thanks. See what he/WotC fail to do is acknowledge the casual players, who don't give a hooey about tournies, no matter the type.
I'd bet there are more players NOT playing in tourneys than there are players who do. I have plenty of friends who play, still purchase cards, and yet have no DCI number and no desire to get one.
If MtG had to live on tournament players only, it wouldn't have gotten even this far.
So, if WotC and Maro strictly think of Type 1 in terms of Tourneys, they are sadly mistaken. And as for a championship, what a crock that would be. And Proxies? Oh My Goodness, "we won't reprint the Power 9, because it will affect the collectors, but you can proxy them." What's worse: Extreme rare chasers (reprinted power 9 as ultra rares >think 1 in a case maximum< - not playable in T2) or letting people proxy the P9. Which would have a more dramatic effect on owners of the originals? And which would be negative? If they reprinted P9 in a very limited basis, it would only increase interest in the originals.
Here's an idea. For 9th edition, to comemmorate 10 years of MtG, they could print 100 of each of the Power 9 and include them in the first Print run. No one plays limited base sets anymore, that I know of, so they wouldn't have to worry there. Wouldn't 9th edition about coincide with 2004? Of course I'd be more interested in some of the other cards, like Ice Storm, Berserk, Sinkhole, Khabal Ghoul, Stone Throwing Devils, ... Fun stuff. Not worth the money they're "worth", but would be fun to own.