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Author
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Topic: The Anthrax of Magic: Pessimism
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HanSolo6385
Member
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posted October 14, 2001 10:43 PM
     
The unanswerable question remains: When will Magic end? Quite frankly, I don’t even want to think about the answer, I’d stick to the facts of, “Magic is alive and kicking.” As everyone knows within recent events, sites such as Meridian Magic, MTGNews, and Yavapai Open have been closing down due to lack of funds, sponsorship, etc. This does not mean there is an end to magic. You’ve got to understand, money is always an issue when running a major community such as the three sites I mentioned above. However, Magic was around before these sites were up, so Magic will be there once the sites are down. I, myself, feel there is no need to worry, and why? Because I have the confidence I had once I started MTG, the confidence that seems to be lacking in current players. I don’t know about you, but I am disappointed when I see posts or comments about “Do you think Magic will end?” or even worse, “Is there anything after Odyssey Block?” I mean, I know Magic won’t last forever, but you don’t have to obtain these nagging doubts that it won’t last more than a couple years. Be the confident player(s) you were before and just enjoy the game, don’t make it a worry, it’s supposed to be fun. Another comment/question that just bugs me to death is “Since these sites are going down, will MOTL be next?” With your help, it won’t be next, nor will it even have to stand in line. We all know MOTL needs donations, heck, I have donate a bit of cash myself, I am glad to see people selling their cards to MOTL in the T/A Forums. No, it doesn’t bring me to tears, but it SHOULD!  I know that 90% of this site consists of teenagers between 13 and 19, and you guys don’t all get paychecks, you don’t have expensive cards, some of you might still be in diapers for all I know! The point is, not everyone can donate, but it helps if you try! MOTL is not about Magic, its about a community, at least a place where we can chat to get away from the downsides of real life…annoying family members, work, school, noisy city places (for the unlucky ones), and for the even unluckier…wives! *cough* (That was for you BoltBait). So if you donate, it’s to help a community, not to help a site. I don’t think there is one single, solitary being on MOTL (That is not banned) that actually wants this site down. Of course, there are plenty of people off the site that wouldn’t mind (my wife being one, as I would have a lot more time to insult her cooking). This isn’t a rant of course, I am merely persuading you guys to help, I don’t even have the power to make you, but if you do it out of pure freewill than it makes me get the jitteries in my tummy!  I am not saying I have lost enjoyment in the game or MOTL, heck I’m nowhere close to that. It’s just that it brings me down to see the pessimistic side of some people, which in human nature is more abundant than optimism, but when it comes towards something you enjoy (or for some weirdoes, things you “love”) it’s better to enjoy the present, than to fear the future. My 11th grade English teacher told me something that completely changed my life, I mean before then I was studious and hard working due to my father, but then she said something along the lines of “If you didn’t look ahead, you could watch your stepping, that way you wouldn’t have to worry about falling.” It let me enjoy the time I had while I was young, and appreciate it, so once I finally reached my goal as someone older, I didn’t look back and realize how much fun I could have had. Some of you kids still need to think of that now! All I am really saying is don’t worry about the end of things, there is so much more we can enjoy now. In the mean time…<searching for a catchy closing statement>…bah! THE END! __________________
AIM Handle: SURFNSKI4REAL
E-mail Address: SURFNSKI4REAL@aol.comKing Woopywoopy of the Penguin Clan The following imbeciles go by Scrye and/or InQuest: DMFARMERLSW
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irsih31
Member
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posted October 14, 2001 11:17 PM
Although I dont think that this thinking is what prompts most of the people that you mentioned as "pessimistic", with these sites going down, it is probally disheartning for alot of players, which may lose interest in the game, since it may be the only real link to magic for them. Plus, I think its only natural to have that thought come up when all the magic resources are dropping out, an overall healthy community as a whole wouldnt promote these sort of things. I too hope that Magic does not die, but for a long time now, I have seen many signs pointing in that direction, and none pointing in the opposite. Here's what I have seen, feel free to add in the positives if you want:1. Lack of interest in my town in Magic. Mannn, 3 years ago, the London Magic scene was jumping, now, its like dead. 2. All the ptq's I attend or hear bout, which is all of them, are having HORRIBLE attendence, like half of what they use to see. 3. The sites closing down...we've all talked about that enough. 4. An overall seemingly lack of interest, even on here, although thats at a much less extent. There's alot of positives too though, but in my OP, the negatives are more glaring then the positives. Nice article though, I hope it inspires some good karma! Jay __________________
irsih31
Pygmy's build characterMember of Team Guvenors Come get what Undermines, bops, duals, cores, drains, vindicates, forces, HUGE BLOWOUT SALE!!
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*Tedman*
Member
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posted October 15, 2001 07:12 AM
Ever heard of paragraph structure? Seriously though, good article. I agree with many of your points. __________________
MOTL Moderator for:Deck Help/Construction
Articles
Magic Discussion
General Discussion
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WeedIan
Member
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posted October 15, 2001 07:22 AM
  
Yeah i agreee with Jay, but then again Jay and I live in the same area. Magic my be booming elsewhere.But i hear that Wizards may be giving away free promtional cards to start people into magic again. A way to promote it greatly. __________________
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Scavenger4
Member
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posted October 15, 2001 09:46 AM
well said han! magic will always survive as long as everyone still has FUN playing it!
[Edited 1 times, lastly by Scavenger4 on October 15, 2001]
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HanSolo6385
Member
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posted October 15, 2001 09:49 AM
Jay: Of course I know that its dishearting for people to see sites close down, but that brings along pessism towards other sites, saying they won't last long, understand? It runs along both lines, but with whom I have talked to (At least 80+ MOTL-ers), most are more pessimistic rather than mournful.*Tedman*: Bah! I am not in school, nor do I have any intention of retracting anything I learned there!  Let the fogey speak in pages! __________________
AIM Handle: SURFNSKI4REAL
E-mail Address: SURFNSKI4REAL@aol.comKing Woopywoopy of the Penguin Clan The following imbeciles go by Scrye and/or InQuest: DMFARMERLSW
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xberflashman
Member
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posted October 15, 2001 10:21 AM
the problem with magic is that MOST players
view it as: card chucking, just a game,
something to do when i'm bored (which is
all the time). for me magic is art, and
art is more important than beating your
opponent at a game.odd-is-he is not a super-power set like pretty much everything in invasion block, people ARE loosing interest. ****BY THE WAY****
inquest published an opening article a couple of months ago saying there will be
a dungeons and dragons set of magic-- then
nothing, no word, no sites confirm this.
does anyone know about it(send me an email).
this sort of thing would really make magic live again.
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Poor Beggar
Banned
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posted October 18, 2001 03:01 PM
Magic used to be booming around here. The tournaments were so lagre they had to be held outside! They had about 100 people playing, no entry fee, and the prize was around 50 boosters  . I've only won one, which I ran a Bargain deck out of cards. Now, there are only 4 who still buy cards. Of the top 8 in the area, only 2 of us still play  . 3 of us moved, 1 of us just quit, 1 is in jail for 15 years  , and I still don't know what happened to the person who played the Bargain deck. So, there you are. a magic scene that died faster than a double-berserked ball lightning .
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Poor Beggar
Banned
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posted October 18, 2001 03:05 PM
quote:
Originally posted by xberflashman:
odd-is-he is not a super-power set like pretty much everything in invasion block, people ARE loosing interest.
Nah, the 4 of us left all love oddy! We all hate the Masques block. It must have caused 75 players around here to quit. Here this, WotC, if you reprint ANY masques block cards, I'm selling. 
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Eron the Relentless
Member
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posted October 21, 2001 07:57 PM
Hey, great article!!!  First of all, Magic is far from dead! I know all to well how it is to see alot of people loose interest in the game... but I have also seen plenty of others to take their place. If you don't have enough people to play with, recruit them! I have personally gotten 2 of my close friends to play, and another to try it for a few months. There is plenty of interest for the game, just not enough people who unerstand it or even know of it. Next off, I can realize how the loss of great websites can be disheartening, but the truth is- this won't be the downfall of our beloved Magic. In truth, most players do not even participate in online Magic communities or even know they exist! Therefor, even if everyone who is part of MOTL and the other existing Magic websites quit, there'd be plenty of players left to keep the game alive. Lastly, the game is what YOU make it. I mean, had anyone ever heard of Type 1?? If you don't like Odyssey then:
A) Don't buy it/trade for it.
B) Don't play with it.
C) Stay away from block tourneys until the next set rotates in... hey- it's only 3 months away for God's sake!
And if you like other sets better, join the diminishing group of T1 players. T1 is still fun and offers far more options than any other type does. No one needs P9 to do well either, but... If you really hate Odyssey, then take the money you would have spent on it and use it to finish getting all the good cards from Invasion block or to get some P9. I have gotten 4 P9 off this site and I can say that it is very rewarding. Even though I traded away an ***load for them, they make you feel like you've accomplished something and made a good investment. Anyhoo, I've rambled on quite enough. But, I hope I've inspired a few people out there. Magic will live as long as we want it to. Even if production of cards stopped today, people all over the world would continue playing b/c it's fun. And in that reality, I'll bet that Magic will be around for another 50-100 years! Something I'll bet you're all happy to hear. -Eron- __________________
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Franchise
Member
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posted October 24, 2001 12:29 PM
This was a great article and solidly said. I find that the Magic community where I go to school at is still in the booming part of the cycle of life and far from dead here. We're all broke and can barely afford to buy cards and why do that when you can just buy booze and go on Apprentice? But, in the end, we still get together every Tuesday and Thursday and throw down with the Magical cards. Just as with life, there's a cycle and Magic will always be in that cycle. I just find more and more people playing the role of Chicken Little and screaming that "THE SKY IS FALLING!! THE SKY IS FALLING!!" I'd just like to end with this: if everyone did quit Magic, it's not because it's not fun. It's because it's not that important anymore. Later everyone!Mike __________________
Mass murder makes me happy.
Dead bodies make me happy.
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Wedge
Member
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posted October 25, 2001 06:02 PM
Good article, and he's right.
The thing I've noticed around here is that Magic is losing the followers and keeping the gamers. A ton of people I know used to play because everyone else did, and slowly they quit as we entered high school for various reasons (most of those reasons being drugs or alcohol). Now those that play are ones that will always play, until they don't have time. In my school, 20 people used to play Star Wars actively. I was the last one to go, unloading my collection Tuesday (for Magic cards :-)Wizards gears the game towards professionals and entry-level newbies. They should gear it towards the high school casual player. It's this type (of which I represent, until next August) that has the right balance of time, drive, and usually money that keep the game afloat.
And also, people will play even after Wizards stops making the game. Heck, I haven't bought a booster since fourth edition, and I have more fun with the game now then back then. It's because I found other players in my area that enjoy one night a week sharing strategy and fun.
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