OP Cup 2014

[BigBadHarve]

I personally think it would be better with no prizes at all.  if we're supposed to be playing for fun

You know, we DO have these events - several times a year in fact. Casual meet ups for the purpose of getting together, trying new things and having fun. The casual meet ups are always the least attended. So much for just playing for fun, no?

Don't neuter the tournaments too much. They're TOURNAMENTS. The purpose is to raise the bar, competitively speaking. Knowing all of the obstacles with card imbalance, player trends, etc etc. is par for the course. As a player you have to navigate those challenges.

I'm getting sick of the DoW whiners, personally. 'Oh, he DoW'd me, I lost, it's unfair' - wah wah wah. Yes, it's annoying, I've been on the receiving end like everybody else. Sometimes I lose because of it, and sometimes I come back and win. If someone is relying on DoW to give them the win, then they have a weak deck that won't survive the length of a tournament, that's the bottom line. Rather than bitch about it, try creatively countering it. Oh, you tried that? It didn't work? Try harder.

I've suggested some alternatives to DoW, as have many others. But the bottom line is that it's not the be-all and end all of the game. It's one powerful card in a sea of powerful cards.

We'll have a renege update at the next event, and it will be announced well in advance so no one is surprised by it. It will be fair. I don't expect it to be used too often. I suspect a +1 additional venture per illegal card will be likely. That in itself is a massive gain for the infringed upon player. But the rules will be laid out specifically once we have a chat about it.

[Meanstreek]

Just thought I would put in my 2 cents. Althought i have collected and played , like most of us on the forum, Ohio was my first tournement ever. I definately made a bunch of mistakes, and appreciated that the more experienced players were kind about it and helped me learn. If instead , I had been penalized or forfeited the game because of it, that would have been pretty discouraging. Because of the kindness shown, I am planning on coming to future events to continue to learn. Perhaps some consideration should be given to a players experience. I'm sure, that those of you who have been playing together for many years know which players are likely to try cheating as well as who the less experienced ones are. I truly believe,as OP God pointed out, that teaching new players kindly is the way to get more people into this game we all enjoy.

[odbjosh]

This thread has really discouraged me from attending future events. I made several mistakes, I apologize for them now and I apologized for them at the time of the mistake. If we are banning player that have NEVER played in a tournament before, this is crazy. Now I understand more and more why this game went dead.

Garion, my apologies, I'm sorry if you felt as I cheated you out of a game.

-Josh

[BigBadHarve]

Don't let it get to you. I think this thread has gotten a little out of hand. Ultimately most players have fun at these things, even with the hiccups that occur.

There's definitely a social aspect to it, and I personally like to meet up with the players I don't normally get to see in Toronto. That's why I went down the Pennsylvania and Columbus this year. It's not about winning the tournament (though I damn well try!), it's about connecting with the people.

We can't forget that part.

[Tussin]

even if people cheated accidental or intentional, remember in the heart of the cards! <3

[BlueFire]

I have to second that these tournaments are about hanging out with people. 

I have had a great time reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. 

The last three years of Overpower has been a blast!

[MHC]

While I am new and have not attended any of the tournaments mentioned above, as a former competitive MtG player, I think I may have some insight into how to move this conversation forward.

I think it would help if we were careful about distinguishing between different cases.  For play errors, the following are quite different: (i)  mistakes due to inexperience with a card or game (e.g., mistakes made by new players); (ii) mistakes made by experienced players (e.g., carelessness in paying attention to the game state or the sequence of actions taken); (iii) intentional cheating.  Furthermore, any given play error could fall in any one of these.  As an example, consider the case where a player draws their hand and does not discard a 6F teamwork card  with Energy and Intellect bonuses even though they have a placed 6F teamwork that offers Strength and Energy bonuses.  If the player is new to the game, they may not know that those cards are considered duplicates.  An experienced player should know that rule, but may forget if they are tired from playing all day.  A player who is intentionally cheating may realize that they are duplicates, but decides to keep both in hopes to generate some advantage against their opponent (e.g., if they have a draw four in their hand).  To me it is clear that different penalties should be imposed for these cases (e.g., little or no penalty for the new player, a moderate penalty for the experienced player, and a severe penalty for the intentional cheater).  There are probably many more cases that could be created.  But my main point is that when talking about and designing penalties, I think it is important that we discuss how we will distinguish between these different categories and how the severity of the penalty will change depending on which case we  are in. 

I think it would also help if we were careful about distinguishing between different kinds of tournaments.  In MtG, tournaments are ranked via the REL system with each tournament being assigned a level and different levels have different penalties for rules infractions.  For example, high level tournaments (like the Pro Tour) are very strict about rules and most play errors result in severe penalties (e.g., game loss, Disqualification, etc).  In contrast, low level tournaments (like Friday Night Magic) still expect player to follow the rules, but the penalties are much less severe, and in many cases players are allowed to undo actions.  Given that there are tournaments with large monetary prize support and tournaments that do not have that kind of prize support, it seems appropriate that the severity of the penalties and the guidelines for how to deal with play errors change depending on the particular tournament. 

Finally, it is probably also worth creating a warning system where players are given a warning for their first (or more) play error(s).  The warning still comes with a penalty (e.g., +1 venture), but the penalty is reduced.  After the player has collected X number of warnings, then the severity of the penalties increases.  One could then argue that if enough violations are accumulated in some amount of time (could be one or more tournaments) then very severe penalties (like disqualification) could be imposed. 

Regardless of what is done, I think that it is important that we make it clear that the point of creating penalties is not to penalize new or inexperienced players.  Instead, these penalties are meant to help protect against intentional cheating and to hold (more experienced) players accountable for following the rules of the game. 

[breadmaster]

a casual meet up with a tournament format would be awesome!

I suggested that myself a couple years ago; it was met with much apathy

[Jack]

Top Seeded Semi Finals

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gApg67F1Kk Josh Alexander vs Phil Keffer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6stTEEheWc Sean Ballantyne vs Marcel Lojet

[drdeath25]

You have a type on Sean's last name in the post above this one, Jack.

Edit: Wait, What? Its really is Ballantyne?? I always thought it was Valentine. I guess since he's two-faced one side can be a Ballantyne, and one side can be a Valentine...

[chuu]

lol...best line

"fuck you..." "the kids are watching at home Sean!" "..Oh they can go fuck themselves"

[BigBadHarve]

lol...best line

"fuck you..." "the kids are watching at home Sean!" "..Oh they can go fuck themselves"

Isn't technology grand? All of our tantrums recorded for posterity! 

[OP GOD]

Activate horseshoe • U •

[Jack]

Third Place Match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLMC9kFiQk0 Sean Ballantyne vs Josh Alexander

Finals will be posted on Tuesday. Also a missing match from Round 6 (Garion vs Myles) will be posted shortly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRd34qkvrvA Garion Sutton vs Myles Head

[chuu]

Third Place Match.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLMC9kFiQk0 Sean Ballantyne vs Josh Alexander

Finals will be posted on Tuesday. Also a missing match from Round 6 (Garion vs Myles) will be posted shortly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRd34qkvrvA Garion Sutton vs Myles Head

Garion Sutton vs Myles Head isn't working for me.

UPDATE: NEVERMIND....