In the seven years I've been playing Magic, I've seen a lot of changes - changes ranging from the creation of Type 2 to its renaming as Standard, the creation of the Extended format, and the rules changes that almost destroyed the game in my local playing area.

But above all else, the constantly-changing format of Type 1 is the thing that amazes me the most when it comes to the development of the game. Recently, I've begun to wonder if the Type 1 format can hold its growing popularity level, and I've come to a simple conclusion:

It can't.

You see, back in the day when"Standard" was still new, players were actually attracted to it because it didn't allow people to play older cards such as the Power 9 or other power cards from sets like Legends or Arabian Nights. That meant anyone could play for relatively cheap. What's more, netdecking wasn't as popular as it was today - meaning that a wider range of cards were worth more money, especially in smaller playing areas. Today, only the cards on the top 8 decklists are considered highly valuable.

Now that Type 1 format is all the rage, we're beginning to see the same thing happen in the Type 1 market. What are the most valuable cards? The Power 9, of course, remain highly sought-after. The value of dual lands continues to climb despite their recent exclusion from Extended. Other cards such as Nether Void, Berserk, and Cursed Scroll continue to climb in value because they're good, staple, cards in the current top Type 1 netdecks.

That, in my opinion, is part of the problem.

Wizards of the Coast is a business, and they make money by selling packs, not by watching cards on the secondary market soar in price. I'm stating the obvious when I say they've taken notice in the growing popularity of Type 1, and it's very clear they're getting involved. Mark Rosewater has already said the next expansion, Mirrodin, will contain a number of Type 1-playable cards. When I read that, I became very, well, concerned about the impact to Type 1. The announcement means one of two things:

1.) Wizards is planning to create a series of new fast, powerful cards that can compete with the current host of Type 1 cards being used;

2). Wizards is planning to create a series of cards that specifically hose the most powerful, expensive cards currently being used in Type 1 decks.

At GenCon last weekend, several R&D members (including lead designer Randy Buehler and creator Richard Garfield) hosted a panel on"The Current State of Magic." During the discussion, Randy Buehler told the audience that R&D is in the process of"lowering the current power level" of Magic cards. So I asked the question:

"How can there be Type 1 cards in Mirrodin as Mark Rosewater has said there would be if the power level is being lowered?"

Their answer, in a card? Gorilla Shaman.

That's about as much as they would say on the topic - though Skaff Elias, a member of R&D, elaborated by saying there would be cards such as the nicknamed"Mox Monkey" that alter the traditional gameplay in Type 1.

And that's why I think Type 1 is destined to run out of steam. Players who have spent hundreds, possibly thousands of dollars on the old-school cards will suddenly be hosed by a new set of cards specifically geared to give younger, newer (and above all, poorer) players a fighting chance against them.

Of course, I could be wrong. Perhaps I misinterpreted what Elias said - I certainly hope so! It still won't change the eventual downfall of Type 1, though.

Why, you ask? It's quite simple. Sheer boredom. Players who can't afford the Power 9 will eventually get tired of losing to people who use the decks all the time. And players who have Power 9 cards, as the R&D panel so eloquently put it, don't have that much fun using power cards all the time.

That's part of the appeal of Type 2, and to a lesser extent, Extended. Power cards aren't key to winning; luck of the draw is a bigger factor, and a player's skill matters more in those formats, too.

The other reason for Type 2's popularity stems from the fact that it constantly rotates. It keeps the game from becoming stale. Type 1, on the other hand, will always be stale as long as the Power 9 and other old-school must-haves dominate... Which they will for as long as they're legal, and Wizards has said they have no intention of banning those cards from the game. That, by the way, is an excellent policy. Let's hope they don't ever touch Mana Drain or Force of Will, either.

It's a conundrum, though, because if those cards stop dominating, that means their dollar values drop significantly and the format goes back to the way it was: A handful of interested players and not enough support to merit Wizards' attention any further.

It's not Wizards' fault: They're trapped in this just as much as the players are. They are running a business, after all, and they have to do what sells packs.

I truly hope I'm wrong about this, but I doubt it; I think that it's just a matter of time before Type 1 falls flat on its face. Maybe then Wizards will start supporting Peasant Magic.