Success!!!

As you have surely heard at this point, Wizards of the Coast saved Christmas, by making just about the biggest announcement in modern times for tournament play. After a string of some of the worst decisions in the company’s history (to be blunt), they spent an incredible amount of time and effort to craft a better system, one built on the feedback of the community that spoke out against…

• Killing the chance for National Teams to compete at Worlds
• The broken Planeswalker Points system
• Honoring quantity of play, rather than skill
• Cutting support to tournament Magic
• Recent, absolutely terrible communication

The tournament community formed a movement unlike any the game has ever seen before. An unmatched level of action was taken by the community, and it is because of this movement, as well as WotC recommitting themselves to improving the tournament scene, that we see this incredible set of announcements, which can be found here  . Many people have asked for a breakdown of these changes, to help make them a bit clearer.

These changes include:

• The World Cup
• Planeswalker Points
• Pro Points and Invites
• An Extra Million Dollars
• Good Communication

World Cup

So let’s start with a big one. The public outcry over discontinuing the World Championships was unprecedented. Between the Facebook group, the petition, the e-mails, tweets, blogposts, and articles, there was an unparalleled call for action. Players demonstrated just how much they care about the game’s history and a World Championship event where national teams can compete. Wizards of the Coast actually one up’ed our request for a replacement for the team portion of Worlds by creating the Magic World Cup!

Details on the Magic World Cup can be found here  , but the long story short is that it is a $150,000 event involving a team of four from each country that participated in the old World Championships. The World Cup is actually a massive improvement over the old World’s Team Competition for a few reasons. First of all, that is an increase in the prize pool by over 50% (old team event was just under $100,000).

In addition, the World Cup will award about 688 Pro Points (assuming there is the same number of teams as in 2011). Compare that to the number of points awarded to the World’s team event in 2011, just 132. This is primarily because of Nationals being split into three events that no longer award Pro Points, but the fact remains: this puts huge added weight on the World’s Team Event, with so much more at stake.

Additionally, the method for selecting each country’s National Team has been changed to a system that is going to lead to more exciting national teams. Now instead of one Nationals tournament, there are three qualifier tournaments, with the winner of each making 3/4ths of the team. The final member is the player with the most pro points from that country for that year. This means that every country will have at least one of their very best players, plus there are three chances for top players to earn a slot on the National Team.

Not everyone loves there being three qualifier tournaments for the National Team, since presumably the prize payout for anyone other than first isn’t going to be that exciting. There is also concern that in some places the qualifiers will be held on the same weekend (which would be pretty unfair to which ever places had that limitation). It also creates the really annoying situation where players are incentivized to split up and not actually see each other at the events. Not all of the details on the World Cup qualifiers have been released yet, but hopefully these sorts of issues are being worked on as we speak. It’s like LSV said when we talked after hearing the changes, “Sure, there are some minor changes we’d like to see and issues to work out, but now we are just talking little details.”

National Teams consisting of three tournament winners are generally going to be stronger than just taking the top 3 from one tournament. Combine this with the top ranked player making the team, and we are looking at WAY more exciting National Teams at the World Cup! One concern was with who would be the National Champion? Isn’t the National Champion whoever has the most Pro Points from that country? Generally, that person is added to the roster as the top Pro Point player, though if they win one of the three Qualifiers, their slot passes down to whoever has second most pro points. They are still the “Top Player in the Country,” i.e. the National Champ! This is the best of both worlds, letting everyone get a chance to earn a slot on their National Team, but at the same time ensuring the “best” player from each country is on the team!

This system does have plenty of rough edges to smooth out, such as the World Cup Qualifiers being so “all-or-nothing” (mainly a problem in big markets). The World Cup is definitely very slanted in favor of small markets (as was the team portion before, only now more so). With only four players from the US and Japan, there are going to be a lot of great players left out. That said, this is several giant steps in the right direction, and having a change that hoses big markets for a change is not the worst in the world, considering the big markets are getting so many extra Grand Prix now.

I’d still like to see a team event at some point that lets top players build their own teams; however that is a separate question. That WotC has listened to the community and restored the World Championship event that let National Teams compete with one another has led to a huge increase in support of it. Would we still like to see more than sixteen players competing in the individual World Championship? Absolutely, but this is a lot of progress, and WotC has certainly demonstrated their willingness to listen to feedback. Now that the 16-player $100K event is not called the “World Championships,” but rather the “Player Championships,” it will be interesting to see where those changes lead.

Overall, the World Cup is absolutely awesome. Though not every element of Worlds is back, most are, and many are better than ever (by a lot). This is a major triumph for everyone that fought for Worlds. It is awesome to see WotC taking our feedback to heart. We don’t only want to speak up with complaints, so I hope everyone that helped make this possible writes to some of the WotC guys and lets them know how much we appreciate them not just listening to our feedback, but using it to build something really awesome!

Planeswalker Points

The Planeswalker Points system is well-intentioned, but like so many systems built on good intentions, it had flaws. Brian Kibler does a pretty good job of helping highlight the problems of the old system here  . This overall change to the Planeswalker Points system is absolutely fantastic, another major victory. One of the biggest problems with the old was that only 100 people could get the target reward. Even trying to grind for byes was a disaster, not having any idea what threshold you had to hit.

The new system has fixed targets to aim for to earn byes, as well as invites to the World Cup qualifiers (like being invited to Nationals). That makes it a lot less stressful and better to plan around. Moving the invites away from Planeswalker Points and towards other areas is going to reward skill and success, rather than primarily quantity of play. Additionally, it removes the element that was causing people to take the fun out of it. Under the old system, it was basically impossible to compete with super grinders, many of which were not enjoying their grind. That is not a fun system. Under the new system, Planeswalker Points are relevant to tens of thousands of players (eventually more). Additionally, it puts an end to “The Grind.”

Those invites are now going to a variety of places:

-Inviting the top four players from each Grand Prix helps maintain them as worthwhile ways for unqualified players to try to make it on to or back to the PT, while having a great time with friends. The sheer volume of Grand Prix combined with more exclusive Pro Tours ensures that fewer slots need to be awarded in this fashion than previously, but four is a lot more than zero or one.

-Inviting the top 25 players from the previous Pro Tour is also big. Everyone agrees that doing well at the Pro Tour should ensure you qualify for the next one (which is particularly important for people trying to get into the Pro Players’ Club).

-New and improved Pro Players’ Club, which we will discuss below and is crucial to the dream of playing Pro Magic.

-The top 4 teams from the World Cup (16 players) will be invited. Now usually, at least 4 of those players will already be invited, and it is still a great way for players (especially from smaller markets) to fight their way onto the PT. 

-In addition to awarding over 100 slots in those ways, there are also going to be about 20 extra PTQs rotating through small markets that usually don’t have as many chances to qualify for the Pro Tour.

Out of the 100 Planeswalker Points invite people, the majority were invited other ways and more still will now with all the new ways to get invited. There are maybe a couple dozen people that were only getting invites by grinding non-stop, but not all of those players even enjoyed the grind they were on (suffering severe burn-out), and all seem to agree that the changes are overall good for the game (plus they still get their invite to Hawaii). It is tempting to hold it against the people who were “exploiting” the Planeswalker Points system (while still staying within the rules), but those people were among the strongest forces that helped show WotC what was wrong with the system and how to fix it. Yes, some number of super grinders love the grinding and are no longer getting plane tickets and invites, but it is really not that harsh to say “You have to actually do well in at least one tournament sometime, to qualify for the Pro Tour, whether it is a PTQ, a GP, or the World Cup.”

In addition to changing what Planeswalker Points led to, they also fixed a number of the multipliers, such as returning FNMs to 1x. Why is this good? First of all, it stops punishing people from small markets as badly. Second of all, it was hurting tournament attendance in stores for anything accept FNM, since a number of people started only looking for FNMs to go to. Could the numbers be tweaked further still? Sure, but all the little changes add up to something good.

Pro Points and Invites

Competitive Planeswalker points may have been fixed, but the sort of system that is ideal for rewarding thousands of players trying to advance in the game is not actually the best system for measuring who the top 100, top 30, and top 10 players are. The old Professional Points system still heavily valued quantity of play, rather than performance. Returning to Pro Points was the perfect solution, since Pro Points were designed to be slanted to reward skill. Pro Points have long been one of the gold standards for Pro Tour success, with the other being top 8’ing a Pro Tour.

Another improvement with the new system is that the Pro Points totals have been adjusted to greater reward Pro Tour play, as well as compensate for so many more GPs and only three PTs. Under the new system (and assuming 350 players for all examples), there are now 1513 Pro Points being awarded at each Pro Tour, compared to 1197 under the old (an increase of 26%).

The added Pro Points are not smoothly distributed, however. There is now a new threshold to reach at Pro Tours. Top 25 is The Goal, with greatly increased prize payouts and Pro Points. Players 26-350 do receive 1125 points, compared to 946 under the old system (an increase of 19%). However, the top 25 now receive 388 Pro Points, compared to 251 under the old (an increase of 55%)!

This means that the new Pro Points system rewards big finishes even more than the old system but raises the rewards for all Pro Tour play. In addition, Grand Prix have been returning to the slightly lower point totals from a few years ago of eight for 1st, six for 2nd, five for top 4, four for top 8, three for top 16, two for top 32, and one for top 64. These changes combine to reemphasize Pro Tour play as the big stage, as well as helping balance things now that there are going to be so many Grand Prix.

While players now have one fewer Pro Tour to earn Pro Points at, there are a lot more points being given out. Top players benefit from even more points at the top. Aspiring players benefit from the Pro Tour having over a hundred fewer people at it compared to 2011. The net result will be more Pro Tour Points being given out, especially among those trying to play Magic professionally. This will result in more players getting more Pro Points and receiving big rewards from the Pro Player’s Club, which we’ll get to in a minute.

Another benefit of saving Pro Points is holding on to an important piece of Magic’s history. Keeping Pro Points maintains the integrity of so much built by Finkel, Kai, and so many others. This lets us better compare great achievements today with those from years past. Yes, there are going to be more Pro Points in 2012 than 2011, but remember, that is because 2011 was the last of the old downsized era. There were past years with more Pro Points won. There was a dip from the chain reaction starting with Darksteel and continuing during leaner times at Wizards. Now things have been positive for a few years, and the game is growing at a very healthy clip. In fact, Magic is at an all-time high, and Wizards really is passing that on to tournament play, as well as making it clear that they really will continue to increase support for the tournament scene as the game grows.

One of the elements of the game’s history that is keeping mostly the same form is that of the Hall of Fame, which will not change all that much. Players will still need a basic threshold to get a vote for the Hall of Fame and to be on the ballot, though the total will be slightly higher (old was 100). There is more to be announced on this, but one other change is that there will now be a $500 appearance fees to Hall of Famers (cumulative to anything else). This is awesome because Pro Tours are more exciting when Kai Budde, Gabriel Nassif, and Alan Comer show up. The majority of Hall of Famers aren’t full-time professional Magic players, so helping cover their plane ticket goes a long way towards making it possible for them to come to more events.

An Extra Million Dollars

WotC did cut a Pro Tour, as well as the team event from Worlds. That is almost $250K for the 4th PT and $100K for the team event. How is this new plan a success then? There may be $350K taken away from those two events, but there is $1,000,000 in added prize support to the rest of the events including the creation of new events.

The new World Cup event is significantly bigger than the team portion of old Worlds was, adding $150,000 in cash, plus appearance fees, plus Pro Points. This is an event at Gen Con that people are going to be very excited to watch. Add this $150K to the $100K for the Player’s Championship (the 16-person individual event that will be later in the year), and you are already up to a Pro Tour’s worth of cash. Now factor in an expanded Grand Prix schedule and more cash at each of the other three Pro Tours, and you are already talking over $600,000 more than 2011 (despite cutting a Pro Tour!).

That isn’t the end of it, however. The new Pro Player’s Club isn’t just “good enough”; it is actually a giant leap forward. Let’s take a look at it for a moment. Yes, obviously it doesn’t apply to everyone in the world, but knowing that WotC is going to stand behind tournament Magic and that the Dream can be a reality, that is important to a lot more than just the people living it today.

First of all, there are three “Levels,” making for a far more simplified system. At 15 Pro Points, you get two byes and an invite to a World Cup Qualifier. That doesn’t seem like a ton, but it is important to note that this is reflective of fewer byes being given out overall (which is better for most people at GPs). This “Silver” level cleans up the first several levels of the old system.

Next, we come to “Gold,” which needs 25 Pro Points, this season. It is worth noting that it’s awesome that WotC is actually warning us ahead of time that the thresholds for the 2012-2013 season will be different (as a result of further expanded event schedules, compared to the 2011-2012 season). It is just nice that they are giving everyone notice so that we can all plan accordingly.

Gold is basically the gravy train and invites you to all the Pro Tours, plus three byes at GPs and invites to World Cup Qualifiers. These changes are part of the changing Magic years to be from June to May, instead of January to December. This new year will make each year start with the core set, then include one full block, which is actually a much cleaner way to do things, not to mention lining up better with the seasons that Magic tournaments are held in. For instance, they can now have the World Cup at Gen Con based on the results from the previous year (a World Championship).

It is important to note: this new change is going to allow more players to get onto the “train” than before. With no ratings or PWPoints invites, WotC was able to change the Pro Points awarded, as discussed above. It is definitely unclear how many people will be on the train this year, but it will surely be more than last year, which is great news for players trying to work their way up the ladder, since a number of people that would have gotten one free invite under old system will now get invited to everything.

Finally, we come to “Platinum.” This is the level that is replacing the top several levels of the Pro Player Club and is actually way better. To properly compare them, we should distinguish the former level 8s from the other high levels. To start with, the awards from “Platinum” are actually almost the same as old level 8, although far more people will reach this level. For instance, someone with 28-30 points in 2011 could easily have had over 40 under the new system, assuming they did well in at least one Pro Tour.

There were nine level 8s in 2011. When the new year ends in 2012, there should be about 30-35 “Platinum” level players! The players who were levels 5, 6, or 7 will be getting significantly more appearance fees, plus plane tickets and hotels paid for. This makes it possible for a lot more people to play Magic professionally and will greatly expand professional play.

What about the level 8s? Their Platinum benefits are almost equal to their old level 8 benefits, but look at how the numbers line up. People get invited to the Player’s Championship by Pro Points, among other roads. Three PT Champs, the World Champ, the Magic Online Champ, and the Player of the Year take up six slots, leaving the top 10 players to get invites on Pro Points. That more than covers the would-be level 8s by awarding them an invite worth thousands.

This set of changes is very important for anyone who enjoys following the events, as well as anyone trying to work their way up the pyramid. These changes make it more worthwhile than ever to pursue tournament Magic and allow more people to live the dream than ever before. Additionally, WotC has put their money where their mouth is, showing their commitment to the tournament scene and expanding it as the game expands.

Good Communication

Wizards of the Coast worked very hard to put together an absolutely incredible plan, but a big part of that was improved communication. Problems like losing the Worlds Team event, Planeswalker Points being focused on the wrong things, and decreasing support for tournament play were the result of a breakdown in communication. After all, if casual play (like Commander) is on the rise, maybe people don’t care as much about tournament Magic? Fortunately, players everywhere spoke up and reminded WotC that even though they are a corporation, they are also in charge of a culture. Not everything can be just dollars today, and growing the game keeps it healthy in the future. WotC took this feedback to heart and was very serious about getting things back on the right track.

They listened to what players were asking for. They expanded the budget and figured out how to spend more money efficiently. They even discussed their proposed changes beforehand, with a number of players, including Kibler, LSV, Paulo, myself, and more. This gave us a chance to lend a voice to tournament players, both asking questions beforehand to get all the relevant information, as well as making suggestions on how best to expand tournament Magic.

Wizards has made it a high priority to communicate well and listen to the community’s feedback, which is also reflected in the recent change to the rules regarding mandatory triggers being “optional.” They made a change that is in touch with what the majority of the community wanted, and though the first attempt had some “glitches,” they listened to the feedback and fixed the problems!

Finally, Wizards is spelling things out more clearly, as well as giving better indicators of what they will be doing in the future. Additionally, they have revised the language used in announcements a little, to avoid confusing “PR Spin.” They are a corporation, which can make communication with us tough; but they have certainly gone a long way towards improving it. I realize this sounds like the most disgustingly pro-WotC article ever, but the truth is, this is just about the best move WotC has made in the modern era, as far as tournament Magic goes. Go look up the opinion of every curmudgeon you care to listen to, every naysayer, every doom-and-gloom messenger. Very rarely has there ever been an announcement so universally loved and supported, which is fitting, since very rarely has there ever been such a universally hated and disagreed with set of moves than the previous ones. WotC made some pretty big mistakes, but they actually went beyond Netflixing it; they actually came back with something bigger and better than ever.

Make no mistake; this set of changes is a true triumph for tournament Magic at all levels.

Conclusion:

1. The World Championship between each National Team is back, supported more than ever, and will feature more exciting teams than ever.

2. Planeswalker Points have been fixed.

3. Pro Points have been saved; PT Invites are back to focus on skill.

4. There is over $600K more in prizes for 2012, plus added benefits worth something like a million dollars.

5. WotC is actually serious about good communication.

Not everything is perfect, but this is a home run for the game and its culture and would not have been possible if not for everyone’s part of the movement. Those e-mails, letters, tweets, blogposts, articles, Facebook group, petition, and conversations with WotC members all added up. They listened to our feedback and invested a lot more into tournament Magic than ever before. If you were part of the movement, please consider sending feedback on these changes to #MTGOP to whoever you wrote to before. WotC listened to us this time, and this is the best way to make sure they continue to do so in the future. This is an organic process that is still evolving, so we should be sure to let them know when they are “doing it right.”

Patrick Chapin
“The Innovator”

@Juzam  Martin Juza 
good job wotc! @helenebergeot @ScottLarabee @mtgaaron@maro254 #mtgop 

@TheZvi  Zvi Mowshowitz
I just want to say, thanks to everyone: @mtgaaron, @maro254 and friends at WotC and #MTGOP , and also those who pushed them to fix things.

@kaibudde  Kai Budde 
that’s some great news. nationals, worlds and player club alive, awesome job wotc, didn’t expect this to happen that fast! #mtgop 

@HUDBot  AJ Sacher 
Holy S#*&, it looks like WotC is actually listening to the players and are fixing their incredibly ill-conceived ideas! Finally some sanity.

@mixedknuts  Theodore Knutson 
Congrats to @mtgaaron and the #MTGOP  team for manning up and fixing this (and quickly too – we were told February). Happy holidays, guys

@Jonnymagic00  Jon Finkel 
I really didn’t think WotC had it in them to effectively scrap Planeswalker points for high level play. I’m impressed.

@Jonnymagic00  Jon Finkel 
This looks pretty good. To be clear, Planeswalker Points are no longer involved in PT Qualification. #GoodJobWotc 

@steveoms  Steve OMS 
I like a lot of #mtgop  changes . Thanks @mtgaaron@HeleneBergeot @maro254 @DJ__Nox and everyone else who listened to players concerns!

@PVDDR  Paulo Vitor 
I guess I’m the same as everyone else in that I like everything but the Qs being split in 3 different tournaments

@AllFairness  Tim Aten 
Good job, Wizards! To all you “grinders,” “ringers,” and “DIs”: enjoy your one bush league PT, you grimy bastards!

@paulrietzl 
everyone seems oddly happy and even noted curmudgeons are praising wotc. does this mean i get to stay on the pt?! (haven’t read changes yet)

@AdrianLSullivan  
Seriously, @maro254 , thanks. I know people who are already considering getting back into OP now. No one I spoke to in months liked it b4.

@AdrianLSullivan  
THANK GOD for these changes to Organized Play. #PWPS  #mtg  #sanity  fb.me/TDpAblkZ 

@LuisScottVargas 
Changes are sweet, and not JUST because they started counting at GP KC…

@bmkibler 
WotC listens: wizards.com/Magic/Magazine…