Great Job, Tim!

This week, I have to give some serious credit where credit is due.

I can pretty easily imagine what goes into making a standard GP or similar event happen.   Physical arrangements, judges, materials/supplies, guests, vendors, VIPs, artists, and more must all come together in perfect harmony to make the event seamless to the participant.   These events, while pretty pat do run into problems occasionally, especially when more than the expected number of participants show up to sling spells.

In the days running up to GP Vegas, the number of preregistrations coming in was astonishing.   I (and many others) made predictions months ago in the 2-3,000 participant range.   Twitter was afire in the final two weeks of preregistration, as it suddenly seemed possible to smash the previously held record for a TCG event.   In the final days leading up to the GP, it became clear that 4,000 to 5,000 or even more participants would be possible.

And what was better is the Tournament Organizer (TO) for the event, Tim Shields, came out on his blog in the early part of the week before GP Vegas and said that he was ready for up to 6,000 or more.

Let that sink in for a moment.   6,000 or more people playing Magic the Gathering in one place at one time.

Over the next two days though, Tim had to step back, reevaluate and change his tune.   Was he right?

Logistics, Logistics, Logistics
It's a well known idea that an army is only as strong as it's supply chain.   No food?   Soldiers don't fight.   No fuel?   Vehicles don't move.   Planning and running a GP of any scale works on many of the same principles.   TO's must find enough qualified judges, space for the mobs, and enough tablecloths for all of their tables.  They have to worry about every little detail.

Following Tim's announcement via his blog that all was well, the next day another blog post came out.   And things were no longer perfect.   He discovered at least one problem to running an event of this size...human error.   It wasn't his error.   It was the approximately 10% of errors made by players when entering their DCI # for registration (note to WotC - is there some way to make the preregistration process validate name/DCI # for prereg??).   In combination with some qualified individuals, Tim Shields made what I know was a tough decision - he capped the event.  And he was right to do so.

No longer would he have to worry about 6,000 or more of his closest friends showing up to party in Vegas. Now, he just had to make things work for the 4,500 that would officially play in the GP as well as assorted guests and those that would arrive to participate in side-events.

Even as D-Day drew closer, it became clear that capping the event was a good idea from other logistical angles.   Last minute calls to judges were made.   Lines of up to 2 hours or more were heard of on Friday.   People waiting from approximately 3am on Friday morning to get one of the last 100 spots.   And we won't even mention the little snafu with product that was a little behind schedule to be delivered.

I Told You...ah, Forget It
It's not worth saying, but I saw this coming.   A GP with 3,000+ participants?   Absolutely possible, and with the popularity of the Modern Masters product, almost a given.   The only question was, would enough people travel at least 200 miles or more to make it a success?

Buried in my feedback for my first Blog posting here as Magic Dad, was a great letter from a TO of some renown    In the letter, the gentlemen who we'll refer to as 'TS' wrote that he appreciated much of what was said and that he is striving to avoid mistakes in the future as a TO.   He talked a bit about what preregistration numbers meant to the final tally - how does one predict attendance based upon prereg numbers was a central theme.   As TS closed his letter, he said, "...I understand that we need to get way better at running complex events as these things go from 500 players at a GP to the 5000 person GP of my dreams."   Wow.

Is Tim...err, TS...precognitive? 

Bitter Pill
It is a bitter pill to swallow, making last minute changes to an event that will shut out some players.   It's even harder to do when you strongly believe in your event and offering the best service possible.   But Tim showed some great character in doing so.   It wasn't an event I was going to be at either way, (I'm on the east coast and traveling to a MTG event more than 2-3 hours isn't something my wife really...understands).   If I could have gone, because I had to make arrangements in advance I would have absolutely included preregistering.

In fact, I'd likely do so at least a month or more out from the event.

So why didn't everyone else?   Why is it that even in the last week, Tim took on 1,500 more registrants?   A full 1/3 of the people attending?   Didn't they know they were going to go?

Let me ask this another way.   You  want to attend a concert to see your favorite band.   Mine is Metallica, so I'll go with that for this example.   To get into a venue with limited seating and to participate in a popular event, you plan in advance.   You schedule time off from work, just to buy tickets.   When they open up ticket sales, you jump online, sweating bullets (sorry, wrong band) that you'll not get the seats you want.   Or worse yet, that they'll sell out in 10 minutes and your transaction will take 12 to complete.   A 60,000 seat stadium can be sold out in less than 30 minutes.   Why is this so different than an MTG tournament?   MTG GPs don't have unlimited resources.   Both gamers and TOs recognize this.

Granted, I don't think I'll get to see Kirk Hammett at a GP, but still...

The point I'd like to make is, Tim made a tough decision.   But he did so knowing several things.   He knew that he had offered preregistration for some time, and that dedicated players had already registered.   He knew that he would still keep it open for another day or three, depending on how many signed up.   Tim tried to make the event as accessible as possible to all players, but he knew that issuing a cap was the right thing to do when faced with the alternative.   He had to choose between disappointing players who didn't plan things out with disappointing players who had planned and payed for the privilege of attending.   You can do the math on that equation a hundred different ways - but every time I do it I come up with Tim's answer to the problem.

One Step at a Time
Tim Shields is a TO who made the right decision in a difficult situation.   He ran an event that many reported to be smooth and without any major problems on a scale never before seen in the MTG community.   He did it by planning far in advance and working his plan.   Yes, he did make a mistake in projecting the human error component (if you can call it his fault people make mistakes).   He offered heartfelt apologies for this.

He also made some improvements to the experience for players, by offering and promoting preregistration as the best way to get a seat at the table.   If we all learn one lesson from this, it's this: Preregistration Works.   I don't want to call it a done deal yet, but I do foresee the next change to MTG events being preregistration is the only way to register for larger events.   To make it really work, you have to do two things though.

First, you should find an incentive for preregistration that encourages players to use this process.   Either a choice product (a special token, playmat or other game gear) or a discount.   I'm not talking to TO's that do this already.   Those that don't need to find a way to sweeten the pot, just a little bit.

The other thing you must do is learn from Tim's one or two miscalculations for this event.   I think it's not unreasonable to state that you need to place an absolute upper limit on the number of registrations you're willing to accept, based on your capabilities to host the event.   Tim did do this, it just ended up being that he had to make a late adjustment based on new information.   Remember, there are only 40,000 seats for that Metallica concert - just as there are only so many judges, lands, or tables available.   Please don't state you can handle X number of players when there is a limiting factor that says the real number is X-500.   I'm not faulting Tim Shields here, but I am stating that his experience is one that all TO's can learn from to provide even better service in the future as GPs continue to increase in size.

Applause
So let's do this.   Everyone who attended the GP in Vegas should send Tim a message via Twitter (@timothypshields), thanking him for the event.   Even if you tilted horribly and dropped day one, recognize that organizing an event of this magnitude and running it as well as he did deserves some special recognition.   When you see a Judge, thank them as well - they helped to make the event what it was.   I'd encourage everyone to thank special people at WotC as well, but don't forget to show Helene Bergeot some love as well via Twitter (@helenebergeot), I understand this event fell largely into her domain.

While we're on the topic thanking people, remember to thank your LGS for supporting the game and giving you a chance to draft or play in a format.   The support for GP's like Vegas really starts there.

When you're done thanking everyone, you can go back to the debate of the day on Twitter or Reddit.   But only once you've made sure to thank these awesome people for helping you set a record and attend an event that was, by all accounts, executed without any major problems or delays.   That, my friends, is a miracle.

Getting Committed

I'm a person that enjoys writing.   It helps me to exercise my demons.   Even the nasty little blue ones with sharp pointy teeth can be driven out with a good session with a word processor.   The mere act of putting something onto the screen helps to remove angst and feelings that are bottled up inside of me.   I'm also a voracious reader, but the act of reading is fundamentally different than writing.   With reading, we consume and ingest someone else's works.   We enter their world and are trapped in it for a time.   By writing, I have the ability to give weight to the many ideas that roll around inside of my head like a sea of chaff.   I can distill my thoughts down to 26 characters arranged in a fashion to convey love and hate, joy and sadness.   It's a wonderful feeling to get all of these random thoughts that bounce around my head down in some permanent form that others can read and comment upon.

Writing, to borrow a rather trite expression, is a cathartic exercise.   The act allows me to wrestle with concepts and free them to the world.   But there are dangers in writing.   While sitting at a desk in some anonymous residence, I'm invincible.   I can slay dragons and rescue damsels.   Or rescue dragons and slay damsels, such is the power of the word.   The minute I select to publish though, it's free.   Free for consumption.   Free for interpretation.   Free for criticism.   Free for distribution.   Just as the act of writing is freeing, the act of reading is the opposite.   People are incarcerated by things written by not just me (poor, lowly me) but by thousands of pundits, reporters, and authors across the many mediums that allow print to be given unto life.   The act of publishing a written work puts it in the public domain for review, trapping the reader in the writer's interpretation of events.   What is more scary though is it traps the writer into the reader's ability to interpret the intention of the piece.   Be it a Twitter post or a 1,000 page novel, the writer is as trapped as the reader until the journey is complete.

All of that doom and gloom aside, I hold a neutral view regarding the publishing of things I write.   I can't always make people see things the way I see them.   I am as open to be being misinterpreted as any other writer.   Sometimes, that causes me discomfort.   I want others to accept what I believe are rational arguments.   I want others to feel the emotion I express.   It's not always the case though.   There is something I find more dangerous though than writing a viewpoint and having it misinterpreted.   It's the act of writing something personal as a declaration of self improvement.   Stating, "I'm going to learn how to rebuild a car engine," is limiting myself to a particular act.   What if I fail?   What if I can't figure out how to time a carburetor or misunderstand how to use a torque wrench?   The act of placing a promissory statement in regards to self improvement is one I've often shied away from because of how limiting it can be.   It places handcuffs on my wrists that can't be removed when the readers stop reading - because I know I wrote it and it's out there.   It's a trap within a trap.   Today though, I'm going to make a statement regarding self-improvement as it relates to Magic.   And I want to challenge others to do the same.

Kitchen Table

We all play MTG in a variety of formats.   Some of us like EDH but hate limited and cube.   Others of us only play casual Magic, mixing things up over the kitchen table until we reach wild board states WotC never thought possible.   I've professed my own love over playing limited and my personal confusion at the Standard meta game.   You might think that's bonkers, that the only way to play is Standard, or Modern or Vintage (let's not even talk about Extended, perhaps the most unsupported format in the community).

No matter what format we choose to play, we all do so with a passion.   I've recently expanded my repertoire using EDH and my box of Modern Masters as a springboard.   No matter what I play, I find an increasing love for the game every time I pick up a deck and roll dice for turn.   One thing continually strikes me though.   If I don't have Larry around (my LGS's local rules guru), I feel like I'm flying blind.   I 'know' how some cards are supposed to work with others.   I'm particularly comfortable playing the newer blocks and formats.   EDH and Modern Masters has opened my eyes a bit more to the wider world of card interactions.   Splicing, for instance, is insanely cool but a little bit complicated.   While I have moments when I feel stupid, that doesn't mean I feel good when it happens in the pursuit of new formats and game styles.

I want to understand how the stack works.   I need to know how to work out complicated layers questions. I've want to grok who has priority in any given situation and what to do with the new legend's rule.   So it's time to graduate from Kitchen Table Magic.

Judge!

I've been impressed at all levels with the Magic Judges I've seen and interacted with at events.   I consider them a class above the rest.   I've decided (and this has been on my mind a great deal lately), that I want to be a Magic Judge.   Cue the Rocky music.   Cut to the training montage.   Just don't do a head-shot - I'm not Hollywood material.   Perhaps we could get someone like Brad Pitt to play me...   Oops, sorry.  I drifted off topic for a moment there.

I know there are people out there that will help me with this endeavor (Rocky music slowly rises in the background again).   I'm not sure at the LGS level how that will work out, but I do have a friend who has already offered to help me in this endeavor from a store about an hour away.   I've got a few reasons why I want to do this, some are more personal than others.   But I think it's important to try to share them here.   If I'm going to go all in, I may as well do it with some style.

My first reason is simple.   Please don't gasp when I state it out loud - you'll wake the baby.   Folks, Magic isn't cheap.   There's a reason people call the game cardboard crack.   As a hobby just for myself, it would be one thing.   But I've got a 12 year old in tow everywhere I go that wants to do what I do (and vice versa, to be fair).   Every time I pay for a draft, I'm paying double.   Every time I pay an entry fee?  Double.   Food?  Double.   Come on and sing it with me, Double, Double, Double...   Long term, there are two sustainable models.   Actually, there are three if we count the lottery.   But the hard truth is that I can choose to either play a lot less and not take Jacob to as many events and FNMs or I can work on becoming a Judge, thus helping to lower my costs over time through participating on a different level than as a player.

Finances though aren't the only reason.   If it were, it wouldn't be enough.   I'm a firm believer in service to organizations I care about.   I see Magic as not being much different than Boy Scouts in that regard.   As a leader in Boy Scouts, I've got 14+ years of volunteer experience.   Giving back to help something grow into something better for tomorrow is a worthwhile goal.   Combined with my time in a field of work that relies on customer service, I'm sure the combination of wanting to give back and serving others will work well for me as a judge.   I know donning those black threads is something many experienced players can and should do.   I also realize that not everyone has the ability to deal with someone that has just lost a significant decision.   I'm positive though that I have a pedigree of experiences from my vocation that will serve me well as a judge.

My last reason is perhaps the most selfish.   It's also the reason I imagine many others get into this side of Magic.   I want to better understand the rules.   I don't want to do this to know how to bend them, I want to do this so I know when others are doing so.   I trust a great deal in what my opponents tell me about their board states, as I am often more concerned with mine.   However, the comprehensive rules for Magic are several hundred pages long (I know, as a player I've already read them twice).   To really understand how something on page 56 interacts with something on page 211 is still a mystery to me.   I want to know how to read and interpret the layer upon layer of complexity that powers the MTG engine.   I'm sure I can do it, but without a goal beyond my kitchen table, why would I bother?

Commitment

I'm setting a goal for myself that is quite frankly a bit daunting.   I know that the rules and interactions are complex.   I also know I'm committing myself to a serious goal here by simply putting this down for others to read.   No longer will this be something, "I'd like to do."   Now it is something I will do.   No more lurking in the Judge Tutoring Facebook page for me.   From now own, I'll take a crack as I have time at answering questions.   I'll open up the Comprehensive Rules and start reading through them again.   I'll reach out to my friend (Judge and TO Nick Coss) and ask him how to move forward with learning some of the more complex interactions - or better yet, when I can next come to his store to help out with an event.

It won't be easy.   The hardest part will be the time commitment as I work full-time, volunteer several hours most weeks with Scouts, and I'm a college student as well - kids, finish your degrees when you're young.   But I will do it.

I'll take the black.

[Cue crescendo, ascend steps of staircase in front of Philadelphia Museum of Art, raise hands in air and fade to black.]

__________________________________
This story has been sitting in my list of ideas and stories for over a week.   To be honest, I'm scared of making this type of a commitment - or rather, to make it as a public declaration.   I almost didn't post it.   But I want to see others step up to the challenge.   So I hit the publish button.   I'm not asking for blood, just a little bit of your time if you read this.   Consider what you can give back to the game.   If you don't want to be a Judge, find some way to give back.   The game will be better for it.

Five Things I Think...

Today, here are 5 things I think I know about MTG:

1. Modern Masters: This special set will be a smashing success.   Wizards will make money, LGSs will make money, traders and the secondary markets will make money.   No cards will go down overly much in value, in fact most should remain at their value or spike slightly in price.   I do not think it will have the intended affect Wizards of the Coast hopes for - at least not to the scale that they desire to see Modern become an increasingly popular format.   They'll learn lessons from this release, and likely have a MM2 within two to three years.   (I strongly disagree with anyone that thinks it will happen next year - to the point that I'd put money on it).

I've already written why I think this set will have problems fulfilling the expectations of WotC, but here it is again in a nutshell.   The overall cost of the product, often highly inflated above the suggested price, is a big red stop sign to many players.   If you're not going to GP Vegas (can you say 3,000+ guests?), than you're likely going to be paying at least $200, and more likely $250 or more for a box.   For those that get it below $200, congrats.   However, all that aside this will be phenomenally successful.

2. Modern Masters (Part Two): I am excited to get my box at the MSRP - thank you Top Deck Games.   I can't wait to open it.   What I am having a hard time deciding is in advance is what to do if I hit a few money cards.   Trade them back and buy another box?   I think that's the move, but I honestly don't know.   I do turn a little bit into Gollum when I think of foil 'goyfs and swords.   My precious...

My ultimate goal is I want to be able to build a couple of fun Modern format decks.   I don't expect my Modern constructed deck to be competitive.   Yes, even though that last statement sounded counter-intuitive I do mean it exactly as I said it.   Is there a player of Modern out there that isn't a Spike and doesn't just want to smash face?

I don't, at least not in constructed.   In constructed, I'd rather learn how to play.   I want to have a good time.   I'd even like to have a conversation with my opponent before and after the game.   In Limited format, I'd absolutely like a little bit of face smashing.   But I'll be lucky to draft this in a group more than 2-3 times.   It's a big set with a high learning curve for people that have been playing as long as I have and it's expensive.   Even if you can find a draft where they aren't charging much more than MSRP, unless you're independently wealthy you likely aren't drafting it much.

I'm anxious to hear about people's experiences with this new format, and I will try to write about mine if they're exciting enough.

3. EDH: I think that by the end of the year, we'll have 4-6 new EDH products from WotC.   This is a best guess, but I really do feel that with the increasing popularity of EDH as a format and given the initial overtures by Wizards were very successful, they can't help but follow-up with another run of custom decks.   Two things would make this even better - one, each deck has a chance for a bonus commander and two, there will be at least one new card for each deck that will only be available to EDH players.

I'm also finally playing my EDH deck I built a couple of months ago.   This may sound blasphemous to some of you, but I can't tell you how much more fun it is to play than my Standard deck.   I can't get enough of it.   My general is Aurelia, and while I rarely get her to the battlefield against my son's Ruric Thar deck, when I do it's glorious.   I practically thump my chest when it happens.   As an aside here, for a little dude that's probably spent less time building his EDH deck than he has reading the rules, his deck is always a handful.   My deck is a study in what I have versus/what I can afford/versus what advice I've received - in theory it should be leaps and bounds ahead.   Yet he constantly finds ways to beat me.   I don't know if I want to start tinkering with my deck yet.   Perhaps it's time to start building another one?

4. Drafting Nightmares: I know I practically wake up with cold sweats now the night before a block draft.   It's just that scary.   I've played it 4-5 times.   I've read just about every article out there.   And I've really thought I've been smart, or clever, or strategic or ... [insert your favorite synonym for intelligence here].   I haven't broken 3-2 yet.   Last week I went 1-2 with what I thought was a pretty vicious Gruul splash black deck.   That's not so bad, at least I'm above 50% overall, right?   For someone who's still a drafting infant compared to some of the weekly competition, isn't that respectable?

Unfortunately, it's not for me.   Here's why.   I'm not comfortable.   Let me break it down for you, so we can all look at it.   It starts with Pack 1.   Dragon's Maze.   10 Guilds, one Pack, few common playable cards, maybe.    Questions about whether or not you have to telegraph what guild you want/need to be in and which pack that is.   Tough choices among the uncommons and rares abound.   Do you choose that Orzhov card, or do you go with the Gruul?   Gold card or standard?   Draft gates early or late?   There are as many strategies as their are guilds - actually, there are more.   The funny thing is, this set is so well balanced that it depends more on your bombs, removal and play style than it does on what guild you draft - at least, as far as I can tell.   (Noted exception, Dimir is still difficult to play well).

And there are at least six players at your table (hopefully eight or more).   This isn't your mother's M13 draft.   Oh no sir, this is a whole different animal.

So you pick likely 3 colors out of Dragon's Maze.   Maybe you splash a few gates to help you on your way.   Then you start up with Gatecrash followed by RTR.   The second two packs of this block are where things get dicey.   Why?   You guessed wrong.   Either someone to your right or left starts cutting you at a critical time.   Or what's worse, because there is only one set of packs instead of three that server your guild, you don't find any fixing.

I spoke with a friend at last week's draft.   I asked him what his impression was after having been able to draft it a few times more than I had - and I don't think he had any better feel for it than I did.   Of course, he beat me pretty soundly later on in the evening, but I don't think he knew why his deck worked anymore than why mine failed.

I'm a self diagnosed Timmy - but I like to at least understand and plan a bit of what I'm doing.   This limited format is crazy.   Not necessarily in a bad way, but it is crazy.   So here's what I think.

I think that TO's and LGS's should find a way to order and store a fair bit of RTR, GTC and DGM stock.   Anything less than 5-10 full cycles is ridiculously near-sighted for any store with a dedicated base of players.   When this format goes out of rotation, it will be a drafting gold standard for years to come.

5. Vintage: Lastly, I think I wished I played Vintage.   I wish so much for that depth of knowledge of the game and for the cards to play at that level.   I want to be able to do this.   To be able to play at my friend's coolest Magic event of the year and feel like I belong.

But here's the thing that I've learned about Magic.   I don't have to play Vintage to attend the tournament.   I don't have to even know what it is.   I just have to love the game.

And because my friend is the TO, I know something else.   I'm saving the date.   Not because he's my friend, although for me that would be enough.   No, it's because he knows Magic.  It will be worth the drive just to see the side events, the people, the artists and the product.   I fully expect we'll get to play some fun drafts.   I hope to get to spend time meeting some great people and talking with them.   Perhaps above all else, I can't wait to be introduced to what it means to play Vintage, and to share that with my son.

Jacob and I will be there in November, and we'll bring our decks, binders and a great attitude.   Perhaps we'll even bring some SJ attitude with us.

November 1-3, Philadelphia.   Be there folks, for the return of the Eternal Weekend.   Maybe together, we can figure out what an 'eternal weekend' is and how we can make more of them.   Hosted by Card Titan, it will be an event to remember.   I can guarantee you that.



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Thank you for reading!