I
I8Piggo
Guest
Here's an article I wrote a few months ago, and didn't do anything with. It is still relevant, especially to Nemesis.
I often hear players angrily bringing up issues regarding banning, reprinting, new sets, etc. However, there is a major issue that often seems overlooked. That is the basis for commonality of cards.
It seems to me that the rarity system should be designed to limit the number of narrow cards in the environment, and make sure there is an adequate number of simple, playable cards which are easily available to all players. However, the principle is constantly contradicted. Most of the popular decks are based around hard-to-obtain cards. Look at Survival, Mono Blue, or just about anything else. True, some of these cards are narrow, and not useful to the beginning player. But, WOTC makes many useful, simple, versatile cards rare, while making crap common. Why should something like Ancient Silverback be rare? Almost everyone could use an Ancient Silverback. There is no potential for it to be broken. Why would WOTC print such a card if they wished to keep it out of the hands of thrifty players?
The reason Pro-Tour players and Magic writers don’t make a scene of this is simple. They already have the powerful cards, and the more players with powerful cards, the more competition for their prize money and sponsorship. There are plenty of potential world champions out there who can’t compete on a high level because they don’t have enough money to sink into cards.
In a limited environment, limiting the number of powerful cards makes sense. But in an environment where weak cards are useless, especially in quantity, this doesn’t make any sense. So why would WOTC make balanced useful cards such as Treachery, Morphling, and Birds of Paradise rare while making crap like Anaba Bodyguard and Scathe Zombies common? Once again, the answer is simple. More money for them. The new players read about these cards in magazines sponsored by WOTC, then go buy 8 packs of Masques, hoping for a Bribery. When they don’t get one, the only solution for them is to buy 8 more packs and hope for one.
Don’t believe me? The verification for my theory comes from a rule that most Magic players think of as fundamental: no proxies. If proxies were legal, then WOTC, who makes the tournament rules, and the upper crust players, who are responsible for the articles everyone reads, would lose money and status. The current system of Magic keeps the rich and experienced players in power, while forcing new players to spend tons of money or be consistently beaten.
Solving this problem is disgustingly simple. One way would be printing smaller sets, cutting out crap like Hill Giant clones, so only the interesting cards are left. The rarity system could also be redone so versatile cards like Two-Headed Dragon were made common, while narrower or combo cards like Squee or Flailing Soldier were rare. In fact, all cards could be the same commonality, so the potential of every card is fully explored. The simplest answer is for the DCI to legalize proxies so that all players would have an equal chance, regardless of monetary status. Let the collectors play Type I.
I often hear players angrily bringing up issues regarding banning, reprinting, new sets, etc. However, there is a major issue that often seems overlooked. That is the basis for commonality of cards.
It seems to me that the rarity system should be designed to limit the number of narrow cards in the environment, and make sure there is an adequate number of simple, playable cards which are easily available to all players. However, the principle is constantly contradicted. Most of the popular decks are based around hard-to-obtain cards. Look at Survival, Mono Blue, or just about anything else. True, some of these cards are narrow, and not useful to the beginning player. But, WOTC makes many useful, simple, versatile cards rare, while making crap common. Why should something like Ancient Silverback be rare? Almost everyone could use an Ancient Silverback. There is no potential for it to be broken. Why would WOTC print such a card if they wished to keep it out of the hands of thrifty players?
The reason Pro-Tour players and Magic writers don’t make a scene of this is simple. They already have the powerful cards, and the more players with powerful cards, the more competition for their prize money and sponsorship. There are plenty of potential world champions out there who can’t compete on a high level because they don’t have enough money to sink into cards.
In a limited environment, limiting the number of powerful cards makes sense. But in an environment where weak cards are useless, especially in quantity, this doesn’t make any sense. So why would WOTC make balanced useful cards such as Treachery, Morphling, and Birds of Paradise rare while making crap like Anaba Bodyguard and Scathe Zombies common? Once again, the answer is simple. More money for them. The new players read about these cards in magazines sponsored by WOTC, then go buy 8 packs of Masques, hoping for a Bribery. When they don’t get one, the only solution for them is to buy 8 more packs and hope for one.
Don’t believe me? The verification for my theory comes from a rule that most Magic players think of as fundamental: no proxies. If proxies were legal, then WOTC, who makes the tournament rules, and the upper crust players, who are responsible for the articles everyone reads, would lose money and status. The current system of Magic keeps the rich and experienced players in power, while forcing new players to spend tons of money or be consistently beaten.
Solving this problem is disgustingly simple. One way would be printing smaller sets, cutting out crap like Hill Giant clones, so only the interesting cards are left. The rarity system could also be redone so versatile cards like Two-Headed Dragon were made common, while narrower or combo cards like Squee or Flailing Soldier were rare. In fact, all cards could be the same commonality, so the potential of every card is fully explored. The simplest answer is for the DCI to legalize proxies so that all players would have an equal chance, regardless of monetary status. Let the collectors play Type I.
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