I want to do a Vintage Invitational

[iamfishman]

Title says it all.

My fun side and my TO side have both been pushing me to want to do this for some time but recently it has been more nagging then ever.

My thoughts were to do it very similar to what Wizards does.  There would likely be 16 spots.  Many of those would go to obvious big tourney winners, but there should also be a vote for things like sportsmanship, road warrior, etc.

It would have vintage as one format but some other wacky ones could also be thrown in there.  Perhaps type 4.  Even things that could be non-actual playing like anything from Trivia to a "Write a vintage article" to (some other ideas that are so cool I won't even spoil them here).

I would love feedback on any aspect of the planning and logistics of this event.  I really want to get the whole community involved on contributing ideas for/about it.

Two main areas where I really need help with ideas are where and for what.

Where: A location that could bring together top name vintage players from around the country would be impossible anywhere short of Gencon.  Gencon was my first idea, but even that has issues. For one, the Europeans and the Japanese are excluded.  It might have to be limited to somewhere in the US, but even at that, I would hate to have it be limited just to Northeastern US.  Is the space limitation a factor that would even keep this from happening at all?

For what: There would/should have to be some prize or recognition for winning.  As much as I would love to shell out $300 for a Mox as a prize, that is not something I have the capability for. One thought was to try to solicit contributions.  Since this event would be all about Vintage players, wouldn't it be neat if tons of people each took 1 or a few cards they relate to either with some fun artwork or something and contributed it to the prize pool(A korean 4th edition Brassman drawn on by Andy Probasco, for example).  I think the personalization of these types of cards, inexpensive though they may be, would make for a neat prize.

This is way hypothetical right now and I'm seeking a ton of input and thoughts.  Please respond with your $0.02 whether you are a TMD regular or single-digit-post lurker.

Thanks,
Ray

[Lou]

This sounds like a really good idea Ray.

Logistics would certainly be a problem, but something at Gencon is probably a very good idea. Lots of the big name vintage players attend, and it is pretty much centrally located for the US.

How the sixteen (or whatever number) are picked might be tough. I think big tourney winners should probably have a spot. A vote on TMD for the rest? What about those who are part of the vintage community who don't read TMD? Do those people even exist?

Again, this is a great idea, and I look forward to seeing this come to fruition.

[TopSecret]

You could have super-pimped proxies of all the most expensive cards as prizes.
Perhaps you could commission a well known magic artist to mod a card into a proxy?
I'm not sure how much they cost.

Would you take community contributions for prizes?
People could mod cards or make proxies, and then send them to you.
Then you could pick the best ones as prizes.

I'm thinking about the Gencon prize, so that's why I'm thinking about drawings.

To tie the idea into the invitational, where someone gets to make a card with their likeness,
you could commission a well known magic artist to super-impose a likeness of the winner into a card of their choosing.

Just some ideas. This sounds like a lot of fun.

[Kowal]

You could just have people do it over the internet.  The logistics of getting everybody in the same place make it basically impossible.  Even if you found something central that everybody wanted to attend, at least half of them would last minute bail anyway.

[Shock Wave]

You could just have people do it over the internet.  The logistics of getting everybody in the same place make it basically impossible.  Even if you found something central that everybody wanted to attend, at least half of them would last minute bail anyway.

It would be tough, but it's worth a shot. The objective wouldn't be to invite 16 players and then give up once half of them bail. The objective would be to find 16 worthy, willing participants. I think that even if 75% of the original election bails, we could still find plenty of qualified candidates to fill the holes. There's no harm in trying!

[SonataOfTheCathedral]

I think this sounds great you should probably have eight big tourny winners in there and the other eight should be significant/unique contributions. Best deck builder, most unique deckbuilder, rabble rouser, etc.

[MadManiac21]

You could just have people do it over the internet.

This works. You can also post the matchlogs up so people can read the play by play.

I think this is the most feasible option.

[Myriad Games]

I definitely support the idea of doing a Vintage Invitational. I think the logistics can be worked out. If a physical personal invitational is attempted, GenCon would definitely be an ideal place to do it. Organizers would want to coordinate with Pastimes to get table space reserved. For any Invitational, invitations confirmed by the individuals attending or passed on for those who cannot attend. Using the previous year's worth of event results (say July 2007 through June 2008) would allow adequate planning time for those attending. Voting could be conducted online for those categories not dependent on tournament results.

[mike_bergeron]

ray,
first off, great idea. sounds amazing.

would it be realistic to have 16 different vintage decks, and have the players bid the decks? Or have the players "draw" which deck they will be playing for the event?  would it be possible to 'bring back' some classics to see how well they would do versus the field? (something along the lines of the Meandeck, Brassman gifts, long, etc.)  I remember Brassman mentioning at one point he wished that Wizards would reprint some of the classic vintage decks as a tool to get people to play. this would be a great way for that to happen.

What better way to showcase vintage, than get 16 top tier fantastic players to battle it out with the best decks of vintage past and present? it would make for some interesting discussion about the B&R as well...

also, for other events, you could do something along the lines of onslaught/other set commons 2-H giant draft, type 4 with 4 players at each table. 

as far as prizes go, I think being recognized in this type of way would be a prize in itself. I do like the idea of person specific prizes though, where certain cards and/or art could be altered to the participant.

[TopSecret]

Oh man. Having an auction including decks that were effectively "banned" would be sick.
You could have people bid on 4LED Madness, the original Long deck with 4 Burning Wish and 4 LED, and perhaps some kind of Academy deck.
You could also throw in decks from other formats, like the old standard Pox deck with 3 Yawgmoth's Wills, and possibly Trix from old Extended with 4 Necros.
I'm sure there're more decks that'd be cool, but I don't know them all off the top of my head.

You could add some decks that were more broken before rules changes, like Replenish or Pros-Bloom,
and allow them to use their cards in that way. That could start getting sticky rules-wise, so it may not be worth it.

[Yare]

I think the Internet is probably the best way to go for this event.  Getting 16 people together just seems like it would be a rather difficult thing to pull off.

Perhaps you could get R&D/Wizards to make a selection for the field?

[iamfishman]

I think the Internet is probably the best way to go for this event.  Getting 16 people together just seems like it would be a rather difficult thing to pull off.

Perhaps you could get R&D/Wizards to make a selection for the field?

The logistics of it make me think this would have to take place online, however, I still want to do something at Gencon.  I may do something where we pick 16 names from the list of those going to Gencon.  Perhaps we can even do two runner ups in case someone doesn't end up showing.

Ray

[Shock Wave]

The logistics of it make me think this would have to take place online, however, I still want to do something at Gencon.  I may do something where we pick 16 names from the list of those going to Gencon.  Perhaps we can even do two runner ups in case someone doesn't end up showing.

Ray

I highly approve. Playing magic online is like playing poker online. It is missing the interpersonal element and is a totally different game. I would like to see something of this nature played the way the game is meant to be played.

[Pyromaniac]

What it would probably be missing is the truly international status though, since few people from Europe show up, afaik. Nothing to be done about that though, unfortunately

[TopSecret]

If you emailed Evan Erwin, do you think he'd cover this?
That would give the Vintage format and community a lot of press
and give Erwin a break from video taping PTQ's.

Seriously, how can he say no to video taping turn 1 win shenanigans?

[diopter]

If you emailed Evan Erwin, do you think he'd cover this?
That would give the Vintage format and community a lot of press
and give Erwin a break from video taping PTQ's.

Seriously, how can he say no to video taping turn 1 win shenanigans?

This is a good idea. Especially given how many people watch Evan Erwin regardless of what he is covering.