Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

US Nationals Dates, Participation Requirements formally announced

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Hagrid23

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source http://www.pokemon.com/us/news/op_nats_2012_announce-2011-11-07/

The Pokémon U.S. National Championships returns to Indianapolis next summer!

Once again, the Indiana Convention Center will be home to some of the most exciting Pokémon action of the year! The 2012 Pokémon U.S. National Championships will be held Friday, June 29th, through Sunday, July 1st, 2012, in Indianapolis, Indiana.

This year, the Pokémon TCG U.S. National Championships has an entry requirement of 10 Play! Points. You can learn more about Play! Points and other changes to the Play! Pokémon tournament structure on the Tournament information page. Preregistration begins on Thursday, June 28th, at the Indiana Convention Center.

New in 2012, the Pokémon Video Game U.S. National Championships will be an open event. This tournament will begin on Saturday, June 30th, and conclude on Sunday, July 1st. Preregistration will begin on Friday, June 30th.

TCG and video game players are encouraged to arrive early to make sure you get a spot in the tournament. Plus, the Open Gaming room will be open for you to meet people and practice before your event begins!

More information about the Pokémon U.S. National Championships will be revealed in the coming months. Keep checking back at Pokemon.com for complete details!
 
10 Play! Points. OK, that's reasonable.

Here's what I can find about Play! Points thus far...

You get 1 for playing in a Battle Road
You get 5 for playing in a Regional

I couldn't find anything for Leagues, but I'm guessing you get one for each League Season you play in.
 
Directly from the Source!!! Come on guys....the truth is out there....(somebody said that once I think)

Play! Points
What Are Play! Points?
Play! Points are points you can earn by simply participating in qualifying Play! Pokémon events. These events include Leagues, Tournaments, and Championship Series events. When the program begins in early 2012, you’ll be able to review your Play! Point totals and see where you rank against other Play! Pokémon Members worldwide.

What Are Play! Points Used For?
Play! Points will reward you for what you love—playing Pokémon! As an active Play! Pokémon member, we want to reward you for your dedication and ongoing participation.
 
10 Play! Points isn't too much. I mean, I already have 5+, so, y'know, after Regionals I'm set. I believe that so far, we get 1 for each BR, 1 for each League season, and 5 for Regionals, so 10 is pretty easy to get. I expect we'll get 1 or 2 for each city as well, so 10 should be easy to hit for everyone.
 
The Play Point amount is a little higher than expected, but it's entirely reasonable, as most players won't have to try any harder than usual. However it restricts newer players that join before after the second round of Regionals a bit.
 
Glad to know some info has been released on this. I think 10 points is a great number, they've mad a good choice with that system.
 
New in 2012, the Pokémon Video Game U.S. National Championships will be an open event. This tournament will begin on Saturday, June 30th, and conclude on Sunday, July 1st. Preregistration will begin on Friday, June 30th.
 
Good news and bad news. Good News because the Tom Dolezals of the world can't step on us players who play 365 days a year. But bad because I know a lot of people who's first tournament was nats. And I fear we are punishing beginners more than rewarding players.
 
Out of curiosity, the official announcement said you receive the points for 'Participating' in events. Will staff for events like Regionals receive PP too?
 
I wonder if you get Play!Points for judging, organizing tournaments, etc. That is certainly participating, I would think.
 
pikkdogs said:
Good news and bad news. Good News because the Tom Dolezals of the world can't step on us players who play 365 days a year. But bad because I know a lot of people who's first tournament was nats. And I fear we are punishing beginners more than rewarding players.
Click to expand...

This came up at the first announcement too. I think the answer is that in that case, beginners really shouldn't try to compete in the big main event. Of course they can still go to Indianapolis for the weekend, just play in the variety of side events that there will be.
 
I like the new Play Point restriction. It's obviously a good protocol to keep hardcore players in the event, and keep Beginners who would most likely be way out of their league there or people who show up get the prizes and drop out just to get their hands on the exclusive freebies just to sell on eBay for a dirty profit.

Some may see it being hard on Beginners, however I believe if you are a Beginner, you need to work up the road from the beginning of the season. I returned to the game after 5 years last Spring and had no intentions of wanting to compete in 2011 Nationals considering my rust in experience and my severely small collection of usable cards at the time.

Now I can only wonder how effective it will be to just require play points, and how long will it take before Nationals becomes even harder to get into, such as asking for a single Championship point.

I do not like the idea of Open Video Game Nationals, because I have observed the video game community is always more dominant than the TCG community in terms of numbers, and may overrun the event.
 
This is purely speculation, but I think that if the overall reaction to this is positive, a similar, perhaps a bit higher, system will be used for grinders. That keeps out players who might be trying to simply play no games then grind in. It also makes the event itself much easier to run with smaller numbers.

Just a thought.
 
pokemonrocks777 said:
does that mean we can go if we don't have enough points
Click to expand...

You can go...there will be many many side events going on...but you will not b able to play in the main event without the 10 points...

They should be easy to get thru league participation, BR's and City Championships
 
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