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We've got another classicĀ MagicĀ magazine to take a look at today. This isĀ Scrye,Ā issue #84, published in June 2005, just under ten years ago.
In a lot of ways, what I read in this issue could have been written today, unlike last time, where I looked at a 20-year-old edition. Still, when I dug a little deeper, I found some interesting stuff.
First, take a look at this article title:
That is an excellent question, posed by Abe Sargent, writer for various sites over the years, most notably Star City Games and Gathering Magic. HowĀ haveĀ casual decks changed sinceĀ Betrayers of Kamigawa? Well, here's the decklists Sargent provided in the article:
I see a pretty big difference between casual decks of 2005 and 2015.
Need a hint?
Check out the number of cards, both total in the deck and copies of each. These days, talking about a "casual" decklist is all but saying "Commander." There are certainly still folks who play 60-card casual, but you don't see too many articles about it these days. CasualĀ MagicĀ has undergone one of the biggest changes in the last ten yearsāthe format of choice. Will it be Tiny Leaders in ten more years?
This stands out to me as something that's changed in a big way. This ad is clearly aimed at kids and teenagers. Obviously, we don't see as many print ads forĀ MagicĀ today (I mean, except for the ad cards included in every single booster pack we open), but when we do see ads from Wizards, they're usually not so kid-focused. Yes, people often refer toĀ MagicĀ as a "children's card game," and that might have even been true at one point, but my guess is most players these days are in their twenties. The game's marketing is a major thing that's changed in the last ten years.
One more thing about this ad that would be different today: the nagging mom and the annoying sister are depicted as the bland home life, and then three boys are depicted as the exciting away life. A little one-sided in either direction, don't you think? Wizards does a better job of being more inclusive to both genders these days, but there's obviously still a long way to go at the business and community levels.
I didn't play in 2005, so I don't really know if the Genju enchantments made an impact in Standard. But what really stands out to me about this feature is this little chunk:
There's no way these enchantments were good in Vintage, right? People who were there: was this actually a real consideration at the time, or is just an example of the eternal nature ofĀ MagicĀ player optimism and hype? I just can't fathom a world where theĀ Genju enchantmentsĀ were good in Vintage. Please, fill us in.
Okay, nowĀ thisĀ is interesting. Most of these cards were Standard players, but Serra Angel? As the number one seller? I mean, this chart leaves much to be desired: source, method, time period, etc., so it's not like the numbers can't be manipulated one way or the other. But Serra Angel? Was this played in Standard at the time (it was legal, I checked)? Was this 100 percent due to casual demand? If you can put this into any kind of perspective for everyone, I'd appreciate it. I thought Serra hasn't been good since the nineties!
One last thing for today. This was in the early internet age, when it still made sense to advertise your website in paper magazines (oh, times have changed). This is from ten years ago. How many of these stores are still around? You may recognize a few names:
Some things never change.
About the enchantments in vintage. Read the article again, and again. Now focus on the first line…
We’re talking about casual vintage. That’s how people described casual in that time.
It’s a way to describe a casual format without many restrictions, but you don’t bring P9 or ante cards to the table.
And people played many enchantments in casual.
So, that part of this article is a little bit awkward now, don’t you think ;).
It’s OK to make mistakes. But please, learn from it to prevent this. I recommend you to find someone to read your articles before you publish them.
Wow, condescend more, please. I recommend you find someone to read your posts before you submit them.
Abe was quite late to adopt EDH, while 2005 would be very early for the format. I often responded to his articles until they became FB responses. They read as typical Abe decks, he creates very many of them and tends to keep them fairly simple. I prefer his strategy articles, which are far more in-depth.
We did not see many 60-card casual articles back in 2005 either, at most 2-3/week were published. Most sites seemed to feel it was articles about competitive Magic that would draw readers. In my view Abe and The Ferret were the best available at the time.
Some of the Genju enchantments were played in Standard, though not in big numbers. They were big in casual though, which was meant in that little chunk. Back in 2005 it was rare to come across anybody who played casual by anything other than Vintage construction rules, but they probably included it for clarity.
Even back in 2005 casual demand could outstrip tournament demand. You might find sources for sales information in a different part of the magazine.
I recognize about half the stores.