Dark clouds on the Invitational's horizon...

[Godder]

From Mark Rosewater's latest mailbag column:

This year there isn't going to be a Magic Invitational. As part of our Organized Play Department's refocusing on grass roots programs, the Invitational was cut from this year's schedule. What does this mean for the future of the Invitational? I honestly don't know. The Invitational has had many bumps along its way, and we have previously held Invitationals held over a year and a half apart. It has been repurposed numerous times and, as it is my baby, I hope we will be able to do so yet again. That said, as of today, there are no current plans for when and where the next Invitational will be held.

That was unexpected, and unwelcome in my opinion.

[Anusien]

Everybody loves the Invitational.  The last one shows the Pros and casual players both really really care.  But I can understand it being sort of a cost sink; not in terms of prizes but in terms of organizational costs.  (Which goes to show that the reason they canned a PT isn't because they didn't want to give out the prize money!).  But I can see it being a problem because it's hard to point to the Invitational for new players and say, "You could be there!"  Since most people in the world never will be.