Today’s article is dedicated to announcing (and explaining) the upcoming Eldritch Moon (EMN) One-Day League, sponsored by Face to Face Games Montreal. With the design of EMN league, we looked for a way to boil the league experience down to its core elements—playing as many matches as you can, madly tuning your deck as the tournament progresses, and vying for glory in the Top 8—and then we condensed all of that dramatic action into one business day: Sunday, August 21st, 2016.
In the past, our standard ‘campaign mode’ league tournaments have taken 5-7 weeks to conclude and, while fun and intense, that design presupposes that players are going to be more or less stationary due to their jobs or school. However, with summer vacations just around the corner, EMN league is trying something new: offering a full league experience with only a one-day time commitment! Below is the essential information, in brief… I think you’ll find it a flavorful fit with the rest of the set’s insanity:
EMN One-Day All-You-Can-Play League
Registration: 10 a.m., August 21st, 2016.
Start Time: 10:30 a.m. (additional players cannot join after this time)
Format: Sealed (6 EMN booster packs). Min. 60 card deck.
Entry Fee: $25
Prize structure: Two (2) EMN booster pack per participant added to the prize pool for top competitors.
Tournament structure: Play as many different opponents as time allows, best 2-out-of-3 matches. The winner of each match is awarded one (1) LP [League Point]. The loser of each match may add a “Punishment Pack” to his or her pool. The booster pack must be supplied by the player (either from bringing packs from home or from purchasing them from the store) and can be from any Standard-legal set (DTK, ORI, BFZ, OGW, SOI, EMN). Top competitors and prizes awarded based on total LPs accumulated before 4:30 p.m.
The complete ruleset follows:
1) Player registration. The start time for the Eldritch Moon one-day league is 10:30am, Sunday, August 21st, 2016 at Face to Face Games Montreal. No new players will be admitted to the tournament after that time, and no games played before that time will count towards the final results. The registration fee is $25, payable at the store counter, which includes the price of the six packs for the starting card pool and prize support. The main event closes at 4:30pm sharp, which means that no new games started after that time will count towards the final results for cut to Top 8 (games already underway at that time will be permitted to conclude).
2) Deck construction. Upon joining the league, players will open 6 boosters of Eldritch Moon to make their league card pool. Only cards in this pool, and basic lands, are legal for league play. There is no trading of league cards allowed for the duration of the league. Players will construct a 60-card deck from their league pool. The maximum number of copies of any card in a league deck is 4 (not including basic lands). If at any time a player is discovered to be using cards from outside their league pools in their league matches, they will be considered eliminated from the league and forfeit any prizes they would have earned. Rares and mythic rares will be recorded.
3) Playing matches. Players are then free to start playing their scheduled matches against as many different opponents as time permits (see sample table above) in any order they choose. The more matches that players can complete by 4:30pm, the more chances they will have to accumulate League Points, although no two players may play each other more than once. Whenever a player loses a match, that player may add a standard-legal ‘Punishment Pack’ to their league card pool, and improve their deck before proceeding to their next match. The loser’s booster pack opening must be witnessed by the match winner. Rares and mythic rares will be recorded.
4) Prizes. Final rankings will be determined on the basis of League Points (LP): each match win during the day is worth 1 LP; each loss is worth 0 (no draws permitted; players must be play until draws are resolved). In the case of a tie for a final ranking, players will play a single best-of-three duel to determine the winner. The Eldritch Moon league sponsor, FaceToFace Games Montreal, has offered a prize pool of two boosters for each participating player. Boosters will be awarded to the Top 8 players in a 8:4:2:2:1:1:1:1 ratio payout scheme (or as close to that as possible: specific numbers will depend on the final number of players in the league). First place will have their name written on the league trophy, which will be displayed in the store’s trophy case.
For New Players
Don’t let all the rules put you off; they’re just there to ensure fairness and clarity, and to resolve disputes in the unlikely event of one arising. In reality, your day is going to play out in a very simple set of steps:
1. Crack six packs at 10:30am.
2. Build a deck.
3. Play a match.
a. You won! Go back to step 3 if it is before 4:30pm.
b. You lost! Crack another pack and rebuild your deck. Go back to step 3 if it is before 4:30pm.
4. It’s after 4:30pm. Collect your prizes if you made Top 8!
I’ll be there in my role of Tournament Organizer to answer any of your questions, but feel free to ask any other players there as well—there’s a decent chance they’ve played league before and will have valuable advice for you.
For Returning Players
I think I can hear some of you saying:
“Hey! Didn’t you just say in Yorke on Games #17 that the Round Robin format wasn’t a good fit for league play?”
I did indeed, and I stand by that assertion, assuming that (a) not all players join the league at the same time, and (b) players are expected to complete all of their scheduled matches. However, in the one-day format, all players do in fact enter the league at exactly the same time, and players are not expected to complete all possible matches on the Round Robin schedule: just those matches that time allows. It’s really more of a beat-the-clock style of tournament than a traditional Round Robin.
“But one of the main things I enjoy about league is that you have as much time as you like to play out your matches.”
Well, the matches in the one-day league are still untimed, so in that sense there’s still no formal time pressure. However, both you and your opponent will be strategically incentivized to conclude your matches as efficiently as possible. The more matches you successfully conclude, the more potential chances to earn LPs you have, and thus the greater chance you have of making Top 8 and winning prizes.
“What about the MegaDraft finals?”
We considered including one, but since the goal was to start and end the tournament in the space of one business day, we calculated that MegaDraft finals were unrealistic in terms of timing. No clear Top 8 could reasonably be decided on LPs by the time the MegaDraft would need to begin in order for the store to close on time. MegaDraft finals are thus off the itinerary for this one-day league, but are likely to return as a way of celebrating the end of the next big ‘campaign mode’ tournament, which coincides with the release of the Kaladesh set. The good side of this omission is that we were able to shave $5 off the entry fee for the event, so you can consider your first ‘Punishment Pack’ as being basically free.
For Everyone
This is one of a very few ‘all-you-can-play’ Magic tournaments on offer, testing speed and endurance as well as skill and luck. There are no formal rounds with a minimum amount of guaranteed free time between them, just an indefinitely large number of matches starting and ending on a rolling basis. Like any endurance contest, success will require pacing. I highly advise anyone who gets a free minute waiting for their next opponent to become available to take advantage of that time to (a) rest, (b) retune your deck, (c) get some food and drink, (d) scout out the other decks in the tourney, or (e) head for the toilet.
Remember to be patient with your opponent. They’ll be operating under the same incentives as you to grind out (winning) matches, and it will be in your mutual interest to make sure your match is concluded smoothly and efficiently. The best way to do this is to cooperate with each other, be pleasant, and keep each other on track in a polite manner. Most importantly, remember to have fun!
Acknowledgements
The EMN one-day league is being supported by Face to Face Games in a number of new ways, beyond simple prize support: publicity for the event is being circulated earlier and more consistently by Media Coordinator (and ManaDeprived.com Editor-In-Chief) Kar Yung Tom; a French version of the rules has been translated by staff member Michel Aubuchon to help us reach out to our francophone player base; and Operations Manager Peter Sachlas personally vets each new ruleset I propose, catching errors and offering suggestions for improvement. More and more, the league is becoming the product of a team effort, and I wanted to recognize the work of these gentlemen—all of who have at least one league tournament under their belts—in guaranteeing its continuing success.
Part of the league’s mission is to foster a grassroots casual Magic community and enable unique gaming experiences. League tournaments are created by players, for players. But boutique events like this couldn’t take place without the backing of a really great store like Face to Face Games, and of course the participation of smart, brave players like yourself. So come on out and enjoy the Eldritch Moon one-day, all-you-can-play tournament with us on Sunday, August 21st!