![]() ![]() One of the main thrusts of Lord Erman's argument was that spikes and competitive play were essential to the life of a format: If there was no Spike input, the format would be unpopular and unplayed, and would eventually die away altogether. The key thing is the intent behind the bannings: Very few of them would have any relevance whatsoever to the decks that would later emerge when Spike was allowed his reign. ![]() Nonetheless, take a look at the list: It's fair to say that Damnation is a lot easier to use than Endemic Plague, but the banned list has always been somewhat inconsistent. I'd like to think that nowadays I'd have no qualms about any card being played against me: My stance on the casual room has mellowed to 'Play what you like, concede when you want'. Sadly, the exact nature of the comment is lost to the mists of time, but knowing me, it was most likely something petulant, waspish and uncalled-for born from the frustration of being outplayed. Lord Erman yesterday made reference to a Tribal Wars game we played a number of years ago, in which he recalls me commenting on Damnation. I could go on at length about their relative merits, but I already did that some months back. All six of the first banned cards have been grandfathered into today's Tribal Classic format: Even then, it started out with the key elements that made it unsuitable for tournament play: No sideboards, and a 'Spirit of the format' banned list. It was first announced as a format for the Wizards Invitational, back when casual formats were more likely to start with a number than a name. Tribal, in its original classic form, has been available on MTGO since March 2003. In any case, with Lord Erman having given me a hard act to follow, on with the debate! I apologize to my weekly readers for the absence last week: Being away from my computer from mid-Friday through to late Monday at a convention didn't leave me with enough time to produce an article I'd be happy to see in virtual print. For those wondering if they've come in on the middle of something, it is my pleasure to direct your attention to Lord Erman's article published here, where he expounds on the idea that Tribal Classic should once more be a tournament-supported format. Welcome, gentle readers, to the other side of the great tribal debate. ![]()
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