Yah, when the Cyclon first showed up, I thought it was going to ruin 1/2A combat by displacing the other engines. It has actually made life simpler for many competitors, and for a lot of those guys 1/2A is just a side show, not the main event. If you really want to, you can still go out there with a souped up AME, VA or COX and compete, and there is a guy out here who sponsors a TD only contest for old time sakes.
The same scenario with the evolution of 1/2A combat existed with Formula One Pylon, guys would have countless hours and lots of money wrapped up in below par engines that blew up regularly, they blew plugs on every run and needed to be fed high nitro fuel. When the Nelson .40 showed up, F-1 got scrapped and they drew up Q-40 to be a lower maintenance class but every bit as fast as F-1. The leveling of the playing field has helped maintain interest in the event, now a guy doesn't have to own a machine shop or go after market to stay in the game.