You know, when you want to change something inside a system as large and autocratic as Wizards of the Coast, there are two ways to accomplish your goal:
1) Go through the proper channels.
2) Bloody revolution.
Since there is absolutely no way that I’m going to storm Seattle, slaughtering WotC employees (they’ve had enough problems lately!), I’ll opt for choice number one. To me, working the proper channels on this issue is mailing a petition to the people inside Wizards who can exert some influence on this subject. To have a successful petition of any sort, you need signatures. That’s why I’m writing this: I need some signatures on this petition. So, if you agree with what it says and want to help make a difference in the game you play, send me your first and last name in an email with Type II Now as the subject line and I’ll add your name to the list.
Well then, let’s play "Who Wants to See a Type II Pro Tour!"
Here is the petition, under which your name will appear:
"Mr. Jeff Donais (et al.),
We, the undersigned, formally petition Wizards of the Coast and, especially, the DCI to add Type II to its current roster of Pro Tour formats. We feel that it is in the best interests of the players to have it included as soon as possible. There are several reasons we wish to institute this change:
Type II is the most accessible, workable Constructed format. As Block Constructed Pro Tours have proven, there are only one or two viable decks, typically led by a select group of overpowered cards (e.g. Cursed Scroll, Voltaic Key), which spoil the format. Block Constructed also proves to be economically grim, in that many cards that are viable for the block are absolute failures when transposed into wider environments (Citanul Flute). An additional testament to the unpopularity of Block Formats is the zeal with which they are discarded, as soon as they are no longer requisite to win money. We feel that since no one plays block formats, except to qualify for the Pro Tour or win money while there, they should be eliminated from the roster of events and replaced with a better format.
The problem of overpowered cards is significantly lessened in Type II, where there are enough cards to build strategies that win against popular deck types. Tempest Constructed was plagued by Cursed Scroll, as there were so few playable ways to remove the card from play (Verdigris, anyone?). Type II has plentiful answers to every popular archetype, allowing for much more diversity among the top decks. We feel that this diversity will encourage even more players to participate in tournament-level Magic.
The Extended format, which is also very popular, is beyond the reach of many players. Whether it is the financial strain caused by the multiple twenty-dollar rares, or the simple immensity of the card pool, Extended causes most players, even those who have been playing for years, a major headache. By the time any significant action can be taken on this proposal, there will be fifteen or so sets that are legal for Extended. That’s around three thousand six hundred cards in the field, which is quite daunting, from either a deckbuilding or collecting standpoint. Block Pro Tours and Pro Tour Qualifiers typically use between three hundred and nine hundred cards each, which tends to be too few to make real choices in deckbuilding. Type II regularly includes fifteen hundred to two thousand cards in its pool, which gives flexibility without too many quandaries.
Once the Artifacts Cycle rotates out, Type II should be, by far, the most balanced Constructed format. With the good balance between speed and control in Sixth Edition, Mercadian Masques and Nemesis, Type II should be a compelling and reasonably paced format, barring massive oversights by R&D in the next few sets. Also, the powerful combo decks, which discourage many casual players, will be significantly less prevalent, making for a game much more in line with the original intent of Magic.
Type II is an immensely popular tournament format. When it is fully supported by Wizards of the Coast, Type II draws the best competition, most enthusiasm and strongest following. An incredible example of this is the U.S. Open, in which players compete in twenty-four hours of brutal, single elimination tournaments to try and qualify for Nationals, which starts the next day. Regionals draws the highest number of participants, aside from Prerelease events, and we enjoy the challenge presented by a large field of well-prepared contestants. Large-scale Type II events only appear twice a year in America/Canada (once a year, pretty much everywhere else). For the flagship tournament format, designed to be popular among both casual and competitive players, we feel that number should be increased.
The vast majority of us are not Pro Tour regulars – and would love to spend a Qualifier season playing Type II in hopes of getting there. We want to play Type II in a highly competitive setting. Some of the best competition in the world can be found on the Pro Tour Qualifier circuit, so the two fit together well.
Wizards of the Coast has shown an interest in listening to its players, which is very commendable. Because of that, we are confident that our petition will be evaluated evenhandedly and with the attention it deserves. We ask that you, bearing these factors in mind, do what you can to make Type II into a permanent part of the Pro Tour schedule.
We thank you for your time."
Omeed Dariani, author
Jason Spears
Tony Drew
Jim Wiseman
Tyler Toncler
Jonathan Lewis
Mark Tidd
Stefan Walsh
Todd Parker
Aaron Arnsparger
Pete Hills
Brian Sidlauskas
Stephen Benton
Bennie Smith
Tim Gillam
Rusty Kahl
Jay Moldenhauer-Salazar
Matthew McGee
Brad Jones
Andrew A. Brown
Michael Macfadden
Don Gallitz
G. Anthony Morse
Leigh Newmark
Russell Stadler
Taylor Chambers
Phillip M. Deneka
Jonathan Cassidy
Tom Mathews
Jonathan Spires
Jeff Fenstermaker
Chris Arena
Daniel Crane
Colin Spears
Jason Finney
Jay Goldberg
Bryan Schofield
Brett Bondy
Henrik Lautrup
Andy Ashwood
Barthélémy Moulinier
Patrick Touart
Jeffrey Burstein
Daniel R. Pilhorn
Israel Marques
Steve Mink
Cole Magrath
Greg Keeling
Nick Alston
Mary Cardosi
Jason Smith
Clay White
Sonny Jones
Kevin Davis
Paul Gribok
John Beegle
Tim Lehman
Joey Brewer
Eric Turnquist
Steven Miller
Nathan Godsey
Tim Perry
Henry Brown
Dolca E. Hall
John Slaughter
Adam Robison
Andy Williams
Nathan Schroder
Kenneth Spitpe
Russell Clark
Angela Witt
Pete Hoefling
Lawrence Creech
Stefan Hench
Chris Woltereck
Ben Banberry-Hee
Greig Chance
Dan Oz
Phil Mitchell
Ry Petermann
Michael Granaas
Chad Cottle
Tom Harle
David Sutcliffe
Neil Rigby
Andy McNish
Chris Muryn
Allen Tingley
Martin Owen Jones
Ari Weinstein
Michael A. Gutierrez
Neil Ikerd
Tony Lin
Nathan Donovan
Kevin Brown
Daniel Chung
Rob Lawing
Kevin Baehr
Ben Tobias
Brandon Cook
Patrick Danis
Jon Crook
Aaron Grubby
Matt Zbrog
Tyler Moore
Carl Jarrell
Hal Tolley
Dave Marsh
Joshua Batson
Ryan Kruger
Chris McGuire
Niels Stephan
Curtis Falls
Mark Woloszyn
David Schoborg
James Shuman
Skip Potter
Luis Neto
Steven Szabo
Tim Milko
Jay DuBois
Mike Sonksen
Olivier Andre
Nathan Prinz
Matthew Margolis
Robby Barnett
Gareth Jones
Nathaniel Goodman-Johnson
Aaron Berger
Alex Ruby
Ethan Dyer
Galen Degraf
Travis Lee
John Miller
Mark Holbrook
Alex Gibson
Kennth Parker
Erik Berg
Aaron Forsythe
Chris Redman
Jeremy Gray
Jack Christopher
Cole Abernathy
Sam Nieves
Christopher Hyer
Scott Miller
Michael Beichner
Brian Gaten
Komson Silapachai
Steve Wain
Mark Bakker
Matthias Maar
Aaron Amendolia
Frank Virga
Jeremy Adams
Davey Dees
Matt Martin
Tarik Browne
Andreas Schultz
Elliot Fertik
Steve Martin
Tom Carpenter
Sean Smith
Marc McNelly
David Gerlach
Derek McCretton
Craig Sullivan
Anthony Record
Ben Sarsgard
Joost Schmaal
Jordan Peeples
Jesse Davenport
Adam Chang
Andrew Gioia
Michael Gioia
John Kilroy
Jonathan Stewart
Sean Wells
Christian Sieber
Ernesto Pichardo
Albert Davis
Deane Beman
Jamie Voorhies
Varun Jain
Matthew Parker
Dal Austin
Alex Ricketts
Lee Barnwell
John Rizzo
Josh Howard
Pierre DuPont
Larry Hope
Paul Andrew Ross
Liam Andrew
Steven S. Jarvis
Mike Brzeski
Nathaniel M. Collier, III
Willis Slane
Daniel Kuebrich
Brian Smith
Harvey Hammond
Jonathan Mills
Robert Mccaughtry
Eric Olander
Jeff Cunningham
Erik Brown
Thomas Blair
Tobias Henke
Shane Miller
Adam Wilbert
Daid Beishline
Kyle Eslick
Casey Kretschman
Kevin Wu
Michael Sanchez
Nicholas Rupprecht
Michael Phelps
Sergey Grinev
Colin Sellar
Holger Meinecke
Bas Backx
August Dwight
Larry W. Bryant
Hal White
Jared Mason
Diego Martinez-Guzman
Kevin Skobac
So e-mail us and sign it already!
Take care.
Omeed Dariani
[email protected]
eic, www.starcitygames.com
Contributing Editor, Scrye Magazine