stu doesn't come up with fun and creative ideas. he steals them from other people and takes credit for them. at least he does until somebody calls him on it. then he pulls a HaJo and pleads ignorance.

his articles are weak, but they didn't used to be. they were fun and interesting once. then he got lazy and started phoning them in. resting on his $1900 laurels. or maybe i just got tired of him and his pathological need for attention.

hager and barnes have been doing an excellent job though, they are to be commended and barned massively. they present interesting decklists and actually provide real content such as match analysis and card choice explanations. they also have the proper credentials. these guys are money pros who love the jank, who better to write articles about weird synergies than these guys?

biz98 is not alone in his feelings about metagame. i miss the designer articles too. hopefully the designers for the upcoming sets will take the time out of their busy WOW schedules to type up a couple hundred words. put away the bag of cheeto's.

that andrew yip is a damn sexy writer when he wants to be.

-Billy Z.

p.s. i enjoyed those "gay" dave spears interviews. what happened to them?

Fair enough. Thanks.

Barn.

Billy, I respect your opinion highly. You know that. I have tried to emphasize the jank in my articles as loudly as possible. I have also tried to reach out into the casual community and give a voice to the players who are not quite as focused on consistency and competition. In your eyes I have failed, and that honestly concerns me. Tell me what changes you would like me to make, knowing as well as anyone my deficiencies the way you do. Take the reigns, Jankmaster... What should Stu do, considering who he is?

As far as metagame goes, I think the R&D articles will remain my favorite non-spoiler articles. When Game of Thrones began, I read the articles when the game began and it was the first game I did that for. I ended up quitting that game when no one in my area played it anymore.

Along the same lines, the R&D articles got me hooked onto this game. It's what made the game so great and beautiful. When my store got in a starter for this game, I went to my LGS with the intent of convincing all my friends to play it, and found out a number of them had already tried out the starter and, although they thought it unbalanced, really liked it. Since I can only play on the weekends and I live half an hour away from my LGS anyway, I got my "new game fix" off of the R&D articles.

Sometime over the last year, I stopped reading metagame articles. It's cause I saw less and less of the R&D names that I truly loved to read from. Le sigh.

On the stubarnes note, personally, I think Stu is a fun person to chat with and can be a worthwhile contribution to the site, one of the best. When he's gone off on something actually interesting, he's a ####ing blast. But when he's gone into super-defensive mode and starts shouting accusations of HATER!!! from the rooftops and only tries to justify his own actions, though, the only enjoyment I can possibly get is from reading the posts of those that are poking fun and mocking him.

Okay, where does the Tier None tangent fit into this witch burning? Just a blip on the screen? Another rip-off? I honestly thought that was a pretty joyous little twist in the history of Vs. System, I am still grooving on it like mad, it gets more coverage on Metagame in four hours. I think things like the Tier None format are very healthy for the game and I enjoy expanding them from here out into the mainstream. Is that just a waste of time or a mis-guided effort?

I am not trying to scream "hater" here. I am trying to engage in a constructive critique of my work. That's what I do in the classroom, we should be able to do it here as friends.

here's a suggestion...be yourself. your online persona sucks @$$. talking to you online is like being trapped in quicksand. your personality changes more often than your underwear. you are way cooler in person and you know that. why are you always hiding behind arrogance and bull####? you can't really be this transparent. if nothing else be consistent. please.

and stop spamming. once in a while is okay, but everyday? i know i have been known to "sploodge" the boards every couple months but even i know when to fade away for a while. the warning points help, maybe the mods need to get on you more.

as far as your articles go, be original. take suggestions from your readers but put together decklists that you can call your own. and then test those lists. give matchup analysis. yes you have a wonderful style, but style without substance is like bad chinese (HATE!). try to fill the article with actual content. reprinting emails is an obvious cheat and you know it.

and no more army trash. i put away solitaire, you can put away longshot. time to move on. i played patrick's glock yesterday and i can't tell you the last time i had that much fun. top 8ing with a different deck was just icing on the cake.

so in conclusion...stop being such a douche.


The Bill

But they go to all the finest places! Te amo, mi amigo. You've saved my life. Again.

Yeah, see, that exact same thing pretty much happened to me. I stopped regularly going to Metagame when it became a fansite.

The only difference is that I decided to take it out on Stu because his insistence that he's the greatest thing to ever happen to Metagame makes him such an easy target.

Wait just a second. That part of me will never die. I will mind my message board manners, I will let everyone have their opinion without feeling provoked, I will see if I can improve my articles. I will not concede my otherworldly writing skills, my dedication to provide the ultimate community service for the game, or my position as the greatest TCG entertainer of all time. That's part of my magick: I fake it until I make it. You all might have self-esteem issues, but not me. I have only one life to live here, and I am going to have the experience of being the greatest man on Earth... even if I have to imagine it.

Stu believes that he is the greatest thing ever, and that he is never wrong. There is nothing wrong with that. I am often the same way. Stu and I have had friendly chats and not so friendly chats. That's part of life. I could say the same thing about my wife. Here's where I feel the good and bad lie:

1. Longshot is a great card, but I too feel like he is helping you to hang on to your fame. I'd like to see you come up with some new interesting ideas that may not work, but can be a blast to play.

2. I say this in love, and I may be wrong, but I often feel like you are fake. It seems that you say that people are great when you obviously don't feel that way. If you like someone then say it; if you don't, then say it. I know that you want to like everyone, but that's not realistic. There are doody-heads in the world, and I don't have to like them. Neither do you.

3. I think that you have started many marvelous threads on the realms, and you continue to do so. I've had some of the best days by going through threads that you started. Definitely keep those coming.

5. There is definitely a place for the casual gamer, and you can be that voice. That's where the new fun decks come in and maybe add some convo about why you choose certain cards. That and find a way to get squirrels into the game. (Secret Squirrel, anyone?)

And, yes, I know I skipped number 4, but I only had 4 things, but I like round numbers.

this is what i'm talking about, that post was total bull####. that is one of the reasons the people who hate you...um, hate you.

also, please don't patronize me. i don't need the ego stroke. but i will take an HJ if you're interested.

truth...look into it.

Cameron, thank you. You are another one of the people I respect most around here and we have honestly shared a big slice of life together over the last 18 months. The point I quoted is really cool to me, since it evokes the best idea that Jesus is credited with: Love your enemies. I feel no shame or hesitation in saying that I honestly see God in everyone I talk to, everyone that lives. I may be the only one crazy enough to experience that, but I experience it quite often. Seeing God in another person forms a greeting in Sanskrit: Namaste. I think that is a great word and I strive to embody it as often as I can.

I don't know what else to do. I thought I was writing a witty, funny thank you note. It felt warm and friendly to me, and I honestly don't know what you are upset about. I apologize, I will never speak to you online again. I hope you and erick can make it to Atlanta so we can make up, but I give up. You have my silence in any thread I see your posts.

I don't doubt that that is your goal. But even Jesus overturned the tables in the temple and told them how angry he was with them. That is OK too.

I too am a victim... and this is my story...

Stu heartlessly stole my deck ideas! You read that right, HE STOLE THEM! Not just that, but he even posted it to a Metagame article! THE NERVE!

Oh sure, some people say "But he put your name in the article" but does that really mean anything? Ok, so maybe a paragraph or two of lead in, but then he ripped out my very soul and put it in digital print! How can people even know what my creative thought processes were if he just assumed ownership of my work and printed it anyway?

... well, ok, sure. So he DID print some of my vwery own words in my deck analysis. But thats just aprt of his evil genius. He pritned my words, but my words were no longer my words due to his subversive propaganda machine! Yeah, thats it, its propaganda I tell you!

And to hear him chat, oh the audacity. Sure, he says "cool, and 'thank you', but what he really means is. Well.... um... I am sure it is something that involves killing puppies.

Don't be misled by this charlatan.