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With the demise of Necro came a great period in Magic history. The ‘rogue player’ (a player whom plays decks that are not main stream or top tier) was able to step forward and present a case for trying new things. Many of the decks that had been previously smothered by Necro and its solutions (Stasis and Prison) suddenly became viable tournaments threats. But Magic still had many growing pains to endure before that could happen. With Ice Age aging and players growing tired of the same old decks being played, Wizards stepped in and released its newest set. This set flaunted a world that was inhabited and being controlled by a powerful vampire named Baron Sengir. We players were quick to be happy about this development, since Baron had the same strength gain that the fan favorite Sengir Vampire had. If they were going to make it known about this powerful card, wouldn’t there be more to come? But the set turned out to be one of the biggest flops ever. In fact, only a few cards from the set even saw casual play, let alone in tournament play.
Believe it or not, by this time in mid 1996, we feared the death of Magic was coming. Tournament attendance was down, cards were not selling, and people stopped playing in general due to Stasis and Prison decks. That’s when Wizards redeemed themselves with the release of Alliances. Alliances produced some amazing cards for its time. It introduced the pitch cards, in which a player was able to cast a spell with no mana available. Force of Will would eventually become one of the most valuable uncommons ever made. Necro was able to enjoy the insane mana production that the Lake of the Dead provided. In those days, there was a rules glitch that allowed a player to produce six black mana from a swamp and the Lake. Needless to say, that if Necro player hit it right, they could play two Hymns and a pump knight or just Mind Twist your hand away on turn two. With Magic having been revived, Wizards realized the potential Magic had to as a money hog. From there they began to work on making new expansions more frequently. The problem would soon be arising where people would continue to play with the cards that they already owned and not want to buy the newer cards. Especially since the new cards could not compare to the power of the older cards. Thus the creation of the concept that came to be called ‘Block Rotation.’ Besides the increase in profit, block rotation did solve the problem of the stagnant tournament field and successfully did what no one else could do, kill Necro and its variants.
Block rotation is where Wizards creates a stand alone set (Ice Age / Onslaught) and then follow it up with two expansions to the stand alone (Homelands – Alliances / Legions – Scourge). They would then close the book on the block and start over new with a stand alone set (Mirage / Mirrodin). When this new stand alone set becomes legal (after one month on the shelves) the cards before the previous block became illegal. In this case it made all the cards before and including Fallen Empire illegal. The term came to be known as ‘falling off’ when the block dropped out of legal play in type 2 (standard). Death of Necro With the entry of Mirage came the exit of Fallen Empires. Its departure was a crippling blow to the Necro deck. It lost its powerful Hymn to Tourach and half of its pump knights (Order of the Ebon Hand). Some people stubbornly continued trying to play on without these main staple weapons. Once in a while you would see someone do well in a tournament report, but for the most part it was a dying deck waiting for the bullet to put it to sleep.
My personal playing during this time was at a low point in my career. I have tried very mightily to forget it, but alas I must come about and admit it. I converted. As much as I did not want to do it, I turned to the other side. I was Stasis player. The difference was that I have a God given talent to play a control deck, where as the normal player was just playing it to beat Necro. I was playing it because I enjoyed making people quit. I enjoyed the ability to sit down and know that unless you cast a Winter Orb, I was going to win. When Alliances gave me Force of Will, I was able to go crazy casting and then say no to a few nasty spells and with no islands untapped. I worked at a card store in those days, and I would take my earnings and just turn it into either a 4th edition pack, or an Alliances pack. We didn’t have all the vendors back then, so I was way ahead of the pack. I owned a complete set of Alliances before most people had a playset (four copies of one card) of anything in the set. I secretly enjoyed those days. My opinion of those days: They were a necessary evil for Magic. We needed to see what happened when there was no control over the cards available. When the format was type ‘what do you own.” Those were the growing pain days, and thankfully for you, you will not experience them. Don’t be dismayed about a bad set here or there. Don’t worry if Wizards will balance the format. I can say this for one strong reason, and because of this reason, you can rest your weary head at night. My reason is this: When Magic sucks, you don’t buy packs, and when you don’t buy packs, Wizards does not make money. You have the power. You have a voice, and that voice is the sound of dollar bills being rustled, and coins clanging against themselves. Remember... packs used to cost less than a dollar. Look how much you pay for a pack now. You can discuss this article in the MDV forums here. Most Popular
Articles of 2005 |
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The
Black player was gifted the awe inspiring Ishsan’s Shade, who was invulnerable
to Swords to Plowshares (BBB3 – 5/5 protection from white). Red was given the
first modern day haste creature in Eron the Relentless. Green was rewarded for
being the worst color in the game by getting the mother of all untargettable
creatures in Autumn Willow. Blue got a card, Memory Lapse, in which its
potential was never realized until nearly 8 years later when Wake decks took
advantage of its near Time Walk ability. Finally white was just straight
screwed. The most used card from Homelands was an artifact called Serrated
Arrows and that was only because it killed a hand full of pump knights before
going away.
That
bullet came in March of 1997 with the release of Fifth Edition. When Fifth
became legal, the Magic community gave a collective sigh of relief. The mighty
hunter had finally laid down the spear and called it a career. The Hypnotic
Specter was not reprinted, and thus removed from the basic set. The Hippie was
the first creature along a strong lineage of dominance. He is the Godfather of
creatures like Morphling, Wild Mongrel, and Arcbound Ravager, whom all defined
their era. He was our Jim Brown, Magic Johnson, Pete Rose, and Wayne Gretsky. He
would show up, beat you, and wait around for the next game. Also lost, and not
to be disrespect was Mind Twist. Many a person had lost a game due to a double
dark ritual - Mind Twist on an opening turn.