MAGIC: THE GATHERING STRATEGY LIST FAQ Ver. 2 (last updated 04/07/01)
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Concerning me, and this FAQ:
I am not a Netrep, and not in any way employed at Wizards of the Coast. This FAQ is not official, and in no way produced or endorsed by the Listowner, Wizards of the Coast. It is just a listing of answers to typical technical questions and proposed rules of list etiquette which developed on this list. No one forces you to accept this FAQ; in fact, it only exists from the - mostly silent - acclaim of the people on the list.

If you have any comments or objections, please send me mail at donald_shepherd@hotmail.com. Thank you.

The full version of this document is available at http://faq.magicalpages.net/

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Contents

I. Technical Questions
II. Useful Internet Resources
III. List Etiquette
IV. Topic Codes and ObStrat
V. Guidelines for Deck Posting
VI. Wisdom of the List - MTG-STRATEGY-L Strategy Guide (Online only)
VII. Credits, Glossary, Legal Stuff and other miscellaneous items (Online only)

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I. Technical Questions

To change your settings for this mailing list, send a message to: LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with an empty subject line and one or more of the following commands:

HELP - To receive a full list of commands
UNSUBSCRIBE MTG-STRATEGY-L - To remove yourself from the list
SET MTG-STRATEGY-L DIGEST - To receive each day's mails in a digest
SET MTG-STRATEGY-L NODIGEST - To receive each mail individually
SET MTG-STRATEGY-L MIME - To receive messages in MIME format
SET MTG-STRATEGY-L NOMIME - To receive messages as normal text

If you receive an empty digest with lots of files attached that you must open one by one, you have set your preferences to MIME format. Since some Mail clients are known to get problems from this, we advise you to change to normal text if you run into difficulties here.

To post something to this list, send a mail to MTG-STRATEGY-L@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM, or simply reply to a mail sent by someone else to the list. Note the difference between the address used for your settings and the one used for posting!

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II. Useful Internet Resources

This is a list of Resources on the net which will answer a lot of your questions regarding Magic far more thoroughly than is possible on this mailing list. They are also very useful for any Magic player interested in Strategy. If you find the time, give them a look!

http://www.wizards.com
The homepage of Wizards of the Coast, the producers of Magic and owners of this list

http://www.wizards.com/Magic/MTG_Resources.html
A list of Newsgroups and Mailing Lists dedicated to Magic: The Gathering

http://www.crystalkeep.com/magic/rules/summaries.html
The Rules summaries of Stephen D'Angelo, one of the most complete collections of Rules and Rulings on the net (since 1994).

http://www.thedojo.com/
The Dojo, a popular site for Magic tourney players, with deck ideas and issues regarding the development of tourney play. Founded by Frank Kusumoto. Now defunct.

Other popular sites include http://www.starcitygames.com/magic.php, http://magic.mindripper.com/, http://www.meridianmagic.com/ and http://www.wizards.com/sideboard/, with a more complete list available at http://www.meridianmagic.com/.

http://www.mtgnews.com/
A site dedicated to bringing the latest news regarding Magic to the general public.

http://www.yavapaiopen.com/
A searchable online database containing most of the cards in Magic, complete with pictures.

http://www.dragonstudios.com/
Here you can download the programs Apprentice, Magic Suitcase and NetDraft.

#mtg/#mtgleague/#mtgplay channels on EFNET (IRC)
Popular channels dedicated to the discussion of Magic, where some of the list members can often be found.

#apprentice/#imagic/#i-magic channels on NEWNET (IRC)
Channels dedicated to the online playing of Magic via the program apprentice.

#wiredraft channel on NEWNET/#netdraft channel on EFNET (IRC)
NetDraft channels

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III. List Etiquette

This mailing list is dedicated to the discussion of all strategic aspects of Magic: The Gathering, typically concerning (but not limited to) Tournament strategy. This includes general exchange of ideas, deck help and other things of value for a player with a strategic approach. Remember, there can be a lot of strategy in Magic apart from the tournament scene, and we don't limit ourselves.

Unacceptable topics include Trading, Selling and Auctions. While rules questions are not unacceptable, they will mostly not be answered as fully or as completely as they would be if directed to MTG-L, a list with a Netrep dedicated to answer rules questions.

Neither HTML nor pictures of any kind should be used when posting here, since many Mail clients can't decipher them. Also, don't spam the list.

As this is an international list, please try to be open-minded about spelling and grammar mistakes. If you want to help someone with their English skills, I'd suggest doing so in a private forum.

The list server won't accept posts more than 250 lines long; if you plan on sending a longer post, try breaking it up.

Please format your posts. Lack of interpunctuation or paragraphs, as well as lines longer than 80 characters, will often lead to your posts being deleted and not read by many subscribers. Following the standard, we recommend a line length of 72 characters, but up to 80 is acceptable. When replying to a post, try not to quote the whole message, but only the relevant parts, saving bandwidth and increasing readability. Also, giving the original author before the quote helps to avoid confusion about who said what.

Please remain polite and refrain from using profanity when posting here. People of all ages read this list, remember that.

Do not expect people to have old emails laying around on their computers. An attitude of "they-can-just-go-back-and-see-what-this-is-all-about" is NOT a good way to go about things. Help the readers if the list, and I think you'll find that more people will join in on the discussions.

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IV. Topic Codes and ObStrat

We try to establish a set of Topic Codes inserted in the subject line of posts, to easily identify them for readers. The codes are:
[DECK] - for deck listings or discussions of these
[STRAT] - for posts concerning general strategy or replies
[REPORT] - for tourney reports
[OFF-TOPIC] - for posts not falling into the other categories. Try to limit these as possible; at least put the Topic Code in the subject, if at all possible

Although the middle two have fallen into disuse, please try to use at least the [OFF-TOPIC] code.

If your reply to a post doesn't meet the old subject line any more, plase change it. This way, you'll help other people to identify the posts they are interested in more easily.

ObStrat means Obligatory Strategy, and is an idea introduced a while ago. When posting an OFF-TOPIC message, we try to include at least a small bit of strategy at the bottom of the message, marking it as ObStrat. It is not required, but many people will like it if you do so. :)

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V. Guidelines for Deck Posting

Often people tend to just to post decklists and ask for comments. This often results in no responses or suggestions for the decklist. Here's just a few suggestions to make it easier for the rest of the people on the list to help you with your deck.

1. Explain the aim of the deck. This is often obvious, but explaining it makes it clear to those who can't see it.
2. Explain card choices, especially if you have some strange card choices.
3. Playtest the deck before you post it. This allows you to see the strengths and weaknesses of the deck, and what areas need help. Also, post the results of the playtesting.
4. Consistancy is very important in decks. If you post a deck full on single copies of cards without any tutoring, then most people will skip over the deck without bothering reading it. Even if you don't have the cards, usually it is better to list the ideal decklist, then replace them with similar cards later.
5. Explain restrictions on your deckbuilding, such as lack of rares. However, lack of commons is not a particularly great excuse as you can usually pick up them up for about ten cents each at your local card shop.
6. Other useful comments include detailing your local metagame and any problems you've been having with the deck.
7. Try to avoid posting decklists in formats that are difficult to read. The most common readable format is something like:

   ...
   4 Noble Panther
   3 Armageddon
   ...
   

   And it can also be helpful to separate them by CC, role in your deck, etc.

8. Make your post interesting. You might want to send a copy to those on the list that you 'know' or respect. If they are too busy, they may not reply, but please try not to take offense. Their lack of a response may indicate that they cannot contribute and don't want to waste bandwidth with a response of 'Looks good.' Try to make them interesting and give a little insight into the deck. Please do not get frustrated. Try again and be persistent. Just be patient with those who need to get their work done

This FAQ was composed by Karsten Derotin (karsten@hamm.net), known on the list as "Slippery" Karsten. Although he is no longer subscribed to the list, many list members felt the FAQ he compiled was valuable enough to the list as a whole that Daniel Dunphy ("Pala"Dan "En-Vec" - memnon@peganet.com) continued Karsten's regular posting of this document and now I hope to continue posting it. Any comments, questions or additions should be directed to me, not to the list or Wizards of the Coast.

Donald Shepherd
donald_shepherd@hotmail.com

Member #5 and Internet Manager of "Lim-Dul's Pals", the One and Only Lim-Dul's Paladin fan club.
Visit The Magical Article Page & Lim-Dul's Pals web site at http://www.magicalpages.net/
One of many self-proclaimed Stompy gurus.
Four Blastoderms in every deck.
Guardian of the MTG-STRATEGY-L FAQ @ http://faq.magicalpages.net/.

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