So, THIS ARTICLE appeared in my local newspaper today. I didn't expect great investigative journalism, Pulitzer Prize winning writing, or an ariticle showing the results of months of research, but one excerpt really jumped out at me (well, two if we count the fact that "it takes at least a day to develop strategy" - which I suppose is true in the same way that you can learn the rules of baseball in a short period, but it takes at least a day to be able to learn to hit and field well):
So what's to prevent players loaded with the equivalent Magic talent of soccer stars Landon Donovan and Kaka from sweeping away opponents?
In tournaments, Magic judges assess player's hands before rounds and award powerful proxy cards to those considered outmatched.
I've played at Superstars many times and I have NEVER seen any judge award powerful cards to anyone.
Obviously this is some huge blunder in her understanding of how tournaments work, but what did she misinterpret to arrive at this strange conclusion? The only think I can think of is combining the fact that players with damaged cards can have proxies issued under rare circumstances, that players can win cards at pre-releases and FNM's, and that before rounds, judges make sure that no one is cheating.
Either that, or some jester thought he'd have a joke at her expense and see what crazy tall tales she would believe.
The whole article had the tone of, "aaawwww, how cute... Wook at the wittle newd and his cute cawds."
(hopefully that comes across as cutesy mockery and not as a Boston accent)
And I have never heard of that either. Powering up someone's opening hand is new to me.
An ability exists on the stack independently of its source. Removal of the source after that time won't affect the ability. Some abilities cause a source to do something rather than the ability. Any activated or triggered ability that references information about the source checks that information when the ability is put onto the stack. Otherwise, it will check that information when it resolves. If the source is no longer in the zone it's expected to be in, its last known information is used.
I found the answer to my own question. She apparently interviewed a local judge and misinterpreted his explanation of {number}-proxy Vintage tournaments. So, she misunderstood the fact that a JUDGE was explaining things to her to mean that judges routinely issue proxies for powerful cards and she substituted proxying P9 in deck construction for in-game substitutions.
This would be hilarious to implement in an actual event.
"Excuse me, your opponent's decklist contains some extremely powerful cards. Here are some proxied moxen for you, be sure to shuffle them in before you present for game one. Judge out."
I play at superstars all the time, I bet Eric would do this if we asked really nicely...
Developed in 1993 by Whitman College professor Richard Garfield, the game is published in several languages and has exploded in popularity. It is, many fans say, the third game in a natural playing progression that begins with Pokémon and continues with Yugioh.
Uhhh.. Or a playing progression that began with MAGIC and continues with pokemon and then Yugioh.....
Although it's possible to learn to play in an hour, it takes at least a day to develop strategy.
Argh I hate this lady. I know a guy who started playing drafts about 2 month ago, does 3-4 a week and consistently Hits eighth.
I just finished reading the original article and it seems pretty even handed, even favorable of Magic. Yes, the author does seem to have no previous knowledge of the game but the article in no way seeks to belittle or defame Magic or its players. And if you read the comments attached to the article, the judge at the event who tried to explain proxying to the the author states her misunderstanding was his fault.
It seems the author was simply trying to write a "slice of life" article about a non-mainstream activity. I think she did well.
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Uhhh.. Or a playing progression that began with MAGIC and continues with pokemon and then Yugioh.....
I believe what the article was trying to state there was there is a play progression of a person starting with playing pokemon, then learning about a slightly more complicated game in Yugioh and beginning to play it instead, then learning about a even more complicated and matured game in MTG.
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It also sounds like the judge she interviewed gave her a lot of extraneous details that, when taken out of context of years of Magic culture and experience, don't really represent the game well. I would have expected to see mention of the growing popularity of the game, and something on card values, but not a lot of details on proxy tournaments, which are a very small part of the Magic community, and not mainstream.
This is one reason many companies hire PR firms and media liaisons and write their own press releases. Because they are experienced with how people outside their field or culture will often misunderstand or decontextualize random facts about their work or concerns.
Imagine a reporter asking you what you did for a living and how you did it. Say you worked at a nuclear plant or a morgue. They just walk in off the street and are given a pass to come into your work space and ask you questions. You may think you know what you would say, but how would it finally appear in print? Would the reporter pass up an opportunity to dramatize or sensationalize something you said, even if you and everyone else you worked with, knew it was an outlier, or not typical of your experience?
Read the comments, the judge cleared his comment up, but if you don't notice the comments, it's really confusing and sounds sketchy.
I just finished reading the original article and it seems pretty even handed, even favorable of Magic. Yes, the author does seem to have no previous knowledge of the game but the article in no way seeks to belittle or defame Magic or its players. And if you read the comments attached to the article, the judge at the event who tried to explain proxying to the the author states her misunderstanding was his fault.
It seems the author was simply trying to write a "slice of life" article about a non-mainstream activity. I think she did well.
I gotta disagree. this article reminded me of some of the Tech-TV blurbs I saw about WoW... though maybe not QUITE as bad. ... its much harder to WRITE that patronizing tone.
I think that it would not have been hard at all for the person to try to understand the game enough (or even, play a game or two) to not make absurd gaffs like what inspired this thread.
I'll admit that the proxy card part is hilariously inaccurate, but if anything I suspect that the people she interviewed did a poor job of explaining the game to her in a language that she could barely understand. That and her focus was directed more towards the Magic player demographic than the game itself.
I've played at Superstars many times and I have NEVER seen any judge award powerful cards to anyone.
Obviously this is some huge blunder in her understanding of how tournaments work, but what did she misinterpret to arrive at this strange conclusion? The only think I can think of is combining the fact that players with damaged cards can have proxies issued under rare circumstances, that players can win cards at pre-releases and FNM's, and that before rounds, judges make sure that no one is cheating.
Either that, or some jester thought he'd have a joke at her expense and see what crazy tall tales she would believe.
(hopefully that comes across as cutesy mockery and not as a Boston accent)
And I have never heard of that either. Powering up someone's opening hand is new to me.
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"Excuse me, your opponent's decklist contains some extremely powerful cards. Here are some proxied moxen for you, be sure to shuffle them in before you present for game one. Judge out."
I play at superstars all the time, I bet Eric would do this if we asked really nicely...
It's a flowery way of saying "magic the gathering has developed a culture based around it mostly made up of males".
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Uhhh.. Or a playing progression that began with MAGIC and continues with pokemon and then Yugioh.....
Argh I hate this lady. I know a guy who started playing drafts about 2 month ago, does 3-4 a week and consistently Hits eighth.
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It seems the author was simply trying to write a "slice of life" article about a non-mainstream activity. I think she did well.
I believe what the article was trying to state there was there is a play progression of a person starting with playing pokemon, then learning about a slightly more complicated game in Yugioh and beginning to play it instead, then learning about a even more complicated and matured game in MTG.
This is one reason many companies hire PR firms and media liaisons and write their own press releases. Because they are experienced with how people outside their field or culture will often misunderstand or decontextualize random facts about their work or concerns.
Imagine a reporter asking you what you did for a living and how you did it. Say you worked at a nuclear plant or a morgue. They just walk in off the street and are given a pass to come into your work space and ask you questions. You may think you know what you would say, but how would it finally appear in print? Would the reporter pass up an opportunity to dramatize or sensationalize something you said, even if you and everyone else you worked with, knew it was an outlier, or not typical of your experience?
Read the comments, the judge cleared his comment up, but if you don't notice the comments, it's really confusing and sounds sketchy.
I gotta disagree. this article reminded me of some of the Tech-TV blurbs I saw about WoW... though maybe not QUITE as bad. ... its much harder to WRITE that patronizing tone.
I think that it would not have been hard at all for the person to try to understand the game enough (or even, play a game or two) to not make absurd gaffs like what inspired this thread.
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