An idea for Tournaments.

[silverclawgrizzly]

I'm planning to hold an event next month in my home town of Charlotte NC. We're all sort of new in my group, which consists of about 15-16 Mage Warriors. Most of us started around the end of the year so I had an idea to test what we've learned.

Each round I was thinking of requiring players to change Mages from the previous round. 3 rounds, 3 different Mages. No different flavors of Wizard don't count.

What do people think of this idea? It'd stop any one type of build from just dominating and teach new players to diversify their strategies. Obviously you give people a chance to move cards from one book to another if they need due to having only limited Elemental Wands for example.

[Sailor Vulcan]

I'm not sure about your wizard rule. Different wizards can have very different playstyles. Do you really consider the fire wizard and earth wizard to be that similar, for instance?

[Zuberi]

Depends on the wizards. Fire and earth can play quite different, as can water and air. However they could indeed be very similar. I think requiring a change of mage is a cool idea. Do not tell them who or what they are up against until after they have completed the switch in books. Or even better, have them preregister all of their spell books to be used. You don't want them customizing books to meet their opponents between matches.

[silverclawgrizzly]

I agree spell books would certainly be registered before hand. No making a book from scratch in the middle of the tournament.

And yeah I'm actually pretty solid on the Wizard idea. Different types may play different but it's still kind of against the idea of the tournament.

[DeckBuilder]

I agree with your approach, Silverclaw, though have no tourney experience in MW anyway

I would go as far as to say...
You must play 3 mages which do not share training in any schools

Assuming it is 3 rounds, I see no need for pre-registered books as nobody knows what their opponent will play
Registering books is a faff and this sounds like almost helping players learn newe mage styles etc

The main decision you have to make is
(a) time limit (I think players new to the game will need 90 minutes to possibly win with some mage builds)
(b) tie-breaker or do you go with draw results (my preference with, say damage on opponent as tie-breaker)
I am assuming it will be swiss draw rounds

Good luck and tell us how it went!

[Shad0w]

I have a few logistic concerns about the event.

I will not ask unless you want me to.

[silverclawgrizzly]

Ask away Shadow. I've never held one of these events and as I'm going to do this for charity I want it done right.

[silverclawgrizzly]

Points for matches are as follow:

Win=2 Points.
Tie=1 Point.
Lose=Nadda.

I'm running the event so I'll judge and not play. Hopefully my ambassador stuff should come in the mail soon so I can make this thing legit.

I don't really care if they play mages in different schools. Druid and Beast Master are different enough in my view.

I come from clix where you gotta register your team for honesty sake. So I say register books too.

I read up on the format from a local convention last November and the 75 minute thing seemed to work for them.

[Shad0w]

Ask away Shadow. I've never held one of these events and as I'm going to do this for charity I want it done right.

Ok
Setup and break down between games will take about 5-10 min without changing your books over.
Have you figured this into your time frame?

Tell all your player (if your are going the multi book route. They must have all books ready before the event. No moving cards between books. ) That is done due to time concerns.
Have you clearly stated this?


About book prereg
Let players know when reg will open and close.
Who if anybody will be confirm the books are legal?

When we did the legality checks at Gencon players got a match loss for being over cost and I required the book be corrected. then I marked the removed spells off the list.

I could go on but I think you get the idea

[silverclawgrizzly]

These are all good points. I'll be checking book legality.

[wtcannonjr]

Another option for this type of format is to have the tournament master specify the set of Mages and each of the spellbooks to be used. This removes the book design element from the tournament, but still gives players a choice of mages to play.

This has a few logistics benefits.

Spellbook legality checks are known.

Players have less preparation time and knowledge of spellbook design required to participate. This makes it easier for new players to join and play.

[Shad0w]

Another option for this type of format is to have the tournament master specify the set of Mages and each of the spellbooks to be used. This removes the book design element from the tournament, but still gives players a choice of mages to play.

This has a few logistics benefits.

Spellbook legality checks are known.

Players have less preparation time and knowledge of spellbook design required to participate. This makes it easier for new players to join and play.

I keep 1of all starter books for that reason

[silverclawgrizzly]

Half the fun in a game like this is spell book design. That is as important as how you actually play it. Removing that element would take away a lot of the enjoyment of the game I think.

I've already started batting the idea around among the local gamers and I figure about 16-18 will show up. I feel confident in my ability to check their spell books before hand. Any extras who show up can be checked at the door. If need be I got a buddy who owns a game store who can help with checking.

I will most certainly be doing some demo events at my local game stores where I'll keep some intro books on hand though

[Shad0w]

Half the fun in a game like this is spell book design. That is as important as how you actually play it. Removing that element would take away a lot of the enjoyment of the game I think.

I've already started batting the idea around among the local gamers and I figure about 16-18 will show up. I feel confident in my ability to check their spell books before hand. Any extras who show up can be checked at the door. If need be I got a buddy who owns a game store who can help with checking.

I will most certainly be doing some demo events at my local game stores where I'll keep some intro books on hand though

The starter books are for people that want play but forgot a book.


To do 24 book checks took an average of 3rounds after reg sheets got handed in.

[wtcannonjr]

Half the fun in a game like this is spell book design. That is as important as how you actually play it. Removing that element would take away a lot of the enjoyment of the game I think.  [...]

I too enjoy the spell book design aspect of the game, but I don't believe that removing that element detracts from the games enjoyment. I also believe that many potential players of the game are not taking the plunge BECAUSE of the time and knowledge needed to take part in the design element of the game. When tournaments feature this element in the event, it can create a barrier for new players to join.

For a tournament setting it really depends on the desired outcome of the event. Is the intention to

(1) introduce the game to new players and encourage those new to the game to play or

(2) provide experienced players a way to compete

Either way it sounds like you will have a great turn out.

Good luck with your tournament!