Getting formats started in your area...

[stu55]

So I am doing a bit of research. My store wants to do almost weekly or biweekly tournies at the store. T2, Sealed/1.x, Legacy, and T1 are the options.

The first 2 are easy, people play that as well (we even have our own 'Limited Specialist'...inside joke, sorry). But the problem is getting the other 2 started. I can toss together at least 3-4 legacy decks but people that know me know that I HATE sitting on cards, especially money cards. And T1 will be hard as well. Other than just posting and hoping, what can I do to get the 8 other locals to start getting interested in these sets. Being the local dealer in the area, I have already made up mind to not even go after people's duals as they get em so people can start playing in the format.

What is a good example for a tourney for both formats? What number proxies to use for each. Price for each tourney. Prize structure for each tournament? Special promotions for each tourney. Any input would be fantastic....thanks

[EnialisLiadon]

Starting out, unlimited or 20-25 proxies or so would be good.  And having prizes such as Forces, duals, etc are ideal because it'll allow people to start branching out to making their own t1 decks, with less reliance on high proxy counts.

And sloooooowly reducing the number of proxies gets people to slowly accumulate some of the cheaper cards for their t1 decks.

[vintagethug01]

Starting out, unlimited or 20-25 proxies or so would be good.  And having prizes such as Forces, duals, etc are ideal because it'll allow people to start branching out to making their own t1 decks, with less reliance on high proxy counts.

And sloooooowly reducing the number of proxies gets people to slowly accumulate some of the cheaper cards for their t1 decks.

I agree with around 20 proxies to start with. Especially if you don't have enough product to push and especially if your clients don't have deep pockets. You want them to be able to get at least a little more than 2/3 of their deck built. Once you have that for almost all the players, then lower the maximum and be sure you have the T1 cards they need in order to stimulate growth.

The easiest way to not make blunders as far as which staples to buy for your players is to make each player come with a printed decklist and have noted as to which cards they have proxied. You can then input all of this data into a spreadsheet, see what cards players have proxied the most, and then you can start searching for the cards they need. This also helps with defining what cards you should put up for prize at a tournament.

So at 8 people per a tournament you should be looking at anywhere from $40-$50 in prize value distributed to 1st and 2nd for a $10 tournament. You're looking at $30-$40 profit if you had to physically spend $50 in prizes. A good shop owner should be able to make more money by obtaining high prize value cards at a lower rate, so usually your profit margin will increase. The more entries you get, the more prizes should be allotted. you can even do store credit for anything other than the grand prize.

[kl0wn]

Other than just posting and hoping, what can I do to get the 8 other locals to start getting interested in these sets.

So at 8 people per a tournament you should be looking at anywhere from $40-$50 in prize value distributed to 1st and 2nd for a $10 tournament. You're looking at $30-$40 profit if you had to physically spend $50 in prizes.

Ehhhh...

If you're going into virgin territory, you generally don't want to scalp the entries. Most people don't want to pay for just the "privelege of playing in a tournament", especially since anybody can set one up on their own without having to part with $4-$5 for what they would consider nothing.

I advise having 100% prize support at either $5 or $10 entry (usually $5 since these people don't play the formats as it stands, so it's not as much of a risk) and if the store owner requires something out of it, give store credit away as prizes. Also, distribute prizes to more than just first and second place - at least extend them down to third or fourth. This way, you won't get the inevitable "I'm just showing up to donate my money" sentiment from as many people. Granted, the prize support won't be much, but you'll be much more likely to build a player base.

If you scalp the entries though, I can almost guarantee that at least one person will ask what that 40-50% of their entry fee goes toward, and when you can't come up with a good reason (ie: a massuese to rub their feet while they play/strippers that happen to be DCI judges, etc.), you won't have anybody at your next event. People do not like contributing to your 40-50% profit margin for non-value-added "services".

Where are you doing this, anyway?

[stu55]

This is near pittsburgh. For the T1 I will clearly have power and the such as prizes. The store is huge and the amount the store owner wants would be little to none; he is all about promoting player growth in the area (he is an actual store owner, shocking i know)