Grand Prix Pittsburgh Report
3/25/13
What is the Grand Prix? Imagine if you will an event, open to the public, offering play mats and exclusive promos to the first to register. A gathering of people from all walks of life and experience levels for one purpose. To play Magic: the Gathering.
Most come with friends to participate in something larger than themselves. Some come to experience the size and scope of the event, which is the largest public event held for Magic. Some come to grind out planeswalker points in the main or side events to acquire better standing or possibly round-byes at future events. Some come to compete at the chance for cash prizes. For these reasons and more, approximately 1600 players registered for the main event.
This past weekend I played two parts in this grand play. On Saturday I stood in black, launching side events for Professional Event Services as a judge. On Sunday, I returned in plain-clothes to take care of judge program related concerns and to get in a few drafts while I was at it.
Truly to appreciate the atmosphere of a Grand Prix, you absolutely must go to one. Any report of events that I supply pales in comparison to the actual experience of being there. The sound of 1600+ people tearing into booster packs is awe-inspiring, yet at the same time comfortably familiar.
My personal experiences are, unfortunately not particularly enlightening. Does it really matter how many win-a-boxes I launched? [6-8, I think]; Or how many booster drafts I seated? [Probably twice that many]. Did I have any interesting rules questions? - Just these 2.
Another judge steps over and asks if I am familiar with EDH/Commander, to which I reply that I am, he takes me back to a table where a player has just been eliminated. However, he owns a Rakdos, Lord of Riots currently controlled by another player thanks to Treachery. The players just wanted to confirm that Rakdos leaves the game when it's owner is eliminated which is exactly how it should work. [CR800.4a]
Another judge steps over to me and asks about Sigil of the Clans. From reading the card, it would appear that the three revealed cards remain revealed as the player selects one of them at random. This is technically correct, but in practice players will often turn the cards to shuffle them face down to select one at random. This practice is fine, as long as the opponent knows which card is (randomly) being added to hand since that piece of information should be known.
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label community. Show all posts
Monday, March 25, 2013
Monday, July 11, 2011
Magic 2012 Pre-release tales
= Magic 2012 Pre-release tales
= Monday, July 11th, 2011
Another successful pre-release has passed. I am pleased to report that 18 players participated in the main event, and 14 players played in our side-event draft.
Those who have been reading know that this is a welcome boon from last pre-release where we had only 8 players for the main event. While I think this is a good sign for the health of our venue and the game as a whole, I think we should all remain vigilant in our efforts to recruit new players, help those players grow into being better players, and keeping all levels of play as fair and fun as possible.
With the launch of Magic 2012 and in the following months, we are likely to see more players and more interest in our game. It's a great time to be playing, and I for one am excited!
== Rulings
= Chandra, the Firebrand.
A player asked if they could choose a single player multiple times with Chandra, the Firebrand's 3rd ability. "[-6]: Chandra, the Firebrand deals 6 damage to each of up to six target creatures and/or players." While the ability as-written doesn't limit the choice of targets (by using the word "different" for example), we do have the following tidbit from the Magic2012 FAQ:
* When you activate Chandra's last ability, you choose up to six target creatures and/or players. No damage is divided, and Chandra can't deal more than 6 damage to any one target. Chandra deals 6 damage to each target that is still legal when the ability resolves.
= Goblin Tunneler and Turn to Frog
Player A Activates Goblin Tunneler targeting a 2/2 Bear. The bear attacks. Player B casts Turn to Frog targeting the Bear. Can Player B declare a blocker against the ex-bear, now 1/1 frog?
The rather interesting answer is no. Again from the FAQ:
* The ability [of Goblin Tunneler] doesn't grant an ability to the targeted creature. Rather, it affects the game rules and states something that's now true about that creature. After the ability resolves, the creature will remain unblockable for the rest of the turn even if it loses all abilities.
For those who are truly curious, here's the Comprehensive Rules that are most applicable to this situation:
112.11. An effect that sets an object’s characteristic, or simply states a quality of that object, is different from an ability granted by an effect. When an object “gains” or “has” an ability, that ability can be removed by another effect. If an effect defines a characteristic of the object (“[permanent] is [characteristic value]”), it’s not granting an ability. (See rule 604.3.) Similarly, if an effect states a quality of that object (“[permanent]” is indestructible” or “[creature] is unblockable,” for example), it’s neither granting an ability nor setting a characteristic. (See rules 700.4 and 700.5.)
Example: Muraganda Petroglyphs reads, “Creatures with no abilities get +2/+2.”
700.5a Although the text “[This permanent] is unblockable” is an ability, actually being
unblockable is neither an ability nor a characteristic. It’s just something that’s true about a creature.
= Monday, July 11th, 2011
Another successful pre-release has passed. I am pleased to report that 18 players participated in the main event, and 14 players played in our side-event draft.
Those who have been reading know that this is a welcome boon from last pre-release where we had only 8 players for the main event. While I think this is a good sign for the health of our venue and the game as a whole, I think we should all remain vigilant in our efforts to recruit new players, help those players grow into being better players, and keeping all levels of play as fair and fun as possible.
With the launch of Magic 2012 and in the following months, we are likely to see more players and more interest in our game. It's a great time to be playing, and I for one am excited!
== Rulings
= Chandra, the Firebrand.
A player asked if they could choose a single player multiple times with Chandra, the Firebrand's 3rd ability. "[-6]: Chandra, the Firebrand deals 6 damage to each of up to six target creatures and/or players." While the ability as-written doesn't limit the choice of targets (by using the word "different" for example), we do have the following tidbit from the Magic2012 FAQ:
* When you activate Chandra's last ability, you choose up to six target creatures and/or players. No damage is divided, and Chandra can't deal more than 6 damage to any one target. Chandra deals 6 damage to each target that is still legal when the ability resolves.
= Goblin Tunneler and Turn to Frog
Player A Activates Goblin Tunneler targeting a 2/2 Bear. The bear attacks. Player B casts Turn to Frog targeting the Bear. Can Player B declare a blocker against the ex-bear, now 1/1 frog?
The rather interesting answer is no. Again from the FAQ:
* The ability [of Goblin Tunneler] doesn't grant an ability to the targeted creature. Rather, it affects the game rules and states something that's now true about that creature. After the ability resolves, the creature will remain unblockable for the rest of the turn even if it loses all abilities.
For those who are truly curious, here's the Comprehensive Rules that are most applicable to this situation:
112.11. An effect that sets an object’s characteristic, or simply states a quality of that object, is different from an ability granted by an effect. When an object “gains” or “has” an ability, that ability can be removed by another effect. If an effect defines a characteristic of the object (“[permanent] is [characteristic value]”), it’s not granting an ability. (See rule 604.3.) Similarly, if an effect states a quality of that object (“[permanent]” is indestructible” or “[creature] is unblockable,” for example), it’s neither granting an ability nor setting a characteristic. (See rules 700.4 and 700.5.)
Example: Muraganda Petroglyphs reads, “Creatures with no abilities get +2/+2.”
700.5a Although the text “[This permanent] is unblockable” is an ability, actually being
unblockable is neither an ability nor a characteristic. It’s just something that’s true about a creature.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Awesome Magic Story
= Awesome Magic Story
= Tuesday June 14th, 2011
If you've played Magic for even a little while, you probably have a magic story to tell. A magic story is basically any narrative that only another magic player can truly appreciate. The most common stories that you can hear on a regular basis are "I pulled these awesome rares out of these packs!" or "I was up against the ropes in a tight game but managed to edge through with..." centered around amazing or rediculous plays or game states. I have a magic story for you today, and it is unique, wonderful, and just plain awesome.
Back in March I had the opportunity to expand my tournament operations outside my local store by sponsering and head-juding an event at CosCon - the annual gaming convention here in Butler, PA. It was the first time in years Magic had been played at that event. The result was lukewarm (we got 8 people). However I had the opportunity to meet local artist Charles Urbach, who happened to be at the same convention.
If your not familiar with Charles work in magic, I wouldn't be surprised. As it stands right now, he doesn't have too many cards that have released. However, Charles has been a long-time professional artist doing things for other games such as L5R and other projects by AEG games.
Magic art by Charles Urbach
On that fateful day, I made inquiries about a play mat, and arranged to have one made for me. I commissioned some magic-related art. In other words, I paid the good man for his skills to produce something awesome for me.
The artwork that I felt could be the most potentially awesome was Minamo, from the planechase card.
Minamo (plane)
I asked if he could perhaps do a more arial view of the school and it's surroundings. At which point I was told that there was another sketch, one that was submitted to wizards that wasn't actually used. A piece of art that was in a similar vein to what I was asking for. I asked him to e-mail me this sketch so I could get an idea of where he was taking it, but that in the end I would probably want him to base the play mat on this alternate art. After all, alternate art is awesome.
Um, yes. That will do quite nicely! But I was curious if Charles could perhaps add just a touch of color to the mat (highlights perhaps?). Charles hadn't done much work in color on play mats, and had to experiment with a few different markers and ink to get the color I asked for. In my own way I helped a professional artist expand their professional toolbox by just a little bit. That, my friends, is awesome.
There was a bit of back-and-forth between Charles and myself during the production of this play mat, but that was of minor consequence. This past week the item was finally completed. Charles was nice enough to present me with a handful of goodies which I accepted graciously.
First, a 8x11 print of the Minamo plane art.
Second, a second print (same size paper, but smaller image), of the original alternate-art used as a baseline for the play mat.
Third, quite possibly the most awesome play mat that i've ever seen, and definitely the best one that I now own.
And just so that you out there can appreciate this, here's a close-up of the actual school in the center right of the prior pic
And that, is my awesome magic story.
Best wishes, and may you experience some awesome magic.
= Tuesday June 14th, 2011
If you've played Magic for even a little while, you probably have a magic story to tell. A magic story is basically any narrative that only another magic player can truly appreciate. The most common stories that you can hear on a regular basis are "I pulled these awesome rares out of these packs!" or "I was up against the ropes in a tight game but managed to edge through with..." centered around amazing or rediculous plays or game states. I have a magic story for you today, and it is unique, wonderful, and just plain awesome.
Back in March I had the opportunity to expand my tournament operations outside my local store by sponsering and head-juding an event at CosCon - the annual gaming convention here in Butler, PA. It was the first time in years Magic had been played at that event. The result was lukewarm (we got 8 people). However I had the opportunity to meet local artist Charles Urbach, who happened to be at the same convention.
If your not familiar with Charles work in magic, I wouldn't be surprised. As it stands right now, he doesn't have too many cards that have released. However, Charles has been a long-time professional artist doing things for other games such as L5R and other projects by AEG games.
Magic art by Charles Urbach
On that fateful day, I made inquiries about a play mat, and arranged to have one made for me. I commissioned some magic-related art. In other words, I paid the good man for his skills to produce something awesome for me.
The artwork that I felt could be the most potentially awesome was Minamo, from the planechase card.
Minamo (plane)
I asked if he could perhaps do a more arial view of the school and it's surroundings. At which point I was told that there was another sketch, one that was submitted to wizards that wasn't actually used. A piece of art that was in a similar vein to what I was asking for. I asked him to e-mail me this sketch so I could get an idea of where he was taking it, but that in the end I would probably want him to base the play mat on this alternate art. After all, alternate art is awesome.
Um, yes. That will do quite nicely! But I was curious if Charles could perhaps add just a touch of color to the mat (highlights perhaps?). Charles hadn't done much work in color on play mats, and had to experiment with a few different markers and ink to get the color I asked for. In my own way I helped a professional artist expand their professional toolbox by just a little bit. That, my friends, is awesome.
There was a bit of back-and-forth between Charles and myself during the production of this play mat, but that was of minor consequence. This past week the item was finally completed. Charles was nice enough to present me with a handful of goodies which I accepted graciously.
First, a 8x11 print of the Minamo plane art.
Second, a second print (same size paper, but smaller image), of the original alternate-art used as a baseline for the play mat.
Third, quite possibly the most awesome play mat that i've ever seen, and definitely the best one that I now own.
And just so that you out there can appreciate this, here's a close-up of the actual school in the center right of the prior pic
And that, is my awesome magic story.
Best wishes, and may you experience some awesome magic.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Interest Saturation
= Interest Saturation
= May 9th, 2011
Periodically in the past I have taken a moment out of my already busy schedule to write a basic event report. These reports summarize how some of the events that often take more planning and preparation were actually executed and how successful they were, as well as any interesting rulings or other situations. After running the events related to the New Phyrexia Pre-release, I felt as if I had to sit down and write something more than a report.
Let me first say that the challenges that I see ahead seem very difficult to overcome. But the potential for growth on a personal and professional level is staggering.
=What Happened?
Those who were there saw it, were a part of it. Could not help to notice the fact. We had a sanctioned pre-release with only eight players in attendance. If you fail to see why this is not immediately flagged as a "Very serious problem" allow me to share some basic info with you. Since I started running pre-releases, the attendance at this type of event has been steadily increasing. Dipping into my history file I can show you the following:
Pre-release attendance: Main; Draft side event(s)
New Phyrexia: 8 ; 12
Mirridin Besieged: 18; 9
Scars of Mirridin: 30; 10
Magic 2011: 31; 14
Rise of Eldrazi: 19; 8
Obviously a pre-release attendance of 8 is quite worry some when we've hosted 20-30 people consistently for the past year.
=Why did it happen?
That day, a lot of people were asking the question "What happened?" But this is more appropriately phrased as "Why did we only get 8 people for a pre-release?"
Upon reflection, it is my belief that no single thing was the root cause of this. But If I had to answer with a single word I think that word would be "Saturation."
Every now and then there is a perfect storm. A collection of events and circumstances that have a combined effect far greater than their parts. This past Saturday was one such conflux. Allow me to share with you some of the things that probably contributed to our lowest attendance numbers yet.
Saturday was Free-Comic Book day (the first saturday in May). Normally this is very good for us as it brings people into the shop. The response this year was somewhat less.
Saturday was the Spring into the Arts Festival (held in center court of Clearview mall), and consumed space, and time (as well as tables and chairs).
That weekend happened to be Mother's Day weekend, and many people had familial duties or responsibilities.
That weekend happened to be commencement weekend (at least for SRU).
The past season (2-3 months) of regular magic events have successfully launched inconsistently at best (more on this later).
There are probably more circumstances that I am missing at this time.
Like I said, a perfect storm.
=Saturation
While several events saturated that single day. I'd like to talk about another saturation which has been increasingly worrying me, and contributes directly to that last item concerning our weekly FNMs not being held due to lack of interest.
And that is: Interest saturation.
There's a certain amount of interest in Magic by those people who play. That interest is finite because there's a finite number of people in a given area who have an interest in magic. A location that runs FNMs, like NDC Butler (the store where I work and run events most of the time), and the local community of players is best served when the pace of events match (but do not exceed) the available interest.
That available interest can fluctuate as people join the game, leave the game, gain new responsibilities (family, job, etc), as well as can be dictated by personal finance. It is a resource that we retailers need to carefully mine, without overextending.
If you are matching your area's interest you will get consistent attendance numbers over long periods of time. Thus far I've managed steadily climbing numbers for nearly two years. If you look at the long term, we're doing pretty good.
The biggest warning sign that you are exceeding the available interest? Or providing more events than there are people willing to attend regularly? - Poor attendance. What I've faced and seen happen locally for the past 2 months minimum.
=What can be done?
I read an article once where a local magic judge struggled to get the eight player minimum to run sanctioned FNMs for months. His solution was to only run events bi-monthly. His situation was vastly different from mine however, because he lived in a very rural area where players had to travel (sometimes up to an hour) to even attend the events he was hosting. While this certainly is a solution that works, I don't think this is the right solution for me in Butler, PA.
I'm still very much open to new ideas and approaches to solve this growing issue that effects all of us. However, I can say with utter certainty one way to bring our regular attendance back to the level it takes to run regular weekly events.
Generate More Interest.
While there are many ways to generate more interest, I think the one that stands out most in my mind is to cultivate more magic players. Both new players and players returning to the game after a long hiatus need to be given encouragement and room to grow. They need to be informed about sanctioned play, so they can make educated decisions about what types of tournaments they wish to try out (if any - some players are not and will never be tournament players).
Imagine for a moment that our location only has 10 or so tournament magic players. Each person would have a relatively large impact on if a successful sanctioned event could take place. Compare to a situation where a location has 30 or so tournament players. A few of those players might come every week (barring unusual circumstances), but if the bulk of them only come every 2-3 weeks - your still guaranteed to have an event just about every week.
=Community Building
Obviously, a lot of work needs to be done, and I for one am not sure where to start. But I know two things.
One: We can all work together on this, and should. Part of what makes magic awesome is that players as a whole are a community. We all share a common interest. The physical location where we play, IE: The FLGS (friendly local gaming store), isn't just a place to hang out, it's OUR place to hang out.
Two: Magic the Gathering is FAR from dead. Butler has a vibrant and strong Casual night that is PACKED nearly every Tuesday. The near future is also PACKED with awesome magic. Commander, is one that interests me. The most important however is Duels of the Planeswakers and Magic 2012 Core Set, and a national-level ad campaign put forth by Wizards to bring new players into Magic.
In the coming month I hope to read articles and gather information regarding the subject of Community Building. I will attempt to link interesting articles or otherwise pass along what I learn in attempt to facilitate the growth of our community.
Until then, may your interest flourish and grow.
= May 9th, 2011
Periodically in the past I have taken a moment out of my already busy schedule to write a basic event report. These reports summarize how some of the events that often take more planning and preparation were actually executed and how successful they were, as well as any interesting rulings or other situations. After running the events related to the New Phyrexia Pre-release, I felt as if I had to sit down and write something more than a report.
Let me first say that the challenges that I see ahead seem very difficult to overcome. But the potential for growth on a personal and professional level is staggering.
=What Happened?
Those who were there saw it, were a part of it. Could not help to notice the fact. We had a sanctioned pre-release with only eight players in attendance. If you fail to see why this is not immediately flagged as a "Very serious problem" allow me to share some basic info with you. Since I started running pre-releases, the attendance at this type of event has been steadily increasing. Dipping into my history file I can show you the following:
Pre-release attendance: Main; Draft side event(s)
New Phyrexia: 8 ; 12
Mirridin Besieged: 18; 9
Scars of Mirridin: 30; 10
Magic 2011: 31; 14
Rise of Eldrazi: 19; 8
Obviously a pre-release attendance of 8 is quite worry some when we've hosted 20-30 people consistently for the past year.
=Why did it happen?
That day, a lot of people were asking the question "What happened?" But this is more appropriately phrased as "Why did we only get 8 people for a pre-release?"
Upon reflection, it is my belief that no single thing was the root cause of this. But If I had to answer with a single word I think that word would be "Saturation."
Every now and then there is a perfect storm. A collection of events and circumstances that have a combined effect far greater than their parts. This past Saturday was one such conflux. Allow me to share with you some of the things that probably contributed to our lowest attendance numbers yet.
Saturday was Free-Comic Book day (the first saturday in May). Normally this is very good for us as it brings people into the shop. The response this year was somewhat less.
Saturday was the Spring into the Arts Festival (held in center court of Clearview mall), and consumed space, and time (as well as tables and chairs).
That weekend happened to be Mother's Day weekend, and many people had familial duties or responsibilities.
That weekend happened to be commencement weekend (at least for SRU).
The past season (2-3 months) of regular magic events have successfully launched inconsistently at best (more on this later).
There are probably more circumstances that I am missing at this time.
Like I said, a perfect storm.
=Saturation
While several events saturated that single day. I'd like to talk about another saturation which has been increasingly worrying me, and contributes directly to that last item concerning our weekly FNMs not being held due to lack of interest.
And that is: Interest saturation.
There's a certain amount of interest in Magic by those people who play. That interest is finite because there's a finite number of people in a given area who have an interest in magic. A location that runs FNMs, like NDC Butler (the store where I work and run events most of the time), and the local community of players is best served when the pace of events match (but do not exceed) the available interest.
That available interest can fluctuate as people join the game, leave the game, gain new responsibilities (family, job, etc), as well as can be dictated by personal finance. It is a resource that we retailers need to carefully mine, without overextending.
If you are matching your area's interest you will get consistent attendance numbers over long periods of time. Thus far I've managed steadily climbing numbers for nearly two years. If you look at the long term, we're doing pretty good.
The biggest warning sign that you are exceeding the available interest? Or providing more events than there are people willing to attend regularly? - Poor attendance. What I've faced and seen happen locally for the past 2 months minimum.
=What can be done?
I read an article once where a local magic judge struggled to get the eight player minimum to run sanctioned FNMs for months. His solution was to only run events bi-monthly. His situation was vastly different from mine however, because he lived in a very rural area where players had to travel (sometimes up to an hour) to even attend the events he was hosting. While this certainly is a solution that works, I don't think this is the right solution for me in Butler, PA.
I'm still very much open to new ideas and approaches to solve this growing issue that effects all of us. However, I can say with utter certainty one way to bring our regular attendance back to the level it takes to run regular weekly events.
Generate More Interest.
While there are many ways to generate more interest, I think the one that stands out most in my mind is to cultivate more magic players. Both new players and players returning to the game after a long hiatus need to be given encouragement and room to grow. They need to be informed about sanctioned play, so they can make educated decisions about what types of tournaments they wish to try out (if any - some players are not and will never be tournament players).
Imagine for a moment that our location only has 10 or so tournament magic players. Each person would have a relatively large impact on if a successful sanctioned event could take place. Compare to a situation where a location has 30 or so tournament players. A few of those players might come every week (barring unusual circumstances), but if the bulk of them only come every 2-3 weeks - your still guaranteed to have an event just about every week.
=Community Building
Obviously, a lot of work needs to be done, and I for one am not sure where to start. But I know two things.
One: We can all work together on this, and should. Part of what makes magic awesome is that players as a whole are a community. We all share a common interest. The physical location where we play, IE: The FLGS (friendly local gaming store), isn't just a place to hang out, it's OUR place to hang out.
Two: Magic the Gathering is FAR from dead. Butler has a vibrant and strong Casual night that is PACKED nearly every Tuesday. The near future is also PACKED with awesome magic. Commander, is one that interests me. The most important however is Duels of the Planeswakers and Magic 2012 Core Set, and a national-level ad campaign put forth by Wizards to bring new players into Magic.
In the coming month I hope to read articles and gather information regarding the subject of Community Building. I will attempt to link interesting articles or otherwise pass along what I learn in attempt to facilitate the growth of our community.
Until then, may your interest flourish and grow.
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