Cheating

The biggest problem with writing about cheating is the people who most need to read it will likely never find this.   I'm sure this is a true, albeit rather cynical, point of view.   To me, people who intentionally cheat are like shoplifters in that they believe their actions won't hurt others.   I place the act of cheating with lying and stealing.   I have no patience or tolerance for either (as my sons have found out over the years).   The number one problem with cheaters is they have been taught their selfish behavior is socially acceptable.

There are times when a writer should protect people from being exposed.   In this article, every step has been taken to protect the person involved.   The issue was with a juvenile and was not an event held under Competitive REL.   This is NOT an easy topic for me to discuss - I hope to both do it justice and to give players something to think about.

So without any further ado, let's pick up this sticky wicket and start where all stories start...at the beginning.


The Crime
During the pre-release weekend for Dragon's Maze, my son and I witnessed the following sequence:

Player George is at the front of the store, talking with the one staff member present (who opened the store and started the events that day by himself).   George's body language seems agitated and physically challenging.   He's demonstrating a board state that had occurred during his most recent round, pointing to cards or proxies and stating that there's no way that should happen.   The staff member seems to understand the point George is attempting to make and tells him to go get the other player in question.   The other player, Paul, who's about 14 years old comes up while my son and I both report our games.   The staff member then turns to Paul and asks him to explain himself.   I could tell that they were dealing with some call regarding the previous game, so I grabbed my son to leave them to their discussion and we returned to the play area.

(Some time passes, people are making comments regarding the situation, taking one side or another.   I'm trying very hard to recall something I knew regarding Paul because I'm sure it relates to the situation.   When it finally hit me - this particular individual did something to me in the first week of league play 3 months ago, I went to the front to tell the staff member).

As I pulled to the front though, it was clear my help wasn't needed.   If you can imagine, half the players were there, most seemed to be taking George's side.   George may not be loved by all, but he's a grinder and the players there respect that and his abilities.   There were some I thought who were defending Paul, but not his actual actions.   This is not to make light of an ugly situation, but the only thing really missing, when I looked at the faces of the players were the rusty pitchforks and torches.   The players were angry and the staffer at the time wasn't able to defuse the situation.

After some attempted mollification by the staff member, another player, angered that it wasn't being treated as a cut and dry case of cheating, made promise to take his business elsewhere if Paul was allowed to continue to play.   The staff member had clearly felt conflicted, likely since he wasn't an actual Judge.   His take was that he should have Paul continue on after taking steps to prevent further occurrences of cheating.

But the threat of losing business and the escalating unrest of the 15 or so players at the front of the room seemed to force the hand of the staff member.   He dropped Paul from the remainder of the rounds, and seemed saddened to do so.   This solution seemed satisfactory to player George.   But was it the right one?   And what else should be done?

Before we allow either side to argue their position, here are five undisputed facts of the case:

1. Player Paul absolutely added cards that were not available in the pre-release packs to give himself a gameplay advantage - he's smart in that the cards added made his deck much tougher to win against.
2. Player Paul stated he didn't know he wasn't allowed to do this.
3. Staff member is not a MTG Judge and he was the only store representative present.
4. Player Paul has been caught or has been suspected of cheating in the past at this LGS.
5. Player Paul is not new to Magic, he has at least a year worth of playtime invested in the game.

For the Plaintiff
Your honor, my client, Player George, was damaged by this event you'll hear about today.   He was scarred, and will likely never play another trading card game for as long as he lives.

The facts you'll hear today support that Player Paul did knowingly add cards to his deck from outside sources to generate card advantage   You'll hear that he has attempted to cheat before in this exact same manner in MTG League play.  Furthermore, he knew this to be wrong.   Player Paul is a cheater of the first degree, a master criminal.   His actions jeopardize Player George's enjoyment of the game, robs him of a win, lowers his chance at winning a prizes and potentially has repercussions across the entire prize pool if left unchecked.

It is your responsibility to not only disqualify him from this tournament  but you must notify a Judge and WotC, have him disqualified from entering future tournaments until such a time as WotC sees fit to reinstate him, ban him from your store, and run him and his little dog out of town.   It is your moral obligation.


For the Defense
Your honor, my client, Player Paul, is simply misunderstood.   You see, it was just an accident, he placed his deck next to some other cards of his and they must have been mixed in together.   It's no big deal, really.

Oh wait, you have someone who knows Paul and says this has happened before and he's been told not to do it and why by another player?  Allow me to confer with my client.   [Hurried whispers].   Ahh, I see.   Your honor, my client wasn't explained the rules of this particular event by the proprietor.   It's really just a matter of a failure of the LGS to inform my client of his responsibilities.

Furthermore, I find it odd that there was no Judge present at the pre-release.   Should a store who wants to run a successful pre-release not arrange to have MTG's version of MIB present?

Your honor, I understand that examples need to be made.   My client though has been drug through the mud.   There was no consideration given to his age or other factors before he was tried and convicted by an angry group of players who couldn't mind their own business.




The Appeal
The problem with what happened this past weekend is that it can happen anywhere at anytime given the right conditions. At this point, it's important to realize no situation is identical and not all stories have happy endings.   This is the part of a story where I can often fall into a trap of writing a list of how to fix the problem.

Instead, ask yourself some of these questions.   Don't worry; they're all easy:
Should the store owner have had a Judge on scene?   How would this have helped?
What information do you feel is missing to pass a ruling if you were the Judge?
Would it make a difference to you if Paul was 11?   Or if he was 17?
Would knowing that Paul has other problems in his life, some of them personal, cause you to weigh your decision differently?
Should this situation be treated differently if there is a large prize pool?
What responsibility does the proprietor have to run an event that is problem free?   Should the proprietor take additional action?
What could the staff member have done differently to prevent things from escalating?   Or do you feel that there was nothing that could be done?
Since I'm inserted in the story, should I have made my experience known to the staff member?   If yes, when and what is your reasoning?
What should his punishment be?   Should their be both a store punishment and a Wizards punishment?

If you leave comments or questions below, I'll answer them to the best of my ability.   I've purposely withheld a few pieces of minor nuggets of information to allow you the chance to think about the questions above free of a few of the nastier side comments or supporting arguments.   Cheating does have an exact consequence in all levels of play, but is there ever a time when it is more important to teach than it is to punish?





What's it all About?
What I wanted to write this week was a story about how much fun my son and I had at the two Dragon's Maze events we attended.   I wanted to share our victories, what we learned and our defeats.   Our most exciting moment was playing 2HG against another father/son team - and if it wasn't for my boneheaded play, we had a chance of winning.   I wanted to share all of the fun we had together.   It would have been more personal, but my goal was to create something more for my son than for you.   In the end though, perhaps maybe I've done just that.

Son, don't cheat.   You'll never win if you set off to cheat before you begin.

Visual Adjustment

I'm trying on a new look for the blog, I think it's less visually offensive than the red.   As this is still all pretty new for me, it's possible we'll go through a few more changes.

A new post should be up later today talking about a problem at a pre-release I attended.   I'll post to my Twitter feed when it becomes available here.

The Increasing Attendance Shuffle (or, An Open Letter to WotC & Event Organizers)

I need a hotkey that will write, "My opinion is that of a Timmy, so bear that in mind as you read this."   Or maybe it should read, "Hi, my name is Charles and I'm a Timmy."   Scratch that, too confusing.

So here's the situation.   This weekend (April 20th, 2013), Star City Games held an event in Seattle.   Someone forgot to send me my plane ticket, so I didn't make the trek from my home state of NJ.   But as with all lovers of all things MTG, I was paying attention to my Twitter feed.   What follows from this point forward is more a culmination of thoughts about MTG Tournaments that have been simmering for some time - Seattle is simply my personal tipping point.

Aside from hearing about Erin "Original Oestrus" Campbell's 0-2 start and other random factoids, one bit of information stood out to me.   They had an attendance of 558 people.   I thought that it sounded like a nice party, but even better was the fact that it was the biggest West Coast Open on record.

Then came the resounding 'thunk' telling us all the other shoe was dropping.   Start of play would be delayed while they set up additional tables.   Not being there, it wasn't until much later that I also learned the room they had was too small.

The Troubles
I wasn't surprised that another recent MTG event had set a new record for attendance.   It almost seems to be a commonplace occurrence these days since Return to Ravnica released.   What surprised me was that yet again they weren't ready for it.   We've all seen the feeds from events.   I experienced it personally at the GP in Atlantic City that my son and I attended.   In fact, GPATCITY wasn't something that to my knowledge had been done before (or at least recently).   Even though it was a newer GP event location, attendance there exceeded expectations.   It did create some delays before the event started.   Once we were allowed to finally start after waiting some thirty minutes or so, things proceeded smoothly.

(Hat's off to PES and everyone who made the day what it was - my son and I had a great time).

Following GPATCITY, more events reported high or record-breaking attendance figures.   And more delayed starts.   One such event had a delayed start of over two hours.   Other events have had to find additional Judges before starting.   And that's not even talking about the additional headaches entering people into the tracking systems or moving resources to address problems such as deck checks.

I'm old.   I came to Magic late.   I don't know all the whys, wherefores and history of how things work or should be.   I certainly haven't spent time figuring out why some events are SGC, others are PES, still more are TCG and others are just run by WotC.

But even as a layman I can see when there is a pattern affecting a system that should be addressed.

The Feed
So I said to myself, "Self, if you can see this, surely others can.   But what can we do?"  "Well, self, I think this is a good chance to use that newfangled Twitter thingy to say something profound - so long as we can do it in 140 characters."   And with that, I signed the deal to writing this particular blog entry.   I didn't know it yet, but I was about to lock horns with someone I think to be so well respected that my brain should explode simply from interacting with him.

It went just like this...

Me: #SCGSEA #mtg When will organizers learn that the model for projecting attendance doesn't work? It's faster and easier to scale down.
[House Lights go down, Curtains rise, Orchestra reaches crescendo and angels sing on high...]
Riki Hayashi: Respectfully, a 30%+ increase over our previous Seattle high isn't something that any "projection" should predict.
Me [Putting on my best armor and strapping on a sword]: Respectfully, in turn, why the heck not? Most all events R seeing higher numbers this year. Plan based on that.
[Thunder booms, people start running for the exits, Pandemonium. Babies cry in the distance.]
Riki Hayashi: If you're here. Stop by the stage to chat.
Me: OMG, I am in SO MUCH TROUBLE [...err no. From there I tried to work out another way we could talk, but more about that hopefully in a few minutes.]

First off, one day I'm going to write about how Twitter is one of the worst mediums to do anything but tell people where you got a fabulous manicure.   I'll start with this conversation as an example and end with MTG pros complaining about the system they play under.   When it comes to complaining and expecting results, Twitter SUCKS.   It simply does.   In fact, Economists at MIT and Cambridge are right now developing a formula to calculate exactly how much suckage a complaint on Twitter generates based on some value P or some such.

Back to the story...stay on target...

For those that don't know, Riki Hayashi is a well respected Level 3 Judge and a writer on all things Magical. It practically goes without saying that if he wants to talk with you, you should listen.   I nearly called my booking agent and packed an overnight bag right then.

Alas, I'm a father of two and would like to remain happily married.   So I cancelled my nonstop flight and thought about this some more.   I started to hear voices (perfectly normal for me - just move along and they won't bother you).   There was a little voice that sounded a bit like Grandpa from the Simpsons saying, "You know there's something fishy here, write about it."   So here we are.

Welcome to the Real World
I'm not a psychic or a statistics guy.   So I had no way of being in a position to say, "Gee, I bet they should set up for almost 600 people for that event in Seattle."   But I do feel I thrive a bit on common sense.

Magic the Gathering has in recent months undergone something of a resurgence    Since the release of the much anticipated Return to Ravnica block, attendance numbers from FNM's to Grand Prix have all risen.   I'm not going to fill this blog with citations, but it's been common enough that I shouldn't have to.   It's past time this should be recognized as a quantifiable phenomenon and start to address how to deal with it.   Sitting back and saying, "Well, the most we've ever had at this PTQ is 50 people, so if we set up for 55 we'll be fine," is unfortunately no longer cutting the mustard.

It's time to embrace the new.   Without doing so, as I so inelegantly pointed out, you risk alienating your fan base.   How many more times are players going to hear about record breaking attendance and last minute delays and changes as a result before they start to vote elsewhere with their money?   Dragon Maze is due out shortly and if I'm reading things right, people are VERY excited about the next set of blocks that will start out this fall.   Greco-Roman mythology themed sets?   That's bonkers in terms of fan boy love and pre-sales.

So what can be done?   What should be done?

There are some simple, and some NOT so simple fixes.   I'm going to offer a few ideas for your consideration:

1. Attendance: Base projected attendance on a calculation that doesn't rely on previous models.   Instead, find some model that more accurately reflects the state of the game.  Perhaps set sales figures?   Maybe attendance at all sanctioned events from FNM's on upwards?   This is an area for statistics wizards to suss out, but any solution has to incorporate figures that account for recent performance.   I think the numbers that are necessary to do a reasonably accurate projection are there to be had (regional sales figures, perhaps) and it won't require a lot of hocus pocus to figure out.   Setting an Intern down at the main office to do a months worth of analysis is something that will reap tremendous benefits.   Especially if a model can be found that creates a method of accurately projecting attendance (let's say within +/- 8% for any event with 200+ attendees should be the goal).

2. Modernization: This one has many areas that will require fine tuning and gnashing of teeth.   But if we are willing to agree that theoretically, the idea of deck lists submitted electronically can result in a far superior experience for players and Judges, then it is past time to argue about whether it should be and start figuring out how to make this happen.   Networked laptops on scene for deck registrations at large GPs?   Solve that by partnering in some way with local computer stores or some other corporate sponsorship (WotC is a big company on the west coast, surely someone can find a method to make a profitable deal here).   Even if you offer a rotating schedule whereby systems are shared between locations, this needs to happen or an alternative method needs to be employed.   Allow/encourage online submissions of deck lists - that's not as far fetched as some might think.   If this was done with a DCI code and pass code, players could make last second changes before the competition starts with fewer computers needed on-site.   Bring a USB with your day's decklist from an editable .pdf?   That would work too - and it would likely speed up processing.   Paper is king, but let's stop killing trees when there are viable alternatives.   Oh...and in case anyone missed the fine print here, Judges with handheld devices (think iPads/tablets) can access decklists of any player at a match.   AND you can collect some pretty gnarly data to use internally.   Ladies and gentlemen, we may play a game using paper cards but we don't have to be tied to a paper based antiquated system for tracking decklists.

3. Preregistration: Why the current system so favors people signing up the day of or just before an event is a mystery to me.   Force players to accept a new paradigm.   Early registration can be rewarded with a discount.   General preregistration can be closed a few days before the event.   This has untold benefits.   First, you KNOW how many people are coming.   Need to arrange for an additional room?  Done.   Need to get more tables set up?  Done.   Need more Judges?  Done, done and done.   No more last minute changes or creating situations where Judges registered to play have to give up their down time to help out at the last moment.   Secondly, if you have promotional materials or other printing to be done, you don't have to scramble at the last minute or short players.   Third, this gives any vendors attending a good peek at what they need to bring.   No more situations with artists running short of materials or shops running short on help.   Lastly, what event location wouldn't like to know what to expect from you as an organizer?   For larger events, they can make arrangements for additional food options and really cater to your experience being the best it can be.   For me, this is a common-sense solution and one that has to be implemented sooner rather than later for anything that should get more than 100 participants.   Even larger LGS events should consider implementing this.   Oh, and to cap it off...know your limits!   As an organizer, if you can handle 100 people, than stop accepting registrations when you reach that point.   It's OK to be a victim of success.   It's not OK to crowd 180 people into a space that only comfortably holds 140.

3.1 Preregistration (Part Deux): One final thought here.   WotC has sunk a fair bit of development time into online games, website development and the Gatherer database.   They should recognize that spending time creating an online registration system that is fluid, scalable and adaptable to all events with 100+ players is a benefit that will help everyone.   Creating a plug-n-play type system that allows for preregistration, collects fees, and handles much of the work load that works in tandem with the software that handles the actual game-day event is something that everyone would appreciate and support.   We may not see it's benefits as players, but transparency is often the best measurement of a successful system.   No one singular event organizer may see the benefit in making a tool such as this, but that doesn't justify not embarking on a journey to design and create it.  WotC, it's time to get this done.   (If it's fully scalable - just think of how great the average player would feel when they can preregister for a FNM event at their local LGS and show up two minutes to showtime - without having to sweat holding things up...LGS owners across the globe would sing praises for this alone).

4. Share Information: WotC (Hasbro) is very private about how much information they share regarding sales figures.   This current rash of over attended events though makes me think that it may be time to review this approach.   Only WotC knows how many units they sell.   Sales figures though are an indicator of success and to some extent, future success.   I don't know this for certain, but I'd be willing to bet that RTR and GTC are some of their best selling releases in recent years.   I doubt that Dark Ascension was a slouch either.   WotC doesn't need to share hard numbers of units sold.   But rather, if they stated something to the effect, "RTR presales have outsold previous sets by approximately 15%," or, "GTC sales in the first two weeks following release are at +20% over previous releases," and do so in a timely manner, than that information would have impact.   It doesn't have to be shared broadly.   Targeted updates to event organizers in key positions should be adequate to make an effective change.   The trick here is the data must be timely - sales data 3 months after the block releases is not proactive enough to help address the problem.  I know some of this type of information goes out now, but does it do so fast enough to have a positive effect on the planning process for tournaments?   If this all seems like common sense, then let's crank it up a notch.   How about collating into a simple spreadsheet sample data that tracks attendance at all GPs and a statistical sampling of PTQs, Opens, and FNMs?   Would people find that info useful?   Does a bear do his business in the woods?

4.1 Share Information (Part Deux): After an event, tell people what worked.   Don't keep it to yourself or just your event staff.   I know that Judges are supposed to write after-action type of reports, but organizers should be doing the same if they already aren't.   They likely have a different opinion from the Judges and a different focus (more mercantile for one).   Once they're done, post them for others to learn from what worked and what didn't.   I'd like to think this is being done already, but if it isn't there's no good reason not to.   Be critical of your successes and failures.   If you should have had another artist or alterer, write why.   If you needed to be more aware of the draw of side games, list why and what would work better.

5. Innovate: If you're stuck doing registration the current way for reasons that defy logic, find other ways to make the experience more manageable    Scale your expectations for attendance up from any current model.   If you prepare for +30-40% over previous similar events, you position yourself to be a smart planner instead of someone who is simply a fixer of problems.   Open on-site registration earlier.   Offer more incentives to sign-in early.   Be proactive by finding additional Judges who may be at the event - before the event happens and prepare to use them.   Work with teams responsible for set-up and get a few extra tables out.   Even if they aren't needed for the main event, side-events, traders, and people just needing a break will appreciate them.

6. Recognize the Penalties: This really doesn't deserve it's own heading, but there are a couple of points that didn't fit well elsewhere.   When events that have expected numbers or greater start late - they end late.   This puts stress on everyone, creating more situations where mistakes can be made.   Blown calls by Judges are a potential outcome.   Play errors by players most definitely increase the more tired or frustrated a player is with the conditions.   Overly large events require additional turns to figure out.   For small gatherings that double...that's no big deal (probably).   For super-sized events, it creates a more difficult situation.   I don't know whose responsibility this is, but a clear system needs to be established for how to handle pairings and rounds when the event becomes too large.   I have more thoughts on how to improve this, but I'm not being asked for them - I'm just suggesting that there should be established and understood guidelines that treat players and Judges fairly in these instances.

7. It's Good to be King: Event planners, from the lowest to the highest must remember who's the king.   It's little Timmy, Johnny, and big Spike.   Players make or break an event.   They need to be developed continually like a commodity to keep the hobby strong.   Players are the kings of the game, without them WotC and all the supporting industries have to find new ways to make a buck.   Failing to realize this - or perhaps more accurately - a failure to address a known and continuing issue within the system that leads to player frustration and disappointment is going to lead to one resolution.   Fewer people will play.   When hobbyists find that the cost/benefit analysis says that it's not worth the frustration of driving 4 hours to an event, they will stop attending.   It's time to say, "Hail to the King," and baby, it needs to be done now.

I would hope that some of these concepts are already being discussed at levels above my pay grade.   I wouldn't doubt that I just don't see or understand the full problem.   For every problem, however, there is a solution if one is creative and determined enough to find it.

Players know when something isn't right.   While this may be a temporary surge - a blip in a 20 year career of MTG - it is something that is becoming a noticeable pattern.   Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern.   It's time to adapt to the current state of Tournament MTG and find new efficiencies that will benefit all for the next 20 years.

I'm not throwing done the gauntlet, but I am asking for an examination of the current state of play.  I challenge WotC.   I challenge event organizers.   I challenge fans and bloggers.   Not every idea I've come up with is possible and I'm sure I missed other ways to effect positive change.   So let's start it.   Let's create a broad discussion that looks at the future of Magic Tournaments.   It's time to figure out what to do for tomorrow.   Let's set aside differences in purpose and our inherently competitive natures and embrace finding solutions to a problem we should all have - being victims of our own success.


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If anyone needs specific clarifications about one of my thoughts on this topic, feel free to leave a note in the comments.   I'd appreciate that this be shared as broadly as possible.
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YMTC 4 - Rules Text Submissions

Pssst.

Hey!

Yes, you buddy, I'm talking to you.   I've got something for ya.

I know you're not interested in it.   But this is different!   This is my own, special batch.   Just for you.

Sure, you can make your own decisions, you're a big man.   Even big men need some help though.   Just try it one time, I promise it you'll come back for more...

__________________________________

That's enough of that, I'm done being creepy (for now).   Our vast and wonderfully diverse culture has given me glimpses into the seedier sides of life.   Sometimes they bubble to the surface.   In this instance, the malcontents and the dissidents all want us to buy what they are selling.   It doesn't matter if they're selling bad drugs or Magic rules text - it all boils down to the same thing.   Caveat Emptor.

__________________________________

For those of you who missed Latin class, Caveat Emptor translates to mean 'Let the buyer, beware.'   Good advice that we should all heed this week.   We only get one shot at this per person.   I know that I followed my advice from last week.   I have a list of different effects that I want to send in for my submission.   But I won't share them with you.  And I don't want to hear yours either.   I don't want to have buyer's remorse a month from now when the next step of YMTC comes up and my idea is no where to be seen.

I have not gone out and read ever bulletin board discussion, Twitter feed, or blog on this topic.   I want my entry to remain pure.   I want it to be mine.   I want it to be perfect.   Most importantly, I want to have the opportunity to be proud of my submission and know that it's all mine.

Will my submission gain attention from WotC?   Alas, I'm just a Timmy with Johnny aspirations.   But I do know one fact.

I can't get there on someone else's shoulders.   I can't do it by combining two or three ideas I find (others will do that for me).   I won't make it if I slightly modify someone else's brainchild (again, those mysterious others will step in).

There were over 47,000 people that voted in the last round.   The second you offer a semi-unique thought in a public forum on this matter - you're toast.   Instead I'm going to take the advice of Ethan Fleisher.  I'm going to read the 'In the Black' article by Mark Rosewater.  I'll apply it to the concepts I've already written.   I'll try to imagine my idea in different play situations.   (I'd love to have more time to actually build a deck using the text rules I've written, but with a submission deadline of Thursday, there's no way that will happen).

I'm guessing that there will be at least 10,000 unique entries - let's all be adults and admit that people are going to figure out a way to stuff the ballot box a little bit.   Of those entries, if 100 are truly original and push the boundaries that would be wonderful.   I think though that we won't get word until WotC has it down to 10 entries (that's .1 percent).   I'm no statistical genius, but I'm pretty sure people entering this contest have a better chance of making a hole-in-one...twice.

To increase your chances, spend time in front of a blank screen and write down every little dark thought you've ever had about card design.   Read Mark's article.   Check your text against the Gatherer database.   Do a small amount of play testing and user surveys.   Or don't and give me a better chance.

I'm happy either way, but I figured all is fair in this competition.   Remember, Caveat Emptor.


Until next time, good luck!   (Go and make your submissions now...)

YMtC4 - Enchantment Type

I'm pretty excited by the selection of black as the color we'll all be designing an effect.

I didn't call black as the winning color for the second decision of You Make the Card 4.   But seeing that Red was in second place is not completely disappointing.   Especially since blue came in a distant fourth.   To recap, here is where we are in the process:

         Type: Enchantment
         Color:  Black
         AoE: Voting this week - Link to Voting

What is AoE?   It's an older acronym occasionally used in gaming that means 'Area of Effect'.   Enchantments are funny spells that can, depending on the type, either effect a player, permanent in play, or the battlefield (please note that I'm not a judge, so this explanation is basic and in my own terms).   For the purposes of arguing the benefits and keeping this less Spike and more Timmy - we're going to limit the discussion this week to Auras and Global enchantments.

Yes, I realize WotC is also limiting the voting to Aura's and Global enchantments even though Enchantments can have several subtypes (Auras, Curses and Shrines from what I've read).   Funny how things work at that way, isn't it?

What's the Difference?
Simply stated, Auras principally affect the card they are attached to.   Auras can be attached to Artifacts, Creatures, and Land.   Global enchantments, on the other hand, don't attach to anything.   They are permanents that stand alone on the battlefield and can only be targeted by spells or abilities that specifically target enchantments.

   Recent examples of Auras: Abundant Growth, Arrest, Ethereal Armor, Rancor, and Chronic Flooding.
   Recent examples of Global: Collective Blessing, Detention Sphere, and Martial Law.

So how should we determine what to pick?   Do we go for the buffed up creature or the clever abuse of a land?   Or should we shoot for a way to make everything better for us/more challenging for our opponent?   Let's look at them.

Auras
Auras are a means of modifying or otherwise enhancing a permanent in play.   Note that I stated a permanent, so this can not affect a sorcery or an instant.   Many black aura's that I searched for had some type of penalty attached to it as the effect.   Making it a card we'd want to play most of the time on our opponent's permanents.

Could we end up with a Rancor type card, only in black?   Not as far as I know.   Mark Rosewater, the guru of set development for MTG, is fond of defining what effects fall into which colors.   With that in mind (and taking a look at the Gatherer database), black aura cards tend to:

• Destroy target upon an action occurring
• Offer a bonus for black cards
• Offer a penalty for opponents or non-black cards
• Create a situation whereby the player makes a sacrifice for a benefit
• Does something to result in lifelink or damage
• Gives Intimidate/Swampwalk
• or Plays with the Graveyard

Surely someone with encyclopedic knowledge could add to the list, but all of these are relevant options to consider as we move forward.   Would you like an aura that affects Creatures, adds +2/+0 to Demons and gives +0/-4 to all other creatures, and gives the enchanted creature Swampwalk?   Well, that type of a card is a possibility with Auras.

Fun fact - there are 152 unique Black Enchantment Auras in Gatherer.

Global - or...Plain Jane Enchantments now on a Global Scale!
Global Enchantments are a means of modifying the game state, all of the cards in play, the graveyard, the exile zone, and more.   Whereas aura's are targeted effects, GE's are played to the battlefield.   Once they resolve and until they're removed, they're always 'on' and can be triggered by any number of changes that occur during the game.

As such, they have potential to do more than Auras.   GE's can do some of the following and more:

• Generate tokens
• 'Suspend the rules' (ie, creatures that die are exiled instead of sent to the graveyard)
• Globally affect any card type and/or subtypes (for example, "All lands are now Swamps in addition to their other type(s).")
• Effects that penalize the person who played it, the opponent, or both!

In addition to these examples, a carefully worded GE can do much of what an Aura can do - only on a bigger scale.   It should be noted that it appears that GE's cost on average a little bit more than Aura style Enchantments.   That's not a deal breaker - they do more.   But don't think you'll get a similar effect on a Global Enchantment as you'd find on an Aura without paying for it.

Fun fact - there are 209 unique Black Global Enchantments in Gatherer.


What to Choose?
At this point, each time we vote we're all playing a massive game of chess.   Voters should be looking at how their decision today will play out to the end - trying to outguess what it will take to get to the endgame.

I, for one, think my recommendation this time is to go for a Global Enchantment.   Why?   What did it for me this time is the fact that Globals can simply do more.   I want to engage and encourage the creative process and selecting Global allows for a larger number of possible outcomes.   I'm still not 100% decided though.   So, in the interest of fairness, I'll wait a day or two to cast my vote.  Everyone who reads this is encouraged to give me some feedback as to which direction they're going in and why.   I promise I'll view it all and respond.


TWITTER
Before you run off there is one thing you should do.   Post in your Twitter feed the current enchantment direction you are leaning towards and why (if you can do it in less than 140 characters).

In fact - why not link back to this article at the same time.   The benefit there is others can get in on the fun as well.   We can all see what kind of traffic is generated and have a chance to convince others to change their minds.

Use the following hashtags:

#teamglobalenchantment
#teamauraenchantment