This thread's focus is to discuss ways in which we, the online gaming community of Mage Knight (wizkids products,in general)can support our local gaming community (venues) where we play.
For over a year,I have devoted much of my time to playing MW and supporting it fully. I am one of the top ranked players in the world and I also drove 1200 miles to Philadelphia this summer to participate in MW nationals. I placed 13th and had a great time. Previous to playing Mechwarrior, I played MK. Though not often. I was frustrated with the game mechanics of what could be such a beautiful game. So I eventually phased MK out and focused on MW. In the meantime, I noticed this was a trend with other players as well. MK had indeed become stagnant.
I, like many others was skeptical when wizkids announced the release of 2.0. Will this be the final "going out in a blaze of glory" for Mage Knight? What about the old stuff now seemingly obsolete? Is this just another attempt to make money? Such questions could'nt escape me.
At first I was like, "meh. MK 2.0 will ruin the game entirely. no thanks." But then slowly but surely me resolve began to shift more towards accepting this new version of Mage Knight. Draddog cleverly released SE's one by one to leave us in suspense and keep our interest.New rules were discussed here and there without completely giving away the secrets. Well, for me, this worked. And after analyzing the new form, I realized that 2.0 was a more dynamic and balanced game than possibly any clix game in the market.
Retailers and supported venues across the world for the last few months have had a difficult time generating sales and bringing in new players. As an example, at Marshak's, here in Ft. Collins, the last month of MK campaigns, has seen 3 people total.Not 3 per event. 3 total. One person showed up for the Raydan/Blackthorn campaign and one weekend 2 kids showed up that wanted to learn how to play. While Mechwarrior events generate on average between 5-10 players.More so than any other game at our venue,except for MTG.
Most players that have interest in this game, aren't a part of this online community that we are. They don't know every little detail behind the new version of MK if they even know about it at all.
I see 2.0 as a new beginning for MK. As a Math Major, I see the balance in gameplay the new version brings to the table. In turn I also see what can be abused in gameplay principle, yet this is natural for any Collectable game. What stands out the most about this new game is the way specific 'abusive' concepts can be neutralized or beaten with the randomness of Domains as well as other game mechanics. Of course 'abusive' may be a strong word but we have all seen the threads over and over for the last few months concerning the playability of 'x' figure in 2.0.
As players involved in this game so much that we spend hours upon hours on these forum's daily, I think it is our responsibility to share this knowledge with those around us. Ultimately its us, the die hard players of this game that will make or break this game. We can use this knowledge to show others how dynamic this new game has become.Promote it so to speak, from a players perspective rather than relying on the local envoy. 2.0 won't be legal for a few weeks and this is the perfect oppurtunity to experiment with the new MK at our local venue. Take time to construct some of the cool new terrain included in boosters and use them as a visual aid to add to the fantasy flavor of the game. Generate excitement,so to speak. My second suggestion is to allow new players, or inexperienced players, a chance to win the prizes at supported events. None of the Le's are useful anyways and you all know they just collect dust. The only real use for them is that they occassionally stroke your ego. When a new player walks away with a prize you know they will be back! You don't have to play the most powerful units all the time. The point of this game is to have fun, not play with the cheesiest of all cheese so that you can horde an LE you'll never play.
Friday night,at the Mechwarrior tournament, I'm going to take some of my extra 2.0 stuff and just give it to people who might be interested. I bought several starters of 2.0 and have plenty of extra relics/domains and rules so I plan on giving them to those in hopes of generating excitement of the game.
This is my way of thanking Wizkids for giving me an outlet, a release, a sense of enjoyment I've come to know and love. Money isn't priceless but the experiences I've had with these games have been.
All in all, its us, the players who have the power to make MK 2.0 a beautiful,enjoyable game and I think we should take this oppurtunity to do so.

cheers

best ways to support - is

1. show up
2. build an army for a friend and bring them
3. buy at your venue - and tell the owner you are gald he's in business. alot of people aren't buying right now because Christmas is coming up. use ebay only if you venue doen't have a secondary figure case. I buy my secondary HC figs there- i have to get MK single unis off of ebay.
4. make freinds at tourneys - no they won't be coming over for dinner yet, but i can have good conversation with the adults there.

I think the key is to getting the damm game on store shelves. That would be the best place to start.

One way to make sure that the game is on the sheles.. is to give your vendor a reason to carry it. My family and our games groups has pestered all the local shops and they all had -some- 2.0 yesterday.. even though one place did not get nearly what they ordered apparently.. they still had a large supply on the shelves that was going quickly.

In order for a merchant to carry a product, they must feel there is a demand for it..
So get out there and make your demands known.. let folks know that there is a market.. Talk with your vendor, tell them what products you and your game buddys might buy..

I agree with some of your points, Sonic - but I have a major counterpoint. MK in my area is basically dying, and I doubt 2.0 will do terribly well. Why? Because virtually every Envoy in the aera has either been canned or has gotten so disgusted with Wk that they quit.

I ran events for two years - anywhere from one to five events per week, for multiple systems. I spent close to a year trying to raise valid points for organization for Large Scale Events. And after the WWE debacle (and it was), when I saw the massive disconnect someone had with reality, I felt compelled to take evidence of being ignored to the (relatively) public forum of the envoy forum on MWRealms. I did it because I was concerned about the direction WK was (and, in some ways, still is) going. It cost me my status.

That's kewl, after all, it is their perogative. But, OTOH, I no longer feel the need to buy 2-3 starters of 2.0 (and the dozen + boosters I would have normally gotten). I would routintely (until CS and SR) pick up $100-$200 in product in order to get the game off the ground. Since I am not picking up 2.0, and there are no Envoys at my venue (indeed, no MK players now who are 18+), 2.0 isn't going to move, since there will be no organized play, no tourneys, etc.

I guess as a warlord, it's easier to get things started - with prize support now coming for even demos. But the best things to do, in my opinion, is for you to focus on the game as much as possible. If you can't get a demo kit, or piece one together from the descriptions online make one yourself. Just make two fairly well balenced 200 point armies and set them aside from your regular collection. Show up, offer to teach people the game, and let them use these armies against you or eachother. Another GREAT way is to just get a buddy and PLAY! Get a really interesting battle going, and you'll be surprised at how many people will start playing.

Of course, I agree that availability is a big weak spot for the game. It always seems that when a new set comes out, there are never enough figures available.

Anyway, that's my 10cents =)

Excellent post sonicyouth, it provides a lot of food for thought. I think all of us players that really love the game have to do something to generate interest or keep people interested in the game. After all, we want this great game to thrive and gain new players. We need to spread the word. This game has been a great way for family, friends, and gaming opponents to spend some time together and meet new people. Let's not lose that. :)

Garou,
I understand about WWE. It was a catastrophe, for a lack of better words. I had fun, but only because of interacting with great people who love the game so much.
So I had to basically tell myself to not take wizkids personally during the Convention and try to focus on the positive elements of the environment.
I think Wizkids learned from WWE MW nats (the largest turnout for a Wizkids National tournament ever.well over 200 people) and from what Brohawk and others have said,Origins and Gen Con were much better.
See, organized play is just a big perk. It doesn't take Organized Support for the game to take off. It does help but we should see beyond these limitations if we truly love this game.

/me checks byrchie for drug abuse.

settle down thar buddy o.O :eek:

Byrch, hang in there. I sure the next expansion will have more elementals with their new subfaction.

*wants to wait for the next expansion for MK to come out, THEN he'll go burn down Wizkids.*

Sonic - that's true, but WWE should never, IMO, have happened. I witnessed the first MK Nationals at Origins in 2002, and, based on what I saw, came back and wrote a fairly longish letter with all sorts of constructive advice, from terrain to pairings, better use of computers, more warlords, a heirarchy, etc. And I mailed it off to several people at WK. And when those people changed jobs or left, I resent the document (with any new additions) to their replacements. I did this for close to a year, until WWE. And then I took the whole thing, sent it again (fifth or sixth time, I'm fairly certain - though I would have to wade through my sent email to verify this), and I (finally!) got a response - that indicated that I was being rude and argumentative. (After repeating the same advice to the same people for a year, yeah, I was starting to get testy).

That's when I got so disgusted, at not being listened to, that I tried to raise the alarm. And, maybe it worked - but it cost my venue their only MK Envoy, and once I left, others in the area got disgusted at some WK practices, and started leaving as well. Omaha still has HC events, but that might be about it. . .

lodin - I could make a couple demo kits and get it going. Easily. The question is: why? My gaming dollars are (relatively) finite. I don't have a whole lot of faith in WK right now, and see no reason to spend my dollars on a game that I am, to be honest, rather leery of picking up? I could spend that same $100 (or so) and pick up two starters and the rules for Warmachine, or a beginning Warhammer force, or an entire Warmaster army, or a bunch of D&D Miniatures, etc.

It would be hard for WK to make a case that would compel me to get 2.0 going at my FLGS. There is no significant return - if people are switching from 1.0 to 2.0, I could just as easily try to convince them to switch systems entirely (assuming that I was really trying to get people into any gaming system).