This is probably the right move. In that format, it is clearly overpowered and, by extension, overused, resulting in a warped metagame where one is either playing the card and winning or not playing it and inviting immediate defeat.
The best scribe and sage of Classic Pauper is without a doubt Alex Ullman. I got the news via his Twitter feed where I also found his incredibly comprehensive data and analyses and on the MTGO Pauper metagame on his Facebook notes. Here is the recent iteration of that research that found that over two-thirds of 4-0 decks were running Treasure Cruise.
The evidence is overwhelming. Treasure Cruise has warped Classic Pauper for the worse and therefore cannot be allowed in decks. That conclusion is not alarming. What is eye-raising is just how quickly this decision was made! This happened much faster than previous efforts to ban such criminally overpowered cards as Cloudpost and Frantic Search.
As I recall, these took months of badgering Wizards with solid data and sound arguments to even get them to consider doing the right thing. Hundreds of players had to send thousands of e-mails, threads on PDCMagic.com went on for weeks, months, For reference, here is ye olde Format Health Discussion thread in the Classic forum on PDCMagic. Talk about a piece of community history right there!
(I say history because, well, as of this writing, the last post on that thread is dated way back in November. Of 2013. This should raise eyebrows...)
In any case, it seems these days the Duelists Convocation International is a bit more attentive to the needs of Pauper Magic players. 'Bout time!
...or are they??
But now we come to the big question: what does this mean for Standard Pauper? It's kind of difficult to ascertain the answer to this question. One need look no further than the "Many Ways to Play" page on the official Magic: The Gathering website to confirm that WotC doesn't care a lick about the format or its players. Standard Pauper is not even on the list!
| Bow down before the one you serve / You're gonna get what you deserve |
Much customer service...
Such support informative...
Many a happy stock-holder...
How wealthy chief executive officers....
Shorter Mark Rosewater:
Bow down to New World Order!
Gag me with a Strix...
Sarcasm aside (and I get to be sarcastic when WotC is obviously ignoring us Standard Pauper players) this banning poses serious questions for our beloved format. Yet because Wizards shows us Standard Pauper players absolutely zero respect, these questions are nearly impossible to answer at this point.
I do not use Magic Online anymore (because the software is not functional and infuriating) so I cannot confirm beyond communication with those who can still run the program whether or not Treasure Cruise is still legal in the format. Of course, we won't know whether some bug due to the company's infamous inattentiveness to it's least financially well-off customers will screw things up for our community. At least not until April 1st. And don't expect them to figure out the answer to this all-important question before that date.
Why, you ask? Well, I can answer that and the answer should be obvious by now. It's because...
...WOTC doesn't give a flying FUCK about us and treats us like SHIT!!
What else is new!?!?
Beyond getting upset (although I maintain I have a right to be upset when a loyal customer gets treated like this), if indeed we can still run Treasure Cruise, will this have any impact on Standard Pauper?
For example, I wonder if Classic players fed up with the ban after having spend their hard-earned money on play-sets of Cruise be drawn to one of the last formats where the card is legal for play? Or, might it re-ignite the conversation of whether or not to ban this card-drawing powerhouse in our favorite format?
The issue will not go to rest. And it certainly won't be helped by silence - or outright shunning - from Wizards of the Coast and the DCI.
Standard Pauper gets no respect from these organizations that claim to care about their customers when it comes to their flagship product, especially the Magic Online community. This is why I am organizing In Real Life events at my Local Games Shop. Or, at least, I'm trying to....and if I don't get my answers, then it's not tournaments I'm going to organize....
...it's mutiny.
Now, my events are supposed to begin just one week from today. I've got to be able to explain the deck construction legalities to my players in a way that makes competition fun and fair. My goal is for our events to be consistent with the MPDC and SPDC events still being run Online (against all odds, no thanks to WotC!)
I cannot afford ambiguity like this. I am trying to make sure that kids and adults with limited financial resources can still spend money on Magic cards, dammit! To make sure a charming little shop doesn't go under because they've lost so many customer who believe (and their kind of right) that Magic is too bourgeois and expensive for a hobby.
That, and I just scoured all three shops in my area for the copies of Treasure Cruise I require in order to keep a few decks built in case a new player comes without a Standard Pauper deck so they can still discover how fun this format is. So they can find out that you don't have to be a spoiled, smug, upper-class p.o.s. in order to enjoy a game that everybody should be able to enjoy.
If I don't get my answer - hell, if I don't even get some fucking respect and get Standard Pauper at least listed on the damned Formats page! - then I'll be left with no choice. I'll give right the fuck up.
What's the deal, WotC? Is Treasure Cruise going to remain legal in Standard Pauper or what? Do you intend to even pretend to give a damn about me and other Standard Pauper players or not? This is getting fucking frustrating and I'm not prepared to have my time wasted after putting in all this work to enjoy a game from a company that continues to show us such disregard and disrespect.
To hell with the niceties. You've got my money, Wizards. Against my better judgment, I bought Magic cards from you in an attempt to continue enjoying this game and help others do the same. And this is the thanks I get!? This is how you treat me and the other tournament organizers on Magic Online who help your game survive and bring in new customers despite your crappy treatment of us?
That entitles me to some damn answers.
And it entitles me to be fucking pissed.
If I don't get my answers, then I'm done. I will get off this boat for good. Because while playing Magic: the Gathering for nearly twenty years has provided me with countless delights on the surface, I'm getting sea-sick at the dark schemes that run below this game...
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