Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

BRAutumn: no top cut

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I'm already having to plan around multiple weekends in September and I still don't know if I need to or not, but it's too late to wait. I still HOPE BRs have no CPs for many reasons in other posts, but the wait is just ridiculous. I find it hard to believe that a decision hasn't been made on CP vs no CP. Even if all the details were still being ironed out, I think just about everyone would be happy to know that much as that is what affects 3 days from now.

Exobyte 'leaked' one piece of information for us, but the status of BRs is the by far most immediately important piece of information. If the BR decision has been made, one more 'notice' and everyone will be happy. Perhaps unofficial notices on pokegym isn't the best way for the company to operate regularly, but making players wait on these decisions so late definitely isn't either.
 
LOLZ said:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/arbitrary



Can you please explain to me how tie breakers meet one of the above definitions of arbitrary?
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Arbitrary because you cant control who out get paired against you can only control if you win or loose against ther person that you play against. If going into the final round of the Battle road and there are 3 undfeated players two will get paired against eachother and the 3rd will get paired down and will not be able to win the 2 championship points due to that fact. With a top cut that player would still have a chance to win the 2 championship points.
THAT is ARBITARY.

As for communicaton to the players, This is not a new complaint but has been the case for years. City Championships started with T8 cuts and then were reduced to T4 and no explanation was ever given. Then they latter went backto T8, but who knows what the future holds maybe swiss will be used to determine City Championship winners as well. We dont know why Battle Roads lost them, so if it turns out to be a experiment who is to say that they wont expand the use of Not top cuts in the future.
 
solo59486 said:
If you say you are going to make a deadline then make it to that deadline.
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I must have missed when they said "We will have this information available to you by [This] date." Would you mind pointing me in the direction of where they said that?


You're welcome to assume this information will be in before Battle Roads, and just as welcome to be upset that it's not here yet. But to claim they are missing a deadline that was never set is just wrong.
 
The only deadline they're in danger of missing is dictated by history and common sense. Of course they didn't promise anything; that would be highly irresponsible.
 
koolkidhp said:
Will no top-cut help experienced players or new players?? Or will it be virtually the same as before for both??
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Virtually the same for most. Exactly the same for many.

I'm not sure that you are asking the right question though: I don't think the change is supposed to help either player group directly. Indirectly it helps parents and by reducing pressure on venue time helps to maintain opportunity to play. So its a change designed to protect the entry level event from collapsing due to the strain resulting from the increasing attendance in the masters group in the USA.

I don't think the no top cut mandate will spread to other events, but I do suspect that unless there is some very unfortunate and unanticipated side effect that no top cut at the entry level CP events is here to stay for the USA.

I hope that the door can be opened for match play in the swiss rounds but that is not an option for the USA this year from what I've heard so far, which is a shame.
 
NoPoke said:
Virtually the same for most. Exactly the same for many.
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I might be in the minority on this one, but I disagree. My brother and I have always maintained a single wish for any tournament we play in: we just want to make top cut. Top cut, I feel, is where experienced players shine. It's the moment in a tournament when players can actually overcome the occasional donk, and it also gives an experienced player a chance to familiarize themselves with the opponent's deck. My strategy in game 1 might change dramatically in game 2 and 3, where I figure out the weak points in an opponent's deck and move forward in the tournament. Also, if you're taking some risks with your deck (check out my Structured Deck Analysis Article for this, though I do feel it's outdated at this point), having a top cut honors this decision.

NoPoke, I agree with you that the original question was not quite right to ask either, but I do feel that the absence of top cut makes a difference. Also, I'm trying not to be biased here — I actually like the idea of BRs ending much sooner — I just wonder if other "experienced" players feel the same way about this.

NoPoke said:
I hope that the door can be opened for match play in the swiss rounds but that is not an option for the USA this year from what I've heard so far, which is a shame.
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It is a shame, as match play would significantly make up for the lack of a top cut. Also, for what reason do you feel this to be a shame while the absence of a top cut makes no difference? They're both a way to "legitimize" the results in a tournament, right?
 
This is nothing less than inexcusable to not have pertinent information for tournaments that will be beginning in 72 hours. To those of you who say we should cut TPCi some slack, this is a business, a very poorly ran one, might I add, the worst customer service of any company I have ever dealt with in my life, might I add.

This company continues to disappoint its player base, its customers, time and again. I'm glad to see people get mad. I'm glad to see people throw a fit. At least they're letting TPCi know how they feel before simply quitting and finding a new hobby, because as sure as the sun rises will that be next on their lists when problems like these continue to plague the game.

I don't know what precisely goes on in that company, but from my experiences in dealing with them over my lifetime, from listening to other PTOs and store owners' experiences, I am certain the company needs a major restructuring of staff.
 
CMsvW said:
I hate to be "THAT" guy.

But I hate it when I see a small game like Pokemon not being run properly while a huge game like Magic is ran just fine
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You don't have a clue what you are talking about. Pokemon is big game, it's not a small game. Saying that MTG is bigger, is ridiculous. I would beg that the amount of players in each game is comparable, plus Pokemon outsells MTG. They also have less restrictions. They aren't governed by an parent company. They also have about 10 years of experience over the folks at TPCi due to the fact that MTG started in 1993, and TPCi took over in 2003. that's a huge difference. If you want to be fair, think of where MTG is right now, and in 10 years, come back to this argument, or you can compare it to the state of MTG in 2004. However that doesn't stop the fact that Wizards has no restrictions when it comes to MTG, where TPCi does with Pokemon.

koolkidhp said:
Will no top-cut help experienced players or new players?? Or will it be virtually the same as before for both??
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It benefits new players. Most season players are way better in top cut, developing strategies on the fly and what not. No top cut absolutely benefits newer players.

Ness said:
This is nothing less than inexcusable to not have pertinent information for tournaments that will be beginning in 72 hours. To those of you who say we should cut TPCi some slack, this is a business, a very poorly ran one, might I add, the worst customer service of any company I have ever dealt with in my life, might I add.

This company continues to disappoint its player base, its customers, time and again. I'm glad to see people get mad. I'm glad to see people throw a fit. At least they're letting TPCi know how they feel before simply quitting and finding a new hobby, because as sure as the sun rises will that be next on their lists when problems like these continue to plague the game.

I don't know what precisely goes on in that company, but from my experiences in dealing with them over my lifetime, from listening to other PTOs and store owners' experiences, I am certain the company needs a major restructuring of staff.
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Interactive Imagination was worse. It's not even comparable.

Drew
 
Saying that Magic is bigger is ridiculous? No it isn't, it's completely true. Magic has a larger player base than does Pokémon, period. The 10 years of experience Wizards has is hardly relevant for some issues; does a company really need 20 years experience to make punctual announcements? Additionally, Pokémon has the advantage of being able to see what worked and did not work for Magic, and can copy a lot of what was successful in Magic. (Timed matches, best 2-of-3, and some other aspects to tournaments Pokemon uses were all first used in Magic: The Gathering.) I can't help but feel annoyed when I see someone kissing TPCi's butt. The company is screwing up. People have a right to be mad. Quit trying to play teacher's pet. Put some pressure on them. Call them out so these issues get recognized and fixed.

What I am particularly interested in finding out is whether or not Battle Roads will award Championship Points. Personally, I hope they do not, especially with the new swiss-only format. If these tournaments are indeed intended for beginners, they will not award Championship Points. As competitive as earning a Worlds invite has become, I would be annoyed to have to travel far and frequently to play three-hour tournaments to remain competitive.
 
Trust me, the frustration is being felt up and down the spectrum.

I am moving events off of the first weekend due to this uncertainty, and frankly feel trapped as to whether or not I should travel with my kids for events on this first weekend.

We plan to try to attend Worlds this year, so we want to make sure to do what is necessary to obtain points, but we have NO IDEA what it will take at this point.

This is extremely frustrating for all involved, especially those of us trying to qualify for Worlds 2013.

To me, this is a little like a competitive gymnast wanting to qualify for the National Championship or Olympics, and having no clear road map to do so.

We are going to do what I would tell the gymnast to do. Don't flip out, and just keep training.

Quietly, I'm flipping out.

Vince
 
Ness said:
The company is screwing up. People have a right to be mad. Quit trying to play teacher's pet. Put some pressure on them. Call them out so these issues get recognized and fixed.
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Thanks for this post, Jason.

It's really disturbing when I see people argue that OP should be "given a break." Players are getting sick and tired of the unresponsiveness from OP regarding the championship structure. OP's silence on this issue is unacceptable.

I've already made my travel arrangements to attend two Battle Roads the first weekend. If Battle Roads turn out to be worth no Championship Points, I just wasted ~$100.

If I am as bad at communicating with customers as OP is, I would instantly be fired. I'm not saying that anyone from OP should be fired, but rather that management should take a hard look at what is going on and solve some of their public relations problems.
 
To address a couple points that were brought up:

Pokemon is a big game.
Magic is a bigger game, in terms of both player base and sales.
 
@eriknance. I should probably have added more detail and I most definitely don't think that the no cut will make no difference only less difference than many think.

Using the reported attendance data on the 'gym I conclude that most players did not make the cut at BRs last year. So the number of players affected by the change has to be a minority. For lots and lots of players there was either no cut at all last year or very little chance of making the cut so the practical impact will be the very little difference in my earlier response. It will be different for a small number of players who would have made a T4 under last years structure and will feel different for a somewhat larger group of players who might have made a T4 but lost in the last round etc in the coming events. At the bigger BR events last year, the sour grapes were owned by 5th place. This year its going to be 4th place who gets to take the grapes home.

@thread: My expectation is that there will be CPs at battle roads this year but that the potential contribution they can make towards an invite to play in Vancouver will be less than last year. I'd guess that the best finish limit for BRs will drop but I 'm not so confident on that guess. The announcement of a fixed CP bar to achieve an invite to worlds makes me believe that my guess that the best finish limit for BRs will reduce will be correct but then I would not make that guess if I thought the opposite was more likely. FWIW my expectation that there will be CPs this year at BRs is primarily because it would have been easy to announce no CPs at battle roads if that was planned.
 
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NoPoke said:
FWIW my expectation that there will be CPs this year at BRs is primarily because it would have been easy to announce no CPs at battle roads if that was planned.
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But what would have been difficult about saying there will be CP, and the amount has stayed the same/changed and more info to come? They announced prie support for BRs, so it shouldve been easy to announce full prize support including the inclusion/or lack thereof CP.
 
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