Breaking Through – 2009 Words on 2009
Posted by Conley Woods
December 16, 2009 | 
50 comments
The year is rapidly coming to a close. Next week ushers in Christmas (and my birthday!), followed quickly by the celebration bringing in the new decade. Two weeks remain, which means we have had fifty weeks of memories, stories, and Magical moments pass us by. I originally wanted to set my confines for the year in review to be a little more specific, but after thinking about everything that happened this year, I figured I would just go over some the highlights of the last fifty weeks. The year has ultimately been too amazing to narrow down in scope. We begin where 2008 still had a minor hold on the Magic community, handing off some its baggage in the form of one very impressive streak.
Streaks From The Best
The year started off with LSV continuing his tear across and over just about everything in his way, save for one Gabriel Nassif in Kyoto. Whenever a player goes on such an insane run, regardless of whom you traditionally follow and cheer for, a part of you wants to see the current dominating force continue his run of excellence. Needless to say, being able to watch such a series of events unfolding is always fun and Luis only cemented his name as one of the best in the world.
Later in the year, Yuuya Watanabe would put together a similarly insane run where he would rack up what seemed like countless Top 8s. Grand Prix after Grand Prix, with brief pauses for the occasional Nationals or Pro Tour Top 8. Yuuya earned the year’s ultimate prize due mostly to this multi-month tear, taking yet another Player of the Year title back to Japan.
Plenty of other big time players managed to throw together a few back-to-back accomplishments that defined this year on the Pro Tour as well. Brian Kibler decided that Top 8ing back-to-back Pro Tours would suffice as an announcement of his return to the Pro Tour; Nassif decided to give Luis a run for his money during the early months of the year; and Martin Juza decided Level 8 was a pretty cool thing to grab a hold of as well. New players emerged from seemingly out of no where to take hold of the ranks of the best from yesteryear assuring the world that Pro Tour was still in good hands.
The Community Bands Together
While the Pro circuit was being outrun by Luis, the rest of the Magic community was given one of its year's defining moments, the banding together on the inaugural Magic Cruise. With the number of Pro Tours and Grands Prix being reduced over the past few seasons for whatever reasons, the community took the situation into its own hands and developed plenty of its own tournaments and events, and to very fun results.
The Magic Cruise signified an open invitation (barring entry fee of course) event where fellow Magic players and their guests could enjoy each others company out on the sea and in a few choice tropical destinations. The idea of taking Magic and stretching it out to impact other facets of our lives was beginning to take tangible form. Traveling and competitive Magic had always been synonymous, but here was an opportunity to let Magic pave the way for a stress filtering vacation that anyone could partake in. The Magic Cruise will be happening again this year (unfortunately simultaneous to one Grand Prix: Oakland) and looks to be a permanent fixture in the ever growing culture that Magic has birthed.
States looked to be swept under the rug, at least in the eyes of Wizards, but the community would have none of it. Thanks to the efforts of the player base, Glen Goddard and tournament organizers around North America, States managed to come back from the dead this year. Granted it had a new name by being the 2009's, but it was back, and most would argue with better prize support. Other than the timing of the event, everything felt like States should feel. Again, the power of the player base was able to break through here and result in a huge success. Hopefully the 2009′s will transition into the 2010′s 11′s etc…
EDH lowered its head and charged, defining itself as the casual format of choice amongst a majority of players. EDH established that not only can the players control what tournaments they see in exist, but they can also create the formats they wish to play. EDH, along with its brethren in the form of the cube and Type 4 really showcased that they deserve to be highlighted beyond just the kitchen table and the players agreed.
The community hardly left its impact at the card tables alone though. We have a Magic documentary being filmed, books being published, new podcasts, videos, and websites being created at an alarming rate. The Magic playing population has proven that this game can evolve at a faster pace than Wizards can dictate. The subculture that has grown out of the game is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling parts about being a writer and Pro Tour player. I cannot say enough about how excited I am to see the game grow and to be a part of it. 2009 definitely marks the start of a revolution whereby the Magic subculture became a part of Magic and not just its own entity.
The Year of The Tyrant
Unfortunately 2009 will also be known as the year where Secluded Glens turned into Savage Lands and no one could do anything about it. Despite Wizards R&D looking to make an all tier 2 metagame the staple, things tended to degrade this year. Faeries had its run for the better part of its time in Standard to the point where people begged for bannings or solution cards to come. And they came.
Set after set cards that looked like they were custom made to beat Faeries were printed, but not until Great Sable Stag was a chink found in the armor of the winged nuisance. Faeries’ time to rotate finally came and players were hopeful of the fresh metagame to come. Three months later and we appear to be witnessing Faeries 2.0 in the form of the 2-for-1 monster that is Jund.
We can be fairly certain that some cards will eventually be printed to knock Jund back a notch, but the overarching issue is one that still needs to be addressed by R&D: how can they continue to aim for an all tier 2 metagame while making sure everything is exactly on par with everything else? In other words, I feel like the problem may stem from the fact that because every card in Standard is powerful enough to be competitive. Dominant archetypes like Affinity are purposefully avoided, but once a card or set of cards is found to be even slightly more powerful than the rest, the tier 2 metagame crumbles.
This is because you have hundreds of cards that by design cannot compete above their intended level, and then these few mistakes or outliers running away with tier 1. R&D openly admitted that Bitterblossom was too powerful, and although it hasn’t been said, cascade is too. Hopefully these issues can be addressed as we move forward. For the time being however, 2009 will definitely be remembered as a year where two decks refused to share the spotlight.
Pixels Sell Like Hotcakes!
While Magic Online has been around for quite some time, and seeing plenty of success, confidence in the system has started to drop when server crashes and version changes seemed to be ruining everything. Wizards decided it would probably be a wise, and profitable, decision to fix this and finally got around to getting version 3 to a point that players were content with. Because of this Magic Online has been able to branch out and become its own brand.
This year has seen the invention of a massive online tournament structure that results in players flying to Worlds for a chance to win substantial money. The Magic Live Series tournaments are held at every Pro Tour where players can face opponents 10 feet away from them on the big screen and win some cash in the process. And online PTQs have changed the way road warriors schedule their lives. While staying mostly true to the card game in its paper form, Magic Online has developed into a welcomed cousin that brings you a few extra gifts come your birthday.
On top of Wizards main digital money maker, Duals of the Planeswalkers brought Magic into the homes of Xbox Live users across the world. This arcade series has really allowed Magic to expand its target demographic and already has an expansion set of its own to its name. With the progression of Magic related digital media, it seems that 2009 proved anything is possible. Rumors of a potential Magic based motion picture have even been swirling around. As of right now though, players will stick to their Magic Online and Duals of the Planeswalkers and be happy with them.
2009 From a Personal Level
Aside from all of the corporate shake ups and crazy runs by the game’s best, 2009 definitely had a huge impact on me personally as well. Starting with a lone March PTQ in New Mexico, my year has definitely been quite the roller coaster ride.
I am grateful to have been lucky enough to make somewhat of a name for myself on the circuit, ending the year with a very welcomed level 6 under my belt. In addition, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to address you awesome people week after week with my nonsense and tales and it has been a blast. I really can’t say enough about how amazing everything has turned out for me this year.
I have been able to meet some excellent people through this game and have developed some amazing friendships in the process. For those of you who have never been able to attend a Pro Tour, I must encourage it for the company alone. The atmosphere of a bunch of friends, hanging out, making stupid prop bets, and slinging some cards is simply unmatched. This game harbors an unnatural amount of fun personalities and awesome people and the Pro Tour or Grand Prix circuit really allows that all to shine through.
Outside of Magic, although definitely impacting my future with the game, I get the privilege of graduating here in three days' time. Regardless of whether or not I seek grad school in the near or distant future, looking back on the last eighteen years of schooling and finally being able to realize its worth is definitely a satisfactory feeling. Because I am breaking the shackles of higher education, I am able to pursue Magic in a much larger capacity next year, hopefully even going so far as to attend quite a few foreign Grands Prix. Magic has given me so many opportunities and memories; I only hope I can return some of the memories with whatever small legacy I am able to leave behind.
Bring In the New Year
2009 seems to have been a very progressive year in Magic‘s history. It marked the year where the players decided to take some of the responsibility for the game’s health into their own hands and they appear to be doing an outstanding job. New tournaments, new products, and new outlooks on the game all seem to be locked in for 2010 and we can all look back a year from now and realize just how crucial 2009 was to getting those movements started.
It has definitely been a fun year, and I believe we can only look forward to more of the same, as well as some unique 2010 moments to come. Thank you to everyone who was a part of 2009 and helped to make it the amazing year that it was. Happy Holidays, and thanks for reading!
Conley Woods
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About This Author
Conley Woods
Conley is known for his love of rogue decks, and his unconventional deckbuilding technique has resulted in numerous success stories. He made Top 8 at Grand Prix Oakland 2010, was the Grand Prix Tampa 2009 finalist, and made Top 4 of Pro Tour Honolulu 2009. &hellip
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Pingback Tweets that mention Breaking Through - 2009 Words on 2009 | ChannelFireball.com -- Topsy.com says: December 16, 2009 @ 9:13 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Luis Scott-Vargas, Conley Woods. Conley Woods said: New article up on Channelfireball: Breaking Through: 2009 Words on 2009 http://bit.ly/61ZncW [...]
Roland says: December 16, 2009 @ 9:36 pm
I enjoy reading all your articles they are always more personal than others and I like that. To everyone, have a wonderful holiday and I hope to see you all somewhere playing magic in 2010!
Markus Thibeau says: December 16, 2009 @ 9:40 pm
A good summary of the year! Keep up the great articles man!
Sean Alderson says: December 16, 2009 @ 9:41 pm
great article Conley, hopefully we can continue to see you brewing up awesome ideas through 2010!
Frilund says: December 16, 2009 @ 9:44 pm
Some people u just hope have a good run …. And you sir, are one of them…
Keep up the good work Mr. Woods.
Pleasure reading your article, as always.
Conley says: December 16, 2009 @ 10:34 pm
Thanks guys! Much appreicated, as always
Hal says: December 16, 2009 @ 10:56 pm
It’s all been said in the few comments so far, but best wishes Mr. Conley! Your articles are enjoyable to read, and I love seeing what new and crazy ideas you create at each tournament.
BenS says: December 17, 2009 @ 12:23 am
nice read and hopefully they will print good answers to jund in worldwake, cascading is miserable.
kj_4247 says: December 17, 2009 @ 2:30 am
would it be too self-congratulatory to mention the launching of a new website?
Conley says: December 17, 2009 @ 2:43 am
I mentioned websites starting up in passing, I didn’t want to get too specific about Channelfireball though to avoid mentioning other sites that have started up. If you’re reading the article, you obviously know CFB exists, so I felt that the promotion was somewhat moot.
Sykes says: December 17, 2009 @ 2:58 am
No one likes blue and this is why people bitch about faeries and no one is bitching about jund. Jund is actually beatable and still being the best deck in the format and faeries really wasn’t.
Also, Big fatties to cast > Stupid motherfucking counterspells.
I like my games to end on turn 10. Not turn 25.
eidolon says: December 17, 2009 @ 4:44 am
The staff from this site probably already knows it, but in October, your site had more unique visitors than “the mothership”:
http://siteanalytics.compete.com/channelfireball.com/
Unique Visitors 10/08 11804
http://siteanalytics.compete.com/magicthegathering.com/
Unique Visiors: 9872
Thanks for all the awesome articles and videos.
The more competitive orientation of this site has helped me a lot becoming a better player.
CWS says: December 17, 2009 @ 5:51 am
Good read. Congrats on a banner year. I really enjoyed the decks you helped innovate, namely Conley Woods Special. Good job. Hoping your future holds more of the same. Keep innovating.
DepecheMode says: December 17, 2009 @ 5:56 am
@ Sykes – most people I know like blue more then any other color and I rather face 12 counterpell decks all day then rampdeck or stupid cascade decks like Jund.
Killing blue just kill one aspect of the game and the one that is unique to MTG compared to other TCG´s.
It also kills combo since if you kill blue you also have to kill combo or it will beat everything.
If you want to play solitaire you can play star trek or why not wow since it is basicly a MTG-clone with terrible carddraw and no counterspells (cán´t get manascrewed though which I guess is fine)
Thomas says: December 17, 2009 @ 6:27 am
I like you and your stuff. I am always excited to see what kind of new thing you pull off. All the best, and happy holidays.
The Rhymenoceros says: December 17, 2009 @ 7:17 am
Conley, I’m a big fan, but please get someone to proofread your articles. There was a typo or error just about every paragraph. It would really only take fifteen minutes. I’d be willing to do it myself.
Otherwise, the article was a fine read and congratulations on your successes in 2009.
Sykes says: December 17, 2009 @ 7:51 am
You have to print insane blue spells so combo doesn’t get out of control? says who? you know these cards called duress, thoughtseize, cabal therapy? those are pretty bad for combos.
Also, there is relatively no control in the standard metagame (outside of grixis/jace) and yet I don’t see combo going out of control..
If we had a plethora of counterspells, decks like magical christmas land couldn’t exist.
Sykes says: December 17, 2009 @ 7:52 am
Also, I have never played star trek tcg and i’ve played wow tcg like for one day and it seems to be a decent game but why would i play games that are inferior to magic?
It’s not like i have infinity dollars
Adam S. says: December 17, 2009 @ 8:32 am
@Sykes: Must you keep talking? Just let it go.
I look forward to the new year as well. Gives me a chance to clear up most of my huge play errors, and to be a more consistent player as a whole.
As for the people complaining about the comparisons to Faeries and Jund, well… Faeries had a clear dominant stance. Even when you thought they were dead, they were still Top 8ing events. Jund is simply the deck we’ve all been touting as the best, and most people are just interested in playing the best deck. We haven’t shown them any reason why they shouldn’t just play Jund, so they’re just playing Jund, pure and simple. There are decks out there with at least even matches against Jund, but no one’s really playing them because they can’t reliably beat anything else, which means they’ll fall to the bottom of the heap if you make a mistake.
Jund is good because it more or less plays itself. It’s not that much more powerful than everything, but it is really good, and it’s really hard to make a mistake while piloting the deck. That’s why it’s so dominant. You can hand Jund to someone who has recently learned how to play the game, explain how it plays, and I’d wager that they’d play it fairly well.
If you want to remove Jund’s stranglehold on Standard, find a deck that fits this category: It has the tools to beat Jund and doesn’t just lose to every other deck in the format.
fliegen says: December 17, 2009 @ 8:33 am
It’s amazing the year has gone by so fast. It seems like only yesterday that LSV was having an unfun time piloting storm to a Grand Prix win. This was a nice summary of 2009. I agree with your “progressive year” sentiment. Let’s get ready for 2010!
DepecheMode says: December 17, 2009 @ 8:40 am
Sykes wrote “If we had a plethora of counterspells, decks like magical christmas land couldn´t exist”
Exactly, which is a great reason to print more counterspells.
MCL is a stupid deck that belong at the casual tables, not on the competetive magic scene.
And Combo does not get out of a controll simply because there aren´t good enough combo cards. Problem is that with no good blue cards they CAN´T print good combo cards, and this is a fact they are well aware of. Just look at Vintage, do you really think there would be anything but combo in either legacy or T1 if Force of Will wasn´t there to stop them?
Counterspells are only a problem if there are to many of them (and I´m talking real counterspells here that are accually good of which there are exactly 0 in standard) and some carddrow to help out. A fair amount of counterspells are only helathy for a format because it gives a ritcher and more deversed format.
Sykes says: December 17, 2009 @ 8:50 am
You do realize you’re posting that MCL is a stupid deck on conley’s article? Are you a moron or just completely dense (if not both)?
You do realize that most of magic’s profits is made by casual players? Casuals don’t want blue. Down with blue imo.
Someguy says: December 17, 2009 @ 8:57 am
Btw, there are quite a few counterspells in the WoW TCG. It may be inferior, but at least you can play any card as a land (I know it’s matter of opinion, but I prefer games where any card can be a resource, in a way it makes for less lucksack mana screw / mana flood draws).
Someguy
ps – Before some hater starts flaming “GO BACK TO YOUR OTHER TCG SCRUB ETC”, I used to play on the VS and then WoW TCG pro circuit but eventually got fed up with UDE as a company they show even less customer loyalty / support than other companies, ergo I’m not their customer anymore… but I do love me games where any card is a “land resource” (even “the spoils”).
dowjonzechemical says: December 17, 2009 @ 9:13 am
I think Sykes is GP with an additional static troll-shroud ability…
Why does this happen on your articles, man?
I dig mutton chops!
DepecheMode says: December 17, 2009 @ 9:13 am
Sykes, Landfetchers to play a big I win spell is a stupid deck by defaulth.
It may be MCL, T&N or what ever deck. It´s nothing against Conely but the fact at a deck like that can go 5-1 at worlds are proof that the format is bad and weak.
And yes, most people are Casual players, I play casual to at times and I don´t put 10 counterspells in my casual deck, I doubt any one does. But they way they are takeing this way they make competative magic more and more casual aswell.
Blue is only bad if you just picked up the game because it can be frustrating for a new player when your opponent counter everything (or more likely, every important spell) you just have to learn how to play to beat the blue mage and once you get abit more understanding of the game you will also notice and udnerstand the benefits of haveing good blue cards. I´m not asking Them to make a format where playing Counterspells are the only option but it should atleast be an option which it is not these days.
DepecheMode says: December 17, 2009 @ 9:15 am
*edig button needed*
Taking this game I ment.
And no I don´t think MCL decks should be allowed to exist but there should atleast be a deck to foil that plan. (the blue controll deck)
DepecheMode says: December 17, 2009 @ 9:24 am
*edit #2* I do think.
Robert says: December 17, 2009 @ 9:37 am
@ Adam S.
I agree completely with your comment on jund. I recently handed jund 2 a friend of mine that had only been playing for a week. We went to a 1K event with around 70 people and he got 9th. Missed top 8 on breakers.
P.S. Long Live Control!
Sykes says: December 17, 2009 @ 9:39 am
Control sucks. Die in a waterfall you control lovers.
dowjonzechemical says: December 17, 2009 @ 11:00 am
cheese with your whine, Sykes?
JinxM says: December 17, 2009 @ 11:01 am
Hey, another VS/WoW player.
Getting a bit off topic, but I loved the resource thing, too.
It was such a good idea. Having a no “land” hand means you’re still not likely to win (so there’s still skill involved in mulliganning properly), but at least being able to play resources face down means you still feel like you’re playing the game.
Sitting there doing absolutely nothing while land screwed is the worst feeling ever.
JB says: December 17, 2009 @ 12:15 pm
Great write up, it was definitely an interesting year in the Magic world.
As for Fae/Jund dominance…to me people who complain about this stuff come as people who just haven’t been playing very long, or have very short memories. Dominant decks are just a part of life, especially in T2 play. There is almost always a “deck to beat” out there, they just vary in their dominance and usage rates.
Personally I think Faeries was truly “unfair”, whereas Jund is just good. Jund just seems better than it is because it is being played so heavily. But when you look at actual results it quickly becomes apparent that a number of other decks are viable in T2 right now. If you want to complain about something in T2…how about the prevalence of red? It is tough to find a good deck that doesn’t want red in it. I mean the best decks are probably Jund, Boros, and RDW. Even most of the better tier 2 decks like Naya, Ramp, and Control(UWR or BUR) run red.
sti says: December 17, 2009 @ 12:51 pm
I love the way people compare two similar games and say magic/wow is better. When it is pretty clear they haven’t even played the other game. The idea there are no counterspells and terrible card draw is a dead give away. The wow counterspells and card draw are way better than the current magic ones, although why that would make one game better I have no clue.
The games are so similar deciding one is better is pretty absurd, you could hand Conley a wow deck and have him win a regionals pretty easily.
SomeNoob says: December 17, 2009 @ 12:57 pm
Not to parrot MaRo too much, but…
The possibility of land screw/flood actually adds several additional skill-testing elements to the game:
- designing a solid mana base
- mulligans
- knowing when to draft/play spells that help one out of screw/flood situations
- calculating the value of any given deck-thinning strategy
That said, Vs looks fun.
Sean C. says: December 17, 2009 @ 1:36 pm
Nice article Conley, keep up the good work.
waterboytkd says: December 17, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
“Aside from all of the corporate shake ups and crazy runs by the game's best, 2009 definitely had a huge impact on me personally as well. Starting with a lone March PTQ in New Mexico, my year has definitely been quite the roller coaster ride.”
I remember that PTQ–you knocked me out in the quarterfinals. I’m glad to see you took that victory and turned it into an insane run, though. Keep it up! And perhaps we’ll battle again in San Diego…
Sam Garles says: December 17, 2009 @ 1:57 pm
Congrats on the graduating, Mr. Woods. It does feel good, doesn’t it?
And have a nice (magical) Christmas (land).
DaneTrain says: December 17, 2009 @ 4:34 pm
It’s not fair to call WoW TCG an “inferior” game. WoW does a good job of removing the land factor from the equation, which makes it a different game, and arguments can be made for both sides. Just because you love Magic does not automatically make another game inferior. I, for one, love both games.
DanielMoreno says: December 17, 2009 @ 5:45 pm
Great article Conley. Good luck next season.
Brian Kibler says: December 17, 2009 @ 6:36 pm
Magic is definitely better than WoW
And waaaaay better than VS!
sti says: December 17, 2009 @ 6:47 pm
Mana screw is good for giving bad players a chance to beat good players. I guess some people like that.
Peter says: December 17, 2009 @ 8:14 pm
‘The staff from this site probably already knows it, but in October, your site had more unique visitors than "the mothership"’:
magicthegathering.com isn’t “the mothership”. That’s just where they keep the hideous “Welcome to Magic” flash pages. The articles are all in the wizards.com domain.
Deuce says: December 17, 2009 @ 11:07 pm
FFS, people. He never implied that Jund is the new Faeries. He’s just saying that one deck clearly ruled the roost for a significant amount of time this year, and shortly after it rotated out, another replaced it. Not to the same extent, it would seem (I missed Fairies, just back from long hiatus), but you can’t expect to argue that Jund isn’t dominant in the current Standard format and be taken seriously.
In regards to Sykes:
DON’T FEED THE TROLLS! You can’t convince someone who’s only goal is to annoy. He isn’t interested in conversation or debate. Just in being a shithead. I may be dating myself a bit, but havn’t any of you ever seen Alien Nation?
deathron says: December 18, 2009 @ 12:12 am
That was a fun read, even if it did not have any new wackiness.
I would like to mirror the other that say this is a great website. You guys are setting the standard for what mtg websites should be like. From major things like having game play videos and magic TV, to little things like painless process for posting ( this might backfire once more trolls find this place, but for now its working great), and having cards pop up on mouse over (btw today wizards started doing it as well). I can’t wait to see what else this website will bring to us next year.
P.S when i ran your article through ms word 07, it said it was 2000 words (starting from date until your signature, inclusive). So either its a ms fail (possible) or you shortchanged us!
Conley says: December 18, 2009 @ 3:12 am
I believe the editing process cut down a word or two, although I included title and sig in the total amount. I asked editing to try to keep ti at 2009, but I can understand where that would have been tough.
hater mchaterson says: December 18, 2009 @ 3:58 pm
I guess this beats another article about Magical Christmasland!!!!
Trackback MTGBattlefield says: December 18, 2009 @ 10:58 pm
Breaking Through – 2009 Words on 2009…
Your story has been summoned to the battlefield – Trackback from MTGBattlefield…
Jenesis says: December 19, 2009 @ 3:46 pm
So: proof that combat damage leaving the stack didn’t really impact Magic after all?
karl says: December 20, 2009 @ 2:30 am
“Also, Big fatties to cast > Stupid motherfucking counterspells. ”
everything wrong with magic right now.
EspooOoo says: December 31, 2009 @ 8:43 am
Happy New Year Conley, your articles have kept my foot in the door in magic. Thanks! Congrats on your insane year, you deserve it. Hope to see you at the next event
Espo