From: DRG3 [drg@xtra.co.nz]
Sent: Tuesday, December 11, 2001 3:43 PM
To: Cardtips@pojo.com
Subject: Re: Rant (by DRG3 - Am I "icon" enough to get this posted?)

Greetings once again....

It has certainly been a while since I last wrote an article into Pojo, but 
following the aftermath of the WCSTS, and after reading Ness' rant, I knew 
that I had to make some contribution to this discussion.  Upon reading that 
no further articles would be posted on this topic unless they were from 
'icons', I figured that I might as well try my luck.  I don't consider 
myself to be an 'icon', but I am reasonably well known (actually, more like 
infamous) among Pojo people, especially those from the #pojo 
chatroom.  Well, anyway, I hope that I can raise enough valid points in 
this article to at least get it posted on the site.......

But first things first.  Maybe I'm a little slow, or just not up with the 
play, but it wasn't until I read Doll's STS report that I discovered that 
Scott and Doll got married!  Congratulations! ^_^  Wow.....that's so cool, 
I mean, I may not have exactly got along with you guys very well in the 
past, but I wish you all the best!  You just gotta love weddings ^_^

Ok, onto the main point of this article.  Seeing as everyone else who wrote 
in seems to have given an introduction, I suppose that I will too.  Unlike 
most of the respondents so far, I am not personally affected by most 
decisions that WOTC make, although if I were able to ever attend an event 
like the STS, I would fit into the 15+ category.  Anyway, I began playing 
Pokemon about halfway through 1999, and continued to play competitively 
until about September this year.  But seeing as I am so far away from 
America and all major Pokemon events, the only way I have been able to gain 
any real playing experience was through Pojo's Apprentice League.  I'm not 
claiming to be a great player, because I'm not, but when it comes to 
Pokemon, I think I can justifiably say that I do know what I'm talking 
about.  And although unaffected by the decisions of WOTC concerning 15+, I 
don't like to see my fellow players getting screwed over.  But nor do I 
like to see them being misinformed.

Having read most of the responses to Ness' article both on Pojo and on the 
message board, it appears that the majority of readers have jumped the 
proverbial gun.  Guys, remember, just because Ness says something does NOT 
mean it is true.  Think about it.  If anyone else had stood up and made 
such extreme, unjustified claims, they would most likely be ignored and/or 
shot down.  But sadly, too many of you seem to worship Ness and treat what 
he says as gospel.  Remember that most of this issue is only Ness' opinion, 
although he apparently has information from some mysterious source that he 
claims to be reliable.  I'm not going to dispute that.  But claiming that 
this whole thing is a giant conspiracy and that there is some sort of 
fiendish plot by WOTC to eliminate 15+ is a bit over the top.  Now how 
about we all put down our banners of protest and look at the facts for a 
moment, shall we?

For some time now, we have known that WOTC seems to ignore the wishes of 
the general public when making decisions.  In fact, on several occasions 
they have made decisions that they knew would be unpopular:

-Prop 15/3 for the 2000 ECSTS
-No free STS trips for 15+
-Modified format for both the 2001 East Coast and West Coast STS

In addition to this, there was the proposed idea of removing 15+ from the 
STS this year, which was followed by such a backlash from players worldwide 
that the decision was eventually overturned.  We can see that WOTC has not 
exactly been treating the 15+ division with a great deal of respect.  But 
this does NOT mean that they are trying to eliminate the 15+ division 
altogether!  There has been no word about this AT ALL, and it is ludicrous 
to think that WOTC would try to ENTIRELY remove the 15+ section from the 
game after what happened last time.  Ness claims that the plans for next 
year are to hold regional tournaments for the 14- division.  For more 
accurate information, I suggest that you read the rebuttal to Ness' article 
by Andrew Crowell, which revolves around common sense, logic and facts, 
rather than uncontrolled, unjustified ranting.  It looks as though we may 
have seen the last STS, but WOTC are not realistically going to take such a 
drastic step as to completely exclude the 15+ division from regional 
championships.  Put your anger aside, and start using your heads people.

Now the second thing I want to talk about is Magic, which, by the way, is a 
well-designed, fun and strategic game.  But I would like to know exactly 
WHERE someone got the idea that WOTC is trying to convert all 15+ Pokemon 
players into Magic!  Oh yes...that's right....Ness said it, so it must be 
true =/  This is just a rumour!  The argument has NO substance!  It is 
simply the opinion of an angry and disgruntled Ness.  I don't quite see the 
link between a little discrimination against 15+ Pokemon players and us 
being shoved into Magic.  Why are conspiracy theories being fabricated 
about the evil intentions of WOTC?  Yes, they may have made unpopular 
decisions in the past, but that doesn't mean they are deliberately trying 
to screw everyone over.  They are a company.  They are trying to make a 
profit, and they would not be naive enough to think that they can instantly 
convert thousands of players worldwide from one CCG to another.  And if 
this happens to be their plan (which I heavily doubt), they are severely 
underestimating the loyalty and intelligence of the 15+ player pool.  We 
are not going to be swayed into throwing away thousands of dollars of 
Pokemon cards just to take up a new game which costs even more, and that 
many of us probably aren't even interested in playing.  And WOTC know that 
they would only lose money by doing that.  Get real guys.

In saying that, WOTC have made some decisions in the past that have made 
people question their intentions.  In fact, I have been disappointed on 
several occasions with the actions they have taken.  But I doubt that they 
are trying to "ruin the game" as Ness claims, nor do I think that we have 
to "fight WOTC" to enjoy the game.  I am sure that they are making at least 
some effort to please everyone, although sometimes it may appear 
otherwise.  Remember that WOTC is under pressure from Media Factory and The 
Pokemon Co, and these organisations control their decisions somewhat.

The other problem is that WOTC has very little competition.  I mean, in 
most companies, you will generally find that management will make decisions 
to try and please their customers, for fear of losing them 
elsewhere.  However, WOTC does not appear to have adhered to this rule in 
the past, perhaps for the simple reason that there ISN'T anywhere else.  If 
you want to play a CCG with a large player pool, with large competitions, 
and in which you can gain an international ranking, then a game produced by 
WOTC is virtually your only option.  The bottom line is, that WOTC can do 
whatever they please, but if we want to play CCGs then we are just going to 
have to put up with it.  And however we are treated, most of us loyal 
players will keep coming back for more.  Perhaps if WOTC had some 
competition, then they might be a little more concerned with the popularity 
of their decisions.  But even so, are WOTC really going to try to prevent 
the 15+ division from playing, when it created so much of an uproar last 
time?  No.  Are they naive enough to try to convert all these players from 
one game to another?  No.

The other thing Ness mentioned was the Modified format, which was employed 
for both the West and East Coast STS competitions this year.  I personally 
believe that Modified is a marketing ploy, aiming to boost sales of the 
sets from TR onwards.  According to what I have heard, the Modified format 
will change, rotating in new sets and rotating out older sets.  This is 
something which has been done for a long time in Magic, to keep players 
forking out money to stay in the metagame.  Somehow I doubt whether 
Modified was invented because it would be good for the game =/  Let's be 
honest, all the talk about Modified being a wonderful and balanced format 
has been disproved by the WCSTS.  As Ness stated, there has to be something 
wrong when almost half the Top 8 decks are the same (31/64 Top 8 decks were 
Feraligatr), and you end up with 7/8 Feraligatr decks in a Top 8 
division.  Is this fun?  No.  Is this balanced?  No.  Some have said that 
Modified is a situation of Paper/Scissors/Rock with Typhlosion, Feraligatr 
and Crobat, but I beg to differ, because as we have all seen, Feraligatr 
simply beats everything.  In the recent WOTC chat, even MT Pat admitted 
that "There just isn't anything else that really counters it."  Not only 
that, but another interesting fact is that out of 64 decks total that made 
the Top 8 over the two days (8 players, 4 divisions, 2 days), only FOUR** 
decks were centred around either a Lightning, Fighting or Psychic 
theme.  Does this tell us something?  Yes, in the so-called 'balanced' 
Modified format, THREE whole basic types are almost completely cut out of 
the competition.  When you look at these facts, it looks as though WOTC 
will need to find a better excuse than "It's good for the game" to justify 
persevering with Modified.

**Note that Slowking was not counted as being a "Psychic theme" unless it 
also contained other Psychic Pokemon to attack (and thus Psychic 
energy).  I don't think that Slowking by itself is a "Psychic theme", it's 
just backup, like using Magby does not count as a fire theme.

Strangely enough, most Modified enthusiasts seem to immediately counter any 
criticism of their beloved format with "Well in Standard it's all luck - if 
I get my Sneasels first I win".  This reply only serves to demonstrate the 
ignorance of the speaker, because anyone who has played high-level Standard 
competition recently will have realised that Sneasel is NOT in every deck, 
and that there is a great deal more variety than "Feraligatr beats 
everything".  In fact, Sneasel is not even the main problem in Standard, 
due to a nice little card called Super Energy Removal.  In my opinion, the 
problem plaguing Standard is Slowking, the most evil, broken, purple and 
utterly WRONG card ever to be printed.  Seriously, if this card was banned, 
you would see such a great improvement in Standard competition, partly due 
to the fact that Sneasel would lose it's power, because a Sneasel without 
Slowking is just going to get crushed by Removals.  Anyway, that's just my 
opinion on how Standard could be improved, but then again, if Standard 
format was used in large competitions, then there would be no incentives 
for players to buy new cards from new sets, would there?  Poor old WOTC 
would lose out on so much money......my heart goes out to them =/

Just to further explain why Standard is a more balanced and fair format 
than Modified, I might as well repeat these points which have been stated 
many times before.  If you don't wanna read them, then skip down to the 
next section:

1) You cannot make a comeback in Modified - if you disagree with that, then 
perhaps you could tell everyone how exactly you stop a raging Feraligatr 
without the use of Scoop Up, Computer Search, Professor Oak, ER/SER etc

2) The best deck will not always win in Modified.  You could be the best 
player in the world, but if your opponent gets that Feraligatr up and 
running, you don't really get a chance to demonstrate your brilliant 
playing skills when taking insane amounts of damage each turn that you 
can't counter

3) Coin flips are NOT so important in Standard.  In many Modified games, 
the game is decided far too often on Focus Band flips, a problem which you 
will not encounter in Standard

4) There are no surprises in Modified.  In Standard competition, you know 
you're never safe, because you don't know when your opponent could suddenly 
drop two Pluspowers for a knockout, or Scoop Up their damaged Pokemon, or 
suddenly remove your energies.  But in Modified, once you have a large 
Pokemon built, you can keep dealing crazy amounts of damage while picking 
off possible threats with Double Gust, confident in the knowledge that your 
energies are safe, and that your opponent can do hardly anything unexpected.

5) Those who claim that Modified has increased variety in decks, consider 
this: in Standard, most decks (again, I stress most) contain the basics of 
Oak/CPU/Item Finder, with Gust and Gold Berry.  In Modified, these have 
simply been replaced by Elm/Wrath with Double Gust and Focus Band.  Have we 
really progressed, or is Modified simply doing the same thing with 
different cards?

Well, enough about Modified.  Time to make a point of my own.  This is not 
a conspiracy theory, it is a genuine concern that I think could affect the 
Pokemon community.  Let me explain.  Some of you may remember the times 
when Pokemon was the "in" thing.  Everywhere you looked, there were kids 
talking about Pokemon, playing Pokemon, BEING Pokemon, and you couldn't 
walk past a shop window without being bombarded with merchandise featuring 
a certain electric rodent.  But times have changed, and the more observant 
of you may have noticed that the Pikachu posters have been taken down, only 
to be replaced by what is the latest fad: Harry Potter.  Look around you, 
and you have to admit, everyone's favourite wizard has already started to 
replace Pokemon as the 'in' thing.  Which is fine, of course, nothing lasts 
forever, and I think we have to accept that the Pokemon craze is in its 
twilight.  But what might not be fine is the fact that WOTC have released a 
Harry Potter CCG, and that a league is starting for it next year.  What 
does this mean for Pokemon?  Well, in my opinion, it means that many 
younger players will drop Pokemon when they discover that their friends are 
all playing something else.  Of course, there are many loyal players out 
there, but we've all been that age, and it IS hard to stay interested in 
something when there is a new fad, and from what I have seen so far, Harry 
Potter is set to become THE next big thing.  It is obvious that Pokemon 
sales are going to suffer from the release of Harry Potter, but the 
question is, how much?  Now again I stress, I hardly think that Harry 
Potter is going to completely wipe out Pokemon, but if sales of Pokemon 
products and cards fall, it could make WOTC think twice about holding large 
competitions in the future.

Anyway, getting back to the topic of WOTC's decisions.  If you are 
concerned about what WOTC might be going to do in the future, then a POLITE 
and RESPECTFUL e-mail to them might be your best bet.  As was already 
mentioned in Andrew Crowell's reply to Ness' article, many decisions are 
not made by WOTC, but from those higher up.  Sadly, to some degree WOTC is 
controlled by Media Factory and The Pokemon Co.  I think that perhaps an 
e-mail to them might be more effective than sending anything to WOTC.  In 
short, if you want something done, go to the manager, not the 
salesperson.  But either way, if you are going to send an e-mail, please 
remember the following things:

1) Be polite!  If you're rude, and flame and bash them then you will 
actually achieve the opposite of your aim, because they will not only 
ignore you, but it will lower their opinion of Pokemon players - remember 
you are speaking on behalf of all players, and that capitals and four 
letter words do more harm than good

2) SPELLING and grammar - I can't stress how important this is.  If your 
writing is full of mechanical errors then you look foolish and distinctly 
unprofessional

3) Don't whinge - if WOTC receive a bunch of e-mails from people 
complaining about no 15+ trips for the STS, they are just going to think 
we're greedy and selfish.  Remember as well, that we have not even been 
told that there will BE an STS next year, so don't complain about an event 
that might not even be happening

4) Compliments - it never hurts to tell them what they're doing right as 
well as offering a few suggestions.  Seriously, sucking up works =/  If you 
like the Pokemon League format for next year, say so.  If you thought the 
STS was great, tell them.  I'm sure they would be happy to receive some 
positive feedback as well....and it might make them more likely to listen 
to the rest of your points

5) Stick to facts.  Don't go on ranting about how unfair it is that 15+ is 
going to be eliminated.  Remember, this is only a rumour, and WOTC have 
given no indications of doing such a thing, so flaming about a topic such 
as this, or blindly stating that you refuse to be pushed into Magic will 
not get you anywhere

6) Try to avoid blaming WOTC, many of the decisions are not their fault, 
and above all don't blame the MTs, they are simply the poor guys given the 
job of informing us of what's happening

7) If you are going to criticise, be constructive.  Don't just say what you 
don't like without offering some solutions as well

Perhaps something along the lines of this:

Dear Wizards
My name is _____ and I am ____ years old.  I have been playing the Pokemon 
TCG for ____ years, and I really enjoy attending Pokemon League and 
participating in DCI Sanctioned events.  One _____ I especially enjoyed 
this year was _______, because ___________.  I look forward to more events 
like this in the future.

Something that I found disappointing was ______ because ________, and I 
feel that ______.  Perhaps in the future, you could try __________, as I 
think that many players agree with me on this.

Yours Sincerely
_______

Ok, so maybe that's a little too polite, but you get the idea.  If you're 
worried about the future of 15+, then I do recommend stating your age and 
your background in the game.

Well, it looks as though I have finally come to the end of this 
article.  You still awake there?  Hey!  Wake up! =/  Anyway, if you're 
reading this, then I guess it got posted.  Otherwise......=/  I hope this 
at least makes you think, and think rationally.  You can send me your 
comments, thoughts, reactions, constructive criticisms etc to drg@xtra.co.nz

Thanks for taking the time to read this....


Cheers


DRG3