A Few Innistrad League Announcements

Hey guys!
  I have a few announcements that I'll go over in the morning, but if you happen to catch this E-mail/post (or the post on Facebook) you'll be up to speed before then. :)

1. Sign-ups for League are now CLOSED! I'm out of product and barely have enough to go around for prizes and the next pack distribution. Thanks to everyone's support for making this such a big success! We have 11 players! I hope everyone's having as much fun with it as I am. :)

2. OVERALL POINTS MODIFICATION(S)/CLARIFICATION(S): Remember we started out with a "5 match minimum" to get your points counted toward a period. What's been in question in part, though, is do those points "disappear" as if they never happened if you don't get to your 5 match minimum?

The answer is NO! If you don't get your 5 matches in, while it means it won't count for the period (the way things stand now, which I'll explain later), it's still matches you played in the overall standings.

Which leads to another question (one we'll think about possibly now but definitely for the next upcoming league, which I've already heard rumbles of interest to do after Avacyn Restored is out): Do we keep a match number minimum in order to be counted for prizes each period? Points would still go into the overall numbers (up to your best 5 matches of a period), but do we deny prizes because someone couldn't get their 5 matches in? The idea is to encourage play, and I'm wondering if this won't eventually do the opposite and discouraging play if it seems like a person can't get to 5 matches.

Maybe a 5-match limit to what's counted in a period instead? Maybe a rule that says "While there's no minimum number of matches to complete in a given period, you may only count your best 5 matches toward your period's point total (which if you play in 5 or fewer matches is all of your matches)."?

And would we want to consider changing this rule ASAP instead of waiting for the next League?

3. RULE ABOLISHED: No longer will you be keeping up with your League pool. At least, it's not mandated any more. It became too much of a hassle and now that school's started back up and going on all 8 cylinders I just don't have the time to track everything. So don't worry about recording your new packs or trades unless you want to keep a personal record of what all's in your pool.

4. RULE ADDED: This is mostly to cover the times when people have their 5+ matches in and are waiting around for prizes on the Saturday that ends each period. If you wish, you can go ahead and get your new pack and start making trades or modifying your decks using the new pack's contents. However, I ask you keep track of what new stuff you got/traded for/put in your deck due to the new cards you got. If we need people to play in order to get someone to 5 matches, I want them to be able to face anyone in the room with their decks being based on the same pack number their opponent's on. The best way to do this is to open your pack and as you modify your deck note what you took out and put in so you can change quickly back to your pre-new pack deck.

      EXAMPLE: You open your 8th Innistrad pack and find a Heartless Summoning that could help out some of your more expensive black creatures and a Bloodline Keeper, so you add them in as two of the cards you need to reach the new 50 card minimum along with 4 basic lands and 4 cards you already had from your first 7 packs' contents/trades done with cards from the first 7 packs. Later, someone still on their 7th pack still needs 1 more match to complete their 5 match minimum. Take at least the Heartless Summoning and Bloodline Keeper out so you're using a deck that only uses your first 7 packs' contents/trades. (whether you want to get rid of the other cards that got you to 50 cards is up to you; the key is to have only cards that came from those first 7 packs' contents/trades).

5. PRIZES: The prizes for this period will come from:

1) 3 sealed Innistrad packs, split as a pile of 2 packs and a lone pack.
2) 2 packs of Innistrad to crack open and display for picking cards from them.
3) 1 Angelic Overseer
4) 1 Verdant Force from Premium Deck Series: Graveborn
5) 1 Duress from Premium Deck Series: Graveborn
6) 1 Exhume from Premium Deck Series: Graveborn
7) 1 Dread Return from Premium Deck Series: Graveborn


Hopefully this gives everyone something good to look forward to. :) And it puts $1.75 into the overall, end-of-League prize pool to help with a BIIIGGGG Innistrad card and the big cards from Premium Deck Series: Graveborn. ;)

6. BONUS PERIOD: Here are the rules I'm thinking of implementing for the Bonus Period coming up (the time from 1/28 through 2/11):

a) We have 2 players who are 1 period behind (5 matches disadvantaged) at least. To help them make up the time and for me having not enough product to get them started sooner, however many periods they weren't in League they'll be able to play up to 5 matches each to make up ground in the overall standings. For example, someone who hasn't been able to play in the first 2 periods will get the chance to play 10 matches in the next two weeks, while someone who wasn't in it for 1 period will get to play 5 matches.

b) Players who have been in the League since the end of the 1st Period (which should be everyone except for 2 players) may play in as many matches as they wish, but they may only take their best 3 matches and replace them in the overall points standings.

c) Matches played during the Bonus Period for those of us going for replacement points will not change your overall win percentage; they will only change your overall points score. So in essence, if you ever finished a period below 15 points, I literally go back and say "Oh, a loss/tie? Nah...it's a win now. +3 points.  "

d) You are still bound by the "no more than 2 matches per person" rule. I may make an exception if the new players need points but can't find people to play easily, but that will be the only exceptions given.


I'll go over all this tomorrow morning and/or afternoon to get everyone's feedback and see where we go from here on some of the discussion questions. I suggest you read up on this and form your opinions if you're on the computer before coming to SMM.


Thanks for your attention and putting up with some messy first-run issues with the League system. :)