Why did they discontinue the one OP program that seems to have majority support, PCQs, and throw all their chips into Hobby League, which everyone seems to be dissatisfied with? Scaling back the money events I expected, but getting rid of PCQs? Just no.

The PCQ cut is awful. I only have 1 other person to play with and my are and our only chance to play is to happily travel 3-4 hours to play in a PCQ in Warren Ohio or to go to a 10k or PC which don't occur that often. We just don't have player retention in our area. We get people to play but can't get them to stay. This basically eliminated us from organized play all together. We have Gen Con to go to and thats about it. I see the need to cut money on UDE's part but they need to realize that not a lot of places have enough local support to keep going.

But thats the catch. By eliminating the PCQ's we are seeing less events. With the PCQ system in place. You could count on at least one OP event in (reguardless of Hobby League). Now with the loss of the PQC this leaves only 4 City Championships a year per event. This doesnt seem to be following the more events side of your argument.

Im a bit let down, since I cant make it to any HLs in my area and the PCQs were my only face time with some locals here.

Did anyone notice that Ebay was down for 10 minutes when the announcement came out? I hear enemies are now buy it now $1.00...

I think everyone knew this was coming, but it still stung reading about the slow death (at least competively) that the game will be going through. I really enjoy this game, and will have fond memories for it, I know my friends will stop playing without having the big competive side to it, and without my friends playing, I imagine I too will drift away from the game, with maybe the occassional pre-release. Well it was fun while it lasted, thank you UDE, and all the players for the great memories.

-Alex

This is very disappointing (to say the least) though somewhat expected I guess. The "rumors" were slight exaggerations but pretty much on target. VS Organized Play is a shell of what it used to be. Now there are only 3 PCs this year (1 of them a million miles away) and the other 2 (if there are 2) have drastically reduced prizes. Top that off w/ no more PCQs (which for those of us in the NY/NJ/PA area were where we played a majority of our VS). Not gonna say I'm quitting the game but my interest was somewhat declining anyway and this only heightens that. Maybe it is for the best of VS in general, but certainly not for the best for people like me. I'm not selfish enough to think things should be catered towards me, but at the same time I have to re-revaluate if the time I spend on this game is worth it. It is a sad day indeed. I hope this reinvigorates VS and the game begins to thrive, but I fear that it will have the opposite effect. Are there new players out there to grab? Enough to make up for the people they will lose via these changes? Somehow I really doubt it.

I am curious what the pros think. I know Prosak's already expressed his disinterest, but what about the rest of TDC, FTN and TAWC?

I'd be lucky to get to go to 4 PCQs a year, even if there were that many to attend. Not everyone lives in an area where there are two or three PCQ locations within driving distance.

City Championships seems like a program that a motivated player can build a local player base around, is all I'm saying.

I'm a casual player, and I know that this announcement was actually geared toward me, but I really don't know what to make of it. On one hand I like some of the changes and I see the "top level" cuts a good thing as I've never really liked players who were in the game solely for the monetary aspect and nothing else. I think even some of the higher-level events will be less competitive from here on out, which in my opinion is both good and bad.

Still, I think these changes are potentially counterproductive towards getting new players in. Yes, Hobby Leagues and stores in general needed some more support but I think one of the best selling points for getting someone into Vs. was the tournament system that they had. Now it's going to be harder to get someone in on that aspect, beacuse basically you're saying "if you win as much as you can you'll get to go to high level events" as opposed to just saying "you need X points". Doesn't seem like a big deal on the surface really, but I think it will be a problem down the line. I just don't know if the potential amount of players they are trying to bring in will compensate for the players they will likely be losing due to these changes.

Even as an optimist I still don't know what to think . . .

HAHAHAHAHA...

I am the 4th worst VS player on the Planet Earth. I am only about 500 points away from making it to a PC. WOOOOO HOOOOOO


Oddly enough, i have done good at HL, but somehow it never made it to my ratings. Good luck using HL to get ahead when it never got me ahead in the first place

Yeah I'm not going to spend hundreds of dollars like I used to. Its rediculous to buy cardboard to play only with my local buddies when I can buy other things and just play OCTGN/MWS. Unless UDE forces stores to run Hobby League they are pressing the "GTFO" button.

We had to forcibly beg our local store owner to buy product and start up hobby league. (Which we are running ourselves) I'll probably still play until I'm out of college this year but without OP I have no incentive to play once I'm not with my friends.

OP for this game was amazing. The game is complex, and the high level of play was adrenaline inducing. Without the money the pros are gone, without the pros my thrill is gone. One of my best friend sold off his entire MTG collection to get into the competitiveness of this game. (complete with Mox's, and all kinds of power cards throughout the sets) Now hes sold off his ability to be competitive in MTG for a dead game.

UDE had the perfect cut and run plan. Announce awesome changes to OP. Mysteriously not announce anything about OP till a high powered/fan-centered set is released. Give players/dealers time to pre-order product in anticipation for demand. Then cut the OP while people still have a spec of patience. You trap as many of the players as you can to invest into your product before it reaches the point where you have to announce the death of your tournament play.

Good job UDE. I didn't fall for your game though. A lot of people probably did. I called this.

Maybe if they were once a month. But 4 times a year? Yeah right. I can see it now:

"Thanks for attending everyone. Please come to our hobby league where you can pay $5 for an EA with the 3 other people who actually show up. If you can't make it for hobby league, see you in 3 months! Oh, and please place your massive orders on your way out!"

This sucks. PCQs were the best. I'm not mad at UDE, it all makes perfect sense finacially and they've presented an entirely exciting line up of events to play in instead. So the people who need to quit at this point? ####'em. Seriously. Their loss, and I mean that as an apology, because it sucks they have to lose their reason for playing to keep this train on the tracks. I want VS to be everything to everyone, but it can't be. So I'll take mine and can't really worry too much about those not getting their's.

But it does bring to mind something I've thought for a long time. The one thing Wizkids ever did really well. And that's letting player's run their own tournaments. Don't force us to rely on flaky game stores in areas without alternatives. Let the players who have CONSISTENTLY shown a DRIVING passion for this game run something like, but different from, hobby league. Let us find a public venue on our own... Like say a local pizza joint that could use a group of 10 people buying sodas and splitting a pizza every few weeks... And run tournaments. Something that doesn't take away from Hobby League, because you can't piss off the retailers who DO support the game and AREN'T flaky. Make us pay for the kits. Limit how many you can order, ban anybody who doesn't run things properly.

Oh and move that last PC to SF or Vegas. For at least one year.

-Mike

What I find most humorous in a macabre sort of way is that the reasons that so many people here seem to be hating on UDE and planning to abandon ship are the same ones that are likely to draw me right back into the game after being on a fairly long break.

The removal of the PCQ system is an interesting half-problem/half-solution case. Having a strong centralized tournament function with some solid rewards is an ideal way to get people together to play. However, it was harder to enjoy the experience because of the perceptions as to the PCQ being a stepping stone to the 'real' event. I don't mind winning at all, but it wasn't nearly as fun when dealing with people that were only concerned with the end result at the cost of taking the enjoyment out of the process itself. In the Dark Age of the Bay Area, I'd begun the planning process for a tournament series that would make up for our lack of PCQs at that time. I am greatly considering using the newer formats and some other ideas to resurrect this and get a "Battles of the Bay" tournament series going.

At one level, I'm excited that the professionally competitive component's being pulled back. When everyone thinks he's going to be the next Prosak or Vidi, while there is a good amount of innovation, it's really difficult to find a good fun game o' VS in some circles. With that motivation drawn back, I'll probably end up enjoying the prospect of playing VS more now. Frankly, if you were looking for a game in which you could make money, VS was never a great idea compared to Magic or especially poker.

VS System is a game. If you can't find a reason to enjoy it, then go. It's not complicated; if you like it but you don't like the current tournament structure, there's nothing stopping you from going out and setting up your own events. Sure, it's rough. I understand all too well how that can be. Almost anything worth doing is difficult, though. And you have some friends or fellow players able to help, you can do a lot together.

(whoa, didnt expect an actual picture to show up. Srry Fate)


But yeah. MTG players suck, and WoW is expensive. Yugioh is easy, but man, you get nothing in return.

VS players don't have much if they quit...I guess im kinda forced to stay and play at the moment...