Meeting #15 was a club meeting that took place on Saturday, August 24, 2002 in the living room of 35-D Edgewater Park with seven members present. It resulted in Amendment IX.
The meeting started a bit later than that, but it took place in the living room of 35-D Edgewater Park with seven members present. Ted, Nick, Rich F., Clare, Jofuf Juftuf, Chris, and Mike V. were just some of the many illustrious individuals at the event.
The members voted by secret ballot. 6 were for the new name while 1, Clare Phillips, was against it. So the name was changed in a later newsletter.
One day during July, Ted had suggested the players maintain a card ratio such that for every monster in one's deck with an ATK at least 2000, a player should have 2 monsters with ATK less than 2000. The rule was accepted and successful at the time; Ted found himself actually thinning his deck, and Nick found himself with an all-monster hand in which the highest-ATK monster was Darkworld Thorns at 1200.
Nick liked this rule so much for the balance it provided that he wanted to institutionalize it. So, he proposed it as a new law at this meeting. The members voted by secret ballot. 2, Ted and Nick Phillips, were for it and the other 5 were against it. Jofuf and Mike V. were hosting their own tournaments at the time and felt that the club did not have the right to force rules upon the game and that the tournament hosts and players should decide upon how they wish to play the game.
The members voted by secret ballot. Mike V. and Ted voted yes, while the remaining 5 opposed this rule, feeling that it gave an unfair advantage to wealthy players.
Rich F. made the next proposal in response to an event that had taken place during the previous week. Rich F. had left his trading cards at Mike V.'s house, who later claimed to have lost them. Since Mike V. could not return Rich F.'s cards, Rich F. demanded payment, and Mike V. declined.
Now, Rich was proposing to make law that the loser of another's cards must make financial restitution to the card owner. Ted publicly supported this law. 4 members voted in favor, while Mike V. voted against the law because he did not want to pay Rich, and Clare voted against it because she lacked money.
The law was passed, but it could not be enforced against Mike V. this time because the incident had already occurred.
None of the other members knew this dance, so they asked for a demonstration. Mike V., remaining seated on the couch, moved his arms in an odd manner. The other members were enraged at him for not actually performing a dance, so they voted against his law. Mike V. was the lone wolf who secretly voted for it.
About a year later, Nick realized that Tommy had become the club mascot somehow, even though he was never elected. So, he secretly changed Amendment IX to make it appear that Tommy had been elected club mascot at Meeting #15. This seemed an appropriate place to put Tommy's mascotry because this meeting had taken place around the time of the popularity of Ni-Ki-Oh!, the show that gave Tommy his big break and made him a celebrity.
Historical Context: Summer 2002
A lot happened during the summer of 2002. The Duel Monsters Tournament took place, and many other members hosted their own Yu-Gi-Oh! tournaments. Most of the Ni-Ki-Oh! series was also filmed during this summer. Everyone was having innocent children's fun playing Yu-Gi-Oh! in the sunshine, and things looked great for the club on the social side. The club was in the height of the Golden Age.The Meeting
Nick Phillips soon realized that despite the club's greatness, it was starting to fall short of the one meeting per month rule. So he announced in the August 17 newsletter that there would be a meeting at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, August 24, right after the showing of the first episode of Ni-Ki-Oh!, "No One to Duel."The meeting started a bit later than that, but it took place in the living room of 35-D Edgewater Park with seven members present. Ted, Nick, Rich F., Clare, Jofuf Juftuf, Chris, and Mike V. were just some of the many illustrious individuals at the event.
Proposals
Name Change
The first order of business was the proposal by Jofuf Juftuf to change the name of the club to Yu-Gi-Oh! Duelist Club. He had previously discussed this with some of the members and believed that this name more closely described the direction the club had taken.The members voted by secret ballot. 6 were for the new name while 1, Clare Phillips, was against it. So the name was changed in a later newsletter.
Over 2000 Rule
Then, they considered a new rule for the Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game. You see, the members typically played Yu-Gi-Oh! using the rules from the first season of the anime, which allowed them to Normal Summon high-level monsters without Tributes.One day during July, Ted had suggested the players maintain a card ratio such that for every monster in one's deck with an ATK at least 2000, a player should have 2 monsters with ATK less than 2000. The rule was accepted and successful at the time; Ted found himself actually thinning his deck, and Nick found himself with an all-monster hand in which the highest-ATK monster was Darkworld Thorns at 1200.
Nick liked this rule so much for the balance it provided that he wanted to institutionalize it. So, he proposed it as a new law at this meeting. The members voted by secret ballot. 2, Ted and Nick Phillips, were for it and the other 5 were against it. Jofuf and Mike V. were hosting their own tournaments at the time and felt that the club did not have the right to force rules upon the game and that the tournament hosts and players should decide upon how they wish to play the game.
10-Cent Kill Rule
To show how ridiculous the Over 2000 Rule was, Mike V. proposed his own new rule for playing Yu-Gi-Oh!: that a player can automatically win the game by giving his/her opponent 10 U.S. cents.The members voted by secret ballot. Mike V. and Ted voted yes, while the remaining 5 opposed this rule, feeling that it gave an unfair advantage to wealthy players.
Card Restitution Law
At this time, Jofuf went home to eat dinner with his family in time for the 5:30 Mass at St. Benedict Church. This meant that there were 6 members present then.Rich F. made the next proposal in response to an event that had taken place during the previous week. Rich F. had left his trading cards at Mike V.'s house, who later claimed to have lost them. Since Mike V. could not return Rich F.'s cards, Rich F. demanded payment, and Mike V. declined.
Now, Rich was proposing to make law that the loser of another's cards must make financial restitution to the card owner. Ted publicly supported this law. 4 members voted in favor, while Mike V. voted against the law because he did not want to pay Rich, and Clare voted against it because she lacked money.
The law was passed, but it could not be enforced against Mike V. this time because the incident had already occurred.
Safety Dance Blocking
Clare then left the room to play with Tommy in her room, and Rich's mom called him home. Mike V., sore about the law that had been passed in opposition to him, proposed his own ridiculous law, that "If you do the Safety Dance, you're suspended."None of the other members knew this dance, so they asked for a demonstration. Mike V., remaining seated on the couch, moved his arms in an odd manner. The other members were enraged at him for not actually performing a dance, so they voted against his law. Mike V. was the lone wolf who secretly voted for it.
Results and Aftermath
The name change and the Card Restitution Law were added to the Constitution in what is now known as Amendment IX. However, the Amender dictatorially broadened the Card Restitution Law to encompass all lost property. These changes were announced in the August 29 newsletter in an article entitled New Changes V.About a year later, Nick realized that Tommy had become the club mascot somehow, even though he was never elected. So, he secretly changed Amendment IX to make it appear that Tommy had been elected club mascot at Meeting #15. This seemed an appropriate place to put Tommy's mascotry because this meeting had taken place around the time of the popularity of Ni-Ki-Oh!, the show that gave Tommy his big break and made him a celebrity.