[Alxgoody@aol.com]
from pre-ban to pro-ban-Alex Goodman
Hello, pojo, I have come back here to write yey another article, again about the ban-list, but this time, instead of disagreeing with it, I will explain as to how to deal with it. Right now, I had to go through the pain of changing my deck, but I have my hopes up, because the ban is helping my deck evolve.
 
In the Beginning...
people had the freedom to  play broken cards. they had the freedom to buy skill. they had the freedom to use one of the three major deck-types ruled the meta-game. Chaos, Control, and Beatdown. It wasn't very hard to make any of these decks good, because most of them were the same anyway. Everyother deck was now set in the dust. But a new light would soon come for these buried decks.
 
In the middle...
people were begining to worry. How long would they have freedom? how long would they be the best? how long would it take for old decks to recover? These questions were soon answered as the ban list would answer everything. Although people will still have the freedom to do the above, they can't be recognized unless they follow the list.
 
In the end...
We now no longer have three major deck-tyoes ruling. now all decks have a chance. As for the people who just want to follow the list but can't find replacements? Read more to find out
 
                                      **How to evolve your deck**
You, the player, are probably all sad that now your favorite place to play is enforcing the ban? You *****, you moan, but that does nothing. In order to replace your banned cards, there are two simple ways to do this:
 
                                          *I. use your resources*
using your resources. What does this mean? well simply put, it means using what you have. It took me a while to realize that replacing your cards is VERY do-able. With many cards in your deck eliminated, there aremany options to make replacements. You must look hard in you "crap" pile to determine what cards are the most efficient replacements.
 
Resouce Pros:
This way works well even on the last second. if you really just play for fun, this way is also less time-consuming. This way is really great though if you already have all the cards you need to replace with. Or, if you just happen to be lucky, your crap just turned to gold (lol)
 
Resource Cons:
However, most of you are "budgeted" players. You probably worked only for your last deck, and you have no clear-cut alternatives in your binder. This was what I felt was the biggest con of the ban itself. and if you still want to have a noteable deck, read on...
 
                                     *II. Trading the fallen cards*
This second way guarantees a more sucessful deck evolution, but it may seem risky. Take me as an example: I go through a tournament with the ban using alternative number one. I had lost the old calibur of my deck. I am hanging on to my CED, but then I decide that the only way to get my "dream Chaos warrior deck is by trading my rarest ban cards. I trade my CED for a marauding captain, don zaloog, dd warrior lady, and reinforcement of the army. This is a start, but the point is, if you want your new deck to be the best, you have got to trade your best banned cards for the deck's welfare.
 
Trading Pros:
This way has more pros than the first. Sure, n00bs will think that I was ripped off, but I say screw them! All I care about is making a nice deck. One is that n00bs or people who already have many crads will trade a lot for the rarer banned cards like CED and Yata. Most people will be willing to do this.
 
Trading Cons:
 There are plenty of reasons you shouldn't do this either. one is that aftewr getting your new cards, you may end up losing with your new deck. not all evolutions of decks are sucessful. if you want this to be sucessful, you have to know about the deck you'll use. And te biggest con of all is that if you end up trading a banned card and then it is off the next list, I say you screw yourself over even more, especially if you can't trade back. Thankfully, for the people who trade CED and Yata, they will probably remain on the list.
 
I hope you find this article helpful, (I don't expect flames this time Thankfully ;) )
Peace, wach for my next article on the ban, "analysis"
Alex Goodman, Alxgoody@aol.com