[Glen Burnie, MD] VINTAGE TOURNAMENT - Games and Stuff - 3/29

[mike.wayne]

Vintage - 3/29

Hello everyone! Last Vintage Event we had 18 players! We're hoping to do better this time so for a little incentive, we'll be putting up an Ancestral Recall for prize, that's pretty juicy right? And if you need some weekly practice our pals at Brewport Games are hosting Wednesday Tournaments at 6:30! If you're looking for great Vintage action, we've got it in the Greater Baltimore Area! So come on out and join us!

Location:
Games and Stuff
7385-G Baltimore Annapolis Blvd
Glen Burnie, MD 21061 US

Registration: 10:30 am
Time: 11:00 am
Format: Vintage
Event Fee: $25

*15 proxy limit*

Prizes:
1st - Unlimited Ancestral Recall
2nd - Unlimited Time Vault
3rd/4th - x1 English Mana Drain (each)

Prizes are guaranteed at 24 players.
@ 40+ players, $50 gift cards will go 5-8th place.

Questions –
E-Mail: ed@gamesandstuffonline.com or mike@gamesandstuffonline.com
Phone: 410.863.7418

[Eastman]

Awesome, I'll put March 29th on my calendar. 

[mike.wayne]

Hey folks this event is coming up soon! Keep your Moxen fresh for this event at Games and Stuff on the 29th by joining Brewport Games each Wednesday for weekly Vintage events!

[mike.wayne]

Hey everyone, just a reminder that this sweet event is this weekend!

[Prospero]

The prize support for this event is really something else.  If it wasn't four hours away, I'd be there.

[Samoht]

The prize support for this event is really something else.  If it wasn't four hours away, I'd be there.

I'll drive if you want to go Nick.

[Soly]

Tom;  small detour to pick me up? It's only ~29 hours round trip.

[Prospero]

The prize support for this event is really something else.  If it wasn't four hours away, I'd be there.

I'll drive if you want to go Nick.

I appreciate the offer, Tom, but I have some commitments on Saturday that I don't want to break.

[Samoht]

Tom;  small detour to pick me up? It's only ~29 hours round trip.

Only if your deck is fully English and foiled.

Ok, no problem Nick. I don't theory building this weekend anyway.

[Eastman]

Ok list is tweaked and I am ready to rock, looking forward to this.

[Samoht]

Heard this event was....interesting. I'll let those that attended speak on it. Props to Murray on the win and to Joe Davis on the 2nd place finish. The prize support was stellar and I know everyone agrees on that point.

[rikimaru75]

6 rounds, cut to top 4.

Glad to see 32 people come on down.

[ashiXIII]

Heard this event was....interesting. I'll let those that attended speak on it. Props to Murray on the win and to Joe Davis on the 2nd place finish. The prize support was stellar and I know everyone agrees on that point.

Interesting is a word. For some reason the judge decided to run an extra Swiss round and cut to top 4 which screwed with everything. Nobody was happy about it and many people were distraught. One of his reasons for doing it that way was so that it would be a clean cut and people wouldn't miss on breakers. Well my round 6 went to time and we drew, so my opponent missed on breakers. After round 4 there were 2 4-0s that could have drawn twice to make it, except in round 6 they'd be paired down and their opponents wouldn't be able to draw, so they had to play round 5. The structure was retarded. The judge also didn't use the modified play/draw rule for the top 4. There's no chance I'd go to another event like this, but we did talk to the store owner during the event and he assured us this wouldn't happen again.

I feel like the judge did this because it was unsanctioned vintage. I can't imagine he would have run a sanctioned event in the same way.

All that being said, the store is huge and very nice, the prize support was incredible, and the staff and players are all very friendly people and because of there factors, it was still a positive experience.

[Samoht]

6 rounds, cut to top 4.

Glad to see 32 people come on down.

I assume the cut to top 4 was because of the prize payout not reaching 5-8? Although I'd understand that rationale, that's seems a little short and unforgiving for 6 rounds and 32 people. Normally wouldn't it be a cut to top 8 at that size? I would just like the store owner or tournament organizer to weigh in on whether this is going to be standard practice going forward. I was trying to get a car together to make the trip from NY and it fell through, but in the future it would be difficult to convince enough people to make the trip when the margin for error/variance is so slim on the day. Glad to hear 32 people did make it though, that's an awesome number!

[Eastman]

This was  a great event and I had a blast.  I really hope the store keeps running these.

Last time they ran vintage they had planned to do a top 4, but someone asked for a vote, we voted, and everyone said they wanted cut to top 8.   This time they were more  insistent on the top 4.  I will come to the next event either way, great to see such a good turnout.  Lots of local vintage players of old putting the decks back together.  

That will be the last time I play Wheel of Fortune...my day ended on a flashed in Notion Thief in response.   Most painful loss I have suffered in awhile. 

[mr.grim]

Props to Matt , Joe and the rest of top .

[mike.wayne]

Hi everyone,

My name's Ed Sloman - I'm the owner of Games and Stuff.  Mike is posting this on my behalf as The Mana Drain's account registration seems to be down at the moment.
I'm glad that most of you seemed to enjoy our Vintage tournament, but I'm writing specifically to address the concerns about the decision of the head judge (and Mike's subsequent approval) to run 6 swiss rounds for the event.  I understand and agree with all the issues you've outlined so far in this thread.

With 32 people, the event should have been run 5 rounds with a cut to top 8. Regardless of sanctioning status and prize structure, the value of the prizes at stake at our Vintage events warrants both a Competitive REL and a proper round structure.   This will not happen again at a Games and Stuff event, and I am in the process of writing a Policies and Standards document to distribute to our large pool of judges to ensure that is the case. 

Thank you all for taking the time to express your concerns, and I am always open to more feedback on how we're doing with our events. Either post it here (Mike will make sure I see it), or email me directly at ed (at) gamesandstuffonline (dot) com.
Thanks for reading!
Ed

[ashiXIII]

Thanks for responding, Ed. The structure of the tournament and the choice not to use the (now standard) modified play/draw rule after the cut were the only complaints I had or heard on the day. Everything else was great. Friendly staff who knew what they were doing, an awesome store & play area, huge selection of games and a pretty good stock of singles. I think my favorite thing were the loads of open board games to try out in the tournament room. We'll definitely be back.

[TripleAgent]

Yes, please don't let this dissuade any of you from attending these events, especially with this level of prize support. All that is sorted out. This event was otherwise very well run and fun. Ed has done us a solid by doing these, helping return Vintage to the area.